Chapter 11

Haruko accompanied the others to the front door after cleaning up, she waits patiently for everyone to change into their shoes, and stood there holding Minami's bag for her.

"Look at you, you're like a puppy." Akira brought up, "So cute." she caresses Haruko's cheeks and pets her head softly.

"Akira. I don't know if that's a compliment." Akemi frowns, she swats Akira's hands away from Haruko. "You don't have to listen to her, Haruko."

"Althouuugh, she would look nice with a collar around her neck~" Reika says. she whines when Erina slaps her thigh. "Ow... Whaaaatt?"

"Calm down." Erina grumbled.

Yukiko stares at the taller girl, watching as she tilts her head in confusion. "Now that I think about it... she kind of reminds me of one as well..."

"Like what?" Haruko asks, looking around the room.

"A puppy." Minami explains for her, patting her shoulder lightly with a chuckle escaping her lips. "They're saying that you remind them of a puppy."

"I-Is that bad??"

"No, no. It's really cute." Yukiko said as reassurance, "You're soft and yet so protective over us. It's good qualities."

"Ahh. I see, thank you for the compliment then?" Haruko tried to smile brightly, it was still evident that she was tired though.

"Oh my Goodness, do you want a treat??" Akira sighs, satisfied with Haruko's reaction to it, "Paw?" she held her hand out and was delighted when Haruko placed her hand onto it.

"Akira, stop that." Akemi rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, you probably thought the same thing when you first met her." Akira laughed. "When she gave you her hand instead of your books?"

"Hmph... whatever, let's head home." Akemi huffs, she crosses her arms and bumps shoulders with Akira to get past her.

"Can't we just stay over?~" Reika whines, glancing to Haruko for an answer. "Takashi can go home alone..."

"What?" Takashi frowns. "You're so annoying..."

"No boys allowed." Reika stuck her tongue out at him and motions for him to leave the house.

"We've already caused enough trouble." Erina shook her head, "We should let her have some time alone. She's tired."

"Fineee..."

"C'mon Chisako, let's head back to the dorms." Akira hums, she puts an arm around Chisako's shoulders. "The dorm mother is lenient, but I'm sure she's going to scold us for coming back later than usual."

"And why do you think she'll do that, because she's expecting it from you?" Chisako scoffed in a playful matter, chuckling when Akira whined childishly.

"I'll get my driver to drop you off as well, Minami?" Shizuka offered, glancing at the girl. "If you're interested?"

"Yes please... I'll text you when I get home, okay?" Minami chuckles, see turns to meet Haruko's eyes, noticing the slight frown before her expression picked up.

"O-Okay." Haruko said with a bit of excitement in her tone.

"Haruko, you're so cute..." Reika sighs, she holds her arms out towards the other woman. Haruko walking into her embrace instinctively, hugging her back. "Ughhh, I can't leave her, no! I won't do it....!" Reika holds on tightly, nuzzling her cheek against Haruko's hair. She hisses when Yukiko pulls her away. "Hey...!"

"Get off of her." Demanded Yukiko.

"Let other people get a chance to hug her..."Erina scolded, rolling her eyes as she gets in-between the two to approach Haruko. "Will you be okay?" she asks.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." Haruko nods, Erina pets her and wraps her arms around her lean frame.

At this point, Haruko made sure to hug everyone else that held their arms out, going up to them one by one (aside from Takashi, who opted for an awkward wave).

She finds herself facing Chisako in the end, the woman standing there timidly. "I hope you had fun today?" Haruko asks her.

"O-Of course..." Chisako mumbles.

"I..I'm happy that you did." Was all she thought about saying, Haruko smiling down at her slightly.

"H..Haruko..." Chisako tugs on her sleeve when she can. Haruko raised a curious brow before lowering herself to be at her eye level. She was surprised when Chisako kissed her on the cheek quickly. "T..Thank you for having me... see you later." Chisako goes to hide behind Akira right away.

"Goodnight, everyone." Haruko nods, she watches them all go their separate ways and waited until she couldn't see anyone anymore before entering her home again.

Right away, silence fills the air and leaves her feeling empty.

*

The drive was quiet on the way to Minami's home, the pair were sitting in the backseat doing their own thing on their phones until Minami felt the need to speak up. "... Is it wrong to think that maybeee... Chisako seems a little too innocent to be a part of that Ishikawa-kai thing...?" she admitted, facing Shizuka.

"Anyone can be innocent until proven guilty, and vice-versa." Shizuka nodded, "Although yes, I can see that the air around Chisako is a bit different from the other two. It's just that..." she pauses, letting the silence settle.

"You want legitimate evidence of that before we can make those assumptions." Minami was understanding of that. It's always better to have proof.

"Unfortunately, yes. As much as I'd love to come to that agreement with you, we shouldn't believe what we're seeing on the outside just yet. She might be different behind closed doors." Shizuka huffed, turning to face the window again.

There's a pause between them that settles. A sort of tension arising within Shizuka's body that she felt guilty about for some reason, "Although, if we're mentioning innocent, we should be talking about that friend of yours." she turns back to face Minami with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood.

"Haru does kind of radiate innocence, huh? Even though sometimes she can be the total opposite of it." Minami chuckled lightly when she thought about it.

"She said she's bad with women and yet it seems like she's doing an amazing job at seducing them naturally." Shizuka nods, crossing her legs.

"She is.... oblivious, yes. She hasn't realized yet that she's naturally charming. But then again, that's seemingly what makes her even more charming, no?"

Shizuka couldn't disagree with her, something about Haruko was indeed charming even when she didn't realize that herself. Shizuka sits on what Minami had been bringing up for a bit, she offers a half amused grin, "You don't seem as tense as the first time I dropped you off home..." she pointed out.

Minami hums and pats Shizuka's hand softly. "You're not as intimidating as we deemed you to be. You have your moments but you're definitely a nice girl that was given a bad rep."

"'We'?" Shizuka repeated with a curious gaze. "Who is 'we'?" she asks.

"Oop..." Minami presses her lips into a thin line, realizing she had said too much at that point. "Oh well..." she laughs, deciding that it was okay to disclose. She watches Shizuka's expression closely before speaking, "Haruko and I have always been a bit intimidated by you, for different reasons." she answered, gaining Shizuka's full attention. "I find you to be intimidating because of your affiliation with dangerous groups and such. Haruko finds you intimidating because she thinks you're really pretty..."

"Oh...?"

Minami remembered it briefly. When Haruko brought up how she had first seen Shizuka. Haruko had said these words unconsciously, but Minami believed there was some truth behind it. "She said that she saw you driving by in your limo the first day we met," Minami nods, "Told me that she, 'saw an angel' and really wanted to see you again. I guess she just finds you really attractive, huh?"

Minami turns to Shizuka, noticing that the girl was glancing out of the window on her side of the car. "..."

"Shizuka...?"

"It's...nothing..."

"Are you sure...?" Minami asks, her gaze falls onto Shizuka's ears when she notices how red they were. She watches in amusement as the other girl tucks some hair behind her ear and continues to avoid eye contact. "If you say so..." Minami laughs softly, she turned away to look out of the window on her side.

A silence falls upon them again. But not an awkward silence. There was something comforting about this silence that was shared between them.

And it felt nice.

*

When Friday comes, it would be early in the morning when Haruko had decided to meet with Minami at her house this time. They walk together towards the school grounds as per usual, it's just this time they had to go a bit earlier because Minami had to help out with the Drama Club. "You didn't have to get up early with me, Haru. You could've slept in or something, I didn't mind coming alone."

"It's alright. I don't mind going to school early for you Minami." Haruko's eyes crease with the big smile she shared with her. "Besides, it's safer this way. That I escort you to the school."

"Will you be okay?? Your classes don't even start until later... and I won't be able to hang out with you until after my own classes."

"Which would be lunch time. "Haruko nodded simply. "I'll be fine, besides if anything I can hang out in the architecture studio to do some studying, or finish up some things for my presentation coming up. I'll be safe there as well."

"Well... I suppose so... While you're at it though you should check out the breakfast they have at the cafeteria. Eat something while you're free. I'll see you at lunch, okay?? Try not to get into any trouble."

"Yes ma'am." Haruko laughed, she motions for Minami to go ahead and enter the auditorium where the Drama Club has their meetings. "Go. Do your thing, I'll be fine." she reassures once more and watches as Minami takes a few steps forward, glance in her direction hesitantly, then continues on to the doors.

Haruko waited for her to enter the auditorium before she went off on her own to roam the school grounds. Sure, she could be studying like she said she would be doing, but she felt like walking around instead to clear her mind. In preparation for her longer classes.

As she was walking she noticed a stack of books walking by.

'A stack of books...??' Haruko pauses, watching it curiously when it begins to wobble. Haruko runs over quickly when she sees some of the books falling from the top and takes about half of it to lighten the load. "C-Can I help you??" she offered nervously. "Oh! Ms. Kawaguchi."

"Ah, Haruko." Saeko sighs heavily in relief, "Thank God you came over to help." She smiles up at her brightly. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I came to make sure Minami got to her Drama Club thing safely." Haruko explains, "I was just walking around and saw you struggling with these books. I thought I could help."

"That would be appreciated, yes." Saeko nodded, "if you could follow me?"

Haruko nods and prowls behind her as they walk over to one of the classrooms in the Business Majors area. She looks around quietly, noticing some students in the classroom they had entered, studying on their laptops.

"This way." Saeko calls out, leading Haruko to the back of the classroom where they stored their textbooks and such. She shrugs her shoulders slightly, dropping her bag onto the ground first.

"These are... textbooks on Japanese Economy?"

"Ah, yes. I'm majoring in Business and Economics; more specifically Japanese business and the Global economy." Saeko explained, putting her stack of the books down first on the shelves and organizing them.

"That's cool." Haruko simply looked at her direction in awe, it was something similar to what she had majored in the real world; business and economics and such. "So why were you carrying all these books?"

"Ah, my classmates forgot to bring these back here after our class yesterday, in the other classroom."

"Shouldn't they be putting it away then??"

"It's fine, I understand it's difficult sometimes to clean up after a long day. Even I would put it off, but the Professor brought it up via email so I thought I would help everyone out by doing it for them. Since I come early anyways. " Saeko admitted, chuckling.

Haruko frowns a bit, she looks at the classmates sitting around already and shakes her head in disappointment. 'The start of becoming someone's goffer...'

"Haruko?"

"Oh! Yes?"

"I can take those now." Saeko motions to the books in her arms. She adjusts her arms underneath the last book at the end and lifts it away from Haruko. "Thank you for helping." She bows her head politely.

"It's really not a problem."

"I assume your classes don't start yet either, perhaps we can walk around together since we're both fre-- w-woah!!" Saeko gasps when her foot gets caught on the strap of her bag. She almost falls over, the ledge of the bookshelf becoming a threat in Haruko's eyes.

"!!" Haruko lunges forward and grabs onto Saeko with her left arm, she tugs her back into her other arm and away from the shelves. Her hand firmly supported Saeko from her back, allowing her to lean back safely.

Saeko instinctively reaches out to wrap her arms around Haruko's neck for balance. She felt her world slow down for a moment, heart beating loudly in her ears as emotions ran over her face when she realized the position she was in.

"Are you alright...?" Haruko spoke first, asking in a deep, quiet voice. "That was close..." she sighs in relief.

Saeko only hummed in response, resisting the sudden urge to just lean in and kiss her. Light blue darted towards her face before they stared intensely into each other's eyes. "T..Thank you..."

Haruko pulls her back up to her feet, leaving the other woman to stand there rigid and in surprise. "No problem." She nods before kneeling down to pick up the books for her, Haruko organizing the rest on the shelves.

Saeko simply watched, unsure of what to do from the sudden help. "I--"

"Here." Haruko picks up her bag for her, holding it up to Saeko with a charming smile lighting up her face and eyes. Her smile drops when she sees the pink heart popping up from Saeko's head suddenly. '... Just like Reika and Erina...?'

"T-Thank you..." Saeko says once more, taking the bag and hugging it close to her body. A warmness runs through her face.

Haruko stood back up, dusting off her clothes of any wrinkles. "Would you like to hang out with me for now? Maybe get some breakfast?" she suggests curiously. It wasn't like she could just bring up the heart, so she might as well continue on as if she had seen nothing.

“Y-Yes. I'd love to.” Saeko got out in a whispered voice.

Haruko nodded, and she followed Saeko out, noticing that none of her classmates had thanked her for bringing their books over. “Ms. Kawaguchi…” she calls out with a slight pout forming. They had gotten a few steps in and away from the classroom.

“Yes, Haruko?”

“You should–” Haruko pauses. “I don't think you should always be doing things for your classmates.”

“Eh? And why is that?”

“... They don't appreciate you enough.” Haruko stated flatly, she didn't mean for that to come off as rude but she couldn't help it. The situation hit close to home. “If you continue to do things for everyone, they'll just… use you in the end for their own personal gain. People were already in there, like they expected you to take care of the textbooks. None of them even said thank you or came up to check on you when you almost hit your head…”

“I apologize, were you uncomfortable with the whole thing??” Saeko frowned, she was taking Haruko's words to heart and listening. She flinched when Haruko took her hand into her own and held it firmly.

“You, Ms. Kawaguchi - are amazing.” Haruko's pout dropped, her expression becoming more serious. “You're an amazing woman, you care so much about your friends… which is fine, but you shouldn't let other people walk all over you. I respect you too much to allow that.”

Saeko became flustered from her words, “I-I see… I've become so used to doing things for others' benefits, I guess I hadn't realized that there should be a limit to how nice I should be.”

Haruko understood what she meant, she had experience. But in Saeko's case, it wasn't too late to fix things to where she's respected by her peers as well. “You don't have to change, okay? I get it. Just consider your own well being, it's okay to say no sometimes. You don't have to do everything, especially the things your peers are capable of doing on their own…”

Carrying a textbook from one class to the other? That's definitely something they could do on their own. Haruko thought it was stupid that a few of them were already expecting Saeko to take care of it.

“I will take that into consideration.”

“You will execute that.” Haruko continued with a comforting smile. “For now, please allow me to spoil you since you want to take care of other people so badly.”

“E-Eh?”

*

Haruko opted to buying both of their breakfasts and leads the other woman to one of the empty seats in the corner of the student cafeteria. She places Saeko's tray down first, pulling the seat out for her and then taking her own seat across.

“T-Thank you, Haruko…” Saeko mumbled out timidly, taking her seat.

“It's the least I can do.” Haruko hums. “I will appreciate the hell out of you if none of your classmates are going to do it.” She huffs, almost annoyed by the familiarity she felt from the situation at hand.

“Goodness… Reika wasn't kidding when she said that you're good with your words.” Saeko smiles gently, giggling at Haruko's frustrated pout. “You are frustrated, but for some reason it brings something comforting to my chest?”

“Because someone is getting angry with you, in your steed.” Haruko thought about all the times she had been humiliated and abused at work.

All the times she had brushed them off to keep her job, keep her decent standing with her peers, keep the financial flow going… she wished someone else would get angry for her, stand up for her, just show that they cared.

“I suppose that's true, huh?”

“Please. Eat?” Haruko motions to the tray of food. She was satisfied when Saeko began to eat the meal, seemingly elegant throughout.

Haruko ate once she knew Saeko was eating, the two letting the silence linger between them.

Haruko jumps in surprise when she feels slim hands resting on her shoulders. She whipped around wearily only to see that Akemi was standing behind her. “Ms. Minatozaki…!” She sighs in relief.

“Good morning, Haruko.” Akemi offers the faintest of smiles and yet she still radiated beautifully.

“Good morning.” Haruko nods, offering the seat beside her.

Akemi takes the offer and sits, she lets her hand slowly rub down Haruko's arm. Her fingers outlining the muscles of her bicep. “You're here early, Haruko.”

“I came early to make sure Minami got to campus safely. Bumped into Ms. Kawaguchi and now I'm keeping her company.” It was a summarized explanation of what had happened. “Do you usually come early as well?”

“Unfortunately, nursing students do have early classes we need to attend.” Akemi sighs. “So yes, on a brighter note I am also Saeko's breakfast buddy.”

Haruko glances at Saeko curiously, wondering if she also frequents coming early.

And Saeko noticed her gaze, “I come after my morning jogs.” She admitted.

“Oh. You jog every morning?” Haruko asks, continuing her meal.

“Not every morning, but I try to.” Saeko hums. “Taking a brisk morning walk is invigorating.”

“Isn't that dangerous alone??”

“Don't worry, Haruko. My father joins me every now and then.”

“Every now and then is not every time you go out for your walks.” Haruko pouted, just how oblivious was this woman towards the dangers of the outside world.

“Oh. I suppose that's true.” Saeko lifted her eyes from her meal to meet with Haruko's. She merely smiled up at her. “Well, I haven't encountered anything dangerous so I'd say it's fine, no?”

“Jesus…” Haruko grumbled, shaking her head. It wasn't like she could stop her from doing her routine. “Ms. Kawaguchi, may I jog with you?”

“E-Eh?? Why would you want to do that??”

“I've already said it before, if you're not going to take care of yourself, I will do it.” Haruko huffs, biting into her food. There was something about Saeko that she wanted to protect, it was probably the similarities she had to her in the previous life.

But this time, Haruko was going to be the one that steps up and protects her.

“I-If you'd like to… then by all means.”

“Let's exchange numbers so you can tell me your routine. I'll be picking you up from your home before you start.” Haruko hands Saeko her phone, placing it in her hands. She gave the woman no room to decline.

Akemi watches the interaction in awe, she discreetly tugs on Haruko's hand to get her attention.

Haruko glanced at her curiously.

“Thank you for being so direct with her.” Akemi whispered softly. “We've warned her before but she's a bit stubborn…”

“No problem…” Haruko hums, it was one more thing added to her list of worries, but it was a personal matter that drove her to help Saeko. She takes her phone back when the woman is done, “Great. Now keep eating.”

“Y-Yes…”

*

They finished their meal and began to head over to the building the nursing students frequent. Haruko barely listens as the two women have a conversation about something outside of classes.

The campus was still a bit empty considering the time, but there were still a bunch of students walking around for the earlier classes Akemi had mentioned.

Just as they were about to turn into the hallway that leads to Akemi's class, Haruko spots him right away at the end of the hall.

Kou Ishikawa.

She pulls the two women back instinctively to hide. Haruko pins them to the wall before peeking around the corner warily. The rest of the hallway was empty so it was easy to see the group.

"H-Haruko...??"

Kou was there talking to some of the nursing students, she could tell because of the scrubs they were wearing, he was seemingly whispering something to them. His hand resting within the bag at his side.

"Uh.. Haruko..."

Once they had finished talking, Kou pulls something out of his bag and hands it to them.

A singular can of energy drink.

'Just one can...? What are they doing...' Haruko frowns, peering a bit more to watch their exchange. She tenses when she realizes Kou was walking towards their direction once the students head back into the classroom.

"H-H-Haruko..." Called a soft voice.

She looks forward to finally realize the position she had put them in. She had somehow pinned the two women against the wall, leaning in close due to how wide she had placed her hands.

Haruko could feel the warmness begin to travel up her neck to her face, but she knew they didn't have much time until Kou turns the corner and catches them. She takes their hands and hastily drag the women to one of the empty classrooms they had passed along the way.

She shuts the door just in time, quietly too and hides against the wall nearby, so she could peek outside the small window offered on the school's commercial doors.

She watches as Kou walks by, noticing the boy making a call on his phone. 'Probably his sister...' Haruko thought, her hands sliding down the curves of Akemi's--

What.

Haruko whips her head back around to finally take in the new position, she had been leaning against the wall keeping the other two close so none of them would be spotted from the slim window on the door. Their bodies flushed against her own and her hands were resting firmly on Akemi's waist and Saeko's bre--

"W-WOAH...!" Haruko gasps, she releases them right away, her jaw hung open. She was shocked, flustered, and...guilty. She drops to her knees and held her head low, "I-I-I-I'm so sorry-- I-I-I--"

'This stupid perverted game...' Haruko thought, cursing the creators for the fanservice. 'Ugh.. I say that but I was enjoying the fan service as a player...' She was having a meltdown, it was just too much to process -- the situation, the words to say, the thing she saw with Ishikawa... breathing???

"I-It's alright." Akemi got out timidly, she pats at Haruko's back softly. "Enough, please get up?"

Haruko obliged, sure, but she still kept her head down. Her whole face was burning, probably very red in their eyes. She gnaws at her bottom lip anxiously when she noticed the two approaching just by watching their feet.

"Haruko..." Saeko calls out.

Her breath hitches when she feels one of them caress her jaw, forcing her to look up and meet their gaze hesitantly. The two were looking at her with concerned expressions.

"What happened, Haruko? Did you see someone you didn't like??" Akemi asks, "I apologize for bringing you over here when there was a risk of that--"

"N-N-No...!" Haruko shook her head, denying her claims quickly. She was baffled, they were concerned for her? "I just-- y-yea, I did see someone... b-but I didn't dislike the person, I-I just--"

"You just...?"

Haruko was trying to figure an excuse out, anything at that point. 'C'mon Haruko... do you have anything helpful right now??' she questions her subconsciousness before opening her mouth again, "It was a classmate! But, I-I wanted to be alone with you two some more, I didn't want to walk over to my class with them just yet..." she blurted out. 'Yes...! Thank you, Haruko...!'

"O-Oh..."

"Y-Yea... sorry, I just wanted you both to myself..." Haruko caresses the back of her neck sheepishly, she smiled up at them brightly. Her eyes widening a bit when she saw the two pink hearts beating above their heads, slightly bigger than before. 'Noooo.... Haruko... nooo...'

"I-I suppose we can stay together a little longer before my class begins..." Akemi said, fiddling with her fingers timidly.

Haruko could only slightly grin at this, the other part of her was beating herself up mentally that is... until an idea popped up in her head. "That'd be great! I-Is it possible to check out your classroom actually??"

"Eh? H-How come??"

"Curiosity..." Haruko clears her throat awkwardly. It wasn't a lie, she was curious but for other things. "Let's go?" she suggests, opening the door to exit the room.

They head down the hallway again, this time with no interruptions and enter Akemi's classroom. Students were sitting around chatting and preparing for class, they were doing their own thing up until they had walked in. Many of them stopped to look in their direction, some of their expressions brightening when they see Akemi.

"Good morning, everyone." Akemi greeted with a gentle smile, she goes to put her things down at one of the lab tables. The girls around the table greeting her excitedly.

"Brought your friends, Emi?" One of the men asks, looking their way with interest hidden beneath his intentions. Haruko rolls her eyes, glancing closer at the table he was sitting at to see the energy drink they had just picked up from Kou.

'Can I swipe it...?' She ponders, she begins to think of ways to take the can without them noticing it was her that took it. Haruko was startled when Akemi holds onto her arm, clinging to her excitedly.

"Important friends." Akemi admitted to them, "C'mon Haruko, I have to change into my scrubs." she says, holding up a little bag that Haruko assumed was holding her clothes.

"O-Okay...?" Haruko nodded, following her out of the room in confusion. Saeko trailing behind, reaching out to cling to her hand.

When they were near the restroom, Haruko notices a vending machine in the corner of her eye. Before she was pulled into the restroom itself, she stops them. "I-Is it okay if I get a drink?" she asks, motioning to the vending machine.

"Oh! Yea sure, you two can wait out here." Akemi nodded.

"Great! What drink would you like, Ms. Kawaguchi?" Haruko asks, offering to get Saeko something as well.

"W...Whatever you get I suppose." Saeko nods. "I-I don't usually drink anything outside of water or tea."

"I'm going to get an energy drink, are you okay to try that?"

"Yes, I'll try anything for you, Haruko." Saeko simply smiled at her, watching closely as Haruko buys two of the same energy drinks. "I will try this later, when I'm feeling tired. It's an energy drink, correct? So it will fill me with energy?"

"That's the concept of it, yes." Haruko chuckles, to her surprise Akemi came out quickly with her scrubs on this time. "That was fast?"

"I didn't want to keep you two waiting, you wanted to be with us a little longer, I have to make sure you get all the time you want." Akemi admitted, she holds onto Haruko's arm again.

'I can't swap the drinks if these two cling to me...' Haruko thought, holding a smile on her face. They entered the classroom again, Akemi explaining to them how their classes usually ran. 'How do I get everyone to leave the classroom...?'

"Excuse me..." Haruko heard a familiar voice behind them, it was her saving grace. She looks back almost excitedly to see Shizuka standing there. "Our professor wanted me to grab some supplies from the back?" she tells them before noticing Haruko standing there. "Haruko??"

"Shizu." Haruko greeted, she slips out of Akemi and Saeko's grasp to walk up to Shizuka and hug her tightly, pressing her lips against her ear quietly to get the message through quietly.

Shizuka was baffled at first, shivering when she felt her breathe against her ear. She hugs Haruko back, already coming to a conclusion that she had approached her for a reason. Her eyes widen a bit from what Haruko had said.

They separate after Haruko got it all out, Shizuka taking the chance to glance at the lab table with the boys on it. She meets Haruko's eyes with an amused expression before giving her a nod. "Goodness, so productive today, aren't you?" she chuckles.

"I think the supplies are over here, Miyamoto." Akemi calls out, motioning to the door in the back with a few extra nursing supplies stored.

Shizuka approaches to glance inside, "Ah yes, this is what we need." she motions to a few bags that were probably full of other supplies. "Oh! And I believe she said these text books as well." she pouted, "It seems that I'm going to need some help carrying all of these..."

"We can help?" Saeko offered, motioning to herself, Akemi and Haruko.

"I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but I was hoping some of the boys would be able to help?" Shizuka started to put on the charm, motioning to the table that held the targeted drink. "Boys?~ Help me please?~" Haruko pouted just from watching Shizuka flirt with them blatantly in front of her.

"Y-Yea! Of course we'd help!" One of them were quick to get on their feet, rushing over to the storage room. Just as he passed her, Shizuka 'accidentally' trips him over, his foot caught onto her own.

He tumbles forward, almost knocking over everything on one of the shelves. The class winching when there was a crashing sound in there.

"Ugh! Can you at least do it properly! Why are you rushing to show off, idiot??" A woman scolded, she got up to help organize the things Shizuka needed for her class.

"Sorry! Sorry!"

And just like that, they all started to surround the storage room, an argument between cleanliness and such becoming the hot topic.

'Now's my chance...' Haruko thought. She made her way hastily over to the lab table to switch out the drinks. Making sure it looked exact before returning back to Saeko's side discreetly, her disappearance went unnoticed.

"What in the world is going on here??" The teacher asks, coming in with her things. "I could hear all of you from down the hallway..."

"Ah! We were trying to help the underclassmen get some supplies for her class." One of them explained. "But the boys wanted to make a mess." they motioned, one of the boys whining in response. 

"Well, not all of you need to be in there." The teacher scolded, motioning for them to sit down.

"B-But--"

"It's alright, I just remembered that my strong friend over here can help carry things for me." Shizuka said suddenly, motioning to Haruko. "She's careful with moving things around, so I trust she'll keep the storage room clean."

"There we have it, that's settled, everyone into your seats so we can get started." The teacher calls out, waiting patiently for the nursing students to sit down.

"Please excuse us." Shizuka nods, she takes the cans from Haruko and discreetly puts them in her bag to hide that they had the same exact drinks as the boys. "If you would, Haruko?" she motions to some of the supplies. "Oh yes! We only need the bags, not the books."

"Got it." Haruko grumbles, going to lift the supplies Shizuka needed on her own. "We'll see you later, Ms. Minatozaki." she tells Akemi when they passed her by, baffled when the other woman places a kiss on her cheek.

"See you at lunch, Haruko." Akemi smiles, patting her cheek right after.

"O-O-Okay..."

*

Haruko and Saeko follow Shizuka to her own classroom, putting everything down on their lab table. "Thank you for your help, Haruko." Shizuka hums.

"No problem. We'll be heading out now." Haruko motions to herself and Saeko, she turns around to exit the door they came in from.

"Ah, do you have my drink, Haruko?" Saeko asks, noticing that she wasn't holding her energy drink anymore. "Or did I leave it at Akemi's class??" she mumbles. "Perhaps I'll go and check."

"O-Oh! I have it here..." Shizuka tells her, pulling the heavier can out to give it to Saeko. "I was holding them for Haruko, since her hands were full."

"Thank you." Saeko hums.

"S...See you at lunch, Shizu." Haruko clears her throat, she leaves the can with Shizuka. They wouldn't expect it on her considering she was by the storage room.

Saeko and Haruko leave the nursing premises. "When do your classes start, Haruko?" the older woman asks curiously.

"Not for a while, how about you?"

"I have about an hour until my first class." Saeko chuckles.

"You can come join me in the architecture studio then." Haruko offered, "I'm going to keep you away from your classmates, if that's alright?" she smiled slightly. She felt a bit accomplished from what they had just done.

"I s-suppose..." Saeko became timid again, Haruko taking her hand gently to guide her all the way to the studio.

Unknowingly walking with a bit of pep in her step.

*

After school the main group met around the roof again, hanging around an isolated area. Minami was the last one to appear, rushing past the doors and greeting them with an apologetic grin. "Sorry I'm so late, the Professor wanted to talk about the test coming up next week." she said, catching her breath.

"We're all here now, so what exciting information do you have for us?" Yukiko questions flatly, glancing at Shizuka whom had seemed prideful.

"Well... Haruko has done some snooping around this morning and found out that the Ishikawa are distributing the 'lunar dust' around that time." Shizuka hums, she brings the can out and places it down in front of everyone on one of the benches. "In these."

"Energy drinks?" Takashi said, looking at the can in disbelief. "How??"

"That's what we're going to have to figure out, no?" Shizuka stares closely at the can to try and see anything out of place. "I don't drink these, so I haven't a clue what to search for..." she huffs.

"I don't either." Yukiko shook her head.

"Don't you drink this, Takashi?" Minami asks, walking around the can. She was hesitant to pick it up, considering what could be inside it.

"I do, I drink it a lot actually." Takashi chuckles, he looks at it closely. "This just looks like a regular drink though." he admitted. "I'm having a hard time finding any difference..."

"I know I switched it with the can Kou gave them..." Haruko frowned, she pondered a bit staring at the drink. "Unless..." she gasps, glancing at Shizuka. "Does Ms. Kawaguchi have it???"

"There's no way... I made sure that I--" Shizuka pauses. "I gave her the heavier can, do you think...??" she trailed off.

"Saeko might have it..." Minami gasps.

"Fuck..."

"Does anyone know where she is right now??" Minami looks around at the group, glancing more towards the Hasegawa twins considering Saeko was friends with their sisters.

"I've no clue, I don't keep track of their friends." Yukiko admitted worriedly.

"I know Akemi's schedule but not really Saeko." Takashi tells them, gaining a weird look from his sister and Shizuka. "W-What?? I can't know the schedule of my old crush...??"

"Gross..." Shizuka rolled her eyes, she notices Haruko typing on her phone, "Haruko? Do you know where she is??"

"She's with Erina, Reika and the other two." Haruko answers, reading through the message. "With some guys named Daisuke and Mitsue??"

"Daisuke...!?" Minami's jaw drops in shock.

"You know him, Minami??"

"Haru... that's Daisuke... the Daisuke I've had a crush on for the longest time...!" Minami whines, "Why are they with him...??"

"They're going to the Anime and Manga Society for some reason..."Haruko continues, reading her messages. "The meeting I'm assuming, but why are they going there as well...??"

"The only reason I could believe they're going there is because they're also invited to go clubbing... If Chisako is going clubbing, she most likely asked Akira to participate." Shizuka frowns.

"We have to go meet them there..." Yukiko claims, "Do you know if Saeko opened the can yet??"

Haruko shook her head, "I didn't know how to bring that up to her, so I've no clue.... we're just going to have to go there and assume she didn't because she doesn't frequent energy drinks.."

"Well, what are we waiting for??" Takashi motions for everyone to move quickly, Haruko puts the can in her bag and follows the group down the stairs.

They head over to where the Anime and Manga Society hold their meetings to see the older girls standing around outside with two guys beside them. Around them, more people standing around... probably waiting for the clubroom to open up for the meeting that was coming up.

"What are you two doing here?" Reika questions, glancing at her siblings weirdly. "I thought you were avoiding this club." she huffs in Takashi's direction.

"They're weirdos, I am avoiding this club." Takashi rolled his eyes. "I'm just here because Haruko wanted to check it out..." he said as an excuse, gaining a quick look over from Haruko.

"Uhh, y-yea... I like all things anime." Haruko admitted to all of them awkwardly.

"The question should be why the heck are you all here...??" Yukiko pouted, looking over at the older girls in confusion. "You all don't fit the usual discography of this club either..." she pointed out.

"Obviously because we want to be here." Reika sneered, she then scoffs and crosses her arms. "Yea right, we're going drinking after this meeting, we're just waiting for these two."

'Drinking... not clubbing...?' Haruko thought she let the siblings focus on talking to one another, making her way to Saeko's side. "Ms. Kawaguchi..."

"Yes, Haruko?" Saeko hums, turning to face her curiously. The two interrupted when one of the boys got between them, staring at Haruko curiously.

"Woah... uhh-- y-yes??" Haruko backs up right away, confused when he walks around her, observing. "???"

"You're the one that likes women, right??" The boy asks blatantly, the other boy smacking his shoulder.

"I uhh-- Yea??" Haruko answered awkwardly, she looked at Minami, wondering if this was Daisuke because if so... she needs to rethink the type of guy to crush on.

"Mitsue, leave her alone." Takashi shook his head.

'Oh... So that means he's Daisuke...' Haruko glances at the guy she assumed to be Daisuke from the side. 'Okay... now I can see why Minami would crush on him...' she was satisfied with that outcome.

"I mean, there's nothing wrong with that." The shorter boy, Mitsue, said with a bland expression. "It's pretty cool that you're open with that shit. You hang with us, kid and I'll introduce you to some girls that are into the same thing." he offered, trying to put an arm around Haruko's shoulders. Unable to because of the height difference.

"Um... no." Yukiko deadpanned, getting between them. "Haruko can easily attract women without help, thank you very much, now go away..." she motions for him to move back.

Haruko was thankful Yukiko was distracting them, so she tried to get to Saeko again. Going around everyone to get to her, she tugs on Saeko's fingers gently. "Ms. Kawaguchi..." she calls out quietly.

"Ah, Haruko?" Saeko says again, giggling because this was her second attempt.

"Sorry, do you have that energy drink from earlier?" Haruko asks almost desperately for her to say yes.

"Oh! I do." Saeko hums. "I haven't tried it yet." she admitted to her, digging through her bag for the drink.

"I was wondering if I could have it?" Haruko rubs the back of her neck awkwardly, this was weird. Asking for a gift back, she felt bad for doing it but it couldn't be helped. They didn't know which can was the decoy.

"Did you drink yours?"

"I did, chugged it." Haruko laughed, "I was so tired after my studio class... I'm tired even now..." she was making up excuses, pulling them out of her ass and hoping they were believable.

"I see. It's a good thing I didn't open this one yet." Saeko chuckles, she was just about to give Haruko the can. Haruko stops her when she feels a chill run down her spine, she makes the other woman put the can back into her bag quickly. "Hmm??"

"Y-You know what, can you give this to me after the meeting??" Haruko suggests, "Maybe after the whole drinking thing?? If I'm allowed to come, that is...?"

"You drink, Haruko?" Reika looks to her in awe, Haruko facing in her direction to see that Ishikawa was there with some guys. "You seemed like the type to not drink."

"Ahh..." She wasn't the type to drink. "Yup, I drink occasionally." She did not, she's only ever tried it once when she turned 21. And even then, she was drinking alone.

"Then feel free to join us~" Reika hums, clinging to her excitedly.

"That means we're coming as well." Yukiko announced to her sisters, motioning to their friend group.

"Don't tell us, you'd better let mother dearest know her little babies aren't going to be home just yet." Reika says, uninterested that the two were trying to follow them. “But don't tell her you're with us, I'm not trying to be your babysitter again…”

Takashi and Yukiko glance at one another with knowing looks. They were going to tell their mother that they're going to be with them. Unaware that Ishikawa might not be going out with this group after all.

“Ahh, hello everyone. I'm surprised to see all of you here.” Noriko greeted them with a slight smile.

“Haruko wanted to check this club out.” Minami said immediately, going to hold onto Haruko's arm.

“We're waiting for them to finish so we can go out afterwards.” Akira motions to Daisuke and Mitsue.

“I see… that makes a lot of sense, considering you girls aren't the type to be around here.” Noriko chuckles. “We walked over to leave Kou here for his meeting. My friends and I will be going to robotics now.” She tells them, more specifically talking to Kou when she speaks. “You know where to meet us.”

‘Wait… Noriko isn't staying here with him…??’ Haruko watched closely as the woman began to lead the group of boys away. Turning the corner to head somewhere else.

“I'm so excited for you to join, Haruko!” Kou exclaimed, approaching her. She still felt hesitant around him after the whole kissing thing, Haruko backing up instinctively. She played it off as her checking if the classroom was open yet.

“Uhh…Well, I'm not sure yet. We'll see how this goes in the end.”

“Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. We usually just–”

SLAM

The sound of the door slamming open scared practically everyone there. All eyes turned towards the source to see Kadori standing there in cosplay with another woman that wore a cat beanie beside her, but she was also in an outfit.

“Welcome weirdos, let's get this meeting started.” Kadori grinned, motioning for everyone to come in. “Everyone get in here.”

‘... What did we just get ourselves into…’