[center][url=https://postimg.cc/jnhLP7k4][img]https://i.postimg.cc/fyGm47cp/Shuukos-Banner.png[/img][/url][/center] This had to be some sort of a sick joke. If Ember had not seen it with her own eyes, then she was not sure she would have believed that the Rulekeeper - the Rulekeeper! - would have let herself be hoisted up, then carried into a janitor’s closet. All the while her not-yet-girlfriend-yet-certainly-more-than-friend walked by them with a smile that bordered on unsettling. But that mattered very little when there was a situation unfolding right before her eyes. So Ember steeled herself, straightening her spine as she walked. Then she knocked on the janitorial closet’s door. [color=red]”Hananami Ryoba-san?”[/color] she asked, shifting her voice to not quite sound like herself or Shuuko, while also injecting a healthy dose of confusion into it. [color=red]”Ummm… I don’t know what you’re doing in there, but umm… the track team sounded like they needed your help. They said something about missing equipment, I think? I’m sorry, I didn’t really pay attention.”[/color] Ember hoped she sounded convincing. She tried to mimic a confused student who had no idea about the situation, but she was not sure if she could keep the anger out of her voice. [color=red]”And who is in there with you anyways? Should I call a teacher? I haven’t seen her around here.”[/color] Adding in the subtle threat would hopefully ward off whoever dragged Ryoba in there. Then she could proceed to have- No. That sort of thinking was exactly what lead Ember to this position in the first place. She needed to hear what the Earthshaker had to say for herself just in case she was innocent in all this, but it was so difficult. She felt her hands clench, nails almost driving themselves into her palm, carving open the skin there. Even if she tried to relax them, the tension wound them up again. What could she even do, though, if Roche really was dating this… woman? She seemed tall. Woman was probably right then. It was not like she was official with Sylvia. They have not really moved beyond friendship save for that kiss they shared. So did she even have any right to interfere with this situation? No matter. The die had already been cast. [hr] Eyebrows hiked up all the way to the top of Hotaru’s head as she witnessed Suki’s shenanigans, following her halfway into the room, then she flashed a sheepish, ‘what-can-you-do’ sort of grin towards Kiyo. She followed it up by dramatically raising her hand towards her forehead - eyebrows still raised - then flicking it and mimicking taking an absurd amount of damage. Unfortunately, that was about as far as smiling or being silly would take her. [color=#D8CD9F]”Yeah, I’m sorry. I was a bit of an asshole there,”[/color] she apologised, slightly bowing her head. [color=#D8CD9F]”Anyway, about that… I’m looking for advice. Real stuff. Not any nonsense. Because a very important friend said that I hate her and…”[/color] She smacked her fist into her palm. [color=#D8CD9F]”I have no idea why. I don’t think I did anything to hurt her. But she says I did.”[/color] [hr] What meaning could there be in a life where… Sylvia did not dare to finish the question. Because then she would have to answer it herself. Sure, she promised Haruna that she would be all right in the end, but was she really? Nothing felt all right. Rather, it felt as though she were moving through a void, her movements not quite hers. She was not even sure she perceived colours anymore. It mattered little anyways. Her grades mattered little anyways. Everyone could tolerate her being late for once. She did not even know which class she moved towards. She just knew where she had to go and she had to pretend to be there. To try and cling to the nothing she had. Because she saw the looks Roche gave to that tall, red-haired woman. They made her heart ache. Because surely, the red-haired woman was not Sylvia. She was better than her. She knew what to do. She would not be stuttering. Not like the daughter of a- But that was a lie. Haruna told her so. That gods could lie as well. And it was true. They lied to her about everything. And so the life of Sylvia had been built on top of lies. There was no foundation to be found, nothing solid that could be built on. It hurt so much. What could be the remedy for such pain? Smacking someone around sounded something like her grandmother would do. Or her grandfather. Both of them liars. Liars! Meanwhile, talking with anyone sounded like it would open another abyss. Lead to something she was not meant to discover. So she saw Haruna and Tsubomi. She even saw the other girl with them. But before she could bring herself even to wave, she gave up on it. All they would see was a blonde-haired student passing by, who may have looked similar to Shuuko. It hurt so much. Would it ever stop?