Chapter 3: A Safe Place to Fall

Thursday October 1st 11:33am: Nico

And so, while harbouring feelings of fear, frustration and confusion, the nine of us all let a week pass by.

Otonokizaka High School had been shut down temporarily due to the incident. Day in and day out, police cars had parked outside the school grounds, with all kinds of investigators and forensics roaming around. However to me, it seemed like a bit much. There were quite a lot of people gathered, working on one case, but eh. Who was I to make the judgements? I wasn't the professional.

On another note, the psycho teacher and Honoka's mother were the only odd people of the week. I deemed it to have been a normal week. My family and friends were completely fine, so I had no reason to worry - maybe things would be normal from here on out.

Having just gotten up that morning, I stretched at the seat at my desk. Breakfast was still sitting in my stomach, but I felt so drowsy. That's probably what I got for sleeping in - lingering fatigue.

Buzzt!

I groaned. My phone was vibrating and flashing at me. Buzzt, buzzt! So full of energy as if it was mocking me. Buzzt, buzzt! I finally picked up the incoming call. It was a group call, apparently.

"Yeah, hello...?" Giving a lazy greeting, I rubbed at my eyes with my sleeve.

"Ah, Nico-cchi picked up! That means everyone's here now." Nozomi was the first to respond.

"Yeah... you can cut to the chase of what you wanted to discuss now, Kotori." And Maki was just as quick to speed up conversation.

I'm pretty sure I heard Kotori's exhausted sigh, before she continued. "Oh, yes, right..." She took a pause. "Um. I just wanted to ask, on behalf of Honoka-chan as well, how everybody is doing... at home, and stuff."

"Oh, that's fair enough... um... everything's okay on my end, what about everybody else?" Umi sounded a little worried, too. Oh well.

"No problems here." And though no one could see it, I waved my hand in dismissal. Everyone sort of chimed in afterwards, saying the same thing in different words. Everyone seemed fine, clearly.

"...are you sure? Not even the single, smallest sign, or something?" Kotori continued, voice wavering.

"Not anything worth noticing, at least." Eli said. "And none of us know anything about what's going on, I'm assuming?"

"No, one of us here knows everything, and are keeping everything from you because they feel like it! It just so happens to be that one of us is the mastermind behind all of this." My sarcasm: 10/10.

"Nico, please. Seriously. You could have just said 'no.'" I should have expected the red-head first-year to scold me. But I didn't. I rolled my eyes.

"So everyone really is confused about all this...?" Hanayo slowly pushed the conversation on.

"Seems like it." The blonde responded.

"Then it's best we not ponder on it, right? We'll have to wait until we do know more, and then we can do something about it." Leave it to Nozomi to be all wise and mature. Everyone gave a small "okay", or something equal to it. "Good. Kotori, how have things been with Honoka, anyway...?"

The other girl took a moment to reply. "...fine." she began. "We're, um... obviously, she's still quite shaken, but she's fine. She wants to go back home and check on everyone, though... they're not picking up her calls." The sadness in her tone was clear, and brought about another long silence between the eight of us.

"...I understand why she feels that way, but something tells me it's still unsafe. She should hold on a little longer, just in case. Tell her that, okay...?" The third-year from before answered.

"Mm. Okay."

"Well, in that case," she continued, "I'd say it's safe to hang up for now?" Everyone gave a few words to agree. "If anything happens, just contact someone, okay? That goes for everyone." Another round of "okay's". "Alright. Now, I hear the school might be open next Monday, so... I guess I'll see you all then. Bye." And after saying our farewells, we all hung up.

My head fell onto the desk as I frowned. No one had mentioned those weird people on the street, so I must have been overthinking it. But even so, I couldn't just write off everything I saw. Something was happening.

But exactly what was it?

I guess I'd have to wait until Monday to find out.

. . .

Monday October 5th 8:23am: Nico

And wait was what I did. The day came, and I'd arrived just before the bell rang to a crowded school of students. The crime scene/classroom was roped of with yellow tape, just like in a murder mystery movie. It felt a little eerie. But besides that, everything seemed completely normal. It was as if everyone had forgotten the whole ordeal and moved on.

Huh. Weird.

. . .

Monday October 5th 3:05pm: Nico

The day begun and ended normally, much to everybody's surprise - but then again, that's what made it strange as a whole. There was no way everyone could just act all happy and optimistic after going through some kind of bombing, right? I still wasn't sitting tight about it, but there was nothing I could do.

Heading out the front gates, I sighed. The sky looked unbelievably dark for the late afternoon, but in noticing this, I bumped shoulders with a few people. I muttered a few apologies and kept walking. No sweat.

"Really, Nico-cchi? You could have at least looked sincere."

"W-Woah! Where did you come from?" And as I turned around to see Nozomi suddenly standing behind me, I jumped, almost running into another person. So much for the 'no sweat' attitude. She smiled back at me, all innocent like.

"Just how spaced out are you today?"

"Whaddya mean, 'spaced out'? You're the one who just happens to have a weak presence. Unlike me." I puffed out my cheeks and crossed my arms.

"Oh? Okay, you have a strong presence, do you? So that's why you kept running into people?"

"J-Just how many people did you see me run into...?"

She glanced down at her fingers, counting slowly to rub it in. "Let's see! One, two, three... about four?"

"Four? I didn't even run into four people, Nozomi...!" But despite my efforts, she just giggled at me.

"You need to pay a little more attention, you know?" We neared the edge of the gate, where we split ways. "The longer you worry about it, the longer it'll bug you. Everyone's keeping up their daily routine, why can't you?" After giving those mysterious words, she waved, and turned away.

"...right..."

Though maybe she did have a point. Maybe I should stop thinking about it so much. None of the events really concerned me, anyway. Yeah. It was a waste of time. Things would get better from here.

Putting on a smile, I walked home.

. . .

Monday October 5th 3:37pm: Rin

Buzzt!

"Ah...!" Jolting in my seat, I flipped out of my chair with lightning speed and crashed onto the floor with a thud. "Oww..." As I winced from the harsh, harsh pain, I frowned. When had I fallen asleep at my desk? I can't remember. I was trying to study - my textbook was still open, now with a damp corner from my drool - but clearly something went wrong.

'In other news, I should probably check that message.'

Gathering a hold of myself, I stood up, switching on my phone. Upon seeing the message from Hanayo, I brightened, just like my screen did. Tapping away at the device, I opened it up. As my eyes scanned the words, my excited smile gradually dulled.

'Hey Rin, I hope I'm not interrupting anything! I'm just a little worried about Maki. Has she said anything to you? She's acting a little scary.'

"Eh? Maki-chan...?" Phone in hand, I flopped backwards onto my bed. My mind was a little too clouded to think about enjoying the bouncing of the mattress below me. Within seconds, I was typing a reply back, staring up at the screen.

'No, I haven't at all. What do you mean by scary? o3o' And of course an emote, for good measure. The reply came quicker than I expected.

'Oh, okay. Like... I don't know! She's being awfully, um, blunt. And anti-social.'

'Kayo-chin, have you met Maki-chan? That stuff's normal!'

'O-Oh, I'm sorry...! ^'

'Did the thing at Honoka-chan's place scare ya? w Really, it should be fine.'

'No, of course not! ...okay, maybe just a little. But okay, if you say so.'

'There you go, nya~ Nothing to worry about.' For a few minutes after sending that message, I got nothing from the other girl. Ten minutes passed.

'...are you sure you don't wanna drop into her house and check?'

I sighed. 'Kayo-chin, stop freaking out, it's fine. And even if not, Maki-chan's brave, she'll be okay! (=w=)b'

'A-Are you sure?'

'Man, you really are worried. How did you notice this anyway, have you been calling her?'

'Not exactly... she refuses to answer my calls, but we've been messaging each other for a while now.'

'Hm. Okay. Did you ask her why she's not answering?'

'...she said she doesn't "want to make too much noise."

'Eh? But she has a piano and a big house, how is talking making too much noise? qAq'

'I don't know, that's why I'm worried...! What if, what if something's happening?'

'Like what?'

'...um, something? Big? Ooh, I don't know...! I'm realy sorry for pestering you so much, aah...'

'Nah, that's alright, that's alright! How about this? Since you're not gonna stop worrying until we check it out, we'll go visit her, and then you'll feel all better, okay? ^w^'

'A-Are you sure about this?'

'You're the one who suggested it, you know.'

'Oh...! Yeah, okay... yeah, that's fine.'

'Good! I'll go leave now, then. See you, nya! :3'

'Okay, see you soon!'

I locked my phone, letting it drop and smack me in the face. Dragging myself off my comfortable position on my bed, I took in a deeeeep breath. Making sure to grab my phone before heading out, I ran out of my room and threw on my sneakers.

Off to visit Maki-chan!

. . .

Monday October 5th 3:57pm: Rin

It was nearly 4 o' clock by the time the both of us met up again, a few blocks down from Maki's house. I wasn't surprised that I came a little later than the other, having ran most of the way by memory. I mean, I only got lost for about 5 minutes - that wasn't bad, right?

Right. Anyway, with my hands behind my head, we walked by each other until we reached our friend's front door. "You look really pale, you know." I pointed out, in a cheery tone. Brightening up like a switch, Hanayo jumped with pink cheeks, looking to the floor.

"A-Ah, can you really blame me...?" she whimpered.

"Mm. Maybe."

"M-Maybe?"

"Yup." And that's where our absolutely deep, purposeful conversation ended!

Reaching the doorstep, Hanayo reached out and pressed the doorbell. Instead of being greeted in person, a voice from the speaker below resounded.

"Hello, Nishikino residence, who is it that is visiting?" It was a woman's voice, but it sounded like a pre-recorded message. Or maybe not. I couldn't tell, really.

"Ah! It's Hanayo and Rin-chan, sorry for the intrusion. We came to-"

"We're here to visit Maki-chan!" I wore a bright smile and glanced over at the other girl. Her gaze alone said, "how dare you be so rude!", but she still looked kinda playful. Which meant she looked adorable!

"Oh, you two! It's alright, feel free to come in. She should be in her room upstairs."

"Thank you very much!" I responded, over the top of Hanayo. With a smirk, I grabbed her wrist and skipped up to the doorway. Ignoring her protests, I reached for the knob - it was already unlocked. With one final, reassuring glance, I twisted the knob and let the two of us in.

No matter how many times I visited this place, I would never cease to be amazed.

The whole place screamed "I have a good job and good income" in a way that most celebrities' places did; but this was just Maki, not a celebrity. That's what made it special! Everything shined as if it was brand new, and the amount of space compared to my house was incredible. The floors, the stairs, everything looked well polished and wiped down, as if they had paid for their own maids to do it for them. Seriously.

Slipping off my shoes, I waited for Hanayo to do the same before we forwarded up the smooth staircase. My socks slid on the clean surface freely. I could slide down this thing if I wanted to. That would be cool. Dangerous, but cool, and all the more fun.

As we walked down the hallways, we both kept mainly to ourselves, looking around. It felt great, being able to step into a place like this frequently. It was quiet and formal, and although I'm not very fond of either of those things, somehow it was still comfortable and warm. Taking quiet steps in sync, we reached the door to Maki's room soon enough.

"See, what did I tell you?" I gave Hanayo a friendly smack on the arm. She winced. Hopefully it didn't actually hurt.

"Ow... okay, okay!" she whispered, as if yelling at me.

"Everything's perfectly fi... ne..." As we reached the door, I stopped.

"...Rin-chan? What's going on, why did-"

"Shh. Wait a second..." Voice reducing to a whisper, I shuffled closer to the door. What I thought was just my imagination before was now playing into my ears, loud and clear; somebody inside the room was yelling. And obviously, due to it's lower tone, it wasn't Maki. I glanced over my shoulder. "Someone's in there...!"

And Hanayo looked like she was about to freak out. Eyes wide, she crouched up near the door as well. "What? What do you mean, 'someone'?" She matched my volume.

Waiting a moment, I pressed my ear up against the wood of the door, trying to make out what was being said. This was an awfully sound-proofed room for a regular bedroom. "Shh...!"

"...I didn't want it to come down to this, you know..." It sounded like her father. "...s changing... we can't do anything...! ...I'm helping you out, by doing th...! It's... I've got ..., so...!" I heard Maki's protests too, in between her father's words, but I couldn't make out much more than that. Nothing joined up, and I didn't have any context to make sense of anything.

I looked over to Hanayo. "...did you hear that? Any of that?" She shook her head. She looked like she was about to cry, shaking and sweating. "That... doesn't sound good..."

"...what do we do?"

I frowned. The noise inside the room continued, aching in my chest as I stood by. We couldn't do nothing. I wouldn't allow that. And as horrible as I felt for intruding on some kind of personal matter, something had to be done.

Stepping back from the door, I glanced down at the knob. It seemed unlocked. Taking one last breath of preparation, I met the other's gaze. "...we're going inside."

"...what? Are you insane...? This is family issue, Rin-chan, we can't just-"

"And we can't do nothing either...!" Our whispers had gotten more and more strained by the word. Frowning, I glanced back at the door. "...just, follow me, okay? Stand right behind me... please." But, I didn't want to keep that fierce attitude on. Letting go of a little steam, I softened, giving a more pleading look to the other girl.

After a pause, she deflated, slowly nodding her head. "...okay."

I sighed. "Alright. We can do this." And to give myself a little more confidence, I put on a smile and turned towards the door. I reached out for the knob, not sure what to do at first. Then, right before my fingers brushed it's surface, I turned my hand into a fist and knocked on the door. Just twice, firm both times. My heart seemed to pound twice as hard in my chest as I waited, waited for anything.

...the yelling in the room continued. Nothing stopped. And no one came to answer the door.

I grew tired of waiting quickly. I could hear Maki's protests now, somehow even louder than before, and decided on the only course of action.

I glanced back at Hanayo for a moment. Then, back at the door. My hand immediately grasped around the knob, and I swung the door open with as much force as I could. "...Maki-chan!"

The scene I was met with froze my heart.

Maki was standing in the corner of her room, hands grasping and tangled through her hair. And there was her father, towering over her, backing her into that wall holding up a pair of scissors in his hand. His eyes were fixed on his daughter with some mad glow to it, before that disappeared, and he glanced over at the open door. Over at us.

"R-Rin... Hanayo...?" Maki's wavering voice tore at my strength.

But, the anger that came upon hearing her father's voice was somehow enough to replenish it. "...what are you even doing here?" he snapped, let-over frustration directed at us. "You're not supposed to be here. Get out! Move along!" Although somehow, I had to admit - that roaring voice also scared me.

My emotions were heightened, and all over the place - it was difficult to even think, which meant there was only one thing to do. To not think at all, and to act purely on what I could feel.

"Go on, get out!" Her father waved the scissors in our direction, bearing all of his teeth at us like a wild dog.

"Maki-chan, come on!" Fear, anger, and worry - all of that mixed in to create an overpowering emotion inside me, fuelling me with a boundless amount of energy. I bolted straight for the other girl, past her father, before grabbing her wrist. Then, following along the walls of the room, I ran back around to the front door - not before getting a pair of scissors thrown at me, however.

The throw wasn't straight on, so the blades just clipped my knee. I barely registered it. I kept running, heavily breathing as I rushed out the door. "Kayo-chin, keep up, we're getting out of here...!" I should have warned her a bit sooner. She stumbled out of the doorway, following right behind us at a fair pace.

I took one last glance at the raging man and the veins popping out of his neck before I turned back around, using everything I had to take Maki outside as quick as possible.

Soon enough, after nearly tripping on the way down the staircase and getting several new creases in my sneakers, we were outside. Away from the madness of whatever just happened.

All of us took a moment to regain our breath. We couldn't hear anything between us except for those heaving breaths for what felt like an entire year. In, out, in, out. Slowly, that rush of energy left my body entirely, leaving behind my racing heartbeat and a loss of air. In, out, in out. Sitting on the gutter of the road, we waited.

And once I collected myself, I broke the silence. "...I have no idea what that was, but I'm glad we got out of it..." I spoke to no one in particular, eyes staring up at the sky. The sun's rays had dulled. I waited, but neither of the two gave a response. I frowned. Fair enough.

After a few more minutes in silence, I decided to try once more. I glanced over at Maki - she wasn't even facing us, head buried in her knees as she took unsteady breaths. And Hanayo was, well... looking around in every direction, with the same, worried expression. I felt bad for speaking up, I really did. But my curiosity couldn't hold up for very long.

"...Hey, Maki-chan?" I decided against saying 'are you okay', since that wouldn't get us anywhere. "How, um... how are you feeling...?"

At first, the girl did nothing. She just sat there, quietly. Then, she slowly shook her head left and right. My shoulders dropped in disappointment. I wasn't expecting her to speak up, but surely, she cleared her throat and begun to slowly talk. "I, um... I really wish you didn't have to see that..." Her voice was raspy and broken. She hid her face, but it was clear she'd been crying.

I shook my head, although she didn't see. "At least you're... safe now, yeah? At least try to be a little glad that we decided to check on you." I tried to keep my voice as light-hearted as possible, though with such a thick atmosphere, it was a little hard.

"...guess so..." And with those words, the conversation died down again.

I didn't bother reviving it this time. Instead, I waited it out properly. Staring up at the sky, taking in the calm wind, I did whatever I could to keep myself occupied.

"Um, ah... Maki-chan...?" Hanayo suddenly spoke up, out of seemingly nowhere. I turned to glance over at her. Maki just hummed, showing she was paying attention. Looking to the ground and twitching her fingers, Hanayo continued. "...I'm really sorry this happened to you."

She shook her head. "...it's fine."

"I hope things get better."

"...it's fine."

Hanayo paused, still wearing a troubled look. "...what was your father doing, anyway...?" And then, she spoke those words so hesitantly, as if the words themselves were treading on thin ice.

The girl didn't reply for a while. We let her think in silence, watching on with caring looks.

"He was, um..." Then, she begun. Gradually, she lifted her head from her knees, looking out at the road before her. She didn't even glance at us. "...just, telling me some things, and... um..."

"He said he was helping you by doing something..." I said, blinking. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard a little. A little of what he said, so even I'm a little worried, Maki-chan..." It wasn't like I meant to make the other feel guilty or like a burden. I was merely conveying the information I'd gathered, shining more light onto the situation and easing Maki.

Another moment of silence. After that, Maki seemed to open up that little bit more.

She sighed first, before shaking her head again, eyes staring in the same spot. Running a hand through her hair, she spoke.

"...I guess I could say that I understand a little about everything that's been happening... now..." She paused. "He knew part of it, so he told me, and then, um..." And then, she shrugged. "...he said he was going to murder me."

Those words hung in the atmosphere like a dull light, illuminating everything around us with an eerie, lingering presence.

"...what?" I turned to face the girl completely, eyebrows creasing. "He seriously said that? He said he was going to... his own daughter..."

The girl still didn't look up, or flinch. "He's, um... going to come back, you know. Mum can only hold him up for so long, he's going to come looking for me..."

"Then we need to go somewhere safe. Somewhere he can't get to you." The idea came to me pretty quickly, projecting my voice with a little more confidence. By now, I was almost determined to keep my friend safe and sound. Not only was the thought of losing her ridiculous, but I knew it would be impossible to bare, if it ever became reality. "Is there anywhere you can think of...? I'd offer my place or Kayo-chin's, but that would be too obvious and too close..."

We thought for a moment.

"...there is, um... one place I can think of..." But when Maki spoke up, my hopes had been renewed.

"Really?" My face brightened. She nodded her head.

"Y-Yeah, um... just... a small house my Mum bought out... Dad doesn't know about it, but it's an hour from here by train... and then probably another 20 minute walk... so-"

"No buts or excuses, okay?" I intervened with a gentle smile. "...it's one of your houses, right? So you don't need to pack any stuff...?" She shook her head, and my expression eased considerably. "Then we're going. We'll all go, alright? Kayo-chin and I will sleep the night with you there, to make sure you're not on your own. I'm sure our parents won't mind. Then tomorrow, we can check up on things and everybody else. Sound good Kayo-chin, Maki-chan?"

There was a pause of hesitation, but Hanayo still nodded. "Yeah. Y-Yeah, okay."

And after hearing the confirmation, Maki slowly came to turn her head towards us. Her face was fairly red but her eyes had been wiped dry, now wearing a surprised expression. But, in a moment, that expression dropped completely. Instead, she looked straight at us, and smiled.

"...okay. Sounds good..." she muttered.

Pride suddenly rushed through me at that response. I'd done something helpful. We did something helpful. Shooting up from my position on the gutter, I jumped into the air, pumping more energy into the other two. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's head on out, yeah?" They nodded along, standing with me. Just before I turned to head down and out of the street, I felt a tug on my sleeve. "Hm?"

"U-Um, Rin, Hanayo..." Maki had grabbed the corner of both our sleeves. Her eyes were averted, but between two blinks, she glanced up at us. "...thank... you."

I smiled.

"No problem, Maki-chan."

A/N: I've been thinking about putting in some minor one-sided RinMaki, but that'll be up for debate. .3. It's a maybe at the moment, who knows.

Anyway, please don't hesitate to leave a review - and once again, thank you for reading this chapter!

I'll catch you in the next one.