Katawa Shoujo Forums

Grounds and Facts

It's almost 7 PM when we get back to school. At the school gates, Mutou's paying the rental van a few extra thousand yen to drive him home. I guess it would've been presumptuous to think he sleeps in the dorms. I obviously never see him in or around the dorm during mornings, and I'm sure he has a life outside of Yamaku as well. He sighs deeply. I think his negotiations with the driver are bending outside his favor.

The van drives away behind us, and the rest of us make our way inside the gates. A security guard, clearly informed of our extracurricular activity, closes the gate behind us before continuing with her night watch.

As we made our way to the fork of the dorms, Kento makes some small talk with Kawanami for a short while before he bows to her and bids her goodbye. I notice that both of them are signing back and forth while speaking to her, even though we both know she can hear fine. She disappears into the darkness as she leaves for the girls' dormitory.

He lightly jogs to me. "I didn't know you signed," I tell him.

"I-it's invaluable in a s-school like Yamaku," he replies. "You n-never know when you accidentally talk w-with someone m-mute." He grins at me. "Anyway, l-let's go."

I shake my head. "Maybe later. I don't feel like going to the dorms yet."

His grin whittles out. "W-wha-, you sure? C-curfew's gonna c-come up s-soon."

I check my watch. "Actually, curfew's gonna go up in four more hours. I've got plenty of time." I shrug. "You go on ahead. I'll be at the dorms when I need to be, no worries." I try to smile to reassure him that I was fine by myself.

Kento looks at me with concern, but he shrugs the feeling off. "If you're s-sure. A-alright." He bows at me slightly. "Good e-evening."

His politeness feels weird directed at me, unsettling at most, but I reply to his sendoff. "Good evening."

I stand and watch as he slowly melts into the night, just like Mei minutes ago. I'm now left alone to myself and my thoughts.

I wander around school unopposed and unseen. Who is there to supervise me? The security guards are at their posts and probably too lazy to go check if a student is wandering the grounds at night. All the rest of the students are in their rooms, studying or sleeping. I'm starting to wonder what I'm even doing outside the dorms. But I wander on, aiming to get myself lost in a facility already familiar to me. Soon enough, I realize that this is pointless. But I'm still putting myself from going to the dorms. Rationality isn't working for me right now, and I don't really mind.

I concluded that I was somehow subconsciously avoiding tomorrow like the plague in fear of meeting Miki, but I knew I had to confront her and I was getting tired of aimlessly drifting. My subconscious helped me find a compromise to both; I somehow found myself at the track, just at the foot of the bleachers. Weary, sleepy, and cold, I climb up to the very top and curl down where Miki and me first hung out after the festival. I lay down on the same spot that day, imagining what Miki would be saying to me if she were lying on her spot as well. Would she be quiet and just lie there, basking us both in awkwardness? Or would she shriek at me for not letting her explain her side of the argument we started a couple of days ago? These depressing thoughts keep me awake through the drowsiness the late night showered upon me. I'm so downtrodden, I'm actually considering calling it a night on the cold hardwood.

I hear someone's footsteps coming from the track below. Thoughts and sleepiness dispelled slightly, I slowly peek at my fellow night wanderer, taking care to keep myself angled and hidden in the shadows in case he's the security guard I've guessed that was roving the campus.

Of all the people I expected to find that night, the least of them was Miki. She's in her PE clothes and probably cold, but she wasn't showing it. Was she out for a pre-midnight jog before she went to sleep? She's stretching, so I'm thinking that I'm right.

She proves me wrong.

To a silent beat, Miki starts wrapping her arms around herself, gracefully skimming across her sides before slowly spreading them outward, her right foot pointed at the floor, as if she's testing out the water in a pool. She steps forward in long strides, her arms mirroring legs. She's making good use of her stage, the part of the track that's directly in front of the bleachers. Her invisible audience watches on as she dances. My eyes are blurry from my tiredness, making her motions seem like she's brushing against the background behind her, painting on her canvas of grass and darkness. I'm about to call her out and tell her she's doing beautifully, but the dark takes me.



I feel something rubbing my ribs. I roll away from whatever it is and sunlight starts streaming through my closed eyes. Cringing from the pain, I shake my head and see who's bothering me.

Grumbling, I look up to find the track Captain staring down at me. "Y'know, Emi had doubts whether or not she saw your fuzzy mane up here. Guess she was right."

Fuzzy mane? Words not registering. I'm rolling myself face-flat on the floor.

"Team practice just ended minutes ago," he continues, his words slightly muffled by my drowsiness. "You're gonna end up late if you stay here sleeping."

My eyes shoot open and I do a half-baked push-up a split second after the weight of his words hit me like a brick. I shake my head to shock myself awake as I stand, and immediately lose my balance from the dizzy spell I gave myself, falling back-first down the bleachers.

Thank the deities the track team's Captain caught me before I could cause myself any permanent damage. I can feel a breeze passing through just my hair. He pulls me up, makes sure I'm standing on both of my feet, and dusts me off.

"You're pretty clumsy for someone who has the guts to tell Emi off," he quips as I turn around. "Speaking of which, you shouldn't worry too much about her being pissed about you. I mean she is pissed, but it'll blow over soon."

"I wasn't really worried," I trail off. I was preoccupied with problems of the Miki sort. "Anyway, like you said, I should probably go." I point to the general direction of the male dorms with my thumb anxiously. "Won't you be late, too?"

"Nah," he says. "I'm on official track captain business right now. It's like a crappier version of Student Council immunity to being tardy." He shrugs.

I sigh. "You won't tell anyone about this?" I motion to the bleachers and my cold person.

"Not a soul." He mimes zipping his lips and winks.

"Thanks," I mumble, bowing quickly before running to my room. I decide that the track team's Captain is pretty friendly and probably a decent guy.

As soon as I reach the dorms, I don't bother bathing and just jump into my uniform. I didn't even have time to grab a bite at the cafeteria. I just sprinted (half-jogged, honestly) for the classroom before I could end up being late, panting as I walked through the door. All eyes were on me as I walked to my seat. I caught Miki's gaze, too, but we immediately cut our eye contact before things could get weird.

"I see you're late, Mr. Nakai," the teacher pipes, drumming her fingers on her desk, annoyed.

I sigh and half-nod, half-droop at her. I'm tired and still extremely sleepy. "Won' happen again, ma'am," I mutter, heaving slightly.

She sighs. "I guess I can let you off just this once. It's the first time you've been late to Math, and you've been doing so well, too..." She taps the table again with a pen once before standing up to begin her lesson. I, on the other hand, drift back to sleep after that running.



I wake the second time that day to the sound of the classroom emptying itself. My guess is it's lunchtime by now, and I stir. Seems like I've missed a couple of classes. I'm honestly surprised Shizune didn't wake me up, or even at least let Misha do the dirty work. Speaking of both, I lazily look to my right, only to find the Student Council pair staring down at me with burning fury. I think they really did care about me missing out.

"Erm... Hi you two," I mutter.

"I can't believe you of all people would doze off at school, Hicchan~!" Misha scolds me while Shizune is signing beside her. I can't take the first one seriously if she's using that cheerful tone of hers while glaring, but I do my best to keep a straight face while I'm laughing inside.

"Had a rough night," I mumble. "Won't happen again." I do my best to stifle a yawn to prove my point but I fail spectacularly.

Shizune pulls off her glasses, sighing silently as she cleans them with a cloth. She does a little head motion to Misha, and the second girl pulls out some folded papers. The pinkette smiles as she hands them to me, forgetting her whole 'stern' facade. "We saved your homework for you. You better be grateful to Shicchan~. She doesn't look like it~, but she cares about you and your progress here in school. So work hard, kay~?"

The President put her glasses on and elbowed Misha lightly, signing furiously at her. Misha squeaks and immediately dons her own angry face. "Will do, Shicchan~," she replies, signing what she says.

"This is your last warning, Hicchan~. Next time, we won't let you off so easily~."

"Yes ma'ams," I say as the last of the students leave the classroom.

"Now with that business done," Misha continues to translate, "do you have anyone to eat lunch with~? I noticed Suzu and Miki aren't around. Misha and me are free to eat with you~. Wait a minute... I'm Misha~! WAHAHA~!!"

"Are you guys sure this isn't another ploy to get me into the Student Council?"

"Hicchan, you wound me~." Shizune looks bitter. "We know you're in the literature club so we can't recruit you. There are no ulterior motives here~."

I pause to think. With things between me and Miki being a huge riddle at the moment, I'm still having doubts on whether or not I should talk to her. But her dancing... I remember her dancing.

"Earth to Hicchan~? You there, Hicchan~?" Misha waves in front of my face. "Are you trying to practice sleeping with your eyes open now~?"

"Wha-? Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered something." I pause for a bit.

"To be honest," I reply afterwards, "I'm starving, but I've got something to do before I eat brunch."

I grab my bag and get up as I leave the classroom. Behind me, I hear Misha saying "Brunch~!? You skipped breakfast~? A student should be responsible for his health~!" I'm not sure if it's Shizune or her speaking right now, but I don't stick around to find out.

Making my way to the cafeteria, I check around our usual table if Miki and Suzu are around. I don't find them anywhere, so I wander around some more.

And some more.

And a bit more.

A quarter hour till lunch break ends, I finally resign to the fact that I can't find them. I go back to the cafeteria, extremely hungry, and buy myself some curry bread to eat on the go before classes begin.

When I come back to the classroom, a couple of students, including me, are still migrating to their desks. Miki's already seated. I walk in front of her to get her attention, and I'm surprised that she's grabbing onto my arm. Her grip is light, like she's having second thoughts about calling me out.

"Hey Hisao," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "You mind if we talk?"

I squint at her. "It's almost class hours, you know. I was looking for you during lunch break."

Miki squints back. "Oh yeah? Well I had to take Suzu to the Nurse today while you were snoozing." I am taken aback, but she sighs and pulls me back in before I could leave for my desk. "Ugh, sorry. That was uncalled for. Could we, I don't know, have a civilized conversation later before we end up doing something we'd both regret?"

"Oh. Sure. Wait, what?" I didn't notice Suzu's absence. "Is she alright?"

Miki grunts. "She's fine! Now go. Old man Mikisugi's making his way here." She tugs me to the left of the room and I stumble a bit before fixing my cuff sleeve.

I peek behind me and, sure enough, the teacher was just in front of the doorway. I tiptoe to my seat before he could think I was loitering or something. I look to Miki, expecting some last word, and I meet her gaze, but all I get is her mouthing "later", some disappointment, and her facing the blackboard. Mister Mikisugi arranges his papers on the desk and they make a satisfying rhythmic clunking sound on the wood like someone shuffling cards. Pretty soon, our History class begins.



Homeroom period's done, and the students are all making their way to club meetings, the dorms, or just to their friends' hangouts. Miki's packing her things, and I'm standing behind her, waiting.

"Let's go," she says after she clips her bag close. "We'll talk on our way to the clinic to get Suzu."

"Don't you have track practice today?" I ask.

"Nah," she replies. "I, uhh... I'm skipping today for Suzu's sake." She stands up. "What're you waiting for?"

"You," I say, motioning my hands as if to let her lead the way. She rolls her eyes and starts walking. I follow.

We wade through the waves of students, a stream of teenagers living their everyday routines. It's weird, knowing that there are at least two students in the stream who broke routine in the crowd, lives ripped out of comfortable familiarity. Maybe I'm just overthinking it, but I know that's how I feel at the moment.

Miki and I remain quiet long after we've left the main school building, our footsteps ringing slightly in the courtyard as we reach the annex building. I think both of us are trying to say something, but we simply stop short of letting it out. She stops at the building's steps.

"What, we just stand around and wait?" I ask, sounding a bit annoyed.

I take a peek at my watch, but Miki pulls my wrist away from me before I could get a glance. She shrugs, pushes my hand back where it belongs, and stuffs her arms behind her. "We've got a few minutes. Nurse told me to wait until around 4." I glance at my own watch instinctively, even though I didn't need to anymore. She's teetering about, shifting her weight from the balls of her heels to her toes.

"Okay," I say. "So..."

"So..." she echoes.

"You dance, huh?"
"I was thinking about what happened with Emi and-."

We blurt out our words at the same time.

"Oh," I say.

"What?" She says.

This is getting awkward.

"What do you mean, I dance?" She asks.

"I don't know why I said that," I admit. "I think I saw you dancing last night hours before curfew. To be honest I think it was just hallucinating late at night or something."

Miki's eyebrows furrow and she places her arms on her hips. "Or you actually saw me last ni-. Where the hell were you, last night? Were you peeking at me from the shed?"

"No!" I blurt out. "I was wandering around the school grounds in the middle of the night and I kinda drifted in and out of consciousness on the bleachers because I was too tired. Maybe you didn't see me because it was too dark, or I was near the railings or something."

"Oh wow," she mused. "You slept on the bleachers? No wonder you looked like crap this morning."

"Hey!"

She chuckled a bit and, despite my slight annoyance at her, she got me to smile, too.

"I guess one more of my secrets is out, huh?" she asks.

"I guess," I repeat, sitting down on the top of the stairs leading up to the building. Miki sits beside me, stretching her legs down and arching backwards before propping herself on her elbows. Aside from the ambient noise the other students are making in the school grounds, it's quiet again. Though unlike the ones before that were thick and unpleasant, things between me and her felt more tranquil.

"Look, I'm sorry about the thing with Emi." Miki brushes a stray strand of hair from her forehead. "Didn't mean to ruin your friendship, and I might have been a smidge too bitchy back then. Maybe. On hindsight, the whole 'drinking test' thing wasn't a hot idea either." She winces at the thought.

"Well, you were a bit of a bitch," I confirm. She jabs me on the shoulder, and I yelp from the pain.

"I didn't say you had to agree with me," she grumbles, though she smiles moments later.

I sigh. "Sorry for being a jerk, too."

"You were a jerk." She smirks. "Good thing you don't punch girls." I grunt at her, and she giggles.

"I'm just glad you're not mad at me," I mutter.

"Are you kidding? I'm glad you aren't mad at me!" Miki's face of mixed relief and worry surprises me. Were we both actually reluctantly avoiding each other? Or was that just me?

"At least all that's over. It's kinda hard to stay mad at someone you like." I gently nudge her on the shoulder, and she smiles softly.

"Yeah," she says. "You got that right..."

Huh?

I glance at her, and I can see that she's staring at the foot of the stairs, blushing. I can feel my ears warm up.

"You're joking. Tell me you're kidding."

She jabs me on the shoulder again. "Ow!" I yell. "Could you please quit that?!" I think a bruise is forming on my arm.

"If you stop being such a fuckass, sure." She rubs her thumb on her left elbow and sighs deeply. "The few days of not having you around sucked. I mean, you surprised me and ticked me off with that 'I'm not taking Emi's side or yours' thing you did, but things were different without you. Everything felt eerie. Quiet, even. It made me realize that I missed you and the way you made me feel when you're around." She coughs and brushes another stray strand of hair off her face. "It's probably not what you think. Really."

"I believe you," I say. "But I still think it sucks that we're not... You know."

"What?" she asks. "Lovers?"

"Well... Yeah." At that point I swear my ears could boil an egg in seconds.

Miki is analyzing me, looking slightly miffed. "Like I told you a while ago, I have to weigh between having you as my boyfriend and having you as a friend. We're already having a swell time with Suzu as it is, right?" Her expression shifts into one of shock. "Oh crap, Suzu! We forgot about her!."

I bolt upright and offer my hand to Miki. She takes it, and I pull her up before we both get into the annex building and knock on the Nurse's office door.

The door opens. "Hello Mister Nakai, Miss Miura," the Nurse greets us with a smile. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Is Suzu here?" Miki asks. "You told me to pick her up, and I guess I'm half an hour late."

The Nurse's smile fades. "She already went to the dorms an hour ago. I deemed her fit to leave alone."

Miki's concern drops. "Oh. Okay. Sweet."

This time, the Nurse turns his attention to me. "Hisao!" he says cheerily. "I haven't seen you in a while. Have you been doing the exercises you promised me?"

"Yes sir," I respond. "It's a bit hard, but thanks to Emi and especially Miki here, I've been doing laps every morning. It's tiring, but I think I'm getting the hang of it." He eyes me for a bit, then peeks one eye at Miki. I can't exactly say what the man's thinking right now, but I think he's adding two and two together. My palms get sweaty.

Miki, on the other hand, elbows my rib. I flinch. "You skipped a couple of days of jogging, slacker."

"Y-yeah... Sorry about that." I rub my side. "In my defense, it couldn't really be helped. Some things got complicated."

"That's not an excuse," she barks before turning back to the Nurse. "Thanks for taking care of Suzu today. We'll be going now."

"Alright. Take care you two." The both of us are already walking away from the office. "I'll need you to come over on Friday for a checkup, Hisao," he says, the volume of his voice raised for the both of us to hear. "And Miki, you should-."

"Don't worry, sir!" Miki yells back. "I'm doing the thing." She's dragging me by my elbow and we're back on school grounds.

"So..." I mumble. "Early dinner? I didn't exactly have a good brunch."

"Nah," Miki waves me off. "I need to check up on Suzu to see if she's really fine. I trust the Nurse to some degree, but I don't trust him that much. I think he's a bit creepy." She shudders.

I frown. "That's probably all in your head. He seems okay to me."

"That's just you," she sneers. "Trust me, something's fishy about that guy."

"Suit yourself," I reply.

We both fall quiet as the afternoon sun beams down on us both.

"So..." she says.

"So..." I say.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, you too."

"Don't be late for our jog."

"I won't."

"Okay, bye..." she says.

"Bye," I say.

I reluctantly move my hand toward her for some reason, but I stop myself and clench my fist. Before I could turn around and leave for the cafeteria, though, she pulls me in a tight embrace. I pray to God that she couldn't feel the warmth of my cheek against hers.

"Glad to have you back, Hisao," she tells me as we pull back, then she runs off to the dorms.

"Yeah," I say to no one in particular. "Me too."

Next|Previous|First

D'awwwww, that was sweet. I like when people just suck it up, admit that yeah they probably could have handled things a little better, then just...live and let live.

I also like the new dynamic between them, with both of them very clearly wanting to take the next step, but with Miki not exactly willing to do so just yet. At first, it seemed like Miki wasn't so sure about her feelings, but now she's just unsure about whether it's a good idea.

And the title finally makes its play. That was...actually unexpected. I guess I'm kind of used to titles being used more metaphorically. Yay.

It's almost 7 PM when we get back to school.
...
I check my watch. "Actually, curfew's gonna go up in five more hours.

Reality check: Curfew is at 1 a.m.?
Some problems with tenses. An example paragraph:

I wander around school unopposed and unseen. Who was is there to supervise me? The security guards were are at their posts and probably too lazy to go check if a student was is wandering the grounds at night. All the rest of the students were are in their rooms, studying or sleeping. I'm starting to wonder what I'm even doing outside the dorms. But I wander on, aiming to get myself lost in a facility already familiar to me. Soon enough, I realize that this was is pointless. But I'm still putting myself from going to the dorms. Rationality wasn't isn't working for me right now, and I didn't don't really mind.

It's not just this paragraph - you're changing tenses all over, sometimes in the middle of a sentence.
If you get that under control the rest of your writing is actually quite good.

"Had a rough night,"

Actually he seemed to sleep like a baby for probably more than twelve hours
Better explain his drowsiness with medication side-effects or something...

So... Nice to see this continue after a bit of a hiatus. I still think the story is promising.
I especially like that in your story the class has other teachers besides Mutou!

Both me and Miki remain quiet long after we've left the main school building, our footsteps ringing slightly in the courtyard as we reach the annex building. I think both of us are trying to say something, but we simply stop short of letting it out. She stops at the building's steps

I think the this should read "Both Miki and I remain quiet after...", given that if Miki weren't present, the sentence would read "I remain quiet long after...".

Of course, if Miki weren't present, this update would have been far sadder for both Hisao and the readers.

Really liked the talk between Hisao and Miki. That was sweet. And like someone already said, I liked how they both admitted their mistakes and moved on. Now they just need to figure out how to move forward, which should be fun.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

Mirage_GSM wrote:Reality check: Curfew is at 1 a.m.?

I mentally put the curfew hour to 12 p.m., but I think all those late nights of writing took their toll on me. Changed.

Mirage_GSM wrote:It's not just this paragraph - you're changing tenses all over...

Like I said, I was sleepy.

Most of Hisao's night-roving moments were written while I was extremely drowsy, though, so I guess they felt more authentic when I wrote them. I just didn't notice the tense errors.

Mirage_GSM wrote:Actually he seemed to sleep like a baby for probably more than twelve hours
Better explain his drowsiness with medication side-effects or something...

Since the story is told in Hisao's point of view, he doesn't actually know that, but yes, his drowsiness is caused by side-effects.

Mirage_GSM wrote:I especially like that in your story the class has other teachers besides Mutou!

It's kinda hard to run a school with just one teacher.

Oscar Wildecat wrote:I think the this should read "Both Miki and I remain quiet after..."

Changed. Grammar has failed me.

I'm glad that you guys like this update, even though to be honest I thought it was kinda cheesy. Then again, real life can get this cheesy, too.

Tune in for the final chapter of act 2!

It's kinda hard to run a school with just one teacher.

Yet most other fanfiction authors seem to be blissfully unaware of that fact

What is this? People being reasonable and admitting they should have handled things better? BLASPHEMY

On a more serious note, I really like this, really looking forward to future chapters

Sperance wrote:What is this? People being reasonable and admitting they should have handled things better? BLASPHEMY

On a more serious note, I really like this, really looking forward to future chapters

It's still Act 2. Hisao and Miki are still getting to know each other. I'm sure either one of them is bound to screw up sooner or later.

Miki has such personality in this. Even Suzu has me intrigued. I have to say, I think that this Miki is like a combination of all the good stuff between Shizune and Emi, with her own unique and personal twist. This relationship feels far more natural than either of them alone, and (for me) approaches the level of the canon Hanako route for my enjoyment. Please, don't stop now… I'm really enjoying it.

This is...amazing. I'm really liking how you're setting up this story. Feel very...real.

Wow this is great, I love how this ties in with the pseudo suzu route. Although the part in the diner had me rooting for Suzu haha. Looking forward to more from you keep up the good work my friend,


just a quick thought, why is Lezard always seen as such a bad guy?

HITK220 wrote:Wow this is great, I love how this ties in with the pseudo suzu route. Although the part in the diner had me rooting for Suzu haha. Looking forward to more from you keep up the good work my friend,


just a quick thought, why is Lezard always seen as such a bad guy?

It's not that he's a bad guy. It's just that he's kinda jealous of Hisao and Miki since they get to hang out with Suzu, at least according to what I understood from Scissorlips' route.

at least according to what I understood from Scissorlips' route.

Ahh ok now I remember. It would only make sense to follow up on how the characters act if you are basing yours loosely off Scissorlips suzu route. I forgot it was his route I read that had Lezard in it.

Anyways looking forward to seeing more of your awesome route, really loving it so far.

Closed Tuck-In

"Good run today, Hisao," Miki beamed as she coasted along the track while I wiped the sweat off my brow. Apparently, she was doing a couple of extra laps after I became a wheezing mess on the bleachers. Things have gone back to normal a few days following my reconciliation with Miki. I think the best thing about the universe's return to natural order was that Suzu didn't suspect a thing about the dispute.

"'Good run' my butt. I don't feel good." I rub my aching legs.

"You kidding me? It would've taken a miracle if you tried to say a full sentence to me last month. Look at you now!" Grinning, she whisks some sweat away from her brow with a flick of her hair. "Not even the least bit short of breath. That's definitely an improvement."

Huh.

Now that she mentions it...

Oh wow, she's right. I think back to that time I overextended my stay on the bleachers. If I hadn't been doing all those runs, I probably wouldn't have made it to class on time. I might've even ended up in the clinic. Or worse.

"I guess this means we're going to add another lap to your daily runs," Miki muses.

"Please, no more," I groan. "I'm barely making it through eight."

She sighs. "Fair enough. It goes against my principle of letting you breeze by on your own pace. Though," she pouts, "I'm really sure you could do more."

Using thine feminine wiles against me, eh? I cross my arms at her. "Not gonna happen."

Miki rolls her eyes. "Fine."

She initiates our cooldown stretching and I hop off my seat to follow her lead.

"So," I muse while hopping on one leg and pulling a foot behind me. "How's the track team?"

She stops stretching and stares at the floor for a good while. "Umm," she starts. "Yeah... yeah! The track team's great."

I pause my own cooldown routine furrow my eyebrows. This isn't the first time I've noticed Miki acting strange when I ask her stuff.

"I'm starting to think that you're hiding something from me," I say.

"No! No, no, no... Lord no." She shrugs while stretching her right arm across her chest while pinning it with her left. "We're actually moving our practice from morning to late in the afternoon to get ready for the international track meet."

I'm caught off-guard. "International? You're joining an international competition? Why did no one tell me anything?"

"You probably weren't paying attention when Mutou made the announcement a couple of days ago." She scratches her temple before pulling her left foot behind her. I mirror her, only doing a hop to keep my balance, which is an improvement compared to constantly jumping around the first few times I've stretched. "You never pay attention to school announcements."

I rack my brains for any memory of Mutou's announcements, which happened every morning if he had any, but I can barely remember. Miki probably has a point. I think it's because I'm usually too tired to pay attention to anything by the time I get inside the room every morning after jogging.

"Anyway," she continues, "the Junior Paralympics are going to be held in Osaka after summer for about a month, and because of that slammin' win in the inter-school track meet we're pretty much gonna rock everyone's socks off their feet. If they actually have feet, at least."

Her joke, although crude and immature, gets a half-snorted laugh out of me.

"You're going to hell for laughing at that," she says deadpan without missing a beat.

"And you're coming with me for having dark humor," I shoot back. I hoot a few more times before a thought sobering crosses my mind and kills my smile. My arms go slack.

Miki notices immediately.

"What's wrong, Hisao?" she asks, lowering her own arms. "Aren't you supposed to be happy for me?"

"Well," I muttered, "I am. But then I realized that you'll be gone. And that's gonna suck."

"Hey," she calls out. "You don't have to think of it like that. I'm not going to leave for a year. I still have school to finish, you know. It's just gonna be a week."

"It's still gonna suck," I repeat.

"Are you honestly this clingy?" Miki sighs.

"I'm not!" I say. "I guess it's okay if you left for a few days. I'm just voicing out my opinions. Not to mention the fact that not seeing you every afternoon would be pretty crappy, too."

She sighs but smiles weakly. "You know you're not obliged to feel that way since we're not an item, right?"

The corner of my lip twitches and I shrug.

"Hey. Could you stop worrying about the competition and focus on stretching again? We're gonna be late."

I shrug again. This time, it's Miki who sighs.

"Fine. I'm going to compensate by hanging out with you more, okay Hisao?"

A smug smile creeps up my face. "I didn't know you cared."

She walks over to me and punches me square on the shoulder. I hiss from the pain.

"It's kinda hard to care if you dick around like that," Miki says flatly.

"You know, one of these days you're gonna end up killing me," I gripe.

"Don't care," she shoots back instantly. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"Jeez," I mumble. "Sensitive, much?"

She still looks mad, but eventually she breaks into a laugh. "Got your goat again, Hisao!" She slaps her knees and cries between fits. "If you could only see the look on your face!"

I can't believe I fell for that. I'm going to have to get her back one of these days.

"Now, back to stretching," she orders after a last loud whoop and a moment to gather her bearings. "I don't wanna be late."

Grudgingly, I comply.



The day's lessons breeze by. Luckily the rest of the day didn't have to be filled with homework. Miki, Suzu, and I are walking down a hallway as we go to the library, and I'm carrying a small mound of books in front of me. It's been a few days since I've joined the Literature Club and I'm going to have my first meeting after officially enlisting in the club. I listen to the two girls bicker about something that happened in their dorms yesterday while I absentmindedly tail them.

"Hey, Hisao." Suzu peeks over her shoulder at me, adjusting her sling bag slightly. "Is something bothering you? You've been quiet for some time now."

I peek up at her, then glance at Miki for a bit. The taller girl knits her eyebrows at me and shakes her head. I take this as a non-verbal "she doesn't need to worry about this right now", so I try to steer the conversation away from a proper answer.

"You kidding me?" I scoff. "I'm always quiet."

"Ugh," Suzu groans and rolls her eyes. "I mean more quiet than usual." She's slowing her pace to stand beside me. I don't think she's buying it.

"Seriously, Suzu, you're overthinking things. Nothing's on my mind right now. Honest." I attempt a sincere smile. At least I think it's sincere.

She frowns for a few seconds, regarding me curiously before shrugging. "Okay. I believe you."

Obscured from view, Miki breathes a sigh of relief. "Glad that's over," she mumbles.

"What's that, Miki?" the shorter girl asks.

"Nothing," Miki shoots back. "Oh hey, this is your stop." The three of us crowd around the library's doors. "I'm gone for track practice. See you tonight, Suzu?"

"Only if I'm awake to welcome you back," she smiles.

"And see you tomorrow morning, Hisao." Miki finger-gun-chlick's me. I wave her goodbye as I open the doors for Suzu.

Yuuko isn't at the front desk. She's probably back at the softer corner of the library where the club usually does meetings since one particular member is obviously prone to automatic unexpected unconsciousness. As I'm trying to focus on carrying the stack of books to our destination, Suzu beside me is still eyeing me curiously. I peer back down at her.

"What?"

"I know you're worried about something," she presses on. "It's okay if you don't tell me, really, but I honestly think I can help you with it."

I frown. Should I really tell her about how I'm worried for Miki's new track meet? I peer down the hall to see a small group of people sitting on and around a carpet, offering me some time to decide.

"Maybe I'll tell you later," I whispered. "After the meeting. Okay?"

Suzu smiles at me lightly. "Trust me, okay? I can make things better for you."

I hope so.

I place the books among a larger pile in front of Yuuko and I find a beanbag to lean against as I squat on a rug.

"Hey guys," I greet the group.

"Nice to have you here with us, Hisao," Yuuko says, grinning warmly.

"'Sup," Akio says.

Even Lezard, who's usually lethargic to me, acknowledges me with a nod.

"Now," the librarian starts, "today we have our first official meeting with our newest member, Hisao Nakai."

"Because last time, all we did was sit around and read," Lezard cuts in abruptly.

"Y-yes we did," Yuuko continues, a bit taken aback by the snide remark. "But that was because we didn't have any book reviews to make that time..." Her lower lip is quivering.

"It was better than doing nothing," Akio shrugs. "Besides, isn't reading books the whole point of the Lit Club anyway?" Yuuko looks relieved that someone else seems to think the last meeting was good.

"Yeah... Anyway, we're doing the book reviews today, and who better to give the first one than Hisao?" She motions her hand to me. "Let's all give him a warm round of applause." Yuuko claps enthusiastically, Akio's is tepid, Suzu's is a bit slow (I think she's drifting), and Lezard only claps once. Loudly. The librarian flinches, either worried for herself or the other students in the library at the moment. I think Suzu just gave the guy a dirty, yet sleepy, look.

I honestly don't like it when people hand the stage over to me, but I really don't have much of a choice in the matter. Reaching into the pile of books, I get the volume I chose for the review.

"Afternoon, guys," I start awkwardly, scratching my right arm a bit as I let the book hang from it. "So, the book I chose was Amped by Daniel Wilson. I, uhh... I chose this book because I needed to get better at English, and a friend recommended it for me since she said it was easy enough to read and was interesting." I peer at Suzu for a while and she grins a bit, giving me two thumbs up.

"So. The story is set in the near future where people have access to neural implants that improve human performance. Originally, these implants were used to treat people with bodily defects. But, with humanity being humanity, the people without these implants were scared of the implanted ones, saying that they're abominations and unnatural, and need to be punished for existing. The story focuses on high school teacher, Owen, and his life-changing discovery of his implant that isn't what it seems."

"Uhh, it was good. Pretty easy to read for something written in English," I unconsciously wave the book around as I ramble on, "and the plot was well-made. The writer gave a really good message against prejudice at the end, or at least that's what I think it implies. It would be a good book to turn into a movie, honestly. And, umm... I guess that's it." I shrug.

"Good job, Hisao," Yuuko beams. "Three claps for him, you guys." A trio of quick, low claps rings in our corner of the library. I actually expected Suzu to have already fallen asleep in the middle of my short presentation, so I'm surprised to see her clapping beside me.

She nudges my side and whispers into my ear. "Pretty sweet work, if I do say so myself, but you missed a few things."

"What?" I ask her.

"You didn't exactly give out the full plot in your review. There was no ending, no plot development, no nothing. You just gave us a summary." She crosses her arms. I slowly grow worried.

"Uhh... Did I really have to do that?"

"Well..." she looks up at nothing, "not really. I just wanted to see where Miki was going with this whole 'you're a gigantic worry-wart' thing."

I knead my forehead with a couple of fingers before glaring at her. "Do you two really love to torment me like this?"

Suzu is grinning from ear to ear. "Maybe..."

I hate it when girls toy around with me then act cute to get away with it.

"Hey," she nudges me again. "We should pay attention to Akio. He's in the middle of his review while you were chatting it up with me."

I glower at her. "You started it."

"Shh!" She fails to keep a straight face on, but her banter is soon lost as we listen to our club mate as he reviews his volume.



My first Lit Club meeting is over and me and Suzu are talking over dinner. The cafeteria during nighttime is obviously less crowded than it is during the day. It's probably because most other students already know other places to dine from outside the school. I just don't have any alternatives for eating anywhere else, except maybe the Beijing, and that place is way too far for a night stroll with Suzu alone.

That actually sounds weird out-of-context.

Suzu is dining on a salad and the cafeteria's crappy coffee. She says it tastes like laundry water, but it's better than nothing. Meanwhile, I'm eating a steamed bun.

"So," Suzu steeples her fingers after audibly crunching on her lettuce. "What seems to be the problem?"

I sigh. "Honestly, I'm still hesitating on whether or not to tell you about it."

She swallows and scowls. "I thought I already told you to trust me? I might have some idea on what's bothering you."

I weigh my options as I tap my fingers on the table. On one hand, I'd be betraying Miki's trust. On the other, I might actually get a solution to my troubles. And if I don't, well, I'm sure Suzu can keep a secret, even from her best friend.

"Fine," I exhale and look down, feeling a bit defeated. "It's about Miki. I'm sure you've heard that she's leaving for Osaka after summer for the Junior Paralympics. I wanted to spend more time with her, but with how things are now, I don't think that's going to happen..."

As I look back up, I meet Suzu's gaze. She looks sad—almost broken—for a moment. But then she smiles and giggles. What just happened?

"I knew something was up between you two," she beams. "I did say I could help you with it, so I will!"

"Wait," I reel back. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"You obviously like her, silly!" she trills. "And in case you didn't notice, she likes you, too!"

I can feel some steam coming out of my shirt.

"And as a friend to you both," she continues, "I believe I'm going to do you guys a favor by playing cupid. Now come closer and listen up..."



It's pitch-black and I can barely see anything three feet in front of me. I'm leaning against a window behind me, its drapes softening the glass behind it. I think this habit of getting talked into doing things I might regret is getting worser by the day. But I guess I have no choice in the matter by now. I'll have to follow Suzu's gut, then play it by ear.

Light cracks and I can hear the creaking of the door in front of me. The light switch flickers and before the newcomer could react to my presence, I say, steadily and clearly, "I'm here; it's me."

The sudden flash of a fluorescent bulb makes me squint, but as my eyes adjust to the glow, I can see Miki in front of me, dressed in her PE uniform, a towel draped around her neck and sweating like she just came back from a long run. Normally, she'd look beautiful in her natural element, but it came out as scary and slightly hilarious as she tried to bludgeon me with her towel out of surprise.

"Oh, jeez, Hisao! You scared the shit out of me," she complained, patting her sternum before eyeing me suspiciously. "Wait... How did you get into my room?"

"I, uhh, borrowed a key from Suzu," I say. "She talked me into doing this for you."

"What're you talking about?" she rambles on. "What are you two in on?" She blinks and peers at the object I'm holding with both hands. "Is that...?"

"Lily of the Valley, yeah..." In my hands is a small plastic pot carrying tiny flowers that resembled small, white bells. "I heard they're poisonous if eaten, but you liked them so I bought them from town. I was kinda worried that you'd beat me to your room before I got here to surprise you with them so—."

I am cut abruptly with a quick peck on the lips. While I'm stunned and flushing, Miki takes the flowers from my hand and turns around to place them on her desk before turning back to me and hugging me tightly. She smells of sweat and it's soaking into my shirt a bit, but I didn't mind. This is the Miki I am familiar with, the one I know. I wrap my own arms around her and embrace her tightly.

She rests her chin on my left shoulder. "Thank you, Hisao," she whispers with a half-sob. Is she crying? "I'm sure you don't know what you just did for me, but thank you."

I pat her on the back in an attempt to comfort her. "I honestly don't," I confirm, "but I think you needed that. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me in this school, you know."

"I know," she sniffs, but half-chokes and chuckles lightly as we face each other. "I'm awesome like that."

"You are," I agree, pulling my right hand up and wiping off tears on her left cheek with my thumb. I lean forward to kiss her again, as light as hers. "Does this change things?"

"Yeah, it kinda does," she whispers, but then quickly shies away. "Oh fuck, what am I doing? Kissing a guy while I'm a total mess like this." She wipes her eyes with the palm of her good hand, but I try to keep her close to me.

"Look at the bright side," I shrug. "I've seen you at your worst. I'll know what to expect if you're feeling crappy next time."

She half-choke chuckles again. "I guess..."

Miki sighs and holds both of my hands as she pulls me backwards. I willingly let her guide me. "I'm tired," she mutters. I guess I'll let her have her peace.

She pulls me onto her bed and I lean against the corner of her room to get myself comfortable. Curling up against me, she interlocks her fingers against mine as she lies against my chest and we stay there cuddling in silence for a few hours. Pretty soon, I tell Miki that I should leave before the night grows too late, and we say our quiet farewells.

Suzu is probably in her room sleeping by now. I'll have to thank her properly tomorrow for fixing my life.

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