[sup][h1][center][color=black] 一 色 み か こ - I S S H I K I  M I K A K O[/color]
[color=goldenrod]一 色 み か こ - I S S H I K I  M I K A K O[/color][/center][/h1][/sup]
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Mika-chan was, in fact, here too.

The instant she heard the nickname--in Suzucchiko's voice and cadence, no less--she was slapped upside the head by about fifty different breeds of nostalgia all at once, shooting her back in time to playing with her and Eikichi in elementary school, when she didn't have so much responsibility riding on her shoulders. And so she couldn't help the [i]enormous[/i] smile that crossed her face. Class was about to start proper soon, so she didn't have much time to talk to her, but she resolved that at lunch she was going to have a mini freakout about her sudden reappearance for [i]sure.[/i]

Though the majority of her attention is on Suzucchiko, she was paying enough attention--especially after the other girl slumped down--to note the change in Eikichi's bearing. She'd grown used to who he'd turned into by now; the fact that they would never again be close had snuck into her pre-sleep regret jitters on more than one occasion. They'd spent so much time together as kids, after all.

And by the way he'd just glanced at her, he was remembering it too.

Her smile went from bright to slightly clouded over. It was possible that with Suzuka here again, she might have the chance to reconcile with Eikichi and maybe try to bridge the chasm that now yawned between the two of them. But...did she want to now? It wasn't often that Mikako was anxious about social situations nowadays, but it had been so long since the two had been close, and he certainly wasn't the only one who'd changed a lot. Maybe the changes that she'd gone through were a bit less visible than his. She still looked, and on the surface even acted fairly similar to how she used to be. But she just had so much more to think about now, so much more that she was responsible for. Their worlds were just so far apart now; even if Suzuka brought them together again, would they still even be friends?

Well, at the very least it wasn't worth thinking about right then. Better to focus on the very real best friend that had just been forcibly reintroduced to her world. And while Suzuka [i]did[/i] look similar in some very important ways, she'd also changed a lot; she looked a lot more grown up now. And so all that was to say that the first thing Mikako said to Suzuka after her acknowledgement was a barely concealed squeal of delight, followed by an almost parental: 

[i]"[color=goldenrod]Look how grown-up you are now![/color]"[/i]