Thank you for 200k reads!
-Author
3rd Person P.O.V
Walking down the street after the end of a school day, (Y/N) peeked inside the convenience store she was just passing by. The sight in front of her left her quite speechless, with only one word coming out of her mouth.
"Nendou?"
Nendou was inside the convenience store, in the least expected place. Standing behind the cash register, one would have thought he was a thug robbing this store if not for the uniform he was wearing.
An elder man, whom (Y/N) assumed to be the manager, bowed and shooed him out of the store with his hands, kicking out three other boys as well.
Aren, Kaidou, and Saiki walked out of the store with looks of pity on their faces as they glanced at Nendou.
"Oh, hey (Y/N)," Kaidou was the first to notice (Y/N) standing outside, watching as Nendou got fired from his job.
She waved in response and tilted her head.
"Since when does Nendou have a job?"
"The manager was in debt to him, so he offered him a job...but fired him just now. Can't really blame him though..."
Aren recapped the story, feeling sorry for Nendou's attempt at working in a convenience store.
(Y/N) thought that was a reasonable response, so she followed after the group of boys.
Five students walked down the street in silence, dark expressions on their faces. They were all (except for Saiki) wondering what Nendou would do after getting fired from his job.
"Yeah, don't cry for me guys. I still have another job."
Nendou mentioning a second job rose everyone's hopes for him, and his friends curiously followed him.
'So now we're letting Nendou lead the way? What if he gets lost?!'
(Y/N)'s glasses almost fell off her nose as she feared Nendou's sense of direction. Luckily, he didn't lead them to the edge of a cliff like she expected. Instead, they stood in front of a low-class ramen shop.
"Um..well, ramen is his favorite food after all," Kaidou sweatdropped as they entered.
A tall and muscular man greeted Nendou with a wide smile, not even faltering when Nendou told him his reason for arriving earlier than his designated time.
"Don't worry about that, Nendou! Listen here, everyone makes mistakes! As long as you don't lose motivation, you'll always have a job here!"
He spoke wise words of motivation but slowly swallowed them back as Nendou repeatedly spilled ramen on customers, slipped inside the kitchen, accidentally broke a window when handing a customer a spoon, and overall made a mess of the restaurant in a span of one hour.
"Or not...you're fired."
-
Nendou sat on a swing, a downcast look on his face as the wind blew leaves across the floor.
Kaidou handed him a banana, pity in his eyes as he said, "Here's the banana you wanted to bu-"
"That's not what I wanted!" Nendou stood up and towered over all of them, determination flashing in his eyes.
"I wanted to buy my mom a present for her birthday with my own money. My dad ain't with us anymore so there's no one to help with the rent. She works three jobs and cooks and cleans for me, and that's just tough, you know? That's why I'm searching-wait, why are you crying?"
Aren and Kaidou wiped their faces in unison, moved by his story.
"I-I'm not crying! There's dust in my eyes!" Kaidou squeaked, blowing his nose.
"Sniff, if you want another job, the diner by the train station is hiring. We can all go apply together!" Out of consideration, Aren offered that they apply together and give their earnings to Nendou, and the latter agreed without a second thought.
-
(Y/N) walked out of the convenience store and noticed Kaidou waving at her from a small park. Sipping on the straw coming from the carton box in her hand, she caught up and followed them once more.
They walked nearer and nearer to the train station, and only then did (Y/N) say, "Wait...where are we going? I kind of...forgot to ask earlier..."
Her words trailed off as she mentally facepalmed at her carelessness.
Aren looked down at her and smiled as he repeated their plans from earlier.
"We're going to apply at the diner by the station, so Nendou can earn some money for his mom's present."
(Y/N) nodded in understanding, before freezing in place.
"Wait, you don't mean-"
"We're here!"
Kaidou interrupted her mid-sentence and she stared in horror at the restaurant before them.
"Dadd'ys Diner!" Aren exclaimed, holding the door open.
Yes, Daddy, with an apostrophe in between the third 'd' and 'y'.
She stared, frozen in place, a million thoughts running through her head.
'Outofallplaces,youhadtochoosethisrestaurant?!Whywouldyouwanttoworkataplacewithanamethatgiveseveryonethewrongidea,whatifateacherfoundoutyou'reworkinghere?!Wouldtheyreportittotheschoolandyou'dbeshamedforworkingattisplace,no,itcan'tbethatbad,right?!Ohmygodpleasedon'tmakemegointhere, IthinkI'dlosemynon-existentdignitynoonecaresabout!Butit'sfor Nendou'smom,right? Itshouldbeokaytoenteritifit'sforagoodcau-'
"(Y/N)?"
Kaidou waved his hand in front of her face, snapping her from her trance.
She gulped and took an awkward step forward, entering the diner and muttering incoherent words.
They all entered after her and three boys headed for the front desk, simultaneously asking for application forms.
"(Y/N)?"
As they filled out the forms, Kaidou waved a paper in the air and called for the girl once more.
"Ha?" (Y/N) paused and turned, wondering what his question would be.
"Are you going to apply he-" He paused as he noticed Saiki's unusually excited face.
Saiki's face beamed as he thought,'Yes, I can watch an average person work from up close!'
Kaidou stared at the pink-haired boy then turned back towards (Y/N).
"Anyways, are you going to apply-"
"No!"
The blue-haired boy was interrupted yet again as (Y/N) furiously shook her head and made an 'X' with her arms.
Saiki's face returned to normal, slight disappointment in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Kaidou took a step back in fear of his friend's sudden outburst, surprised that she would be so riled up about this.
"O-Okay then..." he returned to the front desk, joining Aren and Nendou for the interview.
-
(Y/N) hung her head in shame as she and Saiki sat at a table, waiting to see whether their friends would get hired or not.
"Okay, here are the new waiters. Kaidou, Aren, and Rikii!" The manager read the names off of his list while three men stood in front of him.
(Y/N) and Saiki turned to look in unison, finding out that Aren and Kaidou had been successfully hired.
Seeing that Nendou didn't get hired, (Y/N) stood up to leave but was stopped in her tracks as Saiki grabbed her collar and pulled her back towards the seats.
"Ack!"
She sat back down and lifted a menu, deciding to wait for Aren and Kaidou to finish their work hours. Shortly after surveying the menu, she ordered a box of french fries.
As the waiter wrote her order, she realized an important fact.
'Wait! I just realized why my thighs are so big! It's because of those greasy french fries! Wait, cancel my order!'
She began to internally panic, glancing down at her lap every so often. Her insecurity of her big thighs messed with her emotions as Saiki also ordered juice and french fries.
'Ah, does Saiki like french fries too?'
Relief took over her, and she didn't feel so guilty for ordering fries anymore.
-
The duo silently sat and watched Kaidou and Aren diligently work to fix Rikii's mistakes.
Now Kaidou was also starting to make mistakes and accidentally spilled a drink on a table.
"Ah, I'm sorry sir!" Aren apologized on Kaidou's behalf and wiped the spilled coffee off of the table.
'Aren seems like the responsible type...'
(Y/N) peeked her head out of the book in her hands and quietly observed her classmates who were struggling to fix Rikii's mistakes.
Saiki's ears perked up at this thought, and he glanced at the dark violet haired boy. Drinking his juice through a green straw, he mentally noted that (Y/N) might be into responsible men.
'Now that I think about it, Satou mentioned something similar...Do all average people like successful individuals?'
Satou was the most average male in school, so Saiki had taken great fondness of him and had developed a habit of 'observing' him during his free time.
-
The three boys messed up so many times they got fired the same day they were hired. Saiki lifted his bag and (Y/N) followed suit.
They walked out as Saiki recalled what had actually happened to Nendou's application form.
'Well, Nendou did get hired. I used hypnosis to make him look like an average man. And I changed his name on his application. There's no way he'd actually get hired with the way he looks. But, the rest was up to them. I've done enough, so I'm going home.'
They stood outside as Kaidou, Aren, and Nendou walked out of the restaurant in their regular school clothes. Aren and Kaidou handed their earnings to Nendou and sloppily walked away, too tired to complain about Rikii's mistakes.
"Oh, thanks, pals!"
School Marathon
The school marathon was held after winter break when the cold had yet to turn into heat, and the students shivered without their sweaters.
The boy's marathon had occurred a day earlier, and now it was the girl's turn to run. The boys stood as spectators, some feeling a sense of superiority now that they weren't standing outside without the warmth of their sweaters.
-
"On your marks, get set, go!" Mr. Matsuzaki blew the whistle and the timer went off. The girls in the front of the line began sprinting, leaving behind the ones who were jogging or walking.
"Girls, start running!"
Mr. Matsuzaki jogged behind them, making sure no one was slacking off.
They yelped and began running, hoping to get away from his view.
"Woah, there goes Mr. Matsuzaki!" The boys watched as the teacher dashed through the mob of girls, arriving at the checkpoint before anyone else.
"He hasn't even broken a sweat!" Kaidou stared in fear of his PE teacher, trying to come up with an excuse as to why his teacher was so athletic.
'Maybe he was an over-powered experiment by Dark Reunion meant to take over the world?'
'Maybe you're just delusional,' Saiki responded telepathically after hearing Kaidou's odd thoughts.
The pink-haired boy turned his attention to the mob of girls, scanning his eyes through the variety of hair colors before landing on a certain female student.
-
"Hah," (Y/N) huffed as she ran ahead of everyone else.
'Did I gain weight or something?! Why am I so tired already?'
She reminisced on the french fries she ate a while ago, dreading the effect they would have on her marathon run.
"Ugh, I hate french fries!" She muttered under her breath.
Creating a grudge against french fries made her fired up, and she ran even faster, taking out her anger on her lungs. Her short legs speedily ran while her breathing became noticeable. After a short sprint, she caught up to Teruhashi in the lead.
-
Teruhashi simpered as she ran ahead of everyone else, pleased with herself for being the fastest runner among the girls.
'That's right, I'm beautiful and athletic because I'm the perfect pretty girl! Just wait until you see me arrive at the finish line first, Saiki! There's no one who can match me!'
Foreshadowing her own doom, Teruhashi slowed her pace to a light jog, her white hairband swishing behind her blue hair as loud footsteps were heard.
They came nearer and nearer, and she turned her head to survey her surroundings.
"Huh?"
'What? Someone caught up to me?!'
She turned to face the front and picked up her pace, unsure of the identity of her competitor. The footsteps were even faster now, and there was huffing coming from the person behind her. Teruhashi began to doubt her speed, and she went all out.
-
Meanwhile, (Y/N) had closed her eyes, imagining french fries in front of her as she gave her all in reaching the finish line.
'I'm going to get rid of all those calories I consumed!'
She didn't realize she had started an indirect competition with the prettiest girl in school, and they both dashed for the finish line.
They passed multiple checkpoints without taking a break, and they finally neared the final checkpoint.
Teruhashi was beginning to pant, and (Y/N) became tired very quickly. She slowed to a light jog, allowing Teruhashi to take the lead once more.
Teruhashi continued running, ignoring her ragged breathing and taking importance in her pride.
They both made significant progress and the final checkpoint came into view.
'Yes, there it is!'
Teruhashi's eyes lit up with hope, glad that she would finally end this competition and take first place.
(Y/N) opened her eyes, sweat trickling down her forehead as the cold winter wind entered her lungs. She took a sharp breath and dashed for the finish line, pulling a 'sleeping Zenitsu' on Teruhashi.
The blue haired girl gasped, surprised by the sudden burst in speed (Y/N) had. Her eyebrows furrowed and she felt her legs go numb as she took larger strides.
Teruhashi and (Y/N) ran side by side, none of them knowing who would beat the other in this indirect competition.
Teruhashi summoned up all her strength and mentally prayed.
'God, don't fail me now! Lend me the strength I need to beat this fiend!'
And so, with strength being blessed upon her, the most beautiful and thoughtful girl in PK Academy sprinted towards the finish line, crossing the white line before anyone else.
"Teruhashi, first place! (Y/N), second place!" The teachers announced the ranking of every student as they crossed the finish line, relieved that the run was over.
The blue-haired girl landed with a soft 'thump' on the ground, her heartbeat slowing to a normal pace as she glanced at the finish line.
(Y/N) followed suit, crossing the white line and bending on her knees to catch her breath. Teruhashi sighed in relief, then stood up, beams of light radiating off of her as she smiled in achievement.
-
At the end of the marathon, (Y/N) lay on the ground, completely still compared to the other girls who were still trying to catch their breaths.
One would have thought she had passed out if not for Teruhashi approaching her.
"(Y/N), here's some water," Teruhashi approached her with two water bottles and held one out for (Y/N).
'Hmph, since she lost to me, the perfect pretty girl, I'll show a little pity. It'll make me look super nice!'
(Y/N) lifted her head and blinked, her eyes unable to focus due to Teruhashi's bright rays of light. She lifted a trembling arm and took the bottle, simultaneously lifting her other hand to block out the light.
"Oh, thank you, Teruhashi."
Teruhashi smiled and turned away, being surrounded by girls who praised her for finishing in 1st place.
"Wow Teruhashi, you're so fast!"
"How do you look so beautiful even after running a marathon?!"
Pfft-who cares about second place anyways?
-Author
Teruhashi smiled and loud yelling was heard from afar, distinct "Teruhashi, you're our goddess!" overpowering the sounds of wheezing and gasping girls.
-
The teachers had set up a tent and were handing out snacks as rewards for the girls' hard work.
"Wait, Mera! That's your fourth granola bar! Give me one!"
A female student caught Mera grabbing more than one granola bar and tried to take one away, only for Mera to dodge and make a run for the lockers.
"I said give me a granola bar! You thief!" She began chasing Mera but stopped as her legs ached from their previous workout.
They had just run a marathon, yet Mera still had the energy to run another kilometer just to save her granola bars.
The other girls gave up on trying to catch up to her and walked back to the tent as the teachers took out a delicious box of red apples in replacement for the granola bars.
-
(Y/N) closed her PE locker after having retrieved her uniform and jumped in surprise upon seeing Mera on the floor, munching on two granola bars at the same time, sweat sliding down her cheeks.
"Mera?! Where did you get so many granola bars from?"
With a stuffed mouth, Mera said, "Dey weh ahnding 'em ow ad deh fiwish 'ine, "
(Y/N) stared at her, processing her words before saying, "...you took more than one?"
Mera gulped and nodded, causing (Y/N) to sweatdrop.
'Well, there's no saving those bars from her stomach...'
Knowing more than anyone to not take food away from Mera, (Y/N) didn't say anything else as she changed into her uniform. As she turned to leave, her stomach grumbled for food, causing her face to slightly redden.
"Wah won?" Mera held a peanut granola bar outwards, showing a rare offering of food.
(Y/N) stared in disbelief before breaking out into an amused smile, replying, "Yes, please."
She accepted the offering and joined Mera on the floor, taking a bite from the peanut granola bar.
~~
Thank you for waiting, I had quite a packed schedule for this month, and I'll probably continue to be busy. I feel like I would have abandoned this fanfiction if there weren't people supporting me, so thank you for your kind comments.
-Kuruma