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Haruka Kambe always strived to do her best and work hard at everything she did no matter what it was.
Being the daughter of the Millionaire Detective, people often had assumptions about who you were as a person, and even though she couldn’t change everyone’s minds, she could at least show them that she wasn’t the lazy daddy’s girl who threw his credit card around any time she wanted something. Even if it meant biting off a little more than she could chew.
She was Head Pupil at her school, meaning she was to represent the school and be a good role model to all of the other students – which was a pretty difficult task to do when your older brother causes over half the incidents that happen inside the school’s walls. She helped coordinate school events both during and after school hours on top of running the sewing club, being one of the lead student coordinators for the school’s new Second Chance program for students who were formerly in Juvenile Detention centers, and maintaining her high A’s and B’s in all of her class – most of which were advanced courses because she's some sort of masochist.
Needless to say, Haruka tended to have a lot on her plate at all times.
But she liked it – there's the masochism talking – she liked the work. It was validating every time she finished a long, grueling task because it was proof. Proof that she was smart, proof that she was the hard worker she claimed she was, proof that she was deserving of being Head Pupil.
Proof that she was damn good at her job.
This week in particular was packed. She was multitasking in the designated Student Council room – a little room in a cramped corner with a long folding table, filled to the brim with extra boxes of old decorations for school functions. She was going back and forth between the lead's costume for the school's production of Waitress and entering reports for the Second Chance program while also studying for her physics class because she had a test coming up and was too busy trying to make sure Asahi didn't try to punt his phone out of the window in frustration because of his latest grounding because of his latest fight, what did he expect really —
"Knock knock~!"
Haruka snapped her head up in the direction of the door, straining the already tense muscles in her neck. Treasurer and close companion Anna Carlisle leaned against the door, a smile painted on her face along with pretty soft pink lip gloss spread across her lips. That managed to coax out her own small smile. “Hey, Anna.”
“You doin’ okay in here?” Anna asked.
Haruka went over all the work piled on and around her desk, then back at Anna. “Define okay. ”
Anna made a brushing motion with her fingers. “Scooch over. I’m helping you out.”
Haruka sighed in relief, “Thank yoouuuu.”
“Yeah, yeah. What are friends for?” Anna slid through the crowded space and plopped down into the seat beside Haruka, grabbing some of the papers from her friend and sliding them in front of her, “I’ll take this. You do your studying. ‘Kay?”
Haruka nodded, pulling her textbooks in front of her. She could already feel some of the stress melting from her shoulders. She pulled out her phone to find the best curated playlist –of which she had several-- greeted by several texts from her dads, no doubt about Asahi and his antics - as well as texts from Asahi’s burner phone.
Haruka sighed, head falling to her textbook, “I swear to God, one of these days, he’s gonna be the death of me.
“I’m surprised you haven’t had a stroke already,” Anna said, squinting at a page on one of the Second Chance reports, “Hey, there’s an extra thing here-”
“Error in the system. Just ignore it. I mean, how difficult is it not to throw hands with every single person to piss you off?”
Anna shrugged, “I mean, to be fair, Jamie is a bit of an ass. And Stephan might as well be a of...well, I don’t think I can say that here-”
“Text it to me later,” Haruka said, rooting through her bag for snacks, “It’s not like I didn’t want him to save Masa or anything. I just wish he would...I don’t know, not do literally everything that he does?”
Anna reached over and rubbed up and down her back, “I know, Ruka, I know. But, hey. You only have to put up with him for another year before he goes to Uni. Then you’re free!”
Haruka rolled her cerulean eyes, “Great. Just a whole other 365 days before I can sleep peacefully at night. Wonderful. ”
“Hey, you’ve managed to survive these past 16 years. What’s one more?”
Haruka shrugged.
“Sorry to bother you, ladies,” said the voice in the doorway, “But I need to steal away our dear Haruka for a quick tour.”
Haruka and Anna lazily brought up their heads to greet the other student lucky enough to share the title of Head Pupil and the object of her older brother’s affection, Duncan Allen. He leaned lazily against the doorframe, that cocky grin that Asahi was obsessed with plastered across his face.
Haruka flashed her own tired smile at him and started to rise from her seat. “Damn, I was sort of hoping you’d forget we had that today.”
“Oh, sorry love. Duty calls, as they say,” he drawled back, “Siobhan's in the middle of a test, and Tammy’s got track, so you’re all we got on deck.”
She let out a dramatic sigh, throwing her head back, “Fine! I’ll go. But you owe me double for this one!”
“Double?!”
“Yep. A favor for this, and one for last weekend when I had to cover for you and my brother when you snuck out to go to that concert out of town?”
Duncan flushed red, “...Good point. Okay. Deal.”
“Good,” she turned back to Anna, “Be back soon, okay?”
“Take your time, love! I’ve got all day!” Anna replied back with a grin.
Haruka smiled back. She reluctantly rose from her seat and followed Duncan out the door. She paused outside the room to take a breath, her features twisting into her best fake air-hostess smile. With her back painfully straight, she strolled to the front office with her companion to greet the families of the unenthusiastic future applicants who are really only applying here because their parents heard that rich kids and valedictorians attend and go to prestigious colleges, so maybe they’ll turn out successful.
Haruka decided to hold off on her favors and save Duncan the trouble of having to deal with the semi-disgruntled girl who had to be semi-restrained by her posh-looking parents, instead letting him take the quieter boy and his brother.
They separated and took to exploring the opposite sides of the school. From there, Haruka led the family through the West wing of the school. She kept her smile small to prevent her cheeks from hurting like last time. She floated down the hallways, poking their heads through the doors of each classroom, lab, and club room.
They stumbled upon Masayuki and Kokoro’s classroom. Before Haruka could even turn the handle, she noticed Masayuki wasn’t in his usual spot toward the center front. He was on the very right side of the room at the very back where he obviously couldn’t be seen by anyone who came in.
No doubt his teachers were informed by the Co-Headmistress to make this change. His bruises from his altercation with Jaime Palmer still stained his face in deep purple and blue, the edges beginning to turn a sick shade of green.
Haruka bit the tip of her tongue and opened the door, starting her spiel again about how great the learning environment was and the recent high test scores the entire class received just last month on their big math test. Masayuki’s teacher went on about how great this year’s crop was and that the youngest would fit right in with the others in the science club when the young man off-handedly mentioned his interest in Biology. All while Jaime Fucking Palmer sat smugly toward the front of the room.
And all the while Masayuki hid in the back of the classroom, not once looking at Haruka.
Haruka kept the tour going. She took mental stock of every lie that happened inside the walls of this place. Every incident that needed to be replaced by some flowery bullshit Haruka had to make up in her head less she want that pretty head to end up on the chopping block.
Every spot on the concrete out the yard speckled with blood was to be described as a place for active bodies to run free and let loose all their energy before returning to their studies. Every hardcover used as an attempted murder weapon was to be referred to as one of the many classics lining the modern library's shelves for students to be immersed in. Every nook and cranny where people like Stephan Palmer and her brother’s friends went to smoke and skip class were simply extra storage space. Places for their expensive materials donated by their benefactors to stay pristine and for their students to be safe.
Complete and utter bullshit.
After the tour came to an end and Duncan and Haruka reunited together in the front office, they released their tour families into the care of their headmistress and her secretary while reporting back to the Co-Headmistress in her office.
“Excellent job on your tours, you two,” she said, “You’ve gotten rave reviews from both families and have most likely secured the enrollment of both parties’ children. Though I can’t say I’m surprised. I always knew I could count on both of you.”
“Thank you, Headmistress Charles,” Duncan said politely.
He looked to Haruka for a follow-up reply only to be met by her uncomfortable silence — an act that did not go unnoticed.
Headmistress Charles raised a brow, “Something the matter, Haruka?”
The ‘no’ waited on the tip of her tongue as her fists began to tighten.
It would be easier to just say that everything was fine. To play it off as though she was simply tired from all that was currently going on or not even mention her fatigue whatsoever and make up some excuse about how she simply spaced out. It would be easier to just go on as normal.
But easy didn’t equal right, and if she was going to do something right, it would be this.
“You know, you could have just asked him not to come,” Haruka said firmly.
Headmistress Charles sighed, removing her glasses and folding her hands on the desk, “I understand your frustration about the situation–”
“I don’t think you do. If you didn’t want Masayuki to ‘ruin’ your tour, you should have just told me to keep him home and I would have. Better yet, you should have expelled Jaime Palmer right there when you pulled my brother into the real Headmistress’ office.”
Headmistress Charles scoffed at that, “I believe you’re being a bit dramatic with the expulsion, Miss Kambe–”
“Jaime and Stephan are repeated offenders. The reports on the two of them are a mile long, with a number of them being attempted assault and harassment. Yet, you still choose to keep them around with barely a slap on the wrist as a consequence!”
“Oh please, Haruka. You’re making them sound like the common criminals your fathers’ put away! They’re boys – what they do is simply immature roughhousing that they will grow out of eventually, just as your brother will in do due time.”
“You seriously cannot be comparing my brother to them of all people.”
“Yeah. With all due respect Headmistress, Asahi Kambe is nothing like the Palmer brothers,” Duncan added.
Headmistress Charles rose her brow again, “Is that so? Need I remind you both that Asahi Kambe has been responsible for the same number of incidents as the Palmer brothers combined? Not to mention that most of those incidents are from physical altercations with said brothers on a near-weekly basis, alongside the disrespect he’s shown toward his teachers and other faculty and staff members. Next time, try to consider your evidence more carefully before you go around pointing the finger at others, Miss Kambe.”
“Pointing the finger – I’m speaking the truth!”
“And clearly so am I. Though I doubt a silly little girl like you could understand the complexities of the matters that go on outside of your little council room even if they walked right up to you and handed you their business cards.”
Haruka’s blood bubbled. If she didn’t have any restraint, she’d have jumped across the desk and knocked that self-assured look right off her face just like Asahi. Sure, her brother was far from perfect. She won’t deny that. But there was at least some merit to his violence.
Stephan and Jaime sucked, simple as that. They were known for bullying and picking on kids for years. It’s common knowledge among the other members of the school’s rugby team that Stephan only joined so he could have an excuse to hit people without it being considered blatant assault because of how physical the sport is. Even before Asahi started being more physical with Stephan, he would go out of his way to annoy or insult or inconvenience him just because he liked it when he got a rise out of other people.
And yet they’re all still here at the same school with the worse punishment being in-school suspension while others have been sent home for days for having ‘distracting’ hair.
Haruka bit down on her tongue. The whole conversation brought on the headache she had been pushing back for the past few hours and she couldn’t stand to argue with this woman any longer. Without another word, Haruka marched out of the office with Duncan in tow. The Headmistress yelled after them, but they continued walking until they were down the hallway where Haruka inhaled deeply and let out a long shout at the top of her lungs while other students passed by on their way to their next class. A few stopped and began to stare, no sooner dispursing when Haruka shot them a deranged glare.
Duncan slowly reached out a hand and gently rubbed circles into her back, “You good there?”
Haruka growled, “God! This is so fucking infuriating! ”
“I know.”
“Those two could get away with fucking murder and they’d call it an accident! They’ve been terrorizing people for years– we’ve both seen it, Yet she has the audacity to say that I need to check myself? That I don’t understand what the hell’s been going on in this place? Fucking please. ”
“They’re trying to cover their own asses,” Duncan offered, “They don’t want anyone to see how little they actually give a fuck about the students and just want to keep their title as ‘one of the most prestigious schools your child should attend’. Even if it means keeping kids like the Palmers around.”
“Yeah, I keep the money from their ‘precious benefactors’ as if I can’t go right up to my father and–”
Haruka didn’t finish the sentence. A wave of shame crashed over her and she immediately clammed up.
“Ruka? You okay?” Duncan asked.
“Let’s just…go back to the council room. I’ve got work I have to finish up.”
“Do you want to talk–”
“No. No, not… not right now,” she replied, “Not…right now.”
Duncan nodded. They walked back to the Student Council room in silence, Haruka hugging herself the entire way there. Duncan got the door for her and she was just about ready to collapse into her chair when she found her twin siblings sitting in her spot beside Anna and the newly arrived Siobhan.
Kokoro was the first to notice Haruka’s arrival, looking about from her older sister’s laptop with wide honey eyes. “Hey, Haru. Man, you look like shit.”
Haruka’s shoulders fell, “Hello to you too, Koko. Now what the hell are you two doing here?”
“I forgot my lunch at home,” Masayuki said, not looking up from his switch, “Came in here to ask if I could have some of yours. Now I’m teaching Siobhan how to play Journey.”
“Yeah, sure. Take whatever you want,” she muttered, sinking into a chair on the opposite side of the table, her forehead colliding with its hard surface, “Ow.”
“Are you actually okay there, Ruka?” Kokoro asked.
“Did something happen with the Headmistresses?”
“When has something ever not happened between me and the Headmistresses?” she sighed, “they’re still not going to do anything about Stephan and Jaime.”
Masayuki scoffed, “Been knowing that. They never do. What, are they trying to make up some new bullshit to tell Dad and Papa?”
“No, no. It’s just frustrating that for some reason, they are so adamant about keeping those two around. I don’t even think they’re part of some socialite or influencer family or anything. So why do it? Why hide,” she looked at Masayuki’s bruised face, “Why hide them of all people?”
“Why don’t you just make photocopies of the incident reports and show them to the school board or something?” Kokoro suggested through a mouthful of chips.
“That’s a no-go,” Anna said, “Student council members and Head Pupils have personal codes for things like the printers, so it documents who’s used it and when.”
“And we can’t send it out in an email because we don’t have sole access to any of the documents,” Siobhan added, “It sends an alert to whoever owns the document when someone else is on it or is trying to access it.”
“What if we used HEUSC to get it?” Masayuki suggested.
Everyone turned their heads toward him. Haruka lifted her head up from the table, eyes wide.
“What? Did you all forget that our parents developed and own the most intelligent A.I there is to date?”
“Doesn’t Aunt Suzue have parental locks on HEUSC?” Kokoro asked.
Masayuki shrugged, “Yeah, but I can take care of those within the week. All we have to do is get HEUSC to access any file or footage there is of Jaime and Stephan fucking around with other people and let him send to the school board or whatever and no one will ever know.”
Haruka entertained the idea, sitting up straight, “That would get us in trouble if we’re caught.”
“We won’t get caught. And even if we are, wouldn’t the school get in more trouble than us for hiding that fact they keep literal safety hazards on school grounds?”
Haruka dragged her tongue across her teeth. She’s tried to play nice, tried to play fair, and hoped that eventually justice would prevail and Stephan and Jaime would be out sooner rather than never. But playing nice had only gotten her younger brother beaten up and her older brother with serious anger issues.
The time for playing fair was over, as much as it pained her to admit it. Now, it was time to get dirty.
“When did you say you could get the parental controls taken down before Aunt Suzue notices?”
“Thursday, Maybe Saturday at the latest?”
“Good. Cause we’ve got a lot of work between now and next week if we’re going to pull this off.”
Masayuki looked up with a small smile, “I’ll shoot for Friday, then.”
Haruka grinned right back, “I’m counting on it.”
Quite a busy day indeed.