Mizuki Sayeko had never been fond of the whole 'soulmates' concept, not when her past warned her of the side-effects of falling too deep into the lucid, hypnotising trap. With piercing gazes, a stone-cold heart, would her soulmates ever get through...
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AFTER THE CONVERSATION, if you could call it that, with her soulmates, Mizuki returned to the gym and resumed packing up. She thanked Yachi who had brought down her stuff, nodding her head in appreciation. It didn't take the team long until they were boarding their bus.
Mizuki helped Sugawara load up the gear, stepping in the bus and placing all their bags along the back seats. The marks on her body warmed up every time her soulmates' eyes lingered on her through the windows. Mizuki made no move to acknowledge them. What's done was done. She had told them the absolute truth, whether they accepted it or not wasn't her problem.
"And done," she called, placing the last bag on the ground beside the seat. She straightened her back, pushing back the strand of hair that stuck to her face.
Mizuki flashed him a quick, amicable smile and, as infinitesimal as it was, the second-year appreciated it greatly, brightening up instantaneously. The lavenderette sat in one of the single seats, popping out her headphones. The other boys were all waving to those that came to see them off, and as the engine of the bus switched on, Mizuki found herself glancing to the side.
She locked eyes with Kenma, the softness within those golden orbs shaking her to the core. They held an illusion of depth, iridescent under the sun that toppled down from the sky and made itself a home right there with its vivacious rays. Then, the corners of his mouth lift into a small smile so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that an unexpected warmth rushed through Mizuki, butterflies escaping from the pit of her stomach.
She inhaled sharply, crushing the vexatious insects.
It's better this way, she convinced herself, tearing her gaze away from her soulmates and slipping in her headphones. A little lonelier, but better.
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
By the time they returned to school, twilight had arisen. The sky, black tranquillity married to multiple poems of stars, held a softness that called their bodies and brain to rest, their hearts to revert back to its steady, soothing rhythm. Takeda pulled the bus up to the front of their school, parking it in a spot where it would be collected the following morning.
The group of students stood before their teachers, eyes droopy and minds registering information slower than before due to exhaustion plunging its claws into their brains.
"All right, everyone. Good work."
"Thank you!"
"So, as I mentioned, tomorrow there will be inspections in the gym, so there'll be no club activities." Mizuki was grateful to hear that. She needed a day off after that hectic weekend. "You've all gone a long time without a break, so please enjoy it," Takeda said with a smile, the bags under his eyes darkening as the minutes clicked by.
