Chapter Text
Hinako might have been the only girl in the world who was not ready for the transition from Junior High to High School.
She had done everything in her power to calm her nerves: A hot bath, yoga, daydreaming, funny cat videos, talking to her friends, taking a walk, daydreaming, organizing her wardrobe, daydreaming...
Albeit her daydreaming felt so much more bitter now. Her parents had found out her grades had actually plummeted, due to say daydreaming. They assumed it was the boys being a distraction to her, so in the end it was decided; she was to attend an all-girls school. It's not like she was chasing any of the boys anyway, none of them had struck a perfect cord with her. None of them were her Prince Charming.
Ah yes, her Prince Charming, the concept that always seemed to sweep her off her feet and take her far, far away from reality on a beautiful white horse.
Hinako just wanted to be a cinderella girl.
Granted she wasn't getting any closer in this all-girls school. She was even tempted to throw a tantrum and get herself suspended day one. But it was her parents' money and it was far from cheap. They didn't understand her, sure, but since when had they ever been malicious enough to warrant spite...? She thought on it and the answer was: never.
So unfortunately, her morals stood in her way.
On second thought, it wasn't the worst school in the world anyway.
A nice principal with brown hair and a cute round face, and crystal blue blazers made of such expensive material -- it was almost like a royal boarding school (without the boarding, of course).
A royal boarding school for a princess, of course.
Where, in her first class, she would trip and collide with her true love... her Prince Charming.
"Mufufu~…"
Hinako had forgotten to open the door.
If her true love was the door, then certainly everything was going according to plan.
After being scrapped off by a kind passerby, she found herself staring at the work in front of her once class had begun.
The curriculum was awfully demanding and she was never an academic genius in the first place. She had a fondness for drawing and painting, at least.
2 to the power of x if x equals the square root of 68 when divided by 12 and if the... uh... the--
And then this was typically when the frustration kicked in. A sharp frown spread across her face as she felt her eyes sting.
Happy place, happy thoughts...
And unsurprisingly (well, surprising to those around her), she began to daydream.
And unsurprisingly (well, surprising to her, whose old school was so much more lenient), she had felt a book slap her in the back of the head.
For lunch time, students were allowed to leave as long as they came back before it was over.
So for lunch, bread.
There was this first year in her class who was obsessed with bread and she tuned into the conversation long enough to figure out about this place. It did have a very savory smell from the outside, but there was also a strong sweet influence to it...? Well, it was a bakery, so it was to be expected.
"This would be a nice place to go with someone... hmmm, sort of like... with a Prince...~"
And just like that, Kita Hinako was unable to stay grounded in reality for longer than a mere moment. Which proved to be a problem when walking on the streets, because--
"Gah...!" "Aa...!"
--of reasons like this.
Such a tall, scary girl with dark hair standing before her.
"Oi...!"
And she clearly wasn't happy.
"Oh, uhmm..."
The younger girl was scrambling for words, thoughts, composure even. Her knees were already weak from her daydreams, so they weren't going to cooperate during this moment of shock. She wanted to give a nervous chuckle to lighten the mood but felt it too inappropriate.
"...the hell are you cowering for?" This girl's voice was rough but she was obviously from her school. Presumably a third year.
Was this going to be a fight? Hopefully not, Hinako has never had to fight before... but she was so scary, no doubt she wanted to fight.
...The idea of a Prince Charming was even more attractive than before now. If she were to wish for him, would he come for her? As the delinquent-like girl reached for her (although she had no idea it was simply to help her up), she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed.
Make it someone brave, someone skillful and powerful, someone... cute!
And perhaps someone heard her prayers, because a voice cut through her panic.
It just... was not who she asked for.
"What do you think you're doing...!"
Both Hinako and the girl hovering above her had froze, granted Hinako was more eager to open her eyes and see her savior.
...And her savior was... tiny.... even smaller than her!
However, they shared a uniform -- all three of them. And clearly she was brandishing a shinai, as if to say "stop right there!".
"Wh-what the hell...?! Watch where you're pointin' that thing!"
"Ah, Mukai-senpai...?!"
"...Huh?"
The real ready-to-fight girl had begun to loosen up. "...You don't know me, but I'm an underclassman of yours... second year Wakiyama Tamami. I thought you were attacking that girl..."
"Hell no! She just suddenly bumped into me, ya hear me?!"
"O-Of course, loud and clear...!"
Even if Hinako was a hopeless dreamer, she at least felt guilt.
"I-I'm not entirely sure why you're buying Tamami lunch...?" Tamami stuttered, not used to being rewarded for her deeds. It was simply second nature to her to defend someone.
"..." Hinako shuffled, still a bit shaken from her reckless encounter. "I made you fight with an upperclassmen..."
"Ah, well...! It wasn't necessary a fight! We didn't fight, you see! Just a misunderstanding... but you know, I'm wondering how it happened in the first place."
Hinako fell silent again. It was technically her fault. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." She spoke, fighting through the hesitation in her throat. She would be lying if she said the confrontation was the only thing that had her shaken up.
"I see... well, it happens to the best of us. Please, don't feel bad, Kita-san, Tamami was simply just doing what seemed right in the moment!"
The younger girl pursed her lips as she came to terms with her mistake. "Mmkay... say, Wakiyama-senpai, you're very cool, you know."
"H-Huh...?! T-Tamami is cool to you?! I mean, of course Tamami is cool... ahaha.." There came the awkward head scratching. She did enjoy the compliment, but couldn't help but be sheepish.
"You know what it reminded me of~?"
"Huh? A... samurai maybe?" Tamami guessed, all too hopeful.
"It reminded me of a prince~..."
"...A prince..."
"Mhm. A Prince Charming would act the exact same way as you, mufufu~..."
And just like that, it was as if nothing ever happened, and she began to tear through her food in her glee. All Tamami could do was sigh. No wonder she ran into Takumi Mukai back there. It got to the point where she failed to realize her food was finished.
"Kita-san, are you... K-Kita-san, you're out of fries! You're going to eat paper like that!"
And surprisingly enough... Hinako actually heard her.
"Here, here, you can have some of mine. Just try not to eat the paper, alright?!" Tamami was grabbing handfuls from her plate with her sweet bread and transferring them over to Hinako's. "Although these are really good... I'm going to miss them... huh?"
As she looked up, the other girl was still staring at her.
"...How did you... do that?"
"Do what?"
"...I heard you."
"Uhmm... I would hope so? You really are a weird girl, is everything alright?"
Hinako normally doesn't hear anyone through her delusional episodes. She continued to stare, dumbfounded, and Tamami's face turned a light pink tint.
"C'mon now, you're making me feel like I have something on my face... if you're not going to eat, I'll take it back..."
"...Um, of course! Thank you for saving me, and accepting my offer~."
For some reason that she couldn't put her finger on, Hinako had to hold back a "mufufu".