I’ve Seen A Hentai That Starts Like This…

Deep into her mind spinning off in a tangent, a girl in an incorrect uniform wandered the empty hallways. Eyes darting and sweating more than she’d like to at any given time, the out of place female clenched and relaxed her hands out of habit. It was Thursday afternoon and she’d foolishly told one of the teachers she’d been meeting with that she would be able to find the clubroom she was now in a panic searching for. Classes had ended over an hour ago, so there wasn’t even anybody around to ask. Looking at the map she’d been given of the campus buildings, her curses spewed as much as her sweat. Spinning around with her arms out, her eyes turned white as she gnashed her teeth.

“Where the fuck is it?!”

Despite hearing rushed footsteps advancing, what little attention she had left from her outburst was not afforded to her surroundings. Before either party could process the other, the back of the girl’s wrist connected with something hard. Startled more by the yelp than the fact she’d just unintentionally back-handed a boy not too much taller than her, the transfer stared at her hand as if it was Migi from Parasyte and it had just attacked of its own free will.

The victim - a boy with sooty-tipped silver hair and wearing sportswear - held the assaulted spot, his eyes wide and fixed on the girl.

Brain restarting, the female bowed her head thrice as her arms flung out instinctively to check if her victim was okay. In the process, her paperwork and bag flew into the air as if they were trying to escape the walking disaster.

Watching the performance of the student in a vastly different uniform drop down to the floor mumbling curses, the boy couldn’t help but to let a small laugh escape at her fluster. Crouching to help her collect her scattered belongings, the silver haired boy held out what he had collected but paused when he caught the sight of a transcript peeking out of the top. “Is this your first day?”

“Huh-” looking up in a rush, the side of her head connected with his chin, knocking them both back onto their rears. Yowling and hissing filled the corridor. Hand to her head, more shielding her eyes in mortification than pain, the girl croaked. “My name’s Hanabusa Reika; 2nd Year. I’m so sorry for assaulting you…Twice. Please don’t sue me.”

Waving off the possibility with the hand not stroking his newest injury, he extended the gesture to help her up. Getting to her feet with his aid, Hanabusa gave another profuse apology.

“I’m sorry, really. I’m just in a rush; I’ve been in a meeting with the Principle most of the day filling out paperwork and going through-” Her thoughts reorganized halfway through her sentence, and an array of bizarre expressions flashed across her chubby face within a couple of seconds, “I need to find a certain clubroom before they leave for the evening-”

“-Why don’t you join my club?”

“You don’t even know what my interests are.”

“It doesn’t make a difference.”

“Excuse me?” Her brows furrowed and the boy corrected what she had clearly misinterpreted.

“I wasn’t trying to dismiss you.” Amber eyes creased a little at the outer corners when he gave a warm smile. “But we’re in dire need of a manager.”

“You want me to give up something I enjoy just because you need something? How selfish can you be?”

“Well, let’s call it an out of court settlement.”

The gentle smile which was barely there prodded Hanabusa the wrong way. Many things grated on her, but she really hated people who thought they could get their own way just because. That being said, she wasn’t in the position to be making enemies, especially on her first day. Also, she did kind of owe him after blindly beating the poor guy.

“What kind of club is it?”

“Come with me and you’ll see.”

“I was warned by my dad not to follow strange guys…”

“Am I strange?”

“A little.”

Grinning as far as she was sure his face would allow, the boy placed her bag strap onto his shoulder. “It’s refreshing to speak to a girl so honest.”

“What does my gender have to do with my personality?”

“Not to sound like I’m blowing my own horn, but we’re a kinda big deal.” Holding open a fire-door so she could pass without issue, the boy tried to think of a better way to word his opinions but came up short. “The team has a lot of over zealous…fans. Primarily female.”

“You do.”

“Do what?”

“Sound like you’re blowing your own horn.”

Snorting out a burst of air, the boy glanced to the female who was following him despite the parental warning. “You’ll see when you see, I guess.”

“Well, you are holding my bag hostage, so I suppose you’re not wrong.”

“You could have asked for it back.”

“I could have just taken it back if I really had no interest at all.”

Examining the tall frame made up of muscular thighs and strong back muscles made apparent by her posture, the boy knew it best not to stare too long. With her chubby face, and overly plump bust and hips, it was a danger zone. For a split-second, he almost forgot where he was going. “I wonder.”

“Hehhhh~” Voice pushed out higher than before, Hanabusa cooed with a twitching brow. “Do I look like a damsel or summat to you?”

Brows raised at the coarse slang which was obviously more natural than the formal tone she’d been using prior, the boy wafted away the frazzled air.

“Not at all, which is why I’m asking you to join our club.” Coming to a block of stairs, the boy who had yet to introduce himself skipped down the narrow steps as if he would be able to do it with his eyes closed. “But I’m not as meek as I look, either.”

“I was warned about boys from this school.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“My dad’s an Alumni; he told me foxes are one of the most tricky predators to deal with.”

“That must make you uneasy then-”

“-Not really. Because after all, Tanuki are the wittiest of all and I am nothing short of the child of the smartest Tanuki to ever attend Inarizaki.”

“That’s quite the claim. Lot’s of intelligent people have graduated from Inarizaki - some of them are even still here.” Making it outside and under the sheltered walkway which led to the gym, the sky rum and violet behind the high buildings in the last minutes before the sun set, the boy paused with an odd expression just before he reached for the door handle. “Please don’t turn shy when you meet the rest of the team.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“Great to hear.” Opening the door, the male half of the pair signalled his arrival and a dozen boys showed respectful greetings until they set eyes on the girl behind him.

“Iiiieeeeyaaaahhhh~ Kita San brought a girl!”

“Related?” The blonde half of the pair which were clearly twins quirked his brow.

“We look nothing alike, you moron.”

The grey haired other half, for the first time since the day’s practice began, agreed with his brother. “Nah, Senpai, you do kinda look similar.”

“Piss off.”

The first-string had stopped what they were doing and had congregated around the pair by the door. The half black-half Japanese member glanced from Kita, to the girl in the uniform which didn’t belong to their school, and then back to his silver-haired year-mate. “They’re right, Shinsuke; you look like you could be siblings.”

“Not you, too, Aran?”

Back up at the stiff rebuttal to his teammates, Hanabusa scowled. “Why are you getting mad? Am I ugly to you?”

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Kita glowered at his teammates before doing a one-eighty, relaxing his shoulders while wafting his hand at the girl. “That’s not what I meant.”

“He’s so into himself that he found a girl that looks like him.”

The boy who’d arrived late took a running jump-kick at the chortler. Knee connecting with the taller boy’s hip, Kita yapped with narrowed brows. “That’s fifty dives for you, Atsumu!”

Ignoring the playful violence and the questioning over his near-split lip, Hanabusa scoured the vastness of the interior of what was the gym. She was used to small-town community centres and five-a-side soccer pitches at her previous schools which were barely ever full even when there was a competition. This place was a joke. There were two full teams playing on the court split in half by a net which reached from near the ceiling down to the floor, and even the upper half of the building had an interior viewing balcony. What the hell kind of school was this? It wasn’t a school at all, it was a goddamn-

“Looks like your sister-date is looking a bit woozy.”

“Don’t you start, Suna.”

Wary line of sight taking in the wobbling girl, the Libero tilted his head with his hands out a little from his torso. “Are you okay?”

Vision clouding and skin prickling, Hanabusa tottered to the side in an attempt to keep her balance when her joints gave her a familiar warning. “Uh, not again. Fuck…” Before all attention could focus on her, she flopped backwards into something not quite as uncomfortable as she’d expected. Voices blurred with the control of her muscles deflating and her sight faded to black.

-

[Twenty Minutes Later]

Lids fluttering open, Hanabusa tried to figure out what was going on from the strange angle. She could partially see the gym lights past her feet, but she was in darkness. Her body was laid out on foam gym mats, her feet raised, and her blazer removed. When each piece began to groggily fit into place, a cold wash of adrenaline barbed her muscles.

“Oh, she’s waking up-”

Jolting forward, the girl threw hands, swatting the boys who gathered around her.

“Ah, fuck!”

“It’s okay-”

“Stop screaming.”

“You put her in a store cupboard and loomed over her as she was waking up.” A more monotonous tone quipped. “I’d scream too - waking up to your impending mug.”

“It said on the WikiHow to keep people who faint out of bright light.” Frantic footsteps paced off to her left and a panicked voice pushed out his words at a rushed speed. “If we turned off all the gym lights when a girl fainted, that seems even more suspicious.”

“My sheer beauty and greatness literally knocked her off her feet.”

“Shut the hell up, Atsumu!”

Vision clearing but head still throbbing, Hanabusa groaned and reached for the back of her head out of habit. Looking at her hand in the sparse light, her brows furrowed. “No blood?”

“You fell into Suna and he caught you before you could hit the floor.”

“After she knocked me over,” Atsumu scoffed. “’Girl’s damn heavy.”

“I-I’m sorry.” Sitting up, she realized that half a dozen boys were sat around her pensively. “I’m-” and then something else clicked in her mind and her lack of filter smacked her company with the last thing they’d expect to hear. “I’ve seen a hentai that starts like this.”

Flabbergasted, Kita expelled a heavy breath. “I was about to call an ambulance.”

“Don’t do that.”

“It could have been serious.”

“Mind your own business.” Shuffling and squirming to stand up, Hanabusa glanced around for her things. “I told you earlier that I was looking for another club but you just had to insist.”

Aran handed her what she was seemingly looking for. Turning back to the boy who had dragged her along, she sniffled her nose clear. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so humiliated by a stranger.”

“What’s there to be humiliated about?”

“I just used your teammate as a mattress before passing out. I didn’t want to come here to begin with but my own goddamn curiosity messed things up again.”

Kita stood up and held his hand out to help the girl up just as he had when they first met not even an hour ago. “If you really want nothing to do with us, I’ll walk you out…”

“Don’t bother.” Standing up by herself, and turning to the number 10 and 7 bibs, she inclined her head in a deep bow. “Thanks for preventing me from cracking my gourd open again.” Doing the same, only to the rest of the team, she held the back of her wrist to her nose and thanked them for their time and concern. “I wish you the best of luck with…whatever you do.” She gestured around with her index finger as her other hand held the side of her head. “Sorry to trouble you all.” Walking out the same way she had came in, Hanabusa felt an overwhelming relief when her skin was drenched in frigid evening air.

Taking a moment to inhale a slow, deep breath while still under the protection of the sheltered walkway which led back into one of the main school buildings, the girl’s knees shook.

After a few minutes of awkward glances and silence, Aran gave up on trying to play the mental version of Telephone. “I’ll go and make sure she can get out of the gates okay.” Ready to give chase, he was met by the female’s back just barely outside of where the gym’s lights reached. “I’m sorry if we scared you; that wasn’t our intention.”

“It wasn’t fear that caused that.” Pulling her cell out of her bag, she pinched her lips without looking up. “Do you know the number for a cab?”

“For where?”

“The hotel near the station. I don’t know the area and there’s nobody I can call to pick me up.”

“You’re going to stay in a hotel by yourself? That’s scary.”

“My dad works away a lot and there’s been an unforeseeable family circumstance, so I’m here for the next few months.” Hooking her blazer over the main portion of her bag rather than putting it on despite the dropping temperatures as winter set in, the exchange student glanced up to the boy who had come after her. “I don’t even know how to get out of here.”

“That’s why I came to find you.” Smile brightening at the fact she didn’t seem like she was going to bite his head off like she had just done his year-mate, Aran gestured around the side of the building which paralleled the baseball field. “I hope you can stay.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“You make Shinsuke crack a smile and you don’t seem like the shrinking wall-flower type.” Jogging as he kept in time with the shorter girl’s pace, the boy still wearing his #4 bib huffed hot air into clasped hands. “We were all happy when the captain said you’d be our manager.”

“I never said I would. I was coerced and tricked into coming along.” Peeking to the man who was clearly bothered by the temperature, Hanabusa rooted through the bag resting against her left ribs. Giving an underhand toss, a small heated beanie pack found it’s way into her company’s grasp. “Don’t go getting a fever on my behalf.”

Smile beaming brighter than any of the lighting fixtures, Aran gave a thumbs up. “Nice~” His glee was cut short when he paid attention to what the girl was actually wearing. There was no way she could be anywhere near comfortable in a short-sleeved button-down and a pleated skirt which was at least three inches shorter at the back. If he thought about it, it was probably her last school’s summer uniform. “Why don’t you put your blazer on; it’s cold.”

“The last place I went to school was in Western Hokkaido - I’m literally melting in this humid Kansai weather, even in what you guys call winter. Do you even get snow down here?”

“They had you were that in Hokkaido?”

“I generally wore tights.”

“Nah, no, that’s definitely not what I meant.”

Coming to a side set of gates that were left open, presumably for the clubs who used the buildings surrounding the back of the campus and its fields, Hanabusa held her hand up in appreciation. “Thanks for walking me out. You really didn’t have to, especially after the way I snapped at your teammate. I coulda found my way if you just told me the direction.”

“It’s dark already and you’re not wearing our uniform yet. I hate to say it, but there are some pretty unsavoury types who hang around here.” Holding his hand out, he continued. “I’ll call you a cab and put in the club’s socials as I wait until it arrives.”

Huffing out a small breath, Hanabusa rolled her eyes for the over-kill. “I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself.”

“Yeah, I heard. Aren’t you a tanuki who can tame even a fox?”

“Did that little shit say that?”

Aran’s eyes popped open wide at the female’s wording. “That guy you’re referring to is your senior, y’know?”

“Ehh?”

“Kita Shinsuke is in his final year and the Inarizaki first-string Captain.”

“If he has that much pull, why didn’t he just induct one of the many fangirls he was so sure about having?”

“Because they’re fangirls. He wanted somebody who cares about how we do, not how we look.” Finishing up adding the contact details to a memo note, Aran rubbed the back of his head to warm up his neck stiffening in the bluster he was blocking the girl from. “That’s all any of us ask for. Nobody can really help how they look, but when we work so hard to break our limits to achieve our dreams and all we get from our own peers is squeals or grimaces at our appearances, it’s kinda disheartening, y’know?”

“You’re preaching to the choir…” Realizing that she hadn’t introduced herself in her meltdown, Hanabusa inclined her head in a rush. “I’m sorry, I’m not usually so rude. I’m Hanabusa Reika, second year.”

“Ojiro Aran, your senior.”

“Oh, God. My apologies. I really am never this ignorant.”

“Don’t worry about it. I heard from Shinsuke that it’s your first day.”

“Not officially. I had to come in to do an induction and sign paperwork; I haven’t had any classes yet.”

“Do you know which class you’re in yet?”

“2A.”

“Hmmm~ I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

“I don’t like the way you said that.”

“Please reconsider Shinsuke’s offer of becoming our manager.” Catching headlights approaching, Aran held his hand out and waved to the driver who slowed down to look for their fare. “We take good care of our own, Hanabusa Chan.” Opening the back door of the taxi for the girl and waiting until she got her legs in, he made sure to speak loud enough for the driver to hear. “Don’t forget to let us know when you get back. The entire team is waiting on you.” Giving another thumbs up just out of view from the rear-view mirror, he closed the door for the girl and waved as he saw her off.

 

Updated: 6th December 2020 - 17:24