DREAMS OF SUNSHINE
Theme 2 - let x be the value of he who lies beside me
Disclaimer: Tsukihime and its characters belong to their respective owners. I do not own the story/animanga/game nor am I affiliated with the official staff.
Author's Notes: The second story for my claim, thus 2 out of 52 of the projected one-shots are now finished. This story happens to be in dedication to the Calculus III modules I've been procrastinating to read this entire week (though limits are really in Calc I's whelm). I'm not entirely confident of Shiki's and Kohaku's characterization. I also don't know if Japan's medical curriculum is anything like ours, namely whether students need to take Math courses like Calc. Eh, I guess that's what I get for wanting to write a dorky story.
It was a relatively quiet afternoon at the Tohno household. Akiha spent the majority of her day secluded in her room, while Hisui and Kohaku loyally worked on their typical chores. Shiki, on the other hand, had his own hurdle to fight. This hurdle, in his opinion, was arguably harder than fighting any adversary.
"Dammit, I don't get this!!" he shrilled at the top of his lungs, throwing away three more sheets of smudged papers.
Staring at his trashcan, he saw he probably wasted more trees for comfort. His newly found enemy was Calculus, and not even his trusty pocketknife could defeat it. He heard of numerous computer programs that could assist him, but, excluding Kohaku's television set and videogame console, the Tohno mansion was ignorant of the technological advances that blessed mankind.
"Well, I could cut my teacher's gradebook…" he pondered, until he thought of the consequences. "Hmm, I think I'll pass."
He shrugged off the thought and grabbed a blank page of paper. He once again began to write the problem and at least try to get to the solution. Shiki was no prodigy, but he knew the problem was just trying to mock him. Why, how in the world could he solve a limit like this?
"Haaaah, you've got to be kidding..."
After his third or four attempts, he discarded the new sheet of paper with his other sheets and lightly banged his head on the wall. Finding himself hopelessly distraught and just plain hungry, he stood up from his chair and went out to the kitchen. After all, brainfood could never hurt the starving student.
"Ah, Shiki-san, good evening!" Kohaku cheerfully greeted him when she spotted him. She had been occupied with boiling what looked like lobster tail curry, but that did not really matter much to Shiki.
"Good evening, Kohaku-san." he sheepishly greeted her.
"You're rather early today." she continued with a hardly chuckle. "Dinner isn't ready yet. If you're hungry, I could make you a quick snack."
"Brainfood."
"Umm, excuse me?"
"I want brainfood."
As he expected, Kohaku's face cringed in confusion. She quickly turned her attention away from the anticipated dinner and moved closer to the adolescent. Tilting her face slightly sideways, she placed a fist under her chin and contemplated about the term 'brainfood.'
"'Brainfood,' huh?" she asked, her voice drifting across the kitchen. "Do you mean food that increases cognitive function?"
"Yes." he deadpanned.
Much to Shiki's dismay, Kohaku could not help but laugh until tears came out of her eyes. She held the kitchen counter tightly to retain balance and occasionally banged it with her unoccupied hand. After realizing his obvious annoyance, she took a deep breath and regained her original composure.
"Fufufu, you're so silly, Shiki-san!" she giggled. "Why would you need that? I think you have a rather sharp mind!"
"T-thanks," Shiki spoke, "I appreciate the comment, but-"
"But? But what?" Her confused expression returned as she closed on the boy, until their faces were only a decimeter away.
"Is something the matter?" she asked in a worried tone. "You look pretty flustered. Shiki-san, should I bring you some medicat-?"
"No, I'm fine! I just, um, erh, sorry. I suppose I should go back to doing my homework. Sorry to bother you."
Scratching his head, Shiki turned his face to the kitchen's exit and began to walk back to his room. Before he could move his feet out of the kitchen, Kohaku once again abandoned her cooking and trotted to him.
"Shiki-san!" she shouted to get his attention.
"Oh, Kohaku-san." Shiki muttered. "I'm just heading back to my room. I'll be back when din-"
"What are you studying?"
"E-eh?"
As simple as the question was, Shiki panicked upon hearing it. Kohaku smiled sympathetically and asked him yet another query, obviously on the mark.
"You're having trouble with your homework, right?"
"H-how did you-?"
"Lucky guess. So, what subject is it for?"
He felt like pinching himself, mostly for being so obvious. He first thought of giving her a direct answer, but he found his curiosity take over. After all, she was a perceptive maid.
"Guess." Shiki answered with a smug grin.
"Ohoho, aren't we playful?" Kohaku jested. "Well, I'm up for the challenge! Now, let's see. Hmm…"
"Well?"
"Oooh, ooh, I know! Mathematics!"
"…That was fast."
"Yes, yes, but we mustn't waste time. Let me put this pot on low heat first. You go back to your room – I'll be there in a minute."
"S-sure. Thank you, Kohaku-san."
"No problem! Now, shoo, shoo!"
"So, as x approaches infinity…" the amber-eyed maiden contemplated as she quickly jotted down various lines of math work, "You end up reaching 5. Does that make sense?"
"…"
As she promised, Kohaku came to Shiki's room immediately after she temporarily 'closed' the kitchen. She analyzed the problem and thoroughly listened to the methods Shiki had previously employed. What shocked Shiki was not how easily she solved the problem but how he understood the methodology she used.
"Shiki-san." Kohaku spoke as she waved her hand in front of his face. "Are you okay? Oh, maybe I did not elaborate on my steps enough."
"No, that's not it! I'm just amazed."
"Amazed?"
"Yes. I never knew you were proficient at mathematics!"
"Ah, you're embarrassing me! I'm nowhere near proficient, though I did study a bit more math than I needed to during my medical education."
"I see… You must've found it meddlesome, no?"
"Mmm, not really. Math is a very beautiful subject. Some people take a long time to realize that, though."
"Uh-huh." Despite his answer, his face showed he honestly disagreed.
"Oh, I better set up the table. Akiha-sama will be furious if I made her eat dinner without a properly arranged table."
"Kohaku-san, thank you so much for your help!" To her surprise, Shiki slightly bowed his head. "I don't know what I would have done without you."
"You needn't thank me. You would've figured out something anyhow. As they say, 'he who solves x becomes x!'"
"Wha?"
Kohaku walked towards the room's door and wrapped her hand around the doorknob. Smiling, she answered, "We humans are like variables. If we just change ourselves to the situation, we can solve anything!"
"..."
"Hisui-chan will come fetch you in a bit for dinner. Good luck with your studies!" Kohaku gave a short bow and hurried to the kitchen, humming a nostalgic song on her way.
"We're like variables, huh?" Shiki contemplated as he stared at the now-completed math problem.
"If that's so, why do we eventually reach some constant value?"