Although it was Shizuka's locker that had been opened, it hadn't actually been her that screamed, but the female student a few lockers away from her who happened to catch a glimpse of the contents onside.
"W-What are those things, Yoshino-san?!" screeched the female student as she pointed a shaking finger at Shizuka's locker, seemingly frightened out of her mind.
Inside Shizuka's locker were the things a typical student would've had such as: neatly arranged notebooks, spare writing utensils and a few chocolate bars, and candies, with the strange addition of white squishy sausage-sized lumps precariously strewn amongst her belongings.
Are these...insect larvae? They look sort of familiar somehow...
Shizuka reached out a finger to touch one of the squishy lumps but was pulled away by Madoka at the last second.
When he had heard a shriek ring out from Shizuka's direction, Madoka had flew over instantly.
Behind Madoka stood a bewildered Satoru who asked, "What happened? Are you okay, Shizuka-chan?"
"There's something in my locker. I'm not sure what it is but from the looks of it, it looks like insect larvae maybe?"
The entire time Shizuka's expression remained unperturbed as she was a person who only had a few real fears and insects weren't one of them.
Was this what Unknown meant by punishments? Clearly, they don't know me that well. As if I'd be scared by a couple bugs.
Satoru moved closer to her locker to inspect it. After he picked up one of the lumps he held it up for examination. "It looks like the larvae of a rhinoceros beetle?"
Wait, could it be?!
Suddenly spirited, Shizuka wiggled her way out from Madoka's embrace and darted over to Satoru.
After taking the lump from Satoru, Shizuka ogled it seriously for a couple seconds. Then, she positioned it in front of her mouth and took a generous bite out its head—to the shock and horror of everyone present.
"Shizuka!"
"Shizuka-chan!"
After chewing for a while Shizuka wiped off a trace of clear residual from her lips. "Mmm~ fruity jelly filling."
"...Jelly filling?"
After nodding happily, she explained, "They're jelly filled gummies made to look like realistic insects! They're to size and scale and everything! I've heard people raving about these online and I've been wanting to try them! I thought someone was playing a prank on me but maybe it's actually a gift?"
Before Shizuka could finish off the last of the insect gummy, Madoka snatched it from her hands.
Shizuka made an unhappy face as she scolded Madoka cutely, "Geez, Madoka there's more in my locker. You don't have to take mine!"
"Eating too many sweets is bad for you. Plus, we don't know where these came from. They're not safe to eat," asserted Madoka as he began to to confiscate the remaining gummies from the open locker.
Shizuka pouted. "Aww but they're so fun..."
"If you want, I'll make you some sweets later."
Shizuka's eyes lit up hungrily. Madoka's legendary handmade sweets?
"You promise?"
Madoka nodded with a smile on his face and then headed towards the nearest garbage can to discard of the gummies.
However, before he could return, an adorable looking female student approached him and began animately chatting with him. Shizuka who had never seen Madoka being that close to another female student found herself a bit taken aback.
She's probably a first or second year? She's cute. Petite frame, fluffy hair that just about reaches her thin shoulders, big round eyes, rosy cheeks, a cute button nose and a small mouth? Looks like an idol. Wait...is she wearing pants?
Shizuka rubbed her eyes. Holy crap she—no, he is! That's a boy? Or maybe it's a girl in pants?
Satoru chuckled when he saw her twisted face. "That's Ichinomiya Aoi. He's a first year male student on the student council."
Shizuka gaped. "He's so small and cute! I mean it's not that boys can't be small or cute but at first glance, I was so sure I was looking at a cute girl."
Dun dun dun trap card activated! Things are certainly becoming more game-like.
Satoru nodded in understanding. "A lot of people make that mistake but he's actually really sensitive about his effeminate features. Once you get to know him, you'll find that he's a nice and hardworking kid."
Satoru paused, then his tone suddenly became serious. "Ne, Shizuka-chan, please take care of Madoka, okay?"
Shizuka silently waited for him to continue.
Satoru smiled gently. "I said it earlier but the real Madoka is actually really different from how he looks..."
"He's said that to me before too..."
"Madoka's hard to get close to at first and he's awkward at expressing his real feelings but he's the most loyal and caring person I've ever known," revealed Satoru. "To the people he's recognized, he'll do anything and everything for them and if he has to he'll sacrifice his personal well-being in the process. That's why he becomes jealous so easily and becomes awfully upset when the people he loves betrays his expectations. But it's not his fault! It's not!"
Belatedly realizing that he had startled Shizuka with his abrupt exclamations, Satoru stopped for a moment to collect himself before continuing, "As for why he became this way, he should probably tell you himself. I've probably already said too much...Just know that he's a good person at heart."
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
"You probably find it a bit strange that I'm dumping all of this on you when you guys only just started dating," began Satoru, "but I feel like I can trust you because you seem like a good person. More importantly, Madoka chose you. Out of everyone, he chose you. You're the only person he's ever actively reached out to and for a long, long, time now, Madoka has always l-"
"Satoru, you talk too much."
Unknowingly, it seemed that Madoka had finished his conversation with Aoi and returned to Satoru and Shizuka.
"It's kind of become a habit among my family members," replied Satoru unfazed. Addressing Shizuka, he went on to explain, "I have a pretty big family so there's always someone to talk to and now it's hard to stop. Sorry if I bored you, Shizuka-chan."
Shizuka smiled. "No, not at all. How many people are there in your family anyways, Satoru-kun, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Including me, there's eight people living at my house," responded Satoru.
"Wow, that must be really lively!"
Satoru chuckled. "It often is since there's me, my siblings, and my dad."
"You have six other siblings?"
"Yeah, I'm the third son." Laughing, Satoru admitted, "It gets hectic at times but I've gotten used to it. It's actually weirder when the house is quiet."
"Ehhhh everyone's gathered except for us?"
When she heard Fuyuki's voice Shizuka instinctively spun around. "Fuu-chan, Mii-chan!"
Fuyuki sauntered over with Mika in town. "We thought it looked like you guys from a distance. We weren't going to disrupt the new couple at first but then Mii-chan spotted Fumiya-san so we figured it was okay to join."
"Good afternoon, Fumiya-san, Semi-san," greeted Mika politely.
Following her lead, the group exchanged greetings back and forth before Shizuka formally introduced her friends to Madoka.
"Nice to meet you," said Madoka with a smile.
"Holy—the power of that smile up close is crazy! Every single feature on that face is so beautiful and perfectly in balance!"
This comment earned Fuyuki a hard nudge from Shizuka and while this move caused her to feel a dull pain in her side, it wasn't nearly enough to deter Fuyuki from talking so on she went, "The only way to describe it would be that line from that book you recommended to us. You know the one with the fixation on pretty faces? How did they describe really beautiful people in that book again? It was like a measurement thing?"
Fearing that Fuyuki would only continue to blabbering if she didn't respond to her, Shizuka sighed and said, "A Helen. If someone was stunningly attractive then they'd measure them by Helens. It was a reference to Helen of Troy. So if your face was equivalent to a "Helen" it'd mean that it was a face that could launch a thousand ships. A milli-Helen was one ship and a mega-Helen meant a billion ships."
"Right! Semi-san would definitely be a mega-Helen."
"Hmm a mega-Helen that has a nice ring to it. It's like the phrase "a beauty that could overturn cities", " mused Satoru.
Mika who had been quietly smiling for some time abruptly declared, "Semi-san, is indeed beautiful, but I think someone with Fumiya-san's looks is good too."
Fuyuki nodded in agreement. "Definitely. Fumiya-san's looks are of the refreshing and healing variety. The kind who makes you smile unknowingly or the kind of guy you'd want to have with you on a rainy day."
"The type you'd want to marry," added Mika.
Satoru blushed until even his ears were red. "Satou-san and Mori-san...you guys praise me much too highly...but t-thank you."
Fuyuki blinked, not having expected such an innocent reaction, then grinned mischievously.
Oh man, she's totally made him a target for teasing hasn't she? Good luck, Satoru-kun!
Moving over, Fuyuki casually draped an arm on Satoru. Then, she positioned her lips close to Satoru's ear and deliberately spoke in a charming voice, "So, Fumiya-kun, what were you guys talking about before we got here?"
"Um, Mori-san, it sort of tickles."
"Fuu-chan, you're making Fumiya-san uncomfortable," said Mika as she lightly pushed Fuyuki away. "Sorry, Fumiya-san, Fuu-chan's not always aware that she's overstepping boundaries."
Satoru smiled good-naturally. "It's okay, I don't mind. I have four younger siblings as you know, Satou-san. They climb on me all the time for fun. Earlier I was telling Shizuka-chan about it."
"Shizuka-chan"?" repeated Mika with her eyebrows slightly scrunched up.
"Is there something wrong, Satou-san?"
"Well, it's just...you've known me longer than you've known Shii-chan but I'm still "Satou-san."
"Oh um I've never thought about that..."
Shizuka's eyes darted back and forth between Satoru and Mika. She had never seen Mika behave in such a way before.
This development...Does Mii-chan like Satoru-kun?
"It's settled then? From now on you can call me Mika."
"Alright, Mika-chan, you can call me Satoru too."
Mika beamed. "Ah right, I've been meaning to ask but how's Sayo-chan been lately?"
"She's doing well now. She asks about "Mika nee-chan" a lot though," answered Satoru with a troubled smile on his face.
"You should bring Sayo-chan over to my house to play. I promised her I would let her visit last time and try some of the specialties of our in-house chef. Sayaka-chan, Sayuri-chan, and Satoshi-kun can come visit too. We have more than enough room for everyone. Oh and of course you should visit too, Satoru-kun."
"We couldn't trouble you, Mika-chan! We still owe you for last time."
Shizuka tilted her head unable to follow the conversation and next to her stood Fuyuki who was equally lost.
"Sayo, Sayaka, Sayuri, and Satoshi are the names of Satoru's younger sisters and brother," explained Madoka. "He also has an older brother named Satake and an older sister named Saki."
"Whoa, he's got so many siblings!" effused Fuyuki.
"I had no idea that Mi-chan was that close to Satoru-kun though. I knew they were in the same class but I didn't anticipate this," commented Shizuka.
"I heard that a couple months ago, when Sayo, Satoru's youngest sister, ran away from home, Satou-san happened to find out about it and helped them find her."
Fuyuki gasped. "Something like that happened and Mii-chan never told us?"
At this moment, the bell rang signalling the end of the lunch break.
"Uwah lunch is over already?" wailed Fuyuki. "Why does lunch always seem to go by so quickly but math and history seem to drag on forever?"
Patting Fuyuki's back, Shizuka said, "You only feel this way because you're not interested in the material. Now let's go before you're marked late by Bando-sensei again."
"Satoru-kun and I are going in that direction. If we take the northern stairwell then we'll get to our classroom faster," said Mika.
"Okay, see you later then!"
"I feel like we're witnessing the making of another couple," mumbled Fuyuki as she observed the two figures leaving.
"Stop mumbling, Fuu-chan. We need to get to class."
Fuyuki narrowed her eyes then declared, "I'm taking the western stairwell."
"Eh? Why not just go this way with us?" asked Shizuka. "Our classrooms are right next to one another."
"Like hell I want to be the third wheel. Go ahead without me you two! I will head westward down the path of solitude! But alas as a writer once wrote, I am not lonely because loneliness expresses the pain of being alone while solitude expresses the glory of being alone! And I, Mori Fuyuki, am glorious!" cried Fuyuki dramatically as she glided through the hallways.
She has acted in one too many plays that one. She might as well join the drama club permanently.
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"I'm sorry about Fuu-chan's ramblings earlier. She goes into these long spiels sometimes and she's nearly impossible to stop. She wasn't trying to belittle you or anything so I hope you don't think poorly of her," regretfully expressed Shizuka as they headed back to their class.
"It's okay, you don't have to apologize. It's a rather amusing expression, "mega-Helen." Besides, I'm honoured that you think my face is attractive enough to launch a billion ships," Madoka said with a quiet laugh.
I forgot this guy had some narcisstic tendencies...
"It is a little calamitous though," remarked Shizuka. "I always felt a bit bad for Helen's husband whenever I think of the myth. Imagine randomly losing your wife to some prince who won the gift of getting the fairest lady in the land? Talk about an unwarranted NTR out of the blue, huh? That being said I'm not sure I'd wage an entire war to get her back though."
"Oh?"
"Well, realistically speaking, isn't sacrificing the lives of countless soliders in return for one person simply too selfish?"
"Even if it were the one person you loved the most?" asked Madoka in a low voice.
"Even then," Shizuka insisted. "Menelaus was a king. No matter how attached to Helen he was, he shouldn't have prioritized his feelings over the good of the people. It wasn't rational."
"Love is irrational," Madoka countered.
"A king can't afford to be irrational!" Because of her competitive nature Shizuka couldn't lose. "A king can only be the king if he can lead the people. A king who forsakes the people has no right to be king."
After a pause Madoka softly replied, "Is a king not a human being too? Does he not have flesh, blood, and feelings? It's easy to say that a king should be impartial but saying it is one thing and following through with it is another thing."
"I suppose...b-"
"I understand his feelings...If it were for the person I loved, I wouldn't hesitate to abandon everything or even destroy the entire world."
"But what about all of those lives that would be lost? What about all those innocent people?"
"So what if a thousand lives or a hundred thousand lives or even the lives of everyone in the world were lost? None of those lives would be able to compare to the one life of the person I loved."
Shizuka unconsciously revealed a smile filled with contempt. "You say that now, but there's what? Seven billion people in this world? Initially it may seem difficult but eventually there's bound to be someone that could replace the person you once thought you loved the most."
With an incomparably sincere expression on his face Madoka stated, "If it were really the person I loved, there would never be able to be a replacement."
"Even so you'd really be willing to give up everything and even forsake the entire world for them?"
"I will always choose to forsake the world rather than the person I love...After all, why should the world exist if the person I love isn't a part of it?"