The next day, Mizuha walked to school like any other morning. She couldn't shake the thoughts of the vision she had experienced the day before.
What was that thing I saw yesterday?
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!"
Shimizu's smile faded as she noticed Mizuha seemed lost in thought. "You seem off today. Are you okay?"
Mizuha brushed it off. "I'm fine. Just had a lot on my mind. Nothing serious."
Shimizu looked at Mizuha, worried but accepting. "Alright, if you say so. But if you need anything, just let me know."
"Understood, thanks for that, Shimizu."
As they continued walking, they saw Eri and Zul up ahead.
Shimizu waved. "Hey, Eri! Zul!"
Zul and Eri turned around. "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."
"Good morning, Eri-chan."
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?"
"Why can't we call you Ayumi? Ayumi is your given name, isn't it?"
"Well, hearing 'Ayumi' makes me uncomfortable..."
"Uh... okay then, Shimizu-chan."
"Yeah, that's better…"
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 waved to her.
"Ah, sorry! I'm coming now."
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!"
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 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.
Hikaru waved his bento. "What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!"
"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."
Shimizu leaned in. "You two, what are you doing? We're leaving now."
"We're coming," Hikaru laughed a little. 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 reserve girl so close to Shimizu, whom everyone feared. Eri used to be scared of Shimizu, as they recalled.
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.
They also suggested this might be because of 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 pleasant 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!"
"Hey, I don't remember anyone saying that seat belongs to you only. Does it have your name on it?"
"What did you say?"
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?"
"Geez, are you two kids or what?"
"Since Eri was 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."
"You're right. Why didn't I think about this earlier?"
"Yeah, why did I fight over a stupid thing like this?"
Mizuha sighed. "Honestly, you guys!"
Eri chuckled, watching the trio.
"Oh, she's laughing!" Mizuha and Shimizu said 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?"
Mizuha smiled and held up her bento. "My mom made this for me—rice with hamburger, sausage, and vegetables."
"That looks delicious."
"Want to try some?"
Hikaru blushed slightly but nodded. He took a bite and turned amazed. "It's really delicious!"
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."
Zul passed some of his karaage to Eri. "Here, have some of mine."
"Thank you, Zul," Eri 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?"
"I learned from my mother, who learned from my grandmother."
"I see—a recipe passed down through generations," Hikaru said.
"Eri-chan, can you teach me how to do it?"
"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 out of her pocket and snapped a photo. The shutter went 'click!'
Mizuha looked at the photo she had just taken.
"Ah, you took a photo!"
"What's the photo for?"
"I want to make a drawing of this moment of us together."
"Ah, I forgot, you like to draw, right?"
"Eh, I never knew this, Mizuha-chan. Can you show me some of your drawings after this?"
"Sure, I'll show them to you after we return to class."
"Wait till you see her stuff - Mizuha's drawings are incredible!" Shimizu said.
"Oh, you Shimizu, you're also a..."
Shimizu's face turned red. "Mizuha... shhh."
Mizuha covered her mouth. "Oops..." I almost spoiled Shimizu's secret, she thought.
Mizuha gave Shimizu a sorry look."I'm sorry."
Hikaru narrowed his eyes. "Huh?! What are you two hiding?"
Mizuha kept a straight face."It's nothing, right, Shimizu?"
"Right, it's nothing special... hohoho."
Both Mizuha and Shimizu were hiding the secret that Shimizu was a novel writer who had already 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?"
Suddenly, a sakura petal fell on Mizuha's head. Hikaru noticed it and reached to remove it from her hair.
"Mizuha, hold still for a second."
"What is it, Hikaru?"
Hikaru brushed a sakura petal from her hair. "Here."
Mizuha blushed. "Oh, thank you, Hikaru."
"It's nothing special."
Shimizu noticed their reddened faces and smirked.
"Eh, why did both of your faces turn red? Did something special happen between you two?"
Mizuha looked away, flustered. "It's nothing special."
Eri smiled while watching the conversation among Mizuha, Shimizu, and Hikaru.
Zul leaned closer to her. "This is nice, isn't it? Having friends like them?"
"We never had this before, right?" he smiled 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."
After lunch, they prepared to return to class for the rest of the school day.