Raised tall glass door

With my armoured fist

If you saw this, you'd know

What you're missing

--Falling Infinite, Black Math

☯

始まる：終わり

Pai blinked when a hand suddenly appeared in front of her face, a finger flicking her right between her eyebrows. She made an aborted gasp of surprise that felt more like a botched inhale, and lifted a hand to rub the offended spot on her forehead, looking over at the girl walking beside her.

The girl's hair was short, cut choppily to her shoulders and a vibrant shade of brown-red that could catch the eye of an astronaut floating all the way in space. She was grinning widely at Pai in triumph.

Pai glared. "Idiot."

"Still caught you off-guard."

"Still an idiot."

"The only idiot here is the one about to walk into a pole if she doesn't start paying attention to where she's walking," Shiori answered in a heartbeat, smile not dimming in the least bit. "You know, if you really don't want to come back to school, you don't actually have to. You could homeschool or something. Or take online classes, that's a thing too."

Pai had to fight off another sigh escaping her at that, and looked to the side. "Yes, I do need to come." She replied simply.

"No, you don't," Shiori insisted. "Just because Kouta said it would be a good idea, doesn't automatically translate to 'you have to accompany Shiori to school every day, this is the law now, you cannot disobey my rule'."

Pai rolled her eyes at Shiori's appalling imitation of Kouta. "It is not a bother," she argued. "I can handle it. You do not need to worry about me."

"That's what you say, but –"

Pai stepped forward without warning and reached toward Shiori. It was a quick job to unclasp the hook of the necklace hanging around her neck, especially as Shiori didn't move and let her do so, watching her warily. Pai let the chain with the single, long feather on it pool in the palm of her hand like liquid silver, briefly relishing in the rush of warmth she felt spilling into her hand at the touch of the feather on her bare skin. She leaned back from Shiori and gestured with a jerk of her chin to the group of girls walking behind them, as subtly as she could.

The girls coming up behind them chattered loudly, cheerful and totally oblivious to the large, pale blue blob of goo floating in the air above them. The blob had a single black pool where Pai guessed its eye to be, and a big, gaping mouth in the shape of a crescent moon, sprouting with tooth-pick like teeth. She didn't know if the thing had a name to it. She didn't care to find out.

Dancing along the wires connecting the telephone poles together was what looked like a bright pink walking stick. She knew that if she were closer, she would see that the stick had translucent wings on its back, sharp claws on the tips of its eight spindle-like fingers, vampiric teeth that were small but looked uncomfortably jagged, and no eyes. She had seen enough of these things over the years to know what it looked like up close, and she would rather avoid any chance of being that close to those teeth.

Scattered around the sun-lit street were the pale spectres of Goryo, vengeful spirits of the dead. They looked exactly as what they were – ghosts, clad in the ethereal clothes they died in, with all the same wounds and pallor to their incorporeal forms. Some floated above the heads of unsuspecting humans walking around. She couldn't hear them all that well thanks to her ring, but she could see their mouths opening wide and shrieking, bodies trembling from their futile efforts to try to get the attention of the oblivious humans they trailed after.

One, the spirit of a young woman whose pale skirt flapped in an invisible wind, hung on the shoulder of a middle-aged man, leaning in and screaming into his ear. Pai could hear the woman's shrieking only vaguely, as if she was very far away. The man was talking to a small boy in middle-school uniform, and he only winced to show for what Pai imagined him to be getting only a sharp pain from the screaming woman he couldn't see.

Pai's eyes lingered on the Goryo that clung so steadfastly to humans who couldn't perceive their existence. She looked away quickly, not wanting any of them to notice that she could see them when most couldn't.

"Even with Kouta-sama's power, there are many Yori Chiisai that will try to come after you, especially now." She spoke quietly. She watched Shiori carefully, noting the discomfort flowering in her eyes at being left without her necklace. "You will by the idiot for coming to school alone. This on its own," she gestured at the necklace. "It is not enough to keep you safe."

Shiori's frown deepened into an unwitting pout. Her hand darted forward and she took the pendant from Pai, her fingers closing around it securely.

"I get that much. But you're human too. You're in just as much danger," she mumbled with her chin to her chest as she clasped the necklace back around her neck again. Shiori lifted her head to look at Pai, her hand drifting down to absently stroke over the long yellow-black feather.

A ghost of a smile flitted over Pai's lips as she lead the way into the school property. "Think about it this way, then. If I do not come, Kouta-sama would assign one of the men to watch over you. Now imagine how that would be; you are walking through the school or sitting in class, and all that time, Ryosuke-san or Haru-san are right behind you, watching your every move." She didn't quite mean to make it sound as creepy as that just did, but she didn't mind as she paused for dramatic effect. "Or even Yuu-san."

Shiori stopped, and Pai turned to face her in time to catch the look of deadened resignation in Shiori's face at the thought of Yuu glaring at everyone within vicinity and shirking any and all attempt at friendly conversation. "Okay. Fine. I get it. But, do you know how creepy that was?" she pulled a face. "You make them sound like fifty-year-old samurai heeding their shogun's orders or something."

I mean, Pai thought about their steadfast loyalty to Kouta. If you think about it, that's not really far off.

"You are an idiot if you think he would not have made them come," she answered. "If it was not me, then one of them would have to come watch over you to make sure you are safe."

Shiori blew out a heavy sigh as she slowly resumed walking, pondering Pai's words. The scowl on her face said she saw the logic, but her grumpy silence said she didn't like it.

Pai wasn't surprised she didn't. She knew that Shiori was just worried about Pai being able to handle high school after so long of being away from it, but she didn't need to. Pai would be fine.

Although, if someone pointed a gun at a her head and demanded she tell the truth, she would say that no – no, she did not want to be returning to high school. She really didn't.

But no one was threatening her life with a gun, so she kept quiet and didn't let on just how little she cared to be here right now. She didn't quite understand why her stomach was so filled with dread at the idea of going to school, and no matter how she questioned herself about it, she found no answer for it.

Stepping through the gates of high school for the first time in a long, long time should not have been nearly as morbid an occasion as Pai it felt. She'd fought off the bad feeling about all this for a while, but now she found herself almost nauseas with a conflicting mix of emotions that made her wonder if she was about to throw up.

The oddest thing was, half of her was relatively calm at having to attend high school. It was normal for a lot of people, and she was trying to cling to anything normal, as much as she could. But the other half of her wanted to dig a hole and hide in it, throw a blanket of soil overhead to keep her hidden until the years passed by and she didn't have to go to school any longer.

She was being a bit dramatic about it, but she had had a taste of high school before, and while she'd pushed through it then with floating colours, she vividly remembered how tedious everything was.

Pai tipped her head back, going cross-eyed as she stared up at the name of the school engraved in the bronze-plated sign on one of the two pillars marking the entrance to the high school.

市立札幌大通高等学校

Autumn stung chill in the air, though it was still a warm enough day. The birds were singing cheerfully and loudly from their perches in trees and along pole lines. The breeze blew through the leaves of the trees and ruffled the ends of Pai's ponytail swinging behind her as she walked. She could almost, almost, fool herself into thinking she was just another normal girl, just another regular student walking to school with her friend, along with the dozens of other students traipsing down the street.

It would be nice if that alone was actually the case. The reality was the sensation of cold fingers dancing along the back of her neck and unseen eyes following her movements before looking elsewhere reminded her that she wasn't exactly 'normal'.

It was a rare day indeed if she could go about her routine without feeling the sensation of those fingers on her nape; it was almost a normal state of being, at this point, that she would think there was something wrong if she didn't feel this cold.

She couldn't remember a time when she didn't feel this cold aura hovering around her, like a second skin she couldn't completely shed no matter how hard she scratched at it. It had been with her since her earliest childhood. Now, the only time she didn't feel it was when she was in the protected sanctuary of Ayashi House.

She wished she was there now, bundled under the covers and only half aware of the rest of the world outside of her dreams.

Pai listlessly rubbed her thumb over the underside of the ring wrapped around her left forefinger, mindlessly picking at the smooth surface. It was a simple ring, sterling silver with an inlaid plain amber stone that was a few shades lighter than her eyes. She felt a little bit better with the reminder of it still on, even though she knew it was on and hadn't slipped off. It made her feel only a little bit better about the cold feel touching her nape, of eyes watching her.

She stifled a sigh and moved to tuck her hair behind her ear, before she realized that she had caught all the stray strands and pinned them to her head in a bun to appear as neat and orderly as she could for her first day of school in a long time. Her fringe was long enough that it covered her eyes, so she had parted it down the middle and swept the sides back after every little gust of wind displaced them. It was unlikely that any wispy curls would slip from the bun – at least, not before lunch. She hoped.

She was trying to be optimistic about it. She got points for trying, at the very least.

The two girls passed through the front double doors of the main building and went to the shoes lockers, slipping on their pink colour-coded indoor slippers and leaving their shoes in their lockers. They walked deeper in and turned right, heading up the flight of stairs to the second floor where their classroom was, class 2-5. The sound of lively chattering was loud from all around them, everyone in their classrooms talking excitedly before the beginning of the day's lessons stops them.

The sun's soft morning rays reflected off the large windows on the other side of the room. The chalkboard was starkly clean and empty but for a sheet of paper tacked up on the bottom right corner, with a duster and four pieces of white chalk neatly placed before it. The paper was a little bent around the corners, probably after being hung up there for a while.

Most of the students were scattered chaotically throughout the classroom as they chatted. It was mostly the girls gathered together in their small groups, sometimes talking to a boy or two, while the rest of the boys mingled in their own little groups.

Pai noticed one girl that sat apart from everyone else, close to the windows facing the hall. She held a book in her hands, and the white wires of her earphones snaked up under the curtain of her dark her cut in a bob with the ends just brushing over her shoulders. Her leg bounced up and down, tapping against the underside of the desk as she drummed her foot to the beat of the music she was listening to while she read.

Pai tilted her head as they passed her, trying to see the cover of the book, but failed, so she quickly looked forward again to avoid tripping as she walked. She caught the disjointed sentences that strung together to form one massive cloud of noise hanging in the classroom like some living creature floating above everyone's heads. Her ears almost rang at the volume.

"...did you go to the summer festival?"

"The fireworks were amazing that night! They made an actual dragon, did you see it?"

"What? Towa-kun did that? Wah, so brave. What did you say?"

"You're so lucky you got to go to Tokyo for the break. I wish I could have gone somewhere. My parents made us go to Mikurajima to visit my grandparents."

"Why are you still talking about that?"

"Ugh, we have morning assembly tomorrow. I really don't want to go. I'll fall asleep. Kurebayashi-san already caught me twice."

"What club have you joined? I heard that the student council is planning on introducing an archery club, though you have to sign so many papers and stuff, and your parents have to sign them too."

Pai resisted the urge to blow a raspberry as her heart started to sink. She could feel – and see – the other students halting in their conversations when they caught sight of her, staring and pointing and whispering as subtly as they thought they could manage – which wasn't a lot, really.

"Look at that girl, there, at the front. What's up with her hair?"

"Did she dye it? She must have. There's no way she could have been born with hair like that."

"It looks too natural to be dyed. Like, seriously, you can tell when someone's dyed their hair. Wah, it looks soft, and such a pretty shade too."

"But what the heck? You can't have hair like that in school. What is she thinking?"

"Hey, that girl with Matsumoto-san, the one with the hair. Who is she?"

"Is she Japanese? Maybe she's haafu or something. She kind of looks a little foreign, right?"

"Are you blind? She's obviously Japanese."

"I'm saying, maybe she's haafu, you idiot."

"What kind of foreigner naturally has hair that colour though?"

"Wait until we get to university, then we can dye our hair whatever colour we want and not get in shit with teachers for it."

"Says who?"

"My brother. He goes to Hokkaido University and he dyed his hair green like that idol we saw on TV last week."

"Hey, yo, look, that girl, she wasn't here last year, right? Does anyone know her name?"

"Yo, Matsumoto-san's late for the start of school too, isn't she? Is that why Kurebayashi-sensei said to leave the names on the board?"

Pai shut her eyes for a brief second as she followed Shiori into the classroom, trying hard not to care about whatever they were saying, keeping her gaze focused on the ground to avoid meeting anyone's eyes. She pursed her lips as her heart and ears closed off to the noise of the other students.

It was not hard to do, to convince herself not to care about these things. She found it remarkable easy to just stop feeling anything about something if she set her mind to it. Not always, but often enough. Sometimes, being able to do this made her wonder if there was something wrong with her. It wasn't supposed to be this easy, was it? It was supposed to be difficult to be unfazed by such trivial things, wasn't it?

She was grateful for it anyway, even if she questioned why it was so easy for her to ignore it all.

Pai and Shiori walked to the front of the classroom, where the single sheet of paper with the students' names was printed. Pai waited behind Shiori as she stuck her finger out and dragged it down the paper, searching for their names. She could still hear the other students whispering about the unnatural colouring of her hair, but the sick feeling of knowing she was being talked about by other people was no longer so prevalent.

Instead, something else took its place.

She frowned. There was a funny emptiness in the pit of her stomach. It was not like the cold finger running up and down her spine that she got when Yori Chiisai were around. This was like warm pulses travelling up and down her body mixed in with cold icicles lining her stomach, inside her body, in her gut, chaotically swirling in a vacuum. It was nauseating.

Pai glanced back. A few students looked away when they saw her turn. She ignored them, looking out the windows to the hall outside instead. There was no one there. No one else was watching her. She looked over the students one more time before turning to face forward again, eyebrows twitching in a confused frown. She couldn't tell who was making her feel the hot and cold – she knew it was impossible to tell just by looking at them, but she was hoping to get at least a feel of it.

She glanced at Shiori, glad that she was at least here to watch over Shiori and make sure she was safe, even if she couldn't do much in the way of ensuring she stays safe. She'd be there to at least call Kouta and the others in case something happened.

"Here!" Shiori said triumphantly, tapping on her name. Pai leaned in, trying to forget the feeling in her stomach that was not supposed to be there, here, now.

松本詩織

Shiori's seating arrangement was in the row of seats up against the window, right at the front.

"But you're over here." Shiori continued, shoulders visibly drooping in disappointment.

桃園牌

Pai was going to be sitting in the same line, but at the back row. She shrugged – so long as she was in the same room and able to reach Shiori easily if she needed to, it didn't really matter where she sat. It would be nice to be at the back, away from people's sight. It was easier to fade out of their attention if they didn't see you.

"It is not that far away," she reassured Shiori.

"It's three mountains away."

"You're exaggerating." She remarked flatly.

"And you're under-exaggerting," Shiori shot back as they walked to their newly designated desks.

"Mm." Pai hummed nonchalantly.

"Oh, by the way," she added as she slung her book bag on the hook at the side of the desk. "There's basketball practice today."

Pai paused by Shiori's seat, narrowing her eyes at how nonchalantly Shiori said that. "Already? But second term just started."

"Correction; second term started a week ago," Shiori said pointedly, clearly still irked that even though Pai was coming to school with her, it was a whole term later than everyone else. Pai was mildly irritated by it as well, simply because it meant more unwanted attention directed her way as the girl who joined school so late. "Kouta was being stupid about letting me come back to school after my birthday, so I missed the first week. But I emailed Coach Ami and asked to join the team again this term."

"And you are in? Just like that?" Pai asked, recalling that there were try-outs sometime in the beginning of every term, to make sure those who made the team were actually good enough to – even for those who had already made the team before, like Shiori.

Shiori shrugged. "It's just try-outs for me, honestly, since I missed them last week. But I'll make it." She paused. "I hope."

Pai glanced at Shiori when she caught the hesitant uncertainty in her voice. She knew how well Shiori played basketball, how easily she was able to control and manipulate its direction, making it look so simple when it was not. Not only that, Shiori had a knack of quickly picking up on difficult manoeuvres and tricks in the game. Pai had every confidence that she could make the team, even if Shiori's own confidence wavered from time to time.

"Do not worry," she said. "You will get in easily."

"Thanks," Shiori rolled her eyes. "You're kind of obligated to say that."

"I am also obligated to call you out on your nonsense when you are wrong about something, and as you can see, I have no qualms about doing it." Pai shook her head with a tiny smile. "I was not saying that to make you feel better."

Shiori grinned at her, bright and true. "Yeah, I know. Thanks."

The shriek of the school bell blared out abruptly, and Pai startled at the noise, heart leaping a foot out of her chest before she settled. She forgot how loud the school bell could be.

She hurried to her desk with a small wave to Shiori, other students following suit, noisily pulling back their chairs and sitting down to wait for the homeroom teacher. They were all still chattering.

Pai could feel their eyes on her as she gets to her desk, but she refused to look at any of them. Her lips twitched in annoyance as she sits down. The weight of their stares, watching her every move, the weight of knowing that they were all looking at her and talking about her – she ignored it, but every so often she slipped and noticed them all watching her, and it was annoying. It was like how she felt around the Yori Chiisai, always having to be on high alert even when she was supposed to act like she couldn't see them, just because she knew they were watching.

It made her feel unsettled, made her shoulders feel tight under her uniform, like all their eyes were pressing down on her like tangible weights. The worst part of it was knowing that she couldn't do anything about it without calling even more attention to herself.

The teacher finally walked in a minute later. He was somewhere in his fifties, with greying hair and thick, round black glasses perched on the wrinkled skin of his nose. He stopped at the front of the class, and all the students stood to bow before they took their seats again. He begun roll call, and Pai answered when her name was called.

She saw a few students glance back at her when they heard her name and voice, and even the teacher, Kurebayashi-sensei, blinked when he saw her. He didn't call her out and ask her why her hair was the way it was, and she breathed a sigh of relief when he moved on. She knew Kouta wouldn't have said it for nothing if he didn't plan on doing it, but she was glad for the confirmation that he'd talked to the administration about why her hair was this way so that no one would send her home to scrub the dye of, since there wasn't any dye to begin with.

Pai brought a strand of her pale hair in front of her, twirling the curling end around her finger. Maybe she should have dyed it, actually. She would stand out less. The one thing she hated the most about knowing that she had to come back to high school was the realization that she would be the new student, and new always garnered a lot of attention, no matter the setting.

Everyone always stared. They were no different than Yori Chiisai.

She let her hair fall back as she crossed her arms over the desk and focused on Kurebayashi. There was no point in feeling irritated about it now anyway. Dyeing her hair to match everyone else after they have already seen her natural hair like this would only bring even more curious gazes to herself.

She would have done it before coming to school, but...really, she had already tried dying her hair. A month ago, when it was decided that she would join Shiori in coming to school, Shiori and Pai went out and bought dark brown hair dye, because they knew that Pai would stick out like a sore thumb if she went to school with her hair in its natural state, and Pai didn't want to be targeted because of that. Kouta said he would talk to the principal of the school to make sure the teachers wouldn't harass her to dye her hair black, but she didn't want to make him go through the trouble.

It was something of a shock, to see her hair turned a dark brown after spending months with it being silver-white.

It was another – slightly more concerning – shock when the dye faded out after a week, despite it being 'permanent'.

Shiori and Pai tried again, and it still faded out after a week of steadily losing all the dark pigment. All it did was dry her hair out until Pai seriously considered chopping it all off – she didn't, because her long hair reminded her of...before.

Before she went missing.

Before her family went missing.

She had never had short hair before, always preferring to keep it shoulder length and longer. Pai decided to strive to return it back to its healthy state and not dye it anymore since that didn't even work as it was supposed to – which was weird, but Pai didn't want to think about it.

So she didn't.

"Well then, an announcement before we begin the class," Kurebayashi said once he was done going through the roll call. "Tomorrow, you will be taking a medical check-up here in school at the nurse's station."

There was a collection of groans and nervous titters.

"Yes, yes, but you all knew this would be happening, let us not make a fuss about it please.' Kurebayashi waved a hand at them to quieten everyone down. "Also, those who are not yet signed up with an extracurricular activity are expected to do so by the end of the week. It is obligatory for every student to be part of a club. Those who cannot participate in club activities, please come see me during the lunch hour."

Pai startled when she felt a vibration against her leg. She glanced around and was relieved when she saw that the other students didn't notice her movement. She quickly reached down and took her phone out of her bag, leaning back so that her legs were stretched out in front of her and her shoulder blades were against the back of the chair. Her desk hid her phone from view, luckily. She tapped the screen to light it up and couldn't stop the small, amused smile from creeping up her face when she saw who texted her.

He couldn't even make it to the lunch break, could he? She thought wryly. 

Pai paused. Oh. She...hadn't thought of that.

Her thumbs hovered over the screen as she hesitated, stumped. She didn't know how to convey the need she had to be formal all the time, with everyone. She didn't even know how to explain it to herself, never mind someone else. She didn't know how to tell him that yes, she did have to be formal with him, especially him.

He agreed to take her in, to clothe and feed her and keep a safe roof over her head, when he could have simply cast her out, for safety's sake. It wouldn't have been unwarranted. There was no way she could ever repay such kindness. Being respectful like this and addressing him by his proper rank was all she felt she could do.

Another text pinged through as she internally debated on how she could explain all that to him without inadvertently offending him (she had long since realized that Kouta didn't know how to handle gratitude very well. It was an endless source of amusement for Shiori).

Pai stared at the last text message. The things he kept putting at the end of his messages – what was it? What was it called?

What was the name again? Em...it was em-something.

No matter how hard she tried to remember, she just couldn't. It was not so much that she couldn't remember what the name of the thing is, as it was the fact that she could not remember. Pai had been training herself to remember things – to not forget, not even the simplest, more menial things. More than being watched by other people, she hated forgetting things.

She got a pen out and quickly drew the little character on her palm. Then she shoved her phone back in her school bag, sitting back in her seat and trying to focus on the lesson.

Just in time.

"Attendant, uh, well," Kurebayashi squinted at the paper in his hands. The student names list. "Momozono-san? Yes, Momozono-san."

Her heart stalled in her chest when her name was called. She sat up a little straight before realizing she should stand. She didn't want to do that. Already, she could see the other students turning in their seats, given an excuse to openly stare at her without being called out for it themselves.

She pushed her chair back and stood. "Yes, sensei."

"Who were Souji Okita and Toushi Hijikata?"

For one horrific moment, she almost said, They're from Gintama. She caught herself just in time, and mentally cursed Shiori's love for that anime. She answered, "They were squad leaders of the Shinsengumi, during the Edo period."

Kurebayashi nodded approvingly, and when he didn't ask a follow-up question, she took her seat, sinking into it grateful. At least that was something she knew off the top of her head rather than having to scramble for an answer.

Despite trying to pay attention to the lesson as it trudged on, her gaze strayed to the window. Down below, the first years ran about for their Physical Education class. The girls jogged around the court while the boys sat in a group behind the teacher, taking a break.

She watched with her chin propped up on her hand as one of the girls suddenly tripped, crashing to the ground. Pai could just make out the luminous form of a Yori Chiisai twirling away from the fallen girl. It was too far to see clearly, but it was probably a Yosei, a mischievous fair-like creature that loved to deal out more harm than good. To ordinary humans, if they could see them in the slightest, this Yosei would look like a bulb of blue light floating around, jumping up and down on the ground before leaping into the air and twirling away.

It would be a pretty thing to see.

But she knew better than they did. She'd seen Yosei like this before; she knew that they looked like tiny humanoids with deeply coloured skin, shimmering gossamer wings in the shape of a dragonfly – and a forked tongue hissing between razor sharp teeth coated in thickly dripping saliva that she had always thought could be poison.

She watched this Yosei jump into the air and landing on a branch of one of the trees that surround the track field, close to the school building she was in. She watched it sit on the branch, settling in a rare moment of remaining perfectly still as it watched they mayhem it caused.

Pai turned away from the spectating Yosei to see that almost everyone on the field had halted in what they were doing. Many students crowded around the girl, to see how she was doing, how bad she was hurt. One of the boys next to the fallen girl helped her stand up. She was bleeding from a scraped knee, her face screwed up in pain as she tried to walk.

She was mostly failing, more hobbling along than actually walking.

The teacher said a few words the the boy helping her, and began dispersing the other watching students as the boy helped the girl limp back to the main building. As they got closer, Pai could see the girl's face was bright red as she shyly stole glances at the boy helping her, his arm around her waist.

Pai glanced back at the tree branch. The Yosei wasn't there anymore. There wasn't even a hint that it ever was. It was so like them, to spread havoc and disappear before fingers were turned to point at them in accusation. Not that they ever were, though; no one could see them to begin with.

At least Yosei and others like them couldn't bother anyone here, in the school building. Daichi said it was one of the good things about this school; he wasn't quite sure what it was or who could have put it there, but there was a 'low-level barrier' around the school buildings that did a decent job of keeping Yori Chiisai out. Hengen were another matter, but at least the nuisance that were Yori Chiisai wouldn't be a bother here.

She thought that that was one of the reasons Kouta didn't put too much of a fight with allowing only Pai to accompany Shiori to school.

The rest of the lesson passes with her attention drifting in and out. Sometimes she listened and took notes. Mostly she just let her gaze stray and her mind wander as she daydreamed idly, random speeding thoughts crowding her brain that never centred around any one thing.

Break time finally came after the second lesson, maths. As students filed out to go to the canteen or vending machines, Pai looked at her notebook, and began underlining the headings and subheadings she made. She was just starting on the last one when Shiori plopped down on the now empty seat in front of Pai.

"Pai," she sang. "What're you doing?"

Pai didn't look up. "Underlining."

"That's boring." Shiori declared bluntly. "I'm bored. I hate maths."

"You are good at it."

"That doesn't mean I like it."

"Well, you have to do it whether you like it or not."

Shiori gasps, slapping a hand to her chest like Pai just shot her. "So brutal. Why must you be so cruel to me, Pai-chan."

Pai stared at her with an utterly blank face.

Shiori grinned and stuck out her tongue at her as she leaned back against the wall, sliding her feet back and forth on the floor. "So, how was it?" she asked. Her tone was no longer playful. "You're feeling okay?"

"I am fine. There is no need to worry."

"If you think I'm not going to worry, then you're much stupider than I thought." Shiori said.

Pai gave her a dead-eyed look. "I do not get tired that easily. It has been only two lessons."

Shiori smirked. "Watch your words. You shouldn't say that before being in Ayane-sensei's class for physics. She can put you to sleep just by saying hello."

"You are exaggerating again," Pai answered as she sat back in her chair and put her pen down. Shiori opened her mouth to retort when her name was called out by someone at the door.

Pai looked over to see a short girl with dark brown hair cut in a cute fringed bob, equally dark yet sparkling eyes, and a large, happy smile walking to them, waving enthusiastically at Shiori. Behind the girl walked in a tall boy, with messy black hair and sharp green eyes. He looked like he just rolled out of bed, and wasn't happy about it at all. His uniform was ruffled and his tie had come loose. He walked in with his hands in his pockets and a devil-may-care attitude all around him.

"Shiori, hi! Where have you been?" the girl borderline squealed, grabbing Shiori from the chair and pulling her up for a tight hug. It was funny to watch, seeing as the girl was a whole head shorter than Shiori. "I missed you so much! We didn't get to meet up at all over the break, and then you don't even show up for the first week back!"

"Ha-ha, yea," Shiori managed awkwardly, grinning as she hugged the girl back tight. "Sorry about that."

The girl harrumphed, and somehow managed to make that sound unrealistically adorable.

"Yo, Shiori," the boy said, nodding and shrugging in pseudo-greeting.

Shiori raised an eyebrow, sitting back on the chair once the girl let go of her. "How do you still not know how to greet someone properly, Shuu-kun?"

"I know how to greet people properly," he answered around a yawn. "I just don't want to."

"And why not?"

He rolled his eyes. "This brat has been too loud the entire morning and gave me a headache. I'm allowed to be as grumpy as I want is why."

The girl's head snapped to the boy with terrifying speed."Brat? Who're you calling a brat?" she exclaimed.

"Okay, hold on! Guys, before you start your bickering, I want to introduce you to someone." Shiori looked at Pai, and she seemed to be seeking permission. Pai nodded subtly. "This is Momozono Pai. She's my cousin. From Okinawa. Pai-chan, this is Tanaka Aoi," she pointed to the girl. "And Yanagi Shuusei. They're my friends from middle school."

"Hi," Aoi said, immediately, blindingly, friendly. "It's great to meet you! You're from Okinawa? That must be so nice, like you're on holiday all the time."

"Hello," Pai replied stiffly, unsure of how to respond to this girl's exuberant attitude. Shiori was the same in some ways, but Pai had grown up with Shiori. She didn't know this girl. "Yes, Okinawa is – the beaches are nice." Pai had no idea what Okinawa was like. She had never been there before. "Nice to meet you, Tanaka-san."

"You too. Oh, and call me Aoi. Everyone does."

Pai nodded, though she knew it would take her a while to call this girl so familiarly. She turned to Shuusei and bowed a little to him. "Nice to meet you, Yanagi-san.:"

"Shuusei," he amended, nodding lazily. "So you're moving here? How come?"

"My father had to go to Tokyo because of his work, and my mother accompanied him. They did not feel comfortable with letting me live on my own, so I am staying with Shiori and her family."

Pai had no clue where her parents were. She didn't even know if they were alive or not.

Shuusei's brows lifted a fraction at Pai's use of formal speech, and she began to wonder if she should really try to make an effort to speak informally, to push past the invisible barrier in her mind that kept her from doing so. Around strangers and those of higher rank, it was passably understandable – but these people were her classmates, and neither of these two were exactly strangers, now. Not completely. They were more like acquaintances Pai had a feeling she would be around more often from now on. Speaking formally all the time would just make things weird and draw attention to herself.

Why am I suddenly being ambushed about the way I speak? She thought grievously. First it was Kouta, now these two.

"What does your father do?" Aoi asked with innocent curiosity.

Pai glanced at Shiori. The other girl sat back in the chair and covered her mouth with the back of her hand in an attempt to hide her nervous smile. Pai narrowed her eyes when Shiori shrugged nonchalantly.

I did my part introducing you as my 'cousin', the shrug said. The rest is up to you.

Pai sighed, recalling all the time she spent with Daichi memorizing what she would say if someone asked her why she was all the way in Hokkaido when her parents were (supposedly) in Tokyo for work.

You'll have to become a flawless liar, distasteful as it is, Daichi warned her. There'll be less questions this way.

"My father is an architect. He has a lot of projects lined up for residential plots in Tokyo. It did not make sense for us to stay in Okinawa when he would be spending most of his time in Tokyo."

"And your mother?"

"She is a photographer. Freelance wedding photographer. It was easy for her to accompany my father to Tokyo." Pai silently breathed a sigh of relief. She was able to get that all out without stumbling.

"Oh, that's so cool," Aoi breathed dreamily. "But how come you didn't go with them? Imagine that, living in Tokyo! I'd never have given up the chance."

"You wouldn't have given up the chance simply because you think literally every celebrity lives there, Aoi-chan." Shiori teased.

Aoi stuck her tongue out at Shiori. Then she turned back to Pai, still waiting for an answer.

"I used to live here," Pai answered, treading carefully. "Shii- – Shiori and I used to go to elementary school together before I moved."

"Really?" I didn't know that." Aoi said, brow puckered in confused.

Pai wasn't surprised Aoi didn't know about her being in Shiori's life before she was. She couldn't blame Aoi for being confused about it, either. Since she and Shiori had been going to school together from middle school, it would be natural for Aoi to assume she'd know something like that.

Then again, it wasn't quite the truth. It was true that Pai lived in Hokkaido when she was a child, after her family moved here from Yokohama when she was still an infant. Her move to Okinawa was a lie, though.

"Yeah, well, guess I forgot to mention it." Shiori mumbled half-heartedly.

"I wanted to see Shiori again," Pai continued, eyeing Shiori's clear discomfort. "It has been years since we last saw each other, and her grandmother offered to let me stay with them until graduation."

"Oh, Obaasan," Aoi said. "She's nice to do that, right? Taking into consideration her weapon of mass destruction."

She knows about Obaasan's cane, Pa thought, amused. "Yes, she is." She tried to smile, and Aoi grinned at her, as if pleased to see her smiling. Pai didn't get it.

"Well, anyway, that's cool. We can be friends now!" Aoi reminded her of a rabbit, for some reason. She seemed to love being around people, and she was so open and friendly. "Hey, Pai-chan, I wanted to ask. Is that your real hair colour?"

Pai nodded warily.

"It's so pretty!"

Pretty? Pai echoed. Is it pretty?

She never thought of it like that. She tried not to think about her hair at all. The reminder of why it was so different from what it used to be wasn't something she liked to dwell on.

She nodded again instead, and said, "I have Waardenburg Syndrome."

"Eh?" Shuusei said. He looked like he had just been stirred from having a nap while standing. "What was that? Warudenbor what?"

"Waar-den-burg-syn-dro-me." Shiori spelled, shooting him a withering look. "You i-d-i-o-t."

Stoically ignoring Shiori's taunt, he asked, "What is that?"

"It means I do not produce enough melanin in my body. So, my hair is white." Though I'm not even partially deaf, but Kanou-san told me not to say that. Most people wouldn't know that.

"Melanin? Wouldn't that mean your eyes would be blue? Or, I don't know, red or something like an albino?" Shuusei asked curiously.

Pai shrugged, scrambling for an answer. "I do not really know. It is a weird illness."

"Very true," Shiori exclaimed, a little loud. "Hey, where's Natsu-chan?"

"Uh....Shuu, where's Natsume?" Aoi poked Shuusei's bicep. She turned back to Pai quickly and explained, "Natsume is Shuu's sister."

"She's looking for her phone." Shuusei answered. He yawned expressively, barely managing to cover up his mouth. "Probably in Maths, that's where she had it last."

"Aw, is Shuu-kun still sleepy?" Shiori asked sweetly. Her tone immediately dropped to a deadpan as she added, "When it is already the middle of the day and I know for a fact that you passed out on last night's game.'

Oh, he was who Shiori had been enthusiastically swearing at last night. Pai had wondered who she was playing video games with.

"I'm hungry is what I am," he replied, unperturbed, rubbing his trim stomach with a hand. "I didn't eat breakfast."

Aoi clicked her fingers. "Oh yeah, that's what I was forgetting! We need to get the new sweet bread they're selling at the cafeteria!"

Shuusei glared at her with only one eye open, and they all watched as Shuusei reached over and, before she could do anything, flicked Aoi between her eyebrows. Hard.

"Ow!" she exclaimed. "What was that for?" she rubbed the offended spot with a pout.

Pai would think she was exaggerating, if the same thing hadn't been done to her when she and Shiori were walking to school. She knew just how effectively painful a finger flick could be – especially when it comes out of nowhere.

"That is for keeping me hungry."

"Boo-hoo, your poor cavernous stomach. You eat more than a dragon, you can last a couple of hours between meals."

For the first time, as Pai watched, she saw an expression other than boredom cross Shuusei's face. It was a surprisingly gentle look, one that made his sharp features softer, somehow. He reached over and draped his arm over Aoi's shoulders, drawing her closer to him. Bright red spots light up in her cheeks as she blushed – but she didn't stop him or pull away, Pai noted.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat before everything, including your bread, is sold out." He said to her. He nodded at Pai and Shiori. "We'll see you guys at lunch. It was nice meeting you, Momozono-san."

"Yup, Pai-chan, see you!" Aoi added brightly. "Bye Shiori-chan!"

Pai's lips twitched again in a smile. Aoi's exuberance was infectious. She nodded to them as they turned and walked out of the classroom. Shuusei's arm was still around Aoi's shoulders. When they left – drawing as many stares for their open closeness as Pai got for her hair – she looked at Shiori, who already knew what she wants to ask.

"They've been dating since first year of high school. Plus, they and Natsume have been friends since nursery." Shiori said by way of explanation.

"Mm. How did you join them?" she asked. If the three were already together that long, it didn't seem like it would be easy for someone else to make their way into the little group, especially middle school.

Kids could be brutal, and not at all welcoming. Pai had learned that the hard way, when she first entered high school before her memory turned blank.

The pleasant brightness in Shiori's eyes faded, and Pai instantly regretted asking that question.