It Was a Mask All Along (1)

Chapter 97: S2 Episode 3 - It Was a Mask All Along (1)

It was already close to evening and Michiko Keiko was still curled up in a ball. Her tears had stopped long ago but she was facing a great deal of conflict within herself. She didn't even want to move out of her place because she didn't want to take a look at her hopeless and pathetic self. She didn't even want to show her face to her teammates that she lashed out at because she feared what they would think of her.

They probably wouldn't even consider her as a teammate anymore…

*KNOCK! KNOCK!*

There was a light knock on Keiko's open window but she remained unresponsive.

"Keiko? Can I come in?" It was Fraise who was waiting outside the room.

Although the window was wide open and she could've gone through it, she waited for Keiko to give her permission to come in.

…

…

…

Keiko still didn't respond so Fraise decided to enter anyway.

"Everyone's waiting for you, Keiko. The Halloween fair has just ended and the chairman will be speaking to the students soon. Can you come out?" Fraise asked politely, looking at the frail young girl curled up in a ball on the floor.

"..."

She anticipated an answer this time, but she still didn't get one. She decided that if she were to have a conversation with her, she would have to choose her words carefully to get a response.

"Chairman Moriyama will be announcing the results of the 3rd round… Although you may think you're at fault for us getting 2nd, the Sweets Princes and the sweets spirits aren't mad at you at all. Instead, we're all worried about you," Fraise began but Keiko still didn't speak.

'I don't deserve their concern. I don't deserve… anything…' Keiko thought to herself as Fraise spoke to her.

"If you get up and attend Chairman Moriyama's announcement, we may get to hear some unexpected news. Everyone on our team believes that if we hear what he has to say, he may change the rules for the semi-finals!"

"..."

Still, no reaction from her. She was expecting her to at least show some interest in what the conniving chairman had to say at the announcement, but even that wouldn't move her.

'What could convince her to at least show some reaction?' Fraise pondered for a moment before thinking back to a distant memory in the past.

'Wait! Maybe if—'

"Keiko… What's your purpose for doing all of this? Did you give up on your dream already?" Fraise asked her human partner seriously, and once she asked her these questions, the frozen girl finally flinched.

"..."

Still no response.

What was she doing this all for? It's not like she wasn't doing this for any reason—she had a dream that she wished to fulfill.

"Remember what your mother used to say? ``The day you give up on your dream is the day you give up on yourself``," Fraise stimulated by bringing back memories of a lost one.

Fraise recalled one of Ella Fournier's inspirational quotes that would inspire people to chase down their dreams, no matter the cost. If they gave up on their dream, that meant that they gave up on themselves.

Keiko had already done this in the past where she buried her dream under piles and piles of grief to distract her mind from the passing of her mother, and because she did this before, she didn't want it to happen again.

This was her purpose for coming to this academy and driving herself around like a slave. This was why she was trying so hard.

She wanted to be that speckle of joy in other peoples' lives like her mother once was for those she baked for and talked to.

The reason why Keiko was able to dig herself out of that hole she dug so deep was because she recalled that quote her mother told her many times when she was alive. That quote was what convinced her into enrolling in St. Marie to achieve her long-lost desire—

Becoming a world-renowned patissiere just like her mother!

Why did 2nd place bother her so much? They still hadn't lost yet!

The frozen human girl who was curled up into a ball slightly raised her head, but her face was still covered by her long brown hair.

'Yes! I got her!' Fraise inwardly cheered, seeing Keiko raise her head. And so, Fraise continued.

"We don't know what the chairman will say but there's bound to be some twist to the semifinals. People may see him as a jolly and easygoing old man, but we both know that he enjoys screwing with our minds—Remember your entrance exam? He and that other guy were definitely toying with you, but you got through it and entered the academy! What about the start of the Grand Prix when they announced that they'd be testing the teams? You quickly caught on to that as well! Just come with us and see what he has to say. If there is no twist this time around, then we'll just do what we do best—Keep pushing forward!"

After her words, there was a slight movement in Keiko's head where she was slowly raising her head up to face Fraise. The long strands of brown hair that had been covering her face had been pushed back behind her ears.

Though Keiko was usually great at putting up a front and masking her emotions, this was the first time that she could really read her human partner's face.

Keiko's eyes were puffy and her usual, serious face showed signs of regret, guilt, and even fear. Even now, Keiko was still doing her best to hold back her emotions but this didn't disregard the fact that this was her first display of weakness.

The generally mature 14-year-old, who did her best in anything she did, looked frail and easy to break at that very moment. Her health seemed to be overlooked as her bones were easily becoming translucent through her skin. Her face was more gaunt than usual and her lips were pale and dry.

Since Keiko would often appear as strong-willed and serious where no one would worry about her, most would disregard the horrible neglect of her health. Even Fraise would forget how bad her partner's habits were.

When she took a good look at Keiko, there was definitely an underlying problem in how she appeared now.

It looked as if she was almost ready to faint at any second by how skinny she'd gotten.

Fraise was shocked by her partner's appearance that she'd overlooked. Since Keiko was so dependable, everyone had ignored her poor health, including Keiko herself.

'How could I let it get this far?' Fraise guiltily thought to herself as she clenched her small hands into fists and gritted her teeth.

Though she felt guilty, she couldn't bring up her concerns to her human partner because she felt scared. She was scared of what Keiko would say about her health—she was sure that Keiko would disregard it even if she'd brought it up.

It was obvious, after awakening in the human world again and becoming Keiko's sweet spirit, Keiko was sure to ignore her and keep working herself vigorously.

But when would it become too much? When would she finally break?

Those were the questions Fraise asked herself in shame. In this situation, she felt like she could do nothing.

"I'm sorry…" Keiko said weakly, slowly getting up from her stationary stance. Quickly rubbing her eyes, she put on her mask that she was always used to wearing and looked back at Fraise.

"Let's go, Fraise," said the other side of Keiko, who was the beautiful and serious girl admired for her skill, charisma, and charm. A small smile formed on her face but there was something behind it that disturbed Fraise even further.

Just what had happened to that weak and frail girl who appeared in the spirit's eyes only a second ago?

"Yeah… let's go…" Fraise responded faintly.

She forgot that this was the mask Michiko Keiko put on every day.

Did she also show that mask to her? Were any of the expressions that Keiko showed her truly genuine? What about the things they experienced together?

Was everything... fake?

Panic filled the small spirit's mind as they quietly left the bedroom together. She followed behind Keiko, staring deeply at her gaunt figure from the back.

'Should I bring this up to the others? About how skinny Keiko has gotten? The expression she had back there? No—that would only shut her down…'

Questions appeared in Fraise's mind and she was unsure of what to do. She wanted to consult the others but she figured that Keiko would only push them further away. So, the only conclusion that she could come to was to not say anything at all. She knew she should speak up, but she didn't want to be pushed away—not again.

Though the spirit's concern only grew for her partner, she decided that she should stay quiet. But if she had brought this topic up to others, could she have prevented *that* from happening?