(no subject)
Characters: Shishido Ryou and Ryuuzaki Sakuno
Rating: G
When/Where: A Week Ago / Outside
What: Sakuno gets help from Shishido doing club work.
Authors comments: Let the braid tugging begin~
It was another beautiful day outside, perfect to be doing club work. As usual Sakuno was out and about on her own tending to the gardens. Tomoka was busy catching up with classes so she had to stay behind for supplementary courses to catch up on her curriculum. So with her roommate preoccupied and most of the other members of the club either asleep or busy with other things Sakuno tended to things alone. It had been like that from the beginning for the most part so it wasn’t as if the young girl minded much anyway. However on this particular day she needed to carry fertilizer and other supplies over to the shed on the other side of campus. Her club had been given another small supply shed on the other side for convenience, she had requested it since most of the members often worked solo as well.
Lugging the large bags along with some extra necessary supplies into a wagon Sakuno gripped the handles and slowly began to trudge forward. And it was quite a slow pace indeed; after all the girl wasn’t exactly built for heavy lifting or pushing. Not that she was going to let that stop her of course, she was quite determined to cart the items over on her own so she wouldn’t be a bother to her club members later. It might take her a while, but she knew she’d make it there on her own... eventually!
Shishido was studying his map of the school grounds, trying to figure the quickest path from the dorms to the library and then to the pool. His mind already thinking of the type of books he might need if he was expected to survive a second tutoring session with Inui.
Though, Shishido belatedly realized that maybe he should have been sparing some thought to what was going on around him. He turned in the path and stumbled right into a wagon, thankfully he managed to fall backwards onto his butt instead of face first but it still hurt. “Ow, damn it,” He cursed as he looked up at what he had nearly fallen over and then at the girl attached to it. How embarrassing.
“A-Are you alright?!” Sakuno panicked, rushing over to him in case he was hurt. “I-I’m so sorry! Can you stand okay..?” It wasn’t as if she was moving the wagon fast and collided with him but she did feel responsible for the boy’s accident. She noticed he had dropped something when he had fallen down which she picked up as she made her way closer to him. Oh, it was a map of the school grounds. “I don’t suppose... you’re new here?” she questioned, holding out a hand to help him up and also offering his map back.
“I’m fine, it’s okay,” Shishido said as he stood while trying not to let the girl support too much of his weight. He could feel the slight heat in his cheeks and knew he was blushing from the completely uncool collision with a garden cart. He really hoped nobody else witnessed this. “And yeah, been here about a week. Shishido Ryou.” He took the map and hastily shoved it in a pocket.
“I’m Ryuuzaki Sakuno, it’s nice to meet you. And I’m sorry again...” she bowed politely and slightly apologetically as the boy got back to his feet and took the map. At least he didn’t seem to be hurt and said he was fine, which was good. The poor girl would have been beside herself if she had hurt him carting her supplies. “A-Ano... did you need help getting anywhere?” she offered, assuming he might have been trying to get somewhere since he had been looking at the map earlier.
“Not your fault. And uh.. I guess you can help.” Shishido reluctantly pulled his map back out and held it so they could both see it. “I know how to get to the library and the pool and stuff but I was checking to see if there were any short cuts and stuff.”
“Shortcuts?” Sakuno repeated and glanced at the map. She thought back to her few trips to both locations and took careful consideration over the map. “I believe if you take the back exit out of the dorm and then follow these paths it can cut down on time?” she offered, pointing on the map to the paths she meant.
Shishido tilted his head as he looked at the map where Sakuno was pointing. “Huh, guess that makes sense. Thanks.” He took the map back and with another look shoved it back in his pocket. He was about to head off when he thought it might be a little rude. He looked back at the wagon and then at Sakuno. “So, where are you taking this stuff anyway? Looks heavy.” The wagon had barely shifted when he’d ran into it.
“Oh, this? I was taking supplies over to the new gardening club shed on the other side of the school building.” Sakuno explained with a small smile. “It is a bit heavy...” she admitted with a bit of embarrassment. “But I didn’t want to have to make a lot of trips so I thought if I brought it all in one go it would take less time. It’s my job as president anyway, heh~” She was fully aware of how silly it seemed but she was quite determined to get it done on her own time instead of burdening her friends.
Shishido looked off in the direction of the library and then back to Sakuno and the wagon. He wouldn’t be surprised if the wagon weighed more than the slender girl. “I’ve got some time, why don’t I help you drag it over to where you want it,” He offered. And without waiting for a response he moved to the handles and grabbed onto them. “What are you the president of anyway?”
“A-Are you sure..?” She didn’t want to put him out now, they had just met and all. Sakuno made an attempt to move to the handles before him but was obviously no match. “I’m the president of the gardening club.” she answered, grabbing some of the things she could carry from the wagon instead. (Not that it helped too much as she couldn’t carry the things that were really heavy but it made her feel a little better.)
“Yeah, it’s no problem, ‘sides, you helped me find those shortcuts.” Shishido pointed out easily moving the wagon alongside Sakuno. “I didn’t know there was a gardening club... guess it makes sense though, there’s tons of gardens and stuff along the paths.” Shishido was sure the club would never run out of things to do with the amount of greenery around but he did hope there were some bulky members in it to help Sakuno out when he wasn’t around.
“Th-Thank you, Shishido-san.” She couldn’t very well tell him to stop helping her now, she would have to make him something as a thank you later. Perhaps an apple pie as the trees seemed to be filled with them lately. “I started the club myself so I guess it’s not a surprise it isn’t so well known. There’s only a few members, really. Most of them are in the Night Class so I often work alone.” she smiled as they continued along at a much faster pace than she would have made alone.
“Don’t mention it. And just Shishido’s fine.” Shishido was never one for formality, a fact that sometimes got him into trouble. “Must be hard having a club full of night class people. And who wants to garden at night anyway?” Shishido found the whole concept of a night class really weird. But from what he could tell, a lot of the night class was rich so maybe it was some new high society fad to attend classes at night.
“Well during the summer it’s quite convenient, I suppose. I have to get up early in the morning or wait until the late afternoon a lot myself.” Sakuno found herself trying to defend the concept a bit, though indeed the boy did have a bit of a point. However she was under the impression the Night Class was simply raised that way for the most part, or she had heard about some members suffering from a condition where they were sensitive to the light. It was such a pity, especially when she thought of some of her friends not being able to fully enjoy a nice sunny day. “I’m just happy to have members.” Which was the truth as she didn’t really believe anyone would join her at first.
“Sounds like a pain,” Shishido said and then thought about all the hard work Sakuno was putting into things and quickly added, “But it does look really nice.” He didn’t want to risk a girl breaking out into tears because he insulted her club.
“So, where are we going with this stuff anyway?”
“I guess it could be, heh~” She didn’t take any offense to Shishido, to most people it did seem that way anyway and she wasn’t surprised. “But I do it because I want to and have fun despite the hard work. It’s rewarding to be able to share it with everyone as well.” she smiled back to him confidently.
“Oh, to the shed over there.” Sakuno motioned to the shed not too far away from them now. Wow, she probably would have never made it this far so fast. She really did have to repay him later with something; that pie was definitely sounding like a good idea. Ah, but did he like pie..? Hm... maybe she’d have to think on that a bit more.
“Cool,” Shishido said. He turned the wagon on the path and started heading to the shed. He couldn’t believe that Sakuno thought she’d manage this on her own in one trip. Even his own arms were starting to feel the strain of the heavy load. He hoped Sakuno could find some more day class students to join her club soon. He didn’t want to be rushing by one day and find her passed out or something equally lame. “Want me to help you unload it? It’ll be faster with the two of us.”
“Oh... you don’t have to if you don’t want to. You’ve already helped a lot.” Which was quite true, he’d saved her a lot of time and probably agony pushing the wagon there. Opening the shed she began placing the few things she had been carrying where they were supposed to go. Once she was done she attempted to haul one of the fertilizer bags in next and struggled, a lot... “A-... Actually, if you’d be so kind, heh~” she finally caved when she felt the counter weight of the bag and almost found herself falling backward.
“Geeze, watch out!” Shishido shouted as he moved to brace Sakuno so she wouldn’t topple over. He then moved to grab a hold of the bag. “You can’t get hurt, I don’t know where the infirmary is,” He teased as he put the bag into the shed and went for another one. After this, maybe he wouldn’t need the work out at the pool after all.
“S-Sorry...” she apologized, a bit flustered when the boy caught her from the fall and slightly embarrassed. It wasn’t hard for him to take the bag from her either, she was surprised by how effortlessly he did it. Though the point he made was quite true, perhaps she’d show him the way later as well. (Not for her sake of course just because she was worried about people getting hurt and not knowing what to do.) “Thank you for all the help again Shishido... I don’t know what I would have done without you, heh~” Which she sincerely meant, no doubt she’d be either still half way there or underneath a bag of fertilizer.
Shishido stopped after putting the bag away and looked at the girl. Sakuno honestly didn’t look like she could do much. She was a little small and scrawny and her long braids and honest face screamed cute, not determined but she had been dragging a wagon full of dirt and tools along when he ran into her so Shishido thought that appearances were probably deceiving. “You know, I think you would have managed it eventually. Just might have taken you a bit.” Feeling a bit awkward at the honesty he reached over and gave one of Sakuno’s braids a playful tug. “Come on, let’s get rest of this in the shed.”
Sakuno was a bit surprised when she felt the tug at her braids. She wasn’t angry about it, just honestly had not been expecting it. The young girl couldn’t help but let out a small whimper when the boy had given them the small tug but it grabbed her attention, which she was assuming was the point.
“A-...Are you sure? You’ve already helped out so much. You’re not a club member so I feel bad imposing...” she tried to protest, though it wasn’t very convincing.
“I’m not in any club yet, so it’s no big deal,” Shishido said. And really, he’d have to be a pretty big bastard to just walk away from someone so sweet when they were struggling with a task he could easily help out with.
“Oh, you’re not?” That was a surprise, she was used to people being in at least two; especially new students. Other clubs loved recruiting people and someone like Shishido seemed like a perfect candidate for any of them. “I’m sure you’ll be approached by lots then, since you’re so strong and helpful.” she smiled. “I know I would really appreciate your help in the gardening club.” Not that she was trying to pressure him or anything, she was just being honest. She had never gotten a task involving lifting done so quickly; it took her nearly three hours moving everything to the shed when the club first started alone.
“Are you trying to recruit me?” Shishido asked with a large grin at her. “It might not work. But I do accept bribes.” He planned on joining the swimming club but he hadn’t bothered to hunt down the person in charge yet. But he was sure he could fit in a bit of time to help out Sakuno. Even if it was just an hour a week helping her move supplies around. If nothing else, he could argue it was good strength training.
“R-Recruit?!” she blushed, a bit embarrassed what she was trying to say as purely complimentary came off that way. “N-Not at all! I would never try to ask you to join if you were busy or anything. I just thought that you were such a great help it would be nice... b-but I understand that the gardening club isn’t exactly fun to most people a-and...” Sakuno wasn’t quite sure what her point was anymore as she continued to ramble awkwardly. She seemed to get easily worked up more and more lately about the strangest things and wasn’t too sure why.
Shishido tried not to laugh as Sakuno babbled at him in a very uncool fashion, it was a close thing though. “Sakuno, stop, it’s okay. I was teasing... That’s what I do.” Though he would have to try and curb that around the garden club president if it set her off like this.
“And I want to join the swim club but I wouldn’t mind helping you out with the heavy lifting and stuff,” Shishido offered.
“O-Oh...” She felt a bit embarrassed about it, no doubt her cheeks showed it. The girl was pretty easily teased after all and never quite realized it unless it was pointed out to her. But it wasn’t as if she ever took offense to it and now was no exception.
“Really..?” She remembered quite a few others offering the same thing before as well. It was nice knowing she had so much help now. The small girl really did have to think twice before pulling something like this again knowing all the help was around. “That would be lovely.” she smiled, completely forgetting the teasing. “I can help you find the swim club later if you’d like as well.” Though that wouldn’t be thanks enough for his help but she’d make due.
Shishido gave a nod happy that Sakuno wasn’t about to burst into tears or continue rambling at him. “Yup, happy to help. And if you an show me in about an hour that’d be great. I gotta get to the library now. I asked Sadaharu to tutor me and I think he heard torture me.” The actual session with Inui hadn’t been that bad, but saying that he just needed to study more because he was behind and Inui was strict about catching up didn’t make for nearly as interesting a story.
“Inui-san..?” That was a name Sakuno wasn’t used to hearing when it came to tutoring others. Sure the boy offered quite a bit but it seemed not too many took him up on the offer; at least not so willingly. (Not that the girl knew why at all, she found him to be quite the great tutor. After all he spared her the concoctions.) She wondered what Shishido meant when he said ‘torture’...
“You know, tall guy, spiky hair, weird glasses that make it hard to see his eyes?” Shishido described, mistaking Sakuno’s question for her not knowing who he was.
“Oh, yes... but you’re being tutored by Inui-san?” she inquired a bit more clearly this time. It wasn’t exactly the way she would describe the boy but she imagined everyone had their own views.
“Yeah. I’m a bit behind and seemed like the brainiest guy in the day class. I think it will work out okay once we get used to each other.” Shishido shrugged. Inui and him were still feeling each other out as far as best tutoring practices went. And Shishido knew he would have to put in the time to make Inui proud of his progress which was a little lame but if it got him the grades he wanted then it would be worth it. It would also help him avoid those weird drinks. Who put cheese in a smoothie?!
“I see...” Sakuno had also had to tutor Tomoka quite a bit since her friend arrived late. No doubt it was the same situation for Shishido, though he had obviously had to seek out help more. It was a good thing he found Inui for that help. “Inui-san is a very good tutor, I’m sure you’ll be caught up in no time.” she smiled.
“He is? Did he tutor you before? He didn’t seem like he willingly takes on a lot of people. I practically had to beg. It was totally uncool,” Shishido said toying with the handle of the cart. “And does this go in here or back where you came from?”
“Ah... y-yes, quite a few times actually. He was very nice about it and always helps me out with notes and class.” Sakuno was slightly surprised, she thought it was the same for everyone. The girl had never had a hard time asking Inui for help before in any way; in fact the boy seemed to offer before she asked on a few occasions. “O-Oh, that goes back to the other shed!” She had nearly forgotten in the midst of their conversation.
“Oh I get it now,” Shishido said grabbing the cart handles and slowly starting back toward the other shed, making sure Sakuno was following. “you’ve got all the boys wrapped around your pinky. Inui’s tutoring you, I’m lugging around dirt. I bet there’s more too.” He grinned and hoped she knew he was teasing.
“H-...Huh?!” Sakuno stopped and turned red, completely flustered at Shishido’s obvious joke, not that she knew any better. “I-I’m sorry! A-Am I being a nuisance..? I thought it was a bit presumptuous of me... it really was after all, wasn’t it? F-Forgive me..!” she rambled again, bowing apologetically and at a loss of what to do to make the situation any better. She had been so afraid of overstepping her bounds perhaps she had managed to do just that after all. Oh how horrible of her, she would have to apologize to Inui later and anyone else as well!
Shishido knew he should be annoyed with Sakuno at never getting his sense of humour, but he couldn’t. So he just laughed and tugged one of her braids again. “Stop that, I’m not angry.” Getting his laughter under control, he continued on the path back and just shook his head. “You’re too easy Sakuno. You have to toughen up a bit or some of these students will eat you alive.”
“S-Sorry...” she apologized a bit sheepishly again. She had a feeling the light braid tugging would become a habit of the boy’s around her; not that she could blame him, she was aware of her overreacting, sometimes anyway.
“Come on. The sooner we get this put away the sooner you can help me hunt down the captain of the swim club. Might as well do that first if you’ve got the time now.” Then he could take his time studying instead of trying to cram all the information he needed in to his head in one hour. This being a good student thing was seriously starting to cut into his free time.
“O-Of course!” Sakuno quickly fell back into step beside Shishido, grabbing the side of the cart to help push it along. She knew that she wasn’t exactly helping much as the boy was doing all the pushing but if it helped even a little it was better than simply following. In no time they were back at the other shed; again in record time. If Sakuno could finish doing club work like that in such time every day she would have probably been able to redecorate the entire campus by now. (Though she was quite content with the current pace of things.)
“Thank you so much, Shishido.” she smiled as they finally arrived back at the other shed.
“No problem. And now that that’s done, let’s find that swim captain,” Shishido said. He adjusted his bag and got ready to head off with Sakuno. He was happy to have met her and help her and he’d make sure to keep an eye out for her the next time he walked through the garden area.
Rating: G
When/Where: A Week Ago / Outside
What: Sakuno gets help from Shishido doing club work.
Authors comments: Let the braid tugging begin~
It was another beautiful day outside, perfect to be doing club work. As usual Sakuno was out and about on her own tending to the gardens. Tomoka was busy catching up with classes so she had to stay behind for supplementary courses to catch up on her curriculum. So with her roommate preoccupied and most of the other members of the club either asleep or busy with other things Sakuno tended to things alone. It had been like that from the beginning for the most part so it wasn’t as if the young girl minded much anyway. However on this particular day she needed to carry fertilizer and other supplies over to the shed on the other side of campus. Her club had been given another small supply shed on the other side for convenience, she had requested it since most of the members often worked solo as well.
Lugging the large bags along with some extra necessary supplies into a wagon Sakuno gripped the handles and slowly began to trudge forward. And it was quite a slow pace indeed; after all the girl wasn’t exactly built for heavy lifting or pushing. Not that she was going to let that stop her of course, she was quite determined to cart the items over on her own so she wouldn’t be a bother to her club members later. It might take her a while, but she knew she’d make it there on her own... eventually!
Shishido was studying his map of the school grounds, trying to figure the quickest path from the dorms to the library and then to the pool. His mind already thinking of the type of books he might need if he was expected to survive a second tutoring session with Inui.
Though, Shishido belatedly realized that maybe he should have been sparing some thought to what was going on around him. He turned in the path and stumbled right into a wagon, thankfully he managed to fall backwards onto his butt instead of face first but it still hurt. “Ow, damn it,” He cursed as he looked up at what he had nearly fallen over and then at the girl attached to it. How embarrassing.
“A-Are you alright?!” Sakuno panicked, rushing over to him in case he was hurt. “I-I’m so sorry! Can you stand okay..?” It wasn’t as if she was moving the wagon fast and collided with him but she did feel responsible for the boy’s accident. She noticed he had dropped something when he had fallen down which she picked up as she made her way closer to him. Oh, it was a map of the school grounds. “I don’t suppose... you’re new here?” she questioned, holding out a hand to help him up and also offering his map back.
“I’m fine, it’s okay,” Shishido said as he stood while trying not to let the girl support too much of his weight. He could feel the slight heat in his cheeks and knew he was blushing from the completely uncool collision with a garden cart. He really hoped nobody else witnessed this. “And yeah, been here about a week. Shishido Ryou.” He took the map and hastily shoved it in a pocket.
“I’m Ryuuzaki Sakuno, it’s nice to meet you. And I’m sorry again...” she bowed politely and slightly apologetically as the boy got back to his feet and took the map. At least he didn’t seem to be hurt and said he was fine, which was good. The poor girl would have been beside herself if she had hurt him carting her supplies. “A-Ano... did you need help getting anywhere?” she offered, assuming he might have been trying to get somewhere since he had been looking at the map earlier.
“Not your fault. And uh.. I guess you can help.” Shishido reluctantly pulled his map back out and held it so they could both see it. “I know how to get to the library and the pool and stuff but I was checking to see if there were any short cuts and stuff.”
“Shortcuts?” Sakuno repeated and glanced at the map. She thought back to her few trips to both locations and took careful consideration over the map. “I believe if you take the back exit out of the dorm and then follow these paths it can cut down on time?” she offered, pointing on the map to the paths she meant.
Shishido tilted his head as he looked at the map where Sakuno was pointing. “Huh, guess that makes sense. Thanks.” He took the map back and with another look shoved it back in his pocket. He was about to head off when he thought it might be a little rude. He looked back at the wagon and then at Sakuno. “So, where are you taking this stuff anyway? Looks heavy.” The wagon had barely shifted when he’d ran into it.
“Oh, this? I was taking supplies over to the new gardening club shed on the other side of the school building.” Sakuno explained with a small smile. “It is a bit heavy...” she admitted with a bit of embarrassment. “But I didn’t want to have to make a lot of trips so I thought if I brought it all in one go it would take less time. It’s my job as president anyway, heh~” She was fully aware of how silly it seemed but she was quite determined to get it done on her own time instead of burdening her friends.
Shishido looked off in the direction of the library and then back to Sakuno and the wagon. He wouldn’t be surprised if the wagon weighed more than the slender girl. “I’ve got some time, why don’t I help you drag it over to where you want it,” He offered. And without waiting for a response he moved to the handles and grabbed onto them. “What are you the president of anyway?”
“A-Are you sure..?” She didn’t want to put him out now, they had just met and all. Sakuno made an attempt to move to the handles before him but was obviously no match. “I’m the president of the gardening club.” she answered, grabbing some of the things she could carry from the wagon instead. (Not that it helped too much as she couldn’t carry the things that were really heavy but it made her feel a little better.)
“Yeah, it’s no problem, ‘sides, you helped me find those shortcuts.” Shishido pointed out easily moving the wagon alongside Sakuno. “I didn’t know there was a gardening club... guess it makes sense though, there’s tons of gardens and stuff along the paths.” Shishido was sure the club would never run out of things to do with the amount of greenery around but he did hope there were some bulky members in it to help Sakuno out when he wasn’t around.
“Th-Thank you, Shishido-san.” She couldn’t very well tell him to stop helping her now, she would have to make him something as a thank you later. Perhaps an apple pie as the trees seemed to be filled with them lately. “I started the club myself so I guess it’s not a surprise it isn’t so well known. There’s only a few members, really. Most of them are in the Night Class so I often work alone.” she smiled as they continued along at a much faster pace than she would have made alone.
“Don’t mention it. And just Shishido’s fine.” Shishido was never one for formality, a fact that sometimes got him into trouble. “Must be hard having a club full of night class people. And who wants to garden at night anyway?” Shishido found the whole concept of a night class really weird. But from what he could tell, a lot of the night class was rich so maybe it was some new high society fad to attend classes at night.
“Well during the summer it’s quite convenient, I suppose. I have to get up early in the morning or wait until the late afternoon a lot myself.” Sakuno found herself trying to defend the concept a bit, though indeed the boy did have a bit of a point. However she was under the impression the Night Class was simply raised that way for the most part, or she had heard about some members suffering from a condition where they were sensitive to the light. It was such a pity, especially when she thought of some of her friends not being able to fully enjoy a nice sunny day. “I’m just happy to have members.” Which was the truth as she didn’t really believe anyone would join her at first.
“Sounds like a pain,” Shishido said and then thought about all the hard work Sakuno was putting into things and quickly added, “But it does look really nice.” He didn’t want to risk a girl breaking out into tears because he insulted her club.
“So, where are we going with this stuff anyway?”
“I guess it could be, heh~” She didn’t take any offense to Shishido, to most people it did seem that way anyway and she wasn’t surprised. “But I do it because I want to and have fun despite the hard work. It’s rewarding to be able to share it with everyone as well.” she smiled back to him confidently.
“Oh, to the shed over there.” Sakuno motioned to the shed not too far away from them now. Wow, she probably would have never made it this far so fast. She really did have to repay him later with something; that pie was definitely sounding like a good idea. Ah, but did he like pie..? Hm... maybe she’d have to think on that a bit more.
“Cool,” Shishido said. He turned the wagon on the path and started heading to the shed. He couldn’t believe that Sakuno thought she’d manage this on her own in one trip. Even his own arms were starting to feel the strain of the heavy load. He hoped Sakuno could find some more day class students to join her club soon. He didn’t want to be rushing by one day and find her passed out or something equally lame. “Want me to help you unload it? It’ll be faster with the two of us.”
“Oh... you don’t have to if you don’t want to. You’ve already helped a lot.” Which was quite true, he’d saved her a lot of time and probably agony pushing the wagon there. Opening the shed she began placing the few things she had been carrying where they were supposed to go. Once she was done she attempted to haul one of the fertilizer bags in next and struggled, a lot... “A-... Actually, if you’d be so kind, heh~” she finally caved when she felt the counter weight of the bag and almost found herself falling backward.
“Geeze, watch out!” Shishido shouted as he moved to brace Sakuno so she wouldn’t topple over. He then moved to grab a hold of the bag. “You can’t get hurt, I don’t know where the infirmary is,” He teased as he put the bag into the shed and went for another one. After this, maybe he wouldn’t need the work out at the pool after all.
“S-Sorry...” she apologized, a bit flustered when the boy caught her from the fall and slightly embarrassed. It wasn’t hard for him to take the bag from her either, she was surprised by how effortlessly he did it. Though the point he made was quite true, perhaps she’d show him the way later as well. (Not for her sake of course just because she was worried about people getting hurt and not knowing what to do.) “Thank you for all the help again Shishido... I don’t know what I would have done without you, heh~” Which she sincerely meant, no doubt she’d be either still half way there or underneath a bag of fertilizer.
Shishido stopped after putting the bag away and looked at the girl. Sakuno honestly didn’t look like she could do much. She was a little small and scrawny and her long braids and honest face screamed cute, not determined but she had been dragging a wagon full of dirt and tools along when he ran into her so Shishido thought that appearances were probably deceiving. “You know, I think you would have managed it eventually. Just might have taken you a bit.” Feeling a bit awkward at the honesty he reached over and gave one of Sakuno’s braids a playful tug. “Come on, let’s get rest of this in the shed.”
Sakuno was a bit surprised when she felt the tug at her braids. She wasn’t angry about it, just honestly had not been expecting it. The young girl couldn’t help but let out a small whimper when the boy had given them the small tug but it grabbed her attention, which she was assuming was the point.
“A-...Are you sure? You’ve already helped out so much. You’re not a club member so I feel bad imposing...” she tried to protest, though it wasn’t very convincing.
“I’m not in any club yet, so it’s no big deal,” Shishido said. And really, he’d have to be a pretty big bastard to just walk away from someone so sweet when they were struggling with a task he could easily help out with.
“Oh, you’re not?” That was a surprise, she was used to people being in at least two; especially new students. Other clubs loved recruiting people and someone like Shishido seemed like a perfect candidate for any of them. “I’m sure you’ll be approached by lots then, since you’re so strong and helpful.” she smiled. “I know I would really appreciate your help in the gardening club.” Not that she was trying to pressure him or anything, she was just being honest. She had never gotten a task involving lifting done so quickly; it took her nearly three hours moving everything to the shed when the club first started alone.
“Are you trying to recruit me?” Shishido asked with a large grin at her. “It might not work. But I do accept bribes.” He planned on joining the swimming club but he hadn’t bothered to hunt down the person in charge yet. But he was sure he could fit in a bit of time to help out Sakuno. Even if it was just an hour a week helping her move supplies around. If nothing else, he could argue it was good strength training.
“R-Recruit?!” she blushed, a bit embarrassed what she was trying to say as purely complimentary came off that way. “N-Not at all! I would never try to ask you to join if you were busy or anything. I just thought that you were such a great help it would be nice... b-but I understand that the gardening club isn’t exactly fun to most people a-and...” Sakuno wasn’t quite sure what her point was anymore as she continued to ramble awkwardly. She seemed to get easily worked up more and more lately about the strangest things and wasn’t too sure why.
Shishido tried not to laugh as Sakuno babbled at him in a very uncool fashion, it was a close thing though. “Sakuno, stop, it’s okay. I was teasing... That’s what I do.” Though he would have to try and curb that around the garden club president if it set her off like this.
“And I want to join the swim club but I wouldn’t mind helping you out with the heavy lifting and stuff,” Shishido offered.
“O-Oh...” She felt a bit embarrassed about it, no doubt her cheeks showed it. The girl was pretty easily teased after all and never quite realized it unless it was pointed out to her. But it wasn’t as if she ever took offense to it and now was no exception.
“Really..?” She remembered quite a few others offering the same thing before as well. It was nice knowing she had so much help now. The small girl really did have to think twice before pulling something like this again knowing all the help was around. “That would be lovely.” she smiled, completely forgetting the teasing. “I can help you find the swim club later if you’d like as well.” Though that wouldn’t be thanks enough for his help but she’d make due.
Shishido gave a nod happy that Sakuno wasn’t about to burst into tears or continue rambling at him. “Yup, happy to help. And if you an show me in about an hour that’d be great. I gotta get to the library now. I asked Sadaharu to tutor me and I think he heard torture me.” The actual session with Inui hadn’t been that bad, but saying that he just needed to study more because he was behind and Inui was strict about catching up didn’t make for nearly as interesting a story.
“Inui-san..?” That was a name Sakuno wasn’t used to hearing when it came to tutoring others. Sure the boy offered quite a bit but it seemed not too many took him up on the offer; at least not so willingly. (Not that the girl knew why at all, she found him to be quite the great tutor. After all he spared her the concoctions.) She wondered what Shishido meant when he said ‘torture’...
“You know, tall guy, spiky hair, weird glasses that make it hard to see his eyes?” Shishido described, mistaking Sakuno’s question for her not knowing who he was.
“Oh, yes... but you’re being tutored by Inui-san?” she inquired a bit more clearly this time. It wasn’t exactly the way she would describe the boy but she imagined everyone had their own views.
“Yeah. I’m a bit behind and seemed like the brainiest guy in the day class. I think it will work out okay once we get used to each other.” Shishido shrugged. Inui and him were still feeling each other out as far as best tutoring practices went. And Shishido knew he would have to put in the time to make Inui proud of his progress which was a little lame but if it got him the grades he wanted then it would be worth it. It would also help him avoid those weird drinks. Who put cheese in a smoothie?!
“I see...” Sakuno had also had to tutor Tomoka quite a bit since her friend arrived late. No doubt it was the same situation for Shishido, though he had obviously had to seek out help more. It was a good thing he found Inui for that help. “Inui-san is a very good tutor, I’m sure you’ll be caught up in no time.” she smiled.
“He is? Did he tutor you before? He didn’t seem like he willingly takes on a lot of people. I practically had to beg. It was totally uncool,” Shishido said toying with the handle of the cart. “And does this go in here or back where you came from?”
“Ah... y-yes, quite a few times actually. He was very nice about it and always helps me out with notes and class.” Sakuno was slightly surprised, she thought it was the same for everyone. The girl had never had a hard time asking Inui for help before in any way; in fact the boy seemed to offer before she asked on a few occasions. “O-Oh, that goes back to the other shed!” She had nearly forgotten in the midst of their conversation.
“Oh I get it now,” Shishido said grabbing the cart handles and slowly starting back toward the other shed, making sure Sakuno was following. “you’ve got all the boys wrapped around your pinky. Inui’s tutoring you, I’m lugging around dirt. I bet there’s more too.” He grinned and hoped she knew he was teasing.
“H-...Huh?!” Sakuno stopped and turned red, completely flustered at Shishido’s obvious joke, not that she knew any better. “I-I’m sorry! A-Am I being a nuisance..? I thought it was a bit presumptuous of me... it really was after all, wasn’t it? F-Forgive me..!” she rambled again, bowing apologetically and at a loss of what to do to make the situation any better. She had been so afraid of overstepping her bounds perhaps she had managed to do just that after all. Oh how horrible of her, she would have to apologize to Inui later and anyone else as well!
Shishido knew he should be annoyed with Sakuno at never getting his sense of humour, but he couldn’t. So he just laughed and tugged one of her braids again. “Stop that, I’m not angry.” Getting his laughter under control, he continued on the path back and just shook his head. “You’re too easy Sakuno. You have to toughen up a bit or some of these students will eat you alive.”
“S-Sorry...” she apologized a bit sheepishly again. She had a feeling the light braid tugging would become a habit of the boy’s around her; not that she could blame him, she was aware of her overreacting, sometimes anyway.
“Come on. The sooner we get this put away the sooner you can help me hunt down the captain of the swim club. Might as well do that first if you’ve got the time now.” Then he could take his time studying instead of trying to cram all the information he needed in to his head in one hour. This being a good student thing was seriously starting to cut into his free time.
“O-Of course!” Sakuno quickly fell back into step beside Shishido, grabbing the side of the cart to help push it along. She knew that she wasn’t exactly helping much as the boy was doing all the pushing but if it helped even a little it was better than simply following. In no time they were back at the other shed; again in record time. If Sakuno could finish doing club work like that in such time every day she would have probably been able to redecorate the entire campus by now. (Though she was quite content with the current pace of things.)
“Thank you so much, Shishido.” she smiled as they finally arrived back at the other shed.
“No problem. And now that that’s done, let’s find that swim captain,” Shishido said. He adjusted his bag and got ready to head off with Sakuno. He was happy to have met her and help her and he’d make sure to keep an eye out for her the next time he walked through the garden area.