Monday morning arrived after the weekend following the Friday charm incident. Ren hadn't slept. Even telling himself not to think about it, that classroom air interrupted by the chime kept clinging to his head. Aoi's voice—"I hope we can talk properly later"—wouldn't leave him alone. *Damn this*, he thought while heading to school. South building, Furin High. The hallway in front of the gymnasium. Before first period PE, as students finished changing and filed out, PE teacher Murata announced loudly, clipboard in hand. "[serious]Today's fitness testing. Girls start with the 50-meter dash first" A chill ran through all three of them at once—Ren, Kouta, and Natsuki. "[scared]……50-meter dash" "[serious]It gets recorded in the girls' column" Their voices nearly overlapped. Natsuki silently pressed a hand to his stomach. The strategy meeting lasted three seconds. "[sad]Teacher, my stomach hurts……" "[sad]I'm feeling dizzy……" Natsuki silently pressed a hand to his forehead. Murata looked at all three for one second. His eyes behind his glasses turned a damp color. "[cold]All three of you getting sick at the same time? That's impossible" It was a clean cut. The cleanest possible. Which made it even more infuriating. In the end, they managed to shelve the testing under the pretense of an emergency contact to Katase-sensei, and the three escaped to the infirmary. Katase-sensei—the school nurse in the first-floor infirmary of the north building—said "Again?" in her usual easygoing way while bringing ice packs. Ren kicked the infirmary wall with the sole of his shoe. Hard. "[angry]My record staying in the girls' column……I absolutely hate it" "[laughing]But we got away with it!" Kouta's face brightened instantly. His large golden eyes sparkled. Natsuki said flatly. "[serious]The same problem happens next week" The light drained from Kouta's face. Ren couldn't say anything either, just stared at the wall. --- It happened on the way back from the infirmary to the classroom. Walking through the connecting hallway of the south building, Kouta stopped and stared at a slip of paper. His deep green bob cut swayed with each tilt of his head. "[surprised]……A memo?" Ren leaned in to look. *〈Sugimoto, could you come behind the school building?〉* The handwriting was round and slightly shaky. "[serious]From who" "[surprised]I don't know. No name" Kouta tilted his head. His face was too innocent. He looked like he'd go alone. Ren didn't say "I'm coming too." But after watching Kouta turn the corner, he followed a moment later. Behind the north building. A narrow passage between the fence and wall, beside the food delivery entrance. Poor sunlight. Always a little dim. The moment Kouta turned the corner, a voice came. "[scared]K-Kouta——!" Ren stopped in the wall's shadow. Behind the school building was Tanabe Yuuki. A boy from second-year class 3, usually unremarkable. Short black hair, small build. Right now his face was bright red up to his ears, his cheeks and neck flushed. The moment Tanabe saw Kouta, he bowed toward the ground. Then dropped to his knees. His forehead nearly touched the concrete. "[scared]Ever since Sugimoto became a girl——I've been thinking about you——I like you!! Please go out with me!!" His voice cracked. All expression drained from Kouta's face. Ren watched from the wall's shadow. Kouta didn't move. Didn't blink. His golden eyes stared straight at Tanabe in his bow. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. On the fourth second, he fell sideways without a sound. "[surprised]Kouta——!!" Ren burst from behind the wall. Kouta lay on the concrete, eyes rolled back. Tanabe's head snapped up and he flipped backward. "[scared]W-what, what——!?" --- The infirmary bed. The farthest corner, partitioned off. Katase-sensei came with an ice pack. Her face was tired. "[serious]……Passed out again" She said it quietly. Ren couldn't say "It's not my fault," just sat in the chair watching Kouta's face. Two minutes later, Kouta's eyes opened. "[surprised]……Huh. Where am I……" "[serious]Infirmary. You okay" Kouta looked at the ceiling. The ice pack sat beside his head. He was silent for a while, then spoke with hollow eyes. "[scared]……Ren. What should I……" Ren answered immediately. "[serious]Reject him. That's it" The simplest answer. He thought it was right. But Kouta continued. "[sad]……Tanabe's not a bad guy. I don't want to hurt him……" Ren closed his mouth. Not a bad guy. That was true. Tanabe was just a normal boy. He just happened to like Kouta. But that was making Kouta suffer. Reject him and he gets hurt. Don't reject him and Kouta suffers. No words came. As leader of the Furin delinquents, Ren could move faster than anyone in a fight. But in front of the word "like," he had no idea what to do. "[serious]……I'll talk to Tanabe at lunch" That's all he said. --- Lunch break. Ren called Tanabe out to the hallway. Third floor, south building, in front of second-year class 3. "[angry]Don't touch my best friend" He said it with his hand against the wall. Tanabe's back pressed against it. "B-but——" Then came running footsteps. "[serious]Ren, calm down!" It was Aoi. Her long crimson hair swayed. Her freckled cheeks were slightly flushed. She stepped between Ren and Tanabe. "[sarcastic]Oh, this is getting interesting" Yuki arrived too. She joined from behind with an intrigued expression. "[angry]Isn't Sugimoto a girl now! What's wrong with liking a girl!?" Tanabe raised his voice. His face reddened again—this time with anger. "[angry]Kouta was originally a guy!" "But now he's a girl——" "[gentle]But a confession that ignores the other person's feelings——" "[sarcastic]Wait, but Sakuragi's a girl now too, so isn't this a girl-to-girl confession——" Four voices overlapped. Classmates poked their heads out from the classroom. Someone whispered, "Something's going down……" "[angry]You're all so damn loud!! I just want to protect Kouta!!" It echoed down the hallway. In the moment of silence that followed, Aoi spoke. "[gentle]I understand that feeling. But Sakuragi——did you ask Kouta what he wants?" Ren froze. He hadn't asked. He'd just said "reject him" once in the infirmary and never asked what Kouta actually wanted. "[sarcastic]……Shut up" He turned his face away. In that moment, he felt his cheeks burning. Whether from anger or embarrassment, he didn't know—and that made him even angrier. Yuki didn't miss that expression. "[sarcastic]Oh……" Her mouth corners started to rise. Aoi stared at Yuki. Yuki gave a small shrug and stayed silent. The hallway air took on a strange weight. --- After school. Ren returned alone to the infirmary, where Kouta was half-sitting up on the bed. Katase-sensei said "I have some paperwork" and stepped out. It was quiet. Evening light came through the window. Kouta spoke while staring upward. "[gentle]Hey Ren……Tanabe's not a weird guy, right?" "[serious]……I think he's normal. But that doesn't mean——" "[sad]Honestly, I don't know what to do. I know rejecting him is the right answer. But……I'm scared" Ren asked. "[serious]Scared?" "[sad]This is the first time someone's ever told me they like me. If I reject him and he gets hurt……" Kouta's words trailed off. Ren was silent for a while. He could handle a fight. His body moved first when his friends were in danger. But what Kouta was scared of now wasn't physical danger—it was hurting someone else. Ren had no answer for that. He'd never been confessed to, never been close to it. He had no idea what to do in front of the word "like." No one had ever taught him. "[whispers]……I don't know either" He forced it out. Kouta gave a small bitter smile. "[sad]So we're the same" The two of them stayed silent, staring at the ceiling. Best friends, but neither had an answer. That kind of heaviness—something that had never existed before—drifted between them. --- Leaving the infirmary, Ren saw Aoi and Yuki cleaning up in the classroom. He passed by without stopping. The lingering scent of the lunch-time romance debate seemed to still hang there. The moment Aoi asked "Did you ask what he wants?" and he had no words—that kept catching in his chest. Ren climbed the north building stairs alone. He opened the roof door. Wind blew before sunset. His skirt fluttered, and he pressed it down without thinking. He sat down beside the water tank, staring at the concrete floor. ——When you find your true self, the curse breaks. The words were etched there as if they'd always been embedded, clear in the fading light. "[whispers]What's my true self……I'm Sakuragi Ren. That's all" He muttered it low. Kouta's "I'm scared" echoed in his head. So did Aoi's "Did you ask what he wants?" And himself, unable to answer. He'd always thought: even with a girl's body, I'm still me. But today, faced with Kouta's fear, he couldn't do anything. He went silent at Aoi's one sentence. Is the real me really this helpless—— The thought grazed the edge of his mind. Ren stood up. "[serious]Don't think about useless stuff" He said it to himself. He turned his back on the graffiti and walked toward the stairs. Just as he started down, a voice came from the first-floor hallway. "[serious]I'll come again tomorrow. Until Sugimoto gives me an answer" Tanabe's voice. Firm, like he was steeling himself. Ren's feet stopped. From the classroom window, Aoi looked up toward the roof. Yuki said beside her. "[sarcastic]Aren't you going?" Aoi paused for a moment, then let her gaze fall to her hands. "[whispers]……Not today" That was all she said. The delicate air born from the lunch-time chaos still lingered between them.