PV: Shizuma Hanazono
I sat, brain melting, in student council meeting. Its just so boring and scheduled. Shion and Miyuki argue, in this case about what they're gonna do about Sonata, while Chikaru and I sit and watch. The doors busted open, that's not on schedule. A girl with bubble gum pink hair in pig tails groped her way in. Miyuki and Shion immediately stopped arguing and turned their attention to the girl.
"State your name and grade," Miyuki went through the procedures.
"Ami Futari, grade 5," she answered back.
"What's wrong Ami?"
"She got away. I- I tried to stop her," she answered as she moved her and from her eye, revealing a puffy and purple bruise. Miyuki looked horrified. "I'm sorry," she frowned.
"Thank you, Ami. We'll find her and punish her." As soon as the 5th year left she turned to us and began barking orders. "I'm issuing a full out man hunt. We all split up and look for her. We'll have sectors assigned. We have walkie talkies for communication. If you seen her tell me. Got it?"
We all nodded.
"Lets catch this bitch."
PV: Sonata Yakonawa
I stood outside the Student Council room, knees buckling at what I've heard. This is insane, a man hunt. I'm so screwed, But I'll be even more screwed if I stay outside of here. I ran down the hallway down the stairs. I don't know where I was going, but it had to be somewhere I wouldn't get in trouble. I exited the building and found myself again in this forest. I scaled the closest tree near me and sat, surveying my surroundings, hoping maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't find me.
PV: Shizuma Hanazono
I have the green house sector, even though I'm sure she wouldn't get that far. Its been about 45 minutes. Every so often Miyuki would call the walkie talkies to make sure we were okay. I hate this monster she built her up to be. In fact, I'm certain Sonata's terrified hiding somewhere, hoping we won't find her. What would happen, say, if we never did find her? The Sister would probably be involved. The Sister hunting her down to, that a bit much to handle, no matter how much of a bad ass she thinks she is. I sat at the table and waited. 30 minutes passed. No sign of her.
"Status report," Miyuki sent.
"Nothing, yet," I clicked.
"Keep your eyes peeled, if she coming out from hiding its definitely now."
That's right; it is lunch time. I began making tea and scones. She probably isn't planning on coming out anytime soon...so this would require looking. I tended to the plants which lasted me a good 45 minutes, enough time for the scones to finish. I packed the tea, tea cups, a blanket, scones, whip cream, and strawberry preservatives into a picnic basket. She'll be hungry when I find her and if I don't find her, at least I won't starve to death. I exited the green house, looking around as I went, nothing.
Then, it hit me, there was on place I never did search, the forest. I looked in the trees nothing. She might have been here and I missed her, then again, where else does she have to go?
"Sonata, its okay you can come out, its me," I said softly. She may not trust me enough, but I at least have to try. "Sonata," I tried. No response. I know she's here, I can feel it. I looked up to find the same familiar frighten chocolate brown eyes from last night. "Sonata, come down. Its okay, its only me." She was like a frightened animal, which I found really cute. She stayed up in the tree contemplating the consequences of coming out of that tree. "Sonata, what good would it bring me if I reported you to the Sister?"
"You wouldn't have to deal with me. Miyuki would be happy." she began listing things.
"Sonata. Please come down. I promise I won't report you. But hurry and decide because they might find you.
Before she could speak the bleep of the walkie cut her off. "Status Report?" Miyuki clicked.
"I haven't seen her," I lied. Sonata calmed down a little.
"Report back in an hour"
"Yes, Miyuki," I clicked. I put the walkie away in my pocket. "Sonata, come down."
She inched down the tree taking in the scenery, making sure no one was there. She couldn't look me in the eyes. "I am so sorry, Shizuma."
"Its okay. But the whole council is looking for you." She lowered eyes to the ground. "Don't worry, Chikaru won't rat you out. So we should probably find her first," I began. She nodded. "Then, we'll have to talk down Miyuki." She looked at me in horror.
"No way! You know she doesn't like me. She'll tell that other one, and I'll be screwed."
"Sonata"
"What?" she whined.
"I've known Miyuki since kindergarten. I think I'll be able to talk to her, as long as you don't say anything rude, since that will probably annoy her."
"Not to burst your bubble, but, SHE'S ALREADY ANNOYED. What makes you think this might actually work?"
"You need to learn to trust people-"
"Trust is built on time"
"I don't have time," I groaned. "Just trust me, I have your back, so stop worrying about it and let me help you!"
"What's that basket for?" she pointed.
"I packed us a little snack. I thought you'd be hungry. Would you like some scones? I also brought tea," I paused. She was smiling. "What?"
"Out of all the things in the world, you brought food?" she laughed.
"I did. I told you, I thought you'd be hungry," I tried to explain my reasoning.
"I'd love some scones and tea," she smiled.
We found a nice grassy area for us to set up our picnic. Sonata seemed to be calm now; she wasn't looking over her should or anything. It had almost been half an hour when Chikaru ran into us. As I said before, she simply sat down and enjoyed the picnic with us. I still need to talk to Miyuki, but I wouldn't dare trying over the walkie. Shion would hear and instantly go to the sister. Maybe this is a topic I should bring up.
"Sonata, Chikaru, I think we should start brainstorming how we're going to get Sonata out of the forest and into her dorm," I began.
"We could just take her through the other side of the forest, though someone will have to talk to Miyuki and Shion," Chikaru added.
"Good point, and we can't just let Sonata go by herself-"
"Yeah you can," Sonata interrupted me. "I'm a big girl; I can do it."
"Sonata, you have no idea where to go. Every single time you come in this forest you get lost," I reasoned.
"Well, yeah, but- ugh. Look, I got this. I know it's hard to believe, but I can do it. I'm good at avoiding people. I'm pretty stealthy and also pretty clever."
"What are you trying to convey to me?"
"That I'm more than meets the eye. I can do this. I got this. I can take care of myself. I can find my way out of this damn forest, okay? I want you to just friggin' trust me on this," she explained. She really meant every word she just said. "Just because I'm small doesn't mean I'm inferior."
"Fine. I'll allow you to walk to the dorms by yourself but you cannot get caught under any circumstances. When you get to your dorm, lock the door and hide under the bed until I get there," I informed her. She nodded her head to show she was listening and that she understood. "I want you to head north of us. Don't stop for anything or anyone. You see a squirrel; keep walking. Do not stop. If you drop something, leave it."
"Kay, I got it. North, don't stop for anything. Lock dorm. Hide under bed," she repeated.
"Alright. Go ahead, but be careful and please do not get caught."
"Okay, okay, geez lousie. I'll make sure not to be caught," she said as she turned and walked away.
I watched her walk into the forest until I couldn't see her anymore, before I turning to Chikaru, "Shall we?"
She nodded her head yes and we started in the opposite direction. Gosh I hope she doesn't get caught.
PV: Sonata Yakonawa
Psh, heading North is not as hard as they said. I'm almost out of this friggin' forest. Then I'll make a run for the dorms and lock my door and hide forever or something until Shizuma talks to that crazy bitch Miyuki. I swear, what is wrong with this school? It's never that serious. I wish everyone would get off my nuts. Ugh. Soon enough I found my way out of the forest, or rather a very thick woods. I swear to God, if I run into Miyuki or Shion out here I will be so done. It took longer than I expected to scurry to the dormitories, since this campus is just so unnecessarily big. I slip through the Strawberry Dorms entrance and ran up almost 5 flights of stairs before making it to my floor. I turned the corner and immediately turned back around. They are guarding my dorm. How could I got to my dorm if they're guarding it? What am I going to do? Okay, okay, I've got this. I've sneaked out of much worse before. I just need to think. I peeked around the corner to find they'd moved. Oh shit, I need to think faster. I ran down multiple flights of stairs and down a hallway, just to run up just about the same amount of stairs I went down to find myself on the opposite side of the 6th years floor. Where to go where to go. I opened the closest door to me and slip inside. I shut the door softly and pressed my ear against it. It sounds good so far, but that doesn't mean anything. Oh gosh, how do I tell Shizuma that I actually didn't go to my dorm like I said? Where am I? Who's dorm is this, anyways? I can't really see anything in this room since it's so dark, but turning on the light could go a couple of ways. I could turn it on and totally be okay, or I could turn on this light and like have Miyuki and Shion come and lynch me. Since I don't see myself as the luckiest individual I'll just try to transform into some cat hybrid or something.
Either I'm blinder than I thought I was or this is a single dorm. It looks like it's been untouched, so I'll assume most people don't get single dorms. Who lived in this that was a sixth year? I walked over to a desk and opened a drawer and began looking through it. There's a box with a red necklace in it. It looks like two necklaces resided here at one time. I could have sworn I've seen this necklace before, like it's weirdly familiar. But where would I have seen this? Who was wearing this? God, it's like I saw it hours before but I cannot place the simple design. Hey, look a picture frame. It's faced down so I'll assume someone's a little bitter about who's in this photo. I took the frame out and propped it up on the desk. Sad to say I couldn't see the photo well enough to make out who was in it. I moved closer to the window with the frame and studied it. Ohhhh, that's where I saw that necklace- around Shizuma's neck. There's a dark haired girl in the photo as well. She looked super duper gaunt. Something's wrong with her, no one just looks like that. Speaking of looks, I've never seen this girl before in my life and I'm pretty good with faces. If she still went here I would have seen her. Then again, I've never heard Shizuma mention this girl, who ever she is. She doesn't even look like she old enough to be a 6th year, so she transferred out or something? I'm just guessing. However, guessing is not what I should be doing. I should be leaving this room and going to my own to hide. After actually thinking about the plan, I realized it was pretty shitty and my hiding in here would be a much more prudent decision than to hide in a room that Miyuki just might have access to. I began looking through the drawer I found the necklace in and found a piece of paper that was folded into fours. I shouldn't look at this, I know I shouldn't, but at the same time I know I won't leave this room without finding out what the heck is on that piece of paper. I unfolded the letter and began skimming it.
Ah. I understand now. This girl, Kaori, used to be with Shizuma, but not anymore because she was sick. She's probably long dead by now. I wonder if Miyuki knew her as well. Of course Miyuki knew her, I'm sure Miyuki probably did some good Samaritan bullshit and totally took this girl under her wing, since Shizuma doesn't strike me as the most giving person. And by giving I mean, I don't see her as stupid enough to fuck around with a sickly bitch- at least without a push of some sort. Which is completely understandable, why would you want to be around someone and have feelings develop and fall in love with them just to watch them die? Whatever, maybe that's just some people's cup of tea. I folded the paper back and set the necklace box back into the drawer. I shut it and set the picture of the desk facing down exactly how I had found it. Now, I need to get out of here and go somewhere else. If Shizuma finds me in here, she'll be more likely to look around in here and find out that I went through this stuff. I leaned against the door and listened for any sound, bump, or footstep. I heard none of the three, so I slowly opened the door and peeked out. The hallways was empty, now was a good chance as ever to roam the halls. After that thought, I exited the single dorm and tried to get the staircase as quietly and stealthily as humanly possible. I crept down the stairs and peeked around the corner. Miyuki and Shion were back standing on my floor, but not necessarily in front of my dorm; Nevertheless, I can't make it to my dorm without them noticing. What's this? I watched Shizuma and Chikaru walk over to them. I can't hear what they're discussing but Miyuki doesn't seem like she's having it. Shion said something that look like it was against what Shizuma proposed. Miyuki pinched the bridge of her nose. Shizuma put her hand on her shoulder and murmured something in her ear. Miyuki sighed really loud, like loud enough for me to hear. She says something to Shizuma. Shion starts listening intently. Chikaru points at my dorm and shrugs. Everyone starts for my dorm. They're looking for me, but I'm not in there. Shizuma knocks on the door. There's not going to be a response. She knocks again and steps away from the door. Miyuki says something to Shizuma and she says something back. Miyuki steps forward and opens the door. She walks in and probably looks around. Shizuma looked concerned. Chikaru told Shizuma something before walking towards the staircase. Oh my God, I never realized how long her legs were until she started walking over here. It's like she running. I tried to get up in time to run, only to lose my balance and fall flat on my face.
"Sonata," Chikaru said as she approached me. "We've been looking for you," she continued.
"Have you now?" I tried to play off the fact that I just fell.
"Good news, you aren't in trouble, Instead you're punishment is just longer and more broad. In addition to helping Shizuma with her Green House duties, you'll help Miyuki read all the important documents and deliver these documents between the three schools."
"So, I'm like a mail man?"
"More of a messenger girl," Chikaru clarified even though those are practically the same thing. "Come on, let's go talk to them." I got up from the ground and walked with Chikaru to the inside of my dorm. Miyuki and Shion were looking under the beds while Shizuma was looking under the desk. "I found her," Chikaru exclaimed. Shizuma was the first to look over, then Shion and Miyuki glared at me.
"Ah," I commented on their eyes ripping me into pieces. "I'm sorry for making you guys go on this wild goose chase."
"Hmph," Shion stuck her nose in the air
"Apology accepted," Miyuki said as she rose from the ground. "But you need to come with me." I didn't say a word and I followed her out of the dorm, down the hall, and down lots of stairs to the first floor. We walked across the open courtyard towards the school grounds. Are we going to the sister? Chikaru said that they wouldn't take me, but that means nothing. We entered the school gates and into the school. Where are we going? We passed the sisters office, so we aren't going there. But, if that's not where we're going...wHERE IS SHE TAKING ME!? She stopped in front of a door and then knocked on it. Where is this? I've never been in this door before. I heard someone say come in. Miyuki opened the door and walked in. I followed her to find that this was the infirmary. There were 3 beds with the whitest linen on them. There were lots of cupboards that were probably filled with lots of drugs, bandages and more. We walked further in to find a desk and some chairs lined against the wall. In of those chairs sat Ami Futari. She was holding an icepack again the eye I punched her in. She looked over to Miyuki and I and back to the nurse.
"Hi," I greeted her.
She stared at me for what seemed like minutes before waving.
"Is your eye okay?"
"It's fine. No permanent damage," she shrugged.
"I'm really sorry about that," I looked at the ground.
"Meh, it's fine. I've been hit way harder anyway."
"Your first responsibility is her," Miyuki told me. "I want you to stay with her until she feels better. Then I want you to walk her to her dorm and do anything she wants of you. For today, you are her personal servant," she explained. I nodded and watched her leave.
"You can totally leave if you want," Ami told me as I sat next to her.
"I know I can, but I won't."
"That's only because you feel guilty. No one wants to spend time with someone that's hurt."
"That's not true. I don't mind spending time with you at all-"
"You don't mind spending time with me in the infirmary all day?" she asked skeptically.
"Yeah, it's totally fine. It's not a big deal," I grinned. For a moment I thought of that photo of Shizuma and Kaori. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Shizuma wanted to be around Kaori, even though she wasn't at her best.
"You just transferred here, huh?" Ami asked.
"Do I stick out that much?" I laughed.
"Yeah," she nodded. "You look like you're not from here."
"Well, then yes, I transferred here a couple of days ago."
"I remember when I was like you," she thought out loud. Like me? I'm interested.
"What do you mean?"
"I transferred here too..a few months ago actually."
"Do you have a room mate?" I asked.
"No, the Lulim sister was supposed to find me one, but she never really did. I talked to the head sister and she said someone was supposed to transfer in soon and that they'd be my room mate."
"Me?" I asked.
She nodded her head. "Yeah, you. But, I went by today before class to check on it. She said that there was a change of plan and that I wouldn't get a room mate."
"That's all my fault. I didn't clean my dorm and I'm sure that's why she's making me live alone."
"Nope. You have a room mate already- two to be exact. You should be so honored."
"Honored? What? When did I get room mates?"
"Y-you don't know?" she asked confused. "Everyone in the Strawberry dorms has been talking about it all day."
"I don't know many people in the Strawberry dorms...I thought it was the same type of hype I got when I first got here."
"Nope. So you really don't know yet?" she seemed amused.
"No, I don't know about anything," I lowered my brows. What is she talking about?
"Miator's class president Miyuki Rokujo and the Etoile are your new room mates."
"WHAT!?" I practically fell out of my seat.
"Yeah," she said. "Wanna go see? I heard they got passes from all there classes to move all there things into your dorm. C'mon," she said as she stood up and grabbed my hand and lead me to the dorms. I could barely keep up with how fast this girl could run. Isn't her eye still hurting? How is she able to move so fast? We ran up the stairs together and peeked around the corner. Sure enough. Shizuma and Miyuki were carrying boxes into my dorm. Oh, fuck me. What have I done?
"You have got to be kidding," I groaned.
Author's Note:
I did it, I've finally rewrote this chapter, but now I just want to rewrite the whole thing. The only issues with that is people have already read this thing and rewriting chapters takes a long time. I mean, not as long as it does to write a chapter, but still. I'm gonna think about rewriting chapters. If I did end up rewriting certain chapters, I'd choose chapter six and chapter nine. It's going to be the struggle to place this chapter so, I might as well take chapter six down and rewrite parts of it while no one is looking. Anywho, I'm no where near close to finishing chapter twenty-four, but I have something else, that's for fictionpress, it's closer to being finished than the newest chapter of Pandemonium. I'll talk more about it later. Happy reading :)
