2. Tears of Fear

She’s cute. I can’t deny it. But this isn’t the time to think of thoughts like that!

She is 5' 4" tall with long brown hair and a slim body. Her chest and bottom are average. Judging from our uniforms, we’re going to attend the same university.

When she takes my hand and stands up, she quickly wipes her eyes until no tears are visible. The shaking that she felt had stopped. She’s surprisingly calm.

She bathed in sweat. But even if she was, she should have entered university by now. Since when are these guys chasing her?

“Are you fine now?”

She nods as an answer.

Turning around, I begin walking. “Then there’s no time to waste. We’re already late. We should rush through the gates…”

But she pulls my cloth to stop me from walking. As I turn towards her, she shakes her head. Is she deaf?

“You’re late as well. Why are you slowing down?”

With a whisper, she replies. “Guards.”

Does she want to take custody of these smugs? Does she know that we’re already an hour late to catch our breath at the gate?

“Fine.” There’s no way I can leave a vulnerable girl behind. “Go call some guards. I’m here to watch over these guys.”

Even though she was breathless, she fled. The three of them are leaning against the wall as I watch over them. Honestly, these guys are weak.

Guess I can’t help it. The girl was much more curious than I was. Why is she being targeted? Why is she being chased? If she’s a pop star, her fans won’t bring weapons aren’t they?

Or maybe it’s the right case. And that I’m the one that she’s planning to report to the guards. I’m overthinking too much. Her tears are a thing to consider.

Five minutes later, the girl brought a bunch of city guards with her. They carried the bodies of the men, and one of them approached me.

“Sir, can we ask for your participation in the judicial body as a witness?”

I nodded. “Yes.” I didn't think of an answer. All I wanted to do was help the girl who attended the same university as I did. Even so, I was running late as expected.

We all followed the guards to the guard tower for interrogation. It is a tower primarily used as an observation point and a security monitoring station.

It has been ages now and we, the two students, are still sitting in the chair, doing nothing. The suspects have been put behind bars.

After five minutes, the guard in charge started interrogating us. He had already prepared a notepad and a pen for us.

“Can I ask you for your cooperation in this case? You can choose to share your story as a witness or to remain silent.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied. My eyes are blinking rapidly since this is my first encounter with a guard, not to mention my first day of class.

“Then, can I start with you sir? Can I ask for your name and your report?”

“Noted, sir. My name is Ritake Hanashiba and I…” I’m sweating visibly. Prior to the recent events, I was telling them about my situation.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Now, Miss, is your story the same as his?"

She nodded. The guard didn’t even ask for her name. Then I realized I was the only one being interrogated.

I squint my eyes with knitted eyebrows. “Wait… is that it?”

“Not yet. We’re about to process your pardon memo. Please wait for a while.”

“It’s not like that!" I pointed my finger at the girl. “I’m talking about her! Wouldn't it be nice to ask her what happened?”

She looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. It's obvious that she thinks I saw her as a problem, as an obstacle on my very first day. She really was.

“Don’t you know her, kid?” the guard asked.

“Is she in advertisements?”

“That’s Crutiara’s Top 3 beside you. Never heard of Nazuno Haimika before?"

When the guard praises her, she faces away with a squirm.

I slowly turn my head towards her with widened eyes. “Haimika? Her?” What a hotshot! “Does that make her an exception?”

She and her guardian are already known to us. She’s a good girl to be targeted. We are still investigating the motives behind the attack. If ever, I believe that the cause is hierarchical.”

“Hierarchical? Are there noble wars or political allegations happening in that context?”

“Who knows? Try attending classes. It’s a shame you don’t know her while wearing that messed-up uniform.”

Is that even a requirement? He even thinks of me as someone who cuts classes.

Then we receive our pardon memos after the so-called interrogation. According to him, pardon memos are used as an excuse to prove that one has been involved in an incident or criminal activity.

Right now, I don’t have to worry about being late. But the air around us is dead. It’s been awkwardly silent since we started walking out of the tower. She silently walks ahead of me.

So she's in the top 3, huh? I guess her cuteness stems from that. Are those at the top so arrogant?

“Hey, uhm… so you’re Nazuno Haimika, right? Do you know Chiho Haimika? I’m sure you’re related. It’s no coincidence, right? Hahaha.”

Hey. I’m like some weird fanboy talking to himself here. Please say something!

“I didn’t know you were this well-known. Are you the banner girl of the university? I think your charming face is also a factor in your publicity. I greatly appreciate you in that aspect.”

Hey, girl, I’m teasing you. Please react! Even a reaction would do!

But she’s still walking with her eyes straight on the road.

“Uhm… Can I ask you something? I didn’t mean to be rude but… is there a reason why you don’t talk much? I’m just concerned if there’s something bugging you, but if you're around me, you can rest easy.”

Suddenly, she stopped walking. I just realized that we were already at the gate.

“Fortification,” she whispered.

“Fortification?” What the hell is that?

She turns at me and asks. “Mr. Hanashiba, are you a new student?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“You should refrain from approaching me. It’s a warning,” she said and started walking inside the facility.

A warning? I don’t get it. If I hadn't come to her earlier, she would have been squished… or didn’t she? Why would a Top 3 get some help from others by fighting a weakling?

Maybe she really didn’t need my help after all. I would like to end my overthinking sessions.

The more I chased her and asked her, the more she evaded me... she completely evaded me. I’m not existent in her world.

This is my first time attending university. I didn't think this place was similar to Sensei's dojo. There are countless buildings per department and facilities for extracurricular activities.

That I have entered a place that is livelier than a marketplace is such an awesome experience. Dorms are located on the other side of the university and are separated by a barrier.

I followed Nazuno to where she was heading. It’s just a random decision I made since I’m a newbie here. I’m too prone to losing my direction.

We entered the first room in the administrative building which is the principal's office. I don’t even know what that building is for.

It is my first time entering a university directly as a second year. Until my first year of study, I was taught by my sensei what lessons I should learn.

Communication isn’t a problem for me. It must be a talent I'm confident in, and I believe it was passed down to me from my past life. The norms here are my issue.

There is a person sitting at the table. He must be the principal that they are talking about.

Nazuno passed the pardon memo to the principal for signing. He read her letter, so he shouldn’t bother reading mine, even though it’s the same content.

After getting it, she bows. “Thank you.” She turns around and crosses paths with me.

When I submit my letter, it should have the same content. I don’t know why his eyes widened until he shouted.

“Nazuno!”

She stopped and faced back.

The principal adds, “Lead him to your class. You’re classmates.”

What!? We’re what again!?

The decision might contradict what she said earlier, but that’s not on me. We are classmates, so I can gaze at her cute face the whole time.

Having signed my pardon memo, I followed her to class.

“It’s nice, right? That we were classmates?”

She didn’t respond at all. I sometimes wonder why she cried earlier. She might also think that what I saw earlier didn't happen.

There’s no way that we won’t interact, right? What’s happening now is everything she didn’t intend. I'm curious why she called it a warning. Why did she warn me in the first place?

The guard described her as 'a good girl', but her own depiction of her earlier message has me on edge. It’s not that I’m scared of danger!

We reached the room for our class, labeled ‘2-C’. Just recently, I learned about my section.

As Nazuno opened the door, a bunch of people stared at us. They also wear the same uniform as we do. In front of them is an adult behind a podium.

She was 5' 8" tall with long red hair, crimson eyes, and a healthy body shape. She looks like the type of serious person who one can’t joke at. She might be our adviser for the class.

“And how dare you interrupt my lecture?" the adviser asked.

Nazuno walks into the class and passes the pardon memo to the adviser. “I’m sorry, Ms. Kobayashi.”

"Sit down in your chair. You reek of sweat," Ms. Kobayashi said.

Nazuno walks to her chair while Ms. Kobayashi reads the letter. I then passed her the letter containing the same information.

After she noticed the similarities, she looked at me with narrowed eyes.

“Who the hell are you?”