My hands were shaking uncontrollably as I handed her that envelope. Hell, my entire body felt as if there was an earthquake in the Academy (based off of past experiences, that would not be surprising).

It was about a week after I was first introduced to her that I decided that I would have the decency more or less the balls- to ask her formally. I decided to go with the gentlemanly approach. It was an understatement to say that every single male student in the Honnouji Academy received a nosebleed when they first witnessed Ryūko's transformation. Except for me, of course; I did everything I could to avoid even catching a glimpse of it.

The hardest part seemed not to be giving her the note, but writing it in the first place. Hours were spent wracking my brain searching for words that weren't too bland, but not over-the-top sappy either. I found myself literally destroying the eraser end of my pencil several times.

Of course, there was also the main issue: she was always sleeping right next to me.

...
HONOUJI ACADEMY'S FIRST BOARDING STUDENT: YAMASHIRO ZAKKU

Being chased by some of the more heavy-set students was always a part of my school day. Why? Well, I was one of the first boarding students at the Academy. The boarding program was established when the housing committee discovered- surprisingly, to their horror- that the slums were overcrowded. After being put through several tests involving practical high school subjects, it was decided that I would be given a dormitory, completely free of charge. As you can imagine, it made life very easy during "No Tardy Days-" class was a hop, skip and a jump away (the disciplinary committee seemed not to mind; they even seemed to have forgotten about me when the slums became available after all the expellations).

I suppose that's the reason why I was targeted by all the beefcakes around here. I was given a bit of luxury and freedom while others were forced to deal with life in the slums.

I was usually lucky between classes. There were many places to hide, secret passages to slip through, etc. If all else failed, I could just hide in the bathroom and hope for the best until classes started. One day, as the daily chases dwindled to once a week (and a ray of hope appeared meaning that I wouldn't have to deal with their agonizing grunts and calls every few yards away), I made a change of plans. Thinking that there was some sort of complicated plan going on from my usual pursuers, I decided to take a rather unnecessary walk through town after climbing out of my dorm window.

I'm sure you can see how fucking stupid I was.

I exited an alley only to have my arms grabbed from behind.

"Where do ya think you're going, meat?"
"'Meat?' That's honestly the nicest thing I've ever heard you fellows call me."
"You want that smart mouth torn off ya too, kid?"

No. No I did not. Of course, my mouth had a mind of its own and made a rebuttal against the large and overly-built student towering over me.
"My mouth is smarter than you, obviously. If not then it would be-" whoof! Saliva and the encore appearance of my breakfast went right out in front of me. Tears stung my eyes as the oaf pulled back his fist.
"You threw up on my shoes, kid. Your death wish has been granted."

There was a mixture of anger at my stupid mouth (who, I believe, began a charming sentence about his shoes looking better with vomit on them) and a feeling of dread, realizing that they were actually ready to kill me as the fist came again.

I heard the big guy scream as he was flown back about eighty yards, crashing to my left. I kept my eyes shut, thinking that some other prank was being pulled, when the dude holding my arms let go suddenly and charged at whatever had hit his pal.

…More cries of pain. I still kept my lids shut, hoping/praying that whomever had "saved" me would be merciful.

"...Yo. You okay?"
"P-please don't kill me!" Dear God, I sound pathetic.
"Huh? Open your eyes. I'm not gonna kill you." Hold on… this dude…

I opened my eyes slowly, unsure of the gender whom I was speaking to. My eyes went straight to a red strand in fluffy dark-blue hair. Holy crap… that chick just saved my ass…

Her uniform was nothing like the Academy's, so I instantly took her as a transfer student.

She yawned. "Two fights on my first day? That's a surprise… usually there's more."
I looked away, thinking of a response. "Hey uh… thanks for saving me."
"Don't mention it." She turned and walked away, something that looked like a metal guitar case slung over her back.

I found myself a bit disappointed that our conversation had ended so quickly. Something… some sort of common sense in the back my mind told me to call her.

"Hm?" She looked over her shoulder.
"Look, um… I don't really trust these guys, so… can I walk with you?"
She smirked. "So you need a bodyguard, eh?"
"Sort of like that…" I rubbed my arm.
"If you can find a faster way to school, you've got yourself a deal."

The walk to school was a quiet one. We exchanged names, hers being Ryūko Matoi. She was indeed a transfer student, so we had something in common after all. The conversation dwindled when I asked her what was in that metal case. She simply referred to it as a "tool of revenge." Considering that she was sort of my Guardian Angel, I decided to do the smart thing and not ask any questions. Except for one.

"Hold on a sec… you said that this is your second fight today, right? Who was the first?"
She scratched the side of her head. "Well, it wasn't exactly a fight. I think it was Mako Makanshoku's little brother."
"Ah, so he bothered you too, huh?"
"You know Mako?"
"Yeah, we're good friends. We usually take different routes to school, since the assholes back there tend to separate us anyway. I should really get back to walking with her; she's probably the only friend I have at the moment."
"Well, I'd say we're friends now."
"I suppose."

"Zakku! Ryūko! Two of my best friends in one place!" My on-and-off pal Mako greeted us at the front gate. "You're late, Ryūko-chan, where were you?"
"I was busy running into your friend Yamashiro here."
"That's great! Then there's no need for introductions!"

I couldn't help but smile at my friend's cheerful attitude. The Academy itself was a pretty depressing and boring place with not much going on aside from the fights. Mako was sort of like a little candle with a strong flame in the darkness, which was funny if you really thought about it.

Without warning, she took both me and Ryūko's hands and placed them together. We both jumped.

"This is amazing! I have two friends who can bond! And since the two of you are different genders, it would make things way more interesting!"

As Mako led the two of us to our classrooms (we were more late than I thought), Ryūko turned to me.

"Does this… happen often?" She was referring to my friend's hyperactive nature, I had no doubt.
"Oh yeah," I said with a smirk.

"Every day."