PLEASE HEAD OVER TO THE "Falter" REMAKE INSTEAD.
The following message is brought to you in part by Captain Obvious:
Formatting, I hate you.
Kana fidgeted excitedly on the spot as she ran a hand through her hair quickly, smoothing and fixing and tucking and fixing any strays. Gotta look her best; gotta look her best for Captain. She tugged and straightened her gillet vest in the front and back for the umpteenth time, wishing she'd brought a wristwatch or a stopwatch or anything.
She could see what time it was if she went back into the station to look at the platform signs, but there was no way she was going to budge from her spot if it potentially meant making Captain wait. Although making the trip back in wouldn't take more than a minute, and Captain wasn't going to leave just like that if she didn't see her right away, Kana tried to reason with herself.
She took in a deep breath. She wasn't making much sense, but it didn't matter. Because there was only one thing on her mind now; getting the chance to see Captain before the training camp was really, really going to make her day. Kana tried to still herself, but she couldn't stop her fidgeting. She was already feeling antsy and restless. Missing several chances last week to walk with Captain to the station and taking the train together didn't help either.
In light of the critically low levels of Captain and Kana-chan interactions, Kana knew she had to do something so she could spend some time with Captain before the training camp, still several — and painfully long — days away. In the best-case scenario, she would have gotten a whole day to spend with her, but there was no helping it if Captain had previous engagements and couldn't allow for it. Kana thought back to the phone call she made on Friday.
"Hello?"
"Captain!"
"Good evening, Kana."
"Good evening, Captain! How did it go? Was everything okay?"
"It went well, silly," Mihoko laughed. "Kiyosumi's Ueno-san was the one who invited us, after all."
"Ahahaha, yeah, that's what I thought," Kana said sheepishly. "But you said it'd be a quick trip when you left, so I got a bit worried and stuff when you weren't home yet when I called earlier."
"I'm all right," she reassured. "Something just came up a bit after, that's all."
"Oh, I understand. Ahaha, I know I'm worrying for nothing."
Mihoko smiled and said, "I know you mean well. You're always looking out for me."
"It's only expected! I'm just doing my part for the club since you're Captain," Kana said enthusiastically. "B-By the way! Do we need to get anything for the camp other than the usual?"
"Well, it seems like Ueno-san has most of it under control, but she suggested we could buy some snacks for our members."
Was Kiyosumi going to skimp on snacks? Captain, in comparison, when preparing for camps, would always go out to buy food herself, carry it herself, and make it for everyone herself and stuff!
Mihoko added, "She bought a lot of snacks for the camp already, so we don't have to get a lot. She made the suggestion because she thought I'd want to help."
Wha —!
Thought Captain 'would want to help'? Wasn't that a bit too presumptuous? A small flicker of annoyance flit through Kana's mind. As expected of Kiyosumi's ill-mannered captain. Who slammed mahjong tiles anyway? And wasn't her name Takai or something?
"It's very kind of you to help, Captain! I'll be around your part of Kamakura during the weekend, so if you're free..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I have plans with my family. I was planning on getting the snacks after the weekend, but please don't worry about it — snacks don't weigh much, so I'll be able to manage myself."
Nyah?!
"A-Ahahaha, d-did I say the weekend? I meant... I meant... I meant I was going to go later too!"
That was close. Good save, Kana-chan!
"Oh, I see, did you get mixed up since we have summer vacation?"
"Y-Yeah! That's why. And it's not urgent, so I can take care of it whenever I like. Wh-When will you be free?"
"Let's see, I'm shopping with Mizuhara-san and Noyama-san on Monday..."
"Then how about Tuesday?" Kana asked eagerly.
"... I'm sorry, Kana, I'm busy on Tuesday too," Mihoko said apologetically. "Are you free Monday afternoon?"
"Yeah!"
Half a day with Captain was enough — more than enough. And she'd be able to spend four whole days and three whole nights with Captain at the training camp.
Kana clenched her fists tightly and felt a bout of nervous excitement.
Then it hit her — it'd be like a sleepover and stuff!
She'd never stayed someplace overnight with Captain for anything other than mahjong tournament events. But this — this was an unbelievable chance. They wouldn't have to worry about tournaments or anything and they could have fun. The nationals were coming up, of course, and she'd never distract Captain from training, of course, but breaks were necessary, of course, and they could spend that time together, of course!
From what she heard from Captain, each school was going to get a room to share among its club members, so that meant sleeping in the same room as Captain for sure.
Mahjong and Captain. Captain and mahjong!
And if she played against Amae Koromo again and won, Captain was sure to praise her. She was determined to win this time. Amae couldn't win forever — third time's the charm, right?
Since she played so poorly during the qualifiers and made Kazekoshi lose — again — it was probably a bit too much to hope for any praise related to the tournament. But during the event, first Miharun was praised by Captain, then Bundou was hugged by Captain on TV for everyone to see, and Sumi was encouraged by her.
The thought was kinda depressing.
"Good afternoon, Kana."
"N-nyah! Captain —!"
Kana spun around quickly on the spot to greet Captain, but her breath hitched in her throat.
Captain was wearing a grey blouse dress with half-length sleeves that gave off a really summery feel. And the lace from a dark camisole peeked out along the modest neckline of the dress, in contrast with her pale skin. It looked really good on her.
No.
It looked really, really, really good on her.
"You're early again today. Did you get to finish what you had to do?"
"Y-yeah. I finished early so I thought I'd wait here, ahahaha..."
Captain would decline for sure if she knew she came just to help. The usual trips to buy heavy groceries withstanding, there was no way she'd accept the offer for buying light snacks, which, truthfully, didn't really require much help.
But there wasn't anything wrong with wanting to spend more time with Captain and stuff.
"And here I thought I'd be earlier than you for once," Mihoko jived. "Noyama-san had to leave early, so we decided to cut it short, unfortunately."
"Then is Noyama-senpai okay?"
"Yes, but apparently one boyfriend outweighs two friends," Mihoko intoned, before a small, lilting laugh escaped her lips.
"So that's how it is," Kana nodded.
Not that she really understood it — there was no way she'd ditch Captain to meet anyone else, ever.
"She was wavering, but we just told her to go and have fun," Mihoko said as she started walking to the Family Mart nearby. "And since she was the one who insisted we go try a new flavour of ice cream afterward, we decided to postpone it till next time."
Kana tucked her hands behind her back and followed. "You're too nice, Captain. I wouldn't like it if someone did that."
Mihoko laughed. "There's no point if her heart's not in it, don't you think?"
"Well, that's true..."
"And there's no harm done either. We were just window shopping and catching up since we were busy with exams earlier."
"Thanks for your hard work, Captain! Third-year must be tough, but you're still so involved in the club," Kana spoke earnestly with clenched fists.
Mihoko glanced at Kana and said gently, "I am the captain, after all, so it's my responsibility. And I like mahjong too much to give it up. Isn't it the same with you?"
"Ahaha, you got me there," Kana said with a hand to her head.
Mihoko deliberated for a moment before she said, "Since we're on this topic... Kana."
"Yes?"
Captain sounded really serious.
"I've been thinking of asking whether you want to be the captain next year."
"H-Hah? Me?"
"Rank-wise, neither Kubo-coach nor anyone else should complain," Mihoko said, "and you've certainly contributed to the club above and beyond anyone's expectations."
Kana felt her cheeks heat up under Captain's scrutiny and her choice of words.
Praise? Was this praise?
"I... I haven't thought about it before."
"A lot of the first-years really look up to you. Especially after I tell them how you made it onto the regulars even in your first year," she said with a twinkle in her eye.
"Please don't tease me with that, Captain!" Kana pleaded. "Didn't you do the same in your first year? And Bundou too!"
"Bundou-san is in the same grade as the other first-years, so I would be putting her on the spot if I brought it up forcibly. And I can't go around telling people I made it onto the team in my first year, so you're the best choice, Kana."
"Uuh..."
Kana bowed in the face of the irrefutable logic.
Mihoko smiled again. "I'm sorry for teasing you, but please do think about it. I would be more than happy to put in a recommendation for you as next year's captain."
"Okay," Kana gave a half-smile. "Thank you, Captain. I'll think about it."
"Take your time," Mihoko said, "and don't feel pressured to accept."
"Okay."
As someone who broke Kazekoshi's six-year winning streak twice, it seemed laughable to suggest she could be Kazekoshi's captain. But Captain was seriously considering her for the position.
She wanted to live up to Captain's expectations. She wanted to help the club. And like Captain said earlier, she, too, loved mahjong too much to give it up. She'd think about it. She'd really think about it, but there were other concerns too. She'd have schoolwork and she'd have to look after her kid sisters if their parents were busy.
With those thoughts weighing on her mind, they entered the Family Mart convenience store. Kana got a shopping basket for Captain and took one for herself.
"What do we need to get? And how much, Captain?" Kana tried to put some extra cheer in her voice. She wasn't going to let anything dampen her mood and interfere with her precious time with Captain.
"Well, not too much. Just a little bit of everyone's favourites." Mihoko picked up a packet of candies and held it out for Kana to see. "And some Milk Soft Candy for you."
"Aheheh," Kana rubbed her head sheepishly, "do you mind if I get that myself this time too?"
"You shouldn't encourage Hina-chan and the others to eat too much candy, Kana," Mihoko frowned.
"I promised them a few days ago I would... since it was their birthday and everything."
Kana omitted the embarrassing part where the three squirts were giving her cute, teary looks and pleading over and over again until she gave in... then proceeded to roll around laughing how she fell for it.
"Oh, I completely forgot... did your parents celebrate with them this year?"
"Yeah, all six of us went out for dinner," Kana said with a grin. "They really enjoyed themselves."
"That's good to hear. And I suppose... a little candy for the birthday girls wouldn't hurt, right?" Mihoko smiled.
Kana grinned. "Yeah!"
"But this is how we'll do it —" Mihoko picked up another packet and placed both into her basket. "One's for the training camp, and the second one's my present to Hina-chan, Nazuna-chan, and Shirona-chan."
"But —"
Kana's protest died on her lips. Captain's expression, while gentle and kind as always, was firm and brooked no arguments.
She can be really stubborn sometimes, Kana thought fondly.
"Then I'll say thanks for them," Kana smiled.
Their baskets had some of everyone's favourites by the time they reached the cashier, including Captain's favourite Pocky. Captain had smiled and gently insisted on getting a few extra boxes as well. Maybe Captain was running low at home.
Since they'd shopped enough for the regulars to know their likes and dislikes inside out, their little trip didn't last as long as she wanted. It was regrettable, but maybe they could go for ice cream after, since Captain originally planned on having some anyway. It was hot enough for it.
Kana rehearsed possible lines of invitation in her head as she held onto a packet of Milk Soft Candy and Captain's extra boxes of Pocky.
'It's kind of hot isn't it? Why don't we...'
'Ah, I'm thirsty! Maybe we should get...'
'Captain! You must be tired. Let's...'
Kana remained deep in thought as Captain was in line waiting for the cashier to scan the items. They had decided to keep the receipts separate as the other snacks were going to be paid for from the club's funds. It was just easier to keep track.
Breaking out of her reverie before long, Kana handed the items in her arms to Captain after the cashier packed everything else up.
After everything was paid for, Kana reached for all three bags. She held onto them as she stood beside Captain, waiting for her to put her Suica away.
"We bought a lot, didn't we, Captain?" Kana said cheerfully as she swung the bags lightly.
A little bit of this and a little bit of that really added up.
"We did. I'll be surprised if we manage to eat it all. But if there are any unopened ones left over, we can just add it to the snacks in the club room."
Opening up her handbag, Mihoko rearranged a few things before slipping her wallet back in.
"Oh, Captain, what's that?" Kana asked curiously. She had caught a glimpse of a small bag that had the word "electronics" on it. Why would Captain...?
"Ah," Mihoko clutched the hidden item reflexively, "I just bought a little something earlier, after Noyama-san left..."
"At an electronics store!"
"Kana..." Mihoko's voice held soft reproach.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to shout," Kana said abashedly. "B-B-But an electronics store?"
"It's not an electronic device. Just a trinket. A decoration," Mihoko explained. "I thought I'd — Kana, do you think it's weird... if I buy something to thank someone for organising an event?"
Captain's face was flushed a light pink, and Kana mentally berated herself for having embarrassed her by shouting.
Furthermore, there was only one recent person who fit the description that Captain just gave.
"You mean Kiyosumi's... Takai?"
"Takei," Mihoko corrected in a quiet voice.
"Right, Takei. You mean her, Captain?"
"I was speaking hypothetically, but what if it were in her case?"
"Well," Kana pondered, "if you mean in general, it really depends what kind of event it was and your relationship with that person. But if you mean her, I wouldn't go out of my way to get her anything."
"Why's that?"
"She's holding the camp as practice for her club before the nationals, right? Of course we benefit from it as well — especially you, Captain, since you're going to be in the nationals — but her main goal is to help her team."
Not to mention acting like she were doing Captain a favour by getting her to buy snacks.
It drew a small frown from Mihoko. "I guess you have a point. It would be weird to..." she trailed off.
Did she give good advice?
Kana wondered.
She didn't like that Takei much, so maybe she was being a little too harsh, but it was the truth. Still, seeing that wavering expression on Captain's face tugged at her heart.
It didn't matter if it really were a hypothetical question or not.
Regardless of everything else —
"But Captain, if you feel like giving someone a gift as thanks, I think you should," Kana said, softening her tone. "I'm sure it'd be really appreciated. And it's definitely not weird at all."
Mihoko smiled slightly. "It might be a bit meddlesome, though."
"No way! Like I said, with me around, there's no way anyone could find you meddlesome or annoying."
Mihoko laughed. "Thank you for the advice, Kana." She reached out and stroked her hair lightly.
Nya...
"Let's go, shall we? Here, let me hold two bags," Mihoko said.
"Ohtay. Yesh, Capten," she warbled.
Mihoko took two from an unresisting Kana and walked out the store.
"... Kana?"
"Y-Yesh! Er, yes! Coming!"
Kana trotted after her beloved Captain dutifully, with a goofy grin plastered on her face.