Thursday, September 29, 2016

CHIHIRO'S POV

"Say it with me, Ishimaru. Meme..." My smile was reaching its limit. I love you like a brother Ishimaru, but this is ridiculous.

"Meem!" Ishimaru's innocent grin grew.

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Meme."

"Meem!"

"Ishimaru," Okay, I need a new approach. I grabbed a piece of chalk from the board and wrote the word, large and capitalized. "It's meme."

"I see." The Ultimate Moral Compass went into his thinking pose. "Me-Me!"

"What?! Why did you say 'me' twice?!" I gripped my hair in frustration. Why is this so hard for him? Ishimaru's one of the most intelligent people I know!

"Is that not how it is pronounced?" Ishimaru tilted his head to the right.

"No, it's not Ishimaru." I sighed. "Why did I show you that meme?"

"You believed that I would audibly enjoy a school related me-me." He recalled proudly. My cringing face went unnoticed by Ishimaru.

"Is this really happening?" Asahina whispered in my ear.

"Yep, but it could be worst." I sweatdropped. "Chihiro could be explaining the difference between gif and gif."

"What is the difference?" Ishimaru turned to us. Yes, he overheard them! "Please explain this to me, Makoto! I wish to be more familiar with the current lingo."

"Well um," I cheered behind Ishimaru. Yes, I'm free! Thank you whoever blessed me with this miracle! "They're basically the same thing, like a short and silent video."

"They're like a second or two long." Asahina piped up.

"Incredible!" Did Ishimaru's eyes just sparkle?"What is the difference then?"

"Some people say gif with a soft g, so it sounds like a J. Some people say gif with a hard g," Makoto explained.

"Hmm... How is it spelled?" He pondered.

"G-I-F."

"Then, it is clearly gif with hard g!" Ishimaru declared.

"Mr. Ishimaru, if I may, it's jif." Yamada walked up to us. "Gif is pronounced with a soft g sound like genes and gem."

"It's a hard G and you, know it, Yamada." I frowned. I'm warning you, Yamada. I don't want to start another argument.

"It is not, Mr. Chihiro." Yamada shot back. "Honestly, I expected more from you."

I gasped. "It's a hard G."

"A soft G."

"A hard G."

"A soft G."

"A hard G."

"A soft G."

"A hard G."

"A soft G."

"A hard G."

"A soft G."

"A hard G."

"A soft G."

"A hard G."

"A soft G."

"A hard G."

"A so-"

"Classmates cease this bickering at once!" Ishimaru silence both of them. "It seems my quest for knowledge has caused a feud better the two of you. Is this information really worth this pain?"

"Why don't we just Google it?" Asahina huffed. "The internet has to have the correct answer."

"You underestimate the internet, my dear Asahina." Yamada folded his arms.

I pulled out his laptop. " 'Gif or Jif?', let's see what Google says."

"Steve Wilhite, who is accepting a lifetime achievement at The Webby Awards," Ishimaru read. Makoto and I gave Ishimaru the 'are you serious right now' look. You can say Wilhite but can't the word meme? "told the NY Times how annoyed he was at the debate over the pronunciation of Gif."

"He's not the only one." Asahina rolled her eyes.

"The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft G pronounced jif." Ishimaru finished.

"Case closed Mr. Chihiro," Yamada smirked. "There is one truth after all."

"Um, Yamada, the title of the article we just read from proves Chihiro's point." I awkwardly chuckled. Kinda misleading...

"The Creator of the GIF Says it's Pronounced JIF. He is wrong." My smile exponentially grew with each word.

"This is inconceivable!" Yamada shouted.

"Yeah, the article sounds about right." Asahina and I briefly skimmed through the page.

"Ex-Explain this!" He pointed an accusing finger at us.

"Since GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, it should be a hard G like the word graphic." I pieced together the facts.

"That sounds like a clean conclusion." I packed the laptop away.

"To think, the original creator could be wrong," Ishimaru said puzzled. "I feel like my wealth of knowledge grew from this experience."

"Well, at least that's over." Asahina clapped. "What should we do now?"

"It looks like we're the only ones coming today." Makoto saw how many desks were left empty. Now that I think about it. Where is everyone? Who skips on a Thursday?

"This can not be!" Ishimaru collapsed on the floor. "How did I not notice? My classmates are not here?!"

"It's okay, Ishimaru." Asahina patted him on the back. "Maybe they were busy."

"Too busy to inform me about their absent..." Ishimaru despaired. "Do the bonds we formed mean nothing?"

"Crap, I think I made it worse." Asahina took a step back. "Who wants to try?"

"Um... Ishimaru," My hand hovered over his back. "I'm sure they have a very good an-and reasonable excuse for not coming today."

"Yeah, let's forward for them coming tomorrow." Makoto smiled. "It's like we can look for them today."

Oh no, Makoto you doomed us! Ishimaru's eyes glisten with mischief. Is he going to-

"We do not have time to waste!" Ishimaru's voice boomed through the school. Ow, my ears. "As the Ultimate Moral Compass, I shall round up our responsible classmates!"

"Responsible classmates... In other words, we're not going to look for the Elites?" Asahina sweatdropped.

"We cannot waste time," Ishimaru was already halfway out the door. "First, we will search their homes! I have their addresses memorized already!"

"What? That's personal information!" Asahina screamed as she chased after him.

"So much for a normal day," I sighed.

"I think those days are long gone, Mr. Chihiro," Yamada said.

CELESTIA'S POV

"Why do I have to do this again?" Leon slumped against his dining room table. Kirigiri rolled her eyes and kept up with her share of the work. Leon didn't bother to change out of his pajama bottoms and white beater even though he had us as his company.

"You said you wanted to adopt Daimon." I smiled. However, I don't what possessed him to do such a thing. Instead of my usual gothic dress, I was wearing my black silk sweatpants and a skin tight long sleeve to match. "Be grateful, Kirigiri and I were kind enough to help sort through the paperwork."

"Kind?" Kirigiri spoke up, but her eyes never left the page. She, on the other hand, stand with her usual attire. Does she not have casual clothing? "Celeste, I had to pay you to come."

"You're getting paid?!" Leon screamed.

"Oh Kirigiri," I playfully sighed. "You're no fun." I really only agreed to find out more about you. The payment is just an extra bonus.

"Aw man," He groaned. A glare from Kirigiri got him back to work. "Fine, I'll finish my part."

"Kirigiri, how did you get this paper anyway?" I asked, flipping to the next page. "Are adoption papers this easy to come by?"

"After Daimon's father was arrested for the possession of marijuana and the other charges, I asked for Daimon's adoption papers."

"And they just gave them to you?" An Ultimate can do many things. I have no doubt of that. However, the police simply handed her the papers? "Did they owe you a favor or something along those lines?"

"No, it was nothing of the sorts." She's more stoics than Ikusaba. "These papers just came a few days ago, and I knew Leon would need help understanding it all."

"You have a point," I faked submission. "I doubt Leon would read any of this."

"Hey! I take offense to that!" The male Ultimate glared in my direction.

"Focus, you two." Kirigiri snapped.

I gave her a bored look before letting out an audible sigh. I guess it can't be helped. Kirigiri's too goal-driven to have small talk, but I am curious. Why is she helping Daimon? From what information I could salvage, Kirigiri's only connection to Daimon is the arrest of his father. So why goes so far as collect the adoption papers for Leon? Could Kirigiri be pitying Daimon?... No, if she did, why not move him into her home and claim him? There's more to this than she's telling us.

I allowed Kirigiri's 'no tolerance' warning to waver in the air as we shuffled through the paperwork. With Kirigiri double checking both Leon and my work, I couldn't humor myself with 'accidental mistakes'. Most of the question asked were tedious at best. 'How would you describe the atmosphere of your household?' I have half a mind to put better than his previous one. Breathe Celeste, there's no point in frustrating yourself over something as trivial as this. You are above these stupid questions. After all, you dealt with the likes of Hagakure for three years. That bum has been leading you up to this moment. Now, Celeste, proceed and read the next question. 'How would you describe your lifestyle?'

"..." I stood up. "I'm going take a break. Leon, can you make me some Royal Milk Tea?"

"I'm not Yamada," Leon sigh. His energy clearly drained from the work. "Do it yourself."

"..." I wanted to trick him into making some tea with 'Is this how you treat your guests? Shameful' or simply scream his ear off, but I, myself, was too exhausted to either. I gave him a blank face for a moment. "Do you even have the ingredients to make my tea?"

"Probably not, I don't drink that crap." Crap? My royal milk tea served to only the most elite. It's not some drink any old regular person can order in some dingy shack.

"I see. One moment," I calmly walked out of Leon's apartment. I speed-dialed my head maid. In half a second, I was already placing my order. "Yes Tojo, how long would it take you to make my royal milk and bring it to me?"

"Ten minutes at the latest," She stated. "Are you still at school Miss. Celestia?"

"No, I am at Leon's apartment." I sighed, letting a bit of annoyance into my words.

"Kuwata? Leon Kuwata?" Tojo asked.

"Yes, that's him."

"Very well, I will be there in twelve minutes. Sorry for the inconvenience, Miss Celestia."

"Just be hasty Tojo." I rolled my eyes. "Knock on the door when you come."

"Yes Miss Celestia," Tojo answered.

I ended the call with a smirk on my face. I quietly entered the house. I continued my diligent work, counting the seconds until I could taste the silky smooth, soothing, and delicious royal milk tea. Only a few minutes before I can have my tea relax my nerves and unravel my stress. I was quite proud of myself, not like that's any different from the usual. I managed to fly through half of my remaining share for the day before the doorbell rang. Hmm? Tojo had 5 minutes to spare as expected of my perfectionist head maid. Leon looked at me, expecting me to answer it.

"Why are you looking at me?" I shot him a look. "Be a good host and open the door."

"Ugh," Leon groaned. He opened the door, eye budging from his eyes. "What the hell? Celeste!"

"Ah yes," I graciously stood from my chair. I appeared at the door and my jaw dropped. "this must be for... me."

"This is where you three are!" Ishimaru shouted, searing with rage. "You abandoned your education for a day at home?!"

"Celeste was that tea really worth snitching?!" Leon grilled me as I stood stunned by the whole situation. Why is the entire class here? Where is Tojo? Where's my tea?! "What the hell are you guys doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question! Why is Celeste in your home? What have you two been doing all day?" Ishimaru glared at us. Hold on, did Ishimaru really have our addresses on file? Is that how he found us? "You have wasted our precious time with your immature decisions!"

"No one told you that you had to track us down." I pointed out. I looked over his shoulder hoping Tojo was still on her way.

"It is my duty as the Ultimate Moral Compass to guide everyone on the righteous path! Now, let us return to school!"

"That is impossible." I raised my hand. "I am not properly dressed to out in public."

"That is no excuse!"

"You're fine Celeste," Hagakure sweatdropped. His clothes were clinging to his body. His hair was puffier than usual. Did Ishimaru catch him in the shower or something?

"What is going on?" Kirigiri finally left the table. "Can I help you all?"

"Kirigiri?" Makoto gasped.

"I had higher expectations for you Kirigiri." Ishimaru sighed. "To think, you three would attempt to skipping like delinquents."

"Yes, we are. However, there is a reason behind it." She calmly spoke. "The three of us were starting on Diamon's adoption papers."

"Adoption papers?" Ishimaru raised an eyebrow. "Why I not informed about this event?"

"Celeste, Leon, and I are more than capable for this task. I saw no reason to bother the rest of you."

"Nonsense! We are classmates!" Ishimaru sped to the files filled table. "We all will lend a hand."

"Are you serious bro?" Mondo scratched his head. "Sakura and me were training."

"Think of it as mental training," Chihiro smiled, but I saw passed his innocence. He's clearly tired. What did Ishimaru make him do? I saw Tojo's silver hair out the corner of my eyes. Ah yes, my tea. I greeted Tojo at the door.

"Here is your royal milk tea, Miss Celestia." She curtsied. "Sorry for the wait."

"Thank you, Tojo." I took the silver plate from her.

"Is there anything I can provide for you?"

"Um," I looked back my classmates reorganizing and dividing the work. "No, that will be all. Thank you for your service."

"Very well," Tojo curtsied one last time before closing the door.

I returned to my spot at the table, enjoying my tea.

"Celeste? Where did you get tea?" Leon asked.

"I have my sources." I giggled. "Now, where were we, Kirigiri?"

A/N: So, I have some story summaries on my profile if someone wants to make them into actual stories. I kinda like them, but I definitely don't have the same amount of time I had for writing. Sorry, but I don't think I can write any of them, but I will gladly put them up for adoption.