A White Bunny meets a Dark Wolf (ScarletNovaxShinku⭐Kun)

[Stray Shinku]

​

"Seriously, what is wrong with everyone lately?"

With a deep sigh, Ryunosuke finally made it to the Cafeteria. Before arriving here, he had a small argument with Kei, which confronted him once again, demanding him to bring back the old Ryunosuke he used to know. Kei wasn't the only one that wanted that. Most of the people in his gang wanted to see the scary Dark Wolf that had Ryoo High in his grasp. They simply couldn't bear to see this new and improved Ryunosuke, which they described as "weak" and "useless". Annoyed, frustrated, and pretty much disappointed, Ryunosuke dismissed them and exited their hangout room, heading to the Cafeteria to meet up with Mei.

What hits and hurts Ryunosuke the most is Kei rejection of this new attitude he wanted to have. He really expected for him to support him like the good friend he said he was. They are childhood friends as well, so, of course, the poor Ryunosuke was hopeful that Kei would accept him and even help him. Sadly, it appears that wasn't the case and Kei is totally against him and will pretty much do everything to bring back the old Ryunosuke he wanted to see so badly.

"This is my fault," Ryunosuke thought after taking a seat on an empty table. "I... I shouldn't have made that promise with him. I'm so damn stupid. How couldn't I see that I was being a bad influence for him?" Letting go another deep sigh, a wave of regret stroke Ryunosuke deep inside. Leaning to the table. he lowered his head to look at the top of the table. It didn't pass that long for him to get lost in his thoughts, forgetting completely that he should buy something to eat.

---

​

"Oh, isn't that Ryunosuke?" asked Hiro, sitting on a table a couple of feet behind from Ryunosuke's. The rest of the Resistance was with him, with exception of Shiro. "Mmh! Affirmative, Hiro-kun!" replied Yin while observing Ryunosuke with a pair of binoculars. Yan, his sister, nodded while looking at Ryunosuke with another pair of binoculars. "It appears that our target is sad," said Yan, catching Hana's attention, which was eating an apple. "Oh, you sure?" she asked, slowly turning their head to look over at Ryunosuke. "AFFIRMATIVE!" replied the twins, quickly whipping their heads towards Hana and raised their thumbs.

"He also looks like he's waiting for somebody," said Hiro and shrugged. "I won't be surprised if that "somebody" is Mei." Gasping with shock, Yin, and Yan quickly stop closer to Hiro, which was sitting on a chair. Growling angrily, they began to shout at him. "Hey! Is Mei-hime!" they shouted, waving their fists in the air. "Don't you dare to forget that, baka!"

Frowning, Hiro looked at them with confusion. Sighing and scoffing, Hana took out her phone to look at the screen. "You know, I'm kind of worried about our Shiro, guys," she said with a normal tone. Hiro and the Twins turned their head to stare at her with a worried expression as well. "Yeah, she's being absent for a full week now," Hiro replied and rubbed the back of his head. "I've thought of going to her home, but I'm too shy and scared." Gasping with shock, Yin and Yan turned their heads to look at themselves before chuckling and nodding. "Mmh, what about if we all go to give her a visit?" proposed Yan with a smile and her right index lifted. Yin nodded and clapped his hands. "Oh, oh, subarashi, Yan-chan!" he said and looked at Hana and Hiro. "That's a great idea. I'm with you. What about you guys?"

Hana and Hiro went silent for a while, thinking. Then, they sighed and shrugged. "Whatever, man, I guess I'm in too," said Hiro and Hana raised her right hand. "Yeah, let's go to her home today after class, m'kay?"

After not having anything else to add, the Resistance proceeded to finish their food.

 

[ScarletNova]

​

The trip from her locker to the cafeteria didn't take long, but her thoughts had shifted from that Ryunosuke fan club to the fact that her best friend had been absent for a full week now and still Mei hadn't heard much from her. Mei was growing worried. Perhaps she was sick? Although, Mei wished she would have gotten some kind of message from Shiro to let her know she was alright.

Not to mention that Shiro still wasn't able to see the changes that were already happening within just a week of the rebirth of the Resistance. It's not like the group was doing a lot, especially considering one of their most important players wasn't around, but there were still a lot of changes. She would be shocked and surprised to hear that it was mostly Ryunosuke who had caused them himself.

Still, Mei was a bit worried about how Shiro would take this change. Would she be happy about it? Would she be upset about it? After Mei had learned about Shiro's past friendship with Ryunosuke and Kei, things had gotten even more complicated. She didn't know what pulled them apart. And Mei knew from earlier that Shiro has said she had no interest in befriending Ryunosuke. It could be because she was so hurt by whatever happened to ruin their friendship in the first place.

But would that change? Maybe Shiro did actually want to be his friend again...and maybe even Kei's too? She hated to use such a common line, but Mei really did feel like she was walking on eggshells with this one.

Upon arriving in the cafeteria, Mei's eyes first spotted her new friends in the Resistance. She headed over towards them for a few moments to get some information before she would join Ryu.Though, when she arrived she heard the end of their conversation, mentioning how they were going to go visit her.

"Have any of you heard anything from Shiro?" she questioned them. She wondered if they knew what was going on with her. "If you're planning on going to visit her today, I would like to come too." She could go see her after school. She would have plenty of time before her dinner with Ryu and Koko. Plus, Shiro was important.

Mei then glanced over and noticed a brooding Ryunosuke. She probably should head over to him quickly and see what was bugging him. And perhaps...she suddenly got an idea. "Text me the details and I'll meet you right outside of her house after school, okay?" She gave them a smile. "I have a lunch appointment to attend to."

She said a temporary good bye to them and headed over to Ryunosuke. "Is something on your mind?"

 

[Stray Shinku]

​

Everyone from the Resistance was more than glad to invite Mei to go with them to give Shiro a surprise visit. They would've invited her later this day anyway, though, so it was quite a time saver that she came to them. As she left the Resistance guys and walked towards Ryunosuke, this one slowly raised his head to look up at her and smiled faintly, kind of surprised even when he was expecting her. After all, he was the one that invited her to lunch.

"O-Oh, Mei," he replied with an awkward chuckle. "Ah... Don't mind it that much, I'm fine." He was obviously lying, but he also didn't want to bother Mei with his pitty struggles or that what he thinks so. Then, he sighed and realized that he haven't bought any lunch yet. "Oh, silly me, I forgot to buy us something to eat." Shaking his head, he stood up from his chair and began to take out his wallet from the right pocket of his pants. "Mmh, do you want me to buy you the usual?" he asked her with a mocking tone. "I don't blame you, though. The chicken sandwich of this place is delicious."

Meanwhile, on a table at the back of the Cafeteria, Kei and his gang were enjoying their Lunch, laughing and talking about random stuff, sometimes throwing some food at themselves. Like always, they had quite the scandal and nobody dared to tell them to keep it down.

Kei was staring at Ryunosuke and Mei with a really pissed expression, cursing under his breath while eating some French fries. "Yo, isn't Ryu-kun that dude over there?" asked a guy from the table, turning his head to look at Ryunosuke. "What is he doing with the Bunny girl? Is he eating lunch with her or something? I thought he was on our side." Kei clicked his tongue and turned his head to look over at the guy that spoke. "Shut up, you idiot," he said, giving him a death glare. "Of course Ryunosuke is with us. He still is our leader, our Dark Wolf." The dude scoffed and raised his a hand a little bit, telling him to just chill.

Growling with annoyance, Kei stood up from his chair and when he was about to walk over to Ryunosuke, Kyouko passed him by and was heading toward him. As he looked at her from behind, he smirked and slowly sat back. "Oh, boy, things are going to get hot over there, guys," he said with a chuckle, grabbing a couple of fries and munching them. The rest of the gang quickly turned their heads to look over at Ryunosuke, Mei, and Kyouko, gasping with excitement.

"Huh, I'm not surprised to see you hanging around with this girl," said Kyouko once she arrived at the table, crossing her arms and standing between Ryunosuke and Mei. As he turned around to look at her, Ryunosuke sighed deeply. "Ugh, for the love of God, why you just don't leave me alone, woman," he said with a frown, rubbing the top of his head with his right hand in frustration. "I'm so done with you stalking me to every place I go. Don't you have better things to do? Besides, it's not your problem with who I hang out." Kyouko frowned and glared at Ryunosuke. "Of course is my problem, you idiot!" she said out loud and stomped her right foot on the floor. "You are still my boyfriend."

Suddenly, Ryunosuke began to laugh his ass out, obviously mocking Kyouko, which pissed her off. "What the hell is so funny!?" she yelled at him and Ryunosuke took a deep breath with a smile, wiping some a tear on the back of his right eye with his index finger. "Oh, that was a good one," he said and chuckled with a nod. "Well, I guess I should thank you. I needed a good laugh. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to buy something to eat."

With nothing else to say, Ryunosuke turned to face Mei and gently grabbed her right hand before beginning to walk away. He knew that he shouldn't leave her alone with Kyouko, not minding if Mei could defend herself from her. There was no way he will leave Mei near that purpled-eyed psychopath.

As Kyouko saw him grabbing Mei's hand and leaving with her, she gasped with shock. Growling, she quickly walked behind them, anger burning deep inside her. "Oh, I'm not done with you, bitch!" she shouted at Mei and forcibly grabbed her left wrists, pulling her away from Ryunosuke. When Mei's hand slipped from his hand, Ryunosuke widened his eyes and turned around to see what was going on. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're-" Kyouko cut him off by telling him to just shut up and to back off.

"Do you really think I will let you take away from me Ryunosuke?" she asked Mei with a scoff and pushed her against a wall. "You're damn wrong if you think I will let that happen, useless Bunny." As Kyouko cornered Mei against a wall and began to shout at her insults and threats, everyone in the Cafeteria was staring with astonishment, some of them taking out their phone to record such a scene. The members of the Resistance quickly stood up from their table and quickly rushed to aid Mei. However, as they did, some members of Ryunosuke's Fan Club also appeared on the scene to aid Kyouko. Suddenly, everything began to look like some kind of turf war scene taking out from a mafia movie.

"Hey, back off from our Hime, you filthy bitch!" yelled Hana while pulling up her sleeves, preparing herself to beat the cap out of Kyouko if necessary. A member of the RFC scoffed and cracked her knuckles while staring at Hana. "What about if YOU back off and let our Kyo-chan teach the Bunny a lesson?" she said with a smirk. "As if we're going to let that happen, psychos!" replied Hiro while tightening his fists. Growling, the two groups began to stare at each other.

 

[ScarletNova]

​

Yeah, Mei was not buying it. There was totally something bothering him. She hadn't known him long, but she was getting really good at being able to tell when something was bothering him. Especially when he attempted to hide it. It seemed though that he wasn't interested in talking about it just yet. She'd let it slide for now, but she would bring it back up later when he was more willing to let it out.

She smirked. "Yeah, they're pretty good. But I kind of also like the memories the sandwich gives me now," she admitted. After all, it was the first sandwich she had at this place. And it was the sandwich that Ryunosuke had bought her those few times they ate lunch together before when they first started to interact with each other. She liked those memories she had made with that sandwich.

But just before they could get their lunch, Ryu's ex had come up to the table, spouting off some stuff about Ryunosuke still being her boyfriend and a bunch of other crap that Mei didn't really care about. Frankly, this girl was just getting annoying. Couldn't she tell that Ryunosuke wasn't into her anymore.

Ryunosuke seemed to be done with her and he suddenly took Mei's hand so they could get their food. She didn't know why he had done that, but it gave her a slight blush along her cheeks. And that warmth she always enjoyed when their hands touched was coming over her. But it was soon taken away when Kyouko suddenly grabbed her and pulled her away. Suddenly she was pushed against the wall and Kyouko was yelling at her. And others started to join in as well.

Mei's smile faded. She stared at Kyouko. But there was no fear in her eyes. There was no anger. It was just blank. Like she didn't care about what Kyouko was doing to her at all. Like she wasn't affected by her comments. "You're pathetic," she finally said. "Ryunosuke's been done with you even before I arrived here. I have nothing to do with that. You lost your chance with him. And do you really think these types of things are going to give you that chance back? Does it really look like he's reconsidering you after all this? If anything, he'd get more annoyed with you."

Mei simply started to walk away from the wall, which meant she pushed Kyouko aside as she did so, but just with her body instead of anything else. "I have nothing to do with the relationship you have with Ryunosuke then and now. It's his choice what he does and who he wants to be with. If you really think that simply yelling at me or whatever you think you can do to me will change Ryunosuke's mind, then you don't really know him at all. And it seems you never have. Because if you really cared, you'd want to make him happy. And this doesn't make him happy."

She headed back over to Ryunosuke so they could get their lunch. Mei wasn't about to let this crazy girl ruin their day or make things worse. Mei already had a lot on her mind. And it was clear that Ryunouske did too. Those were things to focus on first. "Let's get that chicken sandwich, Ryu. I'm hungry and I don't want lunch to end before I've gotten the chance to eat." She didn't even look back to Kyouko.

 

[Stray Shinku]

​

Mei didn't have to do much to fight back Kyouko. As she finally spoke, Kyouko took a step back from Mei as she was listening to her and she felt like if every word was a dagger stabbed to her chest. And what made Kyouko so angry is that everything that Mei was saying was the crude truth she was trying to avoid so badly. Ryunosuke broke with her and their relationship is now history. End of discussion. Too bad she was refusing to just give up yet even when Ryunosuke clearly didn't want anything to do with her, especially because of the reason of why the broke up.

Kyouko was trying to think what to say to Mei, but she was so hurt that her brain couldn't make up anything. So, when Mei practically pushed her aside as she walked away from her, the white-haired girl bit her lower lip while looking down at the floor.

"T-This... This isn't over," she finally said after a brief moment, lifting her head to look over at Mei, which was now with Ryunosuke. Clicking her tongue, Kyouko turned around and began to quickly walk away, pushing aside one of the members of the RFC. As they saw their queen bee retreating from the cafeteria, they looked at themselves before sighing with frustration. "Ugh, you may have won this one, but you have not seen the last of us," said the girl that threatened Hana minutes ago.

When she snapped her fingers, the whole RFC squad turned around and began to walk away, quickly following Kyouko from behind. Sighing with relief, the Resistance chuckled nervously. "Oh, my God, that was really intense," said Hiro while rubbing some sweat from his forehead. Hana clicked her tongue and looked away from crossing her arms with a pout. "I just when thought I would finally put that bunch of psychos on their place," she said with disappointment. Yin and Yan smirked evilly. "Well, there's always a second chance, Hana-chan," said Yan with a chuckle and Yin nodded in agreement.

As they saw returning with Ryunosuke safely, they Resistance turned around and left the Cafeteria as well.

"Huh... I'm really surprised of how cool and calm-headed you dealt with Kyouko," said Ryunosuke and sighed with a faint smile. "I'm really sorry, though. This was all my fault. I should've known she would be here." Ryunosuke felt guilty about what just happening, thinking that he could've avoided this situation if he didn't plan to have lunch with Mei right here on the Cafeteria, the most obvious place of being seen by pretty much everyone.

 

[ScarletNova]

​

Mei heard Kyouko's comments but she chose to ignore them. She had a feeling that woman wasn't going to stop either way. It would probably take a few more times for that. Mei understood that. But at least she would be able to eat her lunch in peace. And she could deal with that white-haired witch later. So, she just continued to walk with Ryunosuke into the lunch line where they could get their food.

She glanced over at him when he made some comments about it. She gave him a smile and suddenly shrugged. "She gets on my nerves, but that's no reason to get all upset about it. Why should I bother with that? It seems like a pointless fight to me," she responded back. "And it's not your fault. It's not like you chose for her to be this way even after you two broke up. I'm sure she'll finally figure it out eventually that you're done with her and she'll leave you alone. So, don't worry about it."

She paused for a moment. "Who knows, maybe she'll find someone else. It's not like I want her to suffer or anything, so it'll be nice if she starts dating someone else." Mei got into the line with Ryunosuke and waited for a few brief minutes until they were able to get their food. Once they had gotten it, Mei walked back to the table with him. It's not like she was going to leave the cafeteria because of everything that happened. It was over now anyway.

She took a seat. "Besides, I don't really care about Kyouko right now. Shiro's been absent for a whole week now, so I'm getting a bit worried about her. I really hope she's okay. I plan to visit her with the others right after school." She released a sigh as she thought about it then took a bite from her chicken sandwich she had gotten.

Frankly though, Mei was mentioning Shiro out loud to Ryunosuke on purpose. She wondered how he would react when he heard about her being absent and the fact that she was going to visit her. After all, that picture that Koko had shown Mei was still on her mind. It meant that both Ryu and Kei were once Shiro's friend. They once cared about each other. Something had happened though.

But Mei wondered if they really preferred it the way they were now. Or if they missed each other. And that meant prying into things she probably shouldn't pry into. But she was going to do it anyway even if they got angry at her for it. But Kei was probably going to be the harder part. How was she going to get him to start listening?

 

[Stray Shinku]

​

Ryunosuke smiled as he heard Mei's reply, telling him that it wasn't his fault at all that Kyouko was a psycho that tried to ruin his lunch with her, which was true. But he got really surprised when she wished for Kyouko to find that special someone that will make her happy and finally forget him. However, it was these kinds of thoughts and acts of kindness that made Mei who she was. She was a gentle and caring bunny that could be feisty when needed or taunted.

"You're too kind, Mei," said Ryunosuke with a scoff before finally getting his food with Mei's. Then, they returned to the same table they were, which also surprised Ryunosuke, but now knowing how was Mei, it was to be expected that she wouldn't leave this place just because of what happened. It was clear that every single thing that Mei did surprise Ryunosuke like nobody has ever done and, honestly, he was enjoying it.

Now seated, Ryunosuke unwrapped his cheeseburger and poured some ketchup on the wrapping before grabbing one of his fries and dunking on it. As he ate the fry at once, Mei mentioned something about being worried about Shiro's absence for a whole week. Blinking once with intrigue, Ryunosuke turned his head to look at Mei. "Mmh... Now that you mention her, I realized I haven't seen her with you," he said and grabbed his burger, thinking about what could've happened to Shiro.

Suddenly, a flashback from his childhood appeared in his mind.

It was when he was on 8th Grade with Shiro and Kei. They were sitting on a table in the Lunch Room of their school and out of the blue, a group of mean girls appeared and began to insult Shiro's mother. They were saying a lot of rude comments and it was all because it was discovered that Shiro's mother was cheating on her husband, and because she was a well-known celebrity, it was quite the scandal.

"I bet you will be as a bitch like your mother, four-eyed slut."
"I know, right? Now I know why she has two male friends. I bet she makes out with them."
"Oh, my God! You're worst than her mother then!"

As they began to laugh out loud at Shiro, she tried her best to just ignore them, but they were too much. So, tears of frustration began to slide through her cheeks. "W-Why are you doing this?" she asked them while trying to wipe her tears. "Leave me alone, you bullies! I haven't done anything to deserve this!" The girls didn't leave and kept bullying Shiro to the point of making her cry out loud. Angry, Ryunosuke quickly stood up from his chair and yelled at them, throwing his food tray at them, hitting one of the girls right in her face.

"Shut up, you idiots!" he said and picked Shiro's food tray. "It's not Shiro's fault that his mother decided to do that! And just because that happened it doesn't mean that she will be like her!" Growling, Ryunosuke bolted towards the girls and began to hit them with the tray as hard as he could. It took a grown male teacher to jump in and pull him away from the mean girls, which were crying as Ryunosuke hit them relentlessly with a metal tray. They were all bruised, but Ryunosuke didn't give a damn.

"Let me go! I haven't done with these little bitches!" he shouted, trying to free himself from the teacher's tight embrace to hold him down. Kei was hugging Shiro, consoling her and trying to calm her down, but she kept crying. After that event, Ryunosuke got suspended for 3 days and Shiro didn't go to school for a whole week. She was so depressed that she didn't want to leave her house. She shut herself in her room and closed every contact with the outside world. It took Ryunosuke and Kei to go to her home and convinced her to return to the school.

When the flashback faded away, Ryunosuke blinked as he was brought back to reality and sight, lowering his burger. It was obvious that something happened to Shiro that may have made shut herself in her room once again. Mei and her friends from the Resistance may be able to make her leave her room, but it will take Ryunosuke or Kei to convince her to return to the school. Besides, he also thought that it was time for him to amend things with Shiro and take back that beautiful and strong friendship they had.

"You said that you and the Resistance will give her a visit, huh?" he asked Mei, slowly looking back at her with a serious expression. "Okay then. Can I go with you as well? Believe it or not... Shiro is one of my childhood friends." Ryuosuke finally revealed that secret to Mei, even when she already knew that thanks to the picture Koko showed her.

 

[ScarletNova]

​

Mei shrugged. She wasn't really kind. At least she didn't see herself as that way. It was just easier that way. And besides, it wasn't like Mei wanted to wish anything bad on anyone. That was pretty much it. It wasn't like she was some saint or really cared about making everyone in the world happy. She only cared about making those she was close to happy, the ones she cared about.

But when Mei mentioned Shiro, Ryunosuke seemed a bit interested in it. Perhaps her idea had actually worked. Mei had purposely mentioned the problem in front of him the way she did, hoping to get his attention. She thought that perhaps if he was once friends with her, he'd like to be again. And just maybe she would be able to spark that friendship again if he heard that something might have happened to her.

It was a long shot. And maybe Shiro would be angry at her for doing something like this. She did say she didn't want to be friends with Ryunosuke. And Mei had said she wasn't going to make Shiro be friends with him. But Mei just couldn't shake the feeling that she shouldn't keep it that way.

It was then that suddenly Ryunosuke seemed to daze off for a few seconds. And when he finally came back to reality, he suddenly mentioned that he wanted to go with them to see Shiro. And he actually admitted that he was once friends with Shiro. He actually said it! It had worked! Mei couldn't help but smile. She probably should had pretended to be surprised or something like that. But she was just happy that Ryunosuke genuinely seemed concerned for Shiro.

"Yeah, you can come with us," she then said. "I promised the Resistance that I'd meet them at her house, so you can come along with me if you'd like."

Though, Mei wasn't quite sure if she should be honest and tell him that she knew all along since she was shown the photo. Would he be angry at her for it? He'd probably be more angry if she continued to keep it a secret from him. She released a sigh. "Koko showed me a photo when you were cleaning the dishes last week. It was from when you were younger and you were with two other little kids. She had told me that those two kids were once your best friends."

She paused. "It wasn't hard for me to tell that those two kids were Kei and Shiro. I might be overstepping here, but I thought that perhaps...it would be nice if you three became friends again. I don't know what happened. It's probably not my right to know. I don't know how Shiro feels. I don't know how Kei feels. But Koko mentioned that they were important to you and I feel like you are all still important to each other just as you were back then. I thought about not saying anything and just seeing what happens as I went along, but I didn't want to keep it a secret from you. That didn't seem fair."

 

[Stray Shinku]

​

Ryunosuke nodded with a small smile as Mei accepted to invite him to come with her and the Resistance to visit Shiro. He also expected them to be surprised seeing him hanging out with them so suddenly as they still weren't sure if to trust him or not even when his attitude changed for the better, especially Hiro. He has his own reasons and one of them is that one-time Ryunosuke punched him so hard he broke his nose. To this day, he hasn't apologized to Hiro, probably because Ryunosuke may not remember it.

When Ryunosuke noticed Mei went kind of serious for a second, he blinked once and turned his head to look at her with curiosity. And there's when she finally confessed to him that she knew that Shiro was her friend all this time along and it was all thanks to Koko. She dared to show her that picture he wanted to get rid off a long time ago, but Koko stopped him, explaining to him that picture was a moment he should cherish and he would be really regretful in the later if he destroys it. There's when Ryunosuke agreed not to tear it to pieces as long as she kept that picture hidden forever as he was too angry with Shiro and didn't want to remember that she used to be her friend.

Something happened between them that completely destroyed their friendship and right now, Ryunosuke was ready to take that back. However, he wondered if Kei felt the same way because, so far, it didn't seem to.

"So, she showed you that picture, huh?" he asked with a sigh and looked away. "I'm kind of... Annoyed that you have to discover this just because Koko is always putting her nose where she isn't supposed to put it. You have no idea how many time I've told her to stay away from my stuff and personal life." Taking a deep breath, Ryunosuke sighed and shook his head. Then, he scoffed and looked down at his burger with a smile. "But, you know... I'm glad she told you that to you, Mei. You have helped me so much since that day and, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be this Ryunosuke I am right now."

Smiling brighter, Ryunosuke lifted his head and looked at Mei. "You are a good person, Mei, and I'm glad you crossed in my life." Realizing what he just said, Ryunosuke's cheeks blushed a light tone of red. Blinking in embarrassment, he cleared his throat and quickly looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "S-S-So, yeah... Don't worry about that, Mei," he said, trying to end with this subject already. "I'm not angry at you or anything. Thanks for being so sincere to me."

 

[ScarletNova]

​

Mei didn't want to get Koko in trouble. She briefly regretted mentioning it now because she was concerned Ryunosuke might be more mad at Koko now instead of her knowing about it. But that didn't seem to be the case, as Ryu admitted that he was actually glad Koko showed her that photo and that she knew about it the friendship.

She listened to his comments and suddenly a pink blush came over her cheeks out of embarrassment. "I want you to know that Koko didn't know I was already friends with Shiro or anything. I don't think she was trying to do anything like poking her nose into your personal business. If I wasn't friends with Shiro, I probably wouldn't even have noticed who it was really. I just want you to know that. Really, she just wants the best for you."

Mei could understand if Ryunosuke didn't want his aunt butting into his life, but that was just the way family was, wasn't it? They butted into each others life and that was usually just because they cared about them. But then she heard that he wasn't mad at all. He complimented her, telling her she was a good person. And he was even glad she came into his life. Her blush darkened some more and she looked away for a moment.

There it was again. Her heart was starting to speed up again. It always seemed to do this when it came to Ryunosuke. He always made her feel this way. But she looked back at him and gave him a sudden smile. "I'm glad I crossed into your life too."

Her blush was still present, but she gently nudged him in the shoulder with her own shoulder. She went back to eating her chicken sandwich for a few minutes before she stopped again to speak.

"You could also invite Kei if you'd like," she then said. "I know...that he might not be too happy about what's going on. But he's still your best friend, right? You've been together for a long time. And he was friends with Shiro back then too. It might take some time. There are a lot of changes happening. But people will surprise you. I've been surprised many times. Mostly by you."

 

[Stray Shinku]

​

Ryunosuke scoffed with a smile when Mei playfully nudged his shoulder and then, he grabbed his burger and began to eat, feeling better now that Mei was there with him. It was quite surprising how close these two became through this whole week as if they already knew each other from a long time ago. Their friendship was so good that they were in the point where they knew their likes and dislikes, and how they were. But, of course, they are times where they surprise each other by a few actions. With Mei, Ryunosuke felt like riding the most exciting roller coaster ever and, honestly, he didn't want to hop off from it yet.

When he was halfway done with his burger, Mei mentioned him that he could invite Kei to their visit to Shiro. Blinking with surprise, Ryunosuke lowered his burger and took a napkin to wipe his mouth a little bit, thinking that was a really bad idea, especially after knowing how much Kei hated Mei. "I'm not so sure about that, Mei," he replied, slowly turning his head to look over at the desk where Kei and the gang were sitting, but it was now empty. "Let's say that, um... He doesn't like the Resistance or Shiro... And he hates you."

Sighing, Ryunosuke turned his head to look over at Mei with a small smile. "He keeps thinking that you stole him his best friend no matter how much I try to explain to him that's not true. Just because I changed doesn't mean I stopped being the Ryunosuke we all know, but he simply refuses to accept my decision in being a good guy." With another deep sigh, Ryunosuke turned his head away from Mei and looked down at the table, swallowing hard with a concerned expression. "I'm... I'm scared of losing him, you know? Scared that he begins to hate me and lose him forever. We have overcome so much together that I find impossible to move on without him. He's like my brother from another mother."

Ryunosuke's head was like a washing machine where his thoughts were just spinning around and around, making him struggle with a lot of overwhelming feelings. He was in such a distress that he lost his appetite and didn't realize that he confessed his worries to Mei, something he was avoiding, but because she brought the subject, he couldn't hold it any longer. "I guess you're right and I should give him some time," he said after a moment, rubbing the back of his head. "But... I don't know. I have a feeling this will take him a long while or maybe he won't consider it."

Shaking his head, Ryunosuke smiled faintly and slowly looked back at Mei. "A-Ah, I didn't realize I was speaking too much," he said and laughed awkwardly. "S-Sorry. I must've bored you with all of that."

 

[ScarletNova]

​

Mei felt bad. She probably shouldn't had said anything. It seemed Ryunosuke was dealing with much more regarding Kei than Mei could have even thought he was. She knew that Kei would probably not be happy. He would be the hardest to deal with. But she didn't know it was going to be as bad as it was. She could see and hear the pain that Ryu was going through.

She listened to what he had to say. Then she placed her hand in his shoulder when he was finally done talking. That smile of his wasn't real. "Ryunouske," she began. "Kei has every right to feel the way he does towards me and the resistance. We changed the person he knows best. You're sitting here eating with me today, not him. It's expected. But he's your friend. Your childhood friend. It's okay to be afraid and worried about his anger towards you."

She gave him her own small smile. "But your friendship is much stronger than that. Maybe you should be honest and just tell him you don't want to lose him. That even though you are changing in some ways, you are still you. And you still love him. He's your friend, so he should see what all this really means. He loves you. He's angry because he loves you. I can't pretend to know him but maybe he's even just angry because it was me who has been making you change and not him. Him and me might have some things in common. We just want to make you happy. He might even have some kind of promise to himself to protect you."

Kei probably was a lot like Ryunosuke too. He needed someone to help break him out of that shell he had put himself in. But Mei wasn't going to be that person. There was probably someone else. She was quiet for a moment as she thought about it. "Ryu, what happened? Why are you two not friends with Shiro anymore?"

 

[Stray Shinku]

​

When Mei jumped in to console him after realizing he was in a emotional distress, Ryunosuke gently held her hand when she placed hers on his shoulder. By this point, he didn't feel any embarrassment at all as he was already accustomed to her warmth. Besides, he really needed somebody to support him right now, and there was nobody as perfect like Mei. However, when she began to speak, Ryunosuke's eyes widened and glistened with awe. Every single word she said was filled with some much truth and wisdom that they moved Ryunosuke a lot. He slowly moved his head to look at her, surprised that even when she didn't know Kei at all, she could see that he was just like her. They both wanted to make Ryunosuke happy.

"You... You're right," Ryunosuke said after Mei finished speaking about Kei. With a bright smile, he gently gripped her hand and turned his head to his right, blushing faintly after feeling a little better thanks for Mei to listened to him and give him a nice advice. "Thank you a lot, Mei. You're really a nice person even when you say you are not." Scoffing, he turned his head to look at her once again and playfully poked the tip of her nose with his right index. "You're also a great friend. No wonder why Shiro likes you so much."

And speaking of Shiro, Mei suddenly asked him about why they Kei and him weren't friends of Shiro anymore. Sighing, Ryunosuke rubbed the back of his head as he looked down at the table, slowly remembering that unfortunate day when he and Mei made the decision of befriending Shiro.

"Well... It all started when we finished the sixth grade," Ryunosuke began to speak, trying to remember everything in details, so Mei could understand. "Shiro's parents decided to put her in a different school since her middle school period, so, unfortunately, Kei and I took a different path from hers, but we promised to be in contact all the time. It was hard, we managed to do it." Sighing, Ryunosuke blinked once and began to poke a french fry with his right index finger.

"Sixth and Seventh Grades were a nightmare for Kei and me. We were bullied since day one because of social status, so I was always in fights to defend ourselves because Kei wasn't as tough like he is now back then. He was like a scary cat that hated fights and cried everything he was bullied. That's probably why he was their target a lot. After finishing that grade, we had enough of the abuse of everyone, so we promise ourselves to get strong and train our body and mind through the summer break, so we would be ready to face everyone with a strong will and body." Ryunosuke crossed his arms and leaned his back on his chair. He turned his head to look at Mei. "And that's what we did on that summer break before entering the eighth grade. We trained our body in a local gym Kei and I knew. We went there every day without skipping once and we also took some boxing and martial arts courses. We sacrificed everything to become something better in the end. Or that's what we thought."

"Time passed by and when we entered the Eight Grade, Kei and I were two completely persons. We killed the old Ryu and Kei and became something the bullies would regret messing with. And it was like that. We fought back everyone that dared to mess with us and little by little, we took control of our lives and pretty much everyone lives. And when we knew it, we also took control of the whole school. We like the duo rulers of the middle school and without realizing, we took a liking about it. The bullies feared us, but everyone else also began to fear us as well as we began to act worse than the bullies, becoming the bad guys in the end. Such an irony, huh? Two good guys fighting the bad guys and they end up becoming like the bad guys."

Ryunosuke slowly turned his head to look over at Mei, trying to see her expressions while she listened to his story. "By the time that Kei and I graduated from middle school and enter the Ninth Grade right here at Ryoo High, we finally reunite with Shiro, which was also a different person. When had a few extra pounds when she was in primary school and at some point of middle school, but because she was also bullied for that, she decided to lose weight by entering in a strict diet and a gym. And she did and she looked great. Anyways, we were more than happy to finally be back together. However, when we told her what happened to us and how we were dealing with everything, she wasn't that happy. It was obvious because she didn't like violence or anything like that. She tried to convince us to change, but we ignored her, explaining to her that there was no way we were going back to be the weaklings were on middle school."

"So, we did what we did before: beat up every bully in Ryoo High and climb up to the top of the hierarchy. In no time, we became the rulers of Ryoo High School and because I was the violent one, I was known as the Dark Wolf. A fitting nickname, if you ask me, but to be clear, I didn't ask for it. Once again, Shiro, seeing how awful we were treating everyone and we were just terrorizing the whole school for no reason at all, she faced us, begging us to stop and to go back to be the nice and gentle Ryunosuke and Kei she used to know. Of course, we refused to do that and Kei, angry that Shiro was rejected his offer of her to join us, unfriended her. It was really hard for him because she cared a lot for her. It was hard for me as well, but I decided to follow Kei. And so, we moved on through different paths once again."

Ryunosuke rubbed his face with his right hand and before stretching his arms upward. "Until now, of course," he said. "Thanks to you, I realized how awful I was being with everyone around here without having a reason. The real challenge now is to make Kei open his eyes. To make him see that we don't have to be against everyone anymore. The bullies are gone, but we took their place. That we need to stop this reign of terror and move on for the better." With a sigh, Ryunosuke shrugged and shook his head, biting his lower lip. "But all he could think of is about that stupid promise we made. The one where we promised to never ever let somebody hurt us ever again."

 

[ScarletNova]

​

"I shouldn't have asked that. The answer is personal," Mei commented. She didn't have a right to ask him what happened with his friendships in the past. She really wasn't as nice and kind as he thought she was. After all, she was sticking herself into his business like she was supposed to from the very beginning. But he began to tell her the story anyway.

And Mei was completely silent as she listened. Frankly, she didn't even know what to think as she tried to take in every detail he was telling her. So, he had gone through something like that? No wonder why he had became the way he did. No wonder why Shiro was more upset about it. No wonder why Kei was going to be the hardest to work with. It really was a lot more to it in the end than she could have ever thought.

And she could tell that everything was really hurting Ryunosuke. He knew what he had done was wrong in the end, but life had made him that way. But now he just didn't know how to make up for the things he had done wrong. "I get it now," she then said. "It's about that, isn't it. That's why Kei is so bent on keeping you the 'Dark Wolf'. He's afraid that you guys will get hurt again, be bullied like you have been before."

There was something in Mei's eyes that she didn't even know was there as she looked at Ryu, an affection for the person who was sitting right next to her. And a will to do anything she could to make him happy. She was quiet for a moment, thinking things over.

"Just show him that you haven't broken that promise yet. You can be the new you and still not have anyone hurt you. The strength you had back then wasn't true strength. It was fear hiding behind a wall of strength. But really, you guys did what you did because you were just always afraid you would get hurt again. But strength is being kind to people, even to those who aren't kind to you."

"There's only one person who is really going to be able to help Kei. And that's Shiro. I mean, think about it. If he really was hurt that much that she didn't like the new men you had become? If he was really so upset that she didn't want to join you guys when you were like that, that he would actually completely unfriend her in a fit of rage? That only means that he got hurt so much that he attempted to do the only thing he thought would protect him and you from that pain."

Mei paused. "Did you ever consider that Kei might actually have some feelings for Shiro?"

 

[Stray Shinku]

​

Once again, Ryunosuke was surprised by Mei's quick understanding of what was going on around him. Yes, his situation with Key wasn't that hard to understand, but still, for somebody that he practically just met a week ago, it was like Mei knew Ryunosuke for a whole lifetime. She already knew him so well that it wasn't a surprise if she earns the ability to predict his decisions in the future. Ryunosuke felt so vulnerable around Mei, but honestly, he was enjoying opening up the doors of his heart to her and let her wander through his personal life for a while.

Thanks to speaking up with Mei about his problems and her kindness of listening up, Ryunosuke was feeling better and with a small warm smile, a light of hope sparked deep inside him, making him believe that things between him and Kei will change for the better soon enough. Right now, he couldn't find a way to thank Mei for all the help she has been giving him without her realizing it.

"Once again, you are right, Mei," he said with a nod, smiling brightly while turning his head to look at her. "Alright then. I will speak to Kei when I see him later this day. Wish me all the luck of this world because I'm going to need it. I just hope he is willing to listen to me, though. He must be mad with me."

Suddenly, Mei began to speak about how Shiro could be the most important person that could make Kei realize that he doesn't need to be tough and mean around Ryoo High anymore. She also mentioned her wild guess that caught off guard Ryunosuke: the fact that Kei could have romantic feelings towards Shiro.

Widening his eyes in surprise, Ryunosuke scoffed in disbelief and looked away from Mei shaking his head. For him, there was no way Kei or Shiro have any hidden feelings toward each other. That would be beyond weird considering the fact that they were like mortal enemies right now. However, they were practically childhood friends before, so Ryunosuke took a moment to think about their past. He remembered how Kei spent a lot of time with Shiro, helping her around in practically everything she needed and defending her from anything that dared to try to hurt her. He was like Shiro's guardian angel.

Then, just like a click inside his head, Ryunosuke finally reached a realization he wasn't aware of this whole time. "Oh, my God... You might be right, Mei!" he said out loud, widening his eyes and smiling with shock. Scoffed and quickly looked at Mei. "Woah! How I didn't realize such a thing before!? Oh, everything makes so much sense now! I can see, now, the real reason of why he unfriended Shiro. It's because he felt betrayed by her! He must've felt that way when she rejected his offer of her joining our team."

"We really need to give Shiro that sudden visit today. I need to know her point of view of everything we said here." Blinking once, Ryunosuke rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "O-Oh, but... That's only if you allow me, though."

 

[ScarletNova]

​

To be honest, Mei could be wrong. She wasn't entirely sure if her predictions were true. She could be leading to false conclusions. They didn't have a ton of evidence. And it wasn't like Mei was good with romance. She hadn't witnessed it before since she only had her dad in her life so it wasn't like she could have seen it with her parents. And she hadn't had any relationships either. She was just speculating.

And for a moment she completely doubted herself when Ryunsouke disagreed with her. "Maybe I'm wrong..." she started to say. But the young man started to think about it some more and suddenly he was believing what she had said. Maybe there really was more evidence that she had thought. After all, Ryu would probably know better since he had been with the two of them for most of his life.

"Of course I'll allow you," she then said when she heard that he felt like they needed Shiro's thoughts on all this but only if she allowed him. Why wouldn't she allow him? He had more right to talk with Shiro than Mei had really, since they were friends longer in a way even if they weren't friends at that moment.

"It's just a thought though. We can't be sure what they think of each other. But Kei seemed to be pretty angry towards Shiro, at least every time we met him. And Shiro actually seemed to be more afraid of Kei than of you when we ran into either of you. That would lead me to believe that he was harder on Shiro a lot more than you have ever been during your dark years. And there needs to be a reason for Kei to feel so much anger towards her, right?"

She paused and thought about it some more. "I mean, it's possible it could just be because he feels betrayed by an old friend. But it seems like he's pretty angry. Though, he's pretty angry about you changing too. So, in the end, we can't be sure. But you are right about one thing, Shiro. We need to talk to her. First, to make sure she is okay. Then to show her that you are finally changing back to who she wanted you to be. Maybe she'll want to be friends again. Then there's Kei to talk about."

Mei had been pretty distracted by all of this, but the girl was truly hungry like she had said earlier just before they had gotten their lunch. So, despite their serious conversation, Mei did find time to finish off her food that she had. She gave Ryu another smile.

 

[Stray Shinku]

"Oh, my bad, Mei," said Ryunosuke with a small chuckle, blushing in embarrassment. "I meant only if you wanted to. It's just that I don't want to feel that I'm forcing you to get into this really messed up situation. So, thank you for saying yes. I really appreciate your support." Turning his head to look over at Mei, he gave her a smile before picking his soda pop bottle to take a big sip. He was sincerely grateful for the support Mei was giving him without thinking it twice and not minding if she was doing it all for the sake of Shiro. Honestly, Ryunosuke was just happy to have Mei around. His whole world seems to get a little better every time he sees her bright smile and beautiful face.

When he heard her asking him why Kei is so angry with Shiro, Ryunosuke lowered his drink and looked over at her, just in time to listen to Mei telling him her encounters with Kei when she was with Shiro. As expected, he acted totally aggressive, especially towards Shiro. Just like Mei guessed, Kei has being treating Shiro extremely hostile since that day he unfriended her. He bullies her every time he got the chance, like pushing her aside or smacking off her books from her hands, so she have to pick them up.

Because of Kei's constant abuse, Shiro ended up fearing him to the point of crying if he got too close to her or running away when she spots him, preferring to simply avoid him every time. Sure, she can tell everything to the Principal or the teachers, but they also were scared of Kei and everything that involved dealing with the "Tyrant Duo". She was also scared of telling everything to her parents, so the only option she had was to just try to avoid Kei.

"Mmh... I see," replied Ryunosuke whe Mei stopped talking and sighed, nodding slowly. "Yes, you can say that Kei practically abuses from Shiro mostly every day just for pure entertainment, ignoring those times when Shiro just begged him to leave her alone. He is just extra cruel with her because he feels that she betrayed her when she refused to join us in our plans of school domination. Honestly, I thought he was just angry with Shiro and he would forget about it in a few weeks and be friends again, but... Now he just hates her."

Ryunosuke swallowed hard and sighed while looking down at his hands that were on the table. "And I know that I'm the one to blame for that. After all, I was the one that said a lot of stupid things that corrupted his mind. I hope I'm not too late to fix my wrongs because I really want to have back my old friends."

Realizing that he was about to get all depressive again, Ryunosuke quickly lifted his head and scoffed awkwardly, smiling faintly. "A-Ah, yes... We definitely must talk with Shiro," he said after Mei. "She has been absent for a full week and that's something to be worried about. I will talk with Kei later. Well, at least try." Nodding and with nothing else to do, Ryunosuke grabbed what left of his burger and finished it before grabbing a napkin to wipe his mouth.

After a few minutes, he stood up from his chair and threw his and Mei's trash in a near bin. Then, the bells of the school began to ring, announcing the end of Lunch Time. "Mmh... We should hurry to History class," he said while walking towards Mei. "Futaba-sensei will be pissed if we arrive late to his class, just like yesterday." Chuckling, Ryunosuke remember how angry Futaba was when he accidentally arrived late to his class. he was lucky enough that he didn't gave him any extra homework or assigment as a punishment.

"By the way, where are we meeting after class to go visit Shiro?"

 

[ScarletNova]

​

So, it was true. Kei really did treat Shiro worse. That was going to make things harder. They were going to have trouble getting passed that. Because was that something that they could even forgive each other for. Would Shiro always stay afraid of him now or was there still room for those feelings that used to be there.

But the story was starting to get them down again, so Ryunosuke tried to bring up their spirits again. She gave him a smile in return and nodded. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out," she then said. "It's never too late to change things especially since we're just still high school students. It might take some time and it might be hard. But we might be able to get things back to how they were when you three were friends back in the past."

It was true though that she couldn't promise that. She was a bit worried in a way about it because she didn't know Kei. She didn't know what he was really like and if there was still some of him still in there. For Ryu there was. She had brought it back up somehow. But she wasn't sure if that would work for Kei this time.

"Ah, yeah. You're right," Mei replied when she heard him say something about getting to history class because they didn't want to be late. They were still in school after all. It wasn't like they could ignore what time it was and what was going on around them. They could discuss Kei and Shiro more later when they had more time and some more information.

Mei got up and followed Ryu so they could head to class. "Well, I didn't really talk to the others too much. I just said I would meet them outside Shiro's house after school. That's about it. They might meet together early though but I don't really know. I was just going to go to Shiro's place and meet them there. I thought I might pick up a few things for her too. I don't know if she's sick or upset or what it is and she might have everything she needs, but I want to get her some stuff anyway." She had figured she could stop by the store while she was on her way to Shiro's place. It wouldn't take her long to grab a couple things.

 

[Stray Shinku]

​

"Mmh, I see," said Ryunosuke after Mei told him that she will meet up with the Resistance gang after school at Shiro's house. However, he wasn't so sure about it because, knowing how clumsy Shiro was, she probably didn't tell them where her home's address. So, he was pretty sure they will just wait for Mei in front of the gates of the school, probably thinking that she knows where her bestie lives.

"That's a wonderful idea," he said, agreeing with Mei of stopping by a convenience store to buy some stuff for Shiro. "She's a candies lover so I bet that if we bring her lots of it, especially chocolate, she may cheer up if she's depressed or something." He nodded with a smile, lightly rubbing his chin as he thought about it while walking besides Mei. "If I remember correctly, there's a candy shop a few blocks away from this school and its close the bus station. Oh, right..."

Ryunosuke scoffed and looked down at Mei. "You and the others probably don't know where Shiro lives, so it's a good thing that I'm going with you." Chuckling, he turned his head to look forward and began to think which treats will be the ideal to give Shiro in an exchange of her forgiveness. He pretty much bullied her a lot, so he was unsure if Shiro wanted to actually forgive him for all the things he did to her. However, Ryunosuke wasn't willing to give up easily, though. He wants to have back his childhood friend, so he will do anything to achieve it.

They arrived at the History class in a couple of minutes, just in time for Sutaba-sensei to begin his lesson about the emperors of Japan and other historians facts.

Ryunosuke was way too distracted in thinking what he could buy Shiro, writing down the names of the candies Shiro loved on a paper he tore off from his notebook. "Should I bring some drinks or that's too much?" he thought as he scrolled down on his list to buy some cherry pop soda. Scoffing, he smiled by the fact that finding himself making this list reminded him of that time he was making a similar gift but for Kei. They were in an argument, so he wanted to win back Kei with some of his favorite candies. In the end, it worked like a charm.

"Aisaka-san, pay attention to my class!" shouted Futaba-sensei while smacking the back of Ryunosuke's head with rolled papers as he realized that his student was distracted writing down stuff. Ryunosuke yelped and gasped, cursing under his breath. Everybody laughed at him.

"S-Sorry, Futaba-sensei," he said with a smile as he looked up at Futaba, rubbing the back of his head. "I, um... I was actually taking notes of the information you were saying." Futaba lifted his right eyebrow in disbelief. Then, he fixed his glasses and smirked evilly. "If that's the case, I'm pretty sure you can repeat what I said about the Hidoreshi clan I was talking about, yes?"

Ryunosuke widened his eyes in shock, really not seeing that outcome. Scoffing with drops of sweat on his forehead, Ryunosuke looked at his desk in defeat and ashamed. "I-I'm sorry, Futaba-sensei... I actually lied about taking notes," he said and Futaba clicked his tongue with irritation. "I knew you were lying, you fool!" he said as he smacked the back of his head with the rolled paper once again. Everybody began to laugh out loud when Ryunosuke yelped and rubbed his head, apologizing.

 

[ScarletNova]

​

Mei smiled when she heard Ryunosuke suggest getting candy from the candy store because it was one of Shiro's favorite things, especially chocolate. Now, they had no idea why Shiro wasn't coming to school. So, they really had no idea how they would make her feel better. If she was sick, then it would be best to get her something for a cold or flu. But if she was depressed about something like Ryu mentioned, then candy might really be a good idea. Besides, it might cheer her up either way.

"I didn't know that," Mei admitted. After all, Mei was still getting to know her new best friend. "Then we can pick up some candy from there. I bet she'll really enjoy that." They had to be prepared for whatever the reason was for Shiro not being at school. Mei was a bit worried that it would be something that would be much harder than simply giving her some cold medicine.

"Huh?" she then said when she heard Ryu's comment about not knowing where Shiro's house was. She took a moment to think about that comment, realizing that he was right. She had no idea where Shiro lived. The girl had never told her yet and she hadn't been over there yet either. That could cause a problem with the whole meet up thing. But since Ryunosuke knew where to go, he was right about it be a good thing he was coming. She gave him another smile. "Is it bad that I didn't even realize that until you said something. We'd all be looking around at each other not even knowing where to go. So, it really is a good thing you are coming with us."

During class Mei had to admit that she was still a bit distract because of Shiro. She was glad that they were going to visit the girl after school and the idea of bringing her some items was sounding better each time she brought it up in her mind. However, Mei was still concerned about the reasoning of Shiro's disappearance from school to begin with. What had caused her to stay away? And why hadn't she texted Mei about it? If she was sick, wouldn't she had said something? What if it was something that Mei wouldn't know how to fix?

But Mei was thrown out of her thoughts when Ryu was called out for not paying attention. She cursed under her breath as she realized she had been doing the same thing. And she honestly gave Ryunosuke a sympathetic look when he was caught. He tried to hide it but the teacher had gotten him anyway. And everyone laughed. Well, except Mei of course considering that could have been her.

She looked over towards Ryunosuke and gave him a smile. She figured he was probably thinking about Shiro now too. It was hard not to when you cared about the girl. Hopefully the rest of the school day would go by fast so they would be able to get to the end of it and head over to Shiro's. Mei then turned back to face the teacher and this time tried to actually pay attention to what he was saying.