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A few days had passed since Mizuha and Shimizu started eating together on the rooftop. Mizuha was now getting used to her new school environment and felt closer to her friends, especially Shimizu, Hikaru, and Zul. Shimizu, too, had become more cheerful and confident, thanks to their shared lunchtimes.
As usual, the four of them were eating together on the rooftop. Lately, however, Zul had a worried look on his face that hadn't gone unnoticed.
"Zul, what's wrong? You seem a bit off today," Shimizu asked, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at him.
Zul looked up from his lunch, trying to brush it off. "Don't worry, it's nothing," he said, forcing a smile.
Hikaru wasn't convinced. He put down his chopsticks and leaned in. "Is it about Elly? Are you worried about her?" he asked, his tone serious.
Mizuha's curiosity was piqued. "Do you know Elly?" she asked Hikaru, turning her full attention to him.
Hikaru nodded. "Yeah, Zul, Elly, and I went to the same middle school," he explained. "We've known each other for a long time."
"Really?" Mizuha said, surprised. "I didn't know that."
Hikaru continued, "Zul and Elly are childhood friends. Elly can speak properly with Zul, but she's a bit shy to talk to anyone else, including me," he added with a small laugh.
Mizuha looked at Zul with interest. "Both of you are childhood friends? I never expected that."
Hikaru turned back to Zul, pressing further. "So, what are you worried about her?"
Zul sighed, clearly worried. "You see, recently she's been disappearing during our lunchtime and avoiding me," he admitted.
Mizuha nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, I remember! A few days ago, Shimizu and I saw Elly, and her uniform was a bit soaked when she returned to our class. Right, Shimizu?" she said, looking at Shimizu for confirmation.
"Yeah, you're right," Shimizu replied. "I tried to ask her what happened, but she was too scared to talk to me, like usual," she added, shaking her head.
Zul frowned, thinking deeply. "Oh, I see. Thanks for sharing that with me," he said, looking more worried than before.
"That's really suspicious," Zul thought aloud. "Is she being bullied?" thinking Zul eating his lunch.
Four of them continued finishing lunch before returning to their class. Mizuha and Shimizu walked together on their way to class, with Hikaru and Zul ahead of them.
Suddenly, Shimizu stopped, and Mizuha followed suit. Hikaru and Zul turned around. "What's wrong?" asked Hikaru. "You guys go ahead first; I think I need to use the restroom," said Shimizu.
"Wait, Shimizu, I'll go with you. I need to go too," said Mizuha, following Shimizu to the restroom. "Hikaru, see you later," Mizuha said. With Shimizu and Mizuha out of sight, Hikaru and Zul returned to their class.
Meanwhile, a conversation was happening in the restroom before Mizuha and Shimizu entered.
"Huh, is this all you have? I asked you for more every day," said an angry girl's voice, surrounded by her gang.
"I'm sorry, this is all the money I have for today," replied a girl, her voice trembling.
"Oh, you have the nerve to say that, huh?" the angry girl replied.
Then Mizuha and Shimizu entered the restroom. "What's with that commotion? Are they fighting?" Mizuha asked. "I don't know. Let's check it out," Shimizu replied.
"Huh, is that Elly?" Mizuha said, shocked to see Elly surrounded by a gang of upperclassmen. "Because you failed to give us what we wanted, we're going to punish you," said one of the upperclassmen. "Girl, hand that over," she demanded. Another girl brought two buckets of water filled with dirt. "No, please, don't do this!" Elly begged.
"That's terrible. We need to act quickly," said Shimizu. "You're right," replied Mizuha.
"Ready, girls? Splash it on her now!" said the leader of the bullies. Two girls prepared to splash the water on Elly.
3, 2, 1, Splash...
Suddenly, Elly was shocked to find that the water missed her and hit two people who had suddenly appeared to protect her. "What's happening?" "Yuki-san, Toyama-san, what are you doing here?" Elly asked.
"I'm glad we made it in time," Mizuha said to Shimizu. "Yuki-san, your uniform is dirty. Are you okay?" Elly asked.
"I'm fine, thanks. I'm just glad it didn't hit you," Mizuha replied.
"It's just a uniform; it can be cleaned later," Shimizu said.
"Huh, who are you two? How dare you interrupt us?" the leader of the bullies demanded.
"Huh!? Me? I'm Shimizu, a first-year student. Nice to meet you, senpai," Shimizu said, smiling while cracking her knuckles. She shifted from friendly to angry, her face resembling the tough delinquent she had been before meeting Mizuha.
"I've heard of her. She's the red hair delinquent first-year student," said another girl in the gang.
"Really? I didn't know I was famous," Shimizu thought to herself.
"Hmph, that's just a name. Get her now, girls," the leader ordered.
"Oh, you're challenging me, huh?" Shimizu said. "Mizuha, protect Elly for me, okay?" Shimizu told Mizuha. Mizuha hugged Elly to protect her.
"Bring it on," Shimizu said.
Punch, punch, punch...
"Damn, she's so strong," the bullies said, down after being beaten by Shimizu.
"Geez, you guys are useless. Take this!" the leader said, but Shimizu dodged and landed a punch to the leader's face, knocking her down.
"Enough, you win. Please stop," the leader pleaded. Shimizu grabbed the leader by the collar and said, "Don't ever show your face around here again. Also, don't bully Elly anymore, or you'll be finished."
"Okay, understood. We won't do it again," the bullies said, and then they ran out of the restroom.
"Take that! Don't mess with me again," Shimizu said. "Shimizu, are you okay?" Mizuha asked as she approached her. "I'm fine. How about Elly?" Shimizu replied. "She's okay. Nothing bad happened to her," Mizuha said, smiling.
"Damn, our uniforms are really dirty. Good thing we have PE class next, so we can just change afterward," Shimizu said.
Elly suddenly approached Mizuha and Shimizu, tears streaming down her face. "Yuki-san, Toyama-san... thank you," she said, her voice choked with emotion. She then began to cry, overwhelmed with gratitude.
"I'm so sorry. It's my fault you two got dirty," Elly sobbed.
"It's nothing," Shimizu said, trying to reassure her. "It's just a small thing."
"That's right. We're just glad you're okay," Mizuha replied, struggling to keep her own tears at bay.
"Elly, don't worry about it. They won't bully you anymore," Shimizu said, placing a comforting hand on Elly's head. "Let's clean ourselves and return to our class because the break time is almost end" says Mizuha. "Oh, you right, let's go," said Shimizu.
Elly wiped her tears and said, "Yuki-san, Toyama-san, thank you so much. Also, would you both be willing to be my friends?"
Mizuha and Shimizu looked at each other and smiled warmly. "Hehe… sure, why not? Let's get along, Elly," they said, extending their hands.
Elly took their hands and smiled gratefully. After everything had calmed down, the three of them made their way to their classroom.
"Elly, you should really tell Zul about what happened. He's been very worried about you," Mizuha said.
"I don't want to trouble him," Elly replied.
"Don't worry, he'll understand," Mizuha assured her.
Waiting in front of their classroom, Zul looked up anxiously as Mizuha and Shimizu approached. "So, there you are. What took you so long?" he asked, noticing their dirty uniforms. "And why are both of your uniforms so dirty?"
Mizuha was taken aback by Zul's unusually talkative and worried demeanor.
"Well, something happened, but we managed to take care of it," Mizuha explained.
"Um, Zul, I…" Elly started to speak, but Zul interrupted, shocked to see her with them. "Elly!? What are you doing with Mizuha and Shimizu?"
"Well, Zul," Shimizu said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "why don't we head into the classroom first? We'll explain everything then."
"Right," Zul agreed, calming down. "Let's go inside, and then you can tell me what happened."
Once inside the classroom, Elly recounted the events and described how Mizuha and Shimizu had heroically saved her from the bullies.
"I knew it. Then why didn't you tell me you were being bullied? Do you know what could have happened if Mizuha and Shimizu hadn't stopped them earlier? If you got hurt, what would I tell your mom?" said Zul.
"I'm sorry," said Elly, tears in her eyes. Suddenly, Zul hugged Elly and said, "Well, it's not your fault; it was my fault. I should have paid more attention to you, and I'm sorry. From now on, if you have any problems, please tell me, Mizuha, or Shimizu, okay? Also, we need to talk after today's school session."
"Well, Zul, please calm down. Everything is already solved. They won't have the guts to bully Elly anymore," said Mizuha.
"That's right. I already gave them a warning, I bet they wouldn't ever coming to Elly again after this" said Shimizu with very confident face.
"What kind of warning did you give, Shimizu?" thought Zul to himself.
"By the way, thank you two for saving her. You have my gratitude," said Zul. Suddenly, their conversation caught the attention of their classmates, who started gossiping about it. Shimizu turned around and glared at them, then said, "What are you guys looking at and gossiping about? Get lost."
"Oh no, she's mad. Let's go," said another classmate. The classmates returned to their seats, scared of Shimizu's glare. Then, the bell rang, signaling the end of break time and the beginning of the next class session. The next subject was PE. Zul asked Elly to stay with Mizuha and Shimizu during the PE class.
The school session ended as usual that day. Both Mizuha and Shimizu wore their PE uniforms until the end of the school day because their regular uniforms had gotten dirty earlier. As Mizuha walked out to the school entrance, she saw Hikaru waiting for her there.
"Huh, Hikaru, you haven't gone home yet?" Mizuha asked.
"Well, I was actually waiting for you, so let's go home together," said Hikaru.
"Sure, let's go," replied Mizuha.
"You look happy. What happened earlier?" Hikaru asked.
"Umm, well… earlier…" Mizuha recounted the moment she and Shimizu saved Elly from the bullies. She felt happy because she had gained another close friend through the experience.
"Oh, I see. She was being targeted by the bullies after all," said Hikaru. "I'm glad you and Shimizu were there to help her. It's really brave of you both. How is Elly doing now? Is she okay?"
"She's doing better now," Mizuha replied. "She was really shaken up, but she's grateful for the help.
"That's good to hear," said Hikaru. "It's important for her to know she's not alone. You did a great thing today, Mizuha. I'm proud of you and Shimizu." "Thanks, Hikaru," Mizuha said, smiling. "I just did what I thought was right. I'm glad we could help her."
Both of them walked and chatted together until they reached Mizuha's house. "See you tomorrow, Hikaru," said Mizuha, opening her front door.
"See you tomorrow," said Hikaru, waving to Mizuha before making his way to his house.
"I'm home" say Mizuha. "Welcome home, replied her mother. "Oh, mom you here, you get back earlier today" said Mizuha.
Mizuha entered her house and suddenly had a vision, causing her to space out as she remembered the moment with Elly earlier.
"Please don't do that to me, I'm begging you, please stop."
"Someone… help me."
"Why, why no one helping me?"
Mizuha touched her head, feeling a sudden headache after seeing the vision. "What was that, from earlier? Am I dreaming?" Her body about to collapse
"Mizuha, are you okay?" her mom said, rushing to her after seeing her daughter about to collapse.
"I'm fine, mom. Maybe I'm just too tired. I'd better clean up and rest for today," Mizuha replied. "Get some rest, honey. Let me know if your condition gets worse, okay?" her mother said. Mizuha returned to her room, took a bath, and then went to sleep to rest.
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