Chapter 5

Shujin Academy

Early Morning

(4/14)

Haru watched the buildings outside the car window blur by as Fuji drove her to school. Yesterday had been a day full of emotions and suspicion for Haru, and she had to admit that all of the stress was partly her own fault. It's just…seeing the volleyball club members so injured, it ignited the part of Haru that she very rarely showed anyone.

Often times, while growing up, Haru had noticed that everyone who learned about who her father was seemed to stop seeing Haru for herself. Instead, when they looked at Haru, they saw a connection to her father or a source of money they could get if they were only nice to her. It's the main reason why she did her best to keep her family secret when she became a first-year at Shujin.

This is part of the reason why ever since she was little, Haru had always loved watching the tv shows that featured a heroine of justice saving the day alongside her friends. When Haru watched the heroines of justice on tv, she admired how they would always protect others with a smile. Even in the darkest of times, those heroes who would stand alongside their true friends against insurmountable odds would always inspire Haru. It created a desire in her heart to be just like those heroes. The problem is, Haru knows that reality and fiction are not the same. It's impossible for a girl like her to gain fantastic powers to fight evil and protect everyone.

So when she learned about a chance to help those in need, the "heroine of justice" inside of Haru's heart leapt forth to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. However, as time passed, and Haru thought more on what Ai Kotori told her, an ever-increasing tidal wave of doubts began to plague Haru's thoughts.

Then comes the rumor Hideo told her yesterday. Haru can admit to herself that the idea of a coach, of a teacher, physically abusing his own team is one she doesn't want to believe. If it is true, then why wouldn't Kamoshida be in serious trouble for his actions? How could he get away with purposefully hurting his own students? He may have been an Olympic athlete in the past, but isn't he held to a pretty high standard as a teacher? If the rumor was true, there would be no way that everyone connected to the volleyball team would be perfectly fine with a teacher hurting his own players for fun.

Not only that, but Mr. Kamoshida seems so nice whenever Haru sees him in the hallway. He smiles at everyone, wishes both students and teachers a good morning before classes start, and gives advice to several students outside of the volleyball club. Could someone who has such a good reputation really be the kind of man who would abuse people like the rumors say?

"Miss Okumura? You awake?" Fuji's voice shook Haru out of her thoughts. Looking around, Haru noticed that while she was lost in thought, the car had made it to their destination, and her driver was holding the door open for her.

Seeing a hint of both amusement and concern in Fuji's shadowed eyes, Haru smiled as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. "I'm sorry, Fuji-san. Guess I'm just tired."

"Hmm…" Fuji studied Haru for a second before nodding his head. "You shouldn't stay up so late. It'd be bad if you fell asleep in class, right?"

"Yes! Sorry again, Fuji-san."

"It's not a big deal," the driver said. "I'll see you after your club. Have a good one."

As Fuji opened the driver's door, Haru's voice sounded once again. "Ah…Fuji-san. Can I ask you a question?"

Fuji Inosuke paused and looked back at Haru. The slight tilt of his head was his only response.

Taking a deep breath, Haru asked what had been plaguing her since she first saw the volleyball player's injuries. "If someone was getting hurt and they have a legitimate explanation for those injuries, but you heard that someone might actually be hurting them and no one is doing anything because the person who's doing it is an authority figure, what would you do?"

Haru looked straight into Fuji's shadowed eyes as silence followed her question. The only sounds that could be heard came from the other cars passing on the road and the quiet footsteps of some other early morning students sleepily making their way to the front gates.

Suddenly, the shadows that partly hid Fuji's eyes seemed to darken. Haru felt a slight chill come over her on this otherwise hot, sunny day, "Are you being hurt, Okumura-san?"

"Wha-, No! No Fuji-san!" Haru quickly bowed in a slight panic, "I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. That question was about someone else!"

Instantly, Fuji reverted to his usual, quiet demeanor. The shadows over his eyes seeming to lighten from what they were a second earlier. "Good. Anyway, this person. Are they a friend?"

"Um…no. In fact, I've only had one conversation with them."

"Got any evidence on abuse?"

"Um…no…it's just a rumor I heard from someone I know."

"Trustworthy source?"

"Y-yes! Hideo-kun is very trustworthy. But…he can be a little crazy when it comes to rumors."

Fuji was silent again for a minute before he got in the car and closed the door. Haru was confused for a moment before the driver's window opened. "I wouldn't get involved. My advice, Miss Okumura, only get involved in troublesome situations like that when you have either a personal stake in the issue or undeniable evidence."

Haru deflated slightly at the man's response, "Thank you, Fuji-san. Sorry for taking up your time."

Fuji looked at Haru again before letting out a sigh, "No issue, ma'am. Have a good day." With that, Fuji rolled up the window and drove away.

Haru sighed as she made her way to the front gate. She didn't know what she expected. Maybe she just wanted a perspective from outside the school. Maybe some small part of her felt that if someone told her that she should do something for the volleyball team, she could forget about her doubts and do something. But Fuji's words just mixed into the doubts Haru already had.

She doesn't know anyone on the team. She's not really close to anyone in the entire school. If she doesn't have any evidence and it doesn't affect her in any way…Should she really get involved?

Maybe Ai Kotori was telling the truth. All Haru knows is what she said and what the rumors have said. She knows plenty of people who have been the victim of vicious false rumors. The rumors about Kamoshida could be like that, but still, what if those rumors were true?

Could Haru really call herself a heroine of justice, even in her own mind, if she chose to do nothing while others were abused? Maybe she should-

"Oof!" Haru took a couple of steps back as she realized that she got lost in her own thoughts again as she walked into the school.

"Hey, are you alright?" A deep voice asked her.

Bowing quickly in apology, Haru was quick to respond, "Yes! Sorry! I don't think I got enough sleep last night, so I guess I'm still a little tired! I hope I didn't hurt-"

Haru froze as she finally noticed who she ran into, fear slowly filling her insides with ice. Mr. Kamoshida, clad in a white shirt and black sweatpants, was smiling at her. The shirt did nothing to hide his well-defined muscles, and his brown eyes were showing a hint of concern.

"Oh, no, you didn't hurt me. I'm more concerned about you. Sleep deprivation is a terrible thing to do to your own body. Sadly, so many young people these days don't seem to care about getting enough sleep. What was your name again?"

Haru fidgeted slightly, her nerves were getting to her, and she could feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest. The impression Haru received of Kamoshida from the rumors was battling the polite man she was seeing now. Haru couldn't tell which one was the real him.

"Oh, um…my name is Haru…Okumura. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Haru-chan then, please be more aware of your surroundings. If you had run into anyone other than me, someone might have gotten hurt!" Kamoshida let out a chuckle before glancing at the clock near the school's entryway. "Ah, please excuse me, Haru-chan. I need to get some things prepared for classes today. Be sure to get more sleep next time, and try not to fall asleep in class!"

Haru watched as Kamoshida walked away. When he disappeared around the corner, Haru let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Leaning against the school wall, Haru panted lightly as her heartbeat began to calm to its normal rhythm. Some students looked at her curiously as they passed, but Haru didn't pay them any mind as she slowly calmed down.

Taking a deep breath, Haru stood straight and quickly made her way to the stairs. The best thing she could do at this point to calm down would be to head to her rooftop garden and do some more work before classes began. Maybe she could forget her moment of terror and have a good day.

/|\

Shujin Academy Rooftop

Early Morning

As Haru looked at the planters, she smiled at the sight of the fresh soil and freshly planted seeds. Coming to the roof after the scare with Kamoshida was the right choice.

She knows that her fear was probably an overreaction to the rumors she heard from Hideo. But since yesterday, Haru had unknowingly built Kamoshida up to be this grand villain who would attack Haru if he learned of her suspicions of him to ensure her silence.

After thirty minutes of gardening on the roof, Haru can admit that there would be no reason for Kamoshida to know what she was thinking. He didn't even know her name until this morning!

However, the interaction didn't do much to quell the doubts inside of Haru. Kamoshida had come off as polite during the talk, if a bit too familiar, considering he immediately began using her first name and the '-chan' suffix. Haru knows that she is not the most formal of people at school, but teachers are normally more formal than that, right?

Sighing, Haru shook her head lightly. Gardening might have helped her relax, but it did nothing for the thoughts plaguing her mind. Maybe she should just go to the classroom, there are only about twenty minutes until-

"Meow~" Haru looked up at the sound. Was there a cat on the school roof? Looking around, Haru couldn't see anything. Standing up, Haru made her way around the roof. She was about to give up looking for the cat when she noticed a slight movement behind one of the vents.

Approaching quietly, Haru looked around the vent and spotted the feline. It was a predominantly black cat with a white muzzle and white fur socks on each of its legs. The only thing showing that it was not a wild stray was a yellow collar around its neck. What really caught Haru's interest was that the cat was sitting next to the vent. Its head was pressed up against the metal with its two front paws put on top of its head, pushing its ears against its scalp. The cat seemed to be making very low growling noises as the paws rubbed circles on its head in a vaguely human-like gesture.

"Well, hello there! And who might you be?" Haru asked as they slowly moved around the vent to fully face the cat.

The cat jumped two feet in the air at the sound of Haru's voice, letting out a distressed yowl as it turned to face the human. The cat looked around before looking at Haru, arching its back slightly in a display of warning and letting off short growling noises.

Quickly, Haru took a step back and then crouched down to make herself as non-threatening as possible. "It's ok kitty, I won't hurt you. How'd you get up here? Did you lose your owner?" Haru gasped, "Did someone lock you up here? That's terrible!"

The more Haru talked, the more she imagined how the cat could have possibly gotten onto the roof. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that the cat seemed to have calmed down and was now looking at her as if she was crazy.

"Your owners must be worried sick! I would get you down, but there are so many people at school now! What if they see you with me and I get in trouble! What if they take you away and put you in an animal shelter?! Ok, Haru, calm down, take a breath and think."

Haru quieted for a minute as she took several deep breaths. Once she was calm, she looked back at the cat that was now sitting, looking at her with its head tilted slightly to the left.

"Ok…ok, think, Haru, think. What is the best way to help the cat that's trapped on the roof?"

Checking her phone, Haru noticed that it was getting close to when classes would start. Looking back at the cat, Haru bit her lip before standing up and making her way to her bag. Pulling out her boxed lunch, Haru opened it to find that, today, Sebastian had packed her some sushi, vegetables, and rice. A bit much for a high schooler's lunch, but Haru was used to Sebastian's work and didn't think about it that much.

Taking out two pieces of sushi, Haru slowly put them on the ground in front of the cat before backing away once again. She watched as the black cat gave her gift a couple of sniffs before biting into the offering. Smiling, Haru relaxed a bit as she put her food back into her bag.

"Alright, kitty-chan, I can't get you out of the school right now. It'll be a lot easier to sneak you out after school when there are fewer people. So if you just wait here, I'll come back later. Don't worry! No one ever comes up here, so you'll be safe!"

As she opened the roof door, Haru took one more look back at the black-and-white cat who was finishing up the second piece of sushi she provided. Haru smiled as she watched it look back at her. Maybe she wouldn't be able to do anything for the volleyball team, but right now she did have the power to help this lost cat find his way home.

Turning away, Haru closed the door, failing to notice the cat sigh before jumping onto the fence guarding the edge of the building and running along the edge with an almost supernatural balance.

Authors Note:

So I don't know how to edit my previous chapters without completely erasing them, but from now on I will be posting the in-game dates so that I can have an easier time keeping track of the timeline.