Work Text:
Student council president Mao Isara had a busy schedule to put it lightly. He often found himself doing any assortment of tasks and if he wasn't doing those he would be wishing he was.
Today, he was doing a normal task, one that brought incredible confusion to him and anyone who saw him.
He was taking a walk
Of course there was more to it but to any Bystanders it did look like he was taking a walk. And just his luck, there was a bystander right there
Hokuto walked up to Mao with a welcoming wave "Hello, Isara. Do you not have any Student council work?" The raven haired man asked.
In the past, Mao admittedly felt a sting every time his position as student council president was brought up so quickly. He didn't like the feeling of being seen solely for his position. But the stings subsided quickly as he got accustomed to it and acknowledged people never meant to reduce him to such.
"I'm, actually at work at the moment" Mao answered, knowing the response it would receive. Lo and behold, Hokuto gave a questioning glance and opened his mouth to reply
"But, you were just casually walking along the grass" Hokuto replied with a confused statement, unsure of how that was classified as work. Resulting in the redhead sighing, he did not want to explain this.
Mao finally pushed aside the inevitable embarrassment and spoke "I'm uh, assessing the grass. Through a request of course" he added, hoping the reasoning would be enough.
However, as proven by the rising confusion on Hokuto's face. It didn't work. "That- was a joke, right?" Hokuto asked "Assessing grass?" He continued on, making it very clear he did not believe what he had just heard. Believing it to be an attempt at humor similar to those he's studied
Mao shook his head in reply "Nope, I actually have to do this kind of thing for the student council" he finished explaining. Fighting the urge to bow his head sheepishly.
"That is uh-" Hokuto started, and couldn't bring it in himself to continue. Not exactly knowing what to say about this kind of thing. He wasn't *supposed* To know what to say in response to a grass assessor, was he?
"Welp, The grass won't assess itself. See you later" Mao tried his best to give a tension easing laugh to leave the conversation on a higher note. It ended up becoming an awkward chuckle and clearly uncomfortable smile as he walked away.
He barely got 6 feet away before he drooped into a similar sigh from before.
Just what did he sign up for..
★★TimeSkip Brought to you by a Star that is Very Rebellious★★
The sixth basketball hit the wall and bounced off making a soft "Bam" on impact. Mao listened attentively, before writing something down on a note. He grabbed the next ball and continued
Meanwhile, another basketball club member had walked by the gym doors and heard a loud bam, causing him to flinch. After calming down he decided whether to check who was there or not. Eventually deciding to do so.
Mao was about to throw the seventh basketball forward, and didn't notice the door to the gym opening. He threw the ball with all his might at the wall and recorded the noise it made once more.
"Uhm.. Isara Senpai?" Mao whirled over to look at the one who called his name, now looking straight at Midori who looked a mix of uncomfortable and confused.
"Did- we have practice today? It wasn't on our schedule" Midori continued. Mao held up a hand in a reassuring gesture and replied "No No we didn't, don't worry"
Midori sighed in relief and turned to leave. But the mess of 7 basketballs randomly placed around the court caught his eye, with Mao holding the eigth. This added to his prior confusion.
Midori spoke up to ask the question he thought was necessary "Isara Senpai..are you okay?" The greengrocer asked. Mao tilted his head in response, now he was confused "Yeah? Why'd you ask?" He replied to the underclassmen
Midori looked around and eyed pretty much every ball on the floor before responding "You've uh, thrown a lot of balls"
Upon hearing that, Mao looked around himself and took notice of just how many he'd thrown by now. Realizing how weird it must look without context. He knew what conclusion Midori was inferring and quickly tried to deny it
"OH no don't worry, I'm not stressed or anything!" he replied, trying to sound assuring but the slight embarrassment lacing his tone betrayed him and made it look more like a poor cover up
The Greengrocer idol stood there and gave Mao an unbelieving look, clearly not trusting the reply. Doing so prompted Mao to sigh
("I thought that was my thing..") Midori thought to himself, Did Mao catch summer depression too?
Mao hesitantly spoke up again "I'm uh.." he trailed off, once again not exactly ecstatic about the task he was given "I'm supposed to sort every basketball by its-" he dropped the ball and made air quotes with his hands "Bam, effect" he finished.
Midori let those words sink in for a few seconds before giving a lackluster reply of "What?"
"Yeah.. I wish I wasn't serious" Mao added on, hoping Midori could atleast believe him now. Seeing the growing confusion on Midori's face, Mao continued "I was given specific instructions on how to test it and everything"
"Isara senpai?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Mao didn't know how to answer
Eventually he did piece together a response "I'm fine Midori, you can leave now" he replied, doing his best to not make that reply sound rude or dismissive. He just wanted Midori not to worry, worry wasn't what he needed right now..atleast he thinks so
Midori was hesitant, but begrudgingly obliged and turned back towards the gym exit. Muttering to himself about how this situation was too weird for the day
After seeing Midori leave, Mao let out yet another sigh and continued throwing the next basketball, which did not have a big "Bam" effect. Which he noted down
"I still wonder how I ended up here.."
★★Time Skip powered by a Meteor★★
Mao now found himself on the roof of Yumenosaki Academy, looking down at the ground so far down below. Thinking to himself about the task he was given this time.
Subconsciously, The redhead took a second to think about the physical position he was in, and with it came a certain thought ("Without context of what I'm doing, this could look really bad huh..as if context helps")
Of course the thought was dropped quickly, he doubted he would be seen here anyways. He continued evaluating the ground below from up here
Suddenly, Mao felt his waist being grabbed by arms quickly holding him tight. The sudden pressure causing him to stumble with a yelp. As he fought to regain balance, he heard a very worried cry
"ISARA-DONO"
"S-Sengoku??" Mao yelped out in surprise, still trying to balance himself and the weight of the small ninja boy
"ISARA-DONO PLEASE DO NOT DO IT!" Shinobu continued to cry without releasing his grip on the older idol.
("Do What!? I'm- oh ") Mao's earlier realization of his position helped lead him to the realization. Not only had Shinobu seen him standing by the edge of the roof peering down below, he had misunderstood it as Mao contemplating...
Mao quickly did his best to calm the Ninja "Sengoku Wait!" Mao called out to the boy, unsure if the smaller boy could even hear him over his own crying.
Mao continued his attempts to calm Shinobu down "Sengoku, I wasn't going to!" He yelled, trying to avoid saying the direct word or anything close. He nearly sighed in relief upon seeing Shinobu sniffle and actually look up at him with glassy eyes.
"Y-You w-weren't?" Shinobu stuttered out, still not entirely calm nor convinced. But it was a start and Mao would take it.
"Yeah, I wouldn't do that kind of thing" Mao explained to the younger. And that was the truth, as stressed as he could get over everything on his plate, he would never resort to this.
"Th-then..wh-what were you doing De gozaru?" Shinobu asked, still panicking and teary eyed. Mao grimaced, he knew very well his explanation was nowhere close to satisfactory to anyone, not even himself.
But he couldn't lie to Shinobu, the smaller boy wouldn't handle it any better. So he took a breath to prepare himself and spoke "I was uhm" and he instantly stuttered. Still not confident enough in saying it and worried of the reaction
With Shinobu obviously getting less patient, Mao finally managed to get through the stutter "I was told to figure out how many separate 5 foot Ladders would be needed to get from here to the ground"
"Separate ladders de gozaru??"
"Mhm" ("I REALLY Need to think through what I accept more")
Shinobu took a while to process, And with the face he made Mao knew exactly what response was coming
"Isara-Dono...are you lying to me de gozaru.." Shinobu asked as Tears welled up in his eyes again
With Shinobu nearly bursting into panic again, Mao once again did his best to hush the Ninja boy "I'm not lying! The demands are weird thats it!" Mao exclaimed
"Th-then-! I want to help Isara-Dono De gozaru!" Shinobu nearly shouted, causing Mao to react with confusion "Eh? Shinobu you don't-" Mao started and was cut off
"I will! I-i am apart of the student council am I not de gozaru?" Shinobu reasoned, which Mao couldn't argue with as it was pretty valid reasoning
"Still Shinobu, these tasks are uh, not something you'd want to handle" Mao argued back calmly and honestly. Not wanting to subject Shinobu to something like throwing close to 15 basketballs and noting a "boom" effect
"I-if it's for Isara-Dono then. I will do whatever I must de gozaru!" Shinobu stated with as much confidence as he could Muster. Which Mao could admit was not very much, but it was admirable regardless.
Mao sighed, still unsure about giving tasks like these to Shinobu. So he decided to give the ninja a small taste of the kind of things he'd have to look out for.
"Shinobu" Mao started and saw the Ninja perk up "Do you know of 3 trees that are in a perfect triangular position to each oth-"
"5 meters Eastwards of the closest tree to the fountain!" The shorter boy cut Mao off. Leaving Mao rather shocked and at a loss for response
So Shinobu replied to an anticipated response "My ninja training provides much flexibility for information gathering such as this, Isara-Dono. You are aware of that! Surely I can be of help de gozaru!" Shinobu's voice rose in confidence as he went on
Mao took a second to absorb the information, and after he registered it all he gave a warm smile "Thanks Shinobu, I guess help with this stuff would be nice"
"Nay, it is I who thanks YOU Isara-Dono! For giving me this opportunity to be of assistance more consistently de gozaru!" Shinobu sounded like he was about to go on a ramble. Before some form of discomfort made its way on the Ninjas face
So Mao spoke up "Sengoku? Is something wrong"
"Not exactly..but uhm.. if its not too much trouble de gozaru"
Mao tilted his head in slight confusion
"C-Can we please get down now, it is reminding me of the scare"
"Oh, yeah of course"