"...How certain are you that the person you saw going in was Kasuka?" Saori said quietly, as if talking it loudly could bring the person in question into existence.
Although, she was quite sure Hiyori wasn't lying. Even if her personality was a bit of a setback, her capabilities aren't something she could simply scoff at.
It could be said that Hiyori was better at hiding herself than Saori is.
Her senses are sharp, she would never mistake someone for someone else.
"Mm!" Nodding furiously, Hiyori began to recount back everything that happened this morning.
From the moment Kasuka called on Hiyori to walk out with her, to the moment Kasuka suddenly said that she had an arrangement today.
Kasuka moved very quickly for someone with such a weak body, because of that, Hiyori somehow lost her pretty fast.
Fortunately, Kasuka wasn't keen on hiding her traces, so Hiyori could easily follow them, leading to her discovering Kasuka in front of the Madam's office.
And then, she entered willingly.
Only to come out 30 minutes later... limping out the door. Well, from what it sounded like, at least.
Hearing this, Misaki's eyes widened. After all, when Kasuka arrived home today, she never noticed anything wrong with that girl.
She walked normally, she smiled normally, she even treated her as per usual.
...It's hard to believe someone acting like that could hide their pain so well.
There's absolutely no reason for Hiyori to lie right now.
What could she gain by lying? Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
It'll only bring in more problems for them if she lied about this.
What happened behind that door?
"...As I thought, there was indeed a price for the treatment." Saori concluded, her eyebrows scrunching. "There'd be no reason for her to go back there otherwise."
Rubbing her forehead, Misaki leaned back, trying to relieve any stiffness in her shoulder. "...That's true."
"..." Without saying a word, Azusa stood up.
Everyone noticed this, but nobody stopped her.
Of course, someone did leave behind a word of advice.
"If you think you'll be going alone, think again. We still need to prepare ourselves, otherwise we'll be controlled one-sidedly." Misaki warned. Since this was something they had done without Kasuka's permission, it was only natural they should be the one to take responsibility.
Not Kasuka.
Azusa stopped in her tracks, then silently nodded her head.
"...Are we doing it tonight? What if Kasuka wakes up?" Atsuko asked in concern.
If Kasuka were to discover their disappearance, she might just faint out of worry. There would be nobody to take care of her if that was the case.
"The earlier we move, the better. If this goes on longer than we can handle, there might really be no return." Saori pointed out. "If Kasuka were to secretly meet up with Madam again one day without our knowledge, there's no telling what might happen to her."
"Perhaps she had already met with her once. Today might just be the first time someone discovered it."
"..." Nobody could say anything against that logic.
Misaki slightly raised her hand above her head, "I'm going."
"...Me too." The second one to apply for participation was Azusa, who was rubbing the remnant of dirt on her face using her sleeve.
"I-I'd... like to go too... But if Hime wants to go, I can stay!" The teal haired girl looked very eager to move, but she's willing to stay behind if Atsuko said she's going.
"No, you go. I don't think allowing Madam to see me face to face would be a good idea." Atsuko shook her head.
Since she was of the royal lineage, the adults never truly did treat her like a normal student.
Especially so since Madam Beatrice was the one who had warned other instructors to not touch her.
Meeting Madam... Wasn't something she could just do.
...Unless she was coerced into doing it, she will not willingly walk into the Madam's office.
As for Saori? Nobody said anything about her since it was confirmed for her to lead the way. After all, she was the one that had personally sent Kasuka to Madam.
"Good luck, everyone." After a couple minutes of preparation, such as presenting themselves cleanly, they were ready to move.
Atsuko stayed at the door, waving goodbyes to the others.
They waved back, and as they did, their backs became smaller and smaller.
Atsuko's arms fell listlessly to her sides.
"..."
She's all alone now. Feeling the silence, Atsuko turned around and walked towards their bedroom.
Opening the door slightly, she noticed the lock of brown under a blanket.
Carefully, she walked in and closed the door. Gently and quietly so as to not make any noise.
"...!" As Atsuko heard a murmur, she turned around in caution. Fortunately, it was simply Kasuka talking in her sleep.
"Phew..."
Weaving a sigh of relief, Atsuko made her way towards the laid out carpet.
Yes, they do not have bedding, so they have to make do with what's available.
Gently and carefully, she sat down right next to the sleeping Kasuka.
"...You." She was hesitant. At this moment, she truly wondered if she knew who 'Kasuka' truly was.
But she's asleep right now.
Even if Atsuko wanted to ask some personal questions, it couldn't be done tonight, there's way too many things going on to care about something so...
Out of place.
Secrets, they all have their own. Be it small or big, there's just some things people keep to themselves till their dying breath.
Does Atsuko have any?
Perhaps so. But it isn't a very significant secret.
She's grown up with the rest of her friends, they've practically gone through everything together.
Due to that, there's rarely anything they needed to keep from one another.
But Kasuka... She had only known them for two weeks.
"...It's alright. There's still a long time ahead of us. When the time comes, we'll know each other like the palm of our hands."
Yes, there's no need to rush anything. Even if this place is a living hell, it's still forgiving enough to not kill them off.
Perhaps until they could go to high school.
Attend an academy and make new friends.
"..."
There's still time.
No need to worry.