The Golden Pear [YA - Featured]

♫~Notes 76~♫

 "Hey, dad, who is a bully?" Freya asked her father just a month before the fire claimed his life.

"Did somebody hurt you?" he replied with a question, grabbing her shoulders.

She shook her head. "No, I just heard some kids calling one boy that way on my way from school."

Her father let out a deep sigh. "That's good."

"So, being a bully is good?"

"No, no, being a bully is bad." He sat on the floor cross-legged, and Freya did the same. "Bully is a person who hurts others. They can also mock people for their mistakes, different skin color, or basically anything."

"But why? What's so strange about being different?"

Her father's eyes watered, hugging her. "Nothing, it's thanks to these differences this world is so colorful. Some people are just close-minded, or they hurt others to make themselves seem better or stronger."

He pulled her closer. "I was also bullied when I was a kid for my ginger hair."

"What?" Freya gasped, pushing herself up using her father's knee as a support. "But it's such a pretty color! It reminds me of sunset and sunrise."

He ruffled her hair, earning a few giggles. "I know, but some people think being different is bad, or they may have been jealous of my uniqueness."

"So, what happened next?" She held her father's fingers.

"It hurt going to school, but I learned to ignore those bullies and focused on my studies. I had a few close friends, so it wasn't all bad."

"Were those bullies punished?"

"I don't know. Perhaps, perhaps not."

"I hope they were." She puckered. "They hurt my dad."

His fingers patted her, caressing her fair hair. "Not every bully deserves punishment. Some may need a second chance in being their better themselves. When everything is said and done, we all are just people. Flawed, full of energy, desires, scars, and unfulfilled dreams. Sometimes it takes one word, one friend, or one gesture to open a path for everybody."

Freya of the present stomped her way through the hall. 'Oh, dad! Why did you have to teach me so many good lessons?' She stopped, watching the clouds in the sky. For a moment, she thought she had seen her father's face in the fluffy mass.

'I get it. Everybody deserves a second chance.' Her eyes trailed down. 'Ueno-san!' She opened the window, leaning outside, but the figure was gone. Looking around, she would need ten minutes to get under this window. Unless she used a shortcut.

Everybody hastened to get a seat in the canteen, so nobody saw her climbing out of the window and landing in a bush. 'Thank God for my good physique and the second floor.' She looked around. 'And for them not seeing me. They would freak out.'

She rustled leaves out of her hair, running after the figure. Minutes later, she got lost, venturing deeper. 'Was it Ueno-san? I could make a mistake.'

Hearing a snapped branch, she dived behind a tree like a thief. Peeking from behind near the ground, she saw a kilt-like shirt fluttering and Ueno's bend figure. 'What is in that backpack?' She crawled from her hiding place.

'Don't tell me she is up to no good!'

Freya followed her, not noticing the cuts in her clothes as she pushed through bushes. For a few times, she lost Ueno from sight but found her a few meters later. Good thing Ueno didn't have such stamina like Freya.

'What's that hut here for?' Freya crouched behind a tree as Ueno entered inside. She could make out Ueno talked inside, but she didn't recognize a single word. Sneaking closer and hiding behind bushes for a few seconds, she made it until the hut.

Closing the distance, she peeked inside.

"Tastes good, right?" Ueno asked the cat who nibbled on a treat.

Before Freya could withdraw, brainstorming her discovery, the cat hissed, bristling. The world shattered around them as two girls locked their gazes. Freya stepped back, putting hands in front of her and opening her mouth when Ueno bolted.

Her clenched fist landed on Freya's cheek, punching her backward. Ueno gasped for air like a wild animal after a wild hunt.

"You!" she barked, jumping on Freya, locking her lower body. "Stop looking at me like that!"

The captured girl protected her face.

"Who do you think you are? I don't need your pity!"

Blows landed on Freya's crossed arms, but strength left them faster then they could connect.

"Looking at me like you know me!" Ueno panted as her fists lost their shape, and she could barely lift them.

"You know nothing!" she barked, gasping for every molecule of air she could.

Freya looked through her crossed arms. Ueno cried, her make up ruined, her perfect mask torn, but more importantly, she no longer emitted an aura of a superior being. The facade had fallen, and the normal girl emerged.

The ginger-haired girl lifted her hand, gently touching the soaked cheek. Ueno slashed the hand away. "Don't touch—"

Freya slapped her, silencing her voice. Ueno's hair covered her face, hiding her wide open eyes. Her kouhai crawled from under her.

Ueno closed her eyes, expecting from Freya to run away and tell this to everybody. The Queen of the Kin High was taking care of a stray cat, covered in mud, dirt, and wearing a torn uniform. Her mind filled an image of disappointed Aiyoku. Rigaku looked at her from so high place, she wasn't even sure it was him. Kagetsu simply walked away just like everybody.

Before long, she stood in endless darkness.

Her life had been ruined.

Kouhai – somebody younger than you, opposite of Senpai