Two Sides Of The Same Coin

[Fergard Stratoavis]

Been a longer while.

Being honest, I thought this fic is seriously about to slip down into a chasm, down the rocky cliff, especially considering some pretty stupid things happening later. -.- Then I thought "eh, what the hell? It's not like I cannot give it a go first now, can I?"

So, here comes the fifth chapter.

****
Hm. Seems like we'll have to work in groups. Four people in one. Seeing as Misha shoots me a playful glance, I'm more than likely to end up with them. Interestingly, Hisao's not working with them, rather associating himself with the Indian girl, the sleeping girl and the girl without one hand. It didn't come out as a surprise that Hanako works on her own, but still... That's kinda bad, doing all the work designed for four people all by herself.

“Uh... Shizune?” I ask cautiously as Misha signs to the class rep. The girl with glasses shoots me a curious look. “Maybe we should get Hanako here? I know you're not getting along well, but this stuff looks fairly difficult for just one person.” Shizune frowns before very quickly signing something to Misha.

“Uh... Caschan, Hanako has always been working alone.” Pink-haired girl responds with some hesitation.

“Well, that needs to change.” I frown slightly. Heck, that's unfair. I must confess, I was thinking about letting Taro join, but he seems to be occupied with that Lelouch lookalike, the guy with a beret and the guy with glasses. Misha after a short while signs back to Shizune who keeps her frown.

“You cannot just do as you please.” The fact that class rep's interpreter says it so cheerfully almost makes me think she was the one to actually mean it. Almost.

“How about a favor? You let her here, I'll do something for you.” A sly smile creeps across Shizune's face. This is definitely not a good sign.
“Everything...?” Misha asks with a wink.

“So far as it's reasonable.” The girl with glasses thinks for a while before nodding and signing something to Misha. There's a distinct air of triumph around her, very similar to the one I used to have around back on lunch.

“Shicchan says she'll tell you what will she want you to do later, Caschan.” Pink-haired girl says with a grin. “For now, however, Hanako is welcome to join us.” She bursts into her usual laughter. Nobody seems to pay attention, aside from Mutou who shoots us a slightly irritated glare. I nod with some reluctance and raise myself from the sit before closing to Hanako. She seems to be struggling. Well, quite obvious, given the amount of work.

“Um... 'Scuse me...” I start, trying to not be so sudden. She shrinks a little in her chair anyway. “We were wondering if you'd like to work with us.” I continue, clearing my throat at some point. Hanako gives me a surprised look. “I mean, it's got to be hard to work on such big thing on your own, don't you think? Shizune seems like someone who knows what she's doing as well, so...” She seems conflicted, giving a mistrustful glance at class rep who's now occupied with the assignment. “I'm pretty sure they don't bite.” I try to joke, giving her a slight half-smile. She smiles slightly as well, very slightly as well.

“O-okay...” She slowly nods and stands up, taking a few of her things with her. It takes us a while to put all the desks in a right place, complete with Mutou giving us a leer which seemed to be both disapproving and surprised. The moment Hanako sits on her chair, Misha grins at her which seems to unsettle the fringe girl a little.

“I can't believe Caschan convinced you to come here to work with us!” She says happily. “He surely can be charming when he wants to.” Pink-haired girl bursts into another laughter before I can even think how will I get even on that remark. Seeing as Hanako goes cherry red, I feel a little uncomfortable, especially that I'm anything but charming.

Despite that somewhat bad start, we manage to work pretty well for the rest of the class. Shizune's the one doing the most work. That must be logical, considering that class rep in Japan is picked up by measuring the results of some test, if I'm not mistaken. Back in Germany, a class rep was always picked up via democratic voting.

Misha's of little help, but me and Hanako manage to place themselves just a bit behind Shizune's insane pace of work. The girl with a fringe had always struck me as someone smart, but also as someone not willing to show off with their knowledge. As for myself, call me vain, but History is something I consider myself pretty good at. The topic is about Hundred Years War and we're about to move to battles of Crecy and Agincourt. I always liked those two. They were the perfect image why idealistic values are so low-key. Both battles had slightly different landscapes, but the basic premise is the same. Erstens, English and French face each other on the battlefield. Zweitens, French don't even bother regarding their enemy as someone worthy their oh-so-much shining armors, swords and impressive mounts. Drittens, ignoring all orders imaginable, they charge forward, trampling their own troops. Schließlich, English decide that enough stupidity is enough and massacre incoming cavalry with their English longbows. The result is just too pretty to watch. This is war. Not just some stupid shining armor, but the pragmatism worth fighting for.

“...Caschan?” Misha's voice has some property to just kind of snap me back to reality.

“H-huh?” I reply, giving her a look. She seems slightly concerned.

“You just sort of... went off.” She says in a worried tone. I'm gonna be honest, hearing Misha worried seems... kind of unnatural.

“Did I?” I can feel myself blinking. “Sorry, I was just lost in thought.” For some reason, Hanako goes red and shies away. “Huh? I beg you pardon?” Misha switches her stare between me and the fringe girl before giggling quietly and leaning towards me to whisper something in my good ear.

“You kept looking at her, silly.” ...Did I? I can feel the cheek burning up. Suddenly Shizune, looking as annoyed as ever, nudges Misha, apparently urging her to keep with the work.

We manage to finish the assignment as the first group. I'll admit, Shizune was the one doing the most work and she deserves some heavy props for that. I guess being a class rep really means a thing. I give a look around. Hisao's group seems to fare quite well, albeit the sleepy girl is now drooling on her desk, leaving the other three to do the work. Meanwhile, Taro's group doesn't seem not even half as good. The guy with glasses and the guy in the beret seem to argue about something while Lelouch and Arai futilely try to make them come to terms.

“Well, that went fast!” Misha says cheerfully, grinning.

“Indeed.” I reply, nodding. Hanako nods as well, though she doesn't say a word.

Half an hour later, the bell rings, signalizing the end of class for today. The fringe girl almost immediately gets her things and almost runs out of the classroom... I should apologize. Then I feel someone's(most likely Misha's) hand on my shoulder. Yeah, I'm not getting away this time as well.

“Going somewhere?” Pink-haired girl asks with a grin. Right, today will be the oh-so-important lesson in chopsticks holding.

“...Thought I may apologize to her.” I blurt out before biting my long tongue again. The way Misha grins is...

“Oh... Someone has fallen in love...” She teases me, still gesturing so Shizune can understand. The girl with glasses, much to my annoyance, snickers silently.

“Don't be ridiculous.” I respond flatly. “I've just happened to stare at her by pure accident.”

“Totally.” It's obvious Misha doesn't buy my really honest statement.

Hell, it's day two! People don't fall in love with other people on a whim. I must admit though, she's very pretty despite her scars. Strange. This seems to match that one discussion about double standards on TV Tropes I once attended. The point being made was that scarred or “monstrous”, say, hybrids of a human and some animal, women are still beautiful while the same cannot be said about men. Balalaika. Cassiopeia. And now, the girl known to me as Hanako Ikezawa seems to join this group.

Still... Even if there really was something, I doubt any of us would say so. I can't help but think she actually might be even scared of me. With the fact that our injuries are so similar and that I, unlike her, don't even bother with covering my own... I suppose I am something of a big sign saying “unpleasant flashbacks here” to her.

A strong pat on the back of my head snaps me back to real life. Seems like even Misha can finally get tired of me not paying attention to what she says.
“Hey!” She shouts directly into my ear. “I swear, you're just like Suzu! You too drift off in a middle of conversation!” Both Misha and Shizune look at me, pouting. Ugh.

“That's not true.” I can hear a feminine voice behind me. The owner is likely this Suzu girl. I turn around to look at her. She seems to be taller than Misha and Shizune, but only so slightly. She has short gray-ish hair with some blue tinge to them. The fact that she looks as if she was going to drift off to sleep anytime soon is what defines her the most though.

“You're that Two-Face guy?” She asks me, dragging the syllables noticeably. Two-Face? Well, I suppose there's some degree of similarity.

“Yeah.” I respond cautiously. She shoots me an amused look for absolutely no reason.

“Suzu Suzuki.” She extends the hand to shake. I return the favor. “Narcoleptic.” She mentions offhandedly, catching me off guard. Huh. That would explain why she seems to sleep so much on lessons.

“Oh. That must suck.” I only manage to say. “Uh, well... Casper Stratoavis, Two-Faced. Also with split personalities...”

Fuck. Did I say it out loud? From the looks Misha gives me, it is most likely that I did. I can't help but to give a nervous glance around the room. Thankfully, in class there are only Suzu, Shizune and Misha herself, but still... I feel a bit uneasy at mentioning it. I know what I said earlier how I live with it, but...
Suzuki looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh. Rin will like you.” Huh. That Tezuka girl?

“Split personalities?” Misha finally utters, still signing. Seems like Shizune's mildly surprised as well.

“Nothing too major.” I respond quickly. Too quickly. The sinister chuckle I can hear in the middle of my head makes me cringe which doesn't go unnoticed.

“...Are you sure everything's okay, Caschan?”

“Y-yeah... I just need to... Uh... Look, you two, sorry that I have to bail out of that lesson of chopsticks holding, but there's something... Uh, important I have to do.” I'm speaking way too fast to make it look normal. I'm a little afraid. If they're going to continue pushing the matter any more...

“Hey, if something's bothering you, say it out loud.” Suzu interrupts my chaotic thoughts. Another chuckle in my head... Shit.

“T-thanks for concern, b-but I'm really fine...” I manage a nervous chuckle before rapidly taking my things and rushing out of classroom. Further away, so he won't take over... Further aw-OW!

Who the hell did I bump into this time?! I give a furious look around. This is getting bad. I need someplace calm to let off my steam or we'll be having unpleasant takeover very soon.

“You look like a caged animal.” The familiar voice makes me snap back to my senses. The owner of this voice is none other than Rin. She's sort of sitting on the floor now with a deadpan expression, the can of paint lying near her. I suppose this is why the hit hurt so much.

“...Excuse me?” It's everything I manage to say.

“You seemed as if you were about to jump at someone's throat and rip their esophagus with the stomach and the duodenum.” She states casually. Suddenly I feel terrible. Shoot. Weren't I supposed to actually be cool with it?

“...You okay?” I ask with concern, extending my hand to help her and then realizing that I've committed yet another faus pax. She doesn't seem to mind though as she suddenly... grabs the hand in question with her teeth. I can feel the pain, she's got some nice press.

“Pull.” She says with the same deadpan expression. I do as she asks, albeit it costs me some of skin tissue out of my fingers. Damn, this will leave a mark. “Thanks.”

“Sorry for that, I've just...”

“Not a problem. To be honest, it was something new.” She somehow manages a shrug. “People usually don't knock me down, even by accident.” Gee, I wonder why.

“...Uh, glad to help?” She smiles slightly, albeit this smile seems so different from all the other smiles I saw so far. The closest thing to it would be Shizune's triumphant expression. It is then that I realize that Suzu, Misha and Shizune still observe the whole thing. Thankfully, all the rage washed away. Thanks a bunch, Rin.

“You have a funny face.” She says suddenly. “You remind me of Arnold Toht.” I think I cringed. I've never liked Raiders of the Lost Ark. Watched it when I was six and it sort of left a scar in my mentality.

“I... I actually do get that a lot.” I respond, scratching the back of my neck.

“Think you can help me with it?” She says, pointing her beard at the can of paint. Nodding, I lift said can and am about to hand it to her when... Yeah. It'll be better if I just keep the can with myself for the time being. “Great. Follow me.” She murmurs, running down the corridor at a steady pace.

****

Rin leads me outside towards dorms. Hm. Makes me wonder what is it with that can of paint. Does she bring stuff to someone who will make use of it? Or maybe she's the painter herself? To be honest, I've seen enough weird stuff around to not be surprised at such prospect.

We finally stop and thank goodness, that can was starting to get heavy. It takes me a while to notice, but we are in front of a wonderfully impressionistic mural. I'm not sure what exactly is on this wall, but it has a nice touch. A little abstract, colorful and seemingly without any kind of meaning... And yet, if you were willing to look at this further, it seemed as if it could reveal secrets of the universe to you.

“Like it?” I think I've heard a bit of pride in her voice.

“Boy, do I?” I respond, nodding. She raises an eyebrow.

“I know I'm wearing a boy's uniform, but I'm not a boy myself.” She says.

“Huh? I didn't say you're a guy.”

“Then what was that just before?” Hm. Note to self, don't use figures of speech near Rin.

“Uh... Nevermind. Anyway, an impressive thing.”

“Thanks. Still need to finish it for the festival.”

“Festival?” Oh, she has definitely piqued my interest. Strangely though, I don't recall anyone mentioning it.

“Yeah. Gotta move my lazy bum finally.” She makes a small frown. “The festival's next week and it's still only barely touched.”

“Barely touched? It looks as if it was ready.” Rin smiles slightly in her own characteristic way. Seems like she took this one as a compliment.

“Cannot be completed without clouds. And birds. Birds sometimes fly through clouds, you know?”

“...Yeah.” Wait, what was that? Seemed so random.

“Oh right, I don't think I even got your name.” Huh. Truth be told, I didn't introduce myself to her.

“Sorry for that. Casper Stratoavis.”

“Can I call you “Funny Face”?” If this would come from Misha, I'd most likely refuse to be called that. She, however, seems a bit... out of place.

“Sure, feel free.”

“Or just FF for short. You could be a final fantasy now.”

“Huh. I like that one.”

“Anyway, thought you could help me out with this.” She says, looking at mural in question.

“Uh... I'd love to, but I'm a lame duck when it comes down to painting things.” Rin chuckles.

“Don't you worry, I'll take care of that. You could mix up some paint however. There's a few colors I need.” Mixing colors? Well, I suppose I can do at least that. Also, to be honest, the thought of Rin painting comes out as... interesting. I've never seen a armless person before, to be honest. Perhaps that's plain rude to be so excited about it, but...

“Huh. Okay. I'll see what I can do then.”

The next few hours or so go pretty slowly, boringly even. At first I had some trouble with mixing various colors, but after a few helpful hints from Rin I started to get a gist of it and do it actually relatively effectively. The armless artist herself was holding the paintbrush with her foot the entire time just as casually as people with hands. She was doing things a little slower, yes, but the flawless motion was more than noticeable. How long did she train on that? I think I even caught myself a few times staring at her. She's an artist. I'm tempted to say that similar minds think alike, but... Rin's mind seems different from everything I knew so far.

The time passes on. I think the sun even started to set.

“Well, this will be enough for today.” She finally says, wiping the foot she was using in a towel. “Thanks for helping, FF.”

“You're welcome...” Now that I think about it, I don't think I asked her about her name. I might know it from the people, but still... “Uh, I don't think I...”

“Rin Tezuka.” She responds, cutting me off. “Rin will suffice.”

“Hm. Gotta remember that.” I nod with a slight smile. “Glad I could be of any help.”

“There's a funny air around you, FF.” She suddenly says, giving me an inquisitive look. “Not sure what it is... Reminds me a bit about chicken. Well, a dead chicken.”

“Oh... Should I be worried?”

“Not really.” She shrugs, putting her sandals back on. I suppose putting normal shoes would be a pain. “To be honest, there's another feeling. As if you were the chicken and someone was strangling you from behind.” I find myself blinking.

“Uh-huh...”

I don't recall Suzu and Rin talking to each other today. Did she find out the other me just by looking at me? Perhaps she's only suspecting.

“Say hi to him one day, will you?” Yes, she definitely knows. “For now though, I need to sleep.” To drive the point home Rin lets out a long yawn.

“Do you want me to escort you to dorms?”

“Nah, I'm good. Nice of you that you care though.” She smiles slightly before turning to her feet. “Later.” With a nod, she goes to girls' dorms at a steady pace, leaving me near the mural. Hm. The sun's almost gone. Time to head back to the room.

****

Today was... busy. I got to know new people, almost lose control over myself and lose any trace of Hisao. Makes me wonder, where did he go?

As I make my way towards the room, I can see the man in question with Kenji. Looks like the guy that looks almost exactly like Harry Potter(an interesting coincidence, if you ask me) gives my poor neighbor another lecture about... feminists and their conspiracy. Huh. Interesting. Giving them a slight nod, I wander into my room. Hm. Seems the same as ever. I suppose I can hit the sack before the curfew even kicks in. Dunno why, but I'm just... tired. Did Nega's faint appearance do it to me? Who knows?

It's only nine past nine and I'm already after taking a shower and putting that gel on. Kenji's ramblings seem to die: Can't hear a thing. I suppose Hisao had finally gave up and went to his room. Hm. Since I apparently can't fall asleep for now, I suppose I'll humor myself with some internet lurking. After several minutes of mindless forum browsing, however...

There's a knock to the door.

Huh? It's twenty past nine. Who the hell would want to visit me at this time? If that's Kenji, trying to convince me to one of his schemes... With a groan I lift myself up from the bed, placing the laptop someplace safe.

“Who's there?” I ask through the door. The familiar girly giggle... Wait, what? I'm not sure if I opened the door because of her insolence or was I that surprised that she actually came here... To be honest, all of this starts to look like a bad dream.

A girl with pink drills grins at me. “Aren't you going to let me in, Caschan?”

[Mirage_GSM]

Good chapter.
You don't have to try so hard to give every character "screen time." Just focus on those relevant to your story.
Also, please try not to overdo it with the split personalities. That will just backfire.

Two questions:
- Since when is Mutou teaching history?
- Who is this cassiopeia you're talking about?

[Fergard Stratoavis]

Hm. Later in story the split personality issue appears aperiodically. Hopefully it won't be too much obnoxious.

As for Mutou teaching history, that's a silly mistake of mine. Again, I didn't do the damn research the way I should.

As for Cassiopeia, check out the game known as "League of Legends".

As for characters with a screentime, I've noticed that(discounting main cast and Miki) there's not really much of mentioning classmates other than Suzu, Molly, Takashi and "Lelouch". I'm intending to change that, in a way. I'm just going to say all of them people will get some screentime, some more than the others.