Chapter 3: Destiny Angel
“GOOD morning, Miss Satsuki,” one of the girls at school greeted.
“Good morning. Are you feeling better?” greeted another.
The moment Satsuki stepped out of the car, she was drowned in a chorus of words from well-wishers. While she expected to be the center of attention after missing an entire week of school, she never dreamed the students would fly into a flurry of joy at the sight of her.
“You’re quite popular with the ladies. I’m jealous,” Shindo teased genially as he took Satsuki’s hand and helped her out of the car.
“Really? It is quite wonderful,” Satsuki retorted somewhat curtly with a wry smile. Turning to face the school entrance bustling with students on their way to the main building, she skimmed her eyes across the throng of young ladies ogling her and threw a smile in their general direction.
“Thank you. I’m all better now. I’m sorry for all the concern I’ve caused,” Satsuki said to the group of girls. A flood of sighs resounded from all directions by the swooning teens.
After a week’s absence, the angel of Sakai Private High School for Girls was back. There were relived undertones in the sighs issued from the girls bedazzled by Satsuki.
After the “explosion”, Satsuki took off a week from school. Today marked her first day back since the incident. Once her personal Benz became visible from outside the school gate, students who spotted it from inside the main building were so excited, they went down to the entrance hall to greet her. Admittedly, not all came to see Satsuki; some came with the intent to catch a glimpse of Shindo.
“Miss,” Shindo warned in slightly hushed tones to Satsuki as she smiled at the crowd of girls. Satsuki looked up at him in surprise. Once he had her attention, he lightly tapped his thumb against his chest with his opposite hand.
“I believe imaginations will be running wild after your week absence. Please be extra careful today. Make absolute certainty...the door to your heart remains shut tight,” he strongly advised.
“Yes, I know,” Satsuki answered agreeably with a smile, making Shindo smile in turn. They looked just like a princess and knight out of a fairy tale. The wild thoughts running through the teenage girls who watched them would have been wearing on her mind if she left her heart open to them.
“Shindo? What are your plans for today?” Satsuki asked.
“I can’t leave you unattended after you’ve been ill for so long. I will remain here on standby in your private suite all day,” he answered, deftly reassuring her worries that he’d go work at her father’s office.
Still holding Satsuki’s right hand, he came around from her side to kneel before her. Then he pulled the back of her hand to his lips. “I will be forever at your side,” he promised.
Jolt! At the touch of his lips, Satsuki’s hand began to quiver violently enough to draw his attention. In the breadth of a moment, Satsuki gracefully slipped her hand out of his. Shindo looked up at her somewhat baffled. This was the first time Satsuki ever pulled her hand away from him rather than wait for him to let go.
“I-I see...” she replied in a voice that was clearly quavering as she held her hands to her chest, her left hand clasped over her right.
“Miss...?” Puzzled, he slowly rose to his feet.
In an attempt to gloss over what just happened, Satsuki hastily ordered, “D-Don’t just stay up in the private suite. I’ll get upset if you don’t come by the classroom. Understood? D-Don’t make me search for you!”
“But of course,” Shindo replied hesitantly. He wasn’t sure what just happened, but Satsuki was visibly distressed. “Miss?” He studied her face. The slightly flushed cheeks on her melancholic countenance made his heart race. “I should go park the car...” he said, pulling away from her.
Even after he slid into the car and she could hear it slowly drive away, Satsuki adamantly refrained from turning to look in his general direction. Yet she still held her hands over her bosom.
“Shin...do...” she whispered, clenching her hands over her chest.
The hand Shindo graced with his lips was burning hot. It was meant as a customary sign of admiration. But her chest boomed with the rhythm of her heart’s thunderous patter. It was obvious she no longer viewed Shindo the same as before. That fact was starting to dawn on Satsuki.
“Satsuki!” a zealous voice greeted her. “Good morning! It’s so good to see you! Are you all better now?!” Without an ounce of deceit, the genuinely ecstatic young lady jumped out of the car dropping her off. It was Satsuki’s classmate and fellow Student Council member, Alice Misakimori. She ran toward Satsuki with the hem of her uniform flaring so wildly, Shindo would have chastised Satsuki for such “unladylike behavior” if she did the same.
“Good morning, Alice.” Satsuki smiled at the winded girl before her.
“I never dreamed you would be out for so long! You had me worried sick. It’s great to have you back. You’re all better, aren’t you?”
“Thank you for your concern. I’m sorry to have worried you.”
“Just don’t push yourself too hard, okay? Let me know if you start to feel bad or have issues with anything,” Alice insisted.
“Thank you,” Satsuki replied, appreciative of how Alice treated her with such open kindness.
“Um...Satsuki...” Alice’s eyes were darting this way and that.
Quickly realizing what Alice was implying, Satsuki casually replied, “If you’re looking for Shindo, he left to park the car. He should be here any moment, if you’d like to wait.”
“Oh! Sorry! I didn’t mean it like that!” Alice frantically defended herself, but the slight flush of her cheeks made it apparent she was searching for any sign of Shindo in tow.
Satsuki was well aware that Alice was among the group of girls who fawned after Shindo. Whenever she felt how the girl was true to the tiny bud of love growing within, Satsuki’s heart was visited by a massive, repulsive emotion. It was the emotion known as jealousy...
“B-By the way, something terrible happened while you were out,” Alice brought up in an attempt to change the subject. The muscles of her flustered face tightened as her expression grew serious. “Miss Narusawa dropped out of school...”
Satsuki kept any emotion from showing on her face as she listened to Alice. “Maybe you’ve already heard...? About how Narusawa Holdings’ stock crashed...? I don’t really get how any of that works...but she’s got it pretty rough, huh?”
“...Yes, I’m sure,” Satsuki replied, her voice flat.
“My dad was telling me it’s easy for this sort of thing to happen to new enterprises, so we need to be careful too...” Despite laughing it off with a shrug, she was watching Satsuki like a hawk. “...I bet such concerns are beneath an old giant like your Tsujikawa Corporation, huh...?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that. It’s not as if we can foresee the direction the world is headed,” Satsuki answered with her poker face still on. But inside, she was genuinely glad that she followed Shindo’s advice and kept the door to her heart shut tight. At the moment, Alice’s heart was undoubtedly filled with suspicion not only toward her, but also toward Tsujikawa Corporation. Narusawa Holdings fell into a rapid decline. No matter how ignorant she was of the business world, even Alice knew there were people who thought nothing of sinking a company.
“Shindo certainly is taking a while. I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Alice.” In an attempt to restore the once cheerful atmosphere, Satsuki was the one to change the topic this time.
At the mention of Shindo’s name, Alice flew into a flurry yet again. “I-It’s fine! I’m only waiting because I want to!” she exclaimed.
Satsuki was jealous of how Alice was true to her heart. Wouldn’t life be so much easier if she could openly display the emotions in her own heart? Not that she was allowed that freedom.
Their conversation was cut short by the sound of an engine loudly booming across campus! The surrounding girls, their chauffeurs, Satsuki, and Alice looked around to find the source of the roaring sound.
“Hey! Wait!” the security guard at the gate commanded the vehicle to stop. “Stop right there!” His shouting mingled with the peel of the engine. But rather than shutting off, the roar of the engine swiftly drew closer to the school entrance.
What zoomed into the drop-off zone was a single sportbike. Instead of pulling to a safe stop on the road, the motorcycle came crashing toward Satsuki and Alice, who were standing right in front of the entrance!
“Eiyaa!” Alice screamed and shrunk in on herself.
Eyes fixed on the vehicle, Satsuki focused her mind on the motorcycle. She was going to force the incoming bike to “be still.” But before she could use her powers, it shifted to one side and slid to a complete stop at an angle—right in front of Satsuki!
As Satsuki tried to get a better look at the rider, he suddenly grabbed her arms and pulled her toward him!