Sorry it's a bit late, guys.
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I sink a bit further into my chair. It's quiet in here, even for a library. I haven't even seen Yuuko today. As I turn the page, I realize why – today's mother's day. It's been so long, I've completely forgotten about that today is a special occasion. Everyone else is visiting their mother today, even Hisao and Lilly. I can't think on it too long, though, as someone makes an awful lot of noise coming into the library. They walk with loud, decisive, and authoritative steps. I expect to see Misha barreling through the aisles, but I'm taken aback by a streak of blue – Shizune is the one making all the noise. It makes sense, really, given that she can't hear herself. Still, a little strange to see her in here. Of all people, I'm sure she would be visiting her parents?
Deep in my thoughts, I didn't notice that she started in my direction. Scrambling to recover, I nearly throw my book in the air. My face feels hot enough to cook an egg. There's no way she can't notice it, but even if she did I'm sure it wouldn't stop her. I feel her gaze burning into my eyes and turn to meet it. Her hands dance in the air, quite gracefully I must say. They stop moving and all I can do is stare at her. Looking flustered, she stamps her foot and puffs out her cheeks. I just try to sink into the floor and make myself invisible. She reaches into her bag and pulls out a pad and pencil. Scribbling furiously, she almost throws the note at me. I jump backward in equal parts fear and surprise, and shakily take the paper from her.
“I need help finding a book.”
I look up at her without moving my head. As I raise my hand as little as possible to gesture for the pad, my suspicions are confirmed: it's trembling like a leaf on a windy day. She thrusts the pen and paper at me and I almost fall over. I scribble onto it “What book?” and carefully hand it back, hoping to not drop either of the items I'm holding; I nearly drop both when she takes them, though.
“It's about Greek mythology.”
I stand up and immediately feel lightheaded. Trying my best to not fall over, I clutch my book to my chest and lead Shizune to the nonfiction section. Checking the small Dewey decimal guides on the sides of the shelves, I try to locate the correct aisle. I'm not sure how I was designated librarian, but I guess it doesn't matter now. We finally get there, and I wave my hand at the books, hoping she understands. She takes the hint and begins perusing the spines, looking for the right one. A sudden finger explodes into the air and it lands on an unlucky book, causing it to fall out of the shelf and into her hands. She pops back up and fixes her glasses, an inquisitive expression worn on her face. I remember Yuuko isn't here. Oh god, who's going to check out the book for her? Before I have time to think, a piece of paper is in my face.
“Where's the librarian?”
I go to write something down, but she takes the pad from me before the pen even hits it.
“Never mind, I'll just read it here.”
Well, that solves that problem. We go to the back and sit down, each of us reading our books.

A couple of minutes go by, close to half an hour, before anything else happens. I hear Shizune nearly slam her book shut as she stands up briskly. The sound of a pen tormenting a piece of paper pierces the air, and soon yet another piece of paper is hanging inches from my nose. I take it with all the trepidation of a young child who's just had a bad dream.
“I need to check this book out. Want to head down to the Shanghai with me to try and find Yuuko?”
I never imagined Shizune would ask anyone to go with her, let alone me. Reluctantly, I jot back “Sure”, and we head out.
The school is eerily quiet. With everyone gone, the only noise is our footsteps. I almost begin playing the tile game before I remember Shizune's presence. Awkwardly, I adjust my pace to keep up with her. She moves with such determination and direction it's hard to stay with her, and by the time we've exited the gate, I've got a bit of a sweat worked up. Asking her to slow down could have catastrophic effects, though, so I can only hang on to what little breath I have left as she speeds into town. Thankfully, a lot of the trip is downhill. The quick pace also shortened the walk considerably, and soon we're standing in front of the tea shop.
It's quite busy today, mostly full of students and their visiting parents. Yuuko is buzzing along the tables, trying to get everyone's order to them in a timely manner while not spilling everything onto the ground. The scene would be rather funny, if it wasn't equally as sad. A quick stolen look at Shizune shows she's getting rather impatient, and I hope she doesn't start banging things. Suddenly, a sound like a whip cracking pierces the air, and everyone's eyes shoot toward us. If I could disappear, now would be a good time to do it. All I can do is try and hide within myself, like I usually do. At the very least, she got Yuuko's attention, who bustles over to us as soon as she places down the order she's carrying. She reaches us and does her too-deep bow, nearly dropping her glasses off of her face. The quick scramble to replace them almost knocks them out of her hands, and soon she's blushing as hard as I am. At least someone else shares my timidness. Once they're back on, she begins spouting apologies as if everything was her fault.
“I'm gosh, I'm so sorry! We're just so busy with all the extra visitors, today. Please have a seat anywhere, I'll be right there.” She runs off again, grabbing at least 2 cups of coffee and two plates of cake. I wonder why they don't have more people helping? Per usual, Shizune has run off before I can continue down my line of thought, and I have to jog slightly to reach her. We pick a table in the corner and wait for Yuuko.
It takes a little while, but soon she's reached our table, nearly tumbling over herself in doing so. She pulls out her pad almost at the same time as Shizune, causing me to giggle a bit. I grab Shizune's note and read it out to Yuuko.
“I-I need to check o-out a book...” I put the note down and look back at Yuuko.
“Well, my shift doesn't end for another half hour. Do you mind waiting a bit?” She looks genuinely sorry about this. I jot it down and hand it to Shizune, who merely gives a sharp nod.
“Well, um, is there anything I can get you?” Again, I write it down and hand it to Shizune, who merely writes back “tea”. I order some tea as well, and a slice of chocolate cake. Yuuko bows and leaves to prepare our order.
Me and Shizune sit for a while, saying and doing nothing. Eventually, Shizune writes something down, and slides it over to me.
“Shouldn't you be with Satou right now?” The bluntness of the question puts me off a bit, but I reply nonetheless.
“She's visiting family in Scotland.” Almost as soon as I give the pad back, she's pushing it towards me.
“And Nakai?” I decide to get a little closer to her, so we don't have to keep scooting the pad to each other.
“Also visiting family.” Before surrendering the pen, I hesitantly add, “So why aren't you visiting family?” I immediately regret asking, because she gives a slightly pained look. She takes the pen from me and thinks for a second before writing.
“My mom passed away a long time ago. I never really knew much about her, other than what my dad tells me.” That explains a lot. I notice I feel a lot less anxious now. Has Shizune's confession put me at ease? As I take the pen, Yuuko arrives with our tea and my cake. I bite into my cake and savor the rich chocolate. We sit quietly for a while, enjoying our food and drink. I place down my fork as I finish chewing the last bit of cake and look at Shizune. She seems calm, approaching serene, sipping on her tea. Maybe she's thinking about her mother. I try and think about mine, but nothing really comes to me. I was so young when the accident happened. I don't really know anything about my mother, nor do I remember much. My eyes grow wet with realization, and I notice Shizune is staring at me. I quickly dab my eyes on my sleeve and pick up the pen.
“Do you remember anything about your mother?” This question seems to hit her harder than the last, making me feel even worse.
“No, she died giving birth to me. A necessary sacrifice so I could live.” This time it's Shizune who begins to grow damp. It seems we have something in common; both alive because of our mother's love. I begin to write sentence, trying to do so as fast as possible.
“My mother died to save my life, too. When the fire came, she covered my body with hers, also sacrificing herself for me. I know how you feel.” I grab her hand and look into her eyes. A tear falls from her eye, leaving a wet streak down her cheek, hanging on her cheek for a nanosecond before splashing into the table below. Seeing such a strong girl cry almost makes me cry by itself. Going against all instinct, I give her a hug. She jolts a bit in shock, but soon returns the embrace, laying her head on my shoulder. Doing my best to comfort her silent whimpers, I grab the pad.
“I think of it like this: she loved me so much, and wanted me to live so badly, she gave herself because she knew that I would make it out alive if only because of her love. She didn't die for me, or become a willing sacrifice, she was doing the best possible thing a mother could do for her daughter.”
Even though I don't feel exactly like that, I'm just trying to make Shizune feel a little better. It seems to work, as she gives a quick sniff and wipes her eyes. Being careful not to get the paper wet, she writes.
“That's one way to put it. I just wish I had gotten the time to know her.”
“I know how you feel, trust me. But, if she can make such a great daughter, I'm sure she couldn't have been that bad.” She gives me a light smile. Our moment is interrupted, sadly, by Yuuko.
“I'm, erm, done with my shift now. We can go check out that book.” Transcribing it for Shizune, I also lay out some money for the food. Yuuko picks it up, and we head back to the school. Before we leave the tea shop, though, Shizune hands me a note.
“Thanks for the talk. I needed it.” I can only smile at her sympathetically, hoping she gets my meaning.

After we get back to the school and Shizune gets her book, I reflect on today's events. I saw a side of Shizune I didn't even know existed today, and probably learned something not even Misha knows. I would have never imagined something so awful could have happened to Shizune. Having met her father, I can see where she gets her drive and passion, but having just her father as a parent must have been rough. It certainly made her what she is today, but the lack of a mother's touch is evident when it comes to things like how she carries herself and how she acts with other people. Even her relationship with Lilly makes sense. Still, I feel a bit closer to her. Hopefully we can meet again, although on less... grim terms.