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Wow, you really did a lot of rewriting!
I'd say it was worth it. This is a lot better than the previous version.
The new chapter is also good. Looking forward to see this continued.

"Nice. I never thought you had it in you, Yuuto. I'm totally seeing you in a different light now."

Is that why she's calling him Yuuto instead of assbutt?

One Shot: When Yuuto met Molly (And Miki too!)


I met Molly at the opening ceremony and she instantly attached herself to me. I don't know why exactly, since I don't exactly have the greatest track record with girls as friends, but whatever. She's really smart and helps me out with my Math work, which is great because I've got some sort of brain damage when it comes to that boring as all hell subject of Math. Plus she's actually pretty fun once you get past the huge nervous shell she wears. I mean, the amount of time she spends gushing about video games is pretty annoying after a while. But with three younger brothers, who do the same exact thing, it isn't too bad. And she' buys me food every other day or at least shares some of her lunch.

And it's pretty cute when she gets flustered and starts tugging on her braids and stuttering out some sort of explanation when I embarrass her.

"A-ah w-w-well you s-s-see..."

Then she just sort of trails off until she's mumbling whatever it is. By then I've usually stopped listening and have crumpled into a laughing mess. She's a lot of fun to pick on.

Which is why I can't pass up this opportunity.

Molly's been sneaking to the other end of the second floor after the last bell every other day. I don't know what she's doing, but today's the day I'm going to find out. There isn't much going on at the end of the second floor, just a few clubs and a bunch of empty classrooms. So, whatever it is she's been doing, she's taking a lot of care in keeping me in the dark.

And with Molly, that's a big sign that something's wrong. That girl doesn't hide anything from me.

So far, I've managed to avoid her spotting me as I duck around corners and dive into empty classrooms. It's sort of cool, like I'm a secret agent or a spy or something. Except that instead of looking for the key to a weapons satellite or some canister of a super-secret nerve gas, I'm just following a fifteen-year-old girl around to figure out what she's hiding from me.

Finally, my favorite little bundle of nerves stops, presses herself against the wall and pokes her head around the corner at something down the hall. I crouch behind an open classroom door and watch her through the window. She keeps ducking her head back, eyes clenched shut. It looks like she might just rip her braids off if she keeps yanking on them like that. What the hell is so interesting around that stupid corner?I know that there's a club that meets back there, but Molly isn't interested in joining any of the clubs at Yamaku. She said so herself!

Unless it's not the club she's interested in, but just a club member...

Wait wait wait... Is Molly in trouble? That has to be it, right? Yeah! Maybe someone is picking on her and not in my oh so fabulously hilarious ways. Like in an actual mean bully type way. Maybe someone is pressuring her to join their club and blackmailing her!

Or even worse, what if she has a secret boyfriend? Is she too embarrassed to hang out with him around me?

Why would she keep it hidden from me? We've been the best of friends ever since we met two months ago. We're two peas in a pod! We're two happy clams! We're joined at the hip and loving every second of it! I mean, sure, I'm going to never stop teasing her about it and I'm going to keep putting her into awkward situations with whoever this secret mystery boy is because it's funny, but I would totally be supportive of her efforts and help out in any way I can.

I mean, if I approve of the guy.

Molly pulls a light-green paper envelope out from the confines of her sweater and just alternates between staring at it and then back down the hall. What is that? An envelope full of drug money? Incriminating photos? A list of people she needs killed?

Molly tugs on her left braid and shoves the envelope back into her sweater through the neck-hole. Damn. There wasn't enough time for me to properly see what it was.

Well, no sense in keeping myself hidden anymore. Just staying here and wondering isn't going to get me anywhere. Time to spring into action and get my little buddy to fess up.

I slink out of my hiding spot and tip toe behind Molly as she pokes her head out again. I've got a promising career in espionage after I get out of Yamaku.

"Hey Tin-teeth, whatcha doing there?"

Molly immediately flings herself around the corner and clamps her hand over my mouth.

"M-Miki," She gives me a raspy whisper, her face turning a shade of red I wasn't sure was humanly possible. "W-W-What are you d-doing here?"

"Mrphfurrongew." Molly's hand muffles any chance of an actual reply. Apparently, she doesn't get the hint that until she moves her hand anything I say is going to sound like I'm talking through a pillow. Or a hand. Whatever.

"Shhhh!" Molly holds her finger to her mouth but doesn't move her other hand. "You're g-g-going to get me seen!"

I pry her hand off my mouth and slap it away. "Get you seen? By what? What are you doing up here?"

"N-Nothing! A-A-And k-keep your voice down!" She flings her head back around the corner as though checking for an enemy patrol.

"Are you buying drugs? Is there a drug dealer on campus? Is someone blackmailing you? Is the drug dealer blackmailing you?"

"Wh-What are you talking about? No! Of course not!" She grimaces at me, flashing the pink braces on her teeth. "Why would you th-think I was on drugs?"

"I dunno. Cause I was hoping you weren't hiding a boyfriend from me or something." I shrug. Molly has to pull me back down as I attempt to lean over her and catch a glimpse of whatever she's interested over there.

"He's n-n-not my boyfriend!"

"Your drug dealer then? Molly if you're on drugs, you have to tell me. I'm not a cop. I mean, my Uncle is and we can totally get you the help you ne-"

Molly clamps her hand over my mouth again, practically squeezing my cheeks through my teeth. My hand wraps around her wrist and I try pulling her off me. It's no good. How did Molly get this strong?

I begin to grumble about how I'm going to hurt her if she doesn't move her hand, but Molly gives me the biggest puppy dog eyes that I've ever seen. Oh no! They're even watering in the corners. There's not a soul on this Earth that could resist a look that pitiful. I groan through Molly's hand and drop my arms back to my side.

"J-just promise me you'll be quiet."

"Ipomish." I nod my head.

Molly nods and slowly lowers her hand. I roll my eyes as she wipes her hand on her sweater and pokes her head around the corner.

"So you gonna tell me why you've been sneaking around the school like this or what?" I lean against the wall, since Molly isn't going to let me around that stupid corner to see her stupid secret that I want to see so bad that it's eating me up inside.

Graaaaaaah. Molly! Please just let me look!

"It's... a b-boy." Molly barely manages to mumble coherently.

"Awww'h. Lil' Mol-Mol's got a crush?"

Molly's glare is the dirtiest glare I've ever been given. I shrug, my sign for a half-assed apology. Molly just turns away from me and down the hall again. I hope that means she accepts it. I gently push myself off the wall and wiggle my way closer to her.

"Who is it?"

"N-none of your b-business."

"Awwww'h come on. I'll be super niiiiiiice." I wrap my arm around Molly's shoulders and lean against her. Molly tries to wriggle away from me, but I slide my other arm around her waist and lock her in. My bandages catch on her wool sweater and loosen. Shit. I hate having to rebandage my wrist in public. Still, I pull Molly as close as possible and notch my chin into her shoulder.

"N-no! You'll just tease me and-" Molly lets out a little yelp as I slide my hand down her sweater.

"M-M-M-MIKI!"

I pull my hand and the green envelope out from the sanctuary of Molly's sweater. It slides right past Molly's face, which twists between shame, shock and anger all at once.

"Give that back, Miki!" Molly hisses and tries thrashing her body back and forth to get free. All I have to do is keep her locked in place and avoid her prosthetics and I'll be totally fine. I'm heavier, stronger and bigger than Molly, after all.


I hold the envelope up to the ceiling and grin at the little hearts in the corners.

"Oh hooooo. A love letter? You're so old fashioned, Molly."

"Miki! Stop! Please!" Molly flails herself around again and I abruptly let go of her. My little friend topples face forward to the floor.

"Who's it for though, huh?" I wonder out loud before turning it over in my hand. Awww'h. Another heart is on the back, drawn over the seal.

And is that a...

"You kissed it? You put on lipstick and kissed this thing?"

Molly flips over and glares up at me. I have to fix my earlier statement. That look Molly is giving me right now? That's the dirtiest look anyone's ever given me. That is definitely the definition of a look that could kill.

"Reeeelax, Mol-Mol. I'm not going to read it."I flip the envelope over again and hold my stumped left arm for her to pull herself up. Molly, still holding her look, grabs onto it with both hands and I haul her up.

"So who's it for? Yamamoto? Takahashi? Sato? Oh! Is It for a giiiiiirl?"

"Miki..."

"I mean, it's cool if it is. I just didn't know you swung that way. All the power to you, Molly. You go girl and all that."

"Miki! It's for a b-boy! His name is under your thumb."

Huh? Oh. I slide my thumb off the bottom corner of the envelope and...

Miyamoto?

I scrunch my face up and stare at the name again.

Who's Miyamoto?

"Who the balls is Miyamoto?"

"M-Miki. He sits right next to you in class." Molly tries to rip the envelope from my hand but I smack her in the face with it. She moans softly and rubs her nose. I flip the letter over again and frown.

Okay. Let's see. If I remember correctly, on my right is that kid missing a foot, then there's the girl with the two arm cane things and in front of me is Molly, which means that Miyamoto is...

Wait. Wait wait wait. That would leave the kid on my left. The one with the mop of dark brown hair and the bandages. The one who sits there through the whole class, tapping against his desk, and glaring at anyone who tries to talk to him.

"Oh Molly... That moody jerk?"

"He's not moody, he's... serious." Molly mumbles to the ground.

"Seriously a dick, maybe." I smack her on the forehead with the envelope again. Molly rubs her forehead as I tap my chin with Molly's little love letter. "I got paired with him for history class like two days ago and he filled out his worksheet without even letting me look at it."

"Maybe it's be-because he doesn't like people who cheat..."

"Nuh-uh! He totally copied off that other guy during Science! What kind of ass does that shit?"

"You wouldn't understand." Molly mutters again before turning her attention back to whatever it is that lays around that corner. I tuck Molly's letter into my shirt pocket and sidle up to her. I poke my head around the wall and finally lay my eyes on what's been holding Molly's attention for the last few weeks.

There are three other students standing outside of an open door. I recognize Miyamoto, leaning up against the wall with his usual glare plastered on his face. He's got his sleeves rolled up past his elbows and his tie undone and just draped under his collar. The other two, the girl with the eyepatch and the guy who keeps shuffling from foot to foot, I don't know. But they look pretty nervous, like they're waiting for someone to come out of that room and tell them that their grandmothers all died. The fidgety guy keeps trying to talk to the other two, but they just shake their heads and go back to whatever it is they're waiting for.

One Shot: When Yuuto met Molly (And Miki too!) – Part 2

"What's going on?"

"Those two tried out for the music club yesterday." Molly explains with a whisper. She points at the girl and guy I didn't recognize. "I think they asked Miyamoto to help them get auditions..."

"We have a music club?" I didn't know that. How come I never heard about any music club? I'm a girl who has her pulse on the community of this school. Anything that goes on, I totally know.

Except about the existence of a damn music club.

"It's really sm-small. It's barely recognized by the school and I don't th-think they get any funding." Molly continues. I glance down at her as she starts running her fingers over her braids again. "But th-they had to audition to get in. Everyone does."

"What about medium, pale and angsty there?" I point at Miyamoto.

"He got in two weeks ago. I heard him play. I think those other two are waiting to hear if they got in or not..."

Oh...

Wait.

"Molly, have you been following Miyamoto for the whole two weeks that you've been sneaking off?"

Molly tugs on her braids.

"Mol-Mol, that's called stalking, you know that right?"

"Shhh!"

Another student leans his head out of the open classroom door and waves Miyamoto and the other two into the room. The three shuffle in, the two who haven't made it in yet look like they're about to puke. As the door shuts behind them, I pull Molly back into hiding with me. She gives me yet another of her dirty looks as I brandish her love letter again.

"So what, you were going to give him this?"

"Y-Yes."

I grimace.

"But why? He's a total jerk. A cute little Indian girl like you could do way better."

Molly rips her letter back from me and shoves it back into the depths of her school sweater.

"Wh-When I heard him play..." She starts, still playing with her braids. "Miki, I didn't mean to hear him play or anything. I... I got lost on my way to the library again and I ended up here and... Oh Miki."

Molly slumps against the wall and sinks to the floor. I roll my eyes at the little smile that appears on Molly's face. Oh god. This girl is going to be the death of me. I guess there's no helping it. I can't choose who the heck my best friend falls in love with. All I can do is offer her my support and try to make the best of it. Miyamoto'll probably just let her down anyway. I don't think he even knows Miki exists.

Oh well, here we go then.

"So what does he play?" I plop down onto the floor next to her.

"Piano... M-Miki, he played Raindrops by Chopin. My Grandfather used to pl-play that all the time." Her smile gets a little bigger. My eyes roll again.

"Oh, so he played some piano song your grandfather played. That isn't enough for you to fall all head over heels for the guy, Molly."

"No, Miki.... He didn't just play it. Miki, he was... it was beautiful."

"Pthhhtblth." I give her a mouth fart. "How do you know it was him?"

"I wa-waited until he left the room. And then the other kids came out and started talking about how no one could play that well. And... And that there was no way they couldn't let him in."

"How about because he's a big fat jerk?"

"M-Miki! Pl-Please! I r-really like him."

"Yeah, I can see that." I sigh and stretch my legs out.

Molly finally stops messing around with her braids and pulls her knees up to her chest.

"S-So?"

"So you're going to give anyone who's walking down the hall a good look at your freaking panties if you sit like that."

Molly's legs immediately slide back down and she starts patting her skirt down. I give a little snort and lean my head back.

"Alright, so you want me to help you out with this or what?"

Molly's eyes light up like I told her that she'd be spending the next three days playing with kittens. She nods, her little smile breaking out into a full-blown grin.

"First off, if you're going to do this properly, you can't start off with a stupid love letter."

Molly's grin vanishes completely. I grab her wrist before she can bring her hand up to her braids again.

"But th-that's how girls do it in my comics..."

"Yeah, and how does that work out for them? It leads to a bunch of wacky misunderstandings and comedic accidents." I let go of her wrist and shake my head. "And I know you haven't even talked to him before today... Besides, it's so boring and worn out... This isn't some stupid dating sim, Mol-Mol."

Molly nods, frowning.

I'll bet it took her a long time to get the courage to even do this stupid letter plan. And then I step in and just shatter it to the ground.

I wonder what she wrote in that thing.

"So what should I d-do?"

"Why don't you try talking to him first?"

Molly shrugs.

Oh right. Because it's Molly and she freezes up when boys so much as breathe near her. I slap my forehead and drag my hand down my face. Okay. Come on Miki. You can do this. You're the charmer. You're the social butterfly. You're the girl who knows how guys work. You can totally do this. You can get this shy, painfully awkward girl to talk to that ass and maybe even get them to kiss. The kissing thing might take a bit of alcohol to lower Molly's little shell but yeah. I can totally do this.

I will be the greatest freaking wing-man for Mol-Mol. Errr... Wing-girl.

Is that a thing?

"Okay. Okay. Why don't we.... form a study group?"

"Wh-what?"

I slap my knee. "A study group! It's perfect! I know for a fact that Miyamoto isn't really that great at any of his other subjects, just History for some reason. So all we have to do is pretend that we're not great at studying History-"

Molly grins. "Which won't be a pr-problem for you."

"Shut up, but yeah. It won't. And then we offer to help him out with Math, which is your subject and I'll help out with... you two getting together."

"Because you've got terrible grades?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up, Molly?"

Molly frowns. "This sounds an awful lot like some sort of plan to get the both of us to do your homework..."

"Well, it isn't. It's a damn study group."

Molly looks up from the floor and freezes.

"He's standing right there, isn't he?"

She nods quickly. I groan and turn my gaze to the boy standing in front of us. Yeah. Miyamoto. He's got a new bandage on his neck and a few on his arm. The heck is wrong with him? Why does anyone need that many bandages on random spots on their body like that?

"You're Miura, right? You two are in my class... What are you doing up here? On the floor?"

I pull myself off the floor first and have to help Molly up. She immediately wedges herself between my back and the wall. Okay. She's not going to be any help, which I already expected. Which means it's time for Miki to shine!

"Yeah. Molly and I were looking for you, actually."

And that's only half a lie.

"For what?" He adjusts the straps to his backpack and continues to give me this horribly painful bored look. Like he's dying just because he has to stand there and talk to me.

"A study group. We were thinking of putting one together. You, me and the girl hiding behind my back." I push Molly out with my hip so that she has to face her stupid crush right here in the hall.

"H-H-H-Hi." Molly hiccups and stares at the floor.

"Yeah... No. I think I'll be okay." Miyamoto says before turning away.

Damn it. I guess there is one thing that could totally make this plan not work. Miyamoto could just reject the idea. Which I should have thought about since he's such a jerk.

"Wait wait wait. Look, I need help with History and I know that you're pretty good at it, right? And Molly's really, really good at Math. Like she's a super genius with that crap. I bet she could help you out."

"Why don't you just study history? It isn't that hard to remember a bunch of dates."

"Because that crap's boring as hell." I take that step to his side and slip my arm around his shoulders. Miyamoto's face lets me know that he doesn't like this one bit. Dang man, I'm a girl. What the hell is wrong with you?

"Besides, I'm busy with starting on the track team and all. I got to put away all the equipment every day with some other chick and she's too small to lift half the stuff by herself." I squeeze him into my side and grin at him.

"And why would you turn down two hot pieces of ass like Molly and me, eh?" I slide away from him and step back to Molly.

"Because I don't need any help."

I groan. "Well we do."

"Too bad."

"I'll get us a pizza." I throw out there.

Miyamoto raises an eyebrow. "A pizza? What like every day?"

"Well, no... But at least once a week. All you have to do is let us up into your room every night and help us with our history homework." I grab Molly and try to shove her into place, front and center, so that Miyamoto will look at her and not me. I think she super glued her legs to that spot. She doesn't budge a damn inch.

"My room? Why my room?"

"Uh, do you want to try sneaking into the girl's dorm every night? You want to be known as the pervert who does that?" I place my hand and stump on my hips.

Miyamoto rubs the back of his neck before finally shrugging. "I guess not. But fine, I probably could use some help with my math homework so that I don't slip up on my scholarship."

"R-Really?" Molly finally pipes up again. Miyamoto looks down at her for what I think is the first time since he spotted us on the groupd.

"Eh. So long as Miura here holds up to her deal with the pizza, I guess I can deal with you two and some stupid study group." He gives us another shrug and pulls his phone out of his pocket. He pushes a few buttons and hands the phone to Molly.

"That's my number. Just give me a call when you guys are ready and I'll let you into my room," He turns to me as Molly struggles with holding his phone and pulling a pen out of her bag. "And make sure the pizza doesn't have any mushrooms on it."

"What? That's like the second worst topping on pizza. Why would you even mention that we can't have it on there?"

"Because I'm allergic to them."

"Oh, I guess that's a pretty good reason then isn't it?" I scratch my cheek.

"Yeah." Miyamoto holds his hand out and Molly places his phone into it. He shoves it back into his pocket and turns away. "I'll see you two later I guess."

Molly and I say nothing as Miyamoto walks down the hall and turns to the stairwell. As soon as he's gone, Molly throws her arms around me and
gives me a great, big bear hug.

"Miki! It w-worked!"

I groan and shove her off of me. I can't stand hugs. Bleh. Molly lets go, but stands there, shaking in excitement. I hope she doesn't pee herself or something. That would probably destroy whatever confidence she's managed to pull up from this disaster.

"Yeah yeah yeah. It worked. I got us into his room. But now we have to figure out how you're going to get into his pants."

Molly frowns. "I... I think th-that might be a little t-too much, Miki."

"Or you and that assbutt can smash your faces together. Whatever." I shrug and start walking down the hall. "Come on, I blew off track practice for this so I have to go apologize to the track captain now. So we need to come up with some lie to make me look good."

"Assbutt? O-Okay." Molly falls into line with me. The girl is practically glowing. I'm glad that she's so happy. Damn, I'm such a great friend. OH! Oh right! I punch my palm with my bandaged stump. The pizza!

"Oh, and can you get the pizza? I don't have any money."

Nice side story.
Molly having a crush on Yuuto is an interesting turn of events. It wasn't really obvious from his perspective.
Let's see where this goes...

Wow this is actually pretty interesting. The part where the club president got nailed? Loved it. Keep it up

Hmm after reading "Once More" and seeing that you got another story I decided to check it out. I really enjoy it thus far. Guess the rewriting was quite the step up because I didn't encounter any bigger problems while reading. It was kind of a joy to see the rather abbrasive Yuuto deal with the student council while being pissed off, and even better, being comparably reckless when he payed Lilly and Hanako a visit. It's rare seeing those two not being handled overly carefully without gloves and instead pushed out of their comfort zone (well, not that Hanako has much of that anyways but yeh). Yuuto also didn't seem to be too much of an asshat to me just yet, I mean his anger and rough behavior are at least somewhat understandable considering the circumstances.
For now at least, it feels like he isn't quite the asshole that he may appear on the outside at times. He seems to be aware the at times he's not doing right. At the same time, he isn't even remotely as (overly) considerate as Hisao is, which isn't only nice for a change but also means he doesn't spend an insane amount of time thinking certain topics through. So there seems to be happening quite a bit of plot progression within these 5 chapters.

Overall I also like your renditions of the Yamaku cast and OCs you introduced.

As mentioned by others his change of mind in regards to the student council appears to be a bit rushed, especially since we're missing most of the 2 weeks of interaction between them. At the same time though, I feel like I can understand him changing his view some.

In that regard I also have to say that I really enjoyed your execution of his ellipsis episode. The way you subtly let the symptoms creep in and being overseen as the result of other sources was quite good. And when it happens it's actually quite suspenseful and exciting, with the sudden kicks of his, him realizing what's going on and then calmly but sternly telling Misha to get a nurse, just in time.

So yeh, I'm really liking it and haven't encountered any bigger issues yet.

While Yuuto was difficult to get used too for me since he is an ass, he did soften up enough to be likable. Plus, I also have epilepsy, though not nearly as severe(it's completely controlled by medicine). And as you can see by my profile, I really like Shizune, so thats a plus too.

One Shot:When Yuuto met Molly (And Miki too!)
Previous Chapter:Hello, Goodnight

Chapter 1: The Ballad of Queen Bee & Baby Duck
”King Baby Duck sat alone on his throne. Every day went and alone he remained. Then came the Queen Bee and everything changed.”

The girl seated across from me scrunches her face as she stares at the chessboard in front of her. I let out a tiny sigh and continue to tap my fingers along the edge of the table. Slowly, my opponent picks up her left rook and moves it three spaces forward. I stop my tapping, fingers just above the surface of the table as the eons pass for her to finally take her fingers off the chess piece.

Oh boy! Chess! Again!

Just another exciting day in the life of Student Council member Yuuto Miyamoto.

Ikezawa looks up at me, frowning slightly, and nods her head. Okay. Serious move from her there. She’s got her game face on.

I respond by picking up my remaining knight and taking her rook. Somehow, I don’t think she noticed that I’d be able to do that. Ikezawa gets pretty nervous when I’m in the room after all. I can count the amount of times she’s looked at me dead on like that on two fingers…. Because she’s only looked me in the face twice.

“That’s mine.” The words slithers out of my mouth as I place her former rook and place it next to the pile of pawns, her left knight, her right bishop and her queen that I have stocked up next to me.

Ikezawa’s frown deepens and she continues to stare at the chessboard. Wonderful. That’s the start of her routine again. That means I’ve got another lifetime before she moves another piece. While I do appreciate taking over for Satou in this game, as it is good practice for when I eventually do have to play Shizune again, playing against this girl isn’t the same. And with all the practice I’ve been getting since I’ve been sent up here quite a few times in the last two weeks, I still haven’t beaten Shizune. The one time I did get anywhere remotely close to beating her, I’m pretty sure Shizune was just toying with me.

This is the third time this week that I’ve been here. All I’ve wanted for the past two weeks is a day when I show up to the student council room and my bosses just wave me away with a simple “Nothing to do today!” and I get to go on my merry way. Maybe get to watch a movie with Miki and Molly or something. But no, with the week getting progressively drearier, my jobs with the student council have become increasingly more annoying.

Not that I’m ungrateful to Shizune and Misha for taking me in. Without the helping hand from the Student Council, I’d be out of Yamaku faster than you could say “assaulting a fellow student”, since the main stipulation of my scholarship that pays for my tuition is that I have to be in a school recognized club. Student Council may have been at the very bottom of my list, but with my history of “being a moody dick all the time”, I don’t think there were going to be any other clubs lining up for my membership.

The second biggest stipulation of my scholarship is that I have to maintain above-above-average marks in all of my subjects, hence the need for my nightly study sessions with Miki and Molly.

So my days have been spent balancing my studies, my student council work, my school assigned punishment, games with Shizune and then, on top of all that, the sign language lessons I just had to ask Misha and Shizune for.

Actually, those might be the one part of my Student Council work that I’m actually enjoying. While Misha tends to be an incredibly loud air-head, she actually manages to make learning sign language pretty fun. It’s a learning experience for the both of us, since Misha doesn’t exactly know what she’s doing. And for those very common instances where she does get off track or draws a blank on just where she’s supposed to go next, Shizune steps in and takes over the lesson. Or at the very least, gets us back on track. Mostly because she wants us to start working on Student Council work again.

Or I have to go clean another empty classroom or sweep the halls of one of the school’s floors because I just had to punch Takamichi in the mouth.

I resume tapping my fingers against the desk, trying not to be too loud as to be distracting to the real reason I’m in this room again. Satou is seated next to Ikezawa, with her fingers running over another sheet of paper. One that I’ve brought here six times now. With my constant interruptions, the least I can do is play a stupid game of chess with the girl who doesn’t say anything to me.

Too bad it won’t do me much good the next time Shizune pulls out a chessboard and decides to knock my ego down a peg.

“How are the forms coming along, Satou?” I finally ask, moving my eyes from the chessboard for the first time in what feels like hours.

Satou’s fingers stop moving across the paper in front of her. She hasn’t moved from that spot since I walked in and announced I had brought back her final paperwork from the festival booths. It’s just a stack of paper that she’s supposed to write how much money they spent on their stall and supplies and how much they made. But somehow, Shizune keeps finding something wrong with it and sending me back up here. I believe I’ve been made the official liaison between the offices of Hakamichi and Satou. Maybe it is better that I show up instead of Shizune, but I still don’t think Satou particularly enjoys hearing my voice every other day. I honestly enjoy coming up here to visit them. Hanako might stare at me and not say anything, but Satou’s presence certainly is calming after long days of working with the Student Council.

I would hope that maybe these two don’t mind me too much. I just want these two to be at least somewhat okay with me, since I have to be up here so often on Shizune’s command.

But today, I muttered a half-assed apology and placed the reports down in front of Satou before offering to take her place in the chess game.

“While I like to think I’m almost done, I’m sure the Student Council will find something else wrong with these,” She replies, giving me a very tiny and forced smile. Not that I blame her, considering this isn’t the first time I’ve had to bother her since she got back from her trip.

“But it shouldn’t be much longer.”

“Hey. I don’t normally go over the paperwork. I just move big things from one place to another and then get sent up here to bother you. So, take your time. I don’t mind finishing this game with Ikezawa. I might actually win for once.” I give the blind girl a grin that she’ll never get.

“…Checkmate.”

I wheel my head back to the chessboard. What does she mean checkmate? There’s no way that….

I can just move my king and everything should be fine. I always set up an escape plan. That’s the first thing I learned from playing against Shizune and losing six times in a row. But a quick look at the board confirms my worst suspicions. Ikezawa’s right. She moved her rook there to bait me into taking it and then taking my knight with her bishop. I would be able to take her with my queen, if she hadn’t moved a pawn in place between my queen and the spot in question three turns ago.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me….” I run a hand through my hair and groan quietly. I stop quickly as I realize that Ikezawa is staring at me with a hand over her mouth and Satou’s turned her head towards me with a disapproving look on her face.

There’s something about swearing in front of these two that makes me want to throw myself in front of a train.

“Uhm. Sorry about that. I guess the game goes to you, Ikezawa. ” I mutter, scratching my nose. I flick over my king and topple the piece. My opponent lowers her hand and I can see the small remnant of a smile on her face.

I push the pieces I took from her during our game across the table back to her. “Since Satou isn’t finished, we can play another game if you want...”

Ikezawa shakes her head and starts placing the chess set back into the box next to us. “N-No… I have to go to the library…”

Oh. Okay. I give her a shrug and start placing my pieces back into the box. “Another time then. Maybe for once it’ll be when I’m not bothering Satou with more ridiculous paperwork.”

Ikezawa just gives me a very quick nod of her head before picking up the box and sliding out of her chair. Satou turns her head towards her friend as she places the chess set back onto a shelf.

“I’ll come get you when we’re done here?” Lilly asks, not stopping her hand as it slowly makes its way down the papers in front of her.

“O-Okay Lilly.” Ikezawa gives me a short, stiff bow. I lift my hand to send her off with a wave, but she manages to slip out the door before I can even move my arm.

I let out a low whistle as the door shuts behind her. “I guess she’s still not that used to me bothering you two, is she?”

She frowns. “I hope you don’t take it personally. Hanako has difficulties with new people.”

“I noticed. And no, I don’t. I’m just happy to have someone to play against that doesn’t slam me into the floor every single time.” I stretch back in my seat. Satou turns her head away from me again and starts moving her fingers across the last portion of the sheets.

“And really, I am sorry about having to come up here all the time.”

Satou’s head bobs up and down once to confirm that she heard me. She finishes the paper and adds it to the stack between us. I slide the papers over and flip the whole stack over. “So, the mistakes that Shizune found are fixed then?”

“Yes…” Satou brushes a stray strand of hair off her forehead, that pained look crossing over her face for the fraction of a second. She does that every time I call my “boss” by her given name. What is up with that? I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask. It’s not like I’ll get a straight answer out of Shizune. She’ll probably just go on with the same tirade that Satou’s a “Lazy, no good blonde who can’t even do the job she’s been trusted with by her class blah blah blah.” But even I can see that there’s something else there. Satou would probably be a bit easier to get an answer out of. She’s certainly a tad more… relaxed than Shizune. And Misha wouldn’t be an option as she’s Shizune’s right hand.

But I can’t just come out and ask her about that. I guess I should make some small talk.

“So, you were gone for a while, right? Where’d you go?” I start off small. I know that Satou went off for something a few weeks ago, which is why I’ve been bombarding her with this paperwork for the festival from last month. I’m just glad her class isn’t doing anything for the upcoming Tanabata festival, or I’d be spending even more time up here.

The blonde looks a little relieved that I’m not talking about paperwork with her.

“Scotland. I have family there and one of my aunts was gravely ill.” Satou slowly floats her hand above the table in front of her, searching for a cup of tea that I poured her during my chess game with Ikezawa. I reach over and slide the cup and saucer closer to her hand. She bumps her fingers against it and smiles.

“Thank you.”

“Sorry to hear about your Aunt… And honestly, it’s not a problem. Least I could do when I keep coming up here with this shit.” I slap my hand against the stack of Student Council busywork and wince again. “And I’m sorry again. One of these days I’m going to learn to watch my mouth.”

She shakes her head. “It’s… alright. I’m just surprised that you chose to remain with the Student Council.”

Oh. That! Well, come on now. I thought that the whole school would know it by now.
“Well, I sort of punched the guy in charge of my old club in the mouth so I don’t think I really had a choice. The Student Council was the first club I could think of that would still accept me after that.”

Satou takes a sip from her cup and places her cup back down on the saucer before replying.

“I’m aware of the incident. Noriko is very pleased to be in charge of the music club now.”

“Eh, she should have been the one in charge in the first place. She works more on her music more than anyone else in that stupid club.” I cross my arms over my chest and turn my gaze to the window. It’s pretty dreary and gray out there. I haven’t seen a spot of sunlight at all today. And yesterday was bright and cheery and sunny. I hope it doesn’t rain today. That would be pretty bad for my errand later.

“From what she’s told me, Noriko seems to think that you were the hard worker.”

I chuckle. “I did more heavy lifting than anyone else in that club, I think. But Watanabe? No, she’s the one who actually puts everything she’s got into music. I was just some guy who had parents who signed him up for lessons when he was seven.”

“I see.” She lifts her cup back to her lips.

Was that enough small talk? Probably. Only one way to find out. I take another second to put off my question by rolling up my sleeves.

“So, what’s the deal between you and Shizune anyways?”

Satou’s face flashes with that annoyance again, but she finishes taking a sip from her tea cup and placing it down before remotely looking like she’s going to respond. And only after she folds her hands in her lap does she turn her head to my voice and reply.

“What do you know?”

I lean forward in my seat and rest my head in my hands. I know a bit more than jack shit about the Student Council. It’s only since I joined that I really learned exactly what we’re in charge of and what it’s all about. I spent my last two years avoiding them so much that every paper Shizune puts in front of me might as well be in a foreign language.

“Well, not much… I know that you were part of the student council last year. And then Shizune sort of drove everyone out when she became president. I know that you stuck around the longest. But I can’t help but think it’s somewhat more personal for you than just Shizune being sort of a tyrant. I mean, you look pretty annoyed when someone mentions her name around you.” I go on, leaning even further forward in my seat.

“It is.” Satou says, before picking up her tea. “And I’m sorry, but I would like to leave it at that, if you don’t mind.”

I frown but I get it. I really was pushing my luck there. I normally don’t let my curiosity get the better of me, but Miki’s been getting to me lately. When I mentioned that Shizune seems to take some sort of weird pleasure in bothering Satou with extra paperwork day after day, my friend started coming up with tons of crazy theories as to why. I shake my head to throw any of her ideas out of it.

“Ah, I understand. Sorry. Miki’s just been…. Let’s just say my friend has some crazy ideas as to why the two of you dislike each other.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Oh, such as?”

“Eh, she thought maybe you were dealing drugs on the campus and Shizune knew, but couldn't prove it. She reasons that’s why you've got so much money. Or how your family has so much cash or something.” I shrug, once again forgetting that Satou can’t see me.

Her face does go quite blanch at my reveal of Miki’s greatest theory.

“Uh, don’t take it personally. She likes to think she sees drugs everywhere. Her uncle is a cop and she really likes those cop shows…” Right. Time for a subject change so at least when I leave this whole drug idea won’t be the last thing on Satou’s mind. That might make my next visit even worse.

“But you got to see family at the least, right? On your trip? That must have been fun.”

“I suppose. I hadn’t seen my parents in about six years, so it was nice to catch up with my mother.”

Six years. She hadn’t seen her parents in six years? How is that even possible? I can’t even deal with not seeing my parents for a few months.

“Six years? You’re joking. My parents freak out if I don’t call them at least three times a week.”

Satou shakes her head. “Oh no, my father’s job had him sent off to Scotland when I was twelve. I stayed here with my sister."

I let out another low whistle. “That’s a hell of a long time to be away from your kids.”

“You seem quite interested in my family life, Yuuto.” She gives me a tiny smile. I don’t know if it’s because she’s uncomfortable or if she’s amused at my sudden curiosity.

“Oh. Sorry, Satou. Family is just something that’s pretty big to me, I guess.” I shove my chair out from the desk and stand.

“Leaving so soon? Maybe I had questions about your family.”

I pick up my uniform jacket from the back of the chair and sling it over my shoulder. “Oh? Like what?”

“Well, do you have any siblings?”

“Two. An older brother and a younger sister.”

“And what do your parents do?”

“My parents own a restaurant. It’s a family thing. Since I’m here and my older brother isn’t an option, my younger sister helps them out after school.”

“A restaurant? You must be an excellent cook then.”

“Uh, no. I am not. I could probably burn water… Well, if my parents ever let me into the kitchen, Satou.”

Satou giggles, covering her mouth with a hand.

“I see. And, please, you don’t have to be so formal all the time. You can call me Lilly, if you’d like.”

I shrug and groan. “Right. Sure. If you’re okay with that. Anything else?”

“Oh, not if you’re in a hurry.”

“I do have an errand to run after dropping these off.” I pick up the stack of paper and tuck it under my arm. “But if it means making Shizune and Misha wait, I think I can deal with it.”

Lilly stands and retrieves her cane from the wall it was leaning against. “Please don’t. The President might see it fit to send you up here with more paperwork if you take too long.”

I nod and mentally slap myself immediately. Why do I still do this with Satou? Haven’t I learned by now?

“Right. Good point.” I cross the room and hold open the door. “Would you like an escort to the library, Sa- Lilly? It shouldn’t take that much longer.”

She shakes her head and picks up her tea cup again. “No. I’m actually expecting someone else…”

“Suit yourself. Enjoy the rest of your day, Lilly.”

Chapter 1: The Ballad of Queen Bee & Baby Duck. Part 2
”King Baby Duck sat alone on his throne. Every day went and alone he remained. Then came the Queen Bee and everything changed.”

The door shuts behind me and I let out a sigh of relief.

Okay. That’s done with then. I just have to drop these papers off with Shizune and Misha, who’ll start drilling me with the sign language lessons. The school doesn’t have any work lined up for me today, since I was supposed to be busy with Student Council work all day. Without the Student council, I’m sure that I would have been done with my school mandated punishment work last week. Or maybe even the week before that. But now it’s just going to bleed into all the work I have waiting for me with Tanabata.

Oh well. If I hurry, I can get started with today’s sign language lessons. That should leave me with enough time make it down to town and get back before Miki and Molly show up in my room to help me with Trigonometry. Well, Molly will, at least.

I’m halfway down the stairs when one of my usual cohorts jogs up to me, grinning. It’s the stupid one.

“Hey, I’ve been lookin’ for you all over the place! Can you give me a ride into town? I have to pick up some food.” Miki throws her handless arm around my shoulders as we continue down the stairs. I should have known that she would be asking me for a favor. Miki doesn’t always look around the school for me, but when she does, it’s usually to ask to borrow a ride or some money.

“Sure. The extra weight’ll make us get there faster.”

Miki’s eyebrows both shoot up for a second as she stares at me. What? Is she surprised? I’ve given her rides into town before. I shrug back at her and she shakes her head before we continue moving.

“So where’ve you been all day? With the Queen Bee and the Human Loudspeaker? They weren’t in class either.”

“The Queen Bee and the Human Loudspeaker?”

Miki nods. “Yeah. Shizune and Misha.”

“I got that, but The Queen Bee and the Human Loudspeaker? That’s beneath you. You can come up with something better than that.”

“What?”

“You’re the girl who came up with assbutt and the best you can do is Queen Bee and Human Loudspeaker?”

Miki punches me in the shoulder. Hard. I groan and rub my shoulder as we take the turn down the stairwell.

“Did you spend the whole day with them or not?”

“Y-Yeah. I spent most of the day going over the plans for the school booths at Tanabata.” I pull my phone out and check the time. I groan and start taking the steps two at a time. Okay. Forty minutes with Misha and Shizune for sign language lessons and that’s all I can spare.

“That’s cool, I guess. Also, if you could lend me some cash, that would be cool too.”

Oh, I guess Miki needs both a ride and cash today.

“You just punched me. So you’re lucky that I’m agreeing to give you the ride into town, but I’m not giving you any money. You just need to stop blowing through your allowance. But since I have to pick up some more stuff for Daichi, I suppose the ride won’t be a problem.”

Miki snorts and slides her arm off my shoulders. “Pffft. I’m glad that I’m able to accompany you on your important mission for your brother. What is it this time? Cardboard tubes? Styrofoam?”

“Egg cartons.” I reply and take that last step off the stairwell. “He says that the egg pallets that Mom and Dad get for the restaurant aren’t the kind he needs.”

“I still can’t believe that your brother uses all that stuff.”

“You’ve seen what his art projects look like. He uses every single piece of recycling I bring him in them.” I slide my phone back into my pocket and salute Miki with the hand carrying Lilly’s overdue paperwork.

“Look, I’ll meet you outside the student council room in forty minutes. Not a second later or I’m leaving you here.”

Miki salutes back with her stump and barrels off down the hall. Miki skids as she tries to take a corner, headed towards the front entrance of the school. She disappears and I shake my head. That girl is going to get herself killed one day. Possibly by my own hands. Or she’ll starve to death because no one will lend her money for food because she’s blown all her money on useless junk.

Wait. I can’t just stand here. I have sign language lessons to get back to. Otherwise it’ll be another lecture from Shizune about how I’m always late and I’m just going to fall behind if I don’t take my lessons seriously. And then Misha will take too long to start up and I won’t get anywhere and Shizune will continue to barrage me about how it’s all my fault for being late. I thought she’d be excited with the prospect of adding me to the Hand Talk Brigade, since she seemed to be when I desperately asked Misha to teach me it at the Festival.

The door to the Student council room swings in as I place my hand against it. Guess one of the girls failed to close it all the way when they left. My head is hung low, as usual, as I walk in. I like to make Shizune and Misha think I’ve been working hard when they send me up to see Lilly and not just playing chess with Ikezawa.

“Baaaaaack.” I slur out and lift my head.

Shizune hasn’t looked up from the mountain of paperwork in front of her. Not that I would expect her to. It’s not like she could be aware of me walking in here based on me calling out. Normally Misha stands up and starts yelling and somehow Shizune picks up on that. I hope it’s the standing thing and not that Misha yells loud enough for the deaf to hear.

I shut the door behind me and cross the room. Shizune still doesn’t look up as her pen seems to fly across the papers in front of her. I slide Lilly’s old budget reports to her. Finally, she looks up at me and a small smile passes over her face before she looks down at the budget reports. I drop my bag onto the floor before taking a seat.

Misha is surprisingly absent today. Normally she and Shizune are joined at the hip. It’s probably just that the pink-haired one stepped out to get a drink or something. I’m glad that I ended up sticking to the idea of taking sign language lessons, otherwise I’d have to wait for her to get back to talk to Shizune.

[It doesn’t look like there are any mistakes this time.] Shizune finally signs. [Sit down. This paperwork is your responsibility too.]

[You’ve got forty minutes. Not a second more. I have errands to run.]

[Then we had best hurry.] Shizune signs back.

[And concerning Lilly’s paperwork,] Shizune frowns as I sign out Satou’s first name, [I don’t think there were any the last time I took them up to her.] My hands move a lot slower than Shizune’s do. But since I’ve only been doing this for about two months, that’s understandable. And the only reason I can do it at this speed is from the rigorous submersion lessons that I’ve had thanks to these two. [At least nothing so big that she should have had to fill the forms out again.]

[Well maybe if a certain blonde had finished her assigned paperwork before leaving for another country, we could have gotten them all right the first time and I wouldn’t have to keep sending you up there.]

Right. I should have thought about not mentioning anything so I don’t have to see her go on about this.

[Where’s Misha?] I point my finger at the chair next to Shizune. [She’s missing from her usual spot.]

Shizune glances at the chair and then turns her gaze back to me.

[Misha is making up missing work for Mutou. She won’t be able to help us today, so I believe that also means that we’ll have to skip any sign language lessons today.] Shizune pushes a part of her mountain of paperwork across the table. I immediately spin it around and pull the top sheet off the stack. A quick glance confirms my worst fears.

[Budget reports again?] I groan and have to actually stop myself from slamming my head on the table. It pain would be preferable to the headache I’m going to get going over these. Math is my worst subject and while I’m not completely hopeless when it comes to numbers, I still don’t care for having to do even more outside of my homework.

[We just did these two days ago and then we went over them again this morning! Why are we working on them again?]

[Because there were some additions to some of the game and food booths. So we have to make sure that we’re still under the budget and then we need to make sure that we have enough room for some of the proposed additions. And after that, we need to go over the new layout for the stalls and make sure that we have enough copies for administration to keep afterwards.] Shizune finishes her explanation by patting the other half of her paper fortress.

[Proposed additions? The festival is in a week! Why would anyone add things now?]

[Because they would add some variety to the games. Who would want to play the same games and eat the same food from the school festival? Tanabata has to be perfect! It’s our duty as the student council to make sure that the festival is the best it can possibly be.]

[I honestly don’t think it’s going to make a huge difference. I mean, festival food is festival food. All it amounts to is more work for us! I mean, it wouldn’t be that bad if we had someone else to help us out...] I run my hands through my hair, before waving them in front of me. I’ve seen the raised eyebrow with one hand on the glasses look that Shizune is giving me right now before.

[Nevermind. I’ll help. I know where arguing gets me.]

The girl sitting across me smiles for a brief second. [It doesn’t matter if it’s extra work. We’re the student council. We’re supposed to be busy. It’s our duty. We’d be shaming the past generations of student councils if we just didn’t work our hardest.]

I glance down at the new set of stapled papers in front of me and groan.

[I hardly think that having ice cream and takoyaki instead of just takoyaki is going to make that much of a difference.]

I know how to sign a lot of food related words. Misha found food to be a pretty easy stone for us to jump off into the sea of sign language.

[Where’s your sense of fun? You have to eat junk food at a festival! It’s tradition!] Shizune signs back with the undying certainty that I’m so used to from her. Her smile is gone now, replaced with a very determined glint in her eyes and a smirk. We’ve had these sorts of arguments before.
I’m pretty sure Shizune enjoys them on some weird deep level. They aren’t like the stupid fake arguments I used to have with Watanabe back in the music club. We’re actually butting heads, because I don’t think we should be working our asses off like this if no one will join us to help out for the festivals. And Shizune thinks that I should just be quiet and keep working because we’ll never get anywhere if I just sit there and complain the whole time.

I can’t believe that after two months she hasn’t caught on to the fact that complaining about having to do things is what I do. I mean, I actually freaking do them in the end. But I bitch and moan and gripe about it the entire time. Because I don’t want to do it. There’s no point if no one ever thanks or recognizes us for the amount of hard work we put into this.

[My sense of fun went out the door the second you pushed more stupid budget reports onto me,] I sign before hoisting my backpack off the floor. [Do I at least get to use a calculator, my Queen?]

[Yes. And stop calling me that!] Shizune frowns at me. I give her a big cheesy grin back. If she’s going to make me spend half my afternoon with Lilly and the Master of the Thousand Yard Stare, Ikezawa, and then come here for more stupid budget reports, I’m going to at least get under her skin.

I’ve got to have some fun somewhere, right?

[Why? I think it suits you a lot better than “Student Council President”. It’s not like anyone ever stands up against your decisions. I mean, even Takamichi could have gone to the Principal and made a complaint that you were basically blackmailing him. But he didn’t. He went along with it.] I explain.

[Your point?] Shizune doesn’t even give me a second to think about my response before motioning for me to hurry up and reply. I guess she’s got a lot of work for us today.

I grin as Miki’s nickname for Shizune pops back into my mind. Yeah. That’ll do.

[That you’re the Queen Bee of Yamaku! And Misha and I happen to be your worker…] My hands freeze up as it dawns on me that I don’t know the gestures for my next word.

[Bees. I guess. Since I don’t know how to do the proper term.]

[Then spell it out.] Shizune quickly signs back. [Come on now. Don’t slack.]

[D. R. O. N. E. S.] I slowly spell out the word and give her another cheesy grin. [Does this suit you, my Queen?]

Shizune freezes as a tiny bit of pink smears across her face. She looks down at her paperwork and adjusts her glasses.

[The term you used,] She signs a word I don’t know, so I’m assuming “Drone”, [is a male bee. And they do not work. Their main purpose is to mate with the Queen.]

Oh.

Oh.

Oh god.

[My mistake.] I manage to fumble my hands into replying.

[It’s… fine. But don’t worry because you’re also a terrible worker bee.]

I roll my eyes and pull my calculator out of my bag. Shizune gives me a smirk as I slide the cover off and place it down on the desk in front of us.

[But we can discuss your names for me later. Paperwork! Now!]

[As you wish, O-Queen Bee of Yamaku.] I salute her again.

Chapter 1: The Ballad of Queen Bee & Baby Duck. Part Three
”King Baby Duck sat alone on his throne. Every day went and alone he remained. Then came the Queen Bee and everything changed.”

Miki holds the door open for me as I wheel my old beat up three-speed out. After another hour of paperwork with Shizune in the Student Council room, I’m glad for the break and the fresh air. Even if I have to deal with Miki on the back of my beat up yellow bike on the way down to town. It’s not like I haven’t had Miki sitting on the back of the bike before. God knows how many trips to town I’ve given this girl. She would owe me so many favors if I cared about that sort of crap. But, luckily for her, I don't.

Well, it's not like Miki would ever pay me back anyway.

Miki lets the door swing shut behind her as she strolls up and falls in line with me. My friend shoves a wad of bills into her jacket pocket. I guess she cornered Molly and hustled her for some money. Molly is sort of the push-over of our group. One of these days, Molly’s just going to snap and punch her in the face. While it might be kind of funny to see Molly go full postal on Miki’s ass, I don’t exactly want to be the middle man between the two girls.

And knowing how Miki just sort of steamrolls over everyone when she sees something she wants, Molly might snap before we graduate.

It might be a good idea to talk to Miki about how she takes Molly for granted. Of course, that means actually sitting Miki down and getting her to listen to me. I’d rather do something easier, like flying a kite underwater or build a cat from scratch.

“You know Yuuto, you’ve changed over the last two months.” Miki spits out, staring up at the sky.

What? What the hell is she talking about? What are these words, laid out in that particular order, doing coming out of Miki's mouth?

“Pfffft. Me? Change? I doubt that.” Highly.

“You’ve totally changed! Not like a whole lot, you’re still Yuuto. But enough that I can see it. Molly too.”

“Oh? Do explain.” I invite her. Miki doesn’t know what she’s getting into by trying to discuss something like this with me. She isn’t Shizune. Hell, she isn’t even Watanabe. She doesn’t know how to argue properly. And with two months of arguing with the Queen Bee, I’ve been tempered in molten steel.

“Well, ever since you joined the student council, Mol-Mol and I barely ever see you between classes. So you’ve obviously got other friends now.”

“Okay, just because I spend a lot of time with Shizune and Misha doesn’t mean I’m abandoning you two. And I’d hardly call them my “friends”. They’re my bosses first. Besides, I’m busy with not just Student Council work, but my punishment work. And my sign language lessons.” I rattle the list of things on my plate again. I’ve done it for Miki countless times before in the last two months. “Not to mention being the official liaison between Shizune and Lilly.”

“Don’t distract me. And you’re laughing at jokes sometimes. And you actually make jokes! You never made jokes unless they were incredibly lame and mean. I haven’t had to punch you for a joke in like a month and a half.”

“Are we really going to get into this now?”

“We are. And not to mention, you do stuff! Well, with less complaining at least. I’m not saying you’re a useless lump, but you totally agreed to give me a ride into town today like that.” Miki snaps her fingers.

“So? I’ve given you thousands of rides into town before.”

“Yeah! After I argued and pleaded and punched you for like thirty minutes. I didn’t even have to say please today.”

Okay. Well, that’s true.

“So what’s the big deal? I’m a little nicer and I complain less. Are you not happy with the change?”

“No. But I’m surprised that it just took two damn months with the Student Council for you to stop being such a downer. Molly and I have been trying for two years with no success. I just want to know their secret.”

“Maybe they’re less annoying than you?” I venture.

“Shut up. You see… It’s like… Well, you were always like that baby duck from that kid’s story. The Grumpy Duckling.”

“The Ugly Duckling.” I correct her.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re not that terrible to look at,” Miki grins. “But whatever, you’re usually the Grumpy Duckling. You’re the King of the Grumps.”

“Don’t you mean assbutt?”

“Not today! You’re King Baby Duck!” Miki throws her arm over my shoulders.

“I think I prefer assbutt. Maybe even Yuuchan.” I push my bike down the steps from the boy’s dormitory.

“But seriously,” Miki throws her arm around me again. “You’ve totally changed. You’re actually kind of pleasant to be around...”

“This morning you told me I was Baron von Assbutt of Assbuttsylvania.”

“Yeah. I know and I’m incredibly proud of how clever I am for that. But I mean you’re still you. You’re still a total assbutt, but you’re not as big of an assbutt as you were before…” Miki grins at me, but it quickly fades away. "But you're nicer."

“So?” I shrug. What’s the big deal? So I’m a little nicer. Big whoop. It doesn’t make me freaking Mother Teresa or Ghandi.

“So what? What’s up your rear end that’s getting you nice all of the sudden? You crack that Takamichi guy in the face and join student council and now you’re nice? Molly and I have been trying to get you to be nice for years now. What happened to you? Did you get a sexy sandwich from the President and her little assistant?” Miki squeezes me against her side.

“A sexy sandwich? A tuna sandwich with some lingerie?” I give her a smirk.

“I mean a threesome, idiot.” Miki thumps me over the head with her forearm. “And tuna? Really? I guess I was wrong, you still make lame jokes.”

“Shut up and I’d sleep with Shizune and Misha before I slept with you.”

Miki hits me again. “PFFFT. You wish, Yuuto! You couldn’t get with a hot piece of ass like me even if you paid for it.”

We continue through the school’s gated archway, my companion going on about how exactly I’ve changed over the last two months. Maybe she’s right. I mean, I can’t remember the last time I teased someone like I did to Shizune before we got into the paperwork. Maybe my sister when I was seven or eight. But if I am changing, is it really just over the last two months? Could my move into the Student Council really shake me that much? Just because I’m spending more time with those two girls isn’t enough of a reason for me to “change” is it? Or is it just something as simple as Misha’s super cheeriness rubbing off onto me?

I mean, ever since that talk with Miki and Molly before the festival fireworks, I’ve made some small effort to treat them both a little bit nicer and not be such, well, an assbutt, I guess. I don’t snap at Miki as much as I used to. And I don’t just sit there sighing when Miki and Molly try to goof around. I get all my frustration and arguments out with Shizune and Misha these days. And even then, I’m making a conscious effort to not swear or offend either of them.

Miki finally slides her arm off me and patiently waits as I swing my leg up and over my bike. I sit down and the bike shifts under Miki’s weight as she sits sideways on the back bars over my rear tire.

I like having Miki on the back of my bike because the extra weight makes us go even faster on the way downhill. I dislike having Miki on the back of my bike, because she tries to swing her legs and that throws me off balance.

And also, it makes us look like even more of a couple than we already do from spending every waking second together.

But whatever. As long as I get to the convenience store before they throw out the trash then I really could care less.

“So you just slept with Misha then?” Miki asks.

“Wh-What? Why Misha?”

“I thought maybe that’s how you got some of that sunshine up your butt.”

“Just shut the fuck up already, Miki.” I grip the worn-out rubber around my bike handles tighter.

“Ah! There’s the assbutt we all know and don’t love!” Miki smacks me on the back of the head. “Now come on, Yuuto! Mush!”

“I will leave your ass here if you keep this up.” I growl as I slip my foot onto the first bike pedal.

Miki snorts. “Can you just go back to being the sunshine out the ass Yuuto already? I miss him.”

All I do is groan before I start pedaling. I’m not going to play Miki’s stupid game. So I've changed a little. I didn't think it was so noticeable and I don’t know why it’s so important to Miki why I’ve started these tiny little transformations in my attitude. But right now, it doesn't matter.

I’ve been waiting for this all day. Those glorious six minutes as I race downhill to town on my bike. It’ll actually be about five or four minutes now, since Miki’s added weight is just going to rocket us down the hill.

But during those precious few minutes, when the wind is blowing through my hair and the world turns into a blur all around me, I can feel all my stress melting away.

I take the first turn that leads to the downward slope that leads all the way down the hill. The town is just down there. Just four little minutes away.

Hell. If I’m lucky, maybe even three. We can totally try for that.

“Hold on!” I shout to my passenger. A quick glance over my shoulder is enough time for Miki to nod once and give me one of her wide grins.

I pump my legs for all they’re worth. The world starts to blend all around me. I hunch my shoulders and lean forward. Have to decrease my wind resistance. I mean, after all…

I’ve got to go fast.

Next Chapter:Little Round Mirrors

I genuinely laughed aloud at that last bee exchange. My goodness.

Nice chapter, really liked this:

“A sexy sandwich? A tuna sandwich with some lingerie?” I give her a smirk.

One small error

I groan and have to actually stop myself from slamming my head on the table. It pain would be preferable to the headache...

Its or better even that/the considering the context. I mean is it referring to the "slamming my head"?

I’d rather do something easier, like flying a kite underwater or build a cat from scratch.

I quite literally lol'd at this. And the bourbon (not much) only helps with humor haha

Previous Chapter:The Ballad of Queen Bee & Baby Duck

Chapter 2: Little Round Mirrors
"See yourself reflected in one, there's a hole in the middle you can't seem to fill."

I am never lending another cd to Miki again.

I glare at the scratches that just happened to pop up on the back of the cd she just had to borrow. I'll bet she just brought it back to her room, threw it on her floor and totally forgot about it for three weeks. The poor thing's probably been stepped on countless times. I'm surprised it's not cracked in half. I'm sure there are better places to inspect the damages done to my property than the crowded hallway. But Miki sort of threw it at me after I walked out of class and ran off shouting something about "being late for track." Despite the fact that she told me three days ago that they weren't going to be meeting for the next two weeks.

My vision switches from the scratches to my reflection staring back at me. I push my bangs off my face and frown at the sight of the pink bunny band-aid over the bridge of my nose. I smashed it into the wall this morning during an episode and I just happened to be out of band-aids again.

But luckily for me, Molly had a box of these abominations.

It's a good thing I have quite the reputation now, or I'm sure I wouldn't have heard the end of it from my classmates. Not that I talk to them or anything.

Suddenly my world goes dark.

"Guess who, Yuuchan!"

Well don't try to make it hard for me or anything.

"Auguste Escoffier, original chef of the Peach Melba?" I guess.

The hands covering my eyes quickly drop and I can see again. It's a miracle! Or it's just Misha. I turn around to face the girl who wanted to play this little game with me.

Ah. It's not a famous French chef. Just one very confused Misha. That's a good thing too, since August Escoffier has been dead for about 80 years or so now. I don't think Yamaku would be prepared for a French culinary legend zombie outbreak.

"Huh? It's me, Misha, Yuuchan. Who's August Escoffinay?" Misha pouts as she pokes herself in the cheek with her finger. She didn't even say it right. Not that I expected her to. That was kind of the point of why I said it.

"Aw-goost Es-caw-fi-ay. He invented the peach melba. It's vanilla ice cream with peaches and topped with raspberry sauce." I slap my cd back into the jewel case before putting it into my bag.

"Really? That sounds delicious, Yuuchan!" Misha hands keep starting to move as she talks, but she remembers that I can actually hear her and that Shizune isn't here.

"My dad made it once. It's alright." I shrug.

"Wahaha! I like your band aid, Yuuchan."

I groan and cover it with two fingers. Of course the first person to mention it would be Misha.

"Did you need something, Misha?"

"Huh? Oh. Nope! I don't need anything but Shicchan does! She wants you to help her put together the rest of the stalls for Tanabata tomorrow after school. Can you do it?"

Oh. That. I already know about that. You asked about it earlier and I'm pretty sure I agreed to it, with a minimal amount of bitching and groaning might I add. Is that why you don't remember it?

"Misha, you asked me that yesterday and I already said yes." I sigh.

"I know! But it's really important so I don't want you to forget or skip out!"

I nod and pull my bag back over my shoulders.

"And since I can't help out, Shicchan is really going to need your help."

Wait. What?

"Why can't you help?"

Misha frowns and starts fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "I kinda sorta bombed the last test with Mutou, and now I have to do remedial studies."

Great. More of that stuff? How does Shizune manage to balance everything on her plate and still get good grades? I'm barely managing to do it myself. I would have thought that since Misha is her best friend, that she'd be alright with her studies like Shizune. But apparently not.
This would be the second time this week now that Misha's had to duck out on her student council duties.

"Ugh. I should make Molly study with you." I shrug and rub the back of my neck. "But I already said I'd help out so I guess I'm stuck doing it, aren't I?"

"Wahaha! I guess you are, Yuuchan!" Well at least her embarassment over her poor marks seems to have disappated instantly. Glad I could be of help and bring her back to this ear-splitting decibel so quickly.

"Where is Shizune anyway?"

"Shicchan is in the student council room already, Yuuchan. She had to finalize the last of the budget reports we went over on Monday."

"You mean that she and I went over." I correct.

Misha just pouts.

"So there isn't any other work you two need me to do today?"

"Uhm... I don't think so, Yuuchan. But if you check in with Shicchan she might have something for you to do."

Haha. No. No thank you. The last thing I want to do is head over to the student council room and get more work from Shizune. If she honestly doesn't need my help today, I could actually spend time with Miki and Molly without a textbook in front of me. Miki was right yesterday. I don't spend a lot of time with them anymore and I'm fighting off the urge to pass out every second we do spend studying in my room. No. Today is going to be all about doing what Yuuto wants to do for once.

"I'll probably think about it later. See you later, Misha."

"Okay! Bye bye Yuuchan!"

---

Seven measly minutes later, I'm standing outside of the door to the Student Council room.

It eventually dawned on me if I really did want the day off, I should check in with Shizune. Not because I want to actually do any additional work for her, but because I'm more frightened of the idea she would hunt me down and make me work. At least this way, I can avoid a lecture about "further shirking my student council responsibilities" and feeling kind of slightly guilty for making Shizune shoulder the brunt of all the work when Misha's out of commission.

Besides, Molly isn't answering her phone and I'm pretty sure Miki's going to be avoiding me for the rest of the day for potentially ruining my property. It's nice to know the one day I actually manage to have off, both Molly and Miki don't seem to have any interest in spending any time with me. And since I quit the music club, I haven't had the complete focus with the piano that I used to have. At least then it was to be constantly improving, but with no one to compare my progress to, I don't know what I'm bothering with it for anymore. Out of sheer awkwardness, I've been avoiding talking to anyone from the music club. Which is making class time just such an absolute joy considering that asshole and Watanabe just happen to both be in my class. Takamichi doesn't even make eye contact with me. Watanabe waves and I wave back, but that's it.

I'm a student council member now, it seems. There's no time for my past life with the Music club anymore.

And honestly, I'm fine with that. My actual physical work in the Music club was just something I did to get away from Takamichi and get any of the other club members off my back. Here in the Student Council, I get to eventually see the fruit of all my labors. I worked my ass off to get that school festival off the ground and it was actually pretty cool. Molly still gushes about how fun it was, despite not being able to spend much of it with me. Even Miki's mentioned it again twice. Though both times consisted of her complaining about how it would have been cooler to see the fireworks on the roof, instead of from my window.

Student Council has actually managed to get me to place pride in my work. And that's something that I never had in the Music Club. It was just a means to an end. It kept my scholarship coming and all I had to do was continue to play the piano. But the student council is actually... enjoyable? To some extent. At least more than the Music club ever was. I mean, I could do without being the middle man for the Shizune-Lilly feud and maybe a bit less work.

But there’s a sense of accomplishment here. And I like that.

But by far, my new favorite thing to do in Student Council is tease Shizune. It's just like when Watanabe and I would fight back in the Music Club. In those dark times, they were the only light that shone through the cracks. But Shizune bites back better than Watanabe ever did. True, after a while, I want to pull my hair out because Shizune seems to have a lot of practice in being so goddamn sure that she's right. But my little spats with Miki are always over the same things; mostly how I need Miki to stop doing whatever it was she was doing right before I wanted to kill her. There's variety here! We argue about what stupid game to play. We argue about student council work. Last week, we argued over what drinks to get when it was fairly obvious that we could all get our own personal choices.

Then I call her the Queen Bee and she comes up with something else to call me and Misha starts laughing and my brain falls out of my skull from the vibration.

It’s actually a lot better than it sounds.

I push open the door and step inside.

Shizune's got a slightly smaller stack of paperwork in front of her compared to the mountains we had yesterday. She's completely absorbed in the work. In rapid fire mode, she scans over a document, signs it and slaps it down on another stack before starting the process over again. I flick the lights on and off, so that she knows I'm here. The irritated look I get is enough to know the light thing was probably one of the ruder ways I could have let her know I was here.

[Sorry?]

[I'm sure.]

[Do you need any help with those?] I point at the budget reports.

[I'm actually almost done. I'll be heading into town after this.]

I nod and close the door behind me.

[You're saying I have the day off then?]

Shizune places her pen down and shakes her head.

[I said I was almost done with these. A good worker bee never has the day off.]

I pull the chair across from her out and plop down. [Well when the Queen is a slave driver...]

[I am not a slave driver. I just have high expectations.] Shizune fixes her glasses.

[That's just a polite way to say slave driver. But what exactly do you need help with?]

[I could use help carrying some supplies for the stalls tomorrow. There are a few extra pieces of plywood we need because of the additions to the school stalls that the school did not have.]

[Wouldn't it be the school's obligation to get them then?]

Shizune frowns.

[It's not helpful to think like that. It's our responsibility.]

[Whatever you say, Queen.]

[Exactly. If I'm the Queen, then you have no place in arguing with me like this.] Shizune caps the argument and picks up her pen again. She gives me no chance to get in a rebuttal before burying herself into the paperwork. In fact, the only reason I know that we did have an argument is Shizune's sporting her smug look of victory.

I really do lose this one. I was sort of hoping that she'd drop it when I used that stupid nickname, but that's hers now. She's taken it for herself. She’d better not just use that to instantly nuke any ideas of opposition that I give her from now on. Not that I was exactly winning anything with Shizune anyway. Maybe the record for longest losing streak, but that's about it.

She looks up and places her pen down. I don’t like the look she’s giving me.

[By the way, that bandage on your nose is very cute.]

I groan and rip open my bag.

There has got to be at least one plain bandage left in here.

Chapter 2: Little Round Mirrors; Part 2
"See yourself reflected in one, there's a hole in the middle you can't seem to fill."

I groan again and pat the back of my bike.

[Just get on. It's not going to kill you.]

[I already said I'm not riding your bike.] Shizune's fingers crack like whips as she starts to go through every variation of "no" she can think of.

It's already been five minutes of this and I can't believe I'm still here arguing about it with her. We could have been in town already. We could be getting whatever plywood we need for the stupid stalls. Instead, we’re still waiting outside the school gates. I’m looking like a complete moron, half-sitting on my bike, butting heads with a deaf girl over sitting down on a bike!

Nevermind. I do not like arguing with Shizune anymore.

[What's the big deal? It's just a bike.]

[A number of things. One. You're not wearing a helmet. Two. Neither am I. Three. That thing is falling apart. Four-]

[Alright! Alright! I get it.] I drag my hand over my face and sigh. I scrambled up into my room before Shizune finished the rest of the paperwork to clean it before grabbing my bike. And why did I do that? Just for those two seconds that she might see into my room, if she came to get me before I could finish checking my bike out. It's pretty old so I have to retighten and reposition a lot of the parts every day. The frame, however, is sturdy enough. The newest pieces are the rear bars that I attached last year so that I could carry more on it. They were originally for groceries and such, not for human use.

But here I am, trying to convince Shizune to sit down on it. I’m just glad that there aren’t any other students around to witness this futile attempt.

[Miki's done it thousands of times. It's perfectly safe.] I pat the seat again.

[No.]

[Just sit down!]

[No. No no no.] I stare at the stream of "no" coming from her hands until I close my eyes. Even then, I'm pretty sure she's still going just out of pure spite.

Sure enough, when I open them again, she's still going.

[No. No. No.]

[Have I ever told you that you are way too stubborn for your own good?]

Shizune's hands stop and she just stares at me. I mean really stares at me. It's like she's pierced right through my body and is staring at my soul. It sends a shiver down my spine. I shake the feeling off and continue.

[If you ride the bike into town with me, we'll get there much faster.]

[No.]

[Are you scared of it or something?]

Shizune looks down at the bike and then back to me.

[How are you not? It looks like it'll crumble into dust at any second.]

This isn't fun. This is a real argument. And it's gotten annoying pretty damn fast. And I want it to end pretty damn fast.

[Get on the bike and if we get back early enough I'll play Risk with you.]

I'm terrible at Risk. I abhor playing it in general, but having to play it with Shizune? It's like someone gave me a hamster and proceeded to squeeze it to death right before my very eyes. It's a bloodbath. My little plastic pieces never have a chance when we play. And not just because I barely try to play either. I mean, that's probably one big reason, but it's because when it comes to Risk, Shizune is a downright monster.

But I’ve learned that there’s no faster way than agreeing to play it to get Shizune to do anything. It’s the carrot in front of the horse trick.

Shizune huffs at me before fixing her glasses and sitting down on the back bars of my bike.

[I promise I won’t race down the hill like I do with Miki if you just admit you’re scared of falling off.]

That’s enough to draw a death glare out from my boss.

[I am not scared.] Her fingers sharply convey. My mouth breaks out into a smile, unable to hide my amusement at how quickly I got her to change her mind.

I should have just agreed to Risk five minutes ago.

[But you should still go slowly because we aren’t wearing helmets.]

I shrug.

[As you wish, my Queen. Just hold onto the bars, alright?]

Shizune’s fingers wrap around the bars she’s sitting on before she nods at me.

[Seriously, hold on. I do not want to be the new Student Council President if you fall off and break your skull open.]

The color drains from Shizune’s face. She shakes her head and closes her eyes. No. She clenches them shut. Wait. Is she… She really is scared, isn’t she? I was just sort of kidding about it before but to actually see her scared for a fraction of a second is enough of a reward for all those times she made me eat proverbial dirt before this very moment.

Which means I win, I believe.

Finally.

My foot slips onto the first pedal and I push off.

Student Council-mobile away!

---

Shizune snaps her fingers and I look up from the back of my damaged cd.

[What exactly are you going to do with that trash?]

Shizune’s asking about the bundle of cardboard tubes I saved from their terrible fate of being thrown into the dumpster outside of the Aura-mart. I’ve already strapped them to the seat of my bike with a bunch of twine from the bottom of my backpack. Since there’s no way in hell I’ll be able to ride the bike uphill with the extra plywood for the stands strapped to the back of it, I’ll just walk it back up the hill.

It’s not a big deal.

The Queen Bee of Yamaku demanded that we stop at the Shanghai for something to drink before we went back to the school. I would have rather just picked up something to drink from the market, but that would have just ended with “A good worker bee does not question the Queen”.

The Shanghai is weird. It’s always empty. They don’t have a menu. And worst of all, the waitress is Yuuko, the woman who runs the library. When she isn’t worrying over potentially offending you, she’s depressing herself by saying she’s terrible at her job. The last time we came here, I found out that Misha isn’t creative at all with nicknames. Yuuko and I apparently have to share “Yuuchan”.

I place my coffee down on the table between us.

[I’ll mail them to my brother. He uses them for his art projects.]

Shizune raises an eyebrow. That must have snagged her curiosity. Not that I blame her. Out of the three Miyamoto siblings, I think Daichi’s probably got the most interesting hobby. Though it’s more accurately an obsession in his case.

Daichi makes art out of trash, I play the piano and Nanako can cook. Yep. Daichi definitely wins the interesting contest there.

[What does he make out of them?]

[Castles. He spent last summer making Hirosaki castle. You’d swear you were looking a replica model. He’s obsessed with them. Daichi knows everything you could ever want to know about castles.]

Shizune has now forgotten about the drink she ordered. I’m sure that green tea is just going to go cold and gross now. She shifts in her seat, apparently lost in thought.

[How does he make them out of cardboard tubes?]

[He doesn’t just use cardboard tubes. He uses a lot of different bits of recycling. I have a stack of egg cartons in my closet that I’m going to mail with what I got him today.]

Shizune blinks. Is she trying to picture how he does it? I wouldn’t recommend it. Daichi’s a goddamn artistic genius. I don’t even know how he does it. And I don’t want to know how he does it. It would ruin the magic that surrounds him.

[Why does he make castles?]

[It’s an obsession. Daichi likes two things, castles and Anpanman.] I pick up my coffee and drain the last few sips of it in one go.

[Well building castles is an interesting hobby for a young boy.] Shizune finally picks up her tea again. Drat. I thought for sure that she would have forgotten it by now.

[Actually, he’s twenty-two. Daichi is my older brother.]

The green tea doesn’t make it to Shizune’s mouth. Nope. She’s way too concerned with staring at my hands. I understand why. I can’t just drop that sort of information and leave it at that. Slowly, Shizune lowers her cup back down to the table. A few more seconds pass by as she tries to process the information.

[Your older brother watches Anpanman.] Her hands manage to convey just how flatly she would have said that statement if she talked.

[Yes. And because of that I know everything there is to know about Anpanman.]

[You do?]

[Yeah. And I can’t believe I watched it when I was a kid.]

Little Yuuto was a moron.

Shizune nods and fixes her glasses. I look down at my phone to check the time. When I look back up at the girl sitting across from me, there’s only one interpretation for the look on her face. She wants an explanation. I sigh and crack my knuckles. I don’t really mind explaining it. I’ve done it for Miki and Molly before. But that was with two girls who can hear. I don’t know how to sign his disorder, so I guess I’m just going to have to spell it out.

[Daichi has severe a.u.t.i.s.m.] And I hope I spelled that right.

Shizune doesn’t move her hands or even change her face. Most people give me some sort of “oh the poor thing” or just a general look of pity when I tell them about Daichi. I’m hoping she doesn’t want to. I pick the explanation up before she can reply with anything, just in case.

[Basically, he’s really bad with social situations and people and a whole mess of other stuff. Talking isn’t exactly a strong point of his and I think I’ve heard him scream and groan more than he uses actual words.]

She nods once. I’m surprised she’s taking how slowly I’m signing it all out so well. I would have thought her curiosity would have gotten the better of her.

[And part of it manifests as an obsession. In his case, the obsession is castles and Anpanman. He won’t wear any shirt that doesn’t have Anpanman or one of his friends on it. He has Anpanman sheets. Posters. He’s slept with the same stuffed Anpanman since he was six.]

I decide it’s best to leave out the whole bit about how I came along and my parents thought I would be normal. And I was for at least the first seven years. Then my body decided to start collapsing in gym class and at home and on the way to school and have seizures. A few tests later and they’re told I’ve got Epilepsy. No avoiding the disorder ticket for me.

No. That was for my younger sister, Nanako.

[And when he isn’t watching Anpanman, he’s talking about castles or working on one of his art projects. And they keep him happy. So I send him trash I collect from around town and Daichi stays happy.]

It’s a pretty sob story. I know. And, yeah, I’ve explained it to Miki and Molly, but that was only when Daichi was there, face to face with them, in my first year. Then I didn’t tell them because I totally was ashamed of him. But when they just… accepted him so openly, it was huge relief. I think it was one of the first steps to where I really became comfortable around them. Though I could have done without Miki trying to get him to sing the damn theme song with my brother every day over the next week.

Telling Shizune is kind of… closure. I guess I’m sort of putting her onto that same pedestal as Miki and Molly.

It makes her my friend.

Shizune starts to reply with something, but stops. She frowns, tries again and stops.

I’ve liked the idea that when I’m using sign language, I have some time to think about what I’m trying to say. But it’s time consuming and takes a lot more effort than just talking. I say stupid shit all the time. But my track record of putting my foot, well, handI guess, in my mouth with sign language is pretty low. It’s those extra seconds you’re granted to think about what you’re going to say. They really work wonders.

And I think Shizune might actually be speechless.

No pun intended.

[It’s not a big deal, Shizune. I’m not ashamed of it or anything.]

She shakes her head.

[No. I was just going to say that my younger brother wears tights.]

…

Tights.

Her younger brother wears tights.

[He’s thirteen.]

Her brother wears tights and he's thirteen.

I lean back in my chair and do nothing to stop myself from chuckling.

[Okay.] I sign. [You win.]

Next Chapter:Bad Reputation