Ayano Aishi, the Emotionless Lover

Week Five, Thursday

    “It’s probably just some other student,” Ayano says. “It may not even be the Occult thief, but I highly doubt it’s Otohiko. Perhaps someone just needed to borrow the tools and forgot to return them.”

    Kuroko nods. “Perhaps. The four of us will be patrolling at lunch. Ayano, if you spot anyone or anything during lunch, report it immediately.”

    Ayano agrees, and goes back to her work. She manages to get a couple of documents filed away before the morning bell rings. On her way to class, Ayano keeps an eye out for any tools that may have been left behind, forgotten in a rush to go home. And, of course, there’s nothing. 

    During class, the teacher seems distracted. She quickly assigns the class all of the day’s assignments, and tells them to work quietly. Then she starts going through binders, muttering about packing.

    Ayano manages to get most of the work done before the bell for lunch rings.

    Osano rushes Ayano up to the roof, as if she’ll disappear if he doesn’t get her to their spot in time. Ayano lets him drag her up the stairs, and makes a mental note to hang out with her friends over the weekend. She can tell that she needs to spend more time with them. 

    For once, they’re not the last ones to their lunch spot. Taro and Uekiya seem surprised by this, but just laugh and welcome them. The others come soon after.

    When Aso arrives, he frowns at Ayano’s lack of food.

    “Yan, don’t you eat lunch?” He asks, but he doesn’t wait for a response. “Here, take some of mine! You need to eat more.” He hands her half of his lunch quickly, beaming the whole time.

    Ayano takes the food and smiles. “Thank you, Aso.” She takes a bite of the sandwich that he handed her. “And I do eat lunch...sometimes.”

    “When I give her food,” Osano says, glaring at Aso. “Like I was just about to .” He holds up a second bento. 

    “And, of course, I bring treats most days, so she usually has something.” Amao lifts up a container of cupcakes as he speaks, frowning at the athlete.

    Aso just chuckles, face red. “Ah, sorry.”

    “It’s fine,” Ayano says, and continues eating. 

    Osano looks at the second bento, lost as to what to do with it. “Does anyone else want a lunch?” He asks, looking around the group. “This will go bad if it just sits out all day.”

    Taro perks up. “I’ll take it.” 

    Osano rolls his eyes and hands the food to his neighbor. Taro smiles and begins to eat, happy with a second lunch. 

    The rest of lunch passes without issue, although Osano still gives Aso a look from time to time. 

    Afternoon classes go by slowly. Ayano finishes her work with an hour in class left, and takes the time to look through her lines. She’s memorized most of her lines. Only a few pages aren’t perfect, so Ayano spends the rest of the class going through those lines over and over again. By the time the hour is up, Ayano is able to recite the passages perfectly. And she does so, internally, as she wipes down the chalkboard during cleaning time. She’s halfway through her pre-death monologue when Kizano walks over to take her to the gym.

   Club time goes especially well. Only a few moments of the play are messed up, but they’re minor scenes and the actors quickly adlib their way back to the script. When everyone leaves the gym, hours later, they’re all proud.

    The walk home is peaceful. Everyone is silent, but instead of waking up, they’re all taking a break from the rush of the school day. The group relaxes, and light conversation begins to fill the air as they reach Ayano’s house. When she says goodbye, everyone is smiling. It’s wonderful.

    Ayano is happy as she closes the door. The feeling lingers as she gets ready for bed. 

    And just before Ayano falls asleep, she reaches out for her phone. She opens up the group chat, giggling to herself when she sees the nickname.

    ‘ Want to hang out on Sunday? ’ Ayano types. ‘ My house is always empty and some company would be nice. ’ She sends the message.

    Less than a minute later, her phone is buzzing nonstop. Ayano checks the texts.

    Almost everyone is free. Taro, sadly, has to decline. He promised Hanakō that he’d spend the weekend with him. With the entrance exam only a few weeks away, Hanakō needs all the help he can get to study for the test. Ayano wishes the boy luck, and is happy to see that the other six are free. Kokona asks if she can invite Riku, too, and Ayano agrees.

    Ayano falls asleep happy, and knows that more happiness will come during the weekend.

Notes:

I'm thinking about posting atleast 5 chapters today, since im suddenly very motivated.

<3

1304 words.