Just As You Stand - Asking Out Maho Nishizumi

What convinced you?

You walked briskly down the streets of the campus to the small mechanic shop you kept near the outskirts of the Kuromorimine campus, with several boxes of gear in hand. It was of the utmost importance you make it back on time to get work done or else you'd be in big trouble from.... Your thoughts were interrupted as you tripped and fell onto your chest and slid forth into a pair of shoes. Her shoes.

You looked up to see Maho standing over you, before quickly looking back down in shame. "You ought mind where you're going" she scoffed. "I sure hope you aren't this clumsy with my equipment."

"S-sorry," you began.

"Sorry for what?" asked one of Maho's friends, sneering at you. "Eww are you some gross pervert trying to look up her skirt?"

"What!" you exclaimed, "No, no, I..."

The two friends of Maho's started laughing, but she just stared down at you with her cold piercing brown eyes. As if the shame of her friends mocking you was not enough, it had to come before her. You lowered your gaze from her own to save you from her glare and began to get up, picking the boxes of parts back up along with you.

This was just the usual treatment you got from her friends; from many of the upper class students who were abundant here. And the usual coldness you got from Maho. You started walking past the group shamefully, though not without hearing Maho's friends begin speaking ill of you.

"Honestly, Maho I don't get why you put up with having that moron work for you. You could easily afford someone so much better than him to do mechanic work for you," said one.

"Yeah, and besides he's so below you," laughed her friend. "His overalls are always all grimy, his hands so dirty, it really shows his class!"

"Enough," growled Maho. "I don't want to think about this anymore than I need to." Your heart sank as you sulked back to your shop to get to work on the piece for Maho.

It just didn't seem fair. They always made fun of you; always made you feel bad for your status. But, it wasn't enough that they mocked you, that was now what upset you. It was who the coldness came from that hurt most. As if it were not enough to be made to feel below her, you also had a deep crush on Maho, and that made her feel so much further outside your reach. There were days you wished you could just prove your worth to her.

You loved working for her more than any other. Knowing it was your work that helped her out on the battlefield gave you great pride. But alas, you knew you could never be enough for her. After all she was simply of higher status than you.

It was late in the afternoon when you heard the chimes on your shop door ring as a group of students walked in. You got up from your seat to greet the people entering your shop, setting down the finished product for Maho. "Hello, welcome to..." you stopped as you saw Maho standing with arms folded, both her friends at her side once more. "Oh, hi Maho."

"Hi," she said flatly.

"Hey, moron," her friends added.

You felt a twinge of vexation at the insult levied against you. "Is there something I can do for you?" you asked.

"What do you think, idiot?" asked Maho's second friend.

"My trigger assembly, is it done?" asked Maho. You were about to say of course, when just then you thought about what you may have possibly missed. Perhaps you were too distracted thinking about Maho to give your full attention to your work, but you couldn't remember in front of her if you were totally finished. You didn't want to lie.

"Not quite yet..." you started to say, trying to ignore Maho's friends.

"Not yet? God he really is hopeless, Maho. That idiot..."