It was like a distant voice in her head calling her name. The voice became louder each time. 

???: "Sayu? Hey, what's wrong? You're bleeding! Please say something …"

Sayuri: //Bleeding …?// She touched her cheek and had bloody fingertips. It was only now she noticed someone was actually talking. Right next to her. Toki.

Toki: "I'm worried … talk to me …" He looked really concerned, even held her shoulders as he feared she could collapse any moment.

Sayuri: "I … it …" She recalled the conversation about the council and projects. She didn't know what happened, if it had to do with the secrets to keep or what to do now. She was overwhelmed.

But Toki wasn't a fool. He knew what class Sayuri just had. So he automatically assumed it had to be Vincent that had hurt her. His anger raged inside him. He gladly would beat the shit out of him right now. But he also knew it was more important to take care of Sayuri first. He messaged Hana to immediately come to her room when she read this. Then he brought the slightly unhinged girl to her room. Kira was appalled, when she opened the door for those two. They sat down and Kira cleaned Sayuri's bloody cheek decorated with four scratches.

Kira: "What happened?"

Toki: "I don't know, I found her in the hallways, she's not talking. But I bet it's something to do with her tutor. That bastard …" He clenched his fist.

Kira: "Vincent? I see …"

Toki: "What do you see? Can you read it from her mind?"

Kira: "I don't do this without permission …"

Toki: "But it's an emergency! We can't leave her like that! She's traumatized!"

Kira: "Yes, but …"

At that moment Hana charged into the room.

Hana: "Toki, your message, what's wrong?? I came as fast as …" She saw Sayuri. "Oh god, what happened?! And her cheek!" She immediately kneeled down before her, putting her hand over her wound. Green light shone around the spot. "Ok, I think, I can heal this without scars remaining, but these are not just some normal scratches! What in the actual world happened?!"

Toki: "I think it was Vincent."

Hana: "What? Really? We need to report him!"

Kira: "Sayuri should talk to us first."

Hana: "Yeah, that as well. She's out of it …" After Hana healed Sayuri's wounds and made sure her face was just like before, she lunged out and slapped her face.

Toki: "Are you nuts, Hana?!"

Hana: "No, I'm helping!"

Sayuri: "I– I'm sorry for worrying you … Thank you for taking care of me …" She finally seemed back to her senses. But she still sounded sad.

Toki: "Sayu … what did Vincent do to you?"

Sayuri: //They figured it out fast … obviously … What should I say now?// "It's a bit complicated …"

Toki: "What are you talking about?"

Sayuri: "I'm not allowed to talk about it." //Probably. I don't even know. I should ask Vincent again … maybe …//

Toki: "Bullshit! He harms you and you should keep quiet about it? Are you serious?! I'll go beat him up right now, I–" He already got up, but Hana held him back.

Hana: "You're staying here. You don't stand a chance against him and we don't even know what happened."

Kira: "Sayuri, how do you feel?"

Sayuri: "To be honest, horrible."

Kira: "Why do you think you cannot tell us about it?"

Sayuri: "It … it's top secret."

Kira: "Are you sure? What exactly is a secret?"

Sayuri: "Well, he wanted to talk about something specific and …"

Kira: "And …? Did he tell you?"

Sayuri: "I … I'm not sure … Because then … he …"

Kira: "I'm sure you can tell us what has happened. He has yet to talk with you about that secret thing." She smiled gently.

Toki: "It doesn't matter anyway! Just tell us the reason so I can give him a thousand volt load. Why do I even need a reason anyway? I'll just roast him!"

Hana: Tokkun, just shut up! Don't you realize you're not helping with your stupid rambling? Kira is way more caring right now!"

Toki went silent and pouted.

Sayuri thought about the situation. Since the council was involved, she didn't know what would happen if she was found out to reveal their secrets. But on the other hand … in front of her were her friends. People that cared for her, helped her, each in their own way.
So she told those three what happened, but left out her weird vision, as she still wanted to figure it out for herself. 

Sayuri: "But please keep quiet about it … Vincent mentioned the council, so we should probably be careful."

Hana: "Are you sure? This sounded crazy just now! Like a movie. Even for us with tangs – that is definitely not normal. How can you proceed training with Vincent or even face him from now on?"

Toki: "Hana is right! You can't just leave him be like that! He could have hurt you way worse!"

Hana: "You should at least tell a teacher …"

Kira: "I don't think this is necessary."

Toki: "Are you defending him?!" He was shocked.

Sayuri: "Guys, please don't fight … I was a bit out of my mind earlier, but it didn't seem like he did it on purpose. We need to figure out this issue first. I'll ask him tomorrow and you can come with me just in case."

Toki: "Now you're defending him, too …" He shook his head in disbelief.

Sayuri: "No, I just don't want to make a fuss if it's not necessary. We can still report this incident later if really needed."

Toki: "If you say so …" He wasn't amused at all, but if that's what she wanted it couldn't be helped. 

🔹

Tuesday morning Sayuri went to fetch her baton and bag from the project room. It was tidy, everything was in place like nothing ever happened. Even her belongings were neatly placed on her chair. She sighed. 

The rest of the day didn't go well either. Again no rank in practical training, in theory she couldn't focus and wasn't able to answer the questions the teacher asked her. During lunch she stayed alone in her room and while dancing class she also made mistakes one after another. Sayuri wasn't as tough as she wanted to.

She tried to contact Vincent, but he neither replied to her messages nor picked up the phone. Hana's brothers told her he didn't come to class today. But also that he skipped lessons every now and then anyway, so nothing to worry about as he would appear again sometime later. To the girl it sounded pretty suspicious nevertheless. Where was even his room? 

Maybe Sayuri should ask a teacher anyway? But what would that change other than bringing attention to something that most likely had to stay secret? She tried to recall what happened. It was like something changed Vincent's personality in an instant. It's not that he wanted to attack her. After Sayuri had pushed him away he looked so sad, so vulnerable and really hurting. She had to find out the truth.