Work Text:
Oh no, Satoko thought as she ran toward the building. She hadn't meant to nap while hiding, but still, the others must have given up way too easily before finding her. Did they just leave her on purpose? She'd be sure to scold them, right after she was scolded by Chie-sensei first, and Satoshi later. She was really in trouble, wasn't she?
Satoko kept running as she entered the building. After a slight pause to change into her indoor shoes, she continued at her top speed, rounded the corner, and fell full force into Furude Rika.
Both girls shouted in surprise and pain. It took Satoko a moment before she realized who exactly it was. Of course, with that carefully combed hair and fake vulnerability in the way she had put up her hands to protect herself from a threat that was no longer there. How uncute, Satoko thought with a scowl as she thought of how her fanboys would swoon and run to her side.
Satoko stood almost menacingly above Rika. "No one's here, so you can stop the act... Rika-chama." There was definitely an element of bile in how she said Rika's name.
"Ah... Sa- Houjou-san," Rika said.
"That's right. Aren't you even going to ask if I'm alright? You carelessly plowed into me. I could have gotten hurt because of your recklessness."
"You could have easily gotten hurt anyway, Houjou-san," Rika said.
"What are you saying? I wouldn't have been in danger at all if you hadn't-"
"Mii. That place where you and everyone else go and play hide-and-seek, it's really dangerous, right? Those abandoned buildings are falling apart and no one goes anywhere near them. You aren't even supposed to, right?"
"How can you be so rude with such a straight face, Rika-chama? It's none of your business where my friends and I go, because you're not one of them. We're always someplace perfectly safe, anyway," Satoko lied.
"I see. If you were at that spot, that spot you didn't go to, you could have easily fallen somewhere nobody went and gotten hurt. You could have broken your legs and have been bleeding to death and if no one wanted to say where they'd been, no one would find you, right? It's a good thing you weren't anywhere unsafe." Rika spun around and began to walk away.
Satoko blinked with confusion, and then noticed with some jealousy that everything about the other girl still looked perfect despite the collision. On the other hand, she could expect to be scolded more for how messy she looked. Satoko walked into the bathroom to clean up just as Rika walked into the classroom.
What a creepy girl, Satoko considered. As if the Oyashiro-sama nonsense that she was mixed up in wasn't enough, now Rika had to bring up death fantasies. No one else in the school had even gone that far. How disturbing, Satoko thought. And since when did that prim and proper girl run in the halls, anyway? It was a wonder that she'd even walk on her own two feet, considering that she didn't do anything for herself now that she'd discovered she could use her cuteness to get everything done for her. Satoko decided that their collision must have been on purpose, and she'd get Rika back for it soon.
Satoko subtly entered the classroom, seeing Chie-sensei distracted, and took her seat without incident. She looked over at Satoshi and saw him sigh slightly, but she was otherwise unbothered.
"Satoko!" her friends said, but were soon shushed by her.
"See Furude, she's fine, she wasn't anyplace bad," Satoko's friend insisted, glaring in Rika's direction.
"That's right. A girl that tough isn't anyone to worry about, anyway!" one of Rika's servants insisted.
"Shut up, will you?" Satoko's friend snapped back.
Rika ignored everyone, and Satoko decided to do the same. Soon both groups got back to work.
"But Satoko, where were you?" Satoko's friend whispered to her.
"We'd looked all over for you."
"That's right, we even kept calling your name, and you didn't even answer. We'd thought maybe that you..."
Satoko looked up, feeling a sudden chill. So there had been some concern about her whereabouts. In fact the place she played was very dangerous, but still, her friends didn't see the need to tell anyone.
All for the better, since she hadn't been in any danger at all. But if she had been... Was Rika the only one headed to look for her? Was the friend she'd snubbed so long ago the only one she could count on?
Satoko looked over at Rika, who was laughing politely at something someone had said, while handing her pencil to one of her servants to sharpen. If only she had napped just a little while longer, Satoko thought. It might have been nice to see Rika get her hands dirty. And Satoko then imagined seeing Rika's eyes again show concern, maybe even affection for her... There was definitely still some there.