The 2-A trio didn't need to wait long to receive their punishment. As soon as they left the principal's office, they returned to their classroom to grab their PE uniforms, then went straight to a changing room. Though for the girls, their activity was ninety percent talk and ten percent getting changed.
Lisa was reminded of something as she untied her striped necktie. Back then Hina muttered about her being killed (figuratively) by her sister if she were suspended from school.
"So you have a sister, Hina?"
"Yup! Onee-chan is eight minutes older than me!"
"Wow, twins at that!" said Lisa. "You guys did matching clothes as kids?"
"We used to switch places all the time." Hina smiled as she was reminiscing, then it turned into a smug. "Even mom and dad were fooled back then~" Her green eyes went glittery as she carried on. "And, and... Onee-chan is the coolest person in the world! She's very zappin' with her guitar and she joins a band too!"
Lisa giggled. Hina reminded her of Ako and Tomoe, her juniors at the dance club. How the younger sister admired her older sister; a bond that Lisa never had.
Hina spun her blue track jacket lightly. "How about you, Lisa-chi? Do you have any siblings?"
Lisa shook her head and sighed. "Being an only child gets lonely sometimes..." she said. "Mom and dad are there, but I can't talk about the latest trends or hang out with them. There's this generation gap thingy, you see..."
"Welp, it's not like Onee-chan and I talk often these days," Hina replied. She still wore her smile, though not as bright as before.
"Do you guys have a fight?" was what Lisa would've asked, but decided not to. It was impolite for her to pry into Hina's private matter since they only became friends just recently. She'd better switch the topic.
"Kaoru, you've been awfully quiet––"
"Eh, she's sleeping..." said Hina as she approached the Haneoka prince.
Kaoru was fast asleep while sitting on a bench. She leaned her back to the wall behind. Unlike Lisa and Hina who took forever to change, the purple-haired girl had worn her tracksuit. She also donned two extra accessories that didn't quite fit in: a medical mask along with a scarf.
"Now I'm afraid she's going to collapse for real during our punishment, ahaha..."
"If that happens, we'll just carry Kaoru-kun to the nurse's room together!"
Kaoru won't be pleased with that situation due to her princely-idealism-thing, but it'll be very mean to leave her laying on the ground.
"Let's leave her be for a few more minutes," Lisa suggested. "I forgot to bring something, by the way. Wanna tag along to the class?"
»↠ ≈☆≈ ↞«
"Say... Seta-san, why do you look like that?"
...was what Miss Kobayashi uttered when she saw Kaoru. The PE teacher made no attempt to hide her confusion, with her eyebrows raised like that. The school prince's fans from 2-B were also expressing their concern.
"Please get back to your warming up, girls. You may want to avoid sprained legs," said Miss Kobayashi to the neighboring class' students. As the girls were walking away, she turned back to Kaoru. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"Not in the slightest, my mother kitten," Kaoru replied as she stroked her purple forelock. "The little kittens need to focus solely on your PE lesson." She coughed a little bit before carrying on. "It would be unfortunate for you if their attention were shifted due to the presence of yours truly."
"Oh, you remind me of idols! They wear masks in public to hide their sparkle sparkly presence~" said Hina.
"...Right." Miss Kobayashi deadpanned.
"In Kaoru's case, the outcome is the opposite, though." Lisa giggled. "You're more stand out than ever right now."
"Now I regret worrying over you." Miss Kobayashi sighed, then pointed at six buckets of water in front of the 2-A trio. "Just carry that and watch 2-B's lesson, capiche?"
"Aye aye, Ma'am!" Hina gave the homeroom teacher a salute.
And thus, the punishment began. Each of the 2-A girls carried two buckets of water. Although being disciplined right now, the three chatted casually just like friends who were hanging out at a cafe.
"Yeah, we've been together since we were kids," Lisa said.
"Mmm..." Hina touched her chin. "If you've spent so many years together, doesn't it make you guys like sisters?"
"Come to think of it; I guess so? Her parents are kinda like my second mom and dad too," Lisa replied. She giggled and added, "Looks like I'm not an only child, after all..."
"Yup, yup!" Hina nodded in agreement.
"Speaking of her, she's looking this way~"
Yukina was among the students of 2-B. The silver-haired girl gave Lisa a frown and took a step forward, but immediately turned around as she got called by Miss Kobayashi.
"Yukina the lone-wolf songstress, huh..." Kaoru said. "I'd like to––" she coughed. "––perform musicals with her."
"Wow, that's going to be interesting!" Lisa commented.
Kaoru let out another cough, which made Lisa became more worried. She let go of the buckets, picked a scarf from her track jacket's pocket, then put it around Kaoru's neck. "Wha––" the taller girl protested, but Hina immediately followed Lisa's action (her version of knot looked like a headscarf, though).
"Why the extra scarves?" Kaoru asked confusedly. "You should wear it for yourself. It's unfleeting if my little kittens were catching a cold too."
"Catching a cold too, mm?" Hina gave a smug smile. "Admitting that you have a cold, now?"
"Huh?" Kaoru startled. "Y-you must be hearing things, Hina. I never said that word."
"I heard that too, you know," said Lisa.
Kaoru averted her gaze to the skies. "What fine weather we have!" she talked to herself (as well as animals) when a flock of birds was passing by. "Oh, what do we have here? Pleased to meet you, little birds!"
"It's kinda sad to see her desperately hiding her cold," Lisa whispered at Hina. The topic of the conversation, meanwhile, was still busily communicating with animals.
"I wonder why Kaoru-kun does that," Hina whispered back.
Kaoru removed Lisa and Hina's scarves. "I appreciate your gesture, but... I'm okay, really," she said as she handed the fabrics back to its owners. "Here, put these on."
Hina didn't welcome the return. Instead, she pouted. "No can do, Kaoru-kun! We're gonna catch a cold for real if we wear that now."
Although half of Kaoru's face was covered with a medical mask, Lisa somehow could see the puzzled look on her face.
"You heard the girl," Lisa agreed. "Our scarves are already contaminated. You have no choice but to wear those~"
Kaoru chuckled. "How crafty of you," she said. "Alright then, I'll make use of the scarves," said the girl then as she wore the fabrics back.
The three lifted their buckets again. The sound of Kaoru's cough filled the air a few times.
"By the way, these buckets felt heavier the longer we carry them..."
"Do you need a hand, princess?"
"Thanks, but Kobayashi-sensei will scold me if I don't carry it," Lisa replied. "Besides, your hands are full, right?"
Kaoru put her buckets to the ground. "Not if I spread my hands," she claimed as she did a T-pose. "Come, hang the buckets!"
"Hold that pose, Kaoru-kun!" exclaimed Hina. She took out a phone from her track jacket pocket. "Imma capture it and make some memes!"
"A meme about how my pose reminds you of Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio?" asked Kaoru. "Ah, how fleeting!"
"I'm quite certain it's not what crosses in her mind," Lisa commented.
"Lisa?"
"Oh! Hey, Yukina!"
Lisa waved at her friend who walked toward her. Yukina wore a standard second-year students' PE attire which consisted of a white t-shirt and a pair of blue track pants. Her long hair was put into a ponytail.
"What brings you here?"
"Greetings, my princess!"
"It's me who should ask that question," Yukina ignored Kaoru. She gave Lisa a concerned look.
Lisa replied, "We are punished by Kobayashi-sensei. No biggie, though."
"Is that so..." Yukina muttered. She then said, "I should return to the field. Talk to you later, Lisa," and walked away.
"Wait!" Kaoru exclaimed; making Yukina stopped and turned around. Kaoru approached the songstress and kneel before her. "My princess, I believe we are bound to meet by the strings of fate. Would you like to perform in a musical with me?"
"No," Yukina coldly replied. "Who are you, anyway?"
Hina laughed at the theater club star, while Lisa could hear an imaginary sound of Kaoru's heart broken into pieces.
Kaoru faked a cough. "M-my, how foolish of me. Of course, you're unable to recognize yours truly with this mask on." She took off her medical mask and tried to ask Yukina once more. "It is I, Kaoru Seta of the theater club. Pleased to meet you, my princess."
Yukina shrugged and wore a flat "oh, it's you" face. "Still no. Sorry."
And off she went; leaving Kaoru who was still in her princely-kneel mode.
Lisa tapped Kaoru's shoulder. "Please don't take it to heart. She meant no harm."
"Playing hard to get, hmm?" Kaoru smiled. "She sure is a shy little kitten."
"Ahaha..." Lisa chuckled. Should she tell her that Yukina was simply not interested to perform in musicals?
"Poor Kaoru-kun!" exclaimed Hina as she hugged Kaoru from behind. "Lemme comfort your broken heart!"
"I thank you, my little kitten."
"...Hey, you're hot, Kaoru-kun."
"Plenty of little kittens told me so. It is a sin to be such a fleetingly beautiful creature."
"Nope, I mean the feverish kind of hot."