“Sorry.”

The boy he had pushed moved aside and Ryu quickly bowed. It was his fault, but there hadn’t been any need to push back that hard. He met the eyes of the boy as he rose. They shone with disdaining irritation.

Now that’s a strange reaction.

Then understanding grew. Without his neck tie his second year status was invisible, and Ryu’s uniform was even newer than those of the freshmen. Expulsion rescinded his parents had decided to buy him a new one instead of the one he was bound to grow out of before his third year.

Ryu shot the other boy his most winning smile and moved on. He could take a push or two. Life was perfect after all. Ever since she cheated on him once Kuri had been everything he could ever dream of from a girlfriend.

Despite a schedule packed to the rafters she spent every available moment with him. Admittedly those weren’t as many as he’d want with the new trimester starting and students preparing for the cultural festival, but Ryu wasn’t one to complain as he saw the effort she made to spend time with him.

“Sorry.”

Ryu fell forward, but being a natural athlete he rolled on his knuckles and came back on his feet.

Now that’s more than just strange. This time it wasn’t him walking into a fellow student. The push from behind had been deliberate.

“No problem,” Ryu said after he turned.

“Ryu!”

Hitomi? He stared at the girl. Behind me?

There was a sudden sound as if someone had fallen into the shoe lockers.

“Sorry,” Urufu’s voice said behind his back.

“I’ll kill you you...”

Whoever had started speaking went silent and there was another loud crash from the other row of shoe lockers.

“Sorry about that.” Urufu’s voice again.

Ryu turned just in time to see a boy fly face down into the floor.

“He’s got a knife!” Urufu shouted, and all of a sudden Kuri’s bodyguard appeared out of nowhere and dragged the prone boy out on the school yard where the goons from Vogue stood ready to take care of him.

“What the hell?”

“I’m not too fond of you right now, but Christina will have my hide if I allow anything to happen to you,” Urufu said. “That goes for you as well, Hitomi,” he added.

Ryu looked over his shoulder and noticed her with both hands over her mouth.

“What’s going on?”

Ryu backed away from Urufu and stood by Hitomi’s side waiting for Urufu to answer her question.

“The shithead’s trying to scare everyone who returned to Himekaizen away.”

“Urufu. Why the violence?” Hitomi asked.

Ryu watched in amazement how Urufu’s face twisted into fear and rage.

“Someone pushed Noriko down the stairs.” Urufu’s shoulders slumped after the words left his mouth.

Noriko? What the…

“Next time you should break their arms,” Hitomi interrupted his thoughts. “Kuri might be an idiot for making people hate her, but Noriko’s never done anything wrong. You owe her. She’s in love with you, you oaf.”

She was more than just in love with Urufu, but this was their first day at school with the ceremony a mere quarter of an hour finished. Hitomi was unlikely to know how things had developed after most of the club members left the resort.

Ryu studied Urufu’s face. Nothing. The man turned boy just stared at his shoes. “I’ll do something about that,” he said.

“Where’s sis?”

“Infirmary. I caught her when she fell.”

“Who?”

Urufu stared outside where two men thoroughly despised by Kuri threw a Himekaizen student into a waiting police car. How did it get here this quick? Kuri, you might want to reconsider your opinion about those goons.

“I used the alarm. Amaya’s really, really, really angry right now.” Urufu’s face twisted into fear again. “Sorry. I have to get back to Noriko.” He turned and ran down the corridor.

Ryu stared after Urufu’s back. “Hitomi, I need to see how she is.”

She slapped him on his back. “Off you go.”

He ran after Urufu just as his girlfriend’s voice reached him, but he didn’t stop.

“Hitomi, you decided to return?”

“Yes. Can’t leave you idiot’s alone,” was the answer he heard.

Despite worrying about his sister Ryu grinned. Maybe a few more would return, and maybe together they’d be able to face whatever Kareyoshi threw after them.

As he arrived at the infirmary Ryu threw open the door and got inside. While it slammed into its slot loud enough to wake anyone who tried to sleep here, the back Ryu saw through the curtains, bent over one bed didn’t move at all.

“I’m not made of glass,” Noriko’s voice said from behind that back side.

Oh, she’s comforting him, not the other way around. Ryu made to take another step inside but hesitated. Urufu together with his sister made ire rise in him, but Urufu had broken her fall after all. Still, that didn’t make it right for him to touch Noriko like that.

Ryu started to move to the curtains when he was suddenly tugged back.

“Oh no, you don’t.”

“Kuri?”

She dragged him outside, and from the corner of his eyes Ryu saw Hitomi slid the door shut again.

“After we hurt each other, and the rest of you as well, now when we’ve finally moved on you’re not allowed to break those two up.”

What’s with their lack of decency? “She’s my sister and...”

Hitomi’s slap came as an utter surprise.

“Incest-san, get the hell out of my sight and don’t return until you’re ready to crawl on your knees and beg forgiveness!”

“Please don’t hit my boyfriend!”

“The next time I see him doing anything to hurt Urufu or Noriko I’ll kick his balls into his stomach.”

Kuri remained silent after that, and Ryu found no words to use. Next after Kyoko Hitomi pretty much personified the idea of proper and cultivated. An illusion, he knew that, but one she kept to. For her to drop all pretence like this he much have done something extraordinarily ugly.

***

“Kyoko, could you join me for a while?”

Kyoko rose from he chair and followed Hitomi. One of two club members who had been assigned to her class before Kareyoshi handed out expulsions like candy on a children’s fair. Hitomi was also one of the few to return from Irishima High and the closest to a friend Kyoko knew in her class.

An oversight from Kareyoshi’s side. The few returnees were all assigned to their old classes.

A week into their second trimester Kyoko felt happy for Hitomi’s presence. The airhead had proven to be… less so. If truth be told had proven so since long before they were expelled en masse.

“What is it?” Kyoko wondered when they were out of earshot from prying ears. Out of earshot meant walking all the way to the pool.

Hitomi shook her head, waist long hair dancing around her hear as she did so, and searched for somewhere to sit down.

Kyoko hugged herself while she waited. Summer had turned into autumn far quicker than normal.

“Here,” Hitomi said and patted the ground beside her.

Kyoko sat down. “So, what?”

“Two things. First I want to thank you.”

“Thank me?” There was no reason for the beauty from Yukio’s old class to thank her.

She received a surprisingly naughty smile from Hitomi. “Yeah, thank you.” Then she scratched her knees in a most unladylike way. “I’m grateful you showed me how to drop the pretence.”

Kyoko just nodded. There was sure to be more to come.

“You and Yukio both showed me what’s important, and you’re the main reason I decided to come back.”

Kyoko nodded again. She didn’t really understand.

“Kuri’s the other reason. Without her I don’t think I could manage.”

“Kuri-chan?” Kyoko said. “Why her?”

Hitomi pulled her skirt down her thighs and smiled. “Yeah. She’s the number one beauty of this school. I wanted to be in the beginning, but Irishima High taught me why I shouldn’t.”

Once again Kyoko nodded. This time with more real understanding. Hitomi had usurped that position during their stay at that school.

“In the end I didn’t like the resentment much,” Hitomi said. “Here I can stay in her shadow and be myself.

Kyoko wondered about that. Kuri-chan might be the number one beauty here, but Hitomi still defined the traditional idea of perfect Japanese looks in a young woman. Or maybe not. Hitomi’s uniform no longer followed regulations, and she had done something with her hair as well.

“I want to be me, and I prefer this me.”

“The other reason?” Kyoko said. Gratitude or not. There was a more important reason for Hitomi to drag her out here.

That brought a grimace to Hitomi’s face. “It’s Ryu. I don’t like what he’s doing.”

What Ryu’s doing? Don’t tell me…

“Look, it’s not like I’m in love with Urufu or anything, but I’ve grown fond of him.”

Kyoko waited for Hitomi to continue, but the words still made her smile. Urufu was bound to attract a lot more attention now.

“I saw what he and Kuri did to each other, and if he finally moved on to Noriko then I’m happy for both of them.”

Ryu, you bastard! “And her brother still won’t let them be?”

This time it was Hitomi who nodded. “And it really isn’t about Urufu. As I said...”

“You’re really doing this for Noriko, aren’t you?” Kyoko interrupted. Despite knowing that Urufu sometimes was all too fragile Kyoko also realised she was one of very few persons who knew this. For everyone else the idea of protecting Urufu had to be absurd – he protected people, not the other way around.

“I know she’s got great grades, but she’s so small and...” There was no need to interrupt this time. Hitomi’s voice petered out into nothingness.

Kyoko grinned despite her anger at Ryu’s meddling. “Look, Noriko’s a midget sized bulldozer. I don’t think you have to...”

“She only pretends,” Hitomi said. “I know how strong she seems, but I’ve seen how scared she really is.”

Scared? If Hitomi said she’d seen Noriko afraid of something she probably had, but still.

“I don’t think you need to worry about Urufu dumping her,” Kyoko said, but something in her stomach churned. Kareyoshi. It’s got to be him. Something happened and Noriko didn’t tell.

“I didn’t expect us to be the only ones to transfer back,” Hitomi suddenly said.

Kyoko felt grateful for the change of topic. “Neither did I.” And she hadn’t. At least a few more, but in the end only Hitomi apart from the founding club members showed up for school start.

“The club really is an Irishima High one despite its name now.”

Kyoko nodded.

“Strange. I know a few who said they’d come back.” Hitomi grimaced. “Maybe...”

“Maybe what?”

“I got this strange call a just before summer break ended.”

“Strange call?”

“Uhum. Someone told me to stay at Irishima High or bad things would happen.”

Kyoko stopped in her tracks and stared at Hitomi. “What?”

“I know, stupid prank or what? Well anyway, the calling number showed so I had my father call the police anyway.”

Are you for real? How could you possibly not be scared after that? “Hitomi, don’t you….”

“As I said,” Hitomi began, and the iciness in her eyes told Kyoko that her initial belief the beauty was an airhead was just about as far from target as possible, “we take very badly to threats in our family.” Then she smiled. An outright evil smile. “Especially when the idiot calls over a landline belonging to the new head of the PTA.”

“What did you do?”

“Kyoko, I know you’re involved in something smelly. I won’t ask, but I dislike being told what to do or not.”

“Yes?”

“After dad called the police I called Urufu’s guardian. She’s police as well, but I thought she might take a more personal interest.”

You called Sato-sensei? Suddenly Hitomi gained a whole lot of respect in Kyoko’s eyes. Why escalate a little when you can start by nuking the target?