The mind can forget... but the heart never!

Chapter 26

Bunny tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep as her mind was filled with thoughts. She had slept with Seiya, and Mamoru had a woman over at his place who called him to bed. Images kept flashing before her eyes, imagining what he might have done with the other woman.

The next morning, Ikuko was surprised to find Bunny already sitting at the table, having breakfast before the alarm clock went off. Concerned, she asked if everything was alright, to which Bunny replied with a distracted nod.

At school, Bunny immediately retreated to her seat in the back row. She noticed Seiya's gaze on her, but he remained silent. Internally, she was still unsettled, unable to think clearly. Yet, her body immediately reacted to Seiya's presence, feeling a warm sensation coursing through her when he entered the classroom.

Then, Mrs. Haruna stormed in with the bell. Bunny thought it was no wonder she was always late; it seemed like she was just waiting for the bell. Mrs. Haruna had a stack of papers in her hand, which turned out to be the evaluations from the previous day's test. Bunny had completed eight tasks, expecting to receive a grade of three or four. But when she looked at her paper, she couldn't believe her eyes. There was a one, indicating she had scored the highest grade.

Surprised, Bunny asked her seatmate Naru if it was true, and Naru confirmed that Seiya had continued with the test after Bunny had to leave due to feeling unwell. He had worked hard on all the tasks, and even Yaten was afraid he might collapse. Bunny looked at her paper again and smiled.

During the following two hours, Mrs. Haruna tried to teach them math, but Bunny found it difficult to concentrate, especially with letters on the board. Finally, the bell rang, signaling the much-needed break.

At the school gate, Mamoru stood with a rose in hand, waiting for Bunny. Angel, dressed in a school uniform, was with him, looking uncomfortable. She complained about having to go undercover to school and teased Mamoru playfully. Mamoru grinned and teased her back, remarking that she looked almost innocent in the uniform.

Bunny packed her things as Seiya walked past her. She reached out her hand towards him, and he stopped, keeping some distance so she couldn't touch him. She thanked him for her sports grade and expressed her surprise at getting a one. Seiya grinned and replied in his usual macho manner, hinting that he had also done it for his own grade. Then he was called by someone else, and he winked at Bunny before leaving.

On the schoolyard, Minako immediately ran up to Bunny and informed her that Mamoru was at the school gate with a blonde girl. Panic filled Bunny's heart. Was it the woman from last night? Why was he bringing her here? Was he going to break up with Bunny and flaunt his new girlfriend in front of her? Her chest tightened with jealousy as she followed Minako stiffly. She felt like running in the opposite direction.

When she saw Mamoru, she noticed the blonde girl next to him, who was laughing with him. She was stunningly beautiful, and Bunny fought back tears. Mamoru approached her, offering her the rose, and followed her gaze to the blonde girl. Confused, he asked if that was who Bunny was referring to from last night. Bunny felt betrayed.

Mamoru explained that the girl was Amaya, the daughter of a colleague from America, who would be an exchange student for a week or two before returning to her mother. He had spoken with the school principal, who allowed Amaya to join Bunny's class to help her make friends. Bunny looked at Amaya again skeptically.

As Mamoru held her hand and looked deep into her eyes, he reassured Bunny that nothing had happened with the woman from last night, who was an old friend from the orphanage just playing a prank. Mamoru professed his love for Bunny, and as he kissed her cheek, Angel rolled her eyes and stepped closer, introducing herself properly as Amaya.

Reluctantly, Bunny shook Amaya's hand and forced out a greeting. She didn't know what to make of the situation, but her instincts warned her that something was off. Then, she turned back to Mamoru, seeing a boundless longing in his eyes. "I don't know why, but I believe you," she said finally, taking the rose from his hand and fidgeting with the stem nervously.

Mamoru mentioned that he had obtained two tickets for the hot springs, including an overnight stay, for Saturday. He expressed his desire for Bunny to accompany him. Nervously, Bunny bit her lip, torn between her feelings.

"Mamoru..." she started, but then the bell rang. He gently brushed his hand against her cheek. "You don't have to decide right away. Just call me when you've made up your mind," he said with a smile before leaving. Bunny looked after him sadly before turning to Angel. "Well then, come with me, Amaya. We have art class now." Bunny tried to be friendly; after all, Amaya wasn't to blame for her own misery.

On the other end of the schoolyard, Seiya watched the scene between Bunny and Mamoru unfold. Seeing Mamoru lean down towards Bunny, he seethed with jealousy. He was too far away to see exactly what Mamoru was doing, but his gut told him it wasn't good.

Yaten leaned against the wall next to Seiya. "What's he doing here? I thought he had to work all the time."

"If only I knew. I'd prefer him to be at his clinic instead of lurking around Bunny," Seiya gritted his teeth.

In the classroom, Bunny introduced Angel as Amaya and she took the seat on Bunny's right side. Since Naru hadn't arrived yet, Seiya took her seat.

"Well, darling. Mind if I sit here for art class?" Seiya teased.

"That's Naru's seat," Bunny grumbled irritably and shot him a glare.

"I know, and I already talked to her. She's fine with us swapping seats," Seiya grinned playfully.

"Whatever, then just stay there. You never care about what I say anyway."

Angel sat there calmly, observing everything but mentally taking note of things she deemed important. Things that most people considered unimportant were often more relevant to her than they realized. She tried to catch as much of the conversation as possible.

A new teacher entered the classroom, introduced herself briefly, and explained their new art project—a portrait. Bunny grabbed a stack of paper and a set of pencils of different hardness from the front and handed Amaya a set before setting up her workspace. Then she looked at Seiya and burst into laughter, almost tipping over her chair at the sight of his drawing. Seiya furrowed his brows in annoyance. "Why are you laughing? Look at your own paper."

Teasingly, Bunny stuck her tongue out at him. Art was her strong suit, and if she excelled in anything, it was expressing herself creatively. She quickly sketched a few guidelines on her paper and, within minutes, had a rough sketch that looked much better than Seiya's scribbles. She slid her paper over to him. "You just need to add the finer details, shading, and specifics," she mumbled softly. Confused, he looked from his paper to hers and back to her.

"Remember, I don't do everything alone. Consider it a thank you for helping me in sports yesterday. Your scribbles look like they were done by a kindergarten kid; you can't submit that," she continued to chuckle.

"Thanks," Seiya muttered and moved Bunny's sketch to his side of the table.

Then, Bunny glanced to her right and swallowed hard. Amaya was incredibly skilled at drawing. On Amaya's paper was a portrait of Bunny and Mamoru. Bunny's heart skipped a beat. Why was she drawing something like this?

Angel caught Bunny's gaze and grinned. "Do you like it?"

Bunny shook her head. "Uh... yes, it's almost perfect. But... why did you draw us?"

"I don't know. I think you make a beautiful couple. I saw you outside earlier," Angel explained.

Bunny swallowed hard again. Angel could see that her drawing was having the intended effect. "You can have it if you want. I'm giving it to you. It won't be graded for me anyway."

Then Bunny heard a sound from her other side, causing her head to whip around. Seiya sat there with his fists clenched, his pencil broken in two. His jaw was tense. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" was all that went through Bunny's mind. Then Seiya jumped up and quickly left the classroom.