Long before bell rang.

  "What are you doing here, Shirogane-san? This isn’t your school, and there's still css."

  "Haha, did I get caught?"

  An unexpected encounter took pce.

  ---

  "So, the atmosphere..."

  In the cssroom, at a time when Misaki was still in the infirmary after fainting in front of the school.

  "Hey, how’s Misaki doing? Why do you think about she suddenly fainted?"

  Whispering during css, Sakura asked Shinomiya about Misaki’s condition.

  "Why are you asking when you just visited her in the infirmary earlier? She’s clearly sick."

  Shinomiya replied in a whisper.

  "But still!"

  Sakura wasn’t satisfied with that standard answer, but Shinomiya ignored her because it was disrupting her concentration.

  "Hey, hey, Shino-chan. Answer me!"

  And she became more and more distracted as Sakura kept talking to her, to the point where her patience was almost running out.

  "..."

  Shinomiya chose to stay silent rather than respond, as it would only make things worse if they were caught chatting during css.

  "Uuu..."

  And that approach successfully made Sakura stop talking to her, her head hanging low.

  After some thought, Misaki’s condition was indeed concerning when she visited her earlier. She wondered what had made her sick, especially since the weather had changed and was retively comfortable, though it was starting to get a bit cold.

  "Sensei, may I excuse myself to the restroom for a moment?"

  Because she was worried about Misaki, Shinomiya decided to go check on her briefly. Maybe she had already woken up.

  However...

  "Ahaha..."

  "What are you doing at this school?"

  Shinomiya asked suspiciously, staring at the boy wearing a different uniform from hers.

  The boy just ughed awkwardly, scratching his head, unsure of how to expin.

  "Don’t look at me like I’ve committed a crime. I just happened to be passing by."

  "Passing by? During css and at a different school? Isn’t that strange, Shirogane-san?"

  Shinomiya asked in a somewhat ft tone.

  "Well, my legs happened to move faster and automatically brought me here."

  Shirogane expined cheerfully.

  "That doesn’t make sense."

  "It’s better than saying I’m skipping css, right?"

  "And now you’re admitting it just like that?"

  Shirogane just ughed at her words.

  "..."

  Shinomiya didn’t know how to react. Shirogane was someone she had known since Misaki introduced him when they coincidentally visited her house together, which had surprised Shinomiya a bit. Ignoring her reaction, she had only spoken to him a few times because she still wasn’t entirely comfortable with his presence. Besides, ever since she first saw him, she knew there was something unusual about him. Starting with how easily he had befriended Misaki—that thing was just strange. Misaki wasn’t the type to easily interact with strangers. Plus, his face was always smiling and seemed happy, as if he was hiding something behind that expression. And now, he was at this school, which wasn’t where he was supposed to be since he attended a different school. That wasn’t something most kids would normally do.

  Seeing her gaze fixed on him, Shirogane, who had been silent for a moment, took a small step toward Shinomiya, turning their interaction into a staring contest. Shinomiya was slightly startled by the sudden movement and took a step back to distance herself from him.

  "Your pupils... now that I’ve looked closer, they’re quite beautiful. This is the first time I’ve seen such dark pupils."

  A sudden compliment came from Shirogane, who was still smiling.

  "...I won’t thank you for that."

  Shinomiya responded calmly, though there was a slight pause in her tone.

  "What a shame. Well, I’ll be going now. I don’t want to get caught skipping css."

  Shirogane said casually as he stepped back, then turned and walked away.

  "W—"

  Just as Shinomiya was about to say something to him, she was cut off when Shirogane suddenly interrupted.

  "Ah, right. If you’re pnning to visit Misaki, you don't have to do that. She’s fine and just needs a little more rest. See you ter."

  And with that, he was gone.

  "...How did he know Misaki was sick and that I was going to visit her?"

  There was no answer to that question, as the hallway had become quiet, and she was now alone.

  "What a strange boy."

  Shinomiya muttered to herself, deciding to return to her cssroom after hearing Shirogane’s words. Even though he was strange, his words seemed trustworthy. She felt there was something hidden behind Shirogane’s smile, but she didn’t know what it was. She also felt there was something connecting Shirogane and Misaki, but she didn’t know what that was either. There were many strange things surrounding them. Whatever it was, she wouldn’t discuss what happened today with anyone and would keep it to herself.

  "what exactly does he want to do..."

  She muttered as she think about his smile and his striking hair.

  "How funny."

  She added, with a monotone expression.