Michi has been watching her. She has been watching her since the day they became friends. She has seen how close she had gotten to Takiyo. She has seen their bond grow. She has seen everything. It was time, she decided. It was time to make her move.

***

"Hey, Hamasaki-kun!" Hikari called from the doorway. "I need you for something. Got a minute?"

"Ah, sure." Takiyo replied. Up until a second ago, he was talking with Yuko. Nothing serious. Just trivial stuff. He waved at her and left the classroom.

Yuko sat down on his chair, and then rested her head in her hands, thinking. She still felt guilty about abandoning Takiyo. She didn't like how she had repeated what had happened to him before.

Therefore, she decided to throw herself into finding a way for him to be with Michi. Make Michi realise Yoichi's true colours, perhaps? Or glorify Takiyo more in front of her? She closed her eyes and continued to think.

Michi was watching her, from the time she was talking with Takiyo. She smiled to herself. She had been watching her and Takiyo. They were so close and chummy, she was almost completely positive about her hunch. Well, she thought it was a great idea.

Michi waved at her friends, and she approached Yuko with a grin. Yuko didn't notice her, because her head was buried in her arms. She was busy thinking. She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.

Yuko looked up. "Michi-chan?"

"Yes." Michi nodded, grinning. "How are you today?"

"I'm good..." Yuko said, not looking her in the eyes, because it made her uncomfortable.

"Oh...so you're good." Michi nodded. There was a silence for a while, which was only uncomfortable to Yuko, mostly because she was just matchmaking this person with her friend in her head.

"Say, Yuko-chan. Why are you sitting in Takiyo-kun's seat?" Michi asked brightly.

"Hm?" Yuko looked around her. "I dunno, just because."

"Just because, huh..." Michi mumbled.

"Uh....Michi-chan, are you okay?" Yuko asked nervously.

"Oh, yes. I'm great!" Michi said brightly. Then she put both her hands on the table, and leaned in with a mischievous smile on her lips. "Okay, spill it." she said.

Yuko looked at her cluelessly. "Spill...?"

"Come on, you should know what I'm talking about!" Michi said cheerily.

"Um, I should?" Yuko didn't have any idea where this was going.

Michi leaned in closer. Her eyes were bright, and she looked excited. Then she opened her mouth, and delivered the fatal blow.

"You like Takiyo-kun, right?"

Yuko was blank. "... what?"

"Right? Right? I've seen it all. You like him, don't you?" Michi was so cheery as she said this.

"Don't you..." Yuko began, but then stopped. She didn't understand how to phrase an explanation. Her brain felt like it was working on rusty gears.

Then, her fist clenched. Didn't she know that she was already going out with Saburo? Was she really only stuck in her own world? She said she had seen it all, but what really had she seen? She has always, always seen things the way she wanted. It frustrated her.

She was already on edge over her own stupidity. Why was Takiyo so easy to overlook? Everybody overlooked him. Is he only noticed when he has somebody to amplify his presence? It was stupid. It wasn't fair. And this girl, who is trapped in her own happy world, when Takiyo loved her so much.

She had already got what she had wanted. She was already happy. Saburo had returned her feelings. But Takiyo was still left alone. His wish hadn't gotten fulfilled yet. Michi was highly unlikely to return his feelings. And then she went away, lost in her own happiness. Why was Takiyo the only one who had to suffer like this?

She wanted to give Michi a blast of reality. She wanted her to know that everything isn't the way she thought it was. She wanted to make her realise.

Michi was talking the entire time her thought process was going on. She seemed to be concluding what she was saying.

"That's why, Yuko-chan, if you ever need any advice regarding Takiyo-kun, feel free to ask me. I've known him since he was little. I know everything about him."

Yuko suddenly stood up abruptly, surprising Michi. The chair knocked back and fell over, making everybody look around.

"What do you know?" Yuko muttered.

"Hm?" Michi was surprised.

Yuko could feel frustration surging through her, channeling into anger. Her heart was pounding, and out of nowhere, she felt an adrenaline rush.

Huh? What's this? Everyone is watching....yet I don't feel scared. I want to yell at her, but...I don't care what will happen. I just want things to happen. I'm sick of this.

"What's Takiyo-kun's favourite colour?" she asked in a low voice.

"Well, he always said it was red–" Michi began, but Yuko cut across her.

"No, it's teal." Yuko replied. "What's his favourite food?"

"Omurice–"

"No, it soba noodle salad." Yuko clenched her fist. What did she know? She moved to the more basic of basic questions. "When is his birthday?"

Michi was getting overwhelmed. What had happened to Yuko?

"Wait...I know this..." Michi said, thinking hard and massaging her temples. "I know..."

"30th October." Yuko said, and now her voice had adopted coldness. "What colour are his eyes?" she asked finally.

Michi thought for a second. "Grey," she answered confidently.

***

Flashback

"Did you both know?" Mrs. Hamasaki asked, as they cooked Takiyo's birthday soba.

"What?" Yuko and Arisu asked curiously.

"Back when Takiyo was much younger, his eyes were grey. A little like yours, but not quite. Like his father." Mrs. Hamasaki said smiling while looking at Yuko.

"Wowwwww, really?" Arisu looked awestruck. "That's so cool."

"Yes, his eyes turned brown gradually, around when he was 10, perhaps." Mrs. Hamasaki mused.

"I never knew stuff like that can happen..." Yuko murmured.

"Do you want to see a picture?" Mrs. Hamasaki asked eagerly.

"Ooh, yes!!"

***

Ever since he was 10-years-old...Michi had stopped paying attention. She assumed she knew everything about him. She got lost in her own world. Takiyo is a strong person, he would be fine, she had thought. This was too much like Ren...

So she needed a wake-up call.

Yuko slammed her hand on the table. "Who told you they were grey?!" she yelled.

Nobody, especially Michi, could comprehend Yuko yelling in anger. She was so shy and quiet all the time. Who knew she could shout in anger like this?

"They're..." Michi began, hands up in front of her defensively. Then she faltered, and her eyes clouded over. "...not." she whispered.

Yuko whipped out her phone and showed her a picture. "What colour are they? Tell me!"

Michi blinked at the photo of Takiyo, and she noticed it was back from the cultural festival. There she was, happy and cheerful, and Takiyo stood next to her, expressionless.

"They're brown..." Michi said, and she could feel her resolve completely and utterly crack.

"So how can you say you know everything about him?!" Yuko yelled, flipping her phone shut. "How can you say, when you don't even know his eye colour?! People change, you know! Even Takiyo-kun!"

Michi didn't know what to say.

"Did you know I'm already dating someone? Yet you say you've been watching me! Open your eyes properly, everything isn't as you think it is!" Yuko shouted.

"Hey, Yuko..." Ren began, but Yuko cut across him.

"You have disregarded him, for so long. You completely dumped him! Do you know how much that has hurt him? When he cares so much for you!" Yuko was going too far. There were no controlling her words now. The next thing slipped out along with everything else. "He loves you! Takiyo-kun loves you, you know! And you just forgot about him!"

Michi stared at her in shock. She couldn't comprehend this. It can't be true.

"Takiyo-kun is so much more than the loner you thought he was. He may be sarcastic, antisocial and cold, but that's just who he is! And he's much more than that. He has so much more than you see. And yet....you go for this piece of birdsh*t!" Yuko whipped around and pointed at Yoichi, who looked shocked, angry and offended, all at once.

Yuko ignored him, and turned back to Michi. "If you look at him, even a little, you'll find so many things about him you never knew! I looked at him! Everybody in class looked at him! Ask Kono-san!" She turned to Erika, who looked like the last thing she wanted was to be dragged into this. "Is Takiyo-kun who you thought he was?"

Erika deviated her eyes awkwardly. Then she said quietly, "He isn't."

A long silence followed this. Then Ren spoke up. "He's caring."

Arisu spoke up next. "He's kind."

"He's considerate." Syo added.

"He's responsible." Sayua piped up.

Slowly, everyone in class got into it. Everybody was naming something or the other that they liked about Takiyo. Something good. Something they thought he wasn't.

"He's fun to be with."

"He's intuitive."

"He's empathetic."

"He's helpful."

Michi felt herself shrink, feel herself ripped of her self-esteem, with every word they spoke. Every word was a realisation. Every word felt like a critical hit.

"He's understanding."

"He's valuing."

"He's generous."

"He's warm..." Hikari finished. Nobody had noticed that she was standing in the doorway, watching it play out. Who knew how long she had been there? The only person who hadn't said anything was Yoichi.

Yuko felt boosted by the class's massive support. She felt tears sting her eyes. Everybody in this classroom thought highly of Takiyo. He wasn't just some forgettable person. Everybody, everybody in the classroom will always remember that there was a boy named Takiyo Hamasaki in their class.

She turned back to Michi. She wanted to add something for herself.

"He keeps his promises," she said in a low voice.

Michi went pale. She seemed to realise everything. Everything came back in one single tsunami. Her eyes fell on Yuko.

"Such an amazing person likes you, Michi-chan," Yuko said. "Takiyo-kun, of all people, likes you." She felt hot, angry tears in her eyes.

Why Takiyo-kun?

Why do you have to hurt Takiyo-kun? Always...

Stop hurting him. Don't go near him. Don't torture him anymore.

"Takiyo-kun doesn't deserve you," she whispered.

Hikari cleared her throat, then moved aside a little, so that everyone could see the wide-eyed, pale-faced Takiyo standing there. Hikari leaned against the doorway, with a simple, unreadable expression on her face.

"Takiyo-kun..." Yuko mumbled.

Michi looked at him. Takiyo shook his head, backed away. When he was at a safe distance, he turned and ran. Nobody did anything. Then Ren shoved Michi gently. She looked up at him. She couldn't read his expression, but she knew what he wanted her to do. Without a second glance, Michi took off at top speed.

There was silence for some time, then suddenly, out of nowhere, somebody whirled Yuko around, and hit her hard across the face.

"HEY!" Ren bellowed angrily, but he received a blow to the stomach.

"Rekkun!" Arisu gasped.

Yoichi stood over Yuko, and shoved her over, causing her to fall against Takiyo's desk.

"Hey, b*stard!" Syo roared, but Hikari quickly grabbed his arm and held him back, shaking her head. Syo tried to pull free, and he was stronger than her after all. He ran towards Yoichi, grabbed his shoulder to turn him around, and punched him hard.

"Teruya-kun, stop!!" Hikari charged forward herself and Erika tried to stop her. But she threw herself towards them and yanked Syo's arm back so hard that he fell over backwards. But as a result, the punch that was aimed to Syo had landed on Hikari instead.

"OY!!" Syo and Erika yelled together, and it was difficult to tell who was more angry, but Hikari was still standing on her feet. Arisu's mouth was covered in horror, and her eyes showed tears.

"What do you think you're doing, Ishida-san?" Hikari asked in a silent, calm voice, wiping her nose and mouth and throwing him a cold glare. It made everyone go silent.

Yoichi broke his gaze away from her, clicking his tongue irritably. He didn't really care about this seperate problem. He turned back to Yuko and was glaring down at her. "Why did you say that?" he asked menacingly. "What did you say?"

Yuko's hand was over her cheek, which had a visible bruise on it. She looked right back at Yoichi. It was odd. She wasn't scared at all. She felt defiant.

"The truth," she whispered.

Author's note
>///<
Putting aside everything that happened in this chapter, let me just say, I LOVE Hikari. She can be so badass when she wants to be, and I just love her. Probably my favourite side character.