happilyeverbeginning | RSM - Fluff - Recovery/Love Confession/etc

Entry tags:

RSM - Fluff - Recovery/Love Confession/etc - Mikan & Makoto

For someone who was supposedly Super High School Level Lucky, a sprained ankle seemed to be a huge wallop of bad luck. Even worse, it was such a big bad lump that he wasn't even able to attend school for a few days. While this string of misfortune made Makoto Naegi a joke at Hope's Peak Academy, not every student was finding humor in his misery.

Mikan Tsumiki had devoted herself to the health and welfare to all the students of the academy, even if they currently weren't at the academy. Because of this, she'd gone to his home several times to help aid his ankle and bring all of his schoolwork. She never complained because she enjoyed being useful - and enjoyed being useful to this one person in particular. Only here could she have alone time with the nicest boy in the whole school. He was sweet, encouraging, gentle...the list went on for ages.

So why was she heading towards his home with a sad frown on her face? Because as is the nature of sprains, his was healing, and in a day or two he'd return to school and forget all about her. She was very forgetful, after all. With a deep sigh, she knocked on his bedroom door.

"Naegi-kun?" She wasn't even confident enough to use his first name, despite the many hours they'd spent together. "It's Tsumiki."

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It was hard to feel like you were the Super High School Level Lucky Student when so many unlucky things happened to you. To be fair, some of those unlucky things tended to benefit Makoto, even if it didn't seem like it at first. (He was laughed at for his unluckiness, but he usually shrugged it off.) This situation, however, did not seem like it at first. For one thing, he was stuck at home, where he could only see people if they came to visit him. And unfortunately, that tended to only be possible on the weekends normally.

Friends did visit him, but the one that spent the most time with him was Mikan. Granted, he hadn't spent much time with her before he sprained his ankle, but he was endlessly thankful for having the Super High School Level Nurse with him. The ankle didn't stop him from at least being mobile (albeit slow), but going to school was out of the question.

He was happy to have someone to talk to, really. He spent as much time with his family as he could, but it was different with Mikan, like it was with the rest of his friends. He liked having her there with him. She always seemed a bit tense, a bit uncomfortable, but Makoto had tried his best to calm her and talk to her about subjects that made her smile, even just a little bit. Maybe his company was doing as much for her as her company and treatment was doing for him. Even with just this time, he felt somewhat close to her.

His thoughts were rattled by the sound of knocking and her voice. He knew he shouldn't, but he got up on his feet anyway and went to open the door to greet her with a smile. "Hey, Tsumiki-san."

"Ah! Naegi-san! You shouldn't be on your feet today until I take a look at your ankle!"

Mikan rarely took charge of things, but when it came to someone's health, that's when her confidence reigned. The few books she had went under her arm, and with her free arm she gently took Makoto by his elbow and began to lead him back to his bed.

"I know you've made a lot of progress, but we have to make absolutely sure before you stress it! ... I-If that's okay with you."

He knew he was going to get scolded a bit for that, whoops. He laughed a little and with a slightly embarrassed look on his face, allowed her to lead him back to his bed.

"Yeah, sorry. I know I shouldn't have gotten up." She was right, of course - he needed to stay in bed until she could confirm that it's okay for him to get up again. Otherwise he could just make it worse.

Sitting back down on his bed, he swung his feet slowly back onto it so she could have a look at his ankle.

"Of course it's okay with me - you're the nurse." She'd know best with this kind of thing.

With Makoto on the bed, she released her hold on him and placed the schoolbooks on a desk drawer. "Here... This is today's schoolwork."

Now onto the most important thing. She rolled up his pant leg and tugged down on his sock, carefully examining it. "Mmm...The swelling is almost completely gone." Yet she sounded so down about it! "I guess...that little walk was just fine. You can probably go back to school tomorrow, if you're feeling up to it."

A tiny sigh. "I'm...happy for you." She sure didn't sound like it.

"Thank you, Tsumiki-san." He was grateful that she brought his schoolwork to him in addition to helping him with his ankle.

"Ah... that's good. I was hoping it was getting to that point." Being almost unable to walk at all those first few days... kind of unsettled him. But he can go back to school, and that makes him happy.

But the last thing she said made him realize that she sounded... really down. Sure, it wasn't the first time he heard her be so... sad. But she definitely sounded like something was wrong.

"Tsumiki-san...? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!" She suddenly stood up straight, color beginning to flood her cheeks. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said anything!" Mikan tried to keep her eyes down in order not to give anything else away.

Except she wasn't that good at it. "Y-You don't need me anymore, anyway... Maybe I should leave now..."

Her sudden reaction shocked him momentarily, and he was at a loss for words. Something definitely was wrong... but he wasn't sure whether he should press about it or not.

Instead, he decided to reply when she said he didn't need her anymore.

"O-Of course I need you! You're my friend, Tsumiki-san. Why wouldn't I need you?" He paused for a moment. "You can stay... I'd like you to stay, if that's okay."

"Huh?" Now that made her stop in place, blinking rapidly in surprise. But... if his ankle was all right, he didn't need her anymore. So why was he asking her to stay?

"W-why? I don't need to take care of you anymore...your ankle is fine now. I can't do anything else for you."

Something was definitely wrong - he was sure of it. But he was starting to feel like he knew why she was acting like this... maybe. Maybe she actually did want to stay?

He slowly swung his feet around so he could sit upright on his bed again. "Like I said, you're my friend, Tsumiki-san. You don't have to just hang out with me when I need medical attention. We could talk or even go walking for a bit, if my ankle's okay enough."

He was gently pressing, but wasn't trying to be pushy - he wanted to help calm her down, to help her understand that she didn't need to go just because his ankle was healing. He enjoyed her company - even if he couldn't tell her completely why just yet.

Huh? Huh? Huh huh huh huh??? Mikan wracked her brain, trying to think of any positive points about herself that would make a boy as wonderful as Makoto want to stick around her. No surprise, she couldn't find any. What would he want her to stay...?

...Oh! Maybe he wanted company in general! It didn't matter who, and there was no one around the house. Of course, that had to be, he was settling.

"W-we can talk! Or walk! Or do both! We can do whatever you want! What do you want to do?"

Hey, that was progress. "Maybe walking and talking. It'd be nice to get some fresh air." Frankly, he hadn't been able to get out much since spraining his ankle, for obvious reasons. This seemed like an easy enough excuse, even though it was partly true.

He slowly slid off of the bed, and went over to get his shoes, being careful not to step where it hurt on his foot. He'd have to be extra cautious for tonight still, just in case. But other than that, he was ready.

"I'm good to go if you are!" That was a silly question, of course - but he was trying to keep her in good spirits. She probably needed the fresh air and company just as much as he did right now. At least, that's what he was guessing. Either way, he was hoping that just this once, his luck wouldn't come into play here. The last thing he needed was another accident.

Mikan carefully watched his ankle as he moved in case she'd made the wrong diagnosis earlier - although given her talent, the chances of that were a million to one. But all goes well, and she stays by his side, her fingers nervously fidgeting until he was up on his own.

Once everything seemed to be all right, she inched toward the door and opened it for him, just in case. "I can go anywhere at any time, whatever you want!"

Once she opened the door, he started towards it. "Ah, thanks." Once they made it out of his room and started making their way towards the front door to the house, he spoke up again. "I don't really have anywhere in particular in mind." Just walking around the area was good enough for him, really. "If there's somewhere you wanted to go, though, we can go there."

Either or was fine with him - the idea was to try and cater to Mikan today, after what she did for him. She didn't have to have done this for him, even though she was the SHSL Nurse, but she did. He'd come to see her as a friend, and wanted her to know that. She deserved to have people who cared about her just as much as anyone did. And he could definitely say that he did.

"I don't want to go anywhere... N-Not that I don't want to go somewhere! I'll follow you anywhere!"

She made sure to walk as slowly as she could match his pace and not stress his ankle. But the fresh air would do them both some good, and she slowly tried to relax. What should she say as part of their last conversation? Could she leave a lasting impression, or did he want to savor the silence?

"... Uh... Ah... I...."

"Okay, well, we'll just walk around for a while, then." If she didn't have anywhere in mind, that was fine! He was just happy to be on his feet again, and actually spending some time with her-- with a friend.

As they were walking, he thought he heard her starting to say something, but when she paused, he looked over at her with a gentle smile.

"Hm? What's up?"

Mikan scrambled for a decent conversation topic, and could only think of one thing - the thing she'd been dreading, of course.

"W-what did you miss most about school?"

What did he miss most about school? Well, that was an easy question.

"Being around people, I guess. It's kinda boring being alone at home all day while everyone else is gone. It's nice to see my friends every day at school."

Yep, there was confirmation. Her walk slowed, but only a little bit.

"I...I think they miss you too. People ask me how you are, when you'll come back.So... when you get back, you'll probably be surrounded by all your friends all the time."

"Yeah. It's pretty nice." He had no idea how this was affecting her, and was going on about it.

"It's... one of the brighter parts of the day, really. To be around so many super high school level people... and I'm just the lucky student. It's kinda nice to feel like I'm a real part of things, despite my only real attribute being 'luck'."

While most of the conversation was weighing her down like a hundred bricks on her back, that last bit caught her attention. She blinked rapidly, looking at his face.

"But...you are a real part of things, Naegi-san! You belong there as much as anyone. Hope's Peak Academy is about... nurturing talent, so the world will be a better place. And the world is definitely much better for having someone like Naegi-san in it."

"Haha, you think so?" He looked over at her with a wide grin on his face. "I really appreciate that, Tsumiki-san. It's getting a bit easier to feel like I belong there... it was really daunting at first. But I know we can all make the world a better place, someday. All of us."

This was making him feel a lot better. The walk, the fresh air, hanging out with a friend... he was looking forward to going back to school tomorrow, but he was enjoying this walk with Mikan too. And without thinking, he added:

"You know, we should start hanging out a bit more often, once I go back."

To Mikan, it had simply been the truth. He was so kind to everyone he met, always wanted to help everyone he saw, Hope's Peak could only be improved by his presence. She wouldn't allow him to be humble about it.

... Wait, what did he just say?

"Huh?" She nearly stopped walking in her shock. "You? Want to hang out with me? Even when you'll be all better and won't need me? Huh? Huuuh?"

His expression turned to a slightly puzzled one out of his own shock - he hadn't entirely expected that reaction. He hoped it might've made her a bit happier (though what he said was true, he did want to) but somehow it was confusing her.

"Well, I mean. We're friends, right? Friends sometimes hang out with each other. I might be surrounded by friends, but you're one of them too." Plus... he didn't see her hang out with many people. He didn't voice this simply because he didn't want her to think he was pitying her. It was simply an addition to the reasons he wanted to see her more often.

"You'd be okay with that, right?"

Makoto's intentions may have been obvious to everyone else, but things usually needed an extra step or two when it came to Mikan and her extreme lack of self confidence. She continued to blink slowly as all this information sank in. He would never lie to her or manipulate her, so all of this had to be the genuine truth.

"...Naegi-san..." Even her eyes began to water. "Of... of course I'm okay with that! I didn't want to stop being by your side, b-but... you have so many friends, and I didn't want to get in your way..."

"Tsumiki-san... you're just as important to me as any of my friends. I wouldn't want you to feel like you couldn't approach me no matter how many or how few friends I have. Because you're one of them."

Honestly, he couldn't stop himself at this point - he didn't want to see her cry, but he couldn't let her feel like she wasn't worth hanging out with or being friends with. He wouldn't lie to her, so there's no harm telling her, right?

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