#mindecay

time is running out

if i give in today

Each year, Hope's Peak Academy held the Annual Inter-Disciplinary Talent Harmony Assessment - a wordy descriptor for something that amounted to simply an extended group project. A 2nd-year and 3rd-year student would be paired together and challenged to present some demonstration that showcased aspects of each of their Talents. The majority of the work was left upon the shoulders of the younger student, with the older student acting as a mentor, while also handling the administrative aspects, such as submitting documentation, scheduling the demonstration, and providing proof of collaboration.

Having done it herself as a 2nd-year, Shinobu Yaguchi found the entire affair rather meaningless. It seemed to her a strange concession to the idea that to over-specialize in a single, narrow field was a mistake, and that some degree of interdisciplinary collaboration was more fruitful... at an academy singularly devoted to fostering individual narrow talents. However, it was a requirement for graduation, and their distaste for it mattered little when they were ultimately responsible for another student's success.

The pairings had been posted in the morning, to much fanfare, with a number of the juniors running off to find their partners immediately. Yet, for Shinobu, the day had passed without anything out of the ordinary. Eventually realizing she would need to contact her partner herself, she took leave of her classroom, undeterred by Taiami-sensei's requests that she stay, and with instructions to Anzu to give her phone number to Miss Fukawa of the 78th class, should she come looking.

Having departed early from class, it had been Shinobu's intention to avoid others, only to feel a hand tug on her blazer as she stepped inside the convenience store right across from the school gate. "Ah, Miss Ichinose." After turning around to see the girl, they nodded to her with a blank expression. "Good afternoon. I assume West Tokyo International is on break today." With one hand carrying a plastic bag loaded up with snacks, and the other with a similar bag stuff full of thick manga magazines, Miss Ichinose nodded. "I know you come to get coffee here after school, Shinobu-kun, so I came to try to see you. And, pick up some things." She lifted up both bags.

That's borderline criminal behavior, Miss Ichinose, and I don't have any time to entertain your delusions today. "I see." They reached into one of the refrigerated doors, producing an iced coffee for themselves, and then, after some thinking, a bottle of iced tea for Miss Fukawa. She was a writer, after all, and the image of a writer somewhat seemed more aligned with tea than with coffee. "I'm afraid I can't stay. You should return home." As far as Shinobu Yaguchi was concerned, that was that.

Miss Ichinose, however, seemed quite put off by it, her face falling as she again reached for Shinobu's suit jacket. "But you don't have any dates today. I know that you don't, and you don't have early training either." Her voice was strangely accusatory. How grating. Firmly pulling her arm away, Shinobu looked back with a frown. "If you've so thoroughly memorized my schedule, Miss Ichinose, you should be aware of important Hope's Peak Academy functions. I have classwork that needs attending to. Goodbye." Perhaps it was a blessing that it was only her, but she wanted to take no further chances, paying quickly and departing the convenience store.

"oh, but then, who would you blame your sadness on? better yet," she laughed,

"who will you blame when no one loves you still? are you ready for your own wrath when you cannot make tragic art?"

it must all be a ruse.

I act so red,

now im drowning in blue.

make me human,

crush all my bones.

unturn me from stone.

fill my lungs with smoke,

I see your laugh in the air.