3500+ words. That's why it took so long for this chapter coming out. Shout out to the people who has written a chapter that contains a large number of words. You have my respect for the willpower to write long chapters. Enjoy.
The Calm Before The Storm
Disclaimer: I don't own Baka and Test. All rights belong to their owners.
Later, Miharu has just arrived back at her house.
"Oh, Miharu. You're back. How was your group study?" Shinatsu greeted her daughter back home.
"It was nice, mom,"
Miharu used the 'group study' excuse as a front to what's really behind the scenes. As soon as Miharu puts her shoes away, she notices two things. One was that her (soon to be caught deadbeat) dad's shoes aren't on the shoe rack when it's already late. Secondly, there is a white dress hanging on a doorknob.
"Mom, where's dad and what's with the dress?"
"Well, your dad is visiting a friend in Okinawa so he'll be back by Thursday. As for the dress…" Shinatsu suddenly blushed. Miharu is confused.
"My old high school flame invited me for dinner. And it turns out he's your friend's mentor,"
"Huh? Which friend?"
"I think his name is… Daisuke, I believe,"
This is news to Miharu. Daisuke's mentor used to be her mother's boyfriend. But when she thought about it more, she finds it hard to believe that her mom would go see her ex.
"Why… are you suddenly seeing him again? I mean, he's your ex after all, mom," Miharu sits down on the couch and Shinatsu sits down on the couch opposite of Miharu's.
"We broke up peacefully believe it or not. It's because of his dream. His dream was to become a pro-wrestler. And I encouraged him to do it even it means breaking up as he has to move to the city where the dojo is located. And because of his schedule, we couldn't find the time to see each other," Shinatsu suddenly shed a tear, which surprises Miharu.
"Mom… Do you still love him?"
Shinatsu wiped away the tear before answering.
"I… I don't know, dear,"
Miharu is unsure what to make of this whole thing. She was about to ask more when she yawned. She decided to continue this tomorrow.
"Mom, I'm very tired. You know with the studying and all," Miharu gets up and stretches.
"I'm sure you are, dear. Have a good night's rest," Shinatsu smiled.
"Good night, mom," Miharu went up the stairs. After Miharu went up, Shinatsu sheds more tears while covering her mouth.
"Miharu… If only you knew…"
With Miharu, she dropped on her bed and thought about what she has just been told.
"Ok. So mom is gonna see her old boyfriend. So once my dad is caught, does that mean she wants to go back to him? It's clear that she still loves him. Ugh. I'm not ready to have a new dad yet after what I've been through… I need to talk to Daisuke about him. After all, this guy is his teacher. I need assurances to know what's mom's old boyfriend like if she does want to go to him. Speaking of dads, didn't mom said that dad isn't here until Wednesday? That means…"
Miharu looks at her bag as she recalls the meeting from earlier.
Two Hours Earlier
"Ok. So here's what I suggest to do. Because I specialize in surveillance, I say we put a camera in Miharu's bathroom right under the sink here," Kouta suggested as he points to the bathroom part of Miharu's house. But that earned him a fist from Yuuko.
"OW!"
"How do we know you're not using the footage for your own benefit?" Yuuko cracks her knuckles with flames behind her.
"Relax, Yuuko. I'll make sure that he doesn't do that," Daisuke said with a smile and a dark aura surrounding him. This made Kouta jolt.
"Trust me. I won't," Kouta took a deep breath before he continues explaining.
"Now because you all felt that telling the police is not sufficient, I figured you might need video evidence. That's why I'm suggesting what I said," Daisuke sighed heavily after Kouta explained.
"True. We need the video evidence. Besides, it's a safe and risky-free approach. I don't want any unnecessary risks," Daisuke folds his arms.
"Yeah. The question now is: Who will install the camera? Do you want me to do it?" Kouta said as he takes out two small portable cameras.
"No. I'll do it. It's my house and my dad will detect any strange person almost immediately," Miharu volunteered
"And if we take a safe approach, I say install the camera when your dad isn't around, Shimizu-san," Hideyoshi said. Miharu nodded in agreement.
"Once the camera is installed, I suggest we gather back here and get the footage," Kouta said.
"Wait, guys. Do you all realize that we may have to witness Miharu getting…" Minami spoke up. What she said caused everyone to be uncomfortable. As soon as everything is set up, they have to witness Miharu getting molested by her own dad.
"You bought up a good point, Minami. But I promise that that will be the last time Miharu will go through that hell. I convinced you all into this and if anything happens to any one of you, I'll take the blame," Daisuke said.
"Daisuke… You really are selfless, aren't you…?" Yuuko thought about Daisuke's personality.
"Anyway, Shimizu-san. Since you're installing the camera, I'll give instructions on how to install it. But since we don't know when your dad isn't gonna be home, I say you should text me so that the coast is clear to install it," Kouta hands the cameras to Miharu.
"Understood," Miharu puts the cameras into her bag.
Back To The Present
Miharu takes out the cameras. She quickly informs Kouta via text that the coast is clear. Almost immediately, Kouta replies back with the instructions. Phase 1 has commenced.
Two days later, Daisuke trains in the dojo as usual. Since it's the weekend, the dojo is filled with a lot of students training their hardest as all three rings and almost every gym equipment is used. After a few hours of training, he takes a rest and sits on the bench. Kinoue, who groaned like Frakenstein's monster, sits next to him as a dark cloud looms over his head.
"Kinoue-san… Are you Ok?" Daisuke has to ask his mentor.
"Huh? Oh, uh, uh, e-e-ev-eve-verything's Ok. Feeling swell," Kinoue laughed while closing his eyes, trying to convince his protégé that nothing's wrong. When he looks at him, Daisuke glowers at him. Kinoue slowly stopped laughing as he knows Daisuke is unconvinced.
"W-what?"
"You and I both know that you're hiding something from me," Daisuke continues to eye his mentor suspiciously. Kinoue was about to continue his denial when a fellow trainee of Daisuke called out to Kinoue.
"Kinoue-sensei, Kawato-kun got his foot stuck between the ropes again," Kinoue sighed heavily at this.
"Again? How many times have I told him to keep your body straight when doing a suicide dive?" Kinoue said this as he got up and thus, denying Daisuke to pressure for more info. Then, Daisuke got a text message. He opens his phone and sees it was Miharu that texted him.
From: Miharu
Daisuke, are you free within the next few hours? I need to talk to you about something. Can we meet up somewhere?
"I wonder what Miharu wants to talk to me about," Daisuke proceeds to text back.
To Miharu:
Sure. Remember the café you, Yuuko and I went? We can meet there at around 2:30?
DING DING
From: Miharu
Yeah, I'm free at that time. See you later.
To: Miharu
See you. :-)
After texting, Daisuke looks up to see Kinoue on the ring apron, trying to untangle the ropes
"I'll figure out what's his problem later," Daisuke thought, referring to Kinoue before he goes back into the ring next to the one where poor Kawato-kun got stuck.
Meanwhile at the park, Aiko decides to take shortcut home through the park with a plastic bag filled with groceries in her hand. She also finds the path scenic with the abundance of nature full of trees, grassy landscape along with a fountain in the middle and a multi-coloured concrete pathway. Aiko has just reached the fountain when she saw a bulge on the hedges. The bulge, which didn't see Aiko behind it, turned around and two hands holding a camera stick out. Aiko knows who it is already judging by the camera. It went towards the direction of two teenage girls sitting on the bench. Aiko decided to sneak from behind to see if she's right about who the 'bulge' really is. So she went into the hedges as well. As it turns out she was right, in front of her is Fumizuki's resident pervert, Kouta Tsuchiya. He is on all fours and was about to stick out of the hedges and take a picture of the two girls' underskirts when Aiko decides to go on top his back and covering his mouth, shocking the She then pulls him further into the hedges.
Later, Daisuke has finished his training. He is on his way to meet Miharu when he stumbled to a familiar face right in front of the cinema.
"Minami," Daisuke called out. Minami is with her little sister Hazuki, who is wearing a ballerina costume, when she turns around and sees Daisuke waving his hand and approaching them. She waved back.
"Hey Daisuke, what are you doing here?"
"I was on my way to see Miharu. It seems she wants to talk to me about something. How about you?"
"I just picked up my little sister here from her ballerina classes,"
Daisuke looks down on the little pigtailed girl. Hazuki looks at Daisuke, scanning him from top to bottom.
"Wow, you look strong," Hazuki commented on Daisuke's appearance.
"Thank you. I aspire to be a pro wrestler one day so I have to be strong," Daisuke pumped his fist.
"You mean the one where people beat each other and fly around like birds?"
"Uh…. Yeah. When you put it that way…" Daisuke scratches the back of his head.
"So cool…" Hazuki's eyes shined like the sun.
"So, what's your name? I'm Daisuke, one of your sister's friends," Daisuke squats down and rubs Hazuki's head while smiling.
"I'm Hazuki. Are you in the same class as my idiot big sister?" That remark made Daisuke unnerved and Minami sour a little bit after smiling for a little while.
"No, I'm not in the same class. But Hazuki-chan, you can't just call your big sister an 'idiot' like that. She's trying her hardest," Daisuke frowned a bit. He still has his hand on Hazuki's head.
"Ok… I'm sorry…"
After that, Daizuke and Hazuki converse a little bit more. Minami couldn't help but smile at the interaction. Then…
"Daisuke, what are you doing here?" A voice said. Daisuke recognizes the voice as Shouko's. He turns around to greet his class rep.
"Shouko, I-" Daisuke's eyes became wide with a mix of shock and fear and caused him to just drop his duffel bag. Shouko is with Yuuji but the Class F rep was dressed like how Hannibal was wheeled in in 'Silence of the Lambs', wearing a straightjacket, a mask that covers his mouth and strapped on to a dolly hand truck. Only difference is that Yuuji is wearing a blindfold. Daisuke immediately covers Hazuki's eyes to protect her innocence, leading her to ask questions about the scene, which was being ignored.
"Uh… Sh-Shouko… Why is Yuuji…" The scene before Daisuke is so shocking that he couldn't complete his question.
"This is to prevent him from escaping last time. So this is punishment," Shouko said with an evil aura.
"Now come Yuuji, we're gonna watch Dragon Rising… Three times," Shouko said as she goes behind the dolly hand truck Yuuji is strapped on and pushes it. Yuuji struggled in vain as he screams behind the mask.
"Isn't that movie like 5 hours?" Daisuke sweat-dropped. He turns back to Minami, who seemed unfazed at the scene just now.
"Why are you not shocked?" Daisuke exasperatingly said.
"Because that's how Shouko is. She's overly in love with Yuuji and will do anything to get close to him. It's shocking at first about her methods, but everyone got used to it," Minami explains.
"And no one interfered why…?"
"Because whoever did that will be subjected to the same abuse and torture Yuuji is experiencing,"
"So scary…" Daisuke sweat-dropped further. He withdraws his hand from Hazuki's eyes.
"Anyway, I have to go now, bye," Daisuke speeds off with Minami and Hazuki looking on.
"Big sister… Daisuke is so cool. Just as cool as stupid big brother," Hazuki said with the latter referencing to Akihisa. Minami chuckled.
Some time later, Daisuke arrives at the busy café and saw Miharu already sitting down at a counter by the window. He sits down and greets her.
"Hey, I hope I didn't keep you waiting," Daisuke plops his bag next to him.
"Oh, no I wasn't. I just arrived a few minutes ago,"
"All right. So what's on your mind?" Daisuke combined his hands and places his chin on them. Miharu took a deep breath before explaining to Daisuke about her mom, her relationship with Kinoue and her thoughts about it. Daisuke slowly leaned back on the cushion seat to process the info.
"Huh… So that's why Kinoue-san was looking gloom this morning," Daisuke muttered to himself softly.
"Which leads me to wonder what your mentor is like, Daisuke," Miharu said.
"Miharu, if Kinoue-san somehow winds up becoming your step-dad, you have nothing to worry about. He's kind, outgoing, amiable and compassionate. You should see him teach the students at the dojo I'm training in. He treats everyone like they're his children. Although, he is bad at lying," Daisuke places his fist under his chin.
"He can be a great father in my opinion, Miharu. You will be Ok if the scenario you came up with happened," Daisuke leans forward and reassures Miharu about her safety. Miharu looks at Daisuke.
"If you trust him that much, Daisuke… I think I'll give Kinoue a chance if I ever meet him,"
"Trust me. You'll like him and warm up to him instantly," Daisuke smiles.
"So… Is there anything else you would like to talk to me about?"
"Actually… I just remembered he is in Class A. Maybe he can help me with a few problems. There is something you can help me since you're in Class A," Miharu takes out a few of her books.
"Homework? Sure. No problem,"
As they are conversing, they are not aware of two people sitting behind their counter. Aiko and Kouta were just aware of the two sitting behind them. Aiko is the one most surprised.
"I can't believe it. Miharu is actually conversing with Daisuke. And he's a guy,"
Kouta silently nod. He knows what is the exact nature of the relationship. He also knows there is hell to pay if he divulges it.
"Do you know anything about it, Kouta?" Aiko, who is on the same side as Kouta after moving from her side, looks at him.
"No," Kouta's reply was short. He is emotionless, trying not to give anything away. Deep inside, his thoughts are everywhere.
"Now, why don't I believe you, Kouta?" Aiko said in a smoky and honeyed tone at the same time. This caused Kouta to sweat a little bit.
"Anyway, Daisuke must be something else if he can get Miharu to talk to him. Well, I've had my share of fun today, Kouta," Aiko leaves some money on the table and leaves the table.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, before I go…" Aiko leans towards Kouta's ear. Whatever she said caused Kouta to have one of his signature nosebleeds again and fall one the floor face first on his own pool of blood, prompting a waiter to call someone for cleaning. Aiko leaves before Daisuke and Miharu noticed her.
Meanwhile, at the Kinoshita household, Yuuko is bored out of her mind. She's been studying for hours, despite that the next exam is a long way to go and she already has read the latest chapter of her favorite 'gay book' as Hideyoshi would call it. After a few moments looking out of her window, she decided to walk around a bit as a change of pace. Just as she was about to leave, Hideyoshi comes back.
"Oh, sister. Are you going somewhere?"
"Just want to get a breath of fresh air. I won't be long," Yuuko closes the door. A few moments later, she arrived at the park. After a brief time walking, she found a lone tree that has enough shade to cover ten people. Yuuko sits by the base and leans on the tree. It's little things like this that she appreciates. Since it's a Sunday, there's a large amount of activity going on surrounding the tree with kids playing with their parents and friends. Yuuko couldn't help but smile at the sight. She then looks at the sky and started daydreaming thoughtlessly with the wind gently blowing. After a few minutes, she started to yawn.
"Well, a few minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt," Yuuko said. She leans back on the tree and drifts off to dreamland. After some time, Yuuko slowly wakes. She blinks her eyes for a bit. But then, she felt something off. Her side of the head is leaning on something that's made of soft fabric covering something hard instead of the tree bark. She looks up and sees…
"Morning, sleeping beauty,"
The sudden appearance of Daisuke caused Yuuko to jolt up and move away a bit out of shock.
"D-D-Da-Dai-Daisuke? What are you-"
"Well, I was walking back home and saw you sleeping by the tree. I thought you could use some companionship, so I sat by you. You then slumped over to my shoulder and continue sleeping. To be honest… You look kinda cute sleeping, so I took a selfie of us," Daisuke said that last bit blushing a bit. He shows the picture on his phone screen where Yuuko is sleeping soundly on his shoulder with Daisuke looking up directly towards his camera. Yuuko turned red as a tomato when she saw the picture.
"W-w-w-w-what the- D-D-DAISUKE! DELETE THAT!" Yuuko is feeling embarrassed. She tries desperately to get the phone. But Daisuke raises it until his arm can't go higher anymore.
"Relax, Yuuko. I won't show this to anyone. I have no reason to," Yuuko actually relaxed when Daisuke said that. That's how much she trusts Daisuke.
"S-still… It's rude to take a picture of someone sleeping," Yuuko turns away somewhat angry and folds her arms.
"I know. But for some reason, your sleeping face calms my heart," Daisuke looks away.
Doki! Doki! Yuuko's heart beat. She turns back to face Daisuke and can see a faint blush on his face. She can't help but let this slide for one time.
"Well… If it's you, then perhaps I can let it go," Yuuko herself now has a faint blush on her face. That turned into a full blush when she suddenly found herself in an embrace by Daisuke.
"Thank you," Daisuke whispered while closing his eyes. He didn't notice Yuuko is on the verge of a meltdown thanks to the position their in. Luckily, Daisuke notice their position and promptly let go.
"Aah. Sorry. I don't what came over me," Daisuke profusely apologizes by bowing repeatedly. Yuuko found this slightly amusing and giggled after around 5 or 6 bows Daisuke did.
"Apology accepted. Now come on, it's getting late. Let's go home," Yuuko walks ahead. Daisuke catches up a few moments later.
"So, what were you doing under that tree?"
That question for some reason stopped Yuuko in her tracks. Daisuke walked a few steps forward before realizing Yuuko stopped walking. She stares at Daisuke with slight disbelief.
"Yuuko, are you Ok?"
"Huh? Oh. Everything's Ok. It's just that I want to rest, that's all," Yuuko walks again, ahead of Daisuke.
"Ok. If you say so,"
Both of them walk again side-by-side. While Daisuke retained a slight smile, Yuuko is a little despondent.
"You don't remember what happened under that tree do you, Daisuke?"
Later That Night, at the Himeji household…
"Mizuki, are you in there?" Mizuho Himeji, Mizuki's mother comes into the kitchen and turns on the light. She found that the kitchen is a mess with food and utensils strewn all over the place. Among the mess is a sleeping Mizuki leaning over the counter. Beside her is a letter. Mizuho picks up the letter and starts to read it. After finishing reading, she giggles.
"You're doing this for Akihisa-kun, aren't you Mizuki?"
"Dear, are you in here?" Mr. Himeji comes in. Mizuho signals him to be quiet out of respect for a sleeping Mizuki.
"Oh, dear. She must have tire herself out," Mr. Himeji whispered.
"I'll clean the kitchen. You take her to her room," Mizuho said. Mr. Himeji agreed silently and proceeds to pick Mizuki up. Mizuho, now alone in the kitchen, observes the messy scene.
"I hope you and Akihisa-kun get together, Mizuki," Mizuho giggles again
To Be Continued
I really hope to quicken the pace more. I can say with confidence that the next chapter will do just that. Stay tuned for the next chapter.
