Campione: Strongest# 414: Running Away From Home?

Ring—!

A loud bell rang throughout the campus.

Snap.

The old nun at the lectern closed her book, cleared her throat, and said with a kind smile, “Ahem, alright, that’s all for today’s lesson.”

“Stand!” a tall girl called out, her voice loud and clear.

All the students stood up straight.

“Bow!”

Thirty small heads bowed in unison.

“Goodbye, teacher!” they chorused.

“Have fun at your club activities, children,” the old nun said with a smile, nodding gently at the students before tidying her belongings.

“Yes, teacher!” a ragged chorus of high-pitched voices echoed through the classroom.

Asagami Fujino sat in the second row by the window, quickly putting her stationery into her school bag.

“Hey, Asagami, do you want to play badminton with us this afternoon? We’re one short,” the girl in the front seat said, turning around with an excited look on her face.

“...Yamada.” The sudden invitation made Fujino look conflicted, as if she were hesitating.

In the past, to hide her inability to feel pain, Fujino had always been a loner at school, afraid that participating in group activities would lead her classmates to discover her abnormality and ostracize her.

But now that her condition had been cured, Fujino naturally wanted to join in. She had no idea how to play badminton, but to refuse a rare invitation from a classmate... that would be a shame.

“Huh, do you already have plans?” the girl called Yamada asked, a hint of confusion on her face. She remembered that Fujino didn't have many friends and was the type to go home right after school. “Oh, could it be Tohno-senpai from the middle school? The seniors were always coming to see you at the end of last semester.”

“No, my sister Akiha and I agreed to go home together at five. I just... I don't know how to play badminton,” Fujino said, shaking her head shyly.

“It’s okay, I’ll teach you!” Yamada said with a grin and held out her hand.

After a moment’s hesitation, Fujino reached out, and the two girls' hands clasped.

————

On the playground.

Thwack—!

A white shuttlecock flew high into the air.

“Hey!” Asagami Fujino, dressed in her gym clothes, was panting as she swung her racket, hitting the shuttlecock back over the net.

The shuttlecock flew in a perfect arc and landed with a thud on the lawn.

“Ah! I didn't get it... I lost again.” Yamada ran over, panting, a look of regret on her face as she looked at the shuttlecock on the ground.

With a sigh, she looked at her two companions who were lying on the ground, exhausted. Her expression was exceptionally strange as she said to the approaching Fujino, “Learning badminton in an hour is one thing, but taking on the three of us at once is insane, Asagami. How is your stamina so good?”

“Um, at home, my brother often has me do physical training...” Fujino hid the racket behind her back and looked at Yamada timidly. Having just made a friend, she was a little worried that her ‘abnormality’ would be disliked, and she felt a pang of anxiety.

“Well, with stamina like that, I’ll vote for Asagami at the next school sports festival,” Yamada said, a mischievous look on her face as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

“That’s right, the two-hundred-meter dash!”

“I’ll vote for the fifty-meter, too!”

The two girls on the lawn echoed weakly.

“...Then, I’ll try?” Fujino, unaccustomed to friendly teasing, took her classmate's suggestion at face value and shyly accepted the task.

“You said it, you can’t go back on your word,” Yamada said, slightly taken aback before a triumphant look appeared on her face.

“Mm,” Fujino smiled shyly and nodded.

Just then, an aged voice slowly sounded. “Young Mistress?”

Fujino was slightly taken aback. She turned and looked at the old man in a suit who had, at some point, appeared behind her.

Seeing the familiar face, Fujino bowed slightly, a little reserved. “Mr. Butler.”

“Oh, it is the Young Mistress. I thought my old eyes were playing tricks on me. The Mistress asked me to come and pick you up,” the old butler said with a kind smile.

“The Mistress? Of course.” Fujino nodded and then bowed slightly to Yamada. “Sorry, my family is here to pick me up. I have to go first.”

“It’s okay! I don't have the energy to play anymore, anyway. Let’s play together next time,” Yamada said with a smile and waved.

“Mm,” Fujino smiled and nodded. After changing back into her school uniform, she was led by the old butler towards the school gate.

————

In the evening, in the dining room of the Tohno residence.

Haru stood by the dining table and said to Kohaku with a look of surprise, “Fujino, she's not back yet?”

“That’s strange.” Kohaku, standing at the door, tilted her head with a puzzled expression. Knowing Fujino’s considerate nature, she would definitely have greeted him when she got home. So, if he hadn't seen her, it meant she truly wasn't home yet.

“Did something happen?” Haru placed the tray on the dining table and turned to ask her.

“Well, school was a little busy today. Akiha asked Hisui and me to pick up Fujino, but when we got there after the agreed time, she was already gone. I thought she had come back first,” Kohaku said, her brow furrowed with a hint of frustration.

“Hmm?” Haru raised an eyebrow. For a conscientious girl like Fujino to be late was unusual. But he wasn't worried about her safety; he had placed enough protection on her for that not to be an issue.

“Could she be in her rebellious phase? Went to play with a classmate? Or ran away from home?” Haru wondered aloud, a strange expression on his face. What if she had gone astray and become some kind of delinquent? The thought was rather exciting.

‘Impossible. That potential little toy's personality is already set in stone. Her fate—a lady in public and a broken doll in private—has already been inscribed into the Root by yours truly!’ Nyarko’s sinister laugh echoed in his mind.

“Tsk, I’d be a fool to believe you,” Haru smacked his lips with a look of disdain.

Creak—!

The room door slowly opened, and Hisui walked in with a grave expression.

“Papa, according to her classmates, Fujino was picked up by someone from the Asagami family.”