A/N: Hello everyone, I apologize for this chapter being the only one posted this month. I had intended to have this one done and up by the 15th and another by Halloween, but it got delayed due to a combination of a freak heat wave coupled with broken AC, getting sick, and a week of my workload at my actual 9-5 effectively being tripled.

Other than that I only have one thing to say: It seems that the site has been having some server issues, that may have caused one of two things to happen; either traffic isn't being reported or alerts didn't go out/the story isn't being shown. The reason I say this is when I checked the story stats it shows that is has received zero views or visitors since 9/15/23, which strikes me as strange since I posted Chapter 17 on 9/23/23 and even during the time I wasn't updating the story still got on average 200-300 views a month. With all that being said I'm requesting that if you see this.. let me know? Leave a review if you have the time, it would be greatly appreciated.


Going To Be a Problem

Misaki stared blankly at Natsuo for several seconds before finding her voice again, "You... you want to write my story?"

Nodding, Natsuo replied, "That's right. I was thinking about what happened, and how if anyone who wasn't directly involved would think it was the plot of some movie or book if they were told about it. Before I knew it I was thinking up a rough outline and names for characters in place of the names of the actual people involved. I stopped myself before I got carried away though; it's your story, and I don't want to write about it, or try to anyway, without your permission."

"I... I don't know what to say Natsuo... I never once thought that my life would be something anyone would care that much about. On one hand I'm flattered, truly I am... but on the other... so much of what happened... I really hit rock bottom you know?" she asked, her hand unconsciously gripping her arm as she glanced down.

"I know it's asking a lot for you to relive all of that, and to share it others. But I think that your story is one that should be shared with the world," he replied reassuringly.

Misaki's gaze lifted to meet his before she hesitantly asked, "You really think so? That people would want to know my story?"

"I know they would," he answered confidently, "You're not wrong about hitting rock bottom, but your story also shows that hitting rock bottom isn't the end, that you can still claw your way back up. I think it would be an inspiration for people who are in tough situations of their own."

A heavy silence fell over the two as Misaki considered his words carefully, thinking back on everything that happened since she came to Tokyo: her modeling, the scarring of her face, the drugs and gang... and most importantly everything that happened since the fateful day a girl who worked at a local shop asked if she'd like to attend a mixer. Closing her eyes with a smile she asked, "And you'd be changing names to protect everyone's anonymity?"

"Of course," Natsuo replied simply, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"And you think that this might finally break you out of your writer's block?" she probed, her smiled widening ever so slightly.

Chuckling slightly Natsuo answered, "I don't know for sure, but this is the first time in months that I've actually felt the urge to write something. So I think it's worth a shot."

Opening her eyes and giving him a confident grin she declared, "Well then that settles it. After everything you've done for me how could I refuse? And besides... if my story can help other people out there, even just a little, then I want to share it with them. If something good can come of the hell I went through, then it will all be worth it."

Matching her grin, Natsuo sighed and said, "Thank you Misaki. I promise to give it my all."

"So what will this process actually entail from my end?" she asked after a moment.

Natsuo thought for a moment before explaining, "When I get home I'll sit down and write out some questions so I can properly interview you. I've seen how Tougen-sensei will interview people for his own writing, whether they're a direct inspiration or simply an expert on the topic, so I've a good idea on what questions to ask. I'll have him review them before I interview you first to make sure I'm not missing anything. If you could write out a timeline of what happened that would be great, ideally from before you arrived in Tokyo through the present. That'll give me a good base to work from, and we can work from there as we go."

"No problem. I've started going over what happened with a counselor at the facility, so making a timeline for you won't be very different from talking it through with them," Misaki noted after he had finished listing what had to be done. After a moment she added, "Oh! We should exchange contact info! The facility has pretty strict rules about cell phone usage, so I won't always have access to it, but at least you'll be able to reach out if you need anything else."

Nodding, Natsuo voiced his agreement, "Good idea. I don't know how long this will all take, hopefully by the time I need to ask you for anything else you'll be out of there. I'd have to interview a few other people too, and get their consent to include their parts of course."

"Interviewing? Who? For what?" Kobayashi asked as he exited the kitchen, only catching the end of the conversation.

"Natsuo thinks he may have found a way to break his writer's block Mari-san!" Misaki exclaimed happily, giving Natsuo a teasing grin, knowing what was about to happen.

"He has?!" Kobayashi shouted before bolting over to where the two had been talking and demanded, "Tell me everything Natsuo-chan, especially if there's anything I can help with."

Sighing at the reality there was no escaping the conversation for a good while, Natsuo settled in to explain his idea to Kobayashi, thinking, "Well Boss is one of the people I was going to need to interview for this anyway."


Later that night...

"Hey you. You look exhausted," Natsuo commented as he observed Rui on the laptop screen. The bags under her eyes were plainly visible.

"That's because I am exhausted... I'm glad I have today off..." Rui grumbled as she leaned against the back her chair.

"You're still adorable though," Natsuo teased with a grin.

Rui twitched slightly at this, but her response was a subdued, "Shut up. I'm too tired to get all embarrassed at your teasing."

"Another night without getting sleep?" he asked solemnly, it killed him to see her like this.

"No... I got a little, which is better than it has been. But it wasn't enough..." she trailed off and opened her eyes to focus on the laptop screen. Her face shifted into a tired smile as she asked, "How was your day though? You had that recruitment event today for Forester right?"

"We did, it went pretty well as far as I can tell. We won't have the actual numbers on new sign ups for a week or so, but from what the others were saying the turnout was good. After it was over I headed to L'Amant for dinner, and Miyabi-san tagged along. Ended up running into Fumiya and Kasumi-san who were already there."

This caused Rui to groan as she let herself collapse forward, head resting on the desk before grumbling, "Sounds like I missed a good time huh?"

Recognizing her tone more as frustration than anger, Natsuo replied, "Well it would have been better if you were there."

"Thank you..." she quietly mumbled.

A moment passed before Natsuo jokingly said, "You know... your neck is going to be sore if you fall asleep like that." In response Rui wordlessly forced herself back into an upright position, and once she had he added, "I have some good news too."

Rui's eyes widened slightly at hearing this, and snapped to attention as she questioned, "What kind of good news?"

Smiling at her new alertness, Natsuo answered, "Fumiya and Kasumi-san weren't the only ones I ran into. Misaki has started working at L'Amant part time. The rehab center thought it would be good for her, and Boss has agreed to be her temporary guardian. After the others had left and Boss was in the kitchen, Misaki told me that she's been in contact with Hina-nee a few times since she vanished on us all."

"She has?! Does she know what's going on or where Hina-nee is?" Rui asked frantically, mirroring Natsuo's initial reaction to Misaki telling him.

"Hina-nee told her something similar to what was in the message she sent us: that she realized something that she has to figure out on her own. Misaki was able to confirm that wherever Hina-nee is, it isn't too far away since she still intends to visit Misaki in rehab when able. Apparently Hina-nee didn't want her to tell anyone she'd been in contact... but Misaki wanted to make sure we knew she was okay," Natsuo relayed the information calmly.

Rui took a deep breath in order to calm her self before she replied, "Well that's more than we had before, so that's something at least. Thank her for me when you see her next?"

"Sure thing, and there's some other good news too," he responded coyly.

"Oh?" she asked simply, tilting her head.

"Guess," he stated with a grin.

Sighing, she shot back, "Natsuo I'm too tired for guessing games. What's the other news?"

"It won't be hard for you to figure it out," he teased with a laugh.

"Come on..." she groaned she she studied his expression. The couple was silent for several moments before Rui's eyes widened again. She knew his every expression, was intimately familiar with his eyes, and she saw a spark there that she hadn't seen in a long time. "Natsuo..." she hesitantly asked, "... Your writer's block?"

"I don't know for sure... but today I had the thought that Misaki's story would be an inspiration for people... I talked to her about it tonight and she wants it to be told, so I'm going to give it a shot," he replied with a wide grin.

Rui felt the tear stream down her face before she'd even realized it had formed. She choked back a happy sob as she exclaimed, "That's great! I knew you'd find something to break it!"

Feeling himself start to tear up at seeing Rui's reaction, he added, "There's a lot of groundwork to do first, and there's no way of knowing how it will end up... but I've just got this feeling about it."

"From everything you've told me, you're right that her story would be an inspiration. I'm glad she agreed to working with you to tell it... and I'm glad you and Hina-nee met her," Rui sighed, a feeling of happiness and relief washing over her.

"Want me to tell her that for you too?" Natsuo asked softly.

Rui shook her head before she answered, "No.. I'll tell her myself when I come home. Find out what her favorite dessert is though so I can make it for her."

"I think I can manage to find that out for you..." Natsuo stated, but trailed off as he noticed Rui's eyes partially close and her head dip slightly. Remembering how little sleep she'd gotten lately he added, "You should get some rest, just don't sleep all day or it will only get worse."

Shaking herself to alertness Rui responded, "I was just going to stay up all day and go to bed early tonight... but it did just hit me out of nowhere... I'll set an alarm to wake me up around lunch time then."

"Good idea. Sleep well Rui, I love you," he said tenderly.

Nodding, she drowsily replied, "I love you too."


Evening of April 22nd – Tokyo

"Cheers!" the members of Forester cheered as the newly named presidential successor, Ibuki Mizusawa, stood awkwardly with his own mug of beer held aloft. The expression on his face screaming "how did I get here?".

Ryuichi sat at a table off to the side, sipping his own drink while enjoying his successor's obvious discomfort with the situation. He was distracted from this when Natsuo, face twisted into a grimace, sat directly in front of him. Smiling mischievously he asked, "Hey, what's up vice-prez?"

"Why me?" Natsuo asked bluntly, still confused and agitated by his sudden appointment to a position that hadn't even existed up until now.

"This again? You're like a broken record you know that? Lighten up and enjoy the party will ya?" Ryuichi responded flippantly before taking another swig of his drink. Noting the look on Natsuo's face he sighed and asked, "You're really not gonna drop it until I explain are you?"

Nodding, Natsuo replied, "I just don't get it. You know I'm not a good actor, and my being able to write is still up in the air. I've only been able to really help with props and setup until now. If you felt the need to create a vice-president position there are tons of people better suited to it, like Miyabi-san for example."

"You're not wrong that Miyabi-chan would be a good choice, but you're the better choice for it," Ryuichi answered coyly.

Natsuo groaned at the vagueness of the response, prompting Chika to chime in, "Knock it off and give him a straight answer Ryuichi."

"Alright alright," Ryuichi muttered in defeat. Taking another swig before putting the mug down he explained, "It has nothing to do with your acting skills, or lack thereof. What it really comes down to is how you've thrown yourself into doing whatever you can help everyone, in any way you could. You're hard working and dependable, and I know I can trust you to look after everyone – especially Ibuki-kun, he's going to need all the help he can get."

"Nara-san..." Natsuo trailed off, taken aback by the sincerity in Ryuichi's voice.

"Besides, it's not like he decided it all on his own. He discussed it with all of us fourth years, and we all agreed. You've got the right attitude for this kind of role, we know we can trust you Fuji-kun," Chika added, giving Natsuo a reassuring smile.

Before Natsuo could respond to this, a booming voice called out, "Hey sorry I'm late! It cool if I sit here vice-prez?"

Natsuo turned towards the source of the voice and did a double take as he recognized who it was. Remembering he'd been asked a question he answered, "Oh! Yeah that's fine Tsuzura-san... what happened to your hair?"

As Jin took a seat next to Natsuo he responded, "My hair? Oh you mean it being black? Well since I'm going to have to find a job after graduation I figured it would be a good idea to get it back to its natural color. I know people our age don't care if someone has blonde hair but you know how older folks can still be."

"That's a good point... what kind of jobs would you be looking into?" Natsuo asked before sipping on his drink.

Waving down one of the waitstaff to get his own drink, Jin replied, "Not entirely sure yet, but I want to get something that's secure and pays decently. I guess my first choice right now would be something like working in a bank."

Natsuo had to force the beer down as he fought back a laugh at the mental image he had conjured for himself. As he managed to clear his throat he stated, "A bank huh... I have to be honest: it's difficult to imagine you working somewhere like that. I figured you'd be looking into theaters and acting troupes, or even something relating to rugby."

Jin gave a hearty chuckle as he took his drink from the waitstaff and explained, "Trust me, it would be great to do either of those, but I want to make sure I have security. I admire people who are able to make a career out of their passions, but the cruel reality is that not everyone can do that. As for me, I'd rather make sure I have a stable path forward than take the gamble of pursuing acting or rugby."

Natsuo was silent for a moment before he responded, "That makes sense Tsuzura-san... let me know if you find something good. I'll need a backup plan in case writing doesn't pan out for me."

"Pfft! What are you talking about? You're one of the people who can actually turn their passion into a living Fuji-kun!" Jin remarked as he took a long swig of his drink.

"I fully intend to, but some things are outside of our control you know," Natsuo countered, also taking a long swig, and noting that he was starting to feel a strong buzz.

"None of this defeatist talk from you vice-prez. You're already a published author after all, you just need to break that writer's block of yours," Ryuichi interjected, inserting himself into the conversation. Chika quietly nodding in agreement beside him.

Draining the rest of his drink Natsuo mumbled, "Well it wouldn't hurt to have a backup plan. I can't marry Rui without being able to at least do my part." He only realized he'd said his thoughts aloud when he noticed the widening eyes of Ryuichi, Chika and Jin. "Wait - "

"Marry?!"

"Are you already engaged?!"

"Are we going to be invited?!"

The three simultaneously shouted questions quickly drew the attention of most of the occupants of the bar, who then closed in and bombarded Natsuo with their own questions. As Natsuo began cursing the alcohol he'd drank he thought to himself, "Oh just kill me now."


Later that evening...

"You know, this is a pretty nice place you've got Fuji-kun. It's a little small but it's pretty close to campus," Ibuki commented from his spot sitting on the living room floor while sipping a soda and eating chips.

Natsuo didn't reply as he continued searching for the Uno deck he had packed away somewhere after the apartment had been tossed. After the party had wrapped up at the bar Ibuki, Ryuichi, Chika and Jin had invited themselves over for an "after party" which consisted of snacks and games. Glancing over his shoulder he thought, "And if that wasn't bad enough..."

Having overheard the plans for the "after party" Nene had also invited herself along, and she was now closely examining the apartment, having found the framed photo Natsuo had of he and Rui in Central Park. "Fuji-kun, is this your girlfriend. Rui-san was it?" she asked knowingly.

"Nene-san! You shouldn't be snooping around," Miyabi chastised her as she tried to shepherd the other girl back to sitting with the others. When Nene had suddenly invited herself along with the upperclassmen Miyabi had also decided to tag along, much to Natsuo's relief, to keep an eye on the other girl.

"Oh? Let us the see the future wife of our vice-prez!" Ryuichi cheered as he stood up and made his over to the desk where Nene had found the photo, and he was quickly followed by Chika and Jin.

"Would you knock it off already?!" Natsuo exclaimed in an exasperated tone, having finally located the deck of cards. His complaint fell on deaf ears however as the three upperclassmen crowded around his desk to examine the photo for themselves. Seeing this he sat down in the circle they'd formed and mumbled, "You'd think they were middle school gossipers..."

"Eh, let them have their fun. I'm pretty sure nobody else from the club has met your girlfriend besides me that one time," Ibuki sighed as he leaned his head against the wall behind him.

"Technically Miyabi-san has met her as well, but it was very briefly when she was home back in mid-January," Natsuo replied as we watched them "fight" over who got to look closer at the photo, Miyabi desperately trying to stop them.

Before Ibuki could say anything Chika called out, "Hey Fuji-kun, where was this taken?"

"I visited Rui in New York for Valentine's Day. We took that one in Central Park," Natsuo answered simply.

"Flying across the world to see her on Valentine's? That's pretty smooth vice-prez, I bet she was happy," Ryuichi teased with a grin, receiving an elbow to his side from Chika.

"She's over there for culinary training right?" Jin asked, and when Natsuo nodded in confirmation he added, "That's awesome. The two of you are a real duo huh? Both able to pursue your passions like that... have to admit that I'm envious."

Natsuo's face took on a deadpan expression as he responded, "You know it's not too late for you to do that right?"

The group shared a laugh at Jin's expense for a moment before Nene spoke up, "Still though... it must be such an inconvenience to be so far apart all the time."

"What do you mean Kuzuoka-san?" Natsuo probed, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Just that people have needs... and I've heard many stories about long distance relationships not working out for one reason or another, usually as a result of various needs not being met," Nene answered calmly.

Miyabi gasped slightly at the bluntness Nene had spoken with before she jumped in, "Nene-san! Why would you even bring up a topic like this?"

Chika's face had shifted to an irritated grimace as she too chimed in, "Yeah. Long distance may be rough, but saying something like that to Fuji-kun is pretty tactless. I'm sure that he and Rui-san can tough it out until she comes home."

"Oh! I didn't mean to imply otherwise! I was just remembering how a cousin of mine was in a long distance relationship, but his girlfriend ended up cheating on him. I'm sure Rui-san would never do something like that," Nene replied, covering her mouth with her hands.

Natsuo grimaced as he watched her performance and thought, "Yeah sure. I knew you'd do something like this. Those mind games aren't going to work on me though."

Seeing Natsuo's expression, Miyabi spoke again, this time with a cold edge, "Nene-san that's enough. You really need to watch what you say and who you say it to." This caused Nene to turn to Miyabi with actual surprise – she had never heard Miyabi speak with such an icy tone towards her.

Sensing the tension rising, Jin spoke up, "Hey did you find the cards Fuji-kun?"

"Yeah he found them, they're right here. Let's play and sober up," Ibuki jumped in when Natsuo didn't immediately reply – he too had noted the tension and hoped to defuse it.

As the group made their way back to the circle Nene said, "I'll be right there, Fuji-kun I assume it's okay if I use your bathroom."

"Yeah go ahead," Natsuo replied simply as he began shuffling the cards. Nene nodded in thanks before excusing herself briefly, returning to the group a few minutes later.

As the night progressed, and everyone gradually sobered, they played multiple games of Uno with only the occasional threat of physical violence. It was during the third or fourth game, they were starting to blur together, that Chika asked, "So Fuji-kun, Serizawa-san mentioned you might have found something to break your writer's block?"

This snapped Natsuo out of the focus he had on the game, he blinked in confusion before turning to Miyabi and seeing her sheepishly look away. After a moment she sputtered, "I'm sorry Natsuo-kun! I was just so excited for you that I might have let it slip..."

"It's okay Miyabi-san, it's not like it was supposed to be a secret or anything," he laughed in response to her embarrassment. He collected himself before turning to Chika and answering, "Maybe. I had an idea for a story and have started the planning process. There's a lot I still need to do before I can actually try writing it though."

"Oh? Can you give us any kind of hint about what it is?" Ryuichi asked with genuine interest.

Natsuo chuckled briefly before replying, "That I can't do, that part is actually a secret," he teasingly glared at Miyabi, "But if I do manage to write it I'll be sure to let you all know."

"We're gonna hold you to that," Jin eagerly stated with a laugh of his own. He then asked, "So does this mean you're going to be able to help Sakaki-san with the script writing? Or are you going to focus on something else?"

"I still think you should try acting again," Miyabi interjected smugly. She was met with horrified expressions and rapid head shaking from the upperclassmen, to which she added, "Oh come on you guys! You never know, he might actually be good at it if he gives it an honest go. Nobody is good at it right away!"

Ibuki took this opportunity to make a teasing jab, "Well.. at the very least he'd make the new recruits feel more confident by comparison."

"Hey... I mean that's probably true but... harsh," Natsuo admitted with a dejected expression and laugh.

"Miyabi-chan might be right though... Sometimes it's just an initial hurdle you have to get through... not too dissimilar from writer's block now that I think about it!" Ryuichi beamed at his epiphany.

Chika gave him a side eye glance as she muttered, "Not really... but close enough I guess." Turning her attention to Natsuo she added, "All that being said it's up to you what you want to do outside of your vice-president responsibilities."

Natsuo thought for a moment before answering, "I still think I'm better suited to the more logistic side of things. I think I'll keep helping out where needed and try to help Sakaki-san with the writing, even if it's just proof reading for now... and I suppose I can give acting another try as well, even if it just gives the recruits a confidence boost."

"Well if you do end up being good at it, make sure you come to me for your costume fitting. I'm very thorough and precise with my measurements," Nene added, a suggestive look creeping into her eyes as she glanced at Natsuo. Natsuo and Miyabi both grimaced slightly at Nene's statement, but neither voiced their disapproval at her for the sake of not recreating the tense atmosphere from before the games had started.

The others however, either didn't notice or were better at masking their reactions as Jin added, "Kuzuoka-san is one of our best in costuming, but if she's too busy there are plenty of others that can do it very well too."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves; this is all dependent on Fuji-kun actually being any good at acting," Ryuichi joked with a shit-eating grin. Natsuo responded with a purposefully exaggerated groan and slumped against the wall he was nearest to, resulting in a boisterous fit of laughter from all of the others save for Nene who narrowed her eyes slightly at her comment being glossed over.

The group continued to play and converse about various topics for roughly another hour before Miyabi spoke up, "Oh! The last trains will be running soon, I think it's time we all call it a night."

Ibuki did a double take as he checked his phone, "Shit is it already that late? Time flies."

"That it certainly does. Thanks for putting up with us while we sobered up vice-prez," Ryuichi commented as he patted Natsuo on the shoulder.

With a sigh Natsuo muttered in response, "Oh, it was my pleasure..."

"In that case we should make Fuji-kun's apartment the designated sobering up hangout!" Jin cheered excitedly.

"No! Please don't do that!" Natsuo pleaded, no longer having the energy for sarcasm.

Chika laughed as she gathered the few things she had brought with her and assured him, "Don't worry Fuji-kun, we won't make a habit of this. Only if we all go out for drinks together again, and you agree to another game night."

"Oh! We should do this again once Rui-san is back home! What do you think vice-prez?" Ryuichi asked as he too got ready to leave.

Natsuo only considered it for a moment before answering, "Yeah we could do that, I'd have to run it by her first but I don't think she'd have an issue with it."

"Well then that's something to look forward to, I'm sure Rui-san will have a very packed schedule when she gets back," Miyabi laughed at the thought of Natsuo and Rui trying to manage all of the social events they'd have lined up by then.

It was only a few minutes later that all of the guests had said their goodbyes and had filtered out of the apartment, Miyabi and Nene being the last ones out the door. Miyabi had made it to the stairs before she realized Nene wasn't behind her, and was still at Natsuo's door.

"Thanks again for having us all over Fuji-kun. Maybe I'll drop by sometime so we can... have some privacy," Nene said with a hungry tone as she positioned herself suggestively.

Natsuo narrowed his eyes in annoyance before replying flatly, "You're welcome, and no please do not. You need to stop this."

Before Nene could say or do anything else Miyabi grabbed her by the wrist and started dragging her away. She mouthed a quick "sorry" to Natsuo before exclaiming, "We need to hurry Nene-san or we'll miss the train!" Much to Natsuo's relief Nene wasn't able to form a response or counter before she was whisked away and down the stairs.

"Well at least that's over... for now anyway," Natsuo sighed as he shut and locked the apartment door and started tidying up the apartment; the others had taken their things with them but hadn't had time to help clean up.

It didn't take long for him to clean up, most of the evening the group had been gathered in the living room, so not much else had been disturbed. Within half an hour Natsuo was getting ready for bed when he decided he was going to take a quick shower before actually turning in for the night. On his way to the bathroom he heard his phone's message alert tone go off and thought, "Probably Rui, I won't take too long in the shower, she won't mind."

Once in the bathroom he quickly removed his clothing, made sure there was a fresh towel ready for use and opened the shower door – and then froze as his mind processed what he was seeing. His eyes widened in confusion before his face shifted into a mix of disgust and anger as he realized what had happened as he seethed, "She's really going to be a problem..."

There, hanging from the shower head, were a lace bra and matching thong.


A/N: This chapter is very loosely the counterpart to manga chapter 231, things are getting to where they won't always be a 1:1 replacement. I didn't want to change Natsuo being made the vice-president of Forester, so it's mostly just the context around it being different. I was originally going to include the scene where he's actually appointed, but that would have been basically copy/pasted from the original so I cut it and skipped to the party and then gathering at the apartment. As always I hope you enojoyed it!