Realistic or Modern (Koicomi) Forget-Me-Not

[Nano]

Cast
Nano as Mahiru Vaughn
Tau as Shisukiya Yanagi
Ehb as the organizer and grand-overseer


Links
Koibiito Communication Hub
Character Sheets


Route Synopsis​

Disasters come and go like the tides, and Yuzu High has managed to weather the impossible despite all attempts to take it down. Among the friendships forged by the students’ struggles, an unlikely pair emerged between a boy with a reckless tongue and a girl who lost her voice. Further trials and tribulations yet still await, as the two individuals awkwardly plod along an unfamiliar path in hopes of navigating the maze of their feelings. While the two, Shisukiya Yanagi and Mahiru Vaughn, are still unraveling the question of what the other means to them, fate throws them another test in the form of an awkward encounter and poorly thought-out words.

What started as Mahiru hoping to share her hobby with Shisukiya ends with a cold war—one started by an awkwardly-worded suggestion that came off more akin to ridicule. While the two cautiously skirt around each other, dated information and rumors begin to circulate the school. Mahiru and Shisukiya had once believed that there was a good chance that their feelings were mutual, but could the rumors speaking of old flames and a failed confession towards a different member of the Gender Relations Club be true?

 

[Nano]

▌Mahiru Vaughn

With a shaky exhale, Mahiru looked up from her phone which displayed the rough calculations she’d made for her current purchase. The longer she stared at the cashier, the more daunting the task felt. Nowadays, with most things being available through kiosks, mobile orders, or online delivery, she seldom had to purchase things in-person. Still, customer-cashier interactions were nonetheless inevitable even in this day and age, and certain situations would call for certain more urgent purchases. It was for the sake of the party, and Mahiru herself had volunteered to run the errand. It was too late to back out now.

Ignoring the pulse of her heart pounding in her ears, the petite girl briskly walked up to the cashier, placed down her assortment of craft supplies, and rigidly handed over a 5000 yen banknote. After a suffocating few seconds of the cashier scanning the items and counting out her change, Mahiru shook her head up and down in an almost robotic fashion when asked if she wanted a receipt. Once the awkward exchange was over, she scurried out of the store as if she’d been caught shoplifting and breathed out a sigh of relief only when her feet touched the sweet, liberating concrete of the sidewalk. Finally, she was done with that ordeal.

Placing the bags onto the floor, Mahiru tapped out a quick message to the Gender Relations Club’s group chat:

they had everything we needed
i’m coming back soon

Seconds after she sent the text, another member (or perhaps it was best to call themselves former members?) replied with a thumbs up, and Mahiru pocketed her phone. It was best to get going and deliver the emergency supplies so that they didn’t fall behind schedule.

However, right as she picked up the three plastic bags full of craft supplies, Mahiru nearly dropped them back onto the floor in surprise. When her gaze met those familiar blue hues, her grip on the bags subconsciously stiffened in discomfort. Too late to avoid the redhead who’d just turned the corner onto the street that Mahiru was currently located, the girl stiffly offered up a soft “hi” that was barely audible past the sound of the cars passing by. Then, she lowered her gaze towards her shoes and shuffled a little to the side to allow the redhead to pass.

It had already been over a week since they’d last spoken, and the awkward atmosphere between the two had yet to clear up. Shisukiya Yanagi had once been someone she could feel comfortable conversing with verbally. However, ever since that incident, she couldn’t seem to recall how they’d manage to speak so comfortably with each other during their confidence training sessions. She couldn’t tell what the boy thought of the situation, but she could still hear those harsh words ringing in her ears as if it had been just yesterday.

For the first time since she’d waved a final goodbye to Carla, Mahiru had desired to show off her hobby to another. For the first time since starting her weekly sessions at the local karaoke box, she’d brought someone she’d once dared to call a friend. When she’d shyly tugged at Shisukiya’s shirt that day to ask if he’d like to go sing with her after school, she wasn’t sure of whether or not she'd receive a positive answer. However, her courage (if she could call it that) had been rewarded, with the boy readily agreeing to her suggestion. That is, she thought it had been a good thing at the time.

Unexpectedly, Mahiru had become rather infamous among the staff at the karaoke box for her strange weekly visits with not a single friend in sight to accompany her. This reputation would end up with one of the clerks absentmindedly remarking, “Oh, you’ve brought a friend this time! I was worried you’d sing solo forever.”

Initially, the silver-haired girl raised a brow at the thoughtless comment. As if realizing her mistake, the clerk nervously apologized before asking if it was just the two of them today. However, before Mahiru could raise two fingers to indicate the number of people, the redhead next to her blurted out the words of ridicule she never thought she’d hear from his mouth.

No, you can’t get emotional here, she thought to herself as she took a few moments to even out her breathing. She’d only look more pathetic if she panicked. Besides, it wasn’t the first time she’d heard similar words from others.

Fighting against the quiver threatening to shake her lips, Mahiru shakily gripped the edge of her shirt. “Sorry for being pathetic and wasting your time,” she said in a tone that was low in volume but nonetheless carried barely concealed anger. And without another word, she’d stormed off and hadn’t spoken to the redhead ever since.

tagged: Tau​

 

[Tau]

Shisukiya Yanagi​

"Haha, Karaoke sounds kinda pathetic alone."

Some people treated words like fine sculptures: a thing to be carefully planned, prepared, and then slowly crafted with thoughtful, intricate detail. Then, there was Shisukiya Yanagi, a young man who viewed words more like a paint cannon: just explode words everywhere and eventually you’ll hit the parts that need paint! Or, at least, he had thought this way, until his "linguistic explosion" plan backfired.

Most of his words were forgotten mere seconds after speaking them, but those 5 were etched in his brain like a tumor he’d rather carve out. The tormenting part of the memory wasn’t really the words though, but the face of pure despair that had been their reply. Mahiru had offered words of parting, but that look she’d given him had been the real thrust.

"AGGGHHH, WHY AM I SUCH AN IDIOT!?" Shisukiya howled, stabbing his knife straight into the side of the garage, amidst a few dozen other, similarly-sized holes.

"Maybe cause ya keep punching holes in my walls!" the irritated voice of Shisukiya’s father called out from the nearby window of his house. "Knock it off!"

Carving wood was usually a good stress reliever, but lately it hadn’t helped much. He was constantly frustrated, constantly distracted, and even quieter than usual.

Folding his hands together, Shisukiya took a closer look at the carving he’d been working on: a swan. The connection was pretty obvious, he thought. Ugly duckling… beautiful swan. Genius! Except, maybe for the first time ever, he found himself second-guessing the gift. Would she see it as an insult? Him mocking how she wasn’t like the swan (even though she obviously was)? He just had to step out of his comfort zone and be super super clear with the message!

Maybe painting it would help too. Some white, then a bit of purple on the eyes just to really sell the connection. It was worth the extra effort. No, she was worth the extra effort. Because after a week of agonizing about all this, he‘d finally realized: he really wanted to hear this swan sing.

After a quick trip to the hardware store, Shisukiya found himself walking through town carrying two large cans of paint. However, as he turned the corner, he almost dropped them in surprise… he wasn’t the only one, either. What was Mahiru doing here!? Wasn’t she supposed to help with the decorations today!? All questions that, during a normal meeting, he already would’ve blurted aloud.

Except it wasn’t a normal encounter. She was obviously still acting weird around him. He couldn’t put a finger on what it was, exactly. More sheepish? Less talkative? Something in the way she looked? Maybe all at once, how was he supposed to know!? Gah!! "Oh hey! Hi! Uhh… crazy seeing— I mean, not crazy! You’re not… I mean to say, the coincidence is… uhh… amazing! That we met… here!"

He noticed only now that she’d stepped aside for him. It was kind of a subtle "Move along" gesture, and he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt by it. Just block my path instead! Insist we start back up our confidence training! WHY CAN’T I SAY ALL THIS OUT LOUD, DARN IT!? "I’ll… I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Yeah. Uhh… bye… take care."

As Shisukiya returned home, he kept replaying the encounter in his head over and over, imagining better ways it could’ve gone. What better words could’ve been used? Should he have just told her about the gift then and there? The uncertainty was devouring his every thought, and he couldn’t stand it! Just finish the swan! Finish the swan and let the gift do the talking tomorrow! That was sure to do a better job than any of these scuffed up words.​

 

[Nano]

▌Mahiru Vaughn

Between joining the Gender Relations Club and now, this was not only her most awkward encounter with Shisukiya but also the strangest. Mahiru lifted her head to stare at the redhead’s retreating back in confusion as if she couldn’t believe her ears. Even during the rare few vulnerable moments in which he allowed himself to wallow in self-doubt, the boy wasn’t someone who tripped over his words to such an extreme degree. If anything, he was someone who always had too much to say due to his thoughts and speech running in parallel (which also happened to make any offensive phrases just that much more hurtful).

It was almost as if he’d been attempting to curb his words, and maybe this was his awkward manner of skirting around the already murky situation. After all, he was a kind person behind his careless words. She’d just been the one to selfishly get upset when faced with the ugly truth. However, the cynicism settled deep within her bones pushed the more pessimistic thoughts to the forefront of her mind. Perhaps he’d simply been so desperate to get away from her that he couldn’t formulate a proper excuse. It was a depressing thought, but it wasn't like this would be the first time it happened. Extroverts who attempted to make her feel included in the class were a dime-a-dozen, yet most had ultimately found her method of communication awkward and excused themselves after a few minutes of trying to probe her for conversation. She thought the two of them were beyond that boundary by now, but well she couldn't really blame him after her outburst and rude behavior. She wasn't even angry anymore—just betrayed. It was almost laughable that it was only when her anger melted away into gloomy shock that she finally realized that she…Nevermind. It was best not to think about it.

Heart weighing heavy in her chest, Mahiru sullenly turned around and began to trudge towards the direction of the school.

===

Unfortunately for Mahiru, she was someone on the losing side of the luck spectrum. As such, she found herself apologizing to a certain student profusely and offering the madelines her aunt baked in an attempt to make up for her mistake. Upon returning to the school with the extra craft supplies in tow, she’d insisted on joining in to continue helping with the decorations. One misstep later, she ended up accidentally knocking a wooden board into Nanashi’s face. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but she couldn’t help but continue to feel sorry even after the boy himself had told her all was fine. The moment he arrived at the club room in the morning, she insisted on him accepting the sweets to make up for nearly flattening his face, though the boy himself insisted that all was fine and that she hadn’t needed to go to such lengths over the minor mistake.

“Ehhhh…not only did you reject the poor girl before. Now you’re bullying her too?” a playful voice said upon witnessing the mini tug-of-war (or was it more appropriate to call it a push-of-war?) between the two. “If you don’t want it, I’m sure the club members here today would be glad to share them~”

The newcomer, Mumei, plucked the container of neatly packed madeleines out from Mahiru’s hands while she was busy shaking her head to deny her friend’s bold accusations. However, before the brunette could pop open the container, something seemingly caught her eye.

“By the way Mahiru, I actually need you to do me a favor,” Mumei said loudly despite Nanashi and Mahiru being right next to her. “Could you do one last check through the cafeteria and gymnasium and make sure they’re clean before we start moving stuff? I think you’ll need help so-” Suddenly, the girl ducked her head out the door and waved at someone in the hallway. “HEY SHISUKIYA DO YA MIND HELPIN' OUT?”

「Why do you need two peo」 Mahiru began writing. As if predicting exactly what the shorter girl wanted to say without even looking at the paper, the brunette pushed the notepad into Mahiru’s chest to prevent her from writing any further.

“No no no,” Mumei said in a suspiciously urgent tone, “This is definitely a task that one person can’t handle on their own.”

“Um, if it’s that urgent, I can help instea- Ow!”

When Nanashi (the ever oblivious fool) piped up to offer to take Shisukiya’s place, Mumei reached over to playfully swat at his back twice, nearly knocking the poor lad over.

“What're you saying? You promised to help me double check the catering order,” she said with a hiss, and before he could fit in a word of protest, she carted the boy away. When Mumei turned her head towards Shisukiya to wink at him, Mahiru suspiciously looked between Mumei and Shisukiya with half of her face hidden by her notebook. Just what was she trying to do?

tagged: Tau​

 

[Tau]

Shisukiya Yanagi​

Back at home, it didn’t take long finish the little wood swan sculpture. It was relatively small, compared to some of his creations that’d come from full-sized logs: this was meant more as a desk ornament. The downside being that it was fragile, but on the plus side, it didn’t take much time to paint it over. A nice, white sheen, and two dazzling, purple eyes.

… Well, really, they were just purple dots. He wasn’t much of a painter. But at least it would be enough to make the connection crystal clear.

"Alright… yeah, nice!" Shisukiya reassured himself with a brief nod. "Wish I had some yellow for the beak, but that’ll have to do I guess." He frowned. It looked like a nice gift, but the way he’d floundered seeing her there was fresh on his mind. That was just bizarre: fearful emotions he’d never seen in himself before! A fear of words? Or of saying the wrong thing? The idea of giving her this bird statuette invoked a lot of the same terrors.

"Aww come on, what’s all this!?" he scoffed, slapping himself on the cheeks. "Just tell it like it is! Same as always! No overthinking, no holding back! Honesty always wins out in the end." The swan glared back with its judgmental purple dots. "Gah, I’m probably just tired! That’s it. I’ll feel better after I get some sleep. Probably just stayed up too late working on this thing last night, and now it’s messing with my head…"

===

The next day, Shisukiya woke up early (even more than usual) to wrap the swan in a well-padded box that would hopefully keep it safe. He took it in his hands and headed off to school. It was fairly quiet compared to how it’d been just weeks ago. Still, there were a few clubs remaining: mainly those busy setting up for the dance, and naturally, the Gender Relations Club was at the forefront of organizing the event.

Shisukiya approached the door to the clubroom. Knowing how involved she’d been with all the decorations, there was a good chance Mahiru was already here. But before he had the chance for confirm his suspicions, he heard a loud voice echo from inside the room.

"Ehhhh…not only did you reject the poor girl before. Now you’re bullying her too?" Shisukiya’s heart skipped a beat as Mumei’s mocking voice reached his ears. No no no, she wasn’t speaking of…

He peeked in the room.

…her. Oh. She was. Of course. It wasn’t any wonder why Mahiru would confess to Nanashi. The guy had pretty much everything Shisukiya didn’t. He was soft-spoken, considerate, articulate… plus, if memory served him well, he was the first person to ever really help Mahiru feel welcome at school. How could she not fall for him? And yet Shisukiya couldn’t help but deflate a little bit, hearing about this.

"Woah!" he exclaimed in surprise as Mumei’s smirking face popped out of the room like a whack-a-mole. "Uh, yeah, sure. No problem." He gave her a confused look as she winked his direction while running off at high speed. The best he could understand it, Mahiru needed some cheering up after her big rejection. Had Mumei not noticed the strained relationship between the two of them lately? Surely, anyone else would be better for the job. But if he was the best available, he’d simply have to try his hardest.

"Okay, well… let’s go then."

===

Their travel through the halls was mostly an awkward silence, with a hint of mystery added by the presence of Shisukiya’s box. Ordinarily, he’d take initiative to speak, but just like before, he struggled to say anything. It was obvious his mind was still firing thoughts that under normal circumstances would be spoken. He’d open his mouth to speak, only to close it again; impossible to miss.

Eventually though, they reached the gymnasium, and Shisukiya used the task at hand as a launching pad to start a conversation. "Well, everything still looks clean… not really sure what she was expecting though," he shrugged, wandering further in to take a closer look, just in case there was some hard-to-notice smudge or something. It didn’t take long before the two were back in the hallway, headed for the cafeteria.

Having at least said something, Shisukiya built on the momentum, "Hey, so… yesterday was a cool coincidence, right? Though I guess it’s not that much of a coincidence… ya know, small town and all…" He let out an awkward chuckle. It still felt so darn tense between them! His mind wandered to the box in his hand. Was now the time? Certainly, she could use some cheer after a rejection like that. He just had to make sure to explain things carefully.

"Listen, uhh… okay… how do I put this, uhm…" He took a deep breath. "You know that story you’re always referencing, with the ugly duckling? Well I—" They turned the corner into the cafeteria. "—What the hell!?"

He froze as he caught sight of the carnage. Crushed up cookies had been scattered everywhere. Almost as if someone had intentionally gone around throwing them like confetti. "Did someone give a wolf a loaf of bread or something!? How do people even manage this!? Must’ve been that lazy art club again. I swear, if I have to remind them to clean up after themselves one more time, I’m gonna lose it!"

Stepping further into the room, Shisukiya set the box down on the table closest to the entrance, turning his eyes to the closet on the other side of the room. Thankfully, the cafeteria assumed messes like this would happen (maybe not quite like this, but of the same nature). "Pretty sure they’ve got a vacuum in there. Hold on a minute," he said, running ahead to grab it and plug it in.

Nano

 

[Nano]

▌Mahiru Vaughn

One hesitant agreement from Shisukiya later, Mumei and Nanashi were gone like the wind. In the wake of the turbulence the strangely cheerful brunette had kicked up, Mahiru could only blink in stunned silence at the retreating figure of her friend. Or was she a traitor? It was almost as if Mumei were getting back at Mahiru for refusing to say a peep when the girl had asked about why she seemed to be avoiding Shisukiya.

“Okay, well… let’s go then,” said the boy Mahiru had done her best to avoid as of late. The conflicted look on her face could easily be mistaken for apprehension, but her eyes only held pity for the redhead who’d gotten dragged into Mumei’s selfish antics. Still, she nodded and obediently followed along. She didn’t intend on causing trouble for him, and she hoped they could get this joint task over with as quickly as possible. Her hope of slipping away was one thing, but judging from the box held in his hands, it seemed that Shisukiya had been intending on meeting up with someone else. With how rudely Mumei had pushed the request onto him, the least Mahiru could do was help wrap things up quickly so he could go on with his business.

Furthermore, it was clear that Shisukiya was still feeling a great deal awkward around Mahiru, what with his manner of opening his mouth before snapping it shut. She did her best to ignore it out of respect, but it was truly impossible to miss even if she made sure to stare straight ahead instead of at the redhead. Fortunately, the walk to the gymnasium was short, and a brief inspection had them quickly moving on to the cafeteria.

The attempts at smalltalk that Shisukiya brought up while en route was met with small nods from Mahiru which did little to nothing to assuage the air of awkwardness. She wasn’t doing it on purpose per se, but she really didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like she had much to say outside of their confidence training sessions in the first place, but she usually had a few thoughts or inputs regarding the things he’d tell her. No matter how hard he tried to carry the current conversation, it was no doubt difficult to talk to a wall.

“Mn. I was surprised,” she finally said after wracking her brain for what to say. Her attempt was pathetic, and the slight dusting of red on her cheeks hinted at the fact that she likely hadn’t meant to say something so obvious.

Fortunately, Shisukiya had brushed past her awkward attempt at reciprocating the previously one-sided conversation. Except his mention of “ugly duckling” twisted her expression into a stiff frown. That fairytale only brought up bad memories, and she couldn’t tell what his intentions were by bringing it up. His explanation would have to wait, as the redhead ended up interrupting himself upon peeking inside of the cafeteria.

It was truly a sight to behold. Paper cups, snack wrappers, and remains of cookies were tossed carelessly around the floor. It was as if the two had just crossed into a warzone, and Mahiru was baffled at the perpetrators’ shamelessness. Wasn’t this even worse than the state of a movie theater after a showing?

Who raised you? she mentally chided as she chewed the inside of her lip. She thought it was common courtesy to clean up after yourself, and while it was true that it was only human nature to become lazy and careless, this was pushing it.

“I’ll report it. Later.” she told Shisukiya while bringing out her phone to take a picture. With how big the mess was, it was likely that an entire club had reserved the cafeteria the night before for some sort of activity. In that case, the Student Council was likely to know which club was guilty of creating the mess. If it was the art club like Shisukiya guessed, she trusted either the council or the administration to deliver some sort of stern warning, maybe a threat to completely revoke their right to gather the club at the cafeteria for club celebrations.

While Shisukiya was busy looking for the vacuum in the cafeteria’s janitorial closet, Mahiru retrieved the broom and dustpan stationed by the garbage cans. Doing her best to step only on the tiles without crumbs so she didn’t get them on her shoes and trek them everywhere, the silver-haired girl swept up the discarded wrappers and the larger cookie chunks that the vacuum wouldn’t be able to pick up.

As she swept up the garbage, Mahiru’s eyes curiously trailed towards the mysterious box that Shisukiya had left on top of the table closest to the entrance. She’d taken note of the box while they were walking but hadn’t had the courage to ask about it. What if he found her nosy? At least, that was her initial excuse. She knew that Shisukiya wasn’t the type to concern himself over such petty things, but it was equally just as true that he didn’t seem like the type to randomly give gifts to others. Unless she was jumping the gun, and he was simply making a delivery. It’s just that the size of the box and the box itself made it seem more like a gift than an ordinary parcel.

After tipping the dustpan over the garbage and tapping the back with the broom to ensure she got everything out, Mahiru paused. “It’s…messy,” was all she could say after convincing herself to, well, say something.

Thanks, Captain Obvious, she criticized herself inwardly. With a deep breath, she managed to finally stutter out the question that had been weighing on her mind since they’d first left the club room: “That… Um. Is that a gift for someone?”

As for the rest, she didn’t dare ask in fear of overstepping her boundaries. Who it was for and what it contained wasn’t any of her business, nor did she have a right to do so.

tagged: Tau​

 

[Tau]

Shisukiya Yanagi​

Shisukiya just felt… stressed out. Stressed out in a way he’d never been before. As her underwhelming reactions returned to him, and he was left to struggle out most of the entire conversation, the doubts hit him full force. Was it a pleasant surprise, them meeting? Surely not; wasn’t she still mad? And they weren’t exactly being that open with each other.

He was almost thankful to be able run the loud vacuum for a few minutes, if only because there was no way to speak during that time. Or at least, they couldn’t share a conversation, unless he wanted to shout and she wanted to write.

Unfortunately, the vacuum was pretty darn good at its job, and the floor ended up clean faster than he’d expected it to, leaving that awkward silence again. At least, until Mahiru tried her hand at starting the conversation herself.

"Yep, yep… messes’ll be that way…" obviously! Why was he such an idiot…

However, the topic returned to the box once again. Shisukiya wanted to believe he’d just forgotten about it, and yeah, the mess had taken his attention for a few seconds, but the simple truth was, the distraction had been an excuse. He was avoiding the gift, plain and simple. And, faced with the direction question, that uneasy feeling of words and consequences, thoughts and opinions, was in overdrive yet again.

"Y-yeah, it’s uhh… it’s definitely a gift! I made it for someone special," he nodded, scratching the back of his head. Come on, out with it! Except, he’d spent all that time setting up the whole duck story, and now it just felt weird restarting. Wait, was that just another excuse…!? … But really, now that things were so awkward between them, she was bound to take it as an insult, right? A reminder of his earlier words?

"Anyway… I think it’ll have to come back home with me," he finally said, mentally slapping his lack of courage. "It’s just… well, I‘m thinking I really messed it up with the girl it was supposed to be for, so I think it‘s for the best. Eh, I guess it‘s just that sort of event right? Heartbreak everywhere, haha! I-i mean…" Bad flashbacks, bad flashbacks!! "Not haha, no, it’s definitely not funny, just uhh… the ironic sort of ‘it hurts to laugh’ kind of thing? Just trying to lighten the mood, and……… I’ll go put the vacuum away."

Letting out a sigh, Shisukiya finished emptying the vacuum into the trash and put it back where he found it, finishing their cleanup. "Anyway, I should probably go help the guys move the sound equipment! I just wanted to say…" he paused and took a deep breath, letting it out a bit louder than he probably should’ve, "You’re a really sweet girl, Mahiru! So… you should ask someone to the dance tonight! I know getting rejected hurts, but you should still do it anyway! I think any guy would be lucky to have you as their date. Maybe you don’t wanna hear that from me, but uhh… anyway, that’s what I had to say, so… I‘ll see ya around." Awkwardly cradling the box under his arm, Shisukiya forced a smile, waved a quick goodbye, and headed outside.


Nano

 

[Nano]

▌Mahiru Vaughn

When she’d asked about the contents of the box, Mahiru didn’t know what kind of answer she’d been hoping to hear. Perhaps a small part of her had been hoping it was a peace offering of sorts, solid proof that the redhead cared enough to do more than awkwardly brush over the incident from a week ago. However, as if being punished for acting coy, the way Shisukiya mentioned that it was a gift for someone special caused something inside her to wilt. She might have once thought of herself as someone special to him, what with the way he allowed her to witness the most vulnerable parts of him. However, it became clear she was mistaken as she observed the way he shyly explained the purpose of the gift. It seemed that towards his special someone, even a boy who charged forward like a bull like Shisukiya was capable of patiently evaluating his options before taking action.

The final nail in the coffin was him mentioning that she should ask someone else to be her date for the upcoming dance. Mahiru was undoubtedly socially inept, but even she could read between the lines when it counted. For whatever reason, he was purposefully creating distance between them. Had he noticed her budding affection for him? Had she depended on him too much? Did he get sick of her after finding out she was still too weak to take his criticisms?

As questions upon questions cycled through her head, Mahiru numbly raised her hand to send off Shisukiya who’d excused himself the moment he finished putting away the vacuum.

Maybe this was a sign to finally let go.

She just regretted that she couldn’t be a little bolder, like that time with Nanashi.

===

“Hey, did you hear? Mumei turned down another confession.”

“Again? For a delinquent, she’s sure popular.”

“Her grades might not be good, but guys like energetic and pretty girls like her, right? Even if she’s a bit rough around the edges.”

“So? Who was the poor sap this time?”

“Uh. Lemme think. It was something-miya… No, wait. I think it was… Yeah, it was Shisukiya!”

As someone rejected twice within the span of less than one year, gossip regarding the latest confessions was the last thing Mahiru wanted to hear. However, the petite girl nearly dropped the heavy speaker she was carrying on her foot when her classmate unexpectedly name-dropped a certain redhead.

Having taken note of Mahiru’s surprised reaction, the other girl turned her attention towards Mahiru, “Oh, right. You’re close with both of them, right? It’s a shame that she turned him down, but don’t you think they’d be a good match?”

After a brief moment to herself to ponder over the question, Mahiru reluctantly nodded her head. It was painful to admit, but she could tell why Shisukiya had chosen Mumei as his special someone. If there was someone who could match his pace, it was the brunette. Unlike the “uppity rich girls” that he often complained about, she was someone who knew to speak her mind when someone offended her. In addition, Mumei wasn’t small-minded like Mahiru. Any argument immediately became water under the bridge after an hour. Unfortunately, the people who earned her ire would typically be victim to her 10 minute long tirades, but at least she let you know exactly what was on her mind. As far as Mahiru knew, Shisukiya preferred straight-forward people like Mumei, even if she was a bit shameless.

In fact, Mumei was so thick-skinned that she could even call out and demand help from someone she’d rejected only days prior.

Later that night, Mahiru’s aunt expressed her concern when the girl had sighed at the dinner table for the nth time. “Make sure you end the school year without regrets,” she said almost knowingly. Mahiru could only stare down at her bowl of soup pensively when she heard those words.

Her dazed state continued as she laid down on her bed while staring up at her phone. For the past fifteen minutes, she’d been blankly staring at Shisukiya’s contact information. Her aunt was right, but what could she even say?

Ultimately, she took the coward’s way out: she couldn’t bring herself to confess in fear of rubbing salt in his wounds, but she at least wanted to stay by his side as a friend. Deftly but carefully, she typed out a series of texts that would hopefully be received well by the recipient.

sorry if I’m being nosy
and sudden
but even if things got awkward between you two
Mumei is the type to easily forget things and move on
I think you should definitely give her the gift
anyway good luck!

tagged: Tau​

 

[Tau]

Shisukiya Yanagi​

There were two main halves of Shisukiya’s brain at war with one another as he headed out to help move the sound equipment. The first, being a minor sense of relief, having at least told Mahiru how he felt… partially, anyway. The second, however, was the anguish of holding back the untold half, best exemplified by the gift he’d kept under wraps.

It probably would’ve felt a whole lot worse if the day outside wasn’t fairly nice. There was a blue sky, a warm sun, and a cool breeze: all delightful to be in while hauling some random crap around. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone. Not that he couldn’t handle moving the stuff himself: more that he had no clue where all this stuff went. What even was this giant board with all these switches, buttons, and sliders? A mixer, perhaps? But where did such a thing go? Heck if he knew.

As Shisukiya approached the van with all the fancy equipment, his eyes focused on Nanashi. It wasn’t a malicious glare or anything, but at the same time, he had some unanswered questions to get off his chest. Before he could open his mouth, however, a guy wearing tinted shades and way more metal than could possibly be comfortable hopped out and leaned on Nanashi’s shoulder, flashing the two a grin.

"Hey guys, this’s the place, yeah? Ready to light it on up tomorrow? Haha, let’s go!" he chuckled, ruffling Nanashi’s hair, which he promptly spent a few moments to fix. "Just need you guys to help move the mixer, the soundboard, the synthesizer, the subwoofer, this table…" he went on. "Alright, lemme scout out the joint."

Shisukiya... had no idea who this guy was. He looked a little too old to be attending school here. Still, Shisukiya couldn’t help but appreciate the energy the random DJ was giving off. He grabbed something at random and led the way as Nanashi struggled to keep up. The slow pace offered an opportunity, however…

"Hey Nanashi, mind if I ask… why’d you reject Mashiru?" He asked, turning around with a heavy speaker still in each hand.

"Uh…" Nanashi struggled to answer, mainly for lack of breath, but also for the oddity of Shisukiya suddenly bringing up something so random. After struggling forward a few more meters, he set the box down and paused to catch his breath, pushing out a quick answer. "Well, it’s the usual reason. I just really like someone else."

"Heheh, you mean Mumei?" Shisukiya answered with a smirk.

"W-what!? Have I been that obvious…!?"

"Eh, you two just seem to mesh well together, ya know? She’s a force of nature, and you’re more of a noodle." He chuckled for a moment, before his smirk quickly turned into a frown. "Sorry, I didn’t… I just mean, you’re a little—"

"—Wait a minute, is the mighty steamroller actually backpedaling on something he said…!? This is one for the history books!" Nanashi teased back. "No worries, I know I’m not the most headstrong guy out there. But I want your honest opinion: do you think I have a shot with her?"

"Pfft, I think if you don’t make the shot soon, she’s gonna do it for you, man!"

He nodded. "Thanks. You know, I appreciate you trying to be a little nicer, but I hope you don’t start holding things back. Maybe go a little easier once in a while, but I always appreciate the honesty."

"Yeah? I’ll keep that in mind…" Shisukiya said as his eyes fell on the gift box he’d left by the truck.

===

As the day came to a close and everyone went back home, Shisukiya spent his evening out in the forested area behind his home, watching the sunset through the trees from his favorite campsite. The golden light glistened off the white paint of the swan carving, set atop the stump of the tree it’d come from as he stared thoughtfully at the gift.

"If I don’t tell her how I really feel, I’m gonna regret it my whole life," he realized aloud. "I’ve gotta do it… somehow…"

Later that night, he returned to notice a message on his phone… it was from her. A misunderstanding. He’d been intentionally vague to throw her off the scent, and now it looked like he was paying the price for it.

The next hour was spent typing out responses, deleting them, typing new ones, and on and on the cycle repeated. By the end, he’d totally stripped away all the elegant explanations and simply sent:

can we talk tomorrow?


Nano