Originally Written On: August 17, 2016

Disclaimer: This fan fiction is non-profit, simply written for a writer's fangirl relief. Any familiar characters and references mentioned in the entirety of this fanfic do not belong to me, except for some plot adjustments to insert my OC in.

Author's Note: My writing style is so inconsistent because it all depends on the genre I take on. Like, in my UtaPri Wonderland fanfic, my writing is psychological and more on the formal side. This fanfic's trying too hard to be funny, so I like to keep the style a bit more loose and casual. Yeah. I know you don't really care.

I only mention this because I realize how many months ago I actually wrote this chapter.

02: "Weird"

Part I: Monja Studies

Shizuku slammed down her bowl, and yelled, "Excuse me! I'd like a Baby Star monja and a cod roe mochi cheese and seafood monja!"

"Wow." Haru could only stare at how much food their table was getting. "Does Shizuku usually eat this much?" he whispered to Makoto.

Makoto shook her head, and whispered back, "Maybe she's stress eating. After all, you just— well. Speaking of which—" she handed him his phone, "—you're welcome."

Haru looked down, and saw the picture. He was stifling his laugh so hard that Shizuku popped a vein and shouted, "What's with you two whispering to each other, huh!? Shut up. I need to eat my mind out."

Mizutani Shizuku had been red-stained on the face and ears since Yoshida Haru had kissed her an hour before. Makoto sighed in amusement. Haru sure knew how to rave in Shizuku's thoughts.

"Ah, this monja is good," Haru breathed, patting his stomach. "It tastes better with you guys."

If Shizuku was blushing, she was burning. She whipped her head to the nearest waiter, and feverishly yelled, "Mixed monja with a double helping of pork!"

Makoto blinked in surprise. "You're still not done? I'm not paying for this, am I?"

"Man, my future wife will be hard to feed. She won't give anything to our poor kids!" Haru gasped. Makoto burst out laughing at this, while Shizuku was beginning to die.

In Shizuku-san's world, it began with her, and ended with her.

From a young age, Shizuku decided that her only concern would regard her grades. She didn't care about anything or anyone else— not even me, or her family.

While Shizuku was in the produce store helping out her dad that morning, Makoto went to the library with directions to get there and back home. Takaya even gave her bread, rocks, and twine so that she had a trail to follow. Makoto appreciated Takaya's concern more than anyone knew, but she didn't use either of them.

At the library, Makoto began to read romance literature, which was her hobby, along with music and doodling (which she didn't take seriously). She was a bit surprised to see the library open that early, though Shizuku said it would be. It was nearly empty, with only her and the librarian. The librarian was kind, and told her that she could be as loud as she wanted, as the librarian was often bored taking the morning shift. No one visited then.

Thus, Makoto hummed as she pleased, plugging one earphone in and searching for a book. She thought she heard a noise when she pulled out Romeo and Juliet, but ignored it. Before she knew it, her hand touched someone else's when searching for another book. "Oh, I'm sorry—" She abruptly stopped, stupefied at the tricks playing with her mind.

Green eyes clashed with hazel. "You?" Yamaken scowled, startled. He then composed himself, and pulled out a book.

"Ah, I was— well, never mind."

Yamaken glanced at the cover of his book, then back at Makoto. "How many times have I bumped into you?" he questioned rhetorically. Makoto thought for a second.

"Hm, I'd say about three times now."

"Specific, but I didn't want an answer." He cleared his throat. "And yet I never heard your name."

Makoto looked up at him. "Well," she said, "I never thought I'd meet you like this again. Or ever. But, well— I remember a 'Yamaken' being thrown around, though that's quite a name, I'd say—"

"It's a nickname," he corrected in irritation. "My name is Yamaguchi Kenji."

"Is that right," Makoto thought aloud, vividly imaging him adding, 'Stupid girl.' It seemed fit.

"It is. Stupid girl."

Ah.

"Well, Yamaken-san," Makoto stressed, "it's nice to finally establish the name thing… oh wait— my name. Makoto."

"Unisex name; not fit for you."

"Well I didn't choose my name—"

"Not something I truly need to know."

This guy.

He gave one last look at the book before giving it to her. "This isn't the book I needed."

Makoto blinked at the book given to her. Their fingertips brushed each other's once again. It reminds me of that time I hugged Haru-san, she thought. Then, her spine ran stiff. Am I naturally wary of boys?

The blond boy watched her from the corner of his eye, and then looked for another book. "Your music is very loud," he remarked.

She blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just that, well— the world is so distracting with its noise, so I end up turning the volume up higher and higher, and it might get higher before I realize it."

"But this is the library," he deadpanned. "There's nearly no noise in here. Respect the library."

"I've just gotten used to it, I suppose. Besides, the librarian herself allowed me to be as loud as I want until you came along," she said, walking towards a table and settling there. Yamaken sat on the same one, albeit awkwardly. Makoto decided to not question it.

She felt no stare on her, so she read her book comfortably. However, the feeling finally came after ten minutes in.

She looked up from her book, and their eyes met again. "You have strange eyes," Yamaken commented, looking down at his book and crossing his leg on top of his other. "Were you born like that?"

"Offensive."

"Just answer the question."

Makoto smiled tautly. "I'm sorry. Yes, I was born this way. And no, I'm no foreigner."

"I wasn't going to ask." He flipped a page of his book.

Makoto, suspicious, watched him from the corner of her eye for ten whole seconds, before resuming her reading. When they turned the page at the same time, for some reason, she smiled. She felt Yamaken's eyes on her, and immediately stopped.

It was strange. Whenever their eyes met, they resorted straight to their book. Eventually, Makoto nodded to the beat of her song, and Yamaken watched her, without knowing that she was aware of it.

"Yo," he said. Makoto hummed. "How do you know Haru?"

Makoto stopped nodding her head, and paused her music. "Oh, well," she started, taking off her earphone, "it's kind of a long story that I don't really want to explain. I'll just— um, I'll just say that he's my classmate. I sit beside him."

"Oh."

Makoto played her music again, and ended up earing a soft, slow song called, "Undertale"[1]. She smiled wistfully. For some reason, that song reminded her of her birth parents. She always tried to skip that song because of the overwhelming feelings she felt from it, but couldn't that time. She sniffed and held her breath, waiting for it to be over.

"Are you—?"

"Huh? No, I-I'm alright…" Makoto drew in a sharp breath, "I'm fine."

Yamaken was far from convinced. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, slightly concerned. Was— was the girl before him about to cry?

It wasn't like he had any idea what to do at a time like this. He hardly knew the girl, and it wasn't like he really cared for her.

Nonetheless, concluding that it was the song she was listening to, Yamaken leaned forward and took the other earphone that lay on the table. With it in hand, he put it in his ear. Makoto was far too absorbed in her own thoughts to notice, trying hard not to cry.

Yamaken heard synthesized music, with a guitar, a piano, and some beats. But the feeling he got from it was surprisingly heavy and melancholy, as if a grand adventure was concluding and was nearing its end. However, it wasn't enough to make him cry or anything. Though for all he knew, the song being played in his ears had very sentimental meaning to Makoto.

Makoto looked up, tears in her wide eyes. "Y-Yamaguchi-san?" she hiccupped. Realizing her tears, she quickly wiped them. "Ah, what's— I'm sorry, this is, ah, this is…"

"Oi, stop crying…"

"I-I'm trying to," she sniffed. "It's just— my mom and dad, they— I don't know, but— this song—"

"Honestly, you're a mess right now. Wipe your nose."

Makoto stood up, causing the ear bud to fall off of Yamaken's ear. "I know. I'm sorry. I'll move somewhere else—"

"You're not bothering me, no. More of, you need to stop crying." Yamaken stood up as well, walking over to Makoto's frozen body and pulling out the earphone.

She looked down, silent. Yamaken checked the time on his wrist, and huffed. "I... need to leave soon."

"W… What?"

"It's almost eight. I need to go to school," Yamaken flatly said, turning to grab his bag she hadn't noticed before. Makoto sucked in a breath, mentioning that she needed to leave as well, and picking up her stuff.

"Yamaguchi-san, you're different," Makoto had to say. "You're not like the people you hang around with."

He scoffed. "Those imbeciles? I merely take delight in their nature. That is the only reason why I spend my time with them."

"Well that's… um, well— see, I can tell, Yamaguchi-san, that you don't mean that… is all." Makoto picked up the books and placed them back where she found them. She wiped her wet eyes on her sleeve, an action Yamaken couldn't help but stop to stare at. "You should be more honest with yourself."

He glared at her for one second, perplexed at her statement, but then looked away. "You should speak out your problems without twisting that tongue of yours."

Makoto laughed. "I— I guess we both have some social problems we need to fix…" Turning off her shuffle, she said her goodbyes to Yamaken, sounding as if she'd meet him again. Since they both related to Haru, Makoto assumed that they would meet again, and was somewhat happy for that. She thought that they could possibly be friends. He wouldn't be such a terrible one, after the unexpected service he had done back in the library.

She imagined that he'd just ignore her, and even stand up to leave her. That'd even be in some ways considerate, respecting her space and moment to herself. But he didn't leave her.

Why?

"Make-up exam?" Haru echoed in a drawl.

Miss Saeko stammered, "E-Every student who failed a m-midterm is required to take the make-up!" She hid behind the door, unable to look at the boy. "Since you forgot to put your name and received a z-zero in every subject, you have to take m-m-make-ups!"

Curious, Haru turned to ask Shizuku, "Are you taking make-ups?"

"As if," she replied with a scoff, "I had the highest score in our grade."

He turned his head around to ask Makoto, "What about you?"

"I had the third highest score, so I won't be either…"

"Then that settles it. I'm not taking make-ups." Haru raised his arms up, his hands well settled behind his head, while Shizuku peered over his graded midterm. Her eyes widened, causing Makoto to look as well.

Before Makoto could inspect closer, Shizuku snatched the papers, scrutinizing each problem. "The hell is this."

"What?" asked Haru and Makoto in unison.

"You—! You could've scored higher than me if you put your name on the paper!"

Makoto parted her lips in astonishment. "Really? Then, I wouldn't have been in the top three in placement—"

Both of them heard it. The class heard it, and looked up. Coming from Haru's stomach was clucking, then a huge, moving lump. Haru sweated over it, wincing and speaking gibberish at the lump. Shizuku, having enough, grabbed at the end of his shirt and yanked up.

Out flew a chicken— or a rooster of some sort.

"B-But I saw him walking around in the rain on my way to school!" Haru cried out quickly. For god's sake. "Don't you feel bad for him!?"

Shizuku rubbed her aching temple. "Haru… just— what?"

Haru grunted, took the rooster, and leapt out of the class window. All eyes followed his figure for a brief moment, before most of the classmates continued on as normal. Wow, Makoto thought, the students have actually gotten used to his bizarre behavior.

Before long, Haru came back, and rested his head and arms on Shizuku's desk. "Oi. Why are you ignoring me?"

Shizuku tensed visibly. "I— I'm not."

"I've been trying to get your attention, you know."

Makoto watched the two, and noticed the blush creeping up Shizuku's cheeks. Shizuku-san is painfully conscious of him, isn't she?

She sighed. Though, no one can blame her. She's never experienced such intimacy with anyone before. How can she break free from that memory of her first kiss with him, every time she sees him—?

Her thoughts disappeared when Shizuku was completely red in the face, standing up while full-out shouting, expressing her frustration. Haru just stared, and then heard his rooster from outside, on the cardboard box he put him in. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!" he roared, jumping out of the window once more. Makoto deadpanned.

Then, that girl she saw earlier, with the chestnut hair and the cute face, called out to Shizuku, standing in front of her. However, Shizuku was too engrossed in her own thoughts, with her mind clearly racing and her face getting new shades of red. Then, she gasped.

"I'm hungry," Makoto thought aloud, thinking of that morning with Yamaken as it rained. "And I haven't finished that book…"

She wasn't listening to what Haru and Shizuku were saying, but she knew that Shizuku was stuttering and tripping on her words. It was raining, so Shizuku held her pink umbrella, Haru his black umbrella, and Makoto a red one.

Though, Makoto particularly liked the color green. It reminded her of nature. Growing up, she did gardening in the orphanage with her caretaker, who loved to plant.

It was until she heard her name being called when Makoto looked up. "Mizutani-san!" she called out, reaching out and tripping on the slippery sidewalk. Makoto backed up into the road at this.

"Eh?" After shaking off that sudden collapse, staring at the banana on the girl's head (she had gripped on a trashcan before she fell, and it fell with her), she noticed the familiar, gingery color to it. "Na— Natsume Asako-san?"

Sniffing, she snapped her head up and cried like a baby, "Please help me study!"

That childish cry had Makoto creepily and quietly snorting.

Once again, Makoto found herself in the same restaurant where she ate monja in. This time, she read the restaurant's name properly, and read, "Tecchan: Okonomiyaki & Monja."

"I'm happy you know who I am," Natsume said to Makoto with sparkly eyes. Patting the rooster that sat beside her, Makoto smiled and shrugged. "Do— do they know who I am?"

"I doubt it," Makoto sighed, laughing awkwardly. "Hey, you two. This is Natsume Asako, and she's in our homeroom. And Haru… I'd love it if you quit glaring at her. You're scaring her."

Haru kept glaring, so Shizuku simply said, "Just ignore him. He's scared of you."

Upon hearing this, Natsume was trembling slightly. "Hey, Makoto, if I can call you that," she whispered to the dark-haired girl beside her, "are you— friends with Yoshida?"

"Eh? Of course we are," Makoto replied normally. "To be honest, he's my first friend…"

"W-What kind of friends do you like…?"

"Ah, I'm not strict Natsume-san," Makoto laughed. "That's exactly how I came to be friends with Haru-san."

"Ooh… you're already in the first name business…"

"Excuse me," Shizuku called out. "Can I get another pork and egg with cod roe mochi?"

Natsume jumped. "Oh! And I'd like the kimchi tempura and curry mix," she said. Makoto's eyes brightened at this, telling the chef that she wanted the same. Natsume was surprised. Makoto merely said that she liked that as well.

"You girls like to eat," Haru remarked. "You know, hanging out with all of you girls, do you think that I'll be acting like a girl soon enough?"

Makoto replied, "It's possible, though it's most likely not going to happen, knowing you."

"It'll be more like a harem," Natsume added. "Except none of us will fall in love with you."

Makoto laughed louder than Shizuku found necessary, as steam escaped her ears.

Once they got their food and began to eat, Natsume began explaining that she failed the midterm exam and many other minor exams in all of her classes, particularly math. She told them that she needed help in studying for the make-up exams that followed, so that she could avoid the risk of failing. Makoto knew that if Natsume failed the make-up exams, she'd have to take remedial classes the week after.

Natsume told them that she did not want to take the remedial classes because she had a very important appointment with her friends sometime that week that she'd hate to miss. Makoto internally sighed, wanting to know how having many friends felt like.

"So that's why, Mizutani-san—"

Makoto froze. She realized that her name wasn't being called when they were out in the rain; Shizuku's name was. She looked down, dismayed.

With a stiff smile, Shizuku interrupted, "I refuse." She wore that same smile and had spoken the same words to Miss Saeko, except with her dull eyes open to look at her.

Then, Makoto shook out of her depressed state. Even if she were the one to be called, she couldn't have helped Natsume, as she was busy for the week helping out with the produce store her father was running, and Takaya already booked her to help him with his studies.

Natsume tried to stay calm. She robotically turned to Makoto, "M-Mizutani Makoto-chan—"

"I— I can't either. So sorry!" Makoto bowed her head. "I'm busy this week. Shizuku is not busy, however. She simply thinks that you're a waste of time. Haru-san is naturally smarter than all of us—"

"You had to mention that," Shizuku groaned, with Haru chortling at the grump.

"—though I doubt that he'd want to help you, if that meant that he'd spend time away from Shizuku-san," Makoto finished. "Though, I'm curious— if you're okay with it, may I take a look at your grades?"

Natsume nodded quickly, unashamed. "Here, here!" Her hand shuffled inside of her green bag, and then out flew her unorganized test papers. Once Shizuku, Haru, and Makoto took a look at them, Natsume turned around and sobbed, "I'm uncannily stupid!"

"… No kidding," Shizuku commented. "You answered every single question and still failed. Though," she put the test back down on the table, "that's your problem, not mine, or Haru's, or Makoto's. If you're so stupid, you should take responsibility in taking the remedial classes."

"Shizuku-san, that's just cold," Makoto huffed, her brows connected. "Sure, Natsume-san only had one to no questions right, but none of those words you chose to say were uplifting at all. If you still refused to help her, you should've at least told her to study hard and do her best."

"T-Thanks Makoto-chan," sobbed Natsume, "though that won't do at all!"

"I'm leaving now, Makoto," Shizuku curtly spoke, standing up and grabbing her bag. "Come on." She began to walk out, with Natsume bawling, calling out desperately.

Walking out, Haru observed, "It stopped raining."

Makoto walked a bit slowly, knowing that Natsume was paying. She wanted Shizuku to hear her out without leaving so suddenly. Natsume obviously needed help, but no way was Haru going to help her… right? She herself was busy, but if she weren't, naturally she'd help the poor girl.

"I don't have time to take the remedial classes—!" Without warning, Natsume began throwing up. Makoto widened her eyes, her figure planted in place, while Haru and Shizuku backed away.

"Natsume-san, are you all right!?" Makoto exclaimed, holding her to pat her back. She pulled Natsume's hair up, unaware of the "splash zone" she was in. Could— could Natsume-san be another friend of mine? Makoto wondered, then sighed. I have too many "could-be friends"…

"I'm sorry," Natsume sniffed. "I had too much to eat."

"Why would you force yourself to eat so much, then?" questioned Shizuku, still keeping her distance.

"If I were a light eater, too many boys would fall for me!" Natsume sensibly retorted. "I'm sure you've noticed how cute I am. Boys always flock to me, which is why girls shun me constantly."

Makoto made a face. "Girls are shallow," she stated. "Though, I won't shun you, Natsume-san. Ever." She patted Natsume's back one more time, before grabbing her wrist gently to catch up to the other two. The whole time, Natsume noticed how cold Makoto's hand was.

Natsume brought the three to a park, and told Shizuku to sit down on a dry spot. Then, she pulled out her laptop in her bag, and showed her an online high school community, explaining that her friend appointment was an offline gathering between members of the community.

"Sure, the members are all strangers," Natsume said with thoughtful eyes, "but they're the first friends I've ever made."

After giving a considerable amount of time looking at it, Makoto asked, "Are you that desperate of meeting them in real life?"

"YES," she quickly cried.

Standing up and walking away, Shizuku said, "I still refuse."

Natsume flung herself out to her. "Evil!"

As for Makoto and Haru, they stared at the screen. Haru looked interested in the gathering, and Makoto wondered if she could meet new friends through this gathering. Tying her hair to the side, she clicked on a few things on the website, and Haru watched her as she did.

"This is what you get for slacking," Shizuku flatly said. "Give up."

"Mercy! Please!"

"Hey," Haru called out. Makoto blinked up at him, and realized how close they were. Are friends usually this close in proximity…? Haha. Nonetheless, she scooted slightly.

Haru then said, "I can help you study," causing Shizuku and Makoto to stare in disbelief.

Rushing towards Haru, Natsume exclaimed, "R-Really!"

"Yeah, I got you covered," Haru casually answered. "In return, take me with you to the offline gathering."

"Okay desu! Okay desu!" Natsume jumped for joy, fist pumping the air and hopping around like a child. Makoto laughed. Then Natsume faltered for a second and said, "Though, please don't fall in love with me. It'd be a hassle."

Haru nonchalantly replied, "No problem. That's never happening."

Shizuku sweatdropped at how the situation turned out. Makoto kept on humming in amusement, fixing Natsume's bag. "We're all so cute," she muttered to herself, smiling.

[1]: Undertale is a very popular indie game created around September 2015 by Toby Fox. I wrote this chapter at maybe around October or November 2015, so um... I was real legit early trash back then. Certified. But then the fanbase ruined my high respect for this game, sadly. I still love the game itself. But anyway, one of the tracks in the soundtrack is self-titled, and it's one of my favorites.

Closing A/N: By January 2017, the updates for Unfamiliarity will be once every other month or every two months. I'm simply super busy, even more so than last year, and I get easily stressed out with what I must do and prepare myself for. Well, it's not like many people are reading this story so far, so I shouldn't worry too much, but I still care for those who are reading now. I really want to hold your interest.

That said, YamaKoto or MaKen? I just love Yamaken's character so I didn't want to leave him without somebody to love and someone to love him, haha! :)