4/8/2018 Friday 8.04 am
The classroom was unusually warm that morning, sunlight pouring in through the large windows, casting stripes across the desks.
Mizune Yukinoshita stepped in silently, her hair catching a gleam of light. She spotted Hinata already seated by the window, quietly sipping water from a bottle.
She remembered Hayasaka's "socializing crash course" from the night before
3/8/2018 Thursday 9:37pm
Flashback – Mizune's room, night before
Hayasaka (serious):
"If you want to bond, start with something normal. Like the weather or... lunch!"
Mizune (scribbling notes):
"Weather = icebreaker?"
Hayasaka (sighing):
"Sure. Just don't say anything weird."
Back to present.
Yuki took a seat beside Hinata, mustering her courage. She cleared her throat stiffly and turned slightly toward him.
Yuki (flat tone):
"...So. Weather exists."
Hinata (blinking, caught off guard):
"...Yeah."
After a long silence ,
Yuki (genuinely serious):
"Does this count as bonding?"
Hinata choked mid-sip, barely managing to suppress a cough. He turned his head away, covering his mouth to hide a smile.
She looked down at her journal discreetly under the desk and wrote:
"Bonding = acknowledging existence of weather?"
Before they could say more, the teacher strode into class with a clipboard in hand.
As the homeroom teacher tapped the board with his pointer, students straightened up, bracing for judgment day.
Teacher:
"Alright everyone, before we begin today's lesson—your midterm results have been compiled. I'll be announcing the class averages."
Murmurs filled the room. Some were already praying.
Yuki leaned slightly toward Hinata, eyes narrowed in mild curiosity.
Hinata (muttering):
"You don't seem nervous."
Mizune:
"Nervous? No. I've already been informed that I scored a 42 out of 100 in mathematics."
Hinata (choking slightly):
"That's barely a pass."
Mizune (calmly):
"Hayas- uhh my maid said scores below 50 are a 'humbling educational exercise.' I believe I am now sufficiently humbled."
Hinata stared at her, stunned.
Hinata:
"That's… a creative spin."
Mizune (serious):
"Wasn't it supposed to be? This entire process is meant to expose the limits of the self."
Hinata (dry):
"You made ALMOST failing sound like a philosophical experience."
Mizune (genuinely):
"Oh, was that not the purpose of exams?"
Hinata chuckled under his breath.
Hinata:
"Most people aim for bragging rights. Or avoiding summer school."
Mizune (tilting her head):
"...What a confusing system."
At the front, the teacher cleared his throat.
Teacher:
"The class average for 1-B… is 84.7%. That puts you all at first place in the entire year."
A beat of silence.
Then, the class erupted in cheers and stunned reactions.
Akari (somewhere in the middle):
"Yesss! I knew we'd win! Suck it, Class 1-D!"
Souta (yelling):
"What's a class average?! Do I get a prize!?"
Teacher (ignoring him):
"As you all know, the class with the highest average gets to vote on the destination for the school trip."
Akari (confidently):
"Okinawa. Definitely Okinawa."
Hinata:
"Mountains would be nice."
Ai Hayasaka:
"Anywhere with dessert."
Mizune (calmly):
"Tuvalu."
The room paused.
Akari:
"Tuva-what again?"
Yuki (patient):
"It's a Pacific island. Very peaceful. Very… distant."
Souta:
"...Didn't even know that existed."
The voting started and The votes rolled in. Unsurprisingly, the final decision leaned toward something more accessible.
Teacher:
"After tallying your class's votes, the chosen destination is... Tokyo."
Akari (grumbling):
"Every year it's Tokyo. Y'all got no vision."
The teacher, now visibly impressed by the class performance, tapped his clipboard again with a sly smile.
Teacher:
"Now, on to a special announcement. Normally, class representatives are elected by vote… but this year, the Student Council has introduced a new system."
Murmurs sparked across the room.
Akari (groaning):
"Ugh, don't tell me they're picking based on height or something—"
Teacher:
"This year's criteria: the two lowest-scoring students in the class—one male, one female—will serve as class representatives."
The room went dead silent.
Hinata froze. Slowly turned his head toward Mizune. She was still expressionless, but blinked once. The slow kind of blink that meant her brain had just been hit by a snowball.
Hinata (flatly):
"Oh no."
Mizune (genuinely curious):
"What is a class representative? Is it… a courtroom role?"
Akari (grinning ear to ear):
"OH this is going to be good."
Hayasaka (laughing behind her hand):
"This might be the best policy change I've ever seen."
Souta (raising his hand):
"Wait, can I volunteer to fail next time?"
Teacher (ignoring him):
"From Class 1-B, the representatives are Mizune Yukinoshita and Hinata Hikaru."
Hinata slumped forward like he'd been physically pushed by invisible hands.
Hinata (muttering):
"all I ever wanted was a quiet semester…damn it"
Mizune (to herself):
"I should consult my glossary. What does 'class leader' actually do?"
Akari leaned over from the row ahead, clearly enjoying every second of this.
Akari:
"Basically? You're in charge of yelling at us when we're being loud, organizing boring things, and attending boring meetings."
Mizune (nodding slowly):
"Ah. Like a professional annoyance?"
Haruki (sighing):
"She gets it."
Teacher:
"Your first duty begins after school today. There will be a class trip meeting with the Student Council in Room 3-A. Don't be late."
4/8/2018 12:21pm
The bell rang for lunch. The classroom instantly erupted into movement — chairs scraping, lunchboxes unpacking, chatter building.
Amid the noise, Mizune sat at her desk with precision, unfolding a silk napkin with almost surgical calm. In her hand:
a neatly prepared bento, clearly homemade by someone with elite culinary training.
She picked up her chopsticks… completely backward.
Mizune (confidently):
"I believe I've mastered this."
She stabbed a rice ball like she was subduing a wild beast.
From the next group of desks, Souta watched in stunned admiration.
Souta (whispering):
"She's eating like a battle shounen character."
Haruki scribbled something into his sketchbook without a word.
Hayasaka tried to maintain her poker face while sneaking a glance at Mizune's form.
Akari, of course, was already holding up her phone.
Akari (typing):
"#LunchWithFinalBoss"
Yuki, noticing the camera, froze mid-bite.
Mizune (alarmed):
"Was that a... battle declaration? Should I get my forces ready??"
Akari:
"No, it's a Snap. You' might get trending."
Mizune:
"Trending where? Are we moving?"
Before Akari could respond, she turned her attention toward Hinata, who sat quietly eating a convenience store sandwich.
Akari (suddenly serious):
"Okay, spill it. You totally tanked that exam on purpose, didn't you?"
Hinata blinked. Took another bite.
Hinata (flat):
"I plead the fifth."
("I plead the fifth" is a referrence to the 5th act of LSPD suspect rights, which means the suspect pleads to be silent and doesn't want to answer the interregation unless a body of law is questioning)
Akari:
"Why? You're not dumb, and your midterm average last year was like 90."
Hinata (shrugging):
"I didn't really… feel like scoring high."
Hayasaka (softly):
"But you might have failed. And we could've lost the trip."
Hinata:
"I made sure I didn't. 40 was the pass mark. I got 44, I had plans to bunk the exams but I saw how u guys really wanted to win… so I didn't want to drag it down"
"also summer classes are a pain in the ass to handle that's why."
Akari (furious):
"Why ARE YOU So Brilliantly DUMB!"
And then she smacked him lightly in the head with her chopsticks.
Hinata:
"Ow."
Mizune (not looking up):
"So we do resort to physical violence to resolve academic disagreements. Noted."
Akari (grinning):
"You're learning fast."
Souta:
"I want to get hit too—"
Akari:
"No."
4/8/2018 3:48pm
The last bell rang.
While most students celebrated the end of the day, Hinata and Mizune quietly made their way to the third floor. Neither looked particularly excited — Hinata dragging his bag like a prisoner, Mizune walking like she was entering a courtroom.
Mizune (quietly):
"Where is Room 3-A?"
Hinata:
"…This way. Just follow me. Try not to look like you're about to sue the school."
They entered the large student council meeting room — spacious, sunlit, and intimidatingly silent.
At the center stood two upperclassmen who radiated prestige.
One had pristine blond hair, sharp posture, and an expression like he'd already memorized your blood type.
The other had long black hair tied into a neat ponytail, her uniform perfect, her eyes like lasers behind elegance.
Council President:
"I'm Shirogane Miyuki. President of the student council."
Vice President:
"Shinomiya Kaguya. Vice President. Let's make this efficient."
Hinata (whispering):
"…Why do they look like they run a private empire?"
Mizune (whispering back):
"I was thinking… cult leaders."
They were handed two folders containing the schedule draft for the Tokyo class trip.
Shinomiya:
"We need each class to finalize their itinerary preferences. Free time zones, museum visits, group activities… fill them here."
Mizune opened the folder, studied the colorful chart, and raised her hand.
Mizune (seriously):
"Do we need a passport?"
Everyone blinked.
Shirogane (slightly confused):
"Not unless you're planning to leave the country, which… you aren't."
Mizune:
"…And is there a dress code for Mount Fuji?"
Hinata (hushed):
"It's a sightseeing stop, not a wedding."
Shinomiya (dry):
"We suggest walking shoes and some common sense."
Mizune (writing in her journal):
"Note: 'Common sense' is considered acceptable attire."
They went through the remaining points without further incident — or rather, with Mizune quietly scribbling cryptic comments and Hinata trying his best not to laugh.
As the meeting wrapped up:
Shirogane:
"Good work. The trip will commence on the October 19TH, Let's make this year's trip smooth and memorable."
They both exited the room with folders in hand.
[As they walk down the hallway…]
Hinata glanced sideways at Mizune, who was already scribbling intently in her journal with unnerving focus.
Hinata (murmuring):
"From how it's going till now, I'll be very surprised if this trip goes smooth, ngl…"
Mizune (not looking up):
"What does 'ngl' mean? Is that another tourist permit?"
4/8/2018 5:42pm
Classes had ended. The school building slowly emptied, but Mizune stood near the front gate, eyes trailing Hinata.
He had just slung his bag over his shoulder when she approached him with that usual dead-serious expression, like she was about to report a hostage situation.
Mizune:
"Wait."
Hinata stopped mid-step and turned.
Hinata:
"Yeah?"
She held something in her hand. It was a small, rectangular envelope — neat handwriting, pristine paper. She offered it forward.
Mizune (bluntly):
"This is an invitation."
Hinata:
"To…?"
Mizune:
"My birthday. It's this weekend on the 5th, essentialy its tommorow"
Hinata blinked. He looked at the card, then back at her. Something flickered across his face ,some realization hit him hard— a crack in the armor.
Hinata (softly):
"Your birthday…?"
The breeze picked up. Mizune said nothing more. Just stood there, waiting.
Hinata (quietly, hesitating):
"…I can't come."
Mizune (expression blanking):
"Oh."
Hinata (nervous):
"you seeee...…My sister is sick.....with flu.soo….. I have to look after her. Sorry."
Mizune:
"I see."
There was an awkward pause. Not hurt. Just… stillness.
Hinata (avoiding her eyes):
"I hope you have a good one, though."
She nodded. Wordless again. He turned and walked away.
She looked down at the envelope still in her hand.
Mizune (softly):
"I forgot to give it…"
20 Minutes Later
4/8/2018 6:05pm
Hinata was at the checkout counter of a small local mart, holding a few items: a box rice balls, and one ice popsicle. He paid his bill
The cashier smiled and placed an extra ice pop in the bag.
Cashier:
"Limited offer today. One extra free!"
Hinata:
"Oh. Thanks."
He took the bag and stepped out into the evening.
"Lucky Me, Mizuki will be happy if she heard it was free"
(Mizuki Hinata - Hikaru Hinata's younger sister ,pristine black hair,2nd year of middle school lives alone with just her brother at home to take care of her, in charge of the household duties often)
He feels guilty for lying to yukinoshita just because he was scared of getting close to her
4/8/2018 6:06pm
From the backseat of her sleek black car, Mizune stared out the window. The chauffeur was driving toward Hinata's address. She held the birthday envelope in her lap, silently re-reading the front.
Then she noticed something.
On the sidewalk — a boy with a shopping bag.
Mizune (softly):
"…Hinata?"
She leaned forward, eyes narrowing,analysing the bag and its contents and found those two icepops hanging out
Mizune (internal monologue):
"He said his sister was sick. But there are two ice pops in that bag."
A beat.
Mizune (still thinking):
"Hinata has one sister. And his parents live abroad.his sister is sick and he cant possibly eat them both all by himself. Then…"
She stared, expression unchanging — but a flicker of something shifted behind her eyes.
Mizune (internal):
"He lied."
The unfamiliar sensation twisted in her chest. Heavy. A little tight.
Mizune (monologue):
"Why would he lie to me? It feels... difficult to breathe."
She held the envelope tighter.
Then leaned forward toward the driver.
Mizune:
"…We're going home."
Driver:
"Not to Hinata-sama's house anymore?"
Mizune (quietly):
"No."
She turned her face to the window. For once, her reflection didn't look composed. It looked… conflicted.
Chapter 4: Misunderstanding the Misunderstandings – END.
Mizunes journal
Observation Log:
New Term Learned: Birthday Invite – A formal offering of one's presence to another on the annual date of one's birth. Symbolic? Possibly ritualistic.
Experiment: Attempted human interaction – failure
Subject: Hinata Ren
Response: Declined invitation, citing illness of sibling
Inconsistency Noted:
Statement: "Sister is sick
Observation: Two ice pops in bag
Family count: Two residents with one possible candidate to feast (Hinata + sick sister)
❗ Conclusion: Lie detected.
Emotion log entry#37 Betrayal?
A sharp, unfamiliar sensation in chest cavity. Weight pressing downward. Origin uncertain.
Term definition:
Betrayal (noun): The breaking of trust by someone close. Often causes emotional pain or disillusionment.
→ Was I… betrayed?
→ Is this what heartbreak feels like? No… too early. Must investigate further.
Final Note:
I feel something I haven't categorized yet.
I want to understand why lies hurt.
And why my chest felt… heavier when it came from him.