Fictober Day 8: "Can you stay?"

Rin's eyes were comically wide, brimmed with shock. Shiemi's brows furrowed with worry. "What is it, Rin?"

"I got..." He swallowed, staring at the paper as though he wasn't sure if it was real. "I got a seventy-nine. On a test." Then he whirled around to meet her gaze, tail coiling and uncoiling in glee. "Shiemi, I got a seventy-nine! A seventy-nine!"

Shiemi blinked and blinked again. Then the words sunk in, and she shot him her warmest smile. "Good job."

He jumped out of his chair with enough force to knock it over. "Yukio! Yukio, I got a seventy-nine!"

"Yes," Yuki-chan replied, the faintest of smiles on his face. "I know. I graded it."

"This is the best grade I've gotten this semester," he went on, grinning widely. "I can't believe it. This is so great."

"Good job, Okumura-kun," Miwa-san said politely.

"Did you actually study this time?" Suguro-san asked, his expression unimpressed.

Rin paid no heed to said expression. He turned back to his paper, looking ready to bounce up and down with excitement. "Yes! Oh, man. This is so great. I'm gonna make sukiyaki tonight."

He was speeding out of the room before anyone else could respond. Everyone just watched the door slam and stared in silence until finally Kamiki-san finally huffed. "Good for him. I'm leaving."

"Wait!"

Shiemi wasn't sure why she said it, nor did she expect Kamiki-san to listen to her. But suddenly her classmate was turning to face her with an annoyed expression, arching a single brow. "What?"

Oh, dear. She hadn't planned this far ahead. She fidgeted under Kamiki-san's intense stare, flushing hotly. She wasn't used to having this much attention on her. "C-can you stay? All of you? I um..." Her resolve wavered, so she quickly bowed and stammered out, "I—I want to do something nice! F-for Rin, for doing his best! Maybe..."

She trailed off, not knowing where she was going with this.

Kamiki-san sighed. "He's making sukiyaki. He's celebrating by himself. Isn't that good enough?"

"Well..." She shifted uncomfortably where she stood. "Um, when you do something that's worth celebrating... wouldn't you want to celebrate with someone else? He did his best, and he was so proud of himself! I think we should show him that someone else is proud of him."

They were all silent, and she gathered her courage, facing Yuki-chan. "Right?"

Yuki-chan looked startled upon being addressed so abruptly but recovered quickly. "Right. I... I think it's an excellent idea." And then: "It might encourage him to study more, I think."

Nii-chan trilled from atop her head as if in agreement. She smiled slowly, gaining more confidence, and eventually, Shima-kun rubbed the back of his head and said, "I mean, it is kind of messed up that he's celebrating alone. Whattya think, Bon? Koneko-san?"

Miwa-san looked back at Shiemi with a smile. "Sure. What do you have planned?"

She didn't have anything planned, honestly. That realization made her face feel warm again. "Um..."

"You don't have anything planned," Suguro-san said as if reading her mind.

"Well." She twitched nervously. "It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I was hoping... you guys could help think of something?"

Yuki-chan leaned against his desk. "I might have an idea."

A couple of hours later had the exwires walking into the old boys' dorm, which smelled wonderfully of Rin's cooking. Said boy called out, "Oi! Yukio! You're just in time, dinner's—oh."

He came to a halt upon seeing the rest of his classmates, eyes widening in surprise. His tail stilled behind him as a look of confusion graced his face. "What's up? Why's everyone with you?"

Shiemi moved before she was aware of the fact that she was moving. Her fingers tightened around the plastic bag in her hands—a bag which held various goodies that Yuki-chan told them Rin was sure to love—and she bowed for a second time that day. "We got you something!"

Silence. Rin sounded very confused when he asked, "What?"

She held out the bag forcefully. "For, um. For getting a good grade on your test! We wanted to do something to show you we're proud! Because that's what friends do!"

Another long pause. When seconds inched by and he said nothing, Shiemi finally looked up at him. "Rin?"

"Proud?" he echoed softly. Quietly. Like it was the last word he'd ever expected to hear. "Of me?"

"Sure," Shima-kun answered with a lazy grin. "You did your best, didn't you?"

"I..." He swallowed, blinking repeatedly. "I guess, yeah. But I mean..." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "It's not really a big deal—"

"Nii-san," Yuki-chan interrupted. "Your typical grades range anywhere between two and barely passing. I think that counts as a big deal."

"So..." His smile suddenly became timid. "You guys mean it? You're proud of me?"

"Of course," Shiemi said warmly.

Suguro-san crossed his arms. "Well, it is a big improvement from when we first met, so... yeah. Good job, ya monkey."

"I'm proud," Miwa-san said.

"Me too," Shima-kun added, flashing a two-fingered peace sign.

"Yes, Nii-san," Yuki-chan said. "I'm proud of you."

That left only Kamiki-san, who flushed under the attention of everyone as they turned to stare at her, awaiting her response. "Well, Moriyama didn't give us much of a choice in coming here, you know."

"I bet that's Izumo-chan's way of saying she's proud," Shima-kun teased and laughed when Kamiki-san sputtered.

Rin's eyes lit up in a way Shiemi wasn't sure she'd seen before. He looked so genuinely happy that it made her heart soar.

She made a mental note to tell him that she was proud more. Anything to make her friend look that happy again.