In a peculiar science lab at Gakumon School, lies a particular person. Often described by many students and staff alike as a “Distant Character”, a tall and gentle woman with short pink hair that covers her right eye, wearing her lab coat over a black shirt with a generic looking “science stamp right in the middle”. Her name is Yuka the Science Teacher That Rarely Leaves Her Lab. Despite what her title suggests, she is not bound to this lab out of any negative reason, the lab means a lot to her and she loves it, and science as a whole, making sure to keep it clean and organized for each class that passes by room.
She is doing that exact thing right now. The class that just left the lab did not make too much of a mess, so the cleaning took far less time than normal, with no classes in the next period, she was essentially free to do whatever she wanted to for a good while. It was while she was thinking of something to do with the free time that she glanced at her bag and saw the keychain someone gave to her long ago. This keychain in the shape of a pill, with one side being black and the other purple, is something precious to her, she puts on a soft smile while fidgeting with it.
After messing around the keychain for a bit, thinking of fond memories, she made the decision to leave her lab, and go visit a particular staff member of the school, someone very special to her. She prepares the lab for her departure, she turns off the lights, opens the door and takes the first step into the outside world that exists beyond her room, but something was not quite right at that moment. In a supposedly empty hallway during class period, there was a student with redish hair and a ponytail, and she was right in front of Yuka, very close to the wall, freezing in place after being noticed.
Yuka is confused, everyone should be studying, but yet here is a student, outside of class making many panicked expressions, like she was just caught doing something really bad. Yuka thinks to herself, “She couldn't possibly be skipping class, could she? No student would ever do that.”
“She must be helping one of the other teachers or staff with something at the garden. How thoughtful of her.” Yuka concludes her thoughts, giving a soft smile to the student diligently helping others, something that makes them shake and sweat profusely. Just as quick as she began to show all signs of fear, she quickly shakes her head from side to side, and begins to slowly walk forward while giving a shaky smile and shakier steps forward. The student lightly waves to Yuka, who is still naive of the clear signs of guilt the person in front of her is showing, waves back to her and looks away. In these few seconds when Yuka looked away from the student, a few thumps could be heard behind her, and when Yuka looked back… The girl who was just there completely vanished! But Yuka was not too bothered by it, the girl had a righteous motive to help others. So, Yuka continued on her way to visit that certain someone.
In front of the School's Nursing room door, she gently knocks on the door, to from which a voice inside exclaims:
“The gates to this room are open, you may enter by turning the knob!”
Yuka softly sighs with a smile and quietly says:
“You're still the same as ever.”
She grabs the handle and gently opens the door, excusing herself in.
“Coming in~”
“Oh, it's you.” says the other person in the room, as she stops messing with a travel backpack, and turns to Yuka.
She's a tall woman with long purple hair, wearing a black jacket over her otherwise normal nurse uniform with sunglasses that she is using more like a hair accessory instead of their intended purpose. Her name is Oshare, the Cool Nurse with Shades.
“It's not often that you leave your lab, did something happen? Perhaps you had an accident at the lab and only I can heal it?”
“You're that worried about me?/span>” Yuka grabs the chair closest to her to sit down. “Don't worry, there was no accident, I just wanted to visit a good friend.”
“Ho-ho?” she responds confidently with a smirk “Lucky for you, that friend has cured a little girl of her sports injury not too long ago, so she has plenty of time to spare!”
“Ah, so that's why you have a travel backpack, I see.”
“Oh, this? No, no, it was a separate emergency I had to take care of.”
“Separate?”
“The Principal sent me a message saying there was a severe problem only I could fix. When I arrived there fully geared, it was just a junior staff member who couldn't get down from the stairs because they had fear of heights.”
“That's something you don't see everyday…”
“Oh yeah, that junior reminded me a lot of you, back when you still had a fear of ‘scary animals’.”
“Did it? I'm glad you thought of me.” Yuka responded, very happy.
“Oh, hm… yeah.” responded Oshare stumbling her words, a bit flushed as she quickly gets back to unpacking her travel backpack.
Yuka notices this sudden shift and plays into it a bit “Aw, come on, what I said wasn't even that bad, no need to get so shy~”, she thinks to herself: “It's like you returned to how you used to act back then, how cute.”
Yes, things used to be much different for the both of them, back when they were young and studied in this same school. Back when they first met in that lab…
Many years ago, there used to be a girl that was bound to the science laboratory of Gakumon School. Many saw her as a “Distant character”, a girl with long purple hair that concealed her right eye, she had no friends and spent most of her time studying and doing little experiments quietly in this empty and lonely lab. Her name was Oshare, the Lonely Science Lab Student. This silence was only occasionally broken by the not so frequent check-ups the current teacher and owner of the science lab would do, which often turned into extra lessons because of the little girl's passion to learn more, and times of laughter as the teacher entertained the lonely girl. Almost all of her days were like this, staying in Gakumon studying until sunset, only then she would return home to start the cycle once again.
Until one day, out of nowhere, during one of her study sessions, a girl bursted through the doors of the laboratory and, just as quickly she opens, she shuts the door behind in a state of panic, hyperventilating. Oshare was sent into a shocked and panicked state after being disrupted from studying in this manner:
“Wh-what happened?? Is-is everything okay???”
“MI-MI-MI-MI-MI-” the pink-haired girl continues to mutter while shaking, using her body to block the door like she was holding a monster from entering the room.
“Ar-Are you hurt?? Did someone take somethin-”
“MICE!” the panicked girl screams as loud as possible.
…
A silence lingers as the girl starts to calm down and Oshare is further puzzled by the situation.
“Mi-Mice…?”
“Ye-Yes!” she continued, “I saw a big scary mouse in the corridor and it began to chase me!”
“Ah… Hum…” Oshare says, trying to find words for this moment she's still confused with, “You… ran and almost tore the door in half… made a crack on the wall… because of a… mouse…?”
“Yeah! He was super scary! Just like all insects!”
“AI-… I see…” Oshare says as she quietly returns to her seat, so she can resume her studies.
“He-Hey! They are really scary, okay!?”
“Th-they are… but still, that was a little… too much.”
“You would be just as scared as me if you saw it!”
The girl with short pink hair didn't want to leave the laboratory, she was scared that the monster out there was preparing an unrealistic ambush just for her, so she decided to stay close to the only other person in the room.
“Hum… Do you mind if I sit across from you? At least until the mouse is gone for sure?”
Oshare was taken a bit aback by that question, but she agrees since the girl was still uneased by the criminal monster at large, and so she silently sits at the other side of the long rectangular marble table.
The lab was always lonely, something Oshare learned to live with. She grew accustomed to the silence this environment brought. However, things had changed, someone else, unknown to her, was in the same room with her, she couldn't focus as well anymore, especially when that certain someone curiously stared at her studying…
“Ple-please don't stare at me so much… It makes me nervous…”, she says a little flustered.
“Ah! Sorry, sorry, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, it's just that I have never seen that science book before.”
“This? It's a book about medicine…”
“Medicine? But that's not a subject we have to study here, how did you get that book?”
“I-I asked the science teacher if I could borrow one of her medicine books to study…”
“You asked her? Hmm… maybe I should ask her for a few books too.”
“You… Do you like science too?” Oshare asks with a bit of enthusiasm.
“Yes! I love it! Chemistry is always my favorite topic to read about in the school books! But they are always so short… I should ask her for books too!” she pauses for a bit, “But I can never do the experiments, they are always so scary when I try to do them on my own…”
“You find them scary?”
“Yup!”
“Wha- why? You just need to follow the book and everything ends well.”
“But what if I mess up and end up causing a huge explosion!” she continues “I feel dread by just thinking about it!”
Oshare thought to herself a bit, until she got up and ran around the lab to grab a few pipettes, test tubes and a beaker.
“Wha- what's all these lab things?”
“Hum… I want to help you do a cool experiment…”
“Yo-you want to help me do an experiment? You’re really going to help me with that??”
“Yeah.” Oshare nods, “Mom always said that the best way to conquer your fears… is to face them head on! You don't have to fear any mistakes too because… I'm here!”
“Really?? Thank you uh… hum… I just noticed I don't know your name yet!”
“Oh… it's Oshare… My name is Oshare.”
“Oshare, my name is Yuka, happy to meet you and delighted that you want to help me!” she answers back with a smile.
And so, Oshare, with her new friend Yuka, followed the instructions spelled out by the book.
Yuka, little by little, was overcoming her fear.
“Wooooooah! Look! I did it! The liquid turned pink, like the book said!”
“Yeah, you did great Yuka!”
DING DONG
“It's already time!?”
“Hmm…”
“AH!!” Yuka Screams.
“Woah! What happened??”
“I FORGOT TO PACK MY THINGS IN THE CLASSROOM!” Yuka continues as she realizes she will be late home.
“Sorry Oshare, I need to go right now!” she says getting up from the chair.
“Oh, hum… okay.” Oshare says, a little saddened by her new friend's sudden departure.
Yuka quickly rushes to the door of the lab and sneakily opens it, checking the outside thoroughly, from side to side, much like a pedestrian would before crossing the road.
“The scary monster isn't here anymore…”
But before she leaves, Yuka says:
“Hey, uhm… Next time, can you help me do experiments again?”
“Yes! Of course I'll help you.” Oshare says with a brightened face.
“Then that makes it a promise, see you next later!”
“Bye, Bye. Careful with the scary monster!”
“I'll be!”
With the closure of the door, the laboratory has returned back to the status quo, empty and lonely… However, the occupant of such a place had changed, she was no longer part of the loneliness, she had a friend now, something she never really had before. For the rest of the day she was smiling and humming to herself. Later that day, the owner of the lab returned to close it for the day, when she noticed Oshare's carefree attitude.
“Hmm. It's rare to see you in such high spirits Oshare, did something happen?”
“Huh!?”
She pauses for a bit.
“Uhm… I-I met a… friend today…” she says, trying to hide her little red face.
“A friend? Well, that's new.” The teacher notices her trying to hide her shyness, “Well, I welcome anyone in my lab, as long as they come-” she dramatically pauses.
“in the pursuit-” she prepares…
“OF KNOWLEDGE” and strikes a pose!
. . .
A little chuckle can be heard in the room… It's from Oshare!
She always found the teacher's silly, sudden actions and poses fun, something that would always help people smile when they most needed it…
“T-Thank you miss…”
“Ah wait, miss.”
“Hm? Whatcha need Oshare?”
“Uhm, do you have a spare chemistry book I could borrow?”
“Chemistry? Hmmmm… I think I still do, I'll bring it tomorrow. But make sure to return both books when your done.”
“Ye-yes! Thank you miss!”
And so, the day came to a close. Oshare returned home and went to bed in record time. Fast asleep, excited for the next day…
That tomorrow had arrived, and like always, Oshare was in that same lab again, all by herself, waiting for the arrival of her new friend with the newly borrowed chemistry book right beside her, always looking at the door when she heard the smallest of noises from outside. She grew more and more anxious as time passed by, until… she hears the movement of the door knob! It turned and the door opened revealing… Yuka! She really did return to see her friend!
“Good afternoon Oshare!”
“Hello Yuka!” she responds, very happy.
“Look, look.” she grabs a book beside her, “I got the chemistry book you wanted to read!”
“Wooah!” She quickly closes the door and rushes to her seat “It really is a book of chemistry! Thank you so much Oshare!!”
”Hehehe.”
“How about we read it together?”
“Sure!”
“Alright! Let me open the windows first, this place is getting hot and I'm almost sweating.”
Allowing the fresh air to consume room, they began their studying session. Yuka learning to be in peace while doing experiments with the assistance of Oshare, a very enjoyable and happy time for both of them… but this joy wouldn't last for long, little did they knew… they weren't the only ones inside that lab anymore…
While studying, they would sometimes hear these little high pitched noises, not loud enough to disrupt them, but enough to bother the both of them. This wouldn't be much problem if the source noise didn't make their presence known to the two students…
Yuka feels something quickly pass between her feet and when she looked down to see-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Yuka quickly climbs on the marble table in fear of what she saw.
“Yuka!?”
“MI-MI-MI”
Before she could finish the word, Oshare looked to her side and saw it, the monster dashing around the floor at hypersonic speeds.
“MICE!!”
Like Yuka, Oshare also climbs on the table in fear of the rodent creature now invading the lab. The devilish creature, seeing the reaction of the two friends, was even more distressed and zoomed through the entire floor, aimlessly seeking an exit.
Oshare was very scared, she didn't do well around mice and did not know what to do, until she felt something tightening up her arm…
It's Yuka, clinging to her arm, shaking, looking down in complete fear of the demon that invaded the room with the air. Seeing the state of her only friend, almost breaking down the evil presence, she could not let this continue any further, but she was just as scared as her friend was to do anything.
“This can't go on!” Oshare thought to herself.
She took a deep breath, and, with very shaky steps, slowly climbed down to the floor where the evil monster resided around, Yuka slowly letting go of her arm as she stepped into dangerous territory. Once at the floor, she rapidly looked around trying to track the monster, but he was a little too fast to be captured with anything she had nearby, so she went with plan B:
Open the door and free the scary animal, let the scary animal roam the corridors, away from the lab!
Immediately putting the plan to action, she dashes to the door, narrowly avoiding the creature. She grabs a hold of the knob and quickly swings it open, making a clear path for the animal. Without any hesitation, the panicked animal runs out of the room, followed by the loud door slam, signaling the end of the lab terror.
Oshare did it, she fought against the mouse and survived, still panting a bit as she looked at Yuka, she was still shaken up by all that had happened, Oshare tried to quickly think of something to calm her down. Until she recalled something that always cheered her in times of sadness…
“Yo-you…”
“You have nothing to fear anymore! The monster has left the vicinity! Peace has returned once more to the lab-” she prepares…
“OF KNOWLEDGE” and strikes a pose!
. . .
A little chuckle can be heard in the room…
A chuckle that turns into laughter, it's Yuka!
“Bwahahaha! What was that pose?” She says while wiping the tears of her eyes.
“Ah… Sorry, I thought that would make you feel a bit calmer…”
A bit of silence lingers until-
“Thank you Oshare, that made me feel better.” She responds with a smile for Oshare.
And so, peace was restored to Gaku-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” yells can be heard far away in the corridor, “THE MOUSE IS BACK!!!”
They looked at each other and began to laugh together at the commotion outside.
Peace had returned to the Lab OF KNOWLEDGE…
“How things have changed since then.” Yuka thought about looking at Oshare, who was still unpacking.
“By the way, can I borrow another book of yours?”
“Another one? Hm, hm! You seek my knowledge again?”
“Yup, seeking your knowledge again~”
“Do you have that one about miracle cures from the famous Dr. Aroon?”
“Miracle cures? Hm… I do have it, you may borrow it, but you must return the one you borrowed a while back too.”
“I will, I will, next time I pass by here you will have both.”
The both of them continue chatting for a bit until Oshare finishes things.
“Aaah!” she says while stretching, “Finally done unpacking!”
“Wow, it's really like how the students say, you really do bring a whole clinic's worth of stuff in that backpack.”
“Well, you can never be over prepared when it comes to this! Who knows what things you must brave through during a procedure!”
“Hmmm…?” Something catches Yuka's attention, a little keychain in the travel backpack in the shape of a test tube with pink liquid inside.
Something catches Yuka's attention, a little keychain in the travel backpack in the shape of a test tube with pink liquid inside.
“Oooh!” she says as she gets to the edge of her seat with excitement from her realization.
“Ah! What? What happened?”
“That's! It is what I'm thinking of!”
“Hum??”
“The keychain! That's the keychain we traded shortly before graduating! You kept it for this long too!?”
“Oh, ah, uhm, eh!” Oshare stumbles in her words trying to say something, “too!?” she thinks.
Oshare sees Yuka's bright smile and eyes, and finally finds words to say:
“O-of course I still have my amulet-” she prepares…
“OF GOOD LUCK!” and strikes a pose!
“Bwahahahaha! That pose again, never fails to make laugh”
Oshare's face gets a little red while keeping the pose position.
“Hahaha…” she begins to wind down from laughing.
“Thank you for keeping it safe for so long, Oshare.”
“It means a lot to me.”
“…”
“Th-… Thank you for keeping mine too.” she responds with a smile.
~~ ❀ ~~