Red Data Girl - Series 1 & 2

The First Makeup - 20

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Red Data Girl: The First Makeup
By Noriko Ogiwara
Chapter 3: Manatsu
Part 3 (3 of 3)

The next morning when the alarm went off, Mayura got up as usual. However, somehow she didn’t seem like her usual self. She didn’t ask Izumiko how the night before had gone and when Izumiko tried talking to her, she only offered vague responses. She didn’t want to go to breakfast either. It wasn’t surprising that when Ms. Saijou, the head of the dorm, came to check on her, she was worried about Mayura’s cheerless mood. She called the school nurse on the phone.

The nurse’s words were reassuring.

“Her injuries don’t seem bad, but she’s probably still in a bit of shock. She says she’s not in pain and she doesn’t have a fever. Her blood pressure’s a little high, but it’s still in the normal range so I don’t think she needs to go to the hospital again. She should rest and we’ll check on her again later.”

It was decided that Mayura would simply take the day off from classes. Izumiko, who knew more about what had happened than the teachers, continue to worry about her friend. However, as long as Mayura was in good health, Izumiko had no choice but to go to class. By the time she was ready to leave the room, Mayura had already fallen back to sleep so Izumiko left a roll she had bought at the school store next to Mayura’s pillow and headed to Class C.

She thought Manatsu would ask about Mayura when she got there, but she didn’t see him that morning. It seemed as if he was taking the day off as well. Izumiko’s uneasy feeling continued to grow.

There’s no way everyone can be sick today…

If both Mayura and Manatsu weren’t in class, she guessed that there was also a possibility that Miyuki would be absent that day as well. He had seemed fine the night before but that could have unexpectedly changed later. After all the strange things that had been happening one after another lately, nothing really seemed that out of the ordinary anymore.

Eventually, Izumiko couldn’t ignore the need to check and see if Miyuki had come to school anymore. There was still time before first period began. She broke into a slow run and hurried to Class A. She tried to peer into the classroom while people came and went in the hallway. While Izumiko knew she wouldn’t find Takayanagi or Kosaka, it quickly became clear that she wasn’t going to find Miyuki either.

Something was up. Izumiko’s heart began to quicken and her chest tightened.

But then there was a voice from the other side of the hallway.

“Are you planning something?”

Miyuki stepped off the stairs that lead up to the second floor.

Miyuki looked the same as he did every day. He didn’t look like he had lost any sleep and he was wearing a fresh shirt. His expression was alert. When she saw him, Izumiko felt her nerves relax slightly. She even smiled.

“Oh, good. Nothing’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why?” Miyuki stared at her.

“Manatsu’s absent today and I was wondering why.”

“Ah. I heard he’s sleeping,” he said with a slight smile.

“Last night, everything happened between the triplets. It might have looked like he was only watching, but really he was a big part of the fight. What they do is different from using shikigami, but it’s the same with using any magic. What they did last night was a lot for two living people to shoulder. They weren’t hurt though, so you don’t need to worry. As long as they rest at little, they should be fine.”