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Ibuki woke sometime in the morning. Ibuki, as a rule, didn’t like alarm clocks. Or rules. She put on a thick hoodie and pulled apart the blinds to her room. After watching the trajectory of the sun for a few minutes, Ibuki decided on a course of action. That’s right. Today she would plan a date.
“Love is all you need.” Ibuki formed a finger gun and shot her reflection in the glass of a store window. Ibuki didn’t know what to think of love. She understood time very well, and spending it, and cute things and people, and spending time on people, and spending more time on certain people over others, and kisses, yeah, Ibuki understood all of those perfectly well. “Crazy little thing called love.” Pew.
The rest of the walk to school was uneventful, despite Ibuki taking an entirely different route than her usual. Dates, Ibuki thought. Like those on a calendar, or ones that grow on trees that Ibuki wasn’t sure really existed, having only read about them in textbooks. Dates.
Rickenbacker. 1932. Adolph Rickenbacker’s company in America manufactures the very first electric guitar in history. It is a simple, spoon shaped contraption meant to be played on the lap. Baaaannnnn. Bababaaan.
Ibuki was suddenly conscious of the stares of passerby as she strummed the air.
After homeroom, Ibuki had questions for senpai. “Senpai, what do you think of dates? And dating? What would you say about love?”
Senpai was busy eating his first lunch of the day. Sometimes, when senpai forgot to pack his second lunch, Ibuki provided some of her own homemade cooking, for which senpai was always grateful.
“Well, in my position of student government, I have little time for such dalliances. But if I do make the time, I believe that dates should be conducted with grace and understanding of the partner’s wants and needs.”
“Love, though? Love?”
“That’s a tricky question. I think love is different to each person. Maybe you should find your own definition, Mioda.”
“Hmmmm. Do you want to go on a date, senpai?”
“I appreciate your curiosity. But like I said, I don’t have time for such things.” Chomp. Swallow. “And I think you’d find we’d be an odd match.”
“Boo.”
“Be careful of asking our classmates out. I feel that it will cause some small confusion. As an eligible bachelorette, you aren’t exactly unnoticed.”
Ibuki gasped!
She paced the hallway. Others talk about Ibuki? Think about Ibuki romantically? She could feel her brain struggling to process the implications. No, snap out of it, Ibuki. Think. She tugged on her backpack strings.
Two piggies left home. If the two piggies went to market and one came back with eggs, and… wait a second. Just where did those eggs come from? And what’s this market system in which farm animals purchase goods based from other farm animals? How many piggies again? Weren’t they related, or something? Ibuki liked pigs.
Ibuki spotted Mahiru out of the corner of her eye. “Macchan!” she wanted to call out, but then she saw Hiyoko come around the hallway and give her a dirty look, so instead she said “Hiyochan!”
The girl turned red and stuck her tongue out at Ibuki. “Come on,” she said to Mahiru, shoving her forward. “Let’s go to gym.”
“Later, Hiyochan!” Gosh, Hiyoko is pretty cute. She has a petite, cutesy appeal and a spirit that Ibuki admired. But to hold her hand… and kiss her? No, Ibuki couldn’t imagine it.
“Oh hey, Mioda-chan.” The boy was scratching his head, quite comically, Ibuki noted, and looking around.
“Nagito, hellooooo.”
“Listen, have you seen Hajime around? I borrowed a few of his books and I have to return them.”
“Barring that first query, Nagito, would you be interested in dating a girl like Ibuki?”
“Are you asking me out, Mioda-chan?”
“No, no, Ibuki is just asking if you were interested in girls, would you consider me a potential date? Ibuki doesn’t know much about dating, you see, and Ibuki is trying to approach the concept of love at a cautious angle. Ibuki trusts your judgment, since you have excellent taste. Obviously.”
“What was that first thing you said?”
“Ah, it’s no use. I’m looking at this all wrong. The first thing Ibuki has to do is find the people that senpai was talking about, those who are interested in Ibuki, and then ask them. Now out of deduction, it could possibly be a girl in student government. Perhaps the exchange student?”
“Oh, you’re wondering who is interested in you, Ibuki-chan? That’s easy. See, Tsumiki-chan let it slip while I was talking to her one day…”
Ibuki was surprised for the second time that day! “You can’t mean? Mikan Tsumiki? The nurse’s aide? But that can’t be. She doesn’t even talk to Ibuki?”
“Well, she just told me that you smile at her a lot, and that she likes that. She likes seeing you smile every day, and wishes you could spend time with her. That’s about what she told me. Oh! Hinata-kun!”
Komaeda ran off past Ibuki, saying “Later, Mioda-chan!” as he went.
Mikan Tsumiki. But she’s so cute. Nagito can’t be serious. Mikan? Mikan Tsumiki? Ibuki always liked her energy. She didn’t talk to people much, but Ibuki knew that she could get really excited about things. During track, Ibuki challenged Mikan to a race and nearly lost, even after over five hundred laps, which is Ibuki’s limit! Mikan tripped during the last lap and had to go to the nurse.
“Mikan!” The girl turned around. She had been focused on unraveling a roll of bandages and wrapping them around Hiyoko’s left leg, “It’s just a sprain, geez,” and froze up a little when Ibuki approached, which prompted Hiyoko to pout at both of them.
“Mioda, er, Ibuki, uh!”
“Ibuki is just fine, thank you!”
“Ibuki… I’m just patching Saionji-chan up, hehe. Is there something you n-need?”
“Hmm. Ibuki would just like to know... if Mikan liked… tea?” What’s this? Color rushing to Ibuki’s cheeks? Inside her head, a man with a mohawk was screaming out rock lyrics. She almost couldn’t hear Mikan’s response.
“Yes, I do like tea.”
“And Ibuki was wondering if… Mikan also liked hand holding. Or kisses.”
Tsumiki turned red and tightened the bandages around Saionji's leg. There were tears, but Tsumiki wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were wide and staring at Ibuki. “Y-y-yes. Mikan—I mean—I would like those th-things.”
“Well, it’s, um. Ibuki was just wondering too if,” Ibuki raised a finger hesitantly to point at herself, and found herself looking at something on the gymnasium wall. “That is, if Mikan would like to do those things sometime with Ibuki. That is, drink tea, and possibly spend time talking and doing like things. Does that sound like something Mikan would be interested in? And with Ibuki?”
If Mikan noticed the cuts that started to develop on her arm from Hiyoko’s frenzied scratching, she didn’t show it. Mikan fainted with her eyes wide open.
“B-b-b-b-b-b-b—Sakura! Mikan’s down for the count!”
A shadow at the edge of the gymnasium approached the spot at lightning speed, answering Ibuki’s call and picking up Tsumiki in its strong embrace. The shadow leaped straight across the basketball court and over two volleyball nets. Everyone watched in utter awe.
Mikan ended up being fine, and just a little dizzy when she finally said “Y-yes, I would love to.”
Ibuki couldn't take how cute she was!