Leading Hikaru by the hand, Fumiko and her group of friends took her back into the empty school. Most of the other students had already left by now or were leaving the school. 

"F-Fumiko..." Hikaru called out to Fumiko in her soft voice, "Where are we going...?"

Fumiko didn't answer. All Hikaru could see was the back of Fumiko's head as Hikaru followed her to the back of the school campus. 

Suddenly, Hikaru was feeling very scared. She had never experienced something like this back at her hometown of Takayama, so she had no idea what Fumiko was going to do, while a normal person would had figured it out by now.

Arriving in a secluded area tucked away at the back of the school buildings and far away from the main campus, Fumiko released her hold of Hikaru’s hand.

“Are we here…?” Hikaru asked.

Turning around, Fumiko no longer had that childish playful smile she wore during school, instead replaced by a dark stern face that Hikaru didn't recognise. 

"Hikaru," Fumiko said, her usually carefree iris eyes were sharp and as cold as ice, "...You're really an idiot, you know that?" 

"W-what...?" Hikaru said.

The group of students were now circled around the two of them, preventing Hikaru from running off if she tried. 

"Did you honestly think that we're 'friends'?" Fumiko sighed, raising a hand to her head, "Are you seriously that dense?"

Hikaru felt her heart dropping.

“Who do you think has been leaving all those messages on your table, idiot.” Kenzou chimed in from the group surrounding Hikaru. “Take a hint already and just leave the school, sheesh."

“…”

Now, Hikaru could see what was going on. City life was sure different to the countryside. She had only been at the school for around a week and already she was getting bullied out. 

"Look Hikaru," Fumiko said idly, lifting a hand to inspect her own manicured nails, "Frankly speaking, I don't really care about you. But, fact of the matter is that Aya doesn't like you. So, you gotta go."

Hikaru already had a vague feeling that Aya didn't like her since Aya always avoided meeting her eyes and ignored Hikaru whenever she tried to say hi. 

“I can’t just leave the school…” Hikaru said. “My parents will be upset—”

“--Do you think I care?!" Fumiko glared at Hikaru, irritated by her naivety. "Jesus, not only are you bothering Aya and making her act weird, you're also dragging our whole class down by flunking the exams. You think we don't know that?"

Hikaru flinched, seeing Fumiko snap at her. “I-I’m sorry…” She bowed her head, feeling very scared.

“Anyways, the main point is that you’re bothering Aya!” Eito stepped forward from the group, “Fumiko told me all about it. I don't know what you did exactly, but for Aya to hate someone, you must be one awful person!”

“B... b-but I didn’t do anything—”

"Grab her."

Without warning, two male students from the group suddenly grabbed onto Hikaru's arms from behind, restraining her in place. Petite and short like a child, Hikaru tried desperately to get out of their grasps to no avail. 

“I-I'm sorry, Fumiko!” Hikaru cried, “Please, let me go!”

"Kind of feels like we're picking on a little kid." One of the boys snickered.

The group surrounding them laughed, seeing Hikaru crying, tears falling from her face.

“She’s crying…”

“What a baby…”

"We haven't even done anything yet..."

Smirks of contempt and arrogance surrounded Hikaru, not a single person stepping in to help her. The only person starting to have second thoughts was Eito.

"Hey Fumiko..." Eito called out hesitantly, standing behind Fumiko.

"Do the honours." Fumiko said. 

"Huh?" Eito said.

"What?" Fumiko turned to face Eito, "Weren't you the one that said you were going to beat up the girl that annoyed Aya?"

"Y-yeah, I did... but..." Eito glanced over at Hikaru. I was down for anything when I heard that Aya was having problems, but now that I'm here... there's no way I can hit a crying girl... 

“Isn’t this enough already?” Eito turned his eyes back to Fumiko, “You’ve already made her cry…”

An awkward atmosphere began to spread around the group.

Eito was a rather respected student at Hibiya High, being the captain of the soccer club and also from a prestigious family. However, Fumiko's pedigree was several notches above Eito's, especially with Aya as her best friend. 

Fumiko raised an eyebrow, "Come on, Eito, you begged me to let you tag along. You even said you were willing to do anything for Aya.”

“Yeah, but…”

"Stop being such a wuss." Kenzou's voice came from the group, then he sighed. Kenzou never agreed with bringing Eito along in the first place. "If you're not going to do it..."

Kenzou stepped over to Hikaru, cracking his fist.

"H-hey...!" Eito raised a hand.

But Kenzou ignored him, throwing a punch into Hikaru's stomach that made her lose all her breath.

The group exploded with claps and laughter while Hikaru coughed harshly, losing all energy in her legs. If she wasn't being held up, she would had already collapsed into the dirt. 

“I-it hurts...!” Hikaru sniffed, “Please, just let me go, I’m sorry...!”

"I'm sowee!" Kenzou imitated Hikaru, invigorated by the cheering audience. "Do you really think we will let you go if you say sorry?"

"Hit her again!" Someone in the group yelled.

Then the rest of the group joined along, jeering.

“Hit her!”

“Punch her in the face!”

“Do it, Kenzou!”

Just as Kenzou was about to throw another punch into Hikaru’s stomach...

“What the hell do you guys think you're doing--?!"

A familiar voice cut through the cold air like strings at an orchestra.

Everyone froze, instantly recognising the distinct sounding voice. Slowly, their gazes turned to the lone figure standing to the side. 

Lustrous black hair flowing in the quiet wind, distinct sable eyes that stole away their breaths, and a face as beautiful and aesthetic as a magnum opus. 

Aya Kuramoto stood before the group, staring at them in disbelief.  

~x~

“A-Aya…”

Eito was the first to speak up despite being overwhelmed by the sight of her. No matter how many times he saw Aya, he was always stunned by how beautiful she was. 

Immediately, the two boys holding Hikaru released their hold of her with frightened look on their faces and Hikaru hunched over, holding onto her stomach with shaky legs. 

"Aya...!" Fumiko quickly stepped over to Aya, smiling nervously, "What are you doing here? I thought you went home with Sana already...!"

"I had a feeling that you were going to do something horrible..." Aya said, unable to contain the anger in her voice as she glared into Fumiko's eyes, "And, I was right."

“W-we didn’t do anything…”

"T-that's right...!"

The group of students murmured, all of them scrambling for an excuse to tell Aya. Kenzou was just trying his best to blend in between the crowd to avoid Aya's wrath. 

"U, um..." Fumiko stammered, then scuttled over to Hikaru, "Oh, you poor thing! Luckily I came here to stop them...!"

"..."

Students shifted uncomfortably as the realisation that they were being thrown under the bus by Fumiko dawned on them, but no one would dare speak up. 

Stomping over, Aya swiped Fumiko's hands away from Hikaru's shoulders and tugged her away from Fumiko. 

“Ah!” Fumiko said as her hands lost grasp of Hikaru.

"Aya, I--"

Aya slapped Fumiko on the cheek, interrupting whatever she was about to say. 

A resounding silence followed, as Fumiko slowly raised a hand to her pink cheek, too afraid to even look Aya in the eye.

"Don't ever talk to me again." Aya said quietly. 

"..."

Fumiko's face paled, turning as white as chalk.

Then, Aya turned to the rest of the students. 

“You guys… you’re all awful…”

With that, Aya started walking off, holding onto Hikaru by the shoulders who was still in a disoriented mess of tears. 

“A-Aya...!" Eito stepped forward, trying to pronounce his innocence, “I didn't have anything to do with this! I tried to stop them! They told me that you had a problem with—”

“Get out of my way!” Aya snapped, and Eito quickly did as he was told without another word.

Aya and Hikaru left the group of students, heading for the school gates towards the exit. 

“Hikaru...” Aya stared at her worriedly, her heart was aching in a way she never felt before. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry…”

Hikaru was still sobbing uncontrollably, barely recognising who her saviour was. She held onto her stomach, limping weakly whilst leaning onto Aya for support. 

“I… I d-didn’t do a-a-anything…” Hikaru sobbed, more tears falling from her eyes. “W-why did t-they do that to m-m-mee…!”

Her words were barely comprehensible due to her tears and hiccups. 

Wincing, Aya glanced forward, continuing to lead Hikaru towards the school gates.

This is all my fault! If only I had stopped Fumiko earlier! Why did I just turn a blind eye to everything?! Aya felt torn apart by her guilt. 

Aya couldn't help but to clench her teeth together, a habit of hers on the rare occasions she was stressed or flustered since no one could really tell from the outside unless they had the power to look into people's mouths.

At the empty school drive-in near the school gates, a black limousine was parked there with the infamous Kuramoto number plate, waiting for Aya. As Aya and Hikaru approached, the limousine moved forward and stopped in front of them. Then, the passenger side door near them popped open automatically. 

Allowing Hikaru to get into the limousine first, Aya followed after, helping Hikaru get to seated whilst trying to calm her down. The door to the limousine closed by itself without Aya having to do anything.  

“It’s okay, Hikaru…” Aya soothed, holding onto Hikaru.

“Where to, ojou-sama?” The chauffeur, a middle-aged man in uniform with thinning grey hair, glanced at Aya through the rear-view mirror. 

“Where do you live?” Aya asked Hikaru gently.

“F-fifteen-twelve C-Chuo-ku…”

Hearing that, the chauffeur nodded, then the black tinted windows separating the driver’s seat from the passengers' seats rose up, giving Aya and Hikaru privacy in the passengers' seats.

“Are you okay…?” Aya asked.

Hikaru was sniffling now, crying less, but she still appeared to be in pain, clutching onto her stomach.

“T-thank you… Aya…”

Hikaru hiccupped, then held her breath to stop it.

“It’s okay, you're safe now…” Aya smiled weakly, still holding onto Hikaru's waist. She feels so fragile, so soft… I don’t want to let go…

“I-I thought you didn't like me…” Hikaru whispered.

“Don’t be silly,” Aya forced a small laugh, “Why would you think that?”

“You always look away when I smile at you…”

“I-I didn’t see it.”

“And you always ignore me when I try to talk to you…”

“I probably just didn’t hear you…”

“I’m so glad…” Hikaru peered up, past her dark lashes, at Aya with teary hazel eyes that were as round as a doll, causing Aya's heart to stop, “I really thought you hated me…”

“O-of course not!” Aya managed to stutter.

“B-back at the school, they were all saying..." Hikaru sniffed, gazing downwards, "...that they picked on me because you didn't like me..." 

C, crap... Aya thought. I did say that, but I didn't mean it that way when I said it...! And it was in a private conversation...!

"I don't dislike you, Hikaru." Aya stated firmly. "And, I definitely didn't tell anyone to pick on you. That, I swear."

Hikaru nodded coyly, the pain in her stomach was fading, but the trauma of what happened lingered inside her mind. "I'm sorry if I ever annoyed you, Aya..." Hikaru said, "I didn't mean to..."

"Please don't apologise," Aya shook her head, "You've done nothing wrong at all."

"I just... I don't want you to get in trouble for helping me out, Aya..." Hikaru said, thinking about the group of students back at the school, "There's no one at school that likes me..."

Clearly Hikaru didn't understand how much sway Aya held over the entire school. 

“Listen,” Aya said in a serious tone, “I am going to make sure that no one ever bullies you again, Hikaru."

Hearing Aya's words, Hikaru almost felt like bursting out in tears again. All this time she had been alone at school, enduring the constant harassment and bullying, and now finally, there was someone that said they would help her. 

“I... I’m really happy…” Hikaru said. “You’re so nice to me, Aya…”

Ack! She’s so cute!! Aya blushed, resisting the urge to pull Hikaru into a deep embrace. Aya was already holding onto her waist, hoping that Hikaru wouldn’t notice. A tight hug was sort of pushing the line.

"Don't worry about what anyone says at school," Aya said, "As long as I say it, no one is ever going to even lay a single finger on you again."

“R-really…?” Hikaru felt so relieved. “T-thank you, Aya… thank you so much…”

Aya smiled, seeing the look on Hikaru’s face. “It’s okay…”

Hikaru shifted on her seat, moving away from Aya, “I-I’m sorry," Hikaru laughed feebly, "I didn't realise I was leaning on you..."

A wave of disappointment crashed into Aya, “Ah, it’s fine…”

Glancing down, Hikaru noticed that Aya's hand was still at her waist. Why is she still holding me…? But it feels awkward to say something about it… Oh well…

On the other hand, Aya was staring intensely at Hikaru's pouting strawberry lips. They look so soft… I wonder what they feel like…

“Hey Aya..." Hikaru said, glancing up at Aya and Aya almost fell out of her seat.

“Y-yes...?!”

Hikaru shifted in her seat, hesitating, “There's something I would like to ask you…”

“Anything!" Aya forced a smile, "What would you like?”

Hastily removing her hands from Hikaru, Aya turned to her side where a lavish minibar was located. S-she didn't notice that I was holding onto her for so long, did she...? Aya’s heart was beating so fast that she could hardly think as she reached into the minibar, fumbling around. 

“Um, would you like something to drink?” Aya asked, “You must be thirsty after all that crying, haha..."

"No, it's not that." Hikaru shook her head.

“Are you sure? You don't have to be shy.” Aya said, then pulled out bottles of drinks one-by-one, “Mineral water? Margarita? Champagne?”

“Honestly, I'm okay..." Hikaru forced a smile. What even are those drinks? I've never heard of any of them...

Aya was holding onto a massive golden bottle of champagne that appeared to cost a fortune. 

“Oh, that's not it? Maybe you're hungry then?” Aya asked, glancing back at her minibar with a frown, “Sorry, I don't really have much here since the minibar's kind of small, do you like caviar or something?”

“'Caviar'?”

Hikaru had no idea what Aya was saying. She might as well be talking in a foreign languge.

"I, I just want to ask you something..." Hikaru said, gazing downwards anxiously. 

Seeing the seriousness on Hikaru's face, Aya stopped, “What is it…?”

Hikaru hesitated for a few seconds before her hazel eyes flickered up to Aya's.

“Will you… be my friend…?”

Frozen, Aya stared blankly at Hikaru. Her mind slowly processed those words. Friends... with... Hikaru...?

Without warning, Aya reached out and grabbed onto Hikaru's hands, clasping them together. 

“Eh?!” Hikaru uttered, then blushed madly at the sudden close contact. Physical intimacy between friends wasn't a thing back at the countryside.  

“Of course!” Aya beamed, “We can be friends! Best friends!”

“R-really?” Hikaru blinked, caught in complete surprise, “We can be… best friends…?”

It was only then that Aya glanced down and realised that she was clutching onto Hikaru's hands. W, what the heck am I doinggggg...?!

Releasing her hold of Hikaru's hands, Aya coughed, trying to hide her blushing cheeks. Focus, Aya... Stop acting so abnormal...!

Taking a deep breath, Aya regained control of herself and the facade of elegance fell back on her pretty face. 

“Hikaru," Aya smiled gently at Hikaru, "The best thing for you to do from now on is to stay close to me at school. That way I can protect you from all the bullies."

Yes… Aya thought to herself. That sounds more like Aya Kuramoto. A calm rational explanation. I need to control my emotions.

“Haha, is that it...?"

Hikaru laughed shyly, feeling embarrassed at herself for actually believing that Aya was suggesting that they would become 'best friends'. Aya just wants me to stay close to her at school so that the other students stop picking on me. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm still really happy if I can become Aya's friend...!

“Anyways," Aya said, wanting to shift the topic away from her weird behaviour just then, "You might not feel like it, but you really need a drink, Hikaru! Hydration is important to staying beautiful. Hm, how about some champagne?"

Aya raised the exorbitant-looking champagne in her hands, presenting it to Hikaru. Maybe some champagne will help Hikaru loosen up. And then, we might even get closer...! 

Hikaru squinted at the champagne sitting in Aya's hands, “Um... is that alcohol?”

“Yep!”

“…aren’t we too young to drink alcohol…?”

An awkward silence passed over them. They were both 1st years in senior high and were both 16-years-old. However, the legal drinking age in Japan was 20-years-old. A rule that Aya thought no one abided to... until now.

"A-absolutely right...!" Aya replied, instantly returning the champagne to the minibar. "You passed the test, Hikaru!"

“Test?”

“Yep,” Aya turned back and smiled, “I wanted to see if you would actually break the law.”

Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief to herself for passing the test. Wah, lucky I passed. I can't imagine what Aya would do if I had accepted the drink!

It was at that time the limousine came to a stop, arriving at their destination. 

“Seems like we're at your place already." Aya said, disappointed. 

Hikaru was disappointed too, but unlike Aya, she did not hide her disappointment. "Ah, it was so fun chatting with you, Aya." Hikaru said.

"The same for me." Aya smiled, opening the door for Hikaru to get out.

Hikaru stepped out of the spacious limousine, then turned to glance inside at Aya.

"Aya, thank you so much..." Hikaru nodded her head timidly, "...for everything."

"Think nothing of it," Aya smiled, waving at Hikaru from where she sat, "I'll see you at school tomorrow, Hikaru!"

"Bye, Aya!"

The door closed, then Aya watched through the tinted windows as Hikaru walked to her apartment, entering the building and disappearing from sight.  

As soon as Hikaru disappeared, Aya started rolling around frantically inside the limousine seats, feeling as though she had been holding her breath the entire time.

"Waaah! She's so cute!" Aya screamed in a soft whisper to herself, her cheeks as red as a tomato. "How is it possible for a girl to be that cute?! Aaaaahhhh!"

The chauffeur had rolled down the blinds between the driver's seat and the passengers' seat for a second, then rolled them back up upon seeing Aya rolling around in her chair, flustered and talking to herself. Better pretend I didn't see anything. The chauffeur thought as he began driving the limousine back to the Kuramoto mansion.