The next day, as soon as Mei arrived at school, a new topic had already appeared in her little circle.
It was about yesterday's flyers. Mei spoke with righteous conviction, looking just like she always did, a young lady who always had things she wanted to do.
Shiraha wasn't in the classroom.
Elysia complained softly: "Sigh, suddenly I feel like my status has dropped a lot."
Ever since those few… insignificant… little intimate encounters, her image in Mei and Kiana's eyes had been getting worse and worse.
Shiraha wanted to offer some comfort, but he couldn't help it, the corner of his mouth still twitched upward.
Skipping class during lessons wasn't an option, and break times were short. Shiraha and his Nee-chan's range of activity had simply shifted from the window to the hallway or the rooftop.
"You were just smirking, weren't you?"
"No." Shiraha paused, then looked around: "Oh! looks like Mei-nee's spur-of-the-moment idea from yesterday actually caught someone's curiosity…"
Before he could finish, he spotted a girl curled up at the clubroom door, hugging her knees, her uniform skirt draping over them as she sat in a small, tight ball.
It was the girl from yesterday, Asakura Miyuki.
Shiraha's lips twitched. He realized that while he might not exactly be a model student, at least he'd never skipped class.
"Your way of changing the subject is way too—"
Elysia muttered, her voice trailing off.
She looked at that curled-up figure, and the teasing in her starry eyes gradually faded, replaced by a different emotion.
Asakura Miyuki was still in that familiar outfit, sitting on the floor, leaning against the clubroom door, still holding the flyer in her hand.
She didn't seem particularly introverted, she didn't even react strangely when passersby looked at her.
"I feel like her personality is a bit off."
Shiraha sighed. The Far East had a lot of troubled kids, like Yuna, Miyuki, and future versions of Mei and Yae Sakura. From ancient times to now, this region's peculiar atmosphere had a way of raising all sorts of strange children.
Elysia said gently: "It feels like she's given up on herself."
On the surface, everything seemed fine, but inside, she was already shattered into pieces.
"Go on, little hero, your time to shine."
Not jealous at all. Though Elysia occasionally vied for attention with Mei, the fairy girl really wasn't a bad person… at least, she didn't think so.
Shiraha paused. His first instinct was to go find Mei-nee or Kiana, Miyuki's situation was strange, her personality was obsessive… and her stats were very low.
But he couldn't just ignore her when he'd already met her. He patted his cheeks and put on a clean smile.
"You're here."
His tone was natural as he sat down beside her.
The people around immediately understood, after all, the only ones who could hang out with Shiraha were either the exceptionally tolerant young lady Mei, or oddballs like Kiana and Fu Hua.
Miyuki, who'd had her head buried by her knees, suddenly looked up. The bruises on her face had faded a little, and her smile was… a bit too eager: "Sorry, I might've come too early."
"No need to apologize. There are some things you don't need to go through for another whole morning."
Shiraha didn't specify. Miyuki pressed her lips together, her smile fading slightly.
"Let's go to the club first, too many people watching here."
Shiraha stood up. The clubroom wasn't locked, there was nothing valuable inside anyway; that helmet from before had long been taken away by the Nee-chan.
Miyuki quickly got up and followed.
No tea was brewed. Shiraha handed her a bottle of water: "Have you had breakfast?"
Miyuki nodded, but the next moment, her stomach growled audibly.
It might've sounded like a coincidence, but when you're hungry and hear food, your stomach does have a good chance of making noise. That's just the body being honest.
Shiraha pressed his lips together: "I'll take you out to the convenience store to get a bento in a bit."
He paused: "Would you mind telling me what happened?"
Though he could guess from the manga, or even just from the bruises on her face, he still had to ask.
It was about giving her a reason to speak.
Miyuki hesitated for a moment: "…My family situation isn't great."
Shiraha softened his voice: "That's fine, it's free, classmate. Even if we can't do much, having more people speak up together is still a form of pressure."
As for Asakura Miyuki's family… he didn't know much about it, but her financial situation was probably decent, or her grades were, because she'd later transfer into Chiba Academy as a boarding student.
Hearing that, Miyuki's eager expression cooled instantly, even turning a little hesitant.
Shiraha understood immediately, with her obsessive personality, it was unlikely she'd never reported anything before.
He pulled a katana from the side. Though unsharpened, unless you checked it closely, you wouldn't be able to tell.
"Besides, if they won't listen to reason, and they've shown no intention of changing, I do know a thing or two about swordsmanship."
For the record, Shiraha had no law enforcement authority.
But he was also a minor, and while others were already 12 and beginning to bear some legal responsibility, Shiraha was only 10.
He set the katana down and returned to a gentle tone: "If people have done wrong, why shouldn't they pay the price?"
Miyuki's eyes shimmered with light… this girl's eyes really did get watery easily.
"I…" Her throat moved, as if she'd mustered her courage again: "My family's not well-off. I worked hard and managed to get into Tokiwadai Middle School from a private elementary school."
So your grades are very good. In Academy City, most schools were combined elementary-through-high-school systems. Students who transferred in mid-way either had connections or outstanding academic records.
Shiraha didn't interrupt, Miyuki's backstory wasn't hard to guess.
"But after I transferred, I didn't have any friends, and I couldn't fit into anyone's circles."
She paused there: "Then a few people offered to hang out with me. I was really happy at the time."
"Until they invited me out after school too. I said no because I needed to study, and that caused some conflict."
Shiraha: ….
"And then they isolated you?"
Miyuki quickly shook her head: "If it were just isolation, that'd be fine, I could try joining other groups."
"But because we'd already hung out before, they'd drag me out during every break. It didn't matter if I refused. Telling the teacher only got me told it was just 'kids playing around.'"
Shiraha was silent for a moment. In the Far East, if the first group you connected with after transferring turned out to be bad, your entire school life would likely be miserable.
Sometimes, being isolated really was the better option.
Miyuki lowered her head: "And their 'playing around' has been getting worse and worse. I… I'm starting to be afraid to go to school."
It wasn't so bad in middle school since she didn't have to board, but once she reached high school, her parents wouldn't be around, and she'd most likely have to live on campus. That would only make things worse.
The clubroom fell quiet for a moment. Shiraha was weighing whether he should skip class, or just go buy a bento and let Miyuki stay in the club for a while.
Just then, the club door was pushed open again. Kiana poked her head in: "Why weren't you in class today… Eh—who's this little sister?"
Kiana had recently been reminded of her mission, she should help Shiraha become more normal, rather than being so reliant on his ghost friend.
"Miyuki—Asakura Miyuki. A student from Tokiwadai."
Shiraha explained. As Kiana walked in, she noticed the bruises on Miyuki's face.
Her voice suddenly grew calm: "What are you going to do? Wait for Mei to come and handle it?"
That was the better solution, after all, Mei was the young lady of the Raiden family. Changing the entire Far East's atmosphere might be impossible, but gradually shifting Academy City's culture was doable.
At worst, it just meant more investment. For Ryoma Raiden, spending money to help his daughter do good and develop a solid set of values was important.
Shiraha didn't hesitate: "Hit back."
"If they show even a hint of defiance, I'll hit harder. I don't believe words alone can make them change."
"People who hurt others deserve to feel the same hurt."
His words were decisive, not a joke. Kiana wanted to talk him out of it, but this time, a part of her vaguely agreed, even looked forward to it, which felt strange.
Still, she shook her head firmly, pushing down that odd anticipation.
"What if they try to get revenge later?"
For once, Shiraha was confident: "That's the one thing I'm absolutely sure about."
He glanced at Elysia beside him. Elysia belatedly pointed at herself: Me?
Shiraha's lips twitched: "Of course it's you, Nee-chan."
When the time came, his Nee-chan could ghost around and observe how those who got hit acted when they were alone. If they showed signs of reforming, fine, if not, he'd keep following them and hit them even harder next time.
As for Rin… the Herrscher of Corruption could just stay a cute little fox. As long as he didn't have to face Otto directly, Shiraha wasn't ready to go all out with Rin, there was no need.
And lately, Rin had been getting lazier and lazier, spending all her time sleeping in Shiraha's bag.
Shiraha felt that if he kept raising her like this, she'd eventually become a real pet fox.
Miyuki blinked, her eyes sparkling, but with a hint of confusion.
Who was he talking to?
Kiana pointed discreetly at Shiraha, then at her own head, signaling that he had issues.
"But since you're here too, Kiana, perfect. Let's go right now."
Kiana: ?
What do you mean, "since I'm here, let's go"?
Still, she didn't refuse, she'd go take a look. Though she doubted "fight fire with fire" was that simple, the bruises on that girl's face weren't fake.
Shiraha didn't put down the katana. He probably wouldn't need it, but it would give Miyuki confidence.
As for Kiana… having a poor student around would help Uncle Ryoma fill in the blanks.
Hadn't Shiraha spent all that time building a good image precisely for moments like this?
"Are we telling Mei?"
Kiana glanced at Miyuki, ultimately holding back any dissuasion.
Shiraha answered without hesitation: "Go grab your bag, just in case. And let Mei-nee know that we're heading out."
But if you go, Mei will definitely follow, you two have been doing everything together since you were kids.
But this time, Kiana's mind raced: "Got it!"
"You guys find a way to slip out of school first, I'll just climb the wall."
Kiana moved fast. Before Miyuki could react, Shiraha was already in front of her, extending his hand.
"Let's go, let's buy some bread first. Filling your stomach comes first."
Miyuki blinked. She wasn't the shy type, she nodded firmly and took Shiraha's hand.
On the way downstairs, she kept talking: "Shiraha, when you were collecting cherry blossoms yesterday, did you hear that legend too?"
"Yeah, they say Konohana Sakuya-hime blesses those who are sincere."
Speaking of which, Shiraha glanced at Miyuki, you don't seem very sincere, though. The legend said that girls of the right age 14, 15, and 16 should pick the blossoms. You're at most twelve or thirteen.
Miyuki had a lot to say and wasn't big on boundaries: "Then were the blossoms you collected yesterday for someone else?"
Shiraha hesitated, glancing at his Nee-chan: "You could say that."
Though the blossoms he'd picked yesterday had all been salted and turned into cherry blossom cakes, which his Nee-chan had eaten.
"But I'm not the right age yet. I'll pick some more when the time comes."
Maybe make enough to give one to everyone…
On second thought, that might be risky. Better not give any to anyone at all.
They kept chatting as they walked. Miyuki was talkative, chattering endlessly.
Meanwhile, Kiana ran back to the classroom. In the large room, no one even noticed her.
She grabbed her bag and dashed out of the classroom, leaving only a single line behind: "Mei, I'm heading out with Shiraha today. Just letting you know."
Mei nodded absently, then tilted her head.
Fu Hua blinked, was this… skipping class?
She quickly tapped her communicator, K423 seemed to have some secret plan with Shiraha, while the legitimate heir of Anti-Entropy stayed in the classroom to cover for them.
But the communicator was offline again, a little loading circle kept spinning on her lens.
Sigh... Schicksal's tech department really needs an overhaul.
At the school wall, Kiana tossed her bag into the air, stepped onto a knee-high ledge, lunged forward, and with one hand bracing the top, cleared the wall in one smooth motion.
Chiba Academy's walls had never been raised, not because they weren't worried about students falling, but because almost no one here skipped class… almost.
"Over here!"
Shiraha waved from a distance. Kiana caught her bag just as it was about to fall, slung it over her shoulder.
"What's the plan?"
"By the time we get to Tokiwadai, class will already be in session. Yuna will go in first, and we'll check the surveillance footage."
"Then, when class ends, if they make a move, we strike." Shiraha paused: "If they don't, we pull them out and strike anyway."
The plan was simple and direct.
But the main objective was still the surveillance footage. Without any intelligence at all, Shiraha would have to rely solely on what he remembered from the manga he'd read, and fighting with so little information made him uneasy.
At that moment, Kiana, who should have nodded in agreement, walked ahead and asked in a slightly cooler tone: "What if you're wrong?"
"I'll apologize, and I'll take the hits."
Kiana gave a small nod and didn't ask further.
That answer put her at ease. If you did wrong, you stood up and took the punishment, but if you were in the right, she'd back Shiraha all the way. Overcorrection was necessary; without overcorrection, you couldn't correct the imbalance.