Original Published Date: June 9, 2016
Edited Date: December 9, 2017
May 16, 2016 - Early Morning
"Good morning, Suzuhana-chan!" Marie said, coming up to Hinako at her desk. "Today's the first day of our exams, isn't it?"
Hinako looks at Marie with a smile. "Good morning to you, too, Kachuujou-san. Yes, today is the first day and I'm a little nervous."
"Nervous? You?" Marie laughs little. "We all know that you're the smartest student in the whole first year level!"
"I-I'm not that smart, Kachuujou-san," Hinako waves her hand, a little embarrassed. "I just have to keep my grades to a particular level in order for me to retain my scholarship."
"Oh, my. You're so humble, Suzuhana-chan!" Marie claps her hands once, smiling.
"Good morning, you two," Furin walks up to the two of them. "You ready for the exams?"
"I am super ready!" Marie pumps up her fists and her eyes sparkle with determination.
Furin laughs. "That's so like you, Maricchi!"
"Of course it's so like me. I studied all week last week in preparation for this!"
"But, it's only the preliminary exams. Don't get worked up about it," Furin giggles.
"I have to!" Marie slumps a little. "I still remember that my exam scores back in middle school are below average. That's why I have to redeem myself and do better in high school!"
"Don't worry, Kachuujou-san," Hinako places a hand over Marie's shoulder. "I know that you'll do great in high school."
Marie returns to her happy side and sparkles at Hinako. "Thank you, Suzuhana-chan! That really pumped up my game for today, being touched and blessed by a super smart student like you!"
The edge of Hinako's lips twitched, seeing her good friend get more pumped up after giving her much needed encouragement. "W-Well, you're welcome."
The first school bell rang and came in their homeroom adviser, Teacher Misa, carrying a stack of test papers in her hands.
"Good morning, everyone!" Teacher Misa greeted. "Please, take your seats."
Everyone in Class 1-A took their seats and sat up properly. The curly, white-headed teacher places the stack of papers onto the table in front of her and looked at her students with a smile.
"Today is your first day of exams and your first exam will be composition!" She happily said. "I hope you all studied very well~!"
Everyone in Homurahara Gakuen started their exams. In Class 1-A, Hinako was scribbling on her test paper like she's not having any difficulty at all. Marie was reading some of the questions and answered them little by little. As for Furin, he's also not having any difficulty in answering his exam paper but there were a few blank spaces left unfilled.
In Class 2-A, Gil was answering like Hinako. Since he was at the top of his class last year, it's no surprise that he's answering like the smart student he is. As for Mabu, she was laying back on her chair, with her arms and legs crossed, eyeing on her paper like it's her enemy. There are a lot of blank spaces to be filled, eventually.
In Class 3-A, Asura was answering her exam paper properly. She takes the time to read the questions before answering. As for Itsuka, he answers the questions that look easy to him first before proceeding to the ones he deems difficult.
Everyone in the school were doing their best in the exams and this continued on until Saturday.
May 21, 2016 - After School
"Yes! Finally, exams are done!" Marie said, laying back on her chair as if exhausted. "Now I feel like eating cake to regain my energy."
"In that case, would you like to head over to Ahnenerbe for dinner?" Furin asks with his bag held behind his back.
"That sounds splendid!" Marie stood up all of a sudden, as if her energy was regained in an instant. She looks at Hinako. "Wanna come with us, Suzuhana-chan?"
Furin looks at Hinako, too. "Yeah, you should come. After all, we should reward ourselves for a job well-done since the exams were pretty hard."
Hinako closes her bag and looks up at them with a smile. "Sure, I'd love that."
Marie looks at Hinako and suddenly, she hugs her. Chibi tears started to fall from Marie's eyes. "Ah, I'm so relieved! You're back to normal, Suzuhana-chan!"
"B-Back to normal?" Hinako asks, completely confused and blinking her eyes a few times.
"Well," Marie releases Hinako from her arms and stood up, looking at her with a worried face. "you've been not yourself since last week."
"O-Oh," Hinako scratches her cheek. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Kachuujou-san. I was just under the weather, that's all."
"But seeing you all happy, I'm happy, too!" Marie laughs happily.
Hinako looks at Marie and she can't help but smile while looking at her cheerful friend.
May 21, 2016 - Evening
"Welcome to Ahnenerbe!" Nero greeted at the three customers who entered her shop. When she recognized the three, the aura around her became twice as excited. "Suzuhana-san, Kachuujou-san, and Kanzaki-san! Welcome!"
"Hello, Souji-san," Hinako greeted with a soft smile. "Table for three?"
"Yes, right this way," Nero said as she gestured them towards a table near the window.
Hinako, Marie, and Furin followed Nero to their table and sat down as they got there.
The blond-headed manager lifts up her pad and pen, ready to take their orders. "May I get your order right now? Or will you still be deciding?"
"I'll have the stamina set, please," Furin ordered.
"The stamina set? Why would you need that when it's already nighttime?" Marie asks, curious.
"I'm a little mentally tired after today's exams," Furin replies. "I just want to regain a little energy."
"The stamina set," Nero muttered as she wrote on her pad. "Any drinks?"
"Oolong tea, please."
"And oolong tea," Nero scribbled down. Then, she looks at Marie. "What about you, Kachuujou-san?"
"Do you have any cake that's available today, Nero-san?" Marie asks while looking at the menu.
"Yes, we do. Shall I recommend the new cake that Helena-chan made? She's our top baker here," Nero happily recommended.
"Really? I want to try it!" Marie's eyes sparkles and flowers appeared on the background, thinking of what the cake tastes like.
"Sure," Nero scribbled the order down on her pad. "How about you, Suzuhana-san?"
"I'll have some curry rice on a bowl and blue lemonade," Hinako said slowly.
"Umu!" Nero finishes scribbling on her pad. "Uh, Kachuujou-san? Is cake you're all going to order?"
"Yep! Oh, and some iced mocha, too!" The pink-headed girl adds.
"All right, got that," Nero scribbles down 'iced mocha' before placing her pad and pen on the pocket of her apron. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Till then, please enjoy your stay."
"Thank you very much, Souji-san," Hinako said.
Nero returns to the kitchen, leaving the three to relax in the soft ambiance of Ahnenerbe. Then, the bell of the entrance door rang.
"Welcome to Ahnenerbe!" A waitress said politely.
"Table for three, please," a familiar, calm voice said.
Furin was sitting on the chair that has the view by the entrance. He was surprised to see who the new customers were. "S-Souji-senpai?"
"Eh?" Marie turns around and saw Asura with Itsuka and Gil. "It's Souji-senpai, Seifuku-senpai, and Douji-senpai!"
Upon hearing Gil's name, Hinako froze. She still remembers the argument she had with him and they haven't settled it at all since last week due to them being busy for the exam week. She never saw Gil, not even once, since last week and for the duration of the exam week. To her, it's all awkward. And after hearing his story from Nero, Hinako can't help but be a little guilty since she was the one who brought up the argument about their parents first.
"Right this way, please," the waitress said, gesturing them to the table that was beside Hinako's.
Asura, Itsuka, and Gil followed the waitress and took their seats on the place behind Furin. Asura and Itsuka were sitting together, with their backs facing Hinako and Marie while Gil sat on the other side of the table, facing Hinako. Gil notices the familiar brown-headed underclassman and eyes at her.
"It's you," Gil said in a dark tone. He became annoyed after seeing Hinako's face. "Suzuhana."
Hinako looks away, feeling a little sad with a mixture of guilt on her face. Itsuka looks at Gil and was confused as to who he was talking to. Then, he looks behind him and saw Hinako and her friends.
"Oh, Suzuhana-san! I didn't know you were here," Itsuka happily said.
Asura also turns around. "Ah, you're right. It is Suzuhana-san."
Hinako breathes a little air first before looking at the two of them with a small smile. "Good evening, Souji-senpai, Seifuku-senpai, and...Douji-senpai," Hinako was hesitant in looking at Gil.
"Are you three here for dinner?" Asura asks, looking at Furin.
"Yes, senpai. We're kind of treating ourselves since the exam week has just ended," Furin explains.
"I see. Relaxing after a week of hard work is the sure way to reward yourselves," Itsuka chuckles. "We're here for the same reason, too."
"You just dragged me to come here, Itsuka," Gil said, crossing his arms over his chest and crossing his legs, as well. "I was supposed to go home when you suddenly abducted me."
"A-Abducted?" Marie releases an anime sweat-drop.
"Now, now, Douji-kun, you're making me look bad here," Itsuka releases an anime sweat-drop, too.
Gil eyes at his senior. "But it's true. I don't wanna eat here."
"Asura-chan!" Nero walks towards Asura's group. "It's rare of you to visit me!"
"Big sister, hello," Asura looks at her big sister with a smile. "I'm sorry if I haven't been frequenting your shop ever since I became the secretary of the student council."
"Oh, it's okay. As long as you don't overwork yourself, then it's all fine to me. Umu!" Nero says with much glee. "Can I get you anything?"
"We're still going to decide on what we'll eat, so can you please bring us some water first?" Itsuka politely asked.
"You're quite the polite talker, Itsuka-kun," Nero chuckles. "But, sure. Just for a moment."
Nero walks back to the counter and prepared glasses filled with water and ice. After a minute, she came back and places each in front of them.
"Thank you," Itsuka slightly bows his head.
"You're welcome," Nero smiles. "Asura-chan, would you like me to cook for you and your friends' dinner?"
"Oh, I might bother you, big sister," Asura said, a little embarrassed. "Y-You're already busy enough."
"Nonsense! I haven't cooked you up dinner for quite some time now, so I want to cook for you!"
"O-Oh, s-sure, big sister," Asura blushes a little. "Thank you."
"I'll whip up my best dish, so please wait!" Nero said before returning to the kitchen.
"Tch. I wanna go home already," Gil complains under his breath.
"I'm sorry for dragging you here, Douji-kun. I just want you to come with us once in a while," Itsuka said. "Also, it's my treat!"
"But I didn't want to come with you. You literally forced me and pulled me along with you."
"It's just this once," Itsuka defends himself as he raises his right pointing finger.
"God, you're so annoying! Will you butt off of me, Itsuka-"
All of a sudden, Gil was splashed with water on his face. Marie, Furin, Asura, and Itsuka were surprised, and so as the other customers from a two-table radius from them. Hinako was standing right in front of Gil with the empty glass on her hand. She glares down at Gil with a death glare. Gil, then, slammed his fist onto the table and immediately stood up.
"What the hell did you do that for?!" He shouts. Then, he was met with a painful sting on his cheek. Hinako just slapped him.
"S-Suzuhana-chan?!" Marie was shocked for Hinako. "W-What...?"
"H-Hey, calm down!" Furin said as he stood up and placed a hand over Hinako's shoulder.
"When will you tone down that attitude of yours, senpai? You...remind me of that woman so bad, it hurts," Hinako mutters under her breath, her right fist shaking. "Seifuku-senpai is your senior yet you treat him that way."
"What's your deal, you good-for-nothing woman?!" Gil was furious, redness in his cheeks. "How dare you... How dare you do that?! You splashed water on my face and now you just slapped me!"
"You deserve it!" Hinako shoots up her look at Gil with a flustered but teary face. "For once, I thought that I can somehow share the same pain with you! But now, I see that I am mistaken. I hate you, Douji-senpai, and I know now that you won't accept me. I tried my best to accept you as my senior but with that attitude of yours, it's making it more difficult for me!"
"I don't need you to accept me!"
Hinako harshly placed the glass that was on her hand on the table and immediately grabbed her bag, running out of Ahnenerbe.
"Hey! Come back here!" Gil said, immediately following Hinako.
"Douji-san?! Stop!" Asura said but was unheard. "Gil..."
Hinako walks in a fast pace, covering her eyes with her hands and not minding the people in front of her.
"Hey!" Gil was able to catch up to Hinako and placed his hand over her shoulder with a tight grip, hurting her a little.
"That hurts!" Hinako shoved Gil's hand away and looked at him with tearful eyes. "Leave me alone!"
"How can I just leave you alone when you did that to me?!" Gil yells. "You have quite the guts to do that to me, you mongrel!"
"How can I just let that slide, huh?! I can see how Seifuku-senpai was feeling sorry after he dragged you along. Why can't you just see that?!" Hinako places a hand over her chest. "How hard is it for you to accept a simple apology?!"
"Why do you keep on meddling with my business, huh?!"
"Because I hate that attitude of yours!" Hinako stomped on the ground. "It reminds me of the person who forced my mom to work herself over the limit! That person was the reason that my mom died!"
Gil stopped shouting and was just wide-eyed after hearing that from Hinako.
To be continued: (Spring) Chapter 10
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CHARACTER PROFILE #3: Itsuka Seifuku (征服いつか)
Played by: Alexander the Great (Iskandar), the King of Conquerors (Fate/Zero, Grand Order)
Birth date: July 20, 1997 (in Wikipedia, his birthday is stated as either the 20th or 21st of July, so I decided to put his birthday on the 20th since he shares the same birthdate as my boyfriend)
Gender: Male
Age: 18 years old (turning 19 years old)
Height: 212 cm (6'9" ft.) (A/C: That's helluvah tall! *laughs*)
Weight: 130 kg (286.60 lbs.)
Year Level: 3rd Year, Class 3-A
Hair Color: Burning Red
Style: Short, slightly curly with matching red beard
Eye Color: Red