127. Worry (1)

Reiji was confused.

No, not just confused.

He was worried.

Because Haruna didn't come to school today, and because Hina kept looking between her phone and the door the entire time during the first three periods.

Initially, he just assumed she was taking a break after the exhausting midterm preparation, even though it was quite unlike her.

But was it really just a coincidence that Hina appeared to be so out of sorts?

He had sent Haruna a message secretly during class, asking where she was.

But he still hadn't gotten a response over an hour later.

'Maybe she's still asleep?'

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, but the uneasiness would still not go away.

So as soon as the third period ended, when they were given a fifteen-minute break before the next class started, Reiji stood up and walked over to Hina's seat.

Riku was next to her on the adjacent desk, but he'd been sleeping ever since the third period started, and was still collapsed on his chair, his head sprawled over his table lazily.

The teacher had noticed, because of how obvious he was being, but there were a couple of other students as well who seemed exhausted and weren't really paying attention.

So he just shook his head and overlooked it this one time.

"Hina, can I talk to you for a second?"

"H-Huh?"

The mousy little girl jumped in her seat, taken by surprise since he'd come up from behind.

Reiji smiled softly and took a seat in the chair in front of Hina's table, which was temporarily free after the occupant had left the classroom.

"Where's Haruna? Do you know if she's sick?" he asked.

"U-Um..... Yes?"

Hina's darting eyes, sweaty face, and guilty look did not help her case, especially with her trembling voice.

Reiji frowned and leaned forward, crossing his arms on the desk.

"Is there a problem? Is she okay?" he asked, lowering his volume so that others didn't hear them.

"She's fine!..... I think," Hina replied meekly.

Now, Reiji was truly panicking internally.

'What the fuck is going on? Did I accidentally trigger some sort of main event through a butterfly effect? Nothing is supposed to happen for a while!'

"Hina, if she's in trouble, please tell me right now. I can help with whatever it is," he asked, but the stern tone told her that he wasn't really asking.

Hina's eyes widened, and she bit her bottom lip in contemplation.

Finally, she sighed and lowered her head.

"Well, on our way to school today, we met th-"

*BANG*

Reiji and Hina snapped their necks towards the loud noise and saw a panting girl just outside the class who had slammed the door open.

Haruna looked up, beads of sweat on her forehead as she walked into class with a smile.

"Oh, Reiji-tan, watcha talking with Hina-tan about?" she grinned, placing her bag on her desk.

Reiji blinked, baffled at her sudden appearance as he looked to Hina for an answer.

But she was looking at her friend with an excessively relieved smile, almost like she was happy she'd come back alive.

".....Where were you?" Reiji asked.

"It's that time of the month, so I had to take care of something," Haruna shrugged.

".....Hah?"

"Hey, shit happens, okay?"

Reiji furrowed his brows, not believing her excuse one bit.

It seemed like she was hiding something, but he had no clue what it could be.

"Are you okay?" he asked, pushing down the burning questions he wanted to ask.

All he wanted to do now was make sure she was fine.

Haruna paused with her hands deep in her bag to take out her books.

"....Why would I not be okay?" she chuckled with a roll of her eyes.

".....Alright," Reiji nodded as he stood up. "You do know that if you need anything, you can just ask me, right?"

"I know," Haruna smiled sweetly, her emerald green eyes shining under the light.

Reiji turned around and walked back to his seat with a shake of his head.

'Doesn't seem like it's a serious issue.'

***

(Haruna POV)

"Hina-tan, you didn't say anything, did you?" Haruna whispered quickly, pulling her chair closer to the quiet girl.

"No, but I almost did!" she replied exasperatedly. "You came at just the right time. Where did you even go, and why are you keeping the fact that you met that Senpai a secret?"

"It's a stupidly long story; I'll explain it later. But it has to do with Reiji-tan, so he can't know for now."

"....Fine, but you have to tell me, okay?" Hina sighed.

"I know, don't worry!"

As they were chatting, a loud groan next to them cut their hushed whispers short, and they looked over to see Riku stirring awake from his sleep.

"Ughhhh"

He rubbed his eyes weakly and glanced at the two girls with slight confusion.

"What time is it?" he asked with a yawn.

Haruna didn't respond, but Hina did after a moment of hesitation.

"The third period just ended, and it's breaktime. You should go wash your face and buy some coffee, otherwise you'll fall asleep again."

"I'm too tired... Can you get a can of coffee for me from the vending machine?" Riku shook his head, resting his head back on his arm.

".....No, I need to talk to Haruna-chan about something important. Go by yourself."

Haruna's lips started trembling, trying to suppress the proud smile that threatened to grow on her face.

'She always used to give in and look after him; this is a good first step!' she cheered internally.

Riku, on the other hand, looked bewildered by the firm denial.

"Oh, come on, it's not that far. Pleeeeasee?" he asked with zero shame.

"If it's not that far, all the more reason you can go yourself. You need to walk your sleepiness off anyway," Hina refused again, turning away as if to signal she wouldn't respond anymore.

Riku straightened his back, blinking at the two of them blankly.

And for some reason, Haruna enjoyed that quite a bit.

He finally frowned and stood up from his seat abruptly with a displeased expression, the chair raking across the floor as it was moved back by the movement.

"Fine!" he snapped and walked over to the exit.

But that was a big mistake.

'...What the hell is that on his pants?'

Some of the other people, who had also looked over at the commotion, started whispering to each other.

But a male student, a friend of Riku's, pointed at him immediately.

"Holy shit! Quite literally! Riku, did you shit your pants?"

"WHAT??"

Riku glared at him for a second and waved his hand.

"Stop saying nonsensical things, you moron!"

"I'm not lying, there's a brown stain on your ass!"

When Riku saw the others also pointing at him and whispering, his face went pale as he started groping around his butt to see if he really did have an accident.

He then paused when he felt something and brought his hand forward, which had a faint brown mark.

Confusion and horror took over his emotions as he stood there in the middle of the classroom while everyone stared at him, but then a look of realization dawned on his face.

"W-Wait, this is just mud! I fell into a recently-watered garden this morning, and it must've smeared on my pants!"

He started laughing forcefully to show everyone that it wasn't a big deal, but obviously, no one listened.

It's not that they didn't believe him; it's just that it wouldn't be nearly as fun.

A sentiment his friend shared.

"Yeah, right! We weren't born yesterday, Mr. Poopy Pants!" he teased.

"Shut the fuck up, are you twelve? This isn't kindergarten," Riku hissed back.

"Awwww, is Mr. Poopy Pants mad about something? Be careful with your temper, or you might have another accident!"

"YOU ASSHOLE, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

Riku lunged at the boy, his stained hands raised in fury, but his friend dodged with ease and ran out of the classroom with him following behind.

"Calling me an asshole is a little ironic, dontcha think!?" he giggled loudly

Haruna started laughing at their amusing antics, glad that she'd made it back in time to witness this historic moment.

"Why didn't anyone notice sooner?" she asked Hina, who was rubbing her temples in irritation.

"He reached school only after roll call started, so everyone was in their seats already. I didn't realize until now either!"

"I'm so happy I didn't end up missing that!"

"I feel a little bad though!" Hina sighed.

".....I guess, but it'll die down. Eventually."

'Did Reiji-tan see that?'

She turned to the back of the classroom and saw Reiji walking out as well, taking a wallet out of his pocket.

Maybe he felt her gaze, because he twisted his head and met her eyes.

He lifted his wallet towards her.

"You want anything from the vending machine? I'm getting stuff for them as well," he called out, pointing to Greeny and Airi, who were at his desk.

".....A coffee can, please!" Haruna replied with a grin.

Reiji nodded, then looked at Hina beside her.

"What about you?"

"H-Huh? Me?" she squeaked.

"Who else?" Reiji chuckled.

"Umm..... I'm good, thanks."

She looked a little hesitant, which made Haruna want to flick her head.

"A Doozy Soda it is," Reiji smiled, exiting the classroom.

"Wha-"

"Pffft, just take it quietly later," Haruna poked her forehead.

But while Hina was fidgeting with surprise, Haruna's smile vanished as she looked back at Greeny and Airi, who were closely studying a set of papers at the back.

"....I'll be back in a second," she told Hina and stood up.

Now that Reiji was gone, this was the best time to see what their thoughts were about the things they found out yesterday.

'I doubt they're gonna keep quiet about it.'