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Okay, horrible joke, point taken. I'll call a truce on the meme war.... for now....

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Chapter 30: Penance

Misha skipped up to the fitness center, the building containing the school’s gym, pool, and related facilities. Hanako trotted along behind her, not quite able to keep up.

“Waha~! Come on Hacchan, we don’t wanna be late!”

“It’s still fifteen minutes early Misha…”

“Hey guys!”

The two of them looked towards the voice to see Emi approaching quickly, wearing her track outfit and already sweating. Miki jogged after her a little ways behind.

“Hi Emi~! Did you start early?”

“Sort of. I figured if we’re getting up for this anyways, might as well get a run in beforehand. I’ve been meaning to start a morning routine.”

“Yeah, that’s great and all, but why do I gotta be your partner?” Miki asked as she joined them. “I like a good run as much as the next girl, it’s just a wee bit early for it…”

“Well, if that’s what you think, then you clearly don’t like running as much as the next girl!” Emi said, pointing a thumb at her chest to indicate herself as the girl next to Miki.

“Huh.”

Miki shrugged.

“I guess you got me there. Still, you don’t have to drag me along! Why not have Hana be your morning buddy? Get someone new into running!”

“Well, I did try with someone new, but…”

Emi’s voice trailed off, a moment of awkwardness descending on the four girls.

“A-actually, I can’t… I can’t run anyways,” Hanako said, breaking the silence.

“Wait, really?” Miki asked, looking horrified at the idea of not being able to run.

“I m-mean… I could, but it’s a bad idea. It h-hurts my, umm… my right side…”

“Shit, that sucks. I mean… I’m sorry to hear that, Hana,” Miki said.

“Well, we’ve all got things we can’t do. Like toe touches! You won’t catch me doing one of those!” Emi said, laughing awkwardly in an attempt to lighten things back up.

“I-it means Emi can’t make me run, s-so… I guess it’s okay,” Hanako said, summoning a little smile for her.

“Wahaha~!”

“I guess that’s a good way to look at it,” Emi said. “Although you should make sure to get plenty of exercise some way or another!”

“Why don’t you make Ricchan run with you, Emi?”

“Ricchan?” Miki said with a laugh.

“Quiet, Micchan~!”

“Have you ever seen Rin run, Misha? Or, I don’t know… speed up her pace even a little bit?”

“Hmm…”

Misha tapped her chin, considering the question seriously. Hanako shook her head at their antics.

“Wh-where is Rin, anyways?” she asked.

Miki pointed behind them with her stump, showing that Rin was indeed approaching, moving across the grounds at her leisurely pace.

“There you are! I thought we’d have to go find you!” Emi called out to her.

She tapped a leg blade for a moment while waiting for Rin to finish ambling over.

“I heard Misha, so I thought it must be time,” Rin said.

“Wh-what were you doing over there, R-Rin?” Hanako asked.

“I don’t know. I was thinking I might ask you all that.”

“What? Wahaha~! Maybe you were looking at leaves and stuff!”

Rin shrugged.

“That sounds likely to be true.”

“Hey, where’s the prez? Surprised we’re all here before her,” Miki observed.

“Yeah, that’s not very diligent of her! We’ve already been out here and active while she was probably still in bed!” Emi said.

A tapping sound came from the doors to the fitness center. Looking over, the girls saw Shizune on the other side of them, rapping on their glass windows from the inside. Once she had their attention, she pushed the doors open and motioned for them to come in.

“Ehehe… guess I take that back…”

“Come on, Emi-chan! We’ve got a lot of work to do!”

“Yeah, Emi-chan. Lead the way!” Miki added, pushing her forward.

“Hey! Lay off!”

***

Misha noticed Hanako’s eyes go a bit wide as they entered the gymnasium. She could kind of relate, it was awfully… big. Misha had never really done any sports so she rarely ever came in here. Hanako was probably the same. The size of the place sank in as they realized the daunting scale of their task. And this was just the gym… there was also the pool, the locker rooms, other stuff. Would they have to clean all of it today?

“D-d-do we have to cl-clean… the whole th-thing?” Hanako asked, giving voice to Misha’s thoughts.

Shizune nodded firmly.

“It looks pretty clean already,” Rin said.

“That doesn’t matter!” Misha interjected. “It’s not about that. It’s about causing pain, suffering, and absolute humiliation!”

Everyone else looked at her like they were waiting for the punchline of a joke.

“Wahahaha~!”

A round of nervous laughter followed up Misha’s own, the punchline delivered.

“Eh, sounds about right, actually. This is gonna suck—so let’s get it done with,” Miki said.

“That’s right, Micchan! The sooner we do our work, the sooner we can get food~!”

“Y-you’re already hungry?!” Hanako asked.

“You’re not?” Emi asked, her stomach rumbling a bit at the mention of food. “Crap, guess I shouldn’t have skipped breakfast…”

Shizune gave her a focused look for a moment, then indicated the cleaning supplies she’d laid out nearby. A healthy supply of rags, a pair of mops, various cleaning solutions, a couple of water buckets, a broom and even a small hand-held vacuum cleaner, all arranged neatly. So much for Emi’s speculation that Shizune hadn’t been doing anything this morning, Misha thought. Miki had already walked over to the little cleaning armory, examining the different implements and trying to figure out which one to use first.

“Start,” Shizune said, pointing to the stuff before turning to walk away.

“Hey! Shicchan!” Misha called after her, but with her back already turned, there was no getting her attention without going after her.

“W-we should probably get moving, Misha…” Hanako said, tugging her sleeve gently towards the cleaning supplies.

Misha nodded, looking at Shizune’s back for another moment before tearing her attention towards the task at hand. Just where was she going?

They’d have to find out later, as the building wasn’t going to wash itself. Deciding that she might as well start somewhere, Miki had taken a rag and a bucket up into the bleachers, already beginning to wipe them down. Emi stood tapping a blade as she considered what the rest of them should do.

“Hmm. It’s easier for me to be on my knees, so I’ll start on the bleachers from the other side—” Emi started.

“Yeah, you’re pretty good on your knees, huh Ibarazaki?” Miki called out.

“—oh, shut it! Anyways! You guys have arms and legs, so how about you do the sweeping and mopping on the main floor?” Emi asked Misha and Hanako.

“Sure, sure~!”

“I can do that…”

“And me?” Rin prompted.

“Hmm…”

“You’re the watcher~!” Misha declared.

“The what?” Emi asked.

“Oh. Sure, that makes sense,” Rin agreed.

“H-huh?”

“Someone has to watch us and make sure we get everything, right? Right~? Rin is a painter, so~! She has a very good eye for details! She can tell us if we miss any spots!”

“Good thinking, Misha,” Rin agreed.

Hanako looked at Emi, who was a bit dumbfounded as well by this sudden connection. Emi shrugged as if to say “why not?” Different minds think alike, she figured. Everyone grabbed their gear and got to work. Misha worked out a simple system with Hanako right away; Hanako took the broom and swept a section, to which Misha would follow up with the mop. It was not only effective but it also had the hidden upside of putting Misha perpetually at Hanako’s backside.

Misha took ample advantage of the opportunities to make Hanako a victim of the guessing game. Soon she had Hanako jumping and whipping around in anticipation anytime she got too close, which provided Misha with no small amount of amusement. Somehow, they made progress in spite of this, with Misha taking occasional breaks to harass the other girls instead. Emi and Miki seemed to do a pretty good job of harassing each other, so she soon decided to talk to Rin instead, who had temporarily abandoned her role of “watching” in favor of staring at the ceiling instead.

“What are you doing, Rin? We’ve got to work, work, work~!”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“Did you see something up there?”

“No. Just thinking.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“About how I might need to do it again.”

“Well~, you do need to check up on our work, and make sure we don’t miss any spots! You do need to do that again!”

“I do. Let’s.”

Misha walked with Rin back across the gym to where Hanako was still sweeping away, humming to herself as she went.

“H-hi Rin.”

“Hi. I was just thinking, you know… that I might have to destroy myself again.”

“D-destroy yourself?!… Again!?”

“Yeah, Hacchan~! You know! Like I did!”

“L-like you—o-oh, right, with your h-hair? And…”

“And other stuff! It was Rin’s idea, you know. And it was a good one!”

“Y-yeah, I remember now…”

“Why would you need to do it again, Rin?”

“It’s not b-because of… what h-happened last week, is it?”

“No. It’s the art club. The teacher wants me to do an exhibition.”

“An exhibition? That’s great, Rin, really great~!”

Rin didn’t look like she thought it was great, though. In fact, she was now visibly frowning, an expression that Misha was not sure she had ever seen on the girl before. It was incredibly sad-looking, and it made her want to give Rin a hug right then and there.

“Wh-what’s wrong with that?” Hanako asked.

“I don’t think I want to do something like that,” Rin answered.

Misha frowned in turn.

“Why not, Rin? Aren’t you an artist? Being able to do an exhibition sounds really~, really great!”

“I feel like that is what I should say. But it’s not what I want to say. I don’t know if this me can do that. And I don’t know if I want to become the me that can.”

“But you said you did this before, right? You came up with this superpower, so you’re the master of it, right, right~?”

“Superpowers are like muscle fibers. If you tear your muscles a little bit then they grow back stronger. That’s why lifting things work. But if you tear them too much, then they just tear. And then they’re just torn.”

“Wh-what are you saying, Rin?” Hanako asked.

“Your self is like that too. If you try to change it too much, then it doesn’t work and you get all torn. Like a pulled muscle. I don’t want my me to be torn apart.”

Hanako adopted the frown worn by the other two girls.

“I-I don’t understand, Rin… are you o-okay?”

Rin nodded.

“I am. I will be. I think. I think… I’ll have to become a new me either way. I just have to figure out which one I want.”

“Hmm. O-okay.”

“Talk to us more if you need to, okay, Rin?” Misha said.

“Alright. Emi will probably bother me about it every day anyways. She likes to talk.”

Misha gave Rin a reassuring smile, though she didn’t think Rin really needed it. Rin’s sadness wasn’t like hers or Hanako’s, Misha thought. It seemed like Rin dealt with it through solitude and introspection. Misha remembered what she had said back in the field of dandelions, about wandering the woods alone every day until she found herself. It sounded like a very elegant way to handle one’s emotions but Misha could never do something like that. Too much time alone with just her own thoughts, that would make her anxious and jittery.

“H-hey, look. She’s back.”

Hanako pointed to the bleachers. Shizune stood at their base, unpacking a number of items from a large bag.

“Ah! Shicchan!”

Misha ran over to her, Emi having already come down from her post. Rin and Hanako weren’t too far behind. As she got closer, Misha could see that the items were in fact plastic food containers, packed with all the makings of a simple yet appealing meal.

“Shicchan! Is this—”

“Lunch. Brunch!” Shizune said, adjusting her glasses proudly.

“I do not know if I can get used to that…” Emi remarked. “Where’s Miki? Hey, Miki! Get off your ass, Shizune brought food!” she called up into the stands.

No answer. Miki was nowhere to be seen, either. Emi scratched her head.

“What is that rascal doing?”

“D-did she leave?” Hanako asked.

“No, I would have seen,” Rin said.

“But you were just staring at the ceiling, Rin!” Misha pointed out.

The girls marched up together, seeing Miki’s legs sticking out from under a bench near the top.

“Oh my god, she better not—” Emi started.

An audible snore answered her question. She rolled her eyes as Shizune walked down the row and tugged on Miki’s foot.

“Ack, oww, what—oh, shit.”

Miki wriggled herself out from under the bleacher, blinking her eyes and shaking her head a couple times.

“Damn, sorry, guys, it was just—” she paused to stretch and yawn “—so nice and comfy under there. Had to get the underside, y’know, then I just, uhh, well.”

Shizune glared at her.

“Hey, at least I made it to the top!” Miki said, gesturing to all the seating laid out beneath them. Misha could see the clear shine left behind by the rag on all of them, that was true. Shizune shook her head disapprovingly but didn’t say anything, beckoning for Miki to come along with them.

“You’re almost as slow today as you are on the track, Miki,” Emi teased.

“Cut a girl a break! I was up all hours with Suzu last night, then you dragged my ass out of bed at the crack of dawn to run me ragged before we even came in here. You lot are lucky I’m moving at all!”

“Up all hours huh? And just what were you doing in the wee hours of the morning?”

“You know she’s got a weird sleep schedule. As for what we were doing…” Miki gave her an evil smirk, “wouldn’t you just love to know?”

“Oh, hey, whoa, okay! Don’t need to know after all!”

Emi sped up a bit, making her way to the foodstuffs.

“Thanks for bringing this, Shizune! You really didn’t need to help us out like this. It looks great!”

Shizune caught up with Emi, then made the same motion she’d given Rin on Friday, motioning for Emi to repeat herself.

“Oh, uhh! Sorry!”

Emi repeated the line, talking more slowly and enunciating more clearly so Shizune could follow her lips. Shizune nodded and turned to Misha.

[The less time wasted on food, the more time spent cleaning. Plus, I can’t just sit around doing nothing while you all work, not even for a punishment. What kind of Student Council president would do that?]

“Shicchan says, if we all had to get our own lunches, it would waste a lot of time! And~, the Student Council president can’t just sit on her butt while everyone else works!”

“But someone can…” Emi said, looking pointedly at Miki and receiving a vulgar gesture for her trouble.

The two runners continued to snipe at each other as the six of them sat down on the bottom bleacher to eat.

“Did you make this y-yourself, Shicchan?” Hanako asked, tapping her shoulder to make sure she was looking at her before speaking.

Shizune nodded happily.

[I like figuring out how to make the best food with simple ingredients and quick preparation. It’s like a puzzle!]

“Shicchan says, making good food is like a game to her! Wahaha~!”

“Ah, that makes sense. I try to cook s-sometimes. Maybe…”

Hanako clutched her blouse and looked aside a little bit.

“…maybe she could t-teach me, one day…”

Misha relayed this to Shizune, figuring that Hanako’s reluctance made it more difficult to lip read.

[The Student Council could certainly arrange a cooking class as a school community event. If you prove yourself today, then I’d be motivated to do it for you!]

[Prove herself? What does that mean Shicchan?]

Shizune paused, furrowing her brow to think about this.

“Shicchan says, she’ll teach you, but you have to earn it!”

“E-earn it?!”

Hanako was surprised for a moment, then recovered quickly as she remembered who she was talking to. Of course she would have to earn it.

[If you can finish cleaning everything by five o’clock, then the cooking class is on!]

“If you can finish everything up today by five o’clock, then Shicchan says she will teach you!”

“…okay. I’ll do it! I’ll tr-try…” Hanako said.

“Hear that, Miki? No more naps!” Emi said.

Miki gave her a stump-punch.

“What difference is it to me? I don’t need any cooking class!”

Hanako’s face fell, giving Miki a sad-puppy look that visibly melted her resistance to the idea.

“Ahhh! Alright, fine, I’ll try to go a bit faster!”

“Maybe I should help out more. Even if I don’t cook,” Rin said.

“But you’re the watcher, Rin~!”

“Can’t Shizune do that now?” Emi pointed out.

“I think I have an idea,” Rin said.

Her shoes already off to accommodate her meal, Rin snagged the nearest rag between her toes and laid it on the floor, then put another next to it. She stepped forward onto the rags so that each foot rested on one of them. From this starting position, she slid one leg forward in a circle, then the other, slowly advancing while covering all of the floor ahead of her with the rags.

“See. Like shoes,” she explained. “Cleaning shoes.”

“Ahaha~! That’s pretty smart, Rin!”

Shizune gave her a thumbs up.

“With Rin helping too, we’ll have this gym spotless in no time. Five should be no problem!” Emi declared.

Shizune waggled a finger at her.

“Pool. And lockers,” Shizune reminded her.

“Ughh! Well, you’ll see. We’ll still do it!”

Misha saw a determined look in Emi’s eye not entirely unlike the one that Shizune often got. No one besides Hanako had seemed interested in learning to cook from Shizune, though… Emi was probably just a competitive person in general. There was a reason she was number one on the track team, after all. She couldn’t deny a chance to beat Shizune at something, somehow, Misha thought.

The food finished up soon enough and it was back to work. Misha watched Rin shuffling around the edge of the gym with her rag-feet, giggling a bit at how funny she looked. Every now and then she would pause and move them around in a different pattern, probably seeing pictures in the soap bubbles or something. Misha thought back to what she’d said about her art club. It must be nice to have something that one was naturally good at, that you could just say “oh of course, I’ll join that club.” One reason it had been easy for Misha to join the Student Council was that she didn’t really have any other particular interests. If only there was something like that for Hanako… maybe there was.

“Hey, Hacchan, have you thought any more about those clubs we looked at?” Misha asked, striking up some conversation while they worked.

“Uhh… a little? B-but… not really…”

“Well~! I was thinking, how about a writing club? You really like books, so~! That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”

“Hmm. I don’t know, Misha. I guess I have, uhh… uhh…”

“Uhh what, Hacchan? Ah! Ahaha~! You’re blushing~!”

“M-Misha! It’s kind of e-embarrassing… I did tr-try to, umm… wr-write a story, a few times…”

“Really?! Why didn’t you ever tell us? I’d love to read them!”

“N-n-n-no! They’re not very good…”

“Huh? How do you know, if you never let anyone see them?”

Hanako covered her scars, but a tiny smile crept out from under her hand.

“I-I guess, I’m just scared… th-that people wouldn’t like them.”

“Don’t be silly! If you wrote them, then I’m sure they’d be really, really~ good. You read so many books, after all! You could definitely write one too!”

“I w-wish it was that easy…”

“Well! I won’t bug you about it, but I’d like to see them one day. If I could~! Anyways~! It definitely means you need a writing club, then!”

“B-but we don’t have a club like that, do we?”

“Hmm, hm. No, but~! We have a newspaper club! That’s basically a writing club, right?”

“I don’t know if that’s the same, M-Misha.”

“Don’t they write stories in newspapers?”

“I g-guess… but… I don’t know…”

“Well, just give it a try, Hacchan! If you go to a meeting for me…”

Misha hopped up to Hanako and pressed a finger against her nose like she was pushing a button, narrowing her eyes and putting on a seductive smirk. Hanako’s face flushed immediately in response.

“…maaaybe~ I’ll give you a reward!”

“Ahh! M-Misha!”

“Wahaha~!”

“Alright… I’ll go to o-one…”

“Great, great~! Now we’ll have something to do tomorrow. Perfect!”

“T-tomorrow? Wait, you’re c-coming too?”

“Of course! The school newspaper should have a close relationship with the Student Council, Hacchan. Don’t you think?”

“I didn’t think of that… okay then. I’ll feel better if you’re with me, M-Misha.”

Hanako smiled, still blushing but looking much more comfortable with the idea now. Shizune snapped at them not to slack off too much; Misha went back to her mop with a laugh. The gym was nearly done by now, or at least, their work on the floors was getting close. Miki and Emi had already come down from wiping their last bleacher as Misha finished up mopping the last section. The only one left in the field, so to speak, was Rin, who was still shuffling repeatedly over the same spot for some reason.

“What are we going to do with her…” Emi said.

“Ahhh, man! I don’t think my back was made to bend that way! I need to lay down for a bit… think you could walk on it for me, Emi?” Miki said.

“Uh-uh!” Shizune tutted her.

“What? C’mon, prez, show mercy!”

Shizune snapped and pointed to the cleaning supplies, then the double-doors leading into the pool nearby.

“Pool!” Shizune said, alternating between more snaps and pointing until Miki grudgingly got moving.

“Fine, fine, I’m going…”

“Wahaha~! No horsing around today, Micchan!”

“Aren’t you Micchan?”

“No, I’m Misha! You’re Micchan!”

“…Whatever. You’re lucky I’m too tired for horsing around, or I might gobsmack that stupid nickname right out of you.”

“Gobsmack? What’s that~?”

“Why don’t I show you? C’mere and lean in real close…”

“Careful, Micchan, or I’ll make you guess~!”

“Make me guess? Guess what?”

“No, guess who! Like this!… Guess who~!”

“What the—hey! Let me go of my face! Argh!”

“Wahaha~!”

***

Misha wiped her brow as they finished putting away the last of the cleaning supplies. It had taken all day, but eventually she’d managed to work up a sweat. She’d pushed herself a bit to try and help Hanako make that five o’clock deadline… not too much though. Sweat was gross! Besides, she’d feel horrible if Hanako felt too pressured to try and keep up. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of the stall-building incident. They were indoors today, so it should be fine, but better safe than sorry.

“Whew~! That felt good, I think. It’s been a while since I worked a whole day away with Shicchan! Wahaha~!”

Miki looked at her like she was crazy.

“You look forward to that?… Yeah, I guess you’d have to, to still be in the council…”

She flopped down on one of the locker room’s benches, laying on her back with her forearm over her arms.

“Well… you guys go on ahead, I’m just gonna lay here for the rest of forever…”

It looked like Miki hadn’t been kidding about her fatigue. Even Emi’s energy seemed to be flagging. The only person who didn’t look tired was Rin, who just looked the same as she always did.

“D-did we make it, Shicchan?” Hanako asked.

Shizune flipped open her phone and nodded happily, turning it around so they could all see the time. Four fifty-two PM.

“Yay~! Great work, guys! I’m so happy~!” Misha exclaimed, giving Hanako a celebratory hug.

“Yeah, that’s right…” Emi started, pointing a finger slowly at Shizune. “…sure showed you!”

Shizune adjusted her glasses.

“You win. This time,” Shizune said, her expression making it clear that she didn’t actually feel like she had lost.

“…sure doesn’t feel like it. My rag arm feels ready to fall right off… hey, wait… you don’t think…”

“Wh-what is it, Emi?”

“…this whole time limit was just a way to get us to work more, wasn’t it?” she said, pouting at Shizune.

Shizune crossed her arms and said nothing, smiling deviously at Emi.

“Blech. Well, I’m glad we got it done! Now no one can say we didn’t atone for our crimes! Get up, Miura, we’ve gotta get a cool-down jog in!”

“A cool-down jog? Isn’t that like an oxymoron? Hey, lemme go!”

“Up, up! No sleeping yet! You’re not Suzu!”

“I don’t wanna! Man, what’s up with all you guys roughing me up today!”

“You’re always pushing people and stuff, so this is what you get. Now get moving! I’ll buy you a drink from the machine if you’re that pitiful.”

“Grrr. Alright, fine. Don’t think this means I’m gonna be your partner now…”

“I am going too. I need to think some more,” Rin said. “Tell me about your cooking class though. Since I learned that cooking is art, I have wanted to try it.”

Shizune nodded at Rin as she left, following Emi and Miki out of the building. Misha paused before doing the same, suddenly feeling a bit melancholy. It felt kind of like she and Shizune had broken up, she realized, and that when she walked out of here, they would be officially “done.” For a month, at least. That was kind of sad to think about. Shizune took her hand and pulled it up for a moment, breaking Misha from her brief reverie.

[Go have fun with them, Misha. I’m not going anywhere.] Shizune said.

Misha smiled at her reassurance.

[Okay Shicchan. I don’t think we’ll be playing any today, though. I need a nap!]

[Go do that then. Do what you want to do. It’s our last year of school… we should enjoy it.]

[That means you too, Shicchan. You know what they say about all work and no play!]

[I’m always playing, Misha.]

“Wahaha~! I guess so, Shicchan! Alright then. Let’s go Hacchan~!”

“Okay… bye Sh-Shicchan.”

---

Chapter 29 | Chapter 31

I really don't know how you manage all this quality output.

Hanako Fancopter wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 8:53 pm LOL. My first h-scene/sex scene that I've ever written. Hope it was serviceable!

I bet you say that to all the forums.

WorldlyWiseman wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 11:34 pm Hanako's favorite joke is The Aristocrats, but she never tells it because Lilly finds it really offensive. Instead, she practices her delivery in front of a mirror when she's alone. It's the only time she never stammers.

Okay, that's the best 3-sentence KS fic I've ever read .

Obligatory on-topic comment: This is a wonderfully weird but compelling relationship. I'm loving it.

WorldlyWiseman wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 11:34 pm I really don't know how you manage all this quality output.

Hanako Fancopter wrote: ↑Sun Jul 29, 2018 8:53 pm LOL. My first h-scene/sex scene that I've ever written. Hope it was serviceable!

I bet you say that to all the forums.

It's true! >.> Now I have done plenty of writing before coming here. But never a sex scene before!

---

Chapter 31: Outreach

Hanako wrung her hands a bit as she walked behind Misha, unable to stop herself from feeling anxious. She’d found that, once she got started talking to someone a bit, the anxiety would usually recede. Making that first contact was still hard, though. Doubly so for meeting new people entirely… this was going to be awkward no matter how they went about it. Thank goodness she had Misha to hide behind if she needed to, Hanako thought.

“Alright, Hacchan! Here we are! You go first!” Misha said, standing beside the door with her hands on her hips and that huge grin on her face.

“Wh-what? Why do I have to go first? Y-you… you should!”

“Because~, Hacchan! It’s your club! We’re going to join it for you!”

“…don’t you need a cl-club too? Until you can go back to council?”

“Sure~, but that’s different!”

“How?”

“Because, Hacchan. It just is~!”

Hanako sighed, slumping her shoulders and giving Misha a frumpy look. Misha tried to maintain her cheery smile but it was already starting to crack at the edges. Sensing victory, Hanako dialed up her assault, clasping her hands in front of her waist and looking down at an angle.

“…okay, Hacchan, okay! You convinced me! Don’t worry, I’ll go in. Watch and learn! Wahaha~!”

Misha burst through the door and marched inside. Naomi and Natsume were already looking towards it, probably having heard her voice from the other side.

“Hi, Naocchan, Natsu-nyan! Hi, hi~! I’m Misha!” Misha announced, making a deep bow without taking her hands off her hips. “And this is Hacchan!” she said, taking Hanako’s hand and tugging her through the doorway. Hanako felt petrified by their stares—this wasn’t working at all, Misha’s bombastic personality just made her an object of interest by proxy. “You might know me as your friendly neighborhood Student Council vice president. It’s great to meet you! I hope we’ll be great friends!”

“Err. Well! This is a bolt from the blue!” Natsume managed to say.

“Umm, we know Hanako, Misha. We sit by her. And we know you too. You don’t need to introduce yourself!” Naomi said.

“Still~! Introductions are very important. Very~! As the Student Council vice president, it’s important that I always show the proper amount of formalities!”

“Uhh! Yeah, well! It’s good to see you too, Misha, Hanako! So!” Naomi said, clapping her hands together as if to snap herself back into action. “What’s the Student Council want with us? Has Shizune approved our latest budget request?” she asked, sounding hopeful on that last question.

“I don’t know~! I don’t do that stuff anymore! Wahaha~!”

“What!? Did you quit?” Naomi asked in shock.

“M-Misha!” Hanako interjected. “Umm, Naomi, N-Natsume…”

She stepped forward, shaking a bit and looking down, but determined to make some headway before Misha could embarrass them any more.

“…me and M-Misha would like to meet with the newspaper cl-club today…”

“Oh. Oh! Of course! Sure thing! I guess I just don’t understand what this is all about! But if you want to, like, hang out today! That’s totally cool!” Naomi said.

“…we thought we m-might join the club,” Hanako explained.

“Don’t worry. I got suspended from the Student Council!” Misha said, sounding much too proud of that fact.

“Suspended? They threw you out? That’s rough,” Natsume says.

“Don’t worry about it, Natsu-nyan, don’t worry. Me and Hacchan want to help the newspaper out today! Yay~! Be happy!”

Natsume did look amused, at least. She seemed content to sit and watch while Naomi fretted over what to do with this situation.

“Alright, alright! You’re right, that’s great, to have the vice president in our club, and stuff! Let me, uhh… we could use some more people, totally! It’s really hard to run a newspaper with just us two! Especially when Natsu’s arthritis flares up, then she can’t even write much, so it’s like, just me, and that’s, you know! Hard!”

“It ain’t that bad…” Natsume grumbled.

“It’s no problem now that Hacchan is here. You don’t need to write anymore at all!” Misha assured them. “She’s a great writer~!”

“M-M-Misha! Don’t just say that!” Hanako protested.

“Never knew you were a writer, Hanako,” Natsume said, her interest piqued. “Guess it adds up though…”

“N-no, I’m not! M-Misha’s being… Misha!” Hanako said, flailing her arms a bit in an anxious effort to emphasize this point.

“Hmm. Bet you are, too,” Natsume said, looking unconvinced by Hanako’s denial. “You look it. That’s a good thing, mind you.”

“She ‘looks’ it? What does that mean, Natsu-nyan?” Misha asked, her curiosity genuine and innocent. The other girls, however, heard something different. Usually people tried to avoid the subject of what Hanako did or didn’t look like. Natsume frowned, realizing her mistake but seeming unsure of what to say.

“Oh my God, Hanako, I am so sorry!” Naomi stepped in for her. “Natsu didn’t mean it like—it’s, you know, like a! A thing, that doesn’t mean something literally!”

“A f-figure of speech,” Hanako answered for her. “I-it’s okay… why don’t we just do some cl-club stuff?”

“Right! Club stuff! Sure!”

“You can show us how to make newspapers~!” Misha said.

“Yeah… wh-what do you guys usually do for it?” Hanako asked.

“Well, I wish it was more exciting, but I can show you stuff on here,” Naomi said, leading them over to a large desktop computer situated on a table in one corner of the room.

“We both do a bit of everything, since there’s only two of us, but usually Natsu does most of the writing. I’m supposed to handle the formatting and printing and everything, but, well…”

Naomi began to click around on the computer’s desktop, opening a couple of programs, then closing them with a groan of frustration.

“Gosh! Where was it! Sorry, it’s just, right when I finally had the old one figured out, dumb thing had to go and break down! Still getting the hang of this one…”

“Wh-what operating system is it?” Hanako asked.

“Operating… system?” Naomi asked in confusion.

“Yeah, the software it runs on. It looks like W-Windows…”

“Uhh…”

“It does say that whenever it starts up?” Natsume offered.

“We’re… not that great with computers, honestly,” Naomi admitted.

“Hmm… can I sit down and l-look?” Hanako asked.

“Sure! Give it a try!”

The other girls gathered behind the computer chair while Hanako sat down and began navigating the system’s files.

“What are you doing, Hanako?”

“J-just looking at your files, to see where you put stuff… uhh… you have everything just s-sitting in your Documents…”

She scrolled down, already knowing from the size of the scroll bar that there were dozens and dozens of Word pieces in here. It looked like each individual story had been left in this as a single big dump, all mixed together, along with items that were named “Front Page” with a date, or other miscellaneous things. Some of the file names didn’t make sense to her at all, and there was no rhyme or reason to their placement. No wonder Naomi had trouble finding what she was looking for.

“Th-this is really jumbled, Naomi… m-maybe, uhh… you c-could…”

“We could… do you have an idea, Hanako? I do lose track of stuff on there…”

“…m-maybe you could make some f-folders for all your Word d-documents? To organize them b-better? Maybe if you keep a different f-folder for each edition, th-then… you can find everything easier.”

“Do what? I don’t really know how that works, Hanako…”

“Are those all our writings, there? I think I see some of mine,” Natsume said.

“Y-yeah… it’s just your Documents f-folder. It’s where everything gets s-saved by default…”

“So you can see those outside of the Word thingie?” Natsume asked.

“Err… yes?”

“Well, smack me straight! I thought you had to use the program!”

“Yeah, me too. You seem to know a lot about computers, Hana,” Naomi said.

“Mmhmm, mmhmm! See~! Hacchan’s really smart!” Misha bragged.

“I-it’s nothing sp-special…” Hanako said, blushing a bit. “I’ve just used computers a bit b-before… I used to have a l-laptop that I would wr-write on sometimes…”

“Used to?”

“Yeah, it was a gift for me, fr-from… for when I went here, to Y-Yamaku. But it kinda died last tr-trimester. I think the battery g-gave out… it won’t stay on for more than a few m-minutes and barely ch-charges.”

“Aww~! That’s too bad, Hacchan! I would have liked to see a baby computer. I bet it was cute~!” Misha said.

Hanako giggled at that.

“M-maybe I’ll show you, I still have it…”

“You can use our computer if you want, Hana! We suck at it anyways!” Naomi said.

“Can you show us how to do some of that stuff you were talking about, Hanako?” Natsume asked.

“S-sure… it’s pretty easy, if you know how…”

“Wahaha~! Look at you go, Hacchan! Is there anything you guys need me to do?”

“Err…”

Naomi smiled nervously at Misha, searching for an answer.

“I think a lemonade might really hit the spot. Don’t wanna ask you to be my legs, but… could you?” Natsume asked.

She tapped her cane against one ankle.

“They’re awful sore today…”

“Sure, Natsu-nyan, sure~! Shicchan made me get drinks for us all the time, so~! It’s just like always, wahaha~!”

Natsume looked a bit concerned by the comparison to Shizune, but as long as Misha was happy, she wasn’t going to question it too much. She fished out some change from her pocket and handed it to Misha.

“Drink run! Anyone else want anything? My treat~!” Misha said.

“Oh, I could use some coffee!” Naomi said.

“M-maybe some tea?”

“I already paid up, don’t say it’s your treat now!” Natsume said.

“You don’t need to pay for us, Misha! That’s really nice of you but we can’t ask you to do that. You’re the one checking out our club! We should buy you guys drinks, if anything, you know, like a bribe to join! Not that we would ever bribe anyone!”

“Waha~, alright, Naocchan. If you insist! It’s settled, then—Hacchan will be the computer person, and I’ll be the drinks person!”

Misha turned on her heel and strode off to complete her mission, after collecting money from the other two. Hanako looked sheepishly at Naomi and Natsume.

“Ehehe… sorry about her, sh-she’s, uhh… she just gets ex-excited…”

“Sorry? Hey, don’t say that! We don’t mind having Misha around! She’s really easy-going… it was always Shizune who was a bit of a pain to work with,” Naomi said.

“Shizune’s a real thorn in a briarpatch, ain’t she?” Natsume said.

“Natsu, don’t say mean things!”

“What? Just telling it like it is. We’re supposed to work kinda close with the Student Council, so they can put out memos and approve stories and such like, but she always just treats us like a nuisance. Could be nice to have a line straight in her ear, with Misha.”

“A voice in her ear? Natsume! That’s not very considerate!”

“Dangit! Again! My bad…”

“Sh-Shicchan, she’s… well…” Hanako started, fumbling for the right words to express her opinion.

“Shicchan?” Natsume repeated curiously.

“Ah, yeah…”

Hanako looked aside and covered her scars, a bit embarrassed at being called on her habit.

“I th-think it’s c-cute…” she mumbled.

“Ha, cute? I guess it is cute!” Naomi said. “It’s just a little surprising. Shicchan, that’s what Misha calls her. I wouldn’t really think anyone else would feel safe saying that, and totally not you! Oh, not that I mean you’re scared of her, or anything! It’s just, you know! She is kinda scary!”

“N-no…” Hanako disagreed. “Th-that’s not it. Shicchan’s not scary, she’s just… hmm, I don’t kn-know how to say it… intense?”

Natsume scoffed.

“That’s one word for it, sure enough.”

Naomi gave her a look.

“Oh don’t start again. You just called her scary yourself!” Natsume said.

“Who’s scary~?” Misha asked, bursting in with an armful of drinks.

“Ack! No one! No one’s scary!” Naomi said.

“We were just saying Hana’s scary good with computers,” Natsume said.

Naomi and Hanako both nodded emphatically, grateful for the save.

“Huh. Yeah! She is~! Hacchan’s really amazing! Wahaha~! Here, guys. Drink up! We’ve got tons of work to do!”

Naomi and Natsume exchanged a confused look.

“We do?” Naomi asked. “Does Shizune need something from us?”

“Yes, of course. She needs a newspaper!”

Natsume raised an eyebrow.

“Does she need it tomorrow?”

“We usually just sort of do however much work we feel like. If this is gonna be you gals’ first meeting, there’s no need to push it too much. We can just kinda hang out!” Naomi said.

Misha put her hands on her hips and frowned.

“That’s no good. No good at all~! You can’t expect to make a great newspaper with an attitude like that. If you want to make the very best~ newspaper, you’ve got to make sure to work hard first! Then~, we can hang out if there’s more time left over!”

Naomi and Natsume looked to Hanako for help. She could see in their eyes that they were starting to realize what they’d gotten themselves into. They’d get no quarter from her, though.

“M-maybe… if we all work t-together, with me and Misha helping, we can really make a great n-newspaper, that Shicchan will appreciate,” she said.

Naomi nodded slowly, while Natsume smiled at that idea.

“Yeah, that does sound like a good plan,” Natsume said.

“Alright, you heard the lady! Let’s get to it! More computer stuff, Hacchan~! Drink that coffee, Naocchan, snap snap!”

The other three girls had to laugh a bit at Misha’s “taskmaster” routine. Hanako realized that most of her anxiety was gone. Nothing brought people together like sharing a room with Misha, she thought. Even if you had nothing else in common, her antics were something to bond over. Hanako was glad she’d decided to do this. Even if she didn’t end up doing much actual writing… maybe this would be a good thing to be a part of.

Chapter 30 | Chapter 32

Hanako Fancopter wrote: ↑Wed Aug 08, 2018 10:16 pm
“Sure, Naocchan, sure~! Shicchan made me get drinks for us all the time, so~! It’s just like always, wahaha~!”

I think you mean 'Natsu-nyan' here.

Copy of Copy of Untitled Document (2).docx

Can't wait to find out who gifted a laptop to Hanako. Hand-me-down from an orphanage IT upgrade?

sloth4 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 8:58 am

Hanako Fancopter wrote: ↑Wed Aug 08, 2018 10:16 pm
“Sure, Naocchan, sure~! Shicchan made me get drinks for us all the time, so~! It’s just like always, wahaha~!”

I think you mean 'Natsu-nyan' here.

Nice catch.

WorldlyWiseman wrote: ↑Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:31 am Copy of Copy of Untitled Document (2).docx

Can't wait to find out who gifted a laptop to Hanako. Hand-me-down from an orphanage IT upgrade?

Something like that. I haven't actually decided for sure, but I can't imagine anything more exciting than that.

---

Chapter 32: Tension

Misha stretched out a bit as they left the newspaper club, straining her arms back and over her head until she felt her shoulders pop.

“Ahhh~! That’s better!”

“D-doesn’t that… hurt?” Hanako asked, wincing at the sound.

“No way, Hacchan. It feels great! What’s even better is if you have someone walk on your back a bit. You should let me do you sometime!”

“Do what?!”

Hanako startled herself again as she thought that phrase through.

“Wahaha~! Why are you blushing, Hacchan? You never had anyone walk on your back before?”

“Umm… n-no?”

“I guess it would be kind of dangerous for Lilly-chan to do it. She might step on your head by accident!”

“Ha… m-maybe. She’d have to keep tapping you with her c-cane to make sure…”

“And~! She might be too heavy for it!”

“M-Misha! Don’t let her hear that!”

“Oops~! Sorry, I just meant… she’s tall, that’s all! Wahaha~!”

“Well, yeah… but she still has a very n-nice figure. I’ve always thought she was very pr-pretty…”

“You’ll make me jealous if you’re not careful, Hacchan!”

“Ahh! S-s-sorry, I just m-meant…”

“Aha~! I know, Hacchan. To tell you a seeecret~…”

Misha put an arm around Hanako’s shoulder and whispered in her ear—a real whisper.

“I like to look at Lilly sometimes, too!”

Hanako pouted at her a bit, just like Misha knew she would. The expression complemented her blushing cheek, forming a picture that was almost unbearably cute. Lilly did have close to a perfect figure—but she didn’t have that.

“But~! You have a nice figure, Hacchan. Don’t let anyone tell you different!” Misha said, returning to her normal voice while poking Hanako in the side.

“Th-thanks Misha.”

“You have to do good posture if you want to keep it! Stretching your joints helps with that! Just say the word, and I’ll do you, okay~?”

“You’ll… d-do me?” Hanako repeated, looking halfway between scared and excited.

“Yeah, Hacchan. You know! I’ll walk on your back for you! It feels really~ good, I promise! Me and Shicchan used to do each other all the time! Slumping over those desks messing with papers really hurts your shoulders, you know.”

“Oh…”

Misha leaned in close to Hanako’s face and put on the hint of a smirk.

“What did you think I meant, Hacchan~?”

“Umm! N-nothing!! M-Misha, you!”

“Wahaha~! I did say you would get a reward for going to the newspaper club, didn’t I! Maybe that’s it! So~, what did you think?”

“About the club? It was… it was really fun. I’m glad we went, M-Misha. Will you go back with me?”

“Of course, Hacchan! Of course! Naocchan and Natsu-nyan are really nice!”

Hanako laughed a bit at that.

“What? Are you laughing at my names again, Hacchan?”

“Y-yes, I can’t, it’s just… you m-made a new one. Natsu… n-n-nyan… hee hee…”

Hanako couldn’t even bring herself to say it without laughing. Misha wasn’t really sure how it happened, she had actually meant to say Natsu-chan or something like that, but that just sort of came out instead. One character in Hanako’s light novels gave people that type of cutesy nickname, so she’d probably gotten it from there.

“She didn’t seem to mind!”

“She probably thinks it’s f-funny…”

“It is~! And~, this way I’ll always remember them!”

“Is that wh-why you do it? To help remember names?”

“I think it helps, yeah. So~!”

Misha clapped her hands together.

“Let me tell you about my ideas for the club, Hacchan. Listen up and listen close! We’re going to make it great again!”

Misha’s elaborate description of her plans for a dessert recipe column occupied the rest of the walk back to the dorms. She wouldn’t do it if Naomi and Natsume didn’t like it, but it wasn’t a joke, either. She’d spent most of the club meeting just messing around or encouraging the others in their work on the computer. Hanako had stayed in the computer seat the whole way through, while Natsume and Naomi discussed different facets of the club with her. Most of it went over Misha’s head, she was even less computer-literate than the two original club members. While she was more than excited to see Hanako taking center stage in something, she didn’t want to be totally useless herself, either.

Coming back into the dorms, they found Lilly waiting in the hallway near Hanako’s room, a somewhat concerned look on her face. She perked up as she heard them approach.

“Hello, Hanako… Misha.”

It was always so uncanny how she could do that.

“Hi Lilly.”

“Hi~!”

Lilly seemed to look from one of them to the other, apparently able to judge their relative positions. She pursed her lips, saying nothing.

“What’s up, buttercup~?” Misha asked. “We just got back from the newspaper club! It was a lot of fun! What have you been doing, Lilly?”

“Oh, nothing much. This and that,” Lilly answered.

“You at least drank some tea today, right? Right~?”

“…Yes, Misha. I drank some tea,” Lilly said, sounding annoyed.

“Lilly, are you… al-alright?” Hanako asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”

Misha wasn’t sure. Lilly looked fine, there was nothing in her voice to really suggest otherwise, yet something about her just seemed a little… off. Sort of how she got if Shizune was near, except that she wasn’t. Was she? Misha looked up and down the hall to check… nope, no Shicchan.

“It’s… good to see you tonight, Hanako. Would you care for a cup of tea?” Lilly asked.

“Umm… I don’t kn-know, Lilly. Is the… tea r-room even still open?”

“Might we take it in my room? I haven’t… I haven’t you seen you, in a little while.”

“L-Lilly… you saw me just y-yesterday…”

Now Lilly visibly frowned.

“Yes, Hanako, I meant… well, for instance, I missed you at lunch again. Today.”

“Oh… s-sorry, Lilly, I just, err, we…”

Hanako looked at Misha nervously, as if trying to give some sort of signal.

“We just th-thought, to eat with, the n-newspaper club… I g-guess… what do you th-think, Misha? Do you want to have some t-tea?”

“Sure~! Tea sounds great!”

“Ah, I think, actually…”

Lilly paused, thinking through her words.

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

“…Yes, Hanako, everything is fine. I think I’ll just retire for the night, actually.”

“L-Lilly! Misha is our fr-friend, too… she can’t have t-tea?”

“Ah! Is that—it’s okay, Hacchan. I’ll just go to bed! I hogged you all day today, so~! I’ll let Lilly have you for a while! Ahaha~!” Misha said.

She could practically feel the expressions of both other girls darken at that remark. She immediately regretted saying it, clearly having touched a nerve. It had just been a joke, but… was that really how these two saw this situation?

“Thank you for your consideration, Misha,” Lilly said.

Misha turned to walk back towards her room but Hanako’s hand caught hers, stopping her.

“N-no! Misha… you don’t have to g-go.”

Misha looked carefully between Hanako and Lilly.

“But, Hacchan… don’t you want to hang out with Lilly?”

Now Hanako looked from Misha to Lilly, her brow furrowing in frustration.

“I-I want… to hang out with you, M-Misha. And Lilly. B-both of you.”

Lilly sighed. Even if Lilly agreed to hang out together with her, Misha felt like she’d really stepped into something she’d rather not have.

“Very well, Hanako. I’ll be in my room if you change your mind… perhaps I’ll even make myself some tea.”

She said that last part with a funny note in her voice. Misha felt like she was missing something there.

“That’s a good idea, Lilly! Tea is, uhh… calming! And stuff! We should… we should have some!” Misha sputtered, grasping for anything to lighten the mood.

Lilly gave her a weak smile.

“Lilly, don’t! Don’t… d-don’t be like that!” Hanako protested.

“Don’t be like what, Hanako?”

“L-l-like…”

“You prefer to be alone sometimes, don’t you? Well, I would like to go to my room. What is wrong with that?”

“You know what I mean!”

Hanako’s voice rose sharply, her hands balling into fists and her face flashing with anger. Misha knew that look—it wasn’t like Shizune’s anger, it wasn’t controlled and careful. It was barely contained. It was never there until it was, then it was really there. Shizune got angry about a lot of little stuff, but in a way that you knew she didn’t really mean it. Misha was reminded of Shizune’s philosophy about apologies… it applied surprisingly well to how she and Hanako expressed anger, also.

“I’m sorry if I’ve made you angry, Hanako,” Lilly said, sounding pretty genuine to Misha. It didn’t help much, though.

“Don’t just do that then apologize, like you can just—ughh!!”

Hanako threw her hands up a bit to finish the sentence. She stood breathing heavily for a moment, Misha and Lilly both anxious for what she would do next.

“…Maybe I’ll just go be alone, Lilly. That’s probably best. Since that’s… what I d-d-do!”

She whirled on her heel and walked into her room, slamming the door behind her.

“Hacchan…”

“Goodness… I feel I’ve misstepped. I’m sorry, Misha. I didn’t mean to cause such trouble. I just wanted to talk to her…”

“About… me?” Misha asked.

Lilly looked surprised.

“…Partially. It’s… nothing bad, I assure you.”

“It’s okay, Lilly. I won’t get mad! I promise~!”

“You never do, do you?”

“Do you want to tell me something instead? I can walk on your back to make you feel better!”

“Walk on my… back?” Lilly asked, thoroughly confused.

“Don’t you do that!” Hanako yelled from her room. “Don’t you dare walk on her back before mine!”

“Ack! Whoops~! Sorry Hacchan! Err… I guess I won’t do that after all, ehaha.”

“Come, Misha. Let’s leave her be.”

Lilly retreated further down the hall, stopping before the door to her own room with Misha following behind.

“Would you like to come inside? We should probably get out of the hallway. You’re… easy to hear.”

“Okay~!”

They stepped into Lilly’s room and she busied herself making some herbal tea using her stock of packets.

“Would you like a cup?”

“Sure, Lilly! Thanks~!”

Misha was impressed by how easily Lilly navigated the task. She moved so easily within her room that it was like she wasn’t blind at all. She must just know the space that well, Misha thought. Once the tea was set to heat up, Lilly turned around and leaned back against her desk, while Misha sat down in its chair.

“So~. What’s wrong, Lilly? I hope you aren’t mad at me!”

Lilly sighed.

“No, Misha… I worried that if I spoke within your earshot, you’d relay the conversation to Shizune. I didn’t want to give her any cause for attention. She’s troublesome enough as it is.”

“But… you’re talking to me now, Lilly! Don’t worry. I kept secrets from Shicchan before!”

Lilly gave her a questioning look.

“Would you again? After what’s happened?”

“Oh! Err… well… eha, maybe not, Lilly. Maybe not~. So you’ll tell me, even if I tell Shicchan?”

Lilly sighed again, clearly flustered with this whole situation.

“Yes. It was foolish of me to do otherwise, considering Hanako’s response. I should have known better than to think she would want to spend time… like we used to.”

“Like you used to?”

“With… just me and her. We’ve been seeing each other less and less, as you and she have been seeing each other more and more. By now, well… it seems she doesn’t really like to be separated from you.”

“I guess, Lilly. Does that bother you?”

“I suppose… I suppose it does, yes. In such a short time, you’ve already grown so close to her, Misha. I’m not entirely used to it yet.”

“Hm~. That makes sense, Lilly. I think Hacchan is different to how she was when I first met her, too. When I met her, I wouldn’t think she could ever yell at you like that.”

“Yes, well. She certainly seems more… outgoing, in a way, but also… quicker to anger.”

“Maybe, Lilly. She definitely makes me worried when she gets mad. I always feel like she could say something really, really bad, if she wanted to.”

“That side of her has always been there, but I nearly never saw it. It seems to be more present recently… perhaps she’s bottled it up for so long, and now that she’s gained some degree of self-confidence, it’s easier for her to let it out.”

“Hm~. That’s no good, Lilly. Angry Hana-chan is no good at all. Maybe we could talk to her about it?”

“I don’t know if that would be a good idea. Not for me, at least. I was Hanako’s only friend for a long time, you see. And she was—still is—my best friend. Yet now she’s spending far more time with you, and you’re—well, you’re an item. It’s… an adjustment. For both of us.”

“It’s like… starting a new relationship? Not with me and Hacchan, I mean! With you and her.”

Lilly furrowed her brow, thinking about that proposal.

“…Yes, I suppose so. Like trying to figure out where our friendship is now. I fear it’s not in a good place, unfortunately.”

“Aww~, don’t say that, Lilly. Friends fight sometimes! It happens! Shicchan got really, really~ mad at me just last week. But now we’re okay again. You will be too!”

“I hope so. Speaking of Shizune… I know that she had everyone cleaning out the gym as ‘punishment’ yesterday. There was one other person who was involved, but was not asked to take part…”

“There was?”

“Yes. Me. Shizune asked you for everyone who knew about the roof, I’m sure.”

“Well, yeah~!”

“Of course she did. And she arranged for you, Hanako, and your friends to spend all day with her, while I was excluded. I don’t think that she simply forgot about me—Shizune doesn’t miss such details.”

“Are you saying it was like a club meeting that you weren’t invited to, Lilly?”

“I… yes. That’s exactly what I was saying. If it were truly a ‘punishment,’ I doubt she would have missed an opportunity to enact it upon me.”

“Wahaha~! That’s ridiculous, Lilly. Do you mean you wish you could have spent all day scrubbing floors and stuff? Shicchan wouldn’t set all this up just to mess with you!”

“Would I have rather spent all day scrubbing floors with my friends… as opposed to all day alone, searching for ways to occupy myself? I think I would have, Misha. I’m sure it was a lot of work, but you probably had a lot of fun, too, didn’t you?”

“Hmm~… I guess so, Lilly! I got to hang out with Hacchan, so~! But~! You’re wrong about Shicchan. She said, because you didn’t actually go up to the roof with us, you didn’t break any rules! Even though, as a class rep and the former vice president, you still should have told her about it, she didn’t think she could really punish you. She even said, she was surprised that out of all of us, you turned out to be the most responsible person about it!”

“That’s how she justified it? Interesting. She really thought it through, I have to give her credit…”

“Lilly!”

Misha got up and pointed a finger dramatically at the other girl. Even though it was a pointless gesture, Lilly still seemed to sense the movement enough to react, shifting slightly in surprise.

“Shicchan is not your enemy! She doesn’t hate you, and she doesn’t just sit around thinking up ways to make you sad! So stop thinking that!”

Lilly’s face darkened, even looking somewhat angry for a moment, but then it softened again. She put a hand to her head and rubbed her temple, seeming to collect her thoughts and feelings. Misha saw that flash of bitterness, something she had never seen out of Lilly before, even if it went away just as fast. She had never thought of Lilly as someone who would worry about stuff like that…

“…I’m sorry, Misha. You’re right. I shouldn’t make such undue assumptions. Still, I did feel left out, whether it was intentional or not. I even had to go grocery shopping alone this weekend. It was quite bothersome.”

“Lilly! You could just ask me, if no one else wants to go!”

“Normally I go with Hanako, but she disappeared right after class on Saturday. I assume you had something to do with that.”

“Saturday… oh, yeah, we went to the Shanghai. Sorry we didn’t invite you. I wanted to take Hacchan on a date~!”

“And it wouldn’t have been proper for me to play third wheel, I don’t think, even if I were invited. I don’t… I don’t want to be a burden to you or Hanako, Misha. I don’t want to come between you, yet, if I am entirely truthful… I feel that I am losing her to you.”

“Losing her? That sounds like Hacchan is cheating on you with me! She’s not your girlfriend, Lilly, you know?”

Lilly looked down at the floor, sadness washing over her.

“I know, Misha.”

“Wait…” Misha started, comprehension dawning on her. This felt just like… “do you want Hacchan to be your girlfriend, Lilly?!”

“N-no! I would never… I’ve never seen her that way. But she has become very precious to me. Just as Shizune is to you.”

Misha wondered if Lilly knew just how precious Shizune had been to her, and what that comparison implied. She had never told Lilly… either way, this conversation was shaking her impressions of the blonde girl.

“I guess I didn’t really know how things were, Lilly,” Misha said, frowning slightly. “I always thought… you’re so popular, and pretty, and everyone in your class likes you. I never thought you needed a friend like Hacchan. I thought… you were friends with her because she needed you.”

Lilly sighed yet again.

“Being well liked is not the same as having many close friends, I’m afraid. I do get along rather well with my class, but they also hold me at somewhat of a distance, I think. I don’t know if it’s my stature, my demeanor, my status as the class representative… maybe all of that. My classmates treat me with respect, but not camaraderie.”

“Cah-muh-rah-dee… wahaha~! I don’t know that word, Lilly!”

“Sorry. ‘Camaraderie.’ It means seeing others as like yourself, and bonding through that. I’ve never really had that with my classmates. Before this year, I was always so busy with the Student Council, and by the time I quit that… well, afterwards, I was content to spend time primarily with Hanako. I enjoyed her company, and yes, I felt that she needed mine, lest she withdraw too far into herself.”

“Maybe people see you differently because you use big words like that, Lilly. You act really mature and smart, which is great, but I think that, maybe… it might make people think, ‘wow, I could never be friends with a person like that, they are above me.’ You know? I hope that doesn’t sound rude or anything!”

“No, Misha, I think you are right. Quite right. Oh dear… I fear I’ve let our tea cool rather too long.”

Lilly got up and put a finger in one cup of tea to test its temperature.

“…Cold. I’m sorry, Misha. Would you like me to reheat it?”

“Nah~, that’s okay. I don’t really like tea that much anyways! So it’s more for you! Wahaha~!”

“Alright then. I’ll drink this later…”

Misha got up and walked over to stand next to Lilly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Lilly… I know we never talked a lot, because of Shicchan, but~, this is what I think… it sounds like… it sounds like maybe, you need Hacchan too. Maybe, right~?”

“I… would like to spend more time with her, yes.”

“That’s okay, Lilly! That’s great~! But~! Shicchan said something to me. She said, we had been relying on each other too much, and we needed to have our own lives. So~! She suspended me from the Student Council for a month. I probably won’t hang out with her much for a while. Wahaha~!”

“You seem… rather chipper about that.”

“It’s okay, Lilly, because it made me think. She was right! I want to learn how to do new stuff, and be with new people, and go new places! I’m excited about it! And~, in a month, I will be the vice president again. Shicchan isn’t going anywhere—she will still be there for me. It seems like, maybe you and Hacchan are the same way!”

“Hmm.”

Lilly took a moment to process this.

“That all sounds well and good, Misha. I wish it were that easy for me. I don’t have the Student Council, or a girlfriend, or a club, or… very much to do at all, really. I spent most of that time with Hanako in our tea room, and she’s…”

“Not going anywhere either! Don’t worry, Lilly. Hacchan always gets really sorry after she gets really mad! She’ll forgive you for sure! And if she doesn’t, then I won’t walk on her back, and she’ll have to say she’s sorry! Ahaha~!”

“Thanks, Misha. And… what is this about walking on people’s backs?”

“You’ve never tried it, Lilly? It’s like a massage, but it’s really easy, cause you just use your feet! You can wiggle your toes and stuff too. It feels really great! I’d do you, but you know! Hacchan would give me the death penalty!”

“Ha… perhaps I should offer to walk on her back as an apology.”

“Maybe, Lilly. I won’t get mad if you get to do her first!”

“Thank you, Misha. Even though I meant to speak with Hanako, I’m glad I talked to you about this. I think… well, you’ve given me some things to think about. Keep Hanako company for me.”

“Aha~! I sure will. She’s probably gonna still be mad for a while tonight. Want to hang out some more?”

“That sounds good, Misha. I’ve lost my kitchen assistant for the night, so… perhaps you’d like to have dinner with me?”

“Sure thing! You still have to show me how to make a parfait, you know!”

“That I do! Let’s start with some katsudon for now. I’ll ask Yuuko about a braille cookbook focused on desserts.”

“Great! Perfect, yay~! Wahaha~!”

Chapter 31 | Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Reassurance

ADULT CONTENT WARNING (towards the end)

Hanako put her book down and got up off her bed. The anger had faded a long time ago. It usually went as fast as it came. Then, anxiety would creep steadily in. This time was no different. She’d had it itching away at the back of her head for the past couple of hours, slowly worming its way into her awareness until she couldn’t deny it any longer. Hanako wanted to just go to sleep and deal with things tomorrow. She felt like that was what a normal person would do. But at this rate, she would just lay awake all night long.

Stepping out into the hall, she walked down to Lilly’s door, bringing her hand up but hesitating to actually knock. Hanako didn’t think she could see Lilly right now. If Lilly said the wrong thing again, or if she put on that haughty air she always had when she didn’t get what she wanted… the anger could very easily come right back, then things would be even worse. Hanako might say something she would really regret. Maybe tomorrow.

Instead, she went to the person that she trusted to understand her feelings, even when they weren’t reasonable. Misha produced a massive yawn as she opened her door.

“…mmm, hi, Hacchan~. It’s almost midnight. Waha~. Did you come to see me?”

Hanako nodded sheepishly. Misha stood aside to let her in, wearing a big t-shirt with some English phrase on it and striped pajama bottoms. Her hair was a mess, no trace of the drills left, and her eyes were all droopy. Hanako thought she was still just as pretty as ever, albeit in a different way. Misha flipped the lights back off almost as soon as Hanako was inside, then pulled her over to the bed and flopped down on it, her face turned sideways at Hanako while laying on her stomach.

“What’s up, buttercup~.”

“S-sorry to wake you up, Misha…”

Misha raised one arm lazily, creating a hollow for Hanako to crawl into.

“Come cuddle and I’ll forgive you.”

Hanako obliged, nestling herself up against Misha’s side.

“Okay. You’re forgiven~.”

They laid still for a moment, Hanako’s back pressed against Misha’s side. Then she flipped herself over onto her other side, putting them almost perfectly face-to-face.

“Hi, Hacchan~.”

Misha leaned her head forward ever so slightly, just enough for their noses to bump into each other.

“Boop.”

“B-boop,” Hanako repeated, smiling at Misha.

“I like your little dress, Hacchan. It’s cute,” Misha said, tugging at her pink nightgown.

“Thanks Misha.”

“I think I’m too sleepy to walk on your back. Sorry. I’ll have to do it tomorrow.”

“You didn’t do Lilly, d-did you?”

“Aha~. No Hacchan. I would never betray you by doing her first.”

“But you made dinner with her… I could hear you, in the h-hall…”

“I hope you’re not mad about that, Hacchan. I thought, if you wanted to be bothered, you’d come out on your own…”

“No… you’re right, I wanted to be al-alone. I thought I could just stay in and go to sleep, b-but…”

Misha gave her a devious smile.

“I’m just~ irresistible, aren’t I?”

“Mmm.”

Their lips met for a moment.

“Ahh, Hacchan… I was allll~ sleepy but now you’re waking me back up! Ahaha~!”

“Maybe I don’t want you to sl-sleep…”

“Hacchan! We’ve got class tomorrow. That’s just cruel! How are you going to keep me up all night, hmm~?”

Misha got a devilish look in her eyes again. That wasn’t quite what Hanako had in mind, though.

“H-how… how was she?”

“Lilly?”

“Yeah… I h-hope she doesn’t, umm…”

“She felt bad about it, Hacchan. She said… she said she shouldn’t have talked to you like that.”

“Really?”

“Really, Hacchan.”

“Th-that’s good, I guess… but… I guess I did make her feel b-bad after all. I shouldn’t have yelled at her…”

“Hmm~. I don’t know, Hacchan. You thought she was being rude to you, right?”

Hanako nodded reluctantly.

“I th-thought… she wanted to get me away from y-you… because she was j-jealous.”

“Well. I won’t tell you everything she said to me, but~! You should talk to her. I think you are both sorry, so you should be okay if you talk it out!”

“Yeah… I want to, but… I’m sc-scared, that I’ll, err… get angry, again.”

“When you get angry, you really get angry, Hacchan. It’s kind of scary, it is~!”

Hanako buried her face in Misha’s shoulder, hiding her embarrassment.

“I kn-know… it’s really b-bad…”

Her body trembled a bit, holding back a sudden wave of emotion. Hanako wasn’t sure how to describe it… shame, maybe? She had never talked to anyone about her anger, not even her therapist. The therapist was for depression, not anger management, so she never saw any need to bring it up. Besides, only a handful of people had ever seen it come out to begin with. But it was definitely there… she could feel it even now, looking for an excuse to latch on to, something to lash out at. A lot of times, if there was nothing else to be mad at, she would just get angry at herself, beating herself up inside her head.

“Hacchan…”

Misha squeezed her tight, bringing a hand up to stroke her head.

“It really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“Y-yes, M-Misha, of c-c-course… I h-hate being like th-this… it’s h-horrible…”

“Ahh…”

The tears were coming now, because of course they were. Because she could never just talk about anything without getting all twisted up inside. Misha must have sensed that she was trying to hold them back, given her next words.

“It’s okay to cry, Hacchan. Crying is good for you.”

“M-Misha…”

Normally, crying made Hanako feel more ashamed, which just fed back into more tears. But with Misha…

“I h-hate crying…”

“You shouldn’t, Hacchan. Crying is like your emotions going to the bathroom!”

“…Wh-what?”

“Yeah! Nasty feelings and bad thoughts happen to everyone, and they build up, so~! Sooner or later you just have to let them out, or it’s really bad for if you try to hold them all in! Just like going to the bathroom!”

“Misha… ahaha…”

“Are you laughing at my idea, Hacchan?!”

“N-no…”

“Tell the truth~! Or I’ll tickle you!”

“Ahh! D-d-don’t! Okay, y-yeah, I was… I hope you are r-right, though. You made it sound funny, but… maybe it’s tr-true…”

“I think it is, Hacchan. I like to have a good cry every now and then! Like when they don’t have pink drill parfaits at the Shanghai~!”

“N-now you’re just being silly!”

“No way, Hacchan. I would never~ do that!”

Hanako pulled out of Misha’s shoulder, both of them laughing as they looked into each other’s eyes. The laughter transitioned naturally into a kiss.

“Hacchan… all of that anger, do you… where does that come from?” Misha asked.

Hanako could hear the caution in Misha’s voice. She appreciated that.

“I… I th-think I know. It’s because of s-something that happened to me a long t-time ago…”

Misha furrowed her brow, working out how to proceed with such an obviously delicate topic.

“…These?” she asked, running a hand down Hanako’s right arm.

“N-no… it was… something el-else. I don’t… I don’t want to t-talk about it.”

“Okay, Hacchan.”

“L-let’s talk about something else…”

Misha kissed her forehead.

“Maaaybe~ we don’t have to talk at all.”

That sneaky look again. Hanako knew what Misha was after. She’d wanted to talk before, but Misha was right. They’d reached the end of talking for tonight, about serious stuff at least. Maybe she’d get Misha back a bit for messing with her so much…

“You’re right, Misha. Let’s just go to sl-sleep.”

“What? That was too easy, Hacchan~!”

“T-too easy?”

“You’re supposed to ask what we could do instead!”

“Well, if we’re not t-talking, then we’d just go to sleep, right… what else would we d-do?”

“Waha~! That’s more like it Hacchan! And then~, I do this!”

Misha leaned back a bit and put on a coy expression, fluttering her eyelashes at Hanako.

“I don’t knooow~! What else could we do, hmm, hm~? Hmm~!?”

“I asked you th-that, Misha…”

“Yes, but~! I wanted to ask you!”

“W-well… I asked you f-first!”

“Yeah, but I did my eyelashes at you and stuff!”

“Y-you just want to m-make me say something em-embarrassing!”

“Whaaat~? Hacchan! I’m offended you would ever think that!”

“M-Misha, you, you are s-so…”

“Wahahaha~!”

And so Misha ended up getting the best of her after all. Hanako was fine with that.

“Come h-here…”

Hanako pulled Misha into an embrace, pressing their faces together as well as their bodies. She wasted no time, Misha’s teasing having stoked her lust. Misha reeled a bit as Hanako’s tongue forced its way past her lips, insistent and relentless, but she soon recovered to return the favor. Hanako’s hands clutched desperately at her, running down her sides and across her back, finding her bottom and taking it in a firm hold. This was what she wanted… she wanted more of Misha, to get as close to her as she possibly could, then disappear inside her.

Misha’s hands on her own rump caused a brief pause in her efforts. Taking the opportunity to extricate their mouths, Misha moved her face past Hanako’s, her breathing heavy on Hanako’s neck. Those wandering hands moved slowly but steadily down to Hanako’s legs, bunching up fistfuls of her nightgown and tugging it gently up towards her waist. Misha’s voice whispered in her ear.

“Tell me if you want me to stop…”

“D-don’t stop…”

Pulling her nightgown up to her stomach, Misha took hold of her undergarment and slid it down her thighs. When Misha tried to look down, Hanako grabbed her face and held it level with her own. Misha stopped, gasping in surprise at the sudden roughness. Hanako didn’t want her to see them yet, not even halfway, but she didn’t want this to stop either.

“Hacchan…”

“Misha… k-keep going.”

Hanako kept their faces eye to eye while she finished undressing her lower half, slipping one leg out and pulling it up to kick her panties the rest of the way down. She shivered in anticipation as Misha’s hand moved between her thighs, caressing one of them softly.

“If I’m hurting you…”

“Quiet. No… t-talking…”

Misha slid her hand up in response, making contact with Hanako’s folds and massaging them lightly. Hanako’s lips parted to let out a low sigh of satisfaction. It felt good but it was only a start… it wasn’t enough. This was no time for Misha to be teasing her… Hanako wanted more, and she didn’t care to beat around the proverbial bush any longer. Keeping one hand on Misha’s cheek, she brought the other down to Misha’s own, pressing it further between her legs.

The faintest hint of a smirk played on Misha’s lips as she realized the full extent of Hanako’s desire. She used her free hand to push Hanako onto her back, keeping eye contact while diving into her. Hanako inhaled sharply, her back arching slightly at the sudden penetration, but her eyes stayed locked with Misha’s. It was… unexpected, but it didn’t hurt. It was okay. Misha could see that written on Hanako’s face. All that needed to be said in this moment, passed wordlessly between their gazes.

Misha gave Hanako a brief kiss, pausing to let her adjust before continuing. When the pair moved again, they burrowed deeper into her, working their way farther than Hanako knew fingers could go. She felt them touch her core… then they began to kick, alternating one after the other in a smooth rhythm, kneading her walls back to front. The sensation was like nothing she had felt before, forcing her to stifle a cry as her hips shook in response.

Hanako reached out instinctively, clutching the bedsheets in one hand and finding Misha’s free hand with her other. Her lower body throbbed and shuddered with each repetition of the act, the pulses of pleasure quickly building into a constant, anticipatory thrum. Hanako didn’t want this to end too soon but she didn’t know how long she could take it, either. Her breath came to her only in jagged gasps; even that was taken away as Misha kissed her forcefully, speeding her quickly towards her limit.

That limit broke as the euphoria of release washed over Hanako, her nerves singing to the incessant drumbeat of Misha’s ministrations. Her knuckles whitened, her toes curled, her heart pounded, every muscle contracting together in a wonderful crescendo. She moaned longingly into Misha’s mouth as the climax passed, then all the energy fell out of her in an instant, her body going limp aside from the occasional lingering twitch.

It seemed like it was over so fast, yet it felt like such a long time had passed. Even now, Hanako’s head buzzed pleasantly, her ears ringing and her hands tingling on pins and needles. She felt Misha’s breath on her neck again.

“How was your reward, Hacchan~?”

“Mmmm,” Hanako replied, not feeling up to forming words just yet.

“What’s that, Hacchan? I can’t hear you…”

Hanako managed the shadow of a pout, pawing weakly at Misha’s figure.

“D-don’t tease… g-good, Misha. You w-were… it was… really good…”

“Oh, really good, Hacchan? Have you never had, uhh…?”

“Not… like th-that…”

“Waha~, well, it is hard to do yourself that way. That’s why it’s nice to have a girlfriend. Girls know how girls work, after all.”

“I g-guess… how did you, umm… learn to do th-that?”

“This?”

Misha squirmed inside of Hanako, causing her to hiss as her waist seized up again. She’d actually forgotten those were still in there…

“Well, it’s like they say, Hacchan. Practice makes perfect~! You know—”

Hanako yelped as Misha sent another spasm through her.

“—we could go again, if you like. That’s another nice thing about girls. We don’t have to reload! Wahaha~!”

“…Re-reload?”

“Aha~, nothing, Hacchan. So~, ready for another shot?”

“Ahh! M-Misha, I don’t know… maybe we should sl-sleep.”

Hanako glanced at the glowing numbers on the clock, noting that their neon light was pink, because of course Misha’s alarm clock was pink. They were definitely going to feel this midnight escapade when they were trying to stay awake in class tomorrow.

“Aww~… you just want to cuddle already, don’t you, Hacchan?”

Hanako nodded bashfully.

“Y-yeah… you’re very sn-snuggly…” she mumbled.

“Wahaha~! Okay Hacchan. We can do that. Tomorrow I’ll do you for sure—I promise~!”

“N-n-n-no, I, I-I want to—”

“Wait, Hacchan. I mean I’ll walk on your back, of course!”

Hanako stared at her.

“…What did you think I meant, Hacchan~?”

“Y-y-you—!!”

“Wahahaha~!”

“…H-hey, Misha.”

“Yeah Hacchan?”

“I… umm, I…”

“…I?”

“…I-I… I th-think… I love you, Misha.”

“Ah… Hanako… I love you, too.”

ADULT CONTENT WARNING

END ACT III

Chapter 32 | Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Proposition

Misha and Hanako settled into a new routine over the next two weeks. Hanako hadn’t ever talked to Lilly about the night that Lilly angered her, finding it easier to go on without speaking of it. In the meantime, she had replaced Shizune as Misha’s constant companion—Misha rarely spoke to the latter outside of class, each going to their separate activities. Fears about Shizune going it alone had been assuaged, as she not only seemed content with things, but even assured them that she had managed to recruit a few new members to the council. When asked about the new members, Shizune had said that it was a surprise, and that they’d have to come to the cooking class to find out.

Most social time was divided between the Newspaper Club and just being together. The two of them would take trips into town together—Misha had introduced Hanako to a couple new restaurants besides the Shanghai—read in the library, sit with Lilly in the tea room, or spend time in each other’s dorm rooms, where they usually stayed the night together as well. Shizune had caught them coming out together in the morning, but since there were technically no rules against two girls staying in one another’s rooms, they had escaped unscathed.

Today, Lilly had invited them to the Shanghai, asking them to meet her there. Hanako noted that this was a bit odd, as it meant Lilly would already be in town without accompanying them from the Yamaku campus. The walk over was spent speculating on just what she was up to. Misha was convinced that Lilly had finally arranged the first official Tea Club meeting. Hanako found that questionable, but agreed that she must be meeting with someone else in town besides the two of them.

“Hi, Yuuko~! Is Lilly here?”

“Ahh! Hello Misha! Welcome to the Shanghai! Lilly is right there!”

“Thanks Yucchan~!”

Hanako and Misha crossed over to the table where Lilly sat across from a familiar figure: a trim woman in a business suit, her short hair matching Lilly’s golden shade.

“Hi, Akira! Hi~!”

“Hey Misha, Hanako. Long time no see,” Akira replied.

“H-hi, Akira.”

“Hello,” Lilly added.

“Are you helping Lilly set up the club meeting? It’ll go great with a business person like you on board!” Misha said.

“Club meeting?” Lilly asked.

“Uhh, I’m a lawyer, not a businesswoman,” Akira clarified.

“Sh-she keeps saying you’re starting the T-Tea Club today, Lilly…” Hanako explained.

Akira chuckled at this.

“Tea Club, huh? Just call it the Drinking Club. Half my office would join up.”

“They like tea too? Maybe that’s where Lilly gets it from~!”

“I don’t think Akira’s ‘Drinking Club’ refers to drinking tea, Misha,” Lilly said.

“Well, either way~! I’d join it! For sure~!”

“You’re a big drinker, huh Misha?” Akira asked, chuckling again.

“Yep, yep, yep~!”

“Sh-she can probably drink thiiis~ much!” Hanako said, holding her arms far apart.

“Ha! You seem pretty lively today, Hanako,” Akira said.

“Ah, I do? I g-guess…”

“Well, maybe we’ll get to test your theory soon.”

“What do you mean, Akira?” Misha asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Here, have a seat,” Lilly said.

The pair of them sat down across from Lilly and Akira, the latter sliding her chair around next to her sister.

“So, Lilly tells me you guys got yourselves in a spot of trouble,” Akira said.

“Umm… y-yeah…” Hanako admitted, blushing a bit.

“Mmm. We screwed up pretty big, Akira. You should be proud of Lilly. She was smarter than us about it!” Misha added.

Lilly furrowed her brow a bit.

“I don’t know if I can say that, Misha. I was just… more cautious of Shizune’s wrath than you were.”

“Still fighting, eh?” Akira asked.

This marked Lilly’s turn to look a little embarrassed.

“Not… actively. We do a fairly good job of avoiding each other these days.”

“That’s a shame. Life’s too short to waste it fighting with our own family. Maybe if you’d stuck around in the council, none of this roof crap would have happened.”

“Maybe if Shizune didn’t push me out of it, you mean.”

“Is that really what happened? I thought you quit, not that she fired you.”

“Yes, well. What’s done is done.”

“And can be undone. You should do like these two. Make love, not war!”

“I am not at war with Shizune…” Lilly said with a slight huff.

“Akira! Shicchan and Lilly are cousins. They can’t be girlfriends! Don’t be ridiculous~!” Misha said.

“I dunno,” Akira said suspiciously. “What’s that saying? Hell hath no fury like a Scotswoman scorned? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you two look like a couple of exes after a bad breakup.”

“That isn’t a saying, Akira…” Lilly said, looking grumpier by the second.

“Aw, lighten up! One day you’re not even going to remember what you were fighting about, and you’re gonna feel silly about the whole thing.”

Akira ruffled her sister’s hair a bit. Lilly just pursed her lips, too frustrated to say anything. She allowed the displaced locks to hang over her face for a moment before reaching up to try and set them again. Hanako didn’t think she had ever seen anyone who could shut Lilly down like her older sister could.

“Wahaha~! Yeah, Akira’s right. Don’t look so down, Lilly! Everything’s great! We’re at the Shanghai to get parfaits! We’re starting a Drinking Club! It’s fun! Yay~!” Misha said.

“I don’t think we’re really starting a Dr-Drinking Club, Misha…” Hanako said.

“Yeah, the Newspaper Club is probably enough for now. I can dream, though! If I wanted to think really really big, I might even try to start a Parfait Club!”

“Newspaper Club?” Akira asked.

“Yeah, we joined it. I needed one, and M-Misha… is helping us out a bit, too,” Hanako answered.

“Huh. You didn’t mention that, Lilly. Why didn’t you join that one, if Hanako and Misha are in it?” Akira asked.

“You know I’m not much of a writer, Akira. Nor, unlike Hanako, am I any use with a computer.”

“I’m sure they could find something for you to do. If they can put Misha to use, they can do it for you too!”

“Yeah, Lilly~! That’s right~! I’m no good at anything, and I still have lots of fun with it! You could join for sure!” Misha said cheerily.

“My my, thank you for your vote of confidence, Misha. I think I’d rather not join a club simply to be a burden on it, though.”

“Aww~. That’s okay! Just ask me or Shicchan and we’ll help you with a Drinking Club. Anytime! I know how to do the forms and all that stuff.”

“Hmm, well, perhaps. Let’s move on to our main order of business, shall we?”

“Order of… b-business?” Hanako asked.

“The reason we’ve gathered today, of course,” Lilly answered.

“You didn’t actually think we just wanted to hang out, did you?” Akira said sarcastically.

“Nope~. You probably wanted to get parfaits too! Wahaha~!” Misha said.

“…Well. Fair point,” Akira said.

She waved Yuuko over so Hanako and Misha could order, Akira and Lilly having done so earlier. Akira raised an eyebrow when Misha just ordered a single parfait.

“Not getting anything, Hanako?”

“No, we uhh… we like to sh-share…” Hanako said sheepishly.

“Oh? Do you guys take bites from each other, too?”

“Errr… y-yeah…”

“Wait, really? Hey, I was kidding. You don’t need to be that embarrassed about it! It’s, uhh! It’s cute. Really!”

“Th-thanks… Akira…”

“Wahaha~!”

Lilly took a loud sip of her tea to punctuate this exchange.

“So, as I was saying… as we are all aware, Hanako’s birthday is coming up soon. I thought it might be nice to have a small gathering in celebration. What do you think, Hanako?”

“Oh, I…”

Hanako covered her scars and looked down, unsure of how to respond.

“Hey, I didn’t know your birthday was soon, Hana-chan~! When is it?!” Misha asked, her mood sent into overdrive by the prospect.

“Umm…”

Hanako mumbled something too quiet to understand.

“It’s in the second week of July. Only a week or so away,” Lilly said.

“Waha~! That’s great, really great~! We’ll have a biiig~ cake and invite everybody, and maybe play some funny games!” Misha said, getting out of her seat a bit in excitement.

Next to her, Hanako conveyed the opposite reaction, looking anxious and withdrawn. Akira frowned at the sight of her, clearly having hoped for a better reaction. Misha noticed it too after she took a moment settle down.

“Hey, Hacchan~. Are you alright?” Misha asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine, M-Misha… I don’t… I don’t th-think I could ask you to do that, for me… I don’t need anything sp-special like that.”

“What?” Misha said, looking appalled. “What are you talking about, Hacchan? Of course you do! It’s your birthday! It’s a reason to celebrate and get lots of presents and have lots of fun! You’re not asking us anything, we want to do it for you. And~! It’s fun for us, too~!”

“I agree with Misha,” Lilly said.

“A-ahh… okay. We can do it. I hope it will be f-fun…” Hanako conceded, sounding like she wanted to convince herself of the idea.

“Alright. Alright~! Great, great~! Wahaha~!”

“Yeah!” Akira agreed, raising her cup of tea as though toasting to the idea. “Lilly told me about the idea and I thought it sounded good. I almost want to come and party along with you, but work’s a pain like always.”

“Aww… th-thanks for seeing me today, Akira,” Hanako said.

“Don’t worry, I can stop by, just not for very long. I think I’m gonna deliver you guys some of my special tea blend, if you catch my drift.”

“Catch your what?” Misha asked.

“Sp-special tea?”

Lilly smiled knowingly.

“Don’t worry about it,” she assured them.

“O-okay, Lilly, Akira. What would we… d-do?” Hanako asked.

“Whatever you like, Hanako,” Lilly said.

“Don’t worry, Hacchan. I’ll be there, so it’ll be fun fun fun~!” Misha assured her, drawing a small smile out of her girlfriend.

“Fun is what you make of it, right?” Akira said. “That’s my philosophy, at least.”

“Would it be… h-here?” Hanako asked.

“Oh, no. Nothing so gaudy. I thought of just a small gathering in my room… only us four,” Lilly said.

“Okay!” Hanako replied, sounding relieved.

“Aww~, just that? Only four? What about Emi-chan, and Ricchan, and Shicchan, and Naocchan, and Micchan, and—”

“M-M-Misha!” Hanako interjected.

“What?” Misha asked. “Shouldn’t we ask all our friends?”

Hanako looked down again. A moment of silence fell, during which Yuuko arrived and set the parfait between Misha and Hanako. Sensing the mood at the table, she said nothing before leaving the bill and quickly scuttling away. Misha looked at Lilly and Akira for help, neither one offering any.

“What is going on?” Misha asked, sounding concerned as her demeanor finally grew more serious. “You are all being weird about this!”

“Misha, it’s…” Lilly started.

“Don’t worry about it,” Akira said.

“Hey! No!”

Misha got halfway out of her chair and pointed a finger at Akira.

“This is Hacchan’s birthday, and all of a sudden, you guys are all leaving me out of something. That’s not fair! Don’t just tell me not to worry about it! If something is wrong, I want to know,” Misha said.

Akira leaned back and looked pointedly to Hanako, seeming to have no rebuttal. Misha felt ready to give her another piece of her mind when a sudden grip on her arm stopped her. Looking down, she saw that Hanako was clutching at her arm.

“M-M-Misha… it’s o-okay…” Hanako said, shaking slightly. “I’ll…”

She took a deep breath.

“I’ll tell you, but… not here…”

Misha softened at this concession, sitting back down and putting an arm around Hanako’s waist. Hanako jumped a bit at the contact and got out of her seat in turn, looking away from Misha, who was visibly hurt by the reaction.

“Ivegottogotothebathroom!” Hanako said, scurrying away. Misha started to get up to follow, then stopped herself and sat back down, sighing in defeat.

“Hacchan…”

She looked back to Akira and Lilly.

“Lilly, Akira, please… what is wrong?” Misha asked.

Lilly pursed her lips.

“Hanako, she’s…” Akira started. “She’s always had issues with her birthday.”

“Issues? What do you mean?”

“She gets… worse, you know? Like… her first birthday here, Lilly said she wouldn’t come out of her room for three days. She wouldn’t answer the door and when Lilly wouldn’t go away…”

“She screamed at me to leave her alone,” Lilly said. “So I did. But I was very worried. If she had stayed locked in one day longer… I was very close to asking the Nurse or someone to step in.”

“Oh…”

Misha looked down dejectedly at their parfait, barely touched.

“So by bothering her about it… I’m sorry, Hacchan…” she said to herself.

“Don’t blame yourself, Misha. Hanako’s very difficult about it,” Akira said. “I tried to talk to her about it once. Usually we get on pretty well, but that… it didn’t go so well.”

“Did she… have to go do something?” Misha asked.

“Yep.”

“Yeah… that’s her…”

“I thought that if we made it a positive experience for her, then maybe we could help, but… perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea,” Lilly said.

“Hey, don’t give up that easily. She agreed to it. Maybe she just… needs to get used to the idea. We can make it work,” Akira said.

“Hmm. I hope you’re right,” Lilly said.

“Why… is she like this, about her birthday?” Misha asked. “She never told me anything like this…”

“I’m sure Hanako prefers not to talk about it,” Lilly said.

“We don’t know, honestly. Like I said, I’ve tried to ask her, and she’s not exactly forthcoming. We just know it’s a bad time for her. I think… if I had to guess, it’s something relating to her… accident,” Akira said.

“Her… accident? Oh. Oh!”

Misha put a hand to her mouth as she realized what the “accident” must be. For a moment she had genuinely forgotten that Hanako’s scars had come from somewhere… that they weren’t something she was just born with, or grew spontaneously. Now that the topic was at hand, Misha realized that she had no idea how Hanako got those scars. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to know, it just… never really seemed important before. Now, she found herself intensely interested. Could she ask Hanako about them directly? How would her girlfriend react?

“You don’t know what happened to her?” Misha asked.

“I know she received third or fourth degree burns over approximately forty percent of her body,” Lilly said. “I know that it happened when she was a child. I don’t know any more than that. I never felt that it would be appropriate to ask Hanako about something so sensitive. Even if I had tried, I doubt she would tell me, or anyone else.”

“You don’t know either, I’m guessing?” Akira asked.

“No… why would I?”

“I mean, you’re her girlfriend. If there’s anyone she would tell something so intimate to… it would be you. But I guess you haven’t really been dating that long yet, either.”

“I guess…”

Misha looked at Lilly, realizing that Akira was right. She had always thought of Hanako and Lilly as having a special sort of friendship, that even though she and Hanako were lovers, there were still things Hanako and Lilly might share that were only between them. That wasn’t true, though. Not anymore. Now she was Hanako’s closest friend, as well as her girlfriend. And Hanako hadn’t told her anything about her past, either. Not one thing.

Suddenly, Hanako was next to her again, her hand resting on Misha’s shoulder. Misha looked aside at it, noticing the rough, leathery scar tissue. She leaned her head down and nuzzled her cheek against it… despite its appearance, it was surprisingly smooth, possibly even more so than normal skin. She realized that this was the first time she had really touched the scarring on purpose. The scar tissue had no hairs on it at all, the follicles likely destroyed. That was probably why it felt so oddly smooth…

“O-okay, I’m… I’m feeling b-better,” Hanako said, rubbing Misha’s shoulder before sitting down next to her and retrieving the spoon from their parfait. She sniffled a bit, her eyes showing the hints of a brief cry, but her composure was intact. “S-sorry I did that, I j-just… felt…”

Misha put her arm around Hanako’s waist again. This time she didn’t shy away from it, leaning into Misha and resting her head on Misha’s shoulder instead.

“It’s okay, Hacchan,” Misha said. “We understand. Here. Let’s eat~!” she exclaimed, holding her mouth open wide and leaning her head forwards a bit. “Ahhh!”

“Aha! Okay, Misha… here comes the a-airplane!”

“Oh man, you guys are killing me!” Akira said, clutching at her heart sarcastically.

“Huh?”

“The sweetness! I can’t take it! Aghh!”

Hanako blushed but persisted in flying the “airplane” into Misha’s mouth, even adding a stuttering engine sound that made Akira crack up with laughter. Misha accepted the delivery happily, too busy enjoying her treat to be embarrassed.

“Oh dear. What are you all doing?” Lilly asked.

“They’re doing the airplane thing, you know! Like when a kid doesn’t want to eat so you fly it in for them!” Akira explained.

“Goodness… whatever will I do with you two?” Lilly said.

“Wahaha~!”

Chapter 33 | Chapter 35

Hmm... In the scene with Lilly, Misha and Hanako I honestly have no idea who got angray at whom at what point and for what reason.
To me it seemed as if the plot called for a fight and you tried to make one happen...

Misha is noticing a shift in the tone of conversation, related to Hananko's feelings about her birthday, that we as the audience aren't getting any info on. The portion of the conversation about the 'special tea blend' is lacking any indication that Hanako is uncomfortable so the problem seemed resolved, and then Misha was annoyed that Akira wanted to limit the attendees. Hanako is suddenly very uncomfortable again and the description makes it seem related to Misha's proximity but I think the intention was to have this entire section of the conversation be awkward, culminating in Hanako fleeing.

I was referring to the scene in the dorm's corridor...

I think Mirage meant Chapter 32, not 34. Both examples are a bit tough for me, yes, because I want to create tension in these scenes but don't want to go overboard and write melodramatic blow-ups that break immersion or seem unrealistic/just too much. I tried to create subtext but probably made it too subtle. Perhaps because I wrote Lilly as too harsh in an earlier scene, I've now over-corrected and made her too soft and indirect for what I want to accomplish....

My bad!

In the dorm hallway, Misha got on Lilly's nerves right away with the tea comment, and then Hanako insisted that Misha be brought along despite Lilly's displeasure. Which seems a bit dense for her to be honest, with how grave Lilly sounds, I think she's just not wanting to be bossed around by Lilly. The scene might benefit from Hanako's perspective so we could see her rationale or at least have her insight into Lilly's motivation.

Basically, thr problem isn't with Lilly's subtlety, it's that readers might not get why people are making decisions that are clearly annoying her.

WorldlyWiseman wrote: ↑Wed Aug 22, 2018 10:28 pm My bad!

In the dorm hallway, Misha got on Lilly's nerves right away with the tea comment, and then Hanako insisted that Misha be brought along despite Lilly's displeasure. Which seems a bit dense for her to be honest, with how grave Lilly sounds, I think she's just not wanting to be bossed around by Lilly. The scene might benefit from Hanako's perspective so we could see her rationale or at least have her insight into Lilly's motivation.

Basically, thr problem isn't with Lilly's subtlety, it's that readers might not get why people are making decisions that are clearly annoying her.

Yeah, that description is pretty much accurate. Both of them (Lilly and Hanako) are being unreasonable and trying too hard to read too much into the other's intentions; Lilly refuses to hang out with Misha, Hanako refuses to hang out without Misha. The strong negative reaction from Hanako leads Lilly to conclude that it isn't a fight she can win. Part of the subtext is that, with Misha as her girlfriend, Hanako can no longer be gently pulled around by Lilly as easily as she could be in the past, but an additional consequence of her increased self-confidence is a higher propensity for her mean side to show itself. I think I should have fleshed the conversation out more, with some more lines and description, to make it more clear. Possible area for revision.