Prison School: No More Prison

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: Love, Mari



Chapter 14: Love, Mari

15th of July, Sunday.

Kiyoshi's POV:

Today I woke up to a tragedy… Or rather, to a bad omen.

Before I could even open my eyes, it was a scream from Shingo that woke me up. 

As I stood up, I figured out what happened.

"W-Why is PBR-sama on the ground?! A-And…I-It's eye…!"

PBR-sama was on the ground, and one of its bottle cap-like eyes was missing.

"This is terrible… I can't seem to find it!" Shingo said with his face covered in horror. "Help me find it!"

We looked for it for around 20 minutes. Joe, Andre and Gakuto joined us, but we couldn't find it. We all got on our knees, defeated. I think Gakuto was crying and all.

"T-TROUBLED TIMES!" Gakuto couldn't hold his sadness and screamed at the top of his lungs.

But I wasn't antagonizing him, I did know that this is terrible… These truly are going to be troubled times…

[...]

After a bit of crying and working on the script, which was going pretty good, I decided to take a break and go for a small walk. I wanted to go to a store near school to buy some stuff, like some supplies for the council and some bird food for the crow.

"Hmm…"

My body felt a bit heavier… Am I gaining some weight?... No, that's not it. I have felt this many times since I enrolled in this academy… I have a really bad feeling…

At first I was scared that this meant that the cultural festival was going to go badly, or maybe that it had to do with my parents… 

But that's not possible! The festival is going great! Hana has already reported her adjustments and we're working on them. And, I sent an email to my parents so they won't be showing up and making my life a hell! There's nothing to worry…

*Meow!*

"H-Huh?!"

As I was lost in thought, a small black cat walked in front of me.

"T-This can't be…"

I tried to walk past the cat, trying to ignore the popular belief that if a black cat walks in front of you it could mean bad luck and sometimes… Death. 

The cat didn't ignore me, though, as he hissed in my direction with an angry face. This wasn't going to end up well at all.

Inside the store, I bought some stuff for the council as well as the bird mix I saw online. I'm glad the boys don't have any problem with me taking care of the bird, I'm not going to let her in or anything, but I can count on them not getting mad at some loud caws from here and there.

"Hmm?"

Before I went and paid for my stuff, I found a small box full of keychains, next to a small desk full of glasses and a small mirror to. They were pretty cheap even though most of them sucked, but there was something odd about them.

As I looked at them, someone called my name from behind.

"Kiyoshi-kun?"

"Hmm? Ah! Mitsuko-san! What are you doing here?" 

"Just buying some stuff for the cafe! I'm trying my best!"

"A-Ah… G-Good luck!" I almost forgot about their idea, I was a bit surprised when Hana actually accepted it onto the plan instead of the small Takoyaki stand I thought of.

"Thanks! I'll do my best! Hope you come and see it!"

Mmm… Maybe I should use this opportunity to ask her about Gakuto? I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable but… I have to do this for my friend!

"So umm… Mitsuko-san, when did you get close to Joe?" That's it… I'll slowly ask her about her relationship with each boy until she either brings up Gakuto, or there's no one else to mention…

"E-Eh? O-Oh… Well, he and Gakuto h-helped me write one of my s-stories…" She said while blushing.

Wow, that was quick! She brought up Gakuto in seconds! Though this kinda surprises me… I heard her talk about her stories when I met her at the ASC's office but I never read anything of hers…

"Is that so? Have you and Joe gotten any closer then?"

"C-Closer?!"

"Yeah, you know… Maybe he's someone you really care of or even… Like?" First I should make sure that she doesn't like Joe or anything like that…

"N-No! I- umm… I don't like him like that!" Her face got as red as a tomato. "I-I got to go!"

As she tried to get away, she forgot to pay for her stuff, and the alarm set off, scaring her

"W-Wuaah!"

"Miss, you have to-"

Before the store owner could finish his sentence, Mitsuko jumped, making the groceries she was trying to buy flew on to the air, hitting the poor guy, making him slip off

"H-Hey are you g-" I tried to grab him, but he accidentally pushed me off, making me trip towards the desk I was standing in front of before. 

*KSSSHHHK*

My body flew towards the small mirror in front of the glasses, while the small box full of keychains flew towards the ceiling.

"K-Kiyoshi-kun! Are you okay?"

"S-Sir! I-I'm so sorry, are you injured?"

"N-No, I'm fine…"

I tried getting up, and when I looked at my back, the shattered mirror glanced back at me, or at least my almost 50 reflections did.

For a brief second, I felt my spine tingling, as I noticed another pretty unlucky omen happened. Breaking a mirror gives you 7 years of bad luck right? S-Shit…

"I-I'm so sorry, Kiyoshi-kun! I-... I-!"

"N-No no, please, it's okay, nothing big happened"

"B-But… Y-Your a-arm…"

"Hmm?"

"S-Sir!"

I looked at my arm. 

I had a big cut… A REALLY big one. It didn't really hurt but blood was coming out of it.

"A-Ah!"

[...]

"T-Thank you so much sir! P-Please let me help you clean the things I threw off!"

"N-No kid, don't worry about it, It was my fault you tripped anyways"

The store owner helped me bandage my arm while Mitsuko cleaned my cut.

"A-Ah, don't worry Mitsuko-san, I've been through worse stuff!" She looked worried, but my words were true, this couldn't compare to a punch from Hana or the president.

"Y-You sure?"

"Yeah, feel free to go, sorry if I… uhm… made you feel a bit awkward…"

"N-No, it's fine, I'll get going then…"

As she headed back to school, I stayed behind helping the store owner clean the disaster that happened before.

"Eh?"

While cleaning, I found the small box from before on the ground, most of the keychains laying around it… Except for three of them.

Inside the small box, three little things remained: A sumo wrestler keychain, a four leaf-clover keychain and a small (and a bit ugly) frog keychain…

I could just stare at them. I had a terrible feeling about this… But I'm not sure what it was…

End of Kiyoshi's POV.

Meiko's POV:

 "Y-You finished editing it?"

"Yes… Now we have to wait for the chairman to send us the number"

Today is the day. It feels like years have passed since I last saw Mari-san…

After everything we went through, how much effort and time we put into beating Kate, and… the moments we spent together, she disappeared a week ago… Well, to me, I last saw her in the sports festival, so I feel like I haven't seen her in a long while.

"D-Did he tell you anything? Did she finally call him?" Kate was as nervous as I, but she was more open about it.

"N-No, Now stop pressuring me!"

"S-Sorry…" She also looks weaker than before. I had my few chances to talk to her after we tried to go after Mari-san, but I felt like shit, so I didn't have time to mess with her.

Both of us were managing our councils the best we could. Kate had a lot of work after the accident, while we had to do our best to maintain the USC alive. And while we are now working together, it feels so weird to talk to her like a… 'friend'.

"Did I… Suck at my part?"

"Huh?"

"T-The part where I sing… Did it suck?" Kate asked me a bit flustered.

"N-No… I'm sure mine was worse at least…"

"I D-Don't think so… My voice got all messy when mentioning her name…"

That's right… As a 'parting gift' for Mari-san, I invited her to sing the song I wrote to her… The thing I don't know is… Why?

Kate has always been our enemy, but… As of recently, we are now just… 'buddies'. What drove me to ask her out of all the people in this school to help me make a video singing to Mari-san?... 

I don't have any idea…

*Notification Sound*

"A-Ah!"

"I-Is that?!"

I felt the sweat on my body accumulating as I reached for my phone.

'Meiko, I just finished talking to her'

Time stopped for a second while I read that, I saw a glance of Kate's face, her mouth was opened wide while reading the text below.

'here's the number:'

My heart stopped for a second…

We had her number.

[...]

"A-Are you going to?"

"S-Shut it! I'm thinking"

It's been 10 minutes since we got her new phone number… Yet I didn't do anything…

My hands were shaking, and I felt a lot of sweat cover my body.

"M-Meiko-chan?"

"W-What?!"

"C-Calm down! You're sweating like crazy!"

"I-I can't control it! I-I… I don't know what to do!"

"J-Just call her!"

Call her? I can't do that… I don't think she wants me to do that, at least. If she wanted to talk to us… I feel like she would be the one calling us…

Should I just text her? What should I even write? 'Hey Mari, It's Meiko, here's a video for you'? That sounds terrible!

Should I just send it? That sounds even worse but… Maybe that would be eno-

Before thought consumed me, Kate laid her hand on my shoulder.

"H-Hey… Calm down… I can do it if you want to…" She looked at me worried. I felt a bit relieved.

"... O-Ok…"

I sat down on the ASC's office sofa, a really hard and ugly one compared to the one in my office, while I handed the phone to Kate. For the first time, I felt relieved to let Kate do something for me…

"..."

"... Kate?"

I glanced at her, she was trembling even more than before. Her face looked sick, while sweat covered her almost as much as me.

"I-I… I can't do it…"

"H-Huh?"

"I-... G-Give me your hand!"

"W-Wha-"

Before I could even notice it, Kate grabbed my hand, as if she was looking for some support, trying to hold herself together.

"..."

All I could do was to hold her as well. We were in this together, after all, this video is from both of us to her…

"Let's call her, okay?"

"... Okay…"

We both looked at the phone for one last time…

And we began ph-

*BZZZZZ*

"H-Huh?"

As we both looked baffled at the ring of my phone, we noticed someone was calling us…

"I-It's… her"

"S-She's calling?!"

Mari was the one calling us.

Without much hesitation, I answered the call. I quickly changed the phone call to speaker mode and…

"..."

"..."

"... Meiko?"

Kate and I froze. 

It was her voice…

We were talking to Mari-san again…

"P-President…"

"M-Mari…"

"Ah… It's been a while, you two."

And so… We finally had the chance to talk to Mari again.

[...]

At first I couldn't even speak. Well, to be honest, Kate couldn't either. We both just answered Mari's questions with yes or no. Questions such as: 'How are you two doing, fine?', 'Are the councils finally united?' and some other strangely distant questions.

She sounded so… calm. It felt like she was as relaxed as a baby sleeping with her mother.

"So, how's everything going? Is the plan I left you going well?"

"Y-Yes… W-We're even planning a cultural festival in order to raise money for the summer trip" Kate seemed a bit more calmed than I, she was the one talking now.

"I see… I wish I could be there, I would love to see what things you two prepared…"

"W-We can send you photos and videos!" I accidentally let go.

"...Ha… I would love that"

"... H-How's the uhmm… Exchange… Going?"

"It's been… difficult to adapt to some stuff here, but I'll manage it"

"I-It's that so… I have to say, your plan is going pretty well, but you could have left us some extra stuff in case something didn't work out"

"I knew you two would find a way to fix any problem you could find, I just prayed Kiyoshi didn't mess it up"

"H-He luckily didn't, but he's not a good candidate for secretary…"

Mari laughed at that. Her laugh almost brought me to tears.

"I guess he wouldn't, just let him get a bit better and then make him go"

"Y-Yes…"

"..."

"..."

Silence…

I… I didn't know what to say. I wanted to talk to her so badly but now… I'm speechless…

"Ma-"

"I miss you, Meiko"

I broke down to tears.

I couldn't hold my tears anymore.

"I-I miss you too, Mari-san!"

That's all I could muster to say.

Kate looked at me a bit worried, but laughed slightly.

"Ha… Even now all you can do is make your best friend cry, you're terrible, Mari"

"..." I could hear Mari's perfect laugh again. "I miss you too, Kate"

"E-Eh?"

"Thanks for delivering the letters and for taking care of Meiko"

"... B-Bitch! I-" Kate started crying too. "I-... Y-You're w-welcome…"

"... Why don't you two tell me about the festival? I'd love to hear about it" 

Her voice sounded a bit melancholic. And while we both tried to stop the tears, we gathered a bit of strength to do so. It was Mari the one asking for that after all, we had to give our best.

Before I could even notice, Kate's hand trembled a bit less than before, but we still were holding hands… 

I felt a bit more comfortable than before…

"... B-Before that… C-Can I ask you something, President?"

"Meiko" Her voice softened a bit. "You don't have to call me president anymore, you have that title after all…"

"A-Ah… Yes… Sorry" That comment somehow brought me back to reality. "T-Then… Mari, I want to ask you something"

"... Yes?"

"W-Will you… C-Call us… from time to time?" I felt a knot on my throat as I spoke… I didn't feel like this since I 'reverted' back to my old self during prison…

"... I can't promise anything… but… I'll try my best to do so"

"W-Why?!" Kate suddenly bursted.

"Because…" Her voice softened once again… But this time, it felt like she was not being able to say what she wanted to say. "I want you two to move on…"

"M-Move on? Move on from what?"

"... Me"

"H-Huh?!"

"M-Mari, what are you saying?"

"I fear you two have become dependent of my existence, and as long as that remains like that, I won't be coming back to Hachimitsu"

W-What was she saying?

I have to say, I thought the same, that I couldn't live without her… B-But this…

"B-Bullshit! T-That's a shitty reason to leave us!"

Kate suddenly blushed while crying, but her face remained as determined as before.

"... That's right, Mari. That's no reason to leave this school… To leave us"

"..."

Mari took a deep breath and a faint chuckle was heard.

"I guess I can't lie to you two… You know me too well…"

"T-Then why-"

"I did it for myself"

"... E-Eh?"

"I was the one who became dependent on you… I felt that if you two weren't near me… Life didn't have any meaning. I felt that after that battle we had, now the school wouldn't be the same… So I did the only thing I learned this year… I escaped"

"... Y-You escaped?"

"Yes… This was my escape plan after all, I guess"

"... M-Mari"

"It's not your fault at all… It's mine, I'm the one who wanted to start from scratch… Even if that meant losing the people I loved… I deserve this outcome…"

"Y-You don't deserve tha-"

"That's why… I don't mind if you don't want to talk to me anymore. I won't give you any pressure to do so."

That's right… It wasn't us who called her…

"W-Why did you call us then?"

"... I wanted to use an excuse at least… I thought that if I did so, I wouldn't hate myself that much for leaving without a word"

"..."

"That's why… You're able to hate me as much as you want to… But remember something"

The air felt a bit lighter than before.

"I love you both"

"..."

"..."

"W-Would you like to… Uhm…" Kate was blushing even stronger than before, small tears running down her red cheeks. "L-Listen to our plans for the festival?"

"W-We worked hard on it… Y-You… Would love it…"

"... I'd love too" 

A small relieved laugh that came from my phone made Kate's hand stop trembling at all. 

This was our best way to say…

'We love you too, Mari' 

End of Meiko's POV.

Hana's POV:

It was almost afternoon.

I've been studying my part of the script while taking a bit of a rest. I've been working a lot recently.

My biggest work now was trying to apologize to Chiyo. I clearly didn't tell this to Meiko-san, but I've been doing my best for this exact purpose. 

After talking a bit with Mayumi-san, I got Chiyo's phone number… But… I have not sent a single text to her… I'm too… Scared.

I've been sitting on the sofa alone for almost an hour, but I've not been able to do anything…

I-I'm too afraid… If only h-he was here…

W-Wait, What?! W-What am I even thinking? 

L-Like if that dumbass would even care about this… 

*Door opening*

"Excuse me… Ah! Hana-san"

I jumped a bit when I heard Kiyoshi's voice entering the room.

"W-What are you doing here?"

"Hmm? I bought some stuff for the council, I thought I could leave them here"

"A-Ah… I see…"

Why is he always appearing when I'm alone? Since he became the secretary I've been meeting him every single day basically… I mean, as he should but…

"Mmm? Are you reading the script?"

"... Yeah… You guys wrote this right?"

"Uh? Oh! Yes! We spent the last few days working a lot on this!" He said looking proud at his work.

"... It sucks"

"E-Eh?! Really?!" He started pouting.

"I-I mean… It's not terrible but… I wouldn't be surprised if people fell asleep mid play.

"... Dammit!"

I'm not lying on this. The script is really boring…

"You still have some time, you should tell the other to make it a bit funnier or exciting. I would help you but I'm still getting ready for my part of the deal"

"A-Ah… Yeah"

I'm not just going to be on 'Rapunzel' next friday, I'll also be on a Karate display and I'll be helping at the 'BL' cafe, just to make sure they don't fuck it up.

"H-Hey… How's the Chiyo stuff going?"

"I- uhmm… I'm working on it"

"Do you need any help?"

"I can handle this… I already got her phone number, I'll text her soon and-"

*BZZZZZ*

"E-Eh?"

"S-Someone's calling you! I-Is it Chiyo?"

I looked at the phone number, it was one I didn't recognize at all…

"N-No… It's someone I don't know…"

That's weird… I've never got spam calls and this is not any family member of mine… Then who…?

I answered the call.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"... Hello, Hana-san"

"!!!!"

I stood up from the shock. The voice that spoke to me through the phone was one I haven't heard in a while.

"P-President!"

"Meiko-san?" Kiyoshi said confused.

"Ah… Please don't call me that… I'm no longer the president after all…"

"O-Oh, yeah… Hello then, Mari-san"

"M-Mari?!" Kiyoshi screamed in confusion.

"Shhh! Shut up!" I pushed the phone away from me as I silenced him with an angry glare.

"H-Hey! I want to hear too!"

"Hmm? Is that Kiyoshi?"

"A-Ah, yes miss! T-The idiot is here with me! W-We're in the council's office"

"Ah… You two are alone, aren't you"

"E-Eh?" I felt a small blush forming on my face. "W-What d-does that mean?"

H-How did she know that… O-Or worse, Why does she think that?

Suddenly, Kiyoshi got close to me and started speaking through the phone.

"Mari-san, is that you?"

"Ah! Kiyoshi, it's been a long time isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah… How uhm… How are you doing?"

"A bit better than I expected, how about you, mister secretary?"

"P-Please don't call me that, it's a bit embarrassing…"

"H-Hey!" I interrupted him. "G-Get your own phone!"

"B-But, I don't have her number!" 

Mari chuckled a bit as she heard our mini-fight. "I'll talk to you after I'm done talking to Hana, Kiyoshi"

"A-Ah, o-okay"

The question was… Why is she calling? D-Did something happen?

"M-Mari-san… It's a good surprise that you're calling b-but… d-did something happen?"

"Well… I got this new phone and wanted to talk to you, isn't that enough reason to?"

"I-I guess it is…"

I sighed relieved, it looks like nothing else happened.

"I've been talking to the others and… I thought I should call you too"

"D-Did you talk to… Chiyo-chan?" I gulped.

"Hmm? No, I tried calling her but she didn't answer, I'll try again later, probably before midnight"

"O-Oh! I-I see…"

I'm glad… So this is not about Chiyo's… situation.

"Tell me, how are you doing, Hana? Are you managing your new position as vice-president?"

"Y-Yeah… It's been a bit hard since we are trying to manage a festival and stuff…"

"Ah, I heard about it, Meiko told me how you were the one responsible for restructuring the boy's plan, right?"

"Yes… These dumbasses made the worst plan possible, so I had to change most of it…"

"Hmph, that sounds just like them"

I had a small chuckle at that. "Yes, they never changed"

"... Hana-san"

"Hmm?"

"You sound a bit stressed, are you okay?"

"E-Eh?"

Suddenly, my body felt a bit heavier. Air didn't reach my lungs quite as well as before. My eyes got a bit watery. 

"Y-Yeah! I've been doing great! I'll do my best to make you proud of giving me this position and-"

"Hana, I'm not talking about your position or school, I'm talking about you"

"Huh?"

"How are you feeling?"

"..."

Suddenly, I walked to the window on the other side of the room, getting as far from Kiyoshi as possible.

"... I miss you, Mari-san"

"... Miss you too, Hana"

Tears dropped from my eyes, but I managed to not give out a single sob.

[...]

"So… You're going to phone us from time to time?"

"As I said to the others, I'll try my best. But between managing different time zones and adapting to this new school… It won't be easy…"

"I-I see…"

"... Heh, Don't worry, I'll text you from time to time"

"Yes please!"

"Ah, before I go, Hana"

"What is it?"

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me, I'll ask her later anyways but…" Mari seemed a bit worried by her voice. I knew what she was going to ask. "Did something happen to Chiyo?"

"T-To Chiyo?"

Mentioning her name sent Kiyoshi into a bit of a panic.

"Hmm… I thought so… Does this have to do with her birthday?"

"U-Uhm… Yeah"

"... I see… You don't look comfortable talking about it… Did-"

"I-I think it's better if you talk to her about it…"

Kiyoshi suddenly got closer to me and started whispering. "H-Hey! Don't let her talk to Chiyo before we apologize!"

"Shh! She has the right to do so, asshole!"

"... F-Fine…"

He was right to be worried about it. If Mari learns what has happened on Chiyo's birthday, she won't talk to me ever again.

B-But… She deserves to learn the truth, if that's what Chiyo wants… I won't stop her from talking to her sister after all…

"I guess I'll have to talk to her directly…"

"Y-Yes…"

"Well then, Hana, I believe you're doing better than those other two"

"E-Eh? The president and Kate?"

"S-Sorry, I shouldn't have said that… But yes…"

I knew Meiko could be feeling down… But she's worse than me? What has happened?

"If Kate did anything to her then I'll-"

"Don't worry Hana, Kate won't do anything" Mari said with a confident tone. "If anything, try to make sure Meiko doesn't kill her before I have the chance to visit you guys"

"H-Huh?! Visit us?"

"Yes… I'll try to visit you guys before the year ends… I don't know how long it will take but… I'll make sure of it"

"... Y-Yes ma'am!"

"... Guess I'll go speak with that trash then, right?"

"Y-Yes… W-Wait, Mari-san, before you go, can I ask you something?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I-I uhmm…" 

What am I trying to say here? I don't have anything to ask her… I just don't want to stop talking to her…

"H-How can I apologize to someone I lied to?"

I saw Kiyoshi give me a worried glance in the corner of my eye.

"Hmm…" It seemed like she was pondering on my question. "I'm not the one to tell you this, but… You have to be honest about everything you lied about…"

"H-Honest, huh?"

"If you betrayed their trust the least you could do is to prove them that you feel bad about it, and for that, you should be honest about your actions and… feelings"

"... I-I see…"

"If anything… Don't lie to them again… and to yourself either"

"... Thanks Mari, I feel a lot better now"

"H-Hmm? Y-You're welcome then"

"Do you want to speak to Dickyoshit, then?"

He looked at me with a defeated face.

"Ha… Yes please"

End of Hana's POV.

Mari's POV:

As I sat in my new bedroom, mostly empty due to the delay of my new furniture, I waited for Kiyoshi to talk to me.

The small desk I had was filled with papers, some about the exchange, some about my studies, and some other about… 

I grabbed the small photo I had with Meiko when we're young, as well as the USC's guide book that featured some photos of us… The memories it brought me could bring one to tears… Both from good times and… not-so-much ones…

"M-Mari-san?"

"Ah… Hello again, Kiyoshi"

"U-Uhmm… Hi… H-How are you doing?"

"Calm down, I'm not going to kill you or anything, why are you so stressed?"

"S-Sorry, it's just that I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about you suddenly calling… I-I'm a bit shocked"

"Is that so…"

Well, he's not wrong about feeling that way. After everything that happened, I understand why he would feel like this.

"Tell me, how's life treating you recently?"

"U-Uhmm… W-Well… I have to say I get what I deserve…" His voice sounded a bit… damaged?

"What do you mean by that? Is it about the sports festival?"

"U-Uh… No… That situation has changed… Girls around school still hate me, but at least it's not as bad as before… Hana is the first person to call me by that nickname in a few days"

"I-I see… I hope your plan works after all… Speaking of which… Is it you who had the idea of making a play on 'Rapunzel'?"

"W-Well, it was Gakuto who technically had the idea, but we all worked on the script and stuff…"

"Ah… It's such a cute idea, I didn't know Takehito could choose such piece of art"

"I-I can send you the script if you want to"

"D-Don't" Hana suddenly spoke from afar. "I-It's better if you don't see it until we fully finish it"

"I-I guess Hana's right on that…"

They have less than a week and still haven't finished the script?... That does sound more like the boys…

"A-Ah, Mari-san, there's something I'd like to ask you!"

"Mmm? What is it?"

"You see, yesterday I was helping the president and Kate in the school garden and… Let's say I got a… pet?"

"Hmm?! A pet?! Kiyoshi, you know that's not allow-"

"I-I know I know… But… I was walking and a crow suddenly sat on my shoulder…"

"A-A crow?"

"Y-Yes… I tried to let her go but… She remained there until I got back to my room, and today I found her again roaming the school… It's like she's waiting for me or something…"

A crow… got attached to him? 

I remembered Chiyo telling me that he once saved a baby crow that fell from its nest, but I thought she was lying… Could it be that it now thinks he's her mom?

"I see… I guess you don't have the slightless idea of what to do with 'her', right?"

"Y-Yeah… I looked up on the internet how to take care of her but… I-I'm no expert"

"... Pff… I know that" I couldn't help but smile at that. "... I'll send you some important info regarding crows whenever I have some spare time, in the meantime, you could search out some books on the school library"

"Ah! That would be great, thank you!"

"... Kiyoshi, I'm sorry"

"E-Eh? S-Sorry for what?"

"I basically used you, during the festival. I know we made a deal, but I don't think that was enough. I hope this repays my doings"

"... Don't be ridiculous"

"H-Huh?"

"The only way you could repay this is by taking me to eat the crispiest yakiniku in Japan, you know?" 

"...?!"

Ah… That's right, at that moment I asked him to do that…

Ha…

"You've become more eloquent with your words… Very well, next time we meet, I'll invite you to eat some"

"I'll look forward to that!"

[...]

As I finished talking to them, only one person was left.

My dear sister Chiyo… Will she hate me for what I've done to her?

After talking to the others, I feel like she hasn't been handling my disappearance well, so I'd understand if she doesn't answer my call…

As I was writing her phone number, something on the back of my room fell. A small teacup Hana and Meiko gifted me on my last birthday. As I reached the ceramic cup they gifted me, I found nothing to have pushed it to the floor.

I crouched to grab it, and when it got in my hand…

*Kssshhk*

The handle of the cup broke, making it fall into the floor, shattering in small pieces.

"H-Huh?"

I've never been a superstitious woman, but I've seen bad luck with my own eyes. 

It is said that a cup breaking on your hands it's a sign of really bad luck.

"... I have a bad feeling about this…"

As I cleaned the mess it made, and looked sadly at the shattered pieces, I sat on my bed and finally phoned Chiyo…

The phone rang, but no one was answering…

I wonder… Did I go too far?

… No, I know this was for the best… But talking to everyone made my heart sink into sadness and melancholy… But I can't say I regret it, talking to them made me forget about my doubts… Or so I think…

I wonder… What would have happened if I stayed at the school? Would Kate and I have become friends? Would the boys finally behave like normal beings? Would Meiko, Hana and Chiyo be fine?...

"H-Hello? Who is this?"

Before I noticed, someone had picked up the phone, but it wasn't Chiyo…

"Could this be… Mayumi-san?"

"Y-Yes… Chiyo is not feeling good enough to talk to anyone else, who am I talking to?"

I see… So she was feeling down after all… Should I talk to her?

I looked at the shattered cup and a spark of determination filled my heart.

"It's Mari, I was hoping I could speak to her… If she wanted to do so"

"M-Mari-san?!"

"Yes… I was trying to talk to her, but if I'm bothering then I-"

A weird and strong sound came from the other side of the phone, as if someone had jumped out of bed.

"B-Big sister? I-Is that really you?"

Chiyo's voice suddenly spoke to me through the phone. Her voice was different, her usual happiness and excitement wasn't there.

"Y-Yes, It's me… I'm sorry for calling you, I'll hang up no-"

"Please don't!"

"H-Huh?"

"I wanted to talk to you… Please let me…"

"... Of course…"

A small burden had been taking out my chest after I heard her words.

"Sister… I missed you…"

"...I missed you too, Chiyo"

To be continued…

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