Notes: Thanks for the kind words of encouragement to the last AS chapter. I do appreciate it. The next chapter of AS fic is more or less done as well, so you'll probably see that next.
This chapter is more or less unedited. Any mistakes are mine.
oOo
Gauche the Cellist wound up being fairly underwhelming. He ended up finishing the whole story after Yukinoshita had been fully distracted by Kamakura's antics. Maybe that cat had a use after all. It gave him a couple of peaceful hours.
He figured that Gauche wouldn't be quite as good as Night on the Galactic Railroad; there was a reason Galactic Railroad was Miyazawa's most well-known work after all. But the difference in quality wound up being far greater than expected. For as compelling as the characters in Railroad were, they fell flat in Gauche the Cellist. Giovanni and Campanella's friendship could move him to tears. The only emotion that he felt towards Gauche was one of disdain; his initial disregard towards music felt almost insulting. He didn't help his case throughout his "improvement arc" either, and by the end Hachiman was left wondering if the two works could even possibly be written by the same author. The ending felt so incredibly disingenuous that he was almost upset he'd chosen to read ahead.
Stretching tiredly, he tossed the book aside and looked around. He'd almost forgotten that Yukinoshita was still at their place and jumped a little upon seeing her idly scratching the fur beneath a sleeping Kamakura's chin as she watched whatever Komachi was doing on her laptop.
He felt the sting of jealousy burn within him. Kamakura had never just taken a nap in his lap before!
Yukinoshita must have felt his gaze on her or something, because she glanced his way not long after he'd finished reading.
"You're finally finished?"
"Yeah. It was rather disappointing. A part of me even suspects that having a conversation with you would have been a preferable alternative."
"Of course," Yukinoshita replied with a bright smile on her face. "I'd say the opportunity to hold a conversation with a girl as cute as I am would be preferable to most things in life, Hikigaya-kun."
"Mm, so true Yukino-san!" Komachi chimed in. "I can't believe stupid Onii-chan decided to read a book instead of being a good host!"
Don't encourage this behavior, Komachi! You're just enabling her!
"Unfortunately,your appearance does nothing to mitigate your plethora of other shortcomings, Yukinoshita."
Yukinoshita simply sighed and shook her head, as if she were dealing with a young child.
"Please inform me on how it feels to bury your head in all of that sand, Hikigaya-kun."
He was pretty sure that if Yukinoshita's phone hadn't buzzed at that moment they would have spent another thirty minutes or so going back and forth pointlessly, much as they had done throughout all the time they'd known each other. But the interruption temporarily put an end to the back and forth that he'd come to expect with this girl.
"Excuse me," Yukinoshita said quietly and disappeared into the hallway to take her call.
As soon as she was gone, Komachi turned to him with a look of reproach on her face.
"I'm disappointed in you, Onii-chan! You invited Yukino-san over to dinner and then you ignored her the entire time!"
"Trust me Komachi, ignoring Yukinoshita is beneficial for my long-term mental health. And besides, weren't you the one that wanted to invite her?"
"That's only because you wouldn't invite her if I didn't say anything! Didn't you say you wanted a fresh start after you started high school? You kept talking like you wanted to make friends and yet you still can't even talk to Yukino-san properly!"
"It's only been a day, Komachi. If I hadn't been sent to the hospital I probably would've made a ton of friends already! I've been working on my 'Have a normal conversation' skill so it should be a piece of cake!"
The expression on Komachi's face was the definition of skepticism.
"Haa? You expect me to believe that after you spent the whole night reading your stupid textbook? Do you want to be alone forever?"
"I told you, Yukinoshita doesn't count as a normal person. Also, she's not the type of person that I'd even want to become friends with, so stop insinuating things that'll never happen!"
"Excuse me."
Yukinoshita had returned.
"Yukino-san!" Komachi exclaimed while elbowing him rather painfully in the ribs. "How was your call? Was it anything important?"
She shook her head.
"It was just my sister. She mentioned that she'd be arriving soon to provide transportation back to my apartment."
Haruno-san was coming here?!
"Oh! You're leaving already?"
"Yes. I'm already very grateful for the meal, Komachi-san. I shouldn't trouble you any further."
"This was nothing, Yukino-san. You should come over again sometime; I'll be able to make something a lot better than just simple curry."
"Ah, thank you for the invitation. I'll certainly try to make time to come over again."
Komachi beamed at her, before turning towards him slightly. He knew what was coming and immediately began edging his way towards the door. Just a few more steps and he'd have escaped. After all, he really didn't want to see her again.
"Oh well, it looks like there's a ton of dishes to clean, so I won't be able to see you out. But Hachiman's always free after dinner, so…"
"Huh? Me? But- she- it's H-"
"That's quite alright, Komachi-san. I'll be alright."
"Oh, but it would be so rude of a host to not come out to say goodbye, isn't - that - right, Onii-chan?"
She punctuated each word with a jab to my already aching ribs. Sometimes my sister's just plain abusive. Ah, but he couldn't say that out loud. That'd lose too many Komachi points for him to afford.
"Alright, alright. I'll come with you, Yukinoshita. You should tell your sister that she can stop right by the light post on the main road. We'll go meet her there. It's easier."
Yukinoshita didn't complain for once, instead opting to carefully put on her shoes and slip outside wordlessly.
That's how he found himself following her out into the darkness, wondering how exactly he should feel about the opportunity to see Yukinoshita Haruno for the first time in a very long time.
oOo
It was kind of strange, he mused to himself as he stared at the headlights of oncoming cars. He was dreading the moment when one of them would inevitably slow to a crawl and pull over to the curb where he and Yukinoshita were standing, doing their very best to ignore each other's existence.
It wasn't so long ago that he'd actively sought out Haruno-san's company; he'd quite literally camped out at all of their old meeting spots, hoping that he'd "coincidentally" bump into her again. And yet, after their… whatever one could call that interaction at Saize, he wanted nothing more than to forget about his former… he didn't know how to label their relationship either.
Because, well, every time she crossed his mind, he'd always be reminded of that look of pleading on her face as she was led by the arm out of the restaurant, and the pit of guilt that had settled in his stomach would bubble up again.
He hated that feeling. He hated it so much that he'd avoided going to Saize ever since. He'd had to suffer through the cafeteria food at the cram school, along with maybe a snack from the vending machines. That was how badly he wanted to avoid thinking about her.
It was just his luck, really, that had him standing outside on this rather humid spring night, watching and waiting for someone that he wanted to forget. Looking out at the passing cars, he was sorely tempted to just say his goodbyes to Yukinoshita and leave. He'd just tell Komachi that he'd seen Yukinoshita off properly and it wasn't as if she'd find out. But he couldn't. His feet were rooted to the spot, and his eyes never left the road until a pair of headlights pulled over towards them. He felt his heartbeat quicken, and the sweat build up in the palm of his hands as the vehicle drew level with them.
The first thing he noticed was that the car was obscenely expensive. Some luxury cars could almost pass as just an average car on the road; the luxury was noticeable only after one had climbed into the car. But this car? It screamed wealth.
The second thing he noticed? Well that would be the fact that the windows were tinted.
He turned to Yukinoshita, ostensibly to confirm that this was her ride. There was no need to; this was obviously a car that Haruno would drive. Really, he was just trying to hide his face, not that it would be even remotely effective.
Yukinoshita simply nodded and murmured a quick goodbye, before slipping out to the passenger side of the car and sliding in. He'd half expected some acerbic farewell, but she seemed strangely subdued as well. He stood there dumbly, even after Yukinoshita had already disappeared inside, wondering if perhaps the driver would roll down her window. Wondering if maybe he was hoping for that. He could've turned around and walked back, after all. His duty here was done. But it wasn't duty that kept his feet rooted to the spot.
There was a momentary pause. Maybe it would happen after all. Maybe the window would go down and they would finally get a chance to talk.
But then the car pulled away into the darkness, leaving him wondering if he'd only imagined everything after all. A few seconds later and he was alone with only his thoughts for company.
Yet, he still stood there watching, even long after the taillights had disappeared.
oOo
"Don't forget to submit your groups for the Miyazawa unit. I expect those in by tomorrow at the latest. And don't forget that this project is meant to be completed over break. You'll have to set up time independently within your groups. Presentations are scheduled for the first week back from break."
Their Modern Japanese class was the last of the day, which meant that most of the kids were already more or less checked out. Plus, with summer vacation right around the corner, there was even more reason to be slacking off. He was no exception; most of his belongings were already packed away into his bag. As a diligent member of the going home club, he wanted to be on top of all of his club activities.
The teacher finished rattling off all of the last minute reminders before finally dismissing the class.
As per usual, he immediately hopped up from his seat and was just about to make his way to the door when someone tugged on his shirt and he caught a whiff of jasmine scented shampoo. Mentally preparing himself for another battle, he turned to face the girl.
"Can I help you?"
Yukinoshita crossed her arms, a haughty look on her face.
"Hikigaya-kun, I assume that you are in need of a group for the project?"
"I-huh? What are you talking about?"
Her sigh of disappointment seemed quite exaggerated.
"The Miyazawa presentations. Sensei was quite literally referencing them only a few moments ago. Have you found a partner for your project?"
"Those presentations? I'll just do it by myself," he tried to brush her off.
"Sensei explicitly stated that this would be a group project, Hikigaya-kun."
"I-huh? When'd she say that?"
Yukinoshita pinched the bridge of her nose as if she were praying for patience. "Only a few moments ago, Hikigaya-kun. So am I correct in saying that a friendless individual such as yourself has yet to find a group?"
He gritted his teeth. "I thought we went over this bit about having friends? And anyways, I don't have a group yet."
He made sure, of course, to emphasize the yet.
Yukinoshita smiled rather smugly. "In that case, Hikigaya-kun, out of the goodness of my heart, I shall allow you to join my group. Be grateful for the opportunity, as it will no doubt improve your academic standing in the class."
"But my grades in modern Japanese are better than yours, Yukinoshita," he shot back.
"Ah, but without me, you would never be able to find a group to complete this assignment with, Hikigaya-kun, in which case you would be receiving no credit for it."
He didn't have a word to say back to that. Had Yukinoshita really found friends to form a group with?
"...Fine then. So who do you have in the group already?"
Yukinoshita coughed, "Well, we now have the minimum number of members to complete this assignment."
He eyed her suspiciously, "And that number would be…?"
"...Two, Hikigaya-kun. Weren't you listening when Sensei was giving out the instructions?"
"I thought we established that I wasn't- wait…" He fixed Yukinoshita with a glare. "Two? I thought you said you already had other people in your group."
"Ara? When did I ever say that? I recall only extending an invitation for you to join my group, but I do not believe I ever mentioned any other members."
"So you need me just as much as I need you!"
"Please refrain from spewing such nonsense in the future, Hikigaya-kun. It's quite unbecoming. Someone as talented as myself would have no issues with finding colleagues to complete this work."
"So then why didn't you just 'find some colleagues' with someone else and make your group with them then? What's the point of trying to group up with me? Do you just want to torture me for the whole summer?" He fumed.
The whole room was quiet. Most of the students had left, but there was a couple of dawdlers that, he realized, were doing their best to listen in on their conversation. He winced; there was still the occasional whisper going around whenever he walked around the school in Yukinoshita's vicinity. Even their Modern Japanese Sensei seemed interested in what they were saying, although she was doing a better job of hiding her interest.
"... I simply figured it'd be easier for us to work together. If I was mistaken, I shall find someone else to partner with." Yukinoshita's voice was quieter than he'd ever really heard it before.
He was taken aback immediately. Yukinoshita was… opting out of their usual war of words? Was hell freezing over? He was expecting to argue with her for a good ten minutes before finally agreeing with her demands.
This meek sort of response? How was he supposed to deal with that?
His silence seemed to be an answer for Yukinoshita.
"W-well, I guess I shall look for someone else then. Excuse me."
"Wait!"
"What is it, Hikigaya-kun?"
He was probably going to regret this decision later.
He was definitely going to regret this decision later.
But a memory stirred in the back of his mind. A memory of a small, dingy cafe with an unnatural chill to the air and the unmistakable scent of coffee filling the air.
I love you.
"...When did you want to start working on the analysis?"
And in the blink of an eye, Yukinoshita was back to her old self.
"We shall meet up to discuss the work on Saturday. 9 AM sharp, at the library. Tardiness will not be tolerated."
Without waiting to hear his response, she turned on her heel and swiftly departed.
He shook his head in resignation. Yeah, he was definitely going to be regretting that one.
oOo
There was music playing, in a room awash with the cozy warmth of the merrily crackling fireplace. It was classical music; a genre he was not particularly familiar with, but beautiful all the same.
"What's that piece?" He asked the woman that sat at the piano, her fingers arching and curving gracefully over ivory keys.
The music paused as she turned to him, and he did a double take in surprise. It was Yukinoshita, except older. She looked as though she'd once again come back from the future.
But that was impossible. This wasn't the cafe. and she'd already come back once before. The rules…
"Für Elise," she said, smiling at him. It was the same gentle smile, tinged with sadness, that she'd greeted him with in the cafe.
"Beethoven. One of his more famous works."
"I didn't know you could play the piano."
"Well, I learned…-"
The sharp blare of his alarm cut through his consciousness, startling him into wakefulness. He desperately tried to fall back asleep, to return to that dream he was having. It was a nice dream. The details were slipping from his memory, melting away like snow.
There was something about Yukinoshita, was that it? Why'd he dream of her?
Was it only because today was the day he'd be meeting her in the library? He didn't really want to consider what kind of subliminal meaning that was supposed to have.
As he dragged himself out of bed and into the bathroom to start brushing his teeth, he kept racking his memory. Why did that dream feel so important?
But after the sixth failed attempt at recalling his dream, he gave up.
After finishing up with his morning ritual, he headed downstairs to find Komachi making breakfast, humming a tune to herself as she worked.
"Good morning," he yawned as he slid into a chair at the table.
"Onii-chan?! You're awake? But isn't it like 8 AM during summer vacation? Who are you and what happened to the Onii-chan who wouldn't stop complaining about waking up early every Saturday back when you were still attending cram school?"
"Yeah well, I've got a project meeting at nine. So I guess I'm awake now. Although I don't really feel awake." He yawned.
"Who're you working with?" Komachi asked as she placed two bowls of miso soup onto the table.
"...Yukinoshita," he replied with some reluctance.
Komachi looked up in surprise as she was placing the ohitashi and rolled omelets onto the table.
"You're doing your group project with Yukinoshita? I thought you couldn't stop complaining about her."
He spooned some soup into his mouth while he tried to figure out some excuse. Nothing came to mind. So he just shrugged and dug into the omelets. Komachi's cooking was always excellent, and today was no exception.
But Komachi herself couldn't be brushed off so easily, so before he could get a couple bites in she bonked him on the head.
"Don't try ignoring me, Onii-chan! What happened?"
He sighed and shrugged again. "I don't know, I needed someone to do this project with. Our sensei really likes group work for some reason, so I had to find somebody. And I guess Yukinoshita was the best option for that."
Komachi raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure you're not just lying to yourself?"
He went for some more omelets and shoveled more rice into his mouth.
"I'm going to be late, so I have to go now," he said, gulping down his miso soup. "Yukinoshita wouldn't let me live if I'm even a single minute late."
"Okay, I'll let you get away with not answering just this once. But Onii-chan, you should really try with Yukino-san, okay?"
"...I don't know what you're talking about," he threw over his shoulder as he grabbed his bag and headed his way out into the summer heat.
oOo
The library was quite empty. Summer break had just started and the vast majority of students were thinking about anything except schoolwork. But with Yukinoshita it wasn't all that surprising that she chose the first weekend after break to start working on their project, even if it wasn't supposed to be due for a month.
He arrived at 8:57, slightly out of breath and sweating profusely. Rainy season had passed in a flash and Tokyo was once again averaging an absolutely sweltering 35 degrees every day. He took a quick detour to the vending machines, but they unfortunately did not contain any Maxx coffees, his beverage of choice since middle school.
He'd developed a bit of a sweet tooth and the sweet creaminess of the coffee worked wonders in cheering him up.
But since it wasn't available, he settled on some regular coffee brand that he'd not heard of and quickly drank the can as he made his way through the library to the study tables, wincing as he did so. It was quite a bit more bitter than he would have liked, but caffeine was caffeine. He was pretty sure he needed to be fully alert if he was going to get through a group project session with Yukinoshita Yukino alive.
In the relative emptiness of the study room, It was easy to find Yukinoshita, sitting alone at a table typing away on her laptop with what appeared to be a couple of reference books in front of her. He made his way over to her, muttering a quiet yo in lieu of an actual greeting.
Yukinoshita took a moment to finish whatever she had been working on on her laptop before closing the lid and appraising him carefully.
"Well, I must say that I had not anticipated an individual such as yourself being on time for our meeting."
"Can't you just say something like thanks for arriving on time?!"
"I did not realize that one deserved appreciation for simply performing that which is expected of them, Hikigaya-kun."
"Yeah well, unlike you, I don't usually start my weekends at eight in the morning. It's a miracle if I'm awake before noon."
He laid his head onto the table. It was way too early for this. He wanted to go back to sleep.
"I can schedule the next meeting for the afternoon hours, if you would prefer."
He raised his head to find Yukinoshita with a strange look in her eyes, staring down at him. He opened his mouth, but realized that he had nothing to say. He probably looked quite silly, lying there on the table with his mouth open.
"Now would you like to get started with the project? Or would you prefer to take a nap?"
"Err what? Take a nap? Did I hear you correctly?"
Yukinoshita huffed. "I was attempting to be accommodating to your slothful habits, Hikigaya-kun."
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" He sat up quickly. "How do you want to do this?"
Yukinoshita eyed him suspiciously for a moment before flipping open her laptop screen.
"Well, Sensei has given us quite a lot of leeway with this group project. The topic is rather vague; the only limitations we are given are that it must pertain to Miyazawa's works and that the presentation can be no longer than ten minutes."
"So can't we do a quick forgettable Powerpoint presentation comparing his works or something and get it over with? That's how most people approach this assignment right?"
Yukinoshita glared at him.
"Perhaps that might be your idea of an acceptable project, but nothing of such low quality shall ever bear my name. If I cannot win over the audience's attention and interest them to understand my viewpoint on the subject matter, then I have failed as a presenter."
"Right, right of course. What kind of project did you have in mind then?"
Apparently, that was all Yukinoshita needed to launch into a detailed explanation of the exact project presentation she had envisioned, replete with imagery and ripe with information presented in such a way that would seize audience attention. There was also a simple to follow overarching argument; Yukinoshita had evidently not wanted to lose her audience at any point.
If he was being honest with himself, by the fifteen minute mark of her explanation, he wasn't even entirely sure why Yukinoshita even needed to set up these meetings. It seemed as though she'd had everything planned out; he was more than happy to do the grunt work of making the actual presentation to her specifications.
After all, if there was one thing he was good at, as evidenced by his studying habits, it was following directions and producing results.
"And we're going to leave off with an open-ended discussion question to get the conversation flowing; preferably we can relate some of Miyazawa's only personal tragedies to his works in some way."
The room finally fell silent after nearly half an hour. His brain was spinning, but he had to admit that Yukinoshita hadn't been exaggerating when she'd shot down his generic suggestion.
This project, if they managed to pull it off, it'd certainly be interesting and probably stimulate the sort of discussion that Yukinoshita wanted.
He leaned back in his chair, yawning, and stretched his arms out over his head. It seemed as though he'd been worried for nothing; he'd spent most of the ride to the library desperately racking his brain for ideas that might be presentable.
"Well, what do you think, Hikigaya-kun? Should there be any amendments made to my plan?"
"To be honest, Yukinoshita, I think you've thought this through way more than I have. I agree with most of your points; I think the idea of limiting the scope of the project and focusing on Miyazawa and his connection to select few of his works rather than dissecting and analyzing his full bibliography is a good idea. I was probably going to suggest something similar. The videos, the random pop-up facts, and the mini trivia game with prizes? I hadn't even considered those as an option but I think that they'd do well to hold audience attention, especially if you're really going to provide prizes. Not sure if you'll be able to get Sensei's approval on that one, but it can't hurt to ask."
"So you have nothing else to add then?"
"I think your overall idea is much better than what I could come up with. It might make more sense for us to start working and I'll tell you if I think certain parts need to be changed or cut."
Yukinoshita agreed to that suggestion and they started divvying up the work. He took charge of the presentation of information, since he personally enjoyed literary analysis and making comparisons between Miyazawa's works. At the same time, Yukinoshita started to work on the visual and educational appeal of the project, putting her focus towards the random facts and the trivia game.
After a couple of hours he excused himself and headed towards the vending machines again. He needed more caffeine to wake up; his body still felt rather sluggish. That must have been the reason why he didn't pay particularly close attention to his surroundings, because the next thing he knew he'd collided into someone and fell backwards, landing rather painfully on his tailbone.
"Ouch!"
He scrambled to his feet, an apology already halfway across his lips for the unfortunate soul that he'd collided with, when he caught sight of just who it was that was sitting on the floor before him.
"Akari?"
oOo
He didn't expect to run into her here. For some reason, he only ever associated Akari with the cafe. It was as if he couldn't imagine that she could exist outside of the cafe, even if he knew that she had a life outside. Even if she'd entrusted him with her story.
He'd gone and looked it up on a whim one day. It was listed on the Tokyo Music Competition website. Akari Miyaji. Third Prize. She'd won it almost a decade ago when she was only fourteen, an extraordinary accomplishment considering that the competition generally featured professionals years older than her. The age limit was thirty years old, after all. He checked that year's competition and was pleasantly surprised to find her performance recorded on the official Tokyo Music Competition Youtube channel. It was from the second round of that year's competition, traditionally a free choice round where contestants could choose the piece they performed. He'd never heard of the piece, but she'd played beautifully. He was no musician, but he could understand the raw emotions poured into the performance. And perhaps his ignorance was also an indicator of her playing skill; if someone as musically illiterate as he was could feel the emotions that Akari was trying to convey, was that not a testament to her skill?
There had been a great sense of disappointment that he'd felt after he finished watching her performance. He couldn't believe that someone so gifted at something so beautiful had quit.
It made him sad.
"Hikigaya-kun? What are you doing here?" The woman in question winced as she rubbed her backside.
"Group project. I'm really sorry for running into you by the way. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She said, taking his proffered hand as he helped her to her feet.
He started to gather the books that had been strewn across the floor. He'd knocked them out of her hands when he'd run into her.
"Thanks." She accepted the stack of books from him with a small smile.
"I uh… I couldn't help but notice those books…"
"They're musical scores, yeah."
"Are you…?"
Akari nodded. "I've been thinking a bit about what you said. About what my dream is. Ne Hikigaya-kun, thinking back, it's kind of weird you know? Being lectured about my future by someone younger than me. It's honestly pretty embarrassing actually; I'm supposed to be the one lecturing you as a senpai in life, you know?"
"Eheh," he gave a sheepish laugh. "I wasn't really trying to lecture you. I just-"
She waved off his concerns. "It's fine, it's fine. I needed to hear it. Anyways, as you might have noticed, I've decided to try to start playing again. I don't know if you're right, I don't know if I really love the piano. My feelings for it are complicated. But even if I'm just playing in memory of my brother… I figured that it couldn't hurt to try playing again."
"Really? That's pretty awesome."
"Mhm," she nodded, smiling softly. "Anyways, since we happened to meet by chance here, I figured I'd also give you my thanks. I don't think I would've picked piano back up if you didn't encourage me. So thanks for that. And uhm-"
She hesitated, tucking the musical scores under one arm as she fiddled with the hem of her skirt with her other hand.
"Yeah?"
"If you want, I'm happy to play something for you someday"
"Whaa-"
She coughed into her hand. "I mean, one day. Not right now though! Right now my playing awful, I can't even properly play warm-up pieces. I can't believe that I'm going to have to go back to playing fucking Czerny again. But… but when I've gained back some semblance of skill, I could… perform something for you."
"I'd love to hear it."
oOo
He parted ways with Akari at the entrance to the library. She had a shift to get to at the cafe apparently. That reminded him; it had been a while since he'd last visited the cafe. The cafe itself did not hold much appeal to him, but, well, now that he'd gained a better understanding of its staff, it felt as though he should probably visit once in a while. Plus, Komachi had really enjoyed that mousse cake.
Thinking about cake made him rather hungry, and a quick glance at his watch told him that he'd spent nearly half an hour catching up with Akari.
Wait.
Half an hour?
Shit. He'd left Yukinoshita working alone on their project for half an hour? He'd already felt like a leech for this whole project.
He immediately headed back towards their table, hoping against hope that Yukinoshita might've just simply not noticed his absence. It was probably wishful thinking, but there wasn't much he could do. The damage had already been done.
And he hadn't even gotten his coffee either.
He wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Yukinoshita when he arrived back at the table. He'd never really seen an upset Yukinoshita, despite the general acerbity of her words she never seemed to lose her composure. Somehow, the mental image of a Yukinoshita yelling at him didn't really make much sense to him. She'd probably just comment on his general uselessness as she was wont to do, and he'd probably snipe back. Or maybe not, since he really did feel bad about losing track of time with Akari. But he figured that he'd apologize and Yukinoshita would probably give him one of her patented lectures, and that would be the end of that.
But as he entered the study room, there was one scenario that he had never accounted for. Not even in his wildest dreams.
Yukinoshita was still sitting at their table, although the laptop was no longer in front of her, instead abandoned off to the side. That was because all of Yukinoshita's attention was focused on the newcomer to their table. Someone that he never expected to see again, at least in this library.
Yukinoshita Haruno was sitting in the seat that he had vacated, sprawled across the table with her head propped up on her arms, looking for all the world as if she'd stepped out of his memories and back into his life.
oOo
