"Hey, little cutie over there, come here for a sec!"
The girl who had been eating a cream puff put it down and called out loudly to Ruriya Hojo.
"Eh? Is something the matter?" Ruriya stopped and looked at the four girls, puzzled. They didn't seem like students from Sobu High—actually, they didn't even look like high school students.
"Oh, nothing serious," the girl said with a sly grin. "You're just super cute. Can I get your contact info? Anyway, since you guys have your cultural festival today, you don't have class, right? How about going out for a drink tonight?"
"I'm sorry, but our café has a rule—we can't give out contact information. Also, I don't drink," Ruriya replied.
In truth, there was no such rule. At least, Akira Hiyama hadn't set one. Ruriya just wanted an excuse to politely turn them down.
The girl who had been eating earlier seemed to be the leader of the group. Her hair was dyed a dull gold and curled, her heavy makeup more of a statement than an attempt at beauty. Her tanned skin and flashy "landmine-style" outfit screamed for attention. The other three girls looked about the same—bright, loud, and shallow.
"Hah? What rule? Just admit you don't want to give it!"
"Hey, boss, don't scare the little beauty, okay? She looks like the type to cry if you so much as raise your voice."
"Your Kansai accent's cute! Where are you from? Kobe?"
"My hometown's in Kobe too! You know XX University? We're students there! If you apply there in the future, we'll be your senpais~"
"Uh… I…"
Ruriya's expression tensed. She was growing increasingly uncomfortable. This wasn't just small talk—it was clearly unwanted flirting. And more than that, she hated this kind of situation.
For the record, she had never even heard of the university they mentioned.
Then, the tanned, golden-haired girl—their so-called leader—reached out and grabbed Ruriya's wrist.
"Ah!" Ruriya gasped, fear flashing across her face as she instinctively tried to pull back. Her expression turned to one of disgust—this kind of behavior was far beyond her limits.
"Seems like this staff badge is good for more than just skipping the line," Kotomi Izumi muttered, pulling the badge she had tucked in her pocket earlier as she walked toward them.
Without a word, Kotomi grabbed the golden-haired woman by the shoulder and shoved her back, stepping between them to shield Ruriya.
"Tch. Who the hell are you? What's your problem?" the woman snapped, glaring at her.
Kotomi held up her staff badge and said coolly, "I'm a café staff member. Harassing our workers is unacceptable. You're making her uncomfortable. If you keep this up, you're not welcome here."
The four women burst out laughing mockingly.
Kotomi's delicate brows furrowed slightly, a flicker of anger flashing across her calm face. Her irritation was clearly building.
Kotomi Izumi wasn't the kind of person to swallow her anger.
"Get out," she said flatly.
The warmth in her voice disappeared, replaced by pure, icy coldness.
The three other women stood up as well, surrounding Kotomi in a loose semicircle. The golden-haired one, who stood about 179 centimeters tall—towering over most girls in Japan—leaned in threateningly.
"You've got some nerve, brat. Acting all tough. What are you to her, huh? Her girlfriend?"
"Boss, this white-haired one's a total knockout too. That face and figure... unreal."
"She's got that cold expression—love it. The harder they look to approach, the better it feels when they break."
"You think I didn't notice? I was planning to hit on both of them. But she pissed me off, so I held back."
After saying that, the golden-haired woman smirked and leaned closer to Kotomi, her tone sharpening.
"You've got quite the attitude for such a small girl," the golden-haired woman sneered, her expression darkening. "Maybe I should teach you a lesson—knock that arrogance out of you. If you really piss me off, I can't promise I won't ruin that pretty little face of yours."
She reached out toward Kotomi Izumi, her movement dripping with malicious intent. It wasn't hard to tell what she was after—it was nothing good.
Kotomi let out a quiet sigh. The next moment, before anyone could react, she stepped smoothly out of reach. In one swift motion, she pressed her small hand against the woman's shoulder.
A dull crack echoed through the café—the woman's shoulder had been dislocated.
Before the scream could even escape her throat, Kotomi's hand slid up and clamped tightly around her neck. Her five fingers dug in with precise, crushing strength, pressing down hard and forcing the taller woman to the ground. Her head struck the floor with a loud thud.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The intense pain from the dislocation, followed by the choking force on her throat, made the golden-haired woman shriek uncontrollably. She thrashed violently, but Kotomi's grip was like a vice—unyielding, unmoving. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free.
"Life isn't long or short," Kotomi said softly, her tone eerily calm. "But why make it shorter by provoking me? Are you that eager to take a shortcut to the end?"
Her grip tightened. A gentle smile curved her lips—a smile bright and warm, like spring sunlight—but the warmth was false. Beneath it, a chilling murderous aura pulsed, hidden just behind her clear eyes, ready to burst forth at any moment.
"If I killed you and your three little friends right here," she continued in a voice as light as a sigh, "do you think anyone would even care? At worst, I'd just have to transfer to another school."
The brightness of her smile contrasted so sharply with the darkness in her eyes that it made the golden-haired woman freeze entirely. Every nerve in her body screamed danger. The cold floor beneath her only amplified the terror rising from her spine.
I'm really going to die here…! she thought in panic.
Kotomi's fingers pressed down harder. The pain and suffocation overwhelmed the woman's senses—until her world went dark, and she lost consciousness.
"Hm? Passed out already?" Kotomi murmured. "Pathetic. A minute ago she was talking big, and now she's fainted from fear. I can't stand people like this—no power, no backing, but they act like they're untouchable."
She gave a soft, disdainful laugh, then—still gripping the unconscious woman by the neck—stood up and dragged her toward the window.
Everyone nearby froze, unsure of what she was about to do.
Then Kotomi pulled the window open in one smooth motion—and before anyone could react, she tossed the woman out.
After throwing the woman out the window, Kotomi Izumi leaned out slightly and looked down. Her lips curled in mild disappointment as she clicked her tongue.
"Tch. So the second floor really isn't high enough, huh? I thought there'd be more blood."
The golden-haired woman had landed in a patch of grass below, battered and humiliated but still alive. Barely.
That, apparently, disappointed Kotomi. When she'd grabbed the woman by the throat earlier, she had two options—throw her out the door, or out the window. She'd chosen the latter, expecting to see a satisfying, messy end. But the fall from the second floor just wasn't enough.
"If only the café were on the fifth floor," she murmured, her voice tinged with regret. The disappointment in her tone terrified the three remaining girls.
"P–Psycho…!"
"She's disappointed her friend didn't die—she really wanted to kill her!"
"Do you think she's already dead…?"
Kotomi glanced at them and let out a cold, humorless chuckle. "I wish she were. But the second floor's too low. Right now, your 'leader' is lying face-down on the grass. If you want to help her, I suggest you get moving. A fall from this height won't kill her, but broken bones? Who knows. Of course, if you'd rather not bother, you could just get out of Sobu High entirely. Leave her there to rot, maybe?"
The girls just stood there, pale and trembling. None of them moved. With a pleasant smile, Kotomi cracked her knuckles and took a slow step forward.
"What's wrong? Don't want to choose? Or would you rather I throw you down too? Personally, I recommend option two—it's faster."
Every word she spoke crushed what little courage the girls had left. By the end, her tone alone shattered their nerves completely. Screaming and sobbing, the three of them bolted for the exit, stumbling over each other as they fled.
Though Kotomi's actions were undeniably frightening, she hadn't actually killed anyone. And considering how obnoxious those four had been earlier, many of the customers had already grown irritated with them. Watching Kotomi drive them out—even by such violent means—was almost a relief.
In truth, Kotomi could've easily snapped the woman's neck on the spot. But since this maid café was jointly run by Class 1-C and the Cheerleading Club, killing someone would've ruined not only the café but the entire cultural festival. Everything would've been shut down early.
As for legal consequences? With the Izumi family's team of lawyers, any charges could be wiped away easily—and the four women might even end up being the ones sued instead.
Still, it would've been a shame. The festival was special, and she hadn't even performed yet with Yukino and Yui. Ending things now would've been such a waste.
Watching Kotomi's back, Ruriya Hojo felt something warm swell inside her chest. Her heart thumped rapidly, almost painfully.
It was that same feeling again—the one she'd experienced a long time ago when Kotomi had first caught her eye. That spark of admiration that felt dangerously close to love.
When Ruriya's friends found out she liked Kotomi, they were all shocked, unable to understand. They knew the two of them were both members of the Art Club and saw each other during club activities, but outside of that, they barely interacted.
Under such circumstances, how could Ruriya develop feelings for her—and even want to pursue her? To them, it made no sense. They assumed Ruriya was simply obsessed with Kotomi's beauty, the kind of girl who fell for appearances alone.
When her friends expressed confusion, Ruriya Hojo only smiled faintly and never tried to explain. She knew better than anyone that her feelings for Kotomi Izumi hadn't formed overnight—they'd been quietly building for a long time.
The first time Kotomi made her heart flutter with that unmistakable feeling of falling in love was one afternoon after school, in the art room where only the two of them remained.
One day, on a whim, Ruriya decided to ride her bike to and from school. After finishing her classes and club activities, she pedaled out of the school gate, adjusting her gear to a higher speed and riding forward against the warm breeze of the afternoon.
After a while, she stopped at a red light. The lights at that particular intersection always took ages to change. To pass the time, she reached for her phone to watch some YouTube videos—lately, she'd been addicted to watching cute kitten clips.
She patted her jacket pocket on the left, then on the right. Nothing.
Her phone wasn't there.
She realized she must have left it at school—on the old wooden table behind her seat in the art clubroom, along with the book she'd been reading recently. The table looked older than most of the club members themselves, but it was always spotless, carefully cleaned every day during club maintenance.
Because she'd been completely absorbed in painting that day, Ruriya had left the room without noticing that her phone and book were still there.
"Ugh… what a pain. I just wanted to go home early. I hope the art room's not locked yet…"
She slumped forward on her bike, frustrated. Even though she'd already left Sobu High quite a while ago, the thought of spending a whole night without her phone was unbearable. No matter how far she'd gone—even if she'd reached her doorstep—she would've turned around immediately.
Her mood was heavy, but she didn't slow down. She pedaled hard all the way back to school.
In her haste, she didn't even bother parking her bike properly—she left it by the school building entrance and hurried inside.
The hallways were quiet and dimly lit, the fading light of dusk making the atmosphere even more subdued. It was nearly five in the evening; most students had already gone home, and only the distant, muffled shouts from the soccer and track clubs echoed faintly through the air.
Ruriya climbed the stairs and ran to the art room. To her relief, the door wasn't locked. The golden light of sunset spilled through the half-open door, painting soft squares of light across the hallway floor.
She stepped inside, squinting slightly against the brightness. As her eyes adjusted, she walked toward the wooden table where she'd left her things. But when her vision cleared, she froze.
She wasn't alone.
Standing by the table was a girl with short, snow-white hair—Kotomi Izumi.
Kotomi was gazing down at the book Ruriya had forgotten, her expression unreadable. Her white hair shimmered in the amber sunlight, glowing faintly like polar snow touched by the rays of a distant sun. Her pale neck caught the light, slender and smooth.
At that time, Ruriya had only been in the Art Club for less than two weeks. The always cheerful, outgoing girl everyone knew was now wearing a completely different face—one quiet, distant, and unfathomable.
Ruriya found herself staring, unable to look away.
She didn't know what emotions hid beneath that expression, but when she saw it, she felt something deep and sad, like a faint echo of loneliness. Kotomi seemed like a girl shrouded in fog—someone no one could ever truly understand. And Ruriya sensed that Kotomi would never show anyone her true thoughts, no matter how close they got.
As Ruriya stood there, lost in thought, her presence was finally noticed.
Kotomi had heard her footsteps. She lifted her head—and their eyes met.
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