The girl sat there, giggling to herself as she covered her mouth with a half-closed fist.

  Confused, I tilted my head to the side and looked at Ake.

  “Oh dear…” Ake simply covered her mouth, muttering under her breath. “Of course she’s on duty today…”

  “Hey! I can still hear you, ya know!”

  I stepped back instinctively. The girl had suddenly approached us and stared up at Ake.

  Though, this did give me an opportunity to analyze her.

  First off, this new girl was rather short, even shorter than Ake and I, who were about the same height.

  Secondly, she was also rather flat. Though it’s not as relevant, this particular race of mortals— humans— did not have many differences in their appearances aside from their measurements, eye color, and hair color. This girl’s eyes were hazel like Ake’s and her hair was a strange mix of golden blonde and silver, tied into a ponytail offset to the side.

  ~Hang on. Silver? As far as I’ve seen, I’m the only one I know of with a pale hair color. The only others I can think of are all gods.

  “Ohhh?” The girl leaned into me, gazing into my face. “You’re staring quite hard. You fall for me?”

  “Oh uh… No.. It’s just…your—”

  Ake quickly pushed her off of me. “No PDA on school grounds, Mashiro! And I’ve already warned you about making illicit implications when speaking to others!”

  “Oopsie! Sorry, miss radiant council member. I just wanted to see how mister transfer would react.”

  I stared at her intently, specifically focusing on her hair as I tried to think up an explanation for it.

  “H-huh? What’s wrong, transfer? You’re staring even harder than before.”

  “Huh?” I repeated her, my face quickly relaxing.

  ~Crap. I guess I was focusing too hard. I hope I didn’t scare her. Wait… why isn’t she scared of me? Why wasn’t Ake scared of me either?

  I glanced over at Ake.

  She noticed my flickering gaze and cleared her throat to speak.

  “Anyways, Yuruichi. Let me introduce you. This is Mashiro Kiwusawa, from Class B-3. She’s a second year here and—”

  “Leader and founder of the Tea Time Book Club, thank you very much! Anyways, mister transfer, what were you saying earlier?”

  The girl— Mashiro— seemed to had quickly recovered from her startle from my staring earlier. She smiled at me confidently, with her fists to her hip as she leaned forward.

  “O-oh. It was just… about your hair color. Why is it partially so white like that?”

  “Huh? Oh this?” She held up the ends of her hair strands, twirling it with her fingers. “I just dyed it.”

  “Died it? You killed it?” I asked, rather shocked by her proclamation. I smiled, trying to mask my bewilderment.

  Mashiro burst out laughing. “No, no. I mean d-y-e. It’s like paint but for your hair. Ake has done it before, too if I recall. I’ll never forget when her friend showed me a picture of her with half her hair colored mint green at the beginning of the semester.”

  “A-ah. Let’s not talk about that!” Ake shouted out suddenly.

  “Ehhh? But it paired so well with your eyes, Ake.”

  “Hm?”

  “Oh, right. You transferred in a bit late, didn’t you, Yuru?”

  “Yuru?”

  ~Eh? A new nickname now? What’s even going on anymore? My mind can’t keep up with this girl…

  “Right. Ake called you Yuruichi, right? I shortened it to Yuru. So nice to meetcha, Yuru-kun!”

  She patted me on the back a few times. If not for my godlike fortitude, it mightve felt like she was hitting me full force with slaps.

  “Aha… Right… A pleasure to meet you too… I guess.”

  Mashiro leaned in again, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Her grin reminded me of Loid’s, just far more innocent.

  ~Innocent? Okay, maybe that might be a bit of an exaggeration for this girl. She’s about as chaotic as the energy in the Void.

  “So, Yuru-kun…” She emphasized my nickname with a higher pitch as she spoke. “What brings you to my library today? Looking for something special?”

  Ake frowned, stepping in between me and her. “Don’t start interrogating him, Mashiro. You’ll make him uncomfortable.”

  “Interrogating!? How rude! I’m just being friendly!” Mashiro chirped, then turned back to me. “Unless… you are hiding something?” Her smirk quickly grew into a grin as she looked at me teasingly.

  ~Hiding something? Mortals can sense that? No… no way. Surely she’s simply guessing… But then again… Ake seemed to be pretty perceptive too… Alright, I just gotta play it cool.

  I began to open my mouth to respond, but Ake stepped in between us again and spoke with a firm tone.

  “We’re just here for the tour. That’s all.”

  “Oh?” Mashiro said, skeptically. She leaned to the side, staring at us with her wide grin as she placed her index finger and thumb on her chin. “I do find it hard to believe you. Perhaps you’ll care to enlighten me, my dear Watson?”

  Ake let out a long, tired sigh – the kind that said she’d dealt with this exact brand of nonsense far too many times.

  “Mashiro.” She warned with a menacing smile. “Enough playing detective. It’s only been about a month since we’ve met and you’re not nearly as clever as you think you are.”

  Mashiro gasped dramatically, clutching her chest and stepping a few steps back like she was shot in the heart.

  “Et tu, Ake? Betrayed by my own Watson! Oh, the tragedy. Will it never end?”

  “I’m not your Watson.” Ake said, her face pouting a bit as her facial expressions became a bit more intense.

  “I’m sure you could be. If only you believed in me, my beloved Ake.”

  Ake pinched the bridge of her nose. Mashiro winced for a moment, but her lax face and grin refused to expire.

  Meanwhile her eyes flicked back to me, sparkling still with a cat-like curiosity— truly, a troublesome cat at that.

  Freeing herself from Ake’s grip and range, she twirled over and leaned in towards me again. With her hands on her back and her balance temporarily centered on one leg, she smiled at me.

  “So? Yuru-kun? What’s the real reason you came here? You don’t strike me as the type to care about cafeteria tours.”

  ~She’s… not wrong. For one, gods don’t necessarily need to eat. I do enjoy Mia’s food, though. But that aside, how does she even know that? Mortals shouldn’t be able to read me this easily. Is this normal? Living as a mortal might be even more difficult than I thought.

  “Well…” I said, looking away as I tried to think of an answer.

  Ake stepped forward, placing her hand on my shoulder. She gave me a quick glance, as if reminding me she said she’d handle it. She once again gave Mashiro a smile and spoke with a sharp, yet controlled tone.

  “He wanted to see the library. So I brought him here. Now, please, stop pestering him.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Mashiro blinked, her face filled with surprise and shock. But this quickly faded as she raised her eyebrows.

  “Oho… he requested to come here? Here? Now that’s interesting.”

  Ake stiffened.

  I stiffened.

  Mashiro’s grin widened like she had just uncovered a secret forbidden technique.

  “Alright then.” She said, her face and body posture all emanating newfound confidence. “If the legendary transfer student wishes for a grand tour of my domain, who am I to deny him?”

  She gestured dramatically toward the rows of shelves behind her.

  “Welcome, my friend, to the quietest, coziest, most underappreciated corner of this entire school!” She gave me a wink. “Try not to get lost, Yuru-kun”

  Her eyes glinted.

  “Or found.”

  Ake groaned, shaking her head unapprovingly.

  I froze, bound by both confusion and worry.

  Mashiro giggled, an innocent show of amusement that quickly evolved to laughter.

  Ake quickly grabbed me by the hand, and rushed me out the door.

  “Hey! Wait–!”

  Mashiro reached out her hands to stop us, but Ake was simply too quick, even for her.

  Though Mashiro words described my reaction perfectly as I, too, was surprised by her sudden action.

  “If you’re ever interested, come to the library again! You can join the Tea Time Book Club!!!”

  Her shout reached out to me, grabbing my attention just before the hallway went silent once more.

  I glanced backwards, wondering what she meant for a moment.

  I turned forward to look at Ake once again. She had glanced back for a moment, meeting my gaze within that small second. She quickly looked away.

  My eyes shifted to her hand.

  ~It’s soft.

  …

  Ake finally came to a halt as we entered a large area with massive windows to one side, looking out to the fields. A long series of counters segregating what appeared to be a kitchen from the rest of the area was located on the opposite end of the room.

  Ake spoke in between breathes, her hands on her knees as she struggled to stand up straight. “This- This is the cafeteria. It’s pretty big, so… Huff… It’s hard to miss.”

  I looked around. There was a number of large circular tables scattered across the room, with more smaller tables outside. Glass doors to the outside were there too.

  Glass…

  ~Glass…?

  I saw a glimpse of a smile in the glass and I quickly turned away. I wanted to run. Get far, far away from this room.

  ~”Memory. Memory. Memo-ry. Me-mo-ry…”

  The word resounded in my head, repeating and distorting with each cycle.

  I held my head and crouched low to the ground.

  ~No good. No good! I gotta get away from here!

  “Yuruichi?”

  I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder.

  ~No. Gotta remain calm. Can’t cause a scene. Don’t want to worry Mia…. Deep breaths. Deep breathes.

  Inhale. Exhale.

  Inhale. Exhale.

  I stood to my feet and turned around with a smile, my eyes closed tight.

  ~Think about something else! Anything but the glass. Anything but the storm within the reflection.

  “Uhh… So Ake… What did Mashiro mean by ‘club’?”

  I could not see her face. I couldn’t guage her reaction to what I just did. I just needed to remain calm.

  I stuffed my hands into my pockets since I could feel they were shaking.

  All I could hear was her voice.

  “You’re interested in clubs, huh? Well a club is usually formed by a group of students with a common interest. Though, at the student council we won’t usually officially recognize a club unless they have at least four registered members and a set goal in mind.”

  I felt a tug on my shirt. Then I could feel myself being pulled. I walked along with it, as to not trip.

  “So what about the Tea Time Book Club that Mashiro mentioned?”

  “Oh, them? Their members are a bit quirky but we did recognize them as an official club. I believe they have four members right now, including Mashiro. Actually, our homeroom teacher mister Morita is their counselor and direct supervisor. Oh right, we also require clubs to have a teacher as an advisor, so essentially Morita is their’s.”

  “A-and… the student council?”

  “That’s an easy one. Very much like how I’m our class representative and am responsible for the students in our class, the student council is responsible for the entire student body— or rather, all the students attending our school.”

  “Isn’t that the teachers’ job?”

  “Yes. We do help them manage it but we’re usually doing it on our own to help to teachers, as they have plenty of work to do themselves.”

  “I see.”

  I could feel her gaze peering into me for a moment, as if saying ‘Do you really?’.

  I heard a door open and close, then the pulling soon stopped after that. This was followed by a few more strange noises, like blinds closing or chairs being moved, and then Ake’s voice filled my ears once more.

  “Yuruichi. You can open your eyes now.”

  Slowly, hestitantly, I opened my eyes.

  I found myself alone in a large room with Ake.

  The blinds covered the windows in the room and there was desks set up in a square in the center. There were shelves—some of which were also covered up, a whiteboard, a coat hanger, chairs, cushions, and even a small television.

  “Where are we?”

  “The student council’s room. I figured you could relax a bit better here.”

  Ake straightened up, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

  Her voice softened — not pitying, but steady, warm.

  “I’m sorry I dragged you like that,” she said. “Mashiro can be… overwhelming. And the cafeteria wasn’t the best place for you right now.”

  She hesitated, then added quietly:

  “You looked… scared.”

  My breath caught.

  ~Scared? Did she see? Did I slip? Mortals aren’t supposed to notice—

  Ake stepped closer, her expression gentle but serious.

  “You don’t have to tell me anything,” she said. “But… if something’s bothering you, you can say so. I won’t judge.”

  Her eyes met mine — calm, steady, patient.

  The kind of gaze that didn’t demand answers.

  Just offered space.

  ~Mortals… can be like this? Warm… without asking for anything in return?

  I swallowed.

  “…Thank you,” I whispered and gave her a smile. A genuine smile.

  Ake smiled back — small, but real.

  The door suddenly swung open with Yoshita and Mia standing there with worried looks on their faces.

  “Huh? M-Mia?”

  Mia quickly ran up and wrapped her arms around me.

  Confused, I looked to Mia.

  She held out her phone, and pushed her palms together with it wedged between them.

  “Sorry, Yuruichi. I contacted mister Morita earlier before bringing you here. Looks like he contacted your sister.”

  Mia pulled away from me, inspecting me closely as she patted around my arms and legs. “Are you okay? Not hurt, are you, lil bro?”

  Yoshita adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. “I’m glad I got you to promise to contact me if anything happened to mister Yuruichi, miss Mori.” He turned to me. “Though, I must apologize for doing this behind your back, mister Yuruichi. I hope you don’t bear a grudge against miss Mori or I as a result. Though, I’m sure you saw how intense your sister was when she introduced you to me earlier.”

  “Oh… It’s fine…”

  ~And I was doing my best not to bother Mia on my first day, too…

  Mia grabbed me by the chin, and looked at my face closely.

  “You look pale…” She glanced over to Ake and then noticed that all the glass in the room was covered up.

  She walked over to Ake and suddenly bowed her head. “Thank you for taking care of my lil bro, miss Mori.”

  “Oh. Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I was able to help him.”

  “Sis, what happened with work?”

  “Huh? That’s what you’re worried about?” Mia looked at me with surprise, though the concern was still obviously present. “I told them you had an emergency and they gladly let me go.”

  Her facial expression quickly changed to nervousness after that. “But they might end up pulling another prank on me if I don’t get back soon. Haha…” She grabbed my hand. “So that means, we gotta leave immediately!”

  “Huh? We? But what about school?”

  “Mister Yuruichi. I have your bag right her–”

  “I got permission to take you home early today, so it’s fine. Right, teach?” She said, staring at my homeroom teacher with an intensity greater than before.

  “R-right… I’ll smooth things over with the principal. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

  “Alright, Let’s go, Yoiya!”

  Mia began to pull me out of the room, grabbing my bag as she went. My feet were quick to follow her lead. But Mia stopped for a moment as Ake spoke.

  “Yoiya.”

  ~Yoiya? She was calling me Yuruichi before…

  I turned my head to look at her.

  “I’ll have the notes you missed ready for you tomorrow and…” She gave me a bright smile. “Feel free to come to the council room to eat your lunch, alright?”

  “O-okay…”

  She waved as Mia continued to pull me along. I began to wave back, but quickly stopped myself, suddenly feeling nervous about it.

  ~Why am I nervous?

  I looked forward, quickly matching Mia’s pace. From behind her, I could see a smile on her face.

  ~She looks happy now. I wonder why.