PLEASE HEAD OVER TO THE "Falter" REMAKE INSTEAD.
Aoishiro is the best and I love Hakkaya Hisa x Mihoko doujin.
That is all.
It had happened too quickly for her to process properly, and Ueno-san was sipping her tea as though nothing had happened. And perhaps nothing really had, but it made Mihoko feel a small, bright warmth well up in her chest. She nibbled on her prize in high spirits as she gathered her senses and brought their conversation back to the training camp.
"Is there anything else we can do to help?"
Although she was used to organising events with an even larger number of people, she had never co-ordinated or planned extramural activities from scratch, not even under the former Captain's guidance. Kazekoshi's mahjong club was large enough that the benefits of extramural activities barely outweighed the hassle and preparation required.
She disliked placing undue emphasis on rank order and instead liked to focus on letting everyone have fun. The constraints thereof, however, necessarily meant only the top ranking members would get to participate — much like the case with the upcoming training camp. It really was a pity that Yumino-san, currently ranked sixth, couldn't participate in either the team tournament or the training camp.
She knew the limitations of a large club, but that didn't mean it was any easier for Ueno-san in this situation. Accommodating so many different people's needs — most of whom she probably had little contact with — seemed like an arduous task.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think we've got it under control. The school's sponsoring a lot of it, and Suga-kun's extremely helpful."
"Ah, I see," Mihoko replied graciously.
She couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed but didn't let it show on her face. She wanted to be of more help and selfishly wanted to lessen Ueno-san's burden, but there was nothing she could do.
"Well," Hisa began after a moment, "you can bring some snacks if you want. It's probably impossible for me to cover all the bases and buy something that everyone likes. And you'd know if any of your club members have allergies or things like that." After some deliberation, Hisa added, "You seem like you won't be happy unless you do something to help."
"Ah... that's not..." Mihoko broke eye contact and averted her gaze.
Hisa slid the side of her shoe along one of the chair's caster wheels absently. "You really go out of your way to help people sometimes, you know?"
Then Ueno-san shifted and crossed her legs. The fabric of her pantyhose stretched, sheer at the knees. The hem of her knee-length skirt rode up slightly.
"— conversely, you could say that's one of your charm points. Nothing to feel ashamed about," Hisa finished.
Why was Ueno-san saying something like that, praising her when she only had her own reasons and motivations in mind? Her offer to help was driven by self-serving interests.
Hisa noticed Mihoko's silence and smiled kindly after a moment. "Sorry, I may have said too much just now. Forget I mentioned it. Why don't you try the tea again? It should be about the right temperature."
"... ah, yes." Mihoko reached for her cup, glad for the temporary respite. She held the cup close with two hands and paused to smell its unfamiliar fragrance. She took a sip and swallowed. The hot tea slid down her throat comfortably, pleasantly warming her whole body despite the summer heat. She spoke with some reserve and murmured, "It's very aromatic... do you usually drink English tea?"
"A bit. I usually just drink it at the club; my family has a more sensitive palate, it seems."
"Yes, it's rather strong," Mihoko agreed.
"Are you okay with the taste? I don't have any milk here, but I could dilute it with some water if it's too much."
"Oh, no, it's fine, thank you. I'm not used to the taste, but it's very pleasant." Mihoko looked down at her cup for a moment, thinking. "It smells like tea and warmth."
Hisa's mouth quirked into a small grin. "You're more poetic than me. I just like the Bergamot flavouring."
"Is that what it's called?"
"Yeah, I guess. I just read it off the box — the ingredients listed are tea and Bergamot flavouring, so..." Hisa closed her eyes for a moment as she tried to remember. "If I remember correctly, it's derived from Bergamot orange peels."
"You're very knowledgeable," Mihoko said softly.
"Not at all, not at all. I just like remembering interesting facts and watching daytime TV programmes when I have the time. I just wish I had the capacity for remember school materials instead."
"Time really passes by, doesn't it? It's already our last year in high school."
"Mm, yeah. I don't have as much time as before for other things. Have to look after the first-years in the club too."
"I'm sure they're doing well under your guidance."
How could they not, after all?
"I'm not sure I can give them anything like that," Hisa said with a small laugh. "But I'm glad they're experiencing different things. Sometimes I feel like they're like kids who've all grown up. They're heading to the nationals and aiming for bigger things."
"I know the feeling," Mihoko offered. "Sometimes you feel like there's nothing else you can show them, but they still look up to you as their senpai."
"Your kids sound like they're a lot more well-behaved," Hisa grinned. "You remember Kataoka Yuuki?"
"She placed first in the individuals on the first day, didn't she?" Mihoko added, "And we played one another during the team tournament."
"Yeah, that's her. She's a cheeky little thing."
"I'm sure she looks up to you in her own way. She seems like a rather energetic girl."
"Oh, she is," Hisa gave a frown. "She's crazy about tacos, so I'll have to think of some way to keep her with a steady supply."
Mihoko gave a small look of surprise. "Even during the training camp?"
"Rather, especially during the training camp." Hisa leaned back into her chair. "She can't play well without her tacos. I guess it sounds strange, but it's not like I have the right to say anything — I have my own way of playing too."
"Yes, everyone has her own unique way of playing," Mihoko agreed amiably.
"If you remember, she was making a fuss during the first round. That was because Ryuumonbuchi ate her taco. I still didn't get a chance to thank you for helping her then."
"Oh, that was —"
"No, don't. Thank you."
Under Ueno-san's gaze, Mihoko ordered her thoughts to form a coherent reply. "I thought she might have been hungry, but I didn't have any tacos in my lunch box so I don't think..."
"Ah, but Yuuki gets riled up with anything that has 'tako' in it. She goes crazy over 'tako' dishes all the time."
"Then..."
"Yep. I'm pretty sure it's because you had tako-san wieners in your lunch."
"I'm glad it could help."
"Yuuki ended up really taking a beating from you anyway after all that, but I think it was a good experience for her."
"Something like polishing a rough diamond?"
"Haha, maybe." Hisa munched on a Pocky stick thoughtfully. "By the way, are you going to play any mahjong the coming week? The training camp isn't for a few more days."
"Well, it's the summer vacation, so..."
"Mm, I don't mean at school."
"I might play one or two games with my family this weekend, but that'll probably be about it until the camp."
"You have a mahjong table at home?" Hisa further inquired.
"Ah, yes."
"Hm, I thought so."
"Ueno-san? Is anything the matter?" Mihoko tilted her head questioningly. Ueno-san seemed to be deliberating something. She couldn't recall a time where she'd ever seen Ueno-san waver, hesitate, or mull over something instead of acting. It only reminded her how little she knew about Ueno-san beyond her role as Kiyosumi's student council president and mahjong club president.
"I was wondering whether you played mahjong online."
Online mahjong? What could Ueno-san have in mind?
Mihoko started apologetically, "No, computers and I don't really..."
"— don't really mix, I take?" Hisa gave Mihoko a charming smile. "I thought as much, but I wanted to make sure." Hisa played with the cardboard tab from the Pocky box. "I'm not sure if you'd like the idea, but I thought it might be fun to play against one another. I've been wondering if I could get you to play into my hand. So if you'd like, we could try play online together."
"Yes. I — I would like that very much," Mihoko said earnestly.
Hisa scratched her head sheepishly. "Really? I wasn't sure if you would. The question's been nagging at the back of my mind the last few minutes, to be honest. I didn't know if I should ask."
"I really would like to. But I'm very bad with computers and computer terms, so I don't know if you would... If it'll really inconvenience you, then —"
"Hey, I've got it covered. We're fine as long as you're interested. I'll write out the instructions or something, and if you're free next week, you could come ov—"
Hisa paused mid-sentence as she heard the muffled but distinctive whistle and crackle of fireworks outside the clubroom.
Mihoko was rather surprised that time had passed so quickly with Ueno-san. "It's already seven...?"
"Seems like it. We'll finish talking about online mahjong later. Why don't you head out toward the deck first — I'll turn the lights off."
"Okay."
Mihoko placed her cup on the stand and manoeuvred past the chairs and the mahjong table before Ueno-san turned the lights off. She opened the door to the deck and a warm, inviting summer breeze blew past her face. She could hear the festival in the distance; Ueno-san's club members were probably there already, visiting and browsing at various stalls. She would have liked to see Ueno-san in a yukata, but spending time with her one-on-one was something that she treasured far more. Mihoko walked out and gazed at the unfamiliar night scene.
She heard the door click shut behind her. Mihoko turned to face Ueno-san, who'd just come out onto the deck.
"So what did I miss?"
The deck was more spacious than she'd imagined at first, and it stretched outward for a good two, three metres. She was near the deck's edge, within a few paces of the guard. Ueno-san stood near the tall, austere windows of the Westernised clubroom, dwarfed by it in size, but nevertheless projected an undeniable sense of presence that Mihoko found hard to describe. Ueno-san had a carefree smile on her face and one hand casually at her hip. Her face was gently shrouded by the soft bluish darkness of nightfall.
"Nothing much. It's just starting," Mihoko answered with a small smile.
"Oh, that's good."
Ueno-san approached slowly with eyes looking upward at the night sky. She stood by her side.
The sleeve of Ueno-san's uniform brushed against her arm lightly.
"Fukuji-san."
"Yes?" Mihoko glanced at her.
"Are you afraid of heights?"
"No, not really...?"
"Alright, that's good." Hisa stepped forward and held her weight up with her arms, and swung herself onto the partition in one smooth, practised movement. Sitting on the ledge, she looked back at Mihoko and said, "You should come up here. It feels less cramped than on the deck."
"Ueno-san...! Are you sure it's safe? What if you —"
"Relax. I've been doing this for two, three years. I'm a veteran at it. Besides, the roof is really wide and barely slopes down. I'm just on the ledge right now anyway."
"But..."
"We'll stay near the partition. C'mon, there's nothing to worry about if you're not afraid of heights."
Mihoko hedged for a moment. "Well, okay..."
"You don't sound convinced," Hisa grinned. "I'll keep you safe. Promise."
Mihoko looked at her with good-natured resignation and caved in. "I'll haunt you and follow you everywhere if I die."
"Sure, I'm fine with that as long as you promise not to follow me into the washroom." Hisa extended her hand with a warm smile.
Mihoko took her hand. Ueno-san steadied her as she attempted to clamber over and onto the partition. Although she wasn't exceptionally afraid of heights, she would've felt uneasy leaning forward over a ledge at this height without Ueno-san's reassuring hand supporting her. Her skirt was an inch or two shorter than Ueno-san's, and her bare knee pressed against the hard, unrelenting edge as she pushed herself up.
Ueno-san's grip was firm and steady.
She sat down on the ledge, but her skirt rode up much higher than she was comfortable with. Reluctantly, she loosened her grip on Ueno-san's hand to adjust her skirt. Mihoko rubbed the imprint on her knee and directed a smile toward Ueno-san.
"The view really is nicer from here."
"Isn't it?"
They turned their gaze toward the fireworks. Mihoko flexed the hand that Ueno-san had held, trying to hold onto the intangible sensation of her touch. Ueno-san's hand was dry, and unexpectedly warm. She wished she could hold onto her hand just a bit longer.
It seemed like they missed the beginning of the fireworks while Ueno-san was trying to convince her to get on the ledge, as Mihoko could hear the crowd's animated response in the distance. Before she could lament the display she missed, a new set of fireworks flared up high and exploded in a beautiful flurry of violet-blue patterns. As the first display dimmed, a new set shot up like streams of fountains at different angles in the distance. They crisscrossed one another at a much lower altitude than the earlier ones.
She heard more cheering and clapping as successive sets of three burst into the vast, expansive sky. They exploded into brilliant flashes of colour that sparkled vibrantly before disappearing into nothingness. The crackle of fireworks echoed in the distant background as Mihoko glanced at Ueno-san out of the corner of her eye. She was glad that Ueno-san was on her left; otherwise it would've been hard to look at her furtively.
Looking at her face from this distance in the privacy that the semi-darkness afforded made Mihoko wonder how Ueno-san would take it if she told her.
If she told her —
It was only an infatuation at most, at this point. But she wanted more. She wanted the feelings to grow.
More —
More than wanting to get into a good university, more than wanting to avoid a future as a career-less housewife married to a man she didn't love, more than wanting a bright future for herself and her family — at that moment, what she wanted the most was for Ueno Hisa to know her feelings.
Mihoko felt as though she'd never desired anything so selfishly in her life.
An extra loud explosion of fireworks broke her out of the daze. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears as she looked away. She breathed deeply and slowly to regain her composure.
They watched the fireworks in silence. Mihoko let the intensity she felt earlier seep out of her as she watched the flashes, explosions, and lights fade. And ignite. And fade again.
After several minutes, Hisa stretched her arms out in front and let out a small sigh. "Ah, my eyes are a bit sore from watching the flashes. You holding up okay?" Hisa ran a hand through her hair. "Fukuji-san?"
"Sorry, I was just thinking," Mihoko smiled. "Isn't it because you were working on student council-related things?"
"Yeah, maybe." Hisa hopped down from the ledge onto the roof. "And my legs are starting to get numb." Hisa shook her legs to get rid of the tingling sensation. She looked at Mihoko. "Aren't yours?"
"No, not yet."
Hisa mussed her hair. "Guess that means my legs are fatter."
An amused smile spread across Mihoko's face as she turned her gaze toward Ueno-san. "Where did you get that from?"
"A TV programme," she replied. "They say fat globules block your veins and —" Hisa gave a little smirk and wiggled the fingers of her hand ominously.
"I don't think that's how it goes, Ueno-san."
"Hm, really?"
"I'm quite sure." Mihoko hopped down from her perch and stood next to Ueno-san on the roof. She clasped her hands in front of her and took a small breath. "Besides, your legs aren't fat."
"Haha, why, thank you." Hisa leaned against the partition to watch the sky again. "Sorry for distracting you from the fireworks, but you were being a bit quiet. I wondered if it was boring you."
"No... I'm having a lot of fun with you." Mihoko watched new fireworks ignite with unrivalled vibrance.
"Same goes for me." Hisa trailed off as more bursts of colour erupted in the sky.
"... thank you, for inviting me today."