Chapter Text
Chapter 3: 15 Steps
How come I end up where I started? How come I end up where I went wrong? I won't take my eyes off the ball again, You reel me out when you cut the string.
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When it comes to romance, few people had it worse than Mio Naganohara.
Mio was not a particularly bad looking person, she wasn't unapproachable or anything, she was a generally kind and upbeat person to be around with, she had plenty of talent on several subjects, she is very passionate on her hobbies, her beliefs and (especially) on her relationships.
And yet it seemed like no one was interested in her.
Now, a lot of that is due to the fact that Mio does not have the taste of a normal person. Most people her age would not find goats to be an icon of fanciness and even less would be so hyper-focused on sexual situations as to become able to picture (both in her mind and on paper) any 2 random men having sexual relationships with pitch perfect accuracy and anatomy (well, on her mind, anyways).
But yet, what a lot of people fail to realize is that Mio is not actually that picky! Sexual attraction is not the same as Romantic attraction! There's a marked difference!
Although, it's not like Mio'll ever have a chance to demonstrate that, since it's not like anyone's throwing herself at her or anything. There's basically a non-zero chance of anyone, male, female or otherwise, being interested in her right now, so it's no real use worrying about it.
Or at least, that's what she used to think.
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Mio had grabbed her little bento box that she made herself (out of leftovers from the day before, obviously) and made her way outside the classroom to have lunch with Nano. Apparently she wanted some space between all the other classmates, to which Mio respected and proposed having lunch on the stairs near their classroom, where only a few students go up or down occasionally.
"I get that she's worried about other people's thoughts on her, but still, Nano-chan's such a worrywort! I mean, there's no way that anybody really cares that much about her copying! Like half of our class does it anyways!"
For a girl that had her mind so constantly in the gutter, she somehow still had zero clue on what was going to go down between her and her friend.
"Hey Nano-chan!"
"O-Oh! Hi Mio-san! A-Are you ready to have l-lunch?"
"I sure am!"
The two of them sat down, blessed their food, and began digging in.
"So, uh, Nano-chan, did you really just want to have lunch with me? Or did you want to talk about something else?" Mio said in-between bites, with a faked cluelessness to her inflexion.
"I know what she wants for DAMN sure, but I'll make her ask for it. Maybe it's a bit mean but, I want to see her sheepishly beg for it. Watching her grow red and stutter more and her key spin faster and faster will be very amusing, hehehehe!"
Was it already mentioned that Mio's a very weird person?
"O-Oh, I d-did want to talk to y-you about something. I-It's just a b-bit, uh, personal…" Nano said, in complete innocence to her friend's intentions.
"Wait, huh?"
"Wait, huh?" Mio replied in slight disbelief.
"Mio-san…. Do you know a lot about… romance?"
"HUH?!?!"
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Meanwhile, while one half of Nano's mind was currently freaking out, the other half was patting itself on it's back for coming up with such a devilish scheme.
"H-H-Hehehe!! I figured it out! I can just slowly work my way up to a confession by getting comfortable with talking to her about romance! There's nothing wrong with 2 friends talking about that, right? This is the smartest idea I've ever had!! H-Hehehe!"
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Meanwhile, internally, Mio was also freaking out. Albeit in a completely different way.
"W-W-WHUH????? R-R-R-ROMANCE???? SHE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THAT ???? WITH ME ?????? W-WHY? WHY WOULD SHE GO FOR ME SPECIFICALL-"
Before she could finish that train of thought, she reflected for a second.
"O-Okay, I guess it would make sense to go to me instead of anyone else, but still, why's Nano-chan worrying about romance right now?? Valentine's pretty far off from today, none of us have gotten into any relationships, I am sure I would have heard something if she had gotten a confession, so what gives??"
"Wait a minute…"
"She's been completely fidgety and anxious all day (or, well, even more than usual) and she hasn't been able to stop blushing and spinning… Could it be??"
"She has a crush on somebody?!?!"
For a second, she feels shocked at the conclusion she arrived at, but that feeling is almost immediately replaced by a self-imposed sense of superiority and smugness.
"Tch, tch, tch, I get it now! Poor little Nano here can't figure out her own feelings, so she's forced to turn to the only person capable of helping her out with romance! Hohoho, worry not, Shinonome, because you're about to face the best matchmaker in the world, Dr Naganohara!"
"U-Uh, Mio-san, a-are you okay? Y-You've just been z-zoning out for a while and I'm getting w-worried…" Nano said, interrupting Mio's little fantasy.
"Wha-oh? Oh, sorry Nano-chan, I was just a bit shocked that you asked me specifically about this, hahaha!" Mio said, secretly wanting to hear Nano confirm the conclusion that she had gotten to.
"O-Oh well, y-you seemed like the most….." Nano thinks about her word choice for a second. "...Qualified, if that makes sense??"
"Oh, no no no no, I get it!" Mio said, faking humbleness. "I am probably the person with the most romantic experience in our friend group, so rest assured, I'll do my best to help you out!!" She replied, giving her a big smile and a goofy thumbs up.
"U-Uwaaaah… Mio-san's so kind…."
"T-T-Thank you, Mio-san… T-This has really been e-eating me up inside and I-I'm glad you're helping me…." Nano said, smiling shyly but kindly at her.
"Don't worry about it! I just like helping, that's all…" Mio said, tricksterly. "Now, forgive my excitement but…"
"Who's the lucky guy?"
…
"E-E-E-E-EHHHHHH???????"
"E-Eh?" Nano said out loud, shocked.
"Oh, come on, you don't have to be sheepish with me! I can tell you have a crush on somebody by that look in your face!" Mio said, sending Nano into a state of embarrassed shock.
"U-Uh, uhhh, uhh, uhh, i-i-it's not what you think…" Nano managed to stutter out.
"Oh, oh! Let me guess!" Mio said excitedly, before switching to a sage thinking pose. "Hmmm… Is it Nakanojou-san? Almost everybody on here goes gaga for his hair already!" She said, big goofy smile in face.
"U-Uhhhhh, Mio-san, I-I don't think you-"
"Wait wait, no no no, is it Tanaka-san? You do come off to me as more of an afro girl than an mohawk person. Hmmm…"
"N-N-No, Y-You d-don't get i-"
"WAIT, NO, I GOT IT!!! It has GOT to be Sakurai-san! You've probably secretly been a huge Igor Soccer fangirl and you've just never told us, huh?-"
Nano suddenly decided that she had enough, and she put a hand on Mio's mouth.
"M-M-Mio-san, p-p-please, let me explain!!" She said, completely red in the face. Mio nodded in return, which led to Nano taking her hand off her mouth.
"Okay… I can do this… I just have to remember to take it slow."
"T-T-The thing is t-that, w-while there's nothing wrong with, uh, anyone you've mentioned, I-I-I, It's just that, w-whenever I'd look at p-people that g-girls like me usually f-found attractive… I-I never used to f-feel anything towards them." She looked at Mio for reassurance.
"Hmm, I see" said Mio, hand on her chin, like a philosopher.
She continued: "B-B-But it's not l-like I'm n-not attracted to a-anything at all! I-It's just that… I-I g-guess I just d-don't particularly like m-manly t-things?? I-If that makes sense??"
"Yeah, yeah, it does…." Mio reassured her.
"Oh, thank God…."
Mio then proceeded to throw her arms in the air before sending Nano into another pit of confusion: "So you're just a lesbian? That 's all?" She made a fake, make-pretend pouty face before finishing her statement with "Big deal!"
"...huh????? I-uh, does she, er, could she mean- but she couldn't, I mean-wait… "
"huh???????????"
"M-M-M-M-Mio-san, w-w-what d-do you m-m-mean with that???" Nano barely managed to say while her eyes began to spiral on loops and her hands tried to articulate something unclear.
"I mean, have you paid attention to the other girls in this school? It's really not that unusual, you know?" Mio revealed.
"W-W-Wait, r-really??? I-Is that t-true??" Nano said, completely believing Mio for a second there.
"Y-Yeah, just trust me on this" Mio said, looking a bit to the side.
"Well, at the very least I figure that some of them have to be queer, right? Like, there's no way!"
Mio got back on track: "But, uh, my main point here is that there's nothing to be ashamed of in not liking men!" She gave her a goofy thumbs up. "At the very least, you have the support of us, your friends!"
Nano's heart fluttered.
"T-Thank you, Mio-san…" She said, looking directly at her, gratitude overpowering her anxiety. She had turned completely red and yet she had never looked so warm before.
At least, not to Mio.
"...You know, I don't think I've seen her be so happy in…. forever. This must have really been eating her up inside, huh?... Well, I'm glad I could be of help, at least. I hope she manages to find a girl who really loves her, she probably deserves it!"
Still though, she remained completely clueless.
"Oh crap! Look at the time!" Said Mio, realizing just how long they spent talking. "Lunch's almost over! We should head back to the classroom now!"
Nano, still in a trance, quickly snaps out of it and reacts "O-Oh! Yes!"
The 2 of them got to their classroom and to their separate seats shortly after, being alone with their thoughts on the events.
Starting with the one…
"I… I really didn't expect Mio-san to be so supportive… It makes me happy to know that even if it's not with her, she'll be rooting for me… But, wait…. Oh, dang it! I forgot to ask her how she feels about girls!"
"[Sigh], whatever, it's best that I don't overwhelm her with information anyways. I should just be happy that today went as well as it did…"
And ending with the other.
"What an odd girl Nano is, isn't she? I don't really know if there's anything else eating her up or if she's just really lonely, but…"
"I want to help her get who she wants, she's such a sweet girl, so she definitely deserves someone as sweet as her to love her back."
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One by One, One by One, It comes to us all, it's as soft as your pillow.