Scene 10 – Cautious Stride

…and with that, the square root ends up being about 104 if I round-up. Now with that I just need divide it by 4.29 and it's done. Wait… I forgot to carry over the two, so it should really be 106 instead of 104… right? Umm… let me think, ok so the answer looks like…err… wait… I forgot to multiply X with 13 then add Y which multiplies by ¾… Why do I have to do this kind of work right now…!

I can't even tell how much time has gone by since I started this, and I am no further along with understanding any of this. Maybe I should just guess at this point.

With a few simple flicks of my wrist, I redo the formula to adjust for my mistakes, and finally get everything back in order on the sheet.

"That will do for today, Yamashita," the stern voice of the math instructor isn't something I'm taking lightly.

"All right…," I turn in my work to his desk and start towards the door.

"I hope you understand that your choices have consequences Yamashita," clearly it's a result of people who act the way you do...

"Yes…," I couldn't pray any harder than I am now, to get out of this room.

"I'm sure you can show me your understanding once again, same time tomorrow, Yamashita," All I give is a simple nod as I walk out the door and turn straight towards the stairs.

There is only one word that will ever come to mind now when I think about him… Hard-ass….

I can't believe that I had any hope that he would forget or let it slide, but it seems that I didn't know the variables… Oh god, I'm making math puns now, the horror of it all!

As I walk downstairs, I try to get the idea of numbers out of mind. It is a huge surprise that when I think of Misha and her powerful voice, more specifically her laugh, it drowns out everything else. That is the definite first sign that I'm going crazy, when Misha's voice is a pleasant thought, hahaha…

With my thoughts out of tone with the rest of the world, I press my hand against the door on the first floor, the cold feel of the metal handle brings me back.

Where the heck am I going?

I place the palm of my hand against my forehead as I try to recall something that feels important. My eyes shift around, clearly giving off the impression that I'm deep in thought. I just know I'm going somewhere for something…

Maybe some fresh air will help me out. A quick push on the door and I get outside. The first thing I do is look up at the sky, still trying to figure things out.

I stared up at the sky for at least a minute before I hear something.

"Hiroshi, there you are." The voice draws my attention..., this hasn't been my day.

"Oh…Hisao, what's going on?" I guess I was in up in the classroom a lot longer than I thought.

"We've been waiting for…," what I forgot finally comes back to me.

"Oooooooohhhhh!" Hisao looks spooked as I realize how loud I just was.

"Sorry…, right, we are going to see Hanako …ahem…," I couldn't help but rub the back of my head.

"Lilly is waiting for us," Hisao regains his composure.

"Let's go," He takes the lead as we head over to the dorm.

We end up walking side by side as I look at the ground, feeling like a goofball for being so over-dramatic. I try to let myself feel that way until we reach the dorms, but the silence ends unexpectedly.

"So Hiroshi, I have a question," where will this lead I wonder.

"Sure, ask away," have to stay confident, maybe it's nothing big.

"Earlier, when we were having lunch and I came in, you almost flew out of your seat, what happened?" Oooh.. It's something big...

Quick, think of something to tell him, umm…, hmm…,

"I've just been on edge…," this is a sinking boat…

"On edge?" crap…, umm…

"Yeah, w-with everything that has gone on… recently…, I've been a wreck…," I'm starting to feel bad for coming up with this nonsense.

Hisao looks as if he is pondering my answer. I can only hope the questioning ends.

"I guess we all have felt that way recently," a small sigh escapes my lips as we reach the dormitories. Not a moment too soon.

We head inside and walk into the female dorm. Within the first moment of walking in, we spot Lilly. I glance around the room while Hisao approaches her.

This definitely gives a different feel than the male dorms. Sort of a sweet smell in the air, but I'm not exactly sure what it is. I don't think I could really give a describing smell to the male side, though I would swear that when I walk by Hisao's door, I smell a lot of greasy food. I can't imagine it's coming from his room though.

I head over to Hisao and Lilly, noticing a few of the girls in the hall giving me an odd stare. I guess this is my first time here and it's weird for them.

"Hey Lilly," time to get ourselves on course I suppose.

"Oh, Hiroshi. Are things all right? Hisao told me you had some trouble in class," I guess I should just quote what happened.

"…Apparently, I made an "Ill-calculated decision that is not appropriate or becoming of a productive member of society,"" the last few words make me notice how sarcastic I was being.

Lilly has a slight distressful look on her face, though I can tell she is trying to keep up a strong front.

"I hope that you are able to reflect on it, Hiroshi," regardless of her intent with her words, she has a point.

"I have a lot of time to reflect on it, it seems," a few more days of punishment to deal with isn't too bad.

"Let's go see Hanako," Hisao insists, and I'm sure we all want to deal with what we gathered to do.

We walk a bit down the hallway; Hanako's door isn't too far in. Everything feels uneasy as Lilly knocks on the door.

I've never had to deal with something like this before. I should just let Lilly take the lead and see where I need to fill in.

There is no response to Lilly's knocking, and we wait a few moments. Lilly then reaches for the door knob and starts to turn it, clearly showing it's unlocked. Without any hesitation, Lilly moves inside first, followed by Hisao and I come in last.

The room looks pretty bare, save for a few things; it seems like the basic design. Though I'm not one to judge, my room is almost identical in set up.

Hanako is lying on her bed, and with a closer look, the trail of tears is easily noticeable on her cheeks. With as overwhelming as things have been today for her, it's something that couldn't be helped.

Hisao takes a bag and places it on her desk.

"Hello, Hanako. I've heard what happened today, are you all right?" Hanako looks so fragile; I hope we don't make this any worse by being here.

"I..I'm all right…," She focused on Lilly at first before looking over to Hisao and me.

"S-sorry for making… y-you all worry…"

"I'm r-really… a-all right…," Hanako's expression doesn't really match her words, but I would never attempt to cast doubt on it. I can only hope that she is really in a better state.

"There is no need to apologize for this," Hisao's words sound reassuring.

"Hisao's right, we... I… shouldn't have tried to hide our plans for your birthday from you," Lilly kneels down to Hanako.

"I should be the one to apologize, Hanako."

I couldn't help but notice the long stare Hanako gave to Lilly, it seems almost piercing. Though not too long after, she slides herself up to sit on the bed. Lilly joins her as she sat next to her, taking Hanako's hand into both of hers. It still feels like tensions are high, however.

Hisao and I give each other a simple glance, I guess I'm not the only one feeling awkward.

"If you need us to go, Lilly, we can…"

"I don't… want that…," Hanako surprises all of us with her sudden confidence. Hisao mumbles something, though I couldn't hear it clearly.

I feel useless right now. Lilly has such a strong connection with Hanako, I could see why she can help put her at ease. And Hisao is so confident about how to act. Maybe I've not really put the right amount of effort.

"There is some bad news, I'm afraid, Hanako." What bad news is she talking about?

"I must return to my family, my aunt has falling ill, and I will be gone for a time." Hanako looks concerned, I wouldn't blame her, this is shocking news to both of us.

"You mean… in Scotland…right?"

"That's Right, Akira and I will be leaving Saturday."

"S-so you are going away?"

I couldn't really find the words to speak, I'm just trying to absorb what's happening.

"Not too long, only for a week or two. Hiroshi and Hisao will be here, of course," once I hear my name, I snap back into focus.

"Yeah, I'll be here for sure," I have to do better, so I won't have doubt.

"We aren't going anywhere," Hisao backs me up, with such reassurance.

"W-will your aunt be all right?"

"I'm unsure," Lilly speaks honestly, though the atmosphere isn't any help for the downward spiral that today has gone.

"We were thinking, it would be best to hold a small going-away party for Lilly, which can also be… yeah…," Hisao cuts himself off, I can only assume for good reason.

"Does that sound all right to you, Hanako? It will be something just among us in my room."

Lilly sells it well, though I don't know if that setup will be very spacious.

"O-only the four of us, at the school?"

"Yes, and If you like, I can ask Akira to come as well."

"All..right…, you will only be gone for a week?"

"I promise, no longer than a week or two."

"O-okay," I think things are finally settling down.

"You should get some rest, Hanako. I think it would be best if we head back to our rooms," I suppose Hisao is right, it is getting a late.

"If you need anything, you know we are here to talk, right?" Lilly's tone is unusual.

"Thank you, Lilly, Hisao, Hiroshi. I understand," the smile on Hanako's face puts me a little at ease.

"Good night, Hanako," each of us bid farewell, the same way.

"Night…"

Coming out of the room, it's surprising how relaxed I feel once I'm back in the hallway. I couldn't imagine how everyone else feels.

I glance over at Lilly, who doesn't look in full form.

"Is everything all right, Lilly?" I feel we have come full circle since me and Hisao walked on dorm.

"Just tired, today has been quite… frantic…"

"Without a doubt, it has been. But, it seems like more than that," I couldn't help but feel concerned.

"I'll be all right for tomorrow," as helpful as she is, she sure resists getting help.

"You should really relax, it won't do you any good to soak in dark tides," I'm not sure where I was taking that, but it sounds good.

Lilly giggles, which is a good sign at least.

"Thank you, have a good evening, Hiroshi, Hisao."

"Good night, Lilly."

"Night, Lilly," Hisao is the last to speak as we head back towards the male dorm.

Lilly had entered her room already before we leave the hall. I'm not sure what to say to Hisao, though I'd like to know why I wasn't told in advance about Lilly's situation, even a text message would have been nice. But I won't stress out about what's already passed.

Hisao gets to his room first, as I wave him farewell. A few more doors down to get to my room.

I can only hope everything works out well for this get together, I'd like to see more smiling faces…

Maybe I should try to smile more too, I don't do it that often…

Wahahaha~!

Why did I just think of Misha laughing again? I need some sleep….