Illumi⋄nium!

It's Her..?

It was a bit suspicious, really. Usually when Ryoko dismissed the club, she had left behind to organize papers or to check on the computers. It was a tedious but necessary task, reserved for the club leader.

"Ryoko san! Wait up!", Aki yelled, running out of the classroom and into the stairway.

"You forgot your pencil case!", she waved it in the air, trying to get her upperclassman's attention.

However, she failed to.

"The USB. She always carries it in here.. She said it was really important to her..", Aki took a good look at the perfectly square shaped USB. Maybe this ought to get her attention!

Aki was curious herself. What would she keep that is so important in the USB that she wouldn't let her club members see? She held it up to the light and squinted at it. One peek wouldn't hurt...?

"Aki san!", Rena ran full speed down the stairs.

"Huh?", the blue eyes turned their gaze away from the mysterious storage device, now turning to face her underclassman.

"Did you see Ryoko san? She left her bus ticket.", slightly panting, she held up a pastel orange ticket, stamped with a location.

"What's going on?", Ruriko heard the noise and walked up to the two club members. She was leading Byeol down the stairs, since she didn't know the school well yet.

"Ryoko san left in such a hurry that she forgot her stuff.", Rena replied and turned to the two other club members.

"She also left her flashdrive.", Aki pointed to the device in her hand.

"Guys, since she's probably heading to the place that the ticket says, should we..", Rena started.

"Stalk her?", Ruriko finished Rena's sentence.

"Merely follow."

"That's stalking.

"I mean, if Byeol Chan wouldn't mind."

The three girls turned to the newbie. However, the foreigner hadn't been following the conversation too well, Japanese being one of her weaker points since she had just started lessons the last two months.

"Uh, okay..?", Byeol consented with uncertainty.

"Then let's leave the school now. The bus will leave soon-", Aki raced down the school stairs and the crew followed.

"Wait! Did you read where the ticket is headed?", Byeol tried to catch up with the two girls leading, respectively Aki and Rena. She completely ignored the ringing phone inside her school bag.

"Hopeful Heart Medical Center!", Rena yelled.

"A medical center?", Ruriko repeated back.

By the time that they had arrived at the bus station, the bus was just starting to leave. With Rena's louder-than-average voice, she could stop the driver from leaving them there.

[Hopeful Heart Medical Center]

"W-whee wish- to seee Kiyo-hira Ryo-ko!", Aki slammed her tired fist onto the lime green counter, speaking in incomprehensible panting.

"I'm sorry who..?"

It would have been a bit of an unusual sight seeing four girls, well.. three in full speed, running to the receptionist in school uniforms.

"Kiyohira Ryoko.", Ruriko translated.

"Kiyohira Ryoko... She's not one of our patients.", the receptionist looked up at them with a sorry smile.

"Is there anyone with the last name: Kiyohira, at least?", Ruriko was surprisingly calm.

"Kiyohira.. Kiyohira Meiko."

"Oh no. That's her..", Aki said softly, as if she didn't want the world to hear.