A Thousand Cranes for a Wish (USHIJIMA X OC)

Who's the Artist?

Umeko entered the library and weaved through the shelves looking for the textbook she needed to read.

"Excuse me, do you know where to find the non-fiction section?" A first-year student asked Umeko. The girl looked very confused and judging by her look of desperation she wasn't able to find anyone at the help desk.

"Oh! Its right over there" Umeko pointed to the correct direction and continued to search for the book she was looking for. It wasn't long before Umeko heard another voice from behind her.

"I was wondering if you knew where this particular book was shelved."

Umeko turned around, took the book from the student and scanned over it before she returned it back to him. "It's listed right here that it belongs back in the Biography section."

"Oh, thanks!" The student waved then ran off to return the book.

This time Umeko sighed and returned back to her task. She really needed to find the textbook, but for some reason it wasn't where she last saw it. "Perhaps someone checked it out?" She mumbled to herself.

"Do you know where I can find adventure books?"

Umeko furrowed her eyebrows confused then turned to the person who asked the question. "It's in the Young Adult's section."

"Where?"

Umeko pointed in the general area of the section. "It's all the way over there if I remember correctly."

The student raised an eyebrow. "Can you bring me there?"

Umeko at this point, really, really didn't want to bring him there. Surely there was someone at the help desk by now. Unfortunately, she felt bad if she were to refuse so Umeko begrudgingly agreed with a strained smile. "Alright."

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It was a long ten minutes before Umeko was able to sit alone with a textbook open. She claimed to be 'studying' but in reality, she just had the book open while she thought about the events of the day. Umeko was feeling unusually bold during lunch and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. It's probably because you are comfortable around them now, the little voice in her head chided in a singsong tone. She closed her textbook as her thoughts began to wander. There was no point in pretending to study in the library when she could be doing more productive things like making a clay vase in the art classroom.

Just before she exited the building, she noticed Shirabu sitting at the next table looking incredibly frustrated. Umeko moved a little closer to see what he was upset over. Oh.

"What are you doing?" Shirabu noticed Umeko and glared in her direction. "Don't you have better things to do other than creepily stand there?"

Usually Umeko would apologize then leave but she decided that she wanted to be friends with the irritable student. It also helped that she was feeling a little gutsy. "I-uhm. For question five the answer is Juan Gris. He followed the Cubism art genre."

"Are you good at Art History?" He made a disgusted face. "Who's even good at that class."

Umeko nodded, "I took it last year and I really enjoyed it."

Shirabu scowled at his homework then back at her. He could ask her for help, but that would mean asking someone he didn't like all too much for help. But if he did ask for assistance, he would finish his homework and maybe, just maybe understand the subject a little better. There was a moment of awkward silence as he weighed the pros and cons in his head. Shirabu swallowed his pride with an audible sigh. "Can you help me with my homework please?" His words were mumbled but Umeko heard them loud and clear.