notes:
hello there! part 2 is not done, not even close! the tentative total of chapters are 13 at the moment, but que sera, sera. buckle up friends!
[Theoretical Yield—the amount predicted by a stoichiometric calculation based on the number of moles of all reactants present]
ii: Theoretical Yield
"I don't get why you always get that juice box."
There's something almost like disgust in Daimonji's voice as soon as Manami poked a hole into the tetra pack, the strawberry milk cold and sweet. It was currently lunch period, and there was no blueberry available today from the vending machines; Karma always said strawberry was second best to none, even if he never succeeds on trying to get her to try it. Today was the only exception, and he'd probably sulk for not being able to witness her compliance today. Manami blinks, sucking slowly through the straw.
"It's not blueberry though. And it's milk…?"
"Milk box. I meant that Okuda-chan is always buying that specific brand," Daimonji stresses, her nose crinkled. She blinks away flaxen bangs and bites into her carrot with a frown. "Brand product aside, dairy is still disgusting."
Ayasegawa laughs, "Sora-chan, your dairy discrimination is getting old."
"Dairy is my daily cause of discomfort, and for that, my discrimination is justified."
"That's because Sorano-san is lactose intolerant. Plus it's fun when you run like hell for the toilets every time you accidentally ingest dairy." The milk box that Manami holds is suddenly snatched away, and before Manami could react there's a new, unopened milk box that replaces it. Blueberry. Startled, Manami turned wide eyes to the newest person and met amused, similar eyes that wink at her. "Hi."
"Yotsuki-kun!" Manami beams. "I was wondering where you were. And where did you get this? I thought they ran out already!" She cradled the milk box with obvious gratefulness.
Yotsuki-kun beams back. "I had to run errands for Azumi-sensei," he places a plastic bag on Manami's desk with two more packs of blueberry milk. While Daimonji eyed them with obvious distaste, Manami looked through them with obvious delight. "As for your question, I bought the last three because there were guys behind me that also wanted them. No regrets."
"Mean," Ayasegawa giggles, amused.
Manami beams. "Thank you! You shouldn't have, though."
"All's well, besides, Karma-san said that was your favorite." Yotsuki shrugs.
"Karma-kun said that?"
Yotsuki smiles wryly. "It's kind of hard not to remember when he keeps complaining because you won't try his favorite. Also, Kouichi, shoo, move away from my twin," he kicks at the legs of a scowling Yamamura's chair until he slides closer to Ayasegawa.
Yamamura hisses, "There are four tables here, one for each of us. Get your own desk or you can't sit with us, hog."
"There's plenty of space between you and Ayasegawa." With a pleased smile, Yotsuki settled beside her. "It's bad for us twins to be separated, you know? It weakens our bond."
Manami shares his amused grin with a giggle. It's true that they look so alike they could pass off as twins. But between personalities and attitudes, they were far apart. And when it came to academics, they rarely ever agreed on something; strengthened from the fact that Yotsuki and also Daimonji belonged to class 1-2, and the only subject Manami shared with him is maths. Come November of Oku Tokyo's science exhibition, only one freshman section, the whole class, would be given scholarships based on their chosen universities.
Manami had her sights set on Sakuba University, and while she did not doubt her chances of getting in, the expenses and cost of studying in it was another matter entirely.
"If you didn't have a girlfriend," Daimonji smirks, leaning forward and glowering at Yotsuki. "You would've made Kunugigaoka-san very worried."
"No… If I didn't have a girlfriend, I'd remain pining after my best friend, because they're the same person."
Yamamura snorts, "Cut your cheese and eat your lunch."
"Speaking of cheese, Manato, you dish-faced starfish, don't you dare think I didn't know it was you who put cheese in my sandwich yesterday!"
"Ah… Sorano-san, what kind of insult is that…?"
The next 20 minutes of lunch goes by in a blur as they go through Daimonji and Yotsuki's daily verbal volleys, eventually sidetracked to a brief group discussion when Yamamura asked if he could go through Yotsuki's notes. When the bell rings, students from different sections come and go for next period; desks and chairs screeched as they slid back to proper places and re-occupied before the next teacher came. Yotsuki pats her head and flashes a peace sign at Yamamura's scowl, and Daimonji playfully waves good bye as they leave for their class.
When Suiko-sensei enters and starts next period, Manami is already buried in reactive catalysts and soluble compounds.
On Fridays, Manami didn't have research obligations. In class, roles were divided, and Manami was scheduled to put on her lab coat and contribute to the class project Tuesdays to Thursdays. If she tried helping out on other days, Yamamura and Ayasegawa often had to bodily drag her out of the laboratories citing breach of contract and care for her mental health, with added footnotes of You've contributed so much already, at least take the rain check! It doesn't stop her from trying, though. Manami tries not to sulk every time she faced their denial.
It was one of her secrets that she never told Karma—though, she suspects, it won't be long before Karma-kun found that out, too. He had an interesting network of sources, and sometimes, for all his nonchalance and smiles, Yotsuki often hung around Karma when Ayasegawa and Yamamura couldn't keep them company. It pleased Manami to see her high school friends get along with her junior high school friends, too.
Yukimura and Kanzaki had already expressed positive interest in knowing them; it was just a matter of arranging a common time and freeing up schedules. Manami had high hopes. Yukimura-san would like Riko-chan, definitely. And Kanzaki would surely appreciate Daimonji's rather intimidating game collection. For now, it seems the females in her friendships would be the ones to connect. Nagisa, according to Karma, was currently under some kind of training only he wouldn't say what, and Sugino was busy with baseball. Karma liked Yotsuki and Yamamura enough; it made her smile as she waved good bye to Ayasegawa, only to stumble as something pulled her back by the bag.
Manami turns to find Nonoe-san, the girl on her left every last period, her eyes shiny, and her cheeks suspiciously flushed red. Fever?
"Hey," came Ayasegawa's annoyed reprimand. "Nonoe, don't be rude."
"S-Sorry," Nonoe blurted, giggling nervously. Shy? Manami was at loss; it was like looking into a mirror of her former self. "Um… sorry, Okuda-san."
Despite Ayasegawa's wary eyes, Manami smiled politely. "It's okay… But what can I do for you, Nonoe-san?" She can't imagine what, though. Aside from the few instances of returning each other's fallen possessions, a few questions about organic matter, Nonoe was but a mere seat mate. However, a seatmate in need is a person in need.
Nonoe took a deep breath, and before Manami knew it, she had thrust a cream colored envelope towards her, bent at the waist, and Manami flinched in surprise, nearly taking a step back herself. Ayasegawa and a couple of their loitering classmates join in on her surprise, stirring a slight commotion.
"N-Nonoe-san?" Did she owe her money? Is that what the envelope is all about? Manami blinked furiously.
"Can—can—!" Nonoe faltered, but cleared her throat, tried again in a firmer voice. "This is…!"
Yotsuki chose that time to interject an, "Are you confessing to Okuda-chan?" only to be shushed.
"What?"
"No!" Nonoe squeaked. "I—I was just… I wanted Okuda-san to give this to… to Kunugigaoka-san!" That incited a round of hoots and clamoring, but mostly out of surprise than encouragement. Nonoe looks up at her with an embarrassed smile, but Manami admired the hard-set of determination in the tremble of her hands that held out a letter. "I wanted to… to do it myself but… He's not here, and I couldn't wait any longer! Will you give it to him when… when you see him, Okuda-san?"
"So Manami-chan is a messenger." Ayasegawa deadpanned. Unlike Manami, she didn't seem to be too fond of her audacity. Manami pouted at her, but she was only shrugged at. "Say no."
"Okay…" Manami disregards the unimpressed look that Ayasegawa gives her. She accepts Nonoe's letter, smiling unsurely at her as she slowly straightened up. "I'll take it to him."
"But Kunugigaoka-san is yours!" Cried a group of girls. Manami flushed; what?
"N-No, he isn't!" Whatever made her classmates assume that? Manami laughed nervously at Nonoe's confused, expectant expression.
"Okuda-chan, you're making a very big mistake," Yotsuki exclaims along. "I'm your twin, your voice of reason! Please listen to me!" He shared the laughter that erupted, and even Yamamura grinned along, shaking his head.
Nonoe looked hesitant by then. "Are you sure? I-I mean… I understand if you're dating Kunugigaoka-san…"
Oh! So this is a love letter for Karma-kun! But Manami however, couldn't quite hold that thought as Nonoe's words sunk in, and she couldn't control her blushing anymore. What is up with everyone today? The teasing was worse than usual!
"I-I'm not dating him, honestly! He's…" A friend? A partner in crime? It didn't sound right to call him just a friend anymore, for some reason. Manami cleared her throat. "W-Whatever, um… I'll still give him your letter… so, please don't worry!"
Nonoe managed a smile. "Thank you, Okuda-san!" She all but ran out of the room, embarrassed, but definitely more bright-eyed than before. Manami stands with shifting feet, feeling confused and slightly overwhelmed, and looks at the letter in her hands meant for Karma. Fanning it lightly, a flowery scent drifted up her nose. An actual love letter.
A weight presses on top of her head. Yotsuki was the one who had his arm on her head as he says, "You will regret saying yes, Okuda-chan."
"You keep saying that… but why?" Manami slid the letter between pages of her notebook. If she got the time right, the library would be open today… I could drop by and give him the letter!
Ayasegawa manages to encircle her arm with hers. "There is a reason why Kunugigaoka-san is called Kunugigaoka-san, Manami-chan."
"Everyone keeps conveniently forgetting his name is Akabane Karma-kun," Manami hums, frowning. "And I still don't understand why I will regret this."
Daimonji, who had just arrived but had gotten filled in by another classmate, snorts. "Okuda-chan is made up of wit and cute but with a fine sprinkle of osmium."
"Osmium is brittle. I am not." Manami huffs. She doesn't notice the amused looks that they share in a private moment.
Then Yamamura hums, "So you admit you're smart and cute?"
"Thank you."
Her dry acceptance made Yotsuki chortle, prompting him to pat her head. Pushing his arm off of her head with a playful huff, Manami stepped back to fix herself up and smile. "So I'll be going on ahead. Are you sure my help is not needed…?"
"Not on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, shorty." This was Section Leader Yamamura who glowered sternly at her, giving her an 'I'm watching you' gesture that she grinned bashfully at. "Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Also, don't forget to forget about giving Karma-san the letter!" Yotsuki snickered.
.
Ayasegawa pursed her lips as they watched Okuda make her way across the courtyard through the windows. Past the gates, into the streets, and Daimonji sighs. The bell rings and it's 4 pm. They're officially 30 minutes late for the intelligence gathering, which is penalized by section leaders. However, it was obvious that Yamamura couldn't care less, and apart from class 1-2's uppity section leader Nakatani Hagumi-san, no one really followed through the penalties.
It is Yotsuki who breaks the ice. "I don't think Okuda-chan got the joke. The most obvious characteristic of osmium is its density."
They all share amused looks. Then Ayasegawa shrugs on her backpack, waving off Yamamura's attempt to hold it for her. Scoffing at Yotsuki's knowing smirk, she smiled when Daimonji swatted the back of Yotsuki's head. "Is it just me, or was Nonoe a little too extra?"
"What, like she's faking it?" The question was rhetorical, careless. However, Daimonji thoughtfully blinked at her own words. "Uh… huh?"
"I don't know." Ayasegawa pursed her lips. "Maybe it's just me."
Yotsuki whistled. "Ooh, a third party this early? Rich, but isn't it too timely?"
"I think," Yamamura cleared his throat, shoving Yotsuki off of his desk. Yotsuki put him in a headlock in return, growling playfully as Yamamura socked his gut to free himself. "We should be going to the labs."
For fun, and to kill time even though he'd joined so many clubs that demanded active participation post-classes, Karma is currently part-timing in a public library, scheduled Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. He wasn't in it for the pay, he said. When he'd first mentioned it Manami didn't believe him, except he'd brought evidence through a tabulated work shift schedule along with accomplished data forms he signed himself (he'd bragged about being able to flawlessly plagiarize an uncle's signature, foregoing his parents' since their signatures could be traced by the school; this one bit worried Manami the most).
"I could work on my interpersonal communication skills better, plus, some extra cash doesn't hurt."
Manami, as understanding as she tried to be, still couldn't understand this logic. "But you communicate with me just fine."
Karma had given her an appreciative stare, though his laugh was a tad ironic as he stole her last bites of karumeyaki. He smirked at her displeased pout. "Unfortunately, not everyone is like Okuda-san."
"And Karma-kun is not allowed to work part time in the first place."
He scoffed. "Says who?"
Manami remembers Isogai, the reason for his dropping to class 3-E and what consequences Karma would face if the school found out he broke one of its rules again. She wonders what punishment Karma would face, but hopes he wouldn't be caught. "The school."
"They can't find out if I'm not using my real name for work!"
"What?"
"What?"
More often than not, Manami finds herself forgetting to visit despite the promises she made of stopping by. Not that she could help it; between piles of homework and the demands of their class project, she needed to make use of her after-school time wisely. But that stops today, she thought with cheer as she stood in front of the place, having been guided by the map he'd drawn for her a month before. It surprised her to find the common area filled with kids as went she went inside, engaged in hushed clamoring and an occasional authoritative shushing filtering the giggles and babbling. The common area was closed off by smaller shelves, and near its entrance a sign read RAISED TO THE POWER OF WORDS.
Manami blinks and wonders if the library was reserved for this and would have backtracked outside if not for a pull on her sleeve from below.
It's Karma, crouched down with a playful grin and half-hidden behind a discount sign. He's wearing a paper hat with a design that looked like a butterfly with some color past the lines, with stickers of flowers and stars pressed at the bottom. Manami bit back giggles.
"Pretty onee-chan came too late for her own hat, but she can still get a loot bag after the seminar."
"I wonder why Karma-kun can't say hi like a normal person." His grin curves wider as he stands, and through the library's smell of paper and ink, Manami gets a whiff of his cologne that lingered also on her clothes, but somehow never smelled the same on her than on him. It's a curious scent.
"Okuda-san!" He shushes, pointing to his name tag. Okamoto En, it read, and En-kun's eyes are sparkling with laughter as he regarded her with a faux air of austerity, arms akimbo, frowning at her. "I'm En today."
"Oh! I'm sorry. En-kun, should I come back at a better time? You look like you're busy…"
He waved off her worried concerns. "Please keep me company, this seminar's the second wave and unfortunately it ends at 6, so I'm stuck here till then."
"So you're needed right now?"
"Not unless I show my face to those kids and my superiors, then I won't be," he narrowed his eyes at their surroundings. "Come on, any more second spent with these kids and I might catch their cooties."
"I-I thought you said you're stuck here." Manami resisted as he started to pull her outside, frowning her confusion. If they leave, he'd get into trouble!
"I can't go home yet, silly. That's what would get me in trouble," he snickered back, shaking his head. "I need to clock out first."
"Oh."
"Besides, you're here for me, aren't you? Can't imagine you going all the way here for a library."
Manami giggled, "I guess so." She lets Karma lead her back outside, amused at his antics, trying to stay hidden. And when they make it back outside, Karma breathes in deeply and exhales loudly into the cooling, sun-setting hour, rocking back and forth as he stretched to his full height. The street is quiet, and once in a while a car may pass but that too, is lost to the peace. They sit at the curb a little off-ways from the main entrance, away from the hubbub.
"What's going on in there?"
"Some seminar for kids," he sighed, taking off the paper hat to brush back his hair. "It's some reading development program. Today's the first day, and all elementary schools within the area's required to attend. Thankfully I'm only up to 9 am tomorrow, so I have one last wave to help with."
He drops the paper hat on her head and smirks at her baffled gawking, so Manami retrieves the hat, waving it at his face. "Who made this?"
"Isamu, cute kid that one," he drew one of his legs back and his knee bumped against hers. And it felt deliberate, so Manami bumped back. "He's like a little Kurahashi-san and everything. He said he keeps his beetle collection a secret because his dad didn't like creepy crawlies. He drew the scarlet lily on my hat!"
Manami blinked down at the paper hat, at what she thought was a butterfly. "I thought this was a butterfly—"
"Shh!" Karma laughed, covering her face with his palm, and Manami squeaked in protest. "If the child believes it's a beetle, then a beetle it is."
"How are you sure this is a scarlet lily?" Manami narrowed her eyes. "It could be a cardinal beetle!"
"And how are you so sure about that, hmm?"
Manami gave him smug smile. "I don't just study one branch of science, Karma-kun. Kurahashi-san and I have often collaborated before we went to class E!"
Karma let out a surprised drawl, the corners of his lips quirking as he listened to her previous tales of experimentation, including the horrors of Kurahashi's tears and last-minute change of plans when their test beetles and insects had to be subjected to noxious, trial pesticides—most of their work together revolved around trying to create an immunity so when Kurahashi's beetles are out in the open, her mother wouldn't accidentally kill them off while gardening.
That was all for naught, of course—they had been close to completion, except by then, classes were ending and the class E notice was issued and they've been too preoccupied with Korosensei to continue ever since.
"That got me thinking actually, what kind of masterpiece could you, Kurahashi-san, Takebayashi and Itona put together?" Karma's smile evolved to a scheming smirk. "I'll bet something highly catastrophic! That's a science project the world can't miss out on." His eyebrows raised up and down suggestively, his stare luminous with idea and mischief. It made her heart warm, seeing his excitement.
"That's a nice thought," Manami agreed. "It's too bad we didn't have the chance to come together…"
Karma ruffled her hair, "Never say never! Who knows, maybe during our class reunion the four of you would click!" And then he paused. His mouth twitched. "Hey, wait. Speaking of reunions…"
"Hm?"
"It's not that I don't want you here, but I'm surprised you came today," Karma drawled, smile pleased. He is stretching his legs in front of him and he leans back on his palms, head canted towards her, watching her curiously. "I'm touched, but I was wondering what took you so long."
Manami can't stop her cheeks from blushing out of shame from his accusing glance and lowering her eyes from his searching, pointed stare. Oh, she had no excuse at all.
"I-I'm sorry, I have nothing to say for myself." Squeezing her hands together by her knees, Manami offered him a sheepish, apologetic look. "I keep forgetting… and I'm really, really busy! I'm so sorry!"
For a moment he says nothing; the paper hat is taken from her lap, and Manami shivered from the breeze, pulling the cardigan closer to her. Karma's lips quirk, and then he snorts in helpless amusement. She didn't understand. Was he mad and making fun of—Manami ends up flinching when he pushed the paper hat back on her head lopsidedly. Karma is grinning when she looks back up at him. "I was kidding, chill! You don't owe me your time, okay? Spend time with me because you want to spend time with me."
Timidly, Manami nods, hesitant. "A-Are you sure?"
"Perfectly sure, and you know perfectly well that time I spend with you is time I always enjoy." Oh, his way with words. Her heart raced, and her blush is different. Karma enjoys flustering her, and it shows through his vaguely cloying smirk. "What, Okuda-san? Did I make your heart race?"
Manami did not deign him an answer, even as his chuckle ran knowingly.
"Aww, that's cute~" Manami shuts him out because that's all she could do at that moment. Karma did not exploit her confused feelings often, but when he did, he leaves her rattled, blushing, and more overwhelmed than ever. But Manami doesn't really expect him to stop at her expense; he wouldn't be the Karma she was fond of if he up and did everything she told him at the drop of a hat.
That's fine, she guessed. I wouldn't have Karma-kun any other way.
"Shut up," she dared huff, huddling into her book bag with a pout, trying hard not to roll her eyes when his snickers continue.
His voice is playful, challenging. "I'll shut up when you tell me something that'll shut me up. A confession, maybe? Ah, but—"
She hears the word confession and the rest of what he tries to say is lost to her. Confession! Manami remembers the part of the reasons why she's come here in the first place; the letter from Nonoe! Manami tuned out his chatter, digging out her notebooks and searching through them almost frantically. Karma was quite take aback to see an envelope suddenly pushed towards him, leaning backwards to avoid its edge bumping against his nose.
"Oi, oi," an eyebrow quirked, he spared the letter a glance and nothing more, peering at Manami above it. "If used correctly, paper can be quite deadly. Have you watched Read or Die? Or ROD the TV at least?"
"ROD the… TV? Ah, I haven't watched television in months, though."
"Stream it! Those paper sisters take cutting-edge on a new level!"
Manami wagged the envelope. He is stalling me! "Karma-kun! It's for you. Please take it."
"I could smell the convenience store-bought cologne that love letter's covered in," Karma's nose twitched. "And flowers? That's not your style, Okuda-san. You smell like home."
Manami paused. There was no teasing lilt to the tone of Karma's voice when he says those last words. It came out normal, like an ordinary follow-up to his words. You smell like home. "That's… um, it's not from me."
"Oh. I knew that." Manami raised her eyebrows at him and wagged the letter again until Karma sighed, grumbling and snatching the letter from her hand, shooting her an annoyed look as he set about to read the letter. "Fine. I see how it is, miss Poison Glasses."
"Please just read it."
He said she smelled like home. What did that mean?
"I just did." He produced a pen from his pocket, scribbled something on the paper, and then Karma is quick to fold it back, smoothly sliding the letter back into its flowery scented confines. "It's well-written for a love letter that's only five sentences long. Also, Nonoe Hana sounds like a cute name, but I like Okuda Manami better."
Well, now he's just flirting again. "This isn't about me… Nonoe-san likes you, and she's going to want your answer to her letter… I think."
"Do you like this Nonoe-san person?"
"Um, she's nice… and we don't talk much, since we share only last period."
Karma hands back the letter and wags it in the same manner as she did, so Manami reluctantly takes it back. "So Okuda-san doesn't know this person well enough to give me a direct answer." Manami nods. "Then I need no further criteria!" So Karma slung an arm around her shoulders, curling around her head to nudge her cheek against his.
"You're not going to consider Nonoe-san in the first place… are you?" She didn't have to look to see if he was smiling. Even when her cheeks burned when she felt his lips on her forehead, Manami kept her eyes on the idle street, looking at anything but him.
Karma nosed her hair with a small sigh. "It's you or nothing."
"Oh. I see." Manami coughed. Her voice had wavered. "Wait, Karma-kun, listen. I've been thinking…" Through what she could see his eyebrows had risen, and Karma hummed questioningly, so Manami clears her throat to put strength back to her voice. "You see… I've been wondering why you have to go all the way from Kunugigaoka to my school when we could meet halfway in the middle."
Manami leans back so she could look at him better.
"Like this! Like… where we currently are. Isn't it practical?"
"Emotionally or financially?" Karma leaned away from her swat on the arm, letting her have her space back with a pout. "Financially, sure, but come on, let me have my two days~"
Manami pouts back, because it's clear he doesn't understand what she was trying to say. "I'm not saying I've changed my mind. We made a deal, and… like you, I keep my word! Just… that, you said you joined so many clubs, t-that's why I think you could spend your time more wisely by participating in them rather than… you know."
Karma pauses, and then blinks. There is wonder in the inflection of his words when he finally replies seconds later, "I dropped half of them." And then Karma grins, looking pleased as he nods, mumbling almost to himself. "So, that's why you don't want me to visit everyday…"
The moment after that, Karma makes this interesting mix of a growl and a whine.
"God, you're so cute it makes my poor heart race!" Karma runs his hands through his hair, which is also the color of his ears at the moment. Manami averts her eyes in similar embarrassment, wringing her fingers and their knees bump again, and almost yelps when he shuffled closer than before, pointedly glowering at her. "Okuda-san, are you ready to meet me in the middle?"
"What—"
A beat's pause. Manami purses her lips, unable to decipher the question because it sounded as if there's something beneath its surface, while Karma stares back. Karma's questions always had layers upon layers of meaning, for while his favorite subject is mathematics, he favored wordplay for games. And even if he'd made it blatantly clear he held feelings for her, Manami was not an exception to these games. Karma looked as if he understood her silence, and smirks.
He pats her head, "Don't worry. You make the train fares worth it when you surprise me like this."
"It's not worth it."
If looks could kill, Ayasegawa and Yamamura would've been both dead from the glares they were giving each other, trying to stare each other down. From across, Manami wonders if Handa-sensei couldn't tell the difference between monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides because he marked those items wrong, or if he was just plain incompetent. Though as soon as she thought of that, Manami cringes and decides it's way too mean, trying to convince herself maybe he just misread the questions while he was checking that's why he marked her wrong, even if Manami knows she would have perfected the quiz.
"I'm the one doing this, so I say it is."
Every part of her rebelled against the 97, fighting herself if she could just stay put and accept the 97—better than the embarrassment of marching over to the faculty room and trying to dissuade the indomitable Handa-sensei that he'd marked her wrong, that her answers were correct and he was the wrong one. Manami tried hard not to fume.
"You know, I remember someone saying he'd do anything I said."
Sigh. "Riko, matters of the heart is different when it comes to matters for the art." A thump. "This is my personal project. I may be heads over heels for you, but you can't dictate over my decisions like that."
But if Manami tried anyway… Maybe Handa-sensei would hear her out and recheck her quiz, and she'd have her 100, and all would be in peace. Yes, Manami nods to herself, fingers smoothing back the creased edges of the paper where she clenched it, there's no harm in trying. Karma-kun would be disappointed if I didn't fight for something I'm right in; especially if it was over something like this.
"W-What does that have to do with this!? And… I'm just saying my thoughts about it." Huff. "Fine, sorry."
"Your thoughts are not needed right now because you're rude. But don't worry, I still like you, so apology accepted."
"Shut up."
Ayasegawa and Yamamura both jumped when Manami's hands slam on the desk, fists gripping her paper so tightly she would have ripped it. Try as she might, she couldn't help but fume anyway, so Manami's startled when something thumps her on the head that shook her out of it; Yamamura wryly looked back at her, having been the one to swat her gently on the head with the notebook.
Manami huffs and pouts, "W-What was that for?"
"You're being weird. Are you pissed off or something?"
"Handa-sensei marked three items on my quiz wrong…" Ayasegawa gestures the paper over, and Manami slid the paper towards her with lingering feelings of conflict. "I should have gotten a perfect score."
Ayasegawa narrows her eyes at the paper. "I got these items right." She digs under the space of her desk, producing the same paper. Though she got an 89, all three items wrong on Manami's paper were correct in hers. "Now, that's injustice. Ah, that Handa-sensei, picking on all the smarter kids! You should take it to the faculty right now and complain!"
"I'll go with you," Yamamura manages to pry off a small box from Ayasegawa's hands, who scoffed her indignation. He smirked back as he shuffled away from her, on to Manami's side. "I need Daimonji's advice for this one since Riko is useless."
"Sorry for not being your definition of girly."
Manami attempted to take a closer look at the mysterious box, and Yamamura's reply is to shove it into his jumper. Manami pouts. "What's that for, Yamamura-kun?"
"God, why can't everybody mind their own business?" He snickers, pulling Manami out of her chair as he says so and dodging the crumpled paper Ayasegawa threw at him. "Sorry, it's classified until it's finished. We'll be back!"
"I'd rather only Manami-chan returns!"
"You wish!"
In the hallway, Yamamura kicks away three rough-housing fellow freshmen that blocked their path and laughed when Manami lectured them to handle the boxes of cans of aerosol properly. The teacher's lounge was at the far end of the right hall; Yamamura found time to coach her on what to say when she confronted Handa-sensei, and all other things she missed out on when she left last Friday. Apparently Ibara and Miwaki, their assistant section leaders, had gotten into an argument over the hypothesis the class had already agreed upon. Miwaki fought reactants are finite, and there couldn't just be one reaction; Ibara stuck by the book and refused to hear him out—the resulting argument made it to the supervising teacher, so they were both put out of duty for at least three days starting next week. Yamamura had been furious too, and their punishments from him involved cleaning for their classmates after-duty for a week.
"They argued over the yield?" Manami couldn't hold in her disappointed tone. "Wasn't Miwaki-kun present when we finalized the proposal a month ago?"
Yamamura sighed. "Physically, yes, but apparently Kei had been absent here," he tapped his temple twice, rolling his eyes. Manami stifled laughter and shook her head. "It's still early, maybe I could make a request if you could take his place since you've done a lot more work than him. Honestly. He's almost always absent during his turns anyway."
"We should give him a second chance," Manami soothed. "Maybe he has a lot of other things going on."
"Those other things can't be more important than the scholarship being offered if we bag the fair at November," Yamamura scoffed. "You understand, right, Okuda? I have other… interests, too, but my studies will always be three steps ahead of those things."
Manami looked up at him. Ahead of Riko-chan, she silently thinks. Yamamura was this: fairly irritable, a little standoffish, maybe even foolish, like Karma had once secretly said to her, even though she didn't understand how. He was appointed section leader by default since he'd graduated from Oku Tokyo's junior high, but he also proved he was worth the title. They wouldn't be this far into their project without his persistence; Yamamura always shoved because he thought pushing at first try is a waste time. For that reason, Manami respected him a lot.
"Yamamura-kun is definitely a practical person," Manami concludes, smiling when he spares her a curious glance. "I can't see why Karma-kun would call you foolish when you're anything but."
"Ah, how dare that Kunugigaoka-san, I think I know what he means." Yamamura scoffs with no malice, just dry amusement. "But I'm glad you think that way. Some people like to call me an unfeeling block of ice instead."
Manami pouts. "That's mean."
"Sure is," he shrugs, indifferent. He seems to remember something, because Yamamura straightened up, squinting at nothing in particular as they passed by class 1-5, almost to the teacher's lounge. "By the way, what happened to Nonoe's letter?"
Manami blinks. "Um, Karma-kun wrote his reply on the letter itself. I'll probably be able to give it to her at last period."
"So you don't know what he responded with?"
"Uh…" Manami's cheeks flamed. Could she actually say what Karma had told her? It's you or nothing, and, You smell like home. His answer had been right there in front of her, but she was clueless how to handle it. Her eyes flickered shyly up at the curious Yamamura, to her shoes, to the windows, before glancing at her test paper and back to her shoes again. "Well…"
"I guess you already do." I'm an open book! If Yamamura had been amused with her, he was polite enough to hold back from saying something that might embarrass her more. "But if you're still doubting, Nonoe has a guy already."
What? "Huh?"
Yamamura patted her head. "Nonoe Hana? Daimonji's grapevine is surprisingly useful—Riko first questioned it, but then she couldn't stop calling me that when she really thought about, it did look super suspicious, so Daimonji went ahead and did some research. Nonoe's four years into a long-distance relationship with someone from Shizuoka Prefecture. Heck, even Nonoe's Boyfriend-san knows about Kunugigaoka-san."
Manami sputtered. "I-I don't think I understand, I mean… what? What does…" Why would someone already in a relationship confess to another person!? That's just… unspeakable, and Manami shifted uncomfortably.
"It means Nonoe is being dishonest," Yamamura halts, taking her elbow and poking her forehead. They're in front of the teacher's lounge. "So you better get inside and take care of it."
The letter has been inside her notebook longer than the one and half hour of last period while Manami stews her courage together. Before class started, Nonoe had even greeted her a good afternoon, and Manami barely managed a reply back. She did not know Nonoe well enough, so she was unsure of how Nonoe would react to her inquiries. But Manami knew that she shouldn't be confessing to other people when she was already committed to another. Had Karma accepted the confession, Manami wasn't sure how she'd feel knowing that he was a third party.
No, Manami resolved. I wouldn't let Karma-kun get treated that way, because Karma deserved full honesty from someone who truly liked him! So when the bell rang and the class was dismissed, Manami turned in her seat—towards Nonoe.
"Nonoe-san," Manami cleared her throat, the letter in her hands. There's nothing to worry about. This is just me, worried and concerned. It's not like she was accusing Nonoe, no. Maybe some things were just misunderstood. Manami just wanted to be clear, and Nonoe's bright green eyes showed just that. "I have Karma-kun's response to you."
Manami handed over the letter, and Nonoe blinked. "Oh."
Manami didn't know how to react. Was Nonoe nervous? How was she supposed to react to that? Manami nods and wonders why she can't shake off the feeling of oddness. She looks at Nonoe, observing and remembering how flustered she had been last time Manami saw her. There was nearly no trace of that Nonoe today as she reads whatever response Karma had written. Was it identical to what he told her? It's you or nothing, or something else similar?
No, Manami frets. I can't do this after all. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I—
"Oh," Nonoe giggles, and Manami's attention snaps back to her.
"W-What did he say?"
"Mou, Okuda-san," Nonoe smiles, tucking the letter into her notebook. "I've been kind of dishonest." Manami wants to say she already knows, but maybe Yamamura and Daimonji had been wrong, too. "This is just a social experiment. I don't like Kunugigaoka-san that way."
That is not the kind of response Manami had been expecting. Manami gawks at her in disbelief.
"From what Kunugigaoka-san had written, we didn't exactly succeed and we didn't exactly fail, but," Nonoe winks. Manami is totally curveballed. "Results are hopeful! Thank you, your participation played a huge part in this."
Manami stammers, and finds herself asking, "S-So what you said that day… You didn't mean it? Was this a set-up?"
"What? No!" She also didn't believe Nonoe's purposely evasive tone, and pouts. "But Kunugigaoka-san is all yours."
"I-I get that a lot, but why can't everybody m-mind their own business?" Manami honestly didn't know why people were so interested in their affairs.
Nonoe shrugs, smiling widely as she gathered her bag. "Everybody can't seem not to, yes?"
"Y-You have a boyfriend!" Manami blurts, and ends up slapping her mouth with both hands and cheeks ablaze.
"He's part of the experiment."
"He is?"
Nonoe giggles. "Yes, and we're actually meeting up today for a date. But how did you know I have one?"
"I hope you didn't mind us snooping. Daimonji's a gossip guru, so that's how we knew." Manami looks up when Yamamura speaks, two bags slung over his shoulder while a stammering Ayasegawa followed after him. He raised a brow at Manami, and Manami gawked back up at him. "Sorry 'bout that, but we're all for this shorty over here. Plus, Riko thinks your acting skills need some more work."
"Do not speak for me like that, Kouichi!"
"Aww, but Okuda-san believed it."
"I-I'm still here!"
8 p.m.
"Okuda-san? What's this~ I usually do the—"
"Karma-kun, even someone's boyfriend from Shizuoka Prefecture knows you. I think you should stop visiting my school."
"What? Wai—"
Click.
if you don't remember Daimonji, Ayasegawa and Yamamura, they are Manami's Oku Tokyo friends from the first chapter. oc's obviously, and Yotsuki is a part of that bunch.
on mornings spent swaying to and fro on the train is also found under chuunihans for the series one train ride away on ao3.