Aoi was still thinking about that night. The side profile of Ren sleeping curled up by the library window. Her feet wouldn't move, even though she was holding a printout in her hand. After stepping into the hallway, her back against the wall, her face burning hot—that sensation. （What was that...?） Monday morning, looking out the classroom window, Aoi was lost in those thoughts. A week had passed since the transfer. Ren's presence had completely settled into Class 2-3 of Minase Second Middle School. Or rather, not settled—he stood out. Black hair, golden eyes, 178 centimeters tall. Every time he walked the hallway, the girls' gazes gathered. Yet Ren kept a cool face, hands shoved in his pockets, always looking somewhere far away. And to Aoi alone, he showed no mercy. "[sarcastic]Did you meet the deadline on today's homework? Remember? June 2022—the month you forgot to feed me three days in a row" He'd casually come over before homeroom, said just that, and returned to his seat. "[angry]You can't even say good morning!?" Ren kept facing the window. He didn't answer. Aoi sighed. She muttered to herself—I'm so done with this. Then a bright voice came flying from the hallway. "[excited]Aoi! Hey, listen!" Golden half-up hair swayed. Water-blue eyes sparkled. Nishimura Hinata—Aoi's best friend and the mood-maker of Class 2-3. When she laughed, dimples appeared. Her voice was clear. The type who could become friends with anyone in five minutes. Today too, she charged energetically at Aoi's desk. "We're deciding study trip groups, right? Hey, put me in the same group as Kurosaki!" "[surprised]Huh?" "You live near Kurosaki, don't you? You come together every morning. Are you close?" "[angry]N-No! We just happen to have the same route to school, and we're not close at all!" "Really?" Hinata pointed at the group assignment chart on the blackboard. Ren's name was written in a different group. Aoi felt relieved. Good, we're separated, she thought— "[cold]Aoi. Where'd you put yesterday's English printout" Ren's voice came from the back of the classroom. Calling her by her first name, as if it were natural. Hinata's eyes went perfectly round. "[excited]Huh!? He's calling you by your first name!? You guys are close after all!!" "[angry]We're not close!!" "[excited]For real!? Really!? Kurosaki calling a girl by her first name——" All the girls around turned at once. Aoi wanted to disappear into a hole right then. As for Ren, he must have noticed the commotion, but he kept his poker face, gazing out the window. Expressionless. She felt irritated. But it wasn't just that. Something else was sitting in her chest. （...What is this） Aoi decided to ignore that sensation for now. Lunch break. Hinata appeared at Ren's desk with a plastic container. "[gentle]Here, I made extra karaage. Eat!" She held it out with a smile. Dimples showing. Ren looked at the container and tilted his head slightly. Then he picked up chopsticks. ...His grip was wrong. He held them pinched between his index and middle fingers, moving them vertically in a scratching motion. Exactly like how a cat rakes with its claws. Aoi had watched for seven years. She knew. （That's definitely a cat's movement...） "[surprised]Here, that's not right. Like this" Hinata touched Ren's hand and corrected his chopstick grip. In that moment, something twisted tight in Aoi's stomach. （...Huh） Aoi, watching from the corner of the classroom, looked down at the bread in her hands. （Why do I feel like this now） He's a cat. A cat who doesn't even know how to hold chopsticks. It's normal for Hinata to touch his hand. She's just being a good friend. It's nothing. Nothing at all, and yet— Ren ate one of Hinata's karaage. After a pause. "Delicious" He said it quietly. Hinata smiled happily. Her dimples deepened. Aoi couldn't eat a single bite of her bread. （...Why can't I look away） She tried to name that emotion. It didn't work. After school. "[excited]Everyone listen! The Kurosaki fan club is officially launching today!!" Hinata announced it in the hallway. Four girls gathered—Hinata, Saki, Miho, Yui. All of them had sparkling eyes. Aoi stood one step back. "[surprised]Um, I'm not really..." "[excited]You're closest to him, so you're vice president!" "I said we're not close!!" "For real? Really?" "Really!" Then Ren walked down the hallway toward them. All five girls' gazes focused on him at once. "[excited]Kurosaki!" Ren stopped. He looked around at the girls and his expression softened slightly. "[gentle]What?" He was friendly. Aoi froze. （...This guy can actually talk normally to other people） Hinata and the others squealed. Ren responded with short replies—"I see," "I knew that"—somehow keeping the conversation going. Like a cat listening to human words while still being present, with that kind of face. And then. "[cold]You brushed my fur too much with that brush" He said it to Aoi alone, in a low voice. "[surprised]Huh?" "[serious]March 14th, 2019. You did it for one hour and forty-seven minutes. It hurt" "[angry]You remember too much!! That was just normal brushing——" "[cold]I timed it" "Why would you time it!?" Hinata and the others tilted their heads. "[surprised]Huh, what are you talking about?" "[angry]N-Nothing!!" When Aoi dodged the question, Hinata laughed and said "Kurosaki's so mysterious and cool~!" and Saki nodded saying "It's actually better that it doesn't make sense." Ren said nothing. Just for a moment—really just an instant—his gaze seemed to soften. Like he was angry, but something else was mixed in too. That kind of face. Then it returned to his usual expressionless state, and Aoi couldn't quite tell. Only Aoi couldn't laugh. On the way home. Hinata and the others walked ahead with Ren. Hinata talked a lot next to him. Ren barely answered, but he was there. Aoi followed a little behind, alone. When they entered Nakamise Street, Ren stopped. "[cold]Wait a second" He said just that and went into Daily Pop—the convenience store at the shopping street entrance—alone. Hinata and the others waited outside. Aoi didn't go in either. Through the glass, she could see Ren's back, and he stood still for a moment in front of the refrigerated section. She couldn't tell what he was looking at. He came back out quickly. He had something in his pocket. But he didn't say anything. （...What did he buy） Aoi was curious, but she couldn't ask. She got home and opened her bag. Under the textbooks, there was something long and thin. She pulled it out—a choco-mint ice cream. A stick ice like Garigari-kun, in a pale mint-colored wrapper. Still not melted. "[surprised]...What is this" Her voice came out. Even though she was alone in her room. Aoi remembered the scene of Ren going into the convenience store alone. Him putting something in his pocket, that moment. But Ren hadn't said anything. Even if she wanted to check, the door to the first-floor guest room—Ren's room—was already closed. Aoi sat on her bed and placed the ice cream on her lap. On the wall was a photo of Kuro. Kuro the cat. Small and black, always curled up on the veranda. When Aoi pointed a camera at him, he'd often gaze at the lens with golden eyes. "Hey, Kuro" Aoi spoke to the photo. "[whispers]Where are you now. ...You're there, right? Inside that guy" There was no answer. Of course not. The ice cream still hadn't melted. A faint presence came from the hallway. Not a sound. A presence—that kind of feeling. Like when a cat was nearby, something soft. Aoi quietly opened her door. Ren was curled up sleeping in the hallway. Black hair spread across the floor, both arms folded in front of his chest, knees drawn up, curled up small. Right against the front of Aoi's door. （...That's a cat's sleeping position） Kuro had been here. Every night, until Aoi turned off her room light, he'd waited in front of the door. That exact same curled-up position. Aoi felt like she might cry. （Idiot. Sleep in your own room） She took a blanket from the closet and gently draped it over Ren. He didn't wake. He breathed quietly in his sleep. Aoi stared at his back for a while. The choco-mint ice cream, lunch break, her stomach twisting—it was all spinning in her head. She quietly closed the door. The next morning. A LINE message arrived on her phone. From Hinata. 'After school, the fan club's planning to call Kurosaki to the rooftop! You're coming too!' A group chat invitation came with it. A group called "Kurosaki Support Squad 🐾" Aoi couldn't reply. "[cold]What're you spacing out for" Ren, walking beside her, called out. Along the Minase River on the way to school. Morning light reflected off the water's surface. "[sad]...Nothing" That's when she remembered. The ice cream from yesterday. "The choco-mint ice cream was delicious" "[cold]I don't know" Immediate denial. His pace quickened slightly. Aoi watched his back. （So he's going to say he doesn't know） Something twisted tight in her chest again. Like when Hinata touched Ren's hand yesterday. When she found the ice cream. When she put the blanket on curled-up Ren in the hallway. All the same sensation. （This feeling keeps happening） She didn't know its name. It wasn't anger. It wasn't sadness either. But it was there, in her chest. When the school gate came into view, Hinata came running. "[excited]Aoi! The Kurosaki call-out operation is after school!!" Her eyes sparkled. Dimples showing. Ren went through the gate without saying anything. Aoi looked at Hinata's face, then at Ren's back. （Every time Hinata gets closer to Ren） （This feeling gets bigger） Aoi still didn't know the name of that emotion. But—soon, she wouldn't be able to pretend not to know anymore.