CH. 101 - Choices

 In November… Shiori works at her desk, writing her book for a moment before pausing to stretch her arms over her head with a yawn. She smiles softly as she stares at her laptop screen and her book pages on it when suddenly she gets a notification. 

 “An email?” She says with a confused look. She clicks on it and opens it up before beginning to read it.

 “ ‘Dear Ms. Inabi, We are reaching out to you today in regard to your book. After reviewing the information you sent us in your application, we are pleased to inform you that we would like to move forward with the editorial process. Please come to our District 9 BoO to meet with one of our professional editors on November 19th at 11 a.m. Hope to see you soon!

- Conarc Editors.’…” Her confused face turns into an excited smile as she reads. “They accepted?.. They accepted! I can’t believe this!” she shouts as she jumps up from her chair and does a little happy dance.

 She rushes downstairs and jumps on Hikigaya, who happens to be standing in the living room at that moment. She laughs as he looks shocked before they collapse to the floor with a thud. Shiori smiles brightly as she holds herself over him.

 “Hiki! They accepted!” She shouts.

“You mean the editor people?” He asks.

“Yes!”

 “Why couldn’t you just have my mom edit your book again?” He asks with a smile as he stands up, holding Shiori up from under her arms. She smiles and doesn’t even acknowledge it as she speaks.

 “Because I want more than just one opinion. And I think your mom might be a little biased..” she says with an embarrassed smile. Hikigaya chuckles before gently putting her down.

 “True. So when is your meeting? Next week?” He asks.

 “No, it’s…” She checks the date while responding before getting a shocked look. “The 19th! That’s only a few days! The rough draft isn’t finished! I gotta get to work!” She shouts before rushing back upstairs, leaving Hikigaya behind. He looks around for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts before Shiori rushes back to Hikigaya and kisses him. She pulls back with a warm smile. 

 “Almost forgot.” She says softly before actually rushing back up to her room. Hikigaya blushes while looking embarrassed. He then hears Hamasaki cheering in the backyard faintly. He goes to investigate when he finds Hamasaki shouting with a smile at Riku, who rushes back and forth between two cones spaced apart. 

 “Hey Mrs. Inabi, what’s Riku up to?” He asks, stepping into the yard.

“Oh, he’s training for his sports festival.” Hamasaki says happily. Hikigaya gets a surprised look.

 “Oh yeah! It’s his first one!” Hikigaya says with a smile. Hamasaki nods softly. Riku stops and approaches them, sweating and panting a bit, trying to catch his breath. 

 “That’s right! You and Shiori are going, right?” Riku asks excitedly.

 “Of course, little man. What day is it?” Hikigaya asks.

 “It’s on the 19th. Starts at 9 if you two decide to go on your own.” Hamasaki answers. Hikigaya looks surprised for a moment before getting a slightly conflicted look. Hamasaki notices. “Is that alright?” She asks. Hikigaya sweats before smiling.

 “Yeah, of course! Shouldn’t be a problem, we’ll be there!” Hikigaya says, knowing this is gonna get complicated.

 Over the next couple of days, Shiori works tirelessly on her book from staying up late to working on it in class, as Riku spends his afternoons training for the sports festival. Hikigaya watches as they both work hard to achieve their goals. One day, after school, Shiori continues working as Hikigaya steps into her room. 

 “Hey, Shiori. Could we talk for a second?” He asks. Shiori nods as her focus doesn’t shift away from her book for a moment before coming to a stopping point and looking at him with a smile.

 “Okay. What is it?” She asks, smiling. Hikigaya hesitates a little, sweating.

“Sooo, have you heard about Riku’s sports festival?” He asks.

 “Oh yeah. He’s having his first one this year, isn’t he? When is it?” Shiori asks. Hikigaya sweats a bit with a nervous look.

 “That’s the thing.. It’s kinda on the 19th.” He says. Shiori gets a surprised look as her eyes widen. 

 “Oh.” she says softly as she looks down.

“Yeahhh..” He says with an awkward tone while looking away. They pause for a moment before Hikigaya speaks. “What are you gonna do? He’s really working hard for this, I think it means more to him than he’s letting on. I’m sure he’d really want you to be there.” Hikigaya says softly as Shiori looks back at her book.

 “I’ll.. see what I can do.” She says quietly before looking back at Hikigaya with a soft smile. “Thanks for letting me know, love.” She says warmly. Hikigaya blushes a bit before nodding and exiting her room. Shiori turns and stares at her book for a moment.

‘I know he’d want me there, but… This is so important! I don’t think I’d get another chance like this.’ Shiori thinks. She leans back in her chair and looks up. ‘Riku will have more sports festivals, right? Yeah, I’ll just make sure to go to those. It’ll be alright.’ She thinks before getting a softly determined smile and going back to writing.

 One day before the sports festival, Hamasaki cheers Riku on as he continues to train when Takanou steps next to her.

 “He’s really giving this training his all.” Takanou says, grabbing onto Hamasaki’s shoulder gently.

 “He’s trying extra hard because apparently some kids at school were teasing him for being smaller than they are.” She says softly, not removing her gaze from her child. Takanou gets a slightly sad look before turning his attention toward Riku.

 “I see.” He says for a moment before getting a smile and cheering Riku on. “Come on, Riku! Keep it up! Those kids won’t know what hit ‘em!” Takanou cheers. Riku stops for a moment and sees his dad cheering for him before smiling warmly and nodding determined.

 Soon, the morning of the sports festival comes. Riku sits on the stairs tying his shoes, getting ready for the day, when Shiori steps down the stairs slowly, a slightly sad look on her face. Riku turns to her with a smile before jumping back and facing her.

 “Shiori! Are you ready to see me kick some butt?!” he shouts excitedly while putting his fist in the air. He then lowers his fist and smiles widely at his sister. “You’re coming, right?” He asks with excited eyes. Shiori smiles a sad smile at him.

 “Yeah.. about that.” She begins. Riku’s face turns to surprise. “I don’t think I’m gonna be able to make it. I’ve got a really important meeting today for my book and I don’t know how long it’ll take.” She says softly as Riku’s surprise turns to a slightly sad look as he looks down. Shiori has a sad look too before Hikigaya comes up next to Riku.

 “But don’t worry. I’m gonna be there to cheer you on instead!” He says with a smile as Riku turns to look at him with a look of judgemental disappointment. Hikigaya then angrily wraps his arm around Riku and gives him a knuckle sandwich. “And we’re gonna have a great time, won’t we?” he growls as he walks away, carrying him. Shiori watches them leave with a sad look but doesn’t say anything else.

 A bit later, at Riku’s school, the classes prepare for the opening ceremony of the sports festival. Families cheer as the announcer speaks about their classes. Riku marches with the rest of his class when he looks over to his family. Hamasaki and Hikigaya give thumbs up as Asami and Takanou lift their fists, shouting his name. He smiles a bit, but it soon fades when he remembers Shiori isn’t there.

 In town, Shiori rushes to and inside the Conarc building. She looks around for a moment before adjusting herself and approaching the counter.

 “Hi, I’m here to meet Murphy Law.” She says to the attendant. The front desk attendant looks up at Shiori with an uncaring look.

 “Do you have an appointment?” She asks with an attitude.

 “Yes, for 11 o’clock.” Shiori says back, sweating a bit. The attendant looks at the clock slowly, so Shiori does the same, slightly confused. They both watch as the clock reads 10:50. The attendant looks back at Shiori with a displeased look.

 “It seems Mr. Law isn’t in yet.” She says blankly. Shiori looks nervous but smiles, anyway.

 “R-right..” she responds softly before stepping away and taking a seat in the lobby. She sits as she bounces her leg, anticipation and confliction racing through her body. She turns and looks at the clock as it shifts from 10:50 to 10:51. She sighs a frustrated sigh.

 At the school, the first event starts: tug of war. Riku’s class grabs hold of the rope and prepares themselves. 

 “Students ready? Start!”

 They begin tugging hard, trying to best the other class. Riku struggles hard and pulls with all his might as the opposing class does the same. They struggle back and forth, each class trying to gain the upper hand over the other when suddenly, Riku loses his footing and falls backwards and into the couple students behind him. The crowd gasps as their class loses grip on the rope and are yanked forward by the other class, losing the match. 

 “Class 1-3 wins!” he shouts as the other class cheers and high fives each other. Riku’s class looks back at him with frustrated and angry looks. He gets an upset and embarrassed look.

 Back in the Conarc building, Shiori waits even more impatiently than before as she looks back at the clock. It reads 11:13 as Shiori sweats. Suddenly, a door opens from behind the desk attendant, as a man walks through.

 “Osaki, have you heard any word from my 11 o’clock?” The man asks with a confused face. Shiori shoots up from her seat with wide eyes.

 “Yes!” she basically shouts. The man looks over, surprised, as Shiori clears her throat. “Yes, it’s me. Shiori Inabi.” She says, composing herself. He looks at her for a moment, puzzled.

 “How long have you been waiting there?” He asks.

 “For a little over 20 minutes…” she answers softly. The man turns and glares at Osaki, who just shrugs.

 “My apologies, Ms. Inabi. My assistant can be quite irritable with new, young authors such as yourself.” He says while approaching Shiori, glaring at Osaki a bit. “My name’s Murphy Law. Now, shall we?” He shakes her hand before motioning towards the door he just came out of. Shiori sighs in relief before nodding and going into the office.

 At the school, the next competition begins. One by one, the classes each take turns attempting to toss the balls into stacked buckets. The smaller, higher ones being worth higher scores, while lower, wider ones being worth less. Some students miss while others only manage to get them into the lower buckets until eventually Riku’s turn comes. He steps to the line with the rubber ball in hand and a nervous look on his face. He sweats as his classmates shout at him.

 “Come on, Riku! Don’t mess this one up too!” One student shouts.

 “Just make it in the bigger one and we win this round!” They shout with irritated tones. Riku’s gaze sharpens as he tries to focus. He breathes out before launching the ball, only for it to hit the edge of the bucket and bounce right off. Riku’s look drops to disappointment in himself as the crowd awes and his class scoffs, leaving him standing there.

 “What an unfortunate miss! Not to worry, though! There’s still quite a few rounds left so let’s keep this festival going!” The announcer shouts.

 In the Conarc building, Shiori stares at the clock in the office with a worried look.

 “Ms. Inabi? Are you alright?” Murphy asks, noticing her distracted behavior. Shiori snaps her head forward to focus on what’s in front of her.

 “Y-yes! Of course!” She says with an awkward smile, embarrassed. Murphy smiles with slight concern.

 “Are you sure? Because you keep looking at the clock. Is this perhaps not a good time?” He asks. Shiori panics a little.

 “No! I mean, it’s a perfect time. It’s all good!” She says with an anxious laugh. Murphy looks concerned but continues anyway.

 “Well, everything looks good!” he says while closing a booklet. “It’s even better than the bit you already sent us. And this is still just a rough draft? Not second or third?” He asks. Shiori blushes a little.

 “Nope, that’s only the rough draft. I’ve still got a lot of work to do.” She says, smiling softly.

 “That’s amazing. As for what I’m thinkin’, I’m thinkin’ we’ll be working together on this.” Murphy says with an approving smile. Shiori’s eyes widen.

 “You really think so?.. You want to take on my book?” She asks excitedly.

 “I do. I think it has a lot of potential, and I mean a lot. Not only would I find stimulating to edit, but it’d also be beneficial to Conarc to have such a wonderful story attached to our brand.” Murphy says with a content smile. Shiori sighs as a look of relief and excitement spreads across her face.

 “That’s great news! I look forward to working with you as well!” She says. She turns and looks at the clock again, her look shifting to one of concern, before she stands up with a nervous smile. “Thank you so much for this opportunity! I can’t wait for our next meeting to begin working on my first draft.” She says, prepared to rush out before Murphy lifts his hand.

 “Woah, wait a minute. Not so fast.” He says. She stops and looks at him, surprised, as he pulls out a packet of papers. “There’s still some paperwork we have to go through to get you properly integrated into our system.” He says, adjusting his glasses and going through the papers. Shiori sweats with a worried look. “I know this may seem like a lot, but I assure you it’s worth it. The benefits you’ll have from our system will be super helpful to you, so let’s make sure you’re well educated on how it works here. We should probably start with…” As he speaks, Shiori gets a worried look as she looks back at the clock one last time. 

 “You’re coming, right?”

 She hears her brother’s voice in her head and his smile on his face. She gets a conflicted look as Murphy continues.

 “I think that would be the best approach.” He says with a nod and smile, pulling out a specific paper and putting it down before Shiori speaks up.

 “Mr. Law?” She calls out. He looks up with a surprised look as she stands in the doorway, a weak smile on her face. “I’m really sorry, but I think I have to go. My brother needs me.” She says before rushing out of the office and the building. Murphy stares, confused as Osaki walks in. 

 “I told you she was no good. Kids that young always try to make it big with their books but never have the determination to stick it out.” Osaki says. Murphy just smirks as he takes off his glasses, not listening to what she’s saying.

 At Riku’s school, the main event begins. A relay race between the three first year classes. 

 “Runners, on your starting points!” The referee shouts as the students begin to spread out to their positions. As Riku ties his shoe, a few students walk by.

 “Try to be of some use this time.” One student says.

 “You better not mess this one up, Stinku.” They say meanly as Riku stands up, obviously frustrated. He looks over to his family where Hikigaya gives him two thumbs up and his parents smile at him, but Shiori is nowhere to be seen. Riku lowers his head as he makes his way to the final position as the anchor of the relay. 

 “Runners ready?” The ref asks. The students all prepare themselves as the referee starts the race. The kids take off running as Riku watches, awaiting his turn.

 “I won’t mess this up again. I’ll show them!” He says, getting himself determined. Soon, the students start making their way to them. Riku begins running, waiting for his classmate to hand him the baton. In a quick handoff, Riku grabs the baton and takes off running.

 “Go Riku! Run!” Takanou cheers.

“You can do it, little man!” Asami shouts as Riku begins making ground over his peers. They run and run as Riku focuses intensely, gaining distance from the others.

 ‘Come on, Riku, keep going! Don’t mess it up!’ he thinks to himself as he pants heavily, running as fast as he can. ‘Just don’t-’

 Before he can finish his thought, and on the first corner, his foot slips. In an instant, his eyes grow wide as he swiftly falls to the floor and tumbles over. He grunts in pain as everyone gasps. Riku lifts himself up just a bit as he struggles, scraped up on his leg and arm. Tears then begin to fall to the ground as Riku begins to cry softly. 

 “Why..? Why can’t I do anything right?..” he asks softly as he lies on the ground before suddenly, a voice yells out to him.

 “Get up!”

 Riku’s eyes grow wide as he looks up. He looks straight at his family where Shiori stands, cupping her mouth and yelling at him.

 “I’ve seen you fall worse! Get up!” She shouts with a big smile.

 “Keep going, Riku!” Hikigaya shouts too. Riku’s face flips like a switch as a look of determination spreads across it. He grabs his baton before bolting up to his feet. He runs harder than he had before, giving it his all and soon even manages to catch up to the other kids. He pushes himself harder and harder until eventually all the students cross the finish line. Everyone cheers as the other students rush to the runners’ sides.

 “Class 1-3 has won yet another event! They are on fire today!” The announcer cheers as the other class celebrates their win. Riku bends over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. His class surrounds him as he looks at them. He stands up and looks away, disappointed.

 “I’m sorry, guys. I lost it for us… again.” He says softly when the class cheers. They even lift him up with smiles on their faces.

 “That was so cool!” A student says.

“It was like watching a movie! Way to go!” They all shout together.

 “Hey Stinku.” The student gets his attention before smiling at him. “That was pretty awesome.” He says.

 “Yeah! Good run!” A girl cheers. Riku smiles at them warmly. 

 “Thanks, guys.” He says softly.

 “Now that is what I’m talking about. There is nothing better than good sportsmanship and a class coming together to encourage one another. That will definitely be worth some points!” The announcer says enthusiastically before the event continues.

 The classes play event after event, each one Riku shines better than the last as the class comes together and enjoys a fun day of activities. Soon, a late lunch is gathered in the courtyard as families join each other to support their students’ hard work. Riku takes a big bite of a sandwich happily, now with bandages on his scrapes. Hikigaya gives him a big head pat.

 “That was some good running out there! If I were you, I probably would’ve just gone home.” Hikigaya says.

 “Yeah, that’s because you’re a quitter. But my brother and I are no quitters, right?” Shiori asks as Riku nods happily. Hamasaki looks at Shiori, confused.

 “But I thought you had a meeting for your book today and couldn’t make it?” She asks. Shiori droops a bit.

 “Don’t remind me..” she says. They all gasp.

 “You left your meeting to be here for your little brother??” Takanou asks. Shiori smiles a little, looking at Riku.

 “What can I say? I’m the best sister in the world.” She says as Asami hugs her.

 “You’re such a good big sister.” She says as happy tears roll down her face.

 “Yes, she is.” Hamasaki says with a warm smile. 

 “I could always find another editor, but there won’t be another first sports festival, right?” Shiori says with a smile while looking at Riku. He smiles warmly at her.

 “Right.” he says before leaning his head against her arm. “You're the best, Shiori.” He says happily. Shiori smiles warmly as the family enjoys their lunch together.