April 2nd — Day 5 of the School Tournament
A new day of the tournament was beginning. But this time, the competition would be held in silence.
One of the classrooms had been arranged for the chess match. The desks were stacked to the side, and only enough space was prepared to accommodate up to three simultaneous games.
Miyu and Adonis sat face to face, ready to begin their strategic and intellectual duel.
Professor Mira was in charge of the room and explained the rules:
"The rules are simple: the player who runs out of time loses, or the one who gives checkmate wins. During all chess matches, silence must be maintained."
As expected, the room stayed quiet. Every competitor played in deep concentration. The match between Miyu and Adonis was evenly balanced.
"You play well." said Adonis, breaking the silence.
"Hm!? Are you even taking this game seriously?" asked Miyu.
"I am, but you seem tense, huh? You're even giving me weird looks." Adonis teased.
"What are you talking about!? I'm fine." Miyu replied, clearly annoyed.
"And those rumors, you don't seem that bothered by them. You like the attention, don't you?" Adonis asked irritably.
"What? Of course not! But there's no point in listening to that stuff. It'll stop eventually." Miyu answered.
Adonis went silent. It was Miyu's turn to play. She noticed a gap in his defense and moved her knight to take down his queen.
"WHAT!? MY QUEEN! THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" shouted Adonis, upset by the move.
"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO GOT DISTRACTED!" Miyu replied, raising her voice.
"Silence during the games." Professor Mira reminded them.
Irritated, Adonis clenched his teeth and stood up, slamming his hands on the table and pushing the chair back. Miyu flinched, feeling tense at his sudden outburst. She didn't show much reaction, but her heart was pounding.
"You think you're so clever, huh!? Just wait! We'll settle this during the quiz competition!" Adonis said, pointing a finger at Miyu and calling her to a challenge.
What... a child... thought Miyu, watching the scene unfold.
School Courtyard
That same morning, the contestants in the artistic category had finally finished painting their panels.
The Oceanics team had drawn an ocean and a sun. The Glaciers team had painted frozen mountains. Meanwhile, Yukino, from the Firefighters team, had painted a firefighter using a hose to put out a fire.
The difference in skill level between the works was obvious. Several students came by to take a look, and some stood around commenting on the paintings.
"Dude..." said one of them.
"They finished the panels." said another.
"Dude, look at the one from the first years." added a third.
"Dude..." repeated the first, his jaw dropping.
"This isn't fair. They must've brought someone who actually knows how to draw..." said the second.
"Let's ask for the event to be canceled." concluded the third.
Every year, it's the same speech, thought Yukino, who was standing nearby, quietly listening to their comments.
Seven Years Ago
From a very young age, Yukino had developed a love for drawing. While most girls wanted to play with dolls, she preferred a pencil and paper. People often considered her different, and her classmates found it hard to understand her.
When she was seven years old, she took part in an exhibition featuring children's drawings from various schools. Only the best works had been selected, and hers was among them.
Many parents and visitors walked around, observing the posters and commenting. When they reached Yukino's drawing, most of them made similar remarks, something that caught her attention, even though she was just a child.
"Do these parents have no shame? Making the drawings for their own kids?" said a man.
"Then the kid grows up thinking everyone will do things for her." said another.
Huh? But that drawing is mine, thought little Yukino.
"Mom, they think I didn't make my drawing. Can I go tell them I did it myself?" she asked.
"It happens, sweetheart. What matters is that you know you made it." her mother replied.
When she was eight, in second grade, another event marked her life. During recess, after she had already left the classroom, a group of four girls started gossiping about her.
"She's weird, isn't she?" said the first.
"Always sitting there quiet, total nerd." said the second.
"She's gone. Let's go check what's on her desk." suggested the third.
They walked to Yukino's desk and began rummaging through her things.
"She spends her time drawing?" the first girl said in surprise.
"It's cute, but drawing is for little kids." mocked the second.
"Aren't we kids?" asked the third.
"Ugh, you know what I mean, like kindergarten kids." the second replied.
"It's like those cartoons on TV, right? My mom says they're violent and demonic." the fourth added, holding up one of Yukino's drawings to take a closer look.
"Let me see! Come on, let me!" the second demanded.
"Hey, don't pull!" complained the fourth.
Both girls tugged at the sheet, one pulling to one side, the other to the opposite. The paper tore in half. They froze, staring at each other nervously.
"What do we do now?" asked the first.
"Just leave it. Maybe she'll finally learn not to draw during class." said the fourth.
The four girls left and went to eat as if nothing had happened. When recess ended and everyone returned to the classroom, Yukino found her drawing torn in two.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the pieces in her hands, not knowing what to do.
At the back of the room, the fourth girl watched with a mocking smile and said:
"Whoa, Yukino, someone ripped your paper? Guess that's what happens when you keep doing weird stuff. No one's gonna be your friend."
Even at her young age, Yukino could tell when someone's tone was mocking. She turned to the girl and, angry, asked:
"That was you, wasn't it?"
"You're accusing me? I'm just being nice and warning you." the girl replied defiantly.
The classroom, which had been unaware of what was going on, now paid full attention. Silence filled the air, then whispers began.
"The weird girl's threatening her." one student said.
"I knew she wasn't as innocent as she looked." added another.
"Maybe they ripped her stuff because she did something bad." someone else murmured.
"Wow, she's so quiet. I didn't think she'd do that." said another student.
The teacher entered the room, bringing silence again. But Yukino knew that from that day on, things would be different.
After that, everything only got worse. Nothing that was happening made logical sense. People would find any reason to pick on her, and the fact that her interests were "different" from what was considered "normal" only added fuel to their criticism.
Some students began taking advantage of any chance to pull her hair or hit her when she wasn't looking. Her art supplies started appearing broken, so she began carrying her pencil case everywhere.
And as if that weren't enough, rumors about her started spreading through the school, absurd, ugly things she didn't even like to remember.
Talking to the teachers didn't help. Their comments were always the same:
"It's just a joke."
"Just ignore it."
"They're just kids, they don't know what they're doing."
Yukino was a kid too, but even she knew it was wrong. Still, since the teachers never took her seriously, she was afraid to tell her mother, part of her felt like maybe she was the one in the wrong.
She cried, not out of sadness, but from a burning anger that rose inside her, spilling out as tears. The helplessness she felt in the face of such injustice made her blood boil.
Over time, the group of girls who had torn her drawing began spreading new rumors. Yukino never found out what they said, no one would tell her. People just started avoiding her.
That's when loneliness began to sink in. And then, one day, dark thoughts about ending her life crept into her mind. That was when she realized things had gone too far.
"Okay... that's enough. I'm really letting ridiculous situations control my life. If I ever did something to myself, my family would be the ones to suffer. And it's not like the people who hurt me would suddenly realize what they did. No one's going to live my life. No one's going to draw my drawings." little Yukino said to herself.
Despite her age, she already had a deep capacity for reflection and could see the bigger picture, she understood the consequences.
"That's it. Enough of 'just let it go.' I'll fix this. Mom hates conflict, but... sorry, Mom." Yukino whispered, gathering her courage.
She had made up her mind; she would find a way to deal with her problems. She didn't know how yet, but she knew she needed to take action.
"Damn... I just hope I can pull this off at school tomorrow." she muttered to herself.
Despite her bravery, she was still a child, testing new ways to face the world. If even adults struggled to change their behavior, a child would surely find it even harder.
The next afternoon seemed ordinary. Students lined up to enter their classrooms, each group with its teacher. But in the second-grade line, a commotion broke out between two students.
"TEACHER! YUKINO PULLED MY HAIR!" shouted a girl with her hair tied up.
"I DIDN'T! I DIDN'T EVEN GO NEAR YOU TODAY!" Yukino protested.
"You did too!" the girl retorted.
"I didn't! I already said I didn't!" Yukino insisted.
Seeing it wouldn't end, the teacher stepped in. She looked at the accusing girl and asked:
"Did you actually see her pull your hair?"
"No, but someone told me she did, and I think it was her," the student replied.
The teacher listened, chuckled lightly, and said:
"Then pull her hair back."
"What!?" Yukino exclaimed.
"Okay!" said the other girl.
"But…" Yukino tried to speak.
The girl stepped forward and yanked her hair hard enough to bend her neck. Yukino felt a sharp sting of pain.
"All settled? Let's go to class. You have P.E. soon." the teacher said.
Everyone lined up again and headed inside. It seemed like everything had been resolved. But resolved what, exactly?
For Yukino, burning with rage, nothing had been resolved. Watching someone who was supposed to protect her act so unfairly, without even listening, was the last straw.
What chances would she have now to make things right?
Soon after, it was time for P.E. The girls trained separately from the boys and stayed in the covered court that day.
And Yukino knew coincidences didn't exist. That day's activity was a handball exercise, practicing how to steal the ball from an opponent. The pairs were chosen at random, and of course, she was paired with the same girl who had pulled her hair.
The drill was simple: the teacher stood between them with the ball. When he blew the whistle, he would toss it into the air, and whoever grabbed it first would run to the goal, while the other tried to steal it back.
But that day, Yukino didn't even try to grab the ball. She let the other girl take it. Her goal was something else entirely...