CHAPTER 12

If idiots grew on trees, this place would be an orchard.

"He can't do it! Yes!"

"Shh, don't jinx it!"

"It's gonna fall... Yes, it's falling! It's falling! Falling... Wait—!"

"Did it just—"

"—It stabilized itself! It's balanced again! Ugh, the lucky little..."

"Just a few more to go!"

"Can you guys please be quiet?" I shouted, burying my face into the sofa. Why were they so loud? The hellhole called school just resumed today and yet they had this much energy... All I wanted was to sleep and be the lazy couch potato I always was, but with their yelling, relaxing—let alone sleeping—was impossible.

"Miyuki, come join us!"

I recognized the voice as Yuji's but I got up to glare at them in response. Even though he had called out to me, he was immersed in the game of Jenga they were playing. I sighed at the sight of all their undivided focus towards the game.

Seriously, who even played the game nowadays?

"I'm not joining you idiots," I responded, resting my chin on my palm. "This club is so boring. Can I go home yet?"

"We haven't gotten a request in ages," murmured Hiro in reply, "It's not a surprise we're bored."

He was focused on taking out a block as it was his turn, but as soon as the sentence left his mouth, the entire stack of blocks collapsed, scattering across the floor.

"Oh, it fell," Wannabe said.

"Hiro loses!" Yuji declared.

"Thank goodness..." Hinata breathed. "It was my turn next..."

"Wow, tell us, Hiro-kun, how exactly does that defeat taste?" Saki snorted, holding out her fist towards his mouth and pretending it was a microphone.

Hiro had gotten redder and redder in embarrassment at their passing remarks. "Hoshino!?" he shouted, wearing an accusing glare aimed in my direction.

I gasped at that. "Hey, I didn't tell you to talk to me."

Hiro flinched. "B-but it was because of you—"

"Stop being such a baby and accept the loss," I shot, childishly sticking out my tongue at him.

"Yeah, Hiro," Yuji echoed, "Stop being such a poor sport and accept that miserable loss like a man."

"Shut up, Yuji!" Hiro barked at him.

"Take the L like a man, Hiro!" Saki chirped.

Hiro's neck jerked her way so fast you'd think it'd snap. "Saki, you—"

"Guys, it's just a game," Hinata interjected. "Calm down."

Hiro tried refuting at that but eventually subdued as Hinata's attitude allowed that. Watching this all unfold, I was left bitter as a result. I had paused my episode of Re:Zero just to listen to this bickering?

I'd been hanging around these people too long, I was losing my sense of rationality. I glanced down at my shut off phone. Let alone watch anime, I haven't even read much manga despite easily finding the time to do so earlier in my life. I was getting too absorbed in reality...

I frowned at myself. Dammit. Reality is something I shouldn't be focusing on, not the other way around. Where was a genjutsu when you needed it...

"Excuse me."

My, as well as the other's attention instantly snapped towards the doorway at the voice. I immediately groaned as Tatsuya came in through the doors.

The others had completely opposite reactions though.

"Kazu Jr.!" Yuji called out.

"Kazuya's little brother has arrived!" continued Saki.

Hinata rose up to his feet. "What do you need, Tatsuya?"

"Do you have a request?" Hiro asked.

Tatsuya flashed them all a smile, playing with his bangs which were shading the left side of his face. "Were you all in the middle of something?"

Wannabe sprung up as well. "Not reall—"

"What Tamaki-wannabe means to say is that yes, we all were," I interjected.

Wannabe looked at me. "Actually—"

"—We'd really appreciate it if you left," I finished for him again, discreetly meeting Wannabe's eyes and daring him to say anything more.

This time it was Hiro's turn to interject, "But—"

"—If you need to request something, we are totally not accepting any." I sweetly smiled at Tatsuya, waving at him. "Bye."

"Miyuki, can you stop it?" Yuji sighed.

"You're hurting Tatsuya," Saki pouted. She tapped her chest. "In here."

"Oh, you're completely right, Saki," I said, almost sarcastically, "I feel so bad that I'm hurting this little boy's feelings. Oopsies."

I knew Tatsuya was fighting back the urge to snap something. Instead, the sweetest smile flitted onto his face, one even better than what I could muster, as he turned my way.

"No, don't worry about it. I am used to her behaviour by now," Tatsuya spoke. "Thanks for the consideration though, Saki-neesama."

Saki crouched down to pinch his cheeks. "Aw, anything for a cutie."

He laughed awkwardly in response.

"Saki, stop acting like a grandma," Yuji interjected, gently nudging her aside and away from Tatsuya.

"So what was it you need help with?" Hiro stepped in as well to ask him.

Sighing, I collapsed back into my seat, pushing my earbuds into my ears and resuming my episode. You know what, I tried keeping that cunning boy's shenanigans elsewhere so that something like last time wouldn't happen again, but no. Whatever. If they want to be manipulated by that cute face, let them.

I'd be fine just watching how Natsuki Subaru finds a solution to surviving death for the third time now.

——————————————————

"You can't be freakin' serious."

"Hoshino—"

"Don't 'Hoshino' me! I can't believe you...you..." Squealing, I picked up the two volumes of Skip Beat! laid out before me. "You guys got me two volumes of Skip Beat! What the heck! Bless all your souls."

Twirling around like a ballerina, I felt so happy I'd be ready to burst out into song or something.

"Wow," Hiro whispered after watching me dance for a while, "she looks happier than I've ever seen her."

"Yeah..." they all agreed.

"...And now's she's laughing like a crazy person," Hiro blanched, watching as I flipped through the pages of the familiar manga, cackling like a giddy fangirl.

"Yeah..." they all murmured, sweatdropping.

"I'm kind of scared now," Hiro admitted.

Simultaneously, they shivered. "Yeah..."

"Hoshino." Wannabe decided to step forward, ridding me from my reveries. "Let's go."

"Go?" I repeated, stopping my rubbing of manga against my cheek to focus back on him. "Go where?"

"We need your help with something," he went on with a smile.

"Ew, no way," I gagged.

Hiro gaped at my response. "What do you mean no way? We all contributed to get you those mangas—"

"And I gratefully accept and love you guys for once," I said, hugging them closer to me. "So don't ruin it."

At first, they couldn't find what to say. That was when Hinata contributed, "Hoshino, you don't even know what the request is."

"I don't even need to hear it to know that Tatsuya's the one who put you guys up to it." I shrugged my shoulders. "That's why I'm staying as far away from this request as I can."

"You're the one that helped him find his ring, right? Don't worry, this request has nothing to do with lost things!" Saki spoke this time. "Since you're so reluctant, do you not like Tatsuya or something?"

For a second, I was mute. I shrugged my shoulders. "Of course I like the kid," I finally spoke. "He's more tolerable than Wannabe at least—"

"What?"

We all paid a glance Wannabe's way but nobody commented. He exasperatedly tried meeting his companions' eyes, but they all quickly dodged it, Yuji even going so far as to whistle.

I went on regardless, "Besides, you guys know me, I just don't like doing work."

"You need to get out of the mindset already."

All six of us froze, craning our necks in the direction of the doorway. Suzuki-sensei strolled into the room, hands to her hips as she came to a halt in front of us.

Almost immediately, I frowned. "Which one of you guys summoned her here this time?"

"I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that rude statement," Suzuki-sensei said, rolling her eyes and settling them upon the redhead of the bunch. "Anyways, Hinata, come with me. We need to talk."

We all turned towards the said male.

"With me? Why?" Hinata asked, just as bewildered as the rest of us.

Suzuki-sensei met his gaze, her expression hard to read. "It's important," she merely pronounced, nudging her head towards the doorway. "Come outside."

Briefly meeting our eyes, Hinata cautiously followed after Suzuki-sensei outside of the clubroom. Curiosity got the best of us all as we stared anxiously at the doorway to which he didn't return from even after a few minutes.

I pursed my lips, finally prying my attention away. "I wonder what's so important..."

"Yeah..." Hiro agreed.

"Well, let's forget about that," Yuji said after a pause. "What should be important is that Miyuki will be helping us."

I scowled at him. "But—"

"No buts!" Saki shushed me.

Just as I was about to retort, Wannabe took that moment to interrupt me, "Tatsuya's request yesterday is pretty simple." He tossed each and every one of us plastic bags filled with plain tracksuits. I held mine up in surprise. "Since the middle school Sports Festival is next week, he wants us to help him train to become a faster runner."

—————————————————

"I think you all have the wrong idea," I began grumpily, folding my arms over my chest, "I do not run."

"Everyone runs," Wannabe responded, jogging in place for emphasis. "C'mon, get ready to run."

Grounding my teeth hard, I glared at the others surrounding me who were stretching in their gym outfits. "I. Do. Not. Run," I enunciated.

"Sorry I'm late!"

I sourly watched as the younger Wannabe came racing in our direction from across the track field. Tatsuya was dressed in a tracksuit as well (we were all basically in Yato cosplays but without the scarf...and charm), but the way he was running up to us now made my jaw fall. If it was even possible, he was running in slow motion. I rubbed my eyes a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"He's running so slow." Gaped Yuji, equally shocked.

"Tatsuya!" Saki called out, waving her hands. "Hurry up!"

"Okay!" he shouted back. He shut his eyes tight, concentrating so that he could pick up the speed, but if anything, he seemed to slow down, not speed up.

"You're kidding me, right?" I said with a defeated sigh. "Even characters in anime openings can run faster than that..."

"What are you all talking about?" Wannabe interjected, gaze aimed his younger brother's way in awe. "Tatsuya's gotten so much faster without my knowledge!"

"Faster?" I deadpanned.

"C'mon, even a tortoise is faster than him!" Hiro agreed with a pointed finger.

"I'm starting to wonder if this really is the 'easy request' you deemed it to be, Kazu," Yuji murmured, shoulders slumped.

"What are you all getting depressed for?" Wannabe cried in disbelief. "We already agreed to help him! Tatsuya wants to participate in the Sports Festival so we have to make sure he's able to! We haven't even tried so we can't give up yet!"

Hiro and Yuji shared a brief look, but reluctance was still evident in their features.

"Yeah, but..." Yuji began.

"Kazuya is right!" Saki cut in, fists clenched. "We have to help Tatsuya! He's relying on us so we have to pull through! We're the Humanity Club, a club that exists to assist the good of humanity, and we've pulled through many seemingly impossible situations before! Helping him on how to run faster shouldn't be too hard, and—"

"I hate to interrupt your corny pep talk," I spoke up, clearing my throat, "but the kid's finally arrived."

At the mention of my words, everyone's focus diverted Tatsuya's way who was bent over, inhaling and exhaling deep breaths.

"Nice to finally have you join us," I said, peering down at the watch over my wrist. "Three minutes and fifty-two seconds."

Breathless, Tatsuya turned up his head, right eye wide. "Three... minutes...?"

"It's how long it took for you to run across the track field," I answered for him. "It's kind of sad, actually—"

"What was that?" Wannabe interrupted loudly, clasping my shoulders. "Is Hoshino actually agreeing to help you with your request? Wow, what a kind soul~"

"Huh?" I shouted, twisting around to glare at him. "I did not! How many times do I have to tell you that I do not run?"

"You complained over how slow Tatsuya runs so you must be a faster runner," Saki pointed out.

I froze. "That's... because he is slow!" I said in defense. "But I do not believe in physical exercise, thus I shall not run!"

"There should at least be one anime motivating your desire to run," Saki prodded.

"Well, there is a parkour anime, but... Even Fujiwara Takeru can touch my legs and tell me I'm untalented!"

"Who?"

"Anyways!" I huffed, folding my arms. "I can watch and set stuff up, but I am not running! That's final!"

Gritting his teeth, Hiro turned the other way and spat, "...Jeez, you're so stubborn."

"Okay then... I guess we'll do this ourselves," Yuji sighed, hands by his sides. "You're trying to run a relay, right Tatsuya? Then go towards the line so we can properly time you around the track."

With a nod, Tatsuya did as told and headed towards the starting line. We all, with the suggestion of Wannabe, had to stand by the finish line and Yuji held the whistle to his mouth.

"Ready?" he shouted out to Tatsuya.

From the distance, Tatsuya held up a thumbs up. Almost immediately, Yuji blew the whistle and he took off. Not very well though, because almost immediately he tripped over seemingly thin air, falling face-first onto the ground.

We all stood there, stock-still while Tatsuya raised his head and spat hysterically. After Saki and Wannabe ran to go check up on him, Yuji, Hiro and I simultaneously sighed.

"This will definitely be a lot harder than we thought..." Yuji mumbled.

"Agreed," Hiro breathed. "I find it hard to believe somebody is that untalented at running..."

Although the very same thought crossed my mind, I didn't have the guts to somehow tell them that Tatsuya could've been faking it, just like last time with his ring.

——————————————————

Instead of listing the constant struggles that this entire request had brought about for a few days, for both Tatsuya and for myself, it'd be easier to just conclude that Tatsuya was not a talented runner. Much less one that could be talented in sports. Even still, the kid was pushing himself unusually hard, and that inspired my club members to try even harder.

"C'mon! You can do it Tatsuya!" Yuji yelled, a hand to the side of his mouth.

"Yeah, Tatsuya, move those legs!" Hiro shouted.

"You're going so fast...!" Wannabe drawled with stars in his eyes.

"Guys... I honestly don't think we're helping," Saki whispered.

We all turned to see Tatsuya struggling to get to us—to be more precise, he was still only a small distance from the starting line. We all, except for Wannabe, let out a simultaneous breath.

"Wow! Tatsuya has gotten so much quicker!" he cried, hands clasped together in awe.

"He's being sarcastic, right?" I said. "There's no way he truly thinks this kid is fast, right?"

"Such a doting brother," Yuji tsked.

Shaking our heads, we waited patiently for Tatsuya to come our way from the starting line, and after what seemed like hours, he finally arrived from his lap.

Tatsuya collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as if he had ran a full-on marathon when it was only a 100 meter dash. "H-how...d-did I...do...?"

We all inwardly cringed. Except for Wannabe, of course.

"Group huddle!" Yuji hissed in response.

He gestured us all over and it took a while for us to come together.

"It seems our plan to allow Tatsuya to become a faster runner is backfiring on us..." Yuji whispered. "Granted, it's already been three days but there hasn't been any progress."

"Then let's just not let him run," Hiro suggested. "There're other events in the Sports Festival."

"But would Tatsuya want that?" Saki asked.

Turning my attention towards the boy, I discreetly backed away from the group. They continued on without realizing I had left the huddle, and gratefully, I bent down to pick up a water bottle. Walking up to the breathless Tatsuya, I held it out for him.

"Hey, you do know you're not a fast runner, right?" I said to him as he took it.

Tatsuya only frowned at me, a glare fixated on his face as well. "I didn't ask for you to point out the obvious."

I shrugged his snappish attitude off. "Why do you want to run the 100 meter dash so badly? There are other events you'd have a better shot at."

Although I expected Tatsuya to stubbornly protest the suggestion, he simply glanced away from me. "Believe me, I don't want to do this either. But I have to."

"No you don't," I told him. "You could still back out now. Sign up for a sports event instead. Oh, I'm very knowledgeable about them so I can even help you out—"

"I already tried researching tutorials on playing sports before but they've never once helped me become better. I doubt your sources would be any more reliable," Tatsuya cut me off sourly. "Anyways, it's easier doing this running event since I don't have to rely too much on other people."

Although I would've typically been offended, I instead took his words into account. Taking a seat beside him, I barely registered the arguing from the idiots about Tatsuya's situation. If I paid attention I could hear them clearly. Tatsuya must know what we'd been saying about his nonexistent progress then. And yet...

"So you do understand you'd make nothing but a fool out of yourself if you run in this event," I reiterated after a pause. "And that at this rate, it'd be better if you made a fool out of yourself on a team because they can support you and cover for your mistakes."

"I doubt my classmates would want to support me. 'Accidentally' hitting me multiple times in the face seems more plausible." Tatsuya's response caught me off guard. I wasn't exactly expecting him to be so honest. Impassive as he always was whenever we were alone, Tatsuya peered up at me. "Why do you care anyways?"

A wry smile curled up my lips. "No it's just, after what you said to me last time, this is really hard to digest. So this entire request—you're really serious about it? You aren't plotting against us again like you were with your ring?"

For a moment, Tatsuya was silent. "Well, you can trust whatever you want to believe. I may be serious, or I may just be lying about this whole speed thing because I want to mess with you guys again."

"I see..." I paused, looking upwards. "But Tatsuya, either way, you do plan to run in that event, right?"

"...I guess," he carefully replied. "Why?"

Exhaling a deep breath, I rose up to my feet, dusting off the dirt clinging to my pants. "Then get up," I told him. "You're going to have to train harder than before."

Tatsuya's right eye widened slightly. "You're... still going to help me?"

I smiled at him. "Lucky for you, I don't think these idiots even plan on giving up." I beckoned behind me for emphasis, and I wasn't the least bit surprised to see that they were now moved on from being hopeless to discussing their forming ideas excitedly. Snorting, I returned my focus back to Tatsuya. "So until you've made some kind of endurance progress, you're not going home today."

"That's..." Tatsuya got up anyways. "But I just said that I may or may not be being honest about this! I can give you a lot more trouble and slow my pace down even more, you know!"

"Honest or not, you just said you wanted to run in that event. If you're gonna stay committed and put up with this, then the people helping you have to stay committed too." I cupped my hands over my mouth. "Saki, Yuji, Hiro, Wannabe! Tatsuya's saying he's ready to run again!"

The four of them swivelled to face us, bobbing their heads and flashing us thumbs-ups.

"...Seriously?" Tatsuya whispered after a pause, in utter astonishment.

"Seriously what?" I asked him, raising a brow.

He was almost hesitant with his next words. "You know what I may be planning and yet you're doing this for me. You really are weird..." Tatsuya, for the first time since I met him, broke out into a genuine smile—he even laughed a bit too. "Not only weird..." he murmured to himself. "You're interesting, Miyuki-neesama."

"Hey." I frowned at him. "You're supposed to be getting ready to run again. Just focus on increasing your speed, and not on my weirdness. I already know I'm not normal."

He laughed at my words, as if he hadn't expected me to say that about myself. "Yup. Definitely an interesting kind of weird."

"...Thanks?" I rose a brow as Tatsuya left ahead to join the guys from the club. I sighed, resting my hands at my hips. Well, that seemed like enough for today.

"Miyuki-neesama? Aren't you coming?" Tatsuya called out to me once they realized I hadn't joined them.

Grinning, I spun on my heels, waving over my shoulder. "Um, I think I've been mixed up in reality far too long. I helped enough too. If you'll excuse me, I have to go home to watch Kiss Him, Not Me and hibernate for the weekend... Bye!"

I dashed off and despite their startled cries of surprise, a short chuckle escaped my mouth as soon as I left the school premises.

They kept seeming to forget that there was obviously no way I'd voluntarily ditch new anime releases for my club activities.

_______________________________________________________________________

...Hello!

I apologize for not updating. I know I should've sent out a notice of why earlier, but I honestly didn't expect it'd take me this long to update. I actually wrote the beginning of this chapter in like September and no matter how much I tried to write it...it wasn't coming together. I don't even know if it even ended okay now? I still hope it was decent.

Man, I hate not updating in months 'cuz I feel like you guys clicked on this chapter and was like "who's this character again?"; "what happened last chapter?", "whaaat", etc. etc. xD If that did happen, I'm so sorry haha.

Anyways, thanks so much for the support, as always! <3

-Misty