They won't accept me.

A surprised Miu reacted, "Woah, Nise!"

Nise asked, "What's wrong?"

Miu replied, "Your nails."

Nise responded, "Oh, I colored them."

A shocked Itsuki asked, "Wait, you know how to color them?"

Nise just nodded at him.

I asked, "May I take a look at it?"

Nise agreed, "Sure." He showed it to me and his nails are colored black. It doesn't really fit a boy to have colored nails but it looks cool and aesthetic.

I asked, "Does our school even allow this stuff?"

Yuuki, who was next to Miu, explained, "Manicure is allowed in our school. Colored nails are fine but nails that are too long might be too much. It might cut someone by accident."

Nise commented, "My nails ain't that long so I'm all good."

Then someone from outside the classroom shouted, "Is Suzuki-Kun here?"

I called Nise, "Nise, someone is finding you outside."

Nise replied, "Oh, they're from the soccer club. I'll be back guys."

Nise went outside to meet with the members of the soccer club.

Itsuki talked, "Oh yeah, they are having a lot of practice lately."

Yuuki followed, "They were practicing a lot during the break."

Sakura added, "Must be hot there at that time."

Miu complained, "It's also hot today."

Then we heard a loud laugh from the outside.

A curious Yuuki spoke, "I'll check what's the ruckus outside the classroom."

I replied, "I'll go with you."

We both checked what was the ruckus and it wasn't expected.

One of the soccer club members giggled, "Why did you color your nails? That's weird!"

Another one followed, "What's next, you're going to design something on it? Maybe polka dots...or maybe some weird stripes."

One more followed and made fun of it, "Remove that stuff, that doesn't suit you. Not just that you're already a bad defender but also have bad taste? Hahahahaha."

Then the first guy who made fun of Nise said, "Make sure to show yourself at practice tomorrow without those weird stuff on your nails. Gross. Let's go back, guys."

They left laughingly and mocked Nise while Nise is just standing there. Yuuki and I immediately approached him. Yuuki asked, "Are you okay, Nise?" Nise just nodded at her. I told, "Don't worry about them Nise." Nise only nodded at me and replied, "Please don't tell anyone about this," and he left us.

I muttered, "Those bastards."

Yuuki reacted, "I'm worried about him, Shin."

I replied, "Me too."

—

It's the day after the Nise incident in the hallway.

Itsuki asked, "Where's Nise at?"

Miu followed, "He's gonna be late at this point. Homeroom is about to start."

Yuuki and I didn't answer while Sakura is just sleeping on the desk.

Nise appeared, "Good Morning, guys."

Miu greeted, "Good Morning, Ni...se?" as she noticed a bandage on Nise's hand.

Yuuki reacted, "Your hand, Nise."

Sakura woke up, "What's the matter, everyone?"

I followed, "What happened to your hand, Nise?"

Itsuki realized, "The nails...it's not colored anymore."

Nise replied, "I accidentally burnt my hand last night, that's why there's a bandage on it."

I asked, "What happened to the nails?"

Nise explained, "It wasn't a fit, so that's why I removed it."

Then, our homeroom teacher entered the classroom and said, "Everyone, go back to your seats. Homeroom is about to start."

Everyone in the class went back to their seats. I'm here wondering what happened to Nise.

Yuuki passed a note to me. I opened it, "Let's talk later at lunch about Nise. Don't tell anyone about it. Give the note back if you're going." 

I'm worried about Nise and he doesn't want it to be a big issue. So I decided to help. I gave back the note to Yuuki after reading it.

It's already lunch and before leaving the classroom, Miu noticed us leaving together.

"Hey! You two, aren't you eating with us?"

Yuuki lied, "Shin will be helping me with student council stuff, so you guys go eat."

Itsuki replied, "Okay, take care guys."

Yuuki responded, "We will," and we left the classroom. I asked Yuuki, "Where are we going, Yuuki?" Yuuki smiled, "You'll see." We went upstairs and turned right in the corner. Then she stopped. I looked at the sign and it says "Science Room". She opened the room and said, "Let's talk and eat lunch here." I asked, "Is this even allowed?" She answered, "Yes but no one comes in here during breaks. Most students think that this room is off-limits during breaks."

We entered the club room and start talking while eating lunch.

"What are we going to do, Yuuki?"

"First, let's examine what just happened. Nise has a bandage on his hands and the color on his nails is gone."

"You think he removed it because of his teammates making fun of him?"

"That could be but..."

"But?"

"It doesn't explain the bandage though."

"But he said he burnt his hand last night."

"No, he's lying."

"What do you mean, Yuuki?"

"I'm not really sure but he lied to the others as well. He doesn't want us to worry about him."

"Yeah, he lied about the nails. He was getting bullied by his teammates in the soccer club."

"So, I assume he is also lying about getting his hand burnt last night. What do you think, Shin?"

"I'm with you on this one but the problem is, what do we do now, Yuuki?"

"We could approach him after class and make him open up about his situation."

"We can do that but the thing is we can't just force it out of his system."

"You're right, however, is there anything that we can do besides that?"

I didn't answer her because I couldn't think of another way to help Nise with his situation.

"I think there's no way other than this, Shin. Will you help me? For Nise."

She offered her hand out and I agreed and shook it back, "Let's do it."

Yuuki and I agreed to help Nise without the others knowing it for Nise's sake.

"Lunch time is nearly over, let's go back to the classroom, Shin."

I just nodded at her and we went back to the classroom like everything is normal and classes shortly continued.

—

The bell finally rang. Classes today are done and Nise instantly left the classroom and went to practice with the soccer club.

Miu asked, "Aren't you guys going home yet?"

Yuuki replied, "Shin and I have to stay. We have some urgent matters to do."

Sakura teased, "Don't tell me you guys are already dating."

Yuuki blushed, "Tha—That's not it Sakura, right Shin?"

I backed her up, "Yeah, it's nothing like that."

Itsuki explained, "Sakura is just joking, don't worry about it."

Miu, alongside Sakura and Itsuki, waves her hand, "I'll be leaving now, take care, you two."

Yuuki replied, "Take care, you guys."

They left the classroom and Yuuki asked, "Let's go somewhere while we wait for Nise." I asked, "Where?" She suggested, "How about the library?" I declined, "How about the convenience store near the school?" She agreed, "Let's go there, I want a snack too."

We went to the convenience store while we wait for Nise at his practice. I went and bought ice cream for myself while Yuuki is next to me, eating an onigiri. 

She asked, "Want a bite of this?" I replied, "I'm good." She joked, "It's a once-in-a-lifetime offer, Shin?" I gulped, "Fine, I'll do it." I take a bite out of her onigiri, "It's tasty." She replied, "I know right?"

I asked her, "You want a taste of my ice cream?" Instead of answering me, she just took a bite out of my ice cream. I reacted, "Hey!" She replied, "Thanks, Shin." Instead of getting annoyed by it, I just let it off the hook and replied, "Your welcome." She just smiled back at me.

We just chatted in the convenience store until Yuuki spoke, "We should go back now." I just nodded at her and we both went back to school but on the way back, we saw Nise. He looks beat up and there's a band-aid on his face. He looks terrible right now.

Yuuki was shocked, "Nise, what happe—" but as she was about to ask, Nise tried to run past us, but I somewhat caught his shoulder before he escapes us.

I said, "I know it must be tough for you Nise, but we're here to help you."

Yuuki followed, "We know it's not our business but we can't stand to see what's happening to you right now."

I added, "Please. Let us help you."

Nise replied, "Fine. I'll talk to you guys but let's go somewhere private."

I suggested, "How about your house?"

He replied, "That's no good either."

I was about to ask something but Yuuki prevented it from happening and shook her head. Then, Yuuki suggested, "How about my place?" Nise agreed to it and the three of us went there.

What's wrong, Nise?