Sighing, Hisao closes the book in his hands. It had looked promising, but after reading the first ten chapters he still hasn't found any large interest in it. The synopsis was too much for the plot to handle, and it ended up having too many uninteresting plot threats that didn't actually seem to have any meaning to the story at all. The boy puts the book onto the table next to him and leans back into the armchair he's been sitting in for most of the last three hours. He checks the pile of books he's gathered, but knows that it's in vain; he won't be able to concentrate however good whatever book it is he decides to read is.
Looking out the window, he realizes that it has started raining. Quite the downpour, and he's surprised that he has failed to notice it until now, especially considering how little concentration he has actually put into the book he was trying to read until just a minute ago. Quickly checking his wristwatch, Hisao finds that it's currently lunchtime, so that at least gives him something to do instead of trying to focus on any book he could potentially find.
Taking the small pile of books with him, the boy first leaves the book he didn't find interesting at its place in the shelves before getting the books checked from Yuuko to take them with him. He puts the books in his bag before leaving for the cafeteria, since he doesn't have anything else to do and he didn't get any breakfast. Exiting the library, the boy realizes how hungry he actually is, since he hasn't eaten since lunch two days prior.
Walking at quite a quick pace, it takes Hisao a couple of minutes to get through the quite crowded hallways to the cafeteria. He picks a random dish that seems edible before making his way to a table that, surprisingly, is empty. As he starts eating from the plate without actually making sure what it is that he's putting into his body (He'd rather not know) he looks around the cafeteria. The noise of people chatting with their friends covers the sound of the rain pouring against the windows. It takes a few minutes, but after some time he hears a laughter that would be noticeable from anywhere behind him.
"Wahaha~! So Hicchan's in the cafeteria even though he's supposed to be lying in his bed, sick?" Misha asks teasingly as she takes a seat on the opposite side of the table Hisao sits at. Shizune soon follows suit, having opted to not run through the cafeteria to get there as fast as possible.
"Nurse's orders. To not go to class, I mean. I'm here for lunch because I'm hungry, not because of anyone's orders," the boy answers. Misha's laughter can probably be heard throughout the entire cafeteria, but no one seems to take notice. Shizune is not as amused at the boy's words, however.
"..." Shizune signs something, which Hisao of course doesn't understand. The little sign language Misha taught him whenever it was wouldn't be enough to do anything besides greeting someone and declining a bowl of ramen.
"Shizune says that you're skipping class," Misha translates.
"That's something you'll have to take up with Nurse," the boy answers. It is the truth, after all; even if he's healthy enough to go to class, Nurse did tell his teachers that he was off today, too.
"What's Hicchan been doing all day then, if he wasn't in class?" The pink-haired girl asks, since there's not much else to talk about at the moment.
"Been in the library the last few hours, and yes; I realize how boring that sounds. It was even more so than it sounds, actually," he answers.
"Shicchan says that it's only fair for someone who's off from class to be bored. Wahaha~, really Shicchan?" Shizune doesn't sign to answer, and instead just gives a quite noticeable nod. Hisao sighs, but then decides to just go with it and finish his barely edible meal. It doesn't take long, but when he's done he can't come up with anything to do so he just sits there, spacing out and forgetting about the situation.
"Hicchan, you don't have to wait for me and Shicchan! We need to go do student council-stuff when we're done anyways," Misha says and brings the boy's thoughts back to the real world. At first he thinks of saying something against it, but realizes that there's no reason whatsoever for him to stay with them. School rules would hinder him from following them to the student council, which when he thinks about it is a pretty strange rule, so he might as well just leave.
"Oh well, you two have a nice day," Hisao finally says before standing up, bowing to the two girls which results in an amused grin from Shizune and a laughter from Misha, grabbing his tray and heading for the cafeteria's exit. Leaving the tray and exiting, the boy doesn't have anything to do and going outside without an umbrella would probably only serve to make his cold worse, so he opts to just stroll through the hallways. The crowds have eased up quite a bit, since most people have gone to the cafeteria by now.
Walking through the school, the boy experiences a calm he didn't know you could find in an actively used school. The few people that he actually encounter are mostly walking by themselves, and the ones he in any way know he only give an acknowledging nod, which they all return. The calm of the school is quite surprising to him, mostly because he's used to the company of quite lively people, namely speaking Emi and Misha. It's relaxing.
Wandering around the hallways, Hisao finally finds himself in front of the art room. Whether it had been a random or a subconscious action he doesn't know, but since the door is open he decides that he might as well take a peek inside. His gaze going through the slim opening between the door and the wall, the image surprises him, although he realizes quickly that it shouldn't.
Inside the art room is Rin, sitting in front of a canvas with a brush between her toes. Obviously she's painting something, but what it is can't be seen from where Hisao is standing. The boy makes his way into the room, partially on instinct, partially because he's interested in what Rin's doing, but mostly because he feels like spending time with her. Walking up next to her, she doesn't even seem to notice him, which is to be expected when it comes to Rin; when she's painting it's like she's in another world, far more so than when someone just spaces out.
"Hey Rin," Hisao says, not really expecting it to have any response. He's surprised to see her turn her head to him for a moment, probably to acknowledge him. Although surprised at the girl's action, the boy feels slightly successful at having gotten her to react through his voice alone. Turning to look at the canvas, his vision is filled by a most amazing piece of art. "That's... Beautiful."
"Bad luck," the girl says without taking her eyes off of the canvas. For a moment she seems to stop entirely, before moving the brush she's holding with her foot forward and making a soft line on the painting. It's a white horse standing on a cliff, looking out over the ocean.
"It's worth it," Hisao comments on Rin's statement. He means it. "Why are you painting during lunch anyway, aren't you gonna get anything to eat?"
"Not hungry, had to finish this." As she says it she makes a few movements with the brush before putting it into a cup of water she has next to her so the paint won't stick to the brush when she's not using it. "Done."
"It's nice. I like it." The boy analyzes the piece as good as he can, which by professional standards isn't much, but that doesn't matter to him; he enjoys looking at it, what more is there to it?
"It's for you." The surprise of Rin's words quickly disappear as he remembers the former day's events. "So she went and made this for me? It's different from what Rin usually does, or at least what she used to do; how can I know how her style's changed in the last four months when all I've seen is a portrait of myself and this? But putting that aside, it's an incredibly well-looking piece. How do I thank her for this? I'm extremely thankful, but how do I show her? I have an idea..."
Turning to Rin who has now gotten up from her chair, Hisao takes a step forward and wraps his arms around her into a hug. At first the girl seems slightly shocked, but she seems to accept it. Even more so, she even appears to enjoy it.
"You're hugging me," she says, quoting the boy's words probably without noticing.
"You're not kicking me," the boy answers.
"I think I like this."
"It's me saying thank you for the painting."
"Then I guess you're welcome," she says with a smug grin. Although barely in Hisao's vision it's a a grin he finds extremely satisfying. He holds onto her, without any objection from the latter, for what seems to be at least a minute before letting go. Turning back to the painting, the boy analyzes it again and still finds it incredibly good.
"Rin, I already knew you were a great artist, but this... This is magnificent. Thank you, truly," the boy says. Turning back to the girl, he sees that she is carrying a smile; the same one she had two days prior when they were up at the hill. She's happy that he likes it, and she's showing it. "That smile fits her, and me being the one to see it twice in the last few days is an honor."
"Oh, that's right, you're coming to Emi's place on Sunday?" Hisao asks after remembering what the short girl told him earlier in the morning. Seemingly having to go through her last encounter with Emi in her head, Rin takes a few moments before she nods. The boy isn't sure why he asked; he knows that his running partner would make the redheaded girl join whatever happens. Suddenly the bell signaling that classes will start in five minutes rings.
"I guess you should get going to class. I'll walk you there, if you'd like me to," Hisao says, resulting in the girl again entering thought. It takes a few moments before she nods, and they both head out of the art room towards the classroom of class 3-4. The hallways are quite crowded at this point, since everyone's trying to get to their own classrooms, but the two seem to get their way around. It doesn't take long for them to arrive at their destination.
"See you around," Hisao says to the girl as she enters the door. She turns to him, stands still for a few moments, nods and turns back to the classroom and walks to her place besides Emi. As the boy looks, the redheaded girl seems to inform the other of his location, to which the shorter girl turns around, finds him and waves slightly. The boy returns the gesture before turning and walking away, starting to drift around the school again. By this point the hallways are empty again, save for someone who's late every now and then.
Suddenly finding himself at the art room again, the boy walks up to the painting the redheaded girl made for him. He's still amazed at the skill she has, especially when he compares to his own. Sure, thanks to his months spent in the art club he's at least gotten better, but compared to what Rin can do he's a monkey with a water gun filled with paint. A white horse looking out over the ocean, the sun seemingly setting in the horizon... The boy again gets reminded of the sunset two days prior by the painting.
Looking out the window, Hisao realizes that it has stopped raining by now. A quick check shows that the painting has dried so he decides that he might as well take it to his dorm; it's his, after all. Wrapping it in two layers to make sure it won't get wet even if it does start raining as he's walking to the dorms, the boy starts making his way there.
It feels like it could start raining at any moment, so Hisao walks with quite a quick pace towards the dormitory buildings. A couple of minutes pass before he's there, but no rain has come while he walked, which relieves him slightly. He heads to his own dorm quickly, unwrapping the painting as he gets there. After another scan of it he puts it on his desk for now, since he doesn't have anything to hang it on for the time being.