By some miracle, we actually get work done. Between Haruka's chaos and my organization, we've sketched out a runic array that might not completely fail. My notebook's a mess of her hearts and my precise diagrams, but somehow it works.
"See?" Haruka beams as we walk out of the cafe. "Told you we'd make a good team!"
I grunt in response, but I can't completely hide my satisfaction. The array we designed is actually pretty solid, I guess.
Then a voice cuts through the evening air like a knife through my good mood:
"Yo, bestie!"
[Oh fuck me.]
Akari fucking Nakamura herself comes bouncing up the street. She's got this swagger like she owns the whole damn city.
"Kari-chan!" Haruka waves enthusiastically. "Perfect timing! Come meet my project partner!"
[No. No no no-]
"Oh shit, you're that tiger girl from Haru's class!" Akari grins, looking me up and down. "Damn, Haru wasn't kidding about those muscles!"