Hikaru’s face turned pale after hearing Zul’s words. He gripped his blanket tightly, his expression darkening.
Hikaru's voice turned tense. "Is that true, Zul?"
Zul gave a small nod. "Yeah, that's what happened."
"Damn it... I knew it."
"Why didn’t Mizuha tell me about it earlier? Why is she hiding this from me?"
"She probably didn’t want to worry you, especially with you being sick like this."
Hikaru clenched his fists, feeling both frustrated and guilty. He should have noticed something was wrong earlier.
"But don’t worry, even with all that happening, she never gave up. She’s holding strong. And she’s not alone—Eri, Shimizu, and even Takeru have been supporting her."
Hikaru blinked. "Wait… Takeru too?"
Zul nodded. "Yeah. He stood up for her."
Hikaru let out a deep sigh. "That guy... I had a feeling he'd do something like that. I should thank him later for helping Mizuha. By the way, did you guys find out who started the rumor in the first place?"
"Not yet, I’ve been looking into it, but I haven’t found anything concrete."
Hikaru exhaled sharply. "I see..." After a moment, he looked at Zul.
"Anyway, thanks for looking out for her. I appreciate it."
Zul shrugged. "It’s nothing. I can’t just sit back while a friend of mine gets badmouthed like that."
He stretched his arms and picked up his bag. "Alright, that's all I wanted to say. I should get going now."
Hikaru gave a small nod. "Yeah. Anyway, thanks for visiting me today. Also, please take care of Mizuha for me."
"No problem. Just leave it to me. You better get well soon," Zul said before turning to leave.
Hikaru's mind was still racing with thoughts about Mizuha.
Geez, I'm really useless this time, getting a cold at such a bad time. I hope Mizuha will stay strong with everything that has happened, he thought.
Meanwhile, Kurumi and her gang were hanging out at the playground near school since classes had ended early.
Kurumi smirked and laughed. "Did you see Yuki's face earlier? She was completely messed up, right?"
One of her friends nodded. "Yeah, I've never seen her look so disappointed before."
The group laughed. "With all this pressure, I'm sure she'll give up on Hikaru. Then you'll have your chance, Kurumi-chan."
"Oh, come on. Don't get excited too soon. There's still more we need to do."
Kurumi's phone then suddenly vibrated. She looked at the screen and opened a message. A picture of Mizuha and Zul together appeared. The picture had been taken earlier when they were walking together back from school.
Kurumi smirked. "Oh, looks like we got something interesting. That person really knows how to do their job."
"Hey Kurumi-chan, what's wrong? Smirking like that all of a sudden?"
Kurumi then showed them the picture on her phone.
"No way! So she's not just two-timing with Takeru—she's going after Zul too?"
"What is she thinking?"
Another friend chuckled. "Hey, we can use this for our next move, right?"
Kurumi grinned. "Of course. This will bring even more chaos for her." She laughed, and her friends joined in.
As the rain started to pour again, Kurumi and her friends decided to go home. One by one, they split up, leaving Kurumi walking alone under her umbrella.
The road was quiet, with only a few cars passing by. As she walked, she felt uneasy, as if someone was behind her.
She ignored it at first, thinking it was just her imagination, but the feeling lingered, causing her steps to slow.
Kurumi's steps slowed. Something is wrong, she thought.
She stopped walking and turned around. "Who's there?!"
The street was empty. She scanned the area but saw nothing suspicious.
She frowned, still feeling uneasy. To be safe, she walked faster and entered a crowded area nearby. As she blended into the people, the feeling of being followed disappeared.
Even though she felt relieved, something still bothered her. I was sure someone was behind me, she thought, still bothered.
She slid her hands into her jacket pockets and felt something unusual—a folded piece of paper.
When did this get here? she wondered.
She unfolded the paper. "Enough, stay out of this!"
Kurumi's face twisted in anger. "What is this? A warning?!"
"This must be Yuki's doing," she muttered, crushing the paper in her hand. "She thinks she can stop me like this?"
Feeling upset, she tightened her grip on the crumpled paper. "I won't stop just because of this!"
"If she wants to fight, I'll show her what happens when she messes with me."
A short distance away, the person who had been following her earlier, wearing a hoodie, watched her from afar, then grinned, baring their teeth before smirking to themselves.
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The next morning, Kurumi and her friends gathered in the school bathroom, huddled in a circle as they planned their next move against Mizuha.
Kurumi smirked. "Let's spread the rumor about those two and show everyone that photo. Everyone will believe they're dating when they see it."
"Oh, the photo from yesterday? That's a great idea, Kurumi-chan!"
"Yeah, and we can also start something about Sakamoto and Shimizu. Let’s drag everyone close to Yuki into this too."
They didn't notice that Mizuha had entered before them and was listening from a stall. She stepped out, her face stern.
"Enough with all this nonsense, you guys!"
Kurumi mocked her. "Oh, look who's here—Yuki-san herself."
Meanwhile, Takeru walked into Class 1F, looking around. "Mizuha, are you here?" After a moment, he frowned. "Huh? She's not here?"
He spotted Shimizu and Eri chatting near Zul's seat and approached them. Shimizu looked at Zul. "Hey, where did you go with Mizuha yesterday?"
"Well, actually, we went to visit Hikaru."
"How is he doing?"
"He's fine. Said he'll be back soon."
Shimizu nodded. "I see. That's good then."
Takeru suddenly appeared behind Shimizu, throwing his arm around her neck.
"What's this, Shimizu? Missing Hikaru already? Feeling lonely with no one to tease?"
Shimizu stiffened. "Oh, it's you, Takeru." She glared at his arm. "First of all, watch where you're putting your hands. I'm not one of your buddy-buddy friends, you know."
"If your hand touches my chest, you're finished."
Takeru's face turned red as he realized his mistake. That's right, she's a girl. I completely forgot! That was close. He quickly pulled his arm back.
"Sorry, sorry! It's just a habit—I thought you were one of my guy friends."
Shimizu sighed. "You're really hopeless. Well, I'm not in the mood to be upset about it right now."
"So, why did you come here? Do you need anything?"
"Not really, I just wanted to check on Mizuha. Hasn't she arrived at school yet?"
"Mizuha-chan is already here. She went to the restroom," Eri replied, pointing at Mizuha's seat in front of them.
"Oh, you're right. Her bag is here—I didn't notice it."
Shimizu frowned. "Come to think of it, she's been gone a while. I wonder what's keeping her."
An awkward atmosphere fell over the classroom as students whispered about a commotion in the toilet.
"Really? Is this actually happening there now?"
"Yes, it happened," they said, looking at each other.
Shimizu turned to a classmate nearby. "Hey, what's going on? Everyone's talking about something."
The classmate leaned in. "Ah, Shimizu-san. Yuki-san and Kurumi are having a serious argument in the toilet right now. People say it's getting intense."
Shimizu, Eri, Takeru, and Zul exchanged shocked looks.
Eri’s expression filled with concern. "Mizuha-chan..."
Takeru rushed immediately. "We should go check on her."
Shimizu nodded. "Let's go, you guys."
They rushed toward the toilet, with Shimizu leading the way. As they arrived, they saw a large crowd surrounding the entrance to the girls' toilet.
"What's with all these people?" Shimizu muttered, pushing her way through.
Students in the crowd talked amongst themselves.
"What happened? A fight inside there?"
"I heard shouting. Seems serious."
"Who is involved in this?"
"I heard Yuki-san, the one people have been talking about recently, is having a confrontation with her classmate Kurumi and her friends."
"Is this related to the bad rumor surrounding her right now?"
"I think so."
Shimizu leaned in. "That's a big crowd."
Takeru noticed Akemi in the crowd and approached her. "Hey Akemi, what actually happened?"
Akemi turned around. "Oh, Takeru-kun, and everyone. Mizuha-chan and Kurumi-san—she’s from the same class—are arguing with each other inside."
"Did you hear what they were arguing about?"
"From what I heard, Mizuha-chan is trying to stop them from spreading more rumors. They planned to involve you guys, especially Sakamoto-san and Shimizu, in this rumor too."
"Damn, they're going too far now. I can't hold this any longer. I'm going inside to help Mizuha. Let's go, Eri." Shimizu then dragged Eri's hand through the crowd.
"Wait, Shimizu-chan!"
Zul wanted to stop her but was too late. "Wait, Shimizu!"
"That girl really likes to act recklessly without thinking."
Takeru gave him a small chuckle. "Well, that's how she is... haha."
Suddenly, someone approached them from behind.
"Hey, you guys, what actually happened here? Why are so many people crowded here?"
As Takeru, Zul, and Akemi turned around, they were shocked by the person who was asking.
"Wait, you..." "Hikaru...?" they said in unison as they realized Hikaru was approaching them.
Meanwhile, Shimizu and Eri pushed their way into the crowd. "Step aside! Make way!"
"Hey, what are you doing, pushing like that?" a male student in front of her said.
"Huh? Did you say something?"
The crowd was shocked by Shimizu's approach.
"Oh no, it's that girl—the delinquent, Shimizu."
"Hey, just move aside! If she gets mad, she'll beat us up!"
Hearing this, the crowd quickly stepped back, giving Shimizu space to walk through.
Good, they listened, Shimizu thought, smiling and said, "Thank you."
Meanwhile, Kurumi suddenly shoved Mizuha against the wall. She pulled out the warning note she had received the day before and held it up in front of Mizuha's face.
"You sent this, didn't you? Trying to scare me? Too bad—it's not working."
Her friends gasped.
"Wait... is that true, Kurumi-chan?"
Kurumi scoffed. "Of course! This idiot thinks she can threaten us with a stupid note."
Mizuha's eyes widened. "Wait... are you seriously accusing me of doing that?"
Kurumi snapped. "Who else would it be? You think this piece of crap will scare me? Unfortunately, it won't."
"Come on guys, enough with her. Let's move on to the next step of our plan."
Mizuha stopped them and said, "Please... like I said before, if you want to spread rumors about me, then fine. But don't involve my friends in this."
Kurumi and her friends burst into laughter. "You hear that? She's begging us to spare her friends—how pathetic!"
Kurumi sneered. "I don't understand why Hikaru-kun is interested in a pathetic girl like you. He was supposed to get together with me, not you."
"Oh, never mind, let's go, girls."
As Kurumi and her gang turned to leave, Mizuha reached out and grabbed Kurumi's shoulder. "Wait... please don't do this."
Kurumi's expression darkened; she shouted and shoved Mizuha backward.
"Don't touch me with your filthy hands!"
Mizuha stumbled and fell, landing hard on the floor. Kurumi stepped forward and pressed her foot against Mizuha's chest.
"I'm surprised you have the guts to stop me, huh. Looks like you need to be taught a lesson."
"Why are you doing this to me? Did I do something bad to you before?" Mizuha said, trying to push back Kurumi's leg.
"No, it's nothing, but your presence here is really making me irritated. Since you transferred, I've had no chance to get close with Hikaru-kun, you know."
Another friend agreed with her. "That's right, Kurumi-chan likes Hikaru-kun, but you ruined everything."
"You're really such an eyesore," said Kurumi. "Alright, let's make a deal."
"A deal?"
"Why don't you distance yourself from Hikaru-kun from now on?"
Kurumi held Mizuha's chin while smirking at her.
"If you do that, we promise to leave you alone... how is it?"
"No, I..."
One of Kurumi's friends glanced at the entrance, noticing more students gathering outside. "Hey Kurumi, can we go now? They're hearing us from outside."
Before Kurumi could respond, a sharp voice interrupted.
"Step away! Make way!"
The voice was strong and approaching fast.
"Wait, Shimizu-chan!" another voice followed.
That voice... Shimizu!? Eri-chan!? thought Mizuha.
Eri and Shimizu arrived, their eyes widening in shock.
"Mizuha-chan!" said Eri, her voice trembling with concern.
Shimizu, shocked at what she was seeing, snapped and shouted, "Damn, you!!!"
Without hesitation, she approached Kurumi, grabbed her arm, and slapped her face.
The sound echoed through the bathroom as Kurumi staggered backward, her hand flying to her cheek.
"It hurts! What do you think you're doing?" Kurumi yelled in shock.
One of her friends spoke up. "Kurumi-chan, that was—"
"Shimizu!? What are you doing here?" Kurumi said, still holding her cheek.
Shimizu ignored Kurumi and turned to Mizuha. Eri had already rushed to Mizuha's side, helping her up.
"Thanks, Eri-chan," Mizuha said as she steadied herself.
"Mizuha, are you okay?"
Mizuha brushed off her uniform. "I'm fine, but my skirt got wet from the floor, haha."
Shimizu shook her head. "I see, you don't know how to be upset properly. You're too soft on them," Shimizu said, her expression changing slightly.
"But you did well defending us from being involved in their mess. Thank you."
She straightened up. "Now, let me show you the proper way to deal with someone like them."
Shimizu turned back to Kurumi and her friends, approaching and grabbing Kurumi's collar firmly.
"Kurumi-chan!" one of her friends called out.
"Hey, you! What are you doing? Put me down!" Kurumi demanded, trying to sound brave despite looking afraid.
Shimizu tightened her grip. "You! What do you think you are doing to my best friend?"
"I've been watching your bad behavior toward Mizuha for the last few days, but what you're doing is too far. It's making me irritated, and I can't stand seeing you do this to her anymore."
Shimizu pushed Kurumi backward, making her stumble into her friends. Some female students who had gathered outside were now watching the confrontation.
Shimizu walked toward the group, cracking her knuckles. "I heard you guys have something to say about me," she said calmly. "Well, say it. I'm here to hear it."
Kurumi clenched her fists, her anger rising.
"You, don't act like you're better!"
One friend quickly grabbed her arm. "Don't do it, Kurumi-chan! You can't win against her," she whispered. "Have you forgotten how she alone defeated those senpai who bullied Sakamoto-san before?"
Kurumi froze, gritting her teeth as that incident came back to her.
Shimizu noticed her hesitation and smirked. "Oh? So you've heard about that." She leaned in slightly. "You know you can't beat me in a fight."
She shoved Kurumi back, making her stumble. "So? Got nothing to say? Then get lost. Dealing with you is a waste of my time."
"And if you even think about laying a finger on Mizuha again..." Shimizu's expression hardened. "You already know what happens next."
Kurumi gritted her teeth, her cheek still sore.
"Tch... Too many damn interferences." She turned to her friends. "Let's go, girls," she said before leaving in a hurry, her friends following behind.
Once Kurumi and her gang were gone, Mizuha let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Eri still looked shaken.
Shimizu sighed and shook her head. "Geez, those girls just don't know when to stop." She murmured. "But this isn't the end. I'm sure they'll try again."
She turned to Mizuha, slowly approached her, and slapped her on the cheek.
Mizuha touched her own cheek and said, "Ouch, hey, what are you doing?"
Shimizu shed a tear. "You fool! What were you thinking, confronting them alone like that?"
Mizuha was shocked to see that boyish hot-headed Shimizu crying for her like that.
"I was worried about you earlier, you know."
"Of course I am—I was worried about you earlier, you know. What if they had done something bad to you?"
"I... I'm sorry..."
Without hesitation, Shimizu pulled Mizuha into a tight hug. "It's okay, but please don't do something like this again, okay?"
"Next time, don't try to handle everything alone. Trust us. No matter what happens, we're always here for you."
Mizuha returned her hug and said, "I'm so, so sorry. I won't do something like this again." A tear dropped from her eye.
Seeing them like this, Eri's eyes welled up. "Shimizu-chan, Mizuha-chan..." She couldn't finish her sentence as a tear slipped down her cheek.
Mizuha noticed Eri crying and pulled her to join their hug too.
"Wait? Mizuha-chan?" said Eri in surprise. Mizuha then said, her voice trembling with emotion,
"Shimizu, Eri-chan... thank you. Thank you for coming. I don't know what I would've done without you guys."
"It's okay, Mizuha-chan. I'm glad you're okay."
"Of course we came! We're friends, aren't we?" Shimizu looked at Mizuha, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes, you're right. We're all friends," she said with a smile through her tears. "Again, thank you two…"
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Meanwhile, Hikaru talked to Takeru, Akemi, and Zul about the current situation.
Kurumi and her friends exited the toilet, looking awkward as the surrounding crowd whispered.
"Huh, are they all talking about us?"
Kurumi whispered to her friends. "Looks like the incident attracted everyone. Ignore them and walk. We'll make another plan later."
Akemi looked at her phone. "Oh, it's almost time. I need to meet the teacher. I'll go first."
"Then you'd better go. Looks like they're finished. I'm counting on you, class rep."
Hikaru saw them walking and asked Zul, "Hey, Zul, were they the ones...?"
"Yes, they're the ones who did that to Mizuha."
"Oh, I see... it was them, huh?"
Hikaru then whispered to Takeru, "Hey, Takeru, I'm going to do something. Can you play along with me?"
"Do something, wait, don't tell me you're going to..."
"Yes, it's time to clear this misunderstanding for Mizuha and the rest of you too."
Takeru smirked. "Okay, I'll play along. Let's do this..."
Hikaru took a deep breath, then said in a louder voice, "Like I said earlier, Takeru, Mizuha did not two-time you, right?"
Takeru played along and said, "Yes, that's right. What the rumor said is nothing. Mizuha and I? Since when did I steal her from you, right, Hikaru-kun?"
The crowd's attention now focused on the two of them, even Kurumi and her friends looking at them.
Zul, standing nearby, held himself back from laughing. These two... really...
The surrounding crowd whispered. "Really? So Yuki-san isn't two-timing?" "Looks like it—Hikaru’s declaring it himself."
Takeru then continued, "Also, Mizuha cheating during the exam? Are you joking? She did her best by herself. She even taught her friends before the exam and is a great tutor. What nonsense rumor is this?"
"Yes, I can confirm that."
The crowd started to murmur. "Really? So the rumor's false?" "It was a lie after all?"
"So Yuki-san didn't do anything wrong?"
"Unlike someone over there who's jealous of Mizuha and spreading bad rumors about her, right?" Hikaru said intentionally, facing Kurumi's group.
"I don't trust rumors, especially from people who spread them. I really hate that..."
Kurumi was shocked, her face turning pale. "Hey, Kurumi-chan, he was talking about us, right?" one of her friends said.
"And hearing that from Hikaru-kun too... what should we do now?"
Kurumi gritted her teeth and ran away from the area. "Wait, Kurumi-chan..." her friends said, chasing her.
The crowd fell silent, guilt washing over them for believing the rumors about Mizuha.
A girl who had peeked inside said, "We saw what happened. Yuki-san was standing up for her friends, even surrounded by Kurumi's gang."
"We heard Kurumi was planning to do something bad to Yuki-san's friends, but Yuki-san begged them to stop."
"Even after they knocked her down, she still begged them to stop."
"Really? She prioritized her friends even when her own reputation was being ruined?"
The students murmured. "So those rumors were lying to us the whole time?"
"We were all wrong about her, and we need to apologize to Yuki-san after this."
Takeru leaned in and turned to Hikaru. "Looks like they're realizing the rumor was false."
"Yeah, looks like it."
A male teacher passed and noticed the commotion. "What's going on? Why are you all gathered? It's almost time for first period. Disperse immediately and return to your classrooms!"
"Oh no! He's right—we'd better get back. Let's go."
As the crowd thinned, Mizuha, Eri, and Shimizu left the restroom. Hikaru, Takeru, and Zul were waiting outside.
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To be continued... Amemonogatari VI
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