Lesson Learned

I need to be weak.

"Not this again," Gakushuu jumped to his feet the moment she said she wanted to go back to E Class. "I thought we talked about this?"

Mitsuko sighed, standing up. "No we didn't, you decided the conversation was over." She crossed her arms. Her brother's face twitched, struggling to stay composed. "Gakushuu, I love you, but I'm not like you, and I don't want to be," she told him gently. "I miss my friends." She smiled grimly. "It can't just be us anymore, it's okay to rely on other people."

He stayed silent for a while, shifting slightly, agitated. "We...he isn't just going to let you go back. He'll just make things worse for you."

"I still have to try," she replied, frowning. "Either way, I can't stay in A-Class, so you can try to stand in my way or you can help me."

His lips pursed into a thin line, watching her with a hint of anger. "...I'm not going to force you to do anything, but you're making a mistake and I'm not going to help you ruin your prospects for a bunch of delinquents."

She fixed him with a look. "I didn't have to help you clean but I still did," she argued, catching him off guard. "Just like how you took the blame for me when you didn't have to." Her gaze grew hard. "I'm asking you to help because we're twins and that's the only reason we've ever needed to support each other, no matter how much we argue."

He scowled, looking away from her. "You're really pulling that card."

Her gaze narrowed. "Gakushuu..."

He gritted his teeth. "Yes, I know." His gaze was irritated. "Why do you have to be so difficult all the time?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well, I learned from the biggest drama queen there is," she remarked dryly, raising an eyebrow at him.

Gakushuu scoffed, shaking his head. "You're impossible, and still clearly not seeing the bigger picture as usual." His nose wrinkled in displeasure. "Fine. I'll think about it."

"You will?" Her brow rose, having expected him to sulk instead of actually somewhat agree.

"Yes," he replied testily. "Preferably after we've finished cleaning so the Principal won't murder us."

She smiled slowly, feeling some tension leave her shoulders. "Okay. Deal."

****

Mitsuko stirred faintly when she heard some light humming reach her ears.

When her eyes eased open she realised she and Gakushuu had collapsed on a sofa in a library after trying to clean the shelves—A blanket was over the both of them, with Gakushuu snoring, and resting his head on her shoulder.

She smiled in amusement when she saw him, but was distracted by the humming again.

Carefully, she eased his head off her shoulder and tucked the blanket around him while he slept. Mitsuko followed the sound around the bookcases and towards the back of the library where Koro-sensei was cleaning a bookshelf.

"Sir?" she whispered, causing him to look up.

"Oh, hello," Koro-sensei greeted brightly. "I'm sorry I woke you. I was hoping to get this done before you woke up but I must have let time fly."

"Why are you here?" She raised an eyebrow at the clean shelves. "And why are you cleaning?"

Koro-sensei sighed. "Well, Takebayashi was very adamant that I make sure you and your brother were alright after his speech," he explained. "As were the rest of the class, and then I saw you and Asano-kun cleaning and I couldn't very well just let you do it alone."