The after-school chime had long since faded in the distance. Naruhodou Ryuuichi sat slumped over an open notebook at the very back of the school library. The evening light slanting through the windows was orange, and the air hung still and silent. From the shelves beside him came the smell of old paper and dust. Across the open spread of his notebook, just four lines. *Chess club captain. Cool. Dreams of a past life. Was watching the cherry tree.* That was the sum total of what he'd tried to compile about Mitsurugi-kun. "[sad]Yatabuki-san has thirteen years' worth." Stacked on the desk were records of past confession trials. The *Vérité Case Collection*—a thick file compiling the most heated battles from trials past. He'd flipped through it, but every argument inside was heavy. Time spent together, secrets shared, memories built up. All things he didn't have. "[whispers]Just one time… he taught me chess, and that's all I've got…" He traced the edge of his notebook with a finger. A cold ache seeped slowly through his chest. Just then, soft footsteps echoed through the quiet library. "So this is where you were, Naru-kun." He looked up to find Yatabuki Akane standing there. Her long, soft cinnamon-brown hair caught the sunset, glowing almost gold. Her round brown eyes gazed straight down at Naruhodou. "[surprised]Y-Yatabuki-san…" "[gentle]Mind if I sit next to you?" With no reason to refuse, Naruhodou nodded, and Yatabuki quietly pulled out the chair beside him. She smoothed down the hem of her skirt as she sat. The sweet scent of apple shampoo drifted over. "[whispers]Hey, Naru-kun." Yatabuki glanced at the case collection on the desk, then turned back to face him. She was smiling. But her eyes weren't. "[gentle]How much do you actually like Mitsu-kun?" Straight to the point. Naruhodou's mind went blank. His mouth moved on its own, the answer spilling out before he could think. "[scared]W-We're just friends! It's not like that at all. I mean, I might have met Mitsurugi-kun in a past life, but that's it—it's not like I want to confess or anything—" He rattled it all out in a rush, then clamped a hand over his mouth. (Ah…) The more excuses he made, the more pathetic he sounded. He knew it. His face was bright red. Hot, like even his ears were on fire. Yatabuki's smile froze over. "[cold]…Just friends, huh." All warmth drained from her voice. "[cold]Fine. Then I'll win." Yatabuki clenched her small hands tight on her lap. "[serious]I won't let you hurt Mitsu-kun. I'll protect him. That's what I've always done." There was no hostility in her words—only fierce resolve. A genuine protective instinct. Naruhodou couldn't say anything back. He could only watch as Yatabuki's round eyes glistened, shimmering. Yatabuki stood up smoothly and left the library without looking back. Her small figure vanished into the shadows of the distant bookshelves. In the dead silence of the room, Naruhodou was left alone. (Why couldn't I say anything back?) He opened his notebook. Just four lines. He barely knew anything—and yet, his chest ached. They were friends. That probably wasn't a lie. But the feelings that went beyond that… he didn't know how to put them into words. "[sad]What am I… to Mitsurugi-kun?" He murmured it to no one in particular. The sunset stretched the bookshelf shadows longer and longer. One day until the trial. --- The following day, after school. On the first floor of Kagurazaka Academy's annex building—the doors to the Vérité Court swung heavily open. The eighty-seat gallery was already packed. A swirl of murmurs and whispers filled the air, every gaze turning toward the entrance. The moment Naruhodou Ryuuichi stepped inside, the atmosphere crackled with tension. "[whispers]Hey, that's the transfer student, right?" "[whispers]I heard he told Mitsurugi-sama some weird lie…" "[whispers]Past-life lovers or whatever? No way that's real." His heart pounded in his ears. (It's fine. I'm fine.) Repeating it to himself, Naruhodou walked toward the front podium. His legs trembled faintly. Sweat beaded on his palms, making the notebook in his hand bend and warp. "Order." A cold voice descended from the elevated judge's seat. Vice President Himuro Saya. Behind her silver-rimmed glasses, her eyes looked down upon the court, utterly devoid of emotion. *Bang.* The Vérité gavel struck. "This court is now in session for the first trial concerning the right to confess to Mitsurugi Reiji." The first to take the podium was Yatabuki Akane. With a calm smile, she swept her gaze across the gallery, then pulled a large photo album from the oversized envelope in her hands. "[gentle]Your Honor, this is my evidence." The album opened to a page showing a little boy on the verge of tears, a school backpack strapped to his shoulders. Silver hair. Without a doubt, it was Mitsurugi Reiji as a child. "[excited]So cute…!" Yatabuki began to speak quietly, turning the pages one by one. "[gentle]This is elementary school entrance ceremony. Mitsu-kun was about to cry because a cherry blossom petal got stuck in his hair, so I picked it out for him." "[gentle]This one's from middle school sports day. Mitsu-kun was dead set on getting first place—look at that intense face he's making as he runs." "[laughing]And this is last winter. It was a rare day when the snow actually piled up. Mitsu-kun was all alone, building a snowman by himself. I snuck a photo without him noticing." Warm laughter rippled through the gallery. The atmosphere already belonged entirely to Yatabuki. "[serious]And now, my final piece of evidence." She held up a single handwritten list. "[serious]Mitsu-kun's favorite breakfast is shirasu rice bowl. He looks right-handed, but he actually uses chopsticks and pencils with his left hand. The sound of rain helps him sleep peacefully. He hates horror movies, but he'll never admit he's scared." "[laughing]Ahh, that's definitely just him acting tough!" A burst of laughter. Naruhodou just stood there, frozen. He didn't know a single thing. Thirteen years of memories, a list of secrets—all of it was a Mitsurugi-kun he knew nothing about. "That is all." Yatabuki took her seat. Scattered applause rose from the gallery. The next to stand was Houzuki Yomi. Her black hair, tinged with indigo, swayed softly. Without a single word, she simply pulled a thick stack of papers from her envelope and presented it to Himuro Saya. "…The evidence is accepted." Himuro read the contents aloud. "Match records from the chess club. Forty-seven games in total. All are game records between Mitsurugi Reiji and Houzuki Yomi. Spanning the past two months. Additionally, an attached document—signed testimony from three chess club members." The summoned club members took the witness stand. "[serious]We'd never seen Mitsurugi-senpai smile while playing chess before. And even then, it was only when he was playing against Houzuki-san." The courtroom fell deathly silent. Houzuki said nothing. She simply stared at Naruhodou with her deep crimson eyes. The weight of that expressionless gaze made him instinctively step back. He opened his notebook, trying to form a rebuttal. But all that was there was a single memo about that one chess game. "[scared]I-I…" Houzuki's gaze pierced straight through him. The words he'd been about to say stuck in his throat. "[whispers]…That's all." He said it quietly and sat down. "[sarcastic]Huh, that's it?" Sudou Kyousuke, who'd been waiting in the seat next to him, pushed up his glasses and stared at Naruhodou in disbelief. "[angry]Shut up!" Himuro shot a cold glare at the whispering pair. Naruhodou and Sudou both clamped their mouths shut at the same time. "Next." Sudou Kyousuke strode to the podium with all the flourish of an actor stepping onto a stage. In his hands was his ever-present custom tablet, the *Sudou Net*. "[excited]Everyone, information is justice!" He held up the tablet screen for the gallery to see. Countless graphs and data points filled the display. "[excited]Using the Sudou Net, I have thoroughly analyzed every scrap of information on Mitsurugi-kun—his hobbies and preferences, his reactions in past trials, SNS analysis data, one hundred and forty-two items in total! And the statistically derived image of Mitsurugi-kun's ideal partner—is me!" Sudou tapped his tablet, and flashy text blazed across the screen: *Ideal Partner Compatibility Rate: 98.7%*. The courtroom erupted in murmurs. "[angry]Hey, you!" Yatabuki shot to her feet. "[angry]Do you actually like Mitsurugi-kun, or do you just like your data?!" "[serious]At the moment, both." Sudou's deadpan reply drew stifled laughter from the gallery. Yatabuki, utterly at a loss for words, opened and closed her mouth several times before letting out a huge sigh and sitting back down. And in the midst of that chaos—something clicked in Naruhodou's head. (—Wait.) His past-life lawyer instincts flared. The surrounding noise faded into the distance, and the scattered pieces of the courtroom began arranging themselves neatly in his mind. Yatabuki's album. Houzuki's game records. Sudou's data. All of it was about Mitsurugi-kun's past and his outward image. (But that's…) Naruhodou's index finger pressed against his temple. A habit from his past life, when he was thinking. "[serious]Objection!" His voice rang out through the courtroom. Every gaze converged on Naruhodou. Yatabuki turned around, startled. "[serious]Yatabuki-san's evidence does prove that she knows Mitsurugi-kun very well." Naruhodou looked straight at Yatabuki. "[serious]But it's all in the past. Whether Mitsurugi-kun truly wants to be with Yatabuki-san right now—there isn't a single piece of evidence for that." Silence fell over the courtroom, as if a bucket of water had been thrown over it. The color drained from Yatabuki's face. "[cold]Naruhodou-san." Judge Himuro Saya spoke quietly. "[cold]I understand your objection. Then, do you possess evidence to prove it? Evidence of who Mitsurugi Reiji wishes to be with?" Naruhodou's mouth stopped. He looked at his hands. In his open notebook, just four lines. He didn't have it. Who Mitsurugi-kun wanted to be with—he'd never once asked. "[whispers]…I don't." The objection had been a swing and a miss. *Bang.* The heavy gavel struck, carving silence into the courtroom. "This court is now adjourned for the day. The next session will be announced at a later date." The gallery rose in a clamor, people heading for the exit. Naruhodou remained slumped against the podium, unable to move for a long moment. He'd lost. --- In the hallway, after the crowd had thinned, Naruhodou sat slumped against the wall. He opened his notebook. The first page. *Things I know about Mitsurugi-kun.* Chess club captain. Cool. Dreams of a past life. Was watching the cherry tree. The Mitsurugi-kun he knew ended with those four lines. Yatabuki's thirteen-year photo book. Houzuki's forty-seven game records. Sudou's one hundred and forty-two data points. It was laughable to even compare. But that wasn't it. The problem wasn't just the lack of evidence. "[whispers]I… can't put my feelings into words." Whether he liked him or not. Before even that—what did he want to do for Mitsurugi-kun? What did he want to do, standing beside him? He couldn't say anything. He closed the notebook gently. Then, soft footsteps approached and stopped beside him. "[gentle]…I hope something changes before the next trial." It was Yatabuki Akane. She said just that, gave a small nod with a complicated expression, and walked away again. It wasn't mean-spirited. If anything, it sounded like genuine encouragement. And that made it hurt all the more. In the empty hallway, Naruhodou clutched the notebook tightly to his chest. "[whispers]Why can't I say it?" Before gathering evidence, he had to face what was deep inside