Chapter 11 – Crushing on Labor Thanksgiving

Mugi's POV

"Ugh. So, we're really doing this, huh?"

"Come on, Miharu. It'll all be worth it in the end."

"*sigh* Fine. Whatever."

And so, the next day known as Labor Thanksgiving came along and Miharu and I were spending it cleaning up the reserved spot for this party Ricchan wants to throw. And it really was a complete mess. Holes in the floors, holes in the walls, holes in the ceiling, pipes broken and leaking, and it kinda smelled. Really bad.

"Geez. A typhoon did all of this?" Miharu asked.

"They are known to be very powerful storms."

"Now I'm really doubting that we'll finish this in two days."

"We can do it, Miharu." I said as I held her hands together with mine. "I know we can. Let's just start with the small stuff and work our way up."

"*sigh* Alright fine, Mugi. You know, you're oddly excited about this."

"Anytime I get to do any work, I get super excited. I never get to do these types of things back home."

"I see…" Miharu said with a sweatdrop.

"Now then. We can probably start by mopping the floors. And after that, we can…"

"*shriek*"

"Wh-What?! Wh-What happened?!" I asked.

"I stepped in mold! *whine* It's so gross!"

"Baby."

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding. Come on, let's start already."

"*whine* This freaking sucks." Miharu complained.

So for the next few hours, the two of us cleaned up this giant nearly-destroyed room. We started with the floors (much to Miharu's dismay) and worked our way up to the harder stuff. Like fixing the walls and stuff like that. And I have to admit, it was coming along really nicely.

Although, it still smelled like mold.

We might have to do something different about that…

"*sigh* Alright, I'm calling it. I need a break." Miharu said as she sat on the clean floor. With me sitting alongside her.

"Yeah, me too. Although, we did pretty good in just a few hours."

"I guess."

"Hey, girls." Tamura-san said as she came in. "W-Wow, look at this place. You girls did one hell of a job."

"Thank you, Tamura-san." I said. "We put our heart & soul…and Miharu's baby tears…into all of this."

"Hey, what was that about baby tears?" Miharu grew insulted.

"*giggle* I see. Well, if you keep this up, you might just have that party you wanted. Granted, a month late. But I guess it still counts."

"It better be some party for all this work I'm doing."

"Oh, which reminds me. The last of the foreigner guests just checked out and after calculating everything, I've got some extra cash to spare. So, if one of you girls want to, you can go to the corner store down the street and grab some snacks for us."

"Really? Thank you, Tamura-san. I can go do it…"

"I'll do it!" Miharu said while cutting me off.

"Huh? Wait, you will?"

"Sure, why not? I could use the exercise."

"But it'll be in Japanese. As well as everything inside of it."

"I can get someone to help me. It'll be fine."

"Miharu, I really think I should…"

"Kotobuki-san. You have a phone call waiting for you." Mikuru-chan said as she joined us.

"Do I now? I wonder who it could be?"

"The person did not say. All I know is that it is a man's voice."

"A man's voice? Oh, no…"

"What?" Tamura-san asked.

"N-Nothing. Just talking to myself. I'll come take the phone in a minute, Mikuru-chan."

"O-Okay, then."

A man's voice, huh? Why today, of all days?

"Hey, Mikuru. I'm going to the corner store. You want anything?" Miharu asked.

"H-Huh? O-Oh, well…some candy would be nice. Thank you, Miharu-san."

"Can you really handle it, Miharu?" Tamura-san asked.

"Guys, I'll be fine. If I do this, I might learn some Japanese, right?"

"Uh…I guess." The trio of Japanese girls said. Still looking unsure of it.

"Great. So, uh…what's the name of the place?"

"You don't even know the name of the place and yet, you insist on going?" I asked.

"Hey, give me a break. I didn't think I would get this far."

"Miharu…" I gain a sweatdrop.

"Just look for a sign that has a giant 7 and green text written across it." Tamura-san said.

"A giant 7…with green text…wait, is it 7-Eleven? There are 7-Elevens in Japan?!"

"There are 7-Elevens in France?" I asked.

"Well, no. But I would go to the British Isles a lot and go to the ones there."

"I see…" I gained another sweatdrop.

"Welp, I'm off. Gonna go get a Slurpee!"

"Hey, be careful out there. Don't get lost or anything."

"I won't." Miharu said to Tamura-san as she went to go change.

"Will she really be okay?" I asked.

"It should be fine, I guess. If she does learn a little Japanese from it all, it'll be a good start."

"I guess."

"Tamura-san…d-do I…r-really have to talk to him?" I asked after a small bit of silence.

"It'll be best if you did. You can't ignore him forever."

"I know, but…Miharu…"

"Mugi…it'll be okay. As long as you're by her side, she'll be happy. After all…besides her father, you're the only family she has."

The only family…

"*sigh* Okay. I'll do it. I'll take to him."

"Good luck, Kotobuki-san." Mikuru-chan said.

"Thank you Mikuru-chan. That really means a lot."

Because I'm gonna need all the luck I can get with this phone call…


Himeko's POV

"Thank you. Come again."

"*sigh* What a slow day…"

I slumped down behind the counter of my part-time 7-Eleven job bored out of my mind. It's a common feeling when you have a job such as this. But today, my boredom had reached a brand-new level. The reason being obvious.

"*sigh* It's Labor Thanksgiving Day and here I am on the clock. Hell, I'm the only one here. Not even the manager showed up. How did I get stuck working on today of all days?"

I slumped even lower onto the counter wishing that this day was over already. I just want to go home and run the thoughts that constantly run through my head.

These thoughts that I'm talking about are…w-well…u-uh…

"*sigh* I wonder what Hirasawa-san is doing right now…"

Well…that.

You see…I sit next to Hirasawa-san in class and she and I are pretty friendly towards each other. Having simple conversations every once in a while…even though I sometimes don't have a clue on what she's talking about. But I listen anyway in order to be nice.

And then there are the times she falls asleep in class. With me sitting next to her, it's kinda my responsibility to wake her up.

W-Well…a-at least I try to wake her up. She's a heavy sleeper, but honestly…I sometimes don't want to wake her up. Sometimes, I just find myself staring at her sleeping face. So much so, that I often catch myself going a little too deep with it. There were even times where I almost got caught. Luckily, Hirasawa-san doesn't question things too often.

If this is sounding other than a simple semi-friendship with my classmate to you…well, then you're right.

You see, the truth is…I have feelings for Hirasawa-san. Strong feelings. The type where you just want that other person to know about it, but you're too scared to do so. I'm not sure when it started, but when I realized it…there was no denying it.

I freaking love Hirasawa-san.

But…I know it can never happen.

Two reasons. One. I'm pretty sure she doesn't swing that way. And two. Even if she does, I always see her getting close to that Nakano girl from her band. And the fact that she's a first-year stings even more.

"*sigh* It sucks. What does that Nakano girl have that I don't? How is she able to get so close to Hirasawa-san? Just how is she so damn lucky?!"

"Great. I'm getting jealous of a first-year. Love really does make you do weird things."

*DOOR CHIME*

"Ah. H-Hello. Welcome to…huh?"

"Wow. The workers greet you here? Japan's 7-Elevens are pretty considerate." I tried greeting to a girl with mildly long brown hair and light-brown eyes who had just walked in. But…I couldn't. I froze up once I recognized who this girl was.

That's…Neroni-san, right? Does she live around this area? It isn't exactly the most residential area in Shiga.

I watched as Neroni-san walked down each of the aisles in the store. Some she even went through twice. I was really confused by her actions. Until…

"S-So this is candy, right? O-Or is it chips? Wh-What if it's a mixer of them both? Gah! I can't read any of this stuff!"

Right…she doesn't know any Japanese. I should probably go help her.

"*whine* I just want my Slurpee, man."

"Um…excuse me." I said. "Do you need any help?"

"Um, well…I was hoping to learn at least some Japanese from all of this. But I guess it's harder than just reading junk food labels, huh?"

"Um…I guess."

I wouldn't know. I've spoken Japanese all my life.

"So, which here are the best snacks to get? Or, rather…which ARE snacks?"

"Well…" I gained a sweatdrop. "In this aisle, none. These are cold & flu pills. The snacks & candy aisle is the next one."

"Oh. I see now."

"But if you're looking for tasty snacks, I can help you pick them out."

"Really? Thanks a lot. You saved my butt for sure."

"*giggle* Anytime."


And so, I helped Neroni-san pick out different kinds of snacks and candies by translating what they are into English. She was put off by most of them. Saying that she didn't want to yolo her stomach.

Whatever that means.

But in the end, she found some that she liked. Quite a lot, actually. Is she really going to eat all of that?

"Ah. It's been so long since I had one of these…" Neroni-san said after taking a sip of her Slurpee. "Thanks again for helping me out."

"The pleasure's all mine, Neroni-san."

"Huh? How do you know my last name? Have we met before?"

"Oh, um…I'm Himeko Tachibana. We're in the same class at school."

"Oh, really? That's pretty cool. Hey, since we kinda know each other, can you just call me Miharu?"

"H-Huh? F-First name bases already?"

"I just can't get used to this whole honorifics thing. It's too hard to remember them all."

"Oh. I-I see now. Okay then…Miharu…san. Miharu-san. Sorry. I just can't say it without an honorific."

"Well, it's fine, I guess. Can't really force you."

"I see."

"More importantly…I just can't believe that there are 7-Eleven's in Japan! I can get a Slurpee every day now! Yes!" Miharu-san then took another sip of her Bloop Razzle Slurpee. "Mmm! So good!"

"Are there not any 7-Elevens were you're from?" I asked.

"Nope. None at all. I would always have to leave France and go to someplace like London to get one of these. And it's especially a pain around July 11th."

"I don't blame you there. July 11th is like the worst day to be here."

Especially if you have to work on that day. Like me.

"Right? But for people like me, it ends up being worth it when you get your hands on that free Slurpee after standing outside in the damn heat all day."

"Must be a good feeling."

"Oh, it is the best. Like winning the lotto's biggest jackpot only it's free."

"I see." I said with a sweatdrop.

To go to a completely different country just to get a Slurpee…Miharu-san must be a loyal fan.

"Well, anyway. Nice meeting you, uh…Himeko. See you in class, right?"

"Yep. See you on Monday, Miharu-san."

Miharu-san began walking out of the store while I went back behind the counter. It was nice talking to her and helping her out. She's pretty quirky for a foreigner. Maybe I'll talk to her again at school.

That is…if I can get Hirasawa-san out of my head.

*sigh* Here I go thinking of her again. I don't know what made me fall in love with her…but I'm in love with her.

Maybe it's her kindness to everyone…how she's willing to help everyone. It could be her scatterbrained-like personality…reminding you of a little sister.

Or maybe…it's whenever she's performing on stage with her band. Strumming along on her guitar as she sings. It's all so mesmerizing. I just can't help but to stare. Mainly at…her…her…

"Her cute smile…"

"Whose cute smile?"

"Huh?" I came out of my train of thought to see someone standing in front of me.

"H…Hi…"

"*shriek* H-Hirasawa-san?!" I then shot back from having my secret crush suddenly appear in front of my face. My fall blocked by the stacked boxes behind me.

"Hello, Hime-chan!"

"Wh-What are you doing here?! D-Do you live in this area?!"

"No, not really. I'm out getting some snacks until Ui finishes dinner. But the 7-Eleven near my house was all out of snacks. So, I kept looking and looking…and then I ran into Miharu-chan, who said that she just met you inside here. So…I came."

"You came?"

"Yep. I came."

"Why?"

"Huh? Did you say something, Hime-chan?"

"N-No! I-It was nothing! Just a simple sigh, that's all. Hahahaha."

"Hmm…I see. *giggle* How was that? I was doing my Nodoka-chan impression."

"It's…pretty accurate, Hirasawa-san." I said with a sweatdrop.

Doesn't Manabe-san hate that, though?

"Anyway. I'm gonna go get a bunch of snacks. Wanna join me, Hime-chan?"

"Tch!" I froze up. Repeating that one question in my head multiple times until I got dizzy.

"Hime-chan…Hime-chan!"

"H-Huh, what?! O-Oh. Sorry, Hirasawa-san. I'm, uh…feeling a little dizzy."

"Oh, no. Do you need to sit down?"

"I-I'm fine, really. I'm just gonna go use the restroom. You pick out whatever you want."

"Okie-doki, Hime-chan!" Hirasawa-san did a salute and went off to the aisles. While I went over to the restrooms…quickly…without her noticing that I was rushing over there. And then I locked the door shut and slid down to the floor with my hands covering my face. Hiding away my blushed red face.

"*moan* Why?! Of all days, why today?! I use days off like this to not think of Hirasawa-san! And now…not only is she here, but I'm ALONE with her! I don't want this!"

"W-Well…not now, at least."

I sat there on the no doubt dirty restroom floor thinking to myself what to do in this situation. If there's anything that romance anime has taught me, is that being alone with your crush is NEVER a good thing. I had to think of something to get through this.

If I could just…

"Th-That's it! I know what to do!" I then took out my phone and began dialing a number I had on there. Listed under my emergency contacts along with my mother and father.

Although, the type of "emergencies" are not the same.

"She'll help me. She's done so in the past." I dialed the number and heard the ringing on the other side. But then seconds later…

*You have reached the voicemail of…Kotobuki, Tsumugi. Please leave a message and try again later.*

"WHY ISN'T SHE PICKING UP?!" I yelled in a panicked frustrated tone.

"Hime-chan. Are you okay in there?"

Crap!

"Um…I-I'm okay, Hirasawa-san. Really, I am. Are you done picking out snacks?"

"Yep! All done! Can't wait to eat them all!"

*sigh* Oh, well. I'm just gonna have to face her then. I'm all out of ideas.

"Okay. I'm coming out."

I slowly unlocked the door and opened it with a little of my nerves still inside me. But it soon went away once I saw Hirasawa-san.

Well…more like what she had with her.

"H-Hirasawa-san…Y-You picked ALL of the snacks?!"

"Sorry, Hime-chan. They were all so yummy-looking that I couldn't decide on a few. So I picked and picked and picked…until I realized that I had this many. Now I don't know what to do."

"Th-This girl…" I whispered with a sweatdrop. "Um…hey, I got a few minutes before I close up. I can, uh…help you if you want."

"Really?! Oh, thank you, Hime-chan! You're the best!" Hirasawa-san then leaped forward and latched onto me with a hug. While as for me…I froze up again. Frantically deciding on whether to tell her to get off or to return the hug.

With my face blazing hot red in the process.

Th-Th-This is…heaven…and hell.


A few minutes later, I helped Hirasawa-san pick out a small portion of the entire amount of snacks she picked out. And I had clocked out and was in the middle of closing up the store.

A problem with all of that…Hirasawa-san waited for me outside.

My heart is not going to survive much longer…

"Thanks again for helping me out, Hime-chan. I owe you big."

"Um…don't worry about it, Hirasawa-san. Just helping out a friend. Well, see you in class on Monday."

This is it. I'm finally going to calm down for the day. And I can relapse on what exactly happened on this crazy holiday.

This is what I thought. As in, I thought it was all over. I was going to go home and try to calm down my romantic feelings for Hirasawa-san.

That is until…I felt something grab my hand.

"Hime-chan! Wait!"

Aw, come on!

"Wh-What is it, Hirasawa-san?" I asked.

She didn't answer for a bit. And kept staring at me with her beautiful brown eyes. I swear I was about to lean up and kiss her. But I managed to stop myself.

"Hime-chan! What are you doing tomorrow?!"

"Huh? T-Tomorrow?" I thought for a moment. "Nothing in particular. Why?"

"You should come to a party we're throwing for Miharu-chan."

"For Miharu-san? Is it her birthday tomorrow?"

"No, no. We're throwing her a welcome party. To welcome her to Japan."

"I see. But…she's already been here for a month."

"*giggle* Yeah…it took us a while to realize it. We were just having so much fun with her."

"Okay…I guess." I said with a sweatdrop.

"Anyway. You should totally come, Hime-chan."

"H-Huh? C-Can I really? I don't want to intrude…"

"Nonsense!" Hirasawa-san yelled as she grabbed hold of my hands.

She's holding my hands! Holy crap, she's holding my hands!

"You won't be intruding at all! Everyone will be glad to see you! You just have to come, Hime-chan! You just have to!"

She's so persistent. I wanna say no…in fact, saying no would be the right thing to do. But…that face. That damn cute face of hers! If I have to stare at it any longer, I might just lose control!

"W-Well…Hirasawa-san…"

"Hime-chan…"

Damnit! Now she's got puppy dog eyes! There's no way I can say no to that!

"*sigh* Alright. I'll be there."

"Really?!"

"Really. Count on it."

"Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Hime-chan! You won't regret it!"

"I highly doubt I will, Hirasawa-san."

*INSERT RINGTONE CHIME HERE*

"Hello?" Hirasawa-san answered her phone.

"Onee-chan! Where are you?! Dinner's almost done and I can't find you anywhere!"

"Oops! Sorry, Ui. I'll be home in a sec."

"Please hurry, Onee-chan. It's getting dark."

Hirasawa-san got off of her phone and then gave her attention back to me. "Well, I gotta go. Ui's getting worried about me."

"So, where's this party going to be?" I asked.

"Oh, right. It's over at Miharu-chan's place. Burossamuheizu Minshuku."

"Th-That place…that's down the street from here. Miharu-san lives there?"

"Yeah. Along with Mugi-chan."

"Kotobuki-san's there, too? Why?"

"Well…"

*RINGTONE CHIME*

*RINGTONE CHIME*

*RINGTONE CHIME*

"Oh, phooey. I gotta go. See you at the party, Hime-chan."

"Bye…"

Hirasawa-san finally made her way back home while I stood there watching her run to the bus stop. Once she was out of my sight…

*moan* What the hell did I just do? Now I gotta be around Hirasawa-san on my one day off. My "relax my feelings" day."

I stared at my two free hands that were once connected with the hands of my crush. And made a tight fist with both of them.

I hope that someday…I will confess to her soon.

Author's Note: Here's the Labor Thanksgiving chapter that I promised. And the new character that came with it.

For those who don't know, Himeko Tachibana is a girl in the same class as the four older girls. She also sits next to Yui, who grows attached to her. She's a member of the school's Softball Club and has a part-time job at a convenience store. Her behavior is that of any other high school girl, but she has, in fact, a warm-hearted and polite side.

This is her normal bio. Bu the twist that I was talking about is her having a crush on Yui. This is not canon in any sort of way. And it's from that other K-ON! fanwork that mentioned. I at least like the premise so much to add it onto here. It's something different from what you usually see on here.

Thanks for reading. Later.