Chapter 10

Minami and Takashi hurry up the stairs, walking through the door that leads right to the school's roof. Aside from a few people smoking up there, they see the other three sitting around in one of the corners.

Shizuka seemingly annoyed, Yukiko flustered and Haruko cupping her face into her hands tiredly sitting between the two. 

"Woah, what happened up here?" Takashi looks at them, sharing a confused look with Minami as they approached the three girls. 

"Hmph... ask your sister." Shizuka rolled her eyes, she crosses her arms. 

"I-It's nothing...!" Yukiko snapped, shaking her head. "Just move on already...!" she said, glancing at Shizuka. 

"Are you okay, Haru?" Minami asks, ignoring the two as they glared at one another. She rests a hand on Haruko's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"The older girls were having a field day on your friend here." Shizuka huffs. "Because she likes to leave little love marks behind..." 

"Little love marks?" Takashi repeated in confusion. It started to click when he realized that Haruko and Yukiko were alone the previous night, he glances at Yukiko's neck. His jaw dropping when he noticed the bruises. "Wooooah... okaayyyy." 

Minami notices as well when she follows his gaze, slightly flustered by the thought. "Goodness..." 

"OKAY!! We can move on...!" Yukiko whines, she had taken Haruko's jacket from Shizuka in order to cover her neck, pulling the hood on in embarrassment. "I hate everyone..." she pouted. 

"Not everyone apparently..." Shizuka spoke, shaking her head. She crosses her leg and motions to Haruko in reference. Considering she did let Haruko leave hic--

"Ugh! Just tell us about what happened on your part already...!" Yukiko demanded hastily, glancing at Minami and Takashi. "Well...?? Did you two..." she trails off, hoping they'd understand without her having to say any more. 

"Well about that..." Takashi rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"Majority of the class was gone for lunch so we didn't really get to see much of anything." Minami explained, looking between the girls. They take a seat in a bench near the girls. "But we did bump into Kadori, an old friend from high school. So we asked her if she had seen the Ishikawa around the classroom recently."

"I see. And how did that turn out?" Shizuka asks, paying attention to the conversation at hand now. 

"Apparently Noriko and Kou came by to ask them for some help with something, but they also talked about attending a club meeting on Friday. " Takashi explained briefly. "After this so called club meeting, there was suggestions about going clubbing afterwards to a place called -- 'Lunar something something'." 

"The drug..." Shizuka frowns. "It's possible it could be an actual club name but I don't doubt they were referring to the drug..."

"What's our next course of action?" Minami asks, "I did suggest that we were going to be there for the meeting as well, because we were interested in the club but perhaps we can work around that?"

"We have to wait for the meeting, that's about it." Shizuka shook her head. "While still keeping watch of the supposed targets to notice if there's anything new about them... which will still be on you to do." she says to Takashi. 

"You think they're going to be waiting for Friday to try anything?" Takashi asks. 

"Noriko seems particular about some things, just based on her everyday behavior." Haruko spoke up, clearing her throat. She had been sitting there quietly for a bit, agonizing what had happened at lunch but was finally paying attention. "She might be waiting for the weekend to try anything with those men outside of the school. Dropping out of school is nothing new, a bunch of people dropping out of school all at once would be a bit suspicious." 

"A valid point." Shizuka nodded. "So we will continue to keep watch on them until then. For now, we proceed like normal." 

"Agreed. Anyways, I have to head over to practice already, so I will be taking my leave." Takashi reminded them, getting up from his seat while checking the time. "See you guys afterwards." 

They wave him off quietly, Minami glancing at the other three curiously, noticing a bit of tension. "So... how'd you three get away from the older girls?" she asks, wondering if there was any way of moving on from the situation. 

"They actually went off on their own." Yukiko admitted, fiddling with her fingers timidly. "They went to take Akira to the field for her practice today..."

"Interesting... so you three were just sitting here silently until we came over?" 

"B...Basically..." Haruko mumbles, she rubs at her arm lightly. She looks to Minami with a pleading gaze, hoping that she would help her somehow. 

"O-Oh!" Minami was quick to try and come up with something, getting up from her seat and dusting her pants off. "Haru, let's get going! Aren't you going to try out for the basketball team?" she reminded them.

Haruko wasn't exactly happy that the excuse was that but she took it anyways. She stood up as well, a little enthusiasm in her step. "Right! I-I'm so excited about that." she lied. "What are you three going to do in the meantime?"

"What do you mean? We're going to come support you." Minami chuckles. "Why wouldn't we do that??" she tilts her head innocently.

"R...Right..." Haruko was hoping she could get some space from the weird tension emitting from Yukiko and Shizuka but it seems that it will be following her. "Let's get going then..." 

*

They head over to the gym where the basketball girl's practice to see a few of them in there already. The advisor standing around talking with some other girls that were seemingly new as well. And just off to the side, at the bleachers were the older girls sitting around. 

Reika looks up from her phone, noticing them. "Haruko~ We're here to support you." She hums, waving her over. "We already gave the advisor a heads up about you wanting to join." she admitted suddenly. "Well, Akira did when she was passing them by in the locker room."

"Ohhh, g-great." Haruko laughs nervously. 'Please... Haruko, I really hope you're good at this or something...' she thought, putting her things down beside them. She'd prefer not to humiliate herself right now.  "I guess I'll go up and talk to her myself."

"Good luck!" Minami cheers, taking a seat by the other women.

Haruko hesitantly made her way towards the said advisor, waiting for her to finish speaking to some of the other students until it was her turn. "H...Hey..." She greeted awkwardly. 

"You're... Haruko Kisaragi, right? Akira mentioned you." The advisor chuckles, they glance at their clip board and writes something down quickly. “ Usually we have a time period where we hold tryouts, and although we do have limited spots open for walk-in players, those were filled up recently as well.”

“Oh…” 'This is great, an excuse not to join--' 

“Welp, it's a good thing you came over today!” The advisor grins, just as enthusiastic as Akira, the similarities were uncanny. “I'm a bit lenient so I'd be open to having you try out. The season has yet to start, so I'm still accepting new players to join.” 

Haruko mentally facepalms, she smiles slightly, "Oh, that's great."

"Awesome! We'll put you in with the other newbies today." The advisor motions for Haruko to follow her, bringing her over to where the other girls are. "You already missed out on some of the basic drills. But we can see how you do in the scrimmage and see how you fit in with the crew."

"Uh... should I change into something? I wasn't really prepared to do this..." 

"Ah, it's alright. The clothes you have on should be okay. Just put this on for now, I'll set you up with this team." The advisor explains briefly, handing Haruko a loose mesh jersey. "Do you have anything underneath this? You can take this off as well." she motions to the oversized shirt Haruko was wearing.

"A tank top, if that's okay?"

"Yea! Go right ahead and change." 

Haruko nods, she walks over to where her friends are. She looks to Minami with a hopeful gaze, it wasn't too late to get out of this. When they met eyes, Minami was smiling widely at her, giving her a thumbs up. 'Nope... it's too late.' Haruko sighs, she pulls her oversized shirt off and places it on Minami's lap. "Please hold onto this." 

"Yessirma'ams." Minami salutes playfully watching as Haruko pulls her hair into a ponytail. "Haru, the tank top is doing your muscles justice, you should wear them often." she admitted in awe. Haruko was wearing a letter printed loose fit sleeveless tank top. 

She pulls the mesh jersey on top and turns towards Minami with a slight grin. "Thanks, Minami. I'll be back." Haruko heads back out to the court, going to stand with her makeshift team. 'Haruko... please take over, do it...' she begged in her head, taking the moment to stretch her arms and legs for a bit. 

Her shoulders droop in defeat when it was about time to begin. 

"Alright girls, let's get started!" The advisor calls out, getting everyone's attention. The group gathered around to listen in. "Don't hold back on these newbies, I want to see them at their full potential." 

"Yes ma'am!" 

*

'Wow... I've never felt so athletic before.' Haruko thought once the mock game finished, 'She really can play basketball, I'm sorry I doubted you Haruko...' she sighed heavily in relief, picking up a basketball as the girls gathered around the advisor again to hear her thoughts on the scrimmage. 

"Kisaragi, you did really good for someone that missed all the drills and warm ups." The advisor laughs in amazement, "You continue playing like that and you'll be an important asset to the team." she said, glancing at her clip board.

"I think I speak for the team when I say this but, it you're interested in playing basketball on this team, we welcome you with open arms." The supposed captain of the team said with a wide grin, "We would be lucky to have you."

"T-Thank you..." Haruko says, she was a bit excited by the outcome. She dreaded it at first because the whole thing seemed like a drag with everything else going on, but she actually enjoyed playing. Probably because the body was instinctively good at it too. She jumps in surprise when the other basketball girls cheered and welcomed her to the team excitedly.. Once the excitement died down, they finished off the last hour resuming regular practice. Haruko adapting to the atmosphere quickly, as if she was always apart of the team.

"She fits in so well." Akemi chuckles, watching the basketball girls in awe. "Like they've played together for years, or something." 

"I'm impressed with her prowess on the court." Reika hummed, "She played really well and is good at adapting to situations on the spot." 

"Their practice is almost over, shall we wait outside for her?" Erina suggested to the others, picking up her things. She notices messages on her own phone, reading through them quickly,  "Perfect, Akira just finished as well. She said that she'll meet us at the front gates with Chisako."

They wait outside of the gym, Shizuka holding Haruko's things for her. After a few minutes, the other basketball girls were heading out of the gym, some greeting Akemi, Saeko and the Hasegawa sisters. Considering they were around the same age and grade, probably have some classes together. 

"Where's the new girl?" Saeko asks them curiously. 

"Kisaragi is the newest of the crew, so she's tasked with clean up." One of them answered, "Shouldn't be much today since we basically only had that scrimmage and some warm ups." 

"I'm surprised you girls are waiting for someone here, isn't your brother practicing right now too?" Another one of them points out, motioning to Reika and Erina. "Don't wanna watch him instead?"

"I'd rather not." Reika huffs, "I'm here for the new girl. Okay, now leave me alone and get home." she waves them off, her attitude wasn't new to them. She seemed mean but they knew she was being considerate. 

They left without question. 

"Hey." Haruko greeted them, she walks up to Shizuka and takes her things. "Thanks for watching the whole way, even if you didn't have to... soccer probably has cooler tricks." she rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "You didn't want to watch Takashi in the end?"

"You were just as impressive, Haruko. You shouldn't compare different sports. They each require a different skill set, which I'm sure you and Takashi both excel in to the best of your abilities." Erina commented with a small smile. "Did you enjoy tryouts today?"

"I made it onto the team..." Haruko admits, telling them timidly. 

"We saw. I'm so proud of you." Erina nods, she reaches up and pets her head lightly. Haruko's cheeks flushed red, she felt a bit giddy from the praise. "This is great, you've been talking about joining the team for a while now."

"Let's head over to the front gate, Takashi and Akira are waiting for us." Yukiko spoke up. 

"Should we celebrate?" Minami suggests curiously, looking up at Haruko as they walk over to where the others were. Akira stood between Takashi and Chisako, keeping the two away from each other before they start fighting. 

"We don't have to. It was nothing." Haruko grumbled, "I'm just glad you girls were around to support me." she smiles, looking around at the others. "I wouldn't want to keep you any longer, you can just go home if anything?"

"And let Chisako have you all to herself??" Akira laughs, she puts an arm around Chisako's shoulders. "I fear you might leave marks on her, Haruko." she teases, causing Haruko and Yukiko to flush in embarrassment again.

"Please... can we move past that..." Haruko pleaded with her. 

"?" Chisako looks at them curiously, confused by the conversation but not wanting to pry. "How was basketball, Haruko?" she asks, moving on from their conversation. 

"I made it onto the team." Haruko tells the three. "So there's that." 

"Amazing~ We should be celebrating that, no?" Akira suggested. 

"You're just trying to get out of doing homework, Akira." Erina frowned, familiar with her antics. "Haruko already said we don't need to celebrate."

"Ehhh...?"Chisako frowns, "It's amazing though, that you got to join the team... I think it's worth celebrating..." she mumbled timidly. 

Haruko notices the pout and feels herself giving in. "I-- you know what, we can celebrate a little." she said, feeling as if she's going to regret this later. 'As long as I can sleep later, it's whatever to me at this point...'

"Great! I say we cook something up at Haruko's place." Akira suggested, the group walking off school grounds. 

"You just want me to cook it to distract me from making sure you do your homework." Erina huffed, "We will buy take out and eat it at Haruko's home. How about that?"

"That's fine by me." They were all in agreement, so as suggested, the group go to get some take out close by and head over to Haruko's home carrying bags of food to share. 

*

She lets them all in, thinking on it now, this was a first time for a few of them. Coming over to her home and all. It made her feel a bit awkward about it.

"Make yourselves at home." Haruko motions, leading them all to the living room and setting some of the bags on the coffee table. 

"You know I will." Akira hums, she drops onto the couch and gets comfortable. "Ahh... I'm tired from soccer practice." she admitted to them. "It's not easy watching these kids on the field."

"Let me go get you those clothes, Chisako." Haruko says, "Is it okay that you're staying over for a bit? Are there any rules for the dormitory??" she questions, she knew there were some curfew rules but wasn't sure if that was a thing here. 

"Don't worry too much about it, we have a curfew thing but as long as we're safe somewhere it's fine, other than that our dorm mother's pretty chill." Akira answered for her instead. "If you wanna keep us the whole night, we can do that too~" 

"What she said... so don't worry about it." Chisako chuckled. 

"So you'd be fine if I kept you the whole night?" Haruko smiles down at Chisako when she sat down. The other girl looking up quickly in surprise and embarrassment. "What? Akira brought it up."

"J-Just get the clothes...!" 

Haruko held her hands up in defense and goes to get the clothes from her room, while she was there she puts her things down to get a head start on the cleanup. When she came back out, the others had opened up the containers of food and ate around the table while chatting. 

"I'll bring over some drinks." She tells them after handing the clothes to Chisako.

"Let me help you." Shizuka offered, she stood up from where she sat and followed Haruko to the kitchen. Shizuka looks around briefly, leaning up against the kitchen counter. “Ugh… I needed a break from them…” she grumbled, referring to Hasegawa.

“You can go hang out in my room if you need to.”

“Perhaps later. I do want to celebrate a job well done. You played well earlier.” Shizuka pushes herself off the counter and joins Haruko by the fridge to take some of the drinks. “Always impressing us somehow.”

“I like to impress pretty girls, what can I say? It can't be helped.” Haruko said simply.

“Just be careful with who you impress, you don't want dangerous company.”

“Said the dangerous company.” Haruko chuckles when Shizuka bumped their shoulders gently, it was playful banter. 

“I'm starting to think you like dangerous girls, Kisaragi.”

“I suppose I do, considering I like having you around.” Haruko couldn't help but grin at the other woman. Their close proximity goes unnoticed as they stare into each other's eyes. But Haruko could feel it, the electricity was back, an energy that filled her stomach with butterflies. "Shizu--"

“If you're going to flirt here please direct it towards our target. Or at least be discreet about it…” A voice called out in a whisper, the two glancing up quickly to see Takashi standing there. 

“Mind your own business, Hasegawa...” Shizuka snapped defensively at him, she took the drinks she was holding and headed back into the living room.

Haruko shook her head at Shizuka's response to Takashi showing up, she was a bit disappointed. Or well, she thought she was?? She was a bit relieved if she was going to be honest.

And that made her feel… guilty?

“Come to get something?” Haruko asks him, shaking her thoughts away to focus on Takashi's presence. She readjusted her arms and hands around the drinks, she looked him over curiously. 

“Some napkins.” Takshi nodded. “But also, I wanted to check on you two. If everything was alright…”

“We're fine.”

“Just making sure. I don't want her hurting you somehow.”

“She won't hurt me, don't worry.”

“Are you sure about that..?? Be careful, Haruko. She's still a bad person. She could turn on us at any moment.” He had said it as a reminder for her. Takashi grabs a few napkins and lets her sit on his words for a bit as he goes back to the living room as well.

Haruko paused and leaned against the fridge, the silence lingered for a long moment. Was she sure about that…? The whole alliance was for them to take down the bigger threat, there was no room for her to be feeling something for anyone at that point…but also… she's not supposed to crush on Shizuka like that, or flirt with her. That wasn't her decision to take, it was supposed to be for Takashi.

Shizuka was the type to uphold her family's name and put them and their group first. She would eventually hurt her… somehow, some way.

This was just a game she had to play, a game she had to get through to reach her own finale.

‘I'm going to get hurt in the end… that's how it always turns out…’ Haruko chewed at her lower lip nervously.

‘This is why it's better to be alone… no one can hurt you when you're alone…’

She's used to being alone… but–

Why does the thought of her being alone now scare her so much…?

*

The group had finished eating but continued with a conversation that Haruko chose to ignore. She had not chanced facing any of the people in her home, mostly keeping to herself. She was lost in thought.

It went over everyone's head, except for Minami. Minami noticed most things. She stood up and made her way over to where Haruko sat, she slotted herself into the seat beside her and held her arm gently to get her attention. “Haru…” she leans closer into Haruko's side.

“Mmn?” Haruko hums, she continues to stare blankly with muddy eyes. “What's up, Minami?”

“Everything alright?”

“I'm fine, just–” A tentative pause. “Sleepy.”

“Oh! Should we start heading out?” Akemi asks, she had unintentionally listened in on their conversation and decided to speak on it. “We should be letting our host rest up now, shouldn't we?”

“True.” Saeko responds, “Allow us to clean up first though, Haruko.” It wasn't an offer Haruko could decline because it wasn't an offer at all. It was a heads up of what they were going to carry out.

“O-Oh. Uhh–” Haruko began to get out of her seat to help them clean, she let out a little grunt when Shizuka pushed her back softly. The other woman resting a firm finger on her chest, holding her there. “Shizu…” Haruko looked up with half a pout formed.

“Stay still, Kisaragi.” Shizuka announced, “The adults are cleaning.”

“I am an adult.” Haruko chided, her pout never leaving her face.

“You're pouting like a child.” Shizuka countered, she reached up to cup Haruko's face in her hands. “Stay still and rest, you deserve to… you've been tired since your studio class...” She said in quiet tone, growing timid. Shizuka picks some of the empty containers up with the others to bring them to the kitchen trash.

Leaving Haruko to ponder on her words. ‘She noticed I was tired…’

Minami pats her shoulder ever so lightly, “Hey. That goes to show that Shizu cares, huh?” She laughs. Both women knew Shizuka had a weird way of expressing her kindness sometimes, but were very appreciative of it.

“Yea…” Haruko laughed weakly at her words, Shizuka was kind. But how much of it is true and how much of her kindness is an act?

For now, there was no point in pondering on it. She wasn't an important character, she has no rights to ponder that, she's supposed to support the Main Character until he reaches his goal. 

And she was going to continue her role till the very end.

Then when the game is over…

Will her finale come.