Archive of Our Own

It wasn't anything new in schools to have your own friend grou p. It also wasn't weird to have friends outside of said friend group. However, it was definitely alarming if someone from a certain friend group would obviously and openly avoid their own friend group while being completely normal with everyone else.

Luxiem was kind of a popular group in their own school. Five beautiful women, different personalities and preferences, but with a strong friendship and companionship. 

Voxanne Akuma, considered one of the most beautiful and attractive females in her school, from freshman to senior, it was undeniable. Long raven hair with red highlights, sharp molten gold eyes that have a peak of pink, a marvelous tall posture and alluring voice. 

Lucy Kaneshiro, biggest athlete in school, breaking records year after year since the first time she set foot in the school. Extremely friendly and sociable, not to mention exceptionally smart. She's both admired and envied by a lot of people, but for some reason no one seems to dare to even try and lay a finger on her. After all, they can't risk the rumors of her being the daughter of a mafia being true. Mostly tall, medium blonde hair with a side ponytail and bright lavender eyes, not to mention her structure is the dream of many.

Ivy Eveland, known for the novels she has written still at a young age and her incredible talent to play every single instrument. Just like her other two friends, she has her own share of fans and admirers, usually students who are curious about her writing or people searching for advice when it comes to music. In contrast to her other friends, she's a bit petite, short gray hair with blue tips and cute glasses in front of her smart green eyes. She was the perfect description of cute.

Mysty Rias is a mystery for a lot of people. She's either smart and quiet, or incredibly funny and an airhead. Her grades are always up and her projects are phenomenal even if sometimes in class she acts like the Class clown. She's a complete contrast to her "sister" Sue, but at the same time they still look alike when it comes to being goofy with each other. Being the third tallest of the bunch, with long light brown hair and sharp blueish eyes. She could be defined as sly and maybe mischievous.

Sue Yamino, although she's mostly quiet and reserved, she's also quite well known. Top student in all her classes, plays the violin like she's drinking water and on top of that, she's quite pretty and cute. She's seen as a reliable person that always helps everyone, no matter if they're younger or older than her. Now that she's a senior, a lot of students look up to her and often ask her for help when it comes to school subjects. Sometimes, they even joke that she's the school Suepport (Sue + Support). Although she's a bit short in height, people can see she's quite strong, due to her Taekwondo classes, and can be fierce. Her calm yet sharp and deep purple eyes enchant a lot of people.

All of them being different, yet they always hung out together at every chance they got. 

Sometimes people would see the comedic interaction between Voxanne and Ivy and how the ravenette always has her flirting rejected by the other female. Or how Lucy and Mystie would spend their breaks creating God knows what type of trouble and pranks. Or maybe how Ivy and Sue make an amazing duet of the piano and violin during music classes. Or even maybe, when Lucy is in a game and all the other four girls are cheering loudly in her favor. Or when Mystie gets everyone in trouble and Sue gets them out of trouble.

They were inseparable, even if they had their own friends outside the group, they were mostly together.

So imagine the surprise when everyone started noticing how one person of said friend group began avoiding the group or is barely seen near any of them. 

•——————————————————•

Sue has always been a reserved person, and her actions were either easy to tell or incredibly unpredictable. Is hard to tell what the woman is usually thinking. So everyone couldn't help but wonder why she was barely seen together with the group or with anyone from Luxiem. At first, the others thought they fought, it's not unusual for friends to have their disagreements, especially if their personalities are different, however, this cold treatment has been going for weeks, and everyone knows how mature Sue is, and if it was a small disagreement, it would've been sorted out a long time ago, yet she still refused to be near them or even talk about them.

And what didn't make things better either, is how the group at the beginning was mostly oblivious to this cold treatment and only thought she was having a bad day, only after almost a month they began to try and talk to her only to be either ignored/avoided or interrupted by some other friend she had. Rumors began going on about how Sue had officially left the group and now hung out with other people and it spread like wildfire.

The other girls didn't care for those pointless rumors, they only wanted to understand why a dear friend of theirs was avoiding them at all costs. They knew Sue better than most, this wasn't anything simple, because the girl had gone as far as to block their numbers and whenever they go over her house, it's always: “ She's not home at the moment, sorry. ” or “ She went out with a friend, I'm sorry. ” Either it was the truth or Sue purposely told her family to not let them reach her. 

They knew that they had done something, they just weren't sure what they did wrong to upset her so badly. They've though about everything they did and what they could've said that triggered the girl, but nothing really came to mind. It was getting frustrating.

It was frustrating, how everytime Voxanne manages to reach Sue, someone else drags her away saying it's urgent. It was frustrating, how Mysty would always pass on pieces of paper to try and communicate with her during class, but is always ignored or scolded by the teacher. It was frustrating how during music classes Sue would always stay near the other students helping them out, while Ivy watches from the side unable to talk to her, because both of them were occupied helping the others, or when during P.E where Sue and Lucy were always a pair or on the same team, but now they were in opposite sides, and everytime Lucy tried calling out to her, she'd pretend she didn't hear her. It was also kind of pitiful on those situations, as everyone saw how they tried countless times reaching out to her but it was futile.

Many tried helping them out, by asking Sue directly if something happened, or asking her other friends whom they saw her with. Everytime, the answer was either “ Nothing ” or “ I don't know, she didn't tell me anything. ” or even sometimes “ I can't tell you. ”

This only made them a lot more distressed, in fear that they have actually lost their friendship with her and have no idea why it happened. They needed to talk to her and urgently.

“ I don't know what to do Rena! ” Lucy said as she closed her locker door a bit to harshly. They just came back from track and Lucy spent almost the entire time thinking about it. She harshly sat down, hands on her face.

Rena, softly sighed and crouched down near her friend, one hand on her head. “ Calm down Lucy, we'll figure out a way to fix this.. ” 

“ How?! We can't reach her and no one knows the reason! And if they know, they won't talk! ” she lifts her head to look at her friend in the face. Rena was a tall woman, jet black long hair, sharp fangs and green blueish eyes. She stops for a moment as if in deep thoughts, and suddenly lit up.

“ I know! I can talk to Astra! ” she suggest.

“ Who?.. ”

“ She's younger than us, but she's friends with Sue. Both of them are honestly almost sisters sometimes by how close they are and how much they share with each other. ” she explained. Lucy was not really content hearing so, the only person she could accept as Sue's near sister is Mysty.

“ Do you think she'll talk? ” even if the information was a bit hurtful, it could help them.

“ I don't know, but let me try. I'm supposed to go to her house today, I'll see if I can get her to talk! ” she smiles as both of them get up.

“ Thank you, mate…sorry you have to do this, hopefully things don't turn too bad because of it. ” Lucy smiles softly, genuinely thankful for it. The other returns the smile and drops her arm around her shoulder.

“ Of course! I genuinely can't continue to see all of you in this state! It'll be fine, trust me! ” Both of them walk out of the locker room.

Rena sent Astra a message confirming she'll be visiting her at her house that same day, while thinking of ways she could get to talk about the situation at hand.

•——————————————————•

“ Took you long enough to get here. ” Astra says making way for Rena to walk inside her room. 

“ Sorry, I got caught up with the P.E teacher for a while so I couldn't rush earlier. ” she apologizes while walking inside and letting her bad slide to the floor.

“ It's okay… ” before Rena could even turn around, Astra jumped on her back wrapping her legs around her waist and her arms around her neck, giggling. “ I'm just joking with you! ” 

Rena laughs heartly, hands on her thighs while swaying side to side, waddling to the bed with the girl on her back. Reaching the bed, she turns the girl on her back so she's holding her by her legs while facing her, while both of them drop on the bed laughing together and on top of each other. The taller stares down at the giggling girl.

Long soft purple hair with golden tips and strands. Multicolored eyes of purple and gold and an abnormal cute face and small structure. Their laughs slowly die down, and Rena lowers herself placing a soft kiss on her lips, only to be pulled into a much deeper one. They switch positions on Astra's command, so she's straddling Rena while still kissing her. They slowly separate, their faces mere inches away from each other.

“ I didn't get to see you at all today… ” the smaller one whispers while pouting. It earns a deep and soft chuckle from the taller.

“ You know how Thursdays are, starlight. Now I'm here. ” whispering the last sentence she closes the distance between them with another passionate kiss.

Astra smiles and groans a bit feeling the other's hands slide up her thighs to her waist. 

“ You're awfully flirty and passionate today. Something happened? ” She talks in between kisses slowly backing away, so they could look at each other's faces.

“ Nothing major, really. Managed to beat Lucy on track and field again. ” And there it is, the neutral face.

Rena had noticed that whenever she mentioned Lucy or any of the other Luxiem girls, except for Sue, her mood turns neutral and gives monotone answers. At first she didn't think much of it, but considering, it was obvious that she knew something about the whole situation that no one else knew.

“ Oh, congrats! ” Her smile is weak. She leans down for one more kiss but Rena turns her head slightly, the kiss landing on the side of her mouth.

“ Astra..I need to talk to you. It 's serious. ” Rena's voice although was gentle, you could guess by her tone that she wanted the other's full attention. “ About Sue…and the other girls.. ” 

As soon as she said that, Astra raised her torso, face displeased with the direction that this conversation was heading. “ I can't believe you're asking me this too. ”

She was about to get off her, but the taller one quickly grabbed her thighs making her sit back down. “ Hey hey hey, wait a moment! ”

Although she complied, Astra refused to look at the other woman. Rena could only sigh, as her thumbs slowly caressed her thighs. “ Astra, look at me…please. I know that this question pisses you off for some reason..but just like you care for Sue, I also care for Lucy and all the other girls…It hurts me seeing people who are usually so bright and positive feel so lost and distressed about this… ” trying her best to reason, Rena continued with the soft touch to soothe the other.

Astra listens to every bit of it. She turned to look at the other, but still displeased. Even if she wanted to be mad, she knew that her and Rena were the same when it came to their friends. Rena was worried for hers, just like she herself is both worried and protective of Sue in this situation. She could only sigh as her expression relaxed a bit, but still neutral.

“ I know..and I understand that you want the best for them…But you have to understand, Rena…they hurt Sue. ” she lightly fists her partner's shirt. Rena frowned.

“What? How did they hurt her? ” Even if she was mostly biased, it was still hard to imagine any of the other girls to even lift a harmful finger towards Sue. 

“ I can't tell you that… ”

“ Astra, if they don't know what they did to hurt her, how can they fix this? ” 

“ The thing is…I-I don't know! Sue just told me that it's best if she left the group, since it would be better for them and for herself. Who knows exactly what the specific reason is… ” She finally blurts out, sighing in frustration.

“ Hm….Do you have any suspicions?... ” she lifts her torso and hugs the smaller one's waist, hands still caressing her.

“ Kind of?...At first I thought that maybe it was because sometimes she gets kind of..left out? But it doesn't make too much sense considering her personality, she doesn't bother too much with those types of things… ” She rests her forehead on the other's shoulder, slowly hugging her torso.

Rena gives her a kiss on the head, hands rubbing her back. “ Is that the only suspicion you had?.. ” 

“ There is another…it explains why I'm also constantly worried and protective of her safety… ” 

“ What did you suspect? ” Rena turned to look at her, giving her full attention.

“ I think…that Sue maybe got hurt or threatened…not by the girls themselves but…maybe by others related to them? ” Astra remembers clearly how the very moment she saw certain people she would either look away or pass by them quickly. Astra came to recognize them as one of those extreme students who get usually obsessed with popular people around school. 

“ Wait.. you're saying that people related to Luxiem have been threatening her? But why would they? ” she was still mostly confused, it didn't make sense.

“ How would I know? Maybe jealousy or envy? These people probably look down on her and think she doesn't deserve to be by their side. That she's too simple or bland for them.. ” her voice was slightly laced with annoyance. Rena could guess that Astra has actually heard people saying such things before.

“ I see… is there anything else?.. ” silence.

She stayed silent for a moment. There was something more.

“ I…I don't know if I can tell you… ” she whispers, her voice extremely low and hesitant.

“ Is it really bad? ” 

“ The idea is…but it isn't confirmed…I wanted to try and see if my thought was right but I don't think Sue would tell me even if I begged… ” she buries her face on her neck even further. Rena frowns even deeper, this was serious.

“ Do you want to tell me? ”

“ I want to…but again.. it's just speculation for something I've noticed in her behavior on some days… ” 

“ Please tell me Astra…I won't tell them about it..if it's bad and it's not confirmed…at least until we have proper evidence that it's true I promise you my life that I won't tell anyone. ” Rena announced seriously. She was going to keep her word. Astra hesitated, but lifted her head to look into the others eyes.

“ Okay…a few weeks ago I noticed that Sue avoided physical touching or staying too close to…men… ” Rena blinked twice. “ I didn't think much of it..but then I saw how she sometimes would flinch when someone would touch her unannounced, especially if they were male. I know that she never really minded when someone touched her unexpectedly…but seeing that…I couldn't help but wonder… ” 

“ If she was harassed… ” Rena finished and Astra nodded slowly. She tighten her hold on Astra a little bit. Harassment was no joke, and if Sue truly was harassed in anyway possible because she was close with the other girls it made perfect sense why she would consider to keep her distance. 

“ ' For their own good and for my own sake..' if we take in consideration these words, it looks like she was threatened a lot, maybe to keep her distance or..maybe even to spill things that were bad about the other girls.. ” Astra could only take a deep breath remembering how Sue would sometimes look extremely uncomfortable in school. 

“ Holy shit.. ” Rena lowered her gaze. Even if this could be true, they couldn't risk putting Sue in an awkward spot if that wasn't the case. They would need to talk to her and confirm it. Rena knew that the others needed to know what was going on, but it's best if she keeps this for themselves. “ They're not going to react well to this… ”

“ Do not tell them Rena Zotto! You promised! ” 

“ I know! I won't tell them about your suspicion. All I'm saying is even if I keep this between us, they still won't react well to know that Sue is avoiding them because people don't want her near them… ”

“ I see…honestly, just like you I want Sue to also have her friends back. It's obvious how much she misses hanging out with them…but if her life and theirs are being threatened then she has to endure it…. ” Both took a long sigh, holding each other and resting their foreheads together. This was way more complicated than it seemed, and even if they were close to the parties involved there's no guarantee that the truth is being completely told.

Both of them could just hope that things turned out for the better.

•——————————————————•

“ Okay, I got information, but I'm going to need for all of you to sit down.. ” entering the empty classroom, Rena walks in with Voxanne, Mysty, Lucy and Ivy. The four of them halted for a bit looking at each other before sitting back down. 

“ What did you find out? Did we do something bad? How bad is it? ” Ivy began asking as she sat down. Although she tried not showing she was extremely anxious, feeling Voxanne touch her shoulder she slowed down and tried relaxing. 

“ I'll cover everything. Lucy told you guys that I managed to talk to Astra, thankfully, she managed to tell me some things…but most of them are speculation. ” leaning on the table behind her, she looks at all four of them. Mysty frowned.

“ If it's just speculation then it doesn't mean it's true. ” she says.

“ Let her talk, Mysty. ” Voxanne apprehended.

“ I see your point, Mysty. But the thing is, even Astra, who's at her side for most of the day, doesn't know the exact reason for her behavior towards all of you…She could only make a few guesses and speculations based on what she observed. ” Rena tried explaining.

“ Did Sue really not tell Astra anything? ” Lucy asks, still hopeful that they can get something from this.

“ She did. When Astra asked she told her ' It's best for their safety and better for my sake '. That's the only thing she told her, and didn't touch the subject anymore. ” Silence.

“ For our safety? ” Mysty asks.

“ And for her sake? ” Ivy compliments.

“ You said Astra observed some things. What did she observed? ” Voxanne still kept her cool, but you can see by her tone that she was serious.

“ Well..Astra said she suspects that Sue was maybe forced to step out of the group. Maybe even threatened to do so… ” she says slowly. Ivy, Mysty and Lucy were caught off guard by this. Voxanne's eyes only hardened at the information.

“ What do you mean 'threatened'? Why would they threaten her? What for? ” Lucy's voice grows a bit harder. 

“ Who knows? It could be jealousy or maybe envy…Astra also noticed that some people around the school seem to despise her or look down on her, think that she isn't supposed to be near any of you.. ” 

“ Who the fuck do they think they are to tell who fucking stays with us?! ” Mysty blurts out in spite of anger. 

“ It's not their say if she gets to be with us or not. ” Ivy added, not loudly like the other, but her voice was still harsh.

“ Did she told you her names? ” Lucy asked, face almost devoided of any brightness.

“ She didn't… ” Rena was a bit taken back. She was aware of how protective some friends can sometimes be, but to see them like this was kind of new.

“ That's alright, maybe she remembers the faces. ” Voxanne added, she still held a composed posture, but God knows what was going on her head. “ So people are being bold enough to threaten her to the point she doesn't even want to look at us. Do you understand what I'm saying girls? ”

“ That these people are probably of our own? ” the other three said at the same time. All of them knew this by now.

Rena went silent, spacing out a bit. They reacted like this just by the fact that she got threatened….Rena doesn't want to imagine what they would do if Sue being harassed turns out to be true.

“ Is that it? ” Ivy turns her attention back to Rena. 

“ That's it…Astra only told me this. It must be a forced situation, because she also noticed how Sue misses spending her time with all of you, but can't do so… ” she lies. Thankfully, no one noticed it.

“ Okay..Thank you Rena…for this. This explains a lot. ” Lucy gets up and hugs the other. She returns the hug and soon the others join to also show their appreciation.

“ So..what do you guys plan on doing? ” The other asks. The four look among each other.

“ Before we apologize, we have to take care of the reasons why this all is happening in the first place. ” Ivy shows a small smile. Rena knows it's not a genuine smile.

“ I see…do you want me to contact Astra or.. ”

“ No need, you both have already done a lot and we don't want to put you in an even more awkward situation. We have our ways. ” Voxanne replies. 

“ Okay, if you guys need anything you can count on me! ” she smiles at them.

“ No problem mate, we've got this! ” Lucy winks at her before Rena left the class, leaving them.

“ Did you notice that she didn't tell us everything? ” Mysty finally says looking at the other three.

“ According to Astra, Sue is keeping herself distant because she wants to protect us and herself. If this is truly something made only by people of our own, there's no way we'd be in danger. ” Voxanne explains quickly.

“ In other words, there's more that she can't tells us or Astra didn't tell her. Someone is also using us against Sue. ” Lucy's voice dropped lower. This was one of the rare times were the bright girl, was actually mad. 

“ We'll find out as we act. Now, we have to find a way to deal with the threats coming from our own. ” Ivy says, fixing her uniform.

“ My dear, people who threaten our sweet Sue, or not of our own. ” Voxanne adds. 

They all heard the bell ring. Looking at each other they nod before going to their respective classes. Tonight they would think of a plan and tomorrow they would execute it. 

•——————————————————•

“ Can you believe Voxanne will be featuring in the Teens Magazine??! I'm sooo excited! ” 

“ Really, darling? Would you like to join me on that day, then? ” Voxanne says right behind the girl.

The other squeaks and looks behind, blushing at the sight of the tall woman. 

Today they were supposed to execute the plan. Voxanne had worn her best perfume, styled her hair leaving it curly and loose on her shoulders. Her uniform was perfect on her body, while her eyes were sharp, with both an alluring voice and eyes. Her role was to talk to all of their fan club leaders, (yes they have a fan club) and get them to look for the ones who despise Sue. Technically, she'll have to seduce the others into doing her a favour.

“ O-oh u-uh Voxanne! Akuma! H-how are you? ” the smaller one asks, extremely shy.

“ No need to be so nervous, I don't bite, yet. ” she winks, seeing the girl sway a bit at the flirtation. “ I'm doing okay.. but things could be better… ”

“ Oh..did something happen? Do you need help? ” there was true concern and worry in her voice.

“ You know about this…the whole situation with Sue…I'm kind of worried about her, and barely get any news about her wellbeing… ”

“ Oh..I can ask around if you want! ” she proposes, eager to help. 

“ Thank you…it would ease my mind a lot..but, darling…you wouldn't mind helping me with something more right? ” Voxanne slowly steps closer to the other girl.

“ Of course not! What do you need? ”

“ If you can convince..the Quildren, Lucubs and Mystakes to..look inside the fan club.. ” 

“ What?..What do you mean?.. ”

“ I know it's not my place to interfere…but I believe that there are some.. undesirable people amongst you, and I wish not for any of you and the others to be badly influenced by them… ” The older one slowly tucks a strand of hair behind the girl's ear. She didn't need supersonic hearing to know the girl's heart fluttered. 

“ A-Ah.. I understand! If there really is some bad people among us, it's best if we identify them and get them out! Do you have any idea of who they can be? I'll talk with the others! ” determined, her gaze becomes sharp and even more attentive. Voxanne smiles slowly.

“ I'm glad you understand. Unfortunately neither me or the others know who they are. But we have a way to discover them. Are you willing to listen? ”

“ I'm all ears! ”

“ Alright. If you want to know who they are, ask them about Sue. ” that made the girl halt.

“ Yamino Sue? Why would we need to ask her to know who they are? ” she was rightfully confused.

“ I hope you'll not tell anyone besides the fan club leaders…but these people we are trying to discover are the very reason why Luxiem is going through so much trouble.. ” her expression turns sad.

However, the other girl was starting to look furious.

“ What?! What did they do?! Did they do something to Sue?! Should I tell the Yaminions too? ” 

“ Calm down! I believe they did something to Sue, but we want to deal with them personally. If you can get the others to check for those people in other fan clubs and in our own club and then tell us who they are, we promise not only the club will be free from bad influence, but we'll also be able to fix everything. ” the other girl nodded. She took out her phone, texting someone.

“ Got it! I'll tell the others and I personally will find ways to get to these people! Thank you for warning us, we'll do our best! ” she gave her a big, determined smile. Voxanne couldn't help but chuckle and caress her face.

“ That's my beautiful kindred. ” the other's face flushed. “ We'll be counting on you, wish the best of luck. ”

“ Of course! I'll meet with them now! I'll tell you everything once it's all settled! ” and with that she ran off while waving. Voxanne waved back not being able to contain the smile. She feels bad that she had to involve the kindreds in this, various kind people of all types. At the same time, she's grateful for every single one of them.

•——————————————————•

“ Looks like Voxanne succeeded. ” Mysty says as she checks her messages. The mentioned woman had just informed them about the conversation she had with the fan club's leaders. 

“ Really? That 's great! Then it's time for us to do our part too. ” Lucy beams at good news, determined to also succeed. She finishes tying her shoes and stands up.

“ What do you plan on doing? ” 

“ Uuuuh...you know…just gonna ask around.. discreetly! ” the blonde avoids the stare sent her way.

“ Riiiight. I have a break right now. I might as well ask around and observe the people around Sue. ” Putting her phone in her pocket, she high fives Lucy as a goodbye and both wish each other good luck. 

Lucy went towards the school's field. Today is track and field, and she intends to ask as many people about Sue, and she is going to get as much information as she can. Hearing the coach, together with the other students, she approaches the woman waiting for instructions.

During track, she purposely stayed back so she could blend in. The blonde paid good attention to everyone around, looking for someone who might be able to give out something. She slowly reaches two girls, friends by the way they were talking while running. 

“ Good morning! ” Lucy slowly greets politely.

“ Oh! Lucy! Good morning! ”

“ Morning Lucy! Not so energetic today? ” the other one asks.

“ Yeah…still a bit upset with all of this situation with Sue… ” she lowers her gaze.

“ Damn.. it's really affecting you really hard isn't it? ”

“ I mean…we've been close for so long! To suddenly be avoided by a close and important friend…it's upsetting… ” the blonde says in a slightly small voice.

“ I can't imagine it. It truly is weird for her to suddenly just…ghost you and the others.. not to mention that all of us see how clearly she stares at all of you from afar but still avoids you.. ” one of them pointed out.

“ Not to mention, that a lot of people have not been so kind to Sue..like, it's none of anyone's business what happens in another person's personal friendship and life, but being so unnecessarily harsh on her and even saying she's doing the right thing. It's simply unnerving. ” the other finishes.

Bingo, that confirms a lot.

Lucy makes a surprised face. “ Wait seriously? People have been bad mouthing Sue because of this?? ”

“ Are you serious? I also didn't know about this.. ”

“ What do you mean you don't know?! Like, there's about three or four people in our class who are always complaining that Sue never deserved to be next to Lucy and the others. And now Luxiem is so much better, that someone like her finally learned her place… I hear that almost..like, every other day. ” her other friend looked at her speechless. Lucy, tried very hard to school her expression, or she might as well murder someone with her glare.

“ I…really didn't notice that…why wouldn't she tell us anything?.. ” Lucy looks at the other girls, her expression miserable. The other two felt immense pity for the once cheerful girl.

“ Being honest, I think I remember sometimes overhearing people criticizing Sue..even before she stepped out. I didn't pay it any mind, because jealousy and envy it's better off avoided. But to think that maybe those things contributed for this to happen… ” 

“ I see…Sue is a very mature but also reserved person. She might've ignored them…but it probably became too unbearable… ” Lucy adds. She didn't want to spill about the possibility of Sue being threatened, that's something for her and the other three to resolve.

“ Bunch of good for nothing. Insecure about themselves and feel the need to bring others down just because they can't stand their own selves! ” one suddenly rages.

“ Hey hey, calm down..there's no need to lose your composure because of them. It already happened, and.. I'll figure out a way to get things better…Thank you so much for talking to me, it helped a lot! ” she gives both of them a kind smile as they approach their coach. The other two smile back and wave their goodbyes.

Neutral, once again, she reaches her bag to get her phone. She quickly sent a text, saying she confirmed the suspicions of Sue being constantly criticized and there is a high chance of being threatened. Within seconds, Mystie responded.

' Good. I have an idea and I need both your and Ivy's help. The three of us are close to this school's club leaders, so try talking to them to see if there are more people outside our own. Lucy, try getting the sports club leaders in this. Me and Ivy will deal with the others. ' 

Sending a thumbs up, she looks around trying to find the sports club leaders. Spotting them, she sets down her phone and quickly approaches them. 

“ Hey guys! Do you have a minute?... ”

•——————————————————•

Reading the messages, Ivy could only sigh. Sue was truly being ridiculed right infront of her and not her or anyone noticed. They could only confront these people and gather evidence to show their teachers and the principal, before apologizing to Sue.

“ Hopefully this works… ” She mutters on her breath.

“ Hey, Ivy! You good? You seem distracted today.. ” a boy approaches her.

The drama club leader, perfect.

“ Yeah…I'm.. I'm okay. Just thinking what activity we'll be doing on my club… ” she tried her best to sound convincing while also giving the hint that it wasn't the case.

The boy squinted at her. “ Now you can't lie to me, girl. Tell me what's going on. ” he sits beside her.

“ It's just…I've been told something about Sue… ”

“ The super smart tech-girl? The little one that used to hang out with you and the others? ”

“ Yeah, her… ”

“ Hmmm..what did you hear? ”

“ Apparently she's been critizided a lot and a bit.. brutally, for some reason? She didn't tell us anything and only began avoiding us. Some people told us that they heard others bad mouth her and even intimidate her… ” she clutched at her sweater, mentally cursing at the people responsible.

“ Oooh dear…that really sounds like a drama movie, but also so lame.. ” he earns a glare from the girl. “ I'm kidding. These people don't have anything to do with their sorry lives, darling. It sucks that your friend felt she had to step down from the group, but- ”

“ What if they threatened her?! ” Ivy suddenly bursts. 

“ Well…if that's the case you should talk with the teachers and principal. ”

“ They'll ask for evidence. I don't have much but a few words from other people, it's not enough… ”

“ Then, leave this to me. ”

“ What? ” she looks at the boy, that was now smiling at her.

“ I'm the drama club leader, my club has all the types of gossipers, sweetheart. It's a matter of time before I get them to spill. ” he stands up with his usual confident posture.

“ Are you sure?..I don't want to trouble you with this… ” 

“ Oh please, I can't stand seeing people with a foul mood. Besides, I've been aching for some action and real drama. ” he turns to look at her. Ivy shows a grateful smile.

“ Thank you Reimond…you're a life saviour… ” 

“ No problem. Now lift those spirits up! We still have a long day infront of us! ” Ivy laughs lightly, before grabbing her things and exit the room with Reimond. 

“ Do you know anyone else that can maybe help us collect more evidence? ” she asks.

“ Aren't you friends with Mysty? She's the journalist club leader, and I believe she has enough materials to be able to maybe..record a conversation or interrogate some students. And.. there's also that bimbo, Voxanne with the photography club. Maybe they could record a video? ” Reimond reminds her.

“ That's a good point! Thank you! But also, be careful…we're not sure what type of people we are dealing with… ”

“ Oh please, like some puta could do anything to me! ” 

Ivy smacked his arm lightly at the curse and the other just laughed. They soon parted ways and Ivy went in the Music Club, greeting everyone. She puts away her things and looks around observing. Her part was done, she managed to get Reimond to talk to the gossipers of the school, it was only a matter of time now. She quickly texted her advances, before turning her attention to the club.

•——————————————————•

3 out of 4 had done their part, it was Mysty's turn now. As the journalist's club leader, she knew exactly where and how to look. She had spent the entire day, with attentive ears and eyes, sensitive to everything around her. During class, she paid selective attention to the students, specially to those with specific personalities. During breaks, she would roam the halls, paying attention to each conversation while also keeping an eye out to those people who were now closest to Sue. Sometimes she would ask a thing or two to certain students as to take notes. At one point, she had at least three different recordings of Sue's friends discussing among them their concerns towards the girl. 

What she had could be considered evidence, but she was going to need something more then just worries from close friends.

“ I'm doing okay…but I'm going to need back up…let me call Voxanne. ” she takes out her phone, dialing her number.

“ Yes? ” she responds immediately.

“ I've got some stuff but it's not enough. I need to borrow your photography club for this. ” 

“ Alright then, what are your orders, detective? ” 

“ Shut up. I need you to have at least two or three people to find certain students and record them during the act. I've managed to get some names of people who have been ' a bit too extreme ' with Sue. Have them record a video of them and we'll have good material. ”

“ Nice and optimistic idea, darling. But I don't think they will suddenly start talking about Sue unprovoked. ” Voxanne points out. Mystie could hear her call three different names.

“ That's were my people come in. They will purposely strike a conversation with them, secluded and have a recorder with them to capture their voices. One of your people will be recording it on video from a far. ” 

“ Aren't you a smart cookie. ~ ” she compliments.

“ I know, kiss me later. Can you do it? ”

“ Yes I can. Let me explain it to them, while you talk with your own. Good luck. ”

“ Same for you! ” she hangs up and goes towards her club. Opening the door, she finds exactly three people inside, the rest probably on duty. “ Perfect! I need your help with something… ” 

•——————————————————•

Yamino entered the gaming club and greeted everyone inside, with a small smile. She soon spotted Astra that was waving at her and pointing at the seat beside her.

“ Sue! Haven't seen you at all today! How are you doing? ” she tried to sound normal. She knew Sue was growing tired of everyone worrying about her.

“ I'm okay. A lot of assignments, some teachers needed help with some things, so I've been all around school today. ” taking the seat next to her. She settles her bag on the ground next to her feet. 

“ That's tough. Sooooo…league? ” she looks at her with pleading eyes.

“ Not happening. ” she responds plainly.

“ Oh come on! Pleeeeeeaaase!! ” 

“ You know I don't do league, Astra. ” the older could only chuckle lightly at the other's cute pout.

“ Of course not. You're too busy making out with Valorant. ” she rolls her eyes. Sue lifts and eyebrow and lightly pinches the other's cheek.

“ Same goes for you and league. Valorant is my wife, just like League is yours. ” 

“ Fair enough. ” Astra finally smiles and turns her attention to the computer infront of her. 

Sue turned on her computer immediately booting up Valorant. It was the only distraction and relaxation she would be having for the day before going home. 

Although it was true she was going left and right around school, she also was avoiding Luxiem who also seemed to be everywhere around school at the same time. She also noticed how they weren't hanging around each other, which wasn't uncommon but at the same time not normal. Sue wasn't part of the group anymore, and therefore shouldn't be caring about that, but she still couldn't help the uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong.

What if they are separating from each other?...

No! That's stupid! Why would they?

But…it's not impossible…

She didn't realize she was staring blankly at the screen, hand squeezing the mouse tightly, until she felt Astra's hand on her shoulder. Looking at the younger girl, her eyes made a silent question.

Are you okay? 

Sue smiled.

I'm alright, don't worry.

With that, she turned her attention back to the game. It was better to let her mind focus on something else in the moment.

—

“ Hey! Hey! Yamino Sue! ” 

“ Hm?! What?! ” startled she looked to her side, only to see Astra standing up with a frown on her face. The club was nearly empty if not for them being there.

“ Is the game that engaging? School is over, time to go home.. ” she says, still staring at her friend. Sue only nods her head before exiting the game and closing the computer. “ Are you sure you're okay? I know you can get engrossed while playing but you really don't have a good aspect today… ” 

“ I just needed to distract myself, and went a bit overboard, okay? ” picking her bag she turns to look at the smaller one who still kept her frown. Sue only sighed and ruffled her hair. “ Believe me, Astra. I'm truly okay! ” 

“ Fine.. let's go then! I'll treat you some boba before you go home! ” she links their arms before dragging the other out of the club.

“ Isn't your house kind of far from school? Wouldn't you arrive home late? ” she raises one of her eyebrows while questioning.

“ Yes, but it's not the first, nor will it be the last time I get home later than usual. ” she responds uncaringly. They finally exit the school grounds going towards the gate.

“ Even so, it's still dangerous. I do trust your capability of defending yourself or taking care of yourself, but you should still be careful! ” she apprehends, stopping them at the gates.

“ I knoooow! Just let me treat you to something every once in a while, and stop complaining! Let 's go! ” Smiling, she drags the other towards the nearest cafe. Sue complies and follows her closely as they chat randomly on the way, telling each other about either school related situations or new games they've come across.

—

“ Please, text me or call me when you get home, so I know you're okay. ” The older one says, staring at the younger with a serious expression. Astra playfully rolls her eyes.

“ You're such a mom friend! ” she responds, chuckling at the glare thrown at her. “ I will, you too, get home safe! See you tomorrow! ” the other finally waves as she goes the opposite direction. Sue waves back before going on her way.

She was almost finishing her drink, savoring the last few sips as she felt the cold breeze hit her face. The ravenette silently thanked Astra for taking her to get some boba, this moment was true peace after so many messy weeks. 

To speak the truth, she barely remembers the last time she actually went out, even if for a few minutes with any of her friends. Usually, they were the ones to bring her some snacks, drinks or any other distractions during these last few weeks. The last time she went out was with Luxiem…

Her heart squeezed at the memories of them five together.

They truly were important to one another. To have all of that stripped away from her…Years of friendship forced to be left behind…it hurt. It hurt a lot. It was unfair for her, but even more for the others. Heck! They didn't even know why she was avoiding them in the first place! All they knew is her cold treatment towards them. She didn't let anyone know, but a lot of times she felt like crying whenever she would notice their hurt expression or hear the slight sadness in their voice. It hurt seeing them having a hard time, but not being able to go there and tell them that everything was going to be okay, it hurt not being able to hug them or even say a small 'hi'.

But what could she do?... There's so much she could handle. The ridicule, the bad mouthing, she could handle that. But the constant physical confrontation? Sure, she could kick their ass in a heartbeat, Taekwondo classes would do her justice, but if it was just that.

Only if they didn't threaten to also harm her youngest sibling, only if they didn't threaten to get the other girls involved, only if they didn't physically harass her…the uncomfortable touches and dirty words…again, there's so much she could handle. Genuinely, if the threats were only to her, she wouldn't have minded…but as an older sister and someone who cares deeply for her friends, she can't take risks. 

“ I need evidence against them…but how am I supposed to get it without them suspecting anything?... ” she said to herself.

“ Sis?.. ” a male voice called out to her. Looking towards the source, she sees her younger brother leaning on the window, staring weirdly at her. “ What are you doing just standing there? ”

“ Oh… ” she didn't notice she had reached home sometime ago. “ Nothing, just deep in thought! Is everyone home? ” she asks, opening the gate and entering. 

“ Mom and dad went to get groceries. Big bro is making some pancakes as snacks, want some? ”

“ Always! ” she gives him her best smile. Opening the door, she goes inside and closes it behind her. “ I'm home! ”

•——————————————————•

New day had started. Sue could only stare at the mess that was the inside of her locker. A lot of her books and notebooks had their papers ripped off and cut to pieces, profanities written on both the locker and some of her stuff. Photos completely ruined and with a cross on her face. She could only sigh, it wasn't the first time and she wished this would be the last. As she was about to clean most of the things, someone called.

“ Yamino! Ovidia wants to talk to you! ” 

“ Oh, uuuuh…okay. Let me just close my locker. ”

“ No time! She says is urgent, I'll close it for you go go! ” Sue could only frown and hurry, trusting the other student to close her locker and ignore it's state. 

What she didn't see, was how the girl signalized someone to come closer. Voxanne comes out from hiding and flinches at the sight of the locker.

How. Could. They?!

She silently scowls before taking a quick photo of the locker's state. She takes a few more close ups to make sure she gets the perfect picture of this evidence. Closing the door and signalizing for the other to go, she quickly flees the scene. It's an invasion of Sue's privacy, she's perfectly aware of it. But she doesn't know for how long Sue intends to deal with this mistreatment, and Voxanne isn't the type to stand and watch a loved one get messed with.

Coming back shortly after, Sue opens the locker and begins to organize everything quickly before classes started. Later during cleaning time, she would clean the locker from all the vandalism. This could be used as evidence against them, but who could she pin the blame on? She wasn't even entirely sure of who it was, and even if one was punished the others would still be able to act on her, maybe do something even worse. Taking a deep breath, she closes her locker the very moment the bell rings. Heading towards her class, she tries to ignore what happened earlier and focus on her classes. She can do that just fine.

—

“ What the fuck… ” was all they could silently mutter as Voxanne showed the photos she took from the girls locker the same day. Lucy torn her gaze away from the camera, trying her best not to hit something, Mysty bit her tongue to not yell, while Ivy seemed to be rereading everything to see if her eyes were actually reading correctly.

“ By the expression she had, it didn't seem like a one time thing.. ” Voxanne says.

“ How come she never complained to the council? ” Lucy asks, still incredulous.

“ How did no one from the janitor team found out? ” Ivy asks on top of so.

“ Maybe she cleaned it during cleaning time? Blending in with everyone.. ” Mysty answers. 

“ So not only is she handling a handful of threats and brutal critizism but also has her stuff constantly vandalized by these people? Please tell me we have more leads than just this. ” the blonde says looking at the others. She had her own people digging for some information. She's yet to receive anything from them.

“ Besides these photos, recordings of her friends concerns and a few testimonies of her being bad mouthed, today my club and Voxanne's is supposed to set a trap for the names that we already have. ” Mysty says.

“ Anything from our fan club leaders? ” Voxanne asks.

“ I'm supposed to receive some information in a bit. ” Lucy says.

“ Quilldren told me that they already have a few names, but they are yet to confirm and send more names to me. Same goes for most of the other fan clubs. ” Ivy says. 

“ Same from the Mystakes. So, we should get going. We have some stuff to do and little time. ” Mysty says finalizing. They all nod before exiting the place and each heading towards one direction. 

—

It was lunch break, the perfect time to take action. Mysty and Voxanne had already talked with their people and each of them were in their respective positions. Mysty and Voxanne were hidden behind a wall as one of Mysty's people approached a duo of girls. Voxanne is recording and makes sure to capture the faces of those two people.

“ Hey! Do you guys have a minute? I would like to talk to both of you. ” 

“ The fuck do you want? ”

“ No need to be so rude…anyway! The year is almost ending and there will be an event involving our seniors! We are asking every student about some seniors and I would like to ask you about Sue! Don't worry it's completely anonymous! ” 

“ Seriously? Why her? ”

“ What's wrong? She's quite adored around school.. ” the girl says cautiously.

“ Those people are simply blind and will cling to whoever they think is pretty. Sue…well, let's say she doesn't deserve all the attention she gets. ”

“ H-how so?... ”

“ It 's obvious. Just because she has some brain it automatically makes her popular? Please, she's not even pretty, she couldn't even hold a candle to the other girls of Luxiem. ”

“ Besides, who knows if her grades are truly that good. She might be even sleeping with a few teachers since she's so friendly with them. ” 

Mysty had to greet her teeth. Voxanne remains unmoving.

“ That's…. that's something… even if she might not be pretty to some people.. she's still kind..nothing about that? ”

“ Oh come on, no one is THAT kind just out of personality. She's doing it for attention and popularity. We've seen people like her a lot of times. ”

“ Nothing but a shameless slut. ” the other friend concludes. The person asking the questions took a deep gulp and kept her cool.

“ Okay…thank you for your collaboration! ”

“ Hey, you better shut your mouth about this, got it? Don't think we can't do anything to you. ” one of them approached them threateningly . They quickly raised their hand in defeat.

“ Woah, relax! I just said it's anonymous. Plus, I don't even know your names or your class. ” They backed away. The other two just scoffed at them and let them go. 

Voxanne ends the footage and drags Mysty away before she could even think of pouncing on the other girls. She was mad too, but they had a plan, they only needed to be patient. They soon met with the person and got the recorder. Mysty guaranteed that nothing would happen to them, because they'd make sure they had enough evidence to get them expelled from the school. 

“ We've got footage against two of them. Hopefully the others also had the same luck. ” Voxanne said shortly. Mysty silently nodded. Both of them didn't have much to say, only that they wanted to get this done with as soon as possible.

—

Ivy found herself in the library. She was hoping she could distract herself a bit while waiting for more confirmation from the fan clubs. Picking one book, she quickly read the resume before she was suddenly pulled deep into the library. She was about to shake off the hand when she saw who it belonged to.

“ Reimond? What's wrong? What's with that face? ” she asks after seeing the complicated expression on the boy.

He looked around, checking if they were truly alone.

“ Listen, I managed to get some information and even record some stuff. But it's bad… ” he says quickly. Ivy begans to worry.

“ What is it? What did you get? ”

“ Apparently bad mouthing isn't the only thing that has been happening to Sue. Some students have been activity threatening to harm her and…even her sibling… ” 

“ What?! They involved her sibling? Her younger brother?! ”

“ Yes. Apparently they know where he studies and even know their address. I also heard them say that if Sue doesn't comply or even tries to go against them, they'll call some male students to do the work.. ” he completes and takes out his phone, showing the voice recording. Ivy listens carefully, she could feel the anger and worry built up inside her.

“ They're talking almost if they had already done something before…do you think?.. ”

“ Maybe. Maybe they tried fighting Sue before.. it's probable considering this… ” Reimond says. It wasn't asked, but he quickly sent the recording to Ivy.

“ Oh my God….how much more happened that we don't know?... ” Her back was against the wall and her hands on her head. It hurt. It really hurt to know that someone so close to you was going through something bad and you didn't even notice. 

Reimond hugged her, trying his best to comfort her.

“ We'll figure this out..we got some useful stuff and I know the names of these girls and their faces. If you guys ever need to report, please let me know. ” he tells her. Ivy slowly nods her head.

“ Okay…thank you so much Reimond..with this we can maybe bring an end to all this mess. I'll tell the others what you found.. ”

—

At the time it was almost the end of the day. Lucy was a bit frustrated, because there were still no words from her people or anyone. She had seen on the group chat that everyone managed to get some material, and most of them already had the names of people who were contributing to this whole mess. 

She huffs deeply as she heads towards the woman's locker. She had track and field before she could go home. As the blonde was about to enter the girl's locker room, her arm was quickly grabbed by someone as she's dragged away. She had quick reflexes and was about to hit whoever suddenly grabbed her, but stopped appon seeing who it was.

Lucy let's herself get dragged away, so they were in a place alone.

“ Pom? What's wrong? Why did you suddenly drag me here? ” the blonde asked. She began to worry seeing the hesitant look on the boy's face.

“ I found out some information… ”

“ Really?! That's g- ”

“ But they're bad. REALLY bad. ” he emphasizes. Lucy went silent for a bit.

“ What do you mean? What information did you get? ” 

“ I….I think Sue might have been sexually assaulted. ” he said quickly, not being able to censor or find a lighter way to say it.

Lucy looked like she stopped breathing.

' Sexually assaulted?...How? When? Where? Why?! ' those were the questions on her mind.

“ While changing, I overheard some guys started talking about a few girls. Unfortunately it happens a lot…but…then I heard them talking about Sue….I knew you were looking for information so I paid attention… ” Pom stopped for a few minutes. Lucy slowly nodded for him to continue. Even if she was still shocked she needed to know. “ And…what I heard was…them commenting in a lot of detail about her body…one of them even said he came to…actually…touch her…he even has proof of it….they also seemed to have threatened her about it…either to expose pictures or…to do something… ” he couldn't find himself to continue.

He could hear the crack of knuckles and saw Lucy lower her gaze as her arms trembled. Her fists were clutched tightly, almost in a vicious way. Pom wouldn't admit it, but he had to fight the urge to shiver. 

The look on her face.

“ Names. ” she demanded shortly.

“ It's xxxxxx xxxxxx, xxxxxx xxxxxx , xxxx xxxxxx and xxxx xxxxxxxxxx…, two of them are on the volleyball team, the other is on soccer team and one usually does track and field. ” he responded.

“ Is the last one who said he got photos of Sue? ”

“ Yes… ” it wasn't hard to guess. 

Lucy had already heard about him. Most of the girls that did track and field complained how much of a pervert he was and almost went on a rage fit because of all the nasty comments he makes. Apparently he doesn't even hide it that much, only when the coach is nearby. 

If this pathetic excuse of a human being was actually telling the truth, then Lucy would have to control her urges to absolutely murder the guy today on field. 

She might be seen as a cheerful and kind girl, but God she's not someone to be messed with. Specially her loved ones.

“ I get it. Thank you Pom. I'll deal with it. ” she couldn't find it in her to put on a gentle tone.

“ What are you going to do? Don't be rash Lucy! He could be lying… ” He quickly grabbed her arm before she could leave. Even if he was also shocked and pissed that something like that might've happen, it's yet to be confirmed by the person envolved. 

“ I won't do anything. Not now. Even if you got the information is not enough to incriminate them. We need evidence, and right now only Sue can confirm it or not. I'll bring it to the principals attention when we have everything. Now go. ” she quickly retrieves her arm and leaves. Pom swallows thickly. Hopefully things won't get out of hand too quickly.

And Lucy, she'd have to spend the rest of the afternoon in the same space as her best friend's "possible assaulter". It'll take every bit of her self control to not cause a scene.

• ————————————————— • 

It was now the next day, Friday. Sue had just arrived before she was being dragged by the arm by Astra. The other girl had a serious but determined expression on her face, only confusing the older.

“ Astra? What 's wrong? Where are we going? ” she asked, trying to stop them, but the other only stopped walking when they were in front of the counselor's office.

“ We are ending this today. ” she answers, now staring into her eyes.

“ Ending what? What's happening? ” she was genuinely confused.

“ Listen Sue. We know that you've been threatened and mistreated by a lot of people around school and for a long time. I don't know exactly what they had against you to make you change, but we have evidence against all of them and we'll hold them accountable for it, okay? ” she gently grabs the other's arms, looking deeply into her eyes as if silently asking for cooperation.

Sue only stood there dumbfounded. She admits she's bad at hiding somethings, but didn't expect for other's to see through her.

“ What…What do you mean by 'we'?... ” that was her main question. Did Astra ask someone for help?

Her questions were immediately answered when Astra opened the office door and inside was the school's councilor and…Voxanne, Lucy, Ivy and Mysty. All of them looked at her at the same time in silence. Sue was completely frozen in place unable to even mutter a single thing. Due to the situation she was, her instincts told her to turn around and ignore, but they were immediately flushed down as soon the councelor spoke.

“ Miss Yamino, we were waiting for you. Please enter and close the door. Thank Miss Celestia, you're dismissed. ” she spoke softly, but her tone was serious. Astra turned to Sue one last time and hugged her strongly, muttering a soft 'ganbare' before leaving. Sue didn't have any other options but to step inside and close the door behind her. She stood there awkwardly as the center of attention.

“ H-how can I help you, councelor?... ” she asks, trying to control her own nervousness.

“ Somethings have been brought to my attention. I'm sure you are aware that in this school I try my best to keep this place safe for every student, you included. These misses, have brought photos, audios and countless witnesses that point out heavy mistreatment and threats towards you. Are they true? ” her voice rang out loud and clear, eyes glued on her face expecting the answer. The councilor was usually bright, but right now all the light seemed to have been blocked by a cloud of worries.

Sue doesn't respond immediately, internally debating if she should agree or deny. 

' So that's why I barely even saw them around…they were trying to help me… '

Her heart silently fluttered, but it wasn't the right time. They did all the work to gather photos, videos, audios and even witnesses…and by the looks of it they seem to know every single person that has been making everything terrible for her….but…what could they do? Even if they get expelled, they know her address…her sibling is still at risk since they know where he studies ...should she confirm it? Can anything really be done?

Her eyes stray to look at the other girls. They all head the same look, pleading for her to confirm it. And Sue, perhaps she wasn't as strong as she thought.

“ Miss Yami- ”

“ Yes…it's all true…For almost a year I've been constantly critizided..however, only a few months ago this critizism turned into mistreatment and threats. I also have a few screenshots of texts and photos that can also prove it… ” she answers. It came a bit weak in the beginning, turning firm as she spoke up. The other girls visibly relaxed that she was cooperating, but they weren't yet relieved.

“ I see. These mistreatments result in false rumors and even vandalizing your locker? ”

“ Yes. I've had countless school materials ruined or even destroyed which affected my performance in classes a lot. Also a good amount of times I've stayed over cleaning time trying to clean the profanities written in the locker… ”

“ So we have confirmation on countless morality assaults and vandalism. This is enough to have them all expelled. ” she says shortly gathering the evidence. “ But, there's something more I would like to ask you. ”

“ What is it?.. ”

“ Among these threats, were there any that included physically assaulting you or someone close to you? ” at that, Sue held her breath. The others noticed it too, but only Lucy had to stop herself from saying something immoral.

“ I…I will need the councelor to be a bit more specific… ” she mutters quietly.

“ In one of the voice recordings shown to me, it implied that there had been physical confrontations and threats to physically harm one of your family members. ” the woman calmly explains. “ I need your confirmation if it's true. ”

“ It…It is true…I think it was about two weeks ago I got attacked by a few female students. I managed to defend myself, but that didn't stop me from getting a few bruises. Again, I do have photos and screenshots of them threatening my brother and showing pictures of my house and his school. ” Sue explained but lowered her head. The bruises had long since healed, but sometimes she could feel the faint sting on the places. The other girl's gazes hardened.

“ I understand, thank you for confirming. I will need you to send it to me so I can also bring it to the police since physical assault and stalking is something they will deal better with. ” The determined look in the woman's eyes made her nod her head slowly. But she could still feel in her gaze that there's one more thing. “ Now girls, I appreciate you guys bringing this issue to me, but for this part I'll need you to step out of the office. It's something I need to talk about only with Yamino. ” The other girls, except one, were taken back. However, they nodded and gave Sue a glance she knew before stepping out.

We'll be waiting for you.

Now with them out, leaving her alone with the councelor. The older woman stood up and walked until she was in front of her desk. Her eyes visibly softened and so did her voice.

“ I'm sure you probably know why I told them to step out, Sue. ” the younger slowly nodded, her gaze going to her feet. “ I won't force you to give details or say too much about this. I understand that is something that can be hard to talk about, so feel free to stay silent. But I need to remind you that you have enough evidence to make these people pay for it. ”

“ I know, I think I can talk.. ” she lifted her gaze a little.

“ Alright. Can you tell me what they did? ” 

“ They touched me inappropriately almost in my entire body. I think one of them even took pictures of it. I also remember that one tried to kiss me and insert their finger but I managed to break free and fight them ... that's as far as they managed to go. ” Sue lifted her head to stare at the councelor while she explained. The woman slowly nodded and smiled.

“ You did great, kid. Do you know who each of those boys are? ”

“ I know only two of them by name. The other three I don't, but I can draw a portrait of them I think, at least one that's close enough… ” As she said that, the other woman motions for her to sit down and grabs a few white papers and a pen.

“ That's a great sweetheart! Can you tell me the names of the boys you know and try drawing the portraits of the other three? ” Sue nodded as she took the paper and pen while sitting down. She waited for the counselor to sit down in front of her before telling the names of the two boys. 

She closed her eyes trying to remember each of their faces one by one as she did her best to draw a realistic and on point portrait. While she did that, the counselor made sure to verify each of the students involved and contacted their teachers to keep an eye on them. It was only when she finished all three portraits that the counselor spoke again.

“ No doubt I've seen these faces. Since they are probably friends with the other two students I'll look for their names on the class lists. While I do it, would you like a glass of water or anything? This situation might be a bit difficult… ” she didn't mask her concern. The student only smiled softly.

“ If anything, I want to call my parents and tell them about this…it feels unfair to them, especially since they've been worried about me lately.. ” she confesses. When she was still doing the portraits her mind trailed back to her parents. This was a serious matter and even the police would be involved, it's best if they know about this.

“ You can call them now if you wish. But before, I would like to ask you if you want me to also call the police here? It's going to be a bit pressuring, but I'm sure that it will end soon. ” 

“ I think it's okay to call them now. I'll call my parents, and maybe I can explain to both them and the police at the same time… ” as the counselor nodded and reached for the phone, Sue got up and took out her one, her mother's number already on speed dial. 

—

The others were still outside the office, but they weren't eavesdropping. The temptation was high, but they respected Sue and were trying to make things right, they don't need another reason for her to be upset.

“ Is there something else that we forgot? ” Mysty asked. Even if she was leaning on the wall her mind was trying to remember what could possibly be so intimate then what they presented as evidence that they needed to leave. She couldn't help but wonder if it was extremely bad.

“ I don't know, maybe she spotted something on the evidence that we didn't? ” Voxanne answers. The other two are quiet, almost too quiet.

Ivy seemed lost in thought and Lucy seemed… they couldn't tell. It looked like she was also thinking and at the same time was controlling her emotions. Voxanne and Mysty stared at each other before each of them approached one of the girls.

“ Everything is going to be ok, Lucy. We made it, we just have to let things work on their own now. ” Voxanne tells her while cupping her face in between her hands.

“ She's right. Sue is cooperating with us as well and the counselor already guaranteed to us that these people will pay for their actions. And we can always ask and wait for Sue to tell us about it. ” She leans a bit against Ivy, touching their shoulders and their heads.

Lucy knew that if she spoke she'd end up telling the girls about what was happening inside the room. It didn't feel fair for only her to know about it, but at the same time it wouldn't be fair for Sue. So she stayed quiet, and only smiled at the other's, giggling a bit when Voxanne smooched her temples. Ivy and Mystie smiled genuinely at the two before silence fell once again between them.

“ Man, I can't wait to kiss Sue too. ” the black haired suddenly said, a laugh came from both Mysty and Lucy while Ivy rolled her eyes.

“ I swear to God, if you jump Sue with your affection, I'm- ”

“ Girls! ” a woman's voice interrupted Ivy. All four look at the source and are a bit surprised.

“ Auntie! Did Sue call you and uncle? ” It was Sue's parents. They had an obvious look that showed they were worried. Sue had always been a good student and barely got into trouble. To suddenly call and tell them that something serious was happening they couldn't help but be concerned.

“ She did. Do you know what happened? Is she inside the counselor's office? ” The woman stopped as she felt her husband's hand. The girls understood completely her worry.

“ It's a complicated situation. I think it's better if Sue explains it to you. She's inside the office. ” Ivy responds calmly, offering a kind smile.

“ Okay, thank you girls. ” the man responds with gentleness. Together with his wife, both of them enter the office and close the door behind them.

—

Not much later two police officers arrived at school and went inside the office. The girls desperately wanted to go inside, but were later convinced by the counselor to go back to their classes.

“ Listen, I know you are worried, but you have missed the two classes because of this. You will be able to see Sue later or another time ” even if they knew she was right, they just didn't want to be apart much longer.

“ I will meet with you guys today. If not at the cafeteria then at the school gates before going home. I promise ” Yamino's voice sounded from behind the woman. They looked at her and saw the softness and honesty. 

Still hesitant, they agreed to go back to their classes. To say if they paid attention was another story. 

—

Telling her parents and the police wasn't as hard as she imagined it would be. Certainly, she was uncomfortable when telling about the sexual assault and even more when questions were made but she persisted. Her parents remained by her side, squeezing her hand in comfort or even hugging her. She felt partially guilty for not telling them sooner about the situation, but relieved that she was finally able to take action.

After saying everything, the police asked to borrow the evidence especially those who included the stalking and physical assault as well as the sexual assault. Since Sue had evidence on her phone, she had to give it away until further notice. They explained to her that everything would be handled, but it could still take some time, so she should be always careful and if anything happens to immediately contact the authorities and her parents. They also talked to her parents about suing the people involved, and they didn't even hesitate to agree. The counselor was about to call the students involved when Sue and her parents were leaving after saying their goodbyes and thank yous.

“ Do you want to go home? It's almost time to go home and you've had a long day. ” her father asked, with one hand on her shoulder.

“ I can't. I promised them that I would wait by the gates. You guys can go first, I'll be home in a bit. ” she smiled at them, genuinely and lightly. They nodded before exiting the school, but always reminding her to be careful.

Finally alone in the middle of the hall, Sue let out a long breath, almost shaking. She wouldn't cry, not in that moment. Not when everything was finally being solved as it should be. She wasn't entirely free from harm, but she could finally not hold back to do what she was restrained.

' It's okay…it'll be okay!...I will meet them. In a few moments I will meet them. And everything will go back to normal. Like it should be. '

Still smiling, her steps were weirdly slow but steady. She walked towards the exit and heard the dismissing bell from school. Classes were over for the day. Still with small steps she went towards the gates and waited, a warm feeling of nostalgia in her chest.

Her eyes saw as every student went home with their friends, partners or stayed behind to talk for a bit. It didn't take long for her eyes to find four figures walking towards the gates, and it didn't take long for theirs to find hers.

It was almost like a flash, the speed and strength of the hug she was given. Mysty tightened her arms around her, almost afraid that Sue would step back. But she didn't, she returned the hug. Lucy didn't waste a second to run towards her too and hug both of them with iron strength. Ivy and Voxanne practically speed walked, but hugged her from behind, nuzzling their heads on hers or her neck. For the first time in months Sue felt complete. No worries about coming across them, no need to ignore them, just hugging them with all her might and will.

“ I missed you… ” she whispered quietly, and by the way they squeezed her even more, they not only heard her but also missed her even more.

—

Yamino ended up explaining to them how everything happened from start to end. They were sitting at the park in their favorite place. She told them from how it went from distantly criticizing to threatening her life and those around them and also the sexual assault. It took every ounce of her to convince the girls to not strangle or kill anyone after that, but it did work. She apologized to them, even if they told her that nothing she did was wrong, but still accepting it knowing how the girl usually was.

After that, Sue noticed how overly protective they ended up becoming, especially around school. There was not a moment where Sue wasn't seen with one of the girls, and they always had a hand or arm around her. She also noticed the glares that were sent every time someone seemed to look at her the wrong way. 

Everyone around also noticed, but they genuinely preferred to see this protective side of theirs than the dejected faces and tension in the air.

It wasn't anything new in schools to have your own friend group. It also wasn't weird to have friends outside of said friend group. However, it was definitely alarming if someone from a certain friend group would obviously and openly avoid their own friend group while being completely normal with everyone else.

Luxiem was kind of a popular group in their own school. Five beautiful women, different personalities and preferences, but with a strong friendship and companionship. 

Voxanne Akuma, considered one of the most beautiful and attractive females in her school, from freshman to senior, it was undeniable. Long raven hair with red highlights, sharp molten gold eyes that have a peak of pink, a marvelous tall posture and alluring voice. 

Lucy Kaneshiro, biggest athlete in school, breaking records year after year since the first time she set foot in the school. Extremely friendly and sociable, not to mention exceptionally smart. She's both admired and envied by a lot of people, but for some reason no one seems to dare to even try and lay a finger on her. After all, they can't risk the rumors of her being the daughter of a mafia being true. Mostly tall, medium blonde hair with a side ponytail and bright lavender eyes, not to mention her structure is the dream of many.

Ivy Eveland, known for the novels she has written still at a young age and her incredible talent to play every single instrument. Just like her other two friends, she has her own share of fans and admirers, usually students who are curious about her writing or people searching for advice when it comes to music. In contrast to her other friends, she's a bit petite, short gray hair with blue tips and cute glasses in front of her smart green eyes. She was the perfect description of cute.

Mystie Rias is a mystery for a lot of people. She's either smart and quiet, or incredibly funny and an airhead. Her grades are always up and her projects are phenomenal even if sometimes in class she acts like the Class clown. She's a complete contrast to her "sister" Sue, but at the same time they still look alike when it comes to being goofy with each other. Being the third tallest of the bunch, with long light brown hair and sharp blueish eyes. She could be defined as sly and maybe mischievous.

Sue Yamino, although she's mostly quiet and reserved, she's also quite well known. Top student in all her classes, plays the violin like she's drinking water and on top of that, she's quite pretty and cute. She's seen as a reliable person that always helps everyone, no matter if they're younger or older than her. Now that she's a senior, a lot of students look up to her and often ask her for help when it comes to school subjects. Sometimes, they even joke that she's the school Suepport (Sue + Support). Although she's a bit short in height, people can see she's quite strong, due to her Taekwondo classes, and can be fierce. Her calm yet sharp and deep purple eyes enchant a lot of people.

All of them being different, yet they always hung out together at every chance they get. 

Sometimes people would see the comedic interaction between Voxanne and Ivy and how the ravenette always has her flirting rejected by the other female.

Or how Lucy and Mystie would spend their breaks creating God knows what type of trouble and pranks.

Or maybe how Ivy and Sue make an amazing duet of the piano and violin during music classes.

Or even maybe, when Lucy is in a game and all the other four girls are cheering loudly in her favor. Or when Mystie gets everyone in trouble and Sue gets them out of trouble.

They were inseparable, even if they had their own friends outside the group, they were mostly together.

So imagine the surprise when everyone started noticing how one person of said friend group began avoiding the group or is barely seen near any of them. 

•——————————————————•

Sue has always been a reserved person, and her actions were either easy to tell or incredibly unpredictable. Is hard to tell what the woman is usually thinking. So everyone couldn't help but wonder why she was barely seen together with the group or with anyone from Luxiem. At first, the others thought they fought, it's not unusual for friends to have their disagreements, especially if their personalities are different, however, this cold treatment has been going for weeks, and everyone knows how mature Sue is, and if it was a small disagreement, it would've been sorted out a long time ago, yet she still refused to be near them or even talk about them.

And what didn't make things better either, is how the group at the beginning was mostly oblivious to this cold treatment and only thought she was having a bad day, only after almost a month they began to try and talk to her only to be either ignored/avoided or interrupted by some other friend she had. Rumors began going on about how Sue had officially left the group and now hung out with other people and it spread like wildfire.

The other girls didn't care for those pointless rumors, they only wanted to understand why a dear friend of theirs was avoiding them at all costs. They knew Sue better than most, this wasn't anything simple, because the girl had gone as far as to block their numbers and whenever they go over her house, it's always: “ She's not home at the moment, sorry. ” or “ She went out with a friend, I'm sorry. ” Either it was the truth or Sue purposely told her family to not let them reach her. 

They knew that they had done something, they just weren't sure what they did wrong to upset her so badly. They've though about everything they did and what they could've said that triggered the girl, but nothing really came to mind. It was getting frustrating.

It was frustrating, how everytime Voxanne manages to reach Sue, someone else drags her away saying it's urgent. It was frustrating, how Mystie would always pass on pieces of paper to try and communicate with her during class, but is always ignored or scolded by the teacher. It was frustrating how during music classes Sue would always stay near the other students helping them out, while Ivy watches from the side unable to talk to her, because both of them were occupied helping the others, or when during P.E where Sue and Lucy were always a pair or on the same team, but now they were in opposite sides, and everytime Lucy tried calling out to her, she'd pretend she didn't hear her. It was also kind of pitiful on those situations, as everyone saw how they tried countless times reaching out to her but it was futile.

Many tried helping them out, by asking Sue directly if something happened, or asking her other friends whom they saw her with. Everytime, the answer was either “ Nothing ” or “ I don't know, she didn't tell me anything. ” or even sometimes “ I can't tell you. ”

This only made them a lot more distressed, in fear that they have actually lost their friendship with her and have no idea why it happened. They needed to talk to her and urgently.

“ I don't know what to do Rena! ” Lucy said as she closed her locker door a bit to harshly. They just came back from track and Lucy spent almost the entire time thinking about it. She harshly sat down, hands on her face.

Rena, softly sighed and crouched down near her friend, one hand on her head. “ Calm down Lucy, we'll figure out a way to fix this.. ” 

“ How?! We can't reach her and no one knows the reason! And if they know, they won't talk! ” she lifts her head to look at her friend in the face. Rena was a tall woman, jet black long hair, sharp fangs and green blueish eyes. She stops for a moment as if in deep thoughts, and suddenly lit up.

“ I know! I can talk to Astra! ” she suggest.

“ Who?.. ”

“ She's younger than us, but she's friends with Sue. Both of them are honestly almost sisters sometimes by how close they are and how much they share with each other. ” she explained. Lucy was not really content hearing so, the only person she could accept as Sue's near sister is Mystie.

“ Do you think she'll talk? ” even if the information was a bit hurtful, it could help them.

“ I don't know, but let me try. I'm supposed to go to her house today, I'll see if I can get her to talk! ” she smiles as both of them get up.

“ Thank you, mate…sorry you have to do this, hopefully things don't turn too bad because of it. ” Lucy smiles softly, genuinely thankful for it. The other returns the smile and drops her arm around her shoulder.

“ Of course! I genuinely can't continue to see all of you in this state! It'll be fine, trust me! ” Both of them walk out of the locker room.

Rena sent Astra a message confirming she'll be visiting her at her house that same day, while thinking of ways she could get to talk about the situation at hand.

•——————————————————•

“ Took you long enough to get here. ” Astra says making way for Rena to walk inside her room. 

“ Sorry, I got caught up with the P.E teacher for a while so I couldn't rush earlier. ” she apologizes while walking inside and letting her bad slide to the floor.

“ It's okay… ” before Rena could even turn around, Astra jumped on her back wrapping her legs around her waist and her arms around her neck, giggling. “ I'm just joking with you! ” 

Rena laughs heartly, hands on her thighs while swaying side to side, waddling to the bed with the girl on her back. Reaching the bed, she turns the girl on her back so she's holding her by her legs while facing her, while both of them drop on the bed laughing together and on top of each other. The taller stares down at the giggling girl.

Long soft purple hair with golden tips and strands. Multicolored eyes of purple and gold and an abnormal cute face and small structure. Their laughs slowly die down, and Rena lowers herself placing a soft kiss on her lips, only to be pulled into a much deeper one. They switch positions on Astra's command, so she's straddling Rena while still kissing her. They slowly separate, their faces mere inches away from each other.

“ I didn't get to see you at all today… ” the smaller one whispers while pouting. It earns a deep and soft chuckle from the taller.

“ You know how Thursdays are, starlight. Now I'm here. ” whispering the last sentence she closes the distance between them with another passionate kiss.

Astra smiles and groans a bit feeling the other's hands slide up her thighs to her waist. 

“ You're awfully flirty and passionate today. Something happened? ” She talks in between kisses slowly backing away, so they could look at each other's faces.

“ Nothing major, really. Managed to beat Lucy on track and field again. ” And there it is, the neutral face.

Rena had noticed that whenever she mentioned Lucy or any of the other Luxiem girls, except for Sue, her mood turns neutral and gives monotone answers. At first she didn't think much of it, but considering, it was obvious that she knew something about the whole situation that no one else knew.

“ Oh, congrats! ” Her smile is weak. She leans down for one more kiss but Rena turns her head slightly, the kiss landing on the side of her mouth.

“ Astra..I need to talk to you. It 's serious. ” Rena's voice although was gentle, you could guess by her tone that she wanted the other's full attention. “ About Sue…and the other girls.. ” 

As soon as she said that, Astra raised her torso, face displeased with the direction that this conversation was heading. “ I can't believe you're asking me this too. ”

She was about to get off her, but the taller one quickly grabbed her thighs making her sit back down. “ Hey hey hey, wait a moment! ”

Although she complied, Astra refused to look at the other woman. Rena could only sigh, as her thumbs slowly caressed her thighs. “ Astra, look at me…please. I know that this question pisses you off for some reason..but just like you care for Sue, I also care for Lucy and all the other girls…It hurts me seeing people who are usually so bright and positive feel so lost and distressed about this… ” trying her best to reason, Rena continued with the soft touch to soothe the other.

Astra listens to every bit of it. She turned to look at the other, but still displeased. Even if she wanted to be mad, she knew that her and Rena were the same when it came to their friends. Rena was worried for hers, just like she herself is both worried and protective of Sue in this situation. She could only sigh as her expression relaxed a bit, but still neutral.

“ I know..and I understand that you want the best for them…But you have to understand, Rena…they hurt Sue. ” she lightly fists her partner's shirt. Rena frowned.

“What? How did they hurt her? ” Even if she was mostly biased, it was still hard to imagine any of the other girls to even lift a harmful finger towards Sue. 

“ I can't tell you that… ”

“ Astra, if they don't know what they did to hurt her, how can they fix this? ” 

“ The thing is…I-I don't know! Sue just told me that it's best if she left the group, since it would be better for them and for herself. Who knows exactly what the specific reason is… ” She finally blurts out, sighing in frustration.

“ Hm….Do you have any suspicions?... ” she lifts her torso and hugs the smaller one's waist, hands still caressing her.

“ Kind of?...At first I thought that maybe it was because sometimes she gets kind of..left out? But it doesn't make too much sense considering her personality, she doesn't bother too much with those types of things… ” She rests her forehead on the other's shoulder, slowly hugging her torso.

Rena gives her a kiss on the head, hands rubbing her back. “ Is that the only suspicion you had?.. ” 

“ There is another…it explains why I'm also constantly worried and protective of her safety… ” 

“ What did you suspect? ” Rena turned to look at her, giving her full attention.

“ I think…that Sue maybe got hurt or threatened…not by the girls themselves but…maybe by others related to them? ” Astra remembers clearly how the very moment she saw certain people she would either look away or pass by them quickly. Astra came to recognize them as one of those extreme students who get usually obsessed with popular people around school. 

“ Wait.. you're saying that people related to Luxiem have been threatening her? But why would they? ” she was still mostly confused, it didn't make sense.

“ How would I know? Maybe jealousy or envy? These people probably look down on her and think she doesn't deserve to be by their side. That she's too simple or bland for them.. ” her voice was slightly laced with annoyance. Rena could guess that Astra has actually heard people saying such things before.

“ I see… is there anything else?.. ” silence.

She stayed silent for a moment. There was something more.

“ I…I don't know if I can tell you… ” she whispers, her voice extremely low and hesitant.

“ Is it really bad? ” 

“ The idea is…but it isn't confirmed…I wanted to try and see if my thought was right but I don't think Sue would tell me even if I begged… ” she buries her face on her neck even further. Rena frowns even deeper, this was serious.

“ Do you want to tell me? ”

“ I want to…but again.. it's just speculation for something I've noticed in her behavior on some days… ” 

“ Please tell me Astra…I won't tell them about it..if it's bad and it's not confirmed…at least until we have proper evidence that it's true I promise you my life that I won't tell anyone. ” Rena announced seriously. She was going to keep her word. Astra hesitated, but lifted her head to look into the others eyes.

“ Okay…a few weeks ago I noticed that Sue avoided physical touching or staying too close to…men… ” Rena blinked twice. “ I didn't think much of it..but then I saw how she sometimes would flinch when someone would touch her unannounced, especially if they were male. I know that she never really minded when someone touched her unexpectedly…but seeing that…I couldn't help but wonder… ” 

“ If she was harassed… ” Rena finished and Astra nodded slowly. She tighten her hold on Astra a little bit. Harassment was no joke, and if Sue truly was harassed in anyway possible because she was close with the other girls it made perfect sense why she would consider to keep her distance. 

“ ' For their own good and for my own sake..' if we take in consideration these words, it looks like she was threatened a lot, maybe to keep her distance or..maybe even to spill things that were bad about the other girls.. ” Astra could only take a deep breath remembering how Sue would sometimes look extremely uncomfortable in school. 

“ Holy shit.. ” Rena lowered her gaze. Even if this could be true, they couldn't risk putting Sue in an awkward spot if that wasn't the case. They would need to talk to her and confirm it. Rena knew that the others needed to know what was going on, but it's best if she keeps this for themselves. “ They're not going to react well to this… ”

“ Do not tell them Rena Zotto! You promised! ” 

“ I know! I won't tell them about your suspicion. All I'm saying is even if I keep this between us, they still won't react well to know that Sue is avoiding them because people don't want her near them… ”

“ I see…honestly, just like you I want Sue to also have her friends back. It's obvious how much she misses hanging out with them…but if her life and theirs are being threatened then she has to endure it…. ” Both took a long sigh, holding each other and resting their foreheads together. This was way more complicated than it seemed, and even if they were close to the parties involved there's no guarantee that the truth is being completely told.

Both of them could just hope that things turned out for the better.

•——————————————————•

“ Okay, I got information, but I'm going to need for all of you to sit down.. ” entering the empty classroom, Rena walks in with Voxanne, Mystie, Lucy and Ivy. The four of them halted for a bit looking at each other before sitting back down. 

“ What did you find out? Did we do something bad? How bad is it? ” Ivy began asking as she sat down. Although she tried not showing she was extremely anxious, feeling Voxanne touch her shoulder she slowed down and tried relaxing. 

“ I'll cover everything. Lucy told you guys that I managed to talk to Astra, thankfully, she managed to tell me some things…but most of them are speculation. ” leaning on the table behind her, she looks at all four of them. Mystie frowned.

“ If it's just speculation then it doesn't mean it's true. ” she says.

“ Let her talk, Mystie. ” Voxanne apprehended.

“ I see your point, Mystie. But the thing is, even Astra, who's at her side for most of the day, doesn't know the exact reason for her behavior towards all of you…She could only make a few guesses and speculations based on what she observed. ” Rena tried explaining.

“ Did Sue really not tell Astra anything? ” Lucy asks, still hopeful that they can get something from this.

“ She did. When Astra asked she told her ' It's best for their safety and better for my sake '. That's the only thing she told her, and didn't touch the subject anymore. ” Silence.

“ For our safety? ” Mystie asks.

“ And for her sake? ” Ivy compliments.

“ You said Astra observed some things. What did she observed? ” Voxanne still kept her cool, but you can see by her tone that she was serious.

“ Well..Astra said she suspects that Sue was maybe forced to step out of the group. Maybe even threatened to do so… ” she says slowly. Ivy, Mystie and Lucy were caught off guard by this. Voxanne's eyes only hardened at the information.

“ What do you mean 'threatened'? Why would they threaten her? What for? ” Lucy's voice grows a bit harder. 

“ Who knows? It could be jealousy or maybe envy…Astra also noticed that some people around the school seem to despise her or look down on her, think that she isn't supposed to be near any of you.. ” 

“ Who the fuck do they think they are to tell who fucking stays with us?! ” Mystie blurts out in spite of anger. 

“ It's not their say if she gets to be with us or not. ” Ivy added, not loudly like the other, but her voice was still harsh.

“ Did she told you her names? ” Lucy asked, face almost devoided of any brightness.

“ She didn't… ” Rena was a bit taken back. She was aware of how protective some friends can sometimes be, but to see them like this was kind of new.

“ That's alright, maybe she remembers the faces. ” Voxanne added, she still held a composed posture, but God knows what was going on her head. “ So people are being bold enough to threaten her to the point she doesn't even want to look at us. Do you understand what I'm saying girls? ”

“ That these people are probably of our own? ” the other three said at the same time. All of them knew this by now.

Rena went silent, spacing out a bit. They reacted like this just by the fact that she got threatened….Rena doesn't want to imagine what they would do if Sue being harassed turns out to be true.

“ Is that it? ” Ivy turns her attention back to Rena. 

“ That's it…Astra only told me this. It must be a forced situation, because she also noticed how Sue misses spending her time with all of you, but can't do so… ” she lies. Thankfully, no one noticed it.

“ Okay..Thank you Rena…for this. This explains a lot. ” Lucy gets up and hugs the other. She returns the hug and soon the others join to also show their appreciation.

“ So..what do you guys plan on doing? ” The other asks. The four look among each other.

“ Before we apologize, we have to take care of the reasons why this all is happening in the first place. ” Ivy shows a small smile. Rena knows it's not a genuine smile.

“ I see…do you want me to contact Astra or.. ”

“ No need, you both have already done a lot and we don't want to put you in an even more awkward situation. We have our ways. ” Voxanne replies. 

“ Okay, if you guys need anything you can count on me! ” she smiles at them.

“ No problem mate, we've got this! ” Lucy winks at her before Rena left the class, leaving them.

“ Did you notice that she didn't tell us everything? ” Mystie finally says looking at the other four. 

“ According to Astra, Sue is keeping herself distant because she wants to protect us and herself. If this is truly something made only by people of our own, there's no way we'd be in danger. ” Voxanne explains quickly.

“ In other words, there's more that she can't tells us or Astra didn't tell her. Someone is also using us against Sue. ” Lucy's voice dropped lower. This was one of the rare times were the bright girl, was actually mad. 

“ Well find out as we act. Now, we have to find a way to deal with the threats coming from our own. ” Ivy says, fixing her uniform.

“ My dear, people who threaten our sweet Sue, or not of our own. ” Voxanne adds. 

They all heard the bell ring. Looking at each other they nod before going to their respective classes. Tonight they would think of a plan and tomorrow they would execute it. 

•——————————————————•

“ Can you believe Voxanne will be featuring in the Teens Magazine??! I'm sooo excited! ” 

“ Really, darling? Would you like to join me on that day, then? ” Voxanne says right behind the girl.

The other squeaks and looks behind, blushing at the sight of the tall woman. 

Today they were supposed to execute the plan. Voxanne had worn her best perfume, styled her hair leaving it curly and loose on her shoulders. Her uniform was perfect on her body, while her eyes were sharp, with both an alluring voice and eyes. Her role was to talk to all of their fan club leaders, (yes they have a fan club) and get them to look for the ones who despise Sue. Technically, she'll have to seduce the others into doing her a favour.

“ O-oh u-uh Voxanne! Akuma! H-how are you? ” the smaller one asks, extremely shy.

“ No need to be so nervous, I don't bite, yet. ” she winks, seeing the girl sway a bit at the flirtation. “ I'm doing okay.. but things could be better… ”

“ Oh..did something happen? Do you need help? ” there was true concern and worry in her voice.

“ You know about this…the whole situation with Sue…I'm kind of worried about her, and barely get any news about her wellbeing… ”

“ Oh..I can ask around if you want! ” she proposes, eager to help. 

“ Thank you…it would ease my mind a lot..but, darling…you wouldn't mind helping me with something more right? ” Voxanne slowly steps closer to the other girl.

“ Of course not! What do you need? ”

“ If you can convince..the Quildren, Lucubs and Mystakes to..look inside the fan club.. ” 

“ What?..What do you mean?.. ”

“ I know it's not my place to interfere…but I believe that there are some.. undesirable people amongst you, and I wish not for any of you and the others to be badly influenced by them… ” The older one slowly tucks a strand of hair behind the girl's ear. She didn't need supersonic hearing to know the girl's heart fluttered. 

“ A-Ah.. I understand! If there really is some bad people among us, it's best if we identify them and get them out! Do you have any idea of who they can be? I'll talk with the others! ” determined, her gaze becomes sharp and even more attentive. Voxanne smiles slowly.

“ I'm glad you understand. Unfortunately neither me or the others know who they are. But we have a way to discover them. Are you willing to listen? ”

“ I'm all ears! ”

“ Alright. If you want to know who they are, ask them about Sue. ” that made the girl halt.

“ Yamino Sue? Why would we need to ask her to know who they are? ” she was rightfully confused.

“ I hope you'll not tell anyone besides the fan club leaders…but these people we are trying to discover are the very reason why Luxiem is going through so much trouble.. ” her expression turns sad.

However, the other girl was starting to look furious.

“ What?! What did they do?! Did they do something to Sue?! Should I tell the Yaminions too? ” 

“ Calm down! I believe they did something to Sue, but we want to deal with them personally. If you can get the others to check for those people in other fan clubs and in our own club and then tell us who they are, we promise not only the club will be free from bad influence, but we'll also be able to fix everything. ” the other girl nodded. She took out her phone, texting someone.

“ Got it! I'll tell the others and I personally will find ways to get to these people! Thank you for warning us, we'll do our best! ” she gave her a big, determined smile. Voxanne couldn't help but chuckle and caress her face.

“ That's my beautiful kindred. ” the other's face flushed. “ We'll be counting on you, wish the best of luck. ”

“ Of course! I'll meet with them now! I'll tell you everything once it's all settled! ” and with that she ran off while waving. Voxanne waved back not being able to contain the smile. She feels bad that she had to involve the kindreds in this, various kind people of all types. At the same time, she's grateful for every single one of them.

•——————————————————•

“ Looks like Voxanne succeeded. ” Mystie says as she checks her messages. The mentioned woman had just informed them about the conversation she had with the fan club's leaders. 

“ Really? That 's great! Then it's time for us to do our part too. ” Lucy beams at good news, determined to also succeed. She finishes tying her shoes and stands up.

“ What do you plan on doing? ” 

“ Uuuuh...you know…just gonna ask around.. discreetly! ” the blonde avoids the stare sent her way.

“ Riiiight. I have a break right now. I might as well ask around and observe the people around Sue. ” Putting her phone in her pocket, she high fives Lucy as a goodbye and both wish each other good luck. 

Lucy went towards the school's field. Today is track and field, and she intends to ask as many people about Sue, and she is going to get as much information as she can. Hearing the coach, together with the other students, she approaches the woman waiting for instructions.

During track, she purposely stayed back so she could blend in. The blonde paid good attention to everyone around, looking for someone who might be able to give out something. She slowly reaches two girls, friends by the way they were talking while running. 

“ Good morning! ” Lucy slowly greets politely.

“ Oh! Lucy! Good morning! ”

“ Morning Lucy! Not so energetic today? ” the other one asks.

“ Yeah…still a bit upset with all of this situation with Sue… ” she lowers her gaze.

“ Damn.. it's really affecting you really hard isn't it? ”

“ I mean…we've been close for so long! To suddenly be avoided by a close and important friend…it's upsetting… ” the blonde says in a slightly small voice.

“ I can't imagine it. It truly is weird for her to suddenly just…ghost you and the others.. not to mention that all of us see how clearly she stares at all of you from afar but still avoids you.. ” one of them pointed out.

“ Not to mention, that a lot of people have not been so kind to Sue..like, it's none of anyone's business what happens in another person's personal friendship and life, but being so unnecessarily harsh on her and even saying she's doing the right thing. It's simply unnerving. ” the other finishes.

Bingo, that confirms a lot.

Lucy makes a surprised face. “ Wait seriously? People have been bad mouthing Sue because of this?? ”

“ Are you serious? I also didn't know about this.. ”

“ What do you mean you don't know?! Like, there's about three or four people in our class who are always complaining that Sue never deserved to be next to Lucy and the others. And now Luxiem is so much better, that someone like her finally learned her place… I hear that almost..like, every other day. ” her other friend looked at her speechless. Lucy, tried very hard to school her expression, or she might as well murder someone with her glare.

“ I…really didn't notice that…why wouldn't she tell us anything?.. ” Lucy looks at the other girls, her expression miserable. The other two felt immense pity for the once cheerful girl.

“ Being honest, I think I remember sometimes overhearing people criticizing Sue..even before she stepped out. I didn't pay it any mind, because jealousy and envy it's better off avoided. But to think that maybe those things contributed for this to happen… ” 

“ I see…Sue is a very mature but also reserved person. She might've ignored them…but it probably became too unbearable… ” Lucy adds. She didn't want to spill about the possibility of Sue being threatened, that's something for her and the other three to resolve.

“ Bunch of good for nothing. Insecure about themselves and feel the need to bring others down just because they can't stand their own selves! ” one suddenly rages.

“ Hey hey, calm down..there's no need to lose your composure because of them. It already happened, and.. I'll figure out a way to get things better…Thank you so much for talking to me, it helped a lot! ” she gives both of them a kind smile as they approach their coach. The other two smile back and wave their goodbyes.

Neutral, once again, she reaches her bag to get her phone. She quickly sent a text, saying she confirmed the suspicions of Sue being constantly criticized and there is a high chance of being threatened. Within seconds, Mystie responded.

' Good. I have an idea and I need both your and Ivy's help. The three of us are close to this school's club leaders, so try talking to them to see if there are more people outside our own. Lucy, try getting the sports club leaders in this. Me and Ivy will deal with the others. ' 

Sending a thumbs up, she looks around trying to find the sports club leaders. Spotting them, she sets down her phone and quickly approaches them. 

“ Hey guys! Do you have a minute?... ”

•——————————————————•

Reading the messages, Ivy could only sigh. Sue was truly being ridiculed right infront of her and not her or anyone noticed. They could only confront these people and gather evidence to show their teachers and the principal, before apologizing to Sue.

“ Hopefully this works… ” She mutters on her breath.

“ Hey, Ivy! You good? You seem distracted today.. ” a boy approaches her.

The drama club leader, perfect.

“ Yeah…I'm.. I'm okay. Just thinking what activity we'll be doing on my club… ” she tried her best to sound convincing while also giving the hint that it wasn't the case.

The boy squinted at her. “ Now you can't lie to me, girl. Tell me what's going on. ” he sits beside her.

“ It's just…I've been told something about Sue… ”

“ The super smart tech-girl? The little one that used to hang out with you and the others? ”

“ Yeah, her… ”

“ Hmmm..what did you hear? ”

“ Apparently she's been critizided a lot and a bit.. brutally, for some reason? She didn't tell us anything and only began avoiding us. Some people told us that they heard others bad mouth her and even intimidate her… ” she clutched at her sweater, mentally cursing at the people responsible.

“ Oooh dear…that really sounds like a drama movie, but also so lame.. ” he earns a glare from the girl. “ I'm kidding. These people don't have anything to do with their sorry lives, darling. It sucks that your friend felt she had to step down from the group, but- ”

“ What if they threatened her?! ” Ivy suddenly bursts. 

“ Well…if that's the case you should talk with the teachers and principal. ”

“ They'll ask for evidence. I don't have much but a few words from other people, it's not enough… ”

“ Then, leave this to me. ”

“ What? ” she looks at the boy, that was now smiling at her.

“ I'm the drama club leader, my club has all the types of gossipers, sweetheart. It's a matter of time before I get them to spill. ” he stands up with his usual confident posture.

“ Are you sure?..I don't want to trouble you with this… ” 

“ Oh please, I can't stand seeing people with a foul mood. Besides, I've been aching for some action and real drama. ” he turns to look at her. Ivy shows a grateful smile.

“ Thank you Reimond…you're a life saviour… ” 

“ No problem. Now lift those spirits up! We still have a long day infront of us! ” Ivy laughs lightly, before grabbing her things and exit the room with Reimond. 

“ Do you know anyone else that can maybe help us collect more evidence? ” she asks.

“ Aren't you friends with Mystie? She's the journalist club leader, and I believe she has enough materials to be able to maybe..record a conversation or interrogate some students. And.. there's also that bimbo, Voxanne with the photography club. Maybe they could record a video? ” Reimond reminds her.

“ That's a good point! Thank you! But also, be careful…we're not sure what type of people we are dealing with… ”

“ Oh please, like some puta could do anything to me! ” 

Ivy smacked his arm lightly at the curse and the other just laughed. They soon parted ways and Ivy went in the Music Club, greeting everyone. She puts away her things and looks around observing. Her part was done, she managed to get Reimond to talk to the gossipers of the school, it was only a matter of time now. She quickly texted her advances, before turning her attention to the club.

•——————————————————•

3 out of 4 had done their part, it was Mystie's turn now. As the journalist's club leader, she knew exactly where and how to look. She had spent the entire day, with attentive ears and eyes, sensitive to everything around her. During class, she paid selective attention to the students, specially to those with specific personalities. During breaks, she would roam the halls, paying attention to each conversation while also keeping an eye out to those people who were now closest to Sue. Sometimes she would ask a thing or two to certain students as to take notes. At one point, she had at least three different recordings of Sue's friends discussing among them their concerns towards the girl. 

What she had could be considered evidence, but she was going to need something more then just worries from close friends.

“ I'm doing okay…but I'm going to need back up…let me call Voxanne. ” she takes out her phone, dialing her number.

“ Yes? ” she responds immediately.

“ I've got some stuff but it's not enough. I need to borrow your photography club for this. ” 

“ Alright then, what are your orders, detective? ” 

“ Shut up. I need you to have at least two or three people to find certain students and record them during the act. I've managed to get some names of people who have been ' a bit too extreme ' with Sue. Have them record a video of them and we'll have good material. ”

“ Nice and optimistic idea, darling. But I don't think they will suddenly start talking about Sue unprovoked. ” Voxanne points out. Mystie could hear her call three different names.

“ That's were my people come in. They will purposely strike a conversation with them, secluded and have a recorder with them to capture their voices. One of your people will be recording it on video from a far. ” 

“ Aren't you a smart cookie. ~ ” she compliments.

“ I know, kiss me later. Can you do it? ”

“ Yes I can. Let me explain it to them, while you talk with your own. Good luck. ”

“ Same for you! ” she hangs up and goes towards her club. Opening the door, she finds exactly three people inside, the rest probably on duty. “ Perfect! I need your help with something… ” 

•——————————————————•

Yamino entered the gaming club and greeted everyone inside, with a small smile. She soon spotted Astra that was waving at her and pointing at the seat beside her.

“ Sue! Haven't seen you at all today! How are you doing? ” she tried to sound normal. She knew Sue was growing tired of everyone worrying about her.

“ I'm okay. A lot of assignments, some teachers needed help with some things, so I've been all around school today. ” taking the seat next to her. She settles her bag on the ground next to her feet. 

“ That's tough. Sooooo…league? ” she looks at her with pleading eyes.

“ Not happening. ” she responds plainly.

“ Oh come on! Pleeeeeeaaase!! ” 

“ You know I don't do league, Astra. ” the older could only chuckle lightly at the other's cute pout.

“ Of course not. You're too busy making out with Valorant. ” she rolls her eyes. Sue lifts and eyebrow and lightly pinches the other's cheek.

“ Same goes for you and league. Valorant is my wife, just like League is yours. ” 

“ Fair enough. ” Astra finally smiles and turns her attention to the computer infront of her. 

Sue turned on her computer immediately booting up Valorant. It was the only distraction and relaxation she would be having for the day before going home. 

Although it was true she was going left and right around school, she also was avoiding Luxiem who also seemed to be everywhere around school at the same time. She also noticed how they weren't hanging around each other, which wasn't uncommon but at the same time not normal. Sue wasn't part of the group anymore, and therefore shouldn't be caring about that, but she still couldn't help the uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong.

What if they are separating from each other?...

No! That's stupid! Why would they?

But…it's not impossible…

She didn't realize she was staring blankly at the screen, hand squeezing the mouse tightly, until she felt Astra's hand on her shoulder. Looking at the younger girl, her eyes made a silent question.

Are you okay? 

Sue smiled.

I'm alright, don't worry.

With that, she turned her attention back to the game. It was better to let her mind focus on something else in the moment.

—

“ Hey! Hey! Yamino Sue! ” 

“ Hm?! What?! ” startled she looked to her side, only to see Astra standing up with a frown on her face. The club was nearly empty if not for them being there.

“ Is the game that engaging? School is over, time to go home.. ” she says, still staring at her friend. Sue only nods her head before exiting the game and closing the computer. “ Are you sure you're okay? I know you can get engrossed while playing but you really don't have a good aspect today… ” 

“ I just needed to distract myself, and went a bit overboard, okay? ” picking her bag she turns to look at the smaller one who still kept her frown. Sue only sighed and ruffled her hair. “ Believe me, Astra. I'm truly okay! ” 

“ Fine.. let's go then! I'll treat you some boba before you go home! ” she links their arms before dragging the other out of the club.

“ Isn't your house kind of far from school? Wouldn't you arrive home late? ” she raises one of her eyebrows while questioning.

“ Yes, but it's not the first, nor will it be the last time I get home later than usual. ” she responds uncaringly. They finally exit the school grounds going towards the gate.

“ Even so, it's still dangerous. I do trust your capability of defending yourself or taking care of yourself, but you should still be careful! ” she apprehends, stopping them at the gates.

“ I knoooow! Just let me treat you to something every once in a while, and stop complaining! Let 's go! ” Smiling, she drags the other towards the nearest cafe. Sue complies and follows her closely as they chat randomly on the way, telling each other about either school related situations or new games they've come across.

—

“ Please, text me or call me when you get home, so I know you're okay. ” The older one says, staring at the younger with a serious expression. Astra playfully rolls her eyes.

“ You're such a mom friend! ” she responds, chuckling at the glare thrown at her. “ I will, you too, get home safe! See you tomorrow! ” the other finally waves as she goes the opposite direction. Sue waves back before going on her way.

She was almost finishing her drink, savoring the last few sips as she felt the cold breeze hit her face. The ravenette silently thanked Astra for taking her to get some boba, this moment was true peace after so many messy weeks. 

To speak the truth, she barely remembers the last time she actually went out, even if for a few minutes with any of her friends. Usually, they were the ones to bring her some snacks, drinks or any other distractions during these last few weeks. The last time she went out was with Luxiem…

Her heart squeezed at the memories of them five together.

They truly were important to one another. To have all of that stripped away from her…Years of friendship forced to be left behind…it hurt. It hurt a lot. It was unfair for her, but even more for the others. Heck! They didn't even know why she was avoiding them in the first place! All they knew is her cold treatment towards them. She didn't let anyone know, but a lot of times she felt like crying whenever she would notice their hurt expression or hear the slight sadness in their voice. It hurt seeing them having a hard time, but not being able to go there and tell them that everything was going to be okay, it hurt not being able to hug them or even say a small 'hi'.

But what could she do?... There's so much she could handle. The ridicule, the bad mouthing, she could handle that. But the constant physical confrontation? Sure, she could kick their ass in a heartbeat, Taekwondo classes would do her justice, but if it was just that.

Only if they didn't threaten to also harm her youngest sibling, only if they didn't threaten to get the other girls involved, only if they didn't physically harass her…the uncomfortable touches and dirty words…again, there's so much she could handle. Genuinely, if the threats were only to her, she wouldn't have minded…but as an older sister and someone who cares deeply for her friends, she can't take risks. 

“ I need evidence against them…but how am I supposed to get it without them suspecting anything?... ” she said to herself.

“ Sis?.. ” a male voice called out to her. Looking towards the source, she sees her younger brother leaning on the window, staring weirdly at her. “ What are you doing just standing there? ”

“ Oh… ” she didn't notice she had reached home sometime ago. “ Nothing, just deep in thought! Is everyone home? ” she asks, opening the gate and entering. 

“ Mom and dad went to get groceries. Big bro is making some pancakes as snacks, want some? ”

“ Always! ” she gives him her best smile. Opening the door, she goes inside and closes it behind her. “ I'm home! ”

•——————————————————•

New day had started. Sue could only stare at the mess that was the inside of her locker. A lot of her books and notebooks had their papers ripped off and cut to pieces, profanities written on both the locker and some of her stuff. Photos completely ruined and with a cross on her face. She could only sigh, it wasn't the first time and she wished this would be the last. As she was about to clean most of the things, someone called.

“ Yamino! Ovidia wants to talk to you! ” 

“ Oh, uuuuh…okay. Let me just close my locker. ”

“ No time! She says is urgent, I'll close it for you go go! ” Sue could only frown and hurry, trusting the other student to close her locker and ignore it's state. 

What she didn't see, was how the girl signalized someone to come closer. Voxanne comes out from hiding and flinches at the sight of the locker.

How. Could. They?!

She silently scowls before taking a quick photo of the locker's state. She takes a few more close ups to make sure she gets the perfect picture of this evidence. Closing the door and signalizing for the other to go, she quickly flees the scene. It's an invasion of Sue's privacy, she's perfectly aware of it. But she doesn't know for how long Sue intends to deal with this mistreatment, and Voxanne isn't the type to stand and watch a loved one get messed with.

Coming back shortly after, Sue opens the locker and begins to organize everything quickly before classes started. Later during cleaning time, she would clean the locker from all the vandalism. This could be used as evidence against them, but who could she pin the blame on? She wasn't even entirely sure of who it was, and even if one was punished the others would still be able to act on her, maybe do something even worse. 

Taking a deep breath, she closes her locker the very moment the bell rings. Heading towards her class, she tries to ignore what happened earlier and focus on her classes. She can do that just fine.

—

“ What the fuck… ” was all they could silently mutter as Voxanne showed the photos she took from the girls locker the same day. Lucy torn her gaze away from the camera, trying her best not to hit something, Mystie bit her tongue to not yell, while Ivy seemed to be rereading everything to see if her eyes were actually reading correctly.

“ By the expression she had, it didn't seem like a one time thing.. ” Voxanne says.

“ How come she never complained to the council? ” Lucy asks, still incredulous.

“ How did no one from the janitor team found out? ” Ivy asks on top of so.

“ Maybe she cleaned it during cleaning time? Blending in with everyone.. ” Mystie answers. 

“ So not only is she handling a handful of threats and brutal critizism but also has her stuff constantly vandalized by these people? Please tell me we have more leads than just this. ” the blonde says looking at the others. She had her own people digging for some information. She's yet to receive anything from them.

“ Besides these photos, recordings of her friends concerns and a few testimonies of her being bad mouthed, today my club and Voxanne's is supposed to set a trap for the names that we already have. ” Mystie says.

“ Anything from our fan club leaders? ” Voxanne asks.

“ I'm supposed to receive some information in a bit. ” Lucy says.

“ Quilldren told me that they already have a few names, but they are yet to confirm and send more names to me. Same goes for most of the other fan clubs. ” Ivy says. 

“ Same from the Mystakes. So, we should get going. We have some stuff to do and little time. ” Mystie says finalizing. They all nod before exiting the place and each heading towards one direction. 

—

It was lunch break, the perfect time to take action. Mystie and Voxanne had already talked with their people and each of them were in their respective positions. Mystie and Voxanne were hidden behind a wall as one of Mystie's people approached a duo of girls. Voxanne is recording and makes sure to capture the faces of those two people.

“ Hey! Do you guys have a minute? I would like to talk to both of you. ” 

“ The fuck do you want? ”

“ No need to be so rude…anyway! The year is almost ending and there will be an event involving our seniors! We are asking every student about some seniors and I would like to ask you about Sue! Don't worry it's completely anonymous! ” 

“ Seriously? Why her? ”

“ What's wrong? She's quite adored around school.. ” the girl says cautiously.

“ Those people are simply blind and will cling to whoever they think is pretty. Sue…well, let's say she doesn't deserve all the attention she gets. ”

“ H-how so?... ”

“ It 's obvious. Just because she has some brain it automatically makes her popular? Please, she's not even pretty, she couldn't even hold a candle to the other girls of Luxiem. ”

“ Besides, who knows if her grades are truly that good. She might be even sleeping with a few teachers since she's so friendly with them. ” 

Mystie had to greet her teeth. Voxanne remains unmoving.

“ That's…. that's something… even if she might not be pretty to some people.. she's still kind..nothing about that? ”

“ Oh come on, no one is THAT kind just out of personality. She's doing it for attention and popularity. We've seen people like her a lot of times. ”

“ Nothing but a shameless slut. ” the other friend concludes. The person asking the questions took a deep gulp and kept her cool.

“ Okay…thank you for your collaboration! ”

“ Hey, you better shut your mouth about this, got it? Don't think we can't do anything to you. ” one of them approached them threateningly . They quickly raised their hand in defeat.

“ Woah, relax! I just said it's anonymous. Plus, I don't even know your names or your class. ” They backed away. The other two just scoff at them and let them go. 

Voxanne ends the footage and drags Mystie away before she could even think of pouncing on the other girls. She was mad too, but they had a plan, they only needed to be patient. They soon met with the person and got the recorder. Mystie guaranteed that nothing would happen to them, because they'd make sure they had enough evidence to get them expelled from the school. 

“ We've got footage against two of them. Hopefully the others also had the same luck. ” Voxanne said shortly. Mystie silently nodded. Both of them didn't have much to say, only that they wanted to get this done with as soon as possible.

—

Ivy found herself in the library. She was hoping she could distract herself a bit while waiting for more confirmation from the fan clubs. Picking one book, she quickly read the resume before she was suddenly pulled deep into the library. She was about to shake off the hand when she saw who it belonged to.

“ Reimond? What's wrong? What's with that face? ” she asks after seeing the complicated expression on the boy.

He looked around, checking if they were truly alone.

“ Listen, I managed to get some information and even record some stuff. But it's bad… ” he says quickly. Ivy begans to worry.

“ What is it? What did you get? ”

“ Apparently bad mouthing isn't the only thing that has been happening to Sue. Some students have been activity threatening to harm her and…even her sibling… ” 

“ What?! They involved her sibling? Her younger brother?! ”

“ Yes. Apparently they know where he studies and even know their address. I also heard them say that if Sue doesn't comply or even tries to go against them, they'll call some male students to do the work.. ” he completes and takes out his phone, showing the voice recording. Ivy listens carefully, she could feel the anger and worry built up inside her.

“ They're talking almost if they had already done something before…do you think?.. ”

“ Maybe. Maybe they tried fighting Sue before.. it's probable considering this… ” Reimond says. It wasn't asked, but he quickly sent the recording to Ivy.

“ Oh my God….how much more happened that we don't know?... ” Her back was against the wall and her hands on her head. It hurt. It really hurt to know that someone so close to you was going through something bad and you didn't even notice. 

Reimond hugged her, trying his best to comfort her.

“ We'll figure this out..we got some useful stuff and I know the names of these girls and their faces. If you guys ever need to report, please let me know. ” he tells her. Ivy slowly nods her head.

“ Okay…thank you so much Reimond..with this we can maybe bring an end to all this mess. I'll tell the others what you found.. ”

—

At the time it was almost the end of the day. Lucy was a bit frustrated, because there were still no words from her people or anyone. She had seen on the group chat that everyone managed to get some material, and most of them already had the names of people who were contributing to this whole mess. 

She huffs deeply as she heads towards the woman's locker. She had track and field before she could go home. As the blonde was about to enter the girl's locker room, her arm was quickly grabbed by someone as she's dragged away. She had quick reflexes and was about to hit whoever suddenly grabbed her, but stopped appon seeing who it was.

Lucy let's herself get dragged away, so they were in a place alone.

“ Pom? What's wrong? Why did you suddenly drag me here? ” the blonde asked. She began to worry seeing the hesitant look on the boy's face.

“ I found out some information… ”

“ Really?! That's g- ”

“ But they're bad. REALLY bad. ” he emphasizes. Lucy went silent for a bit.

“ What do you mean? What information did you get? ” 

“ I….I think Sue might have been sexually assaulted. ” he said quickly, not being able to censor or find a lighter way to say it.

Lucy looked like she stopped breathing.

' Sexually assaulted?...How? When? Where? Why?! ' those were the questions on her mind.

“ While changing, I overheard some guys started talking about a few girls. Unfortunately it happens a lot…but…then I heard them talking about Sue….I knew you were looking for information so I paid attention… ” Pom stopped for a few minutes. Lucy slowly nodded for him to continue. Even if she was still shocked she needed to know. “ And…what I heard was…them commenting in a lot of detail about her body…one of them even said he came to…actually…touch her…he even has proof of it….they also seemed to have threatened her about it…either to expose pictures or…to do something… ” he couldn't find himself to continue.

He could hear the crack of knuckles and saw Lucy lower her gaze as her arms trembled. Her fists were clutched tightly, almost in a vicious way. Pom wouldn't admit it, but he had to fight the urge to shiver. 

The look on her face.

“ Names. ” she demanded shortly.

“ It's xxxxxx xxxxxx, xxxxxx xxxxxx , xxxx xxxxxx and xxxx xxxxxxxxxx…, two of them are on the volleyball team, the other is on soccer team and one usually does track and field. ” he responded.

“ Is the last one who said he got photos of Sue? ”

“ Yes… ” it wasn't hard to guess. 

Lucy had already heard about him. Most of the girls that did track and field complained how much of a pervert he was and almost went on a rage fit because of all the nasty comments he makes. Apparently he doesn't even hide it that much, only when the coach is nearby. 

If this pathetic excuse of a human being was actually telling the truth, then Lucy would have to control her urges to absolutely murder the guy today on field. 

She might be seen as a cheerful and kind girl, but God she's not someone to be messed with. Specially her loved ones.

“ I get it. Thank you Pom. I'll deal with it. ” she couldn't find it in her to put on a gentle tone.

“ What are you going to do? Don't be rash Lucy! He could be lying… ” He quickly grabbed her arm before she could leave. Even if he was also shocked and pissed that something like that might've happen, it's yet to be confirmed by the person envolved. 

“ I won't do anything. Not now. Even if you got the information is not enough to incriminate them. We need evidence, and right now only Sue can confirm it or not. I'll bring it to the principals attention when we have everything. Now go. ” she quickly retrieves her arm and leaves. Pom swallows thickly. Hopefully things won't get out of hand too quickly.

And Lucy, she'd have to spend the rest of the afternoon in the same space as her best friend's "possible assaulter". It'll take every bit of her self control to not cause a scene.

• ————————————————— • 

It was now the next day, Friday. Sue had just arrived before she was being dragged by the arm by Astra. The other girl had a serious but determined expression on her face, only confusing the older.

“ Astra? What 's wrong? Where are we going? ” she asked, trying to stop them, but the other only stopped walking when they were in front of the counselor's office.

“ We are ending this today. ” she answers, now staring into her eyes.

“ Ending what? What's happening? ” she was genuinely confused.

“ Listen Sue. We know that you've been threatened and mistreated by a lot of people around school and for a long time. I don't know exactly what they had against you to make you change, but we have evidence against all of them and we'll hold them accountable for it, okay? ” she gently grabs the other's arms, looking deeply into her eyes as if silently asking for cooperation.

Sue only stood there dumbfounded. She admits she's bad at hiding somethings, but didn't expect for other's to see through her.

“ What…What do you mean by 'we'?... ” that was her main question. Did Astra ask someone for help?

Her questions were immediately answered when Astra opened the office door and inside was the school's councilor and…Voxanne, Lucy, Ivy and Mystie. All of them looked at her at the same time in silence.

Sue was completely frozen in place unable to even mutter a single thing. Due to the situation she was, her instincts told her to turn around and ignore, but they were immediately flushed down as soon the councilor spoke.

“ Miss Yamino, we were waiting for you. Please enter and close the door. Thank Miss Arcadia, you're dismissed. ” she spoke softly, but her tone was serious. Astra turned to Sue one last time and hugged her strongly, muttering a soft 'ganbare' before leaving. Sue didn't have any other options but to step inside and close the door behind her. She stood there awkwardly as the center of attention.

“ H-how can I help you, councilor?... ” she asks, trying to control her own nervousness.

“ Somethings have been brought to my attention. I'm sure you are aware that in this school I try my best to keep this place safe for every student, you included. These misses, have brought photos, audios and countless witnesses that point out heavy mistreatment and threats towards you. Are they true? ” her voice rang out loud and clear, eyes glued on her face expecting the answer. The councilor was usually bright, but right now all the light seemed to have been blocked by a cloud of worries.

Sue doesn't respond immediately, internally debating if she should agree or deny. 

' So that's why I barely even saw them around…they were trying to help me… '

Her heart silently fluttered, but it wasn't the right time. They did all the work to gather photos, videos, audios and even witnesses…and by the looks of it they seem to know every single person that has been making everything terrible for her….but…what could they do? Even if they get expelled, they know her address…her sibling is still at risk since they know where he studies ...should she confirm it? Can anything really be done?

Her eyes stray to look at the other girls. They all head the same look, pleading for her to confirm it. And Sue, perhaps she wasn't as strong as she thought.

“ Miss Yami- ”

“ Yes…it's all true…For almost a year I've been constantly critizided..however, only a few months ago this critizism turned into mistreatment and threats. I also have a few screenshots of texts and photos that can also prove it… ” she answers. It came a bit weak in the beginning, turning firm as she spoke up. The other girls visibly relaxed that she was cooperating, but they weren't yet relieved.

“ I see. These mistreatments result in false rumors and even vandalizing your locker? ”

“ Yes. I've had countless school materials ruined or even destroyed which affected my performance in classes a lot. Also a good amount of times I've stayed over cleaning time trying to clean the profanities written in the locker… ”

“ So we have confirmation on countless morality assaults and vandalism. This is enough to have them all expelled. ” she says shortly gathering the evidence. “ But, there's something more I would like to ask you. ”

“ What is it?.. ”

“ Among these threats, were there any that included physically assaulting you or someone close to you? ” at that, Sue held her breath. The others noticed it too, but only Lucy had to stop herself from saying something immoral.

“ I…I will need the councilor to be a bit more specific… ” she mutters quietly.

“ In one of the voice recordings shown to me, it implied that there had been physical confrontations and threats to physically harm one of your family members. ” the woman calmly explains. “ I need your confirmation if it's true. ”

“ It…It is true…I think it was about two weeks ago I got attacked by a few female students. I managed to defend myself, but that didn't stop me from getting a few bruises. Again, I do have photos and screenshots of them threatening my brother and showing pictures of my house and his school. ” Sue explained but lowered her head. The bruises had long since healed, but sometimes she could feel the faint sting on the places. The other girl's gazes hardened.

“ I understand, thank you for confirming. I will need you to send it to me so I can also bring it to the police since physical assault and stalking is something they will deal better with. ” The determined look in the woman's eyes made her nod her head slowly. But she could still feel in her gaze that there's one more thing. “ Now girls, I appreciate you guys bringing this issue to me, but for this part I'll need you to step out of the office. It's something I need to talk about only with Yamino. ” The other girls, except one, were taken back. However, they nodded and gave Sue a glance she knew before stepping out.

We'll be waiting for you.

Now with them out, leaving her alone with the councilor. The older woman stood up and walked until she was in front of her desk. Her eyes visibly softened and so did her voice.

“ I'm sure you probably know why I told them to step out, Sue. ” the younger slowly nodded, her gaze going to her feet. “ I won't force you to give details or say too much about this. I understand that is something that can be hard to talk about, so feel free to stay silent. But I need to remind you that you have enough evidence to make these people pay for it. ”

“ I know, I think I can talk.. ” she lifted her gaze a little.

“ Alright. Can you tell me what they did? ” 

“ They grouped me inappropriately almost in my entire body. I think one of them even took pictures of it. I also remember that one tried to kiss me and insert their finger but I managed to break free and fight them ... that's as far as they managed to go. ” Sue lifted her head to stare at the councilor while she explained. The woman slowly nodded and smiled.

“ You did great, kid. Do you know who each of those boys are? ”

“ I know only two of them by name. The other three I don't, but I can draw a portrait of them I think, at least one that's close enough… ” As she said that, the other woman motions for her to sit down and grabs a few white papers and a pen.

“ That's a great sweetheart! Can you tell me the names of the boys you know and try drawing the portraits of the other three? ” Sue nodded as she took the paper and pen while sitting down. She waited for the counselor to sit down in front of her before telling the names of the two boys. 

She closed her eyes trying to remember each of their faces one by one as she did her best to draw a realistic and on point portrait. While she did that, the counselor made sure to verify each of the students involved and contacted their teachers to keep an eye on them. It was only when she finished all three portraits that the counselor spoke again.

“ No doubt I've seen these faces. Since they are probably friends with the other two students I'll look for their names on the class lists. While I do it, would you like a glass of water or anything? This situation might be a bit difficult… ” she didn't mask her concern. The student only smiled softly.

“ If anything, I want to call my parents and tell them about this…it feels unfair to them, especially since they've been worried about me lately.. ” she confesses. When she was still doing the portraits her mind trailed back to her parents. This was a serious matter and even the police would be involved, it's best if they know about this.

“ You can call them now if you wish. But before, I would like to ask you if you want me to also call the police here? It's going to be a bit pressuring, but I'm sure that it will end soon. ” 

“ I think it's okay to call them now. I'll call my parents, and maybe I can explain to both them and the police at the same time… ” as the counselor nodded and reached for the phone, Sue got up and took out her one, her mother's number already on speed dial. 

The others were still outside the office, but they weren't eavesdropping. The temptation was high, but they respected Sue and were trying to make things right, they don't need another reason for her to be upset.

“ Is there something else that we forgot? ” Mystic asked. Even if she was leaning on the wall her mind was trying to remember what could possibly be so intimate then what they presented as evidence that they needed to leave. She couldn't help but wonder if it was extremely bad.

“ I don't know, maybe she spotted something on the evidence that we didn't? ” Voxanne answers. The other two are quiet, almost too quiet.

Ivy seemed lost in thought and Lucy seemed… they couldn't tell. It looked like she was also thinking and at the same time was controlling her emotions. Voxanne and Mystie stared at each other before each of them approached one of the girls.

“ Everything is going to be ok, Lucy. We made it, we just have to let things work on their own now. ” Voxanne tells her while cupping her face in between her hands.

“ She's right. Sue is cooperating with us as well and the counselor already guaranteed to us that these people will pay for their actions. And we can always ask and wait for Sue to tell us about it. ” She leans a bit against Ivy, touching their shoulders and their heads.

Lucy knew that if she spoke she'd end up telling the girls about what was happening inside the room. It didn't feel fair for only her to know about it, but at the same time it wouldn't be fair for Sue. So she stayed quiet, and only smiled at the other's, giggling a bit when Voxanne smooched her temples. Ivy and Mystie smiled genuinely at the two before silence fell once again between them.

“ Man, I can't wait to kiss Sue too. ” the black haired suddenly said, a laugh came from both Mystie and Lucy while Ivy rolled her eyes.

“ I swear to God, if you jump Sue with your affection, I'm- ”

“ Girls! ” a woman's voice interrupted Ivy. All four look at the source and are a bit surprised.

“ Auntie! Did Sue call you and uncle? ” It was Sue's parents. They had an obvious look that showed they were worried. Sue had always been a good student and barely got into trouble. To suddenly call and tell them that something serious was happening they couldn't help but be concerned.

“ She did. Do you know what happened? Is she inside the counselor's office? ” The woman stopped as she felt her husband's hand. The girls understood completely her worry.

“ It's a complicated situation. I think it's better if Sue explains it to you. She's inside the office. ” Ivy responds calmly, offering a kind smile.

“ Okay, thank you girls. ” the man responds with gentleness. Together with his wife, both of them enter the office and close the door behind them.

—

Not much later two police officers arrived at school and went inside the office. The girls desperately wanted to go inside, but were later convinced by the counselor to go back to their classes.

“ Listen, I know you are worried, but you have missed the two classes because of this. You will be able to see Sue later or another time ” even if they knew she was right, they just didn't want to be apart much longer.

“ I will meet with you guys today. If not at the cafeteria then at the school gates before going home. I promise ” Yamino's voice sounded from behind the woman. They looked at her and saw the softness and honesty. 

Still hesitant, they agreed to go back to their classes. To say if they paid attention was another story. 

—

Telling her parents and the police wasn't as hard as she imagined it would be. Certainly, she was uncomfortable when telling about the sexual assault and even more when questions were made but she persisted. Her parents remained by her side, squeezing her hand in comfort or even hugging her. She felt partially guilty for not telling them sooner about the situation, but relieved that she was finally able to take action.

After saying everything, the police asked to borrow the evidence especially those who included the stalking and physical assault as well as the sexual assault. Since Sue had evidence on her phone, she had to give it away until further notice. They explained to her that everything would be handled, but it could still take some time, so she should be always careful and if anything happens to immediately contact the authorities and her parents. They also talked to her parents about suing the people involved, and they didn't even hesitate to agree. The counselor was about to call the students involved when Sue and her parents were leaving after saying their goodbyes and thank yous.

“ Do you want to go home? It's almost time to go home and you've had a long day. ” her father asked, with one hand on her shoulder.

“ I can't. I promised them that I would wait by the gates. You guys can go first, I'll be home in a bit. ” she smiled at them, genuinely and lightly. They nodded before exiting the school, but always reminding her to be careful.

Finally alone in the middle of the hall, Sue let out a long breath, almost shaking. She wouldn't cry, not in that moment. Not when everything was finally being solved as it should be. She wasn't entirely free from harm, but she could finally not hold back to do what she was restrained.

' It's okay…it'll be okay!...I will meet them. In a few moments I will meet them. And everything will go back to normal. Like it should be. '

Still smiling, her steps were weirdly slow but steady. She walked towards the exit and heard the dismissing bell from school. Classes were over for the day. Still with small steps she went towards the gates and waited, a warm feeling of nostalgia in her chest.

Her eyes saw as every student went home with their friends, partners or stayed behind to talk for a bit. It didn't take long for her eyes to find four figures walking towards the gates, and it didn't take long for theirs to find hers.

It was almost like a flash, the speed and strength of the hug she was given. Mystie tightened her arms around her, almost afraid that Sue would step back. But she didn't, she returned the hug. Lucy didn't waste a second to run towards her too and hug both of them with iron strength. Ivy and Voxanne practically speed walked, but hugged her from behind, nuzzling their heads on hers or her neck. For the first time in months Sue felt complete. No worries about coming across them, no need to ignore them, just hugging them with all her might and will.

“ I missed you… ” she whispered quietly, and by the way they squeezed her even more, they not only heard her but also missed her even more.

—

Yamino ended up explaining to them how everything happened from start to end. They were sitting at the park in their favorite place. She told them from how it went from distantly criticizing to threatening her life and those around them and also the sexual assault. It took every ounce of her to convince the girls to not strangle or kill anyone after that, but it did work. She apologized to them, even if they told her that nothing she did was wrong, but still accepting it knowing how the girl usually was.

After that, Sue noticed how overly protective they ended up becoming, especially around school. There was not a moment where Sue wasn't seen with one of the girls, and they always had a hand or arm around her. She also noticed the glares that were sent every time someone seemed to look at her the wrong way. 

Everyone around also noticed, but they genuinely preferred to see this protective side of theirs than the dejected faces and tension in the air.