Yamaku's Cheshire Cat [Short, Miki and Hanako]

[CloudGrain]

I preface this by admitting to being somewhat intoxicated at the time of writing it; and make absolutely no guarantees on grammar (though red squiggly-lines shall be corrected appropriately) nor logical progression. Based on some comic I can't link because I can't find but I remembered as being amusing. If anyone has a link, would definitely give credit where it's due.

A Miki and Hanako short, occurring shortly after what I assume is one of Miki's most important interactions. Enjoy.

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Miki wasn't exactly someone that Hanako would actively try to either avoid moreso than any other person, but neither was she someone that was sought out for anything. While there were a few characteristics of Miura's that very nearly echoed the same qualities Akira had that made Hanako comfortable, there were some other factors there that negated them.

Sure, Akira and Miki were both carefree for the most part with an easy to get along with laid-back attitude. They both seemed comfortable with anyone and anything, and seemed to be able to look past a lot of the first-impression of people. Miki even seemed to be able to, for the most part, not focus unduly on Hanako's scars on the few occasions that the pair had talked. She hadn't been pointedly looking away either, sharing that coolness that Akira had in looking at her just as any person would look at another. Things like these definitely tempered the other qualities that Miki had...

Like the fact that she was fairly close-by, and had given Hanako pitying looks the few times that she'd broken down in the past years. They'd been on the same floor as one another for the entire time that they'd been at Yamaku; and it seemed like every once in a while Miki would make a casual attempt to help Hanako. A few times she'd brought assignments up if Hanako hadn't been in class, Even more rarely, she'd attempted to have a few brief conversations when they passed by one another. In the very beginning of high-school, she might've even put some real effort into trying to befriend her. But Miki was... Not one of the most tactful individuals, which clashed with Hanako's own shyness and inability to speak her mind. Miki was sometimes a little loud, definitely outgoing, and hung out with a number of the boys on the track-team more often than not. Company that intimidated Hanako, an attitude and voice that'd be able to drown out hers in a heartbeat. But the single quality that made Hanako most tentative about Miki was that she had no qualms about talking about things that had nothing to do with her. She seemed to like to get just a little bit involved in other people's lives sometimes; like last year having apparently tried helping Lilly on her birthday to get her out of her room.

Still, the two rarely enough saw one another. With Hanako usually keeping to herself shyly and Miki generally seeming to respect the distance Hanako wanted between other people, even when she wasn't busy socializing or at some track event.

So seeing her peeking into the dorm's kitchen with a mischievous grin and 'locking on' to her when she spotted her gave Hanako a bit of a start.

" 'Sup Hanako?" Miki asked casually as she stepped into the doorway, planting the stump of her hand on a hip as she grinned at Hanako. It was an innocent-enough question, but Miki's whole nature always put Hanako just the slightest bit on edge. Much as she wished that she could slip away, there was hot food in the skillet in front of her that she couldn't leave unattended, and Miki was blocking the door anyways.

"N-nothing." Hanako replied cautiously, doing her best to focus on the food she was cooking even more carefully, trying to block out Miki's presence.

Miki made a neutral noise at that, the grin not fading in the least as she took a moment to inspect what Hanako was cooking before asking her next question. "So, you and Lilly've been hanging out with the new guy, Hisao, a lot?" It was less of a question and more of a statement...

The whole school probably noticed the arrival of someone in the middle of the year, probably asked the question of who he was going to end up hanging out with too. The best, quickest, easiest way to answer Miki was with a quick birdlike nod that Hanako gave. If she were to try and talk with Miki, it could all be taken the wrong way... Or worse, the way that she actually felt. Much as she couldn't bear to admit it to anyone, she was beginning to feel like Hisao might be someone who could be a little bit more than just a friend. Not just like Lilly was such a close friend, but in another way. Still, the heat that rose to her face might have been the catalyst to the even wider, mischievous grin that Miki gave her when she chanced to look up to see Miki's expression. It concerned her, ever-so-slightly.

"W-w-why?"

"Oh... Just because I got to chat with him for a bit today for the first time when I saw him out by the field on lunch. Seemed like a bit of a nerd with what he liked, but a pretty cool guy. Seems to be pretty happy with the friends he's made here." Miki said with the most self-satisfied smile as she winked at Hanako. Hanako's blush redoubled at that offhand seeming compliment. It'd been a topic that'd only been briefly touched upon, that she and Hisao might be friends at this point. Few enough people got close to her, and that meant that those ones who did were special to her. Hearing a compliment on him being happy with the friendship's he'd made, probably split between her and Lilly most of all was nice.

Miki shifted from her stump on her hip to her remaining hand on the opposite hip as she broke from a grin to a full smile. "Even got him to admit the crush he's got. But can't go around telling things like that, he gave me his trust on it." She said, doing her best job of holding the little bit of knowledge over Hanako's head. She could only stand there with her mouth ever-so-slightly open as Miki looked like she was about to laugh. "I've gotta go get ready for track, later Hanako!" She said simply, Hanako's mind racing as she was trying to find a way to ask the question immediately in her mind in some way immediately, trying to overcome the fears in a time-limit of a few seconds.

Of course, it was impossible, and Miki was gone before Hanako could even stutter out her name.

[AntonSlavik020]

That was fun. I like these little side fics, just sweet enough to put a smile on your face.

[Mirage_GSM]

I agree, but I think this one could have done with a little less backstory. The introduction is about half of the story.
Except for that it's a cute story.

[TheTealeaf]

OK, for the record, I adore the chesire cat.

Hands down my favourite literary character, apart from Harry Dresden, and really the image of Miki fading into the background from a confused Hanako leaving simply a smile in the air had me in stitches.

Alice in wonderland meets KS? Would be rather surreal I guess... Project for another time I think!

Anyway, these little ficlets are always sweet and good quality cloud. I agree with both Anton and Mirage and part of me wonders if you've got a full route lurking around in your noggin!

Keep writing!

[Munchenhausen]

Ahh yeah, I know that strip you're talking about! I believe the artist 'Thighs' did it. Couldn't find it though

Nice work mate, you've done the comic justice

[CloudGrain]

That was fun. I like these little side fics, just sweet enough to put a smile on your face.

Thanks! Always glad to hear I made someone a bit happier!

I agree, but I think this one could have done with a little less backstory. The introduction is about half of the story.
Except for that it's a cute story.

Gotcha! Flow tends to be one of the things I know I could use some polishing on, so thanks for giving me a springboard for tackling that. I tend to be overly verbose when describing some things, then get almost indifferent about description of others.

OK, for the record, I adore the chesire cat.

Hands down my favourite literary character, apart from Harry Dresden, and really the image of Miki fading into the background from a confused Hanako leaving simply a smile in the air had me in stitches.

Alice in wonderland meets KS? Would be rather surreal I guess... Project for another time I think!

Anyway, these little ficlets are always sweet and good quality cloud. I agree with both Anton and Mirage and part of me wonders if you've got a full route lurking around in your noggin!

Keep writing!

The cheshire cat is definitely one of those trope-namer's that's always amusing to see the resultant tropes from. If at any point the comic comes back up, I'll definitely be sure to make sure you see it!

I doubt highly that I've got anything far longer to write honestly, a few more little ficlets here and there as the moods strike, but longer stuff manages to foil me. Flow tends to be an issue, even subtle changes in mood as I write tend to make things not line up entirely correctly. Or worse yet, starting up, stopping off, reworking and coming back with a patchwork quilt of absolutely questionable quality that hastily gets thrown up before I can butcher it even worse. Bleeeeeugh. *Shivers in horror* But these little few thousand-word max shorts work well enough, and allow me room for improvement on technique on similar little things. Might come up with something else this weekend since I'm relatively worry-free for a bit!

Ahh yeah, I know that strip you're talking about! I believe the artist 'Thighs' did it. Couldn't find it though

Nice work mate, you've done the comic justice

Thank you kindly! It was a great comic strip, bummed you couldn't find it, but glad someone else remembered it and proved me somewhat sane.

[Mirage_GSM]

...part of me wonders if you've got a full route lurking around in your noggin!

Well, this is supposed to be part of the original Hanako route, so...

[Oddball]

Well, that was short and cute.

It just seems to have a lot of build up and backstory for something that's over so quick.