As they finally reached their classroom, Rafi found that his other friends were cleaning the class as they momentarily stopped when he arrived.

At that moment, suddenly, he was met with many cold stares as he went inside classroom side by side with Saki Rukino.

Haruto Tokishima, Shoko Sashinami, Kyuma Inuzuka, Yusuke Otamaya and many other students were giving him cold looks to his confusion.

Even the usually kind Aina Sakurai seemed angry to him as she also gave him a cold looks. Though, for a person that was almost never angry, her cold looks seemed like a cute sulking instead.

'Ugh, have I done something wrong to them in these recent times?' Rafi felt confused as he then walked cautiously, approaching Haruto who seemed giving an awkward cold stare to him, as though he held his laugh while trying to put on a cold face.

Whispering slightly to Haruto, Rafi spoke in lower volume, "eh, um,.. hey, do you know something about this, Haruto-san? Look, this just feels so weird doesn't it..."

"What, what are you talking about, Rafi? Please don't disturb me, I still have to clean the desks." Haruto said coldly, or trying to say in cold manner, as he quickly fled the scene while his shoulder seemed trembling slightly, as though he was holding a laugh.

Feeling more confused, he then went to Kyuma Inuzuka as he was met with even harsher looks, as though Rafi had a huge money debt to him and he tried to run away with it...

When he came to Aina Sakurai, she quickly ran away just as he wanted to say something to her, leaving him staring blankly at her escaping figure.

The other students roughly did the same by giving him a cold shoulder as they replied him coldly or even completely ignored him altogether.

'Have... have I.. became a sort of evil plague??! Even the kind Sakurai-san is also giving me a cold shoulder.

This is why, hais, talking to my peers is such a troublesome thing. If I can read other people feelings properly, then maybe I can also understand them can't I? Hais...' Rafi was thinking confusedly after he saw their reactions to him.

Just as he felt confused, Saki Rukino finally spoke to him, "Don't just stand still there, you also have some tasks to do, Rafi. Hmm, this.., this.. and that.."

Then she gave him series of jobs that it seemed she would keep going on giving him another tasks if he didn't stop her quickly,

"Stop. Stop. Let me do those few tasks first, okay."

"Ah, okay then." Realizing that she had given him many tasks to divert his attention, she nodded as though it should be the way it was.

"...really, what's wrong with them today? They are supposed to be having fun after the Revolution aren't they..?" Rafi murmured to himself as he walked outside while bringing the trash can, as his first job was to put away the trash.

"Is it okay to do this, Rukino-san? Won't he become angry instead? After he protected us before..." Shoko asked Rukino in worrying manner as she didn't feel right to be acting cold to him.

"Yes, aren't we a bit cruel to him, Rukino-san??" Aina Sakurai was on the verge of tearing up as she really couldn't trying to act cold to other people.

Her doing it today was a limit before she would end up tearing and apologizing to him, which would ruin everyone's plan. That was why, knowing that the others were also trying hard to make a surprise for him, she immediately ran away when Rafi approached her before.

"Hm, it is okay. He won't be angry just because of this. In fact, he doesn't seem like he hates it right?" Rukino said calmly as she also cleaned the classroom together with everyone else.

'How, how cruel... even if he doesn't hate it, doesn't he seem confused enough?' was what going on those student's thought when they heard her calm reply.

"Isn't this fun?! Looking at his confused face, it is so funny that I can't help stifling my laughter before." Kyuma Inuzuka chortled as he held his stomach while laughing hard.

"You guys are too mean to him, Inuzuka-senpai and Otoyama-san. Especially Inuzuka-senpai, I can't believe that you can be so cold if it is related to money." Shoko said as she stared fixedly at those two people.

"Eh, that is only a figurative event, Sashinami-san." Inuzuka smiled wryly at Shoko's accusing gaze. After all, although he liked money, but his friends were meant more to him than money.

"Yeah, this is only a figurative event. Also, also,... who tells him to get close to Rukino-san!" Otoyama also gave his ground as he stuttered slightly in the end. As for the case with Otoyama's acting cold, it seemed to be a case of jealousy instead that made his act kinda realistic...

"What is he talking about?" Saki Rukino turned to look behind her when she heard someone calling her. Though, she didn't give much attention to it as she quickly returned to her own task.

That apathetic attitude from her then gave another blow to Otoyama as he seemed low in spirit after seeing it.

Even so, Shoko still admonished those two as she also gave large portions of the preparing task to them.

It was not until late afternoon that everyone finally stopped acting cold to him, and revealed their surprise for him which was a celebration party for New JIOR's independence.

Although many were still saddened by the death of their friends and what happened to their parents, but life still needed to go on eventually.

This party, beside for conveying their gratitude to him, but was also for their own sake actually.

To lift up their spirit and kept moving on life, they needed a kind of respite after experiencing those events that completely changed their daily lives.

As such, Shoko Sashinami and Saki Rukino proposed the idea of making a party with everyone as a kind of break for their taut mind.

.....

The days then passed calmly as the students tried to enjoy themselves more after that party.

Although, with a reasoning that they could only stand on their own feet as a new country, a new kind of military training were beginning to be enforced as part of their daily activities by the new government.

Even so, due to that they were on their own, the training was really lax...

In these moments, Rafi finally was able to try having a normal conversation with his peers of his age as they shared their 'boy's talk'.

While Saki Rukino also had moments of herself with the girls, especially with Shoko and Aina as those three were getting along well in these days.

Unconsciously, the seven days period were going to end at any moment as those two were engrossed in their happy world...

"How about the taste, Rukino-san? It is good right?" Shoko was smiling to Rukino while she was wearing an apron in cooking class.

"...its taste is unexpectedly good. I don't expect that gross-looking food can have such nice taste, Sashinami-san." After being surprised, Saki Rukino said as she looked amazed at Shoko.

"Ehehe, although I like you are praising my cooking, can you not call it gross-looking, Rukino-san. It is just I..."

"Shoko usually only focus on the taste, not minding much to the appearance, right." Marie Nobi said with a smile after she saw Shoko's awkward looks.

Hearing her friend's teasing, Shoko couldn't help pouting at Marie as she admitted to herself that she might need to think about her cooking appearance next time...

"..."

Meanwhile, Saki Rukino was smiling silently as she watched those two quibbled closely, one teasing the other as the other tried to reason for herself.

Crack! Crack!

It was at that moment, that cracking voice resounding loudly throughout the world, as though signalling the end of the world.

Even so, the students, teachers and ARUS personnels were oblivious to these sounds as they were doing what they did usually. Completely unaware of the changes in the world they lived in...

"...it seems like this is the time isn't it, Rafi..."

As she looked around, the space outside school building kept cracking and shattering like pieces of broken glass, while everyone else were still laughing and smiling happily, unaware to all these changes.

Upon watching the continuous cracking of space, unconsciously, Saki Rukino let out a silent tear as she watched that her friends, Shoko and Marie, were still quarreling happily despite...

"Ehh! Why are you crying, Rukino-san?! Have we did something wrong to you?!" Shoko asked in panic after she noticed traces of teardrop on Saki Rukino's eyes.

"Hm, it is nothing to be panic for Shoko-san. I have just got a dust on my eyes..." Saki Rukino replied with a smile that was tinged with melancholy as she wiped away her tears.

"Eh?! Eh?! Then we need to blow it away, Rukino-san!

There is a saying that-... Eh, Rukino-san?"

When Shoko was still panicking over it, she was stunned when she was suddenly hugged by Saki Rukino.

Not just her, but Marie and other girls who were attending the cooking class were equally stunned by Saki Rukino.

It was not a tight hug as though she didn't want to separate, but it was also not that shallow of a hug.

It was only, she want to feel a hug from a true friend that she finally had in these times.

In her life previously, due to her being disappointed to people, she originally tried to distance herself to other people.

However, when Rafi said those things to her in few days before, she couldn't help wanting to try to break out of her shell as she decided to live herself the fullest here, even if it would only a few day at most...

After being surprised at first, Shoko returned her hug as she patted Saki Rukino's back while saying soothingly to her, "It is okay, Rukino-san. If you have any problems, we can talk it together. We are friends aren't we?"

The cracking space was already nearing the class they were now as few girls even turned to motes of golden light and slowly floated to the sky, when they were touched by those cracking space.

Even at that time, the other girls were still oblivious to it, and acted calmly as though there were nothing unusual around them.

Looking at that scene, Saki Rukino couldn't help wanting to cry again, though she held it as she was still hugging Shoko while saying sadly,

"Yes.. we are friends.. that's why,.. I will not forget you, Shoko-san."

"What are you talking about, Saki-san? Of course we won't forget each other. Now, tell me, do you have any problem? Hm, maybe a love problem? Is it with him, eh?"

Shoko said in a matter-of-fact manner as she looked seriously at her. Though, she smiled mischievously when she talked about Saki Rukino's supposedly love problem.

"It is not about him. Really, even until the end, you are still trying to cheer me up, Shoko-san." Saki Rukino smiled as she released her hug, and in turn, she also went to hug Marie Nobi for a moment.

"Really? Then, why are you looking so sad, Saki-san?" Shoko said confusedly.

Hearing her, Saki Rukino silently smiled to her before saying sincerely,

"...really, thank you, Shoko-san..."

Crack! Crack!

At that moment, whether it was a miracle or not, Shoko seemed to understand something as she also smiled warmly to her, bidding each other farewell with a silent smile.

The cracking of space finally engulfed the whole classroom, leaving Saki Rukino untouched as it even sent her through the unknown void, to the place where he came from.

...