Walking together

“Is there anything that needs special attention today, or shall I just do the usual?” Hisao asks, rubbing his hands together to warm the massage oil.

“Left calf, fucker’s sore as hell after those practice starts,” Miki groans.

“Ah yeah, there’s a knot the size of a golf ball.” He works on it carefully, easing the tension out of the muscle. “Is your lower back holding up?”

“Yep your magic fingers did the trick, as always.”

Hisao decided to learn some sports massage to show his appreciation to Miki for taking over his training, though he only found the courage to offer his services when she limped off the track one evening. She was surprised by how effective it was and it became a part of their daily routine, soothing the aches and pains caused by her rigorous schedule. The trust and closeness they shared during these times carried over into their everyday lives and their romance blossomed. As Miki put it, “you’ve had your hands all over me for weeks, we might as well make it official.”

Some think them a mismatched couple but they each fulfil a need in the other. Hisao’s protective urges are satisfied by taking care of her physical niggles. Miki’s body image issues, a remnant of the accident that took her hand, are eased by the delight he takes in pampering her.

Miki can tell that Hisao has finished the therapeutic phase of the massage because his hands have started to stray to areas unaffected by her training. She sits up and pulls him into a kiss. “Hands off the goods lover boy, we’ve got a movie to catch.” She laughs at his disappointed groan. “We’ll hole up tomorrow with plenty of food and a big bottle of lube, and if I’m not walking funny on Monday morning I’ll be very disappointed!”

Hisao chuckles as he dresses. “What has Molly found for us this week?”

“She says its a classic of French experimental cinema. Its a good job I enjoy the company, her taste in movies is crap.”

“And yours isn’t?”

“Oi!” she says, clouting him with her stump, “Chariots of Fire is a classic. Let’s go, she’ll be cross if we miss the bus.”

Molly looks proudly at the members of her cinema club as they disembark in the city centre. Technically speaking its not an actual club, nor is it her’s. Nevertheless she is committed to searching out cinematic gems for their weekly outings, whether they like it or not.

“Any pre-film words for us this week Molly?” Hisao asks. “Any obscure symbolism or visual metaphors to look out for?”

“No, I’d rather you went into this one without any preconceptions to colour your experience,” she replies airily.

Suzu looks at her in suspicion. “You haven’t seen it, have you?”

“Oh, is that Ikuno over there?” Molly asks, keen to change the subject.

They look across the busy street and see a girl in Yamaku uniform accompanied by a greying man in a dark suit.

“Yeah,” says Miki, waving.

Ikuno looks startled when she sees them, waves back then walks off, seemingly in a hurry. After a few moments the man gives them a shallow nod and walks after her.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen her with one of her parents.”

“Its the first time I’ve seen her outside of the classroom,” Suzu adds.

“That’s not saying much,” Molly retorts. “She could be parading around in her underwear and you wouldn’t notice, if you were concentrating on staying awake.”

“Harsh but fair,” Suzu agrees.

“Creepy,” Rin says in her deadpan voice.

“What is?”

“Staring at my arms and your legs.”

“You can’t stare at what’s not there.” Molly replies, puzzled.

“Exactly.”

“Why was she still wearing her uniform? I always dress up when my parents take me somewhere expensive.”

“Not everyone’s folks can afford to take them to fancy places, princess,” Miki snorts.

Suzu sticks her tongue out at Miki. “Whatever. Come on, the movie’s starting soon. Can’t miss the beginning!”

“That would never do,” Hisao says under his breath, following them with a resigned step as they set off towards the arts picture house.

“Well at least it ended with a bang, there weren’t many other laughs to be had,” Miki says on the short walk from the bus stop to the dorms.

“That wasn’t meant to be funny!” Molly replies in exasperation. “It was a metaphor for how indecision can have disastrous consequences.”

“It was a series of beautiful paintings interspersed with meaningless narrative.” Rin nods to herself, content with her analysis.

“That… actually makes sense,” Suzu says in wonder.

“It’s the end of season track meet next week and I’m going to the after-party with Hisao. Are you guys going to come?”

“I am, it’ll give me extra time to find something special for our next trip!”

“I won’t say I’ll be there because that would be predicting the future.”

Rolling her eyes, Miki kisses Hisao. “Go and get a good night’s sleep, I’ll be ‘round bright and early with the supplies.”

“Do you know what she means? I don’t know what she means. Do I want to know what she means? I don’t think I do.” Suzu says to no-one in particular.

Hooking an arm around Suzu’s neck Miki says, “let me explain exactly what my plans for tomorrow are, princess.”

“Noooooo,” Suzu shrieks, “I still haven’t recovered from the last time you explained something to me!”

Hisao walks away quickly, doing his best to tune out Miki’s descriptions and the girls’ laughter. The last thing he hears before they disappear into their dorm is Rin asking, “is that why Emi walks funny sometimes?”

After a slow Monday, Hisao is enjoying the quiet of his room where they had retreated after post-training showers. Miki is stretched out on his bed, her skin gleaming from the massage oil. “No aches and pains today?”

She shakes her head. “I’m not pushing as hard, tapering down for Saturday.” Rolling onto her side and leaning her head on her stump she sighs and says, “Hisao, I’m sad,” with a quiver in her voice.

He frowns. “We can’t have that. I think you need a… happy ending!”

Laughing, they pounce on each other.

The pursuit of happiness is a hungry business, so after Miki has been thoroughly comforted they head to the cafeteria.

“ ‘Resting is training,’ so I’ll sit here while you fetch something.”

Sighing at her cheeky wink, Hisao goes to the counter and picks over the day’s leavings. It takes a while to find enough acceptable food for them both.

“Did you know that Takashi and Ikuno are seeing each other?”

“Really? How do you know?”

“While you were getting this delicious meal, he came in and sat next to her. They talked for a bit and left holding hands.”

“I’d never have thought those two would be together. She seems so…”

“Meek,” Miki finishes for him, “and he’s an asshole. Then again, plenty of people think we’re a weird couple.”

He snorts, “based solely on blind prejudice. I think we’re a great fit.”

“I certainly appreciate how well you fit me!” Grinning at the blush on his face, she changes the subject. “I’m feeling really good about Saturday. Your handiwork lets me train harder because I’m recovering so fast. I’ve never been in this sort of form before.”

“It would be great to see you beat Emi.”

“Yeah, she can stare at my arse for a change! My best chance is the hundred metres, probably the two hundred as well. She’s got the better build for longer distances, but I’ve got the raw power you need for the sprints.”

“One thing’s for certain, I’ll be staring at your arse on Saturday!”

Laughing she stands up. “Come on, time to turn in. I want you well rested for the weekend, I intend to be doing a lot of celebrating!”

Wednesday morning finds class 3-3 bored by one of Mutou’s flights of fancy. Hisao is looking at Ikuno; speculating about what she finds attractive in Takashi is far more entertaining than what’s going on at the front of the class. He is interrupted by a piece of paper landing on his desk.

[Missing your girlfriend so much you can’t stop staring at her?]

[No was wondering what Ikuno sees in Takashi]

Shizune frowns as she reads Hisao’s reply. [You’d be better off ignoring that troublesome girl.]

It’s Hisao’s turn to frown. [But she seems so quiet]

Shizune writes angrily for a while, then thrusts the paper back. [We regularly get reports of her returning to campus after curfew. We fill out a form for each incident but the Administration doesn’t do anything about her delinquent behaviour. It causes us a lot of work, it’s disrespectful to the school, and she’s a bad example to the younger students. We would be far better off if she were expelled.]

[Harsh. You must have spoken to her, did she explain what was going on?]

[She says she has family obligations to attend to, they live in the city apparently.]

[Yeah we saw her with her father on Saturday. You should give her a break, sounds like the poor girl has enough to deal with]

Shizune reads his reply and sneers at him. [You’ll never get anywhere with that weak attitude!]

Hisao shrugs and goes back to his speculation.

“No training tonight Hisao,” Miki announces as they leave class on Friday afternoon. “Let’s sit in the sun for a bit.”

They find an unoccupied bench and settle down.

“Have you decided which events you’ll enter?”

“I’m gonna ditch the four hundred and concentrate on the sprints. Ritsu’s damn near as fast as I am over that distance anyway, so I’m not leaving us without a good chance to gain points. I will do the relay, but that’s after the individual events so it won’t be a problem.”

“Do you think we’ll beat Sendai Ikuei Gakuen high school?”

Miki shrugs. “Not my problem, that’s for the captain to worry about. I’ve got enough on my plate. Their head coach is on Sendai University’s sports scholarship committee, if I put on a good show he’ll remember my name when it comes to handing them out.”

Hisao looks at her in surprise. “That’s the first time you’ve mentioned plans for after graduation. I was getting a bit wor-”

“Yeah let’s postpone this little chat, I’ve got to get through tomorrow first.”

Taken aback by her brusque reply, he nods. “What can I do to help you with that?”

“Honestly, the best thing you can do is leave me alone till after I’ve raced tomorrow.”

“Sure you don’t want some of that tension relieved?” he asks with a nudge and a wink.

“I told you what I want, I don’t need a fucking debate!”

“OK, OK, sorry… I haven’t done something to upset you have I?”

Sighing, she takes his hand. “No, I’m always foul on the day before an event, and this is the most important one so far.” She pauses, searching for the right words. “I need to focus on me so I can perform properly, I can’t deal with anyone else. Just… be there for me Hisao. Sitting in the bleachers, staring at my arse.”

Laughing, he stands up. “Go well tomorrow Miki, not for Yamaku, not for the track club, not even for me. Do it for yourself.”

She nods as he bends down to kiss her, then he leaves her to her thoughts.

Hisao sits with Suzu, waiting for the girls’ two hundred metres race. The four hundred metres went well for Yamaku, Emi winning easily and Ritsu just squeezing into second place by the narrowest of margins.

“There she is!” Suzu says excitedly, tugging on his arm. “Hisao, what have you done to her? She looks magnificent!”

The comparison between Miki and the other competitors is stark. Its not just that she is powerfully built; the striations in her muscles, thrown into sharp relief by the sunlight, are testament to the intensity with which she has been training.

“She says the massages help her train harder. You really can see the difference.”

As the girls are called to their mark Hisao starts to feel nervous. His heart starts to race, almost as if he was about to compete. The wait for the starting signal seems interminable; then it comes.

Miki explodes and powers round the bend, each stride a study in brutal acceleration and flowing relaxation. The result is never in doubt; half-way down the finishing straight she has started to ease off, saving herself for the next race. She acknowledges the cheers with a small smile and wave then trots off to the staging area. Emi, a distant second, follows with a dazed expression on her face.

“Her power level was way over 9000,” Suzu says, an awed expression on her face.

“She was holding back. We’ll have to wait until the next race to see her go super saiyan.”

They wave at Molly when they spot her walking towards them. “Hey guys! I wanted to spend one race in Emi’s camp and one in Miki’s,” she says as she draws near, “but I should have started here, they probably think I’m deserting a sinking ship.”

Hisao makes room for her to sit down. “What did you think of the race?”

“I think Miki took Emi by surprise. I’m not saying she’s become complacent, but she’s never lost before. I bet we’ll see a different side to Emi when she comes out for the hundred.”

Hisao nods, “do you two want any snacks or drinks from the stall? My shout.”

“You should know the answer to that by now,” Suzu smirks.

Hisao has just got back to their seats, laden with gloriously unhealthy treats, when the girls’ hundred metres is announced.

“What kept you? I was worrying that you’d miss the race,” Suzu chides.

“Long queue. I was ready to abandon the mission, but we got the prize.”

The competitors walk out; Emi is grimly determined, Miki radiates relaxed confidence. Once they take their mark both girls’ faces are a mask of concentration. This time Hisao is excited rather than nervous.

The start sees Emi take a small lead, but it only lasts to the twenty metre mark. Miki is moving so smoothly by this point that she appears to be floating across the ground. There is no let up this time; she maintains full intensity to the finish line, the rest of the field in her wake.

Pumping her arms in triumph, she races over to her friends and gathers them into a group hug, jumping up and down with them. “Did you see? Did you see?!” Miki yells, laughing, tears streaming down her face. “It was perfect. From the b of the bang, Van-fucking-gelis playing in my head, to the dip at the end. Perfect!”

None of them know whether to laugh or cry so they do both, celebrating the way she ran as much as the result.

All too soon they are interrupted by the team captain. “Well done Miki, but we’ve still got the relay to go. You can party as much as you want after that.”

Wiping her face, Miki shoots them a brilliant grin and says, “hold this mood, I’ll be back before you know it.”

Hisao looks puzzled when he sees Miki lining up to take the first leg of the relay. “Don’t they put the fastest runner last?”

Molly nods, “the captain is a clever fellow though. Look at the girl lining up against her, she’s quaking in her boots. They’ve lost before the gun goes off.”

Suzu sniggers, “seems she’s misplaced the ‘confidence’ and ‘determination’ from their dorky school motto!”

As Molly predicted, Miki establishes an emphatic lead in the first leg which Ritsu and Keiko extend in turn. Emi is left with a victory lap, which she takes with obvious pleasure.

“Well, I think it’ll be OK to congratulate Emi now,” Molly says, “are you coming Suzu?”

Nodding, Suzu replies, “Hisao’s got that look on his face, I don’t think it’ll be safe to be around them for a while!”

The medal ceremony seems to drag on forever but Hisao and Miki are finally reunited. Walking away from the track, medals clinking around Miki’s neck, they talk excitedly, reliving the races. As they draw near to the dorms Hisao sees something that stops him in his tracks. “I thought Ikuno was dating Takashi?!”

“That’s what it looked like on Monday. Why?”

He points out Haruhiko, his own medal flashing in the sun and his arm firmly around Ikuno’s waist. “I think they’re headed to the boys’ dorms.”

“Huh. Do you think that’s angry rebound sex or has she got herself a fan club? Good for her either way, though she could have better taste in boys.” She puts on an exaggeratedly thoughtful look. “Hmm, maybe I should get into polynomials.”

After racking his brain for a few seconds Hisao bursts into laughter. “I think you mean polyamory! No thanks, I don’t play well with others.”

“Spoilsport! Doesn’t have to be another guy, I bet Misha’d be up for a bit of fun.”

“Eugh! I need the mind bleach!”

Laughing she says, “come on, I need to shower and change before the party.”

Hisao is making polite conversation with members of the other school’s track team when Miki grabs his arm.

“Very sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but may I drag my boyfriend away?” At their nods she leads him to a quiet corner. “I was talking to Haruhiko about seeing him with Ikuno. He said that he wanted to celebrate winning a medal.”

“Sounds familiar!” Hisao says, remembering how they spent the hour between leaving the medal ceremony and arriving at the party.

“Well, yeah,” she admits, “but the thing is, he claims that they aren’t dating and said she’s anyone’s girlfriend. Then he went quiet and walked off. I can’t work out if he was being mean ‘cos he wanted more from the hook-up than she did, or if something else is going on.”

“It’s not really any of our business,” Hisao says uneasily, “but that does seem strange. Now that I think of it, we’ve seen her with three different guys in the space of a week.”

“You think it wasn’t her dad with her in the city?”

“I hope it was, I’m not sure what the alternative would be. I think we should ask around on Monday, see if anyone else has noticed anything odd. But let’s leave it for now, you need to circulate and lord it over the losers.”

“I’ll have you know I’m a very humble winner!”

“Yeah yeah, go and be humble in Emi’s face.”

As soon as the lunch bell rings on Monday, Miki walks over to Natsume’s desk.

“If it’s not our new queen of the track,” Natsume’s eyes flicker to Hisao, who has come to stand next to Miki. “And her faithful soigneur.”

“We should interview her for the next issue. Get the scoop on how she managed to beat the fastest thing on no legs,” Naomi says excitedly.

“Uh yeah, an interview, great, but could we go somewhere quiet to spare my blushes?”

Natsume shoots her a knowing look and heaves herself to her feet. “The clubroom should be free, but you’ll have to excuse me if I’m a little slower than you’re used to.”

Once they’ve settled into the clubroom’s comfortable couches Natsume opens by saying, “Miki, in all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never once needed your blushes spared. What’s this about?”

Miki smirks at Hisao. “Told you she was the right person to talk to! There’s some things we find odd about Ikuno and it would be good to hear what you think, maybe we’re just imagining stuff.”

“The quiet girl you sit next to? What could possibly be odd about her?”

“A week ago we’d have said the same, but we’ve seen her walk out of the cafeteria holding hands with Takeshi, going to the boys’ dorms with Haruhiko all over her, and in the city with an older man who may or may not be her father,” Hisao explains.

“Rin said she got a creepy vibe from the old guy, staring at her and Molly. And when I talked to Haruhiko he said that he wasn’t dating her.”

“Didn’t he say that she was anyone’s girlfriend?” Seeing Miki nod he continues, “Shizune told me that she regularly comes back late from visits to the city, supposedly dealing with family issues. She was very indignant that the school administration lets Ikuno get away with ignoring curfew.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking Nat?”

“Probably. Can you grab a copy of the article the Principal spiked?” Seeing Hisao and Miki share a confused look she explains, “he stopped us publishing it despite Mr Ishiguro giving us the go ahead. Apparently it’s not a fitting topic for a high class academy like Yamaku.”

The article on the participation of Japanese schoolgirls in compensated dating and the following discussion are a revelation to Hisao and Miki.

“That bit about Yamaku girls being particularly vulnerable because paraphiliacs can have other psychoses was extremely disturbing,” Hisao says, concern in his voice.

“You better not be with me ‘cos you’re one of those cripple-lovers!” Miki stumps Hisao playfully.

“I love what’s there, not what isn’t.”

As Miki blushes, Naomi chirps, “get a room you two!”

“I think I see why you were successful on Saturday,” Natsume says, a twinkle in her eyes. “Emi thought she was racing Miki, but she was actually up against both of you.”

“If we could find Ikuno on one of the online notice boards you mentioned in the article, we’d have our suspicions confirmed.”

“We tried to get on the boards when we were doing our research, but the school blocks them,” Naomi says crossly.

“I-I can s-show you how to use a p-proxy to bypass the s-security.”

Miki and Hisao look around in surprise, noticing Hanako for the first time. She is working quietly at a side table, typing up an article on a laptop.

“Meet the best undercover reporter the club’s ever had!” Naomi beams.

“N-not really.”

“Don’t put yourself down girl, I’m going to be a lot more careful about what I say from now on in case you pop up from nowhere again!”

“Where did you learn to do this Hanako?” Hisao asks, fascinated as she runs through configuration screens.

“A-at the orphanage when they b-blocked WoW. I couldn’t l-let them get between me and E-Elvira, undead warlock and Mistress of the D-dark!”

Not really understanding what she is talking about, Hisao says, “it’s very impressive. Naomi, can you remember any of the sites?”

“I told you, we found out they existed but never got onto any of them. Besides, I don’t like using a computer for too long, might set me off.”

“Don’t look at me,” Natsume says holding up stiff hands, “Hana’s got the best google-fu.”

“That’s it, you found her!” Miki says excitedly, pounding Hanako on the back. “Fantastic work!”

“T-thanks,” she squeaks, overcome by both the praise and the physical contact.

They inspect the picture of Ikuno looking shy in her school uniform with the tagline ’Can you love this katawa?’

“She’s done her market research,” Hisao mutters.

“The question is, what now?” Natsume says thoughtfully. “If we tell the Administration they’re likely to expel her.”

Hanako gasps, “oh, I w-wouldn’t w-want her to g-get in t-trouble because I f-found h-her p-p-profile.”

Hisao snorts, “Shizune might like that, but I doubt any of us would.”

Seeing them shake their heads, Natsume continues, “so we’ve got to choose between pretending we know nothing, or trying to do something.”

“I don’t feel right ignoring it. Thinking about her putting herself out there for those sick fucks makes me want to throw up.”

Hisao nods in agreement, “if anything happens to her on one of these ‘dates’ and we hadn’t tried something, I’d be distraught.”

“But what can we do? We don’t have any leverage except for an empty threat to tell the authorities, and I think she’d see through that,” Naomi counters.

“M-maybe we should just t-talk to her, hear her s-side of the story.”

Natsume nods, “agreed. If we can learn a little more about what’s going on, maybe we’ll get a clearer idea of where to go with this. I don’t think I should talk to her, my reputation for being a little… sharp might stop her opening up. Naomi of course, she can charm the pants off anyone.” Naomi’s chuckle brings a hint of colour to Natsume’s cheeks. “Hana?”

She shakes her head. “I’m s-seeing Misaki to go through her photos from the track m-meet.”

“Oh yes, I remember now. I think we’ll go with Miki’s straight talking then, a boy might make her clam up,” she nods an apology to Hisao. “We’ve got some of the leaflets the lady from the BOND Project sent through after we interviewed her, you can try giving her one. Now we just need a reason to get her here.”

“The ‘can we interview you for an update to your yearbook profile?’ routine never fails,” Naomi giggles.

“I-t’s an oldie b-but a goodie!”

“We’ll go with that. Right, classes will end for the day soon. Naomi, pick Ikuno up from class and bring her here. Miki, wait here for them. Go and have your meeting with Misaki, Hana. Hisao and I will wait in my room; meet us there once you’ve spoken to Ikuno.”

Ikuno is surprised to see Miki when she follows Naomi into the clubroom. “You’re not in the newspaper club, why are you here?”

“I’m afraid I’ve brought you here under false pretences.”

“What else could you possibly want with me?”

“It’s about your dating site profile. We’re worried about you and want to offer you the chance to talk about it. Or if you don’t want to talk to us, we’ve got details of an organisation that will listen,” Naomi holds out a leaflet to her.

A scared look flashes across Ikuno’s face, but she launches into what is obviously a well practised explanation. “Oh, that. It’s part of my one-woman campaign to subvert Japan’s patriarchal society. Redistributing wealth from the reactionaries not only empowers me, but also funds my propaganda. I should bring some of my pamphlets in, maybe you’d write an article to help me spread my ideas.”

Miki grows angry as she listens to Ikuno. “Do you expect me to believe that drivel? Are you subverting the patriarchy when some perverted old man bends you over and does you like a dog? Are you empowered when you’re on your knees in front of an asshole like Takashi with his cock in your mouth?”

Ikuno is shocked into dropping her pretence. “At least they notice me when I’m with them! I might as well be invisible given how little attention people pay me the rest of the time. You sit next to me in class, when did you last speak to me?”

Miki is taken aback, “well, you don-”

“You’re lucky, you’ve got Hisao. He doesn’t care about being in your shadow, all he wants is for you to be happy. I’ve got no-one except when I’m on one of my dates. The rest of the time I’m so lonely I wish I was dead.”

This is too much for Naomi, who tries to take Ikuno into her arms.

“No!” she shouts, “don’t pretend to care just to make yourself feel better!” She turns towards the door, pausing to snatch the leaflet from Naomi’s hand. She looks back at them as she is about to leave; “don’t you dare speak to me again, I’ll report you to the Principal for harassment if you do.”

“That could’ve gone better,” Naomi says unsteadily.

“I screwed up, I shouldn’t have got angry and said that stuff.”

“I think it would’ve ended like that however we handled it. Come on, we should report back.”

Natsume sighs as the girls finish their account of the meeting. “At least she took the leaflet, maybe she’ll get in touch with someone from the BOND Project. She clearly doesn’t want anything from us though, there’s no point poking the bear any further.”

“Let’s take a walk Hisao, I need to clear my head.”

As soon as the door closes behind them Natsume asks, “will you give me a hug?”

“Of course! You hardly ever let me have cuddles.”

Settling into Naomi’s embrace she starts to speak softly. “I just had a very disturbing thought. The Principal wouldn’t let us publish that article. The school won’t punish Ikuno for ignoring curfew. She’s confident that the Principal will take her side in a dispute with us.”

Naomi goes pale. “Oh shit.”

Miki and Hisao walk in silence for a while, letting the sunshine lighten their mood.

“So, ‘love what’s there’?”

“Truly, madly, deeply. Problem?”

Her answer is a fierce hug that threatens to mash them into a single, conjoined entity.

“Hisao…”

Surprised by her hesitant tone he disengages just far enough to see a troubled expression on her face.

“Something Ikuno said is bothering me. After she stopped spouting bollocks she said that I didn’t know how lucky I was to have a man like you. Thinking about it, you’ve always got my back, you’re always there for me. I know what I get from us being together, but what about you? Is it enough?”

He takes her hand and kisses it, wanting a little time to think so he doesn’t misspeak. “Do you remember when I walked into class on my first day?”

“Not really.”

Hisao laughs, “yeah, that sums it up nicely. I am going to answer you, but will you tell me why you decided to get me running with you?”

She shrugs, “that’s easy. Emi was moaning on about you skipping mornings, how lazy you were, how you didn’t appreciate what she was doing for you. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone: piss her off by showing her that she was the problem, and have Mutou’s new BFF under my thumb so I could copy his homework. First one worked out just fine but you never did let me copy, stingy bastard.”

“I did better than that, people want to copy your homework now! OK so what changed, when did I go from forgettable to dateable?”

“Hmm. Well you stopped being a scared little boy and you worked hard. I could see how difficult running was for you to begin with, but you didn’t let that stop you. But I didn’t realise how much you’d changed until I tweaked a hamstring and you offered to massage it. I was expecting it to do fuck all good but I was curious to see if you were brave enough to follow through; I bet you heard that I’ve decked boys for trying to get handsy with me.”

He nods.

“But you were brave enough and it did help. I was back to full training days earlier than normal. And I’m not gonna lie, once I realised you weren’t just trying to grope me, I loved the feel of your strong, warm hands on my body. Then you said that’d you’d been learning about massage because you’d hoped to be able to help me… Hisao, you don’t know how long its been since someone did anything for me without wanting something in return.”

“You were the catalyst for those changes, seeing how you approach life taught me to be brave again. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have got there on my own but it would have taken a lot longer. I’m a better version of me when I’m with you, Hisao 2.0. Thanks to you I’ve become this fine specimen of manhood who can look after his woman.” He strikes a manly pose.

“I’m no man’s woman!”

“I know and that’s just one of the reasons why it’s so amazing to be with you.”

Cupping his face affectionately she says, “We need to talk about this compensated dating thing though.”

“You get plenty of compensation. Awesome massages, world class science tuition…”

“I dunno Hisao, I feel like you’re undervaluing all this,” she gestures at her toned body and walks off towards the cafeteria.

Shaking his head and chuckling he says, “never change Miki Miura!” and falls into step with her, side by side, walking together.