i-shall-think-of-a-title-later

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

let’s make a man

notes: Mulan!AU. The use of male pronouns for Ryuko is intentional.

Uzu grunts, his breath getting knocked out of his body, as Ryu parries his punch and gives a powerful roundhouse kick to the head. He manages to block with his arm, but not quick enough. It glances the side of his head and the force of the blow sends him to the ground, temple throbbing. He blinks, stars dancing in front of his eyes, and in shock that one of the new recruits was able to have him flat on his back.

Ryu stands over him, breathing hard but otherwise okay, with a look of awe and smugness gracing his features. "Woah."

Uzu ends up chuckling despite himself and rubs delicately at his temple. It smarts and it'll bruise tomorrow, but damn, he got him good. "Not bad."

Ryu offers hand to help him up and he graciously accepts, allowing himself to get pulled back to his feet. He finds it rather odd that Ryu has such smooth hands for a guy, but he's not one to question such things if it means they're skilled in combat.

"So captain, what'd you think?"

"A few more years and you might just make it to the frontlines," Uzu teases. His smirk falls into a reassuring smile as he places a hand on Ryu's shoulder. "I think you'll do great."

Ryu grins and it does something strange to Uzu, but he quickly shakes it off because this is Ryu, for crying out loud. Ryu, his subordinate. Ryu, the guy who just kicked him in the head. Ryu, the guy who, up until now, was unable to command any respect from him. Ryu, the guy who –

Uzu shakes his head to clear his thoughts. He's thinking too much into it. Respect, that's what it is. It's the feeling of respect that has heat blooming in his cheeks and certainly not because Ryu looks real good all fired up and determined or anything like that. Definitely not.

Ryu's hesitant question cuts through Uzu's thoughts. "Captain? Are you okay?"

This time the flush that appears is out of embarrassment and not because Ryu looks rather adorable with concern etched over his face. Of course not. Straightening out, Uzu nods and reties his sash, mostly to keep his hands busy because otherwise he fears he's going to try to reach out and touch Ryu again. "I'm fine. Let's take a water break and then we'll resume."

"Yes, sir."

Uzu sighs as Ryu turns to leave. He breathes in deeply, one of his hands coming up to run wearily down his face. He cracks open an eye and accidentally catches a glimpse of Ryu's butt. He admires it for but a moment before he realizes exactly what he doing and his eyes widen in horror.

Only one word runs through his mind. Shit.

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

(early) morning wake up call

title: (early) morning wake up call

notes: Wow, it’s been so long since I last posted anything. I need to get back into the groove of writing for KLK. I think it’s time for an apartment neighbors AU kind of thing. 

A knock filters through her sleep addled brain and Ryuko’s jerked from a rather interesting dream of pop-up cardboard cartoon characters and tennis rackets and she thinks there might have been coconuts involved. But that’s not the point.

She angles her head towards the general vicinity of her front door and waits, hoping that the knock was imagined and not that there was someone at her door. When it doesn’t happen again in the next few seconds, she sighs sleepily and burrows her face back into her pillow, intent on falling back asleep. But one more sharp, jarring knock pulls her back.

With a groan, she tosses off her covers and pads across the carpeted floors, nearly tripping over a box half cleaned out from yesterday. She turns on the lights and blinks as her eyes adjust. She yawns, hand ruffling her hair, and throws open her door.

“Can I help you?”

Uzu stands awkwardly in the bright hallway lights and scratches uncomfortably at his neck. “Hi. Yeah. Um, I’m your neighbor.”

Ryuko sighs, leaning against her doorframe, arms crossed over her chest in an effort to hide the fact that she’s not wearing a bra. This was not how she imagined her first meeting with her new neighbors would go. She’s sure if it was any other time, she probably would have found this amusing. But as it stands, it’s five in the morning – five twenty-two if her microwave’s to be believed – and she’s tired, so it’s really not that amusing.

Nevertheless, she answers, “Hi. Can I help you?”

“Yeah, sorry,” he fidgets, removing his hand and gestures loosely down the hall to what she assumes is his door. “I kind of locked myself out of my apartment.”

She doesn’t know what she’s supposed to say. “I’m sorry?”

“Yeah, no, I’m an idiot. But I think I left my balcony unlocked and I was wondering if I could use yours to climb over to mine.”

She could argue and protest and decline, but she takes one look at his pitiful state and sighs, pushing off the frame and moving aside so he could step in. He shoots her a grateful smile and makes his way in, pausing at the edge of her carpet as though debating whether it was okay to walk on it with shoes on. Making an impatient noise, Ryuko spurs him on.

She follows him to the balcony, both to make sure he gets into his apartment okay and to make sure he’s not actually a creep who’s not really going to leave. She watches him, eyes following his movements as he crawls over the railing and inches his way towards his, and asks, “Does this happen often?”

He pauses, perched precariously in the space between their two balconies, and angles his head back to glance at her. “What?”

“This,” she elaborates, gesturing to him. “Getting locked out.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

With a huff, Uzu swings across and lands on his balcony. Ryuko leans against the railing and now that sleep is slowly seeping out of her and she’s moderately more awake than she was before, she’s noticing that her neighbor has a really nice body with such broad shoulders and lean muscles and a pretty cute butt to boot.

A throat clears and she brings her eyes up to his smirking expression that’s belied by the light flush that dusts his cheek. He’s somehow jimmied open his balcony door – or maybe it was already unlocked, she’s not entirely sure – and he’s standing inside his apartment now. One of his hands makes its way back to the back of his neck as he regards her.

“Well,” she drawls, easing back off her elbows.

“Well,” he parrots. “Er – thanks for letting me use your balcony.”

“No problem.”

“So I’ll see you around?”

Ryuko shrugs noncommittally. “Maybe.”

“Cool.” He grins, entirely too brightly considering how early it is, and ducks back into his own apartment, the glass door sliding shut, and then it’s just Ryuko. After a moment, she yawns and remembers that sleep is a good thing.

As she heads back inside, she thinks that, early morning aside, she just might like living here.

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

hook, line, and not-quite-sinker

title: hook, line, and not-quite-sinker notes: Part 2 ofthe Mer!Uzu saga.

It’s been a little over three months since she first pulled Uzu out of the sea like the fresh catch of the day and since then, they’ve met no less than twenty times. Granted, at least half of those visits happen because he gets caught in her nets.

This time around, he’s the one that finds her. She’s docked off the shore of an uncharted island and she’s about to haul up her anchor when she hears the sound of something clearly not waves battering the side of her ship. Leaning over, she finds him grinning up at her.

“What do you want?” she calls out.

“Can’t I visit?”

Ryuko shifts her weight so that she can lean further over the side of the ship without crushing her breasts and arches a brow. “Are you caught in my net?”

“No.” He sounds so indignant that it makes her laugh. “I actually have something for you.”

“Oh?”

“You, uh,” he gestures loosely at her anchor, “want to maybe pull me up?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No, not really.”

With a sigh, Ryuko pushes away and returns to reeling up her anchor. Uzu comes up with it and slithers onto her deck. Ryuko doesn’t bother telling him how much of a pain it is to wipe merman slime from polished wood it is.

This is the first time Ryuko’s seen him with his hair pulled back, tied off with a strand of seaweed, and it’s the first time she manages a good look at his eyes. They’re the kind of grey one would see in storm clouds, but they twinkle with amusement.

“Here.”

He grabs a hold of one her hands, turns it so that her palm is facing up, and presses an oyster into her hand. She blinks blankly, once, twice, thrice, before drawing her hand away and holding it up to the sunlight.

“What is this?”

“An oyster.”

“I didn’t know,” she deadpans. “Why are you giving it to me?”

He shrugs and says nothing else. With a sigh, Ryuko stalks across the deck and into her cabin, rummaging through her desk for something sharp enough to pry open the shell. She finds a pocket knife and returns to the deck where Uzu’s waiting as she fiddles with trying to wedge the tip of the knife between the shells.

With a pop, the oyster opens and Ryuko finds herself staring at a tiny pearl, resting innocently in the middle. The first thought that comes to mind is, “I wonder how much I can sell this for.”

“What?”

Ryuko picks up the pearl to examine it closer. “It’s pretty small, but I think I know someone who’ll pay a hefty sum of money for this.”

“You’re not going to keep it?” Uzu asks, voice suddenly strained.

Ryuko looks at him like he’s crazy. “Of course not. What would I even do with it?”

“Turn it into jewelry?” he suggests.

Ryuko scoffs and places the pearl back where she found it and sets the oyster onto a nearby barrel. “In case you haven’t noticed, Uzu, I don’t wear jewelry.”

“But you don’t have to sell it.”

“I could do with the extra money.”

Uzu groans and throws his hands up into the air in frustration. He slithers back onto the side of the ship and with a glare over his shoulder, mutters, “See if I ever scour the ocean floor for you again.”

Ryuko blinks as he dives back into the ocean and by the time she strides across the deck, there’s no trace of him anywhere. Her eyebrows furrow and she asks no one in particular, “What was that all about?”

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

as sweet as honeydukes (now if only i could ask you out)

title: as sweet as honeydukes (now if only i could ask you out)

notes: This is definitely something I want to expand upon. But for now, Hogwarts!AU drabble.

Uzu fidgets nervously, peeking out from behind one of the trees surrounding the Black Lake and rubbing his sweating palms against the leg of his trousers. His eyes land on Ryuko, settled comfortably on the grass, with the sleeves of her button up rolled to her elbows and her tie loosened. Her shoes have been kicked off and her socks discarded and she’s in the process of pulling up her hair and he gulps at the expanse of neck she’s suddenly showing him.

“Okay, you can do this,” he mutters to himself, rubbing his palms once more. Just walk up to her and ask her. That’s all he has to do.

“Wow, you’re pathetic.”

Nonon appears beside him, sucking on a sugar quill and wearing the largest smirk he’s seen to date. Behind her, Houka looks bored, but there’s a glint of amusement in his eyes and he no doubt only followed his girlfriend just to see Uzu make a fool of himself.

“Shut up,” he grunts, his face flushing red.

“It’s really not that hard,” Nonon says, absentmindedly handing half her quill to Houka. He pulls down the blue and silver scarf wrapped around his neck despite the heat and leans forward to take the proffered sweet. Uzu is both disgusted and jealous of them. “You just walk up to the girl and say, ‘Let’s go to Hogsmeade together’.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“That’s because it is.”

Uzu grumbles under his breath and turns back to peek out from behind the tree again. There’s a muttered “pathetic” behind him but he elects to ignore it. Ryuko’s still sitting by the lake except Mako’s joined her. His palms start sweating again and he goes to wipe them on his trousers once more.

“You know,” Nonon says nonchalantly, “I hear the Transfiguration professor has a thing for her.”

Uzu’s ears immediately perk up as his fingers tighten against the bark.

“I heard he’s waiting until she graduates to make his move.”

“If you ask me, he should go for it. Monkey’s obviously not going to.”

“Of course you’d be all for the forbidden student-teacher relationship.”

“Wouldn’t you?”

Uzu pushes away from the tree and with a glare thrown over his shoulders at the smirking couple, stalks purposefully over to Ryuko. His steps falter as he nears and he starts to second guess his rash decision to ask her out, today of all days. He shakes himself out of his and his steps regain the confidence he doesn’t feel.

Mako is the first to notice him. “Hello!”

Ryuko twists her upper body around and squints up at him and it makes his heart beat just that much faster and oh, dear Merlin, he knows his hands are probably sweating again. He reminds himself to take deep breaths and tries to calm his racing heart and keep the flush from spreading all over his face.

“Sanageyama,” she greets.

“Matoi,” he returns coolly only to start stammering. “Can I – er – that is – mind if I – you – we talk?”

Both girls blink at him owlishly, but it’s Mako that catches on first. With a chuckle, she scurries off towards the castle with a quick ‘see you later, Ryuko!’ and Uzu finds he’s both grateful and terrified with her departure. Now it’s just him and Ryuko and the rest of Hogwarts that are still out here.

“Do you want to go somewhere –” Ryuko asks, trailing off uncertainly.

“No!” he says a little to quickly. Clearing his throat, he tries again. “I mean, here’s fine. I don’t – I don’t think anyone’s really listening to us.”

“Alright.”

He shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. After a long, awkward minute, he moves to sit beside her on the grass. His fingers immediately search out a flower and he plucks it, twirling the stem nervously.

“I –”

He can’t seem to get the words out and his mouth is once again opening and closing soundlessly. The flower stops twirling and instead its petals get plucked one by one. Gathering his courage, he tries again.

“Er – that is –” he coughs and drops the now mangled flower, shifting so that he’s now facing her. “The – uh – next weekend’s a Hogsmeade weekend –” Oh Merlin, he thinks he’s about to puke, but he barrels on because if he doesn’t do it now he’s never going to. “I was wondering, if you didn’t have any plans, will you – er – would you – I mean, you don’t have to –”

He pauses and draws in a deep breath to steady his racing heart. Ryuko hasn’t moved nor has she made a sound, instead waiting patiently and curiously for him to finish. Except he’s positive she already knows where this is going.

“Will you accompany me to Hogsmeade next weekend?” he ends up blurting out, face red and fingers twitching nervously against the fabric of his trousers as he waits for her answer.

She blinks and then her shoulders are shaking. She’s laughing at him and if he wasn’t so flustered he’d be hurt. Wait, no, actually, he is. He moves onto his knees and is ready to bolt when one of her hands rests lightly against his own. It makes him pause.

“Sure.”

“S – sure?” he parrots.

Ryuko nods and it’s then that he notices the light dusting of link on her cheeks. “I’ll meet you in the common room at one.”

With that said, she scrambles to her feet, socks and shoes clutched in her hands. Hesitating, she dips back down and presses a soft his to his cheek and immediately scurries towards the castle barefooted. Dumbfounded, Uzu can only watch her leave, one of his hands coming up numbly to presses against the spot where her lips had touched him.

When it finally sinks in that he’s got a date with Ryuko, a wide grin spreads across his face and Uzu does a little fist pump of victory. His euphoric high is immediately chattered by Nonon’s voice cutting through the air.

“Fucking finally.”

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

line your hearts in a row

notes: It’s always the season for conversation hearts.

Ryuko stares down at the candy heart sitting innocently on her pillow, accompanied by a green post-it note. Picking it up, she reads the fine print of the heart and, despite herself, smiles at the Hi Love that is etched there.

Popping the sweet into her mouth, she turns her attention to the post-it.

Welcome home! I have a surprise for you. Just follow the trail of candy hearts.

It’s not signed but Ryuko can recognize the handwriting anywhere. She’s seen it grace the refrigerator and other countless post-it notes that have littered the apartment.

Glancing around, she looks for another candy heart and spots two more in the direction of the bedroom door. She wonders idly how she had missed them as she pads across the carpeted floor, picking each one up on the way. She flips both around on the palm of one hand and spots My Girl on one and For You on the other. There’s no accompanying post-it this time around.

Stepping out into the hall, she first looks to the right then to the left and spots a trail of about five leading through the living area towards the kitchen. Amused and admittedly more than a little curious by now, she follows it.

So Fine.

Cutie Pie.

It’s True.

True Love.

She holds the heart that says Only You and rereads it as she pops the others into her mouth. She wonders if she’s forgotten an anniversary or something because, even though he is the more romantic out of the two of them, this amount of romantic from Uzu rarely happens without it being a special occasion.

Stepping into the kitchen, two more candy hearts lay on the island. ILU and Let’s Kiss stare up at her. Another one slides across the marble and her eyes flit up to find Uzu standing before her, a boyish smile adorning his face. She picks up the heart he slid her and, keeping her eyes on him, lifts it up to eye level.

Marry me.

Her eyes widen and immediately she looks back at Uzu, whose smile has turned sheepish and anxious. Her eyes flicker between the heart in her hand and the hopeful look and at length, she sets the heart down.

She pointedly ignores the way his face falls and instead searches the counter for the opened box of candy hearts she had spotted upon entering. Once finding it, she dumps out what’s left of it and starts searching. Fingers curling around the one she wants, she turns back around. Uzu’s expression has turned curious and he’s leaning across the island to get a better look at what she’s doing.

Ryuko holds out a closed hand and after a beat, he tentatively reaches forward, palm up. She deposits the heart and waits for his reaction.

I Do.

Uzu blinks and his head whips up, eyes wide and happy and full of adoration and love. She gives him a warm smile and simply holds out another heart for him to take.

Kiss Me.

He doesn’t need to be told twice.

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

in the game of love

notes: This was saved as dating for the stupid in my files. I don’t even know, man. I don’t even know. Have some date show fun. 

“Welcome to the first ever Hounnoji Academy dating show, Hounnoji Academy Love-Love Line! I am your host, Mankanshoku Mako, and today we have Sanageyama Uzu-senpai trying to find his perfect girl. On the other side of the curtains are three possible candidates: A-ko, B-ko, and C-ko! They have traveled from far and wide to get their chance –”

“Will you speed this up, I don’t have all day.”

“And that was B-ko, ladies and gentlemen! Doesn’t she sound fabulous? I can’t wait anymore so let’s get this started. Why not have our three contestants say a little something about themselves? Let’s start with A-ko.”

“I am merely here as a favor to someone because she didn’t want to come on alone.”

“Well, still nice to have you here with us, A-ko! B-ko, what about you?”

“I can’t believe you’re actually doing this. This is so pathetic, even for you.”

“Are you calling me pathetic, Jaku–”

“And C-ko! Your turn!”

“I promised my friend I would come on.”

“Whew! What a couple of introductions right? So, Sanageyama-senpai, you have ten minutes to ask each contestant whatever questions you want and at the end, when the buzzer goes off, you choose who you think is most suited for you! And start!”

“Uh. Right. So, what’s your idea of a good time?”

“Ha! Seriously? That’s your question? Even Froggy could come up with something better.”

“Can we just skip Jakuzu–”

“Her name is B-ko, Sanageyama-senpai!”

“Ugh. Can we skip B-ko?”

“No. Now, A-ko, do you have an answer?”

“Drinking tea and looking out for my little sister.”

“Mm! Family is very important! B-ko?”

“Taunting Monkey.”

“Dammit Jakuzure!”

“B-ko, Sanageyama-senpai! You aren’t supposed to know who they are! That completely destroys the idea of anonymity between you and the contestants! The mystery of it all is what makes it so romantic!”

“But it’s Jakuzure!”

“Like I was trying to hide my identity.”

“Let’s hear C-ko’s answer!”

“Hanging out with friends, being able to just relax, and having a good sparring match.”

“Excellent answers from all of them! I think we’re getting to know them all a lot better now, don’t you agree, Sanageyama-senpai? Do you have another question?”

“What quality do you look for the most in a guy –”

“Do you, like, rip these questions off lame dating websites? Are you that desperate?”

“C-ko! I choose C-ko!”

“But, Sanageyama-senpai, you still have a lot of time left –”

“C-ko!”

“But –”

“I am not choosing Jakuzure and I’m pretty sure A-ko is Satsuki-sama. C-ko!”

“Like I want you to choose me, Monkey!”

“Okay! It seems as though Sanageyama-senpai has just made the fastest choice ever made on Hounnoji Academy Love-Love Line! And he’s chosen C-ko! Will C-ko please step out from behind the curtains? And it’s Ryuko-chan! Congratulations to Sanageyama-senpai and Ryuko-chan for finding love here on Hounnoji Academy Love-Love Line! I’m your host, Mankanshoku Mako, and tune in next time where we help Inumuta Houka-senpai find his girl!”

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

death's toll on us all

title: death's toll on us all

summary: Because Hiro Hamada wasn't the only one affected by Tadashi's death.

characters: Wasabi, Fred, Honey Lemon, GoGo Tomago, Aunt Cass

FF.net; AO3

V. Wasabi

He cries twice.

Once during the funeral. It’s when Aunt Cass had stepped up to give the eulogy that he sheds his tears. They’re silent tears and the only signs that indicate he was even crying are the slight tremble of his shoulders and the slight hitch of his breath. Beside him, Honey Lemon is weeping and Fred and GoGo are consoling her.

He throws himself back into his work because it’s the only thing that stops him from thinking about it. It doesn’t work quite as well as he hoped because every now and then he’ll stop and a stray thought will flicker through his mind and he has to set his tools down. His teeth clench and his hands grip the edge of his tool cart until his knuckles turn white and he draws in deep breathes to calm himself down enough to get back to work.

The only one other time he cries is in the shower where one can’t tell if it’s the water or if it’s tears and the sound of the beating water drowns out his hiccups. It’s the longest shower he’s ever taken and he steps out feeling more weary than before but the weight that was in him before has been eased somewhat.

-.-

IV. Fred

He doesn’t visit the lab for a couple of days because it’s just not the same without Tadashi.

Instead, he holes himself in his room and plays action movies on reruns. He doesn’t cry, but he does sit there sort of listlessly, dead eyes staring at the screen as the heroes whiz by and fight the villains. Honey Lemon calls once or twice to check up, but he simply lets it go to voice mail.

He sits and thinks and lets everything wash over him. He leans back against the couch and tilts his head back, breathing steady breathes, eyes focused on nothing in particular. The movie continues playing in the background.

From the corner of his eye, he catches sight of the mascot suit he used to don and easing off the couch he heads over. Upon reaching it, he stares at it and contemplates pulling it one once more. But it just brings back memories he’d rather not think about and instead finds a blank sheet of paper and scrawls out “Fred, don’t touch. – Fred” before taping it to the costume.

He returns to the lab the next day and helps Honey Lemon in keeping the atmosphere upbeat.

-.-

III. Honey Lemon

She cries openly at his funeral.

She is inconsolable, with tears streaming down her face and she clings to Wasabi as she bawls her eyes out. GoGo rubs circles against her back and Fred wraps his arms around her and she sniffles and smiles a watery smile at her friends. But one look at the dead looks in their eyes sets her off again.

Honey cries all day and all night until she can’t anymore. She cries until there are no more tears to shed.

She is the first of the four to pull herself together. She gets back to work almost immediately and smiles and tries to cheer them up because there’s no point in being sad forever, right? Tadashi may not be with them any longer, but he’ll always be a part of them.

She doesn’t cry anymore, but there’s always a sense of something missing and it saddens her but she simply draws in a deep breathe, plasters a smile to her face, and bustles around to make sure that GoGo or Fred or Wasabi are okay. Because someone has to be strong enough for them when they break because no matter how strong they think they are, they can’t hold in all that grief for long. And Honey Lemon resolves to be the shoulder for them as they were for her.

-.-

II. GoGo Tomago

Classes are canceled as people mourn Tadashi and Professor Callaghan’s deaths. She takes her bike out for a spin because just sitting at home unable to do anything reminds her of things she’d rather forget. She rides and she rides and she rides and she bites back the lump in her throat and the tears that sting her eyes.

The first day back is hard because they have to pass by Tadashi’s studio and she half expects him to pop out to greet them, but his room remains dark and empty. There are no sounds of him tinkering with Baymax or even him singing incredibly off tune to some old record he found lying around. It’s quiet and still and very unnerving.

GoGo works on improving her bike and she’s about to ask Tadashi on his opinion when she remembers he’s no longer there. The space where he used to lean in just as empty as his studio and GoGo doesn’t like it one bit. She grabs the rear wheel off her bike and tosses it harshly at the bins before replacing it with another. Fred tries to talk to her but she bites back something and just yanks on her helmet, pulls down her bike, and shoots out of the room.

She refuses to cry.

She lasts two weeks.

She’s managed to keep herself collected every day walking past his studio and making videos to Hiro to help cheer him up. But it’s the stray thought that there’s no teasing comment about how she can’t reach the top shelf that ultimately gets to her. It brings the lump back in her throat and the stinging tears and she can’t choke them back. She drops her head into her hands and cries silently.

Honey Lemon finds her like that later and instead of saying anything, she simply pulls GoGo into a hug and lets the shorter girl cry into her shoulder.

-.-

I. Aunt Cass

The shop remains closed the day after his funeral. She can’t even stress eat, because she’s not stressed. Instead, she bakes and cooks and cleans and does everything she can to keep her mind off the fact that Tadashi is dead. It doesn’t work.

Hiro’s holed himself up in their – his, now – room and Cass doesn’t blame him for it. When her sister had died those eleven years ago, she did the exact same thing and she understands what he’s going through and so she lets him be.

The table’s empty save for her when dinner rolls around. She’s accidentally made too much, a plate for Hiro and a plate for Tadashi. It’s almost second nature and she stares blankly at the set up before moving rather mechanically to dispose of Tadashi’s plate. But she finds that she can’t.

Everything catches up to her at that point and she collapses to her knees as the tears stream to her face and she cries the tears she didn’t allow herself to cry during the funeral. She cries and hiccups and there are snot and tears streaming down her face and when she goes to hug Mochi, he meows and moves away from her wet and sticky hands.

Hiccupping, she collects herself, mentally berating herself. She has to be strong. Strong enough for herself, and strong enough for Hiro. Shakily, she makes her way to her feet again and tosses away Tadashi’s plate of food before bringing Hiro his.

This happens again the next day, and the next, until she catches herself making an extra plate of mashed potatoes a week after the funeral and instead of tossing it like she would have normally done, she sits down and eats it and cries once more because it’s finally sinking in that Tadashi is gone. He’s gone and she’s never going to her nephew again.

It takes another week for her to even be able to really smile again, but it’s still not the same. And she knows it won’t ever be.

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

say something, i'm giving up on you

title: say something, i’m giving up on you

summary: You’re the one that I love and I’m saying goodbye.

characters: Sanageyama Uzu, Matoi Ryuko, Inumuta Houka

pairings: UzuRyuko; HoukaRyuko

notes: I’ve been basically playing Say Something by A Great Big World on repeat while writing this. I would suggest listening to the song, if only because it’s a really good song. This is inspired by the music video with Christina Aguilera. Each part represent a different age.

 FF.net; AO3

I.

Ryuko drags her covers tighter around herself, curling her knees closer in an effort to protect herself. Her stuffed animal is hugged impossibly close and she buries her face into the soft plush of its stomach. She can still hear the argument outside, voices raised and things breaking, and she winces and curls even more into herself.

They don’t stop. They never stop.

The argument outside her room is getting worse and the sudden sound of something breaking against her wall makes her jump and she immediately pulls her covers over her head, hoping that the darkness will swallow her. She doesn’t want to be here.

She’s scared and she doesn’t know what to do to make them stop. She wants them to stop but they won’t.

The voices rise even more until it’s just screaming. She covers her ears and squeezes her eyes shut and hopes that it’ll make everything disappear, but it doesn’t and she can still hear the shrill sounds of her parents fighting.

There’s stomping and a door slams, but the arguing doesn’t stop.

She just curls up even more and tries not to cry.

I am feeling so small.

II.

She slips into bed, her back facing his and there’s a cold silence between them. He doesn’t say a word, only shifting so that he’s closer to the edge. She expects this. It’s been this way for a month.

She wonders where their love went, because they used to be so in love, despite how they treated each other. But feelings fade and theirs faded so quickly that she’s not ready for it. Except she is, because she’s noticed the signs and warnings and it doesn’t come as much of a surprise when the attraction stops.

The silence ticks by slowly and she’s aware of each breath he draws and she sure he’s aware of every breath she draws, but there’s nothing else to focus on. Things are awkward between them, painfully so, and she debates leaving the room.

The bed creaks and she feels the bed dip and rise as he gets up. She doesn’t move, instead watching his dark silhouette move around to room to collect a spare blanket. He says nothing to her and his figure disappears behind the door with a soft click.

It helps her make up her mind.

“Houka.”

She’s standing in the doorway, the bags by her feet being carted off to the taxi waiting by the curb, and holds out her hand. Despite everything, there’s a small part of her that still cherishes him and she doesn’t want to part on bad terms, even if what they have is finished.

He takes it and they shake and then she leaves.

I’m giving up on you.

III.

The room is dark, with the only light coming from the machine she’s hooked into and its monotonous beeping the only sound breaking the silence. He moves slowly, bones old and tired and ready to collapse under everything, and reaches the edge of her bed where there’s a chair waiting for him, the same chair he’s sat in for the past two years.

“Ryuko.”

She doesn’t move. She doesn’t speak. She doesn’t acknowledge him at all and it breaks his heart because he always knew this day was coming but he never expected it to be so soon. His throat dries and he wills himself not to break down and cry.

He takes one of her frail hand in his equally frail one and rubs a thumb over her wrist and even though there’s a faint pulse that’s slow, oh so slow, it does nothing to ease his heart.

“How are you?”

She doesn’t answer.

He keeps talking because he can’t stand the silence and it’s more for his benefit than hers. He keeps talking because he’s trying to ignore what he already knows and isn’t willing to face quite yet.

He talks about their kids, their grandchildren, their friends. He talks about their past, about all the fun they had, and about all the silly arguments they got into. He talks about all the times he fell in love with her all over again.

He talks about anything and everything, all the while gripping her hand like a lifeline. He’s afraid that if he lets go, everything will disappear and it’d make everything all the more real.

“I love you,” he tells her and for a moment, he thinks she might have squeezed his hand as her way of replying. He gently strokes a hand over her hair and leans over to kiss her cheeks one last time before doing the same to the back of her hand.

The monitor slows and then stops beeping. Her hand slackens while his tighten. He still doesn’t let go. He repeats his words, again and again and again, until he gives up and allows the fact that she’s gone to wash over him.

Uzu cries for the first time in a long time. He cries and doesn’t stop crying.

I’m saying goodbye.

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

eyebrows, there should be two!

notes: Because we all need a Miss Congeniality!AU.

Uzu huffs agitatedly and checks his watch, wondering what the hell was taking Mikisugi so long with Ryuko. He paces the length of the car, fingers running wearily through his bangs.

“What’s taking her so long?”

Houka barely even glances up from his phone, fingers tapping rapidly in succession that makes Uzu think he’s playing a game. “Stylists. Everything needs to be perfect.”

“Well, whatever it is, can’t it wait?” Uzu grouses, checking his watch once more. “The plane’s about to take off.”

The creaking of the large warehouse doors sliding open alerts them to the approaching mass of people. Mikisugi’s leading the pack and he’s strutting as though he’s on a catwalk. Houka arches a curious eyebrow before giving a careless shrug, returning to the game on his phone.

“Finally,” Uzu says, throwing his hands into the air. He rushes forward to usher them faster but pauses when they part like the Red Sea and Ryuko because visible. He’s stunned at the way her dress hugs her body, accentuating the curves he didn’t know existed. But what he’s most surprised about is the fact that her hair’s down and it looks knot free and is that make-up? “Woah. Matoi, is that you?”

“There’s gunk on my face, I’m in a dress, I haven’t slept in over forty-eight hours, I’m armed, and I’m starved. Don’t mess with me,” she growls, eyes staring resolutely forward. She stumbles, unused to such high heels, and lets out an undignified yelp as she goes down.

“Yep, that’s her,” Uzu remarks amusedly as she jumps right back up, hand smoothing down her ruffled hair.

“I’m good. I’m okay. Let’s go.”

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

is it just mist or does it have arms and a leg?

notes: I think it’s time I actually sat down and watched Ghostbusters. This has absolutely nothing to do with the movie.

Today is just not his day.

So far, since the first bell had rung, Sanageyama Uzu has had three pop quizzes sprung on him, had to witness two of his friends sucking face in front of his locker, almost walked into the girls’ locker room, received a big, fat D on his essay, and just got released from an undeserved detention. And now, he’s finding himself staring at a ghost.

He blinks, unfazed after everything the day’s thrown at him, and reaches through it grab his books. The air around his hand and arm feels cool to the touch and there’s an exaggerated gasp from the ghost, but he’s too done with everything to care. He slams his locker shut and thinks it’s done, but then she materializes through the metal.

“Well, that wasn’t very nice.”

Uzu thanks whatever deity he can think of that the halls are empty. “Nice is overrated.”

She rolls her eyes as her body phases all the way through his locker door and she floats over to him until they’re nose to nose. “I think you’re just being a sourpuss today.”

“What do you want?”

“You know, being a ghost isn’t as much fun as people make it out to be.”

“What’s that got to do with me?”

She sighs and mercifully moves back. His nose was beginning to frost over. “It gets a little lonely, that’s all.”

“Don’t you have anyone else to bug?” he asks.

She reclines back in the air, one leg crossed over the other and arms linked behind her head, but still floats besides him. “But you’re so much fun.”

“Joy,” he mutters, starting down the halls.

“Gee, try to hide your enthusiasm a little bit harder, why don’t you?” He can practically feel the sarcasm rolling off of her in waves.

He rounds on her and shivers as she phases through him not once, but twice, and he glares at her once she’s no longer half in him. It feels weird and always leaves him feeling hollow inside, no matter how many times it happens. “What do you want Ryuko?”

“Nothing,” she says. She’s no longer floating as high as before and the air around her has gotten colder. “Company. I don’t know.”

He’s going to hate himself for this but, in all the time he’s known Ryuko since chancing upon her two months ago, she’s never been this despondent and it makes him uneasy. Scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, he mumbles out, “Do you wanna, maybe, I don’t know, come home with me? My dad’s not supposed to be back till midnight, or something.”

“Yeah?” She sounds entirely too hopeful and damn it, why does a ghost make his heart beat just that much faster?

“But – but just for tonight,” he splutters in an attempt to sound unaffected.

She laughs and rolls her eyes good-naturedly, slipping a cool hand between his to tug him along. He wonders what it’d feel like if she were corporal, to be able to feel the weight of her hand in his, and the thought is as unnerving as the fact that she’s a ghost and he might like her.

“You say that every day. Come on, I wanna watch Ghostbusters.”

Maybe today’s turning out to be not such a bad day, after all.

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

all’s fair in love and video games

notes: Video gaming brings the best and the worst out of all of us. I haven’t touched a game console in months so everything is pretty much what I remember and if memory serves me right, then I don’t remember much.  

“What – dammit Ryuko! Stop attacking me!”

“Then get out of my way!”

“This was not why we put on friendly fire!”

“Get. Out. Of. The. Way, Uzu! I’m trying to attack Link!”

Fingers move furiously against the controls as Uzu and Ryuko focus on attacking and parrying their characters, keeping a keen watch on their stats. Uzu groans irritably as his character keeps getting caught in Ryuko’s character line of fire. In the end, he gives up on trying to attack Ness and instead has Ike round on Samus, and with a quick counter, throws her character to the ground.

Ryuko grumbles and she attacks the buttons in quick succession, grinning wickedly as she watches Ike’s health bar climb into the two hundreds whilst pretending to be attacking at Ness who’s behind. Charging up a blast, she laughs a little too gleefully as both Ness and Ike fly off the screen and the voice announces the deaths of the two players.

“Ryuko!”

“Whoops, my bad,” she apologizes, not sounding very sorry at all. Without any more distractions, she makes quick work of Link and grins when the large ‘Game’ signs flashes across the screen.

“Rematch,” Uzu demands as the stats roll by. “No more teams. I demand a one-on-one.”

“Sure,” she easily agrees. “Get ready to get your ass whipped.”

“Not likely.”

They both choose new characters – Peach for Ryuko and Ganondorf for Uzu – and turn off the CPUs then ro-sham-bo when it’s time to decide a stage. Ryuko wins and immediately heads for ‘random’ despite Uzu’s grumblings about how Final Destination is a much better choice.

His grumblings turn darker when the game starts and Ryuko immediately lands a succession of hits on his character. When he tries to counterattack, his character just ends up tripping and he lets out a jumbled mess of what Ryuko thinks are curses. Whatever it is, it doesn’t faze her one bit and she presses on with her attacks until Ganondorf is flying off the screen.

“Gah!”

“You gotta do better’n that if you wanna beat me,” Ryuko taunts.

Uzu goes back to muttering but after a disastrous start, he begins picking up momentum and Ryuko finds that she’s having a harder time keeping her own damage from climbing. It’s a fierce battle now that no CPUs are getting in the way and they ultimately get down to one life each, neither one giving an inch. It’s a long battle, but Ryuko comes out one top. She drops her controller and throws her hands up with pride and glee, smug grin in place when she looks at Uzu.

He stares back, a competitive glint lighting in his eyes and he utters but one word. “Rematch.”

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

with gills and a fin you can only be one thing: a fish

notes: Watching The Little Mermaid put me in a mermaid mood.  

“You’re a mermaid?”

“We prefer the term mermen, actually. See, no boobs. Therefore, merman.”

Ryuko stares long and hard at the mermaid – excuse her, merman – tangled in her fishing net, his fish tail flapping uselessly against the deck of her ship.

She always imagined mermaids as being strikingly beautiful but this in front of her is anything but. His arms are crossed disgruntledly across his chest and his still dripping hair is hanging like seaweed in front of his face. One of her hands comes up instinctively to rub weary circles at her temple as she tries to process the fact that she just reeled up a merman of all things.

“You know,” Uzu intones dryly, “not that I don’t like the net or anything –”

“Yeah, hold on,” Ryuko says. “I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I pulled up a merman.”

His tail swishes along the deck, though it doesn’t get very far due to the net. Ryuko takes the time to really look at him, from the wet sheen of his tail to the limited pearls that line his hair, and it finally seems to settle in her mind that this guy before is, indeed, a merman. If anything, the tail that she’s staring at certainly doesn’t disappear the longer she stares at it, so, she’s assuming it’s real.

Or maybe this is all a very lucid dream and she’s actually still in bed. Yeah, that seems much more possible.

“The net?”

“Right.” Ryuko kneels beside the man and gets to work on untangling him from the ropes. Except she keeps getting distracted by the scales of his tail and the way the sun glints off of them that it takes her nearly an hour to set him free. It doesn’t help that he keeps grumbling and would flick his tail in her direction every time she gets sidetracked.

She seriously considers tangling him back up into the net and just tossing both of them overboard. She can afford a new net.

“There,” she states proudly, heaving the net off of his tail. It swishes, the arcs wider and freer than before, and a pleased grin spread across his face.

He slithers across the deck like a snake and heaves himself onto the nearest barrel. He stares with stars in his eyes at the water momentarily before turning back around to face Ryuko. She arches a brow curiously.

“What?”

He produces a seashell from out of nowhere and holds it out for her to take. She just stares at it and he sighs before grabbing her hands and placing the item into her open palm.

“What is this?”

“As thanks,” he explains simply.

“And you’re giving me a seashell?”

“If you ever need anything, anywhere, just blow into it. I’ll show up, I promise.”

With that, he jumps back into the sea, leaving Ryuko alone on the deck with a pink seashell in hand. She stares down at it and wonders if that really just transpired. The seashell is real enough and there’s still a puddle of water all across her deck.

“A merman,” she murmurs disbelievingly to herself. “Really.”

Not even a week later he ends up back on her deck, entangled once again in her nets, and she begrudgingly admits that she did indeed meet a merman. He gives her a sheepish smile and all she can do is sigh and shake her head as she strides across the ship’s deck towards him.

“I think you need the seashell to call for help more than I do.”

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

shameless friends are well meaning friends (or they’re just shameless)

notes: All I can say is, beware meddlesome friends. 

For the third time this week alone, Uzu finds himself back at the same restaurant, with the same waitress he had the last two times and all the other times before. If he were to be completely honest with himself, she’s the reason he keeps coming back. But he’s not and so he keeps telling himself it’s because the food is great. (It is, but it’s not the reason he returns.)

Uzu stares after Ryuko as she leaves with their order and he can’t help the soft smile that graces his lips nor can he seem to stop the wistful little sigh that escapes. A snort from across the table brings his eyes forward again and he finds Nonon shaking, her face buried in Houka’s shoulder while he simply smirks openly at him.

“What?” he asks, slightly miffed.

“I think I get it,” Nonon says as she lifts her head, her smirk matching her boyfriend’s. 

“Get what?”

“You have the hots for Ryuko,” Nonon states with little to no tact. “That’s why you keep coming back.”

“I do not!” he denies vehemently. “I mean, she’s –”

Uzu cuts himself off sharply when Ryuko returns with their drinks and appetizers and he adopts his most innocent expression possible. The smile she shoots him as she sets his drink down gives his a warm feeling.

“So, Ryuko,” Nonon says, her tone of voice sickeningly sweet. It’s almost as effective as dumping a bucket of cold water because the warm feeling is gone like that. “Are you dating?”

Ryuko blinks at the sudden question and Uzu just wants to sink into the floor because his friends (read: Nonon) are shameless. “Er – no, not at the moment.”

“Is there anyone you’re interested in?”

“I – no?”

Nonon hums and shares a look with Houka, one Uzu wishes he didn’t catch because it makes him just that much more embarrassed and nervous.

“So, let’s say Uzu were to ask you out then.” So damn shameless he’s considering ending their friendship. Uzu wants to bang his head on the table so badly.

Ryuko arches an eyebrow. “Is he planning on asking me out?”

“Are you?” Houka inquires amusedly. Uzu merely glares.

“My answer would depend on whether or not he plans on asking me himself,” Ryuko answers lightly as she places the last of the appetizers onto the table. “Your entrees will be out soon. If you need anything else, feel free to call me over. Enjoy.”

She escapes before Nonon can continue her line of questioning and Uzu’s left to deal with the couple before him until he decides that going to the bathroom would be a wonderful idea.

He bumps into Ryuko on her way out of the kitchens and his face flares up because there’s no way he can forget the mortification that was the last five minutes. He stammers out an apology of some sort and he quickly forgets what he’s talking about when she laughs lightly and reassures him that it was fine. 

“Your friends aren’t exactly subtle, are they?” she quips and it eases the embarrassment in him.

“Not exactly,” he agrees. 

“Well, I kind of have to get back to work –” Uzu just notices the tray of food she has in hand and moves out of the way, “– but for the record, my answer is yes.”

It takes a moment for it all to sink in and when it does, she’s already gone but it doesn’t stop the euphoric smile that stretches across his lips. He may not have asked directly, but that “yes” is enough to give him the courage to actually ask himself.

But he’ll do it when he’s not with Nonon and Houka. Just to be safe.

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

we’d be driving down route 66 if you knew where you were going

notes: It’s not a road trip if you don’t get lost, that’s what I always say.  

“We’re lost.”

Uzu scoffs, fingers tapping impatiently on the steering wheel as he stares resolutely forward. “We. Are not lost.”

“Then where are we?” Ryuko challenges, eyes never leaving the map in her hands. Her head tilts, finger tracing along the red lines as she tries to find their location.   

“A town.”

Ryuko hums disbelievingly. “Right. And what’s the town called?”

“Uh –”

“Admit it. We’re lost.”

“We are not lost!” Uzu repeats adamantly.

Ryuko sighs agitatedly and runs a weary hand down her face. “Just – pull over and ask someone for directions to the highway.”

“No. We are not lost, therefore we do not need to ask for directions.”

“Uzu, that was the fourth right you’ve taken in the last five minutes.”

“No it’s not.”

Ryuko makes a noise somewhere between a groan and a growl and bangs her head against the window. “See that shop? This is the third time we’ve passed that shop.

“Wha – I’ve never seen that shop before!”

With a frustrated noise, Ryuko gives up and just settles back into the car seat, map pushed aside. Might as well catch some sleep while Uzu drives around town pretending like he knows where he’s going. Who knows how it’s going to take him to find the highway.

She’s just starting to drift off when Uzu’s voice cuts in through the haze.

“Okay. I think we’re lost.”

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

reminiscin’ this n’ that n’ havin’ such a good time

notes: I was going to make all the Disney and not Disney songs hidden references but then where’s the fun in that. Uzu is a dork, of course he’d know all the songs. Who am I kidding, they’re both dorks.

“Let me be your wings –”

Ryuko laughs as Uzu removes the book from her hands and gently tugs her to her feet, swinging the two of them around in slow and easy circles. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” he replies cheekily, twirling her under his arm. “Let me be your only love. Let me take you far beyond the stars!”

Ryuko only laughs louder and harder when his voice cracks trying to reach the last note. “New song. New song.”

“Let’s get down to business –”

“Romantic.”

Uzu continues to twirl her around the living room. “Um – oh! Can you feel the love tonight?”

“I can,” Ryuko answers amusedly.

“The peace the evening brings.”

“Mm.”

“Hm. You’ll be in my heart. Yeah,” he belts out and Ryuko pushes him good-naturedly on the chest, still laughing. “From this day on, now and forevermo~re!”

“What about –”

“Yes, you gotta appreciate the lady.”

“Not what I was thinking, but that’ll work. Keep going.”

“A girl worth fighting fo~r!” He purses his lips in thought. “Unexpected, what you did to my heart.”

“Anything else?”

They stop spinning and Uzu winds his arms around her to pull her close. She follows, her own arms resting loosely around his waist. His smile is no longer mischievous, but instead tender, and he murmurs softly, “If I never knew you, if I never felt this love.”

Ryuko hums softly and lifts her head to give him a playful smile. “I have one.” She waits until he’s looking inquisitively at her to say, as teasingly as possible, “You know you wanna kiss the girl.”

Uzu lets out a huffy sort of laugh and as he leans in, says, “That I do.”

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

bt im not dbink *dribk *durnk

notes: Drunk texting can be hilarious but it can also be very tiring for the sober one because you’re left trying to decipher everything the drunk one is saying.

 Sunday 3:24 a.m.

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

hy

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

mattooiiiii

  From: Matoi Ryuko

What

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

dija k pw tha teqiulea taaets reaaalalllaly goood>?

  From: Matoi Ryuko

Are you drunk

  From: Matoi Ryuko

You are, aren’t you

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

whaaa

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

no im not

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

im jst abiy tispy not even drikk i can still thibk normaly

  From: Matoi Ryuko

I can’t say the same for your texting

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

booo yu

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

hey matoi

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

can i call you ryuko

  From: Matoi Ryuko

Yes

  From: Matoi Ryuko

That is my name

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

ure vry hot

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

lke suuuuppper hot

  From: Matoi Ryuko

Thank you?

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

liek its raelly hard for me to nt jum p yo

  From: Matoi Ryuko

Alright

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

youre very kisable

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

xcept i havent jissd you befor bur i imahiend it wuld be veyr good

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

can i kiss you

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

also i thinj i loe you

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

lobe

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

lobe

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

love

  From: Sanageyama uzu

matoi

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

re you ignorin me

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

mati

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

dont ingore me

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

yure hutring y felings

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

matoi

  -.-

  Sunday 11:56 a.m.

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

fuck

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

can you just

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

pretend that last night never happened

  From: Matoi Ryuko

Now where’s the fun in that

  From: Sanageyama Uzu

MAtOI

[i-shall-think-of-a-title-later]

you must be made of copper and tellurium because you are cute

title: you must be made of copper and tellurium because you are cute

summary: Failing chemistry was going to be the least of her worries.

characters: Inumuta Houka, Jakuzure Nonon

pairings: HoukaNonon, background UzuRyuko

notes: Tutoring!AU. I apologize for any and all grossly inaccurate chemistry information. I haven’t touched this particular subject in five years and my knowledge is basically everything taken off the internet. This was originally posted on FF.net but I figured i should also post it here. 

 FF.net; AO3

-.-

Slim fingers tapped impatiently against the polished tabletop, pink eyes glaring at the clock that hung on the wall. The seconds ticked by (why was her tutor so slow) and Nonon huffed agitatedly, fluttering her bangs, as she pushed back to slouch in her chair.

This was so stupid, she thought. It’s not her fault she’s failing chemistry; if her teacher was just even a little more competent, then maybe she could actually learn something. And not be, God forbid, failing. She didn’t even understand why she has to take this godforsaken class. She’s not going to need it in life. She wanted to be a musician, not a – a chemist or something.

Her tutor’s late.

She refused to acknowledge that she’s just, in fact, early and that her tutoring session technically wasn’t supposed to start for another five minutes, but weren’t tutors supposed to arrive early or something? To ensure that they wouldn’t miss their tutoree or whatever she is?

God, where was her stupid tutor?

The door to the library creaked open and Nonon didn’t even bother glancing over because it’s probably just another stupid freshman or sophomore or someone who wasn’t her tutor. She kept her eyes trained on the clock, watching the second hand slowly (so agonizingly slow) make its rounds. A shadow passed over her and a torso blocked her view of the clock.

“You’re late – you’re my tutor?”

“Who else could possibly handle your venom?”

Standing before her, scarf wrapped snugly around his neck and glasses glinting under the fluorescent light, was Inumuta Houka, genius extraordinaire and the one person in this school Nonon didn’t want tutoring her. Anyone else she could easily snark at and scare off, but Inumuta? Having known her since middle school and having been on the end of many snark battles with her, he (unfortunately) wasn’t affected by her bite. Huffing, she crossed her arms under her chest and stared him down.

“Certainly not a puppy.”

“Do you want my help?”

Nonon sighed raggedly, waving a dismissive hand at the spare chair. He pulled it up so that he could drop down next to her, dropping his bag next to one of its legs. Staring at her through blue-tinted glasses (seriously? Blue-tinted glasses?), he held out his hand. She simply stared at it weirdly.

Sighing, he tapped the table with his fingers and said, “Your tests.”

She did so begrudgingly. She’s not proud of her scores – many, many D’s (she maintained that it’s not her fault. It’s her teacher’s), and one C. She didn’t know what to make of the hums he gave but they’re probably judging hums. He’s totally judging her inability to understand the devil’s incarna – chemistry. She meant chemistry (except devil’s incarnate was totally true).

“You really are failing.”

Nonon scoffed. “That’s kind of why I need a tutor, Doggy.”

Sighing, he handed her back her tests and quizzes. “Alright, what do you want me to go over first?”

“Everything,” she answered bluntly, because she really didn’t understand anything. At all. And her midterm was slowly approaching (two months, to be exact, but with the help she needed, it was going to take longer than the two months) and she could not afford another D. Or worse, an F. Which kind of necessitated a tutor and thus, here she was, sitting at a library table with Inumuta.

“Obviously.” Inumuta looked like he’s trying to resist the urge to sigh again. “What are you most confused by?”

“Everything.”

This time he did groan and Nonon considered it a victory of some sorts. Hand coming up to rub tiredly at his temple, he asked, “What are you learning right now? We’ll start from there.”

“Mole calculations,” Nonon answered, nose wrinkling in disgust. If there was one thing she hated more than science, it’s math. Maybe that’s why she despised chemistry so much. It’s a combination of two completely awful things.

For the next twenty minutes, Inumuta tried to explain how to calculate moles but every time Nonon stopped understanding, she made a snarky comment that had Inumuta retaliating with one of his and they just ended up snarking at each other. By the end of forty minutes, all Nonon had understood about mole calculations was that there were numbers, and there were letters.

“So what are moles?”

“Weren’t you listening?” Inumuta grumbled. “A mole is a unit of measurement used to express –”

“If the textbook definition didn’t help the first time, Dog, what makes you think it’ll help now?” Nonon interrupted.

“Fine. Let me somehow simplify it enough for your simple mind to comprehend.”

“Please do.” She’s pointedly ignoring his little jab.

“It’s the mass of an element.”

Nonon blinked. “Yeah, no.”

“Let’s try this another way.” He sighed and loosened his scarf. “A mole is equal to six-point-oh-two-two times ten to the twenty-third power atoms which is also equal to the atomic weight of an element.”

“So,” she drawled, still not comprehending.

“So for example, sulfur.”

“Sulfur,” she repeated.

He pulled out her periodic table and pointed out sulfur for her. “Sulfur has an atomic weight of thirty-two-point-oh-six grams per mole.”

“And?”

“That means for one mole of sulfur, its mass is thirty-two-point-oh-six grams and it has six-point-oh-two-two time ten to the twenty-third power atoms.”

“Uh-huh.” Maybe if she pretended to understand, she wouldn’t have to stay.

“Question. What is the mass of thirty-five silver atoms?”

She should have listened. Too late for that.

She grabbed her chemistry notebook and flipped to a fresh new page, ignoring his amused look no doubt because of all the tiny doodles that mar the margin of the papers. Once she’d scribbled out some numbers, she powered up her calculator. When Inumuta leant over to inspect her work and let out a disapproving click of his tongue, Nonon huffed and threw down her pencil to round a particularly deathly glare on him. “What?”

“What,” he pointed to her paper, “are these?”

“Numbers?”

“Okay, fine. They’re numbers,” he conceded. “But I’m pretty sure the atomic weight of silver isn’t one-two-three-four-point-five-six-seven.”

“It could be,” she defended. “Who’s to say it isn’t?”

Inumuta merely gave her a deadpan stare and asked, “What’s the atomic weight of silver?”

Nonon stared at him like he was stupid. Like she’s supposed to know the atomic weight of silver by heart. What, did he think she memorized the periodic table for fun? He simply arched a brow at her and tapped the chart. Exhaling noisily, Nonon glanced down and let her eyes wander to settle upon silver. She tried to ignore the fact that his finger was settled right on it.

“One-oh-seven-point-eight-seven.”

Inumuta nodded. “And what’s a mole?”

“An animal that digs holes with insanely large claws and is as blind as you are.”

“Very funny. Be serious.”

“But I am serious,” she sang. She’s totally not serious, none whatsoever.

“And I’m some elite hacker with magical robes that enhance said hacking skills,” he replied sarcastically.

“You only wish you could have those mad hacking skills,” Nonon quipped easily.

“I don’t have to wish.”

“Right,” she drawled, leaning forward and resting her chin on her palm. Inumuta remained unamused. Nonon sighed at the deadpan stare he’s giving her and, just so he’ll stop with the look, she erased her numbers to replace them with the correct one. “Here.”

“Finish the problem.”

Nonon pouted. “You’re no fun, Doggy.”

“I’m not supposed to be.”

Nonon spent the next five minutes battling with her calculator and grumbling over the numbers and how much she despised chemistry. More than once, she caught the amused smirk that graced Inumuta’s face. It infuriated her even more than mole calculations. She just wanted to reach over and smack it off his face, preferably with her textbook.

He checked over her work when she finished and drawled, “So you can teach a snake tricks.”

She huffed indignantly and opened her mouth to retort with no doubt a snarky, and completely scathing, remark, except he piled on another twenty problems for her to solve. And he wanted them done before they wrap up.

Nonon left her first tutoring session with an even deeper loathing for all things chemistry and Inumuta Houka.

-.-

Band practice had run late (as usual) and she’s running (more like jogging than sprinting) across campus to reach the library. She held little hope that Inumuta wouldn’t be there, but it was a hope she was going to cling to. Eyes scanning the desks, her hopes rose and then fell upon landing on her tutor.

“You’re late.”

“Well hello to you too, Dog.”

Inumuta reclined back in his chair, arms crossed, and regarded Nonon with a scrutinizing look. Exhaling in exasperation, she dropped her bag onto the table, ignoring the loud impact it made with the varnished wood and the irritated stares she received from the other occupants. She just wanted this to be done and over with.

“Do you remember anything about mole calculations?”

“I doubt I could forget it even if I bleached by mind,” she shot back. She’s not kidding. All she could think about for the days following her first session was mole calculations. She even had nightmares about them.

“Good,” he nodded. “Then you’ll have no problem doing these.”

Nonon stared incredulously at the worksheet he slid over to her. Her eyes darted back up to him, the look of disbelief growing deeper and darker. After a minute of glowering, she sullenly pulled out her pencil and set about solving the worksheet. She instead focused her energy on glaring at the numbers until they swam and then she had to stop to clear her head.

As she worked through the seemingly endless multitude of problems, she found herself focusing less on actually trying to solve them and more on the sounds she was picking up from around her. It was a habit of sorts, she supposed. Or maybe she was slipping into a delayed case of denial. Whatever the circumstances, she shifted her attention towards observing the other people around her.

She picked up multiple sounds of pencil scratching across paper, of pages being turned, and of people humming. A particularly huffy sound made her glance up and she scanned the room for the perpetrator.

She paused on the hunched forms of Sanageyama and Satsuki’s little sister, her previous quest all but forgotten. Curious, she dropped her pencil and instead stared openly. It wasn’t as if they were paying any attention to their surroundings, so the chances of her getting caught were highly impossible.

She couldn’t hear their conversation but from the looks of things, they were in the middle of an argument. As she continued to watch, whatever it was that they were arguing about got both of them particularly heated. Thoroughly intrigued and kind of wishing she was closer, Nonon cupped a hand around her ear to try and pick up their words.

“What are you doing?”

Her eyes darted momentarily to Inumuta. She’s starting to pick up bits and pieces and she returned to staring at the couple before her. Something about a teacher? “Don’t worry, Doggy, I’m done.”

She’s vaguely aware of Inumuta slipping her paper out from under her, but she’s too invested in watching the scene unfold before her to pay any attention to the disbelieving sounds coming from beside her.

“This looks absolutely dismal.”

“Thanks,” Nonon drawled absently. Their argument was coming to a head now and oh, things were starting to get interesting. She leant forward, tossing all appearance of trying to be covert out the window.

“Well, as horrified as I am by your problem solving, you did get them right. So I suppose we can continue with chemical equations.”

Nonon groaned, though she’s not entirely sure if it was aimed at the prospect of having to learn more or at the fact that Sanageyama had just pulled Satsuki’s little sister into a kiss. Was that tongue she just saw? (Oh, that’s disgusting. She’s going to need to bleach her eyes later.)

“Are you going to keep watching or would you like a firsthand experience?”

“Learning chemical reactions would be a lesser evil.” Pulling her gaze away, she shifted in her seat so that Inumuta sat in the way, effectively blocking her line of sight. Except he shifted forward to lean over her textbook and exposed her to the sight of Sanageyama and Satsuki’s little sister still kissing (still?). Her nose wrinkled and she shifted again so that he blocked her view once more. “Wipe that smirk off your face or I’ll do the honors of ripping it off myself.”

He held up his hand in a pacifying manner, though his smirk remained. “I can’t believe I’m asking this, but what do you understand about chemical reactions?”

“They’re chemicals and they react.”

“I see we have a lot to do.”

“I see your face needs a lot of work,” she jabbed back.

“Your personality needs work.”

“Yeah, since yours is so scintillating.”

“Large words for a small person.”

“Who can kick your ass with ease.”

The smirk he (still) wore was tinged with amusement, as per usual, but this time, Nonon caught sight of another emotion, hidden behind everything else, before it disappeared. Her mouth snapped shut and she drew back the slightest in apprehension. It’s not the usual derisiveness she’s used to seeing nor is it the bemused yet amused look he’ll wear when he found one of her well placed insults particularly clever. It something different altogether and Nonon couldn’t place it, nor did she like it.

Quietly clearing her throat, she snapped, “Well? Are you going to teach?”

“That’s debatable.”

Even so, he averted his eyes back to the text and began breaking down the fundamentals of chemical reactions. She relaxed and rested her cheek back into an open palm, eyes downcast upon the text before her. She pushed out the thought of Inumuta feeling anything other than amusement towards her and focused her entire attention on taking in the information he was tossing her.

By the end of the session, Nonon’s head swam with numbers and letters and math, none of it making sense. When her head hit her pillow later that night, everything but Inumuta’s gaze flew out her mind.

-.-

Nonon caught Sanageyama by himself when she walked into the library, early for the first time since their first session. Altering her destination, she instead dropped onto the table next to his pile of work, legs kicking up to prop upon a spare chair. His head whipped up to stare at her in surprise.

He should be, she thought. It wasn’t often that she graced him with her presence and the display she had witnessed last week reminded her why she never bothered.

“What do you want, Jakuzure?”

Nonon hummed, taking the lollipop she was sucking out of her mouth with a loud pop. “Why do I need to want anything, Monkey?”

“You have that look in your eyes,” he pointed out warily.

“Oh, pish posh,” she waved away, wagging her sweet in his face. “I merely came to tell you that having to bear witness to you and Lil’ Sis sucking face is not something high on my ‘must see’ list. In fact, it’s not even on my ‘must not see’ list.”

True to form, he sputtered and flushed a deep red, arms thrown up to wildly deny her accusation. Nonplussed, Nonon popped her lollipop back in and grinned rather wickedly. She kicked one of her legs over the other and propped her elbow upon her knee, chin resting in hand.

“I don’t particularly care much for what you and Lil’ Sis get up to,” she continued, spotting Inumuta walking in, “but if you want to get frisky, do it somewhere a little more private.”

With that, she slid off the table and slung her bag over her shoulder, leaving Sanageyama still red faced and spluttering. A dull thud could be heard as she walked away and she snuck a glance over her shoulder, smug grin stretching her lips as the sight of Sanageyama’s head well acquainted with the tabletop. When she reached Inumuta, her grin remained and she was smugly twirling her lollipop between her fingers.

“What’s got you so happy?”

“Do I need a reason?”

Inumuta shifted. “If it’s you, then yes.”

Nonon sniffed indignantly, biting harshly into her lollipop, gleeful when it broke in half. “Well, reason you won’t get. Let’s get started.”

“That’s a first,” Inumuta remarked amusedly. That look was back as well. The same look that had haunted her dreams for the past week. The same look that she still can’t place and it’s bugging her to no end trying to figure it out.

“The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can leave,” Nonon announced, turning a blind eye to his gaze. She brought out her latest quiz for him to glance over and she busied herself with unwrapping another lollipop.

Popping the newly unwrapped sweet into her mouth, she tipped back onto the hind legs of her chair. She rocked back and forth, trying to find her center of balance, waiting for Inumuta to finish. Over Inumuta’s shoulder, she caught Sanageyama’s eye and immediately made kissing motions around the stick of her lollipop. They shifted into a smug grin when he flushed and Satsuki’s little sister sent both of them an inquisitive look.

“Pay attention.”

Nonon fell forward, the front legs of her chair making a dull thud as it hit the carpeted floor. It was obvious Inumuta was frowning, even with his scarf covering his mouth, and there was a certain edge to his voice that wasn’t there before. Frustration, she determined, and something else. A different, yet somehow still the same, something that had been in his gaze.

“I would if there was anything to pay attention to.”

“Then I’ll give you something to pay attention to.”

He proceeded to explain where she went wrong and she tried to listen, she did, but her mind kept slipping back to the unplaced emotions so much so that she simply allowed herself to drift away after her innumerable failed attempts to regain focus. She would make noncommittal hums every now and then, hopefully assuaging any doubts he had of her not listening, as she mulled things over.

She got nowhere, in both her studies or in trying to figure Inumuta out.

 -.-

She was finally able to place that look. It was the same look Sanageyama wore before he finally worked up the courage to ask Satsuki’s little sister out. It was the look he still wore whenever looking at her and it was the look she would give him in return. It was also the same look Gamagoori wore around Mankanshoku except she was too dull to even notice.

That could only mean one thing. Inumuta liked her.

Nonon spent the better part of the hour after her revelation fretting over this new piece of information. Not really fretting, per say. She was more bothered (extremely, extremely annoyed) by the fact that she had uncovered this tiny little (insignificant, except it wasn’t) detail.

Inumuta liked her.

It repeated itself, over and over. She tried to push it out of her mind, but it crawled back, each time louder than before until all she could hear and think was “Inumuta likes me”. And when she finally sat down and thought about how to best go about dealing with this, she realized she didn’t know. And that troubled her more than knowing.

Instead of spending sleepless nights trying to make head or tails out of chemistry, she spent them trying to understand her current dilemma. When her next session rolled around, she’d barely gotten more than four hours of sleep, at most, and she still hadn’t quite figured out what to do, which left her in a rather sour mood.

“You vaguely resemble a panda,” Inumuta noted the minute she arrived at what has now become their table.

“Bite me,” she snapped. “Or I’ll wipe your hard drive.”

“Touch my laptop and you’ll suffer a fate worse than death.”

“Try me.”

Inumuta regarded her shrewdly, as if trying to call her bluff. When it seemed that he couldn’t find even a hint that she was lying (she wasn’t), he turned away and had her bring out her latest quiz to go over. She handed it over petulantly, slumping further down in her seat

“Alright,” he finally said after skimming her work, scooting over to place her quiz between the two of them.

He quickly went over what she got right, advising her on easier and simpler ways to go about solving the problems, before tackling the ones she got wrong. And boy, did she get a lot wrong. For some inexplicable reason, she felt embarrassed but shook it off. There was nothing to be embarrassed about. It wasn’t as if Inumuta didn’t already know how depressing her chemistry scores were.

She was tasked with reworking the missed problems while Inumuta observed to ensure she didn’t somehow veer off to some convoluted path. She was proud to say that she didn’t, even if it did take her longer than usual.

The smug smile she wore fell the minute she turned to face him, finding that he’s scooted closer while she was occupied. She was suddenly hyper aware of everything that was Inumuta, from where their arms touched to just how close his knees came to bumping with hers. She could make out his eyelashes (they were really very pretty for a guy) and the slight hazel that dusted the edges of his eyes under certain light. Scowling at where her sudden train of thought was taking her and just at Inumuta in general, she shoved him none too lightly on the cheek.

“I have a need for personal space, Doggy.”

“Wha – hey! Jakuzure!”

She didn’t stop shoving him until he was nearly falling off his chair, one leg still on the seat and the other bent awkwardly on the ground. The only reason he had yet completely sprawl across the floor was simply because of the firm grip he had on the table and on her arm. Her own legs had wrapped themselves like ivy around the legs of her own chair and she refused to budge, so Inumuta hung in the air between chair and floor.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, his grip on her sleeve tightening, trying to pull himself back to an upright position.

“I told you,” she answered, relentless with her attacks, “personal space.”

“That warrants pushing me to the ground?”

“I would have rocketed you to Pluto, but alas, I have no spare rocket on hand, so yes.”

“For the love of alkaline, Jakuzure, I’m not going to jump you.”

Shocked motionless, Nonon stopped shoving long enough for Inumuta to straighten. After a moment, she snapped her mouth shut and gave him one final shove, muttering, “You wish you could.”

She didn’t miss his eye roll or the slight curve of an affectionate smile. That unsettling feeling came back anew and she promptly shoved it away, wanting nothing to do with it. Except it just kept coming back, every time he’d shift in his seat or talk. Or do anything really.

One simple revelation shouldn’t have changed so much, but it did and Nonon hated it. Hated it even more than she hated chemistry. (Actually, chemistry was still number one. She didn’t think anything could top it at this point.)

-.-

He knew.

She knew he knew.

And she knew he knew she knew he knew.

The unsettling feeling she’d get was still present, but it had become rather commonplace that Nonon could ignore it with little to no problem. A good thing, too, because his looks were becoming more and more frequent.

His looks were no longer covert and he’d openly stare at her while she’d work, always a mixture of amusement and awe. He’d always find some excuse to brush up against her, whether it’s to take her work from her or scooting closer because he had to see what she was doing. His end of their witty battles now felt like he was openly flirting with her.

Well, two could play at that game.

Every time she’d catch sight of a smile sent her way, she’d send one back, all coy and teasing. She would even add in a wink every now and then, for added measure. Every time he’d brush up against her, she’d do the same right back and linger. She returned his flirty banter with ones even flirtier. It became a game of sorts, seeing who could fluster the other more. (She’s winning. Don’t listen to Inumuta.)

So caught up with their little, unspoken, competition, Nonon forgot one very important thing. Her midterm was coming up.

She came into the library in a flurry of papers and coffee, dropping everything but her drink onto the table. Inumuta glanced up from his book, eyebrows arched questioningly, hand flying out to capture all the loose papers that nearly fluttered to the ground.

“Midterm,” Nonon explained in a clipped tone.

Marking his page, Inumuta set aside his book and picked up one of the papers his hand had come down upon. Upon flipping it over, he picked out the bolded words splashed across the top: Midterm Study Guide. Underneath it laid pink scribbles, along the margins and in every inch of free space the eye could see, with phrase such as “what is this?” and “oh god no”.

“When is it?”

“A week.”

“And what would you like to review first?”

Nonon waved a hand at the paper in his hand, taking a large gulp of cooled coffee, nose wrinkling at the bitter aftertaste. She hated cold coffee (not that hot coffee was any better, but she drank it anyways). “Take your pick, Puppy. We have to go through everything anyways.”

Inumuta glanced back down and sighed. “Then let’s get started.”

The first thing he had her work on was the practice test her teacher had handed out.

For the next hour or so, Nonon immersed herself completely into chemistry to the point where she was able to ignore her surroundings, including just about every brush and every look. She worked away, harder than she’s ever done for this particular subject, and found herself tunnel visioning onto the problems beforehand.

She’s quite surprised to find that she actually understood quite a few more questions than she previously assumed. It looked as if she was beginning to retain information. She worked through those problems with relative ease and those that she didn’t understand, she did what she always did and just guessed, muddling her way through.

Finishing off her last calculation before a headache could settle in from focusing too much and too hard, she dropped her pencil and exhaled in relief. Her arms came up, stretching with an almost catlike grace. Her chair tipped back onto its hind legs as she extended her legs out in front of her, completely taut.

Relaxing her tense muscles, the sudden shift in weight tipped the already precariously balancing chair and she found herself falling backwards. Her limbs flew out instantly, windmilling in an attempt to right herself, feet kicking the underside of the table in the process. A hand clamped over her wrist and with a sharp tug, Nonon toppled forward instead. Her chair came down with a thud and unable to stop herself, she crashed into Inumuta, her other hand bracing itself against his chest.

Heart racing from the near acquaintance with the carpeted floor, Nonon drew in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. Only then was she aware of the fact that Inumuta still had his hand wrapped around her wrist and that she was still leaning against his (very nicely toned and muscular but not quite to either Sanageyama’s or Gamagoori’s point) chest. She could feel the beat of his heart on her fingertips (or was that her heart).

With a start, she jerked away, face flushed a light pink. Except her wrist didn’t come with her, still trapped in Inumuta’s grip, and she stared at it in a mixture of wonder and fear. Coming to her senses, she stammered out, “I need to grab something from the science section.”

Without waiting for a response to her (lame. So lame) excuse, she tugged her wrist free and skittered towards the science sections without actually looking as though she was running away from him. She kept glancing over her shoulders, finding that he bore a confused look on his face as he stared after her. She ducked into an aisle as fast as she could and she didn’t stop until she found herself in the music section. Feeling safer, she leant against the nearest bookshelf.

What was wrong with her?

Inumuta shouldn’t have made her so flustered and feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush. (Well, she was a schoolgirl, but that’s not the point. And she didn’t have a crush.) This was Inumuta, for crying out loud! She should be annoyed, smug, anything but flustered and shy. Shy, she thought wryly. Not something one would associate with her. She didn’t even know she could be shy.

One of her hands came up to run wearily across her face and push her bangs out of her eyes. She knew she should have quit while she still had time.

(Okay, so maybe she did have a crush on Inumuta. A tiny one.)

She leant against the bookshelf for a while longer, simply breathing. She could still feel Inumuta’s hand around her wrist, the warmth and the pressure and how his heart had beat under her fingertips. She wondered if she might be able to feel it again. (Alright. Maybe it wasn’t a small crush.)

“This doesn’t look like the science section.”

Nonon jumped, startled, and whirled around to find Inumuta at the end of the aisle. He looked vaguely amused and kind of frustrated, scarf pulled down to expose his mouth. He leant his weight against the bookshelf, arms crossed over his chest.

“I needed a book on music theory.” It was technically true. She did need a book for music theory, but she already had a copy of it sitting at home. He didn’t need to know.

“What about the science book you needed?” he inquired, stalking closer.

Nonon stepped back for every step he took forward and tried to shrug as nonchalantly as possible. “They didn’t have it.”

The skepticism in his hum was palpable.

Nonon soon found herself backed into a corner, Inumuta having steered her in that direction. His arms uncrossed to brace against the shelves next to her head and he leaned in, whispering, “You know what I think, Jakuzure?”

“I don’t particularly care what you think, Doggy.” It came out soft and breathy, not at all snappy or confident like she wanted.

“I think you’re a load of bull.”

“And you’re full of dog shit.”

“Jakuzure,” Nonon suppressed a shiver at how low his voice had suddenly gotten, “shut up.”

“Excu –”

She barely had time to even feel affronted before he swooped in and pressed a light kiss to her lips. It was quick and short and over far too quickly, but it warmed her cheeks and made her heart flutter all the same.

Blinking, she stared as he pulled away, a light pink dusting his cheeks, and she snickered (Jakuzure Nonon doesn’t giggle). The furrow of his brow and the slight pout his mouth had pulled into at her laughter made him oddly endearing in her eyes and she reached up to cup his cheeks in her hands. There was little resistance when she pulled down for another one.

One of his arms slid to wrap around her waist and tugged her closer, the other still bracing him so that his weight didn’t crush her, forcing her to roll onto her toes just to accommodate him. With a frustrated grumble, Nonon stepped onto his feet to use as extra leverage, hands sliding down to grip at his scarf to steady herself. He grunted but the kisses didn’t stop.

“You’ll get a date if you can pass your midterm with anything higher than a C,” he murmured.

It was Nonon’s turn to utter, “Shut up.”

Like she wasn’t already planning on acing the test (really, she’s trying to aim for anything other than a D), but a little incentive was nice.

-.-

She did pass (with a B. Minus) and as per their agreement (that wasn’t really an agreement), Inumuta took her out on a date.

Maybe chemistry wasn’t so bad.

(She recanted as soon as her next quiz came back with a D. Chemistry was and will always remain the devil’s incarnate.)