Wednesday morning. The light slanting through the classroom windows was painfully bright. The white chalk marks on the blackboard looked like meaningless lines. The math teacher was saying something, but the voice passed right through her ears — her head was still burning with yesterday's scene. Two silhouettes visible through the gap in the curtains. A quiet kiss, barely touching. *(I shouldn't have seen that.)* The thought, repeating for who knows how many times now, sank heavy into the center of her chest, as if caving it inward. Matsuoka Rio's pen raced across her notebook. Black ink gliding over white paper. Before she even realized it, the character for "Haruka" was there. "......" A tiny, swallowed breath — a sound only she could hear. She grabbed her eraser in a panic and scrubbed at the characters, over and over and over. Until the paper nearly tore. The friend in the next seat peered over at her, worried. "[gentle] Rio, you look pale. Are you okay?" Rio lifted her head. She forced the corners of her mouth upward. "[gentle] I'm fine. Just... didn't get enough sleep." The words she always said precisely when she wasn't fine. A habit. Her friend looked like she wanted to say more, but the class chime rang and she turned away. Rio looked back down at her notebook. The spot, scattered with eraser crumbs, was blank now. But no matter how many times she erased it, the characters in her head refused to disappear. *(I'm always thinking about it.)* *(Just how much I think about Haruka-senpai.)* Every time she was reminded of that, a sharp ache squeezed deep in her chest. —After school. Rio's feet stopped in front of the club room. At the end of the hallway in the gymnasium building. Beyond that door, six steel lockers stood in a row as always. The one closest to the front was Nanase Haruka's locker. She reached her hand toward the doorknob. But just before her fingers touched it, the strength drained out of her. *(...I can't go in today.)* She murmured it inside her heart. That moment from yesterday flashed back. The two silhouettes overlapping. With eyes that had seen that, how was she supposed to look at Haruka-senpai's face? How was she supposed to hand Makoto-senpai a towel and say "good work today"? "......I'm sorry." Apologizing to no one in particular, Rio turned on her heel. She ran up the emergency stairs at the far end of the gymnasium building. The iron steps rang out with light, clanging sounds. When she reached the very top, there was the door leading to the rooftop. The door that was supposed to be locked was, today again, slightly ajar. A blind eye turned by their advisor, Amakata-sensei, for the sake of the swim club members — a secret passage. Rio pushed the door open. The sea breeze softly brushed her cheek. The rooftop of Iwatobi High School was a special seat with a view of the ocean. In the distance, the Shiokaze Lighthouse stood white. The sinking evening sun was beginning to dye the surface of the sea orange. But today, someone was already there. A back leaning against the railing, gazing absently at the sea. Light brown hair swaying gently in the wind. "......Nagisa-kun." When Rio called his name, Hazuki Nagisa turned around slowly. His large, golden-brown eyes weren't sparkling with their usual brightness. "[gentle] Rio-senpai." Nagisa's voice was a little quiet too. "Aren't you going to club?" Rio faltered for just a moment. "[gentle] ...That's my line, Nagisa-kun. Practice has already started." She said it with a practiced smile. A face that said *I'm fine*. But Nagisa didn't look away from her. The wind blew through the space between them. Nagisa pulled his back away from the railing and turned to face Rio directly. His body, usually bouncing with energy, was now slow and quiet — as if gliding across the surface of water. "[serious] Senpai." His voice was low. His real voice, stripped of the mood-maker mask. "Am I not good enough?" —Huh. Inside Rio's head, the words echoed slowly. Their meaning didn't register for a moment. "Wh... what are you..." "[serious] On the day of the entrance ceremony... I saw you." Nagisa looked straight into Rio's eyes as he spoke. "You were crying alone in the club room. That's when I thought — *oh no*. I wanted to keep watching this person forever." Something pounded violently deep in her chest. "I've only ever been watching you, senpai. For a long time now." Nagisa's voice didn't tremble. He, who was always joking around, clinging to someone's arm, laughing exaggeratedly — now he was simply serious, spinning each word carefully, as if confirming them one by one. "The way you do your manager work. The way you twirl your hair. The way you say you're fine even though you're actually a crybaby. All of it." Rio couldn't say anything. Her fingers unconsciously touched the ends of her hair. "I know the one you like is Haruka-senpai." Those words hurt, as if pressing directly on the wound in her chest. "But I'm not giving up. When you cry, I want to be the one next to you." Nagisa's eyes glowed gold in the evening sun. His pupils reflected the distant Shiokaze Lighthouse for just a moment before turning back to Rio. *Ah*, she thought. Rio found herself unconsciously staring at the lighthouse beyond the railing. That was the place where Haruka-senpai and Makoto-senpai had played together since they were children. A place of memories just for the two of them. A place she'd always thought had nothing to do with her. *(But, right now—)* Her chest ached like it was about to burst. That was when Rio realized it for the first time. She wanted to be someone's number one. Haruka's number one was Makoto, and she had always just been watching that. Nagisa's words were quietly — but surely — shaking the feelings she'd kept a lid on all this time. Tears spilled from Rio's eyes. One streak, then another — she couldn't stop them. "[crying] I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." She didn't even know what she was apologizing for. But those were the only words that came out. Nagisa took one step forward. "[gentle] I will absolutely never make you cry. I'm serious about this." His voice was quiet, but it rode the rooftop wind and reached Rio clearly. Rio shook her head. "[crying] I'm sorry...!" She said it and then ran toward the rooftop door. As if fleeing. Without looking back. The sound of her footsteps racing down the emergency stairs echoed hollowly — clang, clang. As she ran, Rio's chest filled with a kind of pain different from her unrequited feelings for Haruka. Nagisa's serious eyes, his voice — she couldn't get them out of her head. She never knew that being told someone liked her could hurt this much. On the rooftop, Nagisa was left alone. The wind swayed his brown hair. For a while, Nagisa stared at the door Rio had disappeared through. Then, he pressed his lips into a firm line. His face said he had absolutely no intention of giving up. "...Let's go." He murmured it quietly, and then Nagisa too left the rooftop behind. —The club room. When he opened the door, Nanase Haruka and Tachibana Makoto were standing side by side inside. Haruka had a blue towel draped over his shoulders, and Makoto was speaking to him in a low voice. Between the two of them drifted a quiet atmosphere that no one else could enter. Nagisa's feet stopped for just a moment at the sight. *(I can't enter the space between those two.)* But he immediately put on his usual smile. "[excited] Good work, everyone—!" A bright voice. The mood-maker mask. Makoto turned around, his eyes narrowing slightly in a smile. His gentle, pale green eyes curved into crescent moons. "Good work, Nagisa-kun. Where were you?" At that soft voice, something deep in Nagisa's chest stirred — just a little. A feeling different from what he felt for Rio. A feeling he couldn't quite name. "[excited] I was just getting some fresh air on the rooftop!" Nagisa's expression as he said it and laughed was somehow awkward. As if sensing something, Makoto tilted his head slightly. But he didn't ask anything more. As Nagisa put his hand on his locker, he bit his lip. *(I'm not giving up.)* Inside his heart, he thought it strongly one more time. Outside the window, the evening sun was about to sink into the sea. Tomorrow, club activities would continue again. Once practice started, everyone would be in the water. The time would come to simply swim, each of them sinking their feelings deep into their chests. But beneath the water's surface, something had definitely begun to stir.