(V3) Chapter 13: Are we Divided?

(From Author)

Hello, friends! I have done revising and uploading everything last night! All the previous chapters are improved, formatted and edited for better reading quality (I didn't know Honeyfeed had these kinds of features because I'm working on Google Docs and slap everything right here with a copy-paste combo)

And now, as you can see, there are new chapters based on some I trimmed (because somehow, other scenes doesn't fit to the title, or to the plot). Expect shorter chapters (but larger quantity per volume) from now on, please look forward for it! 

Thank you for your constant support!

- Sora

***

The classroom buzzed with barely contained excitement—this was the week Field Days would begin. It was the event of the year, something everyone looked forward to like a holiday.

They could hardly wait for Friday to come. The closer it got, the more unbearable the anticipation became.

And without a teacher in sight, the bratty students wasted no time descending into chaos. Chairs were flipped, origami birds flew across the room, and trash and water bottles littered the floor. Laughter and loud conversations filled the air. Some students perched on desks, comparing checklists and arguing over snack quotas.

With no one to contain them in, things spiraled out of control fast.

I couldn't help but wonder—would Kamizaki-sensei burst in any second and shut this down with one glare?

But over in our little corner, the so-called losers' group remained unbothered. We were in our own world.

Final exams. Manga. Anything plain and uneventful.

“Where were you yesterday, buddy?” Akito leaned back in his chair and turned toward me. “I barely survived the Blue-Eyes White Dragon without this classroom's hero.”

"..."

I glanced at Ayase. She kept her head low, shadows forming beneath her bangs.

The strange morning flashed through my mind.

Right. She hadn’t woken me up like usual. Uniforms wrinkled. Laundry stacked. No breakfast. And she didn’t even come to school with me.

What’s going on...? Could she have seen me with Takamine-san?

No...I’d checked. No one was around. Not a classmate, not even a passing acquaintance—

A stomp to my head yanked me out of my thoughts.

“I’m talking to you, wallflower hero!” Akito shouted.

“Oh—uh—what?” I blinked.

“Never mind,” he huffed. “Get lost.”

He turned away and buried his face in his phone, probably scrolling through his favorite manga.

...Why does it feel like everyone’s mad at me today?

What a terrible way to start the morning.

Before I could drown in negative thoughts, my eyes landed on a strange sight of Takamine-san in the front rows.

Her two hands were pinned against her forehead, fingers extended outward, as if trying to stop an impending migraine.

And her gyaru friend Ogawa Airi-san seemed to be holding her up in a deep conversation.

I stood up, maybe to say hello at least, or to know what was going on. I know that I'm not in the right place to do so but knowing what settled between us last night, I felt obligated to try…right?

I just want to make sure that she's okay.

Yet Saori appeared and waved, stealing my attention.

“Overtime?” she asked casually.

I sighed in relief. Saved. Saori always had perfect timing.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “The store next door shut down, so we got their customers.”

She narrowed her eyes on me. “Hmm, Akio-san playing Mr. Do-It-All again, huh? Makes sense.”

Thankfully, she bought it. Akito would've grilled me.

“What happened here while I was gone?” I asked, ducking to avoid a flying crumpled paper ball.

“Not much,” Saori replied, choosing her words with care. “Inoue-sensei gave a short lecture. Kamizaki-sensei didn’t even take attendance. If he had, I would've signed for you—I do know your signature!"

Nice. That was one less thing to worry about.

Suddenly, a chair scraped loudly in front of us.

“Ooooh no, Haru,” Akito’s voice rang out like a siren—smug and ominous. He slid between us, grinning like he’d just uncovered a scandal. “You definitely missed something.”

...Didn’t you want to strangle me five minutes ago?

“What?” I muttered, rubbing my temple.

Saori heaved a sharp exhale. “Ignore him.”

Maybe she’s right. Akito loves his dramatic nonsense.

He pointed at Ayase, who sat with her head in a book, very much pretending she wasn’t listening. But her burning red ears perked up, I almost laughed.

“Something juicy, like tar in a forgotten Jurassic island!” he chuckled, eyes twinkling. “Let’s just say—someone could not handle your absence.”

I swallowed. Was he serious? No, Takamine-san said yesterday that Ayase’s too lost without my presence too.

“Buddy, she checked her phone constantly,” Akito whispered conspiratorially. “Unlock. Frown. Lock. Sigh. Repeat. Like, every thirty seconds.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Ayase...did that?

“She only ever uses her phone when necessary...”

“Oh, oh!” Akito was on fire now. “And get this—she has pictures of you. Like, actual candid shots. She looked through them like you’d died and she was mourning your tragic loss.”

I looked at Ayase. Her face had gone from pink to deep volcanic red. Something churned in my chest—half panic, half...something warmer. If that was true, it was kind of...

Cute?

“She even muttered, ‘Why didn’t he text back? Did I say something weird?’ Then she just face-planted into her desk. I almost cried—it was so dramatic.”

“Akito-chan,” Ayase said through gritted teeth, still not turning around.

“And then—”

She shot up, marched over, grabbed the otaku by the shoulders, and shook him like a ragdoll.

“STOOOOOOP!!!!!” she exclaimed in broken english.

Akito broke into feverish laughter, flailing. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! But he had to know!”

Ayase looked ready to combust. “I WASN’T checking it that much!!”

Saori facepalmed, the secondhand embarrassment setting in strong.

I just stared, awkwardly smiling.

Ayase finally turned to me, face beet red, eyes wide. Then she spun back around and dropped into her seat with a frustrated huff.

...What just happened?

I realized my mouth was hanging open.

I closed it.

Then I opened it again.

“…So, just to clarify…I did miss something?”

Ayase groaned and covered her face.

And I sighed, creases forming in my forehead just like the ones in my unkempt school uniform.

Akito sipped a juice box like it was the punchline of a comedy routine. “Told you, you missed a lot.”

Just as we finished our discussion, hurried footsteps echoed in the front desk.

It was our teacher. Luckily, it wasn't a Sentinel. She was human.

Unluckily, it was social studies, one heck of a boring subject.

"Good morning, class! Sorry I was late!" Himiko-sensei greeted us.

She stood there, trying to catch her breath before continuing. "Anyway, I've arranged the library for a special lecture today. Please gather outside, bring your bags and please be prompt."

The classroom was relieved of chaos, but there's still an uproar about getting out earlier in the class.

As we walked through the hallway, students whispered and speculated. Some even looked excited. That’s how you knew it wasn’t going to be a normal lecture.

When we arrived, the library was rearranged like a miniature courtroom—chairs in opposing rows, a small platform at the center, and two placards reading:

PRO-SENTINEL ENROLLMENT then ANTI-SENTINEL ENROLLMENT.

I immediately gulped. This could be sketchy.

Himiko-sensei stood front and center.

“As you’ve all heard, the Parliament is debating a new law,” she began. “It may allow Sentinels—or you know as artificial humanoids—to enroll in normal schools. That decision, however, depends on how real students think about their inclusion. And so…”

She gestured with both arms dramatically.

“We’re having a debate. Right here. Right now. Other sections and levels are already done, and their opinion poll was passed. It's Class 3-2's turn.”

Hearing that, murmurs echoed around the group of Class 3-2 students. At the same time, there was already a buildup of spectators outside the holding area.

Akito practically bounced in place. “YES! Finally, a real life anime arc!”

Saori stepped forward, intrigued. “Hmm…relevant social commentary in school. I like this.”

Ayase stiffened, her fingers clenching the strap of her bag.

And me? My stomach dropped.

Akio-san and I undergone a suicide mission just to turn in Ayase here, and now we’re pushing outsiders in?

I'm going to protect her identity by all means.

And I'm going to go through lengths for that—even if my friends would likely be surprised.