A/N: This is my first attempt at writing a fanfiction. I'm not sure if this is going anywhere, but I've had this idea in the back of my mind for the last couple days, begging me to put it down on paper.
Additionally, I'm going to make some changes to the setting in order to better fit my character, so if you read this, take note of the following:
1. As part of the story and for funsies, Seo is going to be my OC's next door neighbor, living in a small house adjacent to the apartment complex where my guy is going to live. Since Seo visited Maison Izumo located in the north a few times in the anime and manga, it's a reasonable assumption to say that in canon, he lives somewhere in the Northern part of Tokyo. In this story, he'll be living in the eastern section where my guy is going to be.
2. On the subject of Seo, there is going to be some bashing, in fact, at least for time being, Seo is going to be a huge dick. I didn't really like his attitude in the anime, and was sort of disgusted at his inability to retain a job, working his Sekirei like dogs to support him. So any Seo-fans, keep that in mind if you still want to read.
3. I'm going to try and write this without changing to much from the canon events, I'm not sure if my guy is going to have any interaction with Minato or not, but I will probably reference some of the events that Minato was a part of, probably through the news.
4. Again, this is my first fanfiction and also my first attempt at writing a fictional story period, so please bear with me and if you spot any inconsistencies, feel free to point them out in the review section. I don't mind criticism as long as it's done constructively and politely, any compliments are welcome to of course.
5. I'm not 100% sure as to what or how many Sekirei my dude will wing, all I know right now is that his harem is going to be a bit smaller than Minato's. After all, I don't want to have to keep track of a bunch of characters for my first time writing.
6. One last thing, this story will be rated 'M' for safety more than anything. Not sure if they'll be any lemons in here yet.
I own nothing from Sekirei or any references to other media that might appear in this story, all characters, except my own OC/OCs belong to their respective creators.
Chapter 1
A year before the Sekirei Plan
A tall and slender girl with sharp looking eyes sat on the long examination table with an impatient scowl on her delicate face. Her dark hair hung loose and would have reached past her shapely rear had she been standing. Crossing arms beneath her sizable bust, she glared at the blank, wall-mounted television as if it was to blame for how long she and her sister had been waiting for their tuner, Asama Takehito to appear for their bi-weekly check-up and adjustment. Letting out an irritated sigh, she turned to her sister, who was identical to her in every way aside from a noticeably smaller bust size. "Hibiki, how long until he's supposed to arrive?!"
Closing her eyes and asking her Goddess for patience, the girl in question counted to three and let out a sigh of her own, before answering with a saccharine smile, Hikari, my answer is the same as it was ten minutes ago when you asked me the same question! For the fifth time, I don't know! You would remember that if you listened!"
Letting out a loud "hmph!" Hikari didn't bother responding and returned to glaring angrily at her surroundings. Like the rest of MBI, the examination room was top of the line and contained some of the best medical facilities on the planet. a large blue shelf holding several cabinets dominated the back wall with an adjacent hand-washing sink. A few other machines that neither girl knew, nor cared to know were positioned throughout the somewhat spacious room.
Rolling her eyes at Hikari's behavior, Hibiki couldn't help but privately agree with her sister's impatience. They had already been here 15 minutes. Usually when it came to checkups and adjustments, MBI's staff were punctual about that kind of thing. Takehito himself was known for his single-mindedness when it came to his research of the Sekirei. It just didn't make any sense, though she figured that the man must have gotten held up somewhere. Right on cue, Hibiki turned her sharp gaze toward the door and felt her sister do the same, as an audible commotion made itself known from outside their room.
Before they could react, the door opened and a tall man, who was most certainly not Takehito strode into the room. He had dark hair and a modest amount of stubble on his wild, but handsome face. He was dressed in a white lab coat with a matching undershirt and blue jeans. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it, listening intently as urgent voices argued in the hallway. Time seemed to slow down for all the occupants of the room until the muffled voices stopped and the sound of receding footsteps could be heard.
The visitor kept quiet for a few more moments, in case his pursuers decided to return. Finally, he let out a sigh of relief and turned toward the occupants of the room with a roguish grin.
"Yo!" He said with his hand raised in greeting.
"Who are you?" Hibiki asked, her eyes traveling down his lean, yet toned form with interest. Through their unique bond, she was aware of Hikari looking at him in a similar manner.
Raised at MBI, they had been around men of all shapes and sizes, many of whom were unattractive; at least to them. Nearly all of the male and even some of the female scientists at MBI would look at them with lustfully or treated them as nothing but a science project. While it was obvious this man fell firmly into the lust category, his good looks and apparent friendliness drove any thoughts of disgust from their minds.
"I am Seo Kaoru, my lovely bird. I work as a lab tech and my job is to assist scientists in working with Sekirei" came the reply. That was only partially true. Seo was a lab tech, but his lecherous behavior coupled with unbridled laziness caused him to be demoted to the point of being nothing but a glorified intern. Usually his job involved fetching documents or coffee for everyone above his station and other forms of grunt labor. It certainly didn't help that bitch, Sahashi Takami made it her personal mission to keep Seo away from the female Sekirei in case he had any intention of influencing them before release. The people he managed to elude were her latest attempt at getting him expelled from the Sekirei Project. Thankfully, as always, Takehito had his back as he remembered his friend saying something about distracting Takami and her subordinates so he could have a shot at influencing Hikari and Hibiki's choice of Ashikabi.
Taking in their slightly red faces and discreet looks, Seo knew it would be child's play to manipulate them to his advantage...
O.O.O.O.O.O.
Takehito paused outside the door to the examination room with a placid smile on his face as he eavesdropped on Seo regaling the twins with the modified backstory that they had come up with for the encounter. He and Seo decided to stick mostly to the truth, but with just enough embellishment to put the other man in a more positive light. Takehito did feel somewhat guilty at the manipulation, but he did owe his best friend a debt for maintenance and care of his Inn throughout these long months of getting the Sekirei Plan established. The brief thoughts of guilt were dismissed as the scientist told himself that their actions were harmless and that he was just giving his friend a bit of an edge. If nothing else, it would be a fun experiment!
Sensing an opening, Takehito finally pulled open the door to begin his intentionally delayed examination.
As planned, the twins were very sad to see Seo go when their adjuster finally showed up, but he promised to see them again as often as he could. After the door had shut and the examination began, both girls babbled excitedly to Takehito about Seo's visit and how much they wanted to be his Sekirei and how cool he was. Unlike the vast majority of MBI's staff, Seo seemed to really care about them as individuals and as women instead of just some experiment. Takehito just smiled and nodded along, confident that The Thunder and Lighting Twins' infatuation would develop into a reaction to a potential Ashikabi. With the way things were going, he knew there was a pretty low probability of these two reacting to anyone else...
Present Time
Kenshin Oyamada reached out with a meaty fist to silence the blaring racket of the alarm clock, as the display changed to 7:00am. Light brown eyes opened and took in the blurry images of a plain white, and slightly cracked ceiling above his head. Letting out a cavernous yawn, the 18 year old heaved himself upright, ignoring the creaky springs as they complained under his weight. Reaching wildly, Oyamada cursed as his hand blindly knocked his glasses onto the hardwood floor. With a lazy sigh, he sluggishly got out of bed and got on his hands and knees, fumbling around for his eyeware. After a few minutes struggle against the poor light and his even worse eyesight, he finally recovered them. After putting them on his face, Oyamada attempted to stand up-only to bang his head on the steel frame. Letting out a louder curse than before, he finally struggled to his feet.
"The first day of my last year in high school and I'm already off to a great start..." Oyamada thought grumpily, as he strode over to the too-small bathroom in his one-bedroom apartment. Letting out a smaller yawn, he removed his boxers, taking a minute to gaze at his reflection in the wall-mounted mirror.
A round, half-awake face with short, dark hair stared back. The young man's eyes peered down the rest of his obese frame with a sleepy expression. "Hello handsome..." he thought with a wry grin. Like most people who shared his build, he was fairly reserved when out in public. However, unlike the majority, he was fairly comfortable in his own skin, and while he wouldn't consider himself super confident, he was certainly a couple steps above the usual shrinking violets that have the same lackluster looks and flabby bodies. He only wished everyone else would see the same thing. But alas, people didn't see Oyamada, they saw fat. And in a country with one of the lowest percentage of obese people in the world, guys like him were something of an oddity to be ridiculed or pitied.
Regrettably, his Mom and Dad were included in that count. As the only child of a former model and fitness instructor, Oyamada spent his childhood being simultaneously spoiled by his parents as their sole offspring and pressured to stay in shape. As time passed, it didn't take anyone long to figure out that it was very hard for Oyamada's body to lose weight, but it was still too late. Deep down Oyamada knew that was never going to change, but for the sake of his parents, he kept trying.
After the last time he weighed himself with no obvious change, his desperate mother took him to the doctor when he was twelve years old for an explanation. Regrettably, the man couldn't give them an answer either. Oyamada's body defied explanation; especially since it was revealed that he was pretty healthy for a boy his age.
It wasn't that bad, honestly. Yeah, during hot days he would sweat buckets and be more uncomfortable then most, and sure, it would be nice if everyone wouldn't treat him like a repulsive creature or look at him like he was something to be pitied, but it could be worse. Why cry over a bunch of "hurtful" words? It's not like he could do anything about his condition, not that they believed him when he tried to explain it...
Sadly, his parents just couldn't accept him as he was. Overtime, his Dad had eventually given up, though it was more out of resignation than acceptance. However, his Mother's badgering only increased, almost as if she was making up for her husband's sudden disinterest. Throughout his education, his mother kept insisting that he find new ways to get in shape, despite the medical professional's diagnosis. By the end of Oyamada's junior year of high-school, the fresh 18 year old's large reserve of patience had dried up. As a result, he had emptied his savings, and even stooped to borrowing yen from the families of the few close friends he had, in order to move out during summer break.
Now, in the eastern part of Tokyo in a rundown apartment complex, the young man could only hope that he'd one day be able to repay his neighbors back for their kindness.
Oyamada mentally shook his head of these thoughts, as he removed his glasses in preparation of washing up. he stepped into the small shower stall, turning the knob to the appropriate temperature. The warm water cascaded over his bowed head and down his large frame, fully awakening him to face the day. Washing away last night's sweat, he stepped out of the shower after 10 minutes and toweled himself dry.
Fully dressed, in his barely-fitted school uniform, he tidied up before making his way to the small kitchen.
Oyamada grabbed two slices of bread from the old-fashioned bread box next to the refrigerator. After putting them in the toaster, Oyamada turned the knob on the slightly battered T.V. atop of the counter, flipping it to the news for some background noise as he waited for his toast to finish.
Normally, the young man did not pay too much attention to the latest headlines, but after seeing the outlandish visage of MBI's president Minaka Hiroto, located at what appeared to be at the base of MBI tower, Oyamada decided to hear what he had to say:
"With MBI stocks continually increasing, what are the future plans for your company?" Asked the attractive-looking reporter. Minaka gave her a wide grin and adjusted his glasses, causing the light to reflect ominously off the lenses, before answering. "Today, we stand on the precipice of a new age! The Gods of fate and destiny will guide mankind into Ascendance! The only Plan that MBI will follow is the one that the Gods have shown me!" So saying, Minaka turned around with a dramatic flourish of his white cape, disappearing inside the tower. Immediately, two large men in business suits and sunglasses took up positions on either side of the door.
A puzzled look flashed across the reporter's face, before she regained her composure to finish the report "That was Hiroto Minaka and as you heard, MBI seems to be flourishing if his confident expression was anything to go by. This has been Hana Suzuki with-"
*DING!* Oyamada's attention snapped from the T.V. as the freshly toasted bread made its sudden appearance. A delicious smell wafted throughout the kitchen, as he went over to the cupboard to retrieve a breakfast plate. Using a butter knife to neatly impale the pieces of toast, he transferred both slices to the plate, one after another.
Oyamada's ample stomach growled in preparation of being fed. After applying creamy peanut butter and delicious cherry jelly to both pieces,he poured himself a tall glass of milk. Grabbing a napkin from the nearby drawer, he sat down at the small dining room table to eat.
Taking large bites from the toast, Oyamada quickly devoured both pieces, chugging down the beverage and wiping his face off with the napkin. After the quick breakfast, Oyamada returned to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his hands as per his usual morning ritual. After cleaning up the kitchen and washing the breakfast dishes, the now-sated young man's thoughts turned to the day ahead.
"I know the first day of senior year is supposed to be exciting, but I just can't bring myself to be enthusiastic." Oyamada never really understood or cared for the significance of supposedly important events, such as the first day of school, or even his own birthday, even as a child. To him, they were just normal days to experience, not seeing a reason to make a big deal out of it. Hell, he couldn't even remember the last time he was genuinely excited about something. Oyamada understood that such a dispassionate outlook on life would not win him many friends, but then again, it was better to have a couple of truly close friends than a large group of acquaintances, at least in his opinion.
Wandering over to the patchwork easy chair in his living room, the young man grabbed his school bag from its place atop the seat, making sure everything was accounted for; "Let's see, I have my folders for each class, a couple of notebooks, three mechanical pencils with plenty of extra lead, a couple pens, highlighters, textbooks and of course my phone," Oyamada muttered to himself.
Seeing that everything was packed away, he grabbed his bag and slung it over a beefy shoulder, pocketing his smart phone in the process. The high school student made one last trip over to his kitchen's refrigerator, to retrieve the carefully wrapped bento from within.
Turning off the television with a twist of the knob, Oyamada glanced over his apartment one last time, making sure nothing was forgotten. Nodding to himself, he glanced at his phone to check the time: 7:25am, meaning he had about an hour until class.
Oyamada made his way to the front door, donning his outside shoes before leaving his apartment suite. After walking down the hall to the front entrance of the building, he stepped out into the unusually hot April morning. glancing to his left, he eyed the seemingly out-of-place house, adjacent to the apartment building, suspiciously. "Hopefully, I won't run into him today," Oyamada thought to himself.
Unfortunately, luck was not with him, as Seo Karou emerged from the ramshackle house with a bottle of sake in hand, and a slightly unsteady gait in his step. He was tall, standing slightly higher than Oyamada's own 180cm frame. At 25, he was seven years older than himself, with a lean build, toned muscles and a wild look about him.
He was also something of a ladies man, as on more than one occasion, Oyamada had witnessed him with attractive, barely legal girls, some of whom he was sure came from his own high school. Thankfully, he was alone this time, wearing a tight wife beater shirt and blue jeans. "Of course he's drunk, who else would be at 7:30 in the morning?" Oyamada thought with disgust.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Elseware...
Atop an incomplete skyscraper, stood a well-endowed woman wearing a purple Chinese dress that displayed a generous amount of cleavage. Quite suddenly, she let out a delicate sneeze, almost as if someone was talking about her. Wiping her nose daintily with a pocket handkerchief, she took another long gulp of her sake bottle as she thought about a certain, soon-to-be game master.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Oyamada tried to casually walk away, hoping to avoid the notice of his deadbeat of a neighbor. However the sound of approaching footsteps and the permeating smell of booze told him otherwise. The student let out a sigh, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to deal with Seo today.
The older man was one of the first people that Oyamada interacted with after he moved into the apartment complex. Regrettably, the exchange was not a favorable one for the high school student, and it was one of the few times that he lost his temper…
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Oyamada grunted under the weight of the final cardboard container from the moving truck with sweat pouring down his face and neck in a flood. The equally soaked shirt was plastered to his back as if he just climbed out of a swimming pool. The young man's desktop computer and monitor were packed away in this particular box. Back when he was packing everything up, he had underestimated how much packing material was available, so by the time he got around to his computer, he barely had any left and no time to reorganize. Thankfully, the movers had been able to secure the box in such a way that it wouldn't be jostled during the drive to the apartment. But now, he had to be extra careful when handling this one.
Unfortunately, the movers went to lunch, after Oyamada paid them a generous tip for their hard work. In their haste, they neglected to give the truck a final inspection, and therefore missed this last box tucked away in the far corner of the trailer. Oyamada didn't want to leave his computer in the the sweltering summer heat, so he chose to retrieve it himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, Oyamada caught sight of a tall, somewhat rugged-looking man. The stranger made his way toward the struggling student with a wicked grin on his face.
Before he could ask what this guy wanted, the newcomer "accidentally" collided with the box, sending it crashing forcefully to the ground. The sickening crunch of plastics, electronics and glass that followed, turned his blood to ice as he quickly looked down at the remains of his computer and monitor. The asshole of a stranger was forgotten temporarily in his haste to survey the damage.
Moving the cardboard box out of the way, Oyamada's growing sense of fear came to life as the computer that he spent months saving up for through odd jobs and assisting around his neighborhood, was now nothing more than a pile of junk on the unforgiving cement.
He looked up at the man responsible with a piercing glare. The stress of moving away from home for the first time caused the usually easy-going teen to explode in rare anger. The stranger did not look at all remorseful for his actions. In fact, he appeared to be fighting a losing battle, trying to keep himself from roaring with laughter.
"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM ASSHOLE?" Oyamada boomed, at the guy.
"Nothing at all, you should just watch where you are going fat ass!" the stranger replied. The jab about his weight went ignored, as Oyamada was temporarily rendered speechless at this man's audacity and blatant disrespect.
The student just knew full well that this guy ran into him intentionally, and from the barely concealed smirk on the man's face, he knew it to.
"In any case," the man continued, "did your mommy and daddy pay for your fancy apartment? I can't stand brats like you, especially fat pieces of shit who rely on their parents for support." the stranger continued, a real note of anger creeping into his voice.
Oyamada's glare turned sharper still as he replied. "Is that really your business you son of a bitch?! You don't know a damn thing about me, so you have no right to judge me. However, just to get you off my back and to keep you from wasting anymore of my time; no, my parents did not support me at all in this move," not seeing any reason to let this poor excuse of a man know that the adults around his neighborhood, some of whom were in fact parents assisted him in getting here.
"I expect you to take responsibility for this, the cost comes out to be ¥ 110,000," Oyamada continued angrily.
"I'm not paying you back for shit, I did nothing wrong. Unless you want to make me..." the stranger responded, giving him a fierce grin.
Oyamada could tell the man was looking for an excuse to bash his head in, but he refused to be baited for a couple reasons: he wasn't confident enough that he could take on such a physically fit guy, and he also didn't want to risk stirring up trouble before he could even unpack!
After seeing that Oyamada wasn't going to do anything, the man muttered "that's what I thought," before heading back to his house. Turning around for one last parting shot, he said "welcome to the neighborhood! See you around, fat ass," before disappearing back inside.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
That was nine months ago. Unfortunately, Oyamada currently couldn't afford a new computer, not with the other living expenses that had to be dealt with first. His job at the Paper Dragon Bookstore did not afford him a whole lot of luxury. However, Oyamada did take pleasure from the fact that he at least had a reliable source of income, unlike his bum of a neighbor.
"Oi! Fatass! Off to school?" Oyamada ignored him with practiced ease, as he stepped onto the sidewalk and turned toward the direction of the Sengoku Station, located near the center of the Bunkyo ward in East Tokyo.
Undeterred, Seo fell in step beside Oyamada, and the two of them made their way toward the terminal. The sounds of the congested, early morning traffic gradually increased in volume, the closer they got to the city. Oyamada gripped the knot of his wrapped bento tightly, doing his best to tune out Seo's juvenile attempts to get a rise out of him.
His neighbor always had the unique ability of getting under Oyamada's skin, causing the usually patient young man, to snap back like a bear that had been prodded with a stick one to many times. Occasionally, if the mood took him, his neighbor would even attempt to steal his food! Thankfully, getting Seo to talk about himself was a sure fire way to abolish the stream of insults and the attempted theft of his lunch.
Using the small towel in his breast pocket, Oyamada wiped off the sweat that was already gathering on his face. Giving in to the inevitability of having to interact with Seo, he addressed the man next to him, without turning his head. "You seem to be awfully cheerful for a guy who is constantly out of money."
Seo scratched the small patch of exposed chest hair, taking another gulp of his bottle as he formulated his response, "Not for long. Soon I'll have access to more than you could hope to achieve."
"That right?" remarked a doubtful Oyamada, as he stepped around an old man walking his dog. "Did you decide to actually get a job this time?" Oyamada's annoyance had dulled at this point, and the young man was somewhat surprised that he and Seo were having a somewhat civil conversation.
"Nope. Won't have to. Not with what's coming very soon," came the confident reply. Oyamada decided to take his words with only a pinch of salt. It wouldn't be surprising if some young heiress fell for his neighbor's supposed charm, giving him access to large sums of money. Such a thing has happened before, but never for very long, as the girl's parents would find out about the affair. But from the way Seo was acting now, it was almost as if he believed he would have unlimited financial security without a job. Oyamada supposed it was possible. Unlikely, but possible. Despite the older man's personality and bad habits, he knew that Seo was smarter than he looked. Managing to survive so long without a steady source of income was proof of that. He had seen it in action more than once: Seo almost made it an art to con people into giving out free food and money.
Oyamada put the matter from his mind as he brought out the hand towel again. He didn't mind being the fat guy, but on days like this, he wished he didn't sweat so much.
10 minutes later, the two of them arrived at the cross walk. Seo stretched his arms above his head, letting out a large yawn. Oyamada turned away, trying not to gag at the rancid smell emanating from his arm pits and mouth. "Well, I can't hang out with a fat loser like you all day, later!" Seo said nastily. Oyamada rolled his eyes and said nothing. "Well, it was nice while it lasted" he thought wryly.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Finally approaching Sengoku station, Oyamada quickly boarded the Toei Mita line, for the 15 minute ride. The rotund high schooler smiled apologetically at the disgusted looks on the faces of a small group of people he was unintentionally crowding. Oyamada couldn't blame them for regarding his large and sweaty frame in such a way.
Before too long, he got off at the 4th stop, and quickly exited with muttered apologies, thankful that he managed to find a spot near the subway door. Checking his phone again, Oyamada saw that the time read 8:00 ~ 30 min before homeroom.
"Thankfully Kogei High School is relatively close to the train station," the student thought to himself. Proceeding out of the terminal and up the stairs, Oyamada emerged onto the incredibly crowded sidewalks in the heart of the Bunkyo ward. Looking around at the numerous high-rise buildings and sky scrapers, he could just make out the 8-story high school, positioned just out of reach of the main flow of Tokyo traffic.
Oyamada approached the building, at about 8:15. Glancing to his left, he took in the tall, strangely shaped statue standing adjacent to the glass high school. This structure was made up of a metal cylinder with a square like pattern on the sides. At the top of the cylinder was an opening, out of which a statue made of red marble, reminiscent of a tree bereft of leaves grew. Oyamada counted 4 "branches" petering out in various directions.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Finally getting to the main entrance, he pulled open the glass door and stepped into the main hall. Moving forward, the portly young man ignored the looks on some of the students; mostly girls as he made his way to the locker room to switch out for his indoor shoes.
Opening the door to his home room, located about half-way down the second floor hall, Oyamada noticed about half the class was present. Glancing up at the wall clock placed just above the white board, he noticed that it was 10 minutes to class time.
He took a seat at the very back of the room, in the row closest to the windows, and farthest from the door "in true anime protagonist fashion" he thought with amusement. A group of girls chatting, two seats away smothered a fit of giggles as his desk let out a screech with the sudden addition of his weight.
Oyamada cringed slightly at the sound, making sure to sit up straight, in order to avoid his ample stomach from spilling over the wooden table attached to the chair anymore than usual. he placed his school bag next to the seat and the bento underneath his chair. After positioning his school supplies for easy access, he settled in to wait for class.
A couple minutes later, Oyamada's mind began to wander back to the start of his day: the strange interview with Minaka on the news and the conversation he had with Seo. Oyamada recalled that Seo told him that he used to work for MBI. This was done during one of his neighbor's drunken rants when the young man had the misfortune of running into him at a sushi place.
Initially, he dismissed it as drunken nonsense, but the more Oyamada thought back to that time, the more he wondered if there was something more to it. That particular rant was memorable in that Seo actually cried in front of him and appeared to have genuine anguish over...something. Oddly enough, his neighbor left him alone for a couple days after, almost as if he was apologetic...
All this led Oyamada to wonder if Seo knew anything about this new Plan that president Minaka hinted at this morning. Whatever the case, it was something his neighbor was looking forward to, and that meant it was nothing but trouble.
Oyamada could not shake the feeling that Seo's impending source of income, and MBI's new plan were connected somehow. Letting out a sigh, he gave a mental shake of his head, wondering if he was just looking too much into the words of an insane CEO and his scumbag of a neighbor.
Before too long, Oyamada was standing alongside the rest of the class, as their instructor made his appearance. The students bowed as one, letting out a firm "Ohayō sensei!" The teacher returned the greeting, motioning for them to sit. Oyamada, along with the rest of the class sat down, paying rapt attention as their sensei went over the traditional first-day-of-school guidelines.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
The unusually hot day was taking its toll on the students of Kogei High School. The sun was glaring at them all from on high, as they congregated throughout the yard during lunch break. A group of young men were taking turns climbing the modest selection of trees that dotted the lawn. A few girls were seated under a peach tree, taking refuge from the glaring sunlight, and gossiping about the latest episode of some anime. A few brave souls were laid out on the well-kept courtyard, enjoying the heat and the accompanying breeze.
Oyamada meandered along the fence of the enclosed school yard that seperated the lawn from the outside world. He passed by a young couple holding hands and looking deep in conversation. He had eaten his large bento a few minutes ago. The meat, broccoli, and rice balls making him feel a little bit better about school.
The first part of the day was about what he expected: introduction from the new teachers, receiving stares due to the the fact that he was the only fat person in his homeroom, and chatting with a few acquaintances. Sure, it would have been nice to have a few less looks, but overall, it had been an okay day so far. Most people would find the doldrums of today to be boring, but for Oyamada, it was a reminder that his life was wonderfully simple. No muss, no fuss, just school, work, home. What's the point of asking for more, when he was perfectly happy with this established routine? No need to complicate things.
Oyamada took out his hand towel for the umpteenth time to wipe down his sweaty face. The large student knew he couldn't be pleasant to be look at, much less be around on a day like today, but it's not like he could be anything about it, even as he glanced down at the sweat stains adorning his uniform with disgust. Ah well, why fret about something he had no control over? It wasn't like he could stop his body from sweating after all; and besides, most antiperspirants couldn't overcome the sheer amount of sweat Oyamada was known to generate.
Sure, he could have rested in the shade of the many trees dotting the yard, and he might have if it wasn't for the fact that there were people already under the trees and Oyamada had no desire to risk unfriendly looks from the other students.
Gazing out through the fence in thought at the congested Tokyo traffic, Oyamada's eyes caught sight of something, or rather two somethings standing atop the three story building across the street. Squinting, he could just make out what appeared to be two female silhouettes. It was difficult to tell from the glare of the sun, but he was almost certain of it.
Even so, part of him still couldn't believe it. Removing his glasses, Oyamada took a second rag reserved for cleaning his eye-wear out of his other pocket and proceeded to wipe the lenses. After donning them once again, he turned his gaze back to the roof and noticed that they had changed locations. Yeah, the two girls were still there and dressed in bondage costumes that you might see in an adult store. Oyamada could see them clearly now as they shifted position on the roof. From the looks of things, they appeared to be arguing with one another as to which way to go. Both of them were pointing in opposite directions, while gesturing wildly with their other arm in an attempt to make their point.
After a few minutes, the argument ended as abruptly as it began, and Oyamada's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he witnessed both girls suddenly jump across the large gap between buildings: something that should be impossible for a regular human as the distance was just too great. It was like something out of an anime!
The amazed student watched them until they leapt out of sight behind a skyscraper. Shaking his head, he wondered if his mind made the whole thing up due to the heat. Turning away from the fence and back to the now-empty courtyard, Oyamada realized that everyone had headed back inside for the next class!
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
It was 3:30, by the time the school day ended and the weather began to cool off with white clouds finally making their appearance in the otherwise blue sky. As was expected, the second part of the day went much like the first. Each teacher doing their own introduction and going over the expectations for their class; so Oyamada had nothing to do in the way of homework. It was a fairly relaxed school day and one that he was grateful for. Especially with the feelings of unease that began to crop up as the large student was convinced that the MBI news report this morning, his conversation with Seo, and those two oddly dressed girls on the roof were all connected somehow.
Approaching the train station, his thoughts remained on the two S&M girls that he saw at lunch. Try as he might, he couldn't get them out of his head. It didn't make any sense, he knew. He didn't know them. Oyamada wasn't even sure if what he saw was real, or just some mirage of the heat. Even if they were real, the odds of him meeting them were almost nil in such a crowded city.
Despite the fact that it was the first day of the week, the young man was not scheduled to go into work until tomorrow. With his boss aware of the new school year, he had given his younger employees reduced hours for the duration of the semester. Oyamada worked for a rather intimidating old man, who was the owner of the 'Paper Dragon', located on the edge of the business district in Eastern Tokyo. Altogether, there were about 20 employees, with about 5 or 6 on shift at a time. After using up most of his savings in the initial move and quickly running out of funds, Oyamada knew he had to get a job quick. Luckily he was able to land one that paid enough to cover most of his living expenses, but not much else. Even though his Father didn't agree with his choice of moving out, he still sent his son a moderate allowance that supplemented his paycheck. It was enough to cover some of the education costs, but not all. As a result, one of Oyamada's first lessons since striking out on his own was learning to budget.
It was the growling of his stomach that finally pulled Oyamada out of his thoughts. Knowing he couldn't wait until dinner, he decided to treat himself to a snack. In a rare show of impulsiveness, he stepped into the first café he could find.
It wasn't long before he noticed the gaudy pink and white walls with lace-adorned tables and chairs. With a sinking feeling, the student realized he had walked into a maid café. Before he could turn around and leave, a cheery feminine voice called over to him. Looking up, he caught sight of two identical twins dressed in matching french maid outfits behind a hostess podium. One had a purple wig and a noticeably larger bust, while the other wore a pink wig.
"Welcome back goshujin-sama! Your usual table is this way~!"
"Uhhhhh, ok?..."
Oyamada didn't know what to think. Sure, he'd heard the other male students at school talk about their experiences at these types of places, and on more than one occasion he was tempted to try one himself, just to see what the big deal was. But to be addressed as "master," in such a way was too much. He really didn't like the idea of someone getting paid to talk and/or flirt with him.
Oyamada muttered an awkward greeting as the the purple haired-hostess grabbed a menu from below her podium and led the way toward an open table in the back corner of the café, followed by her sister with Oyamada bringing up the rear. Admittedly, the table gave him an excellent view of Tokyo's ever-busy streets and sidewalks. Or it would have if he wasn't struggling to keep his eyes off the maids' perfect butts.
Appearing not to notice, they made sure he was settled before the pink one addressed him. "I hope you are relaxed goshujin-sama, please let us know if there's anything we can do to make your time with us more enjoyable! We live to serve you~!" Oyamada tried not to cringe a second time at the bowing and scraping that they were clearly forced to do. He understood the concept of 'just doing my job,' but, this was too awkward!
"Thank you, but that will not be necessary. You two are doing a wonderful job without having to offer all of that. Also, please, just call me 'Kenshin–san.'" Oyamada said, meeting their sharp eyes for the first time, hoping to convey all of his sincerity with just a look.
The hostess's eyes widened slightly, and a slight blush suffused her cheeks. "H-Hai!" she stuttered out, giving one last bow before backing away. Before Oyamada could let out a warning, she bumped into the table behind her, letting out a surprised "eep." So flustered was the girl, that she forgot to hand him the menu, until she made it about halfway back to her position by the door.
Shuffling back over, she slapped it down with more force than necessary, causing Oyamada to jump slightly. "S-Sorry, goshuj- Kenshin-san, another maid will be with you in a few minutes!" So saying, the embarrassed young woman gave one final bow, before hurrying back to her post at the main entrance.
Giving her retreating figure an empathetic look, Oyamada turned to the menu, glancing over the American cuisine. He winced at the gaudy pink color, and the horrendous names of each food item. Quickly deciding to order whatever the hell a 'Super Kawaii Lovers' Turkey Special Surprise Sandwich' was, along with chips and a drink. Thankfully, the latter two items were well-known western brand names, and as a result, did not have the horrible naming scheme that the other things shared.
A short time later, the second maid appeared. This one was identical to the hostess, except she was wearing a dark pink maid outfit with a noticeably smaller bust. "Hello goshujin-sama, are you ready to order?!" the newcomer said with a bow.
"Yes, I will take a… 'Super Kawaii Lovers' Turkey Special Surprise Sandwich' with chips and a Sprite. Also, just as I told your sister, being called 'master' is uncomfortable for me, so please call me Kenshin-san." Oyamada gave her what he hoped was a re-assuring smile.
"Hai, K-Kenshin-san," the pretty girl blushed. Unlike her sister, she managed to retrieve the menu from him, and depart with relative ease. However, in her haste to get away from the table, she nearly ran down another maid delivering a tray of drinks to a group of otakus. Oyamada winced in sympathy.
"Why does it feel like I've seen those two before?" he thought to himself. "Nah, there's no way that these are the two S&M girls from before. The odds of running into the same pair of twins in the same part of Tokyo, on the very same day are just too low. Logically, it's almost impossible!"
Oyamada's thoughts were interrupted, as the pink-clad maid returned with his sandwich, chips and drink. "One Super Kawaii Lovers' Turkey Special Surprise Sandwich! Please enjoy Kenshin-san!" she declared, with a painful display of happiness. The girl placed the food down in front of him, along with a scrap of paper that he assumed was the bill.
Oyamada grinned nervously, "um, yeah… thank you for the excellent service," he said. The maid twirled in place, cocking her head to the left and giving him a cute wink, and an adorable, if slightly pained smile. Oyamada could have sworn he saw her eye twitch at having to do such a cutesy display.
"This is actually a pretty good sandwich, even if the price is a bit expensive for my taste," Oyamada thought to himself, as he took a bite of his food. Before too long, the student finished off the meal. Picking up his school bag and standing up, he grabbed the receipt, making his way to the cash register to settle the bill. The register was run by the hostess from before, clad in her purple maid uniform. Oyamada also noticed that the girl who brought out his food, was hovering nearby and watching him curiously.
After handing the purple-haired hostess some yen, he waited for her to ring up the bill and to receive his change. After grabbing the correct amount, the girl handed over the change, but before it could change hands, a visible spark of electricity jumped as Their hands accidentally brushed one another, causing the both girls to squeak, which Oyamada idly thought odd as the pink haired waitress was out of range of the spark. Regardless yen spilled to the ground as the waitress jerked her hand in surprise.
"Oh! I'm sorry about that, my fault," Oyamada muttered to the maid, even though he was sure it wasn't his fault. Quickly stooping down to pick up the fallen yen, he missed the surprised and slightly scared looks that the purple and pink maids exchanged with one another.
Standing back up to more clearly voice his apology, the identical expressions of the maids' faces stopped him cold. Anger and irritation were defiantly there, but Oyamada thought he could see something more; not that he stood around long enough to find out. With a muttered 'thanks,' the young man turned around and hurried out the door, the expressions on the faces of both girls still fresh in his mind.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Oyamada sighed, as he finally made it back to his apartment complex. The student was glad that Seo was nowhere to be found for the time being. Quickly rushing inside the building, he walked down the hallway and unlocked the door to his suite.
Striding over to the battered armchair in the living room, Oyamada collapsed into it, his weight causing the already forlorn-looking cushion to droop further toward the floor. He placed his bag down on the floor beside, and thought about what happened at the maid cafe with those twins.
He wasn't offended by their angry expressions. Those kinds of looks were part of his daily life along with disgust/pity. No, what had him bothered was the slight look of longing or desire that he could just make out in their expressions. Oyamada had seen that kind of look before. Not directed at him of course, but usually on the faces of the girls in his class as they spied their school's male athletes working out.
Because of how he looked, girls have always been predictable to Oyamada. Usually they saw him as nothing but a fat and unattractive sweaty slob to be looked down upon and avoided. Yeah, every once in awhile you'd get a girl who would be civil or even nice to him and that was always a pleasant surprise. In either scenario he had pre-planned ways of dealing with them.
But to see looks of romantic and possibly sexual desire directed at him thew Oyamada for a loop and left him more vulnerable than any bully's scathing words or fists could hope to do.
It was unsettling to say the least. "Well, I'll just have to avoid that maid cafe in the future" he concluded.
Nodding to himself, Oyamada felt better after thinking things through. Checking the time, he saw that it was only 5pm and decided to watch some T.V for a while before heading for bed.
After the eighth episode of some anime Oyamada never heard of before, he decided to call it a night. Flipping off the television, he let out a large yawn, raising his hands and curling his fingers together in a stretch.
Standing up, Oyamada stripped off his uniform and laid it neatly on the chair, before heading over to the bathroom. After a thorough wash, getting rid of the accumulated sweat of the day's exertions; both physical and mental, he stepped out of the shower.
After drying off and stripping down to just his boxers, he climbed into bed, while trying his best not to think about the twins that were characters in the anime. From how they acted in the show, it reminded him of the twins from earlier.
As he started to nod off, Oyamada's thoughts mysteriously drifted back to the ridiculous premise of that anime. "Scantily-clad super powered alien woman, more or less enslaving themselves to humans? Fighting to the death in order to 'ascend?' They better fire whoever was in charge of coming up with such a crappy idea..."
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Across the street from the apartment complex and the small house, stood two figures looking down from on top of a roof. "Are you sure this is the right place Sister?" The slightly shorter of the two asked. "Yes Hibiki, our destined one is down there," the slightly taller one answered. Both girls leapt to the ground, taking off toward the two buildings.
A/N: There you have it. Like I said, I'm not sure if I'll continue this, I'll just have to see what you guys think. Let me know in the reviews section. Also, in case you guys are a bit confused, 'Kenshin,' is actually his last name, not 'Oyamada.'
A/N 10/18/2019: Hey all. It's been awhile. A long while actually. A lot has happened since I visited this story last. I finished school and am in the process of looking for a full-time job. I apologize for not finishing this story. I just haven't been in the mood to write at all. As it stands, I'm still not sure if I'm there yet. I do plan on finishing this story one day, but for now I've started to go through chapter by chapter to edit and change things around. I think I'm a better writer now than I was a few year ago when I started.
That said, I'll tell you right now, I don't have a set schedule for when the updated chapters will drop. For now I'm just taking it day by day. I'm hoping that by doing this chapter by chapter editing, I'll be inspired enough to actually continue this story by the time I finish looking at chapter 10 again. I'm just telling you not to expect a consistent re-upload and continuation of this story. Like I said, I'm taking it by the day.
in any case, thanks to everyone who has Favorited the story since I left it high and dry. I'm so glad to see people still enjoying this story even now.
Anyway, see you when I see you!
-Snakespur
Updated and Edited: 10/18/2019