72 Chapter Six: Future Plans

A couple of days later, the second-year students of Iwanai Municipal High School were met with a time-honored tradition. "Okay everyone, listen up," the teacher called out. "It's time to fill out your career sheets." As expected, an audible groan rose up from the classroom. "Remember, it's not like what you write is set in stone, but you should give some serious thought to your answers." With that, the sheets were distributed, leaving the students of the classroom to think about what it was they wanted to do.

Naturally, some wrote down answers immediately. There were plenty of students planning on going to college, so that was their first thing to write down. However, college wasn't necessarily a guarantee for some, so that left filling out the remaining two slots. Plenty of people got hung up on what to write second, but Kanako fell into the camp of still being stuck on the first.

"What do I want to do…?" she wondered. It wasn't as if she had never thought about the future, but when faced with giving a real answer, it felt hard to decide. "Should I say I want to be a chef?" Kanako thought. Honestly, it was something she had been leaning toward, but she wasn't sure if putting that down as her first choice would be satisfactory for her teacher. So instead, Kanako went with writing down the name of a college she had thought about going to that had a good culinary program. As for the last two spots, she just wrote down two more college choices.

Once that was done, Kanako glanced to her left. Not too far from her sat Michi, who seemed to be staring off into the window. "I bet Mi-chan will get into a top university…" she thought. Being one of the smartest students in her year, Kanako knew Michi probably had her pick of universities. Before, she had even said that was part of what she wanted to do. "If I get a degree from a great school, who wouldn't want to hire me?" Michi had said. Although, despite her confidence in her grades, Kanako remembered Michi seeming unsure about what she wanted to do either. But, unlike Kanako, it seemed to be more of a conflict between what she wanted and what her parents wanted rather than simply not knowing.

Of course, even if Kanako wanted to know what exactly it was Michi had written, it wasn't like she could just go up and ask her. Their last argument had been the final straw for Kanako, who refused to say anything more to Michi unless she truly apologized for the things she had said and the way she had acted. Unfortunately, that did little to soothe the pain in Kanako's heart. She wanted her friend to apologize, not out of malice, but simply because she wanted to be real friends again. All Kanako wanted was to be able to talk to Michi like she used to.

Thinking on it, Kanako couldn't help but draw similarities to how she had felt when she and Haruna had been fighting. This time though was different in at least the sense that Kanako actually knew what the problem was. Michi kept thinking and saying that Kanako was picking Haruna over her. Kanako didn't really see it that way (and she didn't get it either), but she knew that Michi did for some reason. Ultimately, it had been barrage of insults after tirade that had pushed Kanako to the edge with the girl she had called her best friend. It had gotten to be too much, as they just kept having the same arguments over and over.

It all begged the question of why was it that Michi kept going around in circles? "Maybe… she just doesn't like change," Kanako concluded. She remembered a conversation the two of them had had at Mayu's house. When the topic of change had come up, Michi had seemed very averse to it, not understanding why anything had to change. Admittedly, Kanako felt similarly, but she also knew that it was impossible for things to remain how they were. And if she hadn't before, she certainly did now. Kanako had wanted Haruna back as a friend so things between them could've gone back to how they were. Instead, she had received a confession from that very girl.

But, even though that was definitely a change, it was one Kanako wasn't opposed to. She didn't quite understand why, but it almost felt like her heart welcomed it. In opposition to that, her heart had turned its back on Akio, the boy she had loved for so long. While that wasn't a change Kanako had ever wanted, she couldn't deny that a part of her felt better for it. It was like she could really see everyone around her for the first time in a while. After having at least half her mind on Akio for so many years, it was almost refreshing for that not to be the case now.

Major changes had occurred in Kanako Nakatomi's life, and among them was also her relationship with Michi. If that dynamic changed too but they still remained friends, Kanako didn't see much issue with it, not after everything else she had experienced in the last six months or so. However, Michi did think of it as an issue. She couldn't see it any other way. To Michi Fukuhara, things were best when they stayed as they were.

With that splitting difference between the two girls, Kanako had no idea how long it might take for Michi to come around and say she was sorry. It was possible that the day might never come, and that thought broke Kanako's heart a little. A part of her wanted to reach out to Michi anyways, but she resisted. For as much as she wanted Michi back in her life, an equal part knew that it was necessary, vital even, for Michi to approach Kanako first in a genuine fashion.

As Kanako sat and stared, Michi suddenly looked her way. Their eyes met, and for a moment they both wore a look of surprise before Michi turned back toward the window with a small huff. "Geez…" Kanako thought. "Will we ever get back to normal?"

*****

Once the papers were passed around, Haruna stared at the sheet in front of her labeled "Future Career Plans." "What should I even write?" she wondered. Haruna had never given much thought to her future. Not being the biggest fan of school, she knew she didn���t really want to go to college. Although, the thought of Kanako going did make Haruna at least consider the idea. "College with Kanako…" she thought, sending a flurry of daydreams running through her head. Most of them involved them going to classes together and spending time together in general, but when she thought of the two of them being alone together as college students, Haruna found her thoughts going down a less than pure path, so she put a stop to it. "I know I'm in love with her b-but…" she thought, making herself feel embarrassed from nearly imagining doing certain things with Kanako.

"Hm? You look a little red Haru-chi. Thinking about something lewd?" Chiyo said suddenly, appearing at the edge of Haruna's desk in a crouch. "L-L-Le-?! I wasn't!" Haruna exclaimed, who was telling the truth (...mostly). "Whatever you say Haru-chi," Chiyo said with a smirk. "So what did ya write on your paper there?" Looking at it, Chiyo raised an eyebrow. "It's blank," she commented. "Y-Yeah…" Haruna replied, feeling embarrassed for a different reason now. She had to admit, not giving much thought to her future until now was probably something she shouldn't have put off.

"So you really have nothing you wanna do?" Chiyo asked. "Not really," Haruna answered. "I don't think I really want to go to college or anything, but besides that I'm at a loss." "Hmm…" Chiyo let out, going deep into thought. "Oh! I know!" "What?" Haruna asked. Chiyo gave a wide grin.

"How about writing down you'll be Kana-chan's wife?"

Haruna blinked several times at the suggestion before it registered fully in her mind. "W-W-W-W-WIFE?!?!" she shrieked, drawing the attention of several students around her and her teacher. "It's perfect isn't it? Haruna Endo, housewife," Chiyo said happily. "Oh, but I guess your last name might change huh?" "W-Well…" Haruna sputtered. "Hey, try writing it! See how it looks!" "Come on Chiyo, it��s not like we're actually going to get married. We're not even dating…" Haruna said, her tone falling off into disappointment. "What does that matter?" Chiyo replied bluntly. "Elementary schoolers do this kinda stuff all the time!" "I guess so… alright…" Haruna said. It's not like it would hurt to try it out.

Slowly, Haruna wrote her first name in the first box of the paper, then followed it up with a different last name. Completing the title, it read "Haruna Nakatomi." "Oooh," Chiyo let out. Meanwhile, after finishing writing it, Haruna's face went completely beet red. "This is so embarrassiiiiing!" she cried. "Hmm," Chiyo responded, drawing Haruna's attention. "W-What?" "Well, I'm just thinkin'… Would you really take Kana-chan's last name? I feel like it might be better the other way around," Chiyo explained. "O...okay…" Haruna agreed meekly, putting pencil to paper once more. When she stopped, there was another name, reading "Kanako Endo."

As soon as she saw it, Haruna flopped down over her desk, covering the paper entirely. "Kyaaaa," she squealed, kicking her legs back and forth out of both enjoyment and sheer embarrassment. Haruna's face felt hot beyond belief, and she wanted no one else to see what she had just written, but she couldn't deny it made her pretty giddy too. "Kanako Endo…" she repeated in her head with glee. "That's got a nice ring to it." Of course, there was still the Herculean task of even getting Kanako to accept her confession, but the thought of the girl making Haruna's last name her own certainly helped to buoy Haruna's spirits.

"Good for you Haru-chi," Chiyo said with a smile. "But y'know, you like, totes wrote that on your career planning sheet. Better hope the teacher doesn't see~," Chiyo cooed. "Oh crap!" Haruna shouted, realizing her mistake. Hurriedly, she did her best to erase the evidence. "How's that?" she asked Chiyo. "Mmm, well, you can still kinda see it, but I doubt teach'll notice."

Then, Haruna got serious. "Seriously though, what I am I supposed to write here?" she said aloud, glancing at Chiyo. Looking back at her, the gal suddenly gave a wry grin. "I know," she said. "What now?" Haruna asked. Before she could stop her, Chiyo grabbed her pencil and began writing in big letters across the entire page. When she finished, the phrase, "I will be Kana-chan's wife!" was streaked across it.

"There you go!" Chiyo said, dashing away so Haruna couldn't punish her. "C-Chiyo! How am I supposed to turn this in now?!" Haruna called after her. She tried erasing it, but even after she had, Haruna could still see the characters pretty clearly. "Great…" she sighed. For a moment, Haruna considered getting a different paper, but then she decided against it. "I'm sure it's not that unusual to see other things like this written on these that got erased." Once that was decided, Haruna went back to trying to figure out what her real answer should be.

With college out of the mix, that really only left the general workforce. It wasn't like Haruna had some family business to take over, so finding job at some company was probably going to be her only course of action. However, the question of where remained. Her options were limited without a degree, but that didn't mean they were zero. Narrowing down the potential choices, Haruna eventually wrote down "something in an office." It wasn't the most exciting, but it was definitely better than doing manual labor, so Haruna went with it.

Unfortunately, that only filled one of three spaces. "Ugh…" she groaned. What else was she supposed to put? For a moment, Haruna considered writing professional athlete as a joke, but then she thought better of it. She knew if Izumi ever found out about that, the girl would never stop trying to make Haruna president of the club.

Instead, Haruna went with "getting a job at my parents' company," which was basically the same as her first answer. Then, for the last one, Haruna was drawing a complete blank. No jobs came to mind nor anything she really wanted to do. Well, nothing except one thing. In small, very small letters, Haruna wrote the word "wife" dead-center in her final box. It made her blush, but the thought also made her happy. Whether or not it would actually happen was another story entirely, but for the moment, Haruna took comfort in the idea of being a wife.

*****

When the bell rang for lunch, Michi watched Kanako leave. This had become a common sight to her, as she continued to go eat with Haruna and Chiyo. "Whatever," Michi huffed to herself. She tried to tell herself it didn't bother her, but it was hard to ignore the fact that it did. Luckily, this time Michi wasn't left completely alone, as Itsuki happened to join her. The two girls were still somewhat awkward around each other thanks to several of Michi's outbursts, but Itsuki was trying her best to mend the bridge between them.

"So Mi-chan," the track-running girl began. "What did you put on your career plan sheet?" "I just wrote down a few colleges," Michi answered plainly. "Yeah, that sounds right for you. You've always said you were gonna go to college," Itsuki replied in a cheery attitude. "What about you?" Michi asked. "I wrote that I'm going to be a track star!" Itsuki proudly proclaimed. Michi was silent for a moment. "...Um, do you really think the teachers will approve that? Or your parents for that matter?" "Huh? Why wouldn't they?" Itsuki asked, truly baffled by Michi's question. The girl sighed. "Itsuki-chan, have you ever even made it to nationals?" "W-Well no, but-" "Then what makes you think you'll be a pro?" Michi said harshly.

Itsuki shook a little with anger. "I could just be a late bloomer y'know?!" she yelled. "And besides… you didn't have to be so mean about it…" "...Right. Sorry," Michi said, feeling guilty from her judgment. Considering Itsuki was nearly the only person still talking to her, she didn't want to ruin that friendship.

It wasn't as if all of Michi's friends had abandoned her. There of course was the fighting with Kanako, but aside from that, it had more to do with the awkwardness Michi herself had created, leading to others wanting to put distance between them. For example, Mayu kept eating lunch with Jasmine now, a fact that seemed to irk Itsuki, but whenever Michi brought it up, Itsuki would just dodge the question and laugh it off. Michi was pretty sure Itsuki didn't have anything against Jasmine, so she wasn't quite sure why she couldn't just join them instead. "Maybe she's just spending time with me out of pity," Michi glumly thought, although that was only in passing. "No, she's not that kind of girl." That was true. Itsuki mostly did what she wanted, and most of those were whims, so trying to picture her doing something for someone out of pity felt very out of character.

However, while Michi appreciated Itsuki's efforts (flimsy as they may be), that didn't do much to make her forget about her other problems. If anything, Itsuki's presence just amplified them. Having one girl around instead of the usual three was a pretty big difference.

"Y'know, I kind of miss our usual group," Itsuki said, suddenly giving voice to Michi's thoughts. "Are you a mind-reader?" Michi asked warily. "Huh? No, are you?" Itsuki asked, confused once more. "No, it's just… I was just thinking the same thing, that's all…" Michi said shyly. "Oh. Well, I guess that's just how it is. Things change," Itsuki commented. Michi twitched from statement. "Things change, huh…?" she repeated bitterly. "Mi-chan?"Itsuki said, but the girl just shook her head. "It's nothing."

Of course, it wasn't actually nothing. Not to her. To Michi, the changes that had come about in her life had tasted like poison, doing nothing but rotting away relationship after relationship around her. When Haruna came around, she took Kanako with her. When Jasmine showed up, Mayu was suddenly nowhere to be found. Itsuki had gotten closer to Michi, which was nice, but it wasn't exactly what she wanted. Then, there was the biggest change of all.

Iwanai's number one gyaru, a girl Michi swore up and down that she hated for years, was now the one person that wouldn't leave her alone. It seemed like wherever Michi went, there the gal was, showing up to whisper something sickeningly and disturbingly both sexy and sweet in her ear, or clinging to her arm like she was a koala. It drove Michi up the wall and only further proved why she believed change was such a bad thing. If nothing had changed, she probably would've never had to deal with the girl named Chiyo Wakabayashi. "Although, I kind of get the feeling she might have found me anyways…" Michi grumbled internally.

Regardless, nothing good seemed to result from the changes that occurred in Michi's life and against her will. If she had it her way, it all would've stay the same. Her group of friends would've remained separate from Haruna, Chiyo and Jasmine, and their biggest worries would've been… the same… as before…

As Michi thought that, she could've sworn she heard an audible crack in her head. It was loud and poignant, as if it was trying to signify something. Unbeknownst to her, it was, for this was the first true crack in Michi Fukuhara's beliefs on change. And while she didn't realize it herself, she knew enough to know that whether or not she and her friends had crossed paths with Haruna and company, the end result would've been the same. They'd all worry about what to do in the future, they'd talk about homework and how much they hated it, and maybe even the possibility of romance. None of that changed with the others' presence. "If it's the same either way, then… then…"

Then what was she doing all this time?

So resistant had Michi been to change that she had even gone as far as to push others away simply because they didn't fit into the life she wanted. But now, in the middle of this revelation, Michi was seeing just how truly flawed that was. She had yelled at Kanako for getting closer with Haruna and choosing that girl over her due to her selfish desire for Kanako to remain frozen in time. She had lashed out at Mayu and Itsuki because they started to stray from what she wanted. Mistake after mistake, and it was finally sinking in that perhaps, the changes that had occurred around Michi were inconsequential in the grand scheme of everybody's lives.

What did it matter if this person met that person in high school? Who cared if this girl was friends with that girl? Interactions at such an age certainly hold value and their own place in the societal structure, but when put up against the fact that at the end, as long as you graduate and learned at least something, what did any of it amount to except drama?

The relationships people form with others in school, whether they're teacher or student, are important. They can shape a person's life and even inspire them to greater heights. Michi knew that as well as anyone. It was thanks to meeting Kanako that she had even tried cooking in the first place. If she hadn't, the door to the culinary arts would've remained forever closed to Michi until maybe someone else came along and opened it for her. But, if that someone came along, then was Kanako necessary? There are no guarantees in life, but if that was one, would Michi have needed to meet Kanako at all? Would she feel all this anxiety, doubt, annoyance and regret that she did now?

Hence the drama that piled up along with Michi's feelings. It was a confusing train of thought, one that leapt from one line to the next, connecting as a just-barely coherent logic. If asked if she could explain it all to someone, Michi probably couldn't, because that was the state her mind was in following this realization. Although ultimately, it came to this: if the new relationships that formed around Michi changed her surroundings but did little to affect the overall agenda before her, then did it really matter at all if her friends chose to spend their time with other people?

"We'll all graduate, and then what?" Michi thought. "Will I ever see these people again? Will I hang out with Kana-chan, Itsuki-chan or Mayu-chan? Where will I even be living? Would it be here in Iwanai, or somewhere else entirely? It might not even be Japan. It could be anywhere. I have no idea."

"Hey, Mi-chan, are you okay?" Itsuki asked. Across from her, she saw Michi breathing raggedly and sweat beading on her forehead. Her eyes were wide and her lips trembled. "Um, Mi-chan?" Itsuki called her name again, but no answer came. Michi continued to sit in place, seemingly in a panic. "I…" she squeaked. "I need to go."

Suddenly Michi stood up, doing it so fast that she sent her blond strands whipping behind her. Then she dashed out of the room, leaving behind a stunned and bewildered Itsuki. Out the door, through the halls, up the stairs Michi went, until finally she landed on the top floor in a part of the school rarely used. Trying the rooms near her, she found they were all locked. Unable to hide in one, Michi decided to just go with the hallway.

Michi Fukuhara, top ten student in her year at Iwanai Municipal High School, remained curled up in a ball in a corner of a hallway, skipping classes until a teacher stumbled upon her and sent her to the nurse's office.

*****

Meanwhile, in a classroom a couple of doors down from Haruna and Chiyo's, Jasmine sat across from Mayu, sharing the same desk as a table. "Jasmine-chan, are you sure you don't want to turn a desk around? You'd have more space that way," Mayu said. It was something she said every time they ate lunch together in the classroom, which was beginning to become a habit. Every time, Jasmine would saunter over to Mayu's desk, grab the chair in front of it, flip it around, and sit right down, sharing Mayu's table. Then, Mayu would ask out of politeness if Jasmine wanted more space, to which the gal would always respond, "Nah, it's okay. I like it this way," and would say nothing more.

As Mayu nibbled on a carrot stick, Jasmine let out a little laugh. "Ya really are like a bunny, ya know that?" "B-Bunny?!" Mayu exclaimed. She had heard Jasmine compare her to the fluffy creatures before, but it still surprised her. In all her life, Mayu had never known someone who said stuff like that so frequently. "Yeah, but it's all good. Bunnies are cute anyways," Jasmine said, being sure to keep her half-lidded, sultry eyes trained upon Mayu. "O-Oh… yes, they are," Mayu said, suddenly feeling a bout of embarrassment. "Does that mean she thinks I'm cute?" she found herself wondering.

"Oh, hey, Mayu-chi," Jasmine said, continuing on with her personal nickname of the glasses-clad girl. "Yes?" she responded. "What did'ja put for your career thing?" "Career thing? You mean the career planning sheet?" Mayu asked for clarification. "Yeah, that," Jasmine said with a nod. "Oh, well I'll just probably become a housewife. After all, my mother seems like she wants me to have an arranged marriage."

At that explanation, Jasmine visibly scowled. "Arranged marriage? What does she think this is, the 18th century?" "Jasmine-chan?" Mayu said, a bit surprised to hear so much negativity come out of the gal's mouth. Jasmine certainly wasn't energetic, and her word sometimes had a bit of bite to them (although most of the time it was just her joking), but to hear a comment like that made Mayu wonder about why she had said it.

"Do you," she ventured. "not like stuff like that? Things that might be considered more traditional?" "Look at me Mayu-chi," Jasmine said flatly. "Do I look like the kinda gal that enjoys 'tradition?'" Taking a good look, Mayu admitted that Jasmine was pretty far from the norm. Wavy, pink hair. Eyelashes that were naturally long still nearly dripping with mascara. A way of speaking that was most definitely not formal. And while Jasmine was still a little more reserved about her clothes, that didn't stop her from hiding her assets entirely, leaving plenty of cleavage and thigh exposed. "I guess you're right," Mayu said with a small laugh. For some reason, she really enjoyed her time with Jasmine. She thought maybe it was because of just how different the gal was from her.

"...And anways," Jasmine added. "I just don't think it's right for parents to decide things like that." "You don't?" Mayu asked. "C'mon Mayu-chi. Are you telling me the only thing ya wanna do in life is get married and pop out kids?" Jasmine said crudely. "W-Well, I mean…" And this was the crossroads Mayu faced.

For all of Mayu's life, her decisions had been made for her. How to eat, how to dress, how to speak. Everything. Even in school, she did little outside of what she had been taught or what she had been given permission to do. Life was easy, and Mayu never really harbored any doubts about her future being decided for her.

Then Chiyo came along, and with her, Jasmine. At first, Mayu had simply enjoyed the change of pace. Chiyo came off as a big sister type, something she didn't have, so it was welcomed. On top of that, Chiyo was always fun, so Mayu enjoyed her time with her.

But after the camping trip they all went on, Mayu had begun getting closer to Jasmine as well and it was through these interactions that Mayu noticed something. While Chiyo may have sparked it, Jasmine was the one that kept pushing something into Mayu's mind. It was the ability to think and decide for yourself, no matter what others thought.

While Mayu had had little exposure to this line of thought, she couldn't help but admire the ones that did had it. Chiyo had such a trait, but it wasn't as strong as Jasmine's. The girl that sat across from her may have looked sleepy and bored all the time, but underneath it was a strong person that had the utmost confidence in whatever decision she made. Whether Mayu truly realized it or not, that was something she wished she possessed for herself.

"What I want to do…" she repeated softly. "I've never… given it much thought." "Well ya should," Jasmine said with a smile. "I bet you'd be pretty amazing at whatever ya tried. I mean, just look at these tamagoyaki (rolled eggs). They're so nice and fluffy. And super sweet too!" she said as she popped one into her mouth. "They're sweet because of my little sister, but, um, Jasmine-chan, I'd appreciate it if you'd ask before taking my food," Mayu said. "Oh, sorry. Guess it's just a force of habit with Chiyo," Jasmine said after swallowing. "But seriously, these are like, totally awesome." "T-Thank you," Mayu said, accepting the compliment bashfully. She didn't understand why, but getting praise from Jasmine made her really happy.

"So, what do you want to do Jasmine-chan?" Mayu asked, changing the subject from her to the gal. "Me, huh?" Jasmine said with thought. "Hmm. Maybe I'll be a pilot or something." "A-A pilot?" Mayu said, both confused and surprised by the response. "Yeah. Ya get to travel all over and meet all sorts of people. Plus I'd hardly ever have to be home," Jasmine explained, tacking on that last part with quite a bit of disdain. Mayu had never asked about Jasmine's home life, and she was a little afraid to. She didn't want to step on a landmine and have Jasmine get mad at her.

Noticing Mayu's internal conflict, Jasmine reached up and patted her on the head. "Huh?" she let out. "Don't worry Mayu-chi. I'll make sure to check up on you and make sure you're not lonely," Jasmine said gently. "And make sure you're fed." "I-I'm not a pet!" Mayu cried. That was the other thing about Jasmine to Mayu: she was the only girl to get a rise out of the usually calm and collected Mayu Kawaguchi.

*****

When the final bell rang, Michi did nothing except lay in place. She had been brought to the nurse's office hours ago, but she had hardly moved a muscle since. Mentally, she had mostly recovered from her revelation, but thanks to being able to think a little more clearly now (and with plenty of time for it) Michi had something to add.

While her initial conclusion wasn't entirely wrong, it did leave something out. Even if her friends were with other people and it didn't actually affect Michi that much, that didn't mean she liked it, nor did she like the ones getting involved. There was no changing her feelings of hate toward Haruna or her feelings of annoyance toward Jasmine. Most of all, there was certainly no changing her feelings about Chiyo.

Although, putting them like that seemed kind of vague. Michi was sure she felt hate for the girl, but when trying to put it into words, that wasn't what came out. Instead, it was simply feelings, left hanging in her mind with no real definition. Taking into account Chiyo's past, Michi at least decided that hate might be too much, but how far could she bring up the bar? Michi still got quite annoyed whenever Chiyo was nearby. She couldn't stand having the gal cling to her. Most of all, she hated the whispers in her ear. But even considering all of that, Michi still couldn't come up with a clear answer when it came to Chiyo. "Well I definitely don't like her, so there," Michi huffed to herself.

Just as she finished, she heard the door slide open. With how Michi had looked earlier, the nurse had insisted she stay until the end of the school day. "Um, nurse? Can I go home now? I'm feeling better," Michi called from behind the curtain. No response. "Nurse?" she called again. Hearing only footsteps, Michi wondered who it could be. She sat up in bed, and just as she did so, the person present revealed themselves.

"Okay patient, ready for your check-up?" Chiyo said, holding a clipboard and pen in hand. "What are you doing…" Michi groaned. "Hm? I'm your nurse. Now c'mon, open wide while I check your temperature," Chiyo said, pointing at Michi with a tongue depressor. "I don't need my temperature checked!" Michi yelled. "Oh? Ah, maybe you just don't want it in your mouth. Okay Mi-chan, turn over and stay still. Don't worry, I'll be gentle," Chiyo said, slowly approaching the helpless girl. "S-Stay away from me!" she screamed.

"Pfft," Chiyo let out before bursting into full laughter. "Hahaha! Oh wow Mi-chan, your reaction there was like, totally priceless!" "Well I'm glad you got such a kick out of it," Michi pouted. "Aw c'mon Mi-chan, don't be like that." Then Chiyo put down the clipboard and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I was pretty worried y'know." "Huh? Worried?" Michi repeated, thrown by Chiyo's serious tone. "Mhm. Someone told me you were in the nurse's office and I thought something terrible had happened. Like you got a real bad fever." "If you were that worried why didn't you check on me sooner?" Michi muttered, her voice barely audible. As soon as she said it, she averted her eyes. She didn't really understand why she had said that, but Michi still found herself wanting an answer.

Chiyo was a little surprised at first, but then her face softened into a smile. "I would've, but I thought it might be a good idea to let you rest for a while instead. So I decided I come check on you at the end of the day." "Well I'm all better now, so you can leave," Michi said, still looking away. "You are?" Chiyo asked. Michi nodded.

"Perfect!" Chiyo suddenly said, standing up quickly and grabbing Michi by the hand. "H-Huh?!" she let out. "If you're better, that means we can go have some fun!" "Fun?! I don't want to have fun with you!" Michi protested. "Yeah, maybe," Chiyo replied. "But you looked kinda bummed out just now, so I wanted to do something to lift those spirits of yours." "What?" Michi said, not knowing what else to say. "So c'mon, let's go!" Chiyo declared, and with that, Chiyo took off, a Michi in hand trailing behind her.

"Hey! Wait! Chiyo!" Michi called, but it was no use. "I don't want to go with her! I should just rip my hand away from hers and be done with this!" she thought. And yet… she didn't. Instead, Michi let Chiyo tug her along to wherever it was they were going. Watching the gal's back as she ran through the hallways, a smile broadly stretching across her face, Michi couldn't help but smile too. "Geez…" she thought, not noticing the expression on her own face. She couldn't deny that Chiyo appearing seemed to come at the perfect time. Michi had just started to go back into how she had been thinking earlier, which would've surely put her into another mood or worse. Instead of that happening though, Chiyo had come to sweep her away for some fun after noticing that Michi was was feeling down. "How is it… that you're always there when I need you?" she thought earnestly. After arguments with friends. After taking a mental beating. Even just when she was in less than a good mood, there Chiyo was. While Michi would never say it openly or consciously, the feeling that she got at that moment was just happiness and nothing else, and that too, was thanks to Chiyo.

*****

While plenty of students scrambled to get home or to their clubs, Haruna and Kanako stood to the side in the hallway talking for a bit. Both of them had clubs to attend to as well, so they didn't have much time, but in that time, Kanako realized something. "Oh yeah, you never said what you wrote down for your career planning."

It was true. During lunch, Chiyo had asked Kanako all about her future, but when Haruna's had come up, it had resulted in Haruna spending most of her time covering Chiyo's mouth. She desperately didn't want Kanako to know what they had been doing during that time in class. "If she found out I was writing her name with mine…" Haruna thought. She had no idea how she'd explain that one. For some reason, Chiyo had seemed bent on telling Kanako, so Haruna had had to keep her hand clamped over Chiyo's mouth while trying to talk. It hadn't worked, so ultimately, Kanako didn't know what Haruna had put down.

"I just wrote office worker or something," Haruna said. "T-That's it?" Kanako asked. "Um, I think something about my parents work," Haruna said. "What about your third option?" Kanako asked. "Oh, yeah, the third one I wrote was being a wi-" Then Haruna clamped her hand over her own mouth. "Wi?" Kanako said. "What's that?" "N-Nothing! Nothing at all! Oh, look at the time, we both need to go to club, so see you later!" And with that, Haruna took off.

"Wi?" Kanako repeated to herself. "What starts with wi…" She gave it some thought before her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "N-No way…" she thought. "Haruna l-likes me, so maybe… w-was she going to say…"

As Kanako realized what the end of Haruna's sentence probably was, a streak of red ran strongly across her nose and cheeks.

End of Chapter Six.