As the evening gradually surrendered to night.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the rolling hills, quietly bringing another day to an end.
Meanwhile...
Inside a familiar dormitory room, a lone figure sat on the edge of her bed.
Now was dressed in her pajamas while a fresh bandage wrapped around her scraped knee.
King Halo then lowered her head, staring silently at the white dressing.
"Damn it."
She muttered under her breath.
"What am I even doing...?"
"What a disgrace."
"I actually injured myself... during a race."
She clenched her fists.
"Damn it..."
"Of all times..."
"Why did I have to remember her then...?"
"Why...?"
There, silence answered while King remained.
Slowly... She lifted her head.
Her gaze drifted toward the other side of the room.
Toward the bed where Haru Urara should have been.
Except...
It was empty...
Urara still hadn't returned since their last encounter on the track.
And King quietly looked at the vacant space.
A faint feeling of worry stirred within her.
No matter how many times she told herself to let Urara go...
No matter how many times she convinced herself it was the right thing to do...
The uneasiness refused to leave.
The guilt lingered.
Just as it once had.
Back then with Asaji.
King then lowered her eyes once more and murmured.
"It's getting late... Where has she been..."
Curfew was drawing ever closer.
So why...
Hadn't Urara returned to the dorm yet?
After sitting in silence for a while...
King sighed.
She convinced herself there must be a perfectly reasonable explanation.
How Urara was probably staying in someone else's dorm.
Perhaps she had lost track of time talking with her friends.
Then, King gave a small nod.
"That's probably for the best..."
It would be easier that way.
Especially since...
She wasn't in the mood to face Urara.
Or perhaps...
She wasn't ready to face her anymore.
Not after everything she had to go through again...
Go through...
...again...?
King suddenly froze.
What did she mean by that...?
Her brow furrowed.
What exactly had she gone through?
Had something happened...
Or had she deliberately buried the memory?
Then—
A faint voice echoed from somewhere deep within her mind.
"Goodbye, Halo... May we meet again... If... fate allows."
In response, King's fingers tightened into a fist.
"Asaji..."
The name slipped from her lips almost instinctively.
Just as the memory threatened to surface—
She violently shook her head.
"No..."
"Forget it!"
"Forget it, King Halo!"
She took a slow breath.
Then forced herself to think about something else.
"Right...!"
"I should finish my homework before going to bed."
Grunting softly, King pushed herself off the bed and slowly made her way to her desk.
She then sat down by the desk and immediately reached into her school bag.
And pulled out her assignments one by one.
The moment she opened the first notebook—
"Huh...?" She blinked.
Every highlighted question...
Had already been answered.
She stared at the completed pages in silence.
"...Wait..."
"Did I...?"
Then she remembered.
She had returned to the dorm much earlier than usual because of her injury.
To distract herself from everything that had happened...
She had absentmindedly finished all of her homework.
Without even realizing it.
"I-I already finished it," she sighed.
With that, she quietly closed the notebook with a soft clap.
She stood up from her chair and turned around.
And as she did...
Her eyes naturally fell upon Urara's desk.
However, the moment they did, she fell silent, completely motionless.
As if something had captured her entire attention.
Something that lodged itself behind those eyes of hers.
There, her thoughts drifted back to the days...
Before she had begun distancing herself from Urara.
And she remembered it all.
The afternoon she had sat beside Urara, carefully watching over her homework.
How she had quietly hidden Urara's favorite manga whenever she noticed her reaching for it halfway through studying.
How she would employ the manga as a reward for her endeavor.
How Urara would always ask the strangest questions.
How they would share little stories about their day.
How ordinary...
And how...
...peaceful... those moments had been.
Before she realized it...
King found herself smiling.
In her hands was the very manga Urara always read.
She looked at it for a long moment.
Then quietly sighed.
"What am I even doing..."
She then gently placed it back where it belonged.
Her eyes drifted toward the dormitory door.
She lingered there for a brief moment...
Before silently walking away...
...
...
...
Once again...
King found herself reliving the past.
As the morning sunlight poured through the classroom windows, she found herself sitting quietly at her desk.
Eagerly waiting.
Waiting for one person.
Asaji.
Her fingers lightly tapped against the tabletop.
She wanted to ask about yesterday.
About the conversation with her mother.
About what they had talked about after she was taken away.
She waited.
And waited.
Until—
Asaji finally entered the classroom and brushed past King completely.
She then walked to her seat in front of King and sat down.
That was all.
None of her usual cheerful greeting.
No energetic wave.
And...
Not even a smile.
But, on the other hand, King's eyes immediately brightened.
"A-Asaji!" She called out.
And Asaji visibly flinched from the front before slowly turning around.
"G-Good morning..."
"Halo..." She muttered.
Meanwhile, King blinked, baffled by her unusual quiescence.
"W-What's wrong, Asaji?" She asked.
"Are you alright?"
Asaji hesitated before replying.
"I..."
Then forced a small smile.
"I'm fine... I guess..."
"Thanks for asking."
And her gaze immediately dropped back to her desk the moment she finished.
There, King studied her for a moment before trying to lighten the mood.
"You seem rather down today." She then straightened her posture with her usual elegance.
"Has my overwhelming brilliance finally left you speechless?"
"Oh ho ho ho..."
Normally...
Asaji would have laughed.
Instead, she quietly looked away.
Avoiding King's eyes.
"I..."
"I guess..."
"You could say that."
And the smile on King's face slowly disappeared.
She leaned forward slightly.
"A-Asaji..."
"Did..." King's voice trembled.
"Did my mother say something unfair to you...?"
Asaji slowly shook her head.
"No..."
She paused before continuing.
"She only told me..."
"...the truth."
King frowned.
"T-The truth...?"
Asaji nodded weakly.
"The truth that..."
"How we were never meant to be friends."
King froze.
"W-What...?"
Her eyes widened.
"W-What do you mean?"
"What did Mother tell you?" She leaned forward desperately.
"Please... Tell me, Asaji."
"I'm pretty sure she didn't mean any of it!"
In the meantime, Asaji slightly opened her mouth, wanting to explain.
"I..."
She truly did.
But before she could... She closed it again.
And simply lowered her head even further.
"S-Sorry." She stopped herself.
"I..."
"I can't tell you."
"It's..."
"It's for the best."
"For both of us."
She forced the words out despite her trembling voice.
"I think..."
"We should keep our distance from now on."
"I'm sorry."
Before King could respond—
Asaji abruptly stood.
She briskly walked away from her desk.
Away from King.
There, King instinctively reached out.
"Asaji...!"
Her fingers stretched toward her.
But...
She couldn't stop her.
She could only watch...
As Asaji disappeared from her reach.
Further and further...
Away...
...
...
...
Once again...
King found herself back at the dining table, sitting across from her mother.
Unlike before...
She had barely touched her dinner.
Her eyes remained lowered.
And silence lingered between them.
For a while, only the soft clink of silverware could be heard.
Until—
King finally gathered her courage.
And she was ready to ask her mother...
...about...
"Mother, I want to—!"
But before she could—
"King."
Her mother calmly interrupted.
And instantly, King fell silent, watching her mother gently set down her utensils.
"Would you mind..." Her mother continued, looking directly at her daughter.
"...distance yourself from Miss Asaji from now on?"
"It would seem that doing so is in both of your best interests."
Instantly, something inside King snapped.
For the first time...
She looked directly into her mother's eyes.
Not with fear.
Not with hesitation.
But with defiance.
A look her mother had never seen from her daughter.
Or perhaps...
One she had simply never allowed herself to see.
Every fiber of King's being urged her to speak.
To deny it.
To argue.
To protest her mother's words.
Yet...
No words came.
Her throat remained locked.
Only her unwavering gaze remained.
Across the table, her mother met that unmistakable anger in her daughter's eyes and let out a sigh.
"I just fail to understand..."
"...how you came to believe such a relationship was beneficial in the first place."
Calmly, she folded her hands together.
"We are simply people from different worlds."
"It is only natural that we keep our distance."
She paused before continuing.
"Besides..."
"She is nothing more than a parasite."
"Someone who latched onto your pedigree after seeing an easy path into Tracen Academy."
With those words, King's fingers slowly tightened around her utensils while her mother continued.
"Day after day..."
"I heard that she invited herself into your training."
"Taking advantage of a trainer employed solely for your benefit."
"She forced her way into your circle..."
"And seized every opportunity your family's name could offer."
"And now..."
"After I revealed the truth to her..."
"What happened?"
"She distanced herself."
"She avoided you."
"She turned her back on you."
"A rather predictable response from someone whose deception had been exposed."
"Such a person has no place by your side."
"Wouldn't you agree, King?"
At those words, King's grip tightened even further.
Slowly...
Her knuckles turned white.
Anger coursed through every fiber of her being.
She wanted to shout.
To reject every word.
To tell her mother she was wrong.
That Asaji wasn't like that.
That she would never use her.
She wanted to tear every one of those accusations apart.
Yet...
She couldn't.
No matter how loudly her heart cried out...
No matter how desperately she tried to force the words from her lips...
Nothing came.
Her mother's presence alone...
Her calm, collected gaze...
Was simply far too overwhelming for her to rebel against.
Until—
"Unless..." her mother continued.
"You object to my conclusion, King."
"If you can convince me..."
"That Miss Asaji was not simply taking advantage of our family's prestige..."
"But was instead someone who truly benefited your life..."
"Then speak. Now."
At those words, King instinctively leaned forward.
For the first time...
She truly thought about rebelling against her mother.
Yet...
Silence remained.
Instead of speaking, King slowly sank back into her chair.
No words came.
"I thought as much..." her mother said before quietly resuming her dinner.
"Let us finish our meal and call it a day."
As silence settled over the table once more, King's thoughts began to drift.
Back to the day they first met.
Back to the lunches they shared.
Back to the training sessions.
Back to the laughter.
Back to the countless ordinary moments that had become extraordinary simply because Asaji was there.
Before she even realized it...
Asaji had become something King had never imagined she would have.
A friend.
Something she had once believed someone of her upbringing could never truly possess.
Someone who eased the loneliness she had carried for so long.
Someone she wanted to hold onto.
Someone who taught her how to open her heart.
Someone who showed her kindness without expecting anything in return.
Someone who taught her to take care of herself.
And above all...
Someone who taught her...
To accept others...
Just as readily as she accepted herself.
No matter how difficult life became...
Asaji always smiled.
That unwavering courage...
Was something King had always admired.
Then why...
Why couldn't she say it?
Why couldn't she tell her mother any of this?
Why couldn't she stand up...
When every part of her wanted to?
Why, King Halo?
Why were you so afraid?
Wasn't this all you had ever wanted?
Someone who treated you no differently because of your family name.
Someone who looked beyond the image everyone expected you to uphold.
Someone who saw...
The real King Halo.
That someone...
Was Asaji.
A friendship you believed would last forever.
Yet...
In the end...
You couldn't protect it.
You couldn't save Asaji.
You couldn't even save the bond you had built together.
Was that why... why you began pushing Urara away?
Because you were afraid?
Afraid that history would repeat itself?
Afraid Urara would become...
The next Asaji?
Another precious relationship...
That was never meant to be yours?