Sitting inside Aya's limousine, Hikaru kept to herself nervously, flicking between glancing outside the tinted windows and at Aya, who was sitting in front of her. The layout of the space they were sitting in inside the limousine was like that of two small couches facing one another.

"Fufu..."

Aya smirked to herself devilishly.

"I've finally got you to myself!"

With that said, Aya sprung forward from her side of the limousine and fell into Hikaru with a hug.

"G, gak--! What are you doing, Aya?!"

"Come on, we never got to spend any time together alone today!"

"B, but still..."

"Hahaha, it's fine, it's fine..."

Reluctantly, Aya pulled herself off from Hikaru and plopped herself down on the seat besides Hikaru.

"What did you think about today?" Aya asked, peering into Hikaru's face.

"Um, about what...?"

"You know! The tennis match!"

"Y... you were really great, Aya..."

"Oh, Hikaru," Aya laughed, waving her hand briefly as though she was embarrassed but it was clear she wasn't.

Watching Aya laugh carefreely for a couple of seconds, Hikaru remembered something that was on her mind.

"Aya...?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have any, um, enemies...? At school...?"

Aya stared at Hikaru blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing again.

"W, what...?" Aya said between laughs, wiping a tear from her eye. "What kind of question is that, Hikaru...? That was so random..."

"I, I mean like other students that don't like you," Hikaru said, blushing from Aya's response. "Someone that wants to harm you..."

Giggling, Aya took a breath, trying to be serious since it seems that Hikaru was asking a serious question.

"Well, there are lots of people that don't like me, Hikaru."

"R, really?"

"Yeah," Aya nodded. "That's part of being a student representative. Since everyone knows me around the school, there's always bound to be people that dislike me, whether it's because of not liking what I do, being competitors to the Kuramoto Group or being envious of my family."

"Mm..." Hikaru thought about what Aya said to herself quietly. "Is there anyone that especially dislikes you? Like the most?"

"Why are you asking?" Aya asked, then gasped, clutching onto Hikaru's shoulders. "D, don't tell me someone did something to you?!"

"N, no, that's not it, Aya..."

Aya breathed a sigh of relief, releasing her grasp of Hikaru's shoulders.

"Oh, thank goodness, then there's nothing to worry about."

"I'm just worried about you, Aya." Hikaru said. "If there is someone out there that wants to hurt you, that's something that concerns me too..."

"Hahaha, it's okay, Hikaru!" Aya placed her hand on top of Hikaru's head, patting her. "I can take care of myself."

"..."

Hikaru allowed herself to be patted, then sighed.

"If you say so, Aya..."

"Anyways, I got something for you."

"What is it--?"

Hikaru glanced up and Aya leaned into her, kissing her on the lips, and Hikaru's face gradually went bright red as her mind slowly comprehended what was going on.

"K... kah!" Hikaru leaned away when the kiss ended, staring at Aya with steam coming from her head. "W, what was that...?!"

"Your present!" Aya giggled at Hikaru's reaction.

"I, I wasn't expecting that..."

Hikaru watched as Aya laughed, then Hikaru pouted with flushed cheeks.

"You're mean, Aya..."

"W, what?" Aya stopped laughing. "Sorry, Hikaru, it was just a joke!"

Hikaru turned away, pretending to be upset.

Aya moved carefully towards Hikaru to be closer so that she could see her face.

"Hikaru... I'm sorry--"

At that moment, Hikaru turned around and pecked Aya on the lips for a brief second.

Aya frozed in surprise.

"There, now we're even..." Hikaru said.

"K... kyaa, you're too cute, Hikaru!!"

Aya fell onto Hikaru with a hug and clothes started flying off.

"Y, yaa...!! Aya, we can't...!!"

"Why? There's no one around!"

"B, b, but what if someone sees us through the window...?!"

"The windows are completely 100% tinted, sound-proof and bullet-proof, don't worry, Hikaru!"

"W, wha-- why are your windows bullet-proof?!"

Just as Aya was half-way through taking Hikaru's shorts off, a knock came at their side from the limousine door.

Hikaru jumped, rushing to put her shorts back on -- as well as various other items of clothes that Aya had took off -- with a completely red face while Aya leaned back with a sigh.

"Gah... I told Thomas not to disturb us..." Aya said to herself.

Waiting till Hikaru finished putting her clothes back on, Aya opened the door, peering outside the dark at Thomas with a disappointed face.

"What is it, Thomas...?" Aya grumbled. "I could had swore I told you..."

"I know, young mistress, however, your friend's mother is waiting outside." Thomas replied.

"Eh?"

Aya stepped out of the limousine and glanced at the entrance of Hikaru's apartment block to see Haruka standing there.

"Kyaa--! Aya!"

Haruka hurried over, looking desperately worried.

"Have you seen Hikaru? It's so late and she hasn't come home yet, I'm worried she might had gotten kidnapped or followed some beggar home to give their family food!"

"Erm..." Aya didn't know how to respond to that.

Hikaru stepped out of the limousine behind Aya, staring at her mother with a feverish blush after hearing what she said.

"W, wah--! Hikaruuuuu!!"

Haruka came running over to embrace her daughter.

"It's okay, mum..." Hikaru said, patting her mother on the back. "I'm okay... I was with Aya..."

"Wuah..." Haruka sniffed, a waterfall of tears falling from her eyes. "Why didn't you give me a call when you were going to get home this late...? You had me so worried...!"

"I, Itsuo told me to play tennis with him after school... I didn't realise it would take that long... I'm sorry, mum..."

As Hikaru led a crying Haruka back into the apartment building, Hikaru waved a quick goodbye to Aya before tending back to her mother.

"..."

Aya stared awkwardly at where they disappeared off into the apartment building, alongside Thomas next to their limousine.

"Quite an interesting character her mother is." Thomas laughed merrily.

"Indeed..." Aya responded, then pondered to herself. "I wonder if Hikaru will be like that when she's older..."

Imagining herself being away for a business trip and coming home to a crying Hikaru, Aya's cheeks went red.

"That would be... so cute..." Aya mumbled dreamily.

"What was that, young mistress?"

"K, kah! N, nothing...!"

Aya hurriedly entered back into the limousine, closing the door shut behind her with a sigh.

"Now that's over..." Aya said to herself.

She leaned against the limousine door, staring out the tinted windows with a serious expression.

"Hikaru definitely didn't ask me if I have any enemies for no reason..." She mumbled. "Something must had happened at school. I should try to resolve this as quick as possible..."

For the rest of the ride back home, Aya quietly devised tomorrow's plan of actions against the possible scenarios of what had likely happened in her head.

~x~

The morning rays of sunlight fell down upon Hikaru and Itsuo as they walked side by side, heading to Hibiya High as they did every morning.

"Do you remember that park that the council kept saying they were going to fix?" Itsuo asked.

"Ohh! And the swings would always creak when you ride them!" Hikaru said excitedly. "My mum used to take me there all the time when I was a kid!"

"Yeah!" Itsuo laughed. "I can't believe it took them that long to do anything about it! It was like a complete hazard! I remember always thinking that it would end up killing someone one day."

"That's what my mum said too," Hikaru laughed along with Itsuo. "She never let me go there again after the slide fell off from the rest of the park while I was on it."

"N, no way! That was you?!"

"Yup, I didn't end up getting hurt luckily!"

Itsuo laughed, hearing that.

Talking to Hikaru just felt so natural and genuine to Itsuo. It was as though that usual barrier that was always in between when talking to another person was just gone.

And the fact that Hikaru was also from Takayama made Itsuo feel like he was at home with her.

"Hikaru..." Itsuo called.

"Yes, Itsuo?"

"Do you have anyone you like?"

"W, wa--! Why do you ask...?"

Hikaru instantly turned red, having jumped when Itsuo asked her the question.

"Haha, I'm just asking, that's all." Itsuo laughed, trying to play it cool.

"W, w, well..."

Hikaru's eyes turned sideways, her cheeks growing more red.

'Eh...? It couldn't be, could it...? Hikaru has someone she likes...?'

The thought flashed across Itsuo's mind like a streak of lightning and panic hit him.

'Cool it, Itsuo...' Itsuo was thinking. 'Who knows... maybe the person Hikaru likes is me... Let's just calmly push forward on the topic...'

Just as Itsuo opened his mouth to say something to put pressure on Hikaru, Mika came out of nowhere from the side of the Hibiya High School gates, jumping out to greet them.

"Yoho~~!"

Mika announced cheerily with a cheeky smile, her shoulder-lengthed red hair bouncing. "What are you two lovebirds talking about this fine morning?"

"G, gah..." Itsuo's face darkened at the sight of Mika.

"What--?!" Hikaru flashed Mika a blushing glance. "What are you talking about, Mika! We're not a couple..."

Itsuo felt his head hit the pavement at that.

Mika blinked at Itsuo.

"What are you doing...?" She asked.

"N, nevermind..." Itsuo pulled himself up. "That is the question we should be asking you..."

"Oh, me? I'm just here to see my good friend, Hikaru!" Mika said, snuggling up next to Hikaru.

"M, Mika..." Hikaru laughed politely.

"We know what you're trying to do," Itsuo said, annoyed. "You're just trying to get brownie points with Aya."

"K, kak...! Am not...!" Mika retorted with a pout, walking with Hikaru to the school.

Itsuo followed behind their back with a sigh, his bag slinged over one shoulder.

'What did I do in my previous life to have put up with this...?' Itsuo thought.

"Hey Hikaru..." Mika whispered to Hikaru by her side.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember what happened yesterday? At lunchtime?"

"Ah, you mean about Ri--"

"Shhhh...!"

Mika flung her head around, checking to see if anyone was listening to their conversation, but the closest person to them was Itsuo who was strolling behind with a sigh.

Mika turned back to Hikaru, satisfied that no one had heard.

"You have to be careful talking about Risa in Hibiya High... especially now that she is back in school..." Mika said in a hushed voice, being even quieter when she said Risa's name.

"Okay..." Hikaru nodded back, not wanting to push on about the topic. She had already heard enough from Fumiko about what a terror Risa was.

"Anyway, did you tell Aya about her coming back to school...?" Mika asked.

"No,"

"Ahh, why didn't you...?" Mika said. "Aya is the only one that can stop her..."

"Well, Fumiko said she would handle it..."

"K, kuah..." Mika's face turned sour. "There's no way Fumiko will be able to handle Risa by herself..."

They had now entered the school ground where students dressed in burgundy and beige uniforms were scattered around the place, with more flowing in.

"Hikaru, listen to me..." Mika whispered, glancing around at the students. "You need to tell Aya about Risa... You're the one that Aya listens to... If you don't, things at school are going to get worse..."

"What do you mean...?"

"Risa's gradually turning people in the school against one another..." Mika said, her voice getting quieter. "She... has a lot of leverage on people... People that were once friends, no longer trust each other... you should be wary of this too, Hikaru..."

"..."

"A, anyways," Mika stepped back from Hikaru, forcing a smile at her. "I will see you back in class, Hikaru!"

"Okay, see you, Mika..." Hikaru responded back unsurely.

With a brief wave, Mika turned and paced off, leaving Hikaru and Itsuo by themselves together again.

"Finally..." Itsuo sighed, seeing Mika disappearing among the many students in the school grounds.

Itsuo wanted to pursue the conversation that he was having with Hikaru before Mika had interrupted, but he glanced at Hikaru's face, seeing a troubled look on her normally buoyant expression.

"What is it, Hikaru?" Itsuo asked. "Did Mika say something to you?"

"That's not it..." Hikaru replied.

"Then, what is it?"

Hikaru shifted uncomfortably, being someone that wasn't really any good at keeping secrets.

'I don't want to get Itsuo involved... I should just speak to Aya first...' Hikaru was thinking in her head.

"D, don't worry, Itsuo," Hikaru put on her usual cheery smile on her face. "It's nothing, really."

"If you say so..."

Behind Itsuo, Hikaru caught a glimpse of Risa walking past, surprising her.

Risa was in the midst of a group of students, shrouding her like bodyguards, and her slanted black eyes glanced at Hikaru at the same time, their eyes interlocking.

For a second, Risa's face had looked blank, staring off boredly, but when she glanced at Hikaru, her face shone with a bright smile.

Waving briefly at Hikaru, Risa continued off in her direction, and a sense of confusion filled Hikaru.

'Is Risa really as horrible as everyone says...?' Hikaru was thinking to herself. 'Maybe if I talk to her, I can see what is actually going on... I can't just rely on Aya all the time...'

~x~

During lunchtime, Hikaru snuck away from the classroom after telling Aya, Fumiko and Sana that she had to go to the bathroom, which she in fact indeed.

However, before returning to eat lunch with the others, Hikaru wanted to have a talk with Risa.

Going to an upper level of the school building that she normally didn't venture out to, Hikaru glanced around the corridors unsurely, seeing students spread out in sparse numbers around the place.

"E, excuse me..." Hikaru reached out to two students that walked past her.

"Yes?" They turned back to look at Hikaru.

"Do you know where is Class 3-3?" Hikaru asked.

Instantly, the students' faces turned white.

"..."

The two of them went quiet, glancing at one another.

"W, we don't know... sorry..."

They turned away, hurriedly walking off before Hikaru could ask them anything else.

"Ah..." Hikaru stared disappointedly at their backs, then sighed.

Turning back to continue on her journey, Hikaru proceeded wandering around the floor, knowing that Class 3-3 was definitely on this level.

Eventually, she found it.

A door, where a group of students gathered, standing around quietly with cold looks on their faces. Peering past them, Hikaru could find the words 'Class 3-3' labelled at the window on the door.

Trying to walk past them, Hikaru let out a cry when one of the tall male students shoved her backwards by the shoulder.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He hissed and the group immediately surrounded Hikaru.

"I just want to go into the classroom..." Hikaru replied back bitterly, rubbing her shoulder.

"This isn't 7-11," He said. "You don't just waltz in here like that. What are you here for?"

"...I came to talk to Risa..." Hikaru replied quietly, glancing around at the group surrounding her. Suddenly, she was thinking maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Hey, this girl is one of Fumiko's friends, isn't she?" Someone else in the group said.

"Yeah! I've seen her around Fumiko a lot." Another person said.

"Let's teach that bitch a lesson for trying to go against Risa."

"..."

Hikaru froze, having not expected this turn of events. She had her phone in her hand though as her backup plan and was about to secretly speed dial Aya when the door to the classroom flung open.

A boy with dark black hair falling over sharp eyes and a lanky figure that seemed to indicate a lack of interest in sports stood by the door.

Hikaru recognised him as Hachiro, the boy that had been arguing with Fumiko when she had met Risa that day.

"Let her in," Hachiro said, then glanced at the group sternly. "And don't hurt her."

Confused glances went around the group of students and they stepped aside, giving room for Hikaru to enter the class.

"..."

Hikaru walked to the door quietly, her phone clutched tightly in one of her hands.

Hachiro glanced at the male student that had shoved Hikaru earlier, "you too," he said, and the male student trailed behind Hikaru.

Once they were all inside the classroom, Hachiro closed the door shut behind them.

Staring around inside the classroom, Hikaru saw rows of paper lined up against the walls, seemingly to have students' names on them with numbers written besides the names. At the front of the classroom, on the board, there were numbered sentences written down, listing out what looked to be rules.

Students were studying intently at their desks, a quiet cold tension in the air, and at the centre of the room, Risa was sitting on top of a desk, spinning a pen in one hand and staring up at the ceiling as though she was thinking.

She glanced down at Hikaru, then gasped, a huge smile breaking out on her face as she placed the pen down.

"Hikaru, you're here!" Risa cried, hopping up from the desk to head to Hikaru hurriedly.

"R, Risa--" Hikaru said, but was interrupted when Risa flew into her with a hug that caught her off guard.

"Kya--! I'm so happy you came all the way here to visit me!" Risa said.

"I, I'm here to talk to you, Risa..." Hikaru said, blushing and glancing to her side at Risa.

Risa's hair carried a pleasant scent that reminded Hikaru of lavender -- soothing, but subtle. However, underneath was a very slight, almost unnoticeable, chemical undertone that confused Hikaru.

"Anyways," Risa stepped away from Hikaru, still smiling. "First thing's first..."

Risa glanced over at Hachiro and gave a short nod.

Immediately, Hachiro threw a punch into chin of the male student that had shoved Hikaru earlier and the sound of something cracking exploded into the air.

The male student dropped into the floor with a thud and Hachiro went on top of him, throwing wild punches into his face, one after another with seemingly no end.

Hikaru stared horrifiedly at the scene, at first not believing what she was seeing.

Then just as she was about to scream for Hachiro to stop, Hachiro picked himself up from the limp body of the male student, dusting his hands casually as though he had just finished throwing out the trash.

"Now..."

Hikaru heard Risa's voice calling to her and turned to look at her.

Risa smiled pleasantly at Hikaru, her lapis lazuli eyes staring deep into Hikaru's eyes.

"What did you want to talk about?"