A few days had passed since Mizuha and others had eaten together on the rooftop.
Mizuha was growing used to her new school environment and felt closer to her friends, especially Shimizu, Hikaru, and Zul, through their shared lunchtimes.
As usual, the four of them were eating together on the rooftop. Lately, however, Zul’s worried expression didn’t go unnoticed.
"Zul, what’s wrong? You seem a bit off today," Shimizu asked, looking at him.
Zul looked up from his lunch, trying to brush it off.
"Don’t worry, it’s nothing."
Hikaru wasn’t convinced, putting down his chopsticks and leaning in.
"Is it about Eri? Are you worried about her?"
Mizuha turned to Hikaru. "Eri? You mean Sakamoto-san? Do you know her, Hikaru?"
"Yeah, Zul, Eri, and I all went to the same middle school."
"Zul and Eri are childhood friends. Eri can speak normally with Zul, but she’s nervous to talk to anyone else, including me." He gave a small laugh.
"You’re both childhood friends? I never knew that," Mizuha said, looking at Zul.
Hikaru turned back to Zul. "So, what’s worrying you about her?"
Zul sighed. "You see, recently she’s been disappearing during our lunchtime and avoiding me."
"Oh, I remember! A few days ago, Shimizu and I saw Sakamoto-san—her uniform was soaked when she returned to our class. Right, Shimizu?" Mizuha turned to Shimizu.
"Yeah, you’re right," Shimizu nodded.
"I tried to ask her what happened, but she was too scared to talk to me, like usual."
Zul found this suspicious. Was she being bullied?
The bell rang, and they began heading back to class, Mizuha and Shimizu following Hikaru and Zul.
Shimizu stopped. "You guys go ahead; I need to use the restroom."
"Wait, Shimizu, I’ll go with you," Mizuha said. "Hikaru, see you later."
The boys continued on to class while Mizuha followed Shimizu.
As they entered the restroom, they overheard an argument.
"Huh, is this all you have? I asked you for more every day," said an angry voice.
"I’m sorry, this is all the money I have for today," replied a trembling voice.
Mizuha and Shimizu looked at each other.
"Is that Sakamoto-san?" They walked in and were shocked to see Eri surrounded by a group of upperclassmen.
"Because you failed to give us what we wanted, we’re going to punish you."
Two other upperclassmen brought out buckets of dirty water.
"No, please, don’t do this!" Eri was scared.
"That’s terrible," Shimizu whispered.
Mizuha nodded. "Yeah, we must stop them now."
"Ready, girls? Splash it on her now!"
But as they counted down, Mizuha and Shimizu rushed forward, taking the splash meant for her.
Eri was shocked to see the water miss her and hit Mizuha and Shimizu instead.
"What’s happening? Yuki-san, Shimizu-san, what are you doing here?"
"I’m glad we made it in time."
"Yuki-san, Shimizu-san, your uniforms are dirty. Are you okay?"
"I’m fine, thanks. I’m just glad it didn’t hit you."
"It’s just a uniform; it can be cleaned later."
"Who are you two, and how dare you interrupt us?"
Shimizu smiled, cracking her knuckles.
"Oh me? I’m Shimizu, a first-year student. Nice to meet you, senpai." Her expression turned fierce.
"Wait, I’ve heard of her. She’s the red-haired delinquent first-year student that everyone talked about."
Really? I didn’t know I was famous because of that rumor, Shimizu thought.
"Hmph, that’s just a name. Get her now, girls."
"Oh, you’re challenging me, huh? Mizuha, protect Sakamoto-san. Let me handle these guys." Shimizu cracked her neck, stepping forward.
"But, Shimizu...you don’t need to fight them back."
"Don’t worry. It won’t take long."
Mizuha hugged Eri protectively as Shimizu faced the bullies.
"How dare you do that to Sakamoto-san! What you did earlier is unforgivable!!"
"Tch, don’t get cocky! Get her, girls." The leader stepped forward and told her gang to charge at Shimizu.
"Come, show me what you have." Shimizu prepared herself.
Shimizu struck, knocking them down one by one.
"Damn, she’s so strong."
"What? Is that all you guys had? So boring." Shimizu wiped her hands, smirking.
"What did you say?"
"Geez, you guys are useless. Take this!" The leader charged at Shimizu.
Shimizu caught the leader’s fist immediately, gripping it tight.
"It hurts! Enough, you win. Please stop."
Shimizu released her grip and pushed the leader backward, making her fall to the floor. The leader’s gang approached to help her.
Shimizu approached them while cracking her knuckles.
"Hey, you guys, listen properly. I don’t care if you all are my senior but…"
"If you do something bad to Sakamoto-san again, you’ll be finished. Understand?"
Shimizu gave them a scary glare.
"Okay, understood. We won’t do it again. Please forgive us." They ran out of the restroom.
"Take that! Don’t mess with me, haha," Shimizu laughed at them.
"So, Mizuha, how did I look earlier? Look cool, right?" She turned to Mizuha, grinning.
Mizuha grinned. "Nah, you look like a real delinquent, I guess."
"Wait, what? Delinquent? That’s so mean, Mizuha." Shimizu stepped back, mock-offended.
"Enough with that already. More importantly, are you okay?" Mizuha stepped closer.
"Yup, I’m fine. How about Sakamoto-san?"
"She’s okay. Nothing bad happened to her," Mizuha smiled.
"Damn those guys; they made our uniforms really dirty. We’re lucky that we have PE class after this, so we can use our PE uniforms for the rest of the day."
Eri approached them. "Yuki-san, Shimizu-san..."
"I’m so sorry. It’s my fault you two got dirty," Eri dropped her head, tears falling.
"It’s nothing." Shimizu patted her shoulder. "It’s just a small thing."
"That’s right. We’re just glad you’re okay," Mizuha blinked hard.
"Sakamoto-san, don’t worry about it. They won’t bully you anymore after this." Shimizu placed a comforting hand on Eri’s head.
"Let’s clean ourselves and return to our class because break time is almost over."
"Oh, you’re right, let’s go."
Eri wiped her tears. "Yuki-san, Shimizu-san, thank you so much."
Mizuha and Shimizu looked at each other and smiled warmly. "No problem. Here, let’s get back to our classroom," they extended their hands to her.
Eri took their hands and smiled gratefully, and the three of them made their way to their classroom.
Mizuha turned to Eri. "Sakamoto-san, you should really tell Zul about what happened. He’s been worried about you."
"But I don’t want to trouble him."
"Don’t worry, I’m sure that he’ll understand."
The three of them returned to their class, and as they entered the classroom, they bumped into Zul, who was about to leave in search of Eri, who hadn’t returned yet. Zul looked surprised as he noticed both Mizuha and Shimizu’s uniforms were dirty.
"What happened to you guys? Why are both of your uniforms so dirty?"
Mizuha turned to him. "Something happened earlier, but we already took care of it. Don’t worry about that."
"I see, then please be careful, okay."
"By the way, did you see Eri? She hasn’t returned to our classroom yet."
Both Mizuha and Shimizu stepped aside and made a way for Eri.
"She was here with both of us..." Mizuha said.
"Eri!? What are you doing with Mizuha and Shimizu?"
Shimizu leaned in. "Actually, earlier, she was..."
"Wait, Shimizu-san, let me explain to him."
"Um, Zul, actually I..." Eri looked down, hands clenched.
Eri told him that both Mizuha and Shimizu had heroically saved her from the bullies.
"I knew it. Then why didn’t you tell me you were being bullied? Do you know what could have happened if Mizuha and Shimizu hadn’t stopped them earlier?
If you got hurt, what would I tell your mom? Didn’t I tell you before? If you get into any trouble, please let me know."
"I’m sorry. I don’t want to burden you at all."
Suddenly, Zul sighed before putting his hand on Eri’s head. "Well, it’s not your fault; it was my fault. I should have paid more attention to you, and I’m sorry.
From now on, if you have any problems, please tell me, Mizuha, or Shimizu, okay? Also, we need to talk after this."
"By the way, thank you both for saving her," Zul turned to Mizuha and Shimizu.
"Well, Zul, don’t worry about it. Everything is already solved. They won’t have the guts to bully Sakamoto-san anymore."
"That’s right. I already gave them a warning that they will never forget, haha." Shimizu laughed.
What kind of warning did you give, Shimizu? Zul thought.
Their conversation drew gossip from classmates and got Shimizu’s attention.
She turned around and glared at them. "What are you guys looking at and gossiping about? Get lost."
"Oh no, she’s mad. Let’s go." The classmates quickly returned to their seats under Shimizu’s glare.
The bell rang, marking the end of break and the start of PE class. Zul asked Eri to stay with Mizuha and Shimizu.
The school day ended as usual. Mizuha gathered her things and headed toward the school entrance, still thinking about the day’s events. As she stepped outside, she noticed Hikaru waiting for her there.
"Huh, Hikaru, you haven’t gone home yet?"
"Well, I was actually waiting for you, so let’s go home together."
"Sure, let’s go."
"You look happy. What happened earlier?"
"Umm, well... earlier..." Mizuha recounted how they saved Eri, happy to have gained another friend.
"Oh, I see. So, she was being targeted after all. I’m glad both of you were there to help her. That was really brave. How is Eri now? Is she okay?"
"She’s doing better now. She was really shaken up, but she’s grateful for the support."
"That’s good to hear. "Zul must feel relieved that she’s not alone anymore. You did a wonderful thing today, Mizuha. I’m proud of you and Shimizu."
"Thanks, Hikaru," Mizuha said, smiling. "I just did what felt right. I’m glad we could help her."
Both of them walked and chatted until they reached Mizuha’s house. "See you tomorrow, Hikaru."
"See you tomorrow," said Hikaru, waving to Mizuha before making his way to his house.
"I’m home!!"
"Welcome home, my dear."
"Oh, Mom! You’re back early today."
"Well, my work finished sooner than usual, so I came home early."
As Mizuha entered the living room, a sudden vision overwhelmed her, causing her to space out.
"Please don’t do that to me. I’m begging you—please stop."
"Someone... help me." "Why is no one helping me?"
She touched her head and felt a headache throbbing after the vision.
What was that? What were these visions? My body suddenly felt weak, she thought.
"Mizuha, are you okay?" Her mom rushed over when she saw her almost collapse.
"I’m fine, Mom. Maybe I’m just too tired. I’d better clean up and rest for today," Mizuha replied.
"Get some rest, honey. Let me know if your condition gets worse, okay?" her mother said.
"Okay, Mom." Mizuha returned to her room and went to sleep.
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