When We Were Young || JJK

00.

"Hana? Hana, are you listening to me right now?" An aggravated voice calls from the front of the room.

"Oh, yes sir! Sorry, Yaga-sensei." Hana apologized, trying to covertly cover her face so the other students couldn't see her embarrassment.

"Mm. Don't let it happen again." The teacher chided the girl, going back to explaining a mission to the upperclassmen while Hana waited for her directions.

"As I was saying, I'm sending you two out while Ieiri's out. Don't get hurt, because this time she's not coming to save you." Yaga lectured the two second-year students in front of him, dismissing the pair once he had laid into them.

"What about me, Yaga-sensei? What'd you call me here for?" Hana asked politely, waiting until there was a lull in conversation to speak up.

"Hana, I know you don't like working with other students-" Hana groaned at what she knew was coming, "But I'd like you to work with the other two first years. There's another mission I want to send them on, but I need you to go with them to make sure things go smoothly." Yaga-sensei crossed his arms as he spoke to the girl, raising an eyebrow as she rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, Yaga-sensei! Are you doing this because I zoned out?! Because I promised it wouldn't happen again." Hana complained, laying her head down on her desk in defeat.

"No, Hana. I'm doing this because you need to learn to rely on others, not just yourself." Yaga spoke directly to the girl, a hint of worry tinging his voice as he watched her throw a fit over having to join her fellow classmates. 

The girl slowly brought her head up from the table, leaning into her palm as she stared lazily at her teacher. She wondered what his real motive was, trying to put herself in his shoes as she went through a list of reasons. Of course, he wanted her to play nice with others, but he'd never forced her on a mission with the other two boys in her grade before.

"Fiiiiine, Yaga-sensei. But when I get back, I expect compensation." Hana waved her hand in the air like she was done with the blasé conversation, sauntering out of the room as Yaga yelled after her.

"I'll see what I can do." She knew Yaga wouldn't actually do anything, lest he reveal who his favorite student was to the others, but she hoped she would at least get a pizza or something out of the deal.

As she walked towards the dorm's common room, she spotted the two people she would be working with, sticking her head in and watching the pair as they had an animated conversation. Well, half of them were. Yu was frantically waving his hands as he talked about this girl who had beaten him in an eating contest while Nanami stared blankly back at him, occasionally nodding along to let the other boy know he was listening

"Hey, you two nerds. Listen up." Hana swaggered into the room, plopping down on the chair across from the couch, squinting at the two boys as they looked back at her, nervous about her presence.

"What do you want, Miura-san?" Nanami asked, his flat expression irritating Hana.

"It's been so long since you've hung out with us, Hana-chan!" Yu smiled at the girl, hoping she was here for a good reason.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, Yaga-sensei told me that I had to join you two on the upcoming mission, so if you could fill me in, it would be appreciated." Hana crossed her arms, sinking back into the seat, waiting to hear the plan.

"Uh, well there's not much to tell. We heard there's a few grade three curses hanging around this bakery near the center of the city, so we're supposed to leave tomorrow morning and scope out the area. Are you sure you want to come with us? We should be able to handle it with just the two of us." Yu offered, knowing how Hana hated working with others. The girl sighed at the comment, pushing herself up.