The contempt was raw and vexing, Caroline became too blinded by this that she ended up at a permanent foul mood the rest of the day. When the bell signaled end of the school hours, she only thought of leaving ASAP and be alone somewhere. How could everyone act so casual?! Smiling, talking about shallow things, breathing normally and held no thoughtful tone nor care towards Georgina? Sure, the latter wasn't like Parfait whom everyone had a crush on but Georgina was openly approachable, she never wronged anyone. Even their teachers brought no update.

"WHAT?!" Caroline's outburst was laced with irritation, whoever kept on tugging at the sleeve of her uniform was not making things lighter.

Aya stepped back, startled. This side of Caroline was not common to her. "Caroline..." Her voice was soft and uncertain. "I'm sorry I was calling your name but you weren't responding"

Heaving deeply to try control the clawing temper, Caroline slightly turned away. "What is it, Aya? I am really busy at the moment" Her annoyance was not for Aya but she couldn't stop herself from bursting.

A smile curved on Aya's pretty face but also tears, the brown-haired girl didn't stop it from flowing down her naturally pink dusted cheeks. The sudden burst from Aya took Caroline by surprise that the latter's earlier annoyance slowly took a side step. "...We are falling apart, aren't we?"

Caroline shook her head, this only added more confusion. Everyone was so into their normal routine and acting casual while she was drowning in concern for their absent classmate and now, Aya was crying. "Aya, what are you saying?" She could not deny the pain in her friend's brown eyes, it was so sharp it could have slice her too.

A chuckle escaped Aya's lips, "I didn't mean to...but Caroline, we used to be the best of friends, weren't we? What happened to us? Why do we refuse to talk about Mafuyu? What are we all hiding from?"

Yes, what happened to them? The question throbbed loud within the space of Caroline's skull as she watched Aya leave. Guilt blanketed the short-haired girl for suddenly yelling at Aya. Bringing a hand close to her chest, Caroline frowned. That hollow space in her heart existed painfully, and her friends had it too.

"Carol, where's Aya? We need to go to the library today" Hayato came by her side, tapping her shoulder and he visibly appeared confused seeing his friend's dejected expression. "What's up?"

Caroline sighed, she tugged Hayato with her so they could stepped out the classroom together. "I didn't mean to...I kinda yelled at Aya earlier and she just left"

"Ah." The girls in their circle rarely got into a fight or misunderstanding. In their group, Hayato would normally be clashing with either Maou or Yoshihiko but nothing that led to a fallout, as for Caroline and Aya, they never really did and Aya, sweet that she was, would initiate an apology if she thought she did something wrong. But she was also too sensitive. "Give her some time, she will come back later and maybe we can go get some snacks or whatever"

They reached the library and went inside, going to the shelves to look for the books related to their group assignment. Hayato placed their things on a nearby table, a mild furrowing on his eyebrows when he caught sight of Igayoi from peripheral vision—the friendly maintenance man passed by one of the narrow corridor between the shelves.

Hayato stared, he was sure he saw Igayoi. 'What is he doing here? Strange, I have not seen him in weeks and suddenly he's in the library?' He placed the books he pulled out from a shelf on the table where Caroline was. "I'll check the other side" Without waiting for a reply, Hayato went to the direction he saw the approachable maintenance. It shouldn't have been trivial but Igayoi wasn't seen around here regularly and there was an unseen push, a voiceless foreboding near Hayato's ears telling him to go.

The usually short-tempered boy found himself wavering at this uneasiness as he walked farther into the other side of the library. There was the friendly Igayoi, standing before a wall filled with frames and with his back on Hayato, standing like a lifelike sculpted statue.

Hayato wasn't liking this blanket of tense silence on his shoulders, the cold air from the centralized air conditioner only increased the uncertainty and kicked his heartbeat louder. "Sir Igayoi? Are you alright?" Was that the right question to ask? Hayato swallowed and exhaled deeply, "We have not seen you in a while, Maou missed your wisdom words" He tried to inject some mild humor.

Despite his effort to start a casual chat, Igayoi didn't move and continued staring at the wall decorated with hanging frames. There was no subtle movements in his shoulders and this made him look a lot like a still statue.

"Sir?" Hayato called politely again in his gruff, deep voice.

Finally the kind and cordial maintenance man shifted in place, turning to face the puzzled teenager. Igayoi sported scratches, untended wounds and some peeled scabs on his exposed arms. The simple, collared blue shirt he wore caked in dried soil, leaves and small withered flowers stuck on it.

Hayato gasped at the sight, the confusion replaced with concern. "Oh god! Who did this to you, sir Igayoi?!" He neared him and almost hissed as if he felt the secondhand pain from noticing the gaping wound on the elder man's cheek. "We need to bring you to the infirmary!" His mind was going overboard and digging who would dare to beat the friendly Igayoi, the thought itself that someone decided to disrespect the latter was making Hayato's blood boil. If this was Erick Naiteru or Filo's doing, he wouldn't hesitate--

Those chappy dry lips pulled into a smile, "Hayato, remember those cutters you like to bring with you last year? You never threw them away, did you?"

"No, I didn't--" It became a struggle to reply because Hayato knew Igayoi would saw through his lies. He got those cutters a while back under the thought that it was easier disguise for a weapon, he kept it sharp for other reasons and Igayoi found it once, even reprimanded him for concealing dangerous objects in his person.

The friendly maintenance nodded, still smiling. "Yes you have, you never discarded it." He stepped forward, frigid movements and stiff like an old mannequin display. "Do not part from it, kid, not today or tomorrow." His hand clamped Hayato's shoulder tightly but not tight enough to cause pain. "Hayato...stay awake" Igayoi opened his mouth wide and large flowers emerged.

Those red and pastel flowers smothered Hayato's face, taking him by surprised and leaving no room to react. Its scent...soft fragrant but sad? How would one define a smell that was sad? Hayato was unable to find the right words but that was what filled his mind as the scent hit his nostrils. Sorrow and sad.

'I can't breathe!' Hayato flailed his arms to push away the huge flowers probably covering his head now, he was suffocating. The panic surge slowed down upon feeling pair of arms around him from behind and a voice...one that he never heard for a long time.

"I believe in you, always will and do" Those words were smiling, whoever said them was smiling.

Hayato felt tears welling up his eyes. "Mafuyu..."

---

What was taking Hayato long? Concern began to bubble in Caroline, she already finished taking notes in his behalf too and sent him a message but damn boy actually left his phone on the table. At this hour that dusk was approaching, most students left campus already and only a few would likely be staying around for club activities or just hanging out in general. The library was in its usual solitary silence lacking any hush chatterings or presence of those who would drop by.

Caroline closed the notebook and put the pen down, she left the table and looked for Hayato. He shouldn't be that far, this was where he went to, right?

"Hayato!" Her panic flew to the roof, finally finding him but unconscious on the floor. Caroline went to check him for any injuries or signs of abnormal temperature but no, he was normal. She shook him gently, "Hey, please wake up..." Trailing off, Caroline noticed petals near Hayato's neck, these were...too large of a petal and it was a salmon pastel color. Large flower petals with such scent. No, it wasn't odorous but if Caroline could give sorrow and sadness a smell, this would be it.

"Let him be, he will wake up later"

The voice jolted Caroline, almost making her sprang up and going at a defensive stance. Gods, this made the hair at the back of her neck stood. She found the person who spoke out of the blue—he was standing across them but she didn't hear him approach. How did he get there without her noticing?

Caroline winced, holding a hand to her left temple, "Owww...!" A spike of pain shot to her temple knocking to be let out, it was getting worse the more she stared up at the boy. She couldn't even see him properly, her eyes had gone blurry and as far as she knew she didn't have any eye problems that would require glasses.

Amid the blur, she noticed his black hair and rimmed glasses he wore but his eyes and face were a struggle to pick up. He stepped to the right, walking away and spoke again. "He will wake up later, come"

"Huh? Why should I go with you?" Caroline held on Hayato who was still unconscious on her lap.

The boy stopped halfway again without looking at her, "You must" He only spoke in clip words yet there was a strong urge in Caroline to follow.

Swallowing hard and glancing back at Hayato, she pulled him carefully near the shelf to lean his back against it for a more comfortable position. "I'll be back," She straightened up and followed after the blurry boy.

---

They were the closest of friends, Sushi was certain before that her bond with Yoshihiko was unbreakable. Before he met with the circle he was with now, they already knew each other since they were children. From platonic, those feelings blossomed and Sushi made it so she showed this to him through support...even if it meant seeing Yoshihiko fell in love at first sight with Mafuyu.

After their classmates filed out of the room, Sushi hurried to the back to catch up with her former best friend. She held onto his forearm and flinched when she saw Yoshihiko jolted in annoyance. "Can we please talk?"

Nothing but irritation and annoyance colored those amethyst eyes, he pulled his arm back from Sushi's soft hold. "Are we supposed to? I do not remember needing to speak with you outside school assignments or activities"

Sushi willed herself not to sob and break before Yoshihiko, he spoke so faraway and apathetic. He was beyond her hand's reach. "Please, Yoshihiko, we used to be best friends, don't throw that away easily" She pleaded, her gaze lowering to where she noticed the white bracelet Yoshihiko and his circle of friends wore.

A scoff laced with sarcasm came from Yoshihiko. "Nice of you to say when you're the one who first threw it away" He narrowed his eyes into slits, "Don't make me lose my temper, Sushi, leave me be"

---

Following Blurry Tall Boy (Yes, this was Caroline's nickname for him because despite having good eye sights, he remained unclear) led Caroline to a part in the library she didn't go to before and there was that strong floral fragrance again wafting through her nose.

"Where are we going...?" Caroline voiced out, her question laced with puzzlement. She stayed quiet this whole time following him in this part of the library that they were probably not allowed to be in, hopefully the librarian wouldn't dare come here or for any staffs to do their rounds.

Blurry Tall Boy stopped in front of a really old black shelf it appeared oldest among the rest—scratches, weariness and marks were visible on its surface, no efforts were made to make it look brand new. The shelf though had some books in it—thick encyclopedias with titles on the spines Caroline found hard to understand.

Caroline's lips compressed into a thin line, she was already agitated and wanted to go back to Hayato. "Hey--" Her words faded, whatever she planned to tell Blurry Tall Boy faded and was overtaken by shock as the old black shelf was pushed aside by her companion, revealing an equally old black door. This brought a stroke of cold brush against Caroline's spin. "What...the..."

Blurry Tall Boy still did not make a move of facing her, he only gestured with a hand for her to continue following him. He stepped forward and opened the door.

"Caroline, there is no time, you must" The voice echoed from inside the hidden room, it was Blurry Tall Boy again and calling her by first name.

How did he know who she was?! The confusion caused her head to spin painfully, throbbing pain on each side of her temple becoming more uncomfortable. But Caroline endured the twinge of ache and ventured forward, willing to prepare herself at whatever was waiting on the other side.

---

Aya came home to a huge slap on the face, and another. She stared at her mother with tears forming in her eyes after getting two harsh, painful slaps; the girl's face filled with a pained expression asking what she did to warrant such actions.

"M-mom—" Her words were interrupted again by the exclaim of frustration and curses from her mother. Aya yelped in pain when mother pulled a handful of her brown hair and yanked her towards the direction of Aya's bedroom. "Mom it hurts!" She sobbed loudly.

The door to Aya's bedroom—her only sanctuary in this 'home'--was opened, her heart flew out of its ribcage upon seeing the hidden treasure obscured within her walk-in closet now laid on the floor scattered like rubbish and some of it were torn to pieces. To add further dread not only her mother and father were inside the room but also the rest of housekeepers like audiences feasting on Aya's crumbling state.

Dino Castro, the head attendant and also confidant to the Uehara family had his lips pressed into a line of disgruntlement. There was no hiding the disgust in his eyes as he glanced at Aya and back to the scattered photos, scrap papers, tiny objects, etc.

"Do you have anything else to add to this atrocity, huh?" Mrs. Uehara glowered, her chest heaving and hands curled into tight fists on her side, holding back an explosive anger.

Tears slid down on Aya's face but she was not sorry nor sobbing at being caught on act, "No! What did you do?! My precious goddess!" Her hysteria increased twofold, completely overwhelming and led Aya to go berserk. She went onto the floor, gathering the Polaroid photos of Mafuyu, majority were candid shots and a few where Mafuyu was looking at the camera. On some photos Aya had written flowery messages professing her love and loyalty towards Mafuyu.

Mr. Uehara was just as baffled as his wife, "What? Have you gone mad?!"

"Did you hear what you just said, Aya?! You calling this...whoever this is--" Mrs. Uehara pointed an accusing finger at the girl in the picture. "—a goddess?! What is wrong with you?! I am disgusted!"

Amid loud cries and while hugging the pictures to her chest, Aya faced the consternation of her parents. "Mafuyu is not a random whoever! She is not disgusting either! She's my one true love!" Aya's declaration held no hesitation or doubt, stating this in a tone she never once used towards her family or the people who imposed their ideas of Aya in her skull.

Collective gasps and disbelief came from the servants, the quick exchange they shared meant they understood what Aya pertained. The only child and beauty of Uehara Household claimed a girl was her one true love.

Mrs. Uehara also held nothing as she made wrath known to her daughter, raising a hand and slapping Aya multiple times without giving her a chance to react or even whimper. "Filthy! Did I not raise you right?! Liking a girl?! You are tainted!"

No one dared oppose Aya's mother, not even her husband because he too shared the same raw, angry sentiment and was actually waiting for his turn. The two-story contemporary home became an uncomfortable, suffocating cage that Aya had no one to trust nor could be considered as an ally. She sobbed loudly while sprawled on the floor, hurt at this realization that they would not be open-minded to accept who she wanted to be and they only cared about the doll they expected her as. Mafuyu's pictures scattered around Aya, crumpled and some were torn to half.

"You are a disgrace" Mr. Uehara grabbed his daughter's jaw tightly, in those eyes shone loathing towards the revelation they found in Aya's closet.

That word echoed loud in Aya's head: disgrace. Despite everything she did to maintain the ideal facade they wanted her to be—the sweetheart photoshoot model and desirable lowkey campus crush—at the end of it all, she was a degradation.

Aya gazed down at the torn picture of Mafuyu in her hand, lips quivering. 'I do not belong to myself anymore, most of my life is always about portraying their ideas of me. Mafuyu is the only one I want to at least belong to me and yet...they won't let me...' With the atmosphere becoming more toxic and making it difficult for Aya to breathe, she darted out of the room and flee away from home.

---

Caroline was groggy opening her eyes, vision hazy whilst mind uncertain as it tried to backpedaled to what occurred before she ended up lying on a soft and definitely not smooth surface. Her hands spread on each side and curled around whatever was sticking out, when she looked...it was grass.

"Oh my god, what happened--" She was beginning to dislike this reoccurring situation of ending up somewhere odd and couldn't be explained. Getting to a sitting position, Caroline glanced around the dim, small room; it smelt old and also floral fragrant, her forest green eyes landed at the far right wall where thick green vines and more grass were crawling up the ceiling. Blooms of large unfamiliar flowers were on those crawling greenery.

It was past 8 in the evening based on her wristwatch, that was enough to jolt Caroline up and be shaken from daze and she remembered Tall Blurry Boy but he wasn't in the room with her. Aside from the crawling thick vines and flowers in the corner, on the opposite side unused and collecting cake of dust was a three-seater sofa with a small low table and another couch. The walls had hanging frames but as Caroline did a look-see, the pictures were already devoured by molds and tiny flowers with moss.

On the low table was a photo album that drew her attention away from the wall, some kind of strange magnet taking Caroline in, an unseen lips whispering to open the dusty album.

"Mafuyu?!" It was their deceased friend's name that slipped her lips soon as she browsed the album but the shock factor did not stop—many photos containing not only Mafuyu but other faces tolling familiarity in Caroline's head, she couldn't put names on these students smiling next to Mafuyu but why was it ringing identification?! "The tall boy, he was here too" Her thumb touched the part of the photo of Tall Blurry Boy in the picture—he was wearing glasses and had a small smile on. "...Parfait too?" The photo album brought a whole new level of puzzle, only a few faces were recognizable in these pictures mainly Mafuyu, Parfait and Reina. Who were they?! What was happening in this school?!