Yuna stepped into the schoolyard and looked for her classmates. She spotted Rin Masatada, who was talking to a few other girls from the school-kendo team. She had to keep an eye on when they had training. Before the summer holidays, Yuna had been out of the Kendo training, but now she wanted to join again. It could do no harm if she kept herself a little in shape. Not that the blue-haired was out for a fight - Kendo was not about fighting, but about strengthening the mind.

"Good morning, Yuna," Nisha greeted her as she came closer from behind.

Yuna stopped and turned to her friend. "Hey, kitten." Both girls laughed.

"Everything all right?"

"I guess so," the blue-haired replied.

Nisha frowned. "You're not sure?"

"Well ... I'm worried about Yui. And I'll probably get my period."

Cheerfully the cat girl laughed. "Perfect timing. Me too."

"Honestly?"

The green-eyed nodded. "I have a large stock of tampons if you need one."

"Oh God, no. I don't use tampons."

Nisha took a step to get to the classroom. Her friend walked with her. "Why not? They're handy."

"I'm not putting anything in there."

The class spokeswoman giggled into her hand. "I didn't understand it yesterday."

Yuna squinted over. "Understand what?"

"What you meant by 'pressurize'."

"Huh?" The blue-haired blinked uncomprehendingly.

"Well, your boyfriend. He wants sex, right?"

The other girl blushed. "Scht! Don't say that out loud!" she hissed, looking around. No one seemed to be interested in their conversation.

"There is nothing to it. This is quite normal." Yuna inflated her cheeks and shook her head, eye closed. "For real. That's part of it."

"Do you want to tell me that you already had ...?" She looked at the cat girl with an open eye.

"Yes, of course. I even have children."

"COME AGAIN?" Yuna rumbled, turning red. She noticed that a few other students were looking at them. She would have rather sunken into the ground.

Nisha held her friend by the wrist, stood on the toes and whispered in her ear. "You must know, up to my fourteenth birthday, I was an ordinary cat. I had four litters and seventeen kittens." The class spokeswoman retreated and looked at her classmate.

Yuna stared at the other girl. She had never thought about the Hengeyōkai and this opening shocked her completely. Nisha was definitely not an ordinary girl.

"Wow. Do you still have contact?" asked the blue-haired.

"Sure. They send me a postcard for Christmas." Irritated, Yuna glanced at her friend. "Oh my God. You should see your face." The cat girl laughed loudly and held her stomach.

"This is not funny."

"Yes, it is. No. Cats are not like that. No idea where they are, or what they do. It's not my problem either."

"But ... they are your children," Yuna stuttered.

"I have raised them up and taught them everything they need to survive. They have certainly come out very well." The gray-haired smiled confidently.

"O-okay ..."

The two girls entered the school building, went to their lockers and took out their slippers to put them on. Nisha was a bit faster and stood next to her friend, waiting.

"If you have any questions, come to me," the cat girl offered.

"I have no questions. The matter is not an issue for me."

"Not yet."

Yuna looked darkly. "Not at all. Ayumi is always annoying me with this."

"She's worried about you. You are like a little sister to her."

The blue-haired girl slammed the door of her locker shut. "It's not a topic, okay Nisha?" Her voice was so loud that some of the students looked over at them.

The class spokeswoman lifted her hands. "Okay. Relax."

"Why do I tell you this at all? This is only between me and Wataru." Yuna started to shake her head, while she stomped off.

"It occupies and insecures you, and you have to talk about it with someone. Normally you can turn to your parents." The blue-haired girl stopped. "Sorry."

"It's all right. I ... I don't know either ... it's not an issue, okay?"

"Okay. Just remember that there are people you can ask when you're ready. Don't let yourself be pushed, okay?"

Yuna clenched her fist. "I'll break his teeth if he tries something."

Nisha came closer to her. "The poor boy."

"I beg your pardon? I am the poor one with this idiot around."

"Then end it. No one forces you to be in a relationship."

The taller one sighed in uncertainty. "I didn't mean that. I love him ... but I just don't want that yet."

"All right."

They went to their classroom and entered the room. A few students were already sitting at their tables. Yuna noticed that Gorou had taken another place. He looked in her direction until she faced him, then turned his head away. He was still angry at her.

The blue-haired looked for Hikari, but she was not there yet. Shrugging, Yuna sat down in her seat and greeted a few other students. Her neighbor would come soon.

"Rise!"

Hirose-sensei entered the room, went to his desk and deposited his shoulder bag while the students stood up from their desks. "Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Sensei."

"Narusegawa-kun."

"Sit down!"

Hirose-sensei rubbed his forehead, stepped in front of the table, and leaned against it. He gathered himself briefly and surveyed his students.

"I inform you that Hikari Wada will not come to school this and next week. She's sick at home."

"Yes ... she's sick," Gorou hissed.

"Shut up, Egawa-kun."

"Yes, Sensei."

"Who will bring her homework?" The teacher looked at his students again. Then he looked at Yuna. "Masuda-kun?"

"Um ... I don't live near her anymore."

"Understand. Anyone else?"

No one answered. The whole class stared at the teacher. The blue-haired girl bit her lower lip. Maybe she should do it to make it up to Hikari that she had evaded her for the last months.

Nisha raised her hand. "I'll do it, Hirose-sensei."

"Thank you, Narusegawa-kun."

"Nerd," whispered someone.

Both the class speaker, as well as the teacher, overheard the comment. "Good. Masatada-kun, please collect the homework and bring it to me."

"Yes, Sensei." The black-haired rose and collected the papers.

Yuna looked at Hikari's seat. What was wrong with her? Yesterday she was doing well. She could go to her, along with Nisha, to mediate between the two.

***

Yui met two of her classmates after only a few minutes. At first the other girls stared at her uncertainly until the blonde raised her hand and waved to them, whereupon the two waved back.

"Hey, Yui-chan," they shouted.

"Good morning, Akemi-chan, Megumi-chan."

"You look great. How are you?" Akemi asked.

She was quite tall for her age and towered Yui around more than a whole head. Fairly, one had to say that Yui was rather small; even the second smallest in her entire class. Akemi Owada had short, black hair, gray eyes, and a red health bracelet, which she always wore on her left wrist. She was in the swimming team and quite a fitness fan.

"Good, thank you. How are you?" Yui looked at the other girl.

Megumi Domoto smiled broadly and presented her shining braces. Her wavy, orange-red hair was held together by a hair gum to a ponytail, while her green-blue eyes gleamed smartly through a pair of glasses. From size she was pretty much between Akemi and Yui.

All three middle-school girls wore the same light brown skirt combined with a white blouse.

"Terrible! The holidays are over," Megumi laughed.

"Ey. A bit more tact, yes?" Akemi growled.

"What?"

"She was in the hospital. Already forgotten?"

Yui smiled shyly. "It's all right. I don't want to be reduced to that, okay?"

"Understandable. Who wants to be constantly reminded of this? Let's go on." Megumi took the lead, so Akemi and Yui trotted behind her.

The short-haired girl glanced over at Yui. "I am terribly sorry for what has happened to you."

The little one nodded thankfully. "Thank you. Everyone knows it, right?"

"Yes. It was in the news and Ume-sensei had informed us. We would have visited you once, but ..."

"Don't worry. I hadn't been approachable for a long time and I had a lot of work to do." Yui's mobile phone vibrated and gave a rushing sound. She reached into her pocket and pulled it out.

Good start at school, Bilbo! :-*

Yui smiled and wrote back. "Who is Takashi? Do you have a lover?" Akemi teased the little girl as she looked at the display.

"And you blame me for lack of tact," Megumi said. The great one stretched out her tongue.

"No. He was my caretaker in the hospital, and we became friends. He also loves LotR and The Hobbit."

"I'm shipping you. Yu-kashi. Or Tak-ui?" Megumi glanced over the shoulder and grinned.

"He is single. And he looks good. And he's very tall," Yui said.

"Pedophile alert."

Akemi pulled Megumi at her pony tail. "Get it together, Megumi."

"Don't break my hairstyle, you barbarian giant!"

"And you shouldn't always speak your crazy mind, dumb ass. Think about Yui-chan."

"Do you think she wants to be treated like a raw egg? You were probably never in the hospital before!" The girl with the glasses turned around and glared at the bigger one.

"You're unbelievable." Yui started laughing loudly. The other two girls stared at her in amazement. "Are you all right, Yui-chan?" Akemi asked.

The blonde nodded and smiled broadly. "Yes. I feel alive. I was so afraid of the first day of school, but everything is the same. You are still bitching about every crap and in the end I have to play the referee again. How could you survive without me?" The small girl laughed on. The other girls exchanged glances, then they joined in the laughter.

"Good morning, Masuda-san." - "Hey, Masuda-chan." - "Nice to see you, Masuda-san." - "Hello, Yui-chan."

Yui was greeted with joy by all her classmates when she entered the classroom with her entourage. "Good morning, everybody."

The threesome group went to their seats and sat down. Megumi sat in the middle. Left of her Akemi, Right Yui. They chattered a little, until the teacher came in through the door, went to her desk and put a paper cup on it.

"Arise!" Cried the class spokeswoman. All the students stood up.

"Good morning, lovelies."

"Good morning, Sensei."

"Sit down!" The class sat down again.

Nori Ume raised her mug and sipped coffee while she inspected her class. When she arrived at Yui, she swallowed and coughed a few times. "Yui-chan!"

The blonde smiled embarrassed. "Good morning, Ume-sensei."

"That's right. You're back. Everything okay?"

"Yes."

Nori sat down on her desk, crossed her legs and threw her long, dark brown hair back over her shoulders. "We were all very worried about you. If you need anything, tell me, yes?"

"Yes, Ume-sensei."

The teacher turned to her class. "So ... who didn't do his homework?" Nobody answered. "You know the motto. If you report now, you're getting around the entry." She stared with her dark-brown eyes deliberately at Megumi, which gave her a look-duel.

Yui raised her hand and cleared her throat. "I didn't get anything. I'm sorry."

Ume-sensei looked at her. "You are, of course, excluded, Yui-chan."

"Typical," Megumi said. "The favorite is treated preferentially."

"Shh!" Akemi gave her a slap on the back of her head.

"Thank you, Owada-kun." The class laughed.