Chapter 2: Chapter II

The wind on the rooftop carries a nice fragrance of spring, it was a great place to escape after difficult high school subjects. The view from the rooftop was also extraordinary, you can see mountains surrounding the peaceful rural village. The beautiful clear lake reflects its inhabitants and the sun. The clouds that look like you can take a piece of it and bite it, only to realize that it was out of reach. Lastly, the forest that nobody enters except for adults who went there to hunt rabbits for some extra supper.

Tsubaki Rena couldn’t stop mulling over what happened earlier in the cafeteria. Even as she was munching on the limited edition of melon bread accompanied by the spring breeze, the thoughts can’t escape her mind. Over the course of 5 years, there’s no one who’s able to notice the shield she built all around her, of course, with an exception of Mia. This dag-nabbit happy-go-lucky girl somehow managed to see and penetrated the fortress that Rena built. Heck, even her family doesn’t perceive her behavior as ‘strange’.

“Tarnation” she mumbles, letting the spring wind carries her soft voice into the forever unknown.

She looks around to double-check whether someone listen-in to her small outburst just to find that nobody was there. A small and soft sigh escapes her mouth, she was relieved that Mia was away trying to drag her other two friends over to the rooftop. She doesn’t have to pretend when there was no one around. Why she must force herself into the façade she built if she was eventually gonna be tired of it? Rena never understood, maybe it was because of the incident when she was still an elementary student. But that’s a story for another time.

‘click!’ a sound coming from the door that leads to the rooftop swung open. Rena found her friends walking towards her gracefully with an exception of Mia who skipped happily instead. Ah.. this tomboy just can’t behave normally like any normal maiden huh? Is what she thought, before another friend of hers came into view, scratching her slim and slender yet toned belly while yawning. If these were the supposedly top beauties in the school, then god has forsaken us. Wait, they are? Well, at least the last one who’s following after the two is walking normally, prim and proper while flashing a smile like an idol giving a free fan service.

“Renaaaa..!” the small Mia jumped towards Rena’s embrace who could do nothing but accept her. She also greeted Rena’s melons by burying her face deep into them.

“Hi..Ren” a short greeting could be heard from Elize who was half yawning and tired to deal with Mia’s antics. Followed by Yuina’s slight nod and smile while pulling Mia’s ear preventing her from sexually harassing Rena even further.

The sight of her three friends is nothing new to Rena, yet every time she saw it, she couldn’t help but be thankful. It makes her want to major in art college, graduate, paint them and then make them into her family heirloom. Why are there three beautiful goddesses in such a rural and remote high school on the outskirts of the village, she never knows. In contrast to them, Rena is just a ‘normal’ high school girl. Sure, there might be a Rena fan club somewhere inside the school, but surely it's nothing if you compare it to the other three.

They are seated at the nearby bench while enjoying their sweet lunchtime before having to gruelly absorb all the knowledge that the school has to offer. Mia took her melon bread, and take a massive bite at it leaving a mess as the cream spilled over from the bread now into her mouth some even spilled on her collar uniform. Rena however, was quick on the action. She pulled her handkerchief and proceeds to wipe Mia’s mouth, showing the act of being an angel between the three goddesses.

“Mia I swear… what can you do without me?” still wiping the mess that Mia had created.

Yuina and Eliza ignored them and continue on with their meals. Yuina brought a family bento that is rich in nutrition and a balanced diet enough for two people, while Elize is content with whatever Yuina feeds her. That is until Yuina scooped broccoli up to Elize’s mouth.

“No! Never!” She shakes her head like a child, she was dead set on not eating the broccoli.

“Eat it, before I shove it down your throat,” Yuina said calmly with an eerie smile pasted on her face.

She took a quick look at her and went pale “y-yes ma’am” Defeated, Elize can only ponder on her own misfortune.

Rena stares at the other two, not realizing that Yuina noticed it. She gave Rena a smile that roughly translates into “what? you want some too?” to which Rena smiles back, even though her heart was not into it. What a scary woman she thought, She should steer clear of her otherwise who knows what she gonna do if you flipped her switch. She never thought that inside of the prim and proper appearance, Yuina is actually a menacing existence. She’s like a wife who got a tight leash on her husband or a mother who would throw sandals at their child if they ever leave a single grain of rice on their meal. Sorry Elize, no matter the cute puppy eyes that you threw at Rena, She wouldn’t dare.

“Oh! Rena.. do that again !” Mia strikes up a conversation with hopeful eyes.

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“Do what again?” she tilts her head, trying to figure out what the hell this midget is trying to say.

“You know.. that, when you guessed what we do or our habits.. you know.. that”. She leaned towards Rena with eyes full of expectation.

Rena leaned backward, feeling uncomfortable by Mia closing up, now in front of her face. She mulled over it for a second and realized what Mia means. This isn’t a good idea, she knows deep down that if she were to do that, then it’s gonna be a never-ending follow-up request not just from her, but also from the other two. She needs to draw the line.

“Fine.. but only until the bell rings” she compromises, she knows that stopping Mia would be useless.

Over the years of “pretending” Rena observe the things around her more closely. She would observe people on how they talk, act, and the atmosphere around them. Not just that, she would even go one step further and observe every person's habits and the effect that they caused on their own body. She would notice even the smallest detail from a person’s face, to know what they ate for breakfast. Akin to a ‘perk’ that she gained along the way.

She begins to observe all of her friends one by one. First, Mia, Her cute round and shapely face that makes everyone wants to pat her and her pouty lips are being traced for answers by Rena. She searched for every nook and cranny all around her face. She noticed a slight unnoticed eye-bag that is being hidden by makeup and a strand of unkempt hair. Even if Mia tied her pink hair into a twin tail, the unkempt hair couldn’t escape from her sight. She continued to observe, now unto Mia’s small and slender arms. There, she notices slight but fade burn marks that will go unnoticed if nobody pays any attention. A light bulb appeared on top of Rena’s head as she concluded.

“Mia.. it's not good to eat noodles late at night while watching a drama and then skip breakfast only to eat bread at lunch, no matter how tasty the bread was” well, at least Rena agreed that the bread was indeed tasty.

Mia’s eyes open wide, “amazing, how did you know?” her jaw dropped while one of her hands tries to hide it.

The other two looked at each other and were baffled at how Rena is able to guess correctly after Mia said so herself.

With a victorious smile, Rena continued to observe unto now her second victim, Elize. Her short blond hair revealed an unused hole in her earlobe. Her sharp jawline makes her look like a beautiful delinquent. Her lips revealed a straight small cut that healed overnight. Her eyes are wary of being watched by Rena, shaking ever so slightly from the stare. Lastly, there was a trace of sweat from her temple that doesn’t go unnoticed by Rena. Another light bulb appeared atop Rena’s head.

“Lize, does it hurt? When you cut your lip trying to drink milk from its carton?” She leaned in with a smirk on her face. “Oh, and also you should lay down a bit on the jog, at this rate instead of being healthier you’ll be bedridden” she continued.

Elize moved her body backward as if trying to dodge a ball coming toward her, surprised by what Rena said, “How did you know? That’s Rad” she shakes her head in disbelief.

“Now the last one is…” Rena looked at Yuina who was trying to hide behind Elize before being interrupted by the Bell.

Drat, the bell is ringing, the class is going to start soon, Yuina breathes a sigh of relief. She wants to worship the bell because it has saved her from Rena’s gaze. Unfortunately, while everyone else was focusing their attention on the bell and walking towards the exit, Rena just stood there, staring at Yuina’s back. She noticed that there was a strange bruise hidden under her socks. In all of her experience of observing people, she has never seen that kind of bruise positioned at such a place. What could it possibly be? And what caused it? Rena was deep in thought until Mia’s banshee scream snapped her back to reality and called her over to hurry.

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