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Scroff wrote: ↑Thu Jul 26, 2018 6:07 am Ooooh trouble looms!

[Okay, Shicchan. I’m worried about leaving you to go see Hacchan. I want to be with both of you, but I can’t be in two places at one time. It’s really inconvenient…]

She comes across as too conflicted to be saying that it's merely inconvenient - troubling? heart-breaking?

Also Misha forgot that she needs to sign to Shizune at the end

Whenever Misha speaks with Shizune around, she's still using sign language at the same time, just like in the game. Suppose I should've put a line in mentioning that.

Chapter 25: Solidarity

Hanako laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Lilly had been right—sitting in the tea room playing the occasional game of chess, it had been a relaxing day. They’d left the tea room several hours ago, though. It was getting close to curfew now. Misha had said she’d see her “later,” but just how late was later? Hanako flexed her fingers, stretched her legs, rolled her shoulders, trying all sorts of fidgets to make herself more comfortable. None of it helped terribly much.

Maybe “later” meant a different day altogether. A little voice in the back of her mind whispered the truth: Misha simply wasn’t coming back. Hanako had tried to get some reading done but it was no use. The words blurred and ran together on the page. The anxiety was too much. All of this had been a mistake and she wasn’t going to see Misha again. She had been stupid to think something like this could happen for someone like her. Her scars began to itch and she scratched at them, groaning in frustration. The nurse had told her not to do that. Right now she didn’t care.

A knock on the door pulled Hanako away from that little voice.

“H-hi…”

Misha looked worse than she had the previous evening. Last night she had been anxious and distressed. Tonight she looked… defeated. Like a condemned woman, resigned to her fate. Hanako guessed she could understand. She remembered what Lilly had said, about how hard it was to reject someone’s affections. Misha probably wasn’t looking forward to this any more than she was. Hopefully they could just get it done with.

“I messed up, Hacchan. I’m sorry.”

“I-I know, Misha. Y-you don’t have to say it.”

Misha looked at her in confusion.

“But… how could you know?” Misha asked.

“It’s… it’s wr-written on your face, Misha…”

“It is? What is?” Misha asked, her voice rising in concern.

“D-don’t make me say it…”

“Hacchan! I told Shicchan that we were on the roof. That’s what happened!”

“…Oh.”

“What did you think was going on, Hacchan?”

“N-nothing!”

“Wahaha~. You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed, Hacchan. Can I come in?”

“S-s-sure!”

“I’m sorry I’m so late, Hacchan. Shicchan really needed to do a lot of council work. And then…”

They sat down on the bed together. Hanako fidgeted with her hands, still feeling awkward over her misunderstanding, even though Misha hadn’t detected it. It was stupid of her to let the anxiety do that, to make her think that with so much certainty…

“Th-then you told her about the roof?”

“I didn’t mean to. It just… sort of slipped out.”

“Is that… why you’re so s-sad?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Was she that a-angry?”

Misha looked at her for a moment before replying.

“Yes, Hacchan. Someone is dead.”

“But we didn’t…”

Misha shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter, Hacchan. It doesn’t matter. I’m the Student Council vice president. I knew people were going up on the roof and… I didn’t do anything. Shicchan is right. I should’ve told her.”

“M-Misha… it’s not your fault…”

“Shicchan said that, too. If it was our fault, we’d probably be expelled. That’s what she said. Instead… you’re in trouble too, you know. And Emi and Rin. We all broke the rules.”

“…Wh-what’s going to happen?”

“Shicchan said she doesn’t know yet. She said she has to think because she needs to wait until she isn’t so angry. She wants us to go to counseling tomorrow, and then on Friday, we will have to see her after class.”

“And Emi and Rin?”

“Yes. She said she would talk to them.”

“I’m sorry, Misha…”

Misha looked up at Hanako, her eyes sullen and lifeless. She had processed all of this and accepted it, Hanako thought. In a way she looked even more miserable than she had when she was crying her eyes out.

“No, Hacchan. It’s my fault. It’s my fault that you’re in trouble, at least. And I’m in the most trouble, because I’m the vice president. It was supposed to be me that stopped it…”

Hanako furrowed her brow.

“I-I don’t think you meant to hurt anyone, Misha. Even if we’re in trouble… Sh-Shicchan shouldn’t yell at you.”

She took Misha’s hand and squeezed it. Misha didn’t squeeze back.

“Shicchan never yells, Hacchan.”

“Ah! I-I don’t mean… with words!”

“I know what you mean. Still, Shicchan doesn’t yell. Do you think I am sad because of Shicchan?”

“Uhh…”

Misha shook her head.

“That isn’t why, Hacchan. I let Shicchan down. I got you in trouble, too… I let everyone down. I’m just… I guess I’m not a very good person, Hacchan.”

“M-Misha!”

Hanako wrapped an arm around her waist and tried to hug her, stopping halfway when she saw how Misha just sat there, unresponsive, like a doll. This was definitely worse than when she had cried, Hanako thought.

“Misha…”

“…What, Hacchan?”

“Please don’t say that… I-I think… you’re a wonderful person.”

“Waha~. Thanks, Hacchan.”

“I-I mean it… it makes me s-sad, for you to say that…”

Hanako wrapped herself around Misha and rested her head on Misha’s shoulder.

“Y-you’re a good person, because… when you m-mess up, this is how you feel. That’s how I know.”

Misha raised a hand to Hanako’s head and ran it lightly through her hair.

“I’m a good person… because I feel bad? Is that it, Hacchan?”

“Mmhmm…”

“But I don’t feel so good…”

“I don’t care, M-Misha. I say you are, so, s-so…”

Hanako poked her in the side, making a weak impression of her voice.

“…so y-y-you are! That’s an o-order~!”

“Aha~. I don’t know if you’re right but it’s really nice of you.”

They sat that way for a while, neither saying anything, Misha’s fingers combing through Hanako’s hair.

“Misha…”

“Hm?”

“D-do you… want to stay with me, again?”

“Of course, Hacchan. Thanks.”

“Okay. Are you… do you want to… d-do anything?”

“Like what, Hacchan?”

“I don’t know. I-I just want to make you feel better…”

“Hm~. Don’t worry about me, Hacchan. What do you want to do?”

Hanako poked her in the side again.

“No, M-Misha. That’s what I want. T-to help you. Not me. Remember our game? W-with the cracks?”

“Huh?… Oh, that. Ahaha~, I totally forgot, Hacchan. Are we still doing that?”

“Y-yes. I’m the queen… and you’re the p-pawn, remember? You have to do wh-what I say…”

“Oh~? So~, are you ordering me to feel better, Queen Hana-chan?”

Hanako turned her face up to look at Misha, putting on her best snooty noble expression. Whatever silly face she ended up making drew a giggle from Misha, followed by a brief meeting of their lips.

“I’ll be okay, Hacchan. I felt like this once before, you know. You probably don’t know, but~, you were there for me then, too.”

“I-I was?”

“Remember what I told you about me and Shicchan? That I confessed to her, and I was rejected?”

“Yes…”

“After that, I felt horrible. I felt like… like I was drowning all the time. I just wanted to stop, to…”

“…stop existing…” Hanako finished for her.

“Yeah, Hacchan~. That’s right. I didn’t know what to do, but I remembered you, so I wrote you a note.”

Realization dawned on Hanako.

“…the first time we h-hung out… in the library?”

“Mmm. That was right after my confession to Shicchan. I saw you, and I had a lot of fun, and I was alright. I came back up, and I could breathe again. I think it started that same day, Hacchan.”

“What did?”

“I think I started to like you then, Hacchan. I always thought you were cute, and pretty, and very mysterious~, and then, I just…”

Hanako tittered slightly.

“…M-mys… m-m-mysterious?”

“What? You are~!”

“Heehee… I don’t think s-so, but okay, Misha. Maybe… m-maybe I’m spooky, like a v-villain…”

“Or a queen! Wahaha~! So… when did you start?”

“Start?”

“When did you start… liking me, Hacchan?”

“Oh…”

Hanako blushed and buried her face into Misha’s neck, hiding from the question.

“See~! You won’t answer! So mysterious~! Ahaha~!”

“Misha, it’s just been… always,” Hanako said, her voice slightly muffled by its hiding place near Misha’s collarbone.

“Always? Like, since always?”

“Uh huh. Since… since I first m-met you, I always wanted…”

“Awww~! Hacchan!”

Misha planted a kiss on the top of Hanako’s head.

“Well~, highness Hana-chan, do you have any more orders for your loyal servant?”

Hanako withdrew her face from Misha’s neck and looked into her eyes, their faces nearly touching.

“I-I want, I want… I w-want you to…”

At this distance, it was a lot easier to just show Misha than to keep stuttering, so Hanako pressed her lips into Misha’s own. Misha’s hand cradled her neck, pulling her in deeper, and she brought her own hand up to stroke Misha’s head, drawing a satisfied hum from her. The sound of it spurred Hanako on, helping push her anxiety aside as she let her lips part, tasting her partner for the first time. The feel of Misha’s own tongue slipping past hers sent a shudder down her spine, causing Hanako to redouble her efforts. It was messy, it felt all awkward and she was sure she was doing it all wrong, but it was easy not to care with how good it felt.

When she finally came up for air, Misha was laying on her back, pinned under Hanako with a leg halfway over her waist. Hanako didn’t remember doing either of those things, the laying down or the leg…

“Mm, mm, mm…” Misha’s voice repeated, punctuating each kiss as she worked her way down Hanako’s neck, her affections sending fresh shivers through Hanako. She gasped as Misha flipped her over, placing herself on top before resuming the series of pecks, going back up Hanako’s neck from the other side to finish with a lingering kiss on her lips. Misha was surprisingly strong, she thought. Somehow that realization served to increased her desire.

“Well?” Misha asked.

Hanako stared up at her, entirely at her mercy.

“Was that enough, Highness Hacchan~?”

“Y-yes, I m-m-mean…”

“Oh? You don’t want… more~?”

Hanako swallowed hard, then nodded slowly, her eyes wide.

“Okay, Hacchan~. I think we can do more,” Misha said, tracing a finger down Hanako’s chest. The finger traveled between her breasts, onto her stomach… Hanako froze, apprehensive of where it might end up, but it just poked her playfully in the navel before withdrawing. Misha kissed her on the forehead then rolled off the bed. Hanako sat up, looking slightly concerned.

“M-Misha?”

“Don’t worry, Hacchan. I’m just going to take a quick shower, okay? I’ll be right back~!”

Hanako nodded, trying to keep herself from shaking too much. It still felt a bit unreal that they were really doing things like this… even so, she didn’t want to stop, not yet. Her pulse began to slow down now that Misha was no longer on top of her but she could still hear it beating relentlessly in her eardrums. Misha gave her a wink before disappearing into the adjoining bathroom, followed soon after by the sound of running water. Part of Hanako wanted to burst in after her; instead she just waited patiently, holding her blouse tightly in anticipation. Glances at the clock showed her that Misha was barely in the shower for five minutes. It felt like the longest five minutes of her life.

Finally, Misha returned. She threw her clothes onto the floor in a heap, wearing only a towel instead. Her eyes were brown instead of their usual gold and her hair fell down in loose waves, the drills undone. Hanako gulped as her eyes fell to Misha’s chest, where her sizeable breasts looked ready to pop out over the top of the tightly-pulled towel. Something made her feel sure Misha was holding it that way on purpose.

Misha made to pull the towel open, stopping herself just shy of doing it.

“Is this okay, Hacchan~?”

Hanako gulped.

“Y-y-yes…”

“Alright then~.”

Misha let the towel drop, revealing her nude figure beneath. She was mostly dry but a thin sheen of moisture remained, making her curves shimmer as she moved towards the bed. Hanako felt her heart rate going back up.

Chapter 24 | Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Experience

ADULT CONTENT WARNING

Misha set herself down gently in Hanako’s lap, crossing her legs over Hanako’s while resting her bottom next to Hanako’s thigh. She reached one arm around Hanako’s neck and pulled their faces close, tracing her partner’s jawline with the other hand’s forefinger. Bringing that hand down to Hanako’s upper chest, Misha could feel the poor girl’s heart pounding like it was ready to burst. Hanako’s arms remained rigid at her sides, her shoulders quivering and her eyes staring stubbornly forward. Hanako was actually trying not to look, even now… it was almost painfully cute.

“Aww, Hacchan~. You’re shaking so much. Is it… too much?”

“N-n-no, Misha, I… I-I want this,” Hanako said, clearing her throat and trying to calm herself. “Y-y-you’re just, uhh, r-really close… and r-really, err, n-n-naked…”

“Wahahaha~!”

Hanako laughed a bit as well, her nerves seeming to steady at the reassuring sound. She finally looked down to where Misha’s bare breast pressed halfway into her own, her blouse the only barrier between them. The remains of the shower dampened Hanako’s clothes all down this side, making it easier to feel the shape of her as they stuck to her skin. Misha had chosen to attack from the left, though she remained ever curious about the way Hanako’s right side would feel. Another time, Misha thought. First the girl had to learn how to see a pair of boobs without trembling in apparent terror.

“You like them, Hacchan~?”

“Wha?!” Hanako yelped out, jumping a bit.

“Aha~, you were staring, that’s all.”

Misha leaned back and gave her torso a shake, causing them to jiggle vigorously.

“Wahaha~! They’re a goofy pair of girls, aren’t they? I think they’re happy to see you!”

“G-girls? Aha…”

“Yeah, Hacchan. Just relax~! They don’t bite! Here, let me…”

Misha leaned back in and gave Hanako a sudden kiss, using it as a distraction while pushing her down onto her back. Their eyes met and held as Misha pulled away, hovering just above. Hanako’s lips quavered but Misha could see the lust in her eyes, lurking behind the layers of apprehension. She just had to draw it out… ease her into it. Misha had hoped that it would help if Hanako could see what she was aiming at, so to speak, but it seemed like she wasn’t quite there yet.

“Relax, Hacchan. Just relax,” Misha cooed, repeating the words several more times. Hanako deepened her breaths, brought them more in line with Misha’s own. “You don’t have to worry about anything. Don’t worry~. Let me show you.”

Laying down on her back, Misha took one of Hanako’s shoulders and pulled her onto her side, so that she was sitting halfway up with Misha’s bare form laid out beneath her.

“Start here…”

Misha took Hanako’s hand, guided it slowly to her shoulder, allowed its fingers to trace her collarbone. From there she pulled it down her chest at the very center, holding Hanako’s gaze throughout.

“I-is this… is this really o-okay, Misha?” Hanako asked.

“Hm, hm~… do you trust me, Hacchan?”

“Of c-course.”

“You don’t want to stop?”

Hanako gulped, allowing herself a brief glance over Misha’s body before snapping her head back into place.

“N-no… I don’t…”

“Then trust me. I want this too, Hacchan. I’m not doing it just for you, okay?”

Hanako paused, the right set of gears seeming to click in her head. She nodded, beginning to move her hand on its own: down the middle of Misha’s ribcage, then up and aside, her fingers shaking but determined as they finally slid over the nearest breast. Misha took Hanako’s wrist and shook it a few times, pressing the hand a bit tighter against its target.

“See, Hacchan~? She doesn’t bite.”

“N-n-no, but… b-but…”

Hanako managed a small smile.

“…but?”

“…b-but I do!” she finished saying, leaning her face down over Misha’s to kiss her.

“Waha—mmmpff! Mmm…”

Misha nearly forgot her role in this at the feel of Hanako’s lips, but soon she went back to it, using her other hand to cradle Hanako’s head and pull it slowly down her face. Misha pressed ever so slightly on Hanako’s head every half inch or so, showing her when to plant a kiss before moving down again, just as Misha had done to her earlier. She had Hanako start with her bottom lip, then go over to her cheek, down to her jawbone, and finally onto her neck, humming in satisfaction as Hanako reached the sensitive skin there.

Meanwhile, she kept a light grip on Hanako’s wrist with her other hand, trying to let Hanako explore at her own pace. While she started off with small, tentative movements, she grew progressively bolder as each hold or squeeze only drew sounds of pleasure from Misha. After a short time Misha tugged the hand over to her other breast, ensuring that each “girl” got equal attention. Hanako worked on kneading both of them from several different angles, as if to confirm that they did, in fact, work the same way as her own.

Finishing up her work on Misha’s neck, Hanako pulled away from it and looked down at Misha’s chest, bringing both hands into play there. Her breathing remained heavy and her shoulders still shook, but it was a different kind of apprehension now. Misha could tell that Hanako’s desire was finally getting the best of her anxiety. Now that she’d settled down, her face was naturally seductive, with its pretty features and the curtain of purple hair falling over one half of it. Looking at it made Misha’s desire stir in turn, prompting her to shoot up and nibble at Hanako’s ear.

“Eep!” Hanako squeaked.

“Whoops~! Sorry, you looked too tasty, Hana-chan~! Was that okay?”

“Yeah, it just… t-tickled…” Hanako said sheepishly.

“Oh~? You’re not ticklish, are you, Hacchan~?”

“What?! N-n-no! I’m n-not. Not at all! So… don’t even tr-try!”

Misha looked at her like a tiger spotting a wounded gazelle. Hanako shrank back defensively and covered her ears, but Misha went for her neck instead, burrowing between her head and shoulder before she could react. Sure enough, she was ticklish there as well, easily provoked by Misha’s lips and tongue.

“Misha, don’t—ahhh!! Ahh… aha, hahaha, haha!!”

“Wahahaha~! I’ve got you now, queen Hacchan! The kingdom will be mine! Ahahaha~!”

Misha held her firm around her waist to prevent any escape attempts, laughing with abandon at her squeaking and squirming. It was awful tempting to just keep on torturing Hanako like this but it wouldn’t be nice to push it. Misha released her from the torment quickly enough, replacing the teasing flicks of her tongue with a few genuine kisses to let Hanako down.

“M-Misha! Don’t do that!” Hanako pouted, cupping one of her breasts and squeezing it in retaliation.

“Ouch! Too hard, Hacchan!”

“Ah!! I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

Misha silenced her with a kiss.

“It’s okay~. I got you, so you had to get me back. Look…”

She took Hanako’s fingers and guided them to the hardened spot at the peak of the mound they’d just dug into.

“See~. They are happy to see you. Wahahahh…”

The laugh broke naturally into a happy sigh as Hanako’s fingers traced the outline of one nipple, then the other. Misha closed her eyes and reclined, finally letting go of Hanako. She wanted to relax and just enjoy this, see where Hanako would take her. Unfortunately, Hanako stopped almost right away. Misha opened one eye to look at her, lips turned down in a slight pout.

“Hey~! Why’d you stop?”

“Uhh… y-you were starting to look b-bored…”

“Bored? Wait, because I laid back like this?”

Misha slapped a palm to her forehead.

“No, Hacchan, no~! That’s no good~! You were doing good! Drat, now I lost it…”

“S-sorry, Misha…”

“It’s fine! It’s no problem~! You know~, you can make it up to me…”

“Okay…”

Hanako started to move back towards Misha’s upper body, but Misha intercepted her, taking her hand and guiding it onto her stomach instead. Misha turned Hanako’s hand so that its fingers pointed straight down, forming an arrow aiming at her most intimate area. Hanako brought her free hand up to her blouse, holding it nervously as she realized where they were going, but she allowed Misha to guide her other hand steadily on towards its destination. Misha parted her legs as the hand reached her waist and kept going, then inhaled sharply as its fingers pressed against her hood.

“Ahh, sorry—”

“Shhh, Hacchan. Shhhh~. Relax. You won’t hurt me. That was a good sound.”

Misha moved the hand a little further down, then curled her fingers out and over Hanako’s own, pushing them gently into her flesh with a long, satisfied exhale. Hanako’s hand was trembling again, but given where it was now, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Tremors aside, it hung limp in Misha’s grasp, allowing her to guide its movements. She kept eye contact with Hanako as she worked the fingers over herself, her lips parting as her breathing deepened.

After a few repetitions of the same motions, Hanako began to gain initiative. Misha relaxed her grip as Hanako found her own rhythm, which allowed Misha to concentrate more on the sensations she was receiving. She slid her hand up to Hanako’s wrist and off of her fingers, cupping a breast in the other as she laid back and closed her eyes once more. Those shaking fingers passed steadily over her most sensitive point, back and forth, drawing several moans from Misha’s throat. Hanako paused once after a particularly loud vocalization, but Misha immediately pressed down on her wrist, telling her not to stop just yet.

Hanako’s attentions got faster and firmer as Misha showed more signs of enjoyment, her own arousal feeding back into her partner’s. Misha felt a familiar heat building around her waist now. Her face flushed and her hips jerked slightly, her body getting close to the crest of this hill. She sat up and embraced Hanako again as the end approached, her breathing ragged as she felt Hanako’s own hot breaths against her ear.

“Hacchan, please… keep, ahh…”

Then it was upon her, all at once. Misha’s thighs squeezed tight around Hanako’s hand and she released a low cry into her neck, burying her face there as waves of ecstasy broke over her.

“Nnnnghh!”

Those blissful contractions rocked Misha once, twice, thrice, again, her voice fading into a gentle murmur when the best of it had passed. When it was finally over, Misha flopped down like a ragdoll, closing her eyes and resting an arm on her forehead.

“…W-was it, was… was I-I good?” Hanako asked.

Misha opened her eyes a crack.

“Mmm. You were great, Hacchan. Really great~.”

Hanako clutched the top of her blouse, looking down slightly and blushing. Misha raised her arms and held them out expectantly, puckering her lips for a kiss.

“Come here, Hacchan~.”

They laid quietly for a while, Misha stroking Hanako’s hair again as she basked in the afterglow of the experience. The lights were still on but neither of them seemed willing to move yet. Misha could easily fall asleep just like this, lights and everything, she thought. It wouldn’t be fair to leave things here, though.

“Well~, Hana-chan. Was that enough?” Misha asked.

“Hm?”

“Our game, Hacchan~! You’re the queen, remember? Do you want me to do… anything else, tonight?”

“Ah, that’s o-okay, Misha… I th-think the game is done now. I won’t make you do any m-more for me…”

“Aha… wahaha~! Hacchan, you think… I was the one, doing something for you? Ahahahaha~!”

“Wh-what? M-M-Misha!”

“Ahaha~, ha… Hacchan, that’s not how this works. You definitely did something good for me, okay~?”

“Th-that’s not what I-I… hmph!” Hanako pouted. “L-let’s just… I think, I th-think I just want to c-cuddle. Is that okay, Misha?”

“You’re the queen, Hana-chan~. Your wish is my command!”

Misha suddenly rolled onto her side and wrapped herself tightly around Hanako.

“Ack! Th-that’s a bit, uhh, close, Misha… a-and… are you going to, erm, put some cl-clothes on?”

“Why~?” Misha asked, matching Hanako’s pout from a moment earlier. “You don’t like seeing them~? They’re hurt, Hacchan. The girls are hurt by that~!” she exclaimed, holding one breast for emphasis.

“N-n-no! They’re gr-great. Y-y-your, your b-boobs are great!” Hanako blurted out.

“Wahahaha~!”

“It’s just, well… I-I might have a hard time sleeping, if you’re l-like that… it’s, erm, d-distracting…” Hanako admitted.

“I know, Hacchan~. I’m just too hot to handle! Wahaha~!”

Misha leaned forward and bumped their noses together, then hopped up off the bed and gathered some of her clothes up.

“Hmm~. The whole thing is so hot to sleep in, Hacchan, so hot~. How about… just these?” Misha asked, holding up her undergarments.

Hanako nodded, clapping the lights off as Misha put them on. Misha got back onto the bed, pulled herself over Hanako to the other side of it, and nestled up against the wall. Hanako leaned into her, letting Misha take her in a looser hold that would be more practical to sleep in. Her body felt warm and comforting in Misha’s arms, the gentle rhythm of her breath lulling Misha quickly towards sleep. She could really get used to this, she thought…

“Hacchan?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for tonight. It was really great~.”

ADULT CONTENT WARNING

Chapter 25 | Chapter 27

Imperial_Sheep wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 7:31 am

Hanako Fancopter wrote: ↑Fri Jul 27, 2018 11:08 pm Chapter 26
ADULT CONTENT WARNING

LOL. My first h-scene/sex scene that I've ever written. Hope it was serviceable!

---

Chapter 27: Acceptance

The nurse’s office smelled of sterile latex, a scent that Hanako doubted she would ever stop hating, even if this place wasn’t nearly as bad as a real hospital. She’d been a bit worried about this idea of a joint counseling session but this calmed her nerves a bit. The Nurse was… he wasn’t like a doctor, even though he was one. He always managed to feel more like a friend. Though his sense of humor was a bit off-putting at times…

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said, stepping in and closing the door behind him. “You’re earlier than I am! Very good.”

“H-hi.”

“Hey mister Nurse~! I didn’t know you could do counseling too!”

“Well, err…”

The Nurse glanced cautiously towards Hanako.

"I a-asked… if it could be him. I’ve talked to h-him before…” she explained.

They’d had their share of conversations when she was newer to Yamaku and she’d still been plagued with panic attacks. Most of those conversations consisted of him trying to ask Hanako questions and her giving one-word non-answers or just refusing to answer at all… but he had always been kind, never losing his patience with it, and letting her lay down in the back room if she wanted to. The questions had never been about her scars, either, not even once. Hanako appreciated that.

“I hope it wasn’t too miserable an experience?” the Nurse prompted Hanako.

“A-ah! No, n-no… you did a good j-job…”

“Glad to hear it—since this is, of course, an optional conversation. If either of you feel uncomfortable at any time, just say so. You’re free to follow up with a licensed therapist, or skip today and go straight to one. I’ll help you set up the appointment.”

“Aww, don’t be silly~. Of course we’ll talk to you, Mr. Nurse-chan. Isn’t that right, Hacchan~?”

The Nurse’s steady smile cracked and a genuine snicker slipped through his façade at that nickname.

“Y-yes…” Hanako agreed.

“Alright, good. I just have to make sure you’re informed of your options. So…”

“Umm, mister Nurse, I have a qu-question…” Hanako asked, raising a hand before they could get properly started.

“Yes, Hanako?”

“Wh-what’s going to happen to us… since we were on the r-roof?”

There was a pause as Misha and the Nurse both processed this issue, a look of slight concern on the former’s face.

“What do you mean, Hanako?” he clarified.

“I-I mean, uhh, w-well… are we going to be, b-be… e-e-expelled?” Hanako asked meekly.

“Hacchan! I already told you that—”

“B-b-but, M-Misha—”

“Alright, alright, settle down. I haven’t spoken with all the other faculty, but I know that the question of punishment did come up. I also know that the Student Council president approached the appropriate parties and made a convincing appeal that she be allowed to deal with the situation due to its delicate nature. It wouldn’t be fair to exact any kind of harsh punishment upon you, or anyone else, on top of the trauma that you’ve already suffered. So long as you don’t go up to the roof again… the only thing you have to worry about is answering to Shizune.”

While this should’ve been good news, both girls’ faces fell somewhat at the reminder of their impending judgment. The Nurse sighed.

“I suppose ‘just’ answering to Shizune isn’t all that reassuring, is it? Tell you what, if she’s too draconian, we’ll schedule another counseling session for it, okay?”

“Waha~! That’s right, we might need one after Shicchan’s through with us!”

Hanako wasn’t able to turn and joke so quickly over the matter, though her spirits lifted somewhat.

“O-okay, thanks… that was a-all…”

“No problem, Hanako. Now then…”

The Nurse reclined in his chair, folding his hands in his lap and looking at the two girls expectantly. There were a few moments of silence. Hanako looked down at the floor while Misha kicked her legs, humming and pretending to look at something on the wall. After tapping his fingers a few more times, the Nurse spoke.

“Well, I suppose I’ll start, then. I understand that the two of you were… closest to it, when it happened?”

Hanako nodded without looking up, while Misha gave a reluctant “Yeah…”

“You were in… the Student Council room, to watch the fireworks, yes?”

Another pair of subdued affirmations. Hanako felt a twinge of anguish as the memory returned to her. That awful sound, and then the image of him laying there, his neck bent at a wrong angle… it rushed up unbidden and Hanako forced it back down. She couldn’t just forget, but at least she could avoid holding it actively in her mind’s eye. It was the suddenness of it that had really hit her hard. She might have been able to handle seeing that if there was some kind of advance warning, but having it thrust upon her as a total surprise when she was most vulnerable, that had been what truly demolished her defenses.

“Is there anything that either of you would like to say about it?”

“It was really h-horrible…” Hanako said.

“Yeah…” Misha agreed.

“Hmm… well, I can understand that you might not have many thoughts, but my first step is to let you voice them if they’re there.”

“Well…” Misha started, looking at the nurse carefully. He nodded for her to continue. “…I guess… the worst part is that I, I… I feel like it’s sorta my fault…”

Hanako reached over and took hold of Misha’s hand, hanging onto it as the Nurse replied.

“Yes… given the discussion we just had about consequences, I can see why you’d feel that way.”

“…you do?” Misha replied, almost sounding surprised.

“It’s true that this might not have happened if you took a more active role in policing the roof. On the other hand, Hisao may have ended up going there anyways, regardless of whether you were ever there or not. Do you think he knew that other students were going up to the roof?”

“Huh.”

Misha took a moment to think about it.

“…I don’t think so. He hung out with Rin some, but she always said it was a secret spot, so she and Emi didn’t really tell anybody besides us and Lilly. I guess he could have found out somehow…”

“Let’s say that he did. Did you ever encourage him to go up there, personally?”

“No…”

“And you weren’t there on the night of the festival, when it happened. Neither was anyone else, aside from the one mystery friend. Not even the faculty thought to check the roof, even though we all knew that the festival was one of the most likely occasions for someone to sneak up there.”

“Well… yeah…”

“And when you were on the roof, with your friends, did you ever let them get close to the broken section of the fence? Did you play around near it or think it might be fun to peer out over it?”

“No! No way~! We all stayed on the other side of the roof, I promise!”

“I believe you. What I’m saying is… even though you might feel like this was your fault, in reality, there were a lot of people who could have done something differently. By any reasonable interpretation, you aren’t personally responsible for this. That burden lies with whoever took Hisao up there and with Hisao himself.”

“He’s right, M-Misha… don’t blame yourself,” Hanako agreed, squeezing her hand.

“Mmm…”

Misha looked down and kicked her legs a bit more, taking a moment to think about this.

“…I’m still going to be punished, right~?” she asked, sounding strangely happy about that.

“Unfortunately, yes. Rules are rules,” the Nurse said.

“No, it’s good. That’s really good. If I just got away with it, then it wouldn’t be right… right~?”

“I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. I certainly feel that you’ve taken the lesson to heart here about safety, which is what’s most important.”

“If I have my punishment, and I have my lesson, then I can be okay… that’s what Shicchan would think…” Misha said, seeming to speak as much to herself as to the others.

“That’s right, Misha. R-Remember what I said… about why you’re a good p-person…” Hanako added.

“Oh?”

The Nurse turned to Hanako, eyebrows raised inquisitively.

“Ah! I, ah, I j-just said… I know Misha is a good person, b-because, she felt so bad about things…”

“Really? That’s very insightful, Hanako. I think you’ve managed to sum up what I was trying to convey in one simple statement. Maybe you should be the one sitting at this desk…”

“N-n-no! I c-couldn’t, y-you’re…”

“Wahaha~! Hacchan is a great nurse! I would know!”

“You have some experience with her nursing skills, hm?” the Nurse said.

“That’s right, Mr. Nurse-chan. She might not admit it, but~, Hacchan really knows how to take care of me! Yes, she does~!”

Hanako covered her scars and blushed at this, wishing Misha wouldn’t word things that way in front of him… she did have that habit of blurting things out. Hanako was often envious of her ability to just say stuff with no shame, but it had its downsides too…

“Ah, I… sorry, bad joke,” the Nurse apologized, he and Hanako both feeling awkward. Misha, on the other hand, just laughed at them some more. “Well, I’m glad you two can be there for each other,” he followed up, trying to tie that subject up and move on.

When Hanako looked at him again, she saw that he was examining her quite intensely, his eyes actually open wide. That was unusual; the man had a habit of pretty much shutting his eyes whenever he looked at someone, one of the things Hanako liked about him.

“Hanako, is there… something on your neck?”

“Wha?”

“May I?” he asked, getting up and holding an arm out towards her head.

“Ah… s-sure.”

The Nurse moved her wall of hair aside, exposing the heavy scarring on her head and neck. While Hanako herself couldn’t see it, he had apparently spotted something there, running his fingers carefully over part of her neck. Normally the scars lacked surface-touch sensation, but when he passed over a certain point, Hanako winced at the surprising sting that it brought.

“Mmm. It seems you’ve got a bit of irritation here. You haven’t been scratching at them again, have you?”

“Uh-uh! I mean, n-no!”

“You haven’t been doing anything else that might cause this?”

Hanako paused, unsure of what to say. Had she? It was a legitimate question… but she sure wasn’t going to say the things that came to her mind as potential causes.

“Uhhhh… n-no…” she squeaked, not very convincingly.

“Ahem, yes. Well. If you were to be doing anything that might irritate your contractures, then… you should make sure to wash thoroughly with lukewarm water twice a day, morning and evening. As well as apply that lotion I gave you. You have been doing that, haven’t you?”

“Errrr…”

“Hacchan! You can’t skip out on stuff like that! You’ll never be a good nurse if you don’t take care of yourself first, you know~!”

“I-I’m not trying to be a nurse, M-Misha!”

“Wahaha~!”

“Goodness, what am I going to do with you two? How about this, you make sure to remind her of proper skin care for me, Misha?”

“Of course~! I’d be a terrible person if I just let Hacchan off the hook. Ahaha~!”

“Excellent. And I’ll trust you to look after Misha as well, Hanako. Do you think you can do that?”

Hanako still held a hand up to her scars, freshly conscious of them after this conversation, but she nodded affirmatively.

“Alright, I trust you. Both of you. I think this has been a good talk. You’re good students and you seem like you have a handle on things. One piece of advice I feel the need to give before we break: it helps, when wrestling with a distressing event, to have communal activities that keep us engaged during the day. I know you have Student Council, Misha, but Hanako… I’ve told you this before, so I’ll just remind you briefly. I think it would be very good for you if you could find a club to join.”

“Ah… I-I thought about the literature club, b-but, they’re full…”

“It doesn’t have to be the literature club, then. We have clubs for a wide variety of interests here at Yamaku. Just take a look and think about it, that’s all I’m asking.”

“O-okay…”

“Anything else?”

“Nope~! Not for me! Hacchan?”

“No… th-thank you for seeing us…”

“Thanks, Mr. Nurse-chan~! You’re still a really good nurse, even if you’re not as good as Hacchan!”

Misha hopped up and gave the Nurse a brief hug, which he returned awkwardly.

“You’re quite welcome. I’m just glad I could help. It is my job, after all. You ladies have a nice day. Oh, and…”

“Hm~?”

The Nurse looked somewhat pointedly at Misha’s hand, which was held in Hanako’s once again as they neared the door.

“If either of you have any questions about, ah… things, or if you’re feeling, I don’t know, curious… you can come see me any time.”

“Th-things?”

“Curious? About what~, Mr. Nurse-chan?”

“Oh, just, you know. Stuff. You know what. Never mind. Just let me know if there’s ever anything you need to talk about, okay?”

“Okay~! Sure thing, sure~! Come on, Hacchan! Let’s go look at some clubs~!”

“B-but Misha, I-I don’t know…”

“No excuses, Hacchan~! Student Council’s orders! Wahaha~!”

The Nurse smiled at them as Misha pulled Hanako out the door and down the hall.

Chapter 26 | Chapter 28

Ridiculous as it is, I can totally see a school punishing its students and not taking responsibility for its own misgivings -- bureaucratic solutions like that happen all the time in real life.

Hanako and Misha aren't responsible for Hisao, the school is. They never bothered to fix the fence or the lock.

sloth4 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:46 pm Ridiculous as it is, I can totally see a school punishing its students and not taking responsibility for its own misgivings -- bureaucratic solutions like that happen all the time in real life.

Hanako and Misha aren't responsible for Hisao, the school is. They never bothered to fix the fence or the lock.

Oh yes, as someone who has spent pretty much my whole life since leaving home on or around university campuses, I know how unreasonable administrations can be. Especially when they feel that their institution's reputation might be on the line, there would definitely be those who see expelling or harshly disciplining the students who are "responsible" as a way to offer someone up on the chopping, to say to anyone who is watching "look, it's these students' fault, not ours, and now we took care of it."

I've made the Yamaku administration much more sympathetic than that, though. At least as far as we know--there might be a lot of heated discussions over this in some board room or faculty lounge, which are not seen due to the perspective of the story. For Shizune, she is mainly upset because of being lied to and people going around behind her back, not because she actually holds Misha or the other students responsible for Hisao's death.

---

Chapter 28: Judgment

Misha kept a tight grip on Hanako’s hand under the desk they sat at. She had worried about this whole affair spooking Hanako, but now that they were actually here, the girl seemed remarkably calm about it. Instead, Misha found herself to be the one brimming over with anxiety. Hanako had always seen Shizune as an intimidating presence until just recently, Misha thought, while she never had until now… maybe this was how most people felt when Shizune got onto them?

“Misha…”

Hanako’s voice broke her from her thoughts.

“Hm~?”

“You’re sq-squeezing too hard… it hurts.”

“Ah~! Sorry!”

Emi gave them a glance but said nothing. She and Rin sat behind another desk, both seeming quiet and reflective. Although in Rin’s case, she could just as easily be contemplating a butterfly on the window rather than the bespectacled doom that would come at any moment now. Misha wondered if Shizune was making them wait on purpose, so she could have a dramatic entrance… it sounded like the sort of thing she might do. The cause of her delay became apparent as two people walked into the room.

“Still can’t believe you ratted me out, Emi,” Miki said as she walked in, her wrist held in an iron grip by Shizune.

“Hey! I didn’t say anything!” Emi protested.

“It was me,” Rin explained flatly.

“…Huh, really?”

Instead of putting her in a desk with the others, Shizune marched Miki up to the front of the room, stopping her in front of the main desk that the president herself usually sat at, then pointed to the floor to indicate that Miki stand there.

“Yeah, well…”

The one-handed girl looked down and scratched the back of her head.

“…guess we kinda deserve this, anyways. Wait, Rin, how’d you know I went up there?”

Rin shrugged.

“Emi talks,” she explained again.

Shizune produced an ear-splitting snap, causing Miki to jump and everyone to shut up, as was no doubt her intention. She made eye contact with all four of the other girls in turn, then pointed to the floor next to Miki, sweeping her finger slowly across it.

“You want us to… stand up there, too?” Misha asked.

Shizune nodded. The girls all shuffled out of their seats and lined up with Miki. Misha couldn’t help but feel like they were a row of prisoners standing before a firing squad. She half expected Shizune to take out a ruler and start smacking their hands or something, but instead, she took a couple of papers out from her desk, laying the first one down and turning it around. Shizune pointed to it emphatically, indicating that they should all read, which they leaned in to do.

You know why you are here. All of you broke the rules. What’s worse than that, you did it together, conspiring to keep it away from me. You acted irresponsibly and disrespected the Student Council. Even so, I think you all know what you did was wrong. Some teachers wanted a harsh sentence anyways, so I stepped in. Be grateful.

“Gee, thanks, prez,” Miki drawled sarcastically. Emi punched her shoulder.

Instead of the more serious punishments that your behavior might warrant, I have decided that on Sunday, you will spend all day cleaning the gym and the other fitness facilities. It will be under my supervision and we will work all day until every inch is spotless. Then I will be satisfied and the matter will be settled. Unless you ever go up to the roof again. I don’t think you would, but if it happens again, I would absolutely push for suspension.

Miki groaned, clearly not looking forward to this even if she was willing to go along with it. Rin looked down at her tied sleeves.

“I don’t know how much I can help,” she said.

Shizune snapped lightly to bring her attention back up, then pointed to her eyes to indicate that Rin should look into them. She twirled a finger near her mouth and imitated speaking, causing Rin to look at her in confusion; narrowing her eyes, Shizune turned to Misha and signed something, looking annoyed that she had to do so.

[Tell her to say that again.]

[She said she doesn’t know how well she can help clean, Shicchan.]

[Okay. Tell her to say it again.]

Misha gave her a funny look but complied.

“Shicchan says, say that again, Rin~!”

“Oh. I don’t know how much I can clean.”

Shizune’s lips moved slightly as Rin talked, as if trying to match their motions. She nodded her head and wrote an addendum to her note.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t do much. It is the effort that matters. You will be there and you will try your best.

“…Okay?” Shizune prompted, her voice a bit weak compared to what Misha would’ve expected, but its tone sounding quite natural.

“Shicchan!” she exclaimed, hearing a couple of gasps from the others.

Unable to hear any of these reactions, Shizune ignored them, waiting instead on Rin’s response. Rin hadn’t responded to hearing the president speak in any visible way, either, seeming to accept it as something normal.

“Okay,” she said with a nod.

Shizune nodded at her in turn, then slammed her hands down on the desk to command a return to attention. She flipped the sheet of paper over.

That is all. Rin, Emi, and Miki are dismissed. You will be here at 8:00 AM on Sunday.

“Eh? That’s it, no big lecture?” Miki wondered aloud.

Shizune glared at her.

“…No.”

Miki’s eyes widened at the verbal response, looking more than a little put off by it. Instead of saying anything else, she just turned to walk out.

“Huh, well, that coulda been worse… c’mon, you two. Let’s leave them to it,” she said, looking back to Emi and Rin. They followed after her in short order, Emi sneaking a curious glance back at Shizune as she neared the door. Shizune was still glaring at them, which caused Emi to jump a bit and hop ahead into the hall when she saw it. As soon as the three girls were gone, Misha began to sign at Shizune.

[Shicchan! You can talk!]

Shizune gave her an annoyed look.

[I never said I couldn’t.]

[But, you never—]

Shizune cut her off by making a big X with her arms, then pointed down at the desk. She removed the first sheet of paper, revealing another note underneath. She’d really planned this out, Misha thought.

Misha, you are the Student Council vice president. It is one thing for ordinary students to engage in this behavior, but another for it to be you. You betrayed the trust that I put in you as my deputy, and I cannot take that lightly.

Misha paused and gulped back a wave of anxiety before reading on.

Therefore, you are suspended as the vice president for one month.

“Wha…”

“S-suspended…” Hanako said meekly, reading the same sentence.

You are relieved of your council duties during the suspension. You should not come to meetings or engage in any activities on behalf of the Student Council until you are re-instated. I hope that you will take this time to consider your duties, so that you can take them more seriously when you return to them.

What if she didn’t return to them at all? The thought of just quitting came to Misha’s mind. She certainly could… but she noticed that the note said nothing about that option. To Shizune, it was unthinkable that she’d just quit because of this. That would be the easy way out, Misha realized. She wouldn’t do that.

This isn’t only for your benefit. The past week made me realize that I had come to rely on you too much, both inside and outside of the Student Council. While I will always appreciate what you have done for me, we both need to learn how to function more fully without each other, as well. We need to have lives of our own that we can turn to. I think this will be a good opportunity for both of us to work on that.

Misha tapped the desk, her eyes lingering on that last paragraph. One month… it felt like a death sentence when she first read it, but how long was a month, really? A long time, when you were used to spending most of the day, every day, with someone… but now she had Hanako to think about, as well. And Emi and Rin and Lilly, even. It felt like the Student Council had been her whole life for a long time, but maybe it didn’t have to be. Still, she had questions.

[Shicchan, is that… why you’re talking now?]

[That’s part of it. I can’t just assume you’ll always be around for me, Misha. I want to be able to talk to people on my own… I don’t want to make you my voice for the rest of my life.]

“Shicchan…”

[I guess it surprised me because I never heard you do it, not even once. Could you always talk?]

[I always could, if I wanted to. I wasn’t always… like this. When I first met you, it was in the sign language class. It wasn’t going to help you learn if I talked to you more normally, without using signs.]

Misha remembered those early weeks of their friendship. Sign language had been really hard and she’d been thinking about quitting it, even though it had been one of the things that brought her to Yamaku in the first place. Then Shizune approached her in the library one day, while she was trying to study for it… Shizune knew she was struggling, so she sat down and gave Misha a note saying that she was going to help. It had been a declaration, not a request, and it had been the only time that Shizune ever used the notepad with her. Even when she was still new to sign language and bad at it, no matter how long it took, Shizune always made her talk using the proper signs.

[I understand, Shicchan. You did really help me. I don’t think I could have learned sign language without you.]

[I wanted to help you succeed, but after you got good at it, you were helping me, too. I never liked to use my voice. After I met you, and you began to translate for me… it just became very convenient to use you instead. I became complacent, and I took advantage of you. That is my fault.]

“Shicchan! I never felt like you—”

Misha cut herself off, looking aside to Hanako, who watched on in patient silence. She didn’t know what they were saying, but based on the note, she seemed to understand that it was a personal conversation.

[I never felt like you took advantage of me, Shicchan. That’s not how I felt.]

[Even so, it’s true. But I’ve decided not to be so stubborn about speaking anymore. I have to get over that.]

Shizune leaned forward and put a hand on Misha’s shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she said.

[We will have time to talk more when you come back.]

[Okay, Shicchan. But… what am I going to do for a month?]

Shizune looked pointedly at Hanako.

“Hm?” Hanako started, not knowing if this was a request for her to speak or do something.

[I’m sure you’ll think of something.] Shizune said.

“Waha~! Yeah, Shicchan, I guess I will!”

“Umm… is everything o-okay?” Hanako asked.

“Yeah, Hacchan. Yeah! Everything’s really great~! Wahaha~!”

Hanako smiled, sensing the authenticity in this assurance. Misha turned back to Shizune for a moment.

[And what about you, Shicchan? Are you going to be okay… in the council by yourself?]

[I said that we both have to learn how to function without each other, remember? I tried to run the council by myself once, when… well, it didn’t work, but I think I know what to do better on a second try. I’ll figure it out. If I can’t, then I’m not worthy to be president!]

Shizune adjusted her glasses, the flash of a challenge passing over her eyes. If that was how she saw it, then she’d be just fine, Misha thought.

“Okay, Shicchan~!”

[You can go, Misha. I want Hanako to stay for a minute.]

[Alright then, Shicchan.]

“Shicchan wants to talk to you for a minute, Hacchan! I’ll be right outside!” Misha relayed, stepping into the hall and closing the door behind her. Shizune had been speaking literally, it seemed; Hanako was hardly a minute behind her, coming back out with a look of fright on her face.

“Hacchan! Why that look? Shicchan didn’t say something mean, did she~?”

“Umm… m-maybe?”

“What was it?”

“Uhh… she turned her note o-over, and it just said one s-sentence…”

“And?”

Hanako turned bright red, stuttering several times before she managed to start again.

“I-i-it said… it said, ‘I-if you break her h-h-heart, I will never f-f-forgive you!’”

“What?… Wahahaha~! That’s just like Shicchan! Ahaha~!”

“Y-you didn’t t-tell her, did y-y-you?!”

“Of course not, Hacchan~! Shicchan just… she can see it. Remember how she left us alone and told us to watch the fireworks together, back at the festival? Why do you think she did that?”

“Sh-she said… she had to go cl-clean up, or something, r-right? Wait… d-does that mean… everyone kn-knows?”

Misha looked down at their hands, which had come together again.

“So what if they did, Hacchan? So what if they did~?”

Hanako gave her a bashful look. Misha looked up and down the hall to check for watchful eyes. Seeing no one else around, she reached up and gave Hanako a kiss. It was just supposed to be a quick one, but now that she had her, suddenly it became hard to stop…

“Hey, hey, hey! Isn’t that like, public lewdness or whatever?”

“Eek!”

Hanako jerked away from Misha, looking towards the voice to see Miki standing in an intersection a little ways down the hall.

“Don’t stop on my account. About damn time, if you ask me.”

“M-M-Miki!”

“Wahahaha~!”

Miki just gave them a thumbs up and walked across the intersection, passing back out of sight with a chuckle.

“Ehehah… sorry, Hacchan, I thought no one was around.”

Hanako blushed, clasping her hands in front of her skirt.

“It’s alright, M-Misha… Miki doesn’t c-care. Maybe… m-maybe we can try again, somewhere else, like… our r-rooms…”

“Wahaha~!”

Misha clapped her on the shoulder.

“Ah ah ah! Nice try, Hacchan, nice one~! But~! We still have a lot more clubs to look at today. You aren’t getting out of it that easily! Wahaha~!”

“Drat…”

Chapter 27 | Chapter 29

“Please comfort me, Hacchan. Just for tonight.”

I see what you did there...
Problem is it doesn't fit in that place of your story at all - neither the "comfort" part nor the "just for tonight" one.

My first h-scene/sex scene that I've ever written. Hope it was serviceable!

I just skimmed over it, but from what I've seen I'd say it was a bit too long.

I do have my school counselor’s license, yes.

If he was qualified as a psychological counsellor, that would be his main job...

Misha hopped up and gave the Nurse a brief hug

That's a bit much, even for Misha...

Mirage_GSM wrote: ↑Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:06 pm

“Please comfort me, Hacchan. Just for tonight.”

I see what you did there...

I thought about trying to set it up more properly but then I just figured, at the end of the day, a meme is a meme. We all know what "comfort" means in this context ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I just skimmed over it, but from what I've seen I'd say it was a bit too long.

It'll probably be the longest one due to it being Hanako's first time. I was more concerned to avoid it coming off as too quick and casual for such an important experience to her. As always, the things I fret over when writing never end up being the issues that others see. Future ones will be shorter.... maybe.... no promises <.<

If he was qualified as a psychological counsellor, that would be his main job...

Shhhh. I just wanted an excuse for it to be him instead of some nameless psychologist >.>

---

Chapter 29: Expedition

Hanako awoke on Saturday to a note under her door.

Come meet me by the gate after class, Hacchan. We’ll have fun fun fun today!

It was a bit weird to ask this way when they were in the same class together, but maybe Misha thought it was cute or something. Hanako was just glad to have her attention. She spent most of class trying not to look too much at Misha, who was still translating dutifully for Shizune. Her attempts only halfway succeeded. Luckily, between her hair-curtain and her position in the back row, the other students probably didn’t notice her wandering eye.

***

Misha stayed to talk with Shizune a bit after class. Normally Hanako would sit and read, or go to the tea room for lunch, but today there was that note. Wouldn’t it be more natural to just wait for Misha and walk out together? Now that she thought about it, the note was worded like Misha assumed that they would go to the gate separately… then it struck her. Hanako felt silly that she hadn’t considered it herself. If they started walking around together everywhere, people would definitely talk, if they weren’t already. She had asked Misha not to tell anyone, even if a few had already found out anyways…

So Hanako packed her things, got up, and walked to the front gate by herself. Misha wasn’t too far behind her, showing up after three or four minutes.

“Hacchan~! Hi, hi~!”

Misha rushed up, arms outstretched for a hug, but managed to stop herself short, her arms smacking audibly back down to her sides. Hanako tried not to giggle, thinking how Misha’s sudden unnatural posture made her resemble a soldier who’d been ordered to stand at attention.

“Sorry, Hacchan~! Umm…”

Misha leaned in and whispered (or tried to).

“…is it okay to hug, out here? I made sure for us to come apart, you know, because…”

“I-I know, Misha.”

Hanako smiled at her and gave her a brief hug.

“Y-you hug everyone anyways.”

“Wahaha~! That’s true, Hacchan, I do~!”

“So…”

Hanako looked around them.

“…what are we doing, Misha?”

“We’re going on a date, of course~! Whoops~!” Misha exclaimed, covering her mouth right afterwards.

“Ahh!” Hanako yelped, wincing visibly at the word “date.”

“Sorry, Hacchan~!” Misha said, switching back to a “whisper.”

There was that habit of blurting things out again. Misha had been surprisingly considerate with the note and everything, but her volume and personality still betrayed her. A nearby group of students had looked over curiously at her enthusiastic declaration of the date. Hanako didn’t recognize them, so they were probably first years that didn’t know or care about her anyways, but still…

“A-alright, Misha… let’s just g-go, then. Into town?” Hanako asked, reasoning that there was not really anywhere else to go for a date around here.

“Yeah, Hacchan, yeah~! That’s what I was thinking, too~! How’d you know?”

“I don’t know, I’m… I-I’m very sneaky, I guess,” Hanako said.

“Wahaha~!”

They stayed quiet for a moment, until they’d made it a bit further away from the school gate and the students who tended to gather there on Saturdays. There were other groups going to town both ahead and behind them, but the spacing was enough that no one should be in earshot. Probably… you could never be sure with Misha, Hanako thought.

“Umm, M-Misha…”

“Yes?”

“So, d-does this m-mean, we’re… th-that we’re…”

“Getting parfaits? For sure~!”

“N-n-no! I m-mean, we can do that, b-but… does this mean we’re d-d-dating?”

Misha stopped for a moment and blinked. She opened her mouth to respond but caught herself, pausing and putting a finger on her chin to think for a moment, then spoke up after considering the question.

“I don’t know, Hacchan. I guess I just thought… well, with, you know… what we did this week,” Misha said, blushing a bit as she thought through their situation, “that’s stuff that usually… people who are dating do. But if you don’t—”

“N-no! I do!” Hanako cut her off, grabbing one of Misha’s hands in her own for emphasis.

“Ah! Hacchan…”

“I-I mean, yes! I think… I’m very happy to be d-dating you, Misha.”

“Awww~! Me too, Hacchan. Me too~!”

Misha leaned in for a kiss, once again managing to stop herself halfway with a jolt of realization. A small group of second years on their way to town had nearly caught up to them while they had stopped to talk about this, giving their joined hands a few curious glances.

“Eep!” Hanako squeaked, covering her face and blushing. Feeling a rush of anxiety at the sudden and unexpected attention, she retreated off the road a bit, looking firmly at the ground until the second years had passed them and gone on a ways. Misha stood by her side, scratching her head and trying not to look too awkward. The other students had lost interest almost right after Hanako noticed them, going back to whatever they had been talking about before encountering the couple, but…

“Hacchan… are you alright? Maybe… maybe this wasn’t my greatest idea, huh~? I’m sorry, Hacchan. We can go back if you want…”

“N-n-no!” Hanako said stubbornly. “I-I’m, I’m not…”

She clenched her fists, feeling a surge of anger, then closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. It wouldn’t help anything to start yelling at Misha over this. Misha was trying to take her out and do things with her… to take her on a little adventure of their own, exactly like Hanako had always dreamed about on those lonely days spent sitting alone in the library. She was the one that was acting weird and getting in the way. It was definitely tempting to flee from the situation and hide back in the dorms, but if Hanako did that, she wouldn’t just be letting herself down. She’d be letting Misha down, too.

She couldn’t do that.

“Misha…”

Misha reached out for her hand, yet again stopping midway. Hanako raised her own hand and took it, holding on firmly.

“I-I don’t think… it’s going to be too h-hard to go out with you, and not… not h-have anyone know about it. It’s… it’s j-just who you are. So…”

Misha’s face fell.

“Okay, Hacchan~. We can—”

Hanako squeezed her hand to cut her off.

“…so let’s just g-go,” she said, looking up at Misha with her brow furrowed in determination. “I don’t care who sees us. That was d-d-dumb of me. If everybody knows how I feel about you… it’s fine. I don’t c-c-care!” she finished, channeling a bit of lingering anger into a forceful kiss to punctuate the decision.

“Hacc—mmmpff!!”

“Of course I’ll go on a d-date with you, Misha.”

“…Thanks, Hacchan~. I’m really looking forward to it! So~!”

Misha danced back towards the road in a twirling motion.

“Where should we go, Hacchan, hm~? Somewhere with parfaits, I hope~!” she said, leaning forward and holding a forefinger up to emphasize her point.

“I-I think I know somewhere.”

***

“Hi~, Yucchan, hi!”

“Hi Misha! I mean! Welcome to the Shanghai, may I take your order!”

Yuuko’s head dipped below their waists, the force of her bow causing Hanako to jump back away from it lest she get headbutted right in the chest. Misha brought a hand down on her shoulder, probably a little harder than necessary.

“Whaah!”

The impact might have knocked Yuuko right down onto the floor if Misha hadn’t also taken hold of her with it. She pulled Yuuko back up to a standing position.

“Wahaha~! You don’t have to do that, Yucchan! You know us!”

“Y-yes, but it’s part of my job. I have to show respect to all the customers, no matter who it is!”

“If you say so. If you say~! Where should we sit!”

“Ohmigosh! I’m so sorry, I haven’t even cleared a table off for you yet!”

“That’s okay~! Anywhere is fine!”

“No, it’s not fine! I should’ve been cleaning all these tables, making sure I had more ready for new customers! Please forgive me!”

“You shouldn’t say sorry all the time, Yucchan. Shicchan always says, you should only apologize when it’s important!”

“Ahhh, you’re right! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“See~! You’re still doing it! Wahaha~! That’s a bad habit, Yucchan!”

“Oh! I didn’t realize—what I mean is, I’m sorry that I was sorry! But—that means I’m still sorry, doesn’t it? Ahhh!”

“Ahahahaha~!”

“M-M-Misha!” Hanako blurted out, putting a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder and giving Yuuko an apologetic look of her own. “C-cut it out…”

“Cut what out, Hacchan~?”

“Y-Yuuko, how about… there?” Hanako said, pointing to a table for two in a corner of the establishment.

“Yes, yes, that’s right! That’s fine! Go ahead and sit down, I’ll be right with you!”

“Thanks, Yuuko.”

Hanako took a seat across from Misha, inspecting the table warily. It looked perfectly well and clean to her… Yuuko’s idea of what “cleaning the tables” meant was probably something way off base, though. She wasn’t kidding when she said she’d be right with them, either; she retrieved their menus and scurried back with frightening speed, nearly tripping over a chair on her way.

“Here you are! Your menus! I, ah, I brought three…”

“Three~? Are you eating with us, Yucchan?”

“N-no! That would be completely unacceptable! I just thought, in case, well… Shizune might be coming?”

“Shicchan? Aha~, I guess this is the first time I’ve been here without her, isn’t it? No, Yucchan, Shicchan is…”

Misha looked down at the table, seeming a bit flustered.

“Sh-Shicchan isn’t coming today, Yuuko,” Hanako said.

“Oh! Okay then, no problem, no problem! I’ll just… put this here… and… so! I’ll be back in a few—”

“Wait, Yucchan! I know what I want! I wanna order~!”

“What?! Alright, Misha!”

Yuuko fumbled around for a notepad to take down the order, then looked back up at Misha.

“I want a pink strawberry drill parfait!”

“A… a what?”

Hanako suppressed a laugh.

“M-Misha… did you even look at the m-menu?”

“Oh, is it on the menu?” Misha asked, betraying not a hint of irony.

“Umm, I don’t think so…” Yuuko said. “I don’t know what that is, so I don’t think we have it here…”

“That’s right, Yucchan. It isn’t~ on the menu! That’s why I’m telling you about it!”

“Well, we do have a couple options with strawberries in them! Would you like to see them?”

“No, Yucchan, that’s no good~! It has to be cute, pink~, strawberry yogurt! Then you do it in circles, in a cone, so it makes a drill shape, see~?” Misha explained, twirling a finger in the air to demonstrate. “If you do it right, then it should look like… this~! Boing~! Wahaha~!” she continued, bouncing a drill to emphasize her point.

“Uhh… I’m sorry, Misha, but… I just don’t know if I can do that! I don’t think we have any pink yogurt…”

“Awwwww~! Who makes the parfaits, anyway? I’ll bring them a picture next time!”

“Well… A lot of times I make them…”

“Y-you do? Aren’t you just a w-waitress?” Hanako asked.

“Yes, but! We’re short staffed, because the café doesn’t make very much money, so the manager had me pick up some extra duties! It’s really not fair because he didn’t increase my pay at all, and—oh no! I’m not supposed to talk to customers about things like that! Please act like you didn’t hear anything!”

“Wahahaha~! You’re goofy today, Yucchan!”

Hanako sighed. They were never going to get any food at this rate.

“M-Misha… let’s just order something n-normal, okay?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t fulfill your order, Misha! Let me know if there’s anything—”

“U-u-u-umm!” Hanako stuttered, using the tic to interrupt Yuuko before she could encourage any more nonsense from Misha. “I-I-I’ll have this!” she declared, aiming for the first parfait her finger fell on.

“Hmm~, what should I get?”

“Maybe we can share?”

“Aha~! That’s a great idea, Hacchan. It’s on me~! We’ll have that one, Yucchan!”

“Alright! Great! Thanks! I mean, you’re welcome! It’ll be out soon!”

“Wahaha~! Yucchan should really try taking it easy some time!” Misha said as she scuttled away into the kitchen.

Hanako looked around the café, taking note of how few the other customers were. It really was a mystery how this place stayed in business, she thought.

“Yeah, especially because there’s not even that many p-people… but…”

“…but?”

“…y-you’re not making it easy for her, Misha. You were really m-messing with her!”

“Wha?! Was not~! Shicchan might like to do stuff like that, but she’s not here today, and I’m not like that. Not at all~, not even a little bit~!”

Hanako rested her head on her chin, her eyes drooping a bit as she gave up on trying to convince Misha of this.

“I guess… umm, I noticed you called her… Y-Yucchan…”

“So~? That’s her name. Yucchan~! It’s cute!”

“Yeah, but… when I talked to you one day before, you said she doesn’t get a n-nickname. Because she’s not a student like us.”

“I did~?”

Misha raised her eyebrows quizzically, then put a finger to her chin and stared up at the ceiling, genuinely thinking about this.

“Huh. Maybe, Hacchan, maybe~! But~! Today, she seems like a Yucchan, so~! That is her name! Wahaha~!”

Hanako smiled, realizing how much she had missed this side of Misha over the past week. It had been a bit of a journey, with one emotional moment after another, ever since… that night, the festival. It felt a bit crazy to think that not even a full week had passed yet, with how much had happened. It was nice to have a day that they could just goof off like this again, Hanako thought. It was like those times they spent in the library together, except this time, they were going somewhere Misha liked to go.

“Alright, Misha. Does that mean there’s a day, when… you seem like a M-Micchan?”

Misha crossed her arms and frowned.

“No, Hacchan~! No Micchan! I’m Misha… always Misha~!”

“O-okay… M-M-Micchan.”

“Why you—I already have Emi-chan doing that, you better not do it too, you better not~! I’ll make you pay for your part of the parfait!”

“That’s okay, I’ll pay for it anyway. Y-You don’t have to.”

“But I want to, Hacchan. We’re on a date~! That’s how dates work! One person pays for the food of the other person, to show that they care for them. Right, right~?”

“I guess that’s right…”

Hanako left it unsaid that usually the man was expected to pay for the woman. Did this make Misha the man in their relationship? It would be a funny thing to ask, but she didn’t quite feel up to such an awkward joke right now.

“Say, what are we getting, anyways~, Hacchan?”

“Hm? You didn’t l-look at what I ordered?”

“Nah. I just know it was a parfait! So~! It’s good!”

“M-Misha! What if it’s something you don’t l-like?”

Hanako realized that she had no idea which one she pointed to either, having been in a rush at the moment. No need to bring that detail up.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Hacchan. I like all~ parfaits. Wahaha~!”

“Well, that makes sense…”

“Sure it does! I like to eat all sorts of delicious things, Hacchan. Alllll~ sorts!” Misha exclaimed, holding her arms out as wide as they would go to show how many that was.

“S-so you can eat th-this~ many parfaits, Misha?” Hanako repeated, matching the wide spread of her arms.

“Wahahaha~! That’s right, Hacchan, just like that! I have a whole quest, you know. I do~!”

“A qu-quest? Ehaha… like an anime h-hero?”

“No, Hacchan, not like that at all! I’m not interested in punching or any other dumb boy stuff. My quest is way better! I want to find the biggest~, best~, most fanciest parfait that there is! And eat it allllll up!”

“Ahaha… hahahaha!”

“Hacchan! Don’t make fun of my dream~!”

“Aha, M-Misha, it’s just, ha… I’m s-sure you’ll find the perfect p-parfait. One day!”

“That’s right. One day~!”

“But, if you have a quest, then… you are a h-hero, Misha. Maybe not like in m-manga, but…”

“Having a quest makes me a hero, hm~? Then—I’m a parfait hero!” Misha declared, holding a sideways V symbol near her face in an idol pose.

“D-does that make me the parfait v-villain?”

“Hm~. I guess it does, Hacchan! You did~ say you’re a villain before, didn’t you? You better not come between me and my parfait, or else I’ll have to punish you very severely, yes I will~!”

“Oh n-n-no… anything but th-that…” Hanako said sarcastically, playing up fear of being “punished” by Misha.

“Wahahahaha~!”

“You didn’t change your mind, did you?” Yuuko said, arriving at the tail end of this exchange and only catching the part about Hanako potentially coming between Misha and the parfait. “If it’s not to your liking, I can try making another…”

“Not at all, Yucchan~! Hacchan’s just being naughty, that’s all~! We’ll definitely still eat this!”

“W-w-was not!” Hanako protested.

“Mmmm, mmm! It looks sooo~ good! Thanks Yucchan, thanks!”

“You’re welcome! Please enjoy!” Yuuko said, nearly dropping it as she performed a bullet-bow with the large glass still held in her hands. “Whaah! Sorry, here you go! Bye!” she added, setting the item down and scurrying away before she could do anything else she might regret. It looked quite tasty: the tall glass held an amalgam of fruit resting in layers of fresh ice cream, topped off with whipped cream and a cherry.

Misha grabbed a spoon and immediately began to mush it all up into goop, spilling whipped cream everywhere in the process.

“M-M-Misha! What are you d-d-doing!”

“Hummpf?” Misha asked, her mouth already stuffed with a sizeable bite.

“H-how am I gonna eat it n-now?!”

“Uhh?”

Misha swallowed her mouthful of mashed parfait and pointed to the other spoon on the table.

“How did you think parfaits are supposed to be eaten, Hacchan?”

“N-not like that! It comes in all those nice l-layers, that Yuuko probably worked really h-hard on, and you just cr-crushed it…”

“Wahaha~! Don’t be silly. It’s made this way so that you can mix it up really easy, of course~!”

Was it? Misha’s confidence made her doubt whether she really knew how this was supposed to work, especially since between the two of them, it was guaranteed that Misha had eaten many more parfaits than she had…

“Just try it, Hacchan~!”

“O-okay…”

Not content to wait around for Hanako to serve herself, Misha scooped up a big spoonful of parfait and moved it towards Hanako’s face.

“Say ‘ahhh!’”

“Ahhh—mmpff!”

The “ahhh” had been more out of shock than compliance, but in the end it worked out the same. Misha watched expectantly as Hanako rolled the food around in her mouth, her smile never wavering. She seemed to have total confidence that Hanako would enjoy it. A stubborn part of Hanako wanted to try and deny it, but her taste buds won it over. She chewed a bit—not much, since the mixture had the approximate consistency of yogurt—and swallowed, already picking up her own spoon for another bite.

“It is good after all, Misha!”

“See~? I may not know very much, but if I know anything, it’s parfaits! Wahaha~! Hacchan, did you know? There are at least ten different—”

“—pl-places that you can get them. Aha, I remember, Misha. I guess you really are the parfait ex-expert.”

When Hanako brought her spoon forward for more, Misha intercepted it with her own, the two utensils clanging together.

“Uh-uh Hacchan! I want to feed it to you some more~!… Can I do that?” she asked, her voice growing sheepish on the question. “It was really, really~ cute~…”

Hanako remembered the night that she’d ended up feeding Lilly’s cooking to Rin in the dorms. It had been oddly satisfying… she guessed if they were going to be a couple, this type of thing was to be expected.

“Alright, Misha.”

“Yay, yay~! Wahaha~! Okay, here comes the airplane! Brrrrrnnnn…” Misha whirred, probably trying to imitate a jet engine.

“N-not if you’re going to do that!”

“Ahaha~! Sorry, I got too excited!”

Misha settled for just popping bites of parfait into their mouths more normally, alternating between herself and Hanako on every bite. This way it did ensure that they got an equal share, Hanako thought. The pauses between them also made for a fairly natural flow of conversation; one person could speak while the other took their bite, then they switched. They made some more small talk, but there were also a few breaks where Hanako found Misha just staring intently at her, that look in her eyes that Hanako now recognized as… love? It felt too soon to call it that, but that was the word that came to mind.

Inevitably, she’d blush and look away after trying to stare back into Misha’s eyes during those moments, that expression of absolute contentment causing her heart to flutter. Misha would just laugh and say something silly, then they’d talk again for a bit. They ended up staying well after the parfait glass was emptied out, ordering some tea and just amusing each other that way. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, Hanako thought. It was so simple, something so normal, yet to her it was such a step up from her usual routine of solitude.

She could really get used to hanging out with Misha like this.

Chapter 28 | Chapter 30

We all know what "comfort" means in this context ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yes, it means "having sex to distract oneself from sorrow." Is that what they are doing here? Because to me it seems more like "having sex bacause of being horny."
Inserting jokes and memes into stories can be fun - but only if it's the right kind of story. This has so far been a fairly serious romance story, and this was FAR out of the mood you yourself set for it.

Shhhh. I just wanted an excuse for it to be him instead of some nameless psychologist >.>

So you wanted to avoid writing another character. You had plenty of options. You could have given those lines to Lilly, Shizune... If you hadn't written her as a delinquent, Miki as she was in the VN would have been a good option. You could even have used nurse by saying Hanako doesn't like psychiatrists and they go to nurse as a compromise.
Instead you chose to give nurse a ridiculous background as a counsellor...

“N-n-no! I m-mean, we can do that, b-but… does this mean we’re d-d-dating?”

Should have asked that before the H-scene

Mirage_GSM wrote: ↑Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:32 pm

We all know what "comfort" means in this context ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Yes, it means "having sex to distract oneself from sorrow." Is that what they are doing here? Because to me it seems more like "having sex bacause of being horny."
Inserting jokes and memes into stories can be fun - but only if it's the right kind of story. This has so far been a fairly serious romance story, and this was FAR out of the mood you yourself set for it.

Bah! Alright, you win. I'll remove it and find somewhere else to slip it in later. It's definitely going to appear somewhere though. You might have won this battle, but I'm gonna win the meme war!

So you wanted to avoid writing another character. You had plenty of options. You could have given those lines to Lilly, Shizune... If you hadn't written her as a delinquent, Miki as she was in the VN would have been a good option. You could even have used nurse by saying Hanako doesn't like psychiatrists and they go to nurse as a compromise.
Instead you chose to give nurse a ridiculous background as a counsellor...

I didn't want to introduce a throwaway psychiatrist when I felt the Nurse would fit well in this place, no. The alternative explanation you offer is a harmless change, so I'll edit that in.

Bah! Alright, you win. I'll remove it and find somewhere else to slip it in later. It's definitely going to appear somewhere though. You might have won this battle, but I'm gonna win the meme war!

This is not a battle, and the way I see it, if the story improves everyone wins.

You know, there are plenty of stories here on the forums where something like this wouldn't have made me bat an eye. It's just that your writing in this story so far has set standards that are higher than this.

Oh I appreciate your feedback, and agree with improving the story--the battle comment was tongue-in-cheek.

Hanako Fancopter wrote: ↑Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:54 pmmeme war

This specific juxtaposition of those words might have made me throw up in my mouth a little.

In case you might have misunderstood my above intent: please don't do that. This is not the forum moderator speaking, it's the concerned editor.

-Oh phew, I'm rarely so happy to have been ninja'd.

You might have won this battle, but I'm gonna win the meme war!

Take some advice from the movie War Games. The only winning move is not to play.