SOMEONE Has To Do The Paperwork

12 For My Theme Song

Enter the kingdom

But watch who you bring home

Mitsuo wasn't doing well. He thought everything was fine and that he was doing well, investing the money he had made and all. But damn, the boredom just really, really got to him.

Ever since he didn't have anything to do but watch his stocks rise and fall every single day, he just felt empty inside. He couldn't focus in class anymore, he could barely sleep, but he also had nothing else to do. It was like he was just existing in some sort of personal hell, made just for him.

A personal hell consisting of stocks, bets and not going to terrible night clubs. Mitsuo really wasn't the kind of person that went out clubbing, but he somehow missed being annoyed at it.

Plus, his self-esteem just fell dramatically. Sure, he still was the smart kid and all that, but... he wasn't the strategist selling drugs anymore. He wasn't handling finances that would make other people dizzy. He wasn't the guy with the drugs anymore. He wasn't that cool dude anymore.

All he was now was just nerdy Mitsuo. The weird guy with the glasses who you could probably pay to do your Math homework, because it was barely any work for him (and they weren't even wrong to say that, because honestly, he would do other people's homework in exchange for money).

He just didn't seem to have any energy for anything anymore. He hated doing his school work. He hated waking up in the morning. He hated going to class. He hated doing the whole betting system. He hated looking at the stocks (but he still did it religiously). He hated eating. He hated taking showers. Damn it, he even hated breathing. It was driving him insane.

And it seemed like everyone else had something in their lives that they could distract themselves with. Azami had Shinsou, who she was hanging out with more than ever now. Yori had Mina and he also had his drugs that he was still taking, despite everyone telling him to stop. Keiko... well, Keiko didn't look like she really needed anything. She had her shopping and her fancy clothes. And that seemed to be enough for her. And Saki had her own little world.

Mitsuo... well, all he had were his stocks and they were boring him to death. If only he had a girlfriend or anything. But he really wasn't the type that easily got a girl. Yori was that type - not him. Not at all.

Sometimes people still asked him for drugs. The news had apparently not spread far enough yet, but it was always so defeating. Having to tell them that he didn't have anything, that he wasn't selling anymore. It was one of the worst things he had ever experienced for some reason.

And no matter what Mitsuo tried to distract himself with - it wouldn't work. He had tried doing drugs with Yori, but he had just ended up throwing up in the bathroom on the third floor before English class. He had tried hanging out with Shinsou and Azami while they were doing their homework together, but he was honestly just third-wheeling when he was with them. He had tried accompanying Keiko on one of her shopping trips, but it really wasn't his thing.

The only thing that was remotely interesting lately was playing board games with Saki. For some reason that was giving him some comfort all that other stuff didn't give him. Maybe it was because it was distracting to lose himself in the weird little world that was Saki's mind sometimes.

Or he was just happy to have any company at all. Because if he had to admit it, deep down - Mitsuo was lonely as hell. He didn't want to admit it to anyone, but he knew himself that it was true.

God, he just really hoped he wouldn't lose it and have to go to a hospital or something. His parents would absolutely kick him out. They expected better of him. They always expected so much better of him. Sometimes he wondered whether he was getting so much pressure from them, because he was somehow weird or whether he was weird, because he got so much pressure from them.