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Sakura hums lightly to herself as she walks down the hallways of the school, a sway in her skirt and a bounce in her ribbons. The sunlight is filtering in through the large glass windows, brightening her already joyful mood. Ahh, I can't wait to see Nozaki-kun again today! I wonder if he'll ask to walk home with me again...?
She covers her face with her hands and teehees as thoughts of the stoic giant come to mind. Sakura tip-toes over to Class 2-B and peers through the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of his handsome visage.
Moments later, the school nearly explodes in tandem with her wail of despair.
-x-
"Mikoriiin!"
The red-haired boy turns around and regards the girl flying towards him with an arched brow. "Oi, Sakura. What's up?"
She gazes down at her raised hands as if she's seen a ghost. Her lips are quivering, and her countenance is going slightly blue. "N-N-Nozaki-kun is absent today. What're we gonna do?!"
There are comical tears streaming down her face, causing Mikoshiba to sweat-drop. “Eh? How do you know that? The day’s hardly even begun!”
Sakura gazes up at him steadfastly, fists clenched as she blinks back tears. "I checked all the classrooms, the attendance list, and that gate he falls asleep on sometimes." She sucks in a deep breath and shouts, "Nozaki-kun isn't here!"
"Geez, Sakura, chill out!" Mikoshiba advises, glancing around self-consciously. Luckily, there aren't many people around to witness her crying spectacle.
Her lips turn down into a pout, matching her glistening purple eyes. "Mikorin doesn't understand! Without Nozaki-kun, I..." She lowers her eyes and clutches her hands to her chest.
He rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. It's not the end of the world." Mikoshiba lowers the hand shouldering his book bag as he gazes thoughtfully towards the ceiling. "Although... come to think of it, I don't remember seeing Nozaki on my way to school this morning."
"Ehh?! I thought Mikorin takes the train to school?" She cocks her head to the side. "Did you come early today?"
"—guh, none of your business!" he cries, cradling his book bag all of a sudden like a concerned mother hen. "Stop asking your senpai such weird questions!"
Sakura chuckles lightly into her hand. "No need to get so defensive, Mikorin."
"Shut up! I'm not getting defensive! And stop calling me Mikorin, baka!"
A random classmate turns to look at him with an arched brow. Mikoshiba quickly regains his composure, though his ears are still burning. He lets out a sigh of long-suffering and hoists his book bag over his shoulder again. "Well, whatever. I'm sure Nozaki will show up later." He jams a hand into his pocket and turns away.
"But—!" Sakura grabs him by the shirt tail and he turns to look at her in surprise. "Last time Nozaki-kun was absent, he was so sick he couldn't get out of bed! Whaddif he's so sick he can't even send us an SOS text?!" She lifts a hand to nibble on the ends of her fingers, her other hand fisting the white material with a death-like persistence.
"Gah, let go of me!!" He tries (and fails) to extricate himself from her grasp. "I'll never forgive you if you ruin my ladykilling shirt!"
Sakura lets go of him immediately and he falls flat on his face. He gets up off the floor and rubs the bridge of his nose in irritation.
"Or worse..." She looks almost tragic as she stands there nibbling her fingers. "Whaddif he was on his way to school and got assaulted by a bunch of stray cats?!"
"What the hell kind of reasoning is that?!" Mikoshiba asks, exasperated. He lifts a hand to his chin and narrows his eyes. "Well, Nozaki does come to school all banged up from time to time..."
"See?! Nozaki-kun needs us! Mikoriiin!"
"B-but that's only because of his manga... right? Right?!"
"His manga..." Suddenly, Sakura begins to envision a sick Nozaki being cared for by his upstairs neighbor—a pretty woman with long, dark hair. "Waaah! We've gotta go right now!"
"Oi, oi! Sakura! Get a hold of yourself!" He grips the flailing girl by the shoulders. "Nozaki's gonna be just fine! It's not like he got mauled by a bear or anything!"
They both pause for a moment to imagine Nozaki's hypothetical encounter with a bear.
The bear plods out of the forest, and Nozaki crosses paths with it on his way to school. They gaze at each other for a long moment — equally stony expressions on their faces — when suddenly, Nozaki gains a wily glint to his eye and produces a pen and notepad from hammerspace.
"That's it! Suzuki encounters a bear on his way to school, wrestles with it, and gets sent to the hospital where Mamiko proceeds to care for him. Only then do they realize their true feelings for each other!"
He jots down his idea and walks towards the bear resolutely. The bear lifts its head a little, bearing its great, animalistic fangs...
"GAHHH! You're right! That guy's completely useless without us!" Mikoshiba laments, covering his face with his hands. "Why did you have to let yourself get mauled by a bear?! Nozakiii!"
"Nozaki-kuuun! Why do you have to be so dense?!" Sakura adds, mimicking his gesture with her own hands.
A pregnant silence washes over them. Sakura reaches out to grip him by the shirt sleeve as she realizes something very important. "But, Mikorin! Maybe he didn't get mauled by the bear yet! Maybe we still have time!"
He looks up. "Ah, yeah! Of course! Geez!" Mikoshiba smacks himself on the head as he whips out his phone and speed-dials Nozaki's number. The other line picks up almost instantaneously.
"Ken-san?! Oh... ah, Mikoshiba. What is it?"
"Nozaki! Why the hell aren't you in school, dammit?! You're not getting mauled by a bear, right?!"
"No... but that would make an excellent storyboard!" Mikoshiba can practically see the glint in his eye and the elated expression. Another audible face-palm resounds.
"Ugh, never mind that. You sick or something?"
"Mm, no. I'm fine. Just finishing up a storyboard for my next deadline." A pause. "Why do you ask?"
"B-because! Tsch! It's not like we were worried about you or anything...!"
The scritch-scratch of pencil on paper interposes here, causing Mikoshiba's countenance to go red. "O-oi! You better not be writing that down, you bastard!"
"Anyways. I appreciate the concern, Mami...koshiba."
He drags a hand over his face. "Yeah, whatever. I thought your next deadline wasn't until next week?"
"A-ahh… about that... ”
Mikoshiba notes the twinge of pain in his voice with confusion. He and Sakura exchange worried looks.
"You see, Ken-san is on vacation right now, so... M-Maeno is my editor for this week." Mikoshiba can practically hear the mangaka burying his face into his hands.
He casts a nervous glance towards Sakura, hose hands are clasped over her chest in concern. "Yeah...?"
"Mikoshiba." His voice grows steely. "The tanuki... He wants me to add tanuki to Lets Fall in Love!" He stands up from his chair with a vehement clang. "Well, I won't do it! Not until the day my career as a mangaka ends!"
"Oh boy..." Mikoshiba sweat-drops. He hands the phone to Sakura, who's more than eager to talk to her beloved crush.
"Nozaki-kun! Hang in there! Mikorin and I will come and see you after school, so please take care of yourself until then...!"
"Ah, Sakura. Thank you. I'll be looking forward to seeing you both."
"Nozaki-kun..." Her purple eyes begin to glisten with mirth, and a dusting of pink colors her cheeks. Mikoshiba rolls his eyes as he waits for her to finish the call.
"After all, no one does beta better than you! And where would I be without Mikoshiba's wonderful flower-drawing talents?!"
Sakura's face drops. "A-ah... yeah. That." She plasters on a big smile and says, "Well, we'll see you after school, Nozaki-kun!"
They bid each other farewell and Sakura hangs up the phone. She hangs her head for a moment, and her hair shields her face like a curtain.
"O-oi! Sakura?" Mikoshiba asks, waving his hands around in concern. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she sighs. "It's not like I was expecting anything, anyways." When she lifts her head again, her face is back to its usual sunny disposition. "Anyways—" she holds out the phone in her hands, "—thank you for calling Nozaki-kun, Mikorin! Should we meet back here after school?"
"Heh, it was my pleasure!" Mikoshiba says emphatically, sweeping his hair to the side. He swipes his phone with a grand flourish; a backdrop of roses and sparkles appears as he narrows his eyes seductively. "I suppose since your other prince is away, I'll be the one to escort you to the ball, my Cinderella."
Sakura's eye twitches and she neatly dodges the kiss blown her way. "M-Mikorin..."
"Wh-what?!" Mikoshiba bristles, face growing extremely hot as he resists the urge to cover his face with his hands. "I just wanted to try it once, okay! Don't look at me like that...!"
She merely stands there, looking kind of stricken and blushing from second-hand embarrassment. Were she taller, she would have clapped a hand on his shoulder in admonishment. "I... I think you'd better leave these lines to Kashima-kun. They're not very charming when you say them."
"H-hey! That's not true! I'm plenty charming!" he argues, though his tomato-red face is a determent. "Just you wait and see...!"
Thoroughly flustered, he locks his gaze on the ground and turns the corner swiftly, muttering something about 'eternal love hunter'. Sakura gasps as she hears a crash thereafter.
"Mikorin...!" She goes running towards the scene in question. Mikoshiba is already on the ground, he and the other person's belongings scattered around them.
"Ow..." He rubs the bridge of his nose and immediately schools his face into a charming expression. "Forgive me, my little lamb. Your beauty shone like a beacon of light and blinded me for a moment. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive this handsome devil." He opens his eyes and does a double-take.
Seo Yuzuki sits sprawled out in front of him, staring at him point-blank. A few moments of awkward silence pass between them, before she doubles over in laughter. "Ha ha ha!" she wheezes, tears of merriment in her eyes.
Mikoshiba goes red from head to toe, though his embarrassment is superseded by his complete and utter mortification. Her rowdy voice soon attracts the attention of the other students on break—much to his chagrin.
The laughter abates as soon as it begins. Seo's face drops, leaving her with an apathetic expression. "You know, you look and act like an ikemen, but your lines all come from bishoujo games, right?"
"Haah? What makes you say that?!"
She points a finger at the belongings scattered behind him: a few textbooks, a brand-new bishoujo figure and Girl Princess 3.
"Gahhh! Those aren't mine! I'm just, err, holding them for a friend!" he says, though the way he quickly scrambles to retrieve everything says otherwise.
"But, Mikorin!" Sakura steps forward with an oblivious frown. "I thought your bishoujo figures would get dirty if you brought them outside! Why do you have that one with you?"
"Shut up! This one is limited edition! I had to buy it on my way to school before they were all sold out!"
Heads turn to regard each other with hushed whispers. Mikoshiba looks as if he's about to have a nervous breakdown, crouched on the ground and clutching his belongings to his chest.
Seo, as always, remains oblivious. She points a finger candidly towards him and declares, "Otaku. "
"GAHHH!" That's the last straw for Mikoshiba. He gets up off the ground and buries his face in his hands. "Shut up! Don't call me that! You'll never be able to understand the greatness of figurines...!"
...and goes running out the door.
Seo arches a sandy brow with vague disinterest. "Huh? Did I say somethin'?"
Sakura sweat-drops and musters a polite smile. "Ah... M-Mikorin's just shy. He'll get over it."
"Oh. Cool." Seo spots a certain lilac-haired male and waves him over. "Yo, Waka! Come help me carry my stuff!"
"Y-yes, Seo-senpai..."
Once all the other students have filed out of the hallway, Sakura can't help but think to herself, Mikorin really is like Mamiko… with equal parts fondness and pain.
She sighs.
-x-
It doesn't take long to find him, what, with his predictable hiding spots around the school. Behind the curtains when he is scared, on the rooftop when he is sad, in the corner when he is embarrassed (which is pretty much always). He's like a cat, Sakura thinks, one that Yuzuki just poured a bucket of water on.
In this case, it's the courtyard, where he wants absolutely no one to find him under any circumstances. They must be an exception to the rule, however, because she and Nozaki have found him here several times before. If Nozaki is useless without them, she thinks Mikorin must be useless without them, too—at least, she knows such is true for herself.
Sakura approaches him carefully. Mikoshiba is sitting against the side of the building with his knees to his chest and his head lowered in mortification. Quiet sobs rack his body, leading Sakura to wonder just how often she and Mikorin have seen each other crying—over the most mundane things, too.
Normally, she would just pat his head and say 'there, there', but she knows the circumstances are a bit more dire than that.
She does it anyway.
"H-hey, stop treating me like a ki—oh, it's just you, Sakura." He lifts his chin a bit and averts his eyes. "What, are you here to laugh at me, too?"
"I already did," she says sunnily, continuing to pat his thick red locks.
"You could at least try to console me!" he bristles, thoroughly flustered.
"Ehehe..." Sakura sweat-drops, though her smile does not fade. She's always had a bit of trouble empathizing with Mikorin, not caring in particular what others think of her, unless their name is 'Nozaki Umetarou'. "Don't worry, Mikorin, Yuzuki is just a very blunt person."
"THAT DOESN'T HELP!"
He turns away like a temperamental child, leaving Sakura at a bit of a loss. All she can think is, he must be really upset about this. Though at the same time, she's glad he can show this side of himself to her, glad he can scream and cry and bristle without any pretenses.
"Come on, Mikorin, let's get back to class," she says, gently tugging at the hand hanging limply over his knee. "We can get burgers after-school on our way to Nozaki-kun's."
"Sakura." He encases her hand within his own and gazes up at her with a sort of raw desperation in his eyes. He hesitates for a moment, before casting his gaze off to the side. "I'm cool... right?"
Sakura's heart stops overworking and she almost laughs. "Of course, Mikorin. You’re very cool.”
"And..." his grip tightens, "people like me... right?"
"Uh-huh."
"GAHH, now you're just humoring me!" His hand slips away, and she finds herself missing the warmth. "I know you do that sometimes, Sakura...!" He buries his face in his hands, and she's back to patting him on the head like a puppy.
"Mikorin, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Everyone's already seen your pathetic side; they just take it as open-heartedness."
"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!" He hangs his head in defeat. "Ugh, Sakura... I don't know what to do. I don't want to go back. They'll all think I'm totally lame. How am I supposed to impress girls now...?!"
Sakura's eye twitches. So that's what he was worried about?! Such a pain...! "Well, you'll never impress anyone if you just sit here and whine!"
"You're right!" He darts to his feet with sudden enthusiasm, and Sakura is about to praise him until he says, "I'll just resign myself to 2-D girls! Who needs real girls, anyways?! Hahaha!"
Sakura’s eye continues to twitch and she's about to clock him into next Wednesday until she surprises herself and shouts, “I’m impressed!”
Mikoshiba stares at her outright and she flushes, throwing her hand over her chest in earnest. “Even though Mikorin is a big loser and will never compare to Nozaki-kun—” he shoots her a look at this, “—you’ll always be our shy Mikorin.”
She lowers her head and her bangs shadow over her eyes. "It must be hard, pretending around so many people. It's hard for me too, pretending I don't see Nozaki-kun as anything more than a friend, but because Mikorin is here..." she clutches her hand closer to her chest, "supporting me and listening to me and egging me on, it's not so bad…! So... so...!"
She lifts her head and gazes at him unabashedly. “Mikorin is very cool!!!"
Mikoshiba stares at her, slack-jawed, and she's left panting from the magnitude of her own voice. He shuts it and smiles with this impossible knowing look in his eyes and Sakura just wants to smack him upside the head.
"Thanks, Chiyorin." He reaches out to pat her on the head and Sakura can't even bother to berate him for that nickname because she's stuttering over her words as if he's Nozaki-kun.
"Don't be so nice to me, though," he says, shooting her one of his ladykiller smiles and a wink. "I'll end up falling for you."
Mikoshiba ruffles her hair one last time and shoves his hands in his pockets. She's left to stare at his retreating form with this cute little moue on her face.
And if Sakura Chiyo is blushing right now, she has absolutely no excuse.
-x-
They get burgers after school, as promised. Sakura can barely stomach the greasy, heart-stopping things, but Mikoshiba just insists that she doesn't understand, that they're the energy sources for all the greatest protagonists in the bishoujo games.
Not that that makes them any more appetizing.
They listen to music on the way home. Sakura has to stand on her tippy-toes—Mikoshiba is so much taller than her—and he has to stoop down a little in order to accommodate her short height, the left earbud in his ear and the right in hers. They argue over what kind of music to listen to: Mikoshiba's punk-rock or Sakura's kira kira music.
(To any passerbyers, they look absolutely ridiculous, him stooping down and Sakura walking on invisible high-heels.)
Eventually, she finds a hidden, cutesy bishoujo game theme song after scrolling through his iPod. Mikoshiba blushes and bristles and gets embarrassed within the first twenty seconds ("a new record," Sakura thinks with a titter).
They pass by a flower shop on the third block. Sakura is immediately drawn to the bright pink petals of a pretty flower in the window, a splash of color amongst all the delicate whites. Mikoshiba perks up.
"Ah, that one is a peony! In hanakotoba, it means 'bravery'. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Ooooh!" Sakura fist-pumps the air as a blush colors her skin. In that case, please give me the courage to confess to Nozaki-kun, peony-sama...!
"Heh heh!" Mikoshiba goes on to explain all the other meanings of the flowers with gusto. Sakura catches on quickly and fixes him with one of her looks, though she can't help but smile at the sheer excitement on his face.
"Ah, look!" She points to the soft pink petals of the amaryllis. "'Shy' for Mikorin!"
"Sh-shut up! I'm not shy!!!" he blusters, though his red face suggests otherwise.
She tilts her head to the side. "Then what kind of flower would Mikorin choose?"
He shoots her a smug look and a wink. "You'll just have to wait and see!"
They leave the flower shop and head to Nozaki's. Sakura can barely contain her excitement, bouncing nervously on the heels of her feet and occasionally covering her blushing face with her hands. Mikoshiba just glances over at her with this knowing look and rings the doorbell.
The moment the door opens, they're overcome with such warmth and joy at seeing that big lug of a mangaka that they can't help but rush in, arms outspread and faces bright with happiness.
"Nozakiii!"
"Nozaki-kuuun!"
The tall mangaka merely tilts his head to the side and asks, "What, guys? Did you miss me that much?"
They open their mouths to speak, but for some reason they're stuttering over their words because this is it, this is home, at last. Nozaki remains wonderfully oblivious as he steers them away from the threshold and into the warm, open-space of his apartment.
Mikoshiba is the first to speak. "Don't ever be absent again, you bastard!!!" He and Sakura are practically bawling, a culmination of all their efforts at school today.
"Hm? Did something interesting happen while I was gone?"
"Yeah!" Sakura pipes up. "Everyone found out about Mikorin's otaku interests, including those girls he likes to flirt with."
"O-oi!" Mikoshiba splutters. "At least I wasn't the one who was crying over—"
Sakura reaches up and claps a hand over his mouth. He huffs and no, Mikoshiba is certainly not blushing, not today.
"Mm, well, it sounds like you guys had a hard day at school. I made some cheesecake as a snack if you're interested."
Sakura claps her hands together dreamily and her violet eyes sparkle. Nozaki-kun! Could it be...? Did he somehow find out that cheesecake is my favorite food and...?
"I also made green curry for dinner, so please help yourselves!" Nozaki says and fist-pumps the air, not noticing Sakura's incessant eye-twitching.
Mikoshiba rolls his eyes and strolls in. "Yeah, yeah. Sounds good. So what should we work on today...?"
Nozaki tells them about his newest storyboard: one involving Mamiko and Suzuki's fanbase. Mamiko is simply minding her own business at school when Suzuki's admirers show up and denounce her for liking Suzuki, being the plain girl she is compared to their gaudy get-ups. Mamiko runs off into the courtyard and cries. Eventually, her friend Ohashi finds her and consoles her, telling her that she's special and that Ohashi wouldn't be Ohashi without Mamiko.
Sakura blinks and slowly meets Mikoshiba's gaze. He turns his head away in embarrassment.
"I thought it'd be important to spend some time away from the main couple and focus on Mamiko's friendships instead," Nozaki explains and sips his tea.
"A-ah..." Sakura lifts a forkful of cheesecake into her mouth as she observes the manga panels. "This seems pretty elaborate, though, Nozaki-kun. Is that really the reason...?"
"Heh heh!” He places his hands on his hips proudly. “Well, Suzuki did get mauled by a bear earlier, so it would be very difficult for him to come to school. After all, I haven’t learned how to draw crutches yet!"
Sakura and Mikoshiba both fall to the ground, comedy-style. Once they've recovered, Nozaki already has all their manga tools spread out and the specific panels he'd like them to work on.
"Sakura, if you could fill in this part..."
She gets to work with a blank face.
"Mikoshiba, if you could draw the flowers you think best represent Mamiko's feelings here..."
"Yeah, sure."
They work quietly but diligently. The only sounds in the room are the scritch-scratch of pencils and the occasional stroke of Sakura's ink brush. As she reaches over to dip her brush into the pot once more, she can't help but peer over at Mikoshiba's panel. He looks awfully secretive about it for some reason, arms drawn in and brows furrowed in concentration.
She strains her eyes across the table and manages to discern softly sketched roses. Sakura doesn't have to be an expert on the language of flowers to know what those mean. “Ehh?! Love?!"
"N-not love! Idiot!" He scrambles to retrieve the pink colored pencil and quickly shades them in.
Nozaki looks up from his manuscript with his usual blasé expression. "Ah. I know this one." His features soften slightly. "Trust, happiness, and confidence. Right?"
"Y-yeah..." Mikoshiba averts his eyes and blushes. "Something like that."
"So this is what you believe Mamiko is feeling for Ohashi right now?"
"Y-yeah! Gah! Why are you asking me these questions?!"
Nozaki and Sakura chuckle at him from across the table. Mikoshiba bristles and blushes and catches Sakura's eye for a moment, and within that moment, something is exchanged between them.
"I see. Well, since we're on the topic of hanakotoba..." Nozaki sketches something in the corner of his manuscript that vaguely resembles a weeping lamp.
"Uh, Nozaki, what is that?" Mikoshiba asks skeptically, ever the expert on drawing flowers.
Sakura peers closer. "I think it's a... bluebell? Is that right, Nozaki-kun?"
"Yeah." He writes the word 'gratitude' beneath it and holds it up. "For coming every day."
They exchange smiles across the table: Sakura's is bright and cheery and love-stricken, Mikoshiba's is tentative but equally as happy, and Nozaki's is plain but warm and deep to anyone that truly knows him.
And within that moment, something is exchanged between all three of them.
Understanding.