Mop' them Halls! (Spica Tsukino/Revine Natsuki)

ENTER!!!

DEVOTED VICE PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT COUNCIL!

A young man hastily made his way to the Academy's main office. One of the secretaries greeted him with a smile and beckoned for him; she knew what he came in for. "Here to check in on the registrar?" He nodded. She handed him a clipboard with a few sheets of paper neatly set upon it. From there, he skimmed through the pages. The secretary thought to herself, This boy certainly has a knack for paperwork. He's zooming right through them. As if by the power of a sixth sense he glanced at the secretary with a measly smile. He knew she was thinking something of him; judging his every motion warily. What he was concerned about was whether she was judging him more than he was judging himself. His mind was swirling with its usual notions.

"...So the Janitor is out on an Assignment. What was he set to do at this hour?" She thought for a moment. "The lower level corridor; he needed to sweep them clean." Hmm. "Sweep them clean, you say?" It sounded like his kind of work. "I'll do it, but I will need another volunteer. Would you kindly post this Assignment on the bulletin?" She nodded. Afterward he marched out of the main office with new-found resolve.

When he arrived at the scene of the crime, he knew something had to be done, and he was equipped to do it. He was donned in short-sleeve coveralls, colored white and his brass badge marked "A.A. 3" shone lustrously on its blank canvas. It wasn't necessarily the most fashionable piece of clothing but it wasn't supposed to be. No. It was a battle garb and the muck on the floor was the enemy… his weapon of choice? A three-foot mop. "...I should warn you," he said. "...all that you've worked so hard to accomplish, ends here!" With that, he primed himself with antibacterial soaps and liquids.

Revine was making her way down hall while eating her fourth burrito bowl from Chipotle. "Mmmmm! I can tell that they cooked the steak longer than usual. It's so juicy and full of flavor". As Revine was dazing in her own little world of burrito bowls and well done steak, she was forcefully stopped by a secretary leaving her office. "Ayesha, how many times do I have to tell you? Food should only be eaten in the cafeteria!". Revine raised an eyebrow at her. "And how many times do I have to tell you that I can't hold off food long enough to reach the cafeteria? And my name is Revine!" "That makes no sense young lady! And your name is Ayesha!". The secretary sighed and hung hear head, but not too soon later, her face rose with a smirk. "What?" Revine asked, munching on another spoonful. The secretary dragged her into the office and gave her a clipboard. "What is this?" Revine asked, uninterested. "Your next assignment. You must go sweep the lower level corridor." "Uh, I don't wanna do that-" The secretary interrupted her, "If you don't do it, i'll make sure you receive the worst punishment. Are we clear?" Revine narrowed her eyes at her and thought,"What would Revy do?" What Revy would do would get Revine sent to jail. So she signed the paper, and headed to the destination. "I'll shoot you one day..."

When Revy arrived to the lower level corridor, she noticed another student was mopping the floors already. She then looked at the floor he didn't yet mop and chuckled. She found a seat on the bench very close by and began on her Burrito bowl again. "You're supposed to sweep the floors before you mop them." She said to the boy.

After five minutes had passed, all of the young man’s arrangements were complete. There were manifold containers out for manifold mops and an assortment of antibacterial spray, pesticides, the like, set out all in a well-ordered manner. It was a reflection of the brain being no more than a system capable of achieving magnificent feats with a mere thought; converting thought into action. One of the mops was tilted ever so slightly in its place on the rack, so he tidied it up accordingly. Thus began a chain reaction. One blunder after another and his mind started running wild. He was here and there and back again simply resituating the items on the rack.

…Another ten minutes had passed and his volunteer made her showing. She was soundless enough, capable of niggling by without him noticing until she commented on how to clean the floors and clean them right. “I’ve not yet begun. Observe~” He reached for a mop from the rack and began winding it vertically from one side of his hip to the other. His handicraft was remarkable. Then he stretched his arms up and continued winding it in a three-hundred and sixty degree angle above his head. Immediately he pressed the brunt of the mop against the solid flooring and spoke with an assured look on his face, “…I’m not doing this because I’m obligated to. Understand that mopping the floor is an art, one that is to be valued and handled cleanly with exactitude.” He paused. “I shall begin. Perhaps you will learn something from this.” Spica leaped up into the air and flipped forward with his mop in hand. The brush of the mop wasn’t yet wet and he swept the floors with whimsical strokes. Every piece of compost and every spec of dust ended up in the trash-can because he applied just enough force with every swish. Every movement was timed flawlessly as though executing this kind of housework came naturally to him.

After each piece of smut was brushed away, he’d wet the mop and wipe the floors spotless in one, fluid motion. On occasion he’d sweep/mop with one hand and shower pesticides with another in all the small corners that sickening creatures skulked. A couple of minutes would pass and the majority of the hall was unblemished, though there was still more work to be done. Once Spica was done with his artful exhibition, the floors were all but scoured. He turned around to face the girl. “…I’m sure you’re more than capable of finishing this hallway. You’ve been watching me closely for the past twelve minutes, have you not?” He hastened for a spare mop on the rack and swung it at the girl.

Revine raised her eyebrows at him while she watched his mopping dance while still chowing down. "Is this boy really that passionate about mopping? Like, seriously?" Revine almost never paused on eating any of her meals, but she need to see this."Wow, you're real passionate about...mopping floors". She laughed after swallowing steak, rice, and beans. After she caught herself, she spoke again. "Well, unlike you, I didn't choose to 'sweep' nor 'mop' this place. That douche of a secretary made me sign up because I was eating. I didn't know eating was a crime nowadays". She rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. She mumbled "Maybe it's because I'm Bla-"

Her sentence was interrupted by the boy throwing a mop to her. She looked at the mop, then him, and laughed. "You can't be serious!" she couldn't control her laughter. "You just did mopping ballet, and you want me to mop too? Hah!" Revine stretched her feet out on the bench and continued on her food. "Nah, it looks like you've got this in the bag, it's your passion anyway".

Spica raised his fingers to his brow and exhaled. It was clear that this girl didn’t much care for the art of cleaning; instead, choosing to make a mockery of how ‘passionate’ he was about the act. “…This is no good.” He shrugged, it couldn’t be helped. “It was I who requested a volunteer for this assignment. I didn’t necessarily necessitate assistance, but, things are more easily manageable when I am under pressure.” That was partially an untruth since it wasn’t factual but he truly believed it. “You aren’t of the variety whom apply themselves. Is that it?” He called her a slacker, more or less. If this was anybody else, Spica would think twofold about saying such a thing, but he was getting rather conceited since he was dealing with a freshman schoolgirl. It was in his power to say these things, yes? …after all, he was –her- senior student; an upperclassman.

“Might I ask your name? At the very least a name would do this meeting some justice.” He bowed with his arms folded in front, hands clutched together and his back lowered, it was a humble, not noble gesticulation. She would get a minor peep at his truer nature. “I am Tsukino, Spica; Vice President of the Student Council.” Afterward he continued cleaning, this time however, it was done more plainly. His mind was concentrated primarily on the girl and not on the flooring, but he was able to perform one task without being diverted by the other; a multi-tasker by nature.

Revine finished her bowl and opened her small soda. As she gulped it down, she looked at the boy talking to her out the corner of her eye. She noticed his uniform, and how it was different from hers. "He isn't in my class..." she thought to herself. "No, I guess not. Why would I volunteer to clean floors? If i'm not being paid, I'll look the other way". Revine smirked at the thought of Revy saying that to her years ago. Though, him being in an upper class would make others show some grade A respect and kiss ass, but Revine isn't having that. Upper class or not, Revine will treat you the way you treat her.

Revine made sure she didn't straighten up, she didn't want him to think she was changing her posture just because of his status. "My name's Ayes-, my name is Revine. Revine Natsuki". Revine did a quiet chuckle when he folded his arms. "Who the hell does he think he is?" she thought. "Well Mr.Vice president, or should I call you senpai? because I'm sure there are plenty of ass-kissing girls who wants you to notice them, Through you little speech or whatever, I feel like you insuted me". Revine stood up and threw her trash away. "Don't do that".

Oh my! Oh my! What had Spica done?! He was ashamed. His first impression ruined by his smug remark. What had he been thinking?! He’s the proud Vice President of the Student Council. If he couldn’t win over this one girl than he most definitely wouldn’t be able to win over the entire student body! Internally, he had been ashamed, but he remained calm outwardly. “…My apologies. I fear I may have spoken out of turn; do forgive me, Revine.” Though it was unusual how she immediately assumed he had a collection of fangirls in the building. No, no… He wasn’t loveable enough. Far from it; why would any girl fall head over heels for him? Half of his classmates were just as good-looking, if not moreso and they had better qualities, they were more open and confident. Spica was losing himself as he continued to think about the pressures of a social hierarchy. “All finished.” …with his half of the floor at least. Really though, the Janitor was only expected to clean this floor. Overworking himself would do him no good, especially when he could spend his time more productively: pushing the worker’s mentality on his classmate.

Spica walked from one end of the corridor toward Revine. The soles of his black shoes clambered with every step taken. He hadn’t realized how noisily they’d sound. He remained upright with every step, but this was how he normally walked. It was how he was raised, to walk as though the world were watching him. It wasn’t his fault that he came from a wealthy family; at least he didn’t turn out to be a snob like his older brothers. He raised his left hand to his right and slipped off his glove, doing the same with his right shortly thereafter but with caution, so as to avoid getting any level of contamination. This was an indication that his classmate would be doing the rest of the floor. The look in his eyes changed once he lowered his head and stared into Revine’s own. “…You are expected to provide support for this Assignment and I won’t tolerate laziness.” That’s when he reached for the mop that she failed to catch (or even made an effort to) and handed her the mop. “I’ve already completed most of the work for you.”

Revine sucked in her lips as if she ate something sour. "It's..fine". Revine sighed then mumbled, "And I'm sorry for-" Revine was interrupted by her inner-voice. "Don't you dare submit! Don't let him win!" Revine knew she was in the wrong for being disrespectful to him. Not because he was an upperclassman, but because he is one of her peers. It's just that damn voice in her head asking, "What would Revy do?". Revine didn't finish her sentence, but she instead leaned on the wall and folded her arms.

Revine gave Tsukino an are-you-friggin-serious face when he handed her the mop. "Uh okay first of all, I'm not lazy, I just don't want to do this because I shouldn't have to. Isn't that what the damn janitor is for?" she looked down to the floor and back at him. "And you didn't do a damn thing for me. YOU did this on YOUR own because YOU wanted to. And I don't know what you consider 'laziness' but since you consider me lazy, you're gonna have to tolerate it," Revine put on a face cutesy voice to finish her sentence, "Senpai".

Spica’s head swayed from left to right. He was unimpressed with her conduct. It was at this point that his “bosu man” mode triggered. “This assignment was optional, yet here you are and not doing a single thing.” Before she could retort he added, “…and I would know because I’m responsible for having set it all up.” Ha! Take that! What’s your defending argument now?! That’s what Gemini’s influence on Spica was saying. “Sloth is insufferable. It’s what makes civilization deaden and dumb. You will not stand there and do absolutely nothing. I’m afraid I’m incapable of allowing that pleasure.” He had to ease off of Revine, this was going to get heated. He could feel it in the air. In response, he hesitated on following through with the direction it was going. “Perhaps if I gave you some incentive...” a smirk on his face. He wanted to allow for her to get ideas of what he meant when he said “incentive”, the negative connotation was intended. He leaned in on her; his face scarcely touching her own. “Ice cream.” The pitch of his voice was likely to bring a shiver down on the girl’s spine. He then leaned back immediately after saying what he did with a straight-face. “…Well Revine, what have you to say? I’ll provide you with ice cream if you clean the other end of the hallway.” This would measure her stubbornness.

Revine's eyes widened as he got closer to her. Of course, the other freshmen would bee cooing with googly-eyes if their "senpai" was literally that close to them, but all Revine thought was, "What the hell is he so close for? Nu-uh, he must want to be sent to an early grave!" Confused and angry at first, a chill went down her spine when he whispered, "Ice Cream". Revine smiled and jetted to mopping the rest of the floor. She mopped in a thoroughly yet quick fashion. All that was on her mind was ice cream and the many flavors she had to choose from. "I want three scoops of cookie dough with whip cream, or you're dead!" Revine shouted to him, not stopping a second from mopping. Revine loves three things most in life: Revy, Money, and Food. Revine could almost never turn down jobs that pay in food and/or money. It's like Revy taught her, "If there's things you're capable of doing, don't do it for free".

“…Yes, yes. You’ll receive full compensation for your due diligence.” Spica’s proposal went well. Everything was going according to plan. Ice cream warmed everyone’s souls whether in greater or lesser helpings, it was delectable. Even Spica enjoyed ice cream every now and again. Its sugary aroma, creamy texture, and of course its rich taste… How it would merely dissolve in the mouth. He looked up to the ceiling with sparkling eyes and couldn’t help but salivate ever so slightly, which he proceeded dabbing with a cloth he kept handy. What had gotten into him earlier? He was only just recognizing how effortlessly he was able to invade the girl’s privacy. Uh-oh, these thoughts were bad. They only brought uncertainty in his mind. It ultimately led to how… *gulp* flawed he and his peers were. No, no… He couldn’t have any of that. Think of the ice cream, Spica, think of the ice cream! Then, he nodded. That was enough to ease his mind: the reality of entering the Dairy Queen in the City of Big Lights- but wait! Where was his clipboard? W-What had he done with his clipboard?! There was no checklist! No, this was bad! How could he overlook one of the greatest perks of being Vice President of the Student Council?! “…Revine, have you seen my clipboard lying around anywhere?” His back was turned on the heavy-duty mopping she was in the middle of getting done.

Revine mopped away happily still lost in her ice cream drenched world. Man oh man! Revine is already full from her burrito bowl, but she could make room of course! "Oh Revy would be most delighted with me!" she thought. Revy... Revine felt sad for a moment. If anything, Revine missed Revy with all her heart. Revy showed her she was special. How? Because Revy took care of her. Usually Revy cared about no one but herself, let alone a random hostage. But Revy saw something in Revine, was is sympathy? was it herself? Who knows.

Revine was snapped out of her little trance to hear Tsukino ask about his clip board. "Clipboard? I don't remember a clipboard being here." Revine remembered back to when douche secretary pulled her over. "I think douche secretary still has it." she said, almost done mopping the floor.

This wasn’t good. Now Spica remembered. He hadn’t even been the one to bring a clipboard with him. It was a secretary at the main office who lent him one. Returning to his dorm to grab the clipboard would take too long and he had a job to do, well, supervise a job being done. Alternatively he could rush upstairs and back down to get the clipboard from the main office. He shook his head. No, that wouldn’t be a good idea. He couldn’t leave Revine unattended, even though she just confirmed that his earlier recollections were accurate. Perhaps he’d find solace in the freshly rinsed flooring. He turned around and set his eyes upon it. “You’re doing remarkably well. It goes to show what one can accomplish when their mind is set upon it… ‘It’ being three scoops of cookie dough ice cream topped with whip cream.” Revine had potential. It was unfair for Spica to have alleged that she was a slacker. What sort of ice cream would he have? Perhaps three scoops of chocolate/vanilla swirl coated with polychromatic sprinkles, all within a crispy waffle-cone. Yes, that sounded quite good. His mind was now set on the ice cream, for now it lessened his attention to the absence of a clipboard.

Revine was almost finished mopping the floors. She sometimes got a little sidetracked from the patterns she mopped on the floors. Revine giggled at the unintended design of a puppy, then a sloppy looking burger. "Ahh! I can't wait to get my ice cream!" she sighed. Just then, Revine's tummy grumbled very loudly. Though most girls would try to conceal or be ashamed of their natural tummy noises, Revine embraces hers claiming it's just her tummy telling her, "Feed me dammit!".

Revine grinned at Tsukino's comment, "Well thank you. I was always told that if you are capable of doing something, it should never be done for free". Revine smiled from ear to ear as she thought about Revy. Sometimes she wondered, where is she right now? Will she ever come back for her? Revine didn't plan to sit around and wait to be rescued, she decided at some point, if she really wanted to be in Revy's presence again, she'd go find her. But it would be hard. Revy is all over China doing who knows what. Killing people, drinking, or smoking. Though many people despise Revy, Revine loves every bit of her.

Seemingly out of the blue, Revine demanded that Spica feed her the ice cream. “…If you do your part, I’ll do mine. It’s a mutual exchange, Revine.” Spica was starting to feel fidgety again. He couldn’t suppress his need for a clipboard any longer in his mind, but he remained still, prudently examining Revine’s handiwork; uh-oh, he would ordinarily be able to restrain himself but he couldn’t, not when his mind was in need of a diversion. “You were mopping just fine a few seconds ago; now it’s all wrong. Are you purposefully mopping in such muddled angles? Fix it, will you?” He knew he would likely come off as unpleasant, but it was compulsory. Occasionally he had to put his needs before others and this was one of his ways of doing so. His bangs were in his face, so he parted his hair in two from the front. Where was Revine’s head? …In the clouds, judging by her increasingly disordered mopping. This wasn’t any good either; he needed to set his mind on something else. What… what could he divert himself with? He looked around the room.

Revine snapped out of her trance to hear Tsukino's comment. "You don't say? I had no idea!" She said in a sarcastic tone. "I fricken' know that already, I'm not as dumb as you think I am. I said that because my tummy grumbled. Nothing to do with you!" Revine began to mop harder in anger. "Damn, senior, thinking I'm dumb, ill show him dumb, with a bullet!" she mumbled.

Revine sucked her lips at his next comment about her mop arts. "Hey chill out! It's not like the students and staff care about how the floor is mopped! I'm sure nobody will come and say, oh my god! someone mopped the floor in this space in a weird angle oh my god! my life is ruined!" Revine laughed at her impression. "Geez, what are you? a perfectionist?" If Revy were to ever meet Tsukino, she'd blow his head off from how stiff this guy is.

Spica and Revine undoubtedly had their disparities and reservations about one another. Whereas Revine was a humorist with a foul attitude, Spica was somewhat of a fusspot with a stick up his arse. He thought of her as irresponsible and self-indulgent and she thought of him as tense and bad-tempered. The two scarcely had anything nice to say to one another. He refused to conceive having to deal with her in the Student Council chamber; just the thought of her being in the same room as him peeved the boy, but at least he’d have the power and authority in that scenario. It came as a surprise to Spica that he was even able to last this long with the girl. “…It’s not about whether or not the students and faculty will care. It’s about self-satisfaction and serving the community instead of not even giving it a second thought.” Sheesh, if there was anything Spica’s really learned about Revine, it was her apparent self-interest. From what she articulated to him, she only ever does something she will gain from; a money-oriented reward, the least worthwhile kind in the book (if ever there was one). The cleaning was taking a lot longer than he had expected it to… for a moment the thought of a clipb- erm… “a small board with a spring clip at the top, used for holding papers and providing support for writing” hadn’t crossed the hectic Vice President’s mind.

Revine processed his words and unfortunately it didn't go through one ear and out the other like she'd hoped. Revine clutched the mop tighter while mumbling, "Just shut up Revine. What would Revy do? Just shut up Revine...". Revine finished mopping and turned around to look at the finishing product. She couldn't help but crack a smile at the work she'd done, and Tsukino's. Her smile was quickly shot down as soon as a group of her peers, known to be troublesome (but not as troublesome as her), came walking down the hall she'd just mopped from a game of soccer. She gritted her teeth at the mud and grass they tracked into the hall. "You....." Revine had gotten pissed. She thought to herself about what Revy would do. Of course, Revy would- "Beat the crap out you!" Revine charged toward the boys, preparing to hit them with the mop, until she miscalculated her step and slipped. She heard the boys laughing as they continued to track the mess and turn the corner. "Dammit!" she punched the ground in anger. "Bastard...I'll kill them..." she then shouted, "I swear!"

Great, some more children came to dirty up all the work that Spica and Revine had done; all the effort they put into scrubbing the flooring. For once, the two were on the same page, but Revine clumsily slipped before she could even land a hit. Spica reached into one of his coverall’s pockets and pulled out his white gloves, which he then slid over each hand. Before Revine’s classmates could carry on with their mischief, Spica spoke, “…And where might the three of you be going, hm?” They turned around to face Spica and sneered at the sight of him. “Buzz off, pansy.” Spica’s eyes broadened. The tenacity! “That’s no way to speak to your Vice President.” Tsk tsk tsk. “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t lift so much as a finger and simply report you all to the main office, but, it would appear you’ve made a fool out of my comrade.” He paused. “It’s imperative that I defend her integrity.” A menacing smile appeared on his face. He bent down and helped Revine get back up on her feet. “…It upset you too when they dirtied –our- floor, yes? Here’s some more incentive: cause the three of these boys to go running for their mothers and I’ll throw in another two scoops of cookie dough ice cream decked with whip cream.” The three of them laughed and shrugged it off. “Hah. One girl is no match for my buddies and me!” He stiffened the gloves around his hands. ”Believe what you will.” Even if Revine wasn’t able to combat the three boys, Spica would provide support; however, he wouldn’t play an active role in schooling a few freshmen, that would just be cruel.

Revine greatly appreciated Tsukino helping her it. She was also surprised when he called it "their" work. She expected him to just take all the credit in the end. Revine glared at the boys, "Now you're dead!" Revine made a second attempt to charge towards them. The boys began to laugh harder than before. As Revine tried to strike the tall one, he disappeared and kicked her in her back, pushing her into the ground. "Ow..Dammit!" Revine quickly turned onto her back and kicked him in his crotch. "Gahh! you little brat!" He grabbed Revine by her hair and punched her in her stomach and the other two joined in by kicking her. Revine started to ache more and more until she just cracked. Revine tried to remain under control, she tried. Revine reached under her skirt to grab her box cutter and sliced the tall boy's arm to let go of her hair. He screamed in pain as Revine fell back onto the floor.

…Well, sticking Revine to the three brats was an awful idea and Spica was ashamed of having allowed for things to play out the way that they did. Now he not only had to tend to his comrade’s bruises but one of the boys required a surgical procedure. What was he thinking…? Perhaps he was being a little too smug with his preceding statement. Perhaps he shouldn’t have egged her on. Then again, he was unaware of her willingness to do serious damage. She mentioned a Revy previously; perchance it was that person’s influence over her that permitted such a vicious tactic. “Y-You’re crazy!” The boy whose arm was now bleeding cried out. “…You two; escort your friend to the nurse’s office. He really should get that injury checked out. It’s minor, but it may necessitate a few stitches.” The freaking box cutter sliced through two layers of skin, if not more. “…And Revine. I didn’t intend for you to hack somebody’s arm off.” He was exaggerating, but he reckoned that the freshman would need a scolding; it was undoubtedly something she wasn’t used to receiving. Spica helped Revine get back up on her feet. “…You’ve taken quite a thrashing, Revine. I could take you to the nurse’s office to be properly examined, or, we could go get that ice cream I agreed upon earlier. I’m quite sure that the rich flavor alone would make all of your pain go away.” Before going about his business he turned around in the direction of the floor they had just washed and stretched out his right arm. He condensed a sphere of air in his palm and shot it frontward. The waft it left in its wake blew away the entire smudge the three kids brought onto the flooring and out the door it went. “All done.” Wait… Why didn’t he just do that to begin with?...