Duran-kun and Kiyo-chan's Omake Theater
(featuring the Munakata family pet)
It took five separate attempts for Arika Yumemiya to get someone to answer the door. Thankfully for the middle-schooler, she was the kind of girl who had determination and persistence coming out her ears (figuratively speaking; even Haruka Suzushiro hadn't needed to seek treatment for literal determination ear-leakage, unless there was something Yukino wasn't telling anyone), and at last the thumping of her fist and her calls of "Shiho-senpai!" received an answer.
"Hi, Yatagarasu! Thanks for letting me in!" she greeted the crow, who had grasped the knob in his single claw and flown backwards to get the door open. He bobbed his head to return the greeting. While Arika nudged the door shut with her hip, he fluttered over to perch on the back of a chair.
"How have you been doing?" she asked. Arika really didn't expect a response, just a caw or two, but all she got was a little shrug of his wings. Apparently today was a bit of a mixed day for Yatagarasu.
"Oh, okay, then. I hope it gets better for you. Is senpai in? I brought some dinner."
She nodded down towards the tray in her hands, which held a large, covered bowl, with steam occasionally leaking out from beneath the cover. Yatagarasu bobbed his head in response, then pointed his beak towards one of the doors.
"Thanks! Oh, I brought you a mini sausage stick, so remind me to give it to you on the way out."
The crow brightened at once, opening his beak, but suddenly snapped it shut again without making a sound. Arika thought that was a bit odd, but went on into Shiho's bedroom.
"Excuse me, senpai," she called out.
"Gah!"
Shiho Munakata had been sitting at her desk. Her salmon-pink hair was tied back from her face by a headband that left her curls in a tangled mass in the name of efficiency. Books, papers, and writing pads were piled up, festooned with multicolored sticky notes, and crumpled balls of paper filled the wastebasket. It was clear that she was into hour six or so of an intense cramming session.
It was also clear that this was the first time she'd had any idea there was anyone in the dormitory suite, because her body spasmed in surprise, rocking her chair back on its rear legs. Shiho flailed for balance, only keeping from toppling over by grabbing the edge of the desk, but in doing so her arm whacked into a stack and sent it toppling. Books thudded onto the carpet while sheets of paper fluttered down like excessively large snowflakes.
"I'm sorry that I startled you," Arika offered.
"It's okay. I probably should have heard you come in. It's just that I was in the zone."
"Exams must get really scary in third-year!"
"My test grades took a drop in February." Immediately after Mai, Reito, and Tate had made their relationship official, in fact, but Arika had, somehow, not connected the dots between those two facts and Shiho wasn't about to admit it out loud. "I have to get them back up to keep my scholarship for high school next year. Grandpa already said he'd pay the difference, but I can't burden him like that."
It will be noted that Shiho did, in fact, have human feelings beyond obsessing over Yuuichi Tate. They just didn't tend to be as loud, nor did they poke the karma bear, and thus attracted less attention both from people and from destiny.
"Ohh, that must be why Kanzaki-san was so worried when he saw you at the library."
"Kanzaki? Why would Reito Kanzaki be worried about me?"
"He must just be a nice person, because apparently he went right back home and told Tate-senpai and Tokiha-senpai about you, and Tate-senpai felt sorry for you and then Tokiha-senpai hit Kanzaki-senpai in the face with an oven mitt for being a weasel and made you this bowl of her special house ramen. At least according to Minagi-senpai. She seemed kind of confused."
Shiho blinked, trying to take in all that.
"So why do you have the tray?"
"Minagi-senpai asked me to bring it to you because she was afraid she'd eat it if she had to carry it all the way over here."
Shiho let out a long sigh.
"So the crimson harlot made one of her people-will-kill-for-this dinners for me because Kanzaki tried to tease oniichan over the relationship we don't have?" she summed up. Which was pretty impressive all around, since she was not only correctly processing everybody's feelings but translating from Arikan to Mikotoese back to Japanese again so as to actually decipher the meaning.
"It smells really good! I can see why Minagi-senpai was afraid she'd eat it. I'm surprised that Yatagarasu didn't try to steal any. Which reminds me, does he have a sore throat? He was being awfully quiet."
"No, that isn't it. I just need absolute quiet if I'm going to be able to study, and he isn't willing to die for the caws."