After we returned to the classroom, I went back to not paying much attention to my sister. After all, if I kept focusing on looking at Ayane or something similar, it would be weird, so I just focused on doing the activities in my notebook.
I want to maintain the image of a perfect student, so the school will give me incredible freedom to do things in my free time.
And soon after that, lunchtime arrived, and I politely asked Ayane to have lunch with me in the cafeteria since it started at 12:30 and would last until 13:30, so we had time to talk.
She readily agreed and guided me to the cafeteria, thinking I didn't know the way, of course, I didn't say anything and just followed her. I let her choose for both of us and after that, we started eating while talking.
Or rather, she talked and I listened and repeated three things in particular: "Really?" "How nice" "Tell me more" but with a genuinely good tone, because I was really interested in hearing her talk.
And she noticed that even though it was just a repetition, I was interested and focused on her, which gave her the confidence to continue talking about various things about her daily life and things she generally likes.
This is almost a psychological trick. People like to talk about themselves to others. If you want to get someone's attention, you shouldn't try to impress the person by boasting about your achievements.
You should be a good listener, and that's something that attracts others, precisely because humans in general are compelled to talk more about themselves and have a greater focus on what is personal to them, basically it's their personal selfishness speaking louder.
Everyone has this, even if at low levels. This doesn't mean my sister is selfish; it just means she is drawn to talk more to a good listener, just like all humans.
And since I don't feel many things, I end up not caring much about talking about myself to others, which makes me a natural good listener, and that's why even in the past I was relatively popular.
It wasn't a big deal, but I was one of those who were close to being popular, whether by receiving love confessions from various girls or invitations to parties, precisely because everyone likes a good listener.
Of course, I always turned down the girls' dating requests and rarely went to the parties I was invited to because I had no interest in anyone other than Ayane.
And now I'm using the fact that I'm a good listener to make my sister feel more at ease so that she can talk about whatever she wants, and fortunately that unfortunate bird has flown away, leaving me alone with Ayane.
And after lunch, there was still plenty of time left to stroll around the school, but something unpleasant happened.
"Oh, what a cute kitty! How did you get into the school?" Ayane crouches down and talks to a black cat. She likes cats, so a cat on the school grounds naturally caught her attention.
'...What is that demon doing here?' Everything was so perfect, he had to show up to bother me. Honestly, it's annoying.
I want to be Ayane's friend soon. I really don't seek anything romantic with Ayane, nor do I seek any physical relationship. I just purely and genuinely want to be Ayane's friend.
She is my beloved sister, and I know she wouldn't want anything with another girl, after all, she likes men. But still, it's irritating that this demon shows up to interfere with my attempt to make friends with my sister.
"Come here, little one," Ayane crouches down and slowly approaches the cat, trying to play with it. I look at the demon as a warning that if he scratches my sister, I'll smash his head on the first wall I find when we're alone.
"How cute!" Ayane says as the cat allows itself to be caught and Ayane holds it in her lap with excitement. She's always loved animals in general.
"Look, Setsuna, what a cute kitty! How do you think he got in?" The security is quite strict at the gates and walls, a cat shouldn't be able to enter here easily.
"That's Hexael, a stray cat I know. He's very smart and... unique," I say to her with the sweetest smile I can muster.
"Oh, you know him? Maybe he's following you! How sweet your relationship is," she says with a gentle smile as she tries to put the cat in my lap so I can hold him and searches for something in her pockets.
I hold Hexael while she takes out a protein bar from her pocket.
"Are you hungry, little one? I have these, they're protein bars. I use them sometimes to study, but you can eat them," she opens the package and offers it to the cat.
"Your sister is very sweet, Setsuna," Hexael speaks to me, but Ayane seems not to have noticed, so it appears only I can hear Hexael. Hexael soon accepts the bar Ayane offers and eats a piece.
Hexael is not a large cat, in fact, his size is small and compact, which makes him small and not take up much space.
"Ayane, I think it's time for me to let Hexael go so he can follow his path, or the school may try to expel him," I say, handing Hexael back to Ayane so she can try to play with him a little more if she wants.
"Okay, you're right. The school doesn't allow outside animals, only pets if they're taken to the enclosure. Since Hexael is a stray cat, he might end up being expelled," Ayane agrees, but Hexael clings to Ayane's blouse while licking her hand.
"You don't want to go yet? I understand little one. I'd like to stay with you a little longer too, but the school is strict. You need to go away, little one," she crouches down, trying to put Hexael on the ground, while I approach more, crouching down to remove Hexael's claws from Ayane's blouse.
"Hexael, don't be a bad cat and let go of my... I mean, Ayane," I almost said "my sister," but I restrained myself at the last moment, speaking to him to let go of Ayane. What is this miserable thing doing?
"Setsuna, I want you to do something, so I decided to play with your sister a little. Why are you wasting time here? Go have some fun! Be evil!" Hexael speaks to me while Ayane unsuccessfully tries to remove Hexael from her blouse without damaging the clothing.
Since Ayane can't hear Hexael speaking, she doesn't notice our little interaction, and I quickly understand what Hexael wants me to do, and it's actually a good opportunity to pay him back by doing mischief to someone, and I already have a target.
"Ayane, I'll go get something to try to release him. Be careful if you pull him, it might tear your uniform. We still have almost 30 minutes before class, so we have time. Hold him in your arms and wait, maybe he'll let go. I'll be right back," I say to Ayane, giving her a reason to release the cat.
"Okay, Setsuna, I'll wait carefully," she says while holding Hexael, who is still clinging to her uniform, but without tearing or damaging it. It seems he knows his limits.
Ayane can't let the uniform tear, as it's her first week at school, and a failure like that would be a "problem" since it would earn her a scolding.
I move away and observe, but as soon as I've gone far enough that Ayane can't see me, Hexael simply lets her go and runs away. Ayane tries to follow him, but he disappears into a bush, and she's left looking for him.
"Hello, Setsuna, your sister is quite funny, hahaha," Hexael appears right next to me, laughing at my sister's innocence.
"Don't laugh at my sister."
"Okay, I'm just curious about what kind of school mischief you'll do. I know humans can be quite creative when they punish others for fun, even if you don't feel pleasure in being sadistic," Hexael says with malice.
"But I'm curious, why did you so easily accept doing mischief now?" Hexael asks curiously since I'm sacrificing time with my sister to be with him.
"I... need power. There's no way I can be true friends with my sister in just one day. That requires time, but power is something I also need, so spending some time doing mischief isn't bad if it's to get stronger."
"Hexael, I'm sure there are monsters at the school, and you know that, but you won't tell me where they are or which students are disguised monsters, so I need more power," I say as I start going up to the upper floor of one of the school buildings to do something.
I know this specific location has someone for me to do some mischief to, and there are no cameras to record me being mean, and there's also almost no one there at this time.
"You're smart, Setsuna. You're right, there are many monsters hidden in the school, and some are even quite strong and well-hidden from the magical girls," Hexael says, as if it's funny.
"They're really good at it, hahaha," Hexael laughs, and in these moments, being more descriptive in the diary would be good, but my sister didn't mention these things, and now I have to worry about that.
"Setsuna, why are you picking up that bucket?" Hexael stops laughing and asks curiously. I just grab Hexael with one hand and put him on my shoulder. Having him there makes it easier for him to follow me since I want to be quick.
I walk considerably fast to a specific point on the second floor of this building, as I've already lived through all this once, I know the spots and places where many students like to procrastinate.
"Bingo," I find my target, so I quickly go to the bathroom on that end of the block and fill the bucket with water.
Then I go to the second-floor balcony, seeing that girl who is the leader of the popular group in my class. She likes to smoke in this specific spot, and the school even allows limited use of cigarettes in designated areas.
But this girl doesn't like those permitted areas, so she looks for other places to smoke. I take the bucket and from up here, I dump it on her head. The weight of the water made the bucket fall with force on her head, knocking her down and causing her head to bleed.
"Wow, hahahahahhahahaha," the cat makes a somewhat impressed sound and starts laughing maniacally at the scene.
"I swore you would just throw water on her, not use the water to give weight to the bucket to hurt that girl. What delicious malice! I love this creative violence," the cat speaks with malice, enjoying the scene as if it were a feast.
"...You asked me to be evil," for me, just throwing water on her wouldn't have been that evil, especially since she's someone who bullies students a lot.
"Setsuna, you're so much fun! I think you were one of my best choices. Your lack of feelings gives you a delicious creativity," the cat licks my cheek while praising me.
"..." I just stare at the girl down there. She didn't die since it's not that high, but she clearly got hurt. But since she didn't faint, she's likely able to go to the infirmary on her own.
I see the blood flowing from her head, staining her face slightly. She'll really need to go to the infirmary, as the weight of the bucket was considerable, and she's also wet from the water that fell after the bucket hit her.
"Hey!" I call her attention, and she looks up at me, recognizing me and seeming scared.
"Are you okay? I accidentally dropped it. Do you need help?" I say in an almost mechanical tone that even seems cynical, but I'm really offering her help since I can get positive points from my sister if she knows I helped someone.
"I-I'm fine, i-it was just an accident, I'll go to the infirmary," the girl says, scared, while starting to run.
"Let's go back, Hexael," I say, not caring about her reaction. If she tells someone, it doesn't matter.
"Aren't you afraid she'll rat you out?"
"She has no proof, and even if she did, the school wouldn't care enough since I'm more valuable. At most, they'd send me to the counselor for some questions. Now let's hurry back to my sister," I feel strangely good.
I feel complete, not pleasure from hurting that girl, not sadism from being mean, just a sense of satisfaction.
"You seem satisfied, Setsuna," Hexael says with a malicious smile as he leaps from my shoulder to the balcony railing.
"A bit."
"I understand. It's good. It means I'm also satisfied, and the remaining power is given to you. I have a lot of fun watching you. Go back to your beloved sister. I'll take a walk around your school and see what other mischief we can get into together, hihihi," the cat disappears in a black mist, leaving only his laughter echoing in the environment.
I don't care what he said, I just want to get back to my sister, who was left alone.