✫　✧ ˚ . 　* 　✷ ˚ ✫

❝ Ḑ̴͇̼̭̯͕̺̺͕̮̹̼͚̖̥̗̺͕̺̮̦̜̼̯̝̏͒̄̀̓̈́̋̏͋̊̇͒͑̆̄̽̊̀̔̎͆͘͘͘͜͝ͅo̷̡̢̨̧͕͖̬͖̤̳͔̖̬͚̺͉͖͖̤͓̝̹̟͇̺͎͗̓̎̃́͂̀͆̓̀̇̍̔́̈́̈́͒͛̄̋̚̕͠ͅͅì̵͍̠̬̬͉͕̮̰̻͈̠̼̥̖͎͇̟̩̖̞̳̐̉͒̋̃͗̄̿͛͠͝n̵̨̡̡̡̢͖͔̫͓̟̺̻͓̼̱̪͓̘̳̙̦̟̜̐ǧ̵̛̜͎̖̜̔̉̿̃̑͛͜ ̷̢̧̝̖͍̝̭̗̪̫̝̰͕̬̰̝͍͇̤̦͚͙͖͐̂̑̂̍̿̈́͒͊͐̈̔̄͗̀͒̓͋̂͊̾̊̑͜͜͜͜͜ţ̴̛̰̻͙͎̂͑̈́̀͑͐̈̿̍͌̉̽̀͝͝h̸̨̧̢̦͉͔̩̳̰͍̠̲̣̫̬͈̩͇̩̰̺͚̜͕̯̘̞͙̅͐́͐̋͒̈́̉͆̉͗̾̂͆̂̑̀̍͛̀̈́̀̿̅͋͗̌͘̕͜͜͠è̴͔͈̜̯̰̖̅́̊̍̎͂̿͌̈͆̾͌͋͘͝͠͝ ̸̧̢̤͔̞̰̻̳̖͑̎͆͊̊̐̆̈̉̎͂̔̀̈́͒̽͌́́̌̆̅̀̀̆͛͛̈́͘͜͝w̷̛̜̱̼̺̰̼̯̯̪̱̎̃͋̔̓̆̓́́̓̿̉͗͐͋̽̚͝͠r̴̛̟͙͕̗̦͉͖̳̖͍̻̻̠̊̿̅͆̑̓̎͋̈̆̓̅̉̃͝͠o̸̢̧̤̪̟̣̠͚͖̝̬̪̭͉̥̗̰̫͌̍͆̍̄̌͛̓̃̾́̑̓̋̎̂̾́̀̕̚͜n̶̨̩͎̩͔͓̝̝̩͕̲͍͙͔͈̖̈̓̊̕ͅḡ̴̟̻͖̻̬̥͈̭͕́̓͗̑̔̽̍͂̏͛̄̃͝͝ ̵̢̭̖̱͎̙͎̗̲̞͇̓̓̂̋̅̊̔̋̋̚̕͠t̶͖̼̻̪̦̞̻͈͘h̶̡̢̰̙̳̗̪̖̣̻͚̺̻̳̳͛̔̽͛̉͛̅̉̈́͌͑͋͐͋͝ͅî̵̡̱̤͎̬̯͙̭̯͕̺̟̼̪̦̠͉̀͑͐̽̒́͒͑͛͋̾͒̐͑̏́̾̐̋͂͋̌̆͂̕̕̚̕͝ń̴̢̧̟͎̱͚͕̮͓͕̦̪̦̺͍̖̣̜̩͚̘̭͇͈̩͙͗͂̿͂̑̿͊͐̉͋̂͊g̵̨̢̯͇͉̘͕͈͖̗̳̳̗̣̜̹̗̥̺͉͉̒͂̈́̔͋͗́̓̀̐͂͆̏̆̅́̈́̿̿̓̈́̚͝ͅ-̶̨̧̧͖͓̪̻̲̖͖̻̰̤̤͈̹͓̠̝̭̬̫̹͇̣̬̞̖͕͋̈́͒̏̂̍͋̚͠❞

❝ -̴̻̙̼̭̮̭̥̔̔̒̈̂j̴̬̞̮̞̖̰̪̅͝ư̶̰̫̥̜̥͇̯͈̥͇̰͖̬̬̮̓̀̂̄̔̅̅́͛̾̀̊͘s̷̡̗͙̽͂̄t̵̩̀̾̌̀̓́̃̽̄͆̅͂̾̓͐̀̌͘ ̴̢̺̲͕̭̦͍̱̺̭͓̮̟̣̜̤̈́̀͊̐̄̂̌͐̇̓̓̊̊̉̉̓͝͝ͅm̸̡͕͙̓͛̒̄̋̍͝͝ȋ̷̻̔̔̎̋̑͑̾̏̐͆͊̀͠͝͝g̵̭̣̜̝̺̀͊̓̆͗̓͒̂̏̅̊̎̊͝͝ͅh̵̨̡̟̦̯͖̜̘̒̏̐͒̐̓̀͗̍̄̌̉̇̽̈́̓̎͌̐̃t̵̜͍͔͖̜̹̼̯̘̺̦͚̹̠͖̙̠͈̮̻͒̿͑̑̆̽̇͑͋͛̔̌͐̕̚͠͝ͅ ̴̢̢̛̛͍̹͎̩͍̱͕̹̪̜̤̳̥͇̺͐̔̎̓͌̂̈̈͐̒̋̋̕̕͝b̸̨̡̛̠̖̖̣̼̻̞̮̮̖͓̭͈̦̘͔̥̈̒͐̎̓̊̓̆̈̐̽̏̓̑̅̊̀͘͝͝͝e̶͇̩̼̗͚̬̐̀̈̊̈́̏̑͂́͋͐̓̇̓̔̈́̅̂̀͑̊͛͘͜ ̵̧̪̫͔̩̦̫͓͓̩̜͖̥̀͆̀̋͑͒̉̀́̈́͋̿͑̆̚͝ͅt̷̢̡͇̹̳̥͒̿́͆̽̓͒̄h̵̡̲̣̳̀̒͂̂̊̇͛̕é̷͕̦̍̓̋͗̎̍̕͝͝ ̶̲̱̩̠͚̌ͅr̵̨͈̪͙̫͕̻̙̬̩̹̦̰̟͇̭̤͉̘̓̊͛͛̌̇̄̒͌̌́̚ͅį̷͉̳̤͚̝̟̦͎̼͎͖̰̲̩̓́͐͝ģ̸̧̤̥͙͔̰̼̘̟͇̞͕̲̭͔̦͇̭̔̈́̌͜h̷̢̧̪̗̥̤̠̜̟̏̅͗̔͋̅̃̓̀̋͊̃̎̉͝t̵̝̰̟̤͈̖̱̪̽̐̈́̄̾͗̈́̔̑̾̈̈͋̈͒͠͠͠ ̵̘̭̎̀̀̿̏̽͊̈́̈́̇́̎͗̓̎̔̉͊̚͝t̴̤̗̹̻͂͂̄̀h̷̢̪̙͓̹̪̤̭̦̠̟̦͉͔̟͚̟̣̰̠̿̍̾̀͑͛̾̇̃̉͊̈́͂̎́͋͊͒́͛̒͝ͅi̶̢͉̻̞͚̫̰̤̥̼͈̲̟̯͇͘ͅͅͅǹ̴̼̳̪̳̭̰̪̤̯̘͙̝̫̖̪͔̯͚̯͙̭̈̆̇̔̄̃̕͝͝g̸̛̬͇̼̊̎̄̽͂̎͗̊̓̀͑͋❞

❝ -̷͙̮̰̗̯͕̪̳͎͎̻̩̗͓̞̞̯̳͊̀͂͗̾̀̏͂̍̅̈́̕͜͜͜T̷̡̡̧̜̦͚̟̟̞͍̭̝̭̻̪̖̳̲͕̗͚̥̭̼͠ǫ̶̪͉͓̗͍̹̞͙̗̩̲͈͂̑̕ͅ ̶̢̧̢̨̛̛͚͈̹͕͕͓̠̞̠̖͍̩̦̫̬͓̭̈́̓̀̈́̌̍͒͗͆͗̊͌̾̂̅̚͜͝͝͠d̴̨̢̛̬̬͎̹̼̲̺̯͕͓̱̲̻͔̹͉̩̗̰̀̽̆̍̈́̒̊̿̀̓̄̂͗̓̌̾́̂͐̂̚̕͝͝ͅͅơ̷̢̧͍̮̪̳̺̩̻͉̺̟̞̫̣̝͉̯̣̩̯͕̞̆̐͛̍̋̽̀́͒̃̈́̂̇́̀̒͗̓͐̚͜❞

✫　✧ ˚ . 　* 　✷ ˚ ✫

Hwiii

(Y/N) blearily opened her eyes upon hearing that familiar sound, her eyelashes fluttering ever so slowly.

A soft sigh emitted from her, both from frustration and disappointment, her gaze lingering a while at the empty area beyond her vision, her heart wrenching a bit at the thought of never hearing that sound again.

That voice, it was unfamiliar to her but by some other means, it also wasn't. A pleasant emotion suddenly taking over her whole being, bringing a sense of security whenever she heard it.

The voice, it had sounded just like her beloved red cardinal, albeit softer and more human-like if she were to be honest of that silvery euphonious voice.

Yes, it sounded almost like Terasu.

A soft smile adorned the face of the female, the girl reminiscing the time she had spent with her red cardinal since she was just a child. Her red cardinal has always been there for her even before her two male friends that had appeared later in her life, always sticking with her whenever she had ventured far from her village, from the forest, almost protecting her from any harms way.

Almost acting as if she was her guardian angel, watching her over.

(Y/N)'s thoughts immediately jumbled away, an anxious look casted on her features once hearing a sound just from the outside of the room she was in. Instinctively, she gripped the blanket covering her body, scooting her figure as far as she can from the door before hitting the back of the shoji board in the room she was in.

She immediately huddled herself as small as she can, afraid of what was outside the room she was in, still hearing some noises resounding into her space.

She braced herself for what was coming upon hearing the door sliding open, eyes shutting tight, the feeling of fear encapsulated her whole body, not noticing the light that was coming through the clothes that she was wearing, the thorny-like scars on her arms glowing so brightly, shining her surroundings eerily with crimson that had colored her veiny like marks.

"Ơ̸̪̞̩̮̠̓̎͊̿̐͠p̸̢͍͓̭̮̗͑́̃ͅẽ̷͕͚̩̺̤n̶͙͈̩̻̉̒̃̇͜͝ͅ ̴̛͖̀́̅͆̑͝y̴̩̘͔̮̮̋o̷̳̼̥͓̩̰̍̔̋̄̄̾͝ͅủ̶̦̻͔̈́͛̍̈́̋͝͝r̷̡͚̫̫̣̞̠͐̀̐́͂͒̒̚ ̶̛͕̌̀̋̿ë̴̖̯̹̖̳́́͑͠y̷̥͙͆̓̃̀ͅe̷̳̖̖͕͙̩̔̂̽̿̎͋͋̇s̴̛̮̰͊̒̐̑͋͠-"

" B̷̻̥̙͕̠̓͜r̴̰̠̩͕͒͒̉̒͘̚ẽ̴̜̺̐̏ͅa̶͔̱̼̎͠͝ț̴́͋͊͑͑h̴̻͎̮͑͋! "

A loud buzzing sound had suddenly blasted her ears with such intensity, she could almost feel as if her eardrums were going to explode if it persists, clasping both hands on the side of her head where her ears were situated, pupils blown wide at the horrific noise.

Her throat felt tight, the airway to her lungs becoming increasingly narrow with each breath that she took, pain spreading through her entire body as tears brimmed at the corner of her eyes.

This feeling--

It feels almost as if she was reliving back the occurence that had happened to her in her slumber, this time even more intense than before, wheezings of coughs emitted from her as she tried desperately to breathe, tears falling down her cheeks in despair.

Her pupils dilated in horror as flashes of lightning filled her vision, before black mucky-like hands were reaching out towards her, sounds of wicked-like cackles echoing inside her ears terrifyingly, the vine-like scars littered on her arms becoming increasingly red and black, glowing in a such ungodly manner.

One could assume the girl's body was rotting, eating her flesh alive, when the sight of her falls upon them, splotches of crimson blood and ebony painting her skin so darkly, her body almost looking like she was being skinned alive by an unforeseen force.

"S̸̨̛̲̩͔͚̤̱͈͙͔̤̗̲͈͔̫̱̠͍̤̈́̈́̄̆͆͊̂̂̀̓͑̒̓͆̀̆͘̕͠ͅṭ̷̛̪̹̪̟̐̄̎̃̅̎̿̈̌͑̕̚o̶̲͐̉͒̐̅̓̉̄̆͗͆̃̎̚̚p̷̪̳͚̒̀̈́̓͒̔̑̓̎̕!̷̢͖̪͚̼̫͓̜͔͓̩̗͚̼̪̤̳̤́̉͆͗̂̈̌̆͋̈͊̔͗͠͝͠" ̸̢̨̬̘̝̼͍͈̠̀́̃̓̽́̎̌͛̔͂̀́̈̚͘͘͝

She could hear a strangled female voice shrieking so loudly, it pierced her hearing, rendering her ears of being unable to even hear anything just than the incessant sound of a screeching buzz.

Dark crimson filled her vision, immediately decreasing her ability to see as spots of white began appearing in a frenzy-like pattern upon herself, before disappearing into the ruby-coloured background.

Something was bubbling inside her chest, her heartbeat racing increasingly with each moment that had passed, her lungs being so stuffy, almost as if they were at the verge of bursting at any time.

A series of coughs emitted from the female, a lump, felt at the end of her throat as she desperately clawed at her neck, streaks of red coloring her skin as she try to get rid of the tight feeling in whatever ways that she could.

Her body lurched forward suddenly as she gurgled out clots of blood from her mouth, the metallic taste of the fluid was felt so strong in her mouth, it made her sick to her stomach.

Questions flooded her mind, but she couldn't take the time to answer them as another wave of pain engulfed her body, feeling an intense burn in her eyes as she pulled onto the strands of her hair to counter the pain.

The white of her eyes were now black, streaks of thick red fluid were now dripping from them, her face smeared so messily from the bloody tears dropping along her jaw.

She tried opening her eyes to see her surroundings, half-heartedly wishing she was in the unknown room rather than the sight that she had seen but it was in vain as all she could see around her was only darkness.

Something was coming out from both her eyes, wetting her face, her fingers trembling before coming up to touch the moisture running down her face but she couldn't figure out what it was.

She tried waving her hands in front of her but she could see nothing. It was as if she was rendered into blindness.

Wicked cackles began to emit around her before the sounds of lightnings started booming in the background, alarmingly getting nearer to where she was situated making her panic as she struggled to anchor herself back.

Her hands grabbed everything within her vicinity to find purchase, to find earth or ground beneath her but it was useless as it seemed to her that she was actually in water, just like what she had experienced before,  only able to feel liquid seeping through her fingers.

❝U̶̘̅͒́̋̒̏̀͊̄̋̂͛͝͝͝s̵̛̙̗̝̞͓̒͒̑͛̂͋̈̾̃́̈́͂̓̂̀̀͜͝͝e̵̢̻̠͙͈̞̗̝̮͇̮̖̻͈͇̮̯̒̐͝ͅl̷̡͔͉͓̗̘̞̉̋̏ę̷͙̻̠̪͎͇̟̳̆͋̒͆̒͐͋̍̓̅̇͜͜͠͝s̴̺̓̅̽̍s̵̢͕͈̰̮͚̜͙͓̹̖͈̻̗̱̙̮̓̇̆͗̈͋̈́̾͜͝ͅ!❞

A malicious voice screamed, echoing in the ears of the young female, vile laughters heard reverberating over and over like an old cassette before a throbbing pain was felt throughout her body, making her unable to move any of her muscle from excruciating pain. She could feel throbbinh on each part of her body that even just twitching or moving had become such a torture for her.

A pained sob escaped her lips in fear. She was getting more frantic as she screamed but there was something wrong.

She couldn't hear herself.

She shrieked and yelled again and again but it was futile, her throat slowly becoming sore and parched from the relentless screams.

She slapped both her hands on the side of her head repeatedly, on her ears, screaming in frustration at how she couldn't hear herself except for the incessant buzzing from earlier.

Both her ears and hands were becoming numb from her actions before her arms were suddenly yanked away from her, making her body to lurch forward, falling face first into the water she was in. Her arms were tugged harshly above her head, at the surface of the water as she struggled to come up for a breather.

Bubbles were gurgled out of her mouths in panic, feeling her breath getting shorter and shorter.

She could feel bonds starting to wrap around her wrist as she flailed around but to her dismay her head was pushed deeper into the water.

Her arms were held higher above the surface as a horrible crack was suddenly heard, her eyes widening as her jaw hung low, a silent scream escaping her.

Someone broke her arms.

Painful sobs emmited from her, bubbles coming up to the surface with each breath that was exhaled, feeling light headed from the torture.

❝C̴̝̘̝͛a̵̧̻̖͈̻̖͋█n̴̬̎̽̾ ̶̨̭̭̙̂͂̐̆̓̚y̴̟̲͓͑̃o̶̧̡͙̦̻̯͌̃ů̷̮̩̹̋ ̵̨̱̩̪̮̤̅̀̊̕h̸̻̪̫̱͖͆͌̒̒̀ȩ̴̬̟̞͋̑͛́a̵͚̞̮̫͐̕-ŗ̷̖͈̝̓͛ͅͅ ̸̺̯̳̃͘ḿ̵̭̯̯̪̀ė̴͙̙͚̲̅̈̈͂?̸͍̯̮̣͈̄ ̵͎̖̇́͆͆̚❞

Amidst of all that was occuring to her, she could finally hear a buzzing voice

White hands.

White hands emerged from the bottom of the water, coming up at her as luminous light engulfed her entire being.

Warm squeezes were suddenly felt on her body, on her shoulders, the multiple hands trailing up to her arms, carressing them as she felt herself lifted from the water.

Liquid spluttered out of her mouth as she coughed out the remaining water, feeling soothing hands wrapping around her.

She could feel her arms becoming limp as they fell by her side, feeling a gentle flow of energy coursing through her hands, finally regaining control of them.

The same hands came up to her face, wiping her bloodied tears away, a delicate thumb smoothing out her eyebrow gently before feeling her cheeks being caressed as tenderly as possible.

She could feel herself being able to hear white noises emitting in the background, sounds of water sloshing around in a distance before feeling a calm wave of breeze swaying pass her body in a gentle way over and over.

Flashes of colors suddenly began flooding her eyesight as images that seemed like fragments of memories started to become vivid, gleams of white and black pictures appearing.

An abandoned castle. Destroyed ruins. A crying baby. A smile of a mother. Fireworks. A tearful goodbye. A bloodied statue. A mass fire. Dark bloodshot eyes. Red birds. Intertwined hands.

The images kept on appearing, nothing of it making any sense nor connection to each other, just bringing a sense of confusion and this overwhelming feeling of sadness, grief, anger, a variety of emotions consuming (Y/N)'s whole being with overbearing sadness, she could feel herself gasping for air at how suffocating it felt with each visions that were shown.

❝U̶͙̩̞̹̫̥̿̐l̶̳͍̈̑̅̒͐͊͂͝t̸̡̤̗͍͎̯̠̄̒ì̶̜͇̰͖̤͚͒͋̐̍̕ͅ█a̸͔̺̲͆̿̎͠ť̶̛͍̼͚̎̈́̊̉̚é̴̲͎͔̠͉̗-̷̡̢̻͇̀͋̈̎̕͜͠s̴̯̀̂̂̂͝ă̶̢̜̙͔͇̊͋͊̐̓̓ç̵̘͍͍̣̖͗͐̽̒r̶̢̙̠̝͚̼͑̊̿̄̂́i̷̘̙͆̈́̊̇̃̉͒̚f̵͚̣̝̹̖̩̰͗̄̃̓̕i̸̝͓̯̭͇̘͖͙͋̕█!❞

(Y/N) could feel a pair of warm hands on her shoulders, shaking her back to reality, her gaze hazing for awhile before clearing up, seeing a pair of eyes staring back at her in concern.

She tried to move away, due to the close proximity between them but upon feeling exhaustion creeping up her body, she immediately fell limp onto the figure in front of her as soft weary sighs emitted from her.

Her hands reached up to push the individual away from her but,

"Don't even try."

✫　✧ ˚ . 　* 　✷ ˚ ✫

Shinsuke stated in a monotonous voice, cradling (Y/N) into his arms, bringing her head to his chest for her to lean on before standing up with the female, carried by him, stepping away from the bloodied futon and floor with a sigh.

He definitely needs to clean his grandmother's room before she returns with how messy the room became because of the girl. Afterall he was the one who brought her home anyways.

She's his responsibility now. A really tiresome burden to be honest.

He expertly maneuvered around the furnitures surrounded, stepping towards his room, eyes glancing towards the female a few times in disbelief and exasperation at how crimson the once white shirt worn by the girl was.

Is the red on her clothes blood? Her blood? 

Real blood?

His questions went unanswered.

Upon arriving at his room, he gently placed the girl on his futon, careful not to hurt her more than she was before stepping out to fetch some ointments, medicines and salve to treat the girl who's covered with blood.

All in the while, still questioning his sanity on what he had just witness and experienced just now, the images of the girl's condition and surroundings earlier in his' grandma's room was committed to his memory forever, impossible for him to even forget nor cast that moment away even with his logics.

Shinsuke entered his room with a tray of stuffs that he brought with him, a glass of water included for the girl as he saw the female vomiting blood earlier, concerned that her throat might be parched with how much blood she had spewed earlier, setting the tray onto his table for awhile.

He propped a few cushions on his bedroom wall before moving towards the female, making her sit so he could give the medicine and water to her, the girl barely struggling in his arms in the while.

Noticing the girl being so docile towards him, he just presumed to himself that she was too weak to move herself due to the incidents earlier as he made her lean on the head of his bed with the pillows comfortably.

"Can you swallow?"

He asked once he was sure she was cozy enough before seeing the female shaking her head slowly. He nodded understandably, quickly fetching the stuffs on his desk, approaching the girl with a painkiller on his hand and a glass of water on the other.

"Open."

He was expecting the girl to follow his instructions but it seems like she hadn't yet given him her full trust.

He sighed.

Right, he was still a stranger to her, it's not a wonder that she still is hesitant with him.

"Don't worry, it's nothing. Only medicine to make you feel better."

He watched the girl's eyes darting back and forth at his face and the medicine on his hand hesitantly for awhile before seeing her nodding her head slowly, opening her lips ajar as he saw the female wincing just from moving her facial muscle for a bit.

Immediately, he slipped the pill into her mouth, tipping the glass of water towards the girl's lips for her to down the medicine quicker, his fingers brushing beneath the female's chin for her to not spill any water.

Placing the glass away, he once again went to the female, adjusting her to lie down on his futon, placing her as gently as he could, feeling the girl's body tensing with every movement that he made.

Right away, he reached for the towel beside him, drenching it in water before continuing on cleaning the dried streaks of blood smeared on (Y/N)'s face, his hand wiping the cloth gently on her face, arms and every surface that he could, noting to himself to ask his grandmother for help with the girl's clothes and probably injuries underneath the fabric when she comes home later.

A while went by without words being exchanged with each other, Shinsuke being too busy on making sure there wasn't any severe injuries on the girl and (Y/N) being too exhausted to even ask anything, just accepting the kind gesture of the male treating her wounds as her eyelids became heavier with each moment that passed.

"Hey, I need you to stay awake for me."

Shinsuke said when he saw the girl about to fall asleep, his voice loud enough for the girl to jolt awake.

Once he saw the girl's eyes on him, a sigh emitted from his parted lips, orbs staring intently on the female's.

"What are you actually?"

✫　✧ ˚ . 　* 　✷ ˚ ✫

Shinsuke stared absent-mindedly at the space in front of him, his body present in the classroom, ears hearing the chattering from his classmates, the teacher's voice instructing and scolding his peers but his mind wasn't fully there.

His thoughts had flown back to the incident that occured yesterday, his fingers twirling the pen in his grip, oblivious to the gaze of Aran studying him from the side.

"Aethiophians?"

That thought passed in his mind, thinking and recalling all the fairy tales he had read as a child before, trying to remember if he had encountered that particular word before. A soft sigh left his mouth, the gesture didn't go unnoticed by his volleyball teammate that was observing him, the former male being too caught up with his thoughts to notice his actions.

"That's all for today! Make sure to finish the homework that I've given you, class!"

Shinsuke's thoughts were interrupted once he heard the sound of the school bell ringing blaringly.

He slowly packed his stationery, not noticing the figure behind him before feeling someone clapping a hand on his shoulder abruptly.

He turned his head to see Aran looking at him concernly, a frown on the face of the taller male.

"You okay, Kita?"

He went silent for a moment at the question thrown at him, still pondering on whether to tell his friend about the incident yesterday before shaking his head, continuing to pack his things.

He didn't have the right to tell anyone except his grandmother the story of the girl.

At least not, until he confirms the origins of the girl.

Not wanting to pursue more of the matter bothering Shinsuke, Aran decided to keep silent, just waiting for the former to finish his routines, standing idly by his captain's side.

By the time Shinsuke finished packing his things, their class was already empty as the boys immediately made their way to the volleyball gym, quickly changing into their PE clothes upon arriving at the locker room, discussions of their class subjects were occasionally brought up to pass the time.

Practice went well, Shinsuke still performing and doing his best at all task, almost all his teammates not noticing the slight change of demeanor of the male except for the observant Aran and Suna.

Both boys noticed how Shinsuke would stare at space, lost in thoughts before snapping out of it when the latter felt someone staring at him, creeping