RED-EYED PRINCESS

Chapter 7: Shizuka And Shiro

After classes, students often have various other activities to attend to, and cleaning their surroundings is usually not one of them. However, when Shizuka took on the task of cleaning the entire floor of a building for an entire month, some students started feeling guilty about leaving their rooms untidy. The best way for them to help her was to clean up after themselves. Unfortunately, some students lacked consideration and left their rooms in disarray.

Following the Izumo gang incident, Shizuka found herself completely isolated, with none of her former friends and acquaintances willing to associate with her anymore. Once a highly respected figure among the female students, she now had no one to turn to and was left to wander the halls of the school alone.

"Is Fujino Shizuka the new cleaner for this floor?"

"Yeah. Hope she'll change after what she did."

"She's not a legendary queen of St. Agnes, just a delinquent who acts high and mighty."

"Wasn't she sweet before that incident?"

"No, that was all an act. Her true nature revealed - violent and unpleasant."

"I hope she leaves this school as soon as possible. She will ruin this school's reputation."

As they chatted away, little did they know that Momozuki Shiro was eavesdropping. His ears perked up upon hearing his childhood friend Shizuka's name being slandered. However, Shiro decided to maintain his poise and not confront them. He firmly believed that Shizuka was not the kind of person they portrayed her to be.

He's having trouble dealing with the fact that his childhood friend Shizuka seems to be pulling away from him. He can't help but blame himself for this, at least partially. He recently won the student council election and has been basking in the newfound popularity and attention that comes with the position. As a result, he's been making new friends and getting caught up in his new role, which has caused him to neglect his old friend in some ways. It's a painful realization, and he's struggling to figure out how to fix things and mend their friendship.

From a distance, Shiro gazes at Shizuka with a profound sense of sorrow and sympathy. Although he is deeply concerned about her, he feels uncertain and hesitant about moving closer to her.

Despite the constant presence of hateful people around her, Shizuka remains unfazed. She firmly believes that these individuals are simply envious of her, unable to accept the fact that she possesses a combination of traits that they do not - intelligence, athleticism, and captivating looks that effortlessly draw in the attention of men. However, there is one aspect of herself that she feels insecure about - her small chest. Being a girl, it is quite normal for her to feel self-conscious about this particular aspect of her appearance, which makes her feel vulnerable at times.

Shizuka had grown frustrated with the task of sweeping the floor. She had finally admitted to herself that it was a lost cause to attempt cleaning while others were still present in the room. She was convinced that maintaining cleanliness would be a far simpler task if no one was around to make a mess. Despite her typically proud, spoiled, and haughty demeanor, she was taking this punishment seriously and was determined to make amends for her actions.

Shizuka settled down onto a sturdy wooden chair placed right beside the window, her eyes fixed on the small screen of her smartphone. She was completely engrossed in playing games on her device, her fingers tapping away at the screen in quick succession. The sunlight filtering through the window cast a warm glow over her face, yet she remained oblivious to everything but the game in front of her.

"Look at that attitude."

"I don't like that woman."

Shizuka remained engrossed in her smartphone, oblivious to the murmurs around her. Meanwhile, Shiro watched her intently from outside her classroom, taking comfort in her calm demeanor despite the chaos around them.