The next day, Cerise and Peppermint were going to school as usual. Swerving her broom, Peppermint said, "Cerise?" Cerise turned her head and nodded. "If…hypothetically, you had a crush on a, a… mysterious guy…what…would you do?" Peppermint said hesitantly. Tears started to form on Cerise's eyes. Clinging on her broom, she said, "I don't even like boys, they're so scary! Waaah!" Peppermint sighed, exasperated. "I knew I shouldn't have asked her," she muttered.
Before school began, Obscur walked straight to Peppermint. He shook her hand with his cold one and said, "I'd like to congratulate you for the great fight you put up yesterday, Peppermint Ice." All the girls gasped. They had black hearts! The girls in Peppermint's class ran off to class jealously. Suki said, "Great job, Peppermint. The Prince sure likes you." Jun Miyu said, "Ugh…good for you, Peppermint." Yanagi said, "Humph. Lucky girl." Cerise gasped and stood still, her heart not black. She ran after them, but it was too late. They had run off to class.
Peppermint was angry at Obscur for doing that, yet worried for the jealous girls. She angrily pulled her hand away, blushing slightly. Everybody watched in shock and awe. Obscur did not say anything, yet was cool. After what seemed like a long time, Peppermint snapped, "I do not know what you want from me. You're not pleasing me, but…just…you are just…creating resentment! Just…just…" In the Moegi Gakuen, everyone liked a good scene. They watched in awe. Obscur did not say anything, but looked just a tiny bit surprised, even a tiny bit amused. After a seemingly long time, Peppermint finished her sentence. She snapped, "Leave me alone!" With that, she stormed off to class.
In class, Peppermint's friends had forgotten the incident and were acting like their normal selves again. She sighed in relief. Also, Cerise tripped in the doorway and fell. She took another three orange hearts.
At break, Peppermint and Cerise ran to the playground with their human friends. Cerise simply sat on the platform and talked cheerily to the other girls as they played on the structure. As Peppermint was upside-down on the bar, she saw a beautiful but smug and angry face in front of her upside-down. It was the face of the magenta-haired member she had met yesterday! Shocked, Peppermint pulled her body to an upright position. "Whad'dya want now?" she scoffed, turning a flip off the bar and landing on the ground on her knees.
The magenta-haired girl said, "About this morning…" She stepped aside to reveal the angry face of the second member, a tall girl with brown hair and green eyes. She said, "You were quite rude to the Prince." A blonde one with chocolate eyes said, "And yesterday, too, Ice-san."
Another member behind her came out. Peppermint rolled her eyes. But as she looked into the face of this member, she gasped. This member was very pretty. On her shoes were delicate, cute little pink artificial roses. She had a beautiful pearl necklace with a golden star charm on it. Her smiling lips were shiny. Her cheeks were rosy. The girl's nose, Peppermint had to admit, was also pretty. Her eyes were like jade jewels. Her eyelashes were pretty and long and thick. Her hair was dark salmon pink and hung down her shoulders in soft curls. It had a cute pink bow on it. Peppermint looked at her in admiration. The girl turned to the other unkind members and said, "Girls, please let Ice-san be. Ice-san, it is fine. Please do not have hard feelings against these girls, they simply value respect." By now, all of Peppermint's and Cerise's friends were looking at the beautiful, kind girl. Cerise whispered, "Who is this girl?" Jun Miyu said, "She's so pretty!" The girl heard them. She smiled sweetly. "I am the lead member," she said softly. "Anyway, Ice-san, it was nice meeting you. Good-bye."
As she and the members turned to leave, Peppermint thought she heard the magenta-haired girl say, "You're far too kind, Hiroko." She just smiled and said nothing.
On the way back to class, Cerise tapped Peppermint's shoulder and said, "Don't you feel something…rather fishy…about Obscur?"
Peppermint stood still. "Yeah…he's somewhat cold and dark, eh?" Cerise nodded. In class, the day went on as usual. At one point, Mitsuki-sensei said, "Ice-san!" Peppermint lifted her head and said, "Yes!" The teacher pointed to a problem on the board. "What is the probability that…" Peppermint stared into space. She hated probabilities! The teacher had finished reading the problem. She said, "Ice-san…what is the answer?" Without thinking, Peppermint sprung out of her seat and yelled, "A billion!" Everyone laughed. Biting her lip, Mitsuki-sensei muttered, "Nothing like her mom, is she?" Cerise raised a hand quietly. Mitsuki-sensei smiled at her. "Yes, Kato-san? Do you know the answer?" Cerise quietly stood up and smiled. "Well…if you take…" Peppermint looked away, bored of probability mumbo jumbo. After she finished clarifying the problem, Cerise said, "The answer is five eighteenths, Sensei!" Mitsuki-sensei smiled and nodded. "Yes, Kato-san, that is correct." Then she made a face and muttered, "Not like her mom, either." Everybody laughed except for Cerise and Peppermint.
After school, Peppermint's friends ran up to her and laughed, "That was so funny today! A billion!" Cerise smiled and blushed a bit. "I got embarrassed, actually." Then, four boys ran up to Cerise. The first boy handed her a flower and said, "Cerise-sama!" The second boy handed her a card and said, "Not only are you really cute…" The third boy handed her a little peppermint candy and said, "You are smart!" The fourth boy handed her a piece of gum and said, "Kato-san, in honor of you, we shall start a Cerise Fan Club!" Their hearts shone bright orange!" Cerise said, "Thanks, boys! How thoughtful of you!" and took the hearts away. Peppermint stared at her in awe and mumbled, "So much for popularity."
Before the girls left, Peppermint realized she forgot her lunchbox in class. As she dashed through the hallways, she was blocked by the members! The magenta-haired girl said, "Ice-san, we have a special request to make of you." The one with blonde hair and chocolate eyes said, "We are not angry right now, we just want to talk." The third girl with brown hair and green eyes said, "You are quite the courageous girl, I see. We are quite impressed with your personality, Ice-san." The lead member, the beautiful Hiroko, smiled and said, "Peppermint, here is the invitation. The Prince himself wanted you to have it, and we all agreed to it." Peppermint took the envelope she was offering and mumbled, "Umm…thanks?" She grabbed her lunchbox and ran to Cerise, telling her about the invitation. Cerise's eyes widened. "Let's open it at home!"
At home, Peppermint carefully opened the pretty pale pink envelope with a fancy magenta ribbon on it. She gasped at the fanciness. Inside was a fancy, glossy off-white card with a picture of an old-fashioned quill pen on it. The note was written very neatly and beautifully. It read, "Dear Peppermint Ice-san: you have quite a memorable, bright personality. You have the qualities of a good leader. In fact, you were the first one I wanted to offer this to: Would you like to become a member? Signed, Noguchi Hiroko and the others." Peppermint gasped. She, a fifth-grader, was offered a membership?!