Chichi had stopped speaking three days ago. Thursday morning. When Kakarotto entered the classroom, he passed by Chichi's seat as usual and called out "Yo." Chichi kept staring out the window, not moving a muscle. （……Huh, still mad?） Kakarotto tilted his head and headed to his own seat. He really didn't understand. That day when Chichi said "You're the worst" and left. What had he done wrong? Three days of thinking, and he still had no clue. From a seat diagonally ahead, Kuririn watched quietly. （Ignored again……） The water-colored round head dipped slightly. After morning homeroom ended, Kuririn approached Chichi in the hallway. She was holding a reference book, preparing for the next class. Her deep green hair was neat and orderly, and the gray eyes behind her glasses were calm. But too calm. "[gentle]Chichi, are you okay? Kakarotto didn't mean any harm. Really." Chichi's hands stopped on the reference book. She turned slowly. Gray eyes looked straight at Kuririn. "[serious]Are you on Kakarotto's side?" "Huh——" His heart jumped. Words got stuck in Kuririn's throat. Kakarotto was his best friend. And Chichi——he liked her too. He wanted to take both their sides, so both their faces floated in his mind, and neither name would come out of his mouth. "I, it's not like that……" "……I see." Chichi said just that and hugged the reference book to herself again. She walked deeper into the hallway. Kuririn watched her back disappear, then slumped against the hallway wall. Voices swirled in his head. （I want to be on Chichi's side. But Kakarotto is my best friend——） Golden eyes looked into the distance. Outside the window, the green of Komoreby Ridge swayed. --- Third period was PE. Basketball class in the gymnasium. Teacher Morino used red and white caps to divide them into teams, and Kakarotto and Bejīta ended up on the same team. When Kakarotto saw this, he grinned. "Oh, I'm with Bejīta! Sounds fun!" Bejīta crossed his arms and snorted. The moment the whistle blew to start the game, Bejīta declared: "[cold]Don't pass to me. I'm making every shot." All the teammates exchanged glances. Kakarotto smiled brightly. "[gentle]Nah, but we'd definitely win if we all had fun together. See, it's better if we split it up, right?" "[angry]Shut up. Don't tell me how to play." "[gentle]That's not really the issue——" "[angry]Yes it is! I'm the best. I'm making all the shots. That's it!" The ball was left in the middle of the court. While both teams stood frozen watching, Kakarotto and Bejīta faced off, continuing their argument. Kakarotto kept saying with a smile, "But that's not fun," and Bejīta kept shooting back, "What idiot tries to win by having fun?" Piiiiiii! Teacher Morino's whistle blew. "……Both of you. Could you step out for a moment?" His voice was calm. But his eyes were anything but calm. In a corner of the hallway. Kakarotto and Bejīta stood side by side against the wall. Teacher Morino stood facing them and pulled a white tablet from his pocket. He swallowed it dry. "Could you two cooperate a little more……?" Brief silence. "……You can't, can you?" The teacher's eyes grew distant. Kakarotto bowed his head apologetically and said "Sorry." Bejīta kept his arms crossed and chin raised, his gaze alone declaring "I have no intention of apologizing." Teacher Morino looked at Bejīta. Bejīta looked away. （……That kid can't rely on anyone.） Teacher Morino sighed quietly and took another antacid tablet. --- After school. When the sunset was beginning to paint Misora City orange, Kakarotto was on the roof. A "No Entry" sign hung on the door, but everyone in the class knew you could get up via the emergency stairs. Leaning against the fence, he gazed blankly at the sprawling view of Misora City below. The residential streets of Higashioka, Komoreby Ridge in the distance, and beyond that, the Hayase River glinting in the light. Wind brushed his cheek. It felt good. The door opened. "[surprised]Oh——" Kuririn appeared and stopped. He saw Kakarotto and his expression became a little troubled. "[gentle]This is my spot for thinking things through, though……" "[gentle]No way. We're overlapping." Kuririn gave a wry smile and stood beside him at the fence. The two of them were silent for a while, watching the twilight. "[gentle]I feel like Chichi's mad at me or something." "……Yeah." "[gentle]Did I do something? I really don't get it." Kuririn stayed silent for a while, still facing the sunset. The fingers resting on the fence slowly clenched into a fist. "[serious]……You." "Yeah?" "[serious]Have you ever thought about what kind of feelings Chichi has when she talks to you?" Kakarotto turned around. Kuririn kept facing the sunset. His profile was slightly tense. Kakarotto thought seriously. He furrowed his brow, narrowed his dark brown eyes, and waited. Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds. "[gentle]……Hmm. Like, she wants to share her lunch side dish with me?" Kuririn's movements stopped. Slowly, he covered his face with both hands. "[sad]……Wrong." "[surprised]Wrong?" "[sad]Completely wrong. Off by like ten decimal places." "[gentle]I see. So what is it then?" Kuririn sighed while covering his face. A long, long sigh. The evening breeze rustled Kuririn's water-colored head. （There's no way I can say it.） He liked Chichi. Just saying her name made his chest tighten. But right now, Chichi liked Kakarotto. Kuririn had always known that fact. Since the previous school. Always. He quietly clenched his fist on his lap. "……Never mind." "[gentle]You don't look like anything good happened to you." "[laughing]Don't say that to me." Kuririn finally looked up and gave a wry smile. Dimples appeared. Kakarotto smiled brightly. The two of them stayed in the twilight a little longer. --- The next day, Friday. Lunch was hamburger steak. The smell of sauce drifting from the cafeteria reached the hallway, and Kakarotto had been a little restless since morning. He liked hamburger steak. He was thinking he'd get seconds today. But today, he'd decided to do something different. When lunch came, Kakarotto took his tray but didn't sit at his own seat. Instead, he walked straight to Chichi's desk. Chichi looked up. Her gray eyes said "What?" "[gentle]I'm sorry for making you mad yesterday." Chichi's eyes widened slightly. "[gentle]As an apology——I'll give you my hamburger steak." Kakarotto took the plate from his own tray and held it out in front of Chichi's desk. Steam rose from it. The good smell of sauce. Chichi's mouth opened slightly, then stopped. Her face turned red. The redness spread all the way to the depths of her deep green hair. "[surprised]I, I wasn't mad about something like that……!" "[gentle]But I wanted to apologize." "[surprised]That's not the point. What I was trying to say is——" Kakarotto kept smiling, holding out the hamburger steak. He showed no sign of pulling it back. Chichi looked at the hamburger steak. Then at Kakarotto. Then back at the hamburger steak. "……I'll take it." Her voice was small. Her hands trembled slightly as she took the plate. "[excited]Yes! We made up! So I'll see you tomorrow too!" With just that, Kakarotto bounced back to his own seat. Holding his tray with the hamburger steak gone, his face showed not a trace of worry. Chichi stared at the hamburger steak she'd received. （Why……why do you look like everything's solved……） Her chest was pounding. Loudly. She tried to tell herself it was nothing, that it was just this, but she couldn't calm down at all. The sauce on the hamburger steak steamed gently. Chichi slowly picked up her fork. ——In a corner of the classroom, Kuririn stood quietly, still holding his tray. He had seen everything. From the moment Kakarotto approached, to when Chichi took the hamburger steak. Chichi's face turning red, Kakarotto bouncing back with a smile. All of it. His gaze slowly fell. The hamburger steak on his own tray came into view. It was still there. Untouched. Kuririn bit his lip hard. It didn't hurt. The pain was deeper than that. Much deeper.