The Piano on the Floor (Shizune vs. Emi, New post 5-4-12)

[WorldlyWiseman]

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2: Bechdel Test, Failed
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Once the forms covered in nonsense answers and dick jokes have been sorted to the wastebasket, the feedback on the Yamaku Public Festival is mostly positive. Allowances must be made for the particular incident, of course. No matter how much time Ibarazaki puts in, it won't undo the fact that a stall nearly collapsed with townies in its way. Aside from that, there are other outliers.

[How can these people complain about the fireworks being shorter this year? Were they carrying stopwatches?]

Misha looks blankly at the forms in her hand. [I have no idea. Maybe they're just being nos-tal-gic.]

Shizune tosses away the offending forms, freeing both hands. [We spent three quarters of what the previous Student Council did and only had to shorten the whole display by one minute. The naysayers are in the minority. We accomplished what we set out to do.]

[I guess that means we can ignore them...hey! I just realized, the fried food stalls didn't get anybody sick this year!]

[It is good news, but you don't have to feign that much excitement over it.]

[I'm not! Getting sick from food is crummy.]

[Spoken like one who uses all of the wasabi when it comes alongside our order...]

Hisao is not present to comment on any of this, and neither is Emi Ibarazaki. Her work ethic has improved slightly over the last few days. She drinks bottled water constantly to keep from fidgeting, which leads to irritatingly predictable requests to head to the restroom. One break per day, supervised by Misha, was the compromise Shizune made. It worked well until today. Then Ibarazaki waited for Shizune and Misha to have thier hands full and backs turned to grab Hisao and dart out the door with a roostertail of feedback forms behind them. The rabbit girl is still fast, even when wearing what Misha affectionately calls her 'street feet'.

Misha is making an effort to not mention anything, and Shizune is determined to be fair. She has resolved to give them ten minutes before attempting to track them down. Besides, Ibarazaki has already sorted out the nonsense forms. There isn't too much more that she can do today. Tomorrow will come, and Shizune will flay the hide off of both of them if Hisao allows himself to be tricked. It can wait. Surely, she can just not mention anything. She is an adult, and not some jealous-

[They are in cahoots.]

[What? Cahoots?]

Shizune nods. It feels like all she can muster on the subject for the moment. Until: [Do you think Ibarazaki is an interesting person?]

[Like how you think people are interesting?]

[Yes.]

Misha presses her fingers on the desk for a moment, and then begins signing with one hand. [Well, she's nice.] Her other hand joins in. [She can talk a lot, but she lets other people talk more. And she's kinda cute, I guess-]

Misha stops herself mid-sign and indicates the door and her ear. She peeks out the door, and there may as well have been a snarling dog or a ticking bomb on the other side. She slams it shut and presses her back to it. Eyes wide, signing with one hand;
[L]

[L]
[L]
[-]
She stops before the last letter, her eyes flicking to the doorknob. Was there another knock? Shizune sighs. She can only guess as to what the Representative wants now. There are no deadlines to push, and she handles her attendance forms personally. All the same, she should not just be shut out of the council room with no explanation. Shizune nods slowly. She cracks her knuckles.

Lilly's cane bobs ahead of her as the door moves out of the way. Misha takes a stance between them, her hands focusing Lilly's speech into words like a lens.

[Good afternoon, President.]

[To you as well, Satou.] Shizune peers into the hallway behind Lilly. There is someone else in the hall, but they are staying out of sight for the time being. [What brings you here? Your attendance record is in order.]

[I am speaking on behalf of the Track and Field club. They would like to negotiate, concerning Ibarazaki's punishment.]

---

"How could they start cleaning every restroom in the main building at the same time!?"

"No idea. How have they been avoiding cleaning that medical wing restroom for so long?"

Their shoes echo in the empty hallway.

"You're the one with the direct line to the Glorious Leader, you do something about it. Oh, lemme get the handrail-"

"Of course, sorry-"

"-it's fine." She angles her body to one side to climb the stairs. Less trouble for the ankles that way. "Thanks for 'escorting' me, by the way."

"Thanks for yanking my shirt collar instead of asking Misha, I guess?"

"Oh, you know you wanted a break, too. Misha's great, but she can be, you know..."

"Yeah, I know."

"Like, when she escorts me she always tries to hit me up for free tampons-"

"Ok! How would you handle two peg legs?"

"Much like your topic change - gracefully, of course!"

"Oh, I don't doubt that, but wouldn't you want wheels or something? Much faster."

"And then I fly off the edge of the ship!"

"Which is when the shin-mounted pontoons activate -whew- and buoy you to safety."

"Am I a pirate or am I MechaCop, Hisao? You are seriously making this joke into something else."

"-hah- I see nothing wrong with a Mecha-pirate. -hah-cyberpirate..."

"As long - wait, are you okay?"

The window at the top of the stairs silhouettes Hisao, and he is dark with no distinct features. She sees nothing but the hunch of his posture as he feels his chest, and the pull of his back as he defiantly brings himself up to his full height.

And that ridiculous cowlick. There is that.

"It's just my breath. I think it's under control now."

"You know, if you want to run five days a week instead of three, you'll be able to handle stairs better..."

He looks of somewhere else. "Shizune works me ragged as it is. I need the sleep. I'll stop trying to take them two at a time if it makes you feel better.

She gives him a tighter smile than usual. "Don't worry, we'll get there. But let's stop with the pirates."

She doesn't want to risk plunging under the water just yet.
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(Table of contents ready, exercise issue explained with minimal rewriting.)

[FishyBroski]

It's just like McDonalds, I'm lovin' it! Oh by the way, when you had Lilly speaking was it supossed to be in brackets?

[nemz]

Makes since because its from Shizune's POV... all she's noticing is the translation.

[Enemy |]

Seems good so far
A little weird that Hisao got a little worried with his heart there, since he's running with Emi, though.

[WorldlyWiseman]

Seems good so far
A little weird that Hisao got a little worried with his heart there, since he's running with Emi, though.

It's still early in their regimen. This is taking place really soon after the act 1 festival. I guess it might look like a Big HNNG, but it's more of a flutter? Not many ways to tell from Emi's POV, but I'll keep it in mind for future drafts.

[Scissorlips]

I'm liking the latest chapter, I think Misha/Shizune alone time would be a pretty hard thing to get down right, but it seems like you have a knack for it. I enjoyed the interaction with Lilly you threw in as well. Would be lying if I said I wasn't a little rustled because Emi clearly has a headstart when it comes to winning over Hisao at this point, but hopefully the playing field will be level again soon. Looking forward to whatever's next.

[Ploppy17]

It's a shame that this hasn't been continued, it really seemed like a promising beginning. You wrote Shizune and Misha better than most, which I really enjoyed reading. Any chance that you'll pick this story up again, WorldlyWiseman?