N/A

HANASAKIGAWA’S BLOODY CROWN PROLOGUE

“Shirokane-san?” 

 “E-eep!” The flustered girl lost her balance for a moment, and a stack of thin forms slipped from her fingers, flying all over the office floor and spreading themselves out onto the tiles. 

  “I-I’m so.. sorry...” Rinko Shirokane regained her balance, gracefully kneeled down, and began picking up the papers, her hands moving quickly to attempt to hide her embarrassment. The air conditioning was on full blast, and occasionally some sheets would fly up again, gently fluttering towards the window before falling down once more. 

  “Shall I help with that?” Sensing Rinko’s nervousness, the turquoise haired guitarist hurried into the room and bent down, joining the pianist in cleaning up. Sayo inwardly sighed to herself. She was in a hurry and had urgent matters to confront, well, discuss with Rinko about, and hadn’t considered the shyness of the other girl. A conversation couldn’t go by without her stuttering or mistaking the meaning of a phrase. Of course, it had gotten better after Rinko joined Roselia, but she knew that she still couldn’t count on having a normal conversation with her, at least not for a long time. The experienced piano player moved her hands with an elegant precision, as if there was something so dignified, some unseen ritual that came with her every action. 

  They worked in silence for a while, the slow whirling of a fan serving as the instrument in a symphony of awkward silence. Even though she couldn’t exactly understand whether others were complimenting or insulting her, Rinko could sense Sayo’s frustration, and worked faster, her eyes skimming across the initials of the names and categorizing them as frantically as she could. The rhythm of Sayo handing the sheet to her and her sorting them into piles resonated throughout the empty walls, neither of them daring to interrupt, too absorbed in their own thoughts. 

  Sorting papers was what the student council president was used to. There was a calming sense in knowing what tasks to do, exactly what to do and only having to perform them. Although she loved crossword puzzles and challenging her mind, at the end of the day, it was relaxing to return home to a fresh pile of documents to be sorted through and paperwork to fill out. Methodical, organized, planned, unlike the chaos of the school. With only the scratching of her pen and her humming, she diligently and carefully completed all her tasks. And as a new day started, it was motivating to unlock her office door and find unfinished tasks on her desk, beckoning her to start another morning of hard work. She had a mutually beneficial relationship with her job as the president. She kept everything in order and the school flowed smoothly, never missing any important data or turning into a mess, and in return, she earned respect as well as comfort. 

  Even simply picking up papers reassured her. Despite her apprehension at wasting Sayo’s time, she couldn’t help but let her mind relax a bit, and smiled, causing Sayo to slow down as well, not wanting Rinko to feel that she was being a burden. They dragged on for about two to three more minutes before Sayo finished stacking the last pile, and lightly tapped Rinko’s arm, startling the black haired girl out of her daze.  

  “A-ah... H-Hikawa san... I’m... I’m sorry f-for wasting.. your time...!” She started once again, obliterating the calmness of her previous state. Beads of sweat started rapidly flowing down her neck. 

  “Don’t worry about that, Shirokane-san. I’m sorry for startling you.” She helped Rinko  up, and dusted off her uniform. Rinko shrank away a little at the sudden contact, but let Sayo continue. 

  “Now that we’ve finished cleaning up, shall we sit down?” 

  “O-of course... w-would you like some t-tea, H-hikawa-san?” As she waited for Sayo to respond, Rinko lifted a tray of tea from the top of one of her cabinets, and set it down onto her desk. She rushed over to the other side, pulled out a chair for Sayo, and poured some tea into her cup. 

  Now Sayo really didn’t have the heart to tell Rinko that she needed to leave soon. Surely, Hina would understand if she would be a bit late for their movie night? 

  She drank the sizzling tea in small sips with Rinko fidgeting with her fingers and glancing down at her feet. Poor Rinko. She still wasn’t so comfortable with interacting with others alone, and it was evident. She stared desperately at Sayo, doing her best to look natural. However, none of them succeeded in looking nonchalant and unconcerned. Sayo was wearing an expression of extreme pain, her attempt at looking like she was pondering some inextricable dilemma, and Rinko shifted her eyes from her shoes to her legs to her teacup before settling upon the clock to have a staring competition with. 

  Sayo’s tea drinking seemed to be endless. She only took tiny, dignified sips in between the rise and fall of her breathing, torturing the shy one. Rinko breathed a sigh of relief as Sayo finally set down her tea cup, but gulped when she saw Sayo’s solemn countenance. 

  “Y-you’re done, Hikawa-san.. how was the.. tea?” Her tone was more relaxed, but the stuttering had intensified. 

  “Those papers just now. Were they registration forms?” Rinko twirled a strand of her dark locks around her finger, looking confusedly at Sayo. 

  “Y-yes, Hikawa-san...? I-I was o-organiz..organizing them.. in alphabetical order, an-and by grade...” Usually she didn’t need to take out chunks of her time to specially sort out registration forms, but with the shutting down of Haneoka Girls’ High School, there had been an influx of those trying to get into Hanasakigawa. She 

  “So I thought. Shirokane-san, among those, did you notice any familiar names?” Sayo gave Rinko a gentle smile to reassure her and to hide her own fears, but it was more of a grimace than a smile. Rinko was leaning backwards into her seat, her legs closed together tightly, her hands clutching the hem of her skirt. 

  “Y-Yukina-senpai and Ako-chan...! -as well as Imai-san. A-and... e-every..body in Ran-chan’s band... w-what if there’s not... enough classes to a-accommodate e-everyone?” Rinko cringed. While the idea of having Ako to help her navigate through the crowds made her happy, not even Ako could help her bear the addition of so many new students. It was so crowded already... she couldn’t go on... a few tears came out of her eyes as she realized how pathetic she was being. She risky blinked them down again, and hugged herself. 

  “I’m sure you’ll feel much better here with Ako-chan around. However, how do you  feel about the rest of the students? I-I mean, did you consider... the complications?” Too direct, Sayo. Too direct. Luckily, Rinko didn’t seem to catch on yet. She continued staring into Sayo’s eyes with her blank and worried countenance. 

  “C-complications? I..I’m n-not sure.. what you mean, Hikawa-san... a-are you referring to t-too m-many students...?” Sayo frowned, and Rinko knew that she had messed up.

  “I’m sorry for being so vague, Shirokane-san. Specifically, you are familiar with their student council staff, Tsugumi Hazawa... and my sister Hina?” She sucked in a deep breath. She bent forward a bit, slightly dizzy. The worry of Rinko’s reaction only made her even more sick. How would Rinko take this? Would Rinko misunderstand her intentions? She tightened her grip on the handle of her teacup, and forced another drop of tea down her throat. 

  “I-I am, yes... w-what are you trying to say?” Large droplets of sweat raced down Rinko’s cheek, tracing a line among the edge of her hime-cut. 

  “I am not worried about Hina, but Tsugumi could be a potential concern. No, I shouldn’t think like this. Tsugumi would never do something like that. The Tsugumi I know, the Tsugumi that we all adore...” Sayo murmured to herself. 

  “R-Rinko! Ah, Shirokane-san.. forgive me for being too blatant. I have not considered your feelings yet. Do you enjoy being the student council president?” 

  “I..it’s a.. a nice change, a-and I do.. like h-helping others and... working... b-but.. it’s scary sometime- sometimes, when I have to make speeches and lead others...!” Rinko was desperately grasping at straws and trying to understand Sayo’s intention in asking her these questions. And she was so ashamed that she had said that... had admitted another of her countless weaknesses...

  “H-Hikawa-san... are you saying that I.. I should resign?” Tears formed in Rinko’s eyes despite her trying to stop them. She blinked, and they rolled down her cheek, cold and salty. She grabbed her other arm and shrank back, more tears following the first few, cascading across her visage. She buried her face in her hands, wiping away and catching the drops in her fingers. 

  “R-Rinko! No!” Sayo nearly tripped as she got over to Rinko’s side of the table. 

  “I... I won’t let you resign, Shirokane-san.” Rinko momentarily looked up, and Sayo seized the moment to start talking. 

  “I should have made it clearer. Shirokane-san, being in the student council has changed you. You’ve grown more confident already. You’re becoming more responsible, more sociable. You have so much more potential. I believe in you. You’re intelligent and skilled, and there are so many things you can do. I know that you may not be comfortable in the student council right now, but please, don’t give up! Keep on gritting your teeth, Shirokane-san. You’ll get through this, and you’ll improve.” Sayo’s cheeks flushed, but she raised her voice, and continued. 

  “Rinko-san, don’t suppose for a minute that I ever wanted you to resign. You’re one of Hanasakigawa’s best presidents, and it’s an honor to work with you.” Rinko nodded quietly, and a crimson blush crossed her cheeks. 

  Sayo took a deep breath, and went back to her chair, sitting down and inching forwards. 

  “Sayo-san... what do you want me to do?” She weakly murmured. 

  “Don’t worry too much about it, Shirokane-san,” Sayo returned to her usual formal tone. “Keep up your hard work, and act as if you’d normally behave.” 

  “N-normally...? Is... is th-there s-something going on?” 

  “Hazaw-...” Sayo opened her mouth, then closed it again after hesitating. It would be illogical for her to address her worries, especially when they seemed so improbable for somebody as sweet as Tsugumi. Besides, Rinko was burdened with enough stress already. 

  “Thank you for your time, Shirokane-san. I’d just like to congratulate you on all that you’ve done for our school.” 

  She rushed out of the room, a crumpled up application form buried in her fist. Taking no notice of the dull pain caused by the edges penetrating the surface of her skin, her grasp slowly loosened until it landed on the ground with an inaudible thud.