The next day, Mizuha walked to school like any other morning. She couldn't shake the thoughts about the vision she had experienced the day before.
What was that thing I saw yesterday? she wondered.
Why did I hear those desperate cries for help?
Suddenly, she flinched as someone leapt out from behind her and shouted, "Mizuha!"
Startled, Mizuha turned to see Shimizu standing there with a grin. "Ah, it's you, Shimizu. Good morning!" she exclaimed.
Shimizu's smile faded as she noticed Mizuha seemed lost in thought. "You seem off today. Are you okay?" she asked.
Mizuha brushed it off, "I'm fine. Just had a lot on my mind. Nothing serious," her tone light and dismissive.
Shimizu looked at Mizuha, worried but accepting. "Alright, if you say so. But if you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know."
"Understood, thanks for that, Shimizu," Mizuha said.
As they continued walking, they saw Eri and Zul up ahead.
"Hey, Eri! Zul!" Shimizu shouted, waving to them.
Zul and Eri turned around. Eri smiled. "Oh, Shimizu-san, Yuki-san, good morning."
Mizuha smiled. "No need to be so formal with us anymore since we're friends now."
Eri blushed slightly and looked at Zul, who gave her a small nod.
"Then, good morning, Mizuha-chan, Ayumi-chan," Eri said.
"Good morning, Eri-chan," Mizuha said with a warm smile. She felt glad to see Eri looking better and more cheerful than yesterday.
Shimizu flinched when she heard her given name.
"Um, Eri, can you just call me Shimizu?" Shimizu asked.
"Why can't we call you Ayumi? Ayumi is your given name, isn't it?" Zul asked.
"Well, hearing 'Ayumi' makes me uncomfortable..." she said, her voice almost pleading.
"Uh... okay then, Shimizu-chan," Eri replied.
Oh yeah, why did Shimizu stop me from using her given name? She had asked me the same thing earlier too. Was something wrong with her given name? Mizuha thought.
"Hey, Mizuha, what are you waiting for? Let's go," Shimizu called to her.
"Ah, sorry! I'm coming now," Mizuha said as she approached them.
The four of them walked together until they reached their classroom, just as the bell rang.
After a few classes, the bell rang for lunch break. Mizuha walked to Eri’s table with Shimizu behind her
"Eri-chan! Come join us for lunch on the school rooftop. The breeze up there is really comfortable!" Mizuha said.
Eri looked up from her lunch, surprised. "Is it really okay for me to come along?”
Shimizu slung an arm over her shoulder.
"Don't worry, you're one of us now. We're friends, right?"
"If you say so, I'd be happy to join you guys," Eri replied with a smile.
Eri turned around, smiling at Zul, who nodded back. He felt relieved that Eri could now talk with Mizuha and Shimizu the way she did with him.
Zul made his way to Eri's seat to join them, just as Hikaru arrived from his class with his bento box.
"What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!" he said.
"Oh, it's you, Hikaru. Please wait a moment; we have another person joining us today," Mizuha said.
Hikaru then went to Zul. "Good for you, Zul. It seems Eri is alright now; she's not looking down the way she used to."
"Yes, you're right. Thanks to Mizuha and Shimizu, Eri is doing better. They're the ones who saved Eri. As her childhood friend, I feel ashamed that I did nothing to help her," Zul said
"You two, what are you doing? We’re leaving now," Shimizu said.
"We're coming," Hikaru said, laughing a little at Zul. The five of them made their way to the school rooftop.
As they left, one of their classmates noticed Eri joining the group that day and expressed disbelief at seeing the shy and timid girl so close to Shimizu, whom everyone feared. They recalled that Eri used to be scared of Shimizu.
Another classmate voiced envy toward them, pointing out that they were not only close to the intimidating Shimizu but also to the famous and beloved Hikaru, who was especially popular with girls.
Another classmate suggested this might be due to Mizuha's influence, observing that she was easy to befriend, even someone like Shimizu, and appeared to bridge the gap between people without judging them based on their appearance. The others agreed with this assessment.
Then, a girl passing by their classroom overheard their conversation and exclaimed, "Yuki Mizuha!"
After that, the group settled on the rooftop. That day, they weren’t the only ones — another group of students was eating up there too.
"Seems like other students are eating here too today, not just us," Mizuha said.
"This place has the best view and a nice breeze. That's why everyone comes here."
As they settled into their spot, Hikaru sat beside Mizuha, taking the seat that was usually Shimizu’s.
"Ah, Hikaru, that's my special place, get off!" Shimizu said.
"Hey, I don't remember anyone saying that seat was assigned to you only. Does it have your name on it?" Hikaru said.
"What did you say?" said Shimizu.
Both of them glared at each other, both wanting to sit beside Mizuha.
"Hey, stop it, you two, why are you arguing over a seat?" Mizuha said.
"Geez, are you two kids or what?"
"Since Eri has started joining us now, why don't we sit in a circle? That way, both of you can sit beside me—Hikaru on the left and Shimizu on the right."
Hikaru said, "You're right, why didn't I think about this earlier?"
"Yeah, why did I fight over a stupid thing like this." Shimizu said.
"Honestly, you guys!" Mizuha sighed.
Eri chuckled at the trio
"Oh, she's laughing!" said both Mizuha and Shimizu in unison.
The five of them formed a circle as they opened their bento boxes. The smell of food filled the air.
Hikaru's eyes widened as he looked at everyone's lunches. "Wow, everything looks great.”
"Mizuha, what bento did you bring today?" Hikaru asked.
Mizuha smiled and held up her bento. "My mom made this for me—rice with hamburger, sausage, and vegetables."
"That looks delicious," Hikaru commented.
"Want to try some?" Mizuha said.
Hikaru blushed slightly but nodded. He took a bite and was amazed. "It's really good!"
Shimizu proudly held up her lunch. "I've got sandwiches with different fillings. Anyone want to try?"
Mizuha took one and tasted it. "Mm, delicious," she said.
Zul passed some of his karaage to Eri. "Here, have some of mine."
"Thank you, Zul," Eri said. Zul smiled.
Shimizu looked at Eri's bento. "Eri, is that tamagoyaki? It looks amazing!"
Eri nodded shyly. "Would anyone like to try some?"
After everyone tried Eri's tamagoyaki, Mizuha exclaimed, "This is delicious! Where did you buy it? Or did your mother make it?"
Eri blushed. "Actually, I made it myself."
"What?! It's so delicious!" the group exclaimed.
"How did you do this?" asked Shimizu.
"I learned from my mother, who learned from my grandmother," Eri said.
"I see—a recipe passed down through generations," Hikaru said.
"Eri-chan, can you teach me how to do it?" Mizuha asked.
"Sure, I'll teach you next time," Eri said, blushing.
As lunch continued, they passed around portions of their meals, commenting on the different flavors and dishes. The mood was friendly, and they kept laughing and chatting.
While looking at her friends enjoying the moment, Mizuha suddenly got an idea. She took her smartphone from her pocket and snapped a photo. The shutter went 'click!'
Mizuha looked at the photo she had just taken.
"Ah, you took a photo!" Shimizu said.
"What's the photo for?" Hikaru asked.
"I want to make a drawing of this moment of us together," Mizuha replied.
"Ah, I forgot, you like to draw, right?" Hikaru said
"Eh, I never knew this, Mizuha-chan. Can you show me some of your drawings after this?" Eri asked.
"Sure, I’ll show them to you after we return to class," Mizuha said.
"Wait till you see her stuff - Mizuha's drawings are incredible!" Shimizu said.
"Oh, you Shimizu, you're also a..." Mizuha began.
"Mizuha... shhh," Shimizu said suddenly, her face turning red.
"Oops..." Mizuha covered her mouth. I almost spoiled Shimizu's secret, she thought.
"I'm sorry," Mizuha said, giving Shimizu a sorry look. Shimizu sighed.
"Huh?! What are you two hiding?" Hikaru asked, glaring at both Mizuha and Shimizu.
"It's nothing, right, Shimizu?" Mizuha said, making a poker face.
Shimizu said, "Right, it's nothing special... hohoho."
Both Mizuha and Shimizu were hiding the secret that Shimizu was a novel writer who had already been published. They had promised not to share it with others yet.
"You two are weird today. Okay, it's fine if you don't want to share with us. It's your secret, right?" Hikaru said.
Suddenly, a sakura petal fell on Mizuha's head. Hikaru noticed it and reached to remove it from her hair.
Hikaru said, "Mizuha, hold still for a second,"
"What is it, Hikaru?" Mizuha asked.
Hikaru brushed a sakura petal from her hair. "Here," he said.
Mizuha blushed. "Oh, thank you, Hikaru."
"It's nothing special," Hikaru replied.
Shimizu noticed their reddened faces and smirked.
"Eh, why are both of you a bit red? Did something special happen between you two?" she teased.
"It's nothing special," Mizuha said, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Eri smiled while watching the conversation among Mizuha, Shimizu, and Hikaru.
Zul leaned closer to her and said, "This is nice, isn't it? Having friends like them?"
"We never had this before, right?" he said, smiling at Eri.
"You're right, Zul. Before, it was just the two of us and Takamiya-kun, but now it's different. I hope we will stay like this forever," Eri said.
After lunch, they prepared to return to class for the rest of the school day.
ns216.73.216.206da2
然後按「加至主畫面」