Hanako and Hisao –Road to Tokyo Conclusion Update!

[Hoitash]

Part II:

Misha nodded and muttered something in Russian. A moment later Grigori barked at the kitchen, which barked back. The exchange made sense when a large mug of coffee appeared in front of Misha, handed to her by one of the weary kitchen staffers. I saw him glance at my scarred hand and raise an eyebrow before retreating. I wasn’t sure how to take that, but was too buzzed and distracted to care.

Misha grabbed the coffee and sniffed it; it looked like someone had already added milk or cream, and probably sugar as well. She slowly sipped the coffee. She was definitely taking her time, and I found myself getting distracted as Grigori told a no doubt highly embellished story of a peasant dueling a Commissar with a pitchfork.

“Now that I’m a certified interpreter,” Misha said, bringing me back to the matter at hand, “Shicchan was wondering if I’d work for the charity conglomerate she’s trying to get started. She’s willing to offer me a great job once I graduate and she’s gotten things off the ground~. Big fat salary~, benefits, vacation~, dental~, the warm fuzzy feeling~ of doing something for the desti…desti… the needy~.”

“Sounds like a good offer,” I mused.

Misha nodded as she stared bleakly into the depths of the mug, “Yeah~… I said I’d take it on one condition. She refused~.”

I raised an eyebrow, “What was the condition?”

Misha grinned and glanced at me, “you’re stuttering less. That’s good.”

“Please don’t change the subject,” I requested, “I’m trying to help, even if all I can do is listen.”

Misha sighed and nodded, “Sorry~… The condition was… that we live together.”

I blinked. I blinked again. I blinked a third time.

Nope, still didn’t make any sense.

“Sorry, but I don’t follow.”

Misha scoffed, “Neither does Shicchan~… she can be a bitch sometimes, even if she doesn’t mean it~,” Misha turned to face me again, looking moderately more sober since the arrival of the coffee, “You heard the rumors about me back at Yamaku~, right?”

My mind slowly went to work, eventually stirring up a memory of Naomi babbling about some bit of gossip or another, and how it had set off her “Epileptic Charged Gaydar” (patent pending).

“About you being…” I trailed off, grimacing lightly in fear of offending her.

“Gay,” Misha stated, pausing to sip her coffee.

Things were starting to slowly click into place, but there were still big chunks missing, so I would probably have to prod some more to get the answers, unfortunately. At least Misha was cooperating.

“Well~…” Misha sighed, more willing to continue than I thought, “They’re true.”

I blinked and sipped my drink; something wasn’t clicking. I was also a lot less shocked then I thought I would be, but then again I was more confused than anything.

“I’m sorry, I still don’t follow,” I said.

Misha sighed and nodded, “I know~… I haven’t told anyone what I’m about to tell you, and I probably wouldn’t if I weren’t drunk…”

“Are you sure you want to, then?” I asked.

Misha glanced at me and raised an eyebrow, “I think we passed the voluntary portion of this when you cut me off~.”

“S-sorry,” I muttered, “I just don’t want you to say anything you don’t want to.”

“I know, I know~,” Misha sighed.

She spent a few moments silently sipping her coffee and playing with a donut. After slowly eating the donut, she sighed again and resumed speaking.

“Back in high school, I fell in love with Shi…Shizune. She was determined, strong, always dragging people into her world… manipulating them…,” Misha sighed and shook her head, “…and of course, she’s beautiful~. I fell in love with her, and I told her…”

Things were starting to click into place. Misha slumped forward over her coffee and stared bleakly at the wall, so I cautiously placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“She rejected you, didn’t she?” I asked, reaching the obvious conclusion.

Misha nodded, “But she valued~ my friendship –and my skills as an interpreter, I’m sure~- and asked me to stay in the Student Council as her friend~.”

“So you stayed,” I stated, rather unnecessarily.

“Like the idiot I was~…” Misha muttered.

“You weren’t an idiot,” I stated, “Shizune shouldn’t have asked you to stay.”

“And I shouldn’t have agreed,” Misha countered, “That’s been our relationship for the last three years; I follow her along like some retarded~ puppy, because she pats me on the head and calls me a good girl~ when I don’t fuck things up~.”

“Stop that,” I snapped, well aware of how poisonous self depreciative talk could be.

Misha turned her slumped head to stare sideways at me, “It’s true, though~…. I thought if I stayed by her side, she’d eventually change her mind~…”

I nodded in sympathy. Honestly, that was pretty dumb, but saying so wouldn’t do any good. Besides, I nearly did something similar with Hisao, so I didn’t have room to talk.

“So… what are you going to do?” I asked.

Misha shrugged, “Not sure~. I could call Shizune a manipulative bitch some more~, but I don’t think that will help~.”

“Probably not,” I agreed, “but it does sound like you need to talk to her.”

Misha shrugged again, sipped her coffee, and sighed, “Sometimes I wonder~ if she used my love to keep me by her side. I know she trusts me, and values my friendship, but she also values me as an interpreter~.”

I raised an eyebrow and sipped my drink, “That doesn’t sound like something she would do. I mean, sure, she manipulates and plots, but she’s not cruel about it. Even if she has a goal or a plan, the results are usually a good thing.”

Misha snorted, “So she uses people for good reasons~? What is it Christian’s say about the road to hell~?”

“It’s paved with good intentions,” I replied with a sigh, “but that’s not the point here. You need to confront Shizune about this, and you need to decide if you’ll stay be her side, or not.”

Misha nodded, “I know~. That’s what the fight was about, except it was just me yelling at her and throwing my webcam at my wall. That was a month ago~, and we haven’t talked since.”

Misha sighed and grabbed another sesame ball. Fiddling with it in her hands for a few moments, she blinked and glanced at me, “I’ve been thinking of staying in America~. I could get a good teaching job at a private school with the right credentials and connections, and UCLA would give me both~.”

I nodded, “That’s an option. You’d still have to talk to her, though; leaving things like that isn’t fair to her, or to you.”

Misha nodded and grumbled something unintelligible, but sounded like some English curse words.

I smiled reassuringly and rubbed her shoulder gently, and she gave a muted mewl that I wasn’t sure how to interpret, “Whatever happens,” I said, “Just know you’re not alone. Not anymore.”

Misha eyed me and smiled, “Thanks, Hanacchan~.”

Misha went to work on her coffee and some nearby food, seeming a little less gloomy and a little more sure of what had to be done. With that line of communication complete, I turned my attention on Grigori. On the way I noticed a smiling Lilly. Her calm demeanor seemed a bit too innocent as she sipped her beer.

I raised an eyebrow and whispered in her ear, “Y-you were eavesdropping.”

Lilly nodded, having the decency to grimace as she replied, “I felt obligated as an interested party. I am sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I said. Leaning back, I added, “What do you think about them?”

Lilly shrugged, swaying slightly as her own alcohol consumption caught up with her, “More or less what you said. I do wish Shizune wasn’t so hard-headed and manipulative, or that Misha was so sensitive and self conscious…. While I’m at it, I may as well wish for Scottish freedom and a boyfriend that didn’t live an ocean away.”

I frowned, “You’ve been listening to your aunt’s rants again.”

Lilly nodded, then frowned lightly, “In any case, it really is up to them. All we can do is poke and prod, and I’m not even sure we should do that.”

Shizune wasn’t the only manipulative one, but she did it for ends and goals, and probably every now and then for the sheer fun of it. Lilly did it out of maternal concern. Still didn’t justify it, but it was a noteworthy difference.

I sipped my drink in thought. She was right; as much as we wanted to get involved, it would be best to stay out of it and just listen to their problems. Sometimes that’s all anyone needed –someone to listen.

As the night wore on, my concern over Misha never quite left. Her situation was somewhat similar to mine and Hisao’s back in high school, with a few changes and quirks, of course. We had almost been stuck in a deadlock of mere friendship, Hisao unwilling to move forward and me too comfortable with the status quo to change that. There was the rather obvious difference that Hisao definitely reciprocated my feelings, whereas Shizune was much more difficult to read. Still, we were able to move on, and so, eventually, were Misha and Shizune. At the end of the night, though, I remember wondering how much worse my life would have been if we hadn’t made those steps forward. It also made me wonder about our future, and if we could keep moving forward with our lives, and our relationship.

+++
Next Chapter

Early twentieth century Russian history has an inordinate amount of cannabilism. It is not for the faint hearted. The Civil War is a hoot though, because it reads less like a proper civil war and more like a gang war.

Anywho, there are a few origin myths regarding Misha and her name, and I’ve already made one, so I thought I’d have some fun and toss out another. For the curious, Misha basically means “baby girl” in Russian. It also has other meanings and connotations, and is apparently of Hebrew origin, depending on who you ask.

“Shiina” based on my limited internet searches, might mean “good” or “virtue”, but it’s pretty vague, and even Mirage has had trouble finding a meaning, so take that one with a grain of salt. “The Mikado”, for the interested, is a Gilbert and Sullivan play that is naturally hilarious and rather catchy (I enjoy showtunes. I regret nothing.)

Fan fictions are a good place for posing “what if” scenarios (in the field of history we call these “counterfactuals” or “what happens when you have a laize-faire approach to graduate seminars”). One of the ones I’ve played with in this fic, and the main HK series, is what would happen with Shizune and Misha if their relationship went on relatively unchanged? My interpretation, like most of my efforts and thinking beyond an elementary school level, is likely rather lackluster, but it’s what I came up with.

Next time, The Last Chapter! The group prepares for the ride home, and in the process decisions are made and conclusions reached (insert “no shit, Sherlock” quip here.)

[Shail]

Simultaneously barfing rainbows at the update and crying in outrage at the mention of a "last chapter" ;-;

[Mirage_GSM]

“The word before Bar is the Russian word for bar,” Kenji explained, “so it basically says ‘Bar Bar and Grill.”

I still don't get it...

...the bar tender himself seemed to be an older man...

Bartender is one word.

If you really want to know the meaning of Shiina, you could try to PM hir.
If he can't tell you, nobody can

[Hoitash]

“The word before Bar is the Russian word for bar,” Kenji explained, “so it basically says ‘Bar Bar and Grill.”

I still don't get it...

Okay, imagine a sign that says "Bar and Grill" in kanji (not Kenji). Now imagine before the kanji for bar (or its equivalent) there's a some Cyrillic letters. Said letters form the Russian word "bar" (which I cannot pronounce, nor can find a translation written in English, otherwise this woulda been a lot easier).

Thus you have "Bar" in Russian, followed by "Bar and Grill" in Japanese. Together, they form "Bar Bar and Grill."

...I just made things worse, didn't I?

...the bar tender himself seemed to be an older man...

Bartender is one word.

No idea how I missed that; thanks and fixed .

If you really want to know the meaning of Shiina, you could try to PM hir.
If he can't tell you, nobody can

I might do that, though I'm curious why you haven't yet (or you did and the answer was so shocking you didn't feel you could retell it.)

Although with our luck s/he's just a Pet Girl of Sakurasou fan.

[Mirage_GSM]

I just made things worse, didn't I?

Yes, you did.

I might do that, though I'm curious why you haven't yet.

I never really wondered about the meaninghard enough ^^°

Although with our luck s/he's just a Pet Girl of Sakurasou fan.

I haven't heard of that novel and don't know how it is relevant to the topic, but whatever else he might be, he should know which Kanji he used for the Japanese translation and what they mean

[Shail]

*eating nails* y u do dis Hoitash *bleeding fingers* the tone of the story has changed drastically from how it started o3o .. in the beginning it was mostly cute and funny with some feels thrown in, now it's all depressing and endy with Misha and Shiichan STILL not together, I can really see Misha in a private school teaching sign language though, nobody to freak out over her WAHAHAHA volume when the students are deaf, I've noticed that just about everyone portrays Shizune as someone becoming very wealthy running their own business, makes sense with her business-like attitude I suppose.

Endings are bad ;-;

[Mirage_GSM]

It would probably be even more depressing if we didn't already know how it's going to turn out ...

[Shail]

I'm having a hard time imagining Hoitash pulling off the ending in just one chapter considering the plot still going, has to do something with Hisao's ring(assuming a proposal), Emi/Kwan issues(?), Miki the cat, Kenji's batshitness, and now Misha/Shizune having a fight, honestly I can't see that being wrapped up in just one chapter unless it's a LONG ass chapter mostly I viewed it as depressing for the simple reason that it's ending soon, that alone is enough to make it depressing for me xD.

[demonix]

I'm having a hard time imagining Hoitash pulling off the ending in just one chapter considering the plot still going, has to do something with Hisao's ring(assuming a proposal), Emi/Kwan issues(?), Miki the cat, Kenji's batshitness, and now Misha/Shizune having a fight, honestly I can't see that being wrapped up in just one chapter unless it's a LONG ass chapter mostly I viewed it as depressing for the simple reason that it's ending soon, that alone is enough to make it depressing for me xD.

This is a prequel to another story (it's clearly mentioned in the first post), so any of the plot that isn't wrapped up in this story has probably been wrapped up there already (I've only read the other side story to H&K MD and one part has already been well wrapped up by then).

[Shail]

I tried to read H&K MD but it wasn't my thing, not enough Hanako v_v when RtT finished I will probably go force myself to read H&K MD but I don't expect it to be my thing, Kenji is an awesome side char but he's not my cup of tea as a main character for too long, and with Hisao and Hanako supposedly together, I prefer to read about them being together. That's just me though, RtT isn't finished yetMay that never change... so there's still time for things to change o3o

[Hoitash]

It would probably be even more depressing if we didn't already know how it's going to turn out ...

I never did address the Shizune/Misha thing directly, because it was always a side attraction because of my usual choice of perspective characters. It would be tricky and a bit odd for me, but now I'm wondering if I should address it more directly (technically I didn't even resolve it until Hanako's birthday special, and even that was barely worth counting.)

Hmm, need to start plotting for November once I'm sober...

And Shail, I can understand H&K: MD not being to your taste; it's very much an allusion to old fashioned adventure pulp, and sometimes I wonder how I came up with it, even. I believe a spirit journey involving Indiana Jones was involved at some point.

[Shail]

Heh, when I discover the main char has a bf/gf(Or spouse - -..), the plotline regarding the two of them tends to be of more importance on the list of interests for me, so knowing Hanako/Hisao are supposed to be together in H&K MD, but the main story is Hisao/Kenji, makes it conflicting for me. Give poor Hanako a hug, she needs one, and so does a certain sleepyhead...

[Maradar]

So now from Hoitash's inane ramblings, we've all discovered that he's actually Kenji, right?

Great writing btw.

[Hoitash]

So now from Hoitash's inane ramblings, we've all discovered that he's actually Kenji, right?

That... um... hrmm...

That is an unfortunate line of reasoning that probably has more grounding in truth than I would like to acknowledge, but must reluctantly accept.

Great writing btw.

Thanks, and thanks for reading .

[Hoitash]

“The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins –but in the heart of its strength lies weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back.
Love is more than a candle.
Love can ignite the stars.” -Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith novelization

Previous Chapter

Chapter Eighteen (Hisao): For Love, We’ll Give it a Shot!


Grigori said he’d look after Misha, who was nearly unconscious by the end of the evening, so we left her at the bar as we meandered our way back to the hotel at whatever hour we left. None of us drank enough to get hangover, except Misha and maybe Lilly, but we still ended up sleeping in. Fortunately all we had to do at that point was check out and head back up north for a few days. Later that week Akira was coming to pick up Lilly for the trip to Scotland, Emi and Kwan would be leaving for her mother’s Sunday night, and my parents were expected later in the week as well to help take Hanako’s and my stuff home for the break.

The last day of an otherwise very unorthodox trip was rather underwhelming, then; just the six of us hauling ourselves out of the hotel and back to the university. Not the most dramatic end, but the trip itself had been pretty eventful, so I didn’t mind some time to wind down. As it turned out, there was a bit more excitement yet.

After some brunch –because it was that late- and checking out, we all wandered off to the parking structure where we had parked the car. I managed to find it fine, which saved me the embarrassment of being led there by Lilly, which happened too often as it was anyway.

Kenji, Kwan, and Emi packed the car while Lilly giggled as Miki the Cat proceeded to assault Lilly’s face with her tongue. Hanako and I were going over the route back to double check Kenji’s work. Everything was more or less the same as the route to Tokyo, but as I scanned through it I decided to talk to Kenji about one point.

“Hey,” I said when I was closer. After jumping in surprise and relaxing when he realized it was me, I held up the map sheet and pointed to one of the planned stops, “We can’t stop here. This is macaque country.”

Kenji frowned and nodded, “I know man, but we can’t stop later, and the area before it has an old abbey in the outskirts. You know that means Templar activity.”

I blinked in confusion, “Why would Templar’s be here?”

To my surprise, it was Kwan who responded, “Guerilla strikes and espionage efforts against the Illuminati. They’re hoping to undermine the Illuminati’s strength in the region as part of their efforts to strengthen their hold in South-East Asia, and to penetrate deeper into India and Russia. Right?”

Kenji grinned and nodded, “You read the pamphlet! Good man.”

Having listened in to the explanation, Emi stormed up to Kenji, jabbing him in the chest and stating, “If you turn my boyfriend into some whackjob conspiracy theorist, I am gonna kill you so hard they will never find the body.”

Kenji smirked and sorted, “You can try, woman; I have a list of every good body dumping ground south of Sapporo.”

“Play nice, you two,” Kwan chided.

Emi rolled her eyes, but she took a step back from Kenji, “I will if he does.”

Kenji nodded, “Agreed. You take care of yourself, by the way; for some reason Kwan seems to like you, so stay vigilant and don’t let Them get to you.”

Emi tilted her head in confusion as to who “Them” might be, but managed a small bow, “Thanks, you too; keep an eye on Hisao, for me.”

Kenji grinned and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, “You can count on it…Emi.”

“Kenji,” Emi returned. With a nod and a smirk, she went back to packing the station wagon.

When Kenji removed his arm I stepped back over to Hanako, mildly confused as to what had just transpired, but grateful the two could get along, in their own weird way.

“Everything alright?” Hanako asked as she examined a map sheet.

“Yeah,” I replied as I took my place beside her, “this trip sure was, well, a trip, though.”

Hanako smiled and nodded, “Y-yeah, it was. I’m still glad- eep!”

Hanako yelped lightly in surprise as her phone went off. Earning her confused and concerned looks from the rest of us, she sheepishly raised the phone above her head, waving it lightly before examining it. I turned to walk away, but paused when I saw that she was receiving a text message from my mother.

Hanako pressed a button and read the text. I watched her expression, an odd mix of happiness, trepidation, and mild bemusement.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

Hanako nodded, angling the phone’s screen so I could read the text:

(Hey, Hanacchan! Um, a truck came by to unload that purchase you asked me about, and, well, a motorcycle wasn’t what we had in mind, but we got it in the garage and waiting for you. See you soon! -Mrs. Nakai.)

I turned to Hanako, “Motorcycle?”

Hanako smiled sheepishly, “I, er, b-bought one y-yesterday in an antique shop.”

I smiled, “Cool, you’ve been thinking about getting one for a while. You can get your license over the summer, and take it back with us to college.”

Hanako eyed me oddly, “It’s a classic; I think it would be safer with your parents.”

“Fair enough,” I said, “I’m sure they won’t mind; they love you, you know.”

Hanako nodded, still smiling, “They… think of me as a daughter, don’t they?”

That had been the case for a year or so, really, but none of us had verbalized it. Maybe it was hearing her ask it that made me reply with, “Yeah, but we’ll have to make it official someday.”

“I’d like that,” Hanako said, absently putting the phone away.

I nodded and walked over to the car to check on the packing. I made it maybe three paces before my brain froze.

My eyes widened. My jaw slackened. I slowly turned on my heel to face Hanako.

Her eyes were wide and her entire expression shocked.

I stiffly stepped a pace closer to her, “Did I just-?”

Hanako nodded, a tentative smile forming even as her body tensed up in… fear? Expectation? Cold draft?

“And you…?” I continued.

Hanako nodded again, her smile less tentative and her features more relaxed.

I tried to think of what to say or do next, but my brain had temporarily frozen. Remembering the antique shop, something clicked and I managed to hold up a hand, “Wait here one sec, okay?”

Hanako tilted her head quizzically, but nodded.

I smiled and dashed for the car.

“What are you doing?” Emi asked as I dove into the trunk in search of my bag.

“Kenji,” I said as I dug through the luggage, “You there?”

“Yeah, man,” Kenji replied, his voice sounding like he had poked his head into the trunk, “What’s up?”

I found my bag and yanked it open, “Could you, um, go get some coffee or something? And take everyone but Hanako with you?”

“…What did you do?”

“I’m not sure myself,” I muttered as I dug through my bag’s contents, “Where the fuck are they?”

“Hisao?” Lilly chimed in, also sounding like she was behind me, “Are you alright?”

“Meow?” Miki asked.

In a low voice, I heard Kenji ask, “Hey, man, are you looking for the rings?”

My body tensed at his words; parking structures echo. His low voice hadn’t carried though, so I managed a grunt of affirmation while my search finally panned out, “Here they are!”

I extricated myself from the trunk, the two ring’s small black boxes held carefully in my hand. Kenji was grinning maniacally as he turned to Lilly.

“Lilly, Kwan, I need a hand getting some more coffee,” he declared.

“I believe we’re-oh!” Lilly was cut off as Kenji started guide-dragging her away. Kwan followed close behind, his confused expression obvious even in the dim light of the structure.

“Hey!” Emi snapped, appearing from the side of the car with her hands on her hips, “What’s goin’ on?”

“Nothing,” Kenji replied. Before Emi could respond, he used his free hand to grab her by the ear and start dragging her outside.

“We’ll be back in a bit,” Kenji declared, looking back at me and giving my general direction a wink as he continued to grin, “Good luck.”

I nodded my thanks as Emi started yelling, her shrieks of “let go of me you motherfucking son of a tanner!” echoing throughout the concrete structure and startling several small birds inside it.

I trotted over to Hanako, who was watching the other’s retreat with a look of bafflement.

“E-everything okay?” she asked.

“Yep,” I said. Revealing one of the ring boxes in my hand, I stated, “I thought you might like some privacy for this.”