Just a quick little drabble I wanted to write while listening to "Golden Day", the special ending song from Episode 9, 'Kotori-chan Appears". It has a very distinct sound that reminds me of late 1960s pop and a little bit of Styx. I was particularly inspired by the use of a staccato delivery, which just screamed "personal evolution" motif. So here's my quick little story about Inami.
Inami Mahiru settled into bed after her shift at Wagnaria. She was as confused as she'd ever been, but the compliment from Popura-chan had blindsided her.
"Inami-chan, you haven't punched Katanashi-kun. Are you feeling alright? You're not sick, are you?"
It was at that point that Yamada Aoi's head emerged from the trapdoor to the attic. "Inami-chan sick? But... Inami-chan can't be sick, because if she dies, then Yamada will have the smallest breasts in the restaurant! Don't worry, Inami-chan! Yamada will make everything better!"
Almost instantly, Mahiru found herself covered in blankets, heated pads, cooled pads, bandages, while being pushed into a chair and served a questionable looking bowl of curry with a smiley face made of hot peppers. "Yamada takes care of her patients!"
But Popura-chan's words had planted themselves into the girl's brain, and she couldn't help but think of Takanashi-kun. The person who stood up to her father and told him to apologize. The person that took all of her abuse with little complaint. The person who crossdressed just so that she could be comfortable on her first date.
The memories and thoughts came flooding back, so vivid and thick that she could brush them off her shoulders. It had all started with a simple step, Kyoko-san ordering him to help fix her androphobia. And then the commitment to the task... her heart fluttered.
She had willingly held onto his mechanical arm toy as a way of holding hands. And though it didn't seem like much, she was able to move her hand further up the arm. The first time she had ever done it, she grasped hold of the claw part and wouldn't be able to go much further, out of fear that she might come in with a blazing left hook to the side of poor Takanashi-kun's face. But as the days progressed, she had been able to hold the toy near the middle.
Maybe Popura-chan was right. Maybe there WAS an illness ravaging her body. Androphobia just couldn't go away... could it? Mahiru was torn - she wanted desperately to show her improvement, but if she did, her 'sensei' might decide not to talk to her anymore! Thoughts swirled around the girl's head, until she settled on giving him a light punch the next day so that he didn't think she was completely cured.
As she settled down to sleep, Mahiru sighed and thought about her unrequited love. Maybe he would finally see her in the same light some day. But until then, all she could do was continue to make progress and try her best. One day at a time. One step at a time.