Tʜᴇ Sᴜᴏʜ Hᴇɪʀ | 𝙾𝙷𝚂𝙷𝙲 [HIATUS]

𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚛

『 Sᴜɴꜰʟᴏᴡᴇʀ𝗌 』

     AS USUAL, RANKS were revealed a week after the midterm examinations had finished.

And, as usual,

"Congratulations, Suoh-san!"

"You've ranked first again!"

"Amazing, Suoh-san! Congratulations!"

Kinoka ranked first in her year.

"Thank you all for your kind words, Suzumiya-san, Nakashima-san, Miyazono-san."

"Kino-chan~✿! Great job!"

"Mm."

The aforementioned lady bowed, ignoring the informal use of her first name. "Congratulations on ranking second and third as well, Haninozuka-san, Morinozuka-san. Please excuse me."

"Congratulations, Suoh-san~," Kon teased, elbowing the lady as they walked away side by side.

"Careful. My foot may accidentally land on your spine."

"Wow. Calm down and give me some of those congratulations too."

"You can have it when you surpass me, Haninozuka-san, Morinozuka-san, and the four others above you," Kinoka shook her head.

"Don't wanna. You all put in way too much effort. I mean, look at you," Kon eyed his best friend from head to toe. "Gaunt. Half-dead."

"Yet I still appear ten times more desirable than you do."

"Wow, twice in a row. Who drank your milk this morning?"

Eyes followed Kinoka, boring into her skull as they passed through the crowd of students checking the displayed grades.

One would be unnerved under the intensity of such gazes.

Then again, the lady always had someone watching her every move. Whether she wanted it or not.

So, such gazes were simply a fact of life for her.

Competitive spirit always did rise around exam weeks. It was an academic showcasing of the best after all.

And Kinoka was, apparently, the best of the best, academically or otherwise (excluding athletics but no one paid much attention to that).

Such was simply expected of her and so, the lady delivered.

Kinoka massaged her chest with her first, softly clearing her throat.

Not softly enough.

"Meet you back at the Ikebana Club room," Kon suddenly bid.

Kinoka opened her mouth to protest as she realised, but Kon had sped off, his auburn hair flying behind him with the wind.

"Ah, Suoh-senpai! Hello!"

A certain blonde greeted, earning the lady's attention.

Tamaki began to approach Kinoka much more openly ever since they crossed paths in the cafeteria. The latter didn't particularly mind. Their interactions were restricted to coincidental meetings in the hallways anyway.

And he never addressed her informally.

A warning from their grandmother perhaps.

Every time they met, it was always a simple greeting from Tamaki followed by a nod of acknowledgement from Kinoka. Doing any more than that seemed unnecessary in her eyes.

And so, once again, Kinoka nodded in acknowledgement.

Tamaki's eyes watered, startling the lady.

Before she could question him, however, he bowed a full 90 degrees. "Congratulations on ranking first in your class!"