Chapter Ten: Mood Swings and Chinese

I woke up at six, the alarm blaring in my ear. A swift Falcon Punch to the snooze button silenced it. At least until it sounded again because I forgot to turn it off. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"Why did I agree to this?" I said aloud in English.

I got up and brushed my teeth before changing into my makeshift running clothes. I walked out of the door and stopped at Hisao's door. I knocked.

"Hisao, you up?" I said through the door, in Japanese.

I got no answer. I knocked again, asked again, and received nothing again. I gave up, thinking he might have left earlier to the track. I strolled out of the dorm building, my eyes straining to the light change.

I walked across the grounds, the track once again my goal. On the way, I couldn't help but think back to my short talk with Miki. I barely knew her, barely even spoke to her, yet I asked if she wanted to hang out. And she agreed.

Kenji's right, I thought. This school has many dark and ominous secrets.

Another thing that still got me was that she still had her stump bandaged. Why was it still bandaged after a week? She had to have been at the school since the beginning of the school year. Maybe even longer, but the bandage still confused me.

What also puzzled me was what Miki and I were going to do, provided we hung out. I wondered what we could possibly do, but that thought took a backseat as I started walking through the grass towards the track. My primary thought then was about the dew that was saturating my feet. As I rounded the hill to the track, I spotted Hisao and Emi talking, Hisao sitting on the bleachers. I jogged to the bleachers with some speed.

"Sounds like something Rin would say," I heard Emi say to Hisao.

"What does?" I asked as I neared the two.

Emi looked at me, surprised I showed up. "I'm surprised you came," Emi said, somewhat pleased that I did so. "Did you know Hisao fell asleep out here?"

I shook my head. "I know he came out a couple hours ago for a walk, though."

Hisao nodded. "Told you."

Emi pushed him. "You said you were watching the sun rise."

Before the two could continue, I interrupted. "Uh, so, are we running? Or did I get up this early to talk?"

Emi grinned. "Well, we are running!" She shot a glance at Hisao. "Since you couldn't get any sleep, we need to run you even harder!"

"Hey, my body was plenty exhausted after yesterday," Hisao said defensively. "My mind was just racing."

I looked at Emi seriously. "He was tired yesterday. I had to help him get out of his chair twice."

Emi giggled, but then gave Hisao a confused look. "Hisao, I don't see the difference. If you run hard enough, your brain will get tired, too."

Hisao's eyes glazed over in thought. Likely questioning why he's doing this, I reasoned.

Emi pulled Hisao up and started towards the track. "Come on you two!" she called. "We have work to do!"

"I don't know..." Hisao said, causing Emi to turn around. "Should I really be running?"

Emi glared at him. "What are you talking about? Of course you should be running! How else do you expect to work out the -?" Great, I thought. Just when I thought I could understand everyone.

"Work out the what?" I asked. Emi repeated what she said, only to be met with a raised eyebrow from me.

"I don't know, knots or something!" she exclaimed, turning her attention back to Hisao. "Plus, you've been sleeping on the bleachers, for heaven's sake! The best way to get that soreness out is to run around a little. Now stop hiding in the bleachers and get down here!"

Emi seemed pissed at Hisao and I wasn't planning on saying anything. Best to back the hell up before you get smacked the hell up, I thought. And she could have just said he could work out the soreness, rather than the 'knots.' That makes no sense.

Reluctantly, Hisao got up and tumbled to the track. He didn't really tumble, because Emi and I would have taken him to the nurse a second time. Well, I know I would had he fell. I wasn't so sure about Emi.

Without wasting any time, Emi got us started stretching, something I hadn't done in a while. I followed her lead, but I couldn't say the same about Hisao. He seemed to be staring at Emi in a perverse way.

Emi noticed it. "You know Hisao, it's not polite to stare." She glared at him.

"I wasn't staring!" Hisao exclaimed, his face clearly showing he was full of crap. "I swear!"

Emi seemed to believe him, considering his answer. "Honestly," she said, laughing. "You didn't have to deny it so strenuously." Good, I thought you actually fell for his lie.

Eager to move on, Hisao clapped his hands. "So! That's enough stretching, right?" We barely even stretched.

"Do you feel stretched?" Emi asked following a shrug. "That's really how you tell."

Hisao nodded his head. "Yeah, I feel ready to go."

Emi looked at me. "Adolf?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I can go, I guess." I wasn't exactly sure about it, but I didn't want to drag the group down.

"Same as yesterday, okay Hisao?" Emi said.

"Uh, what did you do yesterday?" I asked.

"A mile followed by some cool-down laps," Emi explained. "Neither of you worry about speed. Worry about pacing, understand?"

"You're the boss," Hisao said. Emi grinned, taking off ahead of us.

"Ready?" I asked Hisao. He nodded.

We started running, me faring much better than Hisao. Similar to the other two times I ran with the two, Hisao brought up the rear, I was the middle man, and Emi led the charge. We were nearing the first lap and I could hear Hisao's labored breathing. He's really out of shape, I thought.

Emi seemed to notice when Hisao made his first lap. "Come on, Hisao! You've got three more to go!" she exclaimed, running backwards effortlessly. How the hell is she running backwards? I thought. Seriously, that was hard to believe. She maintained her speed. She maintained it. Even if she did it before, that was the first time I really noticed.

We kept running. I shot a glance back at Hisao when I rounded a corner, only to see him struggling. I prevented myself from sighing, as that would have messed up my rhythm. By the time Emi and I made the second lap, Emi wasn't sweating at all. Hisao looked as though he was going to be sweating his entire supply of bodily fluids.

Hisao crossed the line, starting his third lap. I was glad he didn't start sprinting, given how that went down. Emi noticed that he started his third lap, turning around mid-stride.

"Almost there, Hisao!" she called. Halfway isn't exactly almost, Emi, I thought as she turned back around.

I was still surprised that she could run backwards as fast and easily as she ran normally. What also baffled me was her ability to do so when she was running and how fluidly she did it. Halfway through the third lap, I broke a slight sweat. It felt good, cooling my skin, despite the fact it was early in the morning. Emi still didn't seem to break a sweat.

"I... ca... can't... do... this," I heard Hisao choke out in-between labored breaths.

Upon hearing him, Emi turned around so quick, you would have though she was challenged to some sort of duel or battle. She kept on running, basically yelling across the track.

"Never say that!" Emi shouted, her face expressing anger. "If you say that, you'll have already lost." She moved to the left a little. "Keep moving! If you're alive, you can keep moving, dammit!"

Emi didn't strike me as the kind of girl to swear. She seemed too cheery and girl-like. I actually expected Hanako to swear a lot. Quiet people tend to do that.

Hisao kept running, despite what his body was likely protesting. Hisao, stop! Hisao, what are you doing? Hisao! Stop! I imagined his body saying. Then he likely gave his body the middle finger. The silly thought made me smile, but I didn't break stride.

Hisao seemed to drag behind a little more once Emi and I made it on the fourth lap. Once Hisao crossed the line, Emi once again spun around, not tripping and breaking her neck somehow. Seriously, how does she do that? I thought.

"Final stretch, Hisao! Give it all you've got!" Emi called. She then turned to me. "You too, Adolf! Even though I haven't been riding you as hard." She promptly spun around and raced to the finish.

Not wanting to let Emi have all the fun, I raced her. It was risky, but I was sure enough that my heart wouldn't give out. If I was Hisao, maybe it would. I glanced back at Hisao and saw he was still struggling, but I didn't watch any longer.

I started sprinting. As the final corner came up, I was side-by-side with Emi. She glanced at me and sped up, something I returned. Emi and I essentially tied with each other.

"Why... why did you do that?" Emi asked, putting her hands behind her head as we started our cool down laps.

The sprint took out a lot of my breath, so I struggled to reply. "Why... are... your... hands behind... your head?" I asked.

"Helps you breathe," the legless runner replied.

I put my hands behind my head. Surprisingly, it worked. Regaining some breath, I went to talk, but Emi wasn't paying attention. She was looking down the track, towards Hisao. She started lightly jogging back.

"That's it, Hisao!" she happily exclaimed. "I knew you had it in you!"

I jogged to catch up. "Why don't I..." I breathed. "Get that kind of praise?"

Emi looked at me. "You're not having trouble running, now are you?"

"No," I grumbled. "I still don't see why I have to get up and run though."

Emi glared at me. "Because it's good for you!"

"I would like some praise, too, though!"

"But you don't deserve it!"

"Why not?"

"Because you're not struggling to complete a mile!"

"Well, no bu-"

I broke off. While Emi and I were bickering, Hisao fell to the ground, hand clutching his chest. I rushed over to my friend. Emi noticed me rushing over and saw Hisao on the ground as well. She rushed over along with me. Whole lot of rushing.

We each grabbed one of Hisao's arms and pulled up. Hisao's eyes opened to both of us standing over him. Emi's face was the bastard child of pleasure and fear. I just gave him a concerned look, one a friend would give.

"On your feet!" Emi ordered. Hisao gave her a puzzled look. "Come on, you'll never catch your breath that way."

Aren't we taking him to the nurse? I thought. Then I remembered when Hisao collapsed the last time. It wasn't exactly pleasant for either of them. So, no nurse.

Hisao struggled to his feet and raised his hands behind his head. He apparently was told that before me. We started to walk around the track, cooling off. I was walking next to Hisao as if he was going to collapse again, but I backed off. Emi seemed to have that under control.

"I feel like crap," Hisao grumbled. Emi laughed, for some reason.

"But you finished, didn't you?" Emi asked.

"I don't think finishing is that important when you collapse," I said, my voice low.

Emi looked at me, the pride she felt towards Hisao pushing himself visible all over her face. "He said he couldn't, Adolf. But he did." She looked back at Hisao, then to me. "Isn't that worth it?"

I nodded. "Well, he sure as hell is still breathing." However labored, I wanted to say. I felt the need to be on the defensive for Hisao, but I didn't think he needed it. If he did, he wouldn't have kept going when he knew he couldn't keep going. Emi had a point. Hisao pushed himself at his own risk, though she coaxed him on, and though he suffered a heart murmur, he survived.

We kept walking, silence looming around. I glanced at Hisao, noting a look of determination in his eyes, mixed with fatigue and pride. He seemed glad that he managed to run another mile, despite nearly offing himself in the process.

"Adolf, can you take Hisao?" Emi asked, mutilating the silence. Despite our little argument, she was still grinning. I felt bad for arguing with her. She seemed nice, something I wouldn't really have known, given my time spent with Lilly and Hanako. The pride she felt for Hisao also reminded me of what Miki said.

"Oh, him. Emi's new toy." The bitterness in Miki's voice when she mentioned Emi still disturbed me. I wondered if there was some sort of bitter rivalry or something of the like between the two, similar to Shizune and Lilly.

"Adolf?" Emi repeated. Apparently I got lost in thought.

"Huh, what?" I asked. She jabbed a finger towards Hisao. "Oh, right. Sorry." I took position next to the worn Hisao as Emi sprinted off.

"I don't know how she does that," Hisao remarked as we continued our cool down walk.

"Neither do I," I said, observing the legless track member.

"You know, Adolf," Hisao said. "It's kind of weird. When she pushes herself, she's a completely different person. Just look at her face."

I tried to get a good look at Emi's face while she was sprinting. Sure enough, she seemed different. Instead of her normal silly grin, Emi wore determination all over her face. She also seemed to find pleasure in running, as if it fulfilled her.

"She seems to enjoy running," I said as we continued walking. "A lot."

"I know what you mean," Hisao replied. "She looks beautiful," I heard him mutter. I didn't pay any mind to it, going back to my own thoughts.

Emi also seemed to push others even harder when she pushed herself. While I never really held a casual conversation with her off of the track, Hisao did. From what he said about their conversation at lunch Friday, I figured that she still pushed people to work harder. However, it was more of a shove on the track, given her comments while she was running.

"By the way," Hisao said, knocking me away from my thoughts. People liked to do that. "You didn't need to try and stand up for me. I'm actually glad I did that."

"Alright, then," I said. "I won't. Though, seriously dude, you shouldn't push yourself so hard."

He nodded. "Okay, I'll try not to." I could tell by the tone of his voice that he wouldn't take my advice. I just shook my head. The two of us continued in silence, walking two laps while Emi ran several.

Emi met back up with us after she finished her cool-off sprints. "Not bad today, Hisao," she said. "You too, Adolf." She seemed proud that we ran so well, though she was more proud of Hisao, since I had little to no trouble doing it.

Hisao was fairly apprehensive. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I would have stopped if you hadn't yelled at me." Where did his confidence go? His pride? He was so sure of himself not even ten minutes ago, I thought.

Emi blushed, probably embarrassed. "Sorry about that, I just..." she seemed at a loss for words. "I just can't stand to see people give up." She bowed her head. "Especially about something like this."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Saying 'I can't go on' is silly when you're obviously going on while you're saying it," she replied, a small smile forming on her lips. "That's what this is all about."

"What, saying silly things?" Hisao asked.

Emi stuck her tongue out at Hisao. "Idiot," she said. "I mean showing that you're alive." She grinned. "Besides, this is one of the hardest days."

"What do you mean?" Hisao asked.

"Whenever you start a workout, it's difficult the first day, really hard the second day, and then the third day is easier. You'll still get days that are really hard, but they'll pop up less and less."

"So this will eventually get really easy, huh?"

"Yeah," I said. "I know first-hand what Emi is saying." Hisao raised an eyebrow, and so did Emi.

"What do you mean?" Emi asked.

"Back in America, I played hockey," I said. "It's a very demanding sport."

Emi seemed surprised that I played hockey, but she nodded. "So I've heard." She then turned back to Hisao. "But no matter what, you'll never get ahead if you don't increase the difficulty of your workout. You'll just get -, and you'll lose the sense of accomplishment." I had a feeling that what she said that I didn't know wasn't important.

"So I'll have to run more than just four laps, huh?" Hisao asked.

"Of course you will," I said. "It's not any harder if you just run four laps."

Emi nodded. "But not for a while!" she exclaimed. "You still have to be careful." Emi thought for a second, the thought ending with the illumination of her face. "Got it!"

"What?" Hisao and I asked.

"You can come with me to see the nurse!" she said. "That way you won't fall over dead or anything!"

"Well, I'll be off, then," I said, trying to get away. It helped that I felt a churning in my stomach.

Emi scowled at me. "Ah, no! You're coming too!"

"Why?"

"To get your schedule!"

I looked at her seriously. "I have to use the bathroom and shower. Can't Hisao just give it to me in class?"

Hisao nodded. "Yeah, I could do that."

Emi wasn't pleased. "Fine," she said. Her face brightened up. "You should consider track, though."

Here we go again, I thought. I shrugged "If only there was a hockey team," I mused aloud, walking away. "I'll talk to you two later!" I called. They waved goodbye, Emi visibly upset with me.

"When are we going?" I barely heard Hisao say, since I power walked away.

"Right now, of course!" Emi said.

I was on the pavement, starting to walk back to the dorms when Emi and Hisao ran past me. Hisao wasn't running so much as Emi was running and pulling him.

"What the hell?" I said in English as they whizzed past.

I shook my head and kept walking to the dorms. I glanced at my watch, confirming I had a good hour until class. Five minutes later, I was standing in front of the dorms. I walked in, wondering what Emi's obsession over our health, specifically Hisao's, was about.

There's something going on there, I thought. Hisao smiling near Emi, Emi being protective of him. Sooner or later, I'd go to run in the morning and find them making out in the bleachers or on the track. Or worse...

Shuddering at that thought, I continued up the stairs, heading into the bathroom to use it. After that was done, I glanced at the mirror, noticing that there were some streaks on it. They formed Cyrillic lettering: Доброе утро. Why someone wrote "good morning" in Russian was beyond me, but I didn't dwell on it.

I hopped in the shower, not literally, and started to clean up. My back was always the first part of my body to sweat, so it was the grimiest. After fifteen minutes, I got out, dried off, put on my underwear, and went to my room.

I rummaged through the fridge, opting to eat a couple sandwiches for breakfast. I glanced at my collection of pills. Sighing, I took them before continuing my meal. The sandwiches were just bologna and salami with some cheese, but they were good nonetheless.

I still had a good half-hour before class would start, but I didn't feel like brushing up on my Japanese. I had nothing to really do, so I made another sandwich. As I was doing so, I heard footsteps rapidly pass by my room. I set down the half-made sandwich and opened my door, peering out. I barely caught sight of Hisao entering the bathroom.

I closed the door and continued making the sandwich. I ate the third sandwich quickly, but I felt better afterward. After five more minutes, I decided to put on my uniform. I was planning on going to homeroom ten minutes before it started, so I waited another five minutes.

I heard more running outside my room and figured it was Hisao. I hadn't completed the second five minute wait, so I decided to make another sandwich to pass the time. I just made the sandwich when there was pounding on my door.

"What, Hisao?" I asked.

"Are you going to class?" he asked.

"I should ask you that, since you're likely worn out."

"Maybe, but we should get a move on."

"Alright, give me a second." I didn't shove my sandwich into my mouth, instead grabbing my wallet. Might pick up a drink on the way, I thought. I slung my bag on and opened the door. I was met by Hisao staring at my sandwich.

"What are you eating?" he asked.

"A sandwich," I replied, matter-of-factly.

He shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go." We left the dorms, me taking the occasional bite from the sandwich.

"So," I started, following a bite. "How did your visit go?"

"Fine," Hisao replied. "Other than the fact that the nurse and Emi have known each other much longer than I thought." I raised an eyebrow. "Don't ask, I promised I wouldn't say anything more."

I nodded. "Fair enough. You have my schedule?"

He nodded. "I'll give it to you in homeroom."

"My trigonometry work?"

Again, he nodded. "Homeroom."

"Gut," I said in German. He raised another eyebrow, reminding me that speaking in German or Russian wasn't a good idea at this school. "Good," I translated. Hisao just nodded in acknowledgment.

I had finished my sandwich by the time we neared the courtyard. "Ah, that was good," I commented.

"What exactly was on that sandwich?" Hisao asked.

"Bologna, salami, and cheese," I replied. His head reared back. "It's not bad, you just have to try it."

"Maybe," Hisao said, not reassuring at all.

"Whatever, man," I said. "You eating on the roof again?"

"Most likely, why?"

"No reason, just asked."

"Oh. Are you eating with Hanako and Lilly again?" By then, we had already entered the building and were walking up the stairs.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want to drink tea again, that's for sure."

"You should eat with the council, then."

I laughed. "Very funny, Hisao." We reached the third floor.

"I know, thank you." He made a lazy bow.

The conversation stopped as we neared 3-3. I opened the door and walked in, Hisao closing it behind us. I hadn't noticed earlier in the morning, but it was quite warm, as is to be expected of June days. When we sat down, Hisao handed me back my trig and he handed me the schedule. I looked it over.

"Does she think I need to be ran as rigorously as you do?" I asked Hisao, the schedule full of running. Every. Single. Morning.

"Hey, I don't like it anymore than you."

"Still, this is ridiculous," I said. "I got up at six every morning in America just to go to school. I am not doing it just to run."

"She'll be breathing down your neck, you know that."

"So?"

"Just go through with it this week, okay? Go to her track meet Sunday and we'll decide how to go on from there."

"Sounds like we're doing some sort of anti-feminist attack with Kenji," I said. "But okay. I'll do that."

The class was actually full when we entered, so there weren't any newcomers. Even Hanako was on time.

I found myself staring out the window, longing to go outside. The weird thing about Japan was that it actually made me want to go outside. Back home, I didn't want to go outside. Sure, I played hockey, but that didn't impact me not wanting to go outside. I preferred staying inside, being left to my own devices. That wasn't the case in Japan. I actually felt the urge to go outside and do stuff, but I was met with the same problem I had when I got that feeling in the United States.

What am I going to even do?

The question always popped up, so that's why I started playing hockey. Not only because I liked the sport, but because it was something to do. I started to seriously wonder if there was a hockey team at Yamaku, but I doubted it. Disabled kids trying to play something that requires all four limbs as well as the endurance needed to keep playing... Not going to happen.

It seemed everyone was yearning to go outside. Well, Hanako and Hisao aside. Hisao fell asleep, though I suspected he was staring at Misha's chest, since she had the top part of her shirt unbuttoned due to the heat. Hanako obviously wouldn't enjoy being in the company with random people outside, though I suspected she would enjoy quiet walks in the woods. She just seemed like that type.

The class passed, no one really paying Mutou any attention. He gave up and sat down, scribbling work on the board. I was glad, however, when he collected the trigonometry work. I tried paying attention, but my attention was quickly diverted by my own thoughts.

The lunch bell rang, causing everyone to get up and go. Excluding Hisao, who I had to wake up yet again. He really wasn't in shape, falling asleep like that. I was no better, though that was three years prior.

"What?" he mumbled.

"Lunch," I replied lazily, deciding on what to do.

"Oh damn," he said, quickly stumbling to his feet. "Thanks."

I nodded. "No problem."

He ran out the door, likely heading for the roof. I wasn't sure why he went to the roof, let alone why people ate lunch there. It was another quirk I hadn't experienced in the United States. Lunch always meant being stuck in a cafeteria or lunch detention. You couldn't go get food from outside of school. Maybe that was just my school, I thought.

I just got up and headed for the door, unsure of what to do when Hanako grabbed my attention. I hadn't noticed she was still in the room.

"A... Adolf?" she shyly said.

"Oh, hello Hanako," I said. "Beautiful weather, right?"

"Um... Y-yes, it is," she said. I looked at her hands, noticing a bag. I really didn't want to go to lunch with her today, but I'm sort of screwed. "W-would you like to have lunch with us again?"

I didn't groan, no matter how much I wanted to. The room was relaxing, but I wanted to do something else. What, I wasn't sure of. I just didn't want to go there.

"I... I brought enough for everyone..." Hanako said, smiling a little. Is she blushing? I thought upon closer analysis. By Jove, she is! Dammit, she found out my weakness, abort, abort! The smile/blush combo pulled me in.

"Sure thing," I said. I already knew we were going to the tea room, so asking would have been a waste of breath.

"Lilly said she'll meet us in there, so we should... should..."

"Should what?" I asked.

"...should go ahead together..." she finished, smiling and blushing, thus delivering a final blow to my defense.

"All right then, let's be off," I said. Kenji is definitely onto something, I thought, not even bothering to push the thought away. It just seemed logical.

Hanako and I walked to the tea room in silence, a usual occurrence. The room held its normal relaxing atmosphere. Lilly wasn't there, but Hanako started to set up, nonetheless. She was very calculated in doing so, like she was trying to keep her mind off of something. She didn't bring much, but she seemed to have took her time in preparing it.

I wondered if we should have started without Lilly, but I saw Hanako fighting with a container of rice. I wasn't fond of rice.

"Let me see that," I said.

She handed it over and I tried opening it. It felt like it could be opened, but in doing so, I would send rice flying everywhere. I looked around for a butter knife.

"Hanako, do you have a butter knife?" I asked.

She nodded and handed me a butter knife. It was a metal one, thankfully. I wedged the knife underneath the container, slowly moving my way around until the lid popped off.

"There," I said. It wasn't a top-notch job, but it got the job done.

"T-thank you," Hanako said, setting it up as well.

"How about I contribute to today's meal?" Lilly asked as she walked in. She was smiling and holding a bag full of bread. "I thought I would bring something."

I helped Lilly place the bread near Hanako's dish while Hanako made tea. Again with the tea.

"Well," I said as I took a seat. "This should be good."

I took a bite of the food Hanako made, but in doing so, I noticed she was attempting to not seem like she was staring at me. She was awaiting an opinion. In my humble opinion, the food could clearly have been better. It was a six point five out of ten.

"I'd say it's good," I said. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth. I actually couldn't complain, since the most I made for myself were sandwiches. "You made this with the stuff you bought at the store, right?" I noticed Lilly started eating after I said that.

Hanako nodded, her eyes begging me for more feedback. The looks she gave me were too much. They made me feel bad for not wanting to eat lunch with them.

I thanked her for the food, saying she did a fine job. She seemed to accept it graciously.

"I... I wanted to show you this... after yesterday..." she said. I almost forgot that I asked to see her cooking.

"Hanako's always liked to experiment when it comes to food," Lilly said. "I think it's good... most... of the time." The pauses she made give me the feeling that Hanako's cooking could have been a zero out of ten at one point. Maybe that's why Lilly waited for me to take a bite, I thought.

"Well, what matters is that it's good, right?" I said.

"R-right," Hanako agreed.

While Lilly and Hanako ate with chopsticks, I ate with a good old fashioned fork. Lilly was very thorough with her chopsticks, carefully skimming around for her food before picking it up.

I decided that I should eat, since the food would get cold. Not to mention how bad I predicted I would feel if Hanako gave me a sad look for not eating the food. I couldn't bear such a thought, so I dug in.

It wasn't long until we were done. I felt full, surprisingly. All of the containers were empty, and I found myself eating numerous bread rolls. I didn't even bother taking any tea, instead saying I wasn't thirsty.

"Thank you Hanako," Lilly said when she had finished. "That was filling."

"T-t-thank you for the bread," Hanako said.

"You're quite welcome," Lilly replied, her hand touching her lips. "But now, I must be getting back. It's far too easy to be late after eating here."

"I understand," I said. "We can clean up." Hanako nodded, realizing that Lilly couldn't tell a little late. Must've rubbed off on her somehow.

Lilly rose. "Well then, good day." She promptly left, her cane tapping along the wall.

Hanako and I put everything away. She sat back down and stared into the sky. I was keen on leaving, but that didn't happen. I sat back down, looking into the sky as well. It was quite the sight, but not something I could stare at. The bell rang, so I glanced at Hanako, my impatience growing.

"Not... just yet..." she said. I was starting to feel the impatience head into my feet. They would tap every so often. I couldn't remember if I took the Vyvanse or what. Probably not, I concluded. Not taking them for a while makes you adjust, but suddenly taking them and skipping a dose messes you up.

The bells rang again, signifying that we should return to class, lest the Japanese and American militaries have to go on a global manhunt.

"We should go," I told Hanako. "Who knows what will happen if we don't show up..." More or less about me, since it seems fine for you to do so, I thought. I wondered why I was thinking so darkly, but I couldn't dwell on it.

Hanako sighed. "You're right."

She rose to her feet and we walked to 3-3 in relative silence. I once again took point for Hanako, opting not to say anything to Mutou. He seemed to be fine with Hanako being late, and, subsequently, anyone who accompanied her. When we walked in, Mutou was nowhere to be found, but the sound of numerous students stifling laughs was everywhere. I couldn't see why.

Misha led the pack, her stifled laughs the loudest. After numerous failed attempts to prevent herself from laughing, she gave in. "The lovers return!" she exclaimed after laughing for a solid ten seconds. She proceeded to laugh some more.

"You can stop now, Misha," I said. So damn immature, I ruefully thought.

Hanako was basically embracing my back once more, using me as a human shield. I started to head back to my seat. She eventually broke off and made a stiff run to her seat, doing her best to ignore everyone. I felt bad and started to have a guilt trip, so I swiftly stopped at Hanako's desk after she sat down.

"Sorry, Misha's like that," I whispered. "Everything was really nice today." I tried to think of myself as not lying, but I was. And I was doing it right. It wasn't like I held a grudge towards Hanako, I just wanted to spend some time with some other people.

Hanako nodded to affirm that she understood. Mutou walked in the room then, giving me the perfect cover to make a mad dash back to my seat. Mutou himself was halfway through his lecture, oddly.

"...which, of course, is directly proportional to the charge but inversely proportional to the square of the distance..." was all I really made out from what he said.

Misha leaned to me when I was getting comfortable in my seat. "The teacher may not have noticed your tardiness, but I did," she whispered.

"You and everyone else," I replied, my words tainted with displeasure.

"I have been instructed to let you off the hook for today," she continued. "But only on one condition."

"I have to help the council, huh?" Misha nodded, grinning. I glared at her. "No."

"What?"

"No," I repeated. "I'm not helping you two out."

Misha frowned. "Why not?"

"Because, I think I've done enough, especially for a foreign student."

Misha thought for a moment, then signed to Shizune. Shizune signed back and Misha translated their agreement. "It's okay, Adolf-chan! We were only going to eat cake anyway, so more cake for us!" Seriously?

I turned around to attempt to pay attention when Hisao tapped my arm. "What?" I asked.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine," I replied. "I guess that they think Hanako and I are dating, or something."

Hisao nodded. "It seems like it."

I completely turned towards him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're always together. Going to lunch toge-"

"Don't even act like you don't do the same with Emi," I interrupted.

Hisao opened his mouth to reply, but shut it. He was right though. I was with Hanako an awful lot, even though I had planned on being somewhere other than the tea room. I didn't want to make the impression on people that I was trying to make moves on Hanako, Misha being my case-in-point.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. Maybe distancing yourself from her some will help, I thought. It was a good plan. I doubted she could have become attached to me that quick anyway, implying she did become attached to me.

The thoughts of basically telling Hanako to piss off really unnerved me. Maybe the thoughts were induced by the ADHD or the bipolar or something. I certainly didn't know, nor was I going to fight it. I only got worse that way.

Class passed by rather quickly, much to my pleasure. Hisao had fallen asleep once more, making me question the logic behind the morning runs. Misha and Shizune had already gone off to eat cake or something. Hanako already left, amazingly. However, Miki and Suzu were still hanging around.

I woke Hisao up, letting him know class was over. He thanked me, but stayed seated. Miki noticed me still staying in the room.

"Hey Adolf!" she said. "Come here!"

I nodded, and walked the extremely short distance to her and Suzu. I should have guessed the two were friends, since Suzu did say Miki's name when I roused her from her slumber the previous night.

"Hello Adolf," Suzu said sleepily.

"Hi Suzu, hi Miki. Anyway, what did you want?" I asked when I covered the LONG walk. It wasn't long at all.

"You remember what you asked me yesterday?" she asked. I nodded. "Well, why not now?"

I shrugged. "Sure. What do you have in mind?"

Miki shrugged. "I don't know, maybe go grab a bite to eat?"

"Shanghai?" I asked.

"What you don't like it there?" she asked.

"I never-"

"It's okay, I'm pissing with you," she said. "Nah, I meant somewhere in the city."

Sendai was too far away. The only other city I knew of near Yamaku wasn't as large, but I couldn't remember the name.

"Alright," I said. "I'm game." I had nothing better to do. Plus, I did ask her to hang out.

Miki grinned. "Hey Suzu, you wanna come?"

Suzu shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm just gonna go sleep."

"Now you sound like Hisao," I said.

Miki had a chuckle, but Suzu wasn't really affected. I guess she really was tired. Suzu sleepily walked out of the room.

"What..." I mumbled.

"I'll explain later," Miki said, grabbing hold of my hand with her only hand. "Come on!"

She dragged me with her out of the class, so I started running, too. We stopped running once we neared the gates, people giving us odd glances. It was then that both of us realized we were still holding hands.

I quickly retracted my hand, my face burning red. "Sorry, sorry," I said. "Forgot that we were... still... you know..."

Miki didn't seem embarrassed. Instead, she laughed. "It's fine, I didn't realize it either."

We shared a short laugh. "So, what are we waiting for?" I asked.

"The city bus, duh," she said, as if the American student would know that. "It should be here soon."

"Okay, then," I said. There was a period of silence, but the sound of a bus ascending a hill reverberated throughout the quiet landscape outside Yamaku.

Miki grinned. "There it is!"

The bus rounded the hill and turned to allow passengers. We weren't the only ones boarding the bus, but I didn't recognize anyone who was. Miki got on before I did, not because I was being a gentleman, but because she was in front of me.

Miki took a seat near the middle of the bus, patting the seat for me to sit. I did so, feeling a little awkward. There I was, sitting on a bus to the city with an attractive girl I barely knew. The bus pulled out once everyone was onboard.

We started down the hill towards the town. There was a silence between Miki and I. Said silence was quite awkward, making me regret getting on the bus with the handless girl.

"So, Miki," I tried starting a conversation. "What's Suzu's deal?" Miki hesitated. "I'm sorry I didn't me-"

"No, it's fine," Miki said. "I mean, you can see I don't have a hand, right? Suzu has -." I didn't understand what she said at first, but I replayed it in my head.

Narukorepushī, I thought. Sounds like narcolepsy.

"Isn't that a sleep disorder?" I asked. Miki nodded. So it is narcolepsy. Cognates. Gotta love 'em.

"Yeah, that's why she sleeps a lot," Miki said. She eyed me over. "That's why she went back to her dorm room. She'd rather fall asleep there than while she's out and about."

"Makes sense," I said.

Miki yawned and started to doze off. "Wake me up when we get into the city," she said before she fell asleep. She had her head propped up on the back of the seat, her hair lazily floating around with every bump we hit. She was alluring.

"Dammit," I said in English, under my breath. Sighing, I wondered why Kenji seemed right more and more with each passing hour. The mere thought of Kenji made me slightly paranoid. Did he see me leave? I thought. If so, I need another excuse. Gathering intel on "possible feminists" seemed to be a good idea.

About half an hour passed and we were in the city. I wasn't sure if it was normally that quick, or if the lack of traffic was a likely culprit. Nonetheless, I roused Miki from her sleep.

"Miki, we're here," I said as I shook her.

Her eyes shot open. "Huh what where?" she quickly asked.

"We're in the city."

She looked out the window. "Damn, we are. Thanks." I got up and offered her a hand. She took it and I pulled her up. "You're such a gentleman, Adolf." She said it in a playful tone.

"Thank you, Miss Miura," I said, playing along. "Now, you first."

She started to walk ahead, but she turned around and lightly smacked me in the stomach, grinning. "Thank you, Mister Riese."

We got off of the bus. I didn't know a damn thing about where we were, but Miki knew exactly where to go.

"Follow me," she said, slowly jogging through the streets. I followed her closely. We jogged for a good ten minutes or so before coming to some sort of establishment that Miki stopped in front of.

"Here we are," she said. "I hope you brought some money."

I nodded. "Yeah, I did."

She grinned. "Good. Let's go."

We walked into the restaurant- I assumed it was one- and I looked around. It seemed to be a small Chinese restaurant. A takeout place, at that.

"Chinese?" I asked.

Miki nodded. "What, is Chinese food too good for an American like you?" She had a playful grin on her face.

"Yeah," I said, being playfully sarcastic. "Because all Americans are big and strong thanks to hamburgers!" Miki started laughing. That was unexpected, I thought.

"You know," she said after recovering from her bout of laughter. "You're not a stereotypical American."

I nodded. "I noticed."

We walked up to the counter. Miki ordered a lot of food: eggrolls, ramen, wontons, some Chinese noodles... She was a heavy eater. I settled for a generous amount of General Tso's chicken. I had no idea who General Tso was, but his chicken was amazing. I also got some ramen as well.

After paying for our food, Miki and I headed out of the restaurant. Miki had several bags in her hand and I had one.

"Where are we going now?" I asked.

"Just follow me," she said.

I didn't say anything, instead following her as she jogged down the streets once more. I vaguely recognized the area near the bus station, which is where we stopped. In fact, there was a little French-style café near the station. Miki led me there.

"Why are we here?" I asked.

"To eat, of course," Miki replied.

"But, we just got Chinese, and now we're at a French café."

Miki grinned and shrugged. "It's kind of nice, huh?" I thought about it. There was some sort of appeal to the randomness that Miki had produced. Here I am, an American in Japan, eating Chinese at a French café.

"Yeah, it is," I said. It wasn't much, but it was something. "So, now what?"

"We eat," Miki replied, already reaching into one of her bags. She pulled out one of the takeout cartons and started eating some wontons. I was surprised at how effectively she managed to open the carton, despite only having one hand. She still had some trouble, but she handled it well.

Miki looked at me. "What?"

Apparently I was gaping at how easily she did that. "Uh, just... uh, just how you did that..."

Miki didn't seem offended. "It's not easy, but I manage. Good thing I'm right-handed," she said with a grin. She grinned a lot.

I opened my my carton with General Tso's chicken. I took the plastic fork instead of the traditional Japanese chopsticks at the restaurant, so I stuck it in a piece of chicken and popped the chicken in my mouth. I love this chicken, I thought.

I ate about half of the carton before moving on to the ramen, opting to save some of the wonderful chicken for later. Miki was already on her third carton.

"You sure eat fast," I said. Miki looked up, her mouth full. She said something, but I couldn't understand what she said, so I raised an eyebrow.

She swallowed her food and looked at me. "You eat slow." There was a slight grin on her face. I noticed that she liked to mess with me.

"Really?"

"Really," she said, swallowing some more food. "It's not very American of you." She still had that grin on her face.

She really likes making fun of me being American, I thought.

We sat in silence and ate. I never really had ramen before then, but it was actually good. It made me wonder why so many college students complained about living off of ramen. It wasn't bad. Then again, I thought, if you have it for so long, you'll start to dislike it.

I also noticed that the grin that Miki wore was akin to the grins my friends and I used to wear when we were messing with one another. Concluding that she was just playing around, I relaxed. I wasn't very tense in the first place, but any worries I may have developed had their lives preempted.

I, once again, only finished half the carton, leaving the other half for later. Miki raised an eyebrow when she saw my half-finished food.

"You gonna eat that?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, my eyebrow raised in turn. "I'm saving it for later."

She groaned. "Man, I thought you were full."

She already ate most of her food, yet she wanted more food. I swear to God, if she gives me puppy dog eyes, I'm gonna flip. I wasn't keen on finishing the ramen, mainly because even though they were good, noodles and my bowels didn't go well. I went against my better judgment and handed her the ramen carton.

"Thanks, Adolf," she said. "You're not such a bad guy after all."

I raised an eyebrow. "And what would make you think that?"

She shrugged. "Your name, maybe?"

That was a blow I couldn't easily recover from. Using my first name, something I had no control over, against me? It hurt, figuratively. She had a point, but not everyone named Joseph was immediately identified with Joseph Stalin, even if it was spelled the Russian way. Therefore, I concluded that her point had flaws.

I shrugged. "My name is out of my control."

"Still, you're not a bad guy," she said, grabbing some ramen with her chopsticks. It surprised me, seeing her eat food that I ate from, despite the fact I sometimes ate after other people.

"I'm glad you think so," I said. "I kind of got a different idea because of how people seem to avoid me here."

"Nah, it's not so much you as it is them," Miki said. "People avoid people for different reasons. What surprises me is how the shyest girl in the school is one of your friends."

I couldn't help but agree. "Me neither," I said.

I leaned back and thought about ordering some crêpes or something. I was seriously about to, but I didn't want to spend too much money on one day, even if I hadn't spent a lot. Despite having over 120000 yen, I was awfully stingy. I glanced at my watch. Somehow, it was after five.

"You think we should catch the bus back?" I asked Miki, who had just stuffed a clump of ramen in her mouth.

"Why?" she asked, mouth full. I managed to understand her.

"Because it's after five," I said.

She swallowed the ramen, leaning back. After a moment of thought, she nodded. "Yeah, the next bus comes at five-twenty, anyway."

My watch read 5:10 P.M.

"So, we have ten minutes," I said, pointing out the obvious. She nodded, looking back at the ramen. She picked up her chopsticks and finished eating the Chinese-Japanese noodles.

I looked at the amount of empty cartons Miki had. There were seven cartons, eight if the half-eaten ramen I gave her was counted. She stood and tried to put the cartons in one of the bags. She was having trouble, since a light breeze kept pushing the bag's open top closed. I leaned over and held the bag open for her.

"Thanks," she said, sighing in frustration.

"No problem," I said as she tossed the cartons in the bag, one-by-one. When Miki finished tossing the cartons in the bag, I put her other bags inside and closed it up, looking for a trash can. There was one near the entryway to the shop, so I lobbed it in the can.

I returned to Miki and decided to make a jab at her. "You know, I wouldn't have guessed that you would need my help."

She hit me in the stomach, playfully grinning. "Nor would you have guessed that," she said. Her grin became infectious, as I found myself grinning. Though my stomach hurt a little from her jab, it didn't bother me.

Letting go of my stomach, I looked at the bus station. "Should we head back now?" I asked.

Miki nodded. We walked away, and in doing so, I heard someone talking in French. I turned around and saw a man standing where Miki and I were sitting, apparently ready to take an order. She noticed, too, since she stifled several laughs until we got to the bus station. When we got to the bus station, she let the laughs flow, and I couldn't help but laugh as well.

We sat, waiting for the bus to arrive. Not much was said, the waiter incident taking precedence. When the bus arrived, we boarded it and Miki chose the seat again.

I wonder what people think when they see us, I thought. I had a similar thought when I helped Lilly shop.

The bus pulled out and we began the journey back to Yamaku, one I estimated would take at least forty-five minutes. Going into the city and going out of the city were completely different in terms of time frame.

We didn't really talk on the way out of the city, so I opened my carton of leftover chicken and popped a piece in my mouth. I went to pop another piece in, only to notice Miki staring at me.

"Not even going to offer a lady some?" she asked in the worst lady-like tone.

I grinned. "You don't exactly strike me as a lady," I said in jest. That earned me a slightly painful smack on the arm.

"I just struck you like a man," she said, her usual grin on her face.

I tipped the carton toward her. Instead of using my fork, which would have been stranger than her eating food I ate from, she picked up a piece of chicken with her hand. She put it in her mouth and reached for another piece, eating that as well. I grabbed another piece with my fork and ate it.

We kept that up until the chicken was gone, me using the fork and Miki using her hand. Her hand was sticky from the sauce, and after licking the sauce off of her fingers, she wiped it on my pant leg.

I wasn't disgusted, since I did the same thing usually. I was actually shocked. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"Napkins are stupid," she said. "Besides, we don't have any."

"But why my leg?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I just felt like it."

We sat silent for another five minutes before Miki started talking again. She didn't seem to like silence either, but unlike me, she could effectively break it.

"So, what's with you and Hanako?" Miki asked.

That was a touchy subject. I found Hanako cute and endearing, but the constant shyness and reclusiveness was something I couldn't stand. She was nice, especially so with me, but she needed Lilly to function a lot. Miki's question left me at a crossroads on how to answer.

"Well, we're not dating for one," I said. That was the truth. "What happened in class annoyed me."

"It would have happened to anyone," she said. "Misha did the same to Hisao after lunch yesterday."

"Yeah, I saw that."

"So," she shrugged. "Don't sweat it."

She had a point. Misha was just like that. Loud, quick to assume, pestering... She was nice, but annoying at the same time. Child-like, in a sense.

"So, you're on the track team, right?" I asked. I already knew she was, but I was trying to keep conversation going.

"I thought you already knew that," Miki said. Dammit. "Anyway, yeah. Why? You thinking about joining the team?"

Not this again. I pondered the thought. There wasn't really anything to do. Xbox still interested me, but I didn't have any urge to play, and unless I could form a hockey team, I would be rather bored. Might as well, I thought.

"Yeah, I was thinking about it," I said.

Miki's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

I nodded, confusion taking over my face. "Why?"

"This is great!"

"Why?" I repeated.

"I bet Emi that I could get you to join before she could get Hisao to join," she happily said.

I sighed and slumped over. "Why does everyone bet on me?" I mused.

Miki grinned. "Don't fret, man," she said. The way she said it was like we were in a man-to-man talk. "I still wanted to know if you'd join. I just happened to win a bet with the track star at the same time."

I sat back up. "Okay, then." I wasn't pleased that everyone seemed to have bets on what I would do.

I thought about what she said. She and Emi bet that- Wait, Emi and Miki made a bet together?

"I thought you and Emi weren't friendly," I said, my mouth cutting off my brain.

Miki raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?"

"The way you referred to her yesterday," I said. "Gave me the wrong idea, I guess."

"Oh, that. We just have a friendly rivalry," she said.

"Oh. Well, I'm stupid."

"You said it." Grinning, Miki yawned again. "Wake me up when we're at the school," she said.

"Are you sure you're not narcoleptic?" I asked.

She sleepily nodded as she nodded off. Her head was resting on the back of the seat, like when we were going into the city. I found myself staring at her.

"Or perhaps you like to watch girls sleeping?" Rin's words from our first and only meeting echoed in my mind . Dammit, I haven't even seen her since and she's right. I noticed that Miki's dark hair was rather alluring as it playfully bounced around when the bus would hit a bump. Her darker skin tone implied some sort of mixed heritage, or she was just really tan.

I shook myself, forcing my attention away from Miki. I watched as the scenery drifted by. The bus wasn't quiet. People were talking, several of them wearing Yamaku uniforms. Music could be faintly heard from the speakers, masked by the noise the people made.

I was starting to drift asleep myself when the bus hit a bump. I was jolted by not only that, but Miki's unconscious head landing on my shoulder. Her head didn't smack on my shoulder, it was more like the bump caused her head to become displaced, thus making its way to my shoulder.

My heart started racing, for some reason, likely due to possible embarrassment. I could feel my cheeks burning up. Dammit, you socially awkward bastard, I thought. Keep calm. It was an accident, don't get your jimmies in a rustle.

I relaxed after my short pep-talk with myself. I spent the rest of the ride trying to listen to the radio as I stared out the window. I swore I heard a U2 song, but I couldn't hear any more, the sound of chatter drowning out the radio.

After twenty minutes, we were riding up the hill to the school. The trip was slightly shorter than I had predicted, but I nudged Miki to wake her up. Her head was still resting on my shoulder, something I forgot to take into account. When she opened her eyes, she rubbed them, yawning, before noticed where her head was. When she did, she quickly shot up, her cheeks reddening almost instantly.

"Sorry," she quickly said, embarrassed.

I was embarrassed, too, but that had passed twenty minutes earlier. "It's fine," I said. "It was an accident."

Silence loomed for the rest of the (extremely) short ride to the top of the hill. Miki and I got off the bus, along with three-fourths of the students who went into the city, as well. The remaining quarter seemed to have stayed later.

We walked through the gates and across the grounds without conversation, likely because Miki was still waking up. When we reached the dorms, I stopped.

"Where would I go to sign up for the track team?" I asked.

Miki yawned. "Talk to the track captain," she said. "We think he's gay though, so watch yourself."

I shuddered. I'm not homophobic, but she just said it in a way that implied he was a rapist or something. "Couldn't I just talk to Emi? Get her to sign me up?"

Miki shrugged. "You could, but where would the fun be in that?"

I glanced at Rin's mural, her words re-echoing in my mind. "Maybe I'll do that," I said.

We walked up the stairs, coming to the dividing point between the dorms.

"I'll see you later, Adolf," Miki said, punctuating with a slug to my arm.

I hit her back lightly. "See you, Miki."

She turned back to me as she walked away, the playful grin still on her face. I grinned back and turned around to go to my room.

The common room was populated more than usual, but my target wasn't the common room. It was my room. I climbed the stairs to my the hallway Hisao, Kenji, and I were situated in. I fumbled for my key and unlocked the door. I tossed the bag I was carrying into the trash can and took off my clothes.

I flopped on my bed, something I did a lot, and contemplated what I should do. I was starting to feel tired, for some reason. I could go to sleep. I mean, I do have to run tomorrow, I thought. That seemed like a good plan, so I got back up and brushed my teeth in the bathroom, following a short detour to actually use the bathroom.

When I returned to my room, I lied back down, thoughts swirling in my mind. I didn't mean Hanako any ill will, but I couldn't have possibly spent time with only her and Lilly. I still didn't know what caused my sudden change in opinion, but I still chalked it up to ADHD and bipolar. The bipolar was only hypothetical, as I wasn't sure.

The afternoon I spent with Miki was actually very nice. I figured I wouldn't mind spending more time with her and even the sleepy Suzu. They seem like some fun people, I thought. Miki was very tomboyish. She wasn't very girly. She was extremely playful and some one who seemed like an all-around cool person to hang out with. To top it off, she was an attractive girl. I couldn't say much about Suzu, but she seemed okay. Somewhat of a smartass, but okay.

I set my alarm and closed my eyes. I thought back to the night of the festival. I thought I was falling for Hanako then, but I wasn't too sure. Maybe it was just a fluke. Given my annoyance with her that day, that's what it seemed like.

Before I fell asleep, I made it a point to go to lunch with Suzu and Miki, just for the hell of it. I wanted to make new friends, so it seemed like the opportunity was presenting itself.

AN: I know. The story seems a little sappy at times. It's supposed to be. Also, in case you didn't know, the Cyrillic lettering on the mirror was a nod to another fanfiction, the author of which reviewed this story. If you get it, props, if not, too bad. Oh, and the titles I make suck.

This chapter is what I meant when I said the story was a wildcard of sorts. Basically, I do blame the ADHD for the mood swing and change in opinion towards Hanako. Having the disorder myself, I have experienced such an occurrence several times. It's not pleasant, I know that.

Finally, any reviews would be appreciated. Also, critiquing Miki's personality would be helpful. I didn't write her as girly. At least I didn't try to, so if you notice something that seems girly, let me know.