▃▃▃▃▃ "the school doors close at 5:00pm".

     "I'll make sure to be back before then!", etsuko promised as she carried her rundown bag, waving goodbye to takeda-sensei.

     as the girl exited the academy of elites, she started skipping down the road as her mood was higher than a kite.

     yesterday was the first mathematics test with ōmizu-sensei, and etsuko managed to score first, with only half a point ahead of kita.

surprisingly, kuroo placed third with daishō fourth and pissed as hell.

that had meant that the five strings of mon belonged to etsuko, to which the girl had immediately requested to go out for a few hours after school, with principal nekomata's approval of course.

     etsuko first stopped at tosuto-san's medic shop, paying 355 mon for the past debt. since the old man was very kind, he allowed etsuko to continue retrieving medicine from him as long as she will pay up in the future.

     there was still a bit to payback, but etsuko couldn't be more happier since she got to finally to give the doctor what he deserved for helping her and her mother all these months.

     with the package of medicine in one hand, etsuko made sure to grab a basket that contained freshly steamed buns that were soft to chew on and a bowl of porridge.

as etsuko arrived at a small village with little population, the girl greeted the older women that were out on their porch picking cotton seeds and patching up their husbands old clothes.

     a few of the younger kids ran around with a tether ball as etsuko smiled, heading towards the smallest house on the block.

     first dropping off the medicine and food at her own house, etsuko took a brown bag and stuffed four steamed buns in it.

     taking a string of mon, the girl knocked on her neighbor's door, revealing the kind woman that had decided to help take care of her mother from time to time.

     "good afternoon auntie! I've brought you some steamed buns and a string of mon. I know it's been hard, and I just wanted to thank you for taking care of my mother", etsuko smiled.

     "goodness etsuko! please, that's too muc—"

     "auntie, please take it! if you don't, I'll feel guilty if you don't accept my gift for you", etsuko insisted, to which the middle-aged woman sighed as she smiled, nodding.

     "thank you very much then. also, would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"

     etsuko shook her head, politely rejecting the woman's offer.

     "perhaps next time auntie. I haven't seen my mother in a while and I'm not sure when I'll be back next".

"go ahead then. I must say, she's missed you quite a lot", the woman lightly chuckled as etsuko bid her goodbye, walking back to her petite house.

entering the dimly lit room, she found her mother laying on the one and only bed, with a thin curtain covering it.

slowly inching closer to her mother, etsuko grabbed a chair from the rusty table as she sat right next to her mother's bedside.

"etsuko...is that you...?", the girl's mother called out in a hoarse voice.

"indeed it is me, mother. how have you been?", etsuko softly asked as she tied the thin curtains up, revealing her sickly, pale mother.

helping komi sit up, etsuko brushed a few strands of hair away from her mother's slightly sweaty face as she went up to go get the bowl of porridge and steamed buns.

"I'm sorry I haven't been here mother...I know it's hard right now, but I promise it'll get better", etsuko weakly smiled, feeding her mother some porridge by first blowing on it.

komi slowly shook her head with a smile, looking at her lovely daughter.

"etsu...you've already done enough. it's my fault for holding you back...you wouldn't have to work so hard i-if it weren't f-for..."

"don't cry mother!! and you're not a burden. you gave me life mother, and I couldn't ask for anything more. no matter how hard life becomes, as long as you're with me, it'll be all worth it", etsuko smiled, handing komi a squishy bun.

komi was nearly brought to tears by her daughter's words. though she had told herself that she wouldn't cry, as she had to smile and be strong for etsuko.

"say, etsu...where have you been working nowadays? are they...nice? if it's too much...you can always quit", komi worried, coughing a bit.

"no no!! I-uh...I found this great job where they pay a lot! and they treat me very well, so mother doesn't have to worry", etsuko assured.

"then what is it...that you do, etsu?"

etsuko hated lying to her mother, but if she had found out about her attending school as a boy, she knew her mother would make her immediately quit no matter how much she needed to pay for the medicine fees.

"I work at this eatery where I help the boss clean the tables, serve food, and sometimes....I sometimes even play the flute for the customers!", etsuko chuckled, remembering irihata-sensei saying that they'll start practicing the flute soon.

     "really? that's good to hear then..", komi smiled, relaxing at her daughter's answer.

     "indeed. stop worrying about me now mother! what do you think about the steamed buns? I bought them fresh out of the oven!"

     komi lightly chuckled, nodding. "they're very good...thank you, etsu".

     "of course mother! it's what I should do as a filial child".

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     etsuko had stayed with her mother longer than she expected.

     cursing herself, she hid behind a thick column that was near the academy, where the big doors were already shut and presumably locked.

     "shit! how do I get in??", the girl whispered to herself as she suddenly remembered the ordinary wall that was right outside her and kita's shared room.

     knowing that she can't enter through the main doors, as that would cause all the attention to be on her, etsuko had decided to climb in through the back.

     discreetly circling around the school, etsuko waited until she had mentally drawn out a map of where she assumed room six would be.

      with the lord on her side, etsuko had found a large oak tree planted a few feet away from the walls of the academy.

     grinning, etsuko huffed as she determinedly climbed the tree, glad that she was a bit of a troublemaker as a kid.

     while she may have not been good at wielding weapons, she was extremely good at climbing trees and using nature to her advantage.

     careful not to make too much noise, etsuko deeply breathed in and out as she realized that she was quite out of shape.

     sprawled out like a koala on one of the stronger branches that was looming over the boarder of the school, etsuko squinted her eyes as she scanned for any bystanders.

     luckily there was no one, to which the girl had decided to take a risk and land on the stacked bricks of the wall.

     thankfully the wall wasn't too high, as etsuko hung from the top, dangling her legs against the wall.

     letting go, etsuko sighed a breath of relief as she landed on the grassy field without hurting herself.

     peeking around, etsuko tiptoed into room six, quietly closing the door as she leaned her head against the shōji.

     suddenly, a hand landed on the girl's shoulder, making her shriek.

     "FUCK!"

     "haru, where did you go? and how did you get in? aren't the grand doors already closed?", kita asked, not meaning to scare the girl in front of him.

     "goodness kita! you scared the shit out of me! and I accidentally forgot the time...so I climbed over the wall", etsuko muttered.

     "b-but please don't tell principal nekomata!", etsuko immediately followed up with.

     kita slightly furrowed his brows. "haru, you broke the school rules".

     "I know, I know!! but it won't happen next time, so please don't tell the teachers", etsuko begged, clutching onto kita's sleeve.

     the brown-eyed boy sighed. hopefully she wasn't the same as the troublemaking miya twins.

     kita could see that etsuko held a really bright future with how well she did with her studies.

     "only this once haru. if you break the promise, don't blame me for informing the principal of your deplorable behavior", kita warned, to which the girl had happily nodded.

     "thank you kita! I promise to treat you to something good in the future", the girl brightly smiled, to which kita just shook his head.

    "study well and that's the best payback you could give me", the boy said as he patted etsuko's head, making the girl let go of his sleeve.

     etsuko just nodded, smiling to herself as she wouldn't even have been able to make first without kita's help.

     "thanks again, kita!"

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セレンディピティ
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