Emperor's Fall, Revenge of the Pawn

Chapter 5: Singing in the Courtyard

"Wow Hakuya-san! You're amazing!"

Oh how easily people change their attitudes about someone. Ever since Setsuna ranked second on the midterms, and raised her class average by 3 whole percent, her classmates have been hoarding around her, trying to befriend her. "Tch, those fake ass bastards. Just a while ago they were all ostracizing her," Matsukawa clicked his tongue.

Megumi, who stood behind him, looked at him funnily and laughed, "Says the first person who started bullying her."

"H-Hey! That's all ancient history! I'm a changed man!" Matsukawa exclaimed. "I'll never judge someone before I get to know them ever again." He glanced at the white haired girl who looked like she wanted to get the hell out of here. Her troubled looking face made him and Megumi laugh. It's not everyday you see the calm and poised Hakuya Setsuna so flustered and confused.

A girl with long black hair in low pig tails placed her textbook on Setsuna's table, and glared at the other people who were crowding around Setsuna, spouting nothing but flattery. "Hakuya-san!" she spoke up, her brows slightly furrowed, giving her face a look of seriousness. Setsuna stared back in confusion, anticipating what she was about to say. Just when Matsukawa thought this girl was about to pick a fight with Setsuna, the girl in pigtails asked, more like demanded, "Can you teach me this problem?" 

"S-sure!" Setsuna answered immediately, feeling a little oppressed by girl before her. It's not rare to find people so devoted to their studies, but it was certainly surprising to see someone shamelessly demand for help in their studies. Well, it's not like Setsuna disliked people like her. In fact, she preferred stupidly honest people compared to those who only show her one side of the coin.

"M-Me too! I had difficulties with the grammar portion of the English test, can you help me with that?" another boy in the class asked when he saw Setsuna offering help to the girl who demanded it. 

"Y-Yeah, of course..."

"Me too!"

"Same here!" 

"E-Ehhhhhh?"

Soon, half the class were crowded around Setsuna. She almost instantly became the most popular student in Class D. When the situation seemed to get a little bit wild, Matsukawa and Megumi stepped in to help maintain some order. "Alright guys, one at a time. She only has one mouth you know," Matsukawa said. 

"Yeah, don't come ganging up on her like that," Megumi nodded. 

So then they took turns coming up to Setsuna to ask questions. To a lot of their surprise, Setsuna was actually very patient, and easy to talk to. Despite her cold and distancing demeanor on the outside, it was obvious by the way she explained the questions to her peers that she never saw herself as someone above them. She neither criticized them nor made fun of them. She was especially patient with those who were a little slow. Setsuna didn't seem to mind explaining things over and over again. 

"Setsuna-chan would make a good teacher, wouldn't she?" Megumi asked. 

"To be honest, she's good at almost everything, so I guess she could be anything," Matsukawa replied. Megumi tilted her head a little, looking upward at Matsukawa, her lips curled into a grin. 

"Arere~, could it be, you've fallen for her?" Megumi asked, wiggling her brows frantically. Matsukawa frowned at the brunette before him. 

He pushed Megumi's irritating grin away from his face and growled, "No!"

After school, the students all reported to their clubs. Setsuna, Megumi, and Matsukawa arrived at the music club. As always, the club room was practically empty. The club president, Kamishiro, was the only one sitting in the room. He waved at the three freshmen who came in, and continued to do his homework at the long table in the center of the room.