Consideration
Daisuke met Kaoru at the bike rack, where he greeted the teen with a peck on the lips. During the remainder of the summer they'd become an official couple, though their friends still didn't know.
"I enjoyed dinner last night. It was fun." Kaoru noted with a smile, "Do you have time to hang out against tonight?"
"No, I have a club meeting tonight. I'll call you, though."
"E-Eh? So you really quit your job at the fish market? Didn't you say you needed the money, though?"
"After my mom's promotion, she insisted I quit. She never wanted me working, I just…I wanted to prove that we didn't need my dad's help, but I realized being angry won't help me in the future." Daisuke confessed, "So…I'm going to pursue my ambitions again, and forget about that asshole."
"Your…ambitions?" Kaoru questioned, probably remembering the teen's uncertain attitude up until this point. Seamus' visit had really got him thinking about the future…about that internship. He'd started an engineering club, Young Engineers, for the new term and a solid group of seven were joining him on weekend visits to businesses and workshops. He'd gotten a lot of advice from Yasuhiko on how to run a club and had been pleasantly surprised by how fun it was. He'd only ever been involved in soccer club and such, but now he was in charge.
"I've been thinking about attending this internship in Ireland-my cousin works there and…well it's still in the works, but…I decided that I wasn't going to let my father get in the way of what I want to do."
"Oh wow! In Ireland? So you've got to practice your English, then?" Daisuke smirked at the remark and nudged his arm.
"Nice try, but I can't forget English. It's my first language."
"W-What?! But you-"
"I mean…I learned Japanese and English at the same time because…well because my dad taught me. He has a really strong accent, so…that's why I sound sort of…stupid."
"What? No way!" Kaoru defended, "You can speak English and most of your classmates can't say that, I bet!" Daisuke smiled at his encouragement and kissed him again in finality.
"I'll see you later, then. Have fun in class." he bid farewell before heading off towards homeroom. He greeted Yasuhiko with a casual wave before sitting in his assigned seat, feeling much different from how he had at the beginning of the year. It was strange to be there, not glaring across the room and not hating everything about life; perhaps working at the fish market had helped him mature a little. He had also decided to stop thinking about his father, which had been the largest burden he'd been carrying. He just felt so much better; he even endured Mister Tanaka's start-of-the-term test!
"Mister Izumi, would you please come to my office after school?" the teacher quietly uttered at desk-length. The teen slowly nodded, already aware of what the meeting was probably about. He informed the vice president of Young Engineers that he'd be a little late, and then he rushed to Mister Tanaka's office. On his desk was Daisuke's desk from the morning before, marked in red with a giant '100' at the top.
"Please sit." he offered, and the student obeyed, "Daisuke, until this test, you have failed every assignment. Did you cheat?"
"No, I just haven't really tried." the teen began, "Using English used to evoke bad memories, so I avoided it. I was also too embarrassed to speak it, but I need to do well from now on."
Mister Tanaka's eyes widened.
"…Was that…English? How did you learn English?"
"My family is from Northern Ireland, where the Irish language is still spoken. My grandparents speak more Irish than English, so my dad has a strong accent, and that's how I learned."
"…So…all this time, you…" Daisuke shyly smiled at the disbelief in his teacher's voice, "…You've understood everything?!"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm just really embarrassed, but I have to do this, now." Mister Tanaka tilted his head in question, "My cousin recently visited from Ireland and offered me an internship. So…I've decided that I want to continue pursuing engineering."
"Oh congratulations!" he cheered, "Well…I suppose you didn't cheat, then. Is all that stuff you were struggling with before cleared up, then?"
"For…the most part." Daisuke confessed, "I'm really just trying to move on from it."
"Well, I'm happy that you've decided to reapply yourself. Have you considered tutoring?"
"Hahaha!" the teen dismissed, "No. I know I'm hard to understand, so there'd really be no point in trying to teach an unusual accent, y'know?"
"Ah, very true. Well anyway, you're free to leave. I realize you probably have other things to do. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Daisuke smiled and bowed himself out of the room. Luckily he was only ten minutes late; he entered the room with an enthusiastic apology and felt the familiar bubbling of his nerves as he glanced over the models on the desks.
"I'm so glad you all brought your models today! As you remembered, we have a very special guest visiting us from Tokyo University in the next hour! Up until then, I thought we could introduce our projects and go through some questions you may want to ask Miss Kent."
Daisuke had introduced the M.A. candidate the previous week via presentation, so he was pleased that the girl was greeted warmly upon arrival. Shouta had joined her and drew a bit of attention from the younger girls as he sat in the back. Even Yasuhiko had dropped in for the presentation to pick her brain on CC Corp. During Kaoru's party, Daisuke hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her about this kind of stuff, and was blown away by just how smart she was. He was beginning to feel less optimistic about his dream job, but was reassured at the end that the field didn't come easily to her.
"I love my job, so I'm always looking for ways to improve. I tell my pupils that I study for fun; it's really important to be passionate—about anything you do in life."
This earned a sincere ovation and several hungry questions afterwards. She remained in the club room for another hour before they were kicked out for lock-up.
"Thanks so much for inviting me, Daisuke!" the girl exclaimed as she pulled on what he realized was Shouta's leather jacket. She looked like a real biker-girlfriend, now.
"Thanks for coming! Everyone really enjoyed it! But I must say, I was sort of hoping you'd be in your usual bright colors." Daisuke teased, noting her business suit and elegant French braid.
"Haha! Well, I think Shouta likes me like this, anyway."
"What? You look fine no matter what!" the boyfriend argued, earning himself a brief kiss.
"He certainly knows all the right answers. Haha! Anyway, don't hesitate to invite me again! Everyone was so cute! I just-gah! Especially that cute little freshman boy, Yuya! Can you get any more adorable?!"
"Oh lord." Shouta groaned with rolled eyes, "C'mon."
"Haha! Uh-oh, he's getting jealous! Better leave before I get left behind! Later!"
Daisuke waved goodbye as he watched the couple speed off. Yasuhiko then walked him to the bike racks and he waited at the bus stop with him to keep him company.
"You've really come a long way, Daisuke." his classmate told him, "You seem a lot happier."
"I am." he confirmed, "I'm sorry I was such a dick before." Yasuhiko, however, only shrugged.
"It's okay. We shouldn't have pushed you like we had. Whether or not we hang out here or in 'The World', all that matters is that we're together, right?"
"Mm!"