"... Remedial classes... Why must I waste my time on things such as these... I'd much rather be practicing..." Yukina sighs as she makes her way to the designated classroom, lugging a large stack of math homework. She had gotten chewed out by her teacher in the faculty office for being behind on her homework, due to her Roselia duties, and that she would have to do some extra work to catch up.
"... Lisa isn't here to help me out either... Sigh... Let's get this done, I suppose." She grimaces and slides the door of the classroom open. The classroom is empty, save for a seat by the window, occupied by...
"Mitake-san?"
"Huh? Minato-san?" Ran's head shot up and she looked over to the door.
"Um... Hello, I assume you're here for the same reason I am?" Yukina asked her fellow singer. Ran nods her head in response.
"Yeah... Band duties, right? Those lyrics won't write themselves and songs can't be performed without a lead singer." Ran sighs as she twirls a pencil through her fingers. "What subject did you get sent here for?"
"I fell behind in my Math homework, so I'm just doing some extra work to catch up. You?" Yukina takes a seat beside Ran and takes out her pencil and calculator.
"You too, huh? I'm here for Math as well..." Ran averts her eyes, putting down her pencil and twirling her red streak of hair around her finger.
"I see. Well, good luck with your work Mitake-san. Hopefully neither of us will be here too long." She nods to Ran and proceeds to stretch before beginning her work. It's not long before Yukina is completely focused on her homework, and the sounds of her pencil scratching and calculator keys tapping are all that could be heard inside the classroom.
About an hour later, Yukina stretches and gazes at the clock at the back of the classroom. She was about halfway through, all the easy parts were remaining, she should be finished within the next hour or so. She looks over to Ran, and tilts her head. It appeared she was still on the first page, with barely any of it done. The look on Ran's face was one of frustration and confusion, she twirled a pencil around her fingers endlessly as she scratched her head, obviously trying to find an answer.
"Um, Mitake-san? Are you alright? You seem to be having a bit of trouble."
"H-Huh? A-Ah, M-Minato-san! Um... I'm... I'm fine...! Just uh... A bit distracted is all...!" Ran takes her pages and covers them with her hands, blushing.
"Are you sure? If you want... I could help you, I believe I am quite good at math." Yukina asks, pulling up a chair. Ran shakes her head.
"I couldn't ask you to do that! Besides... aren't you busy? You should just finish your work quickly, so you can go home... I'll be fine.." Ran replies, averting her eyes. Yukina sighs and sits down on the chair next to her.
"Don't be so stubborn Mitake-san. Didn't I say when we started that we should both be out of here in a timely manner? Let me help you, here, show me where you're having trouble." Yukina chimes as she takes a seat.
"H-Hey..! I said..." Ran's mouth opens in protest, but her shoulders slump as she nods quietly.
"Do you struggle with this subject? It's understandable if you do, the transition from middle school math to high school math can be quite a jump. It's hard for some to adjust."
"... Yeah. It's been rough... and I don't want to ask for help... I want to do it on my own..." Ran looks away and gazes wistfully out the window.
"Fufu. That's a very Mitake-san way of going about things." Yukina chuckled.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Ran growls. Yukina smiles back.
"You need to be able to lean on others more. It is nice to stand on your own two legs and it's admirable, but strength is also admitting when you're too weak to do so. Trust me, I know from personal experience." Ran's eyes widen slightly at the advice.
"I guess... you do have a point..." Ran mutters.
"Anyways, shall we get to it? Let's start from the very beginning." Yukina moves her chair closer, her arms and Ran's almost touching. Ran bristles at the touch, but says nothing and picks up her pencil.
"Alright. So this problem goes like this..." Yukina, unaware of the two's proximity, begins to tutor Ran, and time quickly passes.
2 hours later, Ran puts down her pencil and breathes a large sigh of relief.
"We're... finally done... Yes!" Ran exclaims, pumping her fist in the air. Yukina smiles as she gets up and puts the chair she was sitting on back where she got it.
"You're a fast learner, Mitake-san. It's just a little hard to get it to stick, but once it does, you really understand it well." Yukina returns to her desk and sits down.
"I'm just glad this is over... Let's go home, Minato-san." Ran begins to pack up, but stops when she notices Yukina pulling her pencil and calculator out. "Oh... That's right... You haven't gotten to work on yours..."
"It's fine Mitake-san. You're done your work now, you should head on home." Yukina looks back at Ran and gives her one last smile before turning her attention back to her work. Ran looks around, and with a huff, takes a seat again at her desk. She idly twirls her red streak, gazing out the window.
"Mitake-san? What are you doing? You're done now, you can go home. If you stay any longer, it'll be dark." Yukina looks at Ran with a questioning look.
"Exactly, I wouldn't want you walking alone in the dark out there. Think of this as... A thank you, of sorts." Ran replies, her gaze still towards the setting sun. Yukina looks at her for a second, surprised, but smiles and returns to her work. An hour later, Yukina also finishes her work.
"Ah... There we go. Done." She stretches her arms and yawns, and looks over to Ran, and is a little surprised to what she sees. Ran's shoulders rose and fell with every breath, her eyes closed, snoring quietly. Yukina laughed to herself and shook Ran gently.
"Fufu. She's quite vulnerable looking when she sleeps. A stark contrast to her nature when she's awake. Mitake-san? Hey, I'm done now, we can go home." Ran's eyes open slowly, but when she realizes what she was doing she jumps up.
"A-Ah! I wasn't sleeping! I was just... Resting my eyes! Yeah!"
"I'm sure you were. Let's both go home so we can both get some real rest, shall we?" Yukina chuckles as she packs up her things. Ran's cheeks were burning as she also collected her things and prepared to depart.
"Shall we make a stop at a cafe on the way home? Perhaps Hazawa-san's?" Yukina asks. Ran smiles.
"I'd like that. Her black coffee is really good." Yukina shivers a little at the thought,
"Black coffee... I'm not sure how you can stand the bitter taste, Mitake-san."
"And I'm not sure how you can even taste what you're drinking with all the sugar you put in your coffeee, Minato-san" Ran laughed. The two packed up their things and began walking home, still arguing and bickering, both with new knowledge about one another lingering in their hearts and minds.