Sour raisin (джен)

April arrived with a sudden, aggressive wave of warmth. The snow dissolved over a weekend, leaving dry asphalt behind, and students crowded the school steps during breaks. Barbara sat at Mizuki’s kitchen counter, carefully resting her left arm. Her shoulder, wrapped in a tight medical brace, still throbbed whenever the barometric pressure dropped, but thanks to her friends' obsessive care, her body was healing.The kitchen smelled heavenly, a mix of homemade blueberry pie and sweet vanilla. Mizuki, wearing a ridiculous apron with cartoon cat paws over her oversized graphic tee, was softly humming a cheerful rock melody. Her glasses constantly slid down the bridge of her nose as she pulled a steaming baking tray from the oven. Despite her terrifyingly high IQ, Mizuki was never a cold machine. She loved spoiling her friends with baking and spent her weekends blasting heavy bass lines on the guitar in her room."Alright, the casualty gets the biggest slice!" Mizuki smiled warmly, placing a plate with a massive piece of pie right in front of Barbara. "Eat up, Babs. You need to rebuild your bone density after what that... pink natural disaster did to you in the locker room. I was so stressed out yesterday my bass strings almost snapped while I was practicing.""Thanks, Mizu," Barbara said, a genuine smile breaking through her exhaustion. The domestic comfort was washing away the stains of the school week. "If it weren't for you guys...""Oh, please, spare me the emotional monologue, I might actually choke on my own tears," Lila’s sarcastic voice barked from the doorway. She slouched into the kitchen, kicking off her boots with an arrogant tilt of her chin, and crossed her arms. "Our lovely Babs provided the drama of the century, Mizuki is playing 'Mom of the Year,' and I am forced to lower my intellectual standards to converse with Dead Chan's single-celled fans. Please appreciate the sheer magnitude of my sacrifice.""Lila, stop being a brat and sit down," Mizuki giggled, sliding a chair out for her. "Tell us what you dug up. Your arrogant attitude is officially cleared for tactical deployment today."Lila gracefully sat down, poking her pie with a fork with an air of pure superiority, though she devoured the first bite instantly. Her eyes gleamed with malicious glee. "Well, let’s just say the collective IQ of Dead Chan’s inner circle is roughly equivalent to a small houseplant," Lila laughed arrogantly. "It took me exactly two days and three fake compliments about their hideous sneakers to become their new confidante. I fed them a story about how Barbara is an obsessed stalker who is jealous of their supreme leader, and they spilled everything. They are practically terrified of her.""Did they say anything about the locker room?" Barbara asked quietly."Of course," Lila sneered. "In their private group chat, they’re celebrating how Dead Chan 'put the trash in its place.' But here’s the fun part: she’s losing her mind. One of her clones mentioned that Dead Chan has been incredibly twitchy lately. She’s glued to her phone, constantly whispering, and screams if anyone looks at her screen. Plus, she suddenly has an influx of incredibly expensive jewelry that her 'doting parents' definitely didn't buy her."Mizuki stopped smiling. Her eyes narrowed into a razor-sharp focus behind her glasses, though she kept her hand resting gently on Barbara’s good shoulder."Behavioral shifts, intense paranoia, unexplained cash flow..." Mizuki murmured, tapping her fingers rhythmically on the counter. "Lila, can you find out where she keeps her things when she goes to her fake after-school events?""Darling, I can find out her social security number if it serves my petty purposes," Lila purred, leaning back with a victorious smirk. "Next Friday, they’re throwing some stupid anniversary party for her fan club in the assembly hall after classes. Dead Chan is guaranteed to leave her backpack in the empty homeroom.""Perfect," Mizuki smiled her signature warm smile, winking at Barbara. "Babs, your only job is to heal. Lila and I are going to give our perfect little doll a digital autopsy that will knock those pink bows right off her skull." Barbara looked at her friends. Sarcastic, arrogant Lila, who had swallowed her pride for her, and warm, protective Mizuki, who was ready to go to war—they were her real fortress. The hunt for Dead Chan was officially on.