"Levels" (Saki Route 2-8)

Levels

Saturdays at Yamaku are pretty lazy. That being said, I couldn’t really sleep last night. The drama between Saki and Misha kept replaying through my head. It wasn’t until rosy-fingered dawn crawled over the horizon that I finally went to sleep.

I glance at the alarm clock besides me. 10AM. Four hours of sleep. I want to sleep in further, but that’s probably a bad habit. I’ll just get a good rest tonight or something. It’s a nice day outside. Maybe I’ll sit on a bench for a while before I head into town to scrounge up breakfast. I’ve heard a lot about the Shanghai.

I shower, get dressed, and head outside. Off in the distance, I can see the bouncing figure of Emi doing laps. Laps. I wonder what it’s like to feel free when you run, fast and as light as the air.

Hopefully today will be better than yesterday. Even though Saki apologized, I can't pretend that yesterday was anything but miserable.

I’m not really sure where I am in my relationship with Saki right now. Technically, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. She’s always on a hair trigger about something. But when I’m alone with her, she turns into the sweetest girl in the world.

I don’t know much about Saki besides her condition. The way she talks about it so blunt. It’s almost like she’s asking you to react or something. There’s got to be something there, I’m sure of it. Just what is it? Maybe I can ask the Nur--

Black.

Pure black. I can’t see anything.

Heh. I hope I haven’t spontaneously combusted. That’s not medically possible, right? A bum ticker and an explosive condition? The two almost go together in a perverse pun. How punintentional.

But there's a hand... and something else... covering my eyes? Who could it be? Saki?

“Hiiiiissssaaaoooooooooo” purrs a voice in my ear.

Ah.

Miki.

The hand(s)? raise from my eyes and I’m spun around. Miki’s purple eyes show nothing but amusement. Then they grow serious.

“Listen, Hisao. I’m sorry for lashing out at your girlfriend yesterday. I think she’s a good person, and you are too. I didn’t mean her any offense, directly or indirectly. I admire what she's doing with the Fashion Club, and I think it's cool that you're in it too."

Uhhh.....

Do I tell her what Saki said? That’s definitely a violation of her privacy... but I can’t just brush Miki off.

What do I say?

“It’s okay. I think she values you as a friend and she’s wasn’t really thinking her actions through yesterday."

Her eyebrows raise in what I hope is praise of my attempt at tact. She breaks into a 1000-Mikiwatt grin. It’s hard not to like Miki.

“Sounds good. So, Hisao, whaddya say we get breakfast on me as a makeup for ruining yesterday’s meeting?”

She sidles up close to me, her eyes winking with mischief.

“Maybe I’ll show you how fashionable I can be without any clothes on.”

My heart races a tiny bit, and my face burns a bright red.

Miki without her clothes on… now that's a thought and a half. I brush the thought from my mind. You're in a relationship, Hisao. Pull yourself together.

Still…

CRASH!

A large volume of Shakespeare falls out from behind a tree. A Shakespeare tree?

A dash of blue rolls out from behind the tree, dusting herself off and picking up her book. She shakes the sleep out of her head and walks toward Miki. Suzuki? I think that’s her name. She is in my class, but… if grades were awarded for sleeping, let's just say she'd have a pretty easy A.

“SSSSNNNOOOOOZZZZUUUUUUU!!!!!!” roars Miki as she dashes over and scoops up a helpless Suzuki in her arms.

Miki's spinning around in a circle with a full-grown girl in her arms, laughing manically the entire time. It's a strange sight, but I can't help but smile. Miki stops spinning and brings her captive over, unceremoniously dumping her onto the grass.

Suzuki gets up and dusts herself off, looking at me as if I'm a strange animal in a zoo.

I don't look that bad, do I?

Miki waits no time making introductions.

“Hisao, meet Suzu Suzuki. Blue hair, sleep extraordinaire. Also known as Snoozu, but you don’t get to call her that unless she falls asleep on you, clothed or not.”

I offer my hand to shake. Suzu seems nervous. Without warning, she pitches forward, maybe a bow, maybe she’s now at 45 degrees, maybe why is she tilting forward so much maybe --

SMACK

Her head collides with mine as she collapses asleep into my chest. I can only stand there confused as Miki starts to cackle.

“Bwahahaa Hisao, certainly the knock-out ladies’ man! Just an introduction is enough to knock them out!”

Meanwhile, Suzu (or now that’s she’s fallen asleep, Snoozu), is blissfully asleep on my shoulder, dozing away. I feel like that kid who asks for the BB gun for christmas and then steps on his glasses. My face is burning red and I'm at a complete loss as what to do.

Miki’s cackle dwindles as she picks up on my current state, and she flashes me a genuine smile.

“Ok Hisao, enough excitement for the morning. I’ll wake Suzu up and we can all head down to the Shanghai for breakfast. Cool?”

I breathe a sigh of relief. Things are sorting themselves out.

“Cool.”

I expect Miki to thump Suzu on the back to wake her up or something—something in line with the brash, in-your-face Miura attitude. However, she does nothing of the sort.

Leading me by hand to the grass right beside us, Miki takes Suzu off my shoulder and onto hers, grunting with exertion. In a smooth, practiced motion, she sits down, laying Suzu’s head on her lap.

I stand off to the side awkwardly. This seems like something special--intimate, almost. I don't want to intrude.

Miki brushes a stray strand of hair out of her face. She looks at Suzu carefully, as if she were a piece of fine China in an antique store. For once, Miki is not the bull.

She gives Suzu a brief shake on the shoulder.

“Wake up, Snoozu,” she whispers. Something flashes in her eyes. What is it? Tenderness? Regret?

As hard as she’s sleeping, Suzuki’s eyes flutter open. She looks at Miki in confusion. Miki’s gaze back is steady, and purple, and for some reason, sad.

"Time to wake up, Snoozu. You don't want to miss what's going on in the world, do you?" she whispers.

A brilliant smile reaches her lips.

"Besides, Hisao might not let you fall asleep on him again. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?" her voice now tinged with mischief.

Suzuki turns her head. She sees me. She turns the color of a tomato. A tomato with blue hair. A strange sight.

“Ohmygod Hisao Imsosorry I fellasleepandithappenssomuchand”

Miki shushes Suzu by putting a finger on her lips.

“Suzu, it’s ok. Hisao understands.”

The grin returns.

“I’ll daresay he even enjoyed it a little.”

Fuck this isn't even fair how good Miki is at this teasing. I've got to attempt a retort or something. This is unreal.

“Miki, I—“

She places a finger on my lips, shushing me gently.

“My, you do get wound up so quickly. I can see why Saki’s interested. I’ll make it up to you, Snoozu and I. Breakfast with the lovely Miura.”

Wait. Weren't we going to do that anyway?

“But weren’t we going to do that any---“

The finger again, followed by a wink.

“Any more excitement, Hisao, and Suzu might fall asleep again. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

She presses her finger on my lips once more for emphasis, then simply flashes a 1000-Mikiwatt grin at me and motions to follow.

I sigh. Don't start fights you can't win, Hisao.

We walk down the sunlit hill towards breakfast, with Miki chattering idly the entire way. As the sun shines on my back, I find myself smiling.

I guess today's starting to look up after all.


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"Levels" (Skrillex Remix) is a song by Avicii