Lesson Learned

You Worry Too Much

But, it couldn't be because Rio made everything different, and even if he was right she wasn't going to give up Rio for anything. 

 "Gaku-nii," she said quietly, taking a deep breath. "I love you, but you can't just keep trying to force me to make the choices you want."

His brow furrowed. "I'm not forcing you to do anything." His tone defensive. "I'm trying to protect you from making a mistake."

She felt a sting of anger. "I'm not stupid, I can make my own decisions..."

He hesitated for a second, just a second, but long enough to make her feel like he'd punched her in the gut. "I know you aren't stupid."

And, it was something she'd tried to ignore for a long time even when it had been shoved in her face by the Principal more times than she could count.  Gakushuu was the bright star that made everything duller in comparison, that was the way things had always been. 

It didn't make it hurt any less, but maybe she really had outdone herself in pretending that maybe, just maybe, Gakushuu considered her something like an equal? That he saw her more than just his little sister that always needed his protection or his help just to stand upright or keep up. 

It was enough to make her want to scream at him. 

Instead, she shook her head and pushed her tears back so they wouldn't show. "Maybe you're right, and I am making a mistake," she said quietly. "But, that doesn't give you the right to try to use E Class as collateral damage in your and dad's pissing contest."

The coldness crept back in his eyes. "I'm sorry you feel that way," he replied evenly. "But I'm not compromising the contract drawn up."

Mitsuko kept her anger in check, gritting her teeth. He was being insufferable to the point she wanted to hit him hard enough to knock some sense back into him, but he was near impossible to argue with when he was like this, so convinced he was right.

Maybe he is?

Just shut up!

"Fine." She took a deep breath and then glared at him. "Then don't be surprised when it all blows in your face."

Then she shoved passed him and left the room before he could get the last word in.

***

Her bad mood filtered out even when she was trying her best to hide it. She kept drumming her fingers on her desk, lacking impatient.

Sugaya and Rio seemed to catch on quickly, the two of them both exchanging pointed looks during lunch.

Mitsuko shifted in her seat, growing more restless while the others talked about the recent events and the bet made.

Karma put down his book. "Anyway, what's the plan?" he asked. "You know those A Class goons have something up their sleeves."

Okajima turned around. "Don't worry so much, Karma," he replied. "What more does E Class even have to lose?"

She raised an eyebrow, tuning back into the conversation.

Kurahashi stood up, smiling. "If we win, we can make them do anything!" She grinned excitedly. "I'd like them to let us use the cafeteria!"

Mitsuko frowned. "Oh, come, that's way too small."

The others looked over in interest.

Karma smirked. "Wait, are you actually getting behind this, Mitsuko?"

She scowled, straightening up. "I just don't want my brother's idiot friends gloating again; it's embarrassing." She gave a small shrug. "And I'm just saying that if we want to really teach them a lesson then we need to aim high."