97 Chapter Eight: Becoming Stars! ...Or Just Not Trainwrecks On Stage

"No, no, no!" Akitsuki cried in dismay. "Endo-san! How many times do we have to do this part?! I've told you a thousand times now, you have to hold her like you love her!" In response to this criticism, a very annoyed and exhausted Haruna glared back at the pompous girl who had made herself director. "Yeah, well, I'm trying to, but it's a little hard when the girl keeps moaning!" "I can't help it Haru-chi. Your touch is just heavenly~" Chiyo teased.

Practice for the play was well underway, and it was, in a word, disastrous.

*****

Within the next couple of days of the class deciding to do a play, all the roles were given, scripts were handed out and a schedule was decided upon. Considering the fact that they had a little less than a month to put everything together, practices were set to be frequent and get progressively longer as the festival got closer.

"Ugh, seriously, why the hell did I get dragged into this?" Haruna complained. "C'mon Haru-chi, I bet it'll be a blast!" Chiyo said, clearly enjoying herself. "Easy for you to say. You don't have to play some 30-year-old dude," Haruna said.

The two main roles had been given to Haruna and Chiyo. For Haruna, she would be playing the role of George Holden, a journalist for a big-city newspaper. Playing her co-star and main love interest would be Chiyo, who would be Sydney Alto, a source for a major scoop. At first, there had been a lot of reservations from the class about having either of these two girls in the roles, but they all came around eventually.

Chiyo was already naturally good-looking, even if it brought her a lot of trouble. So imagining her as a sexy, seductive 1950s American woman wasn't hard to picture. As for Haruna, there were actually quite a few people that though she gave off a cool beauty sort-of vibe, so when they pictured tying her hair up and dressing her up in a suit, many quickly became a fan of the idea. Adding in Chiyo and Haruna's close relationship (and certain rumors about them) cemented the casting choices.

For the first couple of days, Haruna had tried her best to get out of being in the play. She tried everything from skipping practice entirely to suggesting guys in the class to play the role because it would make more sense. Unfortunately, all of her attempts were in vain. If it had been up to the teacher, she probably would've been able to pull it off, but because it was Akitsuki's play, Akitsuki was in charge. That meant that her stubbornness and arrogance were at an all-time high. As a last resort, Haruna had tried to convince her to change her mind.

"Hah? You can't be serious!" Akitsuki had scoffed. "Are you trying to ruin my masterpiece? We did the casting right away because we hardly have any time before the festival. And now, several days in, you want to quit because it's 'not for you'? Absolutely not! You are in this play Endo-san, and I am not letting you out of it, so give me a stellar performance befitting my masterpiece!"

And so, Haruna was stuck in one of the main roles. "This sucks…" she groaned. "Cheer up Haru-chi," Chiyo said. "I know you're like, worried and stuff about this, but trust me, you'll be fine. Your line delivery already sounds better than mine."

"Yes, because she's actually taking this seriously Wakabayashi-san," Akitsuki chimed in. "If you would work as hard as Endo-san, we'd be much further along by now!" "Um, I'm not working hard," Haruna commented. "C'mon Akitsuki, I keep tellin' ya to just call me Chiyo," the gal smirked. "And I keep telling you that I have no intention of doing that. We are not friends or anything of the sort. In this scene, I am the director and you are an actress. That means I'm in charge, which also means I have no intention of getting any closer to you than necessary. Honestly, I do believe you're fit for this role, but I truly cannot stand you as a person." And with a final huff, Akitsuki walked away.

"She sure talks a lot…" Haruna mumbled. "It amazes me how that girl doesn't understand why people don't like her," Chiyo said in monotone, offering a rare, genuine insult. "It's pretty rare to hear you say something like that," Haruna said. "Wellll," Chiyo said, standing up to stretch. "It's not like I don't wanna get along with her. I just think it's probably impossible as long as she always acts like that." "You say that, but you somehow managed to become friends with Fukuhara-san…" Haruna thought.

After school that day, Haruna began practicing in earnest. There was clearly no way out of the play, so she decided she'd at least try her best to not make a fool of herself on stage. "Okay people, let's do a read-through!" Akitsuki declared. "Huh? But we've been doing that since the beginning!" a girl complained. "Yes, but now that our other star is here," Akitsuki said with a bit of annoyance. "We can finally give the script a proper read-through!"

There was a bit more grumbling, but the cast listened to their director. "Okay Endo-san, you're up," Akitsuki said. Bringing the script closer to her face, Haruna held it in both hands as she read aloud.

"A-Another long day at the, uhm, office."

"Stop!" Akitsuki shouted. "That's not the character at all!" "Relax Akitsuki, it's Haru-chi's first time," Chiyo said, adding a bit of emphasis on the words 'first time.' "This isn't a matter of how many times she's read the lines. It's a matter of wondering if she even read the character description at all!" Akitsuki shrieked. "Sorry, but '1950s American with slightly rough features' isn't a lot to go off of," Haruna said. "And I told you I didn't want to do this, so don't start yelling at me because I'm not up to your stupid standards!" "Excuse me?!" Akitsuki yelled. "I simply want what's best for this presentation! Maybe it's not that my standards are high as much as it is your level of effort is too low!"

"I can't believe they're like this after only one line…" a boy mumbled in the background. "Maybe Endo-san was a bad choice after all…" a girl added. Overhearing them, Chiyo felt her irritation rising. "I know Haru-chi can do this," she thought. "If they would both just try listening to each other…"

"He's supposed to be a rough-and-tumble sort of guy!" Akitsuki screamed. "What does that even mean?!" Haruna yelled back. "It means-" Akitsuki began to say, but she was cut off.

"E...NOUGH!"

Without warning, a chop was delivered to the tops of both Haruna's and Akitsuki's heads. Standing between the two girls was Chiyo. "I've had it!" the gal shouted. "Akitsuki! Haru-chi has NEVER done this before, so cut her some slack, would ya?!" "But-" "I don't wanna hear it! No one in this damn play is gonna be perfect or some Broadway star, so stop actin' like we're supposed to be! And knock it off with this director nonsense! We're all just students! If we wanted to be bossed around like that, we'd put a teacher in charge!" "W-Well-" Akitsuki tried to meekly protest, but Chiyo leaned in close to her face, glaring at her. "Do you hear me Akitsuki? Knock. It. Off." "Y-Yes ma'am…" Akitsuki whimpered.

"And you Haru-chi," Chiyo said, wheeling around to face her best friend. "M-Me?" Haruna sputtered. "It wouldn't kill ya to put in a little more effort, don't'cha think? At least do that much before hurling insults at people," Chiyo lectured. "Come on Chiyo, you know how much I don't want to do this," Haruna said weakly. In response, Chiyo both pouted and glared at her. "Mmmgrh." "Alright, alright," Haruna relented, putting her hands up in surrender. "I'll try my best, okay?" "Good," Chiyo said, seemingly satisfied. Behind her, the crowd trembled.

"Have you ever seen Wakabayashi-san mad?"

"I didn't even know she could get mad…"

"She really put those two in their places, huh…"

That day, a certain amount of both fear and awe formed in the students who witnessed Chiyo's wrath.

*****

"Haaah…" Haruna sighed. "That took forever." "Yeah, I can't believe it's already six. My big sis keeps texting me askin' when I'll be home," Chiyo said. "Chitose-san worries about you like that?" Haruna asked. "Well, not usually, but tonight we got some plans, so she wants me home ASAP," Chiyo explained. "Why is she always at your house anyways? Isn't she supposed to be in college?" Haruna asked. "She said somethin' about her classes being really relaxed, I think. Somethin' about research and stuff too," Chiyo answered, though it wasn't much of one.

"Anyways Haru-chi," Chiyo said, changing the subject. "Think you got the hang of acting now?" "No way. It's only been a day, and it's obvious I still really suck," Haruna said with another sigh. "Honestly, are we actually going to be okay for the cultural festival?" "With plenty of hard work, I'm sure we'll be fine," Chiyo said optimistically.

As it turned out, things got worse before they got better. A lot of people kept messing up their lines (Haruna included) which tested the limits of Akitsuki's patience. It had been a week since Chiyo lectured both Akitsuki and Haruna, but in that time, her own seriousness from that day had been dropping with each practice. She still showed up and did her lines, but she could just never seem to be able to resist dropping in a joke or two.

"Chiyo, I swear, if we have to do this scene one more time because you decide to let out some moan, I'll drop you on this floor," Haruna threatened. "Okay, okay," Chiyo said with a wry smile. "Aaaand action!" Akitsuki declared.

"Whoa there. You alright miss?"

"Ohh…"

"Miss?"

"Ah, yes. Sorry about that."

"No problem. Better watch that step there, especially in those shoes of yours."

"Well if I fall, will you catch me again?"

"Cut!" Akitsuki yelled. "Finally! You two finally got it right!" "That took way too many tries," Haruna said as she flopped down into a chair. "It took everything within me to not let out my sounds of pleasure," Chiyo joked. "Chiyo…" Haruna said with much annoyance. "Kidding, kidding," Chiyo said with a wave. "But for real, I think we might actually be on the right track now." "I hope so…" Haruna said.

"Okay, places people!" Akitsuki said. "We're picking up from Act 1, Scene 2!"

*****

"Listen up everyone!" a girl declared. Standing at the front of the room of the Cooking Club was a girl with glossy black hair kept in thin twintails and tied up with white and red ribbons. On her uniform was a green bow indicating she was a second year. "Oh great, she's giving more orders," Michi commented under her breath. "W-Well, she is the club president now," Kanako said.

With it being the third term of the year, it was time for the third-years in clubs to retire and focus more on their studies or job hunting. That of course applied to the singular third-year student in the Cooking Club, Naomi Akiyama. Being the oldest member and most experienced, she had been the president of the club until a couple months ago. Now that title belonged to Rina Takano, the girl currently commanding the club's attention.

"Seriously, why her?" Michi complained. "Maybe because unlike you, I actually show up all the time!" Rina shot back. "Shouldn't quality matter more than quantity here?" Michi remarked. "Excuse me? Are you saying I'm bad at cooking or something?" Rina said back angrily. "Well, if that's how you want to put it," Michi smirked. "You- huh? Is something burning?"

Just as she was about to continue yelling at Michi, a certain smell had caught Rina's attention. "Where… AH! Saki, hey! I told you to wait!" Dashing over to the stove, she quickly switched off the burner. "Ehehe. I guess I spaced out again," Saki said innocently. "Honestly! You're hopeless Saki. I'm going to have to keep an eye on you for forever," Rina huffed, although her pink cheeks seemed to indicate that future didn't bother her so much.

Saki Uchida, the only first-year in the club. She was small and cute like a bunny, with her green hair always tied up in short, fluffy pigtails. Saki was very sweet and nice, but she also tended to be an airhead, which led to plenty of kitchen mishaps. It hadn't taken long for Rina to notice and start watching out for her, and since then, the two had grown fairly close.

"Ahem," Rina said after averting yet another Saki disaster. "Anyways, I need all of you to pay attention." Once she saw that everyone else in the club (Kanako, Michi, Itsuki and Mayu) were all looking at her, she continued. "We need to decide what we're going to do for the cultural festival." "Huh? I thought we had already decided," Itsuki blurted out. "Weren't we gonna do a takoyaki something-or-other?" "Itsuki-chan," Mayu whispered. "That's the track club." "Oops."

"Well, it's not like she's really wrong. Being the Cooking Club, we're obviously going to do something food-related. The question is what," Rina said. "How about crepes?" Saki suggested happily. Briefly, Rina tried to imagine Saki making the fluffy pastries. "...No, you'll probably just end up burning the batter," Rina said. "Aww…" Saki let out sadly. "What about something fried?" Itsuki suggested. "Like what?" Rina asked.

"H-How about yakisoba?" Kanako added. "It's easy to make, and we'll be able to make a lot of it." "True," Rina agreed. "But I'm sure we wouldn't be the only ones doing yakisoba. We need something to make it stand out." "We could offer various options," Mayu said. "If we let people choose between spicy, traditional, and sweet, that might work." "Maybe, but I still feel like we're missing something," Rina said. "What if we served it a different way?" Kanako said. "Like, we could serve it in a cone shape." "A cone...?" Rina repeated with a fair bit of skepticism in her tone. "M-Maybe not," Kanako said, shying away. "I think it's a good idea," Michi said.

"Huh? Since when do you get along with Kana-chan again?" Rina asked, mildly surprised. "W-Well, we're, um… I-I don't have to explain myself to you," Michi said with a huff. "Hah? It's a pretty simple question, ain't it?" Rina fired back. "It's none of your business!" Michi shouted. "What're you getting so worked up for? Pretty suspicious," Rina said. "You're the one that's suspicious," Michi said. "Me?" Rina said, caught off-guard by the sudden accusation. "Yeah, you. You're always hovering over Saki-chan, even when she isn't doing anything. That's pretty weird if you ask me," Michi pointed out. "T-That's-!" Rina started to protest, her face looking a little red.

"I like when Rina's nearby! It's like having a big sister!" Saki said cheerfully. Next to her, Rina let out a sigh that was more disappointment than relief. "There you have it…" she muttered. "Now that that's out of the way, let's just figure out our plans for the festival. Along with needing to decide on our own booth, I need everyone to give me their schedules so that I know who's available when."

The other members of the club then got out pieces of paper and began writing down their schedules. "So I guess Mi-chan managed to distract Rina-chan enough to forget about earlier," Kanako thought. "That's definitely for the best. Even I'm not sure how to explain our current relationship." Strangers no longer, but not quite friends again yet either. It was a reminder that there was still quite a bit of distance between Kanako and Michi. "Maybe working on the stuff for the cultural festival will help close that distance, if only a little," Kanako secretly hoped.

Once the club members were done writing, they gave their schedules to Rina, who briefly looked them over. "Geez Itsuki-chan!" she exclaimed, eyes bulging. "Are you going to be okay? You're so booked as it is between your class and the track club." "Haha, yeah, I know," Itsuki said with a smile. "But don't worry. It'll be fine! I've got plenty of energy, ya know?" "If you say so," Rina said, going back to looking at the papers in her hands. Next to Itsuki, Mayu looked at her with a look of worry.

With the main order of business taken care of, the club proceeded into their activities for the day. The focus was making noodles from scratch and forming various shapes with them. Most everyone kept it simple, but Rina did seem to go out of her way to make something that stood out. Her final noodle shape turned into small, detailed flowers.

It wasn't long after that club ended, and by the time it did, the sun had begun setting. "Man, Takano-san really kept us around for awhile today," Michi said, sounding annoyed. "Well, noodles take some time too," Mayu pointed out. "I can't believe she made hers that fancy…" Michi muttered. "She totally did that just to spite me." "I-I don' think so," Kanako said. "Maybe…" "You two should just try to get along," Mayu said calmly. "Nope. Not happening. The two of us are completely incompatible," Michi said strongly. "You used to say pretty similar things about Chiyo," Kanako pointed out. Suddenly, Michi's face went red. "T-That's different!" she exclaimed. "Different how?" Kanako pressed. "It's… Chiyo…" Michi sputtered. "Ugh, whatever! I'm going home!" she yelled when the group reached the gate. "Ah, Mi-chan!" Kanako called, but Michi continued stomping away. "Haaah," she sighed. "Why does she have to react that way whenever Chiyo's name comes up? I swear, with the way she's actiing, Mi-chan has to be…"

"Kana-chan?" Itsuki asked. "Hwah?!" the girl let out in surprise. "Did I startled you?" Itsuki asked with a snicker. "N-No, not at all!" Kanako lied. "You seemed like you were thinking about something serious. What was it?" Itsuki asked. "Um, I-I guess Mi-chan…" Kanako answered. "I see," Itsuki said. "Well, I'm happy you two are getting along again, even if it's only kinda." "I agree," Mayu chimed in. "I can tell you two seem to be working on things." "We're trying, I guess…" Kanako said, sounding disheartened. "Kana-chan?"

"It's just…" she began. "It's so hard to tell. Are we making progress? Or are we getting further apart? Will we be able to continue like this? Or will one of us say something that causes another fight and ruins all of that progress?" Kanako looked at the two girls standing next to her. "We might be trying to fix our friendship, but sometimes I feel like one wrong move could ruin everything."

Neither Mayu nor Itsuki knew what to say to that. To them, it was all from an outsiders perspective. One day, Kanako and Michi had been friends. The next, they weren't. Perhaps it wasn't quite that sudden, but their group shrinking from four to three had felt rather abrupt to Mayu and Itsuki. Then the two of them had started staying away from Michi because of how she had been acting. Now, that was in the past, and the pair had at least managed to become a trio again. However, it was clear they weren't quite back up to four yet.

Both Mayu and Itsuki wanted to do something about it, but neither of them knew how to help. They didn't know (nor couldn't) know what Kanako or Michi was thinking or feeling, and even if they did, it felt like a situation where that knowledge wouldn't change much. Considering all of that, eventually one of them spoke up.

"Kana-chan," Mayu said. "Just keep doing what you're doing. I think if you just keep trying, and Mi-chan does the same, it'll work out." "You really think so?" Kanako asked. Mayu nodded. "I do." Whether or not Kanako took any solace in those words of encouragement was hard to say, but she still accepted them with a smile. "Alright. I'll do my best."

At the gate, Kanako went the opposite direction of Mayu and Itsuki. "You think they'll really be okay?" Itsuki asked. "Only time will tell," Mayu said as she began to walk away. "Huh? Hey, Mayu-chan, wait up," Itsuki called after her. When she caught up, she saw the glasses-and-braids clad girl looking a little sulky. "Um, Mayu-chan? Are you… mad about something?" "What gives you that idea?" she said, sounding a little uncharacteristically cold. "What's wrong?" Itsuki asked. Mayu sighed. "It's about you Itsuki-chan." "M-Me?" Itsuki said. "Yes," Mayu said calmly. "I'm worried about you. That schedule of yours looked pretty busy." "Hey, I told everyone back ther didn't I? I have plenty of energy!" Itsuki said proudly. "Everybody has their limits. You should know that better than anyone," Mayu said somewhat sharply. "Right…" Itsuki said softly. "Don't worry Mayu-chan. It'll be fine! I promise it won't be like last year!" "I hope not," Mayu said quietly.

*****

Bubbles formed at the buzzing of Kanako's lips. Sitting in the bath, her head felt heavy, but not from the heat. "There's so much going on right now…" she thought. There was her main concern, Haruna. Ever since the day before class decisions were made about the cultural festival, Haruna hadn't shown up once to pick her up in the morning. When Kanako had asked about it, she had found out that Haruna had to do both morning and after school practice for the play. Kanako had been pretty surprised to hear that Haruna was going to be in a play in the first place, but asking a bit further had revealed that she really didn't want to be in it. All Kanako had been able to say was for her to do her best.

Unfortunately, the cultural festival was actually the root of a lot of her problems. Because of the play, Kanako never really got to see Haruna, and even when Haruna was free, Kanako kept getting wrapped up in either helping with her class's preparations or the Cooking Club's planning. It seemed like every potential chance kept getting wasted. "Maybe I'll be able to work something out for one of the days of the festival," Kanako thought, but she had plenty of doubt to go with that hope.

Of course, the other issue she was dealing with was Michi. Thanks to the cultural festival, they were being forced to spend more time together. That wasn't inherently a bad thing, but it put Kanako in a difficult position. She still wasn't sure how to act around Michi. A constant fear resided in her that the fragility she saw in their relationship would give way with just one wrong word. A singular word, a singular action could be all it takes to take the two of them all the way back to square one. "We've only just gotten reconnected. If we had to start over again… I really don't know if we could…"

It seemed like more and more worries were piling up for Kanako. "Is this festival going to be fun at all?" she wondered. A while back, she had hoped the she and Haruna could walk around together, but with both of them being so busy, there was no way that was going to happen. A part of her had also hoped that she and Michi would be fully friends again, but it felt more like their relationship was hanging on by only a few threads. There were her general worries too about her class and club and what they're doing for the festival. "And now, there's that thing Chiyo wants me to do..."

Once again, Kanako created bubbles in the water, but whether it was supposed to represent a sigh or just frustration, not even she could say.

*****

There was now one week until the festival. In that time, Haruna, Chiyo and Hinami's class had been practicing hard for the play. "Alright everyone, that's a wrap! We only have a few more days until the performance, so don't start screwing up my masterpiece now!" Akitsuki ordered. At this point, most of the class was used to her ridiculous remarks, so they all just tuned her out and began packing up. While they did, there was chatter about the preparations.

"How are the outfits coming along?"

"The Home Ec club said they're almost done."

"Yeah, I went to check them out myself, but I could've sworn I saw more outfits than we needed."

"Maybe they just made extra just in case?"

"Yeah, probably."

"I can't wait to try them on!" Chiyo said excitedly. "It must be nice to look forward to your costume," Haruna said, sounding a bit annoyed. "Haru-chi, you'll looking just dashing in a suit, I know it," Chiyo said, though it was hard to tell if she was teasing or not. "Whatever," Haruna said. "As long as I don't look like an idiot on stage, that's all that really matters." "You sure have come around on this, huh Haru-chi?" Chiyo said with a smile. "I still don't want to do this, but I don't really have a choice either, so it's whatever," Haruna said with a shrug. "Admit it, you're totes looking forward to it," Chiyo smirked. "I am not!" Haruna shouted, although the bit of red in her cheeks showed her embarrassment with Chiyo being right.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna head out!" Chiyo said. "Good work everyone!" "Yeah, good work!" "See you tomorrow!" "Later!" And with that serenade of goodbyes, Chiyo left. Still sitting in her desk chair, Haruna couldn't help but smile. "It's great that she's really getting along with everyone now."

Before, it had all been so superficial. Everybody would just be nice to Chiyo on the surface because she was nice back. But Haruna knew the truth. Behind her back, both guys and girls would say terrible, nasty things about her. They'd spread all sorts of rumors, and even occasionally girls would bump into her in the hallway on purpose, or guys would leave her notes that were absolutely disgusting. Haruna had never understood how Chiyo had put up with it all. One day, she had asked her.

"It could always be worse," Chiyo had said seriously. "Honestly, this much just feels like dealing with immature kids." Haruna hadn't entirely understood what Chiyo had meant, but she had a feeling it had something to do with Chiyo's past. "Maybe… I should ask her about it," she had thought, but to this day, she hadn't. Part of her wanted to know, but part of her was afraid of what she might find out. Considering what she knew about Chiyo, Haruna had the feeling that her past was probably pretty heavy. "But still, as her friend, I should know… shouldn't I?"

At least the present was finally looking up for her. Chiyo was genuinely getting along with her classmates now. Some of the girls obviously still held grudges, and some of the guys still leered at her way too much, but a lot of the others appeared to have changed their opinion of the gal. Just hearing people say, "She's actually not bad at all," or "She really is nice," made Haruna happy. "Those idiots are finally starting to get it," she thought. "Chiyo's a good person, even if her past is kinda questionable."

And as Haruna thought about all of that, that very same gal was making her way through the halls. Practically skipping along, she eventually stopped at the door for the Cooking Club. It was perfect timing, as the door opened and the members began to file out. One after the other, they all left, some of them giving brief greetings and goodbyes to Chiyo as they went. Second-to-last was Kanako, who was a bit surprised to see Chiyo, but one look behind her made her realize why the gal was there.

Once Kanako left, only one remained. "Huh? Chiyo?" Michi said. "Shouldn't you be at practice?" "You don't need practice when you're as talented as I am," Chiyo joked in a pompous tone, but Michi wasn't amused. Instead, she marched up to Chiyo, reached all the way up (needing to stand on her tiptoes) to grab both of her cheeks, and pulled. "You better be taking that play seriously. I don't want to be embarrassed to know you because you make a fool of yourself up there!" Then she released Chiyo's cheeks. "Ow…" Chiyo groaned, rubbing her face. "Don't you worry Mi-chan. I promise I'm practicing hard." "I-Idiot. Who said I was worried?" Michi said, turning away.

For a moment, it was quiet. Then, Chiyo spoke again. "Hey Mi-chan." "Yeah?" "Do you… wanna walk together during the festival?" Chiyo asked. "Huh? Why the hell would I want to walk with you? Besides, I'm going to be too busy anyways, so no."

"You really can't? ...Not even for a little bit?"

Hearing Chiyo's tone, Michi quickly turned to face her completely. What her eyes saw surprised her. Chiyo looked genuinely sad. Her face was tiled down a bit, and her hands were held together in front of her, her fingers fidgeting over each other. Through the orange sunlight pouring in through the window behind her, Michi swore she saw a faint red on Chiyo's cheeks. "That has to be from me pinching her earlier… right?"

"Please, Mi-chan?"

That sincere request brought heat to Michi's face. As fast as she could, she turned away. "What the hell? What is with her?!" she panicked inside. After taking a second to calm down, Michi looked back over her shoulder. Chiyo was still making the same expression.

"Don't make that face," Michi said quietly. "It's totally… not fair…" "Sorry…" Chiyo said back. "But, I guess if you're too busy, it can't be helped. I'll just see ya around I guess!" And in that last sentence, Michi could hear how much Chiyo was forcing herself to sound cheery. "Damn it…"

Before she knew it, Michi had reached out her hand and grabbed the back of Chiyo's uniform. "Huh?" the gal let out. "...a little bit…" the other girl said meekly. "Just… for a little bit… we can walk together…" For a moment, Chiyo was speechless. Then, "...Thanks, Mi-chan."

And in that moment, as the gal kept her back to Michi, the girl still gripping the back of the gal's uniform could feel the strongest heat she had ever felt continuously rising on her face. Why that was though, she was still far from understanding.

End of Chapter Eight.