'My name is Aya Kuramoto... the most beautiful girl in the school.'

Aya stepped out of her black limousine, holding her hair to stop the wind as she always did, her other hand holding her school bag. Her school uniform was perfectly worn, with not a single sign of imperfection.

'The Kuramoto family owns the Kuramoto Bank, the biggest bank in Japan. We are one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the nation, with a global influence. And I am the sole heiress of this fortune.'

Onlookers gazed dreamily at Aya. Some were students, and some were just people passing by the school gates. Even guys with girlfriends stopped to look at Aya, their faces red and their girlfriends calling at them with annoyance.

'I am the top ranked student across my year in all of Japan and have placed number one in all of my exams. My beauty, brains and pedigree is something that could capture the heart of any guy in the world...'

Aya gazed at the distance of the crowd, and saw someone approaching her.

'And yet...'

Plain black hair and round doll-like eyes. A face with the smile of a naive child.

Hikaru stopped in front of Aya, tilting her head as she smiled in an adorable fashion.

"Good morning Aya!"

"G-good morning, Hikaru..." Aya stammered back, averting her gaze inadvertently.

Doki Doki.

Aya was suddenly acutely aware of how loud her heart was beating inside her chest and took a deep breath to calm herself down, noting all the watchful eyes of students around the school gates. 

'Calm down Aya and act normal for the love of god,' Aya told herself in her mind, 'Please don't do anything crazy like yesterday at the limousine...' 

"Y-you look very cute today... Hikaru..." Aya coughed, glancing to her side.

'Whaaaat the heeeeeck am I saying—?!'

"You look as beautiful as always, Aya!" Hikaru replied back cheerfully.

'Ah... it feels like my heart is melting,' Aya thought blissfully to herself, 'having Hikaru calling me beautiful. I want to just squeeze her into a tight hug and—'

'No! I can't!'

Aya shook her head vigorously, then started walking into the school grounds with Hikaru trailing by her side.

'These feelings...' Aya thought, 'they're just an illusion... it's not real... it's just that I feel sorry for her... that's all... there's nothing to it...'

Deep inside her thoughts, Aya failed to notice the hushed whispers passing between the students scattered across the school grounds that were gazing at Aya and Hikaru.  

"Hey, who is that walking with Aya?"

"Eh? Why is Aya with that girl?"

"Isn't that the new transfer student?"

Although Hikaru could hear the whispers going around the school, Hikaru was too excited and cheerful about finally making her first friend since transferring to Hibiya High to care about what the others were mumbling to themselves about. Not only a friend, Aya had even called her a 'best friend' at that!

"Um, Aya, what did you do yesterday?" Hikaru smiled affably at Aya, trying to strike up a conversation, "I mean, what do you usually do with your spare time at home?"

"Ah... you mean after I dropped you off at your house...?" Aya glanced down at Hikaru walking next to her, unintentionally noticing that the collar of Hikaru's school shirt was pushed to one side slightly. Peering closer, she could see Hikaru's delicate collarbone and the thin rays of sunlight bouncing off her soft milky skin. "I... I think I had piano practice..."

"Wah, you know how to play the piano! That's amazing!"

"And then, after that it was violin practice..."

"A-and the violin...?!"

"Then, I think I studied for a bit..." Aya forced a smile, "What about you, Hikaru?"

"Um..." Hikaru gave a soft hesitant laugh, "I watched a few videos on Niconico... then I think I watched TV with my mum..."

"Oh, what do you watch on Niconico?" Aya asked absentmindedly as she gazed with one eye down Hikaru's shirt.

"Erm, cat videos and cartoons..." Hikaru said after a short pause, then laughed embarrassedly. "It's so uncool, right...?"

'Just a little bit more...' Aya pursed her lips in frustration, 'and I can see down her...'

Suddenly, realising what she was doing, Aya froze, then quickly pivoted her eyes forward sharply. 'Did... did I really just try to peep at her chest?!' Luckily for Aya, Hikaru had been completely oblivious to the fact.

"Huh, really...?" Aya tried to think back to what Hikaru was saying. "I don't think it's uncool. I've got a cat myself and—"

"Y-you have cat...?!" Hikaru yelped for a second, taking Aya by surprise as she leaned in closer, "I-I always wanted a cat but my mum never let me have any pets! D-do you have any pictures of it?!"

"..."

Aya's breath had froze, seeing how close Hikaru's face was, her starry hazel eyes staring up at her in anticipation. Just as she was about to reply, Aya noticed the innumerous number of envious eyes gazing at the two of them from every degree and Aya cursed at her mistake. 

"Um, listen, Hikaru," Aya forced a polite smile, "A-about the cat pictures, I'll show you later, but I forgot to tell you that we can't be seen too close together at school."

Hikaru blinked in a confused state of innocence for a second, then noticed how close she was to Aya and quickly leaned back away, "Oh! I-I'm so sorry, Aya! Was I too close? I got too excited, I'm so sorry...!"

"I-it's not that...!" Aya tried her best to keep the polite smile on her face, but it was hard whilst watching Hikaru bow her head repeatedly in some sort of cute apology. "I-I'm just scared people will get jealous of you!" Aya said hastily. "We have to gradually become closer, otherwise people won't take it well!"

"Um, okay..." Hikaru said with a confused expression even though she didn't get it. "I was scared for a second that you didn't want to be my friend anymore..."

"O-of course, we can be friends...!" Aya said. "But, it's just better to take it slowly!"

Aya knew about the school politics from the palm of her hand. Yesterday, she had sprouted some nonsense because she saw Hikaru crying, but today, she was more composed. If she wanted to stop Hikaru from getting bullied, it would be a good idea to take it slowly. She also had to make sure that everyone knew that she had Hikaru's back.

"Anyways, off you go now." Aya gently nudged Hikaru forward into the school hallway, smiling courteously so that everyone around could see. "I'll see you later, Hikaru."

Students around the hallway shuffled and murmured to one another, seeing the scene. 

"Ah, so they're friends now..."

"It was weird how they suddenly got so close, but that makes sense..."

"I wish I could be Aya's friend!!"

Hikaru stumbled forward amidst the whispering of the students, then glanced backwards at a waving Aya, before smiling faintly, and turning ahead.

'Aya's doing such a good job of looking after me!' Hikaru thought to herself as she walked to the classroom. 'I'm so lucky to have a friend like her! She's also so beautiful and popular! I hope nobody gets jealous...'

Entering the classroom in a cheery mood, Hikaru stopped at the door when she saw a crowd of students surrounding Fumiko's desk at the back of the classroom.

"We heard about what you did!"

"Did you really make Aya angry?"

"You're such a worthless person, you know that?"

The same students in the classroom that had been supporting Fumiko before, were now berating her. One of the students, a girl with short red hair, grabbed onto Fumiko's hair, pulling it hard.

"You were the one that told us to bully Hikaru!" The girl said, tugging on Fumiko's violet hair with an angry expression. "Now we all got onto Aya's bad side because of you! Do you understand that?!"

Fumiko didn't respond, her fringe covering her eyes as she idly at her desk, allowing herself to be tugged around like a ragdoll. 

"Look, she's gone all quiet now like a mute," The group of students laughed, sneering down at her, "You think that will save you from all the crap you're about to get?"

Hikaru quickly hurried over.

"Please stop! What are you guys doing?!" Hikaru said as she approached.

The group of students turned and saw Hikaru, their faces suddenly turned friendly, filled with smiles.

"Ah, it's Hikaru, good morning!"

"Hi Hikaru!"

"We were helping you, Hikaru!"

Glancing around the group, Hikaru saw that they were composed of the same students that had once been bullying Hikaru literally just a day ago, but now they were all pretending to be nice. It was an unpleasant feeling, seeing this scene. 

"Hikaru!" The girl with red hair strayed away from the group and strolled over to Hikaru, grasping her hand. "We heard you're friends with Aya now. I'm so sorry about what we did to you before! It was really all Fumiko's idea!"

The red-haired girl smiled gently at Hikaru, "My name is Mika, we're your friends too! We honestly didn't mean to bully you before!"

The group nodded, still smiling at Hikaru like a bunch of robots.

Hikaru glanced down at Mika's hand for a moment, then glanced up at the false smile on Mika's face.

Even Hikaru could tell that they were all pretending to be nice to her now because of Aya. 

Hikaru pulled her hand out of Mika's grasp.

"Ah!" Mika said, surprised.

Then, Hikaru trudged her way over to Fumiko amidst the surprise of the students. Fumiko had fallen down to the ground after Mika had pulled her hair so Hikaru kneeled down to check on her.

"Hey... are you okay...?" Hikaru asked in a worried tone. Sure, Fumiko had done horrible things to Hikaru before, but Hikaru knew how painful it was to be bullied and she didn't think anyone deserved to go through the same things she went through. 

"..."

Fumiko didn't respond.

Hikaru moved a hand to touch Fumiko, and Fumiko slapped it away.

"Just leave me alone..." Fumiko said quietly.

"..."

Hikaru stared at her with a worried look.

Mika shrugged, crossing her arms, "You heard her, Hikaru. That girl wants you to leave her alone. If you want my opinion though, I don't think you should hang out with Fumiko. She's not very a nice person after all."

"How can you—" Hikaru started angrily, but at that moment Aya entered the classroom, and it was like whole atmosphere changed.

Instantly, the group of students dispersed themselves, going separately into smaller groups or going individually into their desks. Mika also quickly walked off, pretending that nothing had happened.

"A-Aya..." Hikaru muttered, gazing over at Aya's direction.

Aya pleasantly greeted the students that came to greet her, making her way over to her desk next to Hikaru, then smiled politely at Hikaru before sitting down at her desk, completely ignoring Fumiko's presence at the desk behind her. 

Something about that scene didn't sit right with Hikaru.

~x~

At the sound of the bell signalling lunchtime, Hikaru glanced next to her at Aya, catching her eye as Aya smiled politely at Hikaru in response.

"Hm, Hikaru?" Aya said, "Is something wrong?"

"C-can I talk to you for just a second...?" Hikaru asked.

"Sure," Aya said, seeing the concerned look on Hikaru's face, "Let's talk outside the classroom."

Aya picked herself up from her desk, then walked with Hikaru outside the classroom.

She closed the door to the classroom then turned to Hikaru, who was shifting on her feet uncomfortably.

"What's wrong, Hikaru?" Aya asked, her voice softening.

"The class..." Hikaru said. "They're bullying Fumiko..."

"Ah, is that all?" Aya asked, relieved.

"Is that all...?" Hikaru repeated. "What do you mean? We need to do something!"

"It's fine..." Aya laughed, not understanding why Hikaru was concerned. "Fumiko was the one that bullied you, remember? She's just getting back she dished out herself..."

"But!" Hikaru wouldn't let the topic go. "This is wrong! You can't just let the class bully her!"

"Hikaru..." Aya sighed, raising a hand to her temple, "There's always someone getting bullied at school... we can't help them all... that's not our problem..."

"...!"

"Ah..." Aya stopped when she saw the disbelief on Hikaru's face, then tried to retract her statement, "I'm sorry, Hikaru, that came out wrong, I didn't mean it that way..."

"...really?"

"Y-yep!" Aya tried to force a smile, "I will help, if that's what you want, Hikaru, sure!"

"Do you mean it?" Hikaru's face lit up.

"Of course!" Aya smiled. What the hell am I doing? "I don't take back what I say." Aya said, even though that was exactly what she did just a second ago.

"You're the best!" Hikaru said. "I knew I could trust you!"

Aya laughed weakly, but she felt happy inside seeing how joyful Hikaru was.

~x~

Sana was sitting at her desk, watching as the class surrounded Fumiko when Aya left the room.

"Hey, you... bully." Mika kicked Fumiko's desk, jolting her.

"W-what is it?" Fumiko snarled, but she was unable to hide her unease at the sight of the group of students surrounding her desk.

"You know," Mika said as she picked up Fumiko's notebook from her desk, "I've always hated you, Fumiko." She tore up the pages of Fumiko's notebook with a sly grin on her face.

Kenzou was amongst the group that had surrounded Fumiko's table.

"I-I didn't want to hit Hikaru!" Kenzou said. "But you made me hit her!"

'T-thank god I managed to push all the blame on Fumiko.' Kenzou was thinking to himself. 'Otherwise, I would probably be getting outcasted like Fumiko at the moment.'

"Y-you..." Fumiko gazed in Kenzou's direction with a furious look, "You're the one that just started punching Hikaru...!"

"Wh-what?!" Kenzou feigned ignorance. "Don't try to drag me down with you, Fumiko. You're just making stuff up now."

'These guys...' Fumiko was staring at them. 'They all had a part in bullying Hikaru, but now they're just pretending it was all my fault... I mean, sure, I told them that Aya said Hikaru was annoying, but still...'

"Hey, stop it!" Sana said, raising from her desk, "Just becau—"

"Oh, just shut it, Sana," Mika interrupted, "This has nothing to do with you."

Sana fell quiet, not knowing how to help Fumiko out. The numbers didn't favour her and it didn't help that Aya wasn't here in the classroom either.

Suddenly, two male students from the group grabbed onto Fumiko's arms from the side, pulling her up from her desk.

"W-what are you doing?!" Fumiko snapped, but she wasn't strong enough to get out of their hold. 

"Teaching you a lesson." One of the male students snickered as the rest of the classroom jeered.

"Let's take her somewhere more private!" The other male student laughed, dragging the flailing Fumiko. 

"Oh, oh, this is going to be interesting!" Mika laughed as well, jumping in excitement. 

"Heh, serves her right..." Kenzou said from the midst of the group of students watching.

"W-what?! Are you serious?!" Fumiko said exasperated. She tugged and twisted, even kicking her legs, but she couldn't get out of their grasp as they dragged her towards the door of the classroom. "No! Please, stop!!"

Laughing, Mika followed the crowd of students to the classroom door, opened it, and came face to face with Aya and Hikaru standing outside the door.

"Hahaha, this wa—" Mika stopped at the sight of Aya.

The whole classroom stopped, leaving silence and the sound of Fumiko crying to herself in the grasp of the two male students. 

Unfreezing from her state of shock, Mika stammered, "H-hi Aya..." as she smiled weakly at Aya, "Didn't you go out for lunch...?"

Aya ignored Mika, brushing past her as she waltz over to where Fumiko was being held by the two male students with Hikaru trailing close behind her. 

"A-Aya...?"

"Aya...."

Mutters of greetings swept through the students as Aya made her way to Fumiko. Looks of confusion also went through the crowd as the students had no idea what to do. Aya had made it pretty clear to everyone yesterday that she was cutting off ties with Fumiko but the serious look in Aya's eyes made the two male students instantly release their hold of Fumiko as Aya approached them.

Falling down to her knees on the ground, Fumiko cried to herself, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Aya sighed, glanced down at Fumiko, then up at Hikaru to her side, and back down at Fumiko. 

"Fumiko..." Aya said, kneeling down to the ground in front of Fumiko. 

"A-Aya..." Fumiko sobbed, glancing up in between tears at Aya. "I-I... I'm sorry...!" She blubbered.

Then, Aya reached out, pulling Fumiko's head down on her shoulder, hugging her gently. 

"It's okay, Fumiko..." Aya said softly.

The whole classroom stared at the scene with mixed feelings.