#//I apologize ahead of time Makoto will sound like a plank of wood with s phone for a bit

[full-moon-full-team]

I have a question for those on this website. What is this?

[A photo is posted. It is from a seated position in what looks to be a hotel room, with the camera focused downwards. A remarkably small Ralts, smaller than most of its kind even, is shown grasping at Makoto's pant leg. It seems quite curious, one of its arms curled up to its chin as if pondering something.]

It followed me into the hotel I'm staying at. It was a bit scared of others but is not scared of me for some reason. What is it? Why is it here?

[clubakashi]

Selfship Derp edition :3

Akashi Cam

            The start of the new school year has arrived. This means new classes, new teachers, and inevitably new students. The sight of the cherry blossoms blooming is rather pleasant to say the least. It feels like a fresh start, something I was secretly hoping for after what happened last year. When my second personality took over, time went by in a blur of distorted colors. When I swapped back, I knew exactly where I was and who I was, yet it felt like I didn’t live the past couple years. There is no point in changing my ways now, the best I can do is alter my attitude towards people.

When I arrive at school, the first thing I notice is a new student. Her uniform is lopsided on her small figure, and she looks completely lost. Her long copper hair is disheveled and getting caught in the straps of her bag. Said bag leaves red marks on her pale skin as it shifts with her movements. I’ve never seen someone so…unorganized at this school. Before I can attempt to approach her, she runs off towards who knows where. I shake my head as I continue my trek into the building, heading straight for my new classroom, which is easy to find. I take a seat in the same spot as my old class. Taking in the new room, I see very little difference from last year. I check to confirm the amount of time left before class starts. As always, I’m 30 minutes early. Nothing but peace and quiet, which is my preferred environment when I read.

After about 5 minutes of silence, I hear a strange thud outside in the hall. I mark my spot to investigate the source, finding the new girl from earlier trying to fix the back of a picture. “I didn’t even know these could break.” She mutters, her hazel hues concentrating on the broken piece that kept the picture frame up. I watch silently as her hands work quickly to fix and return the frame to its proper place. Once it is up, she takes a small, yellow, sticky note and quickly writes. Caution, back needs to be fixed! Leaving the note on the wall, she continues on her way. I found my earlier impressions of her appearance to be misguided until I hear her mutter. “Wait…where was I going again?”

By the time I return to my seat, I could see more students walking through the gate. By the time I put my book away, the classroom is nearly full. Most of the students chat with old friends about their break and what they did. Once the teacher enters the room, everyone goes quiet and takes their seat. Our new teacher is a young lady with a look that means business. “Alright everyone, before I take role, we have a new student joining us. Please give her a warm welcome.” She sounds rather bored as the door opens, revealing the new girl once again. Her uniform is fixed, as well as her hair. Her hazel eyes dart around nervously as she stands in front of the class.

“Hello I’m Yumi Tachibana. I-I mean Tachibana Yumi! Nice to meet you!” Her voice is tight with nervous energy causing it to hit a volume akin to shouting.

The teacher covers her ears. “Indoor voice, Tachibana. Indoor voice.”

“S-Sorry,” she shuffles to the empty desk in front of me and sits down. The teacher calls roll for the rest of us before starting the usual beginning of the new school year spiel. I found myself staring at Tachibana-san, rather than listening to the disinterested teacher. She is a bit of a mystery at the moment. Though it is safe to say, I enjoy a good mystery.

When the bell rings for break, many of the students approach Tachibana-san to bombard her with questions. I listen in on her answers, learning that she is from Japan, but she was abroad in America for a while. She is the daughter of a well-known architect and home maker. Not much else is said, because the teacher yells at them to stop being loud. Something is bothering me though, I’ve heard her name somewhere else before. Strangely enough, it was while I was back home. I didn’t hear many of the details, only her name. Something tells me my father had plans for the near future.

The rest of the day is relatively uneventful. Until I get home. “Welcome home young master.” My butler greets me at the door, like normal.

“Thank you,” he takes my bag and school jacket as I slide my shoes off. “Any news of when my father will return?”

“He should be arriving very soon, young master.”

“Are there any changes to my evening agenda?”

“Yes sir, your father arranged a dinner party with a potential business partner and has requested your presence.”

“Tonight? That is quite sudden…”  I talk as we walk towards my room.

“Indeed, but from the sounds of it, tonight was one of the few this month that the guest had to spare.”

“I see…I shall prepare for the party, when will the guests arrive?”

“In about 20 minutes sir.” I stop my movements and stare at the elderly man.

“I must request you inform me of such events 24 hours in advanced in the future.”

“Yes sir, my apologies.” He bows as I enter my room to swiftly prepare for their arrival. I quickly shower and go to my wardrobe to change when I hear my door open.

“This doesn’t look like the restroom…” One glance my direction and her face is on fire. “S-SORRY!” She panics and attempts to slam the door, smacking her face right into the hard planks of wood. She yelps in pain before closing it properly. I blink, not sure how to respond to the sudden intrusion. I can hear chatter outside the door as I change into my typical dining attire. Once I am fully clothed, I open the door to find a familiar face and a not so familiar face. The latter a male helping the girl from earlier with the bruise forming on her cheek. She notices me and hides behind the tall man. He turns and gives me an apologetic look.

“Hello, you must be Akashi-san’s son, yes?” The man is rather tall, with short, olive brown hair, and green eyes. “I must apologize, my daughter gets turned around easily in new places.” I look to see said girl peeking out with a light blush on her cheeks.

“It’s alright, this house is not the easiest to navigate.” I smile politely, “are you the guests we are hosting this evening?”

“Yes, I’m Makoto Tachibana.” He holds his hand out, which I shake as I introduce myself. “And this is my daughter Yumi.”

“Good, I see you have already met our guests.” I freeze up a little at the sound of my father’s voice. “Tachibana, I’m glad you could make it tonight.” The two of them walk away to start talking business, leaving Yumi and I alone. She fidgets with her dress, staring off to the side, waiting until the two adults are out of ear shot.

“Your dad is scary,” she states bluntly. I do a double take before chuckling into my hand.

“Beg pardon?” I look up to find her much closer.

“He is spooky, so different from my dad. I’m Yumi Tachibana by the way.” She extends her hand.

“I know, I’m in your class.” I smile politely again. “Oh right! You sit behind me.” She bonks her head with her hand.

“Seijuro!” I hear my father calling me from the other room.

“Shall we?” I extend my hand, allowing her to walk ahead of me. She walks with a sort of spring in her step, her coral high-low dress bouncing behind her. We reach the dining room and I pull her chair out for her. She smiles at me as she takes her seat. I take my own and listen to the fathers talk business. I find nothing unusual with their conversation, until they bring up the topic of arrangements.

“Could we perhaps discuss this in another room…?” Tachibana seems uncomfortable about the topic in front of Yumi.

“Certainly, we can discuss it in my study over some drinks.” I watch as my father puts on his forced friendly air.

“Thank you,” Tachibana smiles, it is the most genuine smile I have ever seen on a person in the business world. I question why he would be uncomfortable talking about that in front of us. What was the point of bringing his daughter if he didn’t want her hearing about this?

Once we finish eating, they leave for fathers study, leaving Yumi alone with me. “Do you have any pets?” She asks out of the blue.

“Does a horse count?”

“You have a HORSE!?” She is very excited by this, it’s strangely cute.

“Yes, would you like to meet him?” I ask rising from the table, the excited girl already standing before I can leave my chair. “Yes, please!” I lead her to the exit that is closest to the stables. “I must warn you, he is rather skittish around strangers.” I open the stable doors, a long gasp escaping her lips as she takes in the sight. “Tachibana-san, meet Yukimaru.” She approaches cautiously, trying not to startle the white horse. He snorts, but doesn’t avoid her now outstretched hand. I can’t help smiling at how excited she is just to pet the animal.

“Is this a show horse, or just for riding?” She asks, stroking Yukimaru’s neck gently.

“Riding, one of my few pass times that my father doesn’t dictate.”

“He controls what you can do in your free time?” She looks slightly appalled.

“Yes, he has been that way my whole life. I’m guessing your father doesn’t do that?”

“He never has, he is very lax about most things I do. My mom on the other hand…never mind, what else do you do?” She asks, thankfully dodging the topic of mothers. We discuss various topics of interest sitting outside the stable. I can’t remember the last time I actually enjoyed talking to someone. The sun is long gone by the time our fathers return, both a little tipsy.

“Come on Yumi, can’t keep your mother waiting.” She stands up, dusting off her skirt, “see you tomorrow Akashi-kun.” I wave as she leaves with her father, my usual demeanor returning once it was just me and my father.

“Seijuro, do you know what we were discussing?” I nod, knowing full well what arrangements they were discussing. “Good, so until further notice you will be engaged to Tachibana’s daughter. Don’t screw this up.” He retires to his room after that, leaving me with my thoughts. I did enjoy talking with her, but arranged marriages have never sat well with me, mostly because they never last more than a few months. To be fair, I never put much effort behind them anyways. Although…something told me I would give this one my full attention.

            ~Time Skip~

I arrive at the school earlier than usual for a student council meeting. When I finish, I go straight to the classroom to find Tachibana sitting in her seat. She smiles and waves at me, I find myself waving back without thinking. Taking my seat, I pull my book out to read before class starts. She looks around the room idly, possibly confused by my lack of greeting. I remain silent until she pulls my bookmark from its place. I raise an eyebrow at her. “Can I help you?”

“This bookmark is boring.” She states, flipping the stiff paper in her hand. It is totally blank and does its job, so I saw no need to decorate it. She turns around and pulls out a pencil bag full of colorful pens. I shake my head and continue reading, leaving her to her own devices. About five minutes before class starts, she returns it. The bookmark is now covered in colorful, cute designs. “There, now it’s not boring,” she smiles, other students giving her a confused look. I can hear some of them murmur, asking how she can approach me so casually, or how I can allow her to look me in the eye, or how is she not scared of me. Unlike them, I actually enjoy her presence, it’s strangely calming. The murmurs stop when the teacher walks in. Class goes by without a hitch, before I even realize it, the day has ended. Which meant basketball practice.

“Tachibana-san, do you like basketball?” I ask as she packs her bag.

“It’s one of the few sports I can follow, soooo yes.” She looks up at me curiously.

“I have practice, would you like to watch?” She hums in thought before nodding. She follows me to the gym, hiding a little when she sees the other players.

“Oh? Sei-chan! I was wondering when you would show up.” Reo is the first to greet me as I enter the gym, the others turning in my direction.

“Oh? Who is your friend?” Kotaro asks, pointing to Tachibana.

“Classmate, I invited her to watch.” I look to the coach for confirmation.

“As long as she doesn’t cause a distraction.” I nod and show her to a good spot. I am unsure if she has been notified of our engagement, so I was going to wait until we are in a more private setting to ask. I go to change, leaving her for a few minutes. When I return, she is trying to shoot a basket while the others start their warm ups. She misses another shot and pouts, “I can’t get it in.”

“Try again later, we need to get to started warming up too.” Reo states, taking the ball from her.

“Okay,” she goes to her spot again and pulls something from her bag. It looks like a game device. Makes me wonder what she is playing.

Once practice is over, we all go to get cleaned up and changed. I am quick so as to avoid keeping her waiting. She is furiously tapping at her device, laser focused on whatever she was playing. “Shall I escort you home?” I ask, “Or would you like another shot at the hoop?” She doesn’t respond for a long moment before throwing her arms up.

“FINALLY!” She yells, pushing a couple more buttons. “Sorry, I have been stuck on that level for the past two and a half weeks.” She grins, storing the device away. “I should probably get home though. Dad gets worried if I’m not home by dark.” I nod and wait for her to collect everything. My teammates watch from a distance, I can hear someone ask if she is my girlfriend as we leave. I walk with her, waiting till no one was around to ask.

“Are you aware of our arrangement?” I glance at her from the side. She looks confused “arrangement?” I choose my words carefully before continuing. “My father informed me we are to be engaged…” I wait for her reaction, expecting the worse.

“Oh! That arrangement, yea my dad told me about that.”

“How do you feel about it?” Normally I wouldn’t care to ask, but I felt the need to ask.

“Well…it would probably bother me more, if my dad had kept it secret…but we decided a while ago to do this sort of thing.”

“Why?” She looks away, stirring my curiosity.

“Reasons…”

“I see, well if you don’t want to go through with it, I understand.”

“What if I do…?” I look at her fully to find her cheeks are bright pink.

“Pardon?”

“What if I want to go through with the arrangement…?” I think about her question carefully for a solid minute.

“I am willing to give it a try if you are.” I feel a strange heat creep up my cheeks.

“Does this mean we are dating now?” I chuckle, “Yes this means we are dating.” She smiles, causing a warm sensation in my chest. This is certainly Tachibana’s daughter with that genuine smile.

“My first boyfriend ever after being in my new school for two days. That has to be a record somewhere.” She turns, walking backwards, the smile still present as she giggles.

“First? I wasn’t expecting to hear that.”

“Yup, I mean I’ve met up with other people, but none of them met my dad’s standards.”

“What about yours?” I ask, curious to know why I made the cut.

“I was able to hold a conversation, you didn’t get weird about me walking in on you in a towel, and you were a gentleman. I say you meet mine.”

“Interesting,” I smile a little at the simplicity.

“What about you?”

“Ask me again later,” I smirk when her face contorts to one of confusion. “We have arrived,” I point to the name plate, earning a giggle from her.

“Oh, then I will ask again tomorrow.” She dashes up the little path leading to her front door, waving as she enters the door. I wave back, heading for home myself. I mull over her question, since I was unsure as to why I was taking such a liking to her. If I were to go off my past preferences, I would say she doesn’t meet my standards at all. She isn’t very elegant, and while she is well mannered, she has such a strange air about her that I would have never pinned her as someone from higher society. I am greeted by my butler, like normal, my father being away on a business trip again. My mind still tries to pin what was so different about her.

“Is something wrong young master?” I shake my head, walking straight to my room for the night.

            ~Mini Time Skip~

Arriving at my normal time, I am pleasantly surprised when I find Yumi waiting for me at the entrance. “Good morning Tachibana-san,” I greet with a small smile.

“Morning Akashi-kun,” she meets me half way and walks with me to the classroom. “Do you have an answer?” I sit down and rest my chin against my hand.

“First, riddle me this. Why are you so interesting?” She looks taken aback by my question.

“Well—I guess it’s…I’m a derp!” She replies awkwardly.

“What?” I have to clear my throat when a chuckle catches in it. “I’ve never heard such a term before.”

“Probably means you’ve never met one.”

“Until now,” I smirk at the light blush creeping up on her cheeks. She rubs her cheeks, trying to cover it up. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Well, when asked my type of woman, I would normally say an elegant woman…someone my father would approve of, but I am more interested in someone like you.” Her cheeks flare up, the red hue reaching her ears.

“You are quite the smooth talker, you smoothie.” She looks off to the side as I laugh, my interest in her increasing every time she talks. I can definitely get behind this arrangement. 

(I hope you enjoyed this. Thank you for allowing me to use your drabble. I really enjoy your blog :3 This is only the first two chapters merged into one long one. I can send more if you want, but for the sake of self ship month I only present the first two chapters at this time. Okay I will stop rambling now.)

submitted by @rantingashotaku