Image Training

By: Aviantei

Monday, April 22

It was sheer coincidence that Fukube met up with Oreki while walking to school that morning. They had happened to end up in separate apartment complexes when looking for housing due to space, but for Fukube, that had been fine. It wasn't like having his friend any closer would make things easier. Even if they did live in the same building, Oreki would just insist that anything they needed to talk about could be handled over the phone anyway, unless it was serious, and even then Fukube would be the one making the trip anyway.

Plus, they were going to the same university. It was even more convenient to just meet up there.

Putting that aside, Fukube had been trying to at least arrive for his classes early, just to see what it was like. So far, he had been pretty pleased with it, considering that he didn't have to worry about being late for his attendance-obsessed professor's class first thing in the morning. However, today he had happened to be the tiniest fraction of a second late for his preferred train, and ended up on the next one instead.

It wasn't that big of a deal, only a five minute difference in time. Fukube could deal with that. Getting out of the terminal, he happened to notice his friend plodding along and coming off his own train. On instinct, Fukube smiled, heading over towards him.

"Houtarou!" he called, Oreki's head turning at the sound of his name. Fukube jogged as well as he could through a train terminal crowd, falling into place beside his friend. Oreki was taking his time like always, obviously not concerned by how much farther the walk was to school was. At least that much hadn't changed. "Good morning."

"Oh, hey, Satoshi," Oreki responded. There was no utterance of 'good morning' in sight, but that was to be expected. It had always been Fukube to start out conversations like this anyway.

"How was your Sunday?"

Oreki shrugged. "Finished some homework. Read a book. Got a call from Aneki," he reported. "She can't seem to get used to the idea of me living on my own and being old enough to go to university. It sounds like she's worried I'm not going to take care of myself or something." I would have been worried about that at one point, too. Oreki turned to Fukube before the latter could voice his thought. "And yours?"

"Pretty good." The question was a thinly veiled attempt at asking about the date without really having to ask about the date. Fukube wondered if that was part of the energy conserving strategy or something else. Considering how few and far between the energy conserving moments were these days, that probably wasn't it. Oh well, it was better to get the question and answer session over with early on, anyway.

"My date with Suzuki-san went well, too."

"Oh, did it?" The skepticism was evident in Oreki's voice, and Fukube had to resist the urge to frown. Of course Oreki was going to react like this, but he didn't need to be so obvious about it. Then again, making it subtle was probably too much effort in the first place. "You think that you'll end up doing something together again?"

At that, Fukube had to pause. It was a difficult question to answer, after all. Suzuki hadn't said anything about getting together again, and neither had he. She hadn't said anything about this not working out, either. Despite all the time he had spent with the girl, Fukube wasn't able to read her quite yet.

As such, the real Suzuki Akiko had eluded him that night, even if she had started to show herself at times.

"I don't know," Fukube answered. If Oreki had been skeptic about getting the truth, then being honest was the only way to counteract that. "I wouldn't mind getting together with her again, though. Yesterday was a lot of fun, even if it had its rough spots. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I like her in any romantic sense, but Suzuki-san wouldn't be a bad person to spend all of your time with. Once you get past her tough exterior—"

"Satoshi," Oreki said, an unusual hard tone entering his voice. No, hard wasn't the right word, not with someone like him. Blunt seemed to fit the situation better. Furthermore, he didn't need to say anything else for Fukube to pick up on his meaning.

"What, Houtarou?" Fukube frowned a little, not liking how annoyed he sounded. When it came down to it, wasn't he supposed to be the one moving on? Oreki shouldn't be the one hung up on it when it wasn't even his problem. "What do you want from me? It's bad enough that you insist on bothering me about it. I can't even go out with someone without you interfering and my date asking about why I'm not suitable to be in a relationship with."

For a moment, Oreki had looked hurt—just the slightest dropping of his eyebrows, but it was there—but he was back to looking bored again, even if his voice betrayed him as anything but. "So she actually brought it up to you?"

Fukube couldn't help but smile a little. "That's just the kind of person Suzuki-san is." Why he felt so proud about that escaped him. "She sounded pretty angry at you, too, Houtarou."

"I figured as much…" Oreki muttered. It was worrisome, since muttering instead of thinking it seemed like a waste of energy, too. At this rate, Fukube was going to become more energy conscious than Oreki was supposed to be. "So did you tell her?"

"I did," Fukube said. It almost sounded like a lie to him, no wonder Oreki looked skeptic. "And you know what? She didn't seem to think it was an issue. She… Suzuki-san told me that it was alright to be selfish. I didn't really say that I was using her, but she still pretty much told me it was alright…"

Fukube could feel himself smiling, just a little, even if it wasn't an entirely happy one. Almost as if to counter it, Oreki frowned. "That doesn't make it okay, and you know it."

"Of course I know it, Houtarou," Fukube snapped, turning to fully face his friend. Oreki came to a stop, and their eyes matched up. Fukube's hands were shaking but he balled them into fists and ignored them. "I've known that. But you just don't understand. I know you think this isn't the answer, but if I don't try something it'll never change."

Oreki at least looked a bit repentant, although his frustration was evident in the tiniest of ticks that only Fukube would have noticed. "I just don't get how you think this is the right way to go, though," he said, voice back to normal. "Or the right time. You still haven't told her—"

Fukube turned around, gaze locking on the path to school. Why did he even bother trying to talk to Oreki about this anymore? It was always the same conversation, and it never made him think any differently. For someone that had changed so much in the past few years, Oreki sure knew how to be stubborn.

"It's been more than a month, Houtarou," Fukube said. "I moved on a long time ago. I think it's time you did, too."

It felt more like a lie than anything, but Fukube wasn't about to give his friend time to retort. He ran off to his classroom, knowing fully well that there was no way Oreki would chase after him.

Mukui yawned once his free period rolled around, settling into one of the seats of the library. He really didn't need to get much work done for the next few days, but one of his classes had a research paper due, and it was better to get started sooner rather than later. He could probably have formulated several drafts and started refining his work by the time his classmates even decided to begin their research.

He was going to plan first at least, to make things go smoother. He could always research once he made it back to his apartment—that was what he had asked for whenever he requested a computer as his graduation present anyway. Although, to make up for lost sleep, there was the chance of going to bed early that evening, too.

The last night had been the first time that Mukui had used his computer for anything other than academic purposes, making him completely lose track of time. The number of people that had latched onto his request for help was incredible, even if some were only posting negative comments. In the end, there had been some who seemed genuinely interested in helping, although Mukui wasn't sure that he was confident enough to take their advice now that it was broad daylight and he was a great distance away from his computer.

He had underestimated just how consuming the Internet could be. It wasn't a mistake he would let himself make again.

But still, how else am I going to get better? I just can't not try something, but at the same time, I don't know if anyone gave me very suitable advice. When it came down to it, all the advice he had received weren't things he could easily picture himself doing.

Mukui shook his head. This was no time to get distracted. Kids who got distracted from their studies easily became punks or underachievers. And even if he wanted to be strong, he didn't want to just become another bully. That would be pointless, and other people would get hurt for the sake of making himself feel better.

Someone strong, like a hero…

"Hey there, Mukui-kun," a voice whispered. Mukui looked up, meeting eyes with a girl he thought he recognized, but couldn't put a name to her face. She seemed to pick up on this instantly, a pout forming on her lips. "Come on, don't say you don't remember me. I'm Hiraoka Kouna, we have history together?"

Hiraoka. The name sounded familiar, but Mukui hadn't really bothered to put a face to it. Other than his professors and the people he interacted with at the success center, Mukui hadn't even begun to identify his classmates. He studied alone, and that was what he had come to university for. Education took priority over friends.

"Man, you really don't remember me at all." Hiraoka sighed, slumping down into the chair on the other side of the table. Mukui didn't remember giving her permission to do that, but she seemed like the type of person that would be dissuaded even if he said he was trying to focus on studies. "I guess I underestimated your character. I really didn't think you'd go around studying even in your free periods." She glanced over at the paper in front of him. "You're already planning that paper out? The topic's not even due for another month!"

Somehow, she managed to convey her surprise perfectly without breaking the library's noise level rules. Mukui felt his cheeks heating up. Was it really such a bad thing to be prepared? After all, people on the university level were supposed to be taking their studies seriously.

Am I really that weird?

"Can I help you with something, Hiraoka-san?" Mukui asked, adjusting his glasses. A little attention wasn't bad, but he really did need to focus. With his scholarships, letting his grades falter would make paying his tuition difficult. "I really would like to get some work done before I head out to lunch. You're free to stay here and study if you like, but I don't really have time to talk."

He expected her to nod in understanding, maybe pull a book out of her bag. She didn't. Hiraoka leaned a bit more across the table, almost grinning. "Whoa, that was so cool. I've never seen someone actually adjust their glasses while saying something with such a straight face," she said, and Mukui was completely lost. "So Mukui-kun's the super-serious academic megane character, huh?"

Mukui could only stare. Not only was she not answering the question, but Hiraoka was pulling the conversation in a completely different direction altogether. He wasn't going to get anything done at his rate. It was a shame, the library had always been such a nice place to study before.

"But, to answer your question," said Hiraoka, "I wanted to ask you something that I've been curious about since class this morning." Oh, she had wanted help with the lesson, then. Why hadn't she just said so? History wasn't Mukui's tutoring forte, but he could at least attempt to help a little. "You see, I was wondering if you were the type to use your real name on online messaging boards."

Mukui felt like an ice cube had dropped into his stomach, even if the library was perfectly warm. It wasn't enough to make him sick, but he certainly felt uncomfortable. It wasn't like his name was an uncommon one, and he didn't have much creativity to come up with something else. Surely that hadn't been enough for someone to pick him out, at least not yet?

"Um, Hiraoka-san, how did you know that?"

Hiraoka beamed. "Awesome, this looks like the start of a fun period of time," she said, before smiling a bit wider. "I happen to be part of a bunch of forum sites, and I just came across this one post last night. I'm glad to know that it was you, Hero-kun." Hero-kun…? Once again, she read the expression on his face perfectly. "'Cause being strong means you get to be a hero, right? At least that's how I think of it."

Once again, the words rang a bell, but Mukui couldn't perfectly recall them. He really had stayed up too late if his memory was suffering this much. "So I take it you don't use your real name online, Hiraoka-san?"

"Nope! I usually switch mine around all the time, but in this case, my username's SideAffectMirai."

Even if he could translate the English, it still made no sense to Mukui. Maybe that was what a username was meant to do. Completely confuse people with nonsense so that they had no chance of identifying you in the real world. Well, he hadn't done that very well, but if he had known, he could have done it.

"'You should focus on the good parts of yourself instead of looking at the bad parts. Everyone is good at some things and bad at others. Whenever you learn to accept that, you can gain enough confidence in yourself no matter what. That's what being strong means,'" Hiraoka recited, repeating the message she had left on the boards last night. For a second she looked almost sage like. And then that dropped as she giggled softly. "At least that's what Miyamoto-sensei made me believe."

"Miyamoto-sensei?" Mukui asked. The name wasn't one that Mukui recognized from any of his professors, but Hiraoka had a different class schedule than him. Maybe she had met someone else on campus that could help.

"My kendo instructor."

"Ah."

Maybe that was it. Maybe everyone that had something that made them strong just didn't realize it, and instead latched onto something else as an idea of strength. That would explain Suzuki's reaction. It would also at least give some sort of reason why Hiraoka seemed to consider her strength to be mental, even when she had something like kendo under her belt.

"It's okay, that approach doesn't work for you, I get it," Hiraoka said. "I think maybe the reason why you're dissatisfied with the answers you got is 'cause you don't know what you're looking for. I mean, sure, you asked for help to become strong, but you need to figure out exactly what being strong means to you first." She smiled, almost knowing. "After all, if you knew what it was, you wouldn't look so disappointed right now."

She could read him like a book. It was terrifying. She could probably use that against him, even if she didn't seem like that kind of person.

Mukui realized that he wasn't quite sure if he trusted anyone anymore.

Hiraoka stood up, looking to the clock hung on the library's wall. "Yeah, now would be a good time. Why don't you think about what I said and come along with me? There's someone I'd like you to meet."

By now, Tanae was getting more than a bit sick of all the looks that he had gotten. He hadn't been really specific when he got his hair cut, and now the once long strands were just barely extended past his scalp. He guessed it worked for now, though he'd probably change his mind once he got a decent idea of what he wanted. The only thing he had kept the same was the color, considering dying it again would just be a waste when the color would be pushed out as his hair grew anyway.

People seemed to think it was a reason to talk, like they knew him well enough to think it had impact on their lives. At least the traces of his black eye were only evident if you were looking for them, so that hadn't been much of a topic. In time, the whispers would die out and everyone would move on. It was actually sad that people still found the time to gossip while in University.

Oh, now he was starting to sound like Suzuki. Fantastic.

Tanae was almost dreading heading into the cafeteria now. He had gotten used to people talking behind his back in middle school, and had let it slide through most of high school unless something really happened to piss him off. Now, he didn't want to do that anymore. He just wanted to eat his lunch in peace.

"Jun-chan!" Hiraoka's voice was distinct in the hallway, and Tanae decided that maybe peace hadn't been the word to use. At least relaxing would probably fit, so long as Hiraoka was willing to let him sit down long enough and not drag him into something crazy. The girl smiled, her bag swung over her shoulder. "Let's eat lunch together, kay? I've got somethin' cool to talk to you about. You still want my help with the whole not be a bully operation, right?"

He really wished she wouldn't talk about it so plainly, not to mention where other people could hear. No one seemed to be paying attention to them at all, but people tended to overhear things and take them the wrong way.

Tanae sighed.

"You gotta use the word 'operation?'" he asked, but couldn't quite bring himself to frown. The look on Hiraoka's said way more than words could—he assumed it had something to do with manga and plot and arcs or something like that—so he didn't let her answer. "Never mind. While I protest to the phrasing, yes, I want your help."

Hiraoka grinned, and somehow it was possible for her face to stretch out more than it already had. "Super," she said, the word not even sounding outdated on her lips. "So come on, let's go pick out a secret base somewhere on campus and talk about it. There's the best hidden table down by the trees on the south side of the quad. No one will even suspect it."

She was grabbing onto Tanae's wrist before he could think to act to stop it, and she had successfully dragged him a meter down the hall before Tanae managed to plant his feet. Hiraoka stopped walking, pouting as she looked over her shoulder. Her grip on his wrist was insanely solid, and Tanae only knew he'd be free of bruises from Hiraoka's control, and nothing more.

Come to think of it, why'd I make friends with such a scary person in the first place?

"As fun as this sounds," Tanae said, somehow lacking sarcasm, "I need to buy myself something for lunch first."

Normally he would have gone and bought a bento before classes, but Tanae had somehow forgotten. There were plenty of convenience stores within walking distance, but he actually liked to sit down and enjoy the food he was eating, even if it was a convenience store bento. By the time he could make the walk, he would be lucky to be able to get through half of his lunch before classes started.

It was the only reason he had come close to the cafeteria in the first place.

Hiraoka didn't even seem to take his objection as a real issue. She plowed forward, easily throwing off Tanae's center of balance and the foundation he had managed with it. It really would have just been easier to fall over and let her drag him around than try to keep up, and that applied on both the mental and physical fronts.

"Don't be silly, Jun-chan, I made you lunch this morning."

She had made him lunch? Tanae didn't remember her sending him a text or saying anything about it. Had Hiraoka been trying to surprise him? If that was the case, she certainly had succeeded.

"Come on, Hero-kun, follow along!"

"Hero-kun?" Tanae asked, not registering the nickname. She had just called him the same old Jun-chan as always, so Hiraoka couldn't have meant him. It suddenly registered for Tanae that there had been a third person with them and he hadn't even noticed.

Furthermore, that person just happened to be Mukui Shinju.

"Hold on a minute!" Tanae protested, and this time, Hiraoka actually did stop. Mukui winced, looking down the hall. He probably wanted to run away but Tanae couldn't blame him. Whatever Hiraoka was thinking needed to stop before things got any more out of hand. "This is important, Senpai. What are you thinking?"

Hiraoka pouted, but relented her grip on Tanae's arm. He didn't dare move away, though. "It's simple, really. You want to stop being a bully." Mukui looked up, his mouth dropping open a bit, fear becoming chock. "Hero-kun here wants to be strong. Achieving your goals is so much easier whenever you have someone working for the same exact thing, don't you think?"

She grinned. Tanae wanted to explain that it wouldn't work, but couldn't bring himself to. She couldn't have known about him bullying Mukui. If she had, the two boys would have been in a forced reconciliation as they spoke. That was just the kind of person that Hiraoka was.

Tanae shifted his gaze to Mukui. The smaller boy flinched back a bit, and Tanae repressed a sigh. If Hiraoka was going to have her way, they were going to need to work on that. Tanae bowed.

"I look forward to working with you, Mukui-kun," he said. Hiraoka gasped.

"Wow, that move just came out of nowhere! I think I'll call it your Surprise Chivalrous Attack! Although, adding 'attack' suddenly makes it seem a whole lot less chivalrous… But you two already know each other, so this works out perfectly!"

Mukui only stared for a moment. Tanae willed him to just play along for now. He didn't want to make a scene in front of Hiraoka. He didn't want to make a scene at all.

After what seemed like an excruciating amount of time, Mukui finally nodded. "I look forward to working with you, Tanae-san," he said. His voice was cautious.

Tanae would take it.

Some days, joining the track team seemed like it would be worth it. There would be a competitive environment sent up, there would be a challenge, and the track would always be open. And then Suzuki thought about the teamwork and the meetings and the regimens and she kicked the punching bag with enough force that a tear started to form in the leather.

Even if she was a selfish person, not having to exercise in the workout center instead of running wasn't worth all that trouble.

"I knew it, these punching bags were no good at all." A sigh. Suzuki blinked, backing a bit away from the girl that had suddenly appeared in her vision. She was another member of the freshman class, and they were in one of the same classes, but Suzuki tended to tune everyone else's names out during roll call. And if this girl was the type to stand between a punching bag and the person kicking it, maybe not knowing her was for the best.

Suzuki needed a break anyway.

Suzuki headed back to the bench that was hosting her bag, squirting water into her mouth. Some of it missed, but she was covered in sweat already. It didn't really matter. She didn't get it, though. Today had been peaceful and no one had bothered her. And yet Suzuki still felt like her muscles were twitching whenever she stood still.

"That was a really good kick, though! Great form! I bet a few more of those and you'd split the thing. Wouldn't that be cool?! Although, it wouldn't be as cool from the janitor's perspective or the people paying for these things… Isn't it nice that protagonists never have to worry about any of this stuff?"

It seemed like the girl had the intention of following her around. Suzuki frowned but monitored the tone of her voice. "Do I know you?"

"Oh, right! Hehe, this is the perfect example of an enigmatic introduction of a new character phase! My name's Hiraoka Kouna and we have our Introduction to Psychology course together!" The girl smiled, then leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Although, aside from that, I've heard a lot about you, Suzuki-chan."

So she's the rambling otaku nut job type. Got it. Suzuki went to squirt more water into her mouth. "Did Fukube send you?"

Hiraoka recoiled, but straightened herself up quickly. "Oh, I guess that makes sense as an arc! But no, I came to talk to you all on my own because I was curious," she said. She almost sounded proud. "But! I did come to ask you about your date with Fukube-kun, though."

"That's none of your business," Suzuki retorted. She threw her now empty water bottle back into her bag, slinging the latter over her shoulder. She wasn't dealing with this. Looking over to the treadmills, Suzuki saw one between two that were being used. Hopefully Hiraoka wasn't too persistent.

Hiraoka followed, not taking the hint. "Come on, no need to be touchy. I'm just looking out for you!" She gasped. "He didn't mistreat you or anything, did he? It's always the cute and goofy ones that have secret dark sides. Are you feeling alright, Suzuki-chan?! You're not hurt are you?!"

She was shouting. The whole school was going to find out at this point. Suzuki shouldn't have cared, but she didn't need people to see her like a victim. Especially not to someone like Fukube. Sure, he had been different than her expectations, but it hadn't been anything too bad.

His reputation seemed much less important at the moment.

"It wasn't like that at all." Suzuki stretched a bit, took out her second water bottle, made sure there was a towel nearby, and set the treadmill's settings to low. Just a little bit more. Surely she'll go away soon.

"That's all I needed to know!" Hiraoka chirped. "Although, watching a real athlete in action is completely different than anything else. Could I watch you, pretty please?"

Suzuki didn't look over her shoulder. Seeing Hiraoka's face would only make her want to punch it, more than likely. Suzuki sighed. "You can stay if you don't talk," she allowed. That way, Hiraoka would be easy to ignore. Not wanting to say anything else, Suzuki turned up the speed, trying to get a feel of how fast she wanted to go.

"Got it!" Hiraoka called, not saying anything else. She probably sat down somewhere afterwards. Suzuki tried to forget about her, but it seemed like the other girl's gaze was burning into her head.

At least it made sense why she had so much energy to burn off now.

Monday, April 22. AKA, the day Hiraoka nibshits into everyone's business.

I enjoy writing Kouna because she's probably the only reason the plot in this damn story goes anywhere. Plus she's just a riot.

Agh, still hunting for more time to write... now if only all these video games would get out of the way. (sighs at Persona)

The date for the next chapter is still unknown, but it will happen someday.

Next time, a mysterious note arrives, Tanae and Mukui attempt to come to a solution to their situation, and an unlikely gathering forms. Please look forward to it!

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