The white envelope remained between Kanzaki Mio's fingers.
At the center of it, the small red heart seemed to almost glow against the plain paper. Mio stared at it for a few seconds, as if trying to decipher something invisible written there.
Then she let out a small sigh.
"I'll think about it while class goes on."
Beside her, Hina immediately leaned forward with a mischievous smile.
"Ahhh, just go already! And tell us everything later!"
Mio slowly raised her eyes.
"This isn't a show, Hina."
Hina crossed her arms dramatically.
"I'll make you go if you don't want to!"
Mio frowned.
"Why are you insisting on this so much?"
She placed the letter inside her bag.
"I'll think about it, Hina. Don't bother me about this today."
Hina turned her face slightly, hiding a smile, and murmured quietly:
"Hehe... I'm going to observe this date and use it for my manga."
She placed a hand on her chin theatrically.
"I can already imagine their lips touching..."
Aoi let out a small laugh.
"You're weird sometimes, Hina."
Hina immediately turned to her.
"I'm just excited, Aoi-chan!"
She lightly tapped the desk.
"And by the way... we need to find our healer."
Aoi tilted her head.
"But who would want to play with us?"
She gave an awkward smile.
"We're really bad."
Hina raised her finger as if she were explaining something very important.
"RPGs aren't about being bad."
She said energetically:
"They're about getting involved in the game!"
Then she tilted her head slightly.
"Didn't you play before?"
Aoi looked at her.
Her face was serious, but her eyes looked distant, as if she had gone somewhere very far away.
Hina noticed immediately.
Her smile disappeared.
"A-ah... sorry, Aoi-chan.
Forget what I said."
Aoi blinked a few times, then breathed slowly.
"It's okay, Hina.
I was just thinking about who it could be."
A few minutes later, all the students were seated, and the usual classroom murmurs filled the room.
On the other side of the classroom, Yamamoto Souma raised his hand and discreetly waved at Aoi and Hina. The two waved back.
Mio watched that and murmured with a small smile:
"I've never been chosen like that."
Aoi turned her head.
"What? Chosen?"
Mio rested her face on her hand.
"Never mind."
She smiled slightly.
"Make good use of him, Mrs. Yamamoto."
Aoi's reaction was immediate.
Her face turned completely red, from her chin to the tips of her ears.
"W-WHAT?!"
She almost stood up from her chair.
"Mio! What are you talking about, y-you...!"
Mio laughed.
"Hahaha, relax."
She raised her hands.
"I'm just joking, Aoi-chan."
After a few seconds, her laughter faded and she sighed.
"It's been a while since I laughed like that."
A small silence formed between the three.
Aoi looked at her carefully.
"How is your mother?"
Mio answered calmly:
"She's recovering well. The doctor said so yesterday."
She looked at the desk and then raised her eyes again.
"My father is arriving in Japan today.
He'll probably go to the hospital soon."
Hina widened her eyes.
"Your father came from far away. Wow."
Mio shrugged.
"Well... I guess I expected that from him."
The classroom door opened and Sasaki-sensei entered.
"Good morning, students."
Everyone stood up.
"Good morning, sensei!"
"You may sit down."
He placed some papers on the desk.
"Let's begin the class."
Time passed, and soon it was lunchtime. Some students opened their bentos, others went out to buy food at the school store.
Hina immediately turned to Mio.
"So, Mio?!"
Mio was chewing calmly.
"So what?"
Hina raised her eyebrows dramatically.
"Are you going to accept the invitation?"
Mio took a few seconds to remember.
"Oh. That letter."
She took a sip of tea.
"I think so. I should at least give a proper answer."
Hina gave her a thumbs up.
"Good luck with that."
While speaking, Hina's eyes wandered around the classroom.
Then she froze.
A few meters ahead, Hanae Kurosawa was looking directly at Aoi, her face completely neutral.
Hina leaned closer to Aoi.
"Aoi-chan... why is the class representative looking at you again?"
Aoi was using her phone.
"Representative?"
She raised her eyes and turned her head.
The moment her eyes met Hanae's...
Hanae abruptly turned her face away and immediately started talking about something trivial with Takumi.
Aoi blinked a few times.
"Strange..."
At that moment, the classroom door opened.
Misaki Arai entered.
But something was different.
Her walk was strange. She walked normally... but there was a slight imbalance in her steps.
The classroom became quiet.
Some students began whispering.
Mio spoke quietly:
"Misaki looks unwell..."
She frowned.
"Do you think it was those girls from yesterday?"
Aoi answered in a low voice:
"I don't know...
But Hanae-san said she would look into it."
Sasaki-sensei entered the classroom again.
Everyone stood up.
"Well... today we have an important announcement."
The room fell silent.
"We will have some tests next week. Study hard."
Some students were already sighing in defeat.
Then he continued:
"And another notice is that..."
He hesitated a little.
"Blood was found in the girls' bathroom."
A murmur spread across the classroom.
"If anyone knows anything, inform a teacher or the office."
Souma discreetly looked at Aoi and made a gesture with his hand: phone.
Aoi carefully picked up her phone.
A new message.
She opened it.
Souma:
"I heard some guys saying Misaki went into the bathroom with three girls."
"You talked to her yesterday, right?"
"What did she say?"
Aoi stared at the screen.
Her face was completely neutral.
But her mind had gone back many years into the past.
Sakamoto Aoi was nine years old.
She was sitting alone in the classroom.
All the other students were eating lunch in groups.
But Aoi was always alone.
And there was always a group of girls.
They pulled her hair.
They threw her erasers away.
Sometimes they threw her bento on the floor.
Aoi never cried.
Never screamed.
She only looked at them with distant eyes.
One day, one of them asked:
"Why don't you get angry?"
Another laughed.
"She doesn't even cry."
"Not even when we hit her."
Some time later, Aoi was holding her father's old video game console inside a small game shop together with Yukiko. She was going to sell it.
Yukiko asked:
"Are you sure about this, Aoi? Do you really want to sell it?"
Aoi just nodded, and Yukiko went to talk to an employee.
Suddenly, Hina appeared inside the store, with big glasses and her hair tied up, accompanied by her father, looking at the console with shining eyes.
"Wow, Sakamoto-san! You have this console?!"
Aoi blinked in surprise.
"What?"
Hina walked closer quickly.
"Thank you for helping me the other day, I don't even know how to thank you... But this console, did you buy it?"
Aoi returned to her neutral expression and said:
"Actually, I came to sell it."
Hina almost instantly smiled and said:
"Then sell it to me, my dad is over there."
Aoi watched her for a few seconds and smiled slightly.
"You seem to really like this."
Hina turned red.
"O-of course I do!"
She took a deep breath.
"So?"
Aoi held the console.
"I don't really need the money."
"I just wanted someone who would take good care of it."
Hina blinked.
"Take care of it?"
Aoi lowered her eyes.
"I used to play with my dad...
But he can't play anymore."
Hina stayed silent for a moment.
Then she raised her hand.
"You can play with me at my house!"
She turned red.
"A-ah, sorry for saying that so suddenly!"
Aoi started laughing.
"You're funny.
But do you want to play with me?"
Hina opened a huge smile.
"Yes!"
The past disappeared.
Aoi returned to the present.
Why does this kind of thing always happen...?
When the break started, Aoi stood up.
"I'll be right back."
"Aoi-chan?" Hina called.
"Aoi, wait!" Mio said.
But Aoi was already walking toward Misaki's desk.
"Misaki...
If you want, I can help you."
Misaki looked at her.
Her eyes were serious.
"Sakamoto.
I don't need help."
She stood up and walked toward the door.
Three girls were already waiting there.
Misaki left with them.
Aoi sighed and began walking after them.
Souma immediately stood up and ran to her.
"Where are you going, Sakamoto-chan?"
"I'm going to help her."
Souma looked hesitant.
"But... shouldn't we inform the staff?"
Aoi answered calmly:
"The staff already abandoned her."
And she left the classroom.
Hina and Mio immediately stood up.
Souma remained looking at the floor, thoughtful.
On the other side of the room, Takumi adjusted his glasses while watching discreetly.
Hanae crossed the classroom quickly.
"Y-Yamamoto-kun..."
She looked nervous.
"Should we inform the teacher?"
Souma raised his eyes.
"I think I have something important to do, representative."
He looked at Hina and Mio.
Both were looking at him with determination.
Souma nodded.
Hina took a deep breath.
Mio looked at her.
"Are you ready for this, Hina-chan?"
Hina swallowed, but answered:
"These kinds of things..."
She raised her eyes.
"They don't scare me anymore."