<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: palatino;"><br/>Well, at least the girl didn't turn around and grab her, which was mostly what Midori was worried about as she followed after her. Even if it wasn't <em>really</em> following. They were just going the same way, that was all. And, it seemed, the other girl understood that, at least.<br/><br/>Though, Hyuga Misaki was really quiet, and didn't answer anything but the last of what she said, which was..weird. But then again, Hyuga Ibiki and also Hyuga Junji were very quiet too, and did not say much. Maybe it was a family trait? Or maybe she was just too talkative. Father said that, sometimes, when she wasn't being polite enough. And, before, Misaki had gotten angry when she'd been speaking, so maybe it was just that she talked too much. Maybe she should be quieter, then, and not say so much?<br/><br/>Was that possible?<br/><br/>Maybe.<br/><br/>"Oh. Um.. so how come you pretended to take the test, then? Because it looked like you filled out your paper, and.. and you did the other stuff too? Or maybe you were just sort of seeing how it went?" Why would someone her age monitor the tests? Wasn't that what Teacher was for? That didn't quite make sense, actually, and Midori didn't think she was so gullible as to believe that the other girl outranked Teacher. She was, though, given a tougher question than everyone else, which Midori thought was sort of weird, to be honest. But then, Teacher was sort of weird.<br/><br/>"Thank you, Hyuga Misaki," because she should thank her, right? For believing she could do it? "I just wanted to get the box that Miss Jinmi packed my lunch in, I didn't think that it would be a good idea to take it outside for that part of the tests. I think she'll be upset that I did not eat all of it, but she makes so much food, I don't know how she expected me to eat it all..." Shrugging a little, Midori forgot that Sunako was still on her shoulder, and the little cat wobbled a moment, sinking her claws in further to remain up there, "Oh! Sorry Sunako!" quickly, she reached up to steady the kitten.<br/><br/>Taking the other girl's words in, she paused as Misaki stopped and turned around, her eyes wide and somewhat distrustful, even if she was hopeful that the other girl maybe didn't mind talking to her so much, now. She seemed a little less angry than before, anyway. <br/><br/>"I... um... I really appreciate that you helped me, thank you. Really. Thank you. I would have run away if he had gotten to close, I think. But... um... everyone was still noticing you and him before I did anything. Not that.. not that that makes it right, and I'm really, really sorry that I butted in, because I know now that I shouldn't have. But Teacher was watching, you know? Also, that.. um... that boy with the spiked hair and that girl he was talking with.. they were watching too. But I'm really sorry I made it worse. I didn't mean to." She started rambling again, trying desperately to make things right with the other girl. Even if Hyuga Misaki said that they were even, they sort of weren't, since she'd messed things up for her, apparently. It was an accident, but Midori still felt rather guilty about it.<br/><br/>"I... um, I wanted to say that... that I know that you don't need my help, and.. and won't ever need it. But if there's something that I can help you with that I'm good at, if you wanted help I would do it if you asked. But I won't ever assume it if you don't say anything, not again." That.. didn't come out right at all, actually. But it was too late now, and Midori knew that she was probably starting to get on the other girl's nerves again. And, besides, her road to turn on was coming up. As they made it to the crossroad, Midori turned to go down the way towards Uncle Kanetaro's house. After a few steps, she stopped and turned around, "Hyuga Misaki? I think it was really neat how you got that boy to leave you alone. It was nice to talk with you," Quickly, the small girl turned back around and sprinted towards her uncle's house without looking back.<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/>The next morning, Midori woke when she heard a knock on the front door. Whatever it was, Miss Jinmi greeted the person and thanked them, then shut the door. Curiously, Midori stood, then cautiously poked her head out of her room, watching her uncle's wife quietly, though she didn't mean to scare her. Miss Jinmi yelped anyway and jumped when she turned around and saw the little girl in the doorway.<br/><br/>"Oh! Midori! You scared me, don't do that!"<br/><br/>"Sorry, Miss Jinmi." The girl mumbled quietly, watching while the woman unrolled the message scroll she was given.<br/><br/>"Midori, it looks like you passed your tests! You get to go to the Academy at the beginning of next week! Get dressed, we'll surprise Kanetaro with some lunch to celebrate!" The woman was really excited, though Midori wondered how excited she could really be, if she expected that she wasn't going to be able to actually make it through.<br/><br/>Without a word, the young girl took herself back into her room to get dressed...<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/>First day of classes. Midori arrived early, having convinced Miss Jinmi that she could, in fact, walk there herself without getting lost, and also that she did <em>not</em> need to wear a dress. The woman kept trying to take her clothes shopping, saying that the shirts and shorts that Father had gotten her couldn't really be making her happy, could they?<br/><br/>Except, yes, they did. They were comfortable and Sunako could stay in her pocket to nap when she wanted. Right now, the kitten was on her shoulder, like usual, but that would probably change in a little while.<br/><br/>Midori made her way through the hallways to the classroom she'd taken the tests in, then immediately found the seat she'd been sitting in that day. That was a good seat: in the back, most of the other kids hadn't sat near her, so she would probably have lots of room around her again and not feel crowded. And, also, sitting far away meant that most people would leave her alone, because she would look like she wanted to be alone. Again, she tucked her lunch box under her seat, though as she bent over to do it, her kitten jumped off her shoulder to sit on the desk, happily batting around a tiny scrap of paper that had been left there from some test, her little tail ticking back and forth as she tried to decide if she wanted to pounce on it or not.<br/><br/>"Oh, Sunako.. you better finish playing soon.  When class starts you have to be good and be quiet, okay?"<br/><br/>"Muurrr?" the little fuzzball looked at Midori for a moment, then returned to poking at the tiny bit of paper.<br/><br/>"Hey, I mean it. You're usually very good, you just have to keep being good, okay? Maybe you can take a nap when class starts, I think that would be a good idea. Then you can play at lunch time again." As usual, besides perking her ears up, the kitten only hummed to show that she had heard the little girl speak...<br/></span>