Ever since that day when Chichi yelled at him, Kakarotto had been bothered by something. He still didn't understand what he'd done wrong. But he remembered Chichi's face when she was angry. Her gray eyes had turned red, and her voice trembled slightly. Maybe he should've asked if something good happened. No, wait—she was angry, so something bad must've happened. Thinking about it, Kakarotto walked down the school hallway on Monday morning. October had arrived, and the air had turned a little cold. ——That's when it happened. BOOM!! The entire school building shook. The hallway windows rattled. Screams came from somewhere in a classroom. "[excited]What the—!?" Kakarotto reflexively bolted into the hallway. The direction of the explosion——the club building. The two-story structure on the north side. Smoke. There was definitely smoke rising. "[surprised]Wait, was that an explosion just now!?" A voice came from behind. Chichi. Her deep green hair swayed as she rushed out of the classroom. Her eyes were wide. "[serious]Let's go." A short voice. When Kakarotto turned, Bejīta—his navy hair standing on end—was already striding toward the club building. He'd been reading a textbook in the front row just moments ago, but he was moving now. "[gentle]Wait, let's all go together——" Kuririn, with his light blue round head, called out while chasing after them. The four of them ran together toward the club building. --- The smoke was coming from the back of the second floor of the club building——from the Science Club's room. White smoke drifted through the hallway. It wasn't quite a pungent smell, but something strange—like something burned, like metal. When they reached the door, it swung open with a click. A girl in a white lab coat stepped out. Her face was covered in soot. Black streaks ran across her right cheek and forehead, and the sleeves of her coat were smudged. But she didn't look panicked at all. If anything, she looked satisfied. Bulma, Chichi whispered under her breath. The girl from Class 2-3, the head of the Science Club—Kakarotto had heard about her. Bulma's family ran Capsule Electronics, a company that made electronic components in Misora City, and she was their only daughter. There was a story about her causing a small fire in the Science Club room last year. Bulma tucked her long, pale blue hair behind her ear and looked over the four of them. Clear blue eyes. When she tilted her head slightly, her expression seemed to say, "Oh, rubberneckers?" "[cold]My new battery experiment just succeeded a little earlier than planned." Her voice was cool. "[surprised]Succeeded? But it exploded, didn't it?" "[sarcastic]It didn't explode—the rapid discharge just happened three times faster than planned. The data came out correct anyway." Kakarotto glanced into the room. A small silver device sat on a desk, slightly scorched around it. There were two old burn marks on the ceiling, and now there was a new one. "[excited]That's amazing! Explosions are so cool!" Bulma looked at him. There was a pause. "[surprised]……Most people would be scared." "[gentle]Isn't it cool? The bang, the light, the smoke coming out." Bulma froze for a moment, then laughed softly. "[laughing]You're weird, aren't you?" When she laughed, her atmosphere changed. The cool demeanor from before vanished, and she looked like an ordinary girl. "[gentle]Kakarotto. The transfer student." "Bulma. Remember it." That's when Bejīta stepped forward. "[angry]Don't mess around." His voice was low. His brows furrowed, arms crossed, staring straight at Bulma. "[serious]The entire building shook. What if other students got hurt? This kind of dangerous experiment needs to stop immediately. I'm reporting this to the student council. They'll review the Science Club's activities." "[cold]……You're something else." Bulma looked at Bejīta. Her eyes narrowed. "[cold]Your grades are probably good. But criticizing someone else's research is the worst." She said it cleanly, cutting him off. Bejīta's face twitched slightly. His eyebrows jerked, and his cheeks——flushed red. "I—it's not like……your……" The words wouldn't come out properly. That was unusual for Bejīta, and Kuririn's eyes widened slightly. "[angry]……I just thought it was dangerous, okay!?" With that, he walked down the hallway with long strides. He disappeared around the corner. Kakarotto tilted his head. "[gentle]Bejīta was mad." "[laughing]He really was." Bulma chuckled. But there was something mixed into that laugh. Kakarotto couldn't quite tell what. Actually, around the corner of the hallway, Bejīta was leaning against the wall. He exhaled and put his hand to his cheek. It was hot. （……Why's my face red?） He had no idea. Didn't want to know either. But his face was definitely hot. --- Even after homeroom started, the class was buzzing. "There was an explosion," "The Science Club again?" "They're always doing something crazy," the chatter came from everywhere. Morino-sensei stood in front of the blackboard muttering, "……Could you all be a little quieter? Just a little……no, you can't, can you?" while drinking antacid. Chichi sat at her desk, looking out the window. Beyond the hallway, in front of the club building. Bulma and Kakarotto were still talking. Bulma said something and laughed. Kakarotto scratched his head and answered. The two of them laughed together again. （……What are they talking about?） Heat slowly built up in her chest. Kakarotto was always like that. He talked to anyone. He laughed with anyone. But right now, something felt different. Bulma looked clearly more fun. "[gentle]Chichi, are you okay?" A voice came from beside her. Kuririn was peering at her face. His round golden eyes looked worried. "[serious]I'm fine. It's nothing." "……Really?" Kuririn didn't say anything more. He looked in the direction of Chichi's gaze——at Kakarotto and Bulma——and stayed silent for a moment. Chichi folded the edge of her notebook while thinking. （I have to move fast. This time, for sure.） She'd failed fourteen times. Failed on the fifteenth too. But there was still time. Kakarotto hadn't chosen anyone yet. Maybe it wasn't about choosing or not choosing. But she didn't want to give anyone else the right to be next to Kakarotto. Kuririn watched from beside her and looked away out the window. （Chichi likes Kakarotto） （And Kakarotto is my best friend） A dull pain throbbed in his chest. --- When they returned to the Class 2-3 hallway after lunch break, it happened. "Oh, there's a poster." At someone's voice, everyone turned to look. A new poster had been put up on the hallway bulletin board. **Capsule Middle School Autumn Festival Event: "Pair Dance Tournament"** **October 3rd Saturday・Held in the gymnasium** **Participate as male-female pairs・Pairs can be decided freely** **Winning pair receives "Golden Shoes Award" + Double dessert coupons for one week of lunch!** The class erupted. "Pair dance!" "I heard Class 3 won last year!" "Who should I pair with?" "Double desserts!? That's insane!?" Kakarotto stared at the poster. （Double desserts……） （That'd be nice……） "[gentle]Dancing seems harder than lunch though." At that one comment from Kakarotto, several people around him sighed. Kuririn gave a wry smile. His expression said, "That's what you're focusing on?" The moment Chichi saw the poster, sparks scattered in her mind. （A pair dance tournament……!!） Pairs were free. Male and female participants. Practice together, stay together after school——it was basically a date. （This is it. If I miss this……!） Her face grew hot. If she asked Kakarotto to be her partner, they'd practice together for a week. Just the two of them in the gymnasium. Moving to music, holding hands—— "Hmm." Bulma was standing right beside her. When had she arrived? She was murmuring to herself while looking at the poster. "[cold]Sounds interesting. I might enter just to gather data. My partner would be……Kakarotto-kun, maybe." That last line reached Chichi's ears clearly. Chichi turned toward Bulma. Bulma turned toward Chichi. The noise in the hallway seemed to fade away. The two of them didn't say anything for a while. Words weren't necessary. Their gazes said it all. ——They were both thinking about the same person. That was enough. "[gentle]Dancing's cool. But I probably don't have good rhythm." Kakarotto himself, completely oblivious to the tension between the two girls, traced his finger over the poster's text and said it casually. Chichi and Bulma sighed at the same time. --- After school, Kuririn went up to the roof alone. It was technically off-limits, but everyone knew you could get up there through the emergency stairs. Kuririn came here when he needed to think alone. He placed both hands on the fence and looked down at Misora City in the twilight. To the east, the gentle ridge of Komorobi Hill. To the south, the Hayase River glimmered. The shopping street along Hayase Avenue near Misora Station looked small from here. The wind blew, and his short light blue hair swayed. He thought back to today. The look on Chichi's face when she was watching Bulma and Kakarotto from the hallway window. He didn't know she could make that kind of desperate expression. Well, he knew, but——not like that. Bulma had appeared. Smart, interested in Kakarotto, maybe going to ask him to be her dance partner. And he was Kakarotto's best friend, and he liked Chichi. He gripped the fence tightly. The metal was cold. （Pushing Chichi forward is what a friend does） （I should tell Kakarotto, "Pay attention to Chichi"） （That's the right thing to do） He knew it. His head understood it. But he couldn't do it. Why couldn't he? "[whispers]……What am I supposed to do?" It was a voice no one could hear. The evening wind blew and carried those words away somewhere. Beyond Komorobi Hill, the sun was setting. The sky turned orange, then slowly purple, then finally dark. The deadline for submitting pair registrations was next Friday. Chichi or Bulma——whoever asked Kakarotto first——it all felt like a story from a distant country to Kuririn. But it was actually happening right here, right now. He let go of the fence and looked up at the sky. The first star was already out.