Life Will Change

Chapter 10: April 15th

Begin

~Normal POV

4/15 - Friday

When Akira arrived at school, he was expecting to run into Ryuji on his way. The blond boy usually accompanied him into the building, despite having a different homeroom. He was also hoping to get a chance to defer with him on their big decision as early as possible. It had weighed on his mind most of the night-

"Hey..."

He looked to his side and saw Ann had started walking beside him. "Good morning," He replied, with a smile.

She dropped her voice to a low whisper and said, "Thanks again for yesterday."

"No problem." He was happy to help.

"You didn't tell anyone, right? Not even Sakamoto?"

"Not a soul," He answered, honestly. Even when Sojiro had grilled him for staying out late he refused to give even a hint to his whereabouts. Of course that didn't make the old man very happy, but he was too tired to bother him on the matter after that. He wondered if she intended to apologize to Ryuji for yelling at him too. He wouldn't be able to tell him she was sorry without explaining their private discussion.

Ann gave him a small smile. "Good, I'd follow you to homeroom, but I gotta find Shiho..." She sped up her pace and walked on ahead of him without another word.

Her disposition was definitely more friendly towards him; even if it was in a subtle way. He guessed that perhaps she was trying to protect him from Kamoshida's wrath. During his eavesdropping to find dirt on the gym teacher, he'd discovered that boys who tried to get close to Ann had a habit of "sudden school transfers." Kamoshida must have had more pull with the school board than they thought. Even if his heart was changed, there was certainly no helping those kids anymore.

"Yo, Akira!" Ryuji jogged up to him. "Morning. Have you seen Morgana yet?"

"Not yet; have you made a decision?" Akira asked, quietly, as they passed the other students on their way into the building.

"I barely got any sleep thinking about it and I still don't know..." He sighed. "Maybe he'll at least wait until after school..."

"I'm doubtful you even pay attention in class anyway," Akira said, smirking. Ryuji didn't comment but that only confirmed he couldn't deny the truth.

~...

Once homeroom started, Akira couldn't help noticing that Ann seemed more... tense than when he saw her previously. She kept checking her phone under her desk, when Kawakami wasn't looking their way, and her leg twitched with anxiousness. Akira tried not to let it distract him too much, but something definitely looked off.

In the middle of Kawakami's lecture, she got called away by another teacher, Ms. Chouno, for a quick favor. The class quickly erupted in chatter after she left, leaving Akira an opening to speak to Ann.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, gently, remembering to keep his voice down.

Ann barely turned around in her seat to address him. She softly asked, "...Have you seen Shiho today?"

"No, I haven't, sorry. What happened?"

"I've been trying to find out." Ann replied, her voice shaking. "She won't answer my texts, and she wasn't at her locker, we always meet up before class..."

Akira's throat went dry. "Maybe she's not feeling well and didn't come to school?"

"She'd have given me a head's up if that were the case..."