Chapter 3: The New Girl

It was nighttime already. I couldn't sleep at all. I just kept tossing and turning on my bed before sitting up once more.

There was still some food left in the dining room from earlier today. I decided to eat a few bites since I had been so hungry earlier.

I slowly crept through the dark hallway—the only sound being heard was my footsteps echoing as they hit every surface along the way.

After entering the kitchen, I noticed the light was still on over by the stovetop. I glanced over and saw Setsuna there alone—he wasn't doing anything just sitting at the table drinking his coffee while staring off into space.

"What are you doing up?" He asked sternly with a bit of an attitude behind his words. His hands were cupped around the mug full of black liquid. "I was hungry." I replied bluntly. He rolled his eyes before taking a sip from the cup in his hand.

Without thinking twice about it, I walked over to him and sat down next to where he was already seated. Setsuna glared at me for a moment—like I had done something wrong—before saying, "You should go back to bed."

He put his coffee down on the table and ran a hand through his hair while sighing deeply. His eyes locked onto mine for a brief second or two—enough time for me to notice just how handsome he really was.

Setsuna opened up his mouth to speak again. "Don't worry," he started off before reaching forward and placing a gentle hand on my shoulder, "everyone here is looking out for you now. You don't have anything to be afraid of anymore." A smile crept upon his face as I nodded back in response.

"I know," I said. He began drinking his coffee once more. He set it back down on the table and opened his mouth once more. This time he spoke with a softer tone that sounded almost comforting, "If you'd like, I can make you something fresh to eat. You're hungry right?" I thought about this for a moment or two before nodding my head yes.

Setsuna got up from where he was sitting and headed toward the fridge. He opened it wide and started looking around inside. I sat there silently wondering what I should do next. I decided to get up myself and join him over by the fridge. The door slid open when he saw me coming near. "You wanna help me pick something out?" He asked while laughing softly under his breath. His hands moved quickly around inside as if he knew exactly which things were inside already.

"This looks good enough," he said after pulling out a few different items and putting them on the countertop. "Why did you decide to ask Boss to take you away?" he asked curiously without even hesitating or waiting for me to answer first. My face turned red when he spoke those words.

"Well...," I muttered before beginning to think about what happened back then. "I never had anyone to depend on before now...so I didn't have anything to lose if I went along with whatever Seiji wanted." I told him bluntly.

Setsuna grabbed onto some eggs and a small bit of bread. He added a bit more into the mix as well—things like onions, garlic powder, soy sauce, ketchup, and other condiments.

"What about you? How'd you end up in Rising Phoenix?" I asked. Setsuna smiled softly again as he worked his magic in the kitchen. His hands moved so quickly around that it almost looked like they weren't even connected to the rest of him!

It was an odd sight, but one that made my heart skip a beat when I watched it happen. "I joined because Boss saved me." He replied with a matter-of-fact tone behind those words.

"Oh...I see..." I said without thinking first. A wave of sadness came over me suddenly. I tried not to let Setsuna notice this by just keeping my eyes glued toward the countertop instead. He kept on cooking—he seemed so focused as he did so.

It felt odd watching someone else cook for me; I couldn't help myself from staring as everything went together inside the pan and got nice and bubbly.

"Here." he told me before taking two plates full of food and setting them onto the table in front of us. "Thank you," I said as I reached down to grab my plate. It smelled amazing! I took a small bite out of something that looked like eggs scrambled with ketchup and some kind of seasoning mixed in there too. It tasted pretty good!

"This is really tasty!" I exclaimed while giving him a thumbs up. Setsuna just laughed softly again and said, "I'm glad you think so." He watched me eat without saying anything back to me—his eyes seemed to sparkle every time I smiled.

After we finished eating, I got up from the table and grabbed his plate along with mine. He stopped me from doing so by taking it away first. "You don't have to worry about all that." He said bluntly.

I stared at him for a moment or two before replying with a simple, "Okay." I wanted to thank him properly, but I felt bad that he wouldn't let me help out either.

Setsuna smiled as if he could sense how grateful I was for this food and how much I appreciated what he had just done for me tonight. "You should head back to bed now." He told me.

The plates were washed and put away quickly—he moved so fast! Setsuna watched as I left the kitchen. "Good night," he said softly as I made my way down the hall. I nodded silently in response and then headed into my room alone.

It was dark when I crawled back under the covers on my bed. I lay there thinking about all of this for a long while...until eventually I fell asleep soundly.

***

"Rise and shine, Himiko!" Keiichi shouted happily with a smile on his face as he came inside my bedroom carrying a tray full of breakfast foods. "Good morning to you too," I replied groggily.

"Eat up!" He said cheerfully before setting the tray down on top of the dresser. The room smelled delicious as soon as he stepped in.

My stomach rumbled loudly when I saw all this food sitting right in front of me. I sat upright and began eating as fast as I could manage.

"Setsuna made it right? He's a really good cook." I said munching away happily at my breakfast. Keiichi grinned slightly—his smile was infectious and hard not to return. "Yeah, he did!" Keiichi replied back in response. His tone sounded more excited than usual! I couldn't help myself from smiling either as we both started laughing together.

I took one last bite before getting out of bed. It felt amazing to have food so early in the morning. Not that I ever used to eat breakfast. I had nothing but instant ramen for dinner and lunch these days...and there wasn't enough money to buy something better either.

"Thank you for the food," I said after putting the tray down on top of the dresser again. "No problem," Keiichi responded with a wink."Oh, and before I forget, Boss enrolled you into a new school." He added happily. My eyes went wide when I heard this news.

"R-Really?" I asked nervously. He nodded slowly in response. A wave of anxiety came over me as I stood there thinking about how my life had already changed so drastically over the past few days. I gave up school a while ago. It's been so long.

"Boss took care of everything, so there shouldn't be any issues with getting you settled in," he told me reassuringly. "I left your uniform on your desk." he added before exiting my bedroom without another word. The door shut closed behind him and then I was alone once more.

My heart started beating fast all over again as I stared at the door where he had gone through. I walked over to the desk where he had left the uniform and ran my fingers over it.

There were a few other items inside too—a booklet with school rules and policies, a class schedule along with an itinerary, and a new phone. The screen flashed brightly as soon as I turned it on. It felt weird being given this kind of thing. In fact...this whole situation was something out of a dream! Or at least that's how it felt in my head.

After showering and getting dressed, I slipped on the shoes before heading toward the living area where everyone else was already waiting.

"She looks like a brand new girl, does-" Rin started before Keiichi bumped him in the arm. "Good morning," I said with a smile as I approached them all. They smiled back and waved while saying good morning themselves.

I sat down next to Setsuna after placing my bag on the ground near the door. He smiled softly when our eyes locked onto one another. "Seems like you're feeling better today," he muttered under his breath. I nodded in response.

"I'll be giving you a ride today. Get your stuff together and let's get going." Eito said as he got up from the couch.I followed him outside after grabbing my bag again.

It was time for me to start a new chapter...a brand new story that would hopefully have happier endings this time around. It felt good being able to do something with myself again—to feel alive in some way instead of just letting myself rot inside that small apartment alone every night.

"I'll be driving you for the first week. After that, you're on your own." Eito said as we drove down the road toward our destination.

I nodded silently while keeping my gaze locked onto the window. He noticed me staring at the scenery outside and asked, "Something wrong?"

"No...not really," I replied honestly without hesitating. His expression changed slightly from there. Instead of looking intimidating as before, he looked kinder somehow. Eito remained quiet for the rest of the drive toward school.

It was a pretty nice campus with lots of trees spread out along both sides of the road leading into it! The whole area seemed like a dream come true for someone who was struggling just to pay their bills each month back at home. "I-Is this a public school?" I asked him nervously.

"Private." He replied without even looking away from the road. There were lines of nice cars dropping off all the other students too.

"Are these kids rich?" I thought to myself as soon as I saw them. All of those guys and girls looked so...clean! "Hey Eito," I started while turning my head to face him again.

"Why is Seiji doing this? I'm confused now." My voice sounded soft even though I tried sounding tougher when I said that last part.

"You are ours now, so don't worry about anything anymore. Boss is going to take care of you, just like how he did for me when we first met." Eito muttered.

After arriving at school, I stood outside while looking around at everything all around me. It felt weird walking inside this kind of place knowing that I didn't belong here."O-Oh...um," I stuttered nervously as everyone started staring at me with curious eyes.

A few students started whispering amongst themselves, but no one dared say a word. I nervously took out my schedule and began searching for my first class—classroom 4-C.

It was going to start in just a minute or so. Everyone else who went inside had already found their seats by now! My heart continued racing in my chest as time seemed to slow down.

There were still minutes left before it actually started though. It was hard to breathe, but I knew I would be fine eventually if I calmed myself down.

"You must be the new student." A girl spoke softly after standing up from her desk near me. She reached out with one hand toward me and said, "I'm Reika. Nice to meet you." Her voice sounded gentle and sweet too. The other girls in class looked over at us while we talked.

Reika had short blonde hair and pale white skin that reminded me of cream. I could see everyone else staring as she continued talking with me though.

"Are you finding everything okay?" Reika asked curiously. I hesitantly replied, "Y-Yeah, thanks," before walking toward my assigned seat near the front.

A few kids whispered something rude to me when I passed by them, but I just ignored it for now. My stomach twisted in knots from all these people who kept on eyeing me like this.

My bag hit the floor as soon as I sat down and pulled out some paper to take notes with later on. It was only a matter of time until class started—but I was feeling sick from nervousness still.

Soon, class had begun. I stood up to introduce myself.The teacher looked over at me with curious eyes while everyone else watched me too.

It felt weird being the center of attention here. All these students were staring at me so intently without saying a word. But that's normal right? "Hello," I said while bowing politely, "My name is Himiko." No one moved or made a sound—I guess they were waiting for me to keep going instead.

"U-Um...," I stuttered nervously as everyone's eyes were glued onto me. My heart was racing inside my chest as I felt a cold sweat form on my forehead.

"I-I'm new here. I'm from Yokohama. It's a pleasure to meet all of you," I finally finished off my introduction.

The teacher nodded while giving me a soft smile. He turned his attention toward the rest of the students in the room and spoke, "Everyone, let's give a warm welcome to our new student, Himiko."

I sat back down after that and stared at the desk in front of me. I heard whispers throughout the classroom, but it was hard to make out what people were saying.

Everyone here seemed so intimidating. I couldn't help but wonder if they were talking bad about me.

Soon, class ended. Everyone rushed over to each other to talk amongst themselves before the next class. I just wanted to leave and go home. It was too much for me to handle.

I laid my head on my desk in the meantime. My ears perked up when I heard someone coming up toward me.

"You're new here, aren't you?" A girl asked curiously. She looked like she was popular around here.

"Y-Yeah...I am. I just transferred to this school," I replied hesitantly. She nodded while smiling. "Well, welcome then. I'm Aya. Do you wanna sit with us?" She asked as she pointed over to a group of girls and boys sitting near the window.

"Oh...um...okay," I said while getting up from my chair. We walked over toward the group and sat down next to a few of the others.

Aya introduced everyone to me one by one. It was kind of awkward, but I could feel the atmosphere lighten up as time went on.

"So where are you from? I've never seen you before." Aya asked me. I was about to answer when someone else beat me to the punch.

"She's from Yokohama." the boy named Ryo replied. He was a tall, handsome guy with a strong jawline and short brown hair. "He's right, actually. I moved here recently." I added.

"What do your parents do? Where do they work?" Aya asked. Her eyes were fixated on mine as she listened. "Oh...I-I...my parents died, when I was young, so..." I told her honestly. Everyone around me froze as soon as they heard these words.

"Then who's taking care of you?" Aya asked curiously. I hesitated to answer this question too.

"U-Um...I live with a guardian." I said softly. She nodded silently.

"See? I told you she was poor. The poor thing. Look at her hair!" One of the girls sitting next to Aya started saying. Her tone sounded so condescending.

"Yeah, she looks like she just walked right out of a slum." Aya's friend added. Everyone around us started nodding in agreement.

I kept my gaze down as I heard these comments. The others stared at me with judgmental eyes.

"Why did you bring her over here? She's making us look bad." Aya's friend muttered.

"I don't wanna hang out with a poor girl like that. It's embarrassing," one of the boys sitting next to Aya added.

Aya looked at her friends and back at me. She shook her head slowly before muttering, "Sorry, but we can't be friends with someone like you."

I tried holding back the tears forming in my eyes. "Yeah, she's just a poor, pathetic little girl who won't be able to keep up with the rest of us." the girl sitting next to Aya added.

"Oh my God guys, that's enough already. Don't make her feel any poorer than she already does." Aya's other friend said.

I decided to get up and start heading back to my desk. But before I could, someone grabbed onto my arm and stopped me in place.

"Where are you going?" Aya asked curiously. The others were still watching me. I could hear their whispers even from all the way over here.

"Go get me something to drink. I'm thirsty." Aya said to me. Her tone was harsh and full of judgement.

"But I-I-" I started to say.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Aya said angrily. "What is it? You don't have money to pay for it? Here." She said while throwing a ten thousand yen note on the floor. "Pick it up."

Everyone around me was laughing. My face flushed red with embarrassment. They thought they were so funny—funny for making fun of a poor girl like me.

I slowly got down and picked up the money off the ground. "Now go." Aya said with a grin. The other students kept on laughing.

I slowly walked out of the classroom without saying anything back. The sound of laughter echoed behind me as soon as I shut the door.

I clenched the yen in my hand and balled it up into a tiny little piece of paper.Tears formed in my eyes as I walked down the hall alone.

Why did I think that I could fit in with them? No one would ever want to be my friend. No one would ever like me.

I couldn't take this anymore. I couldn't stand being alone like this. "Himiko?" I heard someone call out. My head turned to see who had called my name. It was Reika. She looked worried about me.

I tried wiping away the tears forming in my eyes but I couldn't stop crying. Reika looked concerned. She took me to a bathroom and helped me clean myself up.

"Is everything okay? What happened?" She asked me.

"Oh...um...," I started to say before taking a deep breath. "It's nothing. Really. I'm fine."

Reika didn't look convinced. "Don't mind the other students. They really are full of themselves. Sometimes they don't even know when to stop talking," she told me.

"I-I'm fine. Thanks for the help," I said while wiping away the last few tears in my eyes.

She nodded slowly and gave me a warm smile. "Well, I'm happy I could help. And if you need anything else, let me know."

"Okay, thanks again," I said before leaving the bathroom. When I got back to the classroom, all eyes were on me. I quickly made my way toward my seat and sat down.

"Where's my drink, new girl?" Aya asked angrily. "I-I'm sorry," I replied. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You're pathetic, you know that? How did you even get admitted to this school? You look like a total loser." She said bluntly. The others were laughing once more.

I tried ignoring her comments, but it was hard not to feel hurt by them. "What's the matter? Can't hear me?" Aya shouted. "Did I stutter?" She asked loudly.

"You're just a little rich girl who thinks she can act like a bitch," I muttered. Everyone froze when they heard these words come out of my mouth.

"What was that?" Aya asked while glaring at me. I looked back at her with the same kind of expression on my face. "I said you're a rich girl who thinks she can talk to people however she wants," I replied firmly.

"You better watch yourself," she replied angrily. "If you don't, you'll end up getting hurt."

"Oh yeah? Well I don't need to watch out for people like you. Just because you have money doesn't mean you can treat others like garbage." I shouted.

"Shut up. Do you even know who my family is? I'll have you expelled if you keep talking to me like that."

"Oi, Aya. Just leave her alone for now. We'll deal with her later." One guy said. Aya rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever. I'm bored with her anyway."

I stood there dumbfounded for a moment. I quickly walked back to my seat and laid my head down on my desk.

This was a bad idea after all.