Thursday – Class 2-A
"...So, what's the latest?"
Misora Fujii leaned back in her chair, twirling her pen lazily between her fingers.
Her sharp gray eyes scanned her best friend, Ayaka, who was unusually quiet today. Her white eyes — usually burning with pride or frustration — were distant, unfocused.
"Ayaka," she said again, "don't ignore me. What's wrong?"
Ayaka didn't answer.
Misora raised an eyebrow. "Is this about that dinner?"
Ayaka flinched.
Misora sighed. "So, Mirei made her move, huh? You're lucky I didn't show up and slap her with a cease-and-desist for emotional trespassing."
"It's not funny," Ayaka muttered.
"I'm not laughing," Misora said calmly. "You're hurting. I get it."
---
Flashback – Middle School
Back then, Misora had always been the loud girl no one wanted to sit next to.
She was too sharp. Too blunt. Too much.
But Ayaka?
Ayaka stuck around.
She never treated her like a freak. Never asked her to talk less. Never looked down on her sarcasm.
And now, years later—
She watched her best friend slowly fall apart.
Because of him.
---
Class 1-B – Break Time
Misora stood just outside Aeron's classroom, casually leaning on the frame.
Her gaze flicked to the boy in the center — cold, unreadable, devastatingly calm.
> So that's him up close.
She hated that he looked good even while ignoring the world.
But what really made her stomach twist…
Was that she kind of got it.
She understood why Ayaka was losing her mind. Why Mirei looked obsessed. Why even Yume was shrinking from the shadows.
> "Because he doesn't chase anyone."
> "Because he makes them feel like the fragile ones."
---
Ayaka's Room – That Evening
Misora sat cross-legged on Ayaka's bed.
"I saw him."
Ayaka blinked. "You… what?"
"Today. I finally watched him. Like really watched him."
"And?"
Misora smirked. "He's trouble."
Ayaka's heart sank.
"You like him."
"I didn't say that."
"But you do."
Misora leaned back and folded her arms. "No. I like watching puzzles unravel. And Aeron Kael is the most complicated damn puzzle I've ever seen."
Ayaka looked down, silent.
"I'm not trying to take him from you," Misora said after a beat. "But if this becomes a war… I won't lose either."
Ayaka looked up sharply. "You're my best friend."
"And he's the first person to make you cry in years."
"…So?"
Misora stood. "So I want to see what makes him different."
She paused at the door.
"And maybe, just maybe — I want to see if he notices me too."
---
Side Story – Aeron's Thoughts
Later that night, Aeron sat by his window.
The stars were faint above the city sky.
In his hand was a note someone slipped in his locker. No name. No heart stickers. Just a sharp, sarcastic quote:
> "A blank face is a powerful weapon. Just don't be surprised when it attracts enemies."
He stared at it.
Then, without a word, he tucked it into his drawer.
> "I know that handwriting."
> "Fujii Misora."
And for the first time in a long time, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.