Running Interference (Haganai/KS Xover) *Discontinued

[BobBobberson]

I am admittedly confused. Is he already technically a thing with Hanako? Is he two-timing her? Or he completely unaware of the ramifications that taking someone on a date implies?

Taking someone on a date doesn't mean a couple are boyfriend/girlfriend. That and Hisao deliberately changed the subject, ensuring that Lilly (or anyone else, really) questions him on his status with Hanako. And don't forget that Hisao did not make a move on Hanako that would escalate their little outing from friendly getogether to a date to begin with. I'll elaborate on this tomorrow, it's 1245 am here and I need some sleep.

[Sniper6133]

I like this story. Its pretty funny. Forgive my stupidity, but I'm slightly confused as to why he cares if Lilly & Akira are there. He hasn't confirmed that he was Hanako's boyfriend yet, so why is he nervous? If he had declared that they were a couple, then that would cause some nervousness.

[Mahorfeus]

I like this story. Its pretty funny. Forgive my stupidity, but I'm slightly confused as to why he cares if Lilly & Akira are there. He hasn't confirmed that he was Hanako's boyfriend yet, so why is he nervous? If he had declared that they were a couple, then that would cause some nervousness.

I don't imagine someone like Yozora would get along well with Lilly and Akira. I think Hisao is thinking the same thing.

[Sniper6133]

I don't imagine someone like Yozora would get along well with Lilly and Akira. I think Hisao is thinking the same thing

Ah, I see. Thanks!

[Mirage_GSM]

I don't think Akira is one to be put off too much by rude behaviour, and Lilly... Well, it's quite hard to antagonize her as well.
I'd be more concerned if Hanako were there as well - I can't imagine her getting along with Yozora at all.

[BlackRockHanako]

Maybe he's more worried that he told Lilly he was just going shopping, and now it could look like he's on a date with a girl resembling Hanako, after he's gone on what people think was a date with Hanako.

[BobBobberson]

Maybe he's more worried that he told Lilly he was just going shopping, and now it could look like he's on a date with a girl resembling Hanako, after he's gone on what people think was a date with Hanako.

SPOILERS (Explanation of chapter): Bingo! When you see one guy and one girl together, it's easy to assume that they're on a date, no matter what those two's actual intentions for hanging out is. But yeah that's what I was trying to convey. Officially, Hisao is single. And he neither confirmed nor denied the rumor that he was on a date with Hanako, so technically he could do whatever he wants girl-wise since rumors are insubstantial. But since this is occurs during Hanako's route, Lilly's well aware of her friends' attraction to each other. So yeah, put two and two together.

Thanks for the feedback though, guys. I leave key shit out sometimes, and finishing this chapter at midnight isn't exactly the best thing to do. I added a few things in the hopes of clearing up any possible plot holes.

[BobBobberson]

Took me 48 hours to write this. Here be some plot development. Like all chapters are supposed to have.

Without a second thought, I push Yozora into the pool, jumping in after her.

“Hey, what the hell was that for?” Yozora yells as she starts to tread water in an effort to stay afloat.

“Well, I figured it was time for you to get wet. This is a water park after all, emphasis on WATER!” I laugh a bit in an attempt to relieve the tension. No need for Yozora to figure out my true intention for pushing her in. Taking a deep breath, dive back under the surface of water before Yozora gets a chance to retort. Looking down, I see that the deep end of the pool is well...deep. Deeper than your average pool anyways. I’m tempted to try to touch the bottom, but the thought of having a heart attack all the way down there stops me.

Surfacing, I notice a black and white figure making splashes as it does a clean freestyle along the length of the pool. Must be Yozora. I start to do my own freestyle as I make my way to the shallow end of the pool. Unfortunately for me, I can’t hold my breath for too long, so I find myself lifting my head out to breathe a bit too often for my liking. Once I get to a sufficiently shallow part of the pool, I do a quick 360 for any signs of Lilly or Akira. Luckily, besides the occasional family or couple, there’s no sign of them. So I wave to Yozora to come over to me.

“Hey, Yozora, you want to try the water slides? I’m heading there now.” I ask. Slides are always fun, and it’s in the opposite direction of the wave pool.

Yozora smiles at that question, but it’s not a happy smile. It’s more of the “I’m going to get back at you” smile that makes me shiver.

“Sure! Last time I was here, I didn’t get a chance to try them.” She responds as we start to make our way out of the pool. Heading towards the slides, I’m still in awe about how big this park really is. The even odder spectacle (or lack of in this case) is the fact that there’s barely anyone here, given the size of the park. One would think this place would be booming during the summer. Well, it’s less lines for Yozora and I to face, so I’m not complaining.

After a couple of minutes, we find ourselves at the highest point of the park, opting to skip all the kiddie slides beneath us. A lifeguard stands sentinel at the platform, where four entrances to body slides beckon. Two of them are the dark, tunnel-like slides that I want to avoid. Being enclosed in a small dark space is enough; being in an enclosed small dark space while moving is something else entirely.

“So, Hisao, which one are you going to try first?” Yozora asks. She’s behind me, so I get first dibs.

“I’ll go for this one.” I start to walk towards the left-most slide, an open slide that seems to be the shortest of the four from what I saw walking up the stairs. But suddenly, I find myself being redirected towards one of the tunnel slides.

“Don’t be a pussy, Hisao. Try the tunnel ones. They’re the most exciting.” Yozora says as she pushes me along. To save face, I set myself down on the entrance, staring into the tunnel. The darkness of the tunnel feels very ominous. I’m not sure I want to try this now.

Feeling my apprehension, Yozora gives me no chance to back out. With a quick shove from her, I start to hurtle down the slide. Bracing myself, I flatten my body against the surface and hope for the best. The slide twists and turns, and without any light to anticipate those turns, I keep thinking that I’m going to hit a wall sooner or later. The feeling that I’m actually starting to go even faster does nothing to alleviate my fear, so I close my eyes.

After about thirty seconds of this, it feels like I’m never going to escape this slide. But suddenly light starts to seep in through my eyelids, and I find myself momentarily in midair.

“Ahh crap!” I yell before I plunge into the water.

I force myself up through the surface of the water, sputtering in an attempt to clear my head. I make my way towards the shallow end of the pool, hearing another splash as I extricate myself from the water. I look back at the water to find Yozora swimming towards me. As soon as she gets out of the water as well, she starts to laugh.

“Have fun back there?”

“Yeah, I actually did!” I’m lying through my teeth right now, but right now I have an image to save. “Did not expect you to push me though. Why’d you do that?”

“Eh, you took too long to slide in. You’re supposed to go right in when the guy says you can drop in. You’re not supposed to stare at the tunnel and wish it wasn’t so scary.” Yozora says as she starts for the stairs again. “Come on, Hisao. I wanna try all the slides before we eat.”

She certainly is a handful. I’m starting to see why she’d have no friends now. But for some reason it makes me want to get closer to her. Maybe she’s different under her hard exterior.

We end up trying all the slides, even the tiny kiddy ones, at least twice. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Lilly or Akira, so I start to loosen up and enjoy the park. Yozora and I barely speak a word throughout our run; it’s just stairs, slide, pool, rinse and repeat. But she seems to be enjoying herself too, if her smile is any indicator. I guess this is one of those times where actions work better than words.

“Alright Yozora, I’m beat. You wanna grab some food now?” I ask after about an hour of non-stop sliding.

“Sure, I was starting to get hungry anyways. I’ll grab some money, let’s meet up by the taco stall.”

Walking back towards the men’s locker room, I realize that Yozora hasn’t asked me about my scar yet. It’s either she’s been considerate of me, or she hasn’t noticed it yet. Personally, I’m surprised I didn’t ask about her zebra swimsuit yet.I guess I should explain it to her over lunch. Opening my locker, I towel myself dry and grab some money fo my food. Heading over to the taco stand, I meet up with Yozora again and purchase our food. Luckily, she doesn’t ask me to pay for her food as well. I wouldn’t have enough money for the bus fare home if I did.

Setting down in a table, we start to dig in. For a couple of minutes, it’s just the sound of us two eating, too hungry to make conversation. As I’m about to bite into my third taco, Yozora breaks the silence.

“So, are you having fun?”

That’s an odd question. There’s really only one answer to that though.

“Yes, I am. Did you think I was somehow being bored by you?” I shoot back, attempting to determine Yozora’s real motivation for asking that.

“Not really, but that’s not the point. Friends are supposed to have fun when they’re together, right?” Yozora curtly replies.

Friends. Huh, now that I think about it, the concept of friendship is odd. When does one stop being an acquaintance and become a friend? And when did Yozora start to view me as one?

“Yeah, I guess they’re supposed to. It’d be no fun to be bored with your friends. I hope I’m not boring you as well.” I answer, finishing the rest of my taco with one bite. I’m not sure exactly why there’s a Mexican food stall in the park, but I’m not complaining. Tacos are good.

Yozora gives me a poker face glare, the same glare she used back in Starbucks. I get the feeling I’m being scrutinized, but the effect is ruined when she smiles.

“No, you’re not boring at all Hisao. It’s just, this is the first real social outing I’ve had in a long time. I just wanted to be sure you’re enjoying this as well. I would be a bad friend if you weren’t” She nearly whispers the last sentence, so I barely catch it. Her face also changed from a smile to one of melancholy. It feels off seeing this part of Yozora.

At that statement, I put back the can of soda I was going to drink on the table. She must really be seeing me as a friend, and her response right now is an attempt to bait out my view of her. She’s clever. Taking the can, I take my time sipping it for dramatic effect. When I put it back, I’ve formulated my response.

“Ah, well despite the...hostile first impression you gave me, today is making me glad I didn’t immediately run off that day. Being here with you today, I don’t see how you’re...” I trail off, unsure of how to describe what seems like her loner tendencies.

“Have no friends? You already know how much of a bitch I can be, Hisao. And I’m proud of it! People are very annoying! If you’re alone, they think something’s wrong with you!” Yozora raises her voice as she pounds her fist on the table. Then she suddenly grabs her drink, a bottle of water, and starts to chug it down, eyes closed.

Her outburst leaves me stunned. Even though much wasn’t said, a piece of Yozora’s outlook on life was revealed in her last two sentences. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to think about this revelation, as a voice I did NOT want to hear called out.

“Hisao! Hey, Hisao!”

Turning around, I see Akira practically dragging Lilly as they run across to me from the food stalls. To quote a French curse word I read somewhere on the Internet: merde. Yozora’s yelling must’ve attracted their attention.

“Oh, hello Akira, Lilly.” I give them a nod of recognition when they get to my table. Yozora, who still has her eyes closed, opens them and looks up.

“You know these two, Hisao?” Yozora inquires.

“Err, yeah. They’re my friends, well one of them is at any rate.” I respond. I’m not sure what to consider Akira as relationship wise.

“Not cool, Hisao. We go to places together and you don’t think I’m your friend?” Akira pouts, but her face isn’t exactly suited to an expression like that, so my mental defenses remain unbroken.

“Well, you’re the one who drives us. I should be calling you the chauffeur!” I shoot back, half jokingly and half seriously.

Before Akira can return fire, Lilly interjects.

“So Hisao, who are you with?” She asks, turning towards me. Her poker face is unmoving, so I can’t tell what emotions are running through her right now.

“Err, a friend of mine. Yozora, this is my friend Lilly,” I wave my arm to Lilly. “And this is her sister and chauffeur, Akira.” I wave my other arm to Akira. “Lilly, Akira, this is Yozora.” Using my head, I tilt in Yozora’s direction.

“Hello there! Pleasure to meet you, Yozora.” Akira steps forward, hand outstretched. But Yozora waves Akira away.

“Spare me the pleasantries. As if I wanted to know there was another Meat lookalike in the area. With a sibling too.” Yozora says with a stern tone. Here we go.

A flash of surprise goes through Akira’s face, but she quickly returns to her normal cheerful self. Lilly’s poker face turns into a frown though.

“I take it you’re referring to me as this “Meat” lookalike?” Lilly says.

This time, it’s Yozora’s turn to be surprised. But she quickly reverts back to normal.

“Ah, so this Meat has brains too. I’m surprised, I thought all your kind were bimbo airheads.” Yozora confirms with an insulting tone. She must’ve touched one of Lilly’s nerves, as Lilly turns to Yozora, arms folded over her big...boobs. Ok, I guess I’ve got a good idea of who this Meat person is now.

“Well, such comments certainly do tell a lot about your character” Lilly responds with a calm tone, at odds with her hostile posture. It isn’t a direct insult, but Yozora must’ve understood her implication, as she suddenly stands up from her chair.

I better move to defuse this situation before something goes wrong.

“Oh, it’s 2:00. Hisao, we’d better leave now.” Yozora randomly declares as she grabs my arm and starts to pull me away from the table.

Not what I had in mind, but anything’s good at this point if it gets Yozora and Lilly away from each other. Luckily, neither Lilly nor Akira asked what I was doing here.

“Umm, bye Akira! I’ll see you in school tomorrow Lilly!” I shout out as they stare at me with a befuddled expression.

“Get changed and head for the bus stop.” Yozora orders sternly as she marches towards the women’s locker room. She’s pretty riled up right now. I quickly get to my locker and change into the spare set of clothes I brought with me. After ensuring I didn’t leave anything behind, I exit the lockers, where I see an already-changed Yozora waving from the entrance. I walk towards her, and together we board the waiting bus.

Unlike the first bus ride, Yozora opts to sit next to me when I pick a seat. Looking over at her, she still seems a bit agitated by the encounter, as her slightly heavy breathing indicates. I decide not to interrupt her brooding, choosing instead to look out the window of the bus. A couple of minutes later, I decide to ask Yozora something.

“Why’d we leave when you saw it was 2 o’clock? We still had some time left.” I inquire.

Yozora, who’s seemed to have calmed down now, looks at me with a hint of embarrassment.
“Well, it wasn’t even about those two, to be honest. Ok, maybe a little bit, but I have an obligation that I must attend to most of the week. And it so happens that it usually starts around three in the afternoon.”

“And I take it you won’t tell me what this obligation is?” If she didn’t want me to know what it was, she would’ve just came out with it.

“No. Not yet, at least. Maybe some other time.” Yozora responds with an air of finality, turning away from me. I guess I will not be able to find out what this obligation is or why she was so hostile to Lilly, although that’s to be expected. Hanako was like this when I first started talking to her...

I wonder what she’s doing now. I’m with Yozora, and Lilly’s still at the water park with Akira. I feel bad knowing that she’s alone on the only free day of the week. Great, now I’m guilt-tripping myself into doing something with Hanako, now that I’ve done something with Yozora.

The rest of the bus trip passes by uneventfully. When we disembark at the city, Yozora’s mood has brightened enough to engage in small talk, mainly about the stores we pass on the way to our respective bus stops. When we approach the Starbucks though, Yozora suddenly stops and turns to me.

“So, I guess this is goodbye, for now.” She mumbles, looking slightly up to me. I just noticed that she’s fairly tall herself, maybe only an inch or two shorter than me at most.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” I dumbly reply. I look up, away from Yozora.The sky is still bright blue, but how this farewell is going makes it seem like it should be near sunset. I feel Yozora take my hand and press a folded note into the palm.

“Here’s the money for my entrance fee. It’d be a shame if I freeloaded off a friend.” She whispers, barely getting herself heard over the din of the city.

I attempt to pull my hand to my pocket, but Yozora suddenly tightens her grip. But as quickly as it happened, the pressure disappeared, and I deposit the money in my pocket. Looking back down, Yozora has her normal, slightly angry face back on. I guess it’s back to retreating behind her shell for now.

“Bye, Yozora. I’ll text you sometime this week.” I say, taking a step away.

“No, Hisao, it’s my turn to text you first. And unlike you, I won’t leave you hanging. Or will I?” Yozora laughs, before waving to me and turning away. In a second, the crowd consumes her, and it’s like she was never here, in front of me. After a couple of moments, I take my own leave, walking towards my bus stop.

Entering my dorm, I groan and throw my bag against the wall, where it slides to the floor with a thud. Stripping into my boxers, I fall backwards into my bed. A glance at my alarm clock tells me it’s only four o’clock. But it feels like I’ve been awake for two days non-stop.

Thinking back to the encounter, I wish that those three had never met each other. While they never directly questioned me about why I was with Yozora, it’s not hard to see what those two might be thinking. If Lilly tells this to Hanako...I bury my face in my pillow at the thought. While Yozora and I met up for purely innocent reasons, (as innocent as someone involving Yozora could be), things could get awkward really fast. Throw in the whole Hisao/Hanako date rumor, and there’s one big recipe for trouble.

I need to distract myself from these thoughts. I get off my bed and change into some sweatpants and a white T-shirt. Maybe some TV will distract me long enough so that I can sleep tonight. I exit my room and head to the second floor common room. Since it’s Sunday, most of the guys will be out playing or at the city, and the empty common room confirms my suspicions. Flipping the TV on, I start to channel surf.

Four hours later, I numbly get up from the coach, muscles screaming in pain from my awkward couch position. Gundam Wing certainly knows how to drain your brain. Entering my dorm once more, I strip back into my underwear. Somewhere between the fall to my bed and getting under my comforter, I go to sleep.

The next day, I walk into my classroom, refreshed and ready for Mutou’s next wave of lectures. As the classroom fills up, Shizune and Misha don’t show up. And since they’re usually the earliest ones here, it brightens my day even more since I won’t have to deal Misha’s “Wahaha~!” or Shizune’s attempts at either recruiting or flirting. Although I think the two are interchangeable at this point.

When Hanako walks in, she notices me and heads over to my desk. Well, there goes my day.

“H-hello, Hisao. How was your day yesterday?” Hanako timidly inquires.

Strange, if Lilly had told Hanako about Yozora, Hanako would definitely be asking me about her first. I might as well lie first and see where that takes me. It isn't the best option, but I need a better time and place to explain everything. The few minutes before class starts is hardly enough to get in an adequate story without sounding like I was on a date with Yozora.

“It was ok, got tired wandering the city in search of cheap necessities.” I reply, stretching my arms for emphasis. “How was yours?”

“It was a-alright, but I misplaced my school ID somehow. I came over to tell you I won’t be joining you and Lilly during lunch because I have to head down to the S-Student Council room and get a replacement.” Her voice has the air of someone who accidentally committed a crime.

“Oh, that’s fine then, Hanako. There’s always tomorrow. Don’t worry about it.” I say in an attempt to soothe her.

Mutou’s arrival is soon heralded by the loud bang as the door shoots open. Hanako rushes to her seat, and the school day begins.

When the lunch bell rings, Hanako immediately dashes out of the room. She must be really eager to get her ID, but then again, you do need it for a lot of the services Yamaku offers here. I take the now familiar path to the tea room, where I walk in to see Lilly sipping a cup of tea.

“Hey, Lilly.” I greet her as I take the seat opposite her.

“Hello, Hisao. I’m glad you’ve made it here today. If you don’t mind, I have a couple of questions for you. You probably already have an idea of what I’m going to ask.” Lilly says.

With the mention of the questions, the encounter with Yozora, Lilly, and Akira zooms back into my brain. Gundam Wing must’ve really done a number on my brain if I managed to forget about that incident until now. What seemed like a good day is now going downhill fast. I take a deep breathe to collect my wits. I have a feeling I will need them this lunch period.

“Alright Lilly. Fire away.”

I really ought to be making plans for an ending soon. This plot is all made up as I write. I'm starting to drift into BwTgS territory, plot-wise. So sorry if you fail to understand some of the references.

[Mirage_GSM]

I assume Yozora has areason to be so hostile to Lilly? If so it isn`t obvious yet.
Also, lying to Hanako is one stupid move. He knows she will get the truth from Lilly sooner or later.
And finally merde is french not italian. Not sure, if this was intentional or not...

[BobBobberson]

I assume Yozora has areason to be so hostile to Lilly? If so it isn`t obvious yet..
And finally merde is french not italian. Not sure, if this was intentional or not...

1. I have an explanation for that next chapter. Like I said, some references aren't going to be obvious if you haven't watched BwTgS.
2. I dunno, I remember it from Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, but seeing your post made me recall that Spy also says that, and he's French. Thanks for pointing that out.

[MystiKnight]

Great work as always, keep it up!

[BobBobberson]

Great work as always, keep it up!

Ehh, I'll try. Literally typing out the new chapter as I post. My self-depreciating mind makes me think all my chapters are crap, unfortunately.

[MystiKnight]

Oh well, good things take time, I suppose. Anyway, the time it takes you to write out the next chapter is time for me to go find the manga and start reading it.

[BobBobberson]

Note: This chapter's a bit shorter than usual, and it shows. I just read and finished Saya no Uta, so the nightmare fuel's been messing with my muse. The important part of the Author's Note is at the end of the post. Enjoy!

Lilly places her cup down, face furrowed in concentration. Probably trying to figure out how best to phrase her question without being too forward.

“I suppose I’ll make this first one simple. Who is Yozora?” She asks after a couple of minutes.

“She’s a friend of mine. I think I said that back at the park ” I respond immediately. I have no hesitation of calling her a friend now.

Lilly doesn’t show any trace of emotion following this response, instead opting to plow on with the interrogation.

“So I take it she was the reason why you declined my offer to go to the water park with Akira and I? I doubt there’s much you can shop for over there.” The last sentence she says with a hint of sarcasm.

“Well, you didn’t even know what Akira had planned! That and I had already made plans with Yozora beforehand.” If I had known that they were going to go to that water park, I don’t know what I would’ve done.

“So how come you didn’t use that as your excuse? Your behavior right now is highly...suspicious.” Lilly emphasizes the last word, no doubt in an attempt to convey what her suspicions are to me. Too bad I already know what they are.

“Well, that’s the reason why I didn’t use that as an excuse. If I said I was going to a water park with a girl, you’d probably take it the wrong way. Like right now.” I blurt out without thinking. She’s really being accusatory right now, and I don’t like that. What I do on my own time is my business.

Lilly frowns, breaking the poker face she’s been holding the past few minutes.

“Hisao, I’m not like that. It’s not like I’m possessive of either you or Hanako for that matter. It’s just that...” Lilly stops, probably trying to come up with the appropriate words. “...it’s just that from what Akira told me, Yozora’s basically a carbon copy of Hanako, besides some obvious differences.”

Like Hanako’s scars, duh. Although she might be referring to Yozora’s personality too. Why would she mention that though...

“So what’s your point? I noticed the similarities too, yes, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.” I remark. An idea does come to me while I say this, but I’m playing the innocent card right now.

“My point is...” For the second time, Lilly falters. This time however, she changes course completely. “Never mind, if you two are just friends, it’s not my place to interfere.”

Ok...did not expect that. Lilly can be persistent when she needs to be, so this is a first. I’m not complaining if she’s dropping the matter for now.

“She is a bit abrasive though. But I’m sure you’ve already seen that, haven’t you?” Lilly throws out. Another off-character instance, the Lilly I know doesn’t throw out direct jabs at people, even against Shizune. I suddenly receive an urge to defend Yozora.

“Eh, once you get to know her, she’s not that bad. She’s like that to everyone.” I respond honestly.

Lilly sighs, placing her drained cup on the table.

“Hisao, you certainly do have a lot of patience.”

Coming from someone who’s managed to deal with all of Hanako’s problems for over a year, that’s a pretty good compliment.

“Thanks, Lilly. Do you have any more inquiries?”

“Actually, just one more. When do you plan on asking Hanako to another date?” Lilly asks jokingly, giggling a little bit.

This is one of those moments where I’m kind of glad Lilly’s blind so she can’t see my quickly blushing face. It’s going to be a week since that move night. And recalling that guilt-tripping I did back with Yozora is making me feel obligated to do something with Hanako. But for now, I’ll try to play it off and divert Lilly’s attention.

“Ah, well I haven’t had a chance to see her yet. If you’d like, I could take you on one instead. I don’t want to leave you out.” I respond back, only half seriously. Although now that I think about it, I’ve actually never been with Lilly alone, for the most part. Going out for a night with her would be interesting, even if it would be only as friends.

My ‘offer’ catches Lilly off guard though (at least I think so) as her normally pale face starts to redden. It takes her a couple of moments to compose herself before responding.

“That’s a very nice offer coming from you, Hisao. I may take you up on that offer one day.” She says as we start to clean up the table.

I can’t come up with a response to that. I’m not sure if Lilly caught the not-serious part of my sentence, but it’s too late to recall it now without sounding like a dick. Well, like I said, it’d still be interesting to go out with Lilly somewhere, so I don’t see anything wrong with this. Unless someone from school catches us. Again.

As soon as we finish cleaning up, the bell rings. I make my way back to class, where I notice Hanako isn’t back yet. Just how much time does it take to get a replacement? When the teacher arrives, I lose hope of seeing Hanako, at least in class anyways. Maybe this is one of those instances where she disappears from class.

As soon as the bell rings, I immediately pack my things and run away before Shizune and Misha has a chance to distract me. Heading to the lobby, I take a seat on a bench and start to ponder where Hanako might be. There’s really only two places she could be: the library or her dorm. Getting up, I make my way to the library.

When I get there, the library seems to be deserted except for the occasional student reading or sleeping. I make my way over to Yuuko, who’s shuffling papers around.

“Hey Yuuko. Have you seen Hanako?” I ask as I approach her.

“What?” Yuuko drops her papers on the desk. She must’ve been startled by my greeting. Looking up, she notices it’s me and visibly calms down a bit.

“Oh, it’s you Hisao. Well, um, I didn’t see Hanako at all today. Unless she came in when I was reaching under my desk for a paper I dropped. W-which was about five seconds. But I don’t think Hanako’s that fast...” Yuuko stammers out. She really needs to learn to calm down.

“Oh, ok then. Thanks for the info, Yuuko.”

I leave the library and head towards the dorms. I realize that I still have my bookbag on me, so I head over to the boys dorm first to drop it off. Entering my room, I carefully place my bag on the floor, removing the books I’ll need for the homework later tonight. Looking out the window, I ponder on what Hanako and I should do next. That movie night certainly brought us closer together, but what would be an appropriate follow-up to such an opening act?

As I’m about to leave my room, my phone rings. Taking it out, the screen says it’s from Yozora. Oddly enough, it looks to be a call, not a text. Of all the times to contact me, why now? Sighing, I flip open my phone. Hopefully this won’t take long, although I do wonder why she’s calling me to begin with.

“Hello Yozora.”

“Oh, Hello Hisao. I thought you weren’t going to pick up for a second. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

>No, I’m not doing anything of importance.
Yeah, actually. I’m in the middle of something important.

“No, I’m not doing anything of importance. What do you want to talk about?”

I suppose I can take some time to chat with Yozora. Hell, I didn’t even expect her to contact me this early.

“Ehh, I dunno. How was your day?” She inquires.

“It was alright. Managed to stay awake the whole day in school. Also had a nice cup of tea over lunch with Lilly.”

“Lilly? Oh, you mean the Meat lookalike. I did not expect you to have a friend like that, Hisao.”

“Why would you think that? And since you mentioned it, who is this Meat you talk so much about?”

Yozora goes silent for a couple of seconds. I take advantage of the quick break to take a seat on my chair.

“Well, don’t you think it’s obvious from her appearance? Blonde hair, blue eyes, big breasts. She’s obviously the popular type.” She says with distaste.

“And I’m guessing you don’t like popular people? Lilly’s pretty nice.” Pretty big understatement, considering what she’s done for Hanako and I.

“I think I’ll let you figure that out for yourself. And about Meat, well she’s someone from my school who I hate. Kind of. I used to really hate her before this year though, she’s got the same blonde, blue eyed, big boobs look that all the guys in my school love. She has a personal army of males who do her bidding, and from what Lilly looks like, I could see her having her own personal manservants as well.”

Personal student servants? Damn, this Meat must be really attractive if she has those kind of followers. Sure, Lilly’s fairly popular in Yamaku, but I haven’t seen a gaggle of guy students following her around. Yet, anyways.

“Well, sorry to disappoint you Yozora, but Lilly doesn’t have an army of adoring male students who would do their bidding. Although I will concede that she is pretty popular.”

“Ahh, I knew I was right. “ Yozora says victoriously. “But no army? You sure about that? I swear if you’re one of them, we are never talking again.”

“No, no I’m not, I swear. She really doesn’t have anyone like that.” I hastily respond.

“Good, I’d lose a lot of respect for you if you did.”

Knowing Yozora, she’d probably stop talking to me altogether. Well, I’d better get in a question I haven’t had the chance to ask yet.

“So...would you mind telling me what’s this obligation you had to attend to yesterday?”

I hear Yozora sigh from the other side of the phone.

“Alright Hisao, I might as well. I recently started a club dubbed The Neighbors Club. And since I am the president of said club, I need to show up to the meetings on a timely basis. Y’know, make an impression and all that.”

A club? Sounds out of place considering what Yozora said about people.

“And what is the purpose of such a club? I didn’t think you’d be in one, let alone run one.”

“Well, the purpose of the Neighbors Club is to make friends.” Yozora declares. “So you can imagine what kind of misfits who joined my club. Meat was my first member.”

Well this just keeps getting weirder and weirder. And now I’m left wondering just who is this Meat? Gaggle of adoring guys, and still joins club with the purpose of learning to make friends.

“Sounds like an interesting club. You ought to let me go to one of your meetings.”

“Maybe one day, Hisao. So, you’re not going to bother to ask me how my day went too?”

That’s an odd change in subject. Maybe she doesn’t want me to see who these club members are. But then again, with such an odd objective, I can’t blame her for not wanting me to see her members.

We exchange small talk for a few more minutes, before Yozora remarks that she has homework to do. Looking back at the pile of books I extracted from my bag, I say that I have some to do as well, and hang up.

Looking back out the window, the sun is already setting, below the tree line. Seems like my chance to do something with Hanako today is gone. Well, I think I should probably take her out to the city or something; the two of us have probably been to all the local spots by now. And at least I got to know Yozora a little better.

Thinking back on the conversation, I realize that Yozora never asked what her disability is, or mine’s for that matter. She’s treating everyone she meets the same way. I don’t know whether she forgot that I’m from Yamaku or if she’s just ignoring it, but it makes me feel better knowing that my (unknown to Yozora as of right now) condition isn’t affecting the way she talks to me. Although I wonder what would have happened if I threw out that Lilly was blind in their introductions. Would she still have been hostile, or maybe she would have held back out of pity?

Deep in thought, I break out of it so I can get started on the pile of homework I left on the table. Sighing, I get to work. This week is going to be a long one.

I rushed this chapter a bit, and it's probably going to show, so sorry. I have a research paper to start as well as a case study, so don't expect an update until at least next Thursday. Which is why I wanted to get something out before tonight. Not that this news is a big deal, after all I'm no Doomish or Brogurt D:

[BlackRockHanako]

I'm enjoying it! (Despite not knowing the source material - I'll check it out)

But you should definitely work on your papers as a priority, we can all wait here (and I assume your teachers can't )

Look forward to reading more