Claire Takashima

The girl was running, her short brown hair flying behind her as she bolted out of Uncle Okuma's Restaurant. She was late for school. Very late. The restaurant was located near South Center High School where she was a second-year and she regularly frequented there before making her journey.

When the girl arrived, she was immediately escorted to the authorities by her homeroom teacher, Miss Tagawa Hiro and there she stood, in the middle of the dim courtroom as they scrutinized her. She hoped the light was too low to pick up the sheen of sweat on her forehead and the windswept nature of her hair from the exertion. She smoothed the bottom of her school uniform nervously, awaiting their reaction.

"What a disgrace!" shouted the Headmaster, scrunching his nose at her disgruntled appearance. The girl could not remain silent any longer.

"Please forgive me!" she shouted, hoping her opportunities hadn't run out, "Quell your anger and give me another chance! You won't regret it."

"We already gave you a chance!" The Secretary sighed, "It was a great chance to take the exam earlier than your fellow classmates."

The girl looked down at the floor, though there was defiance in her eyes. "I have my reasons but I dare not argue with respectful authorities."

She prayed in her mind for someone to come and save her. South Center High School was known for its strict rules and impossibly high decorum standards, any simple mistake could affect the student's performances. Some said this high school could only be survived by the perfectionists at heart but the lower fare to attend than Peace Academy High School was attractive to all kinds of scholars. She wasn't a perfectionist herself but she did have financial problems, though she had not revealed the cause to anyone.

When the six authorities would not cease their scrutiny and tormenting of her, a voice could be heard from the back of the courtroom. The girl had not shed any tears for fear of giving them something else to talk about and remained looking ahead as if unaffected by the presence which skulked in the shadows.

"Leave Claire alone," the boy said confidently, coming into the light, "At least give her praise for being dedicated to her grades, she is one of our top students." He had been listening throughout the talk and at the sight of who it was the authority figures stood up from their seats, descending into a low bow.

"Greetings to the young Master." They called out in unison.

The young Master's name was Nagasawa Yasuhiro. He was a respected son of his father who had earnt esteem higher than the Headmaster for his contributions to the creation of the school. He was seen by many as a sort of Founder as the academy would not have existed without him. Yasuhiro was a fourth-year student and was also given the same respect by all attending the school as a result of being his next of kin.

"You may all be seated," he said, waving his hand in dismissal. His amber eyes flickered in the light, a sight that Claire would never forget even after their first meeting. The authorities sat down silently, pondering what the young Master had said.

"As you wish," replied the Headmaster, "Takashima Claire will be granted one more chance, on the condition that she passes her exams. If she receives a fail when the scores are out then she will be expelled with immediate effect!" The Headmaster shouted angrily because he had no regard for this simple girl, "You are dismissed. Your Homeroom teacher will see to you."

"Thank you Sir." Claire left the hall, walking faster to keep up with Yasuhiro and once they had reached the lobby she threw her arms round him in gratitude. "Thank you so much!" She allowed her tears to fall. Yasuhiro hugged Claire back and stroked her hair for comfort.

"Let it all out. You don't deserve all their snide remarks," he whispered in her ear and she slowly stopped crying. She let him go.

"How did you-?"

He interrupted her. "I went to find you before the Practice Exams started. Once I knew you were running late, I lied to my subject teacher, I said I was going to the bathroom but I rushed to the courtroom and waited." His calming voice brought her great solace and he cupped her left cheek. "As long as I am by your side, I will make sure you can continue your studies here."

"I won't let your faith in me go to waste," she replied, between sniffs.

"I know you won't. Now come on, you need to wash that cute face of yours before going to Miss Tagawa. Meet me in the lobby. I'll be waiting." She stopped him.

"No! You must go back to your class. Plus, what else do you have to occupy you for all these hours?"

The corner of his lips curved and he groaned, "If you insist. Text me later when you're done. Meet here?"

"Mhm!" Claire nodded confidently and they separated, heading in opposite directions. The walk was not eventful because as she ventured from corridor to corridor, there were barely any students to be seen wandering around the halls. Classes were going on for Freshmen, Sophomores and Upperclassmen. With the exception of her and the Juniors, who had already left to prepare for tomorrow's exams.

She finally arrived at the bathroom and after a few minutes of straightening her uniform, fixing her messy hair into a half ponytail and washing her face, she left the bathroom for the teacher's lounge. Incidentally, Claire was walking through the corridor when she heard the voices of two of her batchmates. She hid behind the corner, deciding to eavesdrop as she recognized their voices to be Ayame Kai and Kuwuhara Aki. She turned to leave when there was nothing of interest but stopped in her tracks when she caught the murmur of Yasuhiro's name.

"Don't you think Master Nagasawa used his respected name for an unworthy cause with that Claire girl?"

"Shh!" Ayame Kai whispered.

"Oh so now you're scared we're going to get caught?"

The mention of Yasuhiro's name was no surprise to Claire as he was frequently the subject of many school girl conversations but she was unnerved by the use of hers. They were making it out to be her fault.

"Don't worry, we are the only ones here. His favoritism for her is so unfair!" She continued at a lower volume, "We all tried our best and it just had to be her who was picked to skip the year!"

"Kai..."

"Those love birds should just break up already because while they are together, they will cause stress and disruption for everyone around them."

Claire's hand made a fist at the mention of a break up, she turned away and left, distressed by their conversation and unable to build the confidence to barge in. Luckily, the teacher's lounge was not in the direction of Kai and Aki so she wouldn't have to trouble herself any further.

Finally, she arrived at her destination and taking advantage of the open door, she peeked through into the teacher's lounge. Few teachers were present, but fortunately, she found Miss Tagawa sitting at her allocated desk. Claire knocked on the door respectfully and after speaking with her about the Practice Exams, she was permitted to take them that afternoon.

Four hours had passed in the secluded classroom and Claire handed in her exam papers for subjects Physics and Robotics. Claire was a girl known for her intelligence and even if her batchmates refused to see it, she had been given permission to take the Practice Exams in her second year because of recognition for her ability. Even if aided a little by Yasuhiro. Her father was ill at the moment, and she had little money for tuition outside of school so she was lucky she did not need it. Unfortunately, her father's illness had been affecting her life for some time now, a prime example of this being her tardiness this morning.

Claire left the classroom after thanking Miss Tagawa and once she arrived in the lobby, she got out her phone and checked the time. 16:24. She composed a text to Yasuhiro.

[Today]

Claire: I finished exams for today! :) I'm waiting for you.

Takashima Claire and Nagasawa Yasuhiro had been friends since childhood and Yasuhiro had seen the struggle Claire had to face looking after her father. He had helped her since and they had developed feelings for each other.

"Claire!" Yasuhiro arrived with his backpack.

Their eyes met. "What took you so long?"

"I was dragged to the authorities again, I needed to exchange words with my father."

"Did something happen?" Claire asked, concerned.

"Just business," he reassured her, "Do you have plans for later?"

"Buying groceries, wanna come?"

"Sure, maybe I could visit your father when you go to the hospital."

"He'll be happy to see you again," Claire said and Yasuhiro faintly laughed.

"I bet."

They left the campus and headed to the nearest grocery store. They were holding hands and Yasuhiro noticed that Claire was quiet so he squeezed hers. "What's wrong?"

She nodded, she had been replaying the conversation between her batchmates in her head. "Did you ever think off..." She hesitated. "Breaking up?"

He sighed. "What else did you hear?"

Claire was surprised that Yasuhiro had read her mind. She was thinking of keeping it a secret from him but she gave in. "Two of my batchmates said that you are just wasting your respected position on me and that we should break up." Yasuhiro tightened his hand around Claire's but not too much that it would hurt her. He looked into her eyes.

"I've trusted you ever since we were kids. Out of all the people I met, you still stood out to me. I don't expect us to be separated just because of what others think. As long as my secret is safe, I will be with you until it is the right time for us to part."

Claire felt her heart grow warm with Yasuhiro's statement but at the end it dropped to her stomach and she was saddened. Aside from her father, her cousin Sakura and the girl in the mask she dared not think about, Yasuhiro was a much needed friend by her side. She stopped walking and avoided his eyes. "You just said you trusted me? Why are you thinking you will leave me at some point?"

He hesitated, "Who knows how long I can still be with you? Even though my secret is safe at the moment, I can't guarantee it will stay that way forever."

They continued walking again and after thirty minutes of talking and shopping for groceries, they left for home. Claire carried one bag and Yasuhiro carried two but as they walked they became silent again. This time she was not thinking about her relationship with Yasuhiro but of the girl in the mask. She hadn't seen her for eight months and the time had gone slowly, she could not shake the knowledge that the incident causing their parting had been her fault. Back in March, she had ruined the masked girl and her own life. This time, Yasuhiro didn't initiate a conversation because he could sense Claire's mind was elsewhere and he had occupied himself with wondering why. A comfortable silence passed between them as they walked.

Claire had been living in her house alone while her father stayed in hospital, he had a rare lung and heart condition and she secretly wondered whether it had been exacerbated by her parents separation. They had divorced when Claire's father had no longer been able to come to terms with living with a woman who no longer loved him. Her mother was a drunkard and a fool with her money, using it only to feed her addiction. She had even been unemployed since Claire was six and had thus taken to using her daughter's savings to supply her alcohol. Sometimes Claire noticed that her father would speak regretfully about meeting her mother and although this was damaging to her mentally, she was satisfied with the knowledge that he wouldn't have a hardworking, caring, and kind daughter without that happening. He was grateful for her effort at getting a job, she was a cashier at the grocery store and she tried to support them both. She was also involved in a secret organisation who paid her for her service but that was something she would never reveal to her father. Not even her friends.

Claire and Yasuhiro arrived at Claire's house and she quietly unlocked the front door. Her house wasn't large as they didn't have a lot of money. The walls were white and blue and there were two storeys of rooms. Suddenly, Claire heard a voice calling her name from within, it had a likeness to hers and hearing it Yasuhiro immediately said, "Is that Sakura?"

Claire stepped across the threshold and Yasuhiro followed in pursuit. Sakura stood at the top of the staircase and she had her phone held to her ear.

"Claire?" Sakura rushed downstairs to greet her cousin, hanging up quickly from her call. Yasuhiro scowled, he had never been friends with Claire's cousin, in fact he greatly disliked her.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a tone of disgust.

"Am I not allowed to visit here?" Sakura asked haughtily and Claire interrupted them before an argument broke out.

"Of course you are! We are just surprised, that's all." She raised an eyebrow in silent question of what her reasons for the sudden visit are.

"Basically, I forgot my laptop," she facepalmed, "I thought you would be home sooner." She looked at the time on her phone. The likeness between the two cousins could be seen, Sakura had longer hair and was slightly taller than Claire but they both shared the same facial features. Even if Sakura looked more mature.

"I was late, but luckily, Yasuhiro came." Claire smiled and looked at him, before beginning to untie her shoes and take them off. Yasuhiro followed her lead. They then headed to the kitchen to unpack the groceries but Sakura continued texting on her phone.

"Who were you talking to before on call?" Claire asked Sakura and she hastily stopped what she was doing to help.

"Just a friend of mine." She replied with an air of nonchalance.

***

The three of them walked to the hospital, signing in at reception before heading to Claire's father's room. There lying on the bed was an elderly man and he was greeted by the three of them. He looked at them in surprise, widening his wise eyes and lightly coughed. "It's nice to see you again, Nagasawa Yasuhiro."

"Just Yasuhiro is fine, Sir." Whenever Yasuhiro's own father was busy, he would visit Claire and her father to kill time. A tradition that had been happening since they were young. Yet, he had never got on with Sakura and they seemed unable to ever make friends.

"It's lovely for Sakura to visit!"

Claire glanced at Sakura, "Well, it is quite rare for her to come by."

Sakura threw a frustrated glance at Claire before collecting herself. "It's always nice to see you, Uncle." Claire stared back at her, noticing a faint bump on her forehead.

"Sakura, did something happen to you?" Claire gestured to the wound and Sakura laughed.

"Oh this? Kiara accidentally headbutted me." She waved her hand as if to dismiss the subject. "It's not relevant now." But the conversation wasn't over in Claire's mind when at the mere mention of Kiara's name, she could feel her heart beating faster in her chest. Though, she wouldn't be stupid enough to let them know so she replied briskly.

"Okay."

Yasuhiro couldn't contain his laughter at Sakura's injury, "You look so stupid!"

"Say that again I dare you." Sakura walked up to him ominously, anger in her eyes and Claire rushed in, breaking from her chain of thought, to stop them both from arguing again.

"Please, don't make a commotion in front of my father!" Claire's father didn't seem to mind as he laughed a wheezy laugh. The three looked at each other's shocked faces and fell into a fit of laughter too. It was moments like this they would cherish.

After two hours had passed, Sakura got up to go back to Peace Academy High Campus and Claire felt the urge to hide her sadness. She hadn't seen Sakura for a while and would have liked to ask her to stay but Yasuhiro got there first and since he hated her, urged her to go. Her father had settled off into a contented sleep so Claire began to prepare for home, she held hands with Yasuhiro and they chatted on the sidewalk. They finally arrived home.

Claire freshened up and went to her room. She grabbed her phone and turned it on, staring at her lock screen. It showed a photo of the girl in a mask as her wallpaper. She was sitting in a red hooded cloak with half of her face covered by a terrifying mask. The girl gazed at the city sky from the rooftop. It was one of Claire's favorite photos, but she unlocked briskly and it lit up with a different image; a photo of Yasuhiro smiling while pointing his finger at Claire's cheek who shared the same happy grin.

Claire laid down on her bed, scrolling through messages on her phone. She came to the chat she had with the masked girl and focused longingly on the last message she received. Her heart ached.

[8 months ago]

❤Kiara❤: Where are you?

The girl she had been thinking about for all these months, the girl she was guilty of ruining the life of... It was Kiara.

Am I really a disgrace?