Zerebos wrote:It's about damn time Hisao! For a second there I thought he wasn't going to confess...
Haha, the awkward butterfly is slowly breaking out of its social cocoon!
Mirage_GSM wrote:Seriously, though, I'm not quite sure what to think of Natsume. On one hand she seems to be genuinely embarrassed by that stuff most of the time, but then...
I'm really glad that you're thinking about it! You've even formed some pretty fun theories, which I'll refrain from commenting too much on. I will say that you're on the right track with one of them though!
emi wrote:wow good art i wonder who made it
Some absolute savage that I met in a dark alley one night. I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you. Sorry.
(Seriously though, thank you for working with me.)
"We're just two children, pretending to be adults, aren't we?"
I lightly tap my knucles on Nurses door, half-expecting Emi to be on the other side, playing jokes again. The distant sound of papers shuffling is the only noise that I can hear coming from the other side of the door. I knock again, a little louder this time.
"Come in!" I hear Nurse call out in response, his voice lacking it's usual cheerfulness.
Gently pushing the door open, I step through and give the room a quick scan. There are papers and files lying everywhere across the countertops, along with one messy pile in the middle of his desk. Nurse, for the first time that I've ever seen, looks exhausted. Dark bags hang under his eyes and his hand shakes slightly while balancing the weight of a large coffee cup. I think that I even see one small purple hair out of place, he must have a lot going on right now.
"Good...morning." I hesitantly greet.
"Eh, something like that. How are you today Hisao?" He answers back with a dull look in his eyes and a half-hearted grin.
"I'm doing fine. Apparently, better than you're doing." I chuckle back at him. I hate to kick a man when he's down, but after all of the joking around and prodding that he's done at my expense, I don't feel very bad about it. He lets out a short laugh before standing up and stretching his arms towards the ceiling.
"It's that time of the year again!" He answers back, a much more genuine grin on his face now. "Finals will be here before you know it, and I need to make sure that everyone's files are squared away...just in case."
"I'm...not sure that I follow." I state, raising an eyebrow.
"Finals can be a stressful time. Stress makes almost every health condition known to mankind harder to handle. I organize every students files ahead of time, so if anything were to happen in the coming weeks, I can quickly find information." He quickly explains.
"So, students normally start dropping like flies around this time of the year?" I question back, a little worried about the thought of it now that he brought it up.
"No, Hisao." He states, his lips forming the straight stern line that I've grown to loathe. "Well, at least it's never been an issue in the past, but I'll be ready if it ever becomes one."
Again, I find myself impressed by the extra steps taken by the staff and school itself. I would have never even considered something like that, but I guess that's why they're here.
"Alright, enough of that. Let's have a look at you." Nurse states, rubbing the metal part of his stethoscope on his jacket.
The check up goes by just how any other check up normally would, which is a nice change from yesterdays. He doesn't make much noise as he checks me over. I think I even seen him start to nod off once. Once he's done, he writes a few quick notes into a folder on his desk before turning back to me.
"Same place, same time, tomorrow." He says, covering his big grin as a yawn escapes. "Have a great day!" He says, plopping down in his desk chair.
"You too. Get some sleep." I laugh over my shoulder as I stride out of the door.
My morning routine goes by the same as it did yesterday; Shower, get dressed, grab a quick breakfast, and head to class. On my way to class, I'm stopped outside the door though, as I approach a familiar blonde girl who's talking to a few students outside. They walk away as I approach, giving me an opening.
"Goodmorning Lilly." I state cheerfully.
"Oh? Goodmorning Hisao," She answers back. "How are you today?"
"Fine, so far. Did you get to enjoy the festival any, after we had left?" I question.
"I did, thank you for asking. I especially enjoyed the fireworks." She answers with a polite smile. I'm a little confused by the answer. How did she enjoy the fireworks, when she can't even see them? That's pretty much the whole point. Eh, it would be rude to ask, I'll just let it go.
"They were pretty impressive!" I happily agree, thinking on the events of that night for a moment. "I'm glad that you were able to enjoy yourself."
"Did you and Natsume have a good time?" She questions.
"I...we did. It was nice getting out and...experiencing something new." I state sheepishly, trying to avoid any further questions that may come out of that.
"Well, I'm very happy for you..." She giggles to herself. "You two make a very nice couple."
"Yeah, th-thanks Lilly. I should...uhm, probably be getting in to class." I answer back, trying to skirt the issue.
"Sure. Have a great day Hisao." She states with a smile.
"You too." I weakly answer back, turning towards the classroom.
I take my seat and and situate my books on my desk, but am soon interrupted, once again, by the student council girls to my side.
"Goodmorning Hicchan~!" Mishas voice rings through the room. I look over to them before responding. They're both wearing a cute smile, but it doesn't seem like they have anything crooked planned behind them, for once.
"Goodmorning you two." I answer back with a smile. "You seem awfully happy this morning."
"I'm always happy Hicchan! Why wouldn't I be?" Misha questions, a genuinely confused expression on her face.
"Normally, you all just want something from me." I shoot back.
"Wahaha~! No way Hicchan~! We're just saying goodmorning to our friend!" She smiles widely, her white teeth shining in the morning sun coming from the window.
While I don't quite believe that they don't have something else planned, I don't really have any evidence to prove them wrong right now. Hopefully they've given up on the whole 'Trying to drag me into student council' business, at least.
"Fine. So, are you two ready for finals?" I ask, changing the subject. Misha frowns a little as she signs to Shizune.
"Ehh, Shicchan is always ready. I'm...I'm going to have to study more." She says dissapointedly.
"Well, we still have time. I'm sure that you'll do fine." I answer back with a smile. Mutou stands up from his chair at the front of the room, looking much more alive than he did yesterday.
"Really? Thanks Hicchan~! You're right! I'll do fine! Wahaha~!" She exclaims.
Mutou clears his throat, announcing that he's ready to begin class. He picks up a piece of chalk and begins furiously writing on the board. He creates another list of different chapters and page numbers, putting small stars beside some of them. After several moments of nonstop writing, he sits the chalk down, I think I can almost see smoke coming off of it.
"Same as yesterday. Pay particular attention to the passages with stars beside them." He states, glancing over the classroom. He strides over to his desk and takes his seat, pulling a science magazine of some sort out of one of the drawers and flipping it open.
I decide to give up early today, I'm not even going to try to pretend that I'm interested in studying right now. I rest my chin on my hand as I look around the room. Some people are actually studying today, but most are still spacing out or have their heads down. Misha looks like she's trying to study, but I can see her head nod forward every few seconds; It's only a matter of time.
The birds happily chirp outside of the window to my side, each one dancing on the branches of a nearby tree. Shizune seems to be taking her studying seriously, carefully reading through the pages. Every few minutes I see her head raise up and look out the window though, her expression tells me that she's not as into it as she leads on.
I glance behind me, but most of the students have their heads down. The big guy in the corner even has his mouth open as he's leaned back into a deep sleep already. There's an empty seat where Hanako normally sits, it makes me a little curious. She seems to miss class pretty often, but Mutou never really reacts much to it. He must make it a point to be understanding about her lack of interaction.
On the other side of the room, I can see Naomi trying to focus on the book in front of her, but her eyelids are slowly coming closer together with each passing second. Her thin lips slowly open up more and more as the seconds go by. Beside her, Natsume is resting her cheek against the palm of her hand, looking down as she idly makes small circles on her desk with the eraser of her pencil. She looks absolutely bored to death.
Looking back to the front of the class, I find myself unable to hold back the urge to put my own head down. I turn my head to the side and rest my cheek on my arm, casting my gaze through the window.
Peripherally, I can see that Misha has officially given up. Her forehead rests on the table in front of her and her mouth is open just a little. Quiet little breaths of air leave her mouth as she snoozes, it's actually kind of cute.
The birds outside the window soon begin to get blurry as I find myself joining the rest of the class.
---
Stirring from my rest at the sound of the bell, I quickly gather my books up, preparing to head to the Newspaper room once again for lunch. Shizune nods farewell, with Misha happily waving behind her as the two pass by my desk. I smile and wave back, trying to simultaneously clear the fog from my head.
Naomi excitedly meets me in front of Mutous desk as I make my way toward the exit, her white teeth shining as the sunlight touches her big grin.
"You ready for lunch, sleeping beauty? Haha~!" She jests.
"You don't have much room to talk!" I playfully fire back, pointing towards the big red mark on Naomis forehead, left from where it was resting on the desk.
"Okay, okay~! You caught me!" She laughs back. "Come on Hisao, let's g-"
"Ms. Inoue," Mutou cuts in. "Would you mind if I borrow Nakai for a moment first?"
Naomi raises an eyebrow in confusion. I probably do too, but I don't notice. She shoots a questioning glance at me.
"What did you do Hisao?" She playfully asks. "I didn't know that you were a trouble-maker! Haha~!"
"I wasn't. Must be some kind of bad influence in my life." I shoot back at her with a laugh of my own. I think I even heard Mutou chuckle under his breath, but it could have just been a cough or something. I am kind of curious what he wants with me though.
"Alright Hisao, you know where I'll be!" Naomi says with a big smile, as she turns towards the exit and waves farewell. Natsume wasn't anywhere around, which I can't help but find a little strange.
"So," Mutou starts, his voice it's normal dull tone. "How have things been?"
"Uhm...pretty good. I'm starting to settle in a little better here, I think." I nervously answer back, still unsure of where this is heading.
"That's good to hear. The Newspaper club is quite the place to help out. I didn't take you much for a journalist." He responds.
"Oh, I'm...I'm not really helping out with the club." I clarify.
Mutou pauses in thought for a moment, seeming to be unsure of whether he wants to continue this topic or not.
"Ah, I see." He says with a tiny grin. This is actually one of the first times that I can remember seeing him express any kind of emotion, it's a little jarring.
He awkwardly shuffles around with a few papers on his desk before bringing his attention back up to me. "You seem to be doing very well with most of your subjects," He says in a proud manner. "Have you considered what your future may hold yet, by chance?"
"I...uhm, no, I can't say that I've thought about it much." I admit, a little disappointed at the thought.
"No need to get down about it," Mutou says. "You have plenty of time to make a decision." He gives a small reassuring smile.
The topic brings me back into the reality around me for a moment. I've been so caught up with just trying to find my place at Yamaku that I hadn't even considered the fact that I'm only going to be here for a brief period of time, and then I'll move on to the next chapter of my life.
I don't think that I have any interests that could lead into a profession, so I'm not even sure what I would want to study at a university. I've always found science to be an interesting subject, but that's so broad...I'm not sure that I can narrow my interest down to anything specific.
"It's...been awhile since I've had a student who grasps concepts as easily as you do Nakai." Mutou continues on. "Just consider some different possibilities that you could find yourself being passionate about. You don't want to pick a profession just because you're good at it."
There's a brief period of awkward silence while I ponder the idea. I'm not really sure how I should respond to him, considering that, up until this point, I hadn't thought about the future much at all. It worries me a little that I may be lagging behind the rest of the students. I wonder what Naomi and Natsume plan on doing?
"Anyways, I just wanted to put that bug in your ear." Mutou explains as he stands from his desk. "If there's anything that I can do to help, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Th-Thank you. I appreciate that." I respond back.
"I won't keep your friends waiting any longer. Enjoy your lunch." He says, as the two of us exit the classroom.
"Thanks, you too." I respond back as he turns down to the opposite side of the hallway.
I make my way towards the Newspaper room, hoping that I didn't miss the girls already. Our conversation didn't last very long, so I should be fine. Striding by the art room, I glance through the open doorway and see several students working on some artwork as I pass.
Approaching the doorway of the Newspaper room, I notice that, for once, the door is closed. Naomi told me that I would know where to find them, so, surely, this is where she was referring to. I lightly tap on the wooden door as I lean in, trying to hear anything from the other side.
Seconds later, the door cracks open, leaving nothing but a small slit for me to see through. On the other side, I see a pair of wide ruby eyes looking back at me.
"What's the password?" I hear Naomi whisper through the crack, giggling to herself.
"Uhm...Pineapples." I hesitantly answer back.
"I do love pineapples..." Naomi whispers to herself. "Eh, close enough!" She swings the door open suddenly, laughing excitedly at herself.
She skips towards the middle of the room as I walk in, plopping her body down in a nearby chair. She slides it across the floors and stops herself suddenly as she approaches the table.
"What's up Hisao? Did Mutou set you straight, or are you still a delinquent?" She questions with a grin.
I take a nearby chair, but refrain myself from sliding it all the way across the floor like Naomi did. Knowing my luck, I would probably hit something or tip the chair over.
"Yeah, he set me on the right path for now. You can't hold a rebel like me down forever though." I answer back sarcastically. Naomi lets a hearty chuckle go as she rocks back and forth in her seat.
"Oh, come on! What did he actually want?" She forces out in between laughs.
"Just...wanted to talk about future plans and stuff. No biggy." I answer back.
Looking around the room, I notice that Natsume is still nowhere to be found. Naomi must have cleaned up at some point too, because I can actually see the tabletop. There's several neat stacks of paper on one side of the table, beside of where an open laptop computer sits. There's even a slight lemon scent in the air, which has a distinct 'cleaning product' smell to it.
"Hey, where's...Natsume at?" I ask curiously.
"Ah! I forgot to tell you! She had to go see Nurse. She told me to tell you that she would catch us later, if she had time." Naomi explains.
"Oh, is she...okay?" I question worriedly.
"Oh yeah! Just a normal check-up thingy!" Naomi reassures with a grin. "Hey Hisao," She quickly starts again, her expression forming a very 'I caught you now' kind of look. "You really care about Natty, don't you?" She questions softly with an expectant look in her eyes.
"I...uhm. Well," I stutter back.
Other than Natsume, Naomi is pretty much my only other friend that I can consider myself 'close' to. She has to already know about the situation between us. Actually, she probably knows even more than I do about it now, if Natsume has told her anything.
"I...Yeah, I do." I weakly answer back.
"I knew it!" Naomi exclaims. "I've known it ever since I seen that look in your eyes at the festival!"
"Yeah, yeah." I idly say. "Can I...be honest with you Naomi?" I ask, mustering up any dormant confidence that may be left in my body.
"Well, yeah! We're like the three Musketeers, you know? 'All for one, and one for all!'" She excitedly explains. "We all have to stick together. You can tell me anything!"
I can't help but to laugh at the comparison she made. Despite me laughing at it, it really does feel good to be thought of as a companion like that. Ever since the Festival, the three of us have gotten pretty close, I guess.
"I have no idea what I'm doing." I admit, trying to stay positive about the topic. "I...told her this morning how I felt. She said that she liked me too, but...she said she wanted some time to think about it." I pause for a moment in thought. "I...I have no idea what that means, or what I should do now."
Naomi seems to ponder over everything that I said. She rests her chin on the palm of her hand, lost in thought for a few moments. She doesn't really seem surprised or lost for words, moreso debating on how she wants to respond. I expectantly lean forward in my chair as Naomi straightens up, ready to weigh-in on the topic.
"Natsume is the type of person that doesn't take very many things at face value." She explains. "You're going to have to show her how you feel Hisao."
I pause for a moment to take the advice into consideration.
"H-How do I...show her that I like her?" I question nervously. "I mean, I've already told her, and she said that she just needed some time. So, what more can I do?"
Naomi nervously giggles to herself before she starts speaking again.
"I...uhm," Naomi starts, but suddenly bursts out laughing, cutting herself off. "I'm probably not the best person to be giving relationship advice." She answers a moment later, brushing a stray tear from her cheek as she stops laughing.
"You know her better than anyone else does though. You have to help me out here." I plead with her.
"Hisao, you know how Natsume is. You just have to show her, so she's convinced that you're not lying to her about it or something." Naomi explains, brushing her straight blonde bangs to the side of her head. "She worries about silly stuff like that, you know?"
Suddenly, what she's saying clicks in my mind. Natsume hasn't brought the topic up again because she doesn't believe that I really meant it. After all the close contact, my confession to her and everything else, she still has doubts?
The room goes silent for a few minutes while I think about the situation. I feel like I should be irritated by her doubts, but I really can't be, I know that I've been guilty of the same thing more often than I'd like to admit.
Looking back on it, anyone in my shoes would have easily picked up on the fact that Natsume had some kind of feelings for me. Not that I have any experience in the field, but friends don't hold hands just 'because'. I even made excuses to not believe that it could mean anything more than a friendly gesture.
It probably doesn't help that neither of us have any experience with this kind of thing, but there's no way that I can hold her disbelief against her now. It's a little scary how alike the two of us are in some ways.
"So, she...she doesn't believe me?" I question aloud.
"I don't know if it's that she doesn't believe you, or if it's more that she just doesn't know what to do, and her natural reaction is to not do anything out of fear." Naomi carefully counters.
I raise my eyebrow in confusion at Naomi while I try to form a response. She's the last person in the world, other than maybe Misha, that I would expect such a well thought-out answer from.
"Hey! Don't look at me like that!" She says, forming a fake pout with her lips. "I may not be the best at school work, but I'm pretty good with figuring people out!"
"I'm sorry," I chuckle back at her. "I just...wasn't expecting that."
"Yeah, yeah~!" She says, giggling at my surprised expression. "She really does like you Hisao," She starts in an uncharacteristically calm tone. "Just...show her how you feel, Romeo. Everything will work out."
"Thanks Naomi," I answer back softly. "For being a good friend to both of us."
She smiles back sincerely as we both let the subject fade away. She probably doesn't realize just how much I mean that. Feeling like I've been alone in this adventure was one of the most miserable feelings I've experienced, it's been so nice to have Naomi and Natsume here now.
I guess that I'll need to work on a plan to 'show' Natsume how I feel now. I'm still not even sure what that means, but I'll figure it out eventually. I don't consider myself to be a very patient person, so I'm going to have to think of something quickly if I don't want this to drive me crazy.
-----
"We're just two children, pretending to be adults, aren't we?"
"It's that time of the year again!" He answers back, a much more genuine grin on his face now. "Finals will be here before you know it, and I need to make sure that everyone's files are squared away...just in case."
Wow, if he starts preparing for finals six weeks in advance he'll be stressed out like that for a third of the year... I hope he doesn't bother about Mid-terms as well
Naomi raises an eyebrow in confusion. I probably do too, but I don't notice.
Present tense. First Person narration.
Either he does notice - then he can tell us he does - or he doesn't. In the latter case he can't even wonder about it.
There's several neat stacks of paper
"There are" Such stuff is okay in direct speech - depending on who's speaking - but never in narration.
Nice chapter, though it had me wonder just how much interaction there has been between him and Naomi so far to make them best buddies already...
"I'm starving!" Naomi exclaims, as she brings out a few containers of food from under the table. She gently sits them on the tabletop in front of us and pops the top off of them, letting steam flow up towards the ceiling. My senses are filled with the distinct smell of seasoned meat as my mouth starts watering a little.
"How in the world do you do this?" I ask in shock, finding myself impressed once again by her ability to cook.
"Oh, I've...always had a thing for cooking." She answers, her expression seeming to go a little sour. "I kind of...took care of myself growing up, so I either had to learn how to cook or starve, I guess." She explains, bitterly chuckling a little while placing two glass bowls onto the table in front of us.
I decide against directly asking about the topic, it doesn't sound like a very happy one.
"I see. I'm here if you want to talk about it." I offer.
"Hm? Oh! No, no." She responds back with a wave of her hand. "Thanks Hisao, but there's no need to bring up stuff that doesn't really matter now."
Filling her bowl with some white rice, Naomi slides a pair of chopsticks over to me.
"Help yourself. No sense in waiting on Natty, she may be awhile." She offers with a smile. Agreeing to the proposition, I break the utensils and start filling my own bowl up with rice, topping the small white pile with a few tender chunks of the fried pork from the other container.
We both eagerly dig in as the room fills with nothing but the chopping noises of our utensils snapping together and the sound of us chewing down the delicious food. I hope that Natsumes check-up is going well. I imagine that her and Nurse probably talk about much more stuff than he and I do during my check-ups.
The sun beams in from the window in front of us, casting a bright glow over the table as the two of us eat. It doesn't take long for us both to finish the meal and clean up the mess. I offer to clean up the dishes while Naomi takes care of the table and containers, closing the containers up to keep the food warm for Natsume.
Naomi sits down in front of the laptop in the other end of the table, turning the screen on with the press of a button. She hums to herself patiently while I put the bowls back into the cabinets.
Not knowing what else to do, I take a nearby seat and watch Naomi gently type away at the keyboard of the computer. It's hard to follow her quickly moving fingers as they dance across the keys, she obviously has some experience with this.
"What are you working on?" I prod, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"Oh, sorry." She says, looking up from the screen. "I've been trying to put together the next issue of the newspaper. Just typing up some of the stuff that Natty has written about the festival." She brushes her light blonde hair to the side, tucking it behind her ear as she explains.
"You're typing is pretty quick, I bet it doesn't take you long to push an issue out." I state, chuckling to myself as her fingernails make sharp little -click- noises as they move over the keys.
She pauses for a moment, chuckling to her herself at my comment.
"Well, I've had quite a bit of practice." She explains. "Natty...you know, can't really type much."
I raise an eyebrow in confusion, unsure if I'm understanding her meaning correctly.
"....Her wrists Hisao." Naomi elaborates. "Arthritis. Keep up with me." She giggles playfully.
"Oh...right. I didn't really consider that being an issue." I state blankly, a little saddened by the thought.
"Neither of us mind much." She offers. "She's good at writing an interesting story, and I'm good at typing it out and getting it printed. So, it works out well enough." She smiles, comforting me a little bit on the topic.
Suddenly, there's a light tapping on the door behind us. We both turn towards the noise expectantly. Natsume stands in the doorway, looking over the top of her reading glasses with a grin.
"What's up you two?" Natsume cheerfully greets. "Already have lunch without me?" She shakes her head in fake disappointment.
"Naomi talked me into, I swear that I told her that we should wait for you." I playfully answer.
"-Pft-! Yeah right! You should have seen him Natsume, he almost tore the food right out of my hands!" Naomi jests back at me.
I can't help but to bust out laughing at the thought of me doing such a thing. Natsume laughs along too as she takes a nearby chair and pulls it up to my side, sitting down over Naomis shoulders.
"You wouldn't do such a thing, would you Hisao?" Natsume playfully questions, looking over to me.
"Of course not, I'm a gentleman." I answer back with a smirk.
"...And- done!" Naomi announces, letting one last -click- sound through the tiny room. "That will take care of that section. I'll have to edit it and print it off some other time, lunch is about over."
"I might come in and finish it up after class some time next week." Natsume offers. "We need to have it out by next Friday, right?"
"Yeah, if we're going to stay on schedule. We're a little bit behind this month." Naomi sighs in exhaustion.
An idea clicks through my mind, but I'm not sure if it's a good or bad one.
"You know, I may know someone who would be interested, if you want a little extra help." I offer.
"Really? You wouldn't mind helping out Hisao?" Natsume questions in surprise.
"Well, I didn't really mean me..." I answer awkwardly. "But, I could always help out too though. I'm not bad at typing, if Naomi wanted to take a break."
"I'm sure it wouldn't kill me to rest my weary hands." Naomi agrees, dramatically holding her hands out in front of her. Natsume and I simultaneously chuckle at her performance.
"Who else did you have in mind, if it wasn't you?" Natsume questions with an eyebrow raised over her emerald green eye.
"Hanako Ikezawa, from our class." I answer.
There's a pause in the conversation as the room goes silent for a minute. The girls look at me, obviously not totally on board with my answer. "Lilly mentioned before that she had an interest in the Newspaper, and she seems to always be reading, so maybe she would be a good fit." I add on, trying to help convince them.
Carefully adjusting herself in her seat, Natsume leans forward, preparing herself to speak up.
"I don't have any problem with her joining us," she starts, searching for the right words. "But...she doesn't really talk, does she?"
"Like, at all?" Naomi adds on.
"Well, she is pretty quiet and...hard to get to know." I add. "I actually only know her through Lilly, but she seems really nice."
After another pause in the conversation, the duo both smile simultaneously at me, apparently warming up to the idea. Natsume glances over to Naomi, giving her a certain gesture with her head.
"If she wants to join, then we'd love to get to know her." Natsume says, turning back to me.
"Besides, you and Hisao aren't exactly social butterflies either, maybe you two can relate to her." Naomi adds in with a gentle chuckle.
"Geeze, thanks a lot." I say back sarcastically.
The sound of the three of us laughing bounces off the walls of the small room. We're soon interrupted by the bell, signaling the end of our lunch.
"Ah, crap!" Naomi says. "You didn't even get to eat Natty, I'm sorry!"
"Oh, Nurse actually brought me something from town, no worries." She giggles back.
"-Pft-, teachers pet." Naomi jests at her.
"He sure doesn't bring me lunch." I observe with a chuckle.
"It's all about who you know sometimes." Natsume answers back with a smile.
Turning the lights off behind me, I gently close the door of the newspaper room as the three of us exit. Natsume pulls a few keys from her pocket and locks the door as I move out of her way. She looks up at me as she puts the keys back in her pocket.
"All about who you know." She repeats, winking her light green eye at me. I can't help to wonder how many rooms she has the keys to here.
We make our way back towards the classroom, letting the dread of having more classes wash over us as we draw closer. I feel a little better about class after talking with Mutou earlier. At least he knows that I'm not just a slacker, I'm just not in much need to study right now.
The girls smile and wave as they split to take their seats in the corner of the room. Laying my books out on my desk, I plop down in the seat and prepare myself for the worst. I look to my side, but there's no Misha in sight, only Shizune. She smiles politely and weakly waves at me.
I raise my arms and shrug my shoulders in confusion, gesturing towards Mishas empty seat. Shizune rolls her eyes as she leans over and scribbles something down on to a piece of paper. She rips the piece out and passes it over to me.
"She's running late. Had to go to the restroom, if you must know." The note reads. I look up, slightly embarased. I give her a thumbs up, unsure of what else to do. She rolls her eyes again and gestures for me to give her the paper back. I slide it over to her and she quickly starts writing again. She hands the paper back over and crosses her arms in a disapproving way.
"You need to work on your sign language, you're not very good at this." The note reads. I form a blank expression as I raise my head up and meet her gaze. I begin to write back, but I'm interrupted as Misha skips by my desk.
"Hey Hicchan~! Did you have a good lunch?" She cheerfully questions as she sits down.
"Yep, just ready for class to be over now." I respond back.
"Ugh, me too! My brain hurts from all the studying." She rubs the sides of her head with her finger tips to emphasize the point.
Clearing his throat as he stands up, Mutou shuffles over to the middle of the chalkboard and begins writing a few more chapters down on it.
"Make sure that you're taking notes on some of the definitions and formulas in these sections. They might be important." He snickers awkwardly to himself as he walks back over to his desk. The way that he said 'might' is the same way that every teacher says it when they know that it's going to be on a test, so I may as well check those sections out, at least.
Class begins and I idly scribble down some of the different formulas into my notebook, taking my time as I go from page to page. Every few minutes I hear a book close from somewhere around the room, signaling a student that's giving up their will to continue studying.
After jotting down all the notes that I deemed to be necessary, I find myself lost in thought while I gaze through the window at the side of the room. My brain shoots random thoughts around, unable to control itself. My body feels a little worn down, but my mind isn't going to let me rest, it seems.
I can't help but to think...I'd much rather be dancing right now.
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Last edited by InSaiyan on Sun Apr 09, 2017 2:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
"We're just two children, pretending to be adults, aren't we?"
I imagine that her and Nurse probably talk about much more stuff than him and I do during my check-ups.
"more than HE and I do"
Just typing up some of the stuff that Natty had wrote about the festival.
"has written" or possibly just "wrote" depending on what your emphasis is supposed to be.
I feel a little better about class after talking with Mutou easier.
"earlier"?
Short chapter, but nice.
You know I think you're laying on Mutou a bit too thickly. If every single one of his lessons consisted of just "read the book!" he probably would have been fired by now...
Last edited by Mirage_GSM on Sun Apr 09, 2017 6:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
Mirage_GSM wrote:You know I think you're laying on Mutou a bit too thickly. If every single one of his lessons consisted of just "read the book!" he probabbly would have been fired by now...
Haha, our high school experiences must have been much different then, especially around finals.
HoneyBakedHam wrote:You also misspelled "sits" in the seventh paragraph.
Nice catch!
I appreciate you all reading along and providing some help cleaning things up. I've had a fairly busy and stressful couple of weeks, to say the least.
Looking forward to the future!
"We're just two children, pretending to be adults, aren't we?"
Haha, our high school experiences must have been much different then, especially around finals.
Hmm... Not just high school actually...
In all of the 13 years I went to school the only instances I can remember such a thing happening was when our regular teacher was ill and we had a stand-in - and even then it was rare.
Sure, sometimes we'd be given something to read on our own (but never more then 10-15 minutes) and we'd often be told to read up on some stuff at home in preparation for the next lesson, but at a teaching style like that our parents would have started filing complaints against the school - maybe even after we'd have started filing complaints ourselves...
Not too shabby. The thinbg that gets me most is how quick Hisao and Natsume seemed to fall into a relationship. It felt like he was head over heals with her right off the bat.
Likewise, I still don't feel I have a good grip on her character. She seems to suddenly shift moods and personalities, but nobody ever comments on this.
One question though, in a lot of art for her, she's depicted as using a crutch. Does she not use one here, or is that a plot point for later (or did I just miss those references)?
After having caught up with fics I was part reading, I saw this and read it, took 2 or 3 days.
May have been in one of your "Baby Steps " chapters but you misspelt miscellaneous good sir. I would spell it the way you did but on mobile so is a tad harder to refind it. My heart said ouch when she say good friend
Starting off reading this felt hard for me but now I am enjoying it. Keep up the good work .
The line below is false.
The line above is true.
Being disabled is just differently abled differently labelled.
InSaiyan wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2017 6:44 pm
"Good...morning." I hesitantly greet. "Eh, something like that. How are you today Hisao?" He answers back with a dull look in his eyes and a half-hearted grin.
"I'm doing fine. Apparently, better than you're doing." I chuckle back at him. I hate to kick a man when he's down, but after all of the joking around and prodding that he's done at my expense, I don't feel very bad about it. He lets out a short laugh before standing up and stretching his arms towards the ceiling.
You do this thing where you clump dialogue together. You should space it out like every other section, so there's no confusion about who is talking. There should be a line-break between speakers (bolded section).
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So I really enjoyed this. Seems like the only substantial Natsume route fic. I'm glad it's so well written. Keep up the good work.
