October 5th 2017

It was nothing but pure relief.
The moment she heard that characteristic sound of a door unlocking and then the moment her dark brown eyes laid on the red bow girl of peach colored hair that emerged from inside that house, she couldn't help but feel a great and much needed relief.

"Sayori!", uncharacteristic for her though, Ryona also couldn't help but shout her name with a big smile on her face. One second later however and as her eyes met those pretty ocean eyes, she realized her actions and covered her mouth immediately while a deep blush appeared on her face.

For someone that could look and even be intimidating sometimes, Sayori thought this was really cute for a change and although very briefly, her mind pushed aside those thoughts and giggled at the sight of Ryona embarrassed.

"Good morning~!", Sayori bounced her way towards her while waving her hand in the air. Taking advantage of her hand still covering her mouth, Ryona let out another smile as she saw the smile that even though it had only been 2 days and half, she had yearned for it as if it had been years.

"Morning", Ryona said once Sayori was in front of her, uncovering her mouth slowly to make sure her fool smile couldn't be seen again while it vanished. Sayori didn't reply, she simply smiled sweetly at her with her hands behind her back, looking at her.

Ryona inevitably began to blush again. Those eyes of color blue so beautiful she sometimes would think she wouldn't mind losing herself in them, now looking at her while that smile she now certainly would pay for to see also was shining in her direction.

"I-I umm I have your backpack... Here", Ryona quickly looked away as she felt her face warmer, knowing she had to hide that blush she still struggled to understand. The dark blue haired girl then handed Sayori her Mr. Cow backpack, which she received slightly surprised.

"Oh! I thought I had lost it, thank you!", Sayori exclaimed with a smile as she took the backpack and clutched it against her chest. She genuinely thought that. For Ryona, it was simply worth it to have brought it all the way here for three consecutive days only to see that smile.

"You left it that day in the club so... I've been carrying it around until you came back to school...", Ryona nervously brushed her bangs of dark blue hair that hid her left eye. "T-Three days?? You've been carrying this around along your own bag??", Sayori asked surprised.

"Yeah, it's not that much tho-", Ryona spoke still nervous, but her words came to an abrupt end as Sayori blatantly pronounced the following words, "you didn't have to".

Ryona didn't understand.
She had heard Sayori say similar things whenever she or someone did anything for her. For example, whenever they played Minecraft together, she'd often go and leave some diamonds she had mined inside Sayori's chests since she liked them and on those occasions, she would usually say things like that, "it's not necessary!", "You shouldn't have!", "You didn't have to".

But there was something awfully different in her tone of voice this time. It wasn't anger, Sayori angry was something inconceivable for her and anyone else probably. No, it was something else. The closest thing she could think of as of now was...guilt?

"Anyways! I'm gonna go back inside and leave it there since I already brought another one as you can see", Sayori, bubbly again in less than half a second had erased that strange mood that was about to fall upon them, making it seem as a mere illusion for the tough girl who simply thought now, "am I imagining things?".

In less than a minute, Sayori had gone and come back, Mr. Cow backpack now safe in her house again. Finally both walked to school chatting and in Sayori's case, bouncing as usual but still throughout the entire way there, Ryona was able to shake off completely that bugging odd feeling since the red bow girl said those words.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many times before, Erika had imagined an scenario like this.
One day casually coming to the lockers either before or after school, that part didn't matter much, open it and find a white envelope sealed with a little heart, surely the pretty handwriting would belong to a cute a girl.

Even better though, she also imagined coming and catching such girl in the act. They'd look at each other surprised for a brief couple of seconds before both blushed madly and probably the girl would run away but still, she'd wait for her at the place that letter she dropped there said.

But reality was... Slightly different and certainly not what she expected.

That morning, going to her locker as usual to grab some books for today's lessons, she saw a girl, struggling to slide a thin paper sheet into her locker.
She saw her constantly switching from a vertical to horizontal position, unsure of which one would be the better option probably, but also she constantly checked on it to make sure it haven't got messed up.

At first glance, it was similar to her fantasies but there was two major differences there. One, that wasn't an envelope for some love letter and two, that girl right there wasn't exactly cute.

Erika just sighed disappointed and quietly approached her.

"Ruri-chan", Erika said in a mischievous tone, now behind the dark green haired girl. Ruri immediately jumped and were she be able to let out her voice, she probably would've squeaked in a funny way.

"Morning, what are you doing to my locker?", Erika asked with crossed arms and a friendly smile, feeling a bit bad for startling the poor girl. Ruri began shuddering greatly, not knowing what to do apparently at first but soon she tried to run away.

"Nope! Remember what the nurse said about your ribs, avoid unnecessary efforts", Erika sighed as she grabbed her by her backpack, taking advantage of her flinching momentarily due to her still injured ribs.

Ruri gave up and doing the great effort of simply try and facing her, she pulled out her phone to start typing.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do anything bad to your locker.

"I know, I know, but what's that you were trying to slide into it?", Erika pointed at the sheet she was still holding now noticing it also was inside a transparent envelope to protect it.

Ruri immediately blushed hard and hid it behind her back, furiously denying with her head. "If you were trying to leave that there for me, I was gonna see it anyway, come on!", Erika chuckled trying to reach that envelope but Ruri was surprisingly good at dodging when she wanted to apparently.

"Show it to meee~ pretty please?", what Ruri wasn't expecting was for Erika to cutely whine and pull out the deadliest of techniques, the puppy eyes.

Then, as a mad blush crept to her face, Ruri felt that now more usual but not less pleasant accelerated heartbeat which eventually lead to her giving up as she sighed and showed her palm to Erika signaling her to wait while looking at the floor.

Please close your eyes and then count to three after I give it to you to see it.

Erika read that on Ruri's phone and nodded in agreement to then proceed to close her eyes and extend her hand waiting for Ruri to hand it that paper.

The moment, Erika felt that transparent envelope in her hand she quickly grabbed it and began to count, "1, 2, 3!", but as she opened her eyes, Ruri was nowhere to be seen.

"Heh... I can't believe she got me there...", Erika sighed with a smile and knowing right now looking for the dark green haired girl was pointless, she proceeded to take a look at what that envelope contained and protected so dearly.

It was just a drawing but Erika knew it'd be engraved in her memory forever. There, drawing in a cool manga style she now could recognize who was from, was none other than herself. A twintailed girl of black hair looking at the horizon while she coolly posed holding a baseball bat that rested on her shoulders. Not only the perfectly captured essence of herself but also the beautiful color palette and shading was something she couldn't believe she had got for free.

She smiled. Erika knew perfectly well how difficult it was to make something like this, as a former artist herself she could very much appreciate it. Her heart then skipped a beat.

Erika however, quickly noticed that and shook her head. "I'm just moved because it's a really good drawing, that's all", with that thought in mind she carefully put the drawing inside her locker to later take it home with her where it could be safe and sound.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryona used to dislike her seat in class but eventually, she found the positives in it.
While it kept her away from her red bow friend in class, Ryona had learnt that it also allowed her to look at her from a fairly safe distance almost to her heart's content.

The tough girl still didn't fully understand why looking at Sayori had become something so essential to her. She constantly thought of her no doubt but she liked even more to look at her in person.

That short fluffy peach hair that surely would also smell that way, those blue ocean eyes but above all, that bright pretty smile. She simply found it a really nice sight to the eye.

But looking so much was exactly the reason of yet another adding to that bugging odd feeling that started that morning.
Ryona at first tried to shrug it off but the more she looked at her, the more she convinced herself something was out of place.

She always associated the sparkle and shine in Sayori's eyes to the sun shining over the vast blue ocean but that day, the sunshine wasn't there.
Like a moonless night sky, the blue in Sayori's had darkened.

Ryona knew well Sayori didn't really enjoy listening to the usually boring lessons so she would constantly do something to keep herself entertained like poking Natsuki's arm with her pen or mess with Ryou's hair in front of her.

However that day, she was simply listening to the teachers, quietly and sometimes almost expressionless, but at the same time, her mind seemed to be somewhere else.

This side of Sayori was one Ryona didn't know and it made her feel uneasy because she didn't understand it. She knew she was pending on the fine line between fear and frustration, and certainly none of those was better than the other.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

That Thursday one thing was certain and that's that the tough and bubbly ones weren't the only ones with issues growing.

After the events of the previous day, Natsuki couldn't remember, or rather didn't want to remember, how many tears she had shedded.
She skipped gym, her father wasn't home yet either so she went and shut herself inside her room for the rest of the day.

No matter how many times she thought through it, she couldn't find a good or at least logical reason for Yuri to do that to her. After the almost surreal yet amazing weeks they had spent together building their friendship almost from scratch, she was sure something even more special was growing between them.

It wasn't that much of a secret that she had a big crush from the instant they met, she struggled a bit to accept it at first, masking it as jealousy but soon enough she simply had to accept it, thinking it may make things between them easier, although it didn't exactly go like that for the past year.

Then, at the start of this new school year, on the very first day, she had a chance and took it. From there, everything had started working for her the way she expected, aside from a few bumps on the road that both managed to avoid, the rest had been just awesome.

She had become stronger, Yuri had opened her mind for her and she did the same, she had done her best to make sure that once gloomy yet always beautiful purple girl was smiling more and more often, she loved her smile.

They both had learnt about the other and the mood between them was as comfortable as a true home should feel. Every single thing she learned about her only made Natsuki's feelings for Yuri grow stronger.

Natsuki loved one thing maybe a tiny bit more than the rest of amazing qualities Yuri had and that was that genuine care and affection Yuri could show to her when she needed it the most.

That time when she felt weak due to her father's harsh words, she doubted herself again and her attitude manifested it inevitably.
That time she thought Yuri would probably think less of her but she didn't, instead, she didn't hesitate to welcome her into her arms and comfort her, telling her how good she actually was.

Natsuki loved that so much. Sometimes she only needed a warm hug and some comforting words, she didn't ask for much. Yuri gave that to her and her heart had began to pound so much her brain didn't top her heart and took the chance to feel Yuri's silk like skin on her lips at least for a tiny bit.

And then, one day all of sudden one single person comes and turns all those moments and into nothing but distant memories that maybe will never come back.

Over and over again Natsuki asked herself the same question.

What did I do wrong?

But no matter how hard she thought about it, she just couldn't find any solid answer to that question.
Just two days before, she had given it all to rescue her beautiful queen from the big bad monsters.

Did that even matter? Natsuki questioned herself.

Although horrible on the inside, the good looking boys didn't really affect Yuri's perception of her, she was certain about it after all those events.

Then, was it because it was a girl now?
Natsuki wondered if Yuri, like her, actually was only interested in girls and this undeniably prettier than her (at least in her mind) girl simply made her prefer her instead of the short, childish looking and immature girl she was.

But then again, they seemed to know each other. Was her just someone more important to her? She didn't know, Yuri never mentioned her.

So many questions, no real answers.

Everything around her that day was like a muted TV on the background, the only thing she could hear was her own confusing thoughts over and over again.

When lunch time came, Natsuki took a little moment to observe her surroundings.

Ryou and Gensai were happily chatting. Ryou seemed to constantly ask him about the things he liked and Gensai responded always with a crooked teeth smile, always willing to talk. The school cap boy also did his part by asking Ryou about himself, Ryou always took a moment to respond, he seemed nervous in a good way and simply didn't want to screw up, she knew that feeling.
Whatever was going between those two, it seemed to be going well.

Then she glanced at Sayori and Ryona.
Although Sayori seemed a bit more quiet than usual, Ryona constantly asked her Minecraft things or shared some cookies with her, Sayori happily accepted those. They seemed fine.

Natsuki now felt jealous.
All of them have been building their own relationships with as much effort as she had done. Then why was her the only one who got that taken away from her? Specially when she didn't do anything wrong.

The pink girl didn't feel comfortable there so she excused herself to go outside and try to clear her mind.

Then Natsuki, whether unconsciously or not, ended up heading to Yuri's classroom. She still had a small hope of finding her there, with those two lunchboxes waiting for her.

But sometimes we all just like to torture ourselves apparently.
When she approached there, she saw them through the window. Kaede and Yuri, both happily enjoying lunch together, Kaede even fed her once in the short span of time she was able to withstand seeing that.

Natsuki, with bitterness stuck in her throat and gritting teeth that looked to hold her back from shredding more tears, left the scene and walked aimlessly around the school.

That is until a recent memory came to her mind.

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It dates back to September the 22nd, just a few weeks ago.

The first time that Natsuki felt her relationship with Yuri threatened, when those 3 boys appear.
That time, the pink girl feelings were similar to the current ones.

Natsuki was scared and also angry at the fact someone wanted to take away from her that amazing girl she had finally found the way to get closer to.

But that day, her temper got the better of her.
She yelled at Yuri, she blamed her, she probably hurt her and that only made her feel worse.

She thought that at that moment, with those good looking boys around her and Yuri now hating her for sure, everything was over.

But there was one person that day. One that she unconsciously turned to by grabbing her hand and dragging her out of the room with her.

"Shhh, calm down, Tsuki, calm down...", her soothing tone, her sweet strawberry perfume, her warmth, everything came back to her mind immediately. "She... S-She didn't like me in the first place..", between sobs, Natsuki spoke, her face buried on that girl's shoulder.

"Don't say that. I'm sure she does, I mean, anyone would. Just calm down and tell me what happened, alright?", Natsuki still remembered that sweet caring smile Ryuko had showed to her so many times before. She nodded and did her best to stop her tears.

"She... She was flirting with some boys earlier, she even gave them the lunch she usually makes for me...", Natsuki rubbed her eyes as she spoke. "What was she telling them?", Ryuko asked as she helped Natsuki clean her face with her blazer's sleeve.

"I-I... Umm I don't know, I didn't really listen to them...", Natsuki looked to the side now starting to feel ashamed. "Then how do you know she was flirting with them?", Ryuko asked.

"Umm b-because her expressions? She was smiling at them", Natsuki replied. "So? I smile at the lady at the supermarket and that doesn't mean I'm flirting with her. It's just being polite. Didn't you tell me she was really polite and all of that?", Ryuko asked.

"Y-Yeah but-", Natsuki tried to protest and quickly Ryuko pressed her finger on her lips to silence her. "Maybe, just maybe, she was being polite to them, I don't really know her but to me she seems like the type of person that would have trouble saying no", Ryuko giggled.

"Ah... Well, she does...", Natsuki smiled. "See? Maybe they were being too pushy, she got overwhelmed not knowing how to tell them no and all she could do was try to be polite and hope they'd leave soon, maybe the lunch they ate they didn't even ask for it and just took it", Ryuko said.

"If it's Yuri... Yeah, that could be possible", Natsuki replied looking to the floor now guilt starting to take over her. "See? Listen, Tsuki, you weren't thinking straight and I get it, I mean, I know you quite well and I know you are... Just a bit hot headed...", Ryuko tried to say that in the sweetest tone possible.

Natsuki pouted, she knew she was right. "So... I really screwed up...", she said. "You probably made a mistake, we all make mistakes you know?", Ryuko messed her hair gently.

"But I said horrible things to her... Now she's gonna hate me...", Natsuki started to sob again. "No, no, no! Easy there! Don't think that", Ryuko quickly hugged her again, she could feel her trembling again.

A part of Natsuki missed that warmth but nothing more, however when she felt a pair of lips on the top of her head she quickly jumped back like a startled cat.

"W-Why did you do that!", Natsuki blushed while she covered the top of her head with both hands. "Hehehe, old habits I guess. Plus, you're still adorable", Ryuko jokingly winked at her.

"You're an idiot, you know that?", Natsuki sighed with a smile. "At least it stopped the tears", Ryuko shrugged satisfied.

"Anyways, let's leave the past in the past. What are you gonna do now?", Ryuko asked. "What should I do?", Natsuki asked.

"Apologize to her", Ryuko replied immediately. "Ehhhh...", Natsuki looked troubled.

"If you really like that girl as much as you say you do, you'll do it, I believe in you Pridetsuki", Ryuko giggled. "I'll take the weekend to think of a proper apology I guess... And to swallow my pride", Natsuki sighed.

"I can already smell the Natsuri", Ryuko smiled satisfied. "Shut up", Natsuki looked away embarrassed while Ryuko giggled.

"Thanks though... For you know, your listening to me and your advice and... For helping me think straight again", Natsuki said. "You're welcome, Tsuki. You're a beautiful girl, Yuri-chan will see it sooner or later, or maybe she already knows it", Ryuko said head patting Natsuki.

"And you're an nice idiot, I'm sure you'll get someone soon", Natsuki smiled. "There's no rush for that for me but thanks!", Ryuko chuckled abd soon Natsuki joined her.

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

While that memory played in her mind, Natsuki headed to the rooftop.

Right now, she needed that Ryuko again. The one that would hug her and tell her not to worry, that everything was probably not as bad as she thought it wa, the Ryuko always listened to her and always did her best to support her.

She was craving that warmth already that could help her withstand all of this fear and sorrow.

She thought of all her friends.
Sayori was always nice and a good source of smiles, but to Natsuki, she still seemed a bit green on this issues to really understand.

Monika was the greatest when it came to give advice most of the time but there wasn't that much trust between them, the two of them rarely talked to each other if it wasn't for the club and at least for her, open up about things that made her feel weak and not good enough it really took a good amount of trust towards that person.

Gensai and Jasmine had been good mentors to her but she knew Jasmine was going through that honey moon phase with her new girlfriend and she didn't want to ruin the mood for them now. Gensai simply seemed way too disinterested in love in general.

Ryona, Haru, Emerson, Ryou and Erika were a similar case to Monika. She liked them, they were all very good people but she didn't know them enough yet to go and open up to them about her self doubts and fears.

Then one more name came to her mind.

Omiko.
She then realized and confirmed it once she got to the rooftop and quietly looked around for them. She was there with Ryuko and much like the rest of her friends, they seemed happy.

Natsuki didn't have anything against her, in fact she really liked that girl as a friend, she was hilariously gay sometimes and that always made it easier for her to get along with her.

And it's precisely because of this reason that she decided to step back and go through that door again back into the building.

She knew that if she went to Ryuko now and talked to her about her problems, Ryuko being who she is, would surely hug her and comfort her to help her calm down her heart (and she really needed it now) and then start trying to help her find an answer to all of those questions.

Natsuki knew well that one's true self shows up whenever we feel jealous of threatened to have that thing we hold dearly taken away from us.
Omiko seemed like a chill girl but she still didn't know her that well.

She tried to put herself in her place. If she and Yuri were having a nice time together and suddenly, someone that had that kind of story with Yuri came to her and sought her comfort, she would feel uncomfortable and probably threatened if they were to hug each other like she was expecting to be hugged.
The irony of this also made her let out half a smile.

Every person take it and handle it in different ways, some are mature enough to understand there's nothing to feel jealous for but others, like her, simply get too scared of having that person leave her side again.

In the end the last thing she wanted was to cause problems between them, both were special to her in their own way and she truly wished them to be happy together.

She spent the rest of the lunch hour wandering around the school again, with nobody to go to.

====================

After a couple more hours of self doubts and fears, Natsuki finally saw something that made her snap out her trance for a bit, something out of the ordinary and then meaningless routine.

"Good afternoon, everyone", a chubby man of mustache and hair so obviously fake for anyone to know it was a wig to hide his baldness came to her classroom and greeted them.

The principal was not someone she had seen before. Every Monday he addressed the school about the events planned for the school and gave his usually boring speeches.
What she hadn't seen before was the person that stood next to him.

"Some of you maybe are already aware but Shinosaki-sensei suffered and unfortunate accident yesterday when she was going to her car, she twisted and injured her ankle so she'll be absent recovering for about a month or two", the principal explained.

"So please allow me to introduce to you your new substitute math teacher, she will be working with you while Shinosaki-sensei comes back so please treat her well", the principal said and then moved aside to allow the new teacher to introduce herself properly.

Contrary to the old Shinosaki-sensei, a young woman of long black hair, light brown eyes and almost surprising beauty stood there and presented herself with the following words, "Good afternoon, guys. My name is Airi Houjo, I'm excited to be your new teacher, even if it's just for a few weeks, so please treat me well".

Natsuki was a bit surprised to see another beautiful woman there, although this time she didn't feel anything wrong with her like the last Bijin she met.
Airi Houjo looked just like a young pretty woman who got her first job and was all smiley, excited to start this new stage of her career.

The pink girl was able to see most of the boys there already drooling for her, which made her roll her eyes unimpressed. In fact, the only two not doing that were Gensai and Ryou apparently.
Some of the girls were gossiping but they seemed more like girls excited to meet someone so young they could ask her about love advice or beauty tips.

"Well, Houjo-sensei, I trust you'll do a good job with these children. They are a good group so I think you'll adapt soon. Now if you excuse me", with those words, the principal finally left and Houjo-sensei simply stood there smiling apparently deciding her next step.

"Okay! Umm let's see... According to what I received from Shinosaki-sensei, you are working on third degree equations right now...", Houjo-sensei said looking now a bit nervous. "But! Today, in order to get to know you a bit better, we'll do a little test", she continued and the class show their disappointment.

"No, no! It won't be anything difficult, in fact it's not even equations or anything of the sort. It's just a little test that requires you to use basic math knowledge and logic, it's just so I can see and understand the best approach for me to use so I can adjust my teaching methods to everyone's logical reasoning. We all process this kind of information differently but most teachers often attach to one method that while it works for some, it doesn't work for everyone. As a teacher, I believe it's my responsibility to find the most accurate method to use for each group I have", Houjo-sensei explained passionately, which seemed to captivate the class.

While Natsuki hated math, the moment she got that sheet with strange exercises she at least felt relieved to see they weren't like the usually confusing and complicated stuff the other math teachers always taught.

In an attempt to distract her mind a little, she did her best to focus on that little test and surprisingly it wasn't that difficult and time flew thanks to it.

With half an hour left, Houjo-sensei allowed everyone to leave the class if they wanted to and head home or whatever activity they had after school while she stayed there revising the tests, but they were also free to stay until the bell rang if they wanted to.

Natsuki and her group agreed to wait since their club wouldn't start until that half an hour passed anyway so they stayed there doing their own thing.
The pink girl once again found herself cornered by those thoughts that looked to haunt her every second of her life now.

Her friends tried to talk to her to distract her mind a bit but Natsuki it didn't really help, specially because one way or another, Yuri's name was mentioned.

Eventually, the bell rang and club time was upon them.
Natsuki's group quietly grabbed their stuff and began heading out of the room. The pink girl walked at the end of the line.

"Sakurami-san?", oddly enough, she heard her last name being called by a voice that was fresh in her memories. Natsuki simply turned to the teachers desk where Airi Houjo was looking at her with a smile and a sheet in hand.

"Go ahead, I'll see you there in a minute", Natsuki said as she noticed her friends stopping at the door to wait for her, to which they really had no choice but to comply. "Did I fail the test?", Natsuki asked a bit nervous.

"No, no, nothing like that, this test is designed for such thing really... However it can actually show how good you are for certain things. Congratulations, your test is the best of the entire class, your logical reasoning is really good", Houjo-sensei said with a sweet smile.

"Eh? Really?", Natsuki asked confused. "Yes, really", Airi replied.

"But... I've never been good at math...", Natsuki replied. "You just were taught with the wrong method, I'll make sure to use one that can help you exploit your true potential", the black haired teacher replied enthusiastically.

"Umm thank you I guess...", Natsuki replied. "No need to thank me. I believe students should be praised when they are good at something, it's always good for them to have in consideration their own strengths so they can properly use then later in life", Airi explained.

"I see... Well, I'll go to my club now", Natsuki nervously made a reverence and began to turn around, but Airi had one more thing to say, "you're smart Sakurami-san, remember that".

Among all the self doubts and fears, Natsuki thought a praise like that was nice for a change.

==================

Just as she feared, club time wasn't really of any help for Natsuki, in fact it was the other way around.

From the moment she came, things were bad.
Yuri was already there of course, but now there was another girl sitting where she had been sitting the past weeks. There next to Yuri, Kaede had taken her place.

Did she just replace me like that?

Natsuki did her best to not look at them and just headed to her corner i the back, thankfully not seeing Kaede's mocking grin while she caressed Yuri's long hair with her fingers while the purple girl calmly rested her head on her shoulder and read together with her.

The pink girl took a random volume of parfait girls and tried to read but of course, she couldn't.
She knew well Kaede was doing it on purpose. "Sorry, I get distracted looking at you sometimes", "your violet eyes are so captivating", "your skin is so soft", were just some of the many things she heard Kaede say loud enough to reach her ears.

Natsuki wanted to get away from there again, seeing and hearing them was a torture on pair with those in the Middle Age.
However, she still had one last shot to fire.

"Okay everyone! It's time to share poems...", As soon as she heard those words, Natsuki prepared herself.
One after another, she read her friends poems but didn't really pay attention and barely said anything to them.

Eventually, her turn to finally be face to face with Yuri without any interference, came.

Natsuki anxiously looked at Yuri when she was coming her way but the purple girl didn't even glance at her, her gaze low all the time as she walked quietly, yet Natsuki couldn't perceive anything in her expression, no shame, no guilt, no sadness, no nothing.

Yuri and her exchanged poems. Natsuki read hers and tried to paid close attention to it just in case but she didn't find anything out of the ordinary there. The poem was called the raccoon and it didn't really seem to be anything off about it.

When Yuri gave her back her poem, Natsuki finally spoke. "Yuri", she softly called her name, she still couldn't feel really mad at her.
To her surprise the purple one finally looked at her and replied,"yes?".

"What do you mean "yes?"? At least tell me something", Natsuki muttered. She felt scared. "Umm what can I do for you?", Yuri asked looking confused.

"After all we've been through... Is that really all-", Natsuki's voice began to raise with every word, which soon attracted unwanted attention. "What's wrong Yu, is she bothering you?", Kaede soon appeared next to Yuri with that arrogant yet calm expression of her.

"You stay out of this please", Natsuki did her best to keep her composure. "Stay out of what? Whatever problem you have with her it's my problem too", Kaede replied arrogantly as she stepped up between Natsuki and Yuri and making her first mistake, she poked Natsuki's shoulder while speaking.

"Don't touch me!", but Natsuki simply couldn't stand that. The pink girl quickly grabbed Kaede by the wrist, twisting it and sweeping her foot to take her down. Everyone else was already making their way there to stop them.

At first, Natsuki wasn't planning to stop. Seeing Kaede on the floor triggered something in her, something oddly familiar. She had begun tensing her leg, ready to kick her there over and over again.

But when she was about to do so, her magenta eyes went wide open, her pupils contracted, her mouth had no words. Yuri had pushed.

The strength of Yuri there wasn't even enough to make her stumble, her body simply was way more resistant now but even so, after receiving blow after blow from people almost double her size in the last few days and even from her own father himself for years, somehow, this one was the one that hurt the most.

Natsuki didn't have time to see Yuri kneel and hug Kaede protectively. She ran away again.

Hallway after hallway she didn't see the end of them. Her vision started to get blurry little by little as the tears in her eyes began to pour out.

Natsuki didn't know what was going on anymore. She felt as if this world simply was not hers. She felt as if she had no one there anymore, everyone and everything started to look like glitchy images that distorted themselves by the second.

She just wanted someone to help her escape this world.
A sweet caring voice that would tell her it was going to be okay.
Warmth that the cold world outside denied her.

But there was no one.
Her friends were probably busy checking on that girl.
Her father was probably drunk somewhere.
Her mother had gone long ago and formed another family. She replaced her.
The girl she wanted to love her now had replaced her too.

She kept running.
And the world finally put a stop to her.

"Ouch...", when Natsuki heard that pained voice, after that sudden impact of her body against something, she came back to earth and stopped.

There on the floor was a pretty young woman of long black hair, rubbing her chest and wincing in pain.

"Houjo-sensei....... I-I'm so sorry!", Natsuki snapped out of it as she realized she had tackled her new teacher. The pink girl quickly helped her back up.

"I didn't think you of all people could knock down an adult like that haha...", Airi smiled awkwardly as she held onto Natsuki's surprisingly firm arm and pulled herself back to her feet. "I apologize", Natsuki then made one quick reverence, she still had to get away as far as she could from that strange world.

"Sakurami...san? It's okay, it's gonna be okay", but those words, like a spell, froze her on the spot. "I don't know what happened but... It's going to be okay. If there's something you nee-!", Airi smiled sweetly at her. She approached her while she pulled out her handkerchief and offered it to her after seeing her puffy magenta eyes and the tears still coming out of them.

Natsuki hugged her, Airi hugged her back.