[center][i]I see that smile, day after day.
It's always there to greet me... no matter how hard it gets, you always keep up that smile.
But I know better, that you're just trying to hide how much it hurts.
Every day.
That's why, I...[/i][/center][hr]The halls of school were filled with the one joy students experienced at the end of their long days; the sound of the bell signalling the end of classes. Seats were shuffled, chatter erupted, people dashed for the gate and from next to Rui, a female student spoke up.

"Kadomori-san?" she addressed her, with the Rui turning her head to look at her classmate. She'd wanted to go through her notes again before leaving, but that seemed out of the question at this point.

[color=#ffbae8]"Ah... Shio-san,"[/color] Rui replied rather neutrally. [color=#ffbae8]"Is something the matter?"[/color]

"Yes, I mean no, uh... well, me and some friends wanted to go to Karaoke today. I never see you hang out with anyone, so I thought maybe you might want to come with us," Shio told her.

[color=#ffbae8]"Ahaha... I guess that's true,"[/color] she awkwardly agreed. However, Rui couldn't accept her classmate's offer. After all...

"Ah, so you'll come? You could invite your brother, too!"

...it was always the same story. It was never actually about Rui at all. [color=#ffbae8]"No, I'm sorry... I actually have to go straight home today,"[/color] she excused herself. Obviously, Shio was dejected. The girl tried in vain to convince Rui to come anyway. Her every attempt was met with polite refusal. After being alone again, Rui left her classroom behind, then started to make her way to the exit. Her attention was caught, briefly, by an open classroom on the way. She peeked through the open door, spotting a few students crowded around a desk. Two of those students were sitting down, seated across one another, as the both of them seemed to be playing some kind of game. Cards were scattered all across a mat that had been laid out on the desk. [color=#ffbae8]'[i]They seem to be having fun...[/i]'[/color] Rui thought to herself, briefly, before moving on.

Rui switched her shoes at the lockers, as usual, but paused once she'd closed the compartment again. [color=#ffbae8]"Sora, huh...?"[/color] she muttered to herself, pulling her phone out of her bag. She began to type something. [color=#ffbae8]"You don't have club activities today, right? Do you want to walk home together? I'll wait at the gate."[/color]

But then she deleted it again. Rui didn't have the time to be thinking about these things and Sora had plenty of friends to hang out with. She shouldn't force him to go home with her when he still had the entire rest of his day to spend.

[color=#ffbae8]'[i]We're not kids anymore. I should give him some space.[/i]'[/color] is how Rui justified it to herself. She probably looked weird standing in front of her compartment like that, she figured, so Rui spun around and started making headway toward the school's gate again. She'd be fine on her own. Besides, if she didn't go home straight away, she was sure her parents would... well, it didn't matter.