COM(promise) - A Miki Route (Updated Sep 26th, 2020)

[Flarezium]

Hmm neat story. I'll definitely read your updates as soon as they come out.I hope you don't get hit with the Miki Curse.

Also if you're keeping to Lunch's Suzu, then I'm assuming she won't come to the city. So that means it's a date with Hisao and Miki.

[Craftyatom]

Also if you're keeping to Lunch's Suzu, then I'm assuming she won't come to the city.

Lunch? I'm confused as to who that is.

I don't think anyone could hate you Numb. You're one of two of my favourite Miki writers. The other being Mr and/or Mrs Craftyatom here.

Mr, just saying, but more importantly, thanks!

Finally got around to actually reading this (yes, I recommended you blindly, don't hate me D:), and I'm loving how it's playing out so far. The fact that I now have two possible endings for it in my head just shows how well written it is so far, so don't stop. You might feel pressured to update frequently, but trust me, don't give in to it. Write at your own pace, hell, even write a few chapters, don't post and wait a week, then go back. Detaching yourself from your work does amazing things to it, and it'll help you notice the more minor typing errors, and even helps you see if you've written yourself into a corner.

Hey, a recommend is a recommend!
Regarding holding off on releases, I understand, I try to get stuff written early and then correct it over a longer period of time, and it does help. I also try to stick to a schedule, though, because that's the only thing that keeps me motivated sometimes.

Unfortunately, this past week has been a... strange one, and I'm going to have to delay the next update. Figured I should let people know.

[monkeywitha6pack]

It's ok, quality of quantity I feel every agrees that a amazing chapter that takes a month to update is much better then a chapter you rushed just so you could post it quickly

[Flarezium]

Also if you're keeping to Lunch's Suzu, then I'm assuming she won't come to the city.

Lunch? I'm confused as to who that is.

Sorry, Lunch is Scissorlips.

Oh and take your time, I'd rather have a good chapter a few days late then a less than satisfactory chapter that meets a deadline.

[carzy]

Just discovered your route and read it all! Hope you stick to a reasonable schedule and release the next one soon! Also, since summer is coming up, will you be writing and releasing chapters at a more frequent rate? Thanks for all your work and I can't wait for the next one!

[Magnet]

I noticed this thread was bumped and for a split second my heart stopped and I thought a new chapter was released. Welp, guess not and the only Miki we'll probably get in the reasonable future is Req's 2-9.
Anyway, really loving this route so far and I do hope you continue sometime!

[Craftyatom]

Just discovered your route and read it all! Hope you stick to a reasonable schedule and release the next one soon! Also, since summer is coming up, will you be writing and releasing chapters at a more frequent rate? Thanks for all your work and I can't wait for the next one!

I'm actually not sure how exactly summer will affect my schedule, I know I'll be on vacation in the UK for 2 weeks in June, so that could be a halt. I'm certainly putting a lot of effort into trying to pick the schedule back up again, though. We'll see if I can whip myself into shape in time. (also thanks for the kind words!)

I noticed this thread was bumped and for a split second my heart stopped and I thought a new chapter was released. Welp, guess not and the only Miki we'll probably get in the reasonable future is Req's 2-9.
Anyway, really loving this route so far and I do hope you continue sometime!

Just a note, I would update the title if I updated with a new scene. Regarding "reasonable future"... We'll see. Thank you for your praise though!

[carzy]

I noticed this thread was bumped and for a split second my heart stopped and I thought a new chapter was released. Welp, guess not and the only Miki we'll probably get in the reasonable future is Req's 2-9.
Anyway, really loving this route so far and I do hope you continue sometime!

You know, I was just checking the pastebins of some routes I've been following and I think it was a Sunday night, May 4th, that I saw Req had uploaded a part 2-9. I read it all since I've been waiting for a while. It was average length like the other chapters, with the only choices being dialogue, which only altered what you read in the chapter a little. Anyway, I check back the next day, and see that the chapter has completely disappeared from the pastebin! What's up with that?

[Craftyatom]

I hope you guys are as happy to see this next update go out as I am to finally be able to write an update again, because damn if it doesn't feel good to be productive for the first time in a while. These past 5 months have been quite the adventure. Those of you who saw the edit I made to the top post know that I've been out for so long because of my depression; since that edit, my condition has improved significantly, and I finally found myself able to continue writing. I make no promises that I haven't changed, but with luck, my best will be good enough. Also, I will say that I can't put an exact date on when I'll update next. It won't be another 5 months from now, that's for sure, but it might not be the neat little 2 week schedule I stuck to earlier. I hope to return to that kind of form, but it may take a while. On a more story-related note, though:

Also if you're keeping to Lunch's Suzu, then I'm assuming she won't come to the city. So that means it's a date with Hisao and Miki.

I hadn't even remembered that Suzu might have an issue with this city, to be honest. I had always read that part as occurring in a city near their hometown, which is a ways away, but thorough investigation (read: religious rereading) of the associated text has proven that the city being referenced was indeed the one by Yamaku. Upon realizing this, I actually had to throw out a fantastic idea, though I may end up writing that as an aside at some point, just to put out there, because I really did enjoy the thought of it. Not that I blame you; it's good that you mentioned it, or else I wouldn't have known. Also, it technically doesn't directly affect this scene, but I didn't realize that until I got 4.5k words in. Not sure how I managed to fit a whole scene between 'Let's go to the city' and 'We're in the city now'.

Anyways, with that little technical difficulty aside, I'd just like to extend my thanks to everyone who has given me feedback throughout this process. Your criticism is important to my writing, and your praise is literally what got me through my depression a lot of the time. I keep all the nice things people have said in a little text file next to my workspace, and it cheers me up when I'm having trouble getting motivated. Thanks to you all for your respective contributions <3

Now then. Let's break the drought, shall we?

[Craftyatom]

>Converse Appropriation<

The week wears on, and I find myself rocketing around the track again, though this time Hisao is watching. He showed up pretty early today, and said that he was going to do his homework out here since it was such a nice day.

I’m feeling a lot brighter today, probably because I’ve gotten enough sleep the past two nights. I could’ve handled more phantom pains, but luckily I didn’t have to. Hopefully I won’t have any more issues leading up to the race next Sunday. Given the amount of practice I’ve been getting in, I’m fairly confident that I’ll be placing in most of the events this time, so to have it ruined by something as dumb as being unable to sleep would really suck.

But for now, here at practice, I feel fast.

It feels good.

As I complete the second turn of my second-to-last lap, I see that Hisao has either finished all his work or just given up, because his eyes are trained on me, rather than the books at his side. I think back to the sad look he had while he was watching those kids play soccer, and realize that I’d much rather have him watch me run than get all mopey.

Eventually I finish my laps and turn to go get Hisao, but he’s already walking to the track, his books sitting over on the bleachers. When he finally reaches me, we start walking around the track, wordlessly at first. I’m not sure that I have anything to talk about, but luckily, he breaks the silence.

“I think I’m beginning to understand your running patterns.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, you jog three laps and then sprint the fourth.”

I never really thought about that. “Honestly, I just sprint when I feel like it, so you’d know better than me. Speaking of which, you seemed to be watching pretty closely.”

“Oh, n-no, I wasn’t… It’s just that you’re really fast.”

I scoff. “What you saw wasn’t actually that fast. That was just practice sprints.”

He gives me a strange look. “I don’t know, it looked pretty fast from where I was sitting.”

I wave my hand at him dismissively. “Trust me, I wasn’t giving 100%.” He shrugs, and is probably about to just accept what I’m saying, but I suddenly feel obligated to prove myself. “Here, I’ll show you. Once we cross that line,” I point to one of the many markings on the track, “I’ll do a lap at full speed.”

He’s startled for a second. “Y-you really don’t have to-“ It’s too late. I’m already rocketing around the track, my legs falling into calmingly familiar motions and my hair flying back behind me. The trees, the grass, everything around me blends into a smudge on my vision, just a fleeting mess of stuff slower than me.

That is, until I turn the second corner and see Hisao standing in the middle of my track. Oh well, I guess I’ve done more than enough running for today. I trot to a stop beside him, then realize how heavily I’m breathing, and lean on him while I catch my breath. I guess there’s a reason I started training this early.

“Phew, it’s been a while since I did proper sprinting.” I then notice that the sweat I worked up is slowly dripping onto Hisao, who is trying his best to look unfazed, but I jump off of him anyways. “Sorry.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine.” He laughs nervously and, presumably looking to change the topic, adds, “So I was right, you are really fast!”

I giggle, and maybe blush, it’s hard to tell when my face is hot after running anyways. “Well, I’ve trained a lot since I got here.” I was pretty damn fast before as well, but I doubt Hisao would appreciate me saying so.

“Either way, I can definitely see you winning the meet next week.”

I take a moment to think about that. It’s been a while since I even considered winning a meet. “I’m… not keeping my hopes up.”

“Really? Why not?”

I sigh. “I may be fast, but I’m not the fastest.” I can remember my first track meet, and how I was sure I was going to come first, given how much I had been preparing. I had even beaten some of the running team’s members in practice. But I wasn’t prepared for-

“You mean Emi?”

“Yeah… You know her?” She’s not in our class, and Hisao hasn’t had much experience with the track team, so I hadn’t expected them to have met.

“Yeah, we, uh… We bumped into each other back during my first week here. Also, she was the one who the nurse had me running with.” I guess it’s not too much of a surprise that they’d have met, I mean, Emi’s not exactly the quiet type. It’s strange to think she was his running partner, though.

“Wait… So the nurse paired you, an arithmetic-“

“Arrhythmiac?”

“Yeah, that. He had you train with the fastest girl in the school?”

“Well, it wasn’t really that I was training with her… She was only supposed to make sure I showed up.”

“Even so, I can’t imagine you were having a great time watching her lap you constantly.”

“Yeah, I actually, I… I couldn’t stand it.” He sighs, then chuckles. “You remember the first time we met?”

“You mean when you introduced yourself to the class and were all nervous?”

He looks at me curiously. “I wasn’t that bad.”

I giggle and nod knowingly. “Oh, I would say that you were, mister ‘stares-at-everyone’s-missing-limbs.’”

He seems shocked, and I wonder for a moment if I’ve crossed the line. I mean, it was his first day; I shouldn’t really be teasing him about it. Hell, it went a lot better than my first day.

Luckily, he seems content enough to move on. “Anyways, no, I meant in the nurse’s office, when you walked in on him checking my heart.” I’m about to make a quip about how he was really nervous that time too, but then decide that I’ve probably made him feel bad enough for one day.

“I remember. You said it was just after your heart...” Hold up, I can get this. “… flutter?”

“Yeah. The morning before that, I had gone out to run with Emi. At the start, she stayed back and kept pace with me. After a little bit, though, she got bored, and started to run ahead on her own.” I suddenly have a painful realization about where this story is going. “I felt so angry, like it was my fault that I couldn’t keep up with her, like I shouldn’t be letting my heart stop me from doing stupid little things like this…” He presses his finger to the bridge of his nose with a sigh, and then shrugs. “I sped up.”

“You tried to catch her? Seriously?”

“Look, in the heat of the moment, it made perfect sense. I would just make myself go faster, and then I would pass her, and then… I don’t know, I’d become a ‘real man’ and not have to care about my heart ever again.”

“I’m guessing, based on your visit to the nurse, that things didn’t turn out that way.”

“Yeah… She noticed me gaining on her, so she laughed and went even faster. I tried to keep going, but a few more steps and I was lying face-down on the track.” He gestures at the ground below us, and I realize that the track in his story is the same as the one we’re walking around right now. It doesn’t seem that bad, walking around… To think that, just over a week ago, somewhere on this track, Hisao almost died.

Well that’s morbid.

Furthermore, I knew that Emi was the competitive type, but still... “That bitch,” I mutter under my breath, though apparently not quietly enough, because Hisao raises an eyebrow. “It’s just that Emi should’ve known better. I mean, I know that she’s reckless, but racing a guy with a heart condition? That’s low, or dumb, or both.”

Hisao shrugs. “She didn’t actually know about my condition, it’s not something I usually tell people about… And besides, it’s not like she started racing me, I was the one who tried to catch up with her."

“Well as idiotic as that was,” I elbow him jokingly, “she made it worse. I place the blame for your heart flutter solidly on Emi, and will have to scold her later for it.”

“Whatever you do, just don’t make her think that I put you up to this. I’m not sure how many more sets of puppy-dog eyes I can stare down.”

I laugh. “I had almost forgotten, as a guy you’re powerless against the witchcraft known as ‘cute girls.’”

He opens his mouth to respond, but apparently can’t come up with anything other than a sigh, accompanied by an accepting utterance of “You got me.”

We finish our walking after a minute or two more and head over to the bleachers, where Hisao had left his books. “So, did you manage to finish your work earlier?”

He nods, picking his stuff up and beginning to walk with me back to the dorms. “Yeah, now I just have to study for tomorrow.”

“Study? What for?”

Hisao gives me an appalled look. “The quiz.”

“The quiz?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow.”

Quiz? Tomorrow? I didn’t know anything about- “Oh, right, that one. The one Mutou told me about.” They were probably reviewing in class yesterday as well, but I’d be lying if I said I was listening.

I give a sigh of relief, finally understanding what Hisao has to study for, but he still looks worried. “Something tells me that you haven’t prepared much.”

“Well, you’re not wrong… What’s your point?”

He seems more worried about my lack of studying than I am. “I-I just figured that you’d want to be ready. There’s some really hard stuff on this quiz, even some of the equilibrium problems.”

“Oh, yeah, those… Don’t worry; I totally know how to do those. They’re easy.”

He raises one eyebrow. “You don’t know what they are, do you.”

Stupid Hisao, calling my bluff. I’m prepared to carry this one through. “Sure I do! They were on the homework.” Not that I would know, but chances are that there were practice problems in some of the work.

“Alright then, so given 50 mL of, say, 1 molar Acetic acid, how much 5 molar Sodium Hydrox-“

“Okay, okay, I give up, jeez.”

He sighs. “Miki, this stuff is important! Equilibrium problems like that are the basis of the entire chapter, and if you can’t do them, you’ll never understand the really hard stuff like Henderson-Hasselbalch equations.”

“Hisao, I’ll be honest, I don’t ever expect to understand any of this.”

“But it’s not that hard if you just-“

“Hisao, I really, really don’t care.”

He gives a long, drawn-out sigh, but decides against saying anything. Instead, he stares at his feet until we reach the fork in the path that separates the girls’ and boys’ dorms, at which point he looks back up at me. His gaze is a mixture of a lot of things, but pity seems to be the most prominent one. I wonder if he’s going to try and lecture me on how I should care about my grades more – not that he could tell me anything I haven’t heard a million times before – but instead he just turns around and walks back to his room, hands in his pockets.

I stand there for a while, not quite sure what to do. I was planning on leaving in a huff, but he never gave me the chance. Eventually I settle for slowly walking back to the girls’ dorms, wondering the whole way whether or not his pity was justified.

[Craftyatom]

Saturday. One last day of school before Sunday. If only it didn’t have to happen so early in the morning…

I walk into class and sit down, but something seems different. Normally people are pretty talkative at this point, getting in some last-minute conversation before class begins. Today, however, everyone seems, for the most part, silent. Misha is engaged in an energetic conversation with Shizune, but the two of them signing to each other makes no noise at all, further adding to the effect of a very dead room.

Before I can begin to guess at why everyone might be so quiet, the bell rings, and Mutou stands up from his desk, a large stack of papers in one hand, and begins to pass them out. “You will have the entirety of the period for this quiz, so you may continue to work until the bell rings. Please be sure to write neatly and circle only one letter for each of the multiple choice questions. Good luck.”

Well, mystery solved. Not that I feel much better for it. Eventually Mutou reaches my desk and places a paper on it. I guess it’s too late to make a run for it. I consider quickly looking at the inside of the test for a few moments when he’s not looking, but decide that the extra seconds probably aren’t going to save me, so I settle for writing my name in the space provided. Eventually each desk in the room has a test on it, and Mutou signals for us to begin, at which point I open to the first page. Come on Miki, you can do this. Question 1: “Given a solution with a pH of 3, performing a litmus test would return which color?”

… Well, I tried. Sort of. I read the first problem, that’s more than enough. I mean, which color? What kind of a question is that? I toss my pencil onto my desk and stare out of the window, longing for something, anything to do other than this quiz, when an idea hits me. I stand up, paper in hand, and walk up to Mutou’s desk. It takes him a second to realize that I’m there, but as soon as he does, he looks up from the magazine he’s reading.

“Is there a problem, Miura?”

“No, I just finished already.” I toss it onto his desk, trying my best not smile at how great in idea this is. I’ll just turn in my test early, leave class, and go have fun for the rest of the day, or something. I don’t know. Anything other than actually sitting here all period trying to take this quiz.

Unfortunately for my dreams of a lazy afternoon, Mutou, without even lowering his eyes, picks my paper up off of his desk and holds it back out in front of me. “Please, Miura, at least try.” Well, there goes my plan. Rest in peace, beautiful lazy afternoon. I grudgingly take the stapled stack of paper back from him and return to my desk.

So I’m supposed to try.

I open the first page again, skipping over the first question because I can still remember it, or at least, I can still remember that I had no idea how to do it. Question 2: “Given 3 litres of a 2 molar solution of Potassium Nitrate, if an amount of unknown Carbonate solution is added, how many grams of precipitate are formed?” What? How am I supposed to know? This problem makes no sense. I half-heartedly draw a 0 in the answer slot, to show that I have absolutely no idea how to do the problem.

Giving up on the short answer problems, I turn to the multiple choice section, but it turns out that these problems are no easier. I recognize some of the wording from what I could gather of Suzu’s notes, but none of it is enough to actually give me any of the answers. When I get to the multiple choice section, I circle random letters, giving me at least some chance at getting a grade other than a zero.

Well, I tried.

I get up again, looking up at the clock to find that only 10 minutes have passed. I walk up to Mutou’s desk once more, but this time he puts his hand up to stop me from throwing my paper onto his desk again. “Miura, just try.”

“I did try!”

He gives me an angry look, and I gather that he’s probably not going to let me turn in my quiz before the period is over. I spin around and head back to my desk with a sigh, paper hanging from my hand. Looks like I’ve got some time to kill. I sit back down and lean back in my chair, looking around the room at the rest of the class. Suzu is staring lazily at her paper, and I wonder for a second if she’s having as much trouble as I am, but then she jots something down. That puts her ahead of me, at least. To her left, Lezard and Molly concentrate intensely on their papers. In the row behind them, Shizune has her war face on, and seems to be ferociously attacking the paper in front of her using some sort of pen-based combat. Misha is much less certain, and tends to write an answer, look at it for a few seconds, then erase it and repeat the process. And then there’s Hisao…

He has this strange look about him, a kind of half-smile on his face. Whereas most of the rest of the students are focused on the questions, some even gritting their teeth or rubbing their temples from time to time, Hisao seems completely relaxed, even leaning back a little in his chair. I swear I’ve seen that expression before… I just can’t remember where. It’s like he’s not just prepared for this test; he expects not to miss a single question.

I manage to spend a few minutes doodling on my paper, random scribbles and drawings to pass the time, when I hear a chair move over to my left. I look up to see Hisao walk over to Mutou’s desk, test in hand, and turn it in. He and Mutou talk in a hushed tone for a little, and then Hisao turns and walks out of the door. Did Mutou let him leave? No, some of his stuff is still on his desk. I guess he just went to the bathroom or something.

Looking at the clock, there are still 25 minutes left. Hisao finished well before anyone else, or so it would seem, as nobody else has turned theirs in by the time he comes back. Mutou looks up as the door swings open to see who it is, but looks back down at the magazine he’s been reading once he recognizes Hisao, who heads for his seat. As he walks past me, though, his hand brushes over the surface of my desk, and I look up to see that he’s left a folded piece of paper in front of me.

As he sits down and closes his eyes, taking the free time to rest, I pick up the paper he left for me. What could possibly be so important that he couldn’t wait until after class? I open it to see a mess of assorted handwriting scrawled across the inside. Luckily, it’s at least legible; it’s just not very pretty.

‘Miki: Good luck.’

Below that are a number of equations, each one with little annotations explaining what each of the parts means. It takes me a second to realize that these are the same type of questions as are on the quiz…

The quiz that’s still sitting on my desk.

Hisao Nakai, you are a lifesaver.

[Craftyatom]

I didn’t manage to get that many questions done, especially since it took me a while to figure out how to actually use the information that Hisao gave me, but I did at least do a few.

As everyone files out of the classroom, I make sure to stay behind a little, fiddling with my bags until Hisao walks past me and out of the door. I quickly get up and head after him, catching up with him just a little bit past the doorway to the classroom, and put my hand on his shoulder, which causes him to jump. I guess I should’ve known that surprises aren’t his thing. I grin, half sheepishly and half because I’m trying to suppress a laugh, as he turns around, breathing a little heavier than usual.

“Oh… Hey Miki.”

“Let me guess, I startled you.”

“No, I’m just a little on edge.”

“Really? You looked pretty confident while you were taking the quiz.”

He shrugs. “Oh, yeah, the quiz was easy. I just keep thinking that I’m going to turn a corner and see Mutou there, holding out the paper I gave you and expelling me or something.”

I laugh, though Hisao doesn’t seem to relax any. “Don’t worry, Mutou was too buried in whatever magazine he was reading to catch any of that. Besides, even if he did, you know I’d take the fall for you.”

“Really?”

I roll my eyes. “Well, let’s see. You, science boy extraordinaire and my cooldown partner, have decided to do me a favor that might save my grade in this class, and you think I’d just let them expel you?”

“I guess… Still, that just means that you’ll be in trouble instead of me, and I don’t want that either.”

“You’re sweet, but don’t worry, I can handle whatever they’d do to me. Besides,” I reach into my pocket and pull out the note he gave me earlier, “I took all the evidence.”

He relaxes at the sight of the paper he’s apparently been dreading, and then grins. “Aren’t you supposed to destroy the evidence?”

“Well, in all the spy movies they eat the evidence, but since you’re the one worrying, I’ll leave that to you.” I smile and hand him the note.

He laughs and stuffs it into his pocket, apparently not one for eating paper. As we exit the school building, he changes the subject. “So, is Suzu coming with us tomorrow?”

Coming with us for… Damn. I smack myself on the forehead for having forgotten. “I meant to ask her this morning, but she left before me, and then when I got to class there was the quiz... I’ll just ask her when we see her at lunch.”

“Okay. As long as we know before tomorrow, I guess.”

The two of us gather what lunch we can and head for the usual table, though the people who have trickled in already don’t seem nearly as lively as they are most days. I guess the quiz really stressed them. I yawn, and realize that it took a lot out of me, too. Not to mention, some of these people were probably up last night studying. I barely have time to think how tired I would be if I had done the same when somebody plops down next to me, then drops their head onto my shoulder.

“Hey there, Suzu.”

In response, I receive an exasperated sigh. “I stay up late studying, and what does it get me? Questions about what color things should be.”

“Yeah, that one was stupid.”

“Colors are stupid.”

“Chemistry is stupid.”

“Yep.”

Just as I begin to appreciate the conversation, Hisao chimes in. “You mean the litmus test problem?”

Suzu and I both look up at Hisao, but I don’t have time to give him a death stare before Suzu asks “You knew that one?”

“Yeah, it’s a test for acidity. There weren’t any practice problems about it, but the book mentioned it a lot, so I looked it up.”

Suzu slowly drops her head back onto my shoulder, muttering something about the textbook being stupid. I’m almost about to try and make myself as comfortable a headrest as possible before I remember that I had a question for her. “Hey, Suzu, stay with me for a bit, I gotta ask you something.”

She groans, but sits up to look at me. “What’s up?”

“Hisao and I are heading into the city tomorrow, we’re gonna get lunch and go shopping for a bit, and I wondered if you wanted to come along.”

She thinks for a moment, then raises an eyebrow and looks at Hisao. “You’re doing this willingly?”

He shrugs and swallows a mouthful of his lunch. “She offered me food. How could I resist?”

“You can always get food at the cafeteria. Or in one of the places closer to Yamaku. Or by ordering in.”

“Yeah, but it’s been a while since I actually went into a city. I figure it’ll be a nice experience, a bit of nostalgia.”

Suzu sighs. “Well, if you really want to, go ahead. I can’t join, though; I have stuff to do tomorrow. Sorry, Miki.” Stuff? What could Suzu possibly have to do on a Sunday afternoon? I consider asking her about it, but decide that it’s probably something she’d rather discuss in private. Maybe she just doesn’t want to come because Hisao will be there? I make a mental note to ask her about it later.

“It’s okay, I really should’ve asked you earlier, rather than at the last minute. Maybe next time?”

She grumbles again, and I’m not really sure what to make of it before she nestles her head into her arms, unconcerned with the prospect of lunch. My priorities being slightly different, I begin to eat the food I had gathered, taking time to savor it, since I don't have anything planned for the rest of the day. Hisao, either rushed or simply very hungry, finishes his food quickly, and once we agree to meet at the bus stop tomorrow at 10, he leaves. I realize, however, that I had forgotten to mention my plans not to run this afternoon, so I jump up and sprint after him, catching him just outside the cafeteria doors.

When I get back, Suzu has already left, some of my food gone with her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My fist raps on Suzu’s door. “Come on, doofus, I know you’re in there.”

After a few seconds and some shuffling noises from the other side, the door opens, a sleepy girl in pajamas behind it. “Of course I’m in here. It’s past 10. I’m trying to sleep.”

“Well I’m wide awake, and I wanted to talk to you. Got a second?”

She sighs. “Yeah, come on in.” She carefully steps over the array of objects scattered about her floor and sits down on her bed, where I take a seat next to her.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

She yawns. “Nothing, why?”

Well that was easier than expected. “It’s just that when I asked whether you wanted to come with Hisao and I to the city tomorrow, you said that you had stuff to do.”

“Oh, right… Yeah, that.” Another sigh.

“Is it because Hisao’s going?”

She shakes her head. “Nah.”

“Is it something to do with me?”

Her eyes open wide. “What? Of course not!” She wraps her arms around me. “You’re still my best friend, don’t worry.”

I chuckle, and ruffle her hair a bit. “Well, if you don’t have a problem with either of us, why not come?” I feel her slump a little onto my side, evidently lacking energy. I can’t really blame her; I should be getting to sleep myself, but without the evening run I’ve been getting accustomed to, I feel wide awake. “Come on, it’ll be fun!” She groans, and falls backwards onto the bed behind her, staring at the ceiling in thought.

“Look, I… I’d rather just spend this weekend relaxing.”

“If you want us to let you sleep in and go in the afternoon instead, that’s fine with-“ She waves her hand at me to stop.

“No, no, not like that.” She turns her head to look at me. “I’ve just had a really rough week, especially with that quiz this morning. Tomorrow is gonna be my sanity day.”

I suppose I can’t fault her for that. She certainly seemed more invested in the quiz than me, so much so that she even stayed up late to prepare. “Well, if that’s what you really want, I guess I can’t force you to come with us.”

“Yeah, I’d probably-“ she yawns- “I’d probably only slow you guys down.”

I’m about to protest, but looking at Suzu, she looks like she’s not up for much more of anything today. “Oh well. Seeya tomorrow sometime.”

As I get up and head for the door, she mumbles something that sounds vaguely like ‘goodnight’.

I try to get to sleep myself, but my body still isn’t tired, though I suppose that that’s nothing to be mad about. Looking back on things, my week hasn’t exactly been stressful, like Suzu’s apparently was. I wonder for a moment why Hisao didn’t help her. Suzu was probably actually trying really hard to do well, and yet Hisao’s aid went to me. I won’t say I’m not thankful, but I wouldn’t have been that much worse off if he had just kept it to himself and let me get a 0. I’m okay with a few failures.

Hell, I’d be okay with a lot of failures. And yet, he helped me out.

Why me?

Previous: Impact ~ Next: Little Angels

[Yoyofatboy]

Really glad to see an update for this, as I like where this story is heading. 'Appreciate you continuing on with this, and not being overcome by the Miki Curse. I'm looking forward the your next installment!~

[Hoitash]

It lives! Huzzah!

So the key to a man's heart is through his stomach, but the key to a woman's heart is through chemistry questions.

Fascinating.

Why me?

Indeed, why the cute, busty, outgoing tomboy ?

And people say Hisao is dense....

[Sperance]

Hisao Nakai MASTER OF ESPIONAGE AND SUBTERFUGE! Also, cheating on tests when he doesn't need to.

Man, I'm really glad you're feeling better and could come back. Thanks for the hard work, and I can't wait for more!