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this route is pretty awesome

I like this route a lot. It is shaping up to be very good (also, I have an inkling that Misha's depression is going to be a main source of conflict)

This is one of the best things I've read on here, so much so it merits my first comment.

You seem to be really in tune with the Shizune and Misha personalities already established which means I'm instantly involved with the characters.

Taking it on this new route is very interesting and entertaining. Looking forward to more.

I've always liked the idea of a decent Misha route considering that when I first played this game I tried to get her as a route, but later found out that there was no such thing. But anyway, I hope to see more of your writing and I am really enjoying it thus far. Keep up the good work!!

Ah man, I got psyched. Like everyone else has said, this is a great fic. I hope you'll be able to write more of it!

Fanuilos wrote:Ah man, I got psyched. Like everyone else has said, this is a great fic. I hope you'll be able to write more of it!

Don't worry, he's working on it He just has more to do than just writing this fic.

I really like this fan fic. It captures Misha's upbeat demeanor with self loathing on the inside well.

Misha's one of my favorite girls, if she actually had a route she would probably be my absolute favorite, she's just so damn sweet. Can't wait to see more!!!

centurion911 wrote:I really like this fan fic. It captures Misha's upbeat demeanor with self loathing on the inside well.

Misha's one of my favorite girls, if she actually had a route she would probably be my absolute favorite, she's just so damn sweet. Can't wait to see more!!!

If you haven't figured it out by yourself, she actually has a side route. Just play along Shizune's route to find it.

EDIT: I still think they should've put a route for her, it would have made a lot of people happy.

StudyOfWumbology wrote:

centurion911 wrote:I really like this fan fic. It captures Misha's upbeat demeanor with self loathing on the inside well.

Misha's one of my favorite girls, if she actually had a route she would probably be my absolute favorite, she's just so damn sweet. Can't wait to see more!!!

If you haven't figured it out by yourself, she actually has a side route. Just play along Shizune's route to find it.

EDIT: I still think they should've put a route for her, it would have made a lot of people happy.

I have played that one and I don't really consider it much of a side route, it's more of a way for the writer to make the fact that Misha is lesbian/bisexual hit home harder, along with making Misha's self loathing worse. I wanted a Misha route that solely focused on Hisao's feelings for her, much like this one is now

StudyOfWumbology wrote:

centurion911 wrote:I really like this fan fic. It captures Misha's upbeat demeanor with self loathing on the inside well.

If you haven't figured it out by yourself, she actually has a side route. Just play along Shizune's route to find it.

EDIT: I still think they should've put a route for her, it would have made a lot of people happy.

I have played that one and I don't really consider it much of a side route, it's more of a way for the writer to make the fact that Misha is lesbian/bisexual hit home harder, along with making Misha's self loathing worse. I wanted a Misha route that solely focused on Hisao's feelings for her, much like this one is now

Yeah, I guess if you think about it that way then you're right. The reason why they didn't put a Misha route in is because she is "disabled" as far as we know. It would just be out of the jist.

StudyOfWumbology wrote:

StudyOfWumbology wrote:

centurion911 wrote:I really like this fan fic. It captures Misha's upbeat demeanor with self loathing on the inside well.

If you haven't figured it out by yourself, she actually has a side route. Just play along Shizune's route to find it.

EDIT: I still think they should've put a route for her, it would have made a lot of people happy.

I have played that one and I don't really consider it much of a side route, it's more of a way for the writer to make the fact that Misha is lesbian/bisexual hit home harder, along with making Misha's self loathing worse. I wanted a Misha route that solely focused on Hisao's feelings for her, much like this one is now

Yeah, I guess if you think about it that way then you're right. The reason why they didn't put a Misha route in is because she is "disabled" as far as we know. It would just be out of the jist.

Really odd... it looks like something weird going on with the "so-and-so wrote" headers here.

Anyhow, I think it's because she wasn't one of the original characters from Raita's sketch. And the *ahem* original Misha... was an even less-datable character, not to spoil anything for you if you want to investigate for yourself.

Tang wrote:

StudyOfWumbology wrote:

centurion911 wrote:I really like this fan fic. It captures Misha's upbeat demeanor with self loathing on the inside well.


I have played that one and I don't really consider it much of a side route, it's more of a way for the writer to make the fact that Misha is lesbian/bisexual hit home harder, along with making Misha's self loathing worse. I wanted a Misha route that solely focused on Hisao's feelings for her, much like this one is now

Yeah, I guess if you think about it that way then you're right. The reason why they didn't put a Misha route in is because she is "disabled" as far as we know. It would just be out of the jist.

Really odd... it looks like something weird going on with the "so-and-so wrote" headers here.

Anyhow, I think it's because she wasn't one of the original characters from Raita's sketch. And the *ahem* original Misha... was an even less-datable character, not to spoil anything for you if you want to investigate for yourself.

Well, even if that is true, I'd still tap dat.

So, yeah.

Before I knew it, a month and a half has passed by. Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

I was only planning on being off schedule for a couple weeks or so, but things have been rather hectic.

Fear not! I still have every intention to finish this, but I'm not sure how likely I am to ever return to the "scene per week" schedule I had going for Act 2. We'll see.

As we stand now, I have Scene 1 ready to go (I'll post it once I shut up here), Scene 2 is mostly written, and scenes 3 and 4 are mostly locked in. For Act 2, I had been maintaining a buffer of two scenes. I would like to return to that buffer. The current plan is to carve out an hour or so each day to sit down and write something (Misha route or otherwise), just to get my productivity back on track. Until I restore my buffer, I'll see if I can get by with one update every 2 weeks. And yes, under optimistic projections, that means there could be an update next week. It's not likely, but it's (remotely) possible.

Just felt you deserved an update.

And now, back to your (ir)regularly-scheduled fanfic...

I have a girlfriend now.

If only I had some idea what that's supposed to mean.

There's the physical contact, of course, but Misha's always been casual about that sort of thing. There's less pretense now, but nothing about it seems all that different.

We kiss now. That's new. Technically, we shouldn't kiss. Misha says that public displays of affection are “strictly prohibited.” Evidently, that means “don't get caught” to Misha. Not that I'm complaining.

I kind of wonder if Emi was right. Aside from the kissing, nothing much seems to have changed. Admittedly, it's only been one day, and a Sunday at that, but I kind of expected this to be a bigger deal...

Another early morning for swimming. For a moment, I consider going without my shirt, but I decide against it. I've been swimming with a shirt for a couple of weeks now. Misha might get the wrong idea if I stop wearing it now. On it goes.

When I enter the pool area, Misha greets me with an exuberant hug, “G'morning, Hicchan~!”

This hug is certainly a new experience. I have an increased appreciation for how thin and form-fitting swimsuit material can be. She seems to have no misgivings about pressing her body against mine, though, so I enjoy it for what it is. Not satisfied with just a hug, Misha goes in for a kiss, which I gladly meet. I could get used to mornings like this.

I kind of expected that Misha would close her eyes when we kiss. It’s what I did, because I just assumed that that’s what you do, but she keeps her eyes open. When mine are open, we tend to meet each other’s gaze. For obvious reasons, I have no idea what she looks at when my eyes are closed. Probably my face.

We somewhat reluctantly pull apart from the kiss, and release our hold on each other, ending the embrace. Her greeting finished, Misha immediately starts stretching. It’s odd. Other than the hug and kiss, she isn’t acting as if things are any different from last week. I guess I don’t know any better, but I expected this to be a bigger deal. Maybe I’m just overthinking things.

It looks like she took my advice on swimsuits. She's wearing the green-and-white uniform racing suit, with her hair pulled back into loose pigtails. She seems almost more comfortable in a swimsuit than she is in her normal clothes, as if it were a second skin.

“I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're my boyfriend~, Hicchan.” There she goes, taking on that teasing tone of hers. I can’t quite see her facial expression the way she’s twisted, but it’s probably one of her ever-present grins. She must have noticed my distinct lack of warming up. I should get started on that.

“If anything,” she continues, “I'll be working you harder! Wahahahaha~!”

And again, her laughter is her undoing, as she crashes in a heap. I should probably make a point of getting straight to my stretches before this becomes a habit. I'm afraid it might hurt her if she keeps laughing and falling over like this.

She finishes her routine before I finish mine and makes an elegant dive into the pool to start swimming. She reminds me of a sea turtle, or a penguin. I've never seen one in real life, but I've seen them on TV. They're extremely awkward and clumsy on dry land, but the moment they hit the water, they glide through the waves with unparalleled elegance. It's kind of breathtaking. It also makes me wonder how she ever got bored of it.

My own preparations complete, I follow her into the water, taking a neighboring lane. For a change, I don't really have any worries running through my head, so I just allow myself to get lost in the rhythm of the strokes. I've never really dedicated myself to any sort of activity, and now I'm in a full-fledged exercise routine. I had friends before and hobbies and interests, but they were all casual. I never really put myself all into anything; there was never any real commitment. I guess that's something Shizune and Misha taught me. When either of them sets out to do something, they go all the way.

It was only this past weekend, but I already want to laugh at that whole incident. Shizune wanted me to confess to Misha, and Misha wanted me to confess to Shizune. They were both so singleminded in their plans that they were blind to the fact that they were working at cross purposes. I got caught in the middle of it all, but everything worked out in the end, so no harm done.

*

“So,” the nurse begins, making a couple more notes in my file, “you had a good weekend?'”

“Is it that obvious?”

The nurse chuckles softly, “Well, considering you've been wearing a huge grin this whole time, I'd say yes. Even if I were totally blind to social cues, though, I've been taking your vitals on a near daily basis. You could have a perfect poker face, but your body doesn't lie.”

Wow. I'd never thought of that, but it makes sense. Blood pressure, heart rate, whatever else he tracks in that file of his; he probably knows more about my moods than I do. And it's the same for anyone else who has regular checkups. Another reason to be thankful for patient confidentiality.

He gives me another one of his too-friendly smiles. “Don't think about it too hard, I was just making small talk. It's nice to see students around here being happy and healthy. If things were taking a turn the other way, I might suggest you talk it out with a therapist or something, but that's not my field. I only deal with physical health.”

All the same, it's reassuring to know he's looking out for me and pays attention to this sort of detail. “Thanks.”

He relaxes to a more natural grin. “Don't mention it. It's my job. I'll be seeing you bright and early tomorrow morning, as usual.”

*

After I finish cleaning up and getting dressed, I leave the changing room to find Misha waiting for me, her tongue stuck out in concentration as she attempts to balance a pencil on the tip of her middle finger. Upon noticing my arrival, she drops the pencil, but quickly snatches it in midair. The rest of her may be clumsy, but she's very capable with her hands. “Are you ready now, Hicchan? It's time to eat~!”

Without waiting for an answer, she grabs my hand and entwines her fingers with my own. I guess that's something boyfriends and girlfriends do. It feels a little weird, but it's a good kind of weird.

“Today's an exciting day~! You know why?” Her eyes sparkle with anticipation, and she doesn't give me a chance to answer her question. “We have student Council today~! We get to meet the new members~! Yay, yay~! Hooray, hooray~!”

Her joyful cheers are accompanied with exuberant flailing of her arms, which makes things a little awkward for me, as I'm attached to one of them. Having been jostled back and forth by her little celebration, I'm somewhat shaken, but not hurt. “Yeah, Misha, that is pretty exciting. But we need to get through the rest of the day first. Starting with breakfast. I'm getting a little hungry now.”

“Okay~,” she responds with undiminished enthusiasm, “breakfast is exciting, too! Let's go before all the good stuff is taken!”

Her destination set, she practically drags me out of the auxiliary building, toward the cafeteria. There's really no rush, since so few people seem to bother with breakfast, but Misha's never been one to let reality get in the way of life's little adventures.

Once we arrive at the cafeteria, Misha turns to me. “Okay! Okay! Okay! Okay~! You find us somewhere to sit, I'll get our food!”

Our food. For some reason, that sounds ominous. I get the feeling that I won't be getting my usual bowl of rice. There's barely anyone around the cafeteria, so I just choose an empty seat at random. There are plenty of free seats around, and not another student nearby, so I pull out a book and start reading while I wait.

“Ta dah~!” Misha announces her presence exactly as would be expected. She seems to have managed carrying a couple very full trays without much trouble. I wasn't looking, though, so maybe it was difficult and I didn't notice. “We're going to have an American breakfast today!”

I'm overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food she managed to cram onto the tray. The dishes look somewhat recognizable, but I'll admit that I haven't been in the habit of leaving my comfort zone when it comes to eating. Before meeting Misha, that is. At least I recognize the orange juice she got me. “An American breakfast, huh? What is all this?”

“Well~,” she begins, taking a seat across from me and pointing toward a pile of fluffy yellow stuff on my plate, “Those are scrambled eggs.” That seems straightforward enough. Eggs are eggs. Continuing, Misha points at each item as she names it. “And those are pancakes with whipped cream and fruit, those are hash browns, and then the last thing is French toast, with powdered sugar and maple syrup.”

I glance at her skeptically. “French toast? I thought you said it was an American breakfast.”

She answers my lack of credulity with a hearty laugh. “Wahahahaha~! I know~, right? But French toast is an American food. They don't even eat it in France~! Unless they're eating an American breakfast...”

I'm not sure I believe that, but she seems pretty sincere. I can't imagine she'd make up something that unbelievable. “If you insist...”

Poking at the food, I notice an oddly-shaped slab of something she didn't identify. “What's this?”

“Oh yeah~!” she exclaims, “I almost forgot~! That's sausage. You know, meat.”

I poke at it cautiously with my fork. I’ve seen other people eat sausages before, but never been bold enough to try it myself. And this doesn’t even look like a sausage. “What sort of meat is it?”

“Um, let's see...” Misha bites the end of her fork as she tries to recall. That's not very encouraging. “It's pork, and beef, and chicken, and turkey...”

And? Either she's teasing me, or Americans are stranger than I thought. “So you're telling me that they threw a bunch of animals in a blender, shaped it into a disk, and called it food?”

“Hahahahahaha~! Yup~!” She seems too amused by this mental image, and not nearly as disgusted as I'd expect. Noticing my grimace, her lips quirk into a cheerful smile. That smile could brighten anyone's day. “Don't think about it too much, Hicchan~. All~ food has weird gross secrets. It tastes good whether or not you know how~ it's gross, so stop thinking about where it comes from and just enjoy it~!”

I almost want to be convinced by her speech, but it also kind of makes me want to swear off food entirely. Especially since it's making me think of what it is that's unappetizing about foods I know I like.

“You know, you never told me what I ate for dinner on Saturday...”

She tries to look stern, but she isn't very good at it. It's really cute, though. “You're thinking about it too much, Hicchan~! You aren't supposed to think about food! Just eat it~! It tastes good, and people worked hard to make it~, too.”

I never thought Misha would ever make me feel childish, but her reprimand does a pretty good job of it. I am being a little silly about it. Giving in, I sample each of the foods, to see what I like.

After tasting everything, it occurs to me that I should stop being surprised by the fact that it all tastes good. Misha really knows her food, so she deserves the benefit of the doubt on these things. I certainly don't know any better, so I should stop trying. Satisfied that it's all quite palatable, I begin to eat in earnest.

“I'm having a good boob day today~.”

I nearly choke on the bite of hash browns. I couldn't have heard that right. With some effort, I manage to swallow the mouthful before responding, “I don't think I heard that clearly. You're having a what?”

She gives me a toothy grin as she repeats herself. “A good boob day. Like a good hair day, but with boobs~.”

… It turns out that I hadn't misheard her. And now I know the sign for “boobs.”

“See~? They're so perky! And bouncy, too~!”

Misha does a little hop in her chair to illustrate. They are in fact quite wonderfully perky and bouncy. I feel kind of terrible for looking, even with the invitation. I glance at her tray of food and notice it's a little different from mine. The pancakes and French toast are almost completely covered in powdered sugar, maple syrup, whipped cream, and fruit. More notably are the eggs.

“Why are your eggs orange?”

“Huh~?” She glances down toward her plate. “Oh, yeah, they are. I added stuff to them. I don't think you'd like it~, Hicchan, so that's why your eggs are plain.”

That hardly seems fair. “I thought the whole point of this was to try new foods. I've had eggs before.”

She doesn't seem convinced. “Are you sure~, Hicchan? They're very- Hey~! Hicchan!”

I take advantage of the opening to dart in with my fork and grab a bite of her eggs. Turnabout is fair play, after all.

The sauce adds an extra tanginess, and I'm left wondering why she didn't think I'd like it. And then I realize too late what she was trying to warn me about. My mouth feels like it's on fire.

Misha gives me an apologetic look. It almost feels like a look of pity. “I like spicy food, Hicchan~. Really, really, really, really~ spicy food.”

The heat is pretty unbearable. I down my orange juice, trying to wash it away. No such luck. A forkful of hash browns isn't much help, either, and the salt and pepper just irritate my mouth further.

“Here~,” Misha offers, handing me her own drink, “try this.”

Accepting the carton, I gulp the contents down greedily in a desperate attempt to make the pain go away. Surprisingly, relief comes almost instantly.

With my napkin, I dab at my eyes and mouth, then wipe away the sweat that seems to have beaded on my forehead and neck. With a playful smirk, Misha decides to add insult to injury. “Now, Hicchan~, what did we learn~?”

I grimace. She did try to warn me. But that doesn't mean I can't tease her back. “That you're secretly trying to kill me?”

“Wahahahahaha~! Hahahaha~! There's nothing secret about that~, Hicchan! What else~ did you learn?”

She sizes me up as I try to think of what she wants me to say. “...Red things are hot?”

Misha snickers at this, but manages to suppress a full-on laugh. “You're hopeless~, Hicchan. That doesn't even make sense~. What about strawberries?” She shifts her posture to sit up a little straighter, closes her eyes, and sniffs delicately. “You should know not to steal food from a lady. It's impolite.” Keeping her eyes closed, she scoops a bite of the hellfire eggs into her mouth and swallows them without so much as the tiniest flinch. Picking up her own napkin, she dabs daintily at the corners of her mouth.

I never expected to see Misha acting so proper. Maybe she's imitating Lilly. She didn't have any problem taking on Shizune's affectations, after all. I wonder if making impressions is a hobby of hers...

“It's not all fun and games, though~.” Pouting, she gives me an accusatory glare. “You drank all my chocolate milk~.”

Rising to the occasion, I give a deep western-style bow and flourish, replying with all the formality I can muster, “Deepest apologies, milady. I shall procure a replacement posthaste.”

My performance elicits a musical giggle from her. “Get me a cupcake, too. Please~?”

All she needed to do was ask, but the flirtatious batting of her eyelashes makes it impossible for me to refuse. “As you wish, milady.”

*

We have a leisurely breakfast, and arrive in the classroom without much time to spare. Misha heads directly to her seat, but I take a detour to Hanako's desk. Hanako looks at me like a cornered animal as I approach, her eyes darting left and right, searching for the best escape route.

“I saw your article in the newspaper, Hanako.” Her eyes somehow grow wider and she freezes. Her grip on her pencil tightens. It makes me think of a coiled spring, as if she were ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. I smile to try and calm her down. “It was really good.”

She doesn't relax so much as become less tense, and I see her visible cheek flush slightly before she looks down and tries to hide her face. “Th-thanks, Hisao.”

I hear some hushed back and forth to Hanako's right, the voices clearly amused, but I can't make out what they're saying. I doubt that anything productive will come from continuing this exchange, so I make my way to my own desk. I didn't actually read Hanako's article, but I never claimed I did, so it technically wasn't a lie.

Shizune scowls at me. It's not like she could have missed my exchange with Hanako. [What was that about? Why were you talking to that girl?]

I shrug. [Student Council business.]

This catches her off guard. She starts signing and then abruptly stops. Once. Twice. [I wasn't aware of any Student Council business that would involve her.]

I smile mischievously. It's fun to have the upper hand for once. [Just doing my job as a member. It wasn't important enough to get the President involved.]

She gapes at me, appalled at my insubordination. Before she can reply, Mutou makes his grand entrance, staggering in as if he needed another few cups of coffee. I glance over to my desk, which is currently filled with Misha. That means I'm interpreting first today. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to hold off Shizune's interrogation until later.

*

Surprisingly enough, Shizune doesn't bring it up all day. She pokes me a few times during that first class, but I dutifully perform my role as an interpreter, much to her annoyance. After a while, she just drops it.

I don't think she lets the subject go because she lost interest, though. Today's the first day getting back to Student Council for Misha and me. That alone would be enough to thrill Misha, but we're going to meet the new Student Council members, too. Misha's practically vibrating with anticipation, and she seems to be radiating an aura of excitement. Even the girl who sits in front of Shizune seems alert, which is pretty impressive for a narcoleptic. And she's not even part of the Student Council.

Classes seem to end surprisingly soon. For me, at least. It probably felt like an eternity for Misha. She spent the past half-hour staring at the clock, as if she could will the seconds to pass more quickly. The instant the bell rings, she's out of her chair and pleading with Shizune.

“Okay, Shicchan! It's time~! Can we go? Can we go? Canwego canwego canwego~?”

Shizune takes her time packing up her books, clearly relishing how much her sluggish pace irritates Misha. I've noticed with increasing frequency that they like to tease each other. I think Shizune might tease Misha more than the other way around, though.

Even with Shizune's deliberately slow pace, we're ready to go before too long. We still don't move fast enough for Misha. Every few feet, she runs forward, notices we aren't keeping up with her, and urges us to pick up the pace. It reminds me of a puppy. Which is really a terrible thing to compare your girlfriend to, now that I think of it.

When we finally reach the student council room, Shizune produces the key and unlocks the door, which opens to reveal... an empty room.

Of course it's empty, Shizune just unlocked it. I must have gotten too caught up in Misha's excitement to think things through.

It doesn't seem to have quite sunk in for Misha, who begins searching the room with a puzzled expression. “Huh~? Where are the new Student Council members?”

[They're probably coming from their classes.] Shizune explains patiently. That should have been obvious. [You should know that we decided not to lock any more students in the student council room after that last incident.]

That last half of the explanation... wasn't quite what I expected. I’m hoping it was a joke

Misha deflates at the news that she still has to wait. “What are we going to do until they get here, Shicchan~? Waiting's boring...”

Shizune rolls her eyes. [We can get started on our work without them. We'll take a break for introductions when they arrive. We have lots of paperwork to do, so we should get started now.]

Misha is temporarily saved from the drudgery of actually doing work by a polite cough from the doorway.

At some point in our discussion of what to do until the other council members arrive, they seem to have arrived. Standing in the doorway are two second-year girls. The girl in front has long lighter-colored hair, with a small braid on the side. Standing behind, and almost peeking around her, is a nervous-looking girl with short dark hair. For some reason, they look very familiar, but I can’t place where I recognize them from.

Having successfully caught our attention, the longer-haired girl speaks up, “Hello. You must be Vice President Mikado and Deputy Nakai. I am Keiko, and the girl behind me is Aoi. It is good to meet you.”

Keiko punctuates her greeting with a formal bow. Aoi smiles and waves from behind Keiko. Misha laughs heartily and returns the greeting. “Wahahahaha~, yup! It's good to meet you, too! You don't need to be so formal, though~. You can call me Misha~! And he's Hicchan~!”

“Hisao,” I interject. “Please, call me Hisao.”

Misha's somewhat startled by my correcting her. “Why would they do that, Hicchan? You don't look like a Hisao, you look like a Hicchan...”

I'm about to respond when Keiko cuts in. “That will not be necessary, Madame Vice President. You are senior in class position and in Student Council. It would be inappropriate to take on undue familiarity.”

Everything about this girl seems extremely precise and measured, right down to the angle of her bow. Even in showing the utmost respect and deference, it feels more like she's the one in charge. Aoi, on the other hand, is significantly less formal and measured. She strikes me as a little floaty, a little flighty, and definitely less self-confident. I get the strangest sense that I've seen them both before, and recently. The sense of deja vu seems even stronger for Aoi, but I can't for the life of me figure out where, or why, or how.

Misha looks to be puzzling out a way to object to Keiko's formality when a loud snap gets our attention, causing us to turn toward Shizune, the source of the sound. Pleased with her success in grabbing everyone's attention, she begins signing, which Misha dutifully translates, giving her own twist to things, as always.

“Okay~! Since you've all met each other, it's time to get started on our filing. Aww, really~, Shicchan? Hicchan, you work with Aoi; Misha, you work with Keiko. I'll supervise~!” Misha pauses for a second, confused. “Wait, what am I supervising, Shicchan?”

Shizune massages her temples, then signs a clarification. “I, that is, Shicchan, am supervising. You're Misha, so you do Misha's job~. That's right~! I am Misha! I knew that~!”

Shizune hands me a large bundle of papers, and gives a similar bundle to Misha, then goes over to her desk with a bundle of papers that she begins working on by herself. That “supervise” line must have been a joke. Misha and Keiko grab seats at a nearby table, where Misha begins to loudly explain the filing process. Aoi steps closer and then stops a few feet away from me, wearing an expectant smile. I pick a spot far enough away from Misha so that Aoi will be able to hear any explanation I try to give, and she dutifully follows. As we sit down and I place the bundle on the table, she looks at the bundle with an unspoken question, prompting me to run her through the filing process.

“Okay,” I begin, “first we need to decide if we want to do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

“Anemia.”

I stare at Aoi. Her comment came out of nowhere, so I'm left to look at her dumbfounded.

“I have anemia,” she explains. “My body doesn't absorb iron properly, so I need regular infusions.”

I'm still stunned by this random confession, so I don't move, causing her to shift uncomfortably. She seems to realize that I'm more confused than anything else, and tries to clarify things, “I brought that up because you were assuming I was deaf. I'm not deaf, I can hear fine. You don't need to sign everything.”

“Sign everything?” While I'm speaking, it occurs to me to look at my hands, which, sure enough, are moving on their own. I'm even signing the occasional word I can still hear from Misha.

“Oh, that,” I say dismissively, as if I wasn't shocked and surprised that I picked up Misha's signing habit. “It just comes from spending so much time using sign language. I don't even think about it most of the time, I just do it.”

Aoi gives a polite, nervous laugh, amused at the misunderstanding, then she just looks at me, her eyes telling me to continue explaining what we're doing with the paperwork.

“Right. So Shizune wants us to organize these forms according to thirty-seven categories, weighted and prioritized based on their proximity to prime numbers with an even sum of their digits, or something like that. We could do that, but I think I'm more inclined to use Misha's method.”

Aoi tilts her head to the side, asking the obvious question.

I grin as I express the “intricacies” of Misha's method. “Misha just throws the papers into random piles. Sometimes she tries to make flip books with the text. But I can't tell the difference between a pile sorted by Misha and a pile sorted by Shizune.” Leaning in a little closer, I whisper conspiratorially, “I don't think Shizune can tell the difference, either.”

Aoi isn't amused, though. She almost looks annoyed. “You're just sorting forms for easy reference? Why don't you use a computer?”

I'm caught a little off guard by that question. “I... never really thought about it, I guess.”

She throws her hands up in frustration. “This is the twenty-first century! People do everything with computers! How can the Student Council have gone so long without even thinking about using a computer!?”

If I had any presence of mind, I would try to answer her, but I barely heard what she said. For an instant, the pose was just right, and I remembered where I had seen these two.

On Kenji's wall. He had drawn a large purple circle around their photos for some reason, so they caught my eye. Keiko was somehow caught in baggy pajamas with a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. Aoi, though... poor Aoi. She was caught in, well, an “extremely candid” shot, wearing nothing but a pair of polka-dot panties. And now I need to spend the rest of today interacting with her while that image runs through my head.

“You'd have to ask Shizune,” I offer weakly. “She's the one in charge of the budget.”

It's a lousy excuse, but I'm almost as new to the Student Council as they are. Besides, computers aren't really my thing. I know how to use them, but never saw the appeal.

Aoi sighs. “I was afraid of that. Does she make all the decisions?”

“I wouldn't say that's entirely true...”

Her eyes say it all. She's clearly not impressed. “So you just sit around and wait for her to say 'jump,' and then you ask 'how high?' Do you even care about being in the Student Council? Don't you have any ambition?”

I'm a little stunned by her outburst. She was meek and timid just a minute or two ago, and now she's full of fire and lecturing me about my lack of initiative. And she's right, too. I'm intrigued.

“Why did you and Keiko decide to join?”

Aoi blinks, caught off guard by my question. “Nothing special. Remember the festival a few weeks ago? We were impressed by how much the Student Council had accomplished, and we had some ideas for more events to hold. So we let the President know we wanted to help out as members. She looked annoyed at first, but I think she was happy once we made it clear that we wanted to join.”

Straightforward enough, I guess. “You're second years, right? Why didn't you want to join last year?”

She chuckles. “You're a new transfer, right? The Student Council last year was a disgrace. It was pathetic. There was something like twenty members, but they never really did anything. I think they may have had a booth at Tanabata, but I don't remember them doing anything else. And then it pretty much imploded halfway through the year, but no one really missed it.”

Damn. That's rough. No wonder Shizune and Misha were the entirety of the Student Council.

“...I guess you want to file this paperwork by Shizune's method then, huh?”

With a friendly smile, she shakes her head, and grabs a small stack of the papers, tossing them into arbitrary piles.

We spend the rest of the afternoon and evening filing the paperwork. There's quite a lot of paperwork to file. We take a short break to order out, but dinner is a quiet affair, each of us eating as we work. Aoi doesn't speak at all after our exchange about last year's Student Council. She doesn't know any sign language, but she's quite good at using body language to communicate. Keiko knew what she wanted to eat, so she didn't even have to speak up to discuss food.

When we’re finally done with our filing, it's already dark out. Aoi and Keiko take their leave, and I'm about to follow when Misha speaks up, “Let's wait for Shicchan, Hicchan.”

Relenting, I close the door behind Aoi and Keiko. It shouldn't take long for Shizune to gather her things. When I turn around to look at Shizune, though, she's still at her desk and has made no move to pack up. In fact, she's produced another stack of papers and is actively working on them.

I put my hand on the paper she's currently focused on, to get her attention. [Are you going to be working on all that tonight?]

Peering over her glasses at me, she puts her pen down and responds, [Of course. It needs to be done.]

[Can we help?]

She shrugs. [If you want to.]

I really have no desire to do more work, and Misha looks like she's getting ready to fall asleep standing up, but I'd feel guilty leaving all this work to Shizune. Misha would probably object to us leaving Shizune behind, too.

I pull up a chair for Misha, and one for myself, setting them on the other end of Shizune's desk. Shizune glances up, somewhat surprised, when I grab a bundle of her new papers, then smiles approvingly. I hand half my bundle to Misha, then take a closer look at what sort of paperwork I've volunteered myself for.

They're various reports, requisition forms, and permit requests, all needed for organizing the Tanabata festival. It's not difficult work, but it takes time. Misha just kind of stares at the papers in a haze, moving as if she were in slow motion. Her handwriting is suffering a little, too.

About halfway through my stack, I'm surprised by a sudden weight pressed against my side. Misha's out cold. Not content to just lean against me, she also manages to wrap her arms tightly around my own arm, making it more or less impossible for me to continue working.

I look up to see Shizune smiling at us wistfully. That expression looks strangely familiar. [You should take her to bed.] She pauses, frowning. [To her bed. You take her to her bed, and you go to your own bed.]

I only have my left hand to respond, so I have some difficulty in replying. [What about the work?]

[I can handle it.]

[Why did you wait for the others to leave? Wouldn't it be better to spread the workload?]

She scowls at my question. [I'm not lazy. I'm not going to ask someone to do work that I can do myself. If they volunteer, I'll accept their help, but I'm not going to pass off work on someone else because I can't be bothered with it.]

I sign a quick apology for offending. [Don't be afraid to ask us for help. Consider this my volunteering. And we both know that Misha will want to help as much as she can, too.]

She takes her glasses off, ostensibly to polish the lenses. I think I see a hint of a blush, though. She must not be used to people offering to help without strings attached. She smiles shyly, returning her glasses to their perch. [You two are very good friends. Misha's very lucky to have you. Now get her back to the dorms. I won't be here long.]

It's obviously a lie. Based on the progress so far, she has at least another two hours ahead of her. And when she took off her glasses, it was obvious that she's had quite a few late nights recently. [Are you getting enough sleep?]

She waves me off dismissively. [I'm fine.]

I still feel a little bad about leaving her with all this work. [Should I get you coffee or anything?]

[No.] She fixes me with a hard stare, as if to say “This discussion is over,” then her expression softens, showing a hint of gratitude. [Thank you. You don't need to worry about me. Misha's a bigger concern right now. You don't want to have to drag her back to the dorms. Trust me.]

I reach over and wipe the drool from Misha's chin, then grab her shoulder and shake her gently. After a couple attempts, she opens her eyes, still very groggy. “Huh? Wha'?”

“You fell asleep,” I whisper gently. “We need to get you back to your room.”

“'kay,” she replies softly, nuzzling into my shoulder. She doesn't release my arm, though.

Using the desk as a support, I pull myself to my feet, Misha following somewhat behind. I sign a “good night” to Shizune, then steer the half-asleep Misha clasped on my arm toward the door.

The walk back to the dorms is nice, even if Misha is practically sleepwalking. It feels good to have her on my arm and know exactly what it means, without having to think too much about it. I walk her up to the door of the girls' dorms, and she gives me a goodnight kiss before heading inside. Turning around, I make my way to the boys' dorm and then to my room.

I have a girlfriend now.

I have no idea what that's supposed to mean.

And, frankly, I don't care. I'm happy, and that's all that matters.

Act 2 Scene 9 | Act 3 Scene 2

First off, OMGOMGOMGOGMOGMOGMOGMGOMGGOMGOMGOGMOGMOGMOGMOGMOGMGOMG you have no idea how much I needed this. And also, good work I really enjoyed this scene even if it didn't really get anywhere but it did at the same time.What I mean is that you didn't really progress but at the same time, you did? So yeah I loved it. Keep up the good work!!