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| It takes too many seconds to collect myself and remember what I walked up to her for. | | It takes too many seconds to collect myself and remember what I walked up to her for. |
| | | <tabber> |
| ==> I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.==
| | I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.= |
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| [[Hisao Nakai|Hisao]] | | [[Hisao Nakai|Hisao]] |
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| She stands up forcefully from the beanbag and takes a deep breath. | | She stands up forcefully from the beanbag and takes a deep breath. |
| | | |-| |
| Hanako
| | Hi! I'm new here. Hisao Nakai. We're in the same class.= |
| "I..."
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| Hanako
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| "I... I..."
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| Hisao
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| "I...?"
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| Hanako
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| "Ivegottogodosomething!"
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| Without warning, Hanako takes off and runs towards the counter.
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| Her hare-like takeoff catches me so off guard that I don't manage to go after her until she has a good head start.
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| By the time I reach the counter she is nowhere to be seen.
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| Lilly and [[Yuuko Shirakawa|Yuuko]] are happily chatting away.
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| Knowing that I won't be able to catch Hanako myself, I approach the girls.
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| Hisao
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| "Hey, did you see... er... notice a girl run past here?"
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| Yuuko
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| "Um, maybe... what did she look like?"
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| Hisao
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| "Long, dark hair. Kinda shy. She had... well... some scars... on her... face."
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| Lilly
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| "You wouldn't be talking about Hanako, would you?"
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| Hisao
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| "Yeah, that's her. I saw her reading and tried to talk to her, but I think I scared her off or something."
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| Lilly
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| "Oh dear. Yuuko, would you excuse me, I had better try and find her."
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| Yuuko
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| "S-sure. I'll just hold onto these until you come back."
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| Hisao
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| "Um, what's going on?"
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| Lilly
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| "I'm sorry, but I'll have to explain it to you some other time."
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| Hisao
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| "Right. I'll see you later then..."
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| Lilly hastily grabs her cane and hurries out of the library, leaving me alone with Yuuko.
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| Hisao
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| "I don't think I'll ever get the hang of this place."
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| Hisao
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| "Did I do something wrong?"
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| Yuuko
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| "What did you do?"
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| Hisao
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| "Nothing! I was just looking for some books and then she got this fit and ran off."
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| Hisao
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| "The most offending thing I can think of was that I might've looked at her general direction a few times."
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| Yuuko
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| "Well, she is a very timid girl."
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| Yuuko
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| "You have to be very careful around her. She can be very jumpy, I think, and she's not accustomed to talking with other people."
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| Hisao
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| "Isn't that a bit... strange?"
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| Yuuko
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| "I wonder... It's just how she is, I think."
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| Yuuko doesn't sound all that convincing. Then again, maybe this is just the norm around here.
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| Everyone has their own problems, or else they wouldn't be here.
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| Hisao
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| "But how should I deal with these people? Forcing myself to act overly casually only makes me feel phony."
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| Hisao
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| "Like I was supposed to be ignoring the elephant in the room."
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| Yuuko fidgets, looking like she wants to say something to that, but resists it.
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| Yuuko
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| "I think it's an elephant only if you feel that way."
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| I guess she doesn't have a good sense of self-restraint. It makes me smile, and she blushes heavily.
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| Yuuko
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| "W... what? Did that sound stupid?"
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| Hisao
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| "No no, it sounded really wise. I guess you're right. It's more about me than anyone else."
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| Neither of us has anything to add so Yuuko fills the silence by shuffling some papers around.
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| People who have papers on their desks really like doing that.
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| Yuuko
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| "Did you find any books? I should be closing soon. I mean this library should be closing. But I have to do it. I hope that's not too inconvenient for you."
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| Hisao
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| "Oh. Yeah, I want some books, but I left them over there because..."
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| Hisao
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| "...I'll just go get them."
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| I fetch my stack of books from beside the beanbags where Hanako and I were sitting and return to the counter.
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| Yuuko
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| "Wow. You read a lot, don't you?"
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| Hisao
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| "I surprise myself with that too, honestly. At least, when I really think about it."
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| Hisao
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| "I had a lot of free time earlier this year, so I just kind of... started reading books to fill that time. I couldn't do much else."
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| Yuuko
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| "I see."
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| But she doesn't say anything else, and just checks out my books for me.
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| I guess this is what they call "tact."
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| ==> Hi! I'm new here. Hisao Nakai. We're in the same class.==
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| [[Hisao Nakai|Hisao]] | | [[Hisao Nakai|Hisao]] |
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| Hisao | | Hisao |
| "I mean... ehh... I didn't mean it like that..." | | "I mean... ehh... I didn't mean it like that..." |
| | </tabber> |
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| Hanako | | Hanako |