Dancing: A Miki pseudo-route (Update 7/30/17)

[LilyKitsune]

I feel like way too much time is being spent on a rather small detail that doesn't take anything from the story.

[AntonSlavik020]

I feel like way too much time is being spent on a rather small detail that doesn't take anything from the story.

If I had known my comment would have sparked this debate I'm not sure I would have made it.

[acquireTigris]

It's all good. Whatever little details need ironing I'm more than willing to brush out. It's not detrimental to my writing anyway. If anything, the nitpicking is improving it.

[acquireTigris]

Form

I have to admit, I'm glad that I don't have to wake up earlier than I'm supposed to this weekend. My new sleeping habits are starting to make everyone else seem like they've been partying all night. I'll be happy to get an extra hour's rest.

Realistically, I wake up the same time I did yesterday. I think my body clock is broken. Or, for a certain few people, my body clock is fixed. It wouldn't really be a big problem for most days. Except today wasn't most days.

There are still three more hours until the track meet.

I groan and bury myself underneath my sheets. My efforts are futile. Deep in my heart I know that I won't be getting any extra wink of sleep thanks to a good night's rest. I wish I could take a little extra sleepiness off Suzu. Wait, belay that thought. That'd undermine her disability... whatever it is. And that would definitely make me a jerk.

I consider wasting time lying down awake in my bed until Miki's race starts, but I quickly decide against it. It's counterproductive and boring, and it'll probably mess up my sleeping patterns for tomorrow. I reluctantly get up and start going through my stack of pills and tablets, burn some hours by finishing a novel I started a few nights ago, get myself bathed, and change into some casual wear, a pair of slacks and a polo shirt.

Today is Sunday, the day of the inter-school track meeting, and the day me and Suzu are going to spend cheering for one tan-skinned runner. The event managed to attract a sizable crowd. Yamaku Academy isn't as densely populated as it was during the Festival, but it's still teeming with people, at least on the school grounds. I guess it's the sort of occasion that's rare in rural places like this, and it warrants the attention of the town that surrounds the school. Either that, or the spectators that hail from the other schools are pretty supportive of their representatives. It's a bit surprising to me that there are a lot of other schools that specialize with disabled teens. From where I'm standing, it's even more surprising how large the participant turnout is. It just goes to show that some people just don't let their disabilities hinder them from doing what they love.

I scan the masses for any sign of sea-green hair. Shoulder-to-shoulder with some people, I try my best to wade into the thick of things. My thoughts wander to her condition, and I start to worry about whether or not it was a good idea to have her walking about in the middle of a crowd.

"Hisao!" a voice floats amidst the chittering of a hundred voices. I turn my head to the source and smile as I see the girl in question. "Hey, Suzu," I say to her once I reach her. It's the first time I've seen her not wearing the school uniform. She's wearing a gray t-shirt that looked to be a few sizes bigger than what she's supposed to wear, what I discern to be a pair of brown short-shorts, and long socks. Compared to me, she seemed overdressed for a track meet. "You look... uhh..." Don't say "overdressed". Don't say "overdressed".

"Nice."

She deflates a bit from my words. Did I say something wrong? Before I ask what's the matter, she quickly smiles. "You look nice, too."

Not wanting to make a fuss over things, I make a suggestion. "We better find a seat on the bleachers before it all gets filled."

Suzu nods and follows me to the field. As we reach the seats, I start ascending the steps to find a good vantage point before I feel a tug behind my shirt.

"Lower, please," Suzu says, slightly quietly. It takes me a moment to realize what she means.

"Right. We don't want you falling off, now. Sorry."

"It's okay." We settle down in a spot somewhere near the middle of the stands, where we can still get a good view of the track and make it less likely for her to break something in the event of a sleeping spell.

"They should be starting soon," she says, craning her neck probably to look for Miki. I attempt to look for her as well, but meet someone else's gaze instead.

"Hey, there's Rin," I say to Suzu. She's sitting next to a caramel-haired older woman that somehow looks familiar. I wave to her, but then quickly realize how stupid that decision was. It at least managed to catch the girl's attention, though she returns my wave with a confused tilt of the head. The woman beside her laughs.

"I'm an asshole," I say as I palm my forehead, blushing in embarrassment. The girl beside me is laughing, too.

"Maybe just a bit," Suzu jokes, "but I'm sure it's just you getting used to how things work here. You'll get the hang of it."

I nod and resume looking for Miki before getting a poke to my shoulder. "Hey." I look over to her, eyebrow raised.

"Wake me up," she says as she slowly starts leaning against me. "Quick."

I try to find some way to give Suzu a quick pick-me-up. It takes me a bit of time before I see them.

"Hey, Suzu, I think they're starting. Look."

Emi's the runner placed first on the track, and Miki is right behind her. Both girls look relaxed, almost cat-like. Then I remembered a few wildlife documentaries on big cats. Cheetahs and leopards come into mind. They aren't relaxed. They're tightly-wound coils, ready to spring into action at any time. An announcer (that sounds suspiciously like Misha) yells out the event and the roster of contestants. Applause rises from the crowd around us as they cheer for their chosen contestant. I let out a whoop myself, cheering for Emi, but mostly for Miki as well.

The referee calls for all the runners to be on their marks, and I see both girls on the track coil up even more. The starting pistol rings clear, and all the contestants go for a mad dash to the finish line. It's amazing how fast they all are, especially the ones without lower limbs. The excitement of the many bodies moving in fluid motion draws me in. I eventually notice that Miki runs with a graceful gait to her step, like she has more control over her body than anyone else. And as soon as it started, it was over. Emi cuts past the finish line just a few milliseconds before Miki does. It's a bit disappointing not seeing her win. I feel like sighing, but the head on my shoulder does it for me.

Wait. Head on my shoulder?

Suzu is apparently resting the head-in-question on my shoulder. I must've been so caught up in the moment that I hadn't noticed her.

"That was still really impressive!" I declare. "A for effort."

"I think you mean 'E' for effort," Suzu says sleepily. "Miki just can't seem to beat that one. Lucky for Emi, she isn't the jealous type."

"Really?" I ask. I think it'd be bad manners to shift Suzu's head away, but she just looks so tired. I decide to keep supporting her like this. "She seems like the kind of girl who isn't above getting even if you pissed her off hard enough." That much is true. She punched me on the shin once. The memory makes me flinch in my seat.

Suzu giggles. “That's actually very true. But she doesn't get mad over things like this.”

Another shot from the starting pistol is heard, and I find my attention back on the track. Once again, Miki and Emi are tearing down the track for the gold, and once again Miki comes in a very close second. I feel my gut sink a little lower. It looks like both of the girls are participants in most of the races, and for the single-runner events, Emi always finishes first with Miki hot on her tracks. It's nice to see that a friend is leaving the competition in the dust, but it's horrible to see the one you're rooting for being left in it.

"Do you ever wish you could be like that?" Suzu asks me while stifling a yawn.

"Huh?"

"The way they move, I mean. The way they can focus only on one thing, going as fast as they can. Nothing else matters.”

I nod. "I do, in fact. Ever since Miki got me to do those morning runs, I've been wishing that I could at least do five laps straight without stopping once or collapsing. But I really want to run that fast. Maybe not any time soon."

Suzu only nods into my shoulder.

The last event comes. It's the relay, and three teams that represent the three schools each take their starting positions. A girl from 3-1 seems to be running first for team Yamaku. I'm guessing Miki runs second, another girl from our school runs third, and then Emi does the final lap. At least when I cheer this time, I won't have to divide my bias. The starting pistol fires, and off goes our representative. She's faster than me, and I find that admirable, but she's slow compared to the two other sprinters in our team. This turns out to be bad for the relay; the first runner looks like she's the last to pass the baton.

I look at Suzu with worry and excitement for Miki and our track team, but she's already drifted off, her mouth slightly agape. In an attempt to boost the team's morale and wake Suzu in one fell swoop, I grab the girl's hand, raise it alongside mine, and yell in my loudest voice. "You can do it, Miki! Make us proud!"

As I feel the girl beside me stir herself awake, I can see Miki's megawatt smile flash at me just as she grabs the baton. Without missing a beat, she darts down the path with incredible speed. I think the runner's rush is getting to me. My palms start sweating and I can almost feel my heart beating excitedly through my chest. My cheering seems to have garnered positive results, because Miki closed the distance and tied first place with another school. The third runner capitalizes on Miki's tie and keeps the position. As she is passing the baton to Emi, I am now confident that they've won us the relay.

As the crowd disperses at the end of the races, I look down and smile at Suzu, my hand still in hers. I see her blushing deeply despite the sleep still evident in her eyes.

"Ah." I let go of her, my smile souring in embarrassment. "Sorry. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I figured you'd be doing it, too, if you were awake."

She nods slowly. "It's all right," she says, rubbing her right hand in her left.

Before things became too awkward, Suzu stands up and stretches. "Let's congratulate the winners," she says.

"Good idea." I nod.



The crowd is beginning to thin now that the excitement is over. We make our way down towards the track, where all the members of the Yamaku team are gathered around their star runner, the girl with the twin-tails hairstyle and no legs. But that last part isn't that unusual around here.

Being the good sport that she is, Miki is congratulating Emi along with the rest of the team. She's still sweating from her last run, making the sunlight bounce off of her and making her skin seem more bronze than tan. Her shirt is drenched, making it more transparent than usual. I can see she's wearing a tan sports bra, and it's... filling my mind with promiscuous thoughts in public. I shake my head to clear my mind. I can't be thinking like this right now, not during Miki's big moment. But I admit. She's stunning without trying.

I take a look at Suzu and it seems she's preoccupied with Rin. I'm guessing the other girl got curious. Suzu looks uncomfortable. I try to save her by initiating some conversation with Rin, though I'm not quite sure how that's supposed to go. She makes it hard to keep a good conversation going.

"Hi, Rin," I say.

"Hello," Rin says in her typical deadpan manner.

"You're here to cheer for Emi, right?"

Rin stares at me like I'm the most interesting thing in the world right now. "Is being psychic your disability, too?"

What? "I've got nothing like that." I laugh nervously. "I just guessed."

"I don't think being a good guesser is a disability." Rin frowns. "But it's interesting."

As if to save me from further confusion, I can hear a familiar clacking of prosthetic legs coming over our way. "Hisao!" Emi pipes up from behind me, and I turn around to meet her. "I wasn't expecting to see you here!” She's absolutely cheery, probably from all that winning.

“Hey Emi, it's good to see you. Yeah, they asked me to come cheer you guys on.” I return her smile. "Looks like all those morning runs payed off."

"Damn right they have!" Her expression slowly turns to confusion. "Wait, who's 'they'?"

I'm about to point to Suzu when Miki cuts me off.

"Yo!" She waves her good hand at us before wrapping it around Suzu.

"That would be us," she says to Emi, a hint of cockiness in her voice. Emi blinks a couple times in complete surprise, although her smile only goes down by the tiniest notch.

"Hi," Suzu says, accompanying her greeting with the smallest of yawns.

I hardly notice Rin, who suddenly appears beside Emi. She's frowning vacantly at the scene.

"So, Hisao, I see you've made some new friends." Despite her bright smile, I think I can sense a familiar saccharine from her voice. "Good friends, I bet."

"Y-yeah, well..." Before things get any more awkward, one of the male members of the track team arrives.

“Hey Emi, Miki! You guys are going to miss the medal ceremony!” He says. Emi goes back to flashing her brilliant smile. Thank God for awarding ceremonies.

“Oh yeah, thanks!” She replies, before turning back to us. “Are you coming, Miki?”

“Nah, screw the medal ceremony, it's boring as hell.” Miki bats her stump in the air dismissively before wrapping her other arm around me. I am slightly startled by the sudden show of affection and I also notice Emi's smile fade another notch. Seeing her slowly start to look more and more put out makes me feel a little put out myself.

“C'mon guys, whaddaya say we get something to eat? I'm starving.” Miki says, looking back and forth between me and Suzu. It's obvious that the other two girls aren't invited. Out of the corner of my eye I see Emi's lips are drawn in a pouty line. It's cute. But from what I've been experiencing these days, being cute usually just doesn't cut it.

“But don't you want to stay for your silver medal, Miki?” Suzu asks.

“And it's Sunday, don't you have homework and stuff like that?” I chime in.

“Forget it. I can pick that up any time. And as for homework, let's see if we can find a dog somewhere along the way to eat it.” Miki's grip around our shoulders tightens. She grins at us, and I can't stop myself from smiling back. She might not have taken home the gold, but there are things that are more important than trophies. And besides, I don't think saying no to Stumpfist is a good idea.



After Miki gets changed into some more appropriate attire, I'm sufficiently glad that we left all that awkward mess behind as we begin our descent towards the town beneath Yamaku's hill. This is the first time I've ever went outside the school with these two, though I've been to the town before to do some shopping with Lilly.

Suzu looks like she's in deep thought. Miki notices as well, and nudges the other girl. "Something bothering you?"

"Nothing in particular, no." I think she's blinking those thoughts away. "Where do you guys wanna eat?"

"Well, there's the Shanghai," I suggest. I get incredulous looks from both girls, especially from Miki.

"The Shanghai is boring," she quickly says, and I can't help but think she's hiding something. She looks to Suzu and the other girl nods. "I have a better idea."



"Ta-da!" Miki gestures to the restaurant before us with her good hand.

"The Beijing?" I squint at the neon sign. I can hardly believe the originality of the name. Then again, small town restaurants probably need small town competition. I wouldn't be surprised if someone made a "Macau" restaurant here.

"You got it," she says, and shoves herself into the door. "What are you two waiting for? Let's go!"

Suzu follows her but worriedly takes a peek at me to see if I'm fine. I am fine, just still mildly interested by the restaurant's name choice. I shrug and follow the girls inside.

The inside of the Beijing is as bright and shiny as the outside. It's a small establishment, probably much more modern and sleek than the elderly townspeople would prefer. The menu is cheap but Suzu says everything still tastes good, so it's a popular spot for students who are willing to risk being late back to class if it means an escape from the cafeteria or vending machines at the school.

A server grimaces at us as we enter. “We're closed,” he says.

“Piss off Lezard, we're hungry,” Miki counters, immediately disappearing inside a booth. Suzu stops to wave at the chef in the back of the restaurant, barely visible through the space that provides a glimpse of the kitchen.

"Hi Taro!" she chirps.

"Hey~!" The voice that calls back makes Suzu smile.

"Hi Lezard," I say. "Is that Taro? I didn't know students were allowed to work in town."

“You're allowed," Suzu explains, "as long as you get permission from the school first and prove that you can keep up with your classes.” Lezard continues to scowl at us. I guess it's a good way to earn a little bit of extra money. Maybe you could use that money to pay for tuition, too. Yamaku doesn't exactly come off as a cheap school.

"Taro can cook?" I ask.

“He's mostly here in case a door breaks and we need a battering ram to get it open,” Lezard says dryly.

“His cooking is a lot better than whatever you do with one hand!” Miki's voice rings out from a corner of the restaurant. Lezard rolls his eyes, but his sour expression tells me that it's time to take our seats.

We walk towards the booth where Miki's voice came from, but I notice that she's still standing next to the table. I have a bad feeling about this. I decide to sit down at one end of the table. Suzu moves to sit at the opposite side, but Miki gently grabs her and starts pushing her towards my side. Suzu whispers something angrily, but Miki sounds like she's up to something. I try to not eavesdrop by pretending I'm engrossed with a menu. And inevitably, Suzu ends up sitting next to me.

“Never seen a menu before?” Miki asks. I frown.

“Not since I've moved here, no.”

“And that is one of the reasons why we don't go to the Shanghai.” Miki grins.

The most unenthusiastic waiter ever arrives at our table. “Welcome to the Beijing, what do you want.” Lezard croaks. His bow of greeting is barely more than a slight inclination of the head.

Miki wants something sweet, I am inclined to buy a sandwich and some juice, while Suzu asks for some spring rolls and, of course, a tall cup of coffee. Somehow Miki talks me into paying for everything, but I am ready and willing. She deserves a break after all that running.

I look beside me and, sure enough, Suzu is snoozing it up on her seat, lying down and curled up like it was her own bed. Miki waves her hand at the girl. "That's normal. Leave her alone. I think she needs some rest after that walk."

"I guess..." Though Miki's piercing smile is trained at me, I can't help but feel a little awkward. I try to break the ice.

"So, congrats again on getting second place. On practically everything. I know you deserve a lot more, though."

"Forget it," Miki waves her hand again in a dismissive manner. "To be honest running isn't my thing."

"Huh. Really?" I ask. "With the way you move, I was almost sure you started running as a hobby when you were a kid."

"Ahh... Yes and no." She shrugs.

Our food arrives, and I chuckle at the irony of Suzu being asleep while her coffee arrived.

"Still, during the relay, you were pretty incredible out there. I don't think that other school will forget how bad we beat them any time soon.” I smile at Miki while she's digging into her cake.

“You got that right," she responds, her words slightly muffled by her bites of dessert. “We could have pulled it off without Emi, but she did go a long way in helping them eat our dust. Plus, she's pretty cute.” She winks.

"Well..." I start, munching on my sandwich to keep my thoughts to myself, but eventually I have to admit it. "Yeah, she is. but that's scientific fact."

"Speaking of cute, though..." Miki's gaze falls on Suzu and I look at the sleeping girl as well.

Is she looking for an answer from me? I gulp.

"I-I mean I guess she is, but that's more like a scientific theory, I think.”

“A scient-what?”

“It's when there's an observed phenomenon that's--”

“Never mind, forget that,” Miki interrupts. She sets down her spoon on her saucer. “Since you could say I finally have you alone, I have a question for you, Hisao.”

I gulp a mouthful of sandwich. She's really testing my limits, here.

“Shoot, I guess.”

Miki clears her throat. “Hisao, what do think..."

"...what do you think of me?” She asks, all traces of jest gone from her voice.

I'm caught off guard, even though I should've seen that question coming from a mile away. I gulp again, feeling my ears grow a little warmer. Should I tell her? We're alone, relatively. I might not get another chance.

I suck up my awkwardness and try to muster as much courage as I can.

...

...

...!

"You're pretty attractive," I manage to say, slightly quietly. I might be imagining it, but I think I can feel Suzu deflating beside me.

"Huh?" She pauses for what seems like an eternity. I wait for her response, which comes sooner than I think. "I wasn't really expecting that."

Wait, what?

"To be honest I meant to ask that as a joke," she says plainly, crossing her legs and leaning towards me.

Wait, what?

"But now that the cat's out of the bag, I guess there's nothing we can do about it." She shrugs. "I thought you had a thing for Suzu, with you being her knight in shining armor carrying her around all the time."

"Umm. Not really. I mean sure she's cute, but I always thought you got me to be her friend just so I could keep an eye on her while you could practice for the track meet."

She puffs up her cheeks while sticking a finger on one feigning deep thought. "True, true, I did manipulate you into lugging poor Suzu around and being her servant and companion, but I did that to try and play cupid." She sighs. "I guess my work backfired."

"Wow. That's pretty mean," I grimace.

"Not if it was all for the greater good," she retorts, grinning madly. "We're all good friends now, right?"

I nod. "Sure, I guess."

"Mmnh... where's my food?" A voice wafts up from beside me. I look to find Suzu rubbing sleep, and what seems to be a few tears, off her eyes.

"Right here, kiddo." Miki pushes her platter of spring rolls and cup of coffee toward the sleepy girl and patting the table once. "You better finish everything fast, though. The night's just starting and we still have some more celebrating to do." A mischevous smile creeps up her face.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Next|Previous|First

[brythain]

How delicious.

[AntonSlavik020]

It seems like Suzu may have a crush on Hisao, which if that's the case, could make things awkward later on. Looking forward to more regardless.

[acquireTigris]

Suzu does! As for awkward, that's not going to be the case. Suzu's a big girl. I'm sure she can handle a little heartbreak.

The little crush does make the relationship between the three interesting.

[steptaker]

Nice tie in to Scissorlip's Suzu. I felt bad for Suzu though, especially after seeing Suzu's feelings from her standpoint in her pseudo-pseudo route.

I'm curious to see where this goes, and after this update I think this is probably my favorite Miki route so far. Just don't let the curse get to you

[Mirage_GSM]

Yamaku Academy isn't as densely populated as it was during the Festival, but it's still teaming with people...

teeming

A girl from 3-1 seems to be running first for team Yamaku. I'm guessing Miki runs second and then Emi does the final lap.

So nobody did the third lap? Or did Emi run two?

but Miki gently grabs her and starts pushing me towards the same side as me.

Anything else probably would be very painful...

Suzu does! As for awkward, that's not going to be the case. Suzu's a big girl. I'm sure she can handle a little heartbreak.

You shouldn't tell us that ahead of time...

Nice chapter. I agree: one of the better Miki routes out there.

[acquireTigris]

teeming.

Fix'd.

So nobody did the third lap? Or did Emi run two?

I only just recently Google-foo'd the mechanics for relay races. I assumed you only needed three members per team. Whoops.

but Miki gently grabs her and starts pushing me towards the same side as me.

Copy pasta for the loss.

You shouldn't tell us that ahead of time...

I assumed it was obvious from the chapter. It's too late now. I can't delete it. Oh well.

Nice chapter. I agree: one of the better Miki routes out there.

...I think this is probably my favorite Miki route so far. Just don't let the curse get to you

Thank you. Your support means a lot to me. Belay that curse, I'm on a roll!

[griffon8]

You shouldn't tell us that ahead of time...

I assumed it was obvious from the chapter. It's too late now. I can't delete it. Oh well.

My favorite way of putting it is: “It erred on the side of clarity.”

[hyroglyphixs]

Decided to finally read all the chapters. I definitely like what you've written so far. A lot of elements are obviously taken from Scissorlips' Suzu route but that's fine with me

This love-triangle you set up definitely brings up a big plot point, I'm curious on what you make out of it..

[acquireTigris]

Unmasked

I have no idea how Miki talked me into all of this.

All three of us are sitting in Suzu's room right now. Why it was her room that Miki chose, I'm not so sure. I think it's because of all the stuffed animals scattered everywhere that make the place cozy, albeit extremely messy.

What we're doing here, though, is a whole 'nother story.

Miki had me buy some alcohol from the convenience store a while ago.



"Why me!?" I grimaced. All three of us were standing just outside Aura Mart. "We're all underage. This is a horrible idea."

"You're our best bet for buying some. Suzu looks way too young to be buying booze, and I'm missing a... you know." Miki waved her stump around a bit. "They'll know I'm a student from Yamaku."

My eyebrows were practically knitting themselves. I was against the whole idea, but they've both voted against me. Suzu stuck her tongue out at me playfully, while Miki looked at me intently while cocking her eyebrows as if to say "What're you waiting for? Go on." I rolled my eyes at them and stormed into the store with the intent of finishing the task without getting caught.

A bell rang to announce my arrival. The clerk greeted me as I entered. The air conditioning hit me, its contrast to the warm early night breeze outside welcome on my face, but it doesn't help ease my nervousness.

I quickly grabbed the articles in question: a bottle of tequila (Miki's choice), some chips and snacks, and two bottles of orange juice. As I gave my items to the store clerk, I smiled my best smile and prayed to whatever deity that would listen that she doesn't think I'm faking it.

Of course, she eyed my things. She isn't dense. I knew she knew what I'm planning to do with these.

"You planning on having a little party?" she asked with a smile on her face, the beeping of a bag of chips being scanned ringing clear in the store.

I let out a loud sigh. "Yeah, I am. My friend won the... uhh... lottery." Seriously, Hisao? The lottery? Quick thinking, numbskull.

"Well good for them," she chirped, continuing to scan my groceries without question.

Miki and Suzu got a good laugh from how nervous I looked when I came out of the store.



The taller girl is pouring me a small golden glass of lord-knows-what while Suzu looks on. A second glass of orange juice is placed beside the first, and she pushes both towards me. "Drink up, gaylord." She grins.

My reluctance gets the better of me. "I don't think this is healthy for me." I push the drinks back.

"Occasionally drinking alcohol is good for the heart." Miki pushes the glasses back.

"I heard it's only for people who exercise regularly." I push them away again.

"You exercise regularly, dumbass." She pushes the glasses in front of me again.

Huh. That totally slipped my mind.

Before I could think of my next excuse, Suzu suddenly grabs both glasses, downs the tequila in one shot, the orange juice in one gulp, and stares me down angrily.

"You don't have to be such a wuss Hisao!" she hisses as she stands up. "Even I could drink these. What a loser..." Suzu starts hobbling toward her bed.

"Now if you excuse me..." Without warning, she suddenly collapses torso-first on her sheets, one of her legs dangling from her bed while the rest of her body lays face-down askew.

I stare at Miki wondering what the heck just happened, and she stares back, likely asking herself the same question. It takes a few moments before the both of us start laughing. "What was that all about?" Miki asks between giggles as she pours me another drink.

"I have no idea," I say, breathing deeply. I haven't had this much fun in... well... years. The lightness of the moment gives me the bravery to finally down my alcohol. Aside from the bitterness, I thought it would feel like drinking just any other drink, but my throat starts burning in a split second. I sputter a bit, tears in my eyes, before drowning the taste with orange juice.

"Bleargh," I literally exclaim. "Why do people drink this stuff?"

Miki cocks an eyebrow at me while she's pouring for herself. "Because it's fun? Duh."

"How would you know?" I believe I'm holding my alcohol in pretty well. At least I did, right before I suddenly felt like my head got hit by an extremely soft but incredibly dense hammer from the inside. I'd be on the floor right now if I didn't have my sense of balance.

"I don't," she replies, deadpan, before drinking her shot. She seethes and exhales through her teeth before wiping some drops off her mouth with her wrist and drowning it all in OJ. "Huh," she says, smacking her lips together. "Not bad."

"I'd say it was pretty bad."

"Wuss." She smirks. "My brothers wouldn't approve."

"Your brothers?" I ask.

"I probably never told you about them," she goes on while keeping the booze flowing. "I'm the youngest of four. The rest of my siblings are all dudes."

"I guess that's why you're so barbaric."

She expertly slaps me with the butt of the juice bottle she's just poured with. "Ow!" I flinch, blinking at the mess I was expecting to see. Instead, I find clean teddies and carpet.

"I can be girly if I wanted to," she grumbles, handing me the two glasses.

I shrug as I take them, drinking everything down to the last drop. The tequila slides down more smoothly than the first time, the burn much less noticeable. I drink the orange juice right after anyway to mask the aftertaste.

"I'd like to see that happen," I smirk.

"Y'know, for a guy who thinks I'm 'attractive', you're really pressing all the wrong buttons."

I blink a few times before I gained some insight on my jerkiness. "Crap. I'm being dumb right now, aren't I?"

"Ayyup," she nods. "Right now, you remind me a lot about my brother, Konosuke."

"Hmm?" My ears perk up in curiosity.

"Third eldest. Since he was pretty much the middle kid, he was pretty much a douche to me 24/7." She drinks her shot. I didn't notice her pouring that one. In fact, I didn't notice her take the glasses away from me.

"Anyway," she coughs, "He was always in my face, stealing my toys and dolls and was being an overall fuckass. So I beat him up all the time." She chuckles. "Funny thing was, my parents always told him that he deserved my beatings, and if ever he'd hit back, dad would slap his ass harder than he did mine." Her smile dies quickly. "Of course, they'd force us to make up right after every fight. Which sucked."

Her story is entertaining, but I stop in thought. "Wait. Does that mean you're going to beat me up if I ever piss you off?"

"Maybe," she smirks. Without warning, she pounces on me and my inebreity and her weight cause me to keel over and hit the floor, back first. Luckily, the carpet and some plushies break my fall. Miki's face is right above mine, her mouth smelling like a mix of oranges and alcohol. Her every breath causes her chest to knead through her flannel shirt against mine. Like any respectable teenage boy, I can feel a tightening in my pants. "But this also means we're going to have to make up after every time you piss me off."

I gulp.

"Kiss me, Hisao," she mewls.

What should I do?

>Kiss her.
>Push her away.

[acquireTigris]

Kiss Her.

All that liquid courage makes my hands move before my thoughts do. I pull her neck down against me, my eyes close, and our lips meet, mingling together in a mix of slaver and alcohol. Our noses rub awkwardly, our kisses a little sloppy, but I pay little mind to that. It's the moment that matters.

My hand trails down to move to the contour of her breasts and - she cuts the kiss and pins my arms on the floor. My eyes flutter open and I see Miki staring down at me like she's contemplating something.

"Anything wrong?" I ask, looking up at her, confused.

"I don't think this is gonna work." She sits up and gives me some space.

I prop myself up with my elbows. "What? The kiss?"

"No," she sighs, "I mean us."

I frown. "Did I do something wrong?"

She snorts. "Ch'yeah. The kiss for one thing. Moving waaay too fast, another." Miki wraps her arms around her knees as she sits in a fetal position. I'm starting to feel a little more sober and a lot more shame for my actions.

"I'm sorry." I apologize to try and salvage the situation. "I'm kinda new to these sorts of things."

"You made that plain obvious," she replies blandly. "Look, this is gonna be a long night. You might as well get back to the guys' dorms before you get locked out or, worse, get spotted by a guard."

We pretty much lost track of time for most of the night and I decide to check my watch. To my dismay, it's a couple of minutes just before curfew. "Crap!" I look to Miki worriedly, and she's already standing and opening the door. "If I go out there now, I'm probably going to get locked out."

"Well you sure as hell can't stay here," she says coldly from the crack of her door.

I close the door to Suzu's room behind me and try to read Miki's face for any sign of absolution. I don't think I'll get any; she looks pensive and remorseful. I linger for a little while, holding onto a sliver of hope that she'd change her mind. She only closes the door.

I fly out of the girls' dormitories, lucky that the dorm manager didn't lock me in yet, and quickly find that my luck ran out once I reach the boys' dorms. The doors are locked, the lights out, and there's no other way to get in. I eye the fire escape, but it's too high for me to reach it's sliding ladder. I waste a good half hour walking around the building trying to find some other way in. Of course I fail. There was never any other way in. My desperation makes me cling to something I already know I can't reach.

I finally give up standing in front of the building some time around 1 AM. I think of nowhere else to go but the bleachers to rest for the night. The wood is hard, but it's somehow comforting in comparison to the godawful night I've had. It doesn't take me long before I fall asleep.



I wake up the same time I usually do, though I'm cold and soaking wet from the morning dew. My head aches and my neck feels stiff, but I force myself up so I could crawl my way back to the dormitories. The doors have been opened by the time I arrive. Thankfully, the dorm master isn't there to see me sneak back inside.

I forego all wishes to go to class today. I won't even bother getting ready to job. I feel like total crap, I'm low on morale, and I didn't get a good night's rest, not to mention the splitting headache I'm having. The crippling realization of me never going to fix my relationship with Miki drowns me with misery, and that depression lulls me to a quick but restless sleep.



A few weeks pass and things are awkward between me and Miki. Our seats are somewhat close and it's impossible for the two of us not to meet each other. Despite the heavyheartedness between the both of us, I still make an attempt to talk to her.

"Hey," I say to her when we're both alone after class.

"Yo."

"...What's up?" I ask.

"Nothin' new."

"I see..." I nod solemnly, and silence quickly falls back between us.

After standing in front of each other for the longest minute, I gather the gall to talk to her again. "I hope I didn't ruin our friendship."

Miki shrugs. "Not if you let yourself ruin anything. You didn't ruin anything, did you?"

Is this a trick question? I slowly shake my head. "I don't know. I don't think so? No."

"So nothing weird ever happened between us, right?"

Oh. So that's her deal.

"Nothin' happened. And nothing's going to happen."

"Good," she smiles. "I'd feel like shit if I let a good friendship like ours go to waste. And by the way, you skipped, like, two whole weeks of running, so starting tomorrow you're going to be running mornings and afternoons."

"What!?" I cry out. "Are you trying to murder me?"

"Just a little," she smirks. "Consider it as penance. For a ton of things."

For some reason, I can't stay annoyed at her banter. It's been forever since we've talked, and I'm only grateful that we got to talk again.

I meet Suzu later, and she doesn't seem to know about what happened that night. She tells me that she doesn't know why I drifted apart from the both of them, and that she is still willing to be friends.

The rest of the school year goes without a hitch. Graduation comes, and me, Miki, and Suzu all go our separate ways. We still call each other every once in a while, but all three of us are busy applying for college. Despite the satisfaction I've had with our friendship, I can't stop wondering what life would've been if me and Miki ended up being together.

Previous

[acquireTigris]

Push her away.

I cup my hands in her cheeks, then pull her face closer to mine, our foreheads touching. I am breathing in the same air as her. Our proximity makes me blush. I know my body is raging and urging me to feel hers, but I slowly shake my head.

"I can't," I whisper. "We're both out of it, even just a little bit. We're two drunk kids stuck in the heat of the moment. It wouldn't be right."

Miki nods solemnly against me and sits up, still straddling my hips. She looks around mournfully before smiling out of nowhere. "Aww, shit," she chuckles. "Sorry. You're just too adorable, acting all pure and stuff."

I narrow my eyes and look up at her. "Excuse me?"

"This was all a test, foo'," she cackles. "Be thankful you passed with flying colors."

I've been had. I feel so used right now.

"My other brother Matsumoto always said I should look for guys who act the same when they're around me, when they're around friends, and when they're drunk."

I prop myself up on my elbows. "That's nice and all, but can you get off me now?"

"Hmm?" she muses before looking down at our promiscuous position. "Oh, yeah, sure." She rolls off of me and lies down beside me, rummaging above her head for a teddy that would double as a pillow for her.

"I'm guessing you'll be staying here for the night?" she asks. "It's way past curfew, and I don't think our dorm manager would like some drunk mook wandering the girls' halls in the middle of the night."

"I don't think I'm drunk," I say, but my woozy feeling tells me otherwise. "Suzu's floor is comfy. It'd make a great bed."

"I think a drunken dude would say that," she grins.

"Only because it's true," I counter.

Miki nods, her bright smile still plastered on her face. "Yeah, you're right. Suzu's whole place is pretty damned cozy." She turns away from me, to get a more comfortable position to sleep in, I think.

Silence creeps up over us as I get up, turn off the light, and lie back down, the stuffed toys behind me contouring themselves into the bed I was familiar with minutes ago.

"...Thanks, Miki," I whisper.

"Mmh? What for?" she says, turning her head to me ever so slightly.

"For not rejecting me."

"Not yet," she says menacingly, but chuckles shortly after. "To be honest I'm still on a crossroads with you."

"Oh," I mumble. "Well thanks anyway."

"Thank me when I make a decision," she mumbles and waves me off.

"Goodnight, then."

"Night..."

I turn my back from her. My tipsiness and the softness of the carpet and the stuffed toys lull me to sleep almost instantly.



A nagging feeling wakes me up in the middle of the night. I think it might be a side effect of one of the prescription drugs I'm taking. I try to ignore the gnawing at the back of my brain but I just can't seem to fall asleep again. I roll to my side and find Miki still curled up on her side, just the way I found her a couple of hours ago. I shuffle and turn my back towards her to get more comfortable, but I hear a stifled cry. I think it's coming from her. I quickly turn back toward her, an I can see that she's squirming, clutching the stump of the hand beneath her.

"Hey, are you okay?" I quickly prop myself on an elbow and hold her shoulder. She flinches slightly from my touch, but doesn't resist. I can't see her face, but I'm sure she's crying. I can tell by her ragged breaths and occasional sniffing.

"H-Hisao..." Her voice is deep and nasal. She groans. "Hold me..."

I scootch over to her side and wrap my right arm around her shoulders. My left arm digs itself beneath her stomach. I pull her back towards my chest and I apply pressure; I need to make her feel safe, make her feel my presence. I am here for her. I hope she knows that. She needs to know that.

Her whimpers are crushing me inside, and I pull her closer, hug her tighter. She's shivering hard and clearly in pain, but it seems like she's hurting much less after I wrapped my arms around her.

My heart is beating. It's erratic rhythm is pressed right against Miki's back. I hope she can feel me. I hope I could silently tell her that I want her to be safe, that I want her pains to disappear, using my beating heart. I place my forehead against the back of her neck. She needs to know that I care for her.

I stay like this for a long while. It feels like eternity, but I don't let go. It takes me a moment to notice that Miki's breathing is steady and slow; she's asleep. Feeling her be at ease makes me feel calmer. I focus on her breaths. The heavy rise and fall of her chest.



The next thing I notice is that even though my eyes are closed, I know it's morning, and that it's the usual hour that I wake. The other thing that I notice is that I have a splitting headache. I try to move my left arm to massage a temple, but it's numb and buried under someone. Miki? I think I remember hugging Miki. It might be a dream, though...

I quickly realize that my right hand is touching something soft in front of me. My eyes fly open. I see my elbow angled precariously towards Miki's chest. I squeak and pull myself away from her, accidentally hitting a bed behind me. I rattle, and the shuddering makes my head spin even more. My right hand rubs my forehead since my left is practically useless. I soon remember about last night, the drinking and that...

I'm in the girls' dorm. On a school day.

I quickly dart out the door and sneak downstairs. I thank the stars that the female dorm manager opens the doors as early as the boys' manager, and that she's not at the desk to see me. Neither is the security guard. Score!

Obviously, there will be no jogging today. Miki's out cold for now, and I have lost the will to run for the day. Getting out of trouble is exercise enough for me. A security guard sees me as I enter the boys' dorm, but I get no second glance or any questions. I am too tired to appreciate my luck a second time. I'm in my room, I kick off my shoes, I set my alarm to just an hour before classes start, and I dive into my bed.



My hair sticks out a lot more than it usually does. I'm sure the teachers could notice my haggard appearance, but I didn't really care. I'm just glad that I wasn't getting their attention. I squint in the bright sunlight and I keep massaging my head to ease the unkillable pain. Miki and Suzu are both wearing sunglasses, though Miki's is noticeably thicker than regular ones. It's one detail I'd love to elaborate on in the future, but my world is pain, and pain is a jealous mistress.

After classes end, the three of us meet up just outside the door, shuffling like zombies while the rest of the class trickles out before us. "So this is a hangover," Miki contemplates. "At least we came prepared. Right Suzu?"

"...That was the longest night of sleep that I've ever had," Suzu groans.

"I wish I thought of the glasses," I grumble. "But isn't long sleep a good thing for you?"

"I said long. I never said anything about it being restful."

"Ah. Right."

"Mmnh," Miki grunts. "Why don't we three call it a day, and I'll see you guys tomorrow? I know we all feel like shit."

"Yep/You said it," Suzu and I say in unison.

"Sleep and rest are greater than -," I make a little '>' sign in the air, "dinner right now."

"Damn straight," Miki says, grinning for a split second before cringing again.

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