Friday was the last normal day for Yamaku Academy before the final exams were to roll around. The school was preparing for summer vacation and the students were getting everything they could to finish the year. It didn't help the fact that the last normal day was unusually hot, and the students were doing whatever they could to not overheat and get along with their day. Hisao was busy packing his belongings and preparing to move to the second class. Mutou was watching them but Lenny had hobbled out of the front door so he wasn't able to catch him. Hisao however was still there.
"Hey Hisao, you got a few minutes to spare?" Mutou asked Hisao if he had some time before he could move to the second class.
"Yeah, I've got some time. Nowhere important to be or anything like that." Hisao began speaking. Lenny heard the conversation from outside even though he took a couple steps.
"I wanted to get some feedback from you, if I could. I know that this course wasn't quite up to your level… I know Lenny joined in late to the party but I felt like I had to take it easy on him as I don't want to stress him out like I did on his first day." Mutou began the conversation. He was worried that he was too easy on Hisao as they had a new student and he didn't tolerate stress very well. Hisao began to think about it before he began to speak.
"Don't worry about it. Lenny is a quick learner, he managed to pick up everything you said about this week. I say he's got a full week in the books." Hisao told Mutou to not sweat it so much, especially since they got Lenny to learn quickly. He was prepared for the week ahead.
"Hmm, did they? Well in fact, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think that Lenny is ready for Monday? Just for my own reference." Mutou asked if he didn't know if his friend was ready for the test coming up.
"Well yeah, it was a great way for us to go further than we did in class. It was definitely worthwhile." Hisao gave his answer that he and Lenny actually had fun for the last week or so while learning under Mutou. Mutou smiled wide as he was astounded.
"That's great! Exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for. You know, Hisao, I'm glad you came here. It's always good to have a student who really gets into the subject you teach. In a way, it makes dealing with the rest of the students more tolerable. You're a bright kid, too. You took to this stuff like a duck to water, or some other such simile." Mutou excitedly told Hisao that he was grateful for a student like Hisao. Hisao was a little confused by it before he began speaking with Mutou.
"Er, thanks. You were a great help. Especially with that college stuff." Hisao replied. "I don't know what is going to happen to Lenny during the summer as we still don't know much about him, but I don't think anything good will happen. When I talked to Emi as of last night, we found out that Lenny's mother was on drugs ever since his father died and when he had his heart attack. He's been pretty isolated according to her and she and her mother along with me and my friends are the only things that matter to him at this point." Hisao was worried about his friend's future as he thought he was going to have nowhere to stay and help look out for him.
"I'll talk with Meiko later on if something does happen between the finals and when the grades are brought back, and you exit the school for the summer. I can have her arrange something if he is to stay with Emi." Mutou expressed his plan that the final grades were going to take a few days to be submitted. He then began speaking again. "There's one more thing, Hisao. A bit of advice, from one scientist to another."
"What's that?" Hisao asked.
"What does a scientist do?" Mutou reminded Hisao about what a scientist would do.
"Observe the world around him." Hisao answered. Mutou nodded as Hisao was correct on that one.
"Exactly. Good. A simple question, but one that most people can't seem to answer. That's the essence of a scientist, Hisao. We observe what's there and try to figure it out. But what if there's something you can't figure out? What's a scientist to do if he can't observe something? How, for example, can we talk about quarks when nobody has ever actually seen one? Or black holes when observing them directly is impossible?" Mutou nodded as Hisao was correct on that one.
"Well, scientific equipment is pretty advanced..." Hisao began explaining but Mutou decided to change his tactics up half-way
"No, that's not it at all. Those are tools, I'm trying to give you a philosophy. Think. If you can't observe something directly, then how can you observe it?" Mutou asked Hisao something more specific.
"Uh, guess?" Hisao asked as he didn't fully understand the question.
"How? How would you guess the movement of a quark? What is your guess based on?" Mutou asked Hisao about it while Hisao began to think. He quickly came up with the answer.
"The things it affects." Hisao answered Mutou's question. Mutou nodded as Hisao got that one correct.
"Yes, exactly. Good. Remember that Hisao. If you can't examine something directly, it's because you're looking at it wrong. You have to look at it differently if you want to uncover the truth. And if it eludes you, then look at what it leaves behind. That is the essence of being a scientist. We never stop looking for the answer. Never take anything for granted. Observe, experiment, and observe some more. There's a lot of stuff out there that makes no sense, Hisao. Your job is to get it to make sense. If nothing else, I hope you've learned that here." Mutou nodded to Hisao, explaining what he would be doing if he was to learn about it.
"I think I can remember that." Hisao replied.
"Good. Now go enjoy your weekend before the exam. You've earned it." Mutou smiled one more time before Hisao grabbed his things and left the room. He puffed his shirt a bit, trying to cool himself off before he got to Lenny.
"You waited for me, what for?" Hisao asked Lenny.
"I heard the conversation going on with Mutou and you kind of found out about my family. I guess you were looking out for me." Lenny told Hisao about the conversation he had with Mutou.
"I know but it will suck to have nowhere to stay for the summer and get dumped out onto the streets with no guidance. I think Emi told me you and your mother don't talk at all." Hisao sighed while they began making their way to the next class.
"Yeah." Lenny sighed. His pulse monitor was flashing a bit faster than normal as they continued to walk. "She stopped showing up after a few weeks and whenever she did show up, we wouldn't talk at all. She seemed just as faceless as some of my nurses." Lenny explained to Hisao that his mother had devolved from the moment he had his heart attack.
"I apologize for what is going on, but I wanted to ask. If we can arrange something with Emi and Meiko, are you willing to stay with them?" Hisao asked if Lenny was willing to live with his girlfriend and her mother.
"If it means I can enjoy life the way I want to even with my condition, I'm willing to accept it." Lenny answered as if it meant he could be with the person who cared for him the most.
"Okay, I need to talk with Emi about it later on today if she is willing to take you over to her house to live in for the summer. You two make a surprisingly sweet couple." Hisao admitted. They continued to walk together when Kenji showed up and flagged them down.
"Yo!" Kenji called out. He trotted up to them and joined in the conversation. "I thought I was going to be gone forever, never returning to that hair-raising wacky adventure I pulled off. You look like you went out to get some milk."
"What do you want this time Kenji?" Hisao asked as he had to ruin a perfectly good moment like this one. Kenji took a breath and began to speak.
"I got a crazy new conspiracy, called the internet, it is some kind of mind control device were corruption flourishes like never before. I am following the crook of the internet to find out the embezzlement he's in. And I was wondering if all the women in this school are like this." Kenji explained what was going on. Hisao and Lenny weren't that interested.
"Sorry Kenji, we're not that interested." Hisao flatly told Kenji, not after what he had just done to them. Kenji seemed to be sidelined as Hisao and Lenny left the scene.
"Well thanks." Kenji flatly responded. Shizune and Misha were watching what was happening as Hisao didn't listen to him. They knew they wanted payback.
Lunch came around but no one was allowed on the rooftop in fear of the students suffocating out there due to the heat. Hisao was sitting with Rin, Hanako and Lilly.
"Man, today is hot, I felt like I was boiling in my fourth period class. Plus, all outdoor activities have been canceled." Lilly began. She wasn't a fan with certain stuff receiving the can due to things out of their control.
"I think with this heat, it's going to fry someone's nerves. I thought I saw someone get into a fist fight." Rin added on.
"Well, it should only be hot today and the weekend afterward is going to cool down a bit to normal." Hisao sighed before puffing some air from his uniform. Rin was eating with her feet like usual. "I think Shizune and Misha seem to be off, they are giving glances at each other and I think one at me and Lenny when we were leaving out first period class that morning. And Kenji's crazy new theories." Hisao also added that their friends were giving glances off that would unnerve them.
"So, I believe that something bad is going to happen the period afterward and we're all going to be affected by it." Lilly added. She seemed to be nervous about what was going to happen today.
"Yeah, I know, we should wait around to see what happens." Hisao added on. "I wish you and Hanako luck to get through the last period. We'll think of what we'll do afterward."
"We'll need it." Lilly sighed. Lenny and Emi were nowhere to be found, Hisao bet the two love birds were off doing their own thing.
Last period of the day came around with the English teacher assigning groups of five instead of three. Lenny was placed into his usual group, but they were bolstered by Shizune and Misha, the two that they weren't fond of. They were doing a bit of a group assignment together and the topic would be whatever they pleased as long as they had a conversation in it. This was a five-student group project while the entire students were writing it out.
"I need ideas, anyone got any?" Lilly asked while she continued to jot down her ideas. Shizune just signed to Misha who turned and began speaking to Lilly.
"Should we get Hanako involved, it looks like she hasn't said anything." Misha asked. Lenny looked on while he was writing the project with the help from Hanako.
"Hanako is helping us do all the hard work and she could contribute in other ways." Lilly added on, if Hanako was comfortable doing the work her way, let her do it. She shouldn't be the one to really be bothered by the others. Shizune began signing to Lilly something while Misha translated it for her.
"She needs to contribute to the idea pool, if she doesn't, she's a broken nobody who relies on Hisao to give her love." Misha teased as she was just translating off of Shizune. "And Lilly's the one who drinks all the tea." Hanako heard about it and felt hurt by it. She got up and ran out of the classroom while Lenny watched. Whatever they just did had made Hanako upset.
"Whatever you said, had upset Hanako. She didn't deserve that." Lenny called out to Shizune and Misha that what they said was teasing her. He was standing up for her.
"If you consider her a friend so much, why don't you pay her a visit?" Misha told Lenny while Shizune was translating for her. Lenny felt like this was devolving into a problem. Lenny turned to Lilly.
"Will you take over for me while I go find Hanako to see if things are, okay?" Lenny asked Lilly. He got up to go look for Hanako.
"Sure thing, I bet she's in the bathroom." Lilly whispered to Lenny. Lenny nodded before he began making his way over there. Lilly had to do the work of three students opposed to one. She didn't know how long this was going to take.
Lenny made his way to the bathroom as he was looking for Hanako. He heard a faint weeping noise and decided to peek inside of the bathroom. His shirt was unbuttoned a bit as it was a hot day and it meant as a way of getting the heat out. He slowly entered and began making his way through the bathroom, hoping to find who he was looking for. Suddenly something slammed Lenny to the wall. Lenny felt the force but if Hanako was mad as of now, this was surely going to hurt. Lenny had kept his hands to his side as he didn't make Hanako mad though, Hanako was full of rage and ready to take it out on Lenny but then she paused, he wasn't defending himself, at all. Hanako looked down as Lenny was tearing up, how could his friend betray him like this.
Hanako slowly released her grip from Lenny. She recognized who came to cheer her up and she had made a misstep herself. Taking the thumb from her left hand, she began to gently wipe Lenny's tears away from the blue eyes of his. The pulse monitor was flashing very fast, and it meant that he was in danger. She looked down to see the flashing light and realized she had taken her rage out on the wrong person. She noticed that his shirt was unbuttoned a bit and she began to gently unbutton the rest of the shirt, it was the scars on his chest she was the most familiar with. She looked up to see the scarred hands that she herself had received in life. Lenny slumped down to the floor while Hanako got onto her knees. Hanako began tracing the scars of her friend with the burn-like marks on her right hand. She was becoming teary eyed herself. She knew she had to apologize.
"I'm… I'm so sorry Lenny." Hanako began, she was eating up the guilt she had inflicted onto her friend while she continued to trace his injuries with hers. The pulse monitor was calming down as Lenny began to speak.
"I thought we were friends." Lenny softly told Hanako. Hanako paused for a moment and began to reflect on the moments that happened leading up to it, how Shizune and Misha had made her upset and caused her to leave the room.
"We…we are friends." She finally began to speak. She didn't like being called useless and weak, but she hated it more when other people were called that. She just hugged Lenny as the two of them need each other to support each other. She began to speak again: "There was no memory of pain or fear though. What I felt was sadness, a sense of resignation. I have thought these words as I saw that you were coming to harass me even more, but it was in words that you understood me: If you did not show me your weakness, I thought. I will surely have mauled you."
"I think you understand me now." Lenny spoke next while Hanako was getting over her tears. Lenny was trying to see if she was okay, but she didn't know she was going to do this to him. "I think I now have to tell everybody when the class is over. I can't keep hiding everything in plain sight." Lenny admitted that he had been hiding everything about himself to avoid getting suspicion that Hanako had given him the trust to open up about his feelings to his friends. Lenny knew he had to do it.
"I'll tell Hisao to gather everyone we know and we can show what is going on with you. We can't have you live in a state of fear from Shizune and Misha. They tried to tear me down but they tore you down more than me. I'm willing to sit this storm out with you until the bell rings."
"I'm willing to do the same thing with you." Lenny told Hanako as he kept her close in his arms. Hanako smiled before she rested her head on him. The two were going to hug it out until the period was over.
English was over and so was the last day. Hanako had texted Hisao who relayed the text back to his friends. They decided to gather in the art room where Rin was going to spend her time. They had all gathered to see Hanako was holding Lenny by one of his arms.
"I can't keep hiding it, everyone. It hurts me to show it to you, but it hurts even more if I continue to hide it. I've been suffering a similar condition to Hisao, and it will kill me if I don't make friends here." Lenny began. "Months ago I lost something significant which caused this condition in the first place and I have to bear with it for the rest of my life. You have all made this easier to get through." I hope that you will continue to see the way I see it." Lenny turned to see the unbuttoned shirt and his scarred chest. The others were surprised, he managed to gather the courage to tell them this and now he was revealing a secret he feared the others weren't going to like. Hisao began to step forward and began speaking.
"You made the right decision to tell us this. We didn't know you had been cut open like me and we thought you had fainting sickness, but we get the full picture now. Hisao was the first to hug Lenny while the others approached and hugged him as well. "Who opened the locks that you had?" Hisao asked Lenny if there was anyone that opened him up to tell all of them this.
"Hanako." Lenny answered that Hisao's girlfriend had shown him what trust was and how to see yourself compared to others. Hisao then turned to Hanako.
"You've made our friend stronger thanks to you, we weren't expecting you to be the one to move Lenny forward." Hisao began thanking Hanako for whatever she did. Hanako smiled a bit before she kissed Hisao on his cheek.
"I've still yet to owe you for helping me overcome my past." Hanako giggled lightly before she began to think. She then remembered something. "Who wants to go to Lenny's dorm for a movie?" Everyone looked at Hanako then to Lenny, were they all invited?
Lenny had made sure with the help from Yuuko and Hanako to set up the space so they could watch the movie together. Some of them even brought their own drinks and snacks for the occasion. They were now watching it as they noticed the training room they were going to be immersed into.
"I wish we had something like this in Yamaku, no gravity laser tag." Rin began, she was impressed, and awe struck.
"That would be pretty awesome." Emi replied. She began to think of all the possibilities that a zero-G laser tag would bring. They continued to watch while the two teams were battling it out in order to reach the enemy gate.
"Yeah, I read about it in the book, and I always wondered what this scene was going to be." Lenny was awestruck over this. Then the music tone of the movie changed to something a little more serious.
"What do you think he'll do in this situation?" Hanako asked. "Play dead?" Lenny looked on to see what the main character was going to do in the situation of losing.
"Exactly." Lenny smiled as Hanako was right on the money. They watched as the main character seemed to be lifeless and then began to float around in the zero-G ball, firing the laser pistols at his foes when he got close. "What was the soundtrack for the scene? I want to download it on my phone." Lenny wanted to see what this scene was called so he could listen to it himself.
"It's called the Salamander battle." Emi told Lenny. Lenny began to look it up to listen to it for the first time. Lenny began typing the track up into his phone while they were still watching the movie. He decided to hold off on it as keeping the movie watching was important.
As the time continued to wear on as the movie was a couple hours long, the students began to get tired while the last scene was beginning to play. Hanako looked on as the hive queen was giving mercy to Ender despite the boy wiping out their entire planet. She began to reflect on the fact that she did something similar for Lenny earlier that day. She turned and laid her head on him.
"I will be forever grateful for what I did, I am the hive queen for you. You deserve mercy from me if it means that you get to live. I deeply apologize for what I did." Hanako told Lenny that he deserved her mercy though her behavior was something she snapped from. Lenny patted Hanako on her head, being gentle with her.
"I do let you apologize for what you have done. I might be a ticking time bomb and my heart could go haywire at any moment, I like it when we manage to keep ourselves some company. I definitely do like Emi for helping me out." Lenny admitted to Hanako as he was thankful for her being by his side. Hanako smiled and began falling asleep on Lenny. Emi looked at Lenny who was open to bring her into the circle as well. "You're all welcome."
After the credits finished, Lenny got out the disc and the students began to clean the place up while Lenny yawned as they needed to head for bed and prepare for the next week ahead.
"I'm off to my dorm to call it a night. I will let you know tomorrow if we're doing anything important." Hisao sleepily told his friends while he opened the door and began the departure. Lenny nodded as Hanako and Lilly followed him. Rin was the next to leave while Emi began speaking to Lenny for one last time before they were going to head for bed.
"Thank you for today. I will be off to bed, if you need anything, call me." Emi leaned up before she kissed Lenny on his cheek. After that was finished. She turned away and began walking to her dorm.
Hanako and Hisao were walking together as they were beginning to discuss to each other about what they had planned with each other.
"So we got anything we can do for tomorrow?" Hisao asked.
"Lilly has her friend Akira visiting so we can possibly go around town and get to hang out there. Lenny will probably have some purpose in it." Hanako began while they were walking around.
"Maybe some more fun." Hisao added. Hanako began to think about it while she walked around with him.
"Well… yeah." Hanako paused briefly while she began to think about what she was going to say next. "If we do go out and enjoy our weekend with Akira. What would I have for the next couple of weeks when the final exams come and go? There has to be something we have to do if we are to not get bored, waiting for summer vacation to come around. None of us want to be bored."
"I know that these next couple of weeks are going to be boring. We have to pay attention to what is going to happen. Once the opportunity presents itself, we take the opportunity and go full out with it." Hisao expressed that they had to wait around until something would be happening. Hanako nodded.
"Well we just need to pay attention to it." Hanako spoke while they kept walking away. Shizune and Misha were watching from a distance. They didn't know what they were going to do next.
The weekend was around the corner and they were preparing something big.
[A/N]: More Hanako for you all to enjoy, this chapter took longer to complete as there wasn't a central idea but moreover a collection of ideas. Next chapter will hopefully have a central idea. If not, it'll take days to complete. See you later.