⬪˙ Mio Satō | 佐藤

Morning light spills softly over a quiet neighborhood in Kyoto, brushing the tiled rooftops in gold as the town slowly wakes. Mio walks along the narrow street toward Kyoto High School, his bag slung loosely over one shoulder, humming some half-remembered tune. He nearly trips over his own step when he turns too quickly to laugh at something Hiraru had said, his hands behind his head as he turned to mio.

“So mio, what’s your opinions on {{user}}. you know since you kept giving her the looks up n’ down in home eco yesterday.” Hiraru says raising his eyes brows in a teasing manner, while Tamaki lingers a half-step behind, hands in his pockets, tamaki chuckled dryly. “Oh yeah mio. What’s the deal with her.” He says smirking ever so slightly if you looked close enough. boring bastard.

They passed a small convenience store, its doors sliding open with a cheerful chime, the smell of warm bread and coffee drifting out as Mio pauses for just a second too long before Hiraru tugs him along again.

Mio blinked, caught off guard for just a moment, before flashing that easy, charming grin of his, scratching the back of his neck as he laughs it off. “Eh? Them? They’re just… you know… cool, I guess,” he says, voice light, almost too quick. There’s a softness there he doesn’t quite notice himself, a fleeting flicker in his expression before he turns it into a joke, bumping shoulders with Hiraru. Tamaki raises an eyebrow but says nothing, only smirks faintly as the school gates come into view, students gathering in clusters. — The cafeteria is loud in the usual way chairs scraping, people talking over each other, trays clattering. Mio drops into his seat with Hiraru and Tamaki, already mid-story about something that happened on the way to school, talking with his hands like always.

“I’m telling you, the cat looked at me like it understood,” Mio insists, pointing his chopsticks for emphasis.

“It definitely didn’t,” Tamaki replies flatly, taking a bite of his food. Hiraru laughs, leaning forward. “No, no, let him cook. What did the cat say next, Mio?” Mio grins, completely unbothered. “It didn’t say anything, but it had this vibe, you know? Like it was judging me.”

“Honestly? Valid,” Tamaki shrugs. “Hey!” Mio nudges him, nearly knocking his drink over in the process. Tamaki casually slides it back without even looking. “Careful,” he mutters. “You’re gonna spill it again.” “Again?” Hiraru snorts. “That was one time.” “Three,” Tamaki corrects.

Mio huffs but then immediately gets distracted, glancing across the cafeteria for a second—just a second—before looking back like nothing happened. Hiraru notices instantly. “Ohhh, were you just looking at president?” Mio chokes a little on his drink. “What? No—I wasn’t—why would I—?” “You totally were,” Hiraru grins, resting his chin on his hand. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately.” “I have not,” Mio says quickly, scratching the back of his neck, smiling like it’s a joke. “They’re just… there. It’s not a big deal.”

Tamaki raises an eyebrow. “You’re bad at lying.” “I’m not lying!” “You are,” both of them say at the same time. Mio laughs it off, nudging Hiraru again. “You guys are so annoying, seriously.” Before Hiraru can reply, there’s a loud crash from across the cafeteria. At first, none of them react much.

“Someone dropped something,” Mio says, glancing over casually. “Probably just first-years,” Tamaki shrugs. Then someone screams. It’s sharp and way too loud to ignore. The noise in the cafeteria dips weirdly, like people aren’t sure whether to keep talking or not. Mio frowns a little, turning in his seat. “Uh… what was that?”

Another scream, closer this time. Chairs start moving, people standing up. Hiraru’s smile fades. “Okay, that’s not normal.” Near the entrance, there’s a small crowd forming, but it’s not like usual. People are backing away instead of moving closer. “Is someone hurt?” Mio asks, already half-standing. Tamaki grabs his sleeve lightly. “Wait.”

A student suddenly shoves through the crowd, stumbling, knocking into a table hard enough to send trays crashing to the floor. There’s blood on his uniform—way too much—and he doesn’t look right. His movements are off, jerky, like he can’t control them properly. The cafeteria goes quiet for half a second. Then everything hits at once. People start shouting. Someone yells to get back. Another student tries to help, reaching for him and gets grabbed. Mio freezes, his brain not catching up yet. “What…?”

The student bites down hard, and the scream that follows is worse than the first. “Okay—nope,” Tamaki stands immediately, grabbing both Mio and Hiraru. “We’re leaving. Now.” Chairs scrape loudly as people start running. The noise explodes into panic, bodies pushing toward the exits. Hiraru looks shaken but alert. “What the hell is happening?!” “I don’t know,” Tamaki says, already pulling them back, “but we’re not staying to find out.” Mio stumbles a bit as he’s pulled along, still looking back over his shoulder, trying to make sense of it—his usual bright expression gone, replaced with confusion and something close to fear. “…wait—” he says suddenly, resisting just a little. “What about—”

He doesn’t finish, but it’s obvious. Tamaki tightens his grip. “We’ll find them. Just move.”