It's been so long since I last wrote something. After playing through the game and absolutely falling in love with Haru, it spurred me into doing this. I wish she has more screen time and hopefully Royal will amend that. In the meantime, this will be my take on how to give Haru more screen time.

Date Published: 4/29/19
Word Count: 2,034
Page Count:4

Chapter 1: Whispers in the Hallways

4/12 Tuesday

She had heard the various rumors floating out of the mouths of the students. It was impossible to block out the murmurs and assumptions. The students of Shujin Academy were a rather gossipy bunch. Somehow, be it from word of mouth or the internet, they always had someone to whisper about.

The words were never kind of course. It would be hard to believe that the students of Shujin were capable of using their words for compliments rather than scorn. They were always speaking about what students were sleeping together, or which ones were causing mischief. It didn't matter to them if there wasn't any evidence to back those words up. It seemed like that was their forum of cruel entertainment.

For Okumura Haru, she could never believe such baseless assumptions. Those cruel words emanated from the very students whose aim was set on her own heart. Haru's father was the owner of Okumura Foods, best known for the chain of fast food restaurants known as Big Bang Burger. Thanks to that, her classmates had always assumed she was some snooty, well off girl. The type that saw herself above the rest of the 'commoner' students such as themselves.

While the well-off part was true, she was far from snooty. Much like her soft, floofy chestnut hair, Haru had a soft heart. She wasn't capable of speaking cruelly to or about anyone unless she had proof to back her words up. She had become accustomed to cruel words from her father and newly appointed fiancé. The pain…the despair…she wouldn't want to inflict that pain onto anyone.

As much as she hated those words, she couldn't avoid hearing the mummers. Just from sitting in her seat in the classroom, she'd hear theories spreading across the room. As of late, rumors about the school's volleyball team coach, Mr. Kamoshida, was a popular topic.
As she sat there, two of her female classmates were speaking ill will towards one girl in particular who was supposedly with the coach. Takamaki, a foreigner according to them, was the target of their hatred. They exclaimed that a girl like her wasn't worthy of such a handsome, talented man like Kamoshida. That she was using her 'sluty' looks to lure the coach into her trap.

Haru couldn't understand their fascination over the man. Sure, he was good at volleyball but that didn't warrant a near obsession that encouraged hatred towards others. To her, he wasn't even good looking. From her own experience, older men were more interested in youthful looks and statues rather than the girl herself. She couldn't prove if Takamaki, whoever she was, was truly with such an older man. It didn't mean she deserved to be spoken about in such a manner. Her eyes had wandered over to the girls, they didn't look mean but the tone of their voices told another story. After a few moments of watching their interactions, one of the girl's turned her head and noticed Haru's curious glare.

"What do you want Okumura?" asked the girl in a harsh voice with matching eyes, "You have something to say to us?"

"N-no!" responded Haru in a high pitched, and rather frightened tone, "I-I'm sorry."

The girl responded with a huff and returned her punitive glare to her companion, "Leave it to some rich bitch to listen onto our conversation. Guess she doesn't have any manners; she should just mind her own damn business."

Haru returned her glare to her desk, a gnawing feeling ate at her stomach. Mind her own business? They certainly weren't doing such a thing. All they ever talk about is the rumors about the other students. That was, of course, not minding their own business.

"If only I was capable to talk back to them," she thought to herself, "To tell them it isn't right to spread rumors that they can't back up. If only I could be the heroine of justice I always wanted to be and stop these people from being nasty."

The rest of her day followed the usual routine. She paid attention, did her work, and took notes as the studious third year she was. When classes had ended for the day, Haru proceeded up the steps of the building while trying to ignore the words of her never-ending gossiping peers. The words she heard weren't of the rumors she was already familiar with. It was about a mysterious transfer student that supposedly had a criminal record.

"I heard that he got busted for assault," one male student exclaimed on the second year's floor, "Not only that but he's been caught smoking, drinking, and stealing."

"I heard he carries a knife with him at all times!" spoke his companion, "I'm afraid that if you set him off, he'll stab ya! Why did they accept in such a terrible person? Today's his second day and I feel he won't last a month before being expelled."

Haru couldn't help but think that they were exaggerating. If he was that dangerous, wouldn't he be in a school designated for criminal students or possibly juvenile hall? As she continued upwards to the roof, the mummers of this 'extremely dangerous' student didn't end.

When she finally reached the roof, she let out a sigh as she leaned her back into the door, "I don't understand how they can believe such things. He's probably just a misunderstood person, no way someone could do all those things and not be in juvenile hall by now."

Haru walked over to the small tomato planters on the ground and bent down to examine their leaves. They were placed near a couple of desks that, for whatever reason, was expelled from the inside of the school and had to live there. She appreciated the desks nonetheless; they came in handy for her belongs, such as her school bag, the watering can, and whatever plant nutrients she would bring along with her.

She had recently gotten into gardening and it quickly formed into a passion of hers. She was able to talk the school into allowing her to have a little garden for growing fruits and vegetables. For now, all she had were the small tomato plants, but the principle promised they'd install small soil boxes for her. When that would happen was a mystery though.

"Grow up nice and healthy, okay?" she spoke gently to her precious plants, "I hope father will enjoy the tomatoes."

While Haru's father had grown ruthless in recent months, she still loved him. She had hoped that maybe she could lighten his attitude by showing him how hard she was working on her garden. Maybe, just maybe he would give her a little smile and tell her to keep it up and continue improving. She spent the remainder of her day taking care of the tomatoes before she decided it was time to head home. As she made her way down the steps, she remembered she needed to get more nutrients for her tomatoes at the flower shop Rafflesia soon.

4/13 Wednesday

Haru had followed her normal routine per usual until the afternoon hit. The school was holding a rally for the volleyball team, with Mr. Komshida and his fellow sports coaches playing against his team. She had no interest in attending the event, so she decided to stay in her classroom to use her time to look through a gardening book she had recently purchased.

She was focusing intently on the book until her stomach gave off a low grumble. She then pulled out her phone to check the time. She hadn't eaten yet, so she decided it was a good time to take a break for lunch. Her maids had prepared her lunch per usual, so she never had to buy anything from the cafeteria expect for a drink. She placed a bookmarker of a cat sleeping under a tree into her book and returned it to its resting place within her desk.

Haru exited her classroom and began to walk down the hallway when she saw something odd. A boy with frizzy, curly black hair and glasses was speaking with a male student she recognized from her class. Next, to the student she recognized was another boy, but he was covered in bandages. His right eye was completely covered as the bandages wrapped about his head. His right arm, as well as his left leg, was also covered up. She had noticed students wrapped up in bandages recently which she thought was odd. She knew sports training could get intense and cause injuries, but so many from only the volleyball team were suspicious. Admittingly, she hadn't looked into the situation outside of the injured students she would pass by.

"Like I said, Mr. Kamoshida isn't abusing us!" yelled the injured boy defensibly, "This just happened from practice. It gets intense when you're caught in the heat of the moment."

"You don't have to hide it," responded the black-haired boy in a gentle voice, "We're trying to stop him from abusing anyone else, you don't have to be afraid of him."

"Can you not hear asshole?! He hasn't done anything, so leave me alone," responded the injured one angrily.

The boy with the glasses responded with a simple, "Okay, I'll go. If anything changes, don't be afraid to tell me."

"Pfft, why would he tell you anything," spoke the boy from her class, "You're more likely to assault anyone than Mr. Kamoshida!"

"So, he's the transfer student," Haru thought to herself as she continued to watch the scene unfolding before her.

Without saying another word, the transfer student started to walk towards her. The boy in her class gave him a dirty look and returned to his conversation with his injured companion. As the transfer student got closer to her, she saw a saddened look from his eyes. They didn't hold any malice, just a soft, gloomy look as if he had just wanted to help out the wounded student. She couldn't stop staring at him, for being such a 'dangerous person' he reminded her of a cat. Soft, fluffy, with a kind pair of gray eyes. From appearances only, he didn't look like the type that would assault someone. If anything, the way he behaved made her think he was more interested in helping people, not hurting them.

"Do you need something?" he asked in a light tone as he came to a halt in front of her.

"Ahh, uhh!" she responded as his voice pulled her back into reality, "I-I'm sorry for staring! I, uh, ahhh…"

He started to walk past her after her squeals of fluster but stopped once more and spoke, "Do you happen to know anything about the volleyball team?"

"I do not," she replied in a calmer tone as she turned to look at him, "I do think…well, it's strange that so many of them are hurt. None of the other sport team members seem to have similar wounds. Why do you think Mr. Kamoshida is abusing them?"

"I have a hunch, but I need proof," he replied to her as he moved his head over to look her in the eyes. Nothing about his face screamed criminal, it was just…soft, "If I find don't proof, nothing will change here."

"I-I see," she replied as she stared into his eyes hidden away by the glasses, "Good luck then."

"Thank you," and with those words, he continued to walk past her and then into another hall out of her sight.

With him gone, Haru's mind started to wander, "So that's the 'criminal' transfer student. He doesn't seem bad; I wonder if I'll run into him again? I wonder if Mr. Kamoshida is truly guilty, or if this is just another baseless rumor? I never interacted with him so I can't really say. Thankfully he's trying to gather evidence unlike the rest of the students that are just interested in rumors for their own enjoyment."

With those final thoughts, the fluffy-haired girl returned to her previous mission of getting something to drink for her meal. She couldn't shake the thoughts of the frizzy-haired boy and what he said out of her head.

And that's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! If you're so inclined please leave a review.