When she arrived at Shino Academy, she was bright-eyed and filled with the kind of unashamed enthusiasm that was usually drained from people far too soon. She was the sort of student that kept her uniform clean and pressed and always arrived on time for class. On the outside, she had all of the makings of an ideal student.
Her naive people-pleasing habits got her noticed by all of the wrong people and soon enough that got her into trouble. Upperclassmen took advantage of her kindness, often leading her to work herself to the bone doing menial chores for them in exchange for what she thought was friendship. The truth was, none of them cared about her at all. But she didn't know any better.
The brightness in her eyes began to dim when she realized the truth.
She'd come all this way only to be alone again.
The lacy patterns of filtered sunshine skirted across her face as she sat beneath an ancient tree on the far side of the academy. The days were growing longer and hotter and she was losing purpose.
That was when she met Rei.
The encounter meant little to the other girl, but to Sachi it meant the world. In Rei there were possibilities that she had only ever dreamed of. A clean slate. A shoulder to lean on. A true friend. And for a while, it seemed like her inordinate excitement had been justified.
But nothing gold can stay.
It wasn't that Sachi had done anything violent to frighten Rei, though she'd always been wary of that possibility. It was the small things. The flash of blackness in her eyes when a passing remark triggered her, the way her fingers twitched into fists as she bit back low growls. It was the inherent instability that came with who Sachi was.
After all, no one wants to be known for being friends with the weird kid.
When relative anonymity is your goal, that certainly doesn't help. And Rei was smart enough to know that. So she knew it had to end. It started slowly: Not meeting Sachi for lunch or forgetting to greet her in the hall between classes. But soon enough they weren't even talking despite Sachi's efforts to find her and ask if everything was okay. Without even Rei by her side, she truly didn't have anywhere to belong.
But she kept on smiling like nothing had hurt her.
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