"I like someone else." Kenta froze. Saki kept her gaze fixed on the window outside, not waiting for a response. She'd be smiling again in five seconds anyway. Right on schedule. "Wait, seriously? But—" He trailed off as his eyes slid sideways. The girl in the next seat was smiling at him. Kenta smiled back instantly. His confession to Saki erased like it had never happened. Saki exhaled quietly through her nose. Fifth one. It wasn't that she was angry. She'd known from the start. Kenta was handsome. Tall, with eyes that narrowed when he smiled, able to talk naturally with anyone in class. Guys like that were always the same. Confessions were just a habit—rejected one second, laughing with another girl three seconds later. "All handsome guys are liars." Saki concluded it in her head. The same conclusion, how many times now? She wasn't happy about being confessed to anymore. Her heart wasn't racing. If anything, it felt like a hassle. Was this what they called romance fatigue? Outside the window, the sky over Minase City was pale blue. Forty-five minutes by train from Tokyo, this slightly dull town. Minase Municipal First Junior High—nicknamed Ichi-chu—Class 2-3 was warm and noisy as always. Saki turned her gaze back into the classroom and looked vaguely toward the back. Last row by the window. That's where Tatsuya was. Or rather, his presence was so faint you couldn't even tell if he was there. His messy black hair was scattered across his desk, his face completely buried. Drool was coming out. He was sound asleep during homeroom before class. Two girls nearby were whispering. "Tatsuya's like, totally invisible, right?" "Zero presence. I bet he's never even been confessed to." Quiet laughter. Small, a little mean. Tatsuya didn't wake up, of course. Whether he heard or not was impossible to tell. He just lay slumped over his desk, breathing quietly. Saki stared at his back for about three seconds. That's when something flashed in her head. (An unpopular guy, huh...) After school, Saki cornered Tatsuya. More precisely, she tugged his sleeve while he was blankly changing his shoes at the shoe locker. "Come to the roof." Tatsuya rubbed his eyes. "...The roof? You need something from me?" He yawned. His eyes were only half open. Saki knew the lock on the roof door was loose—students could sneak in. She'd heard about it from someone in spring. The roof of Ichi-chu in the evening had a strong wind. Minase City's streets spread out below, and the Asahi River glimmered in the distance. The sky was turning orange. Saki took one deep breath. She wasn't nervous. This was calculated. Not emotion. "Go out with me." Tatsuya froze. "...Huh?" "I said go out with me." "...Me?" "You're the only one here." "...Saki?" He confirmed it three times. Tatsuya still looked half-asleep, but after a long silence, he nodded vaguely. "...Yeah." Too short an answer. Saki pumped her fist internally. Perfect. Plan on track. Unpopular, won't cheat, peaceful. A flawless choice. So Saki didn't notice. The slight upturn at the corner of Tatsuya's mouth. The first three days were dull. Dull, peaceful, supposed to be boring. First, the library. Ichi-chu's library had almost no visitors after school, just the sound of Librarian Kanai quietly organizing books. Saki and Tatsuya sat side by side with their textbooks open. Tatsuya turned a page. Once, twice. On the third turn, he stopped. Silence. When Saki glanced over, Tatsuya was using his textbook as a pillow, asleep. "Are you actually reading?" "I'm reading." He answered without opening his eyes. "What page are you on?" "...Page four." Five seconds later, it was quiet again. This time he was definitely asleep. Saki sighed and turned back to her own textbook. For some reason, she wasn't that angry. The next day they went to Tomocafe on Asahi Street. A retro-looking cafe just a walk from Minase Station. The owner, Tomo, was apparently a former musician—there was a guitar hanging in the shop. Hotcakes were the specialty, three hundred eighty yen. Saki and Tatsuya sat across from each other, both ordering hotcakes. When Tomo brought them, Tatsuya immediately put his butter on Saki's plate. Without saying anything. Completely natural. Saki stared at the butter for a second. "...I didn't ask for that." "You seem like you'd like butter." Tatsuya was already eating his hotcake. Saki waited a moment, then spread the butter. It was delicious. That was all. Her heart wasn't racing or anything like that. It was just... normally delicious. That was all. Definitely. The third day was Miharashi Hill. A small hill on the western edge of Minase City, about twenty minutes' walk from school. From the bench at the top, you could see the whole town. The Asahi River, Tower Grants building in the distance, and the sunset beyond. Saki and Tatsuya sat side by side eating the bento she'd brought. Tatsuya barely spoke. He just looked up at the sky and said, "The view here is nice." That was all. Saki found herself staring at his profile. Messy hair. Sleepy eyes. But right now, just for this moment, his face was different. Peaceful. The face of someone watching the city. (Why is this so comfortable?) Saki tilted her head internally. It was supposed to be boring. Dull, little conversation, no surprises. A calculated, peaceful relationship. And yet, walking next to Tatsuya on the way home, something felt strange. Not bad. The opposite, actually. And that scared her a little. On the way home from the third day, Saki took a detour to Neon Row alone. A busy district just a walk from the south exit of Minase Station, lined with karaoke and arcades. Middle schoolers came during the day. It became an adult area at night, but it was still light out, so Saki didn't think much about it. She played crane games at Game Center "Planet Z" and lost. When she reached an alley, men surrounded her. Five or six of them. All a head taller than Saki, one smoking a cigarette. "This is our territory." The man approached, eyes down. "Don't wander around here, middle schooler. Hand over your wallet." Saki's feet stopped. She couldn't move. She wanted to run, but her knees wouldn't obey. Her throat went dry, her voice wouldn't come. She knew where this was. South Minase, Neon Row. But there was no one in this alley to help her. Saki reached for her wallet, gripping her bag strap. Then. Tire sounds. Not just one. Multiple. And getting closer fast. Black luxury cars slid into the alley from both sides simultaneously. One, two, three—she couldn't count them all. License plates all reading "964." Perfectly aligned, stopping with precision. Ten cars total. The thugs froze. Doors opened. Men in black suits descended silently. No one spoke. They just stood quietly between Saki and the thugs. "Wh-what the...?" The color drained from the man's face. The rearmost car's door opened last. Someone stepped out slowly. Saki's brain stopped for a moment. Black hair slicked back perfectly. About one hundred seventy-five centimeters tall. Black shirt buttoned all the way up. His eyes were cold. Icy blue eyes that slowly swept across the thugs. It was Tatsuya. "You bastards." His voice was low. Not the sleepy voice from usual. "You put your hands on my girl. You've got guts." The thug leader trembled. "K-Kurogane...!?" The next second, all six dropped to their knees. Almost simultaneously. Some pressed their foreheads to the ground. "S-sorry we didn't know we didn't know we swear!!" "We're idiots!! Total idiots!!" "We won't do it again!!" Three of them talked at once, voices overlapping, it became a mess. Tatsuya glanced at them and exhaled sharply through his nose. Then he turned back to Saki. His eyes changed. The cold light from before vanished. His face returned to normal—slightly sleepy. "You were scared. You're safe now." His voice was gentle. Saki's mind went completely white. Huh. Huh? He was supposed to be totally unpopular?? A suited man stepped forward. "Young master, your car." Young master. Saki heard that word and reality warped. Kurogane. The name the thug had screamed. Suited men gathering silently around Tatsuya. Everyone moving on his single word. (Kurogane... the Kurogane syndicate...?) Saki felt like she'd heard that somewhere. Talk of the underworld in the Kanto region. A gang of over three thousand members based in Minase City, the rumor went. But that was adult talk, nothing to do with middle schoolers— Her knees nearly buckled. The back seat of Tatsuya's car was spacious and quiet. The leather was cold. Saki hunched her shoulders. Tatsuya sat beside her. Distance: about fifty centimeters. Not far, not close. An awkward silence stretched on. City lights flowed past the window. Minase City's night was beginning. Saki clasped her hands on her lap and took a shallow breath. "...Hey." Her voice shook slightly. "What are you?" Tatsuya yawned. "Just a normal middle schooler." His eyes were closing again. (WHAT DO YOU MEAN NORMAL!!!!) Saki's inner voice exploded. But nothing came out. She just clenched her fists. "...Those people were all wearing suits." "I have a lot of relatives." "What about the ten cars?" "...We're kind of a big family." He yawned again. Saki looked out the window. Tower Grants building appeared in the distance. Thirty-two stories, Minase City's tallest. Someone had said that's where the Kurogane syndicate's headquarters was. She couldn't laugh about it now. The car stopped in front of her apartment building. When Saki got out, Tatsuya followed from the back. The suited men waited in place. Tatsuya waved casually. "See you tomorrow." That was all. He got back in the car. Saki stood there, watching his back disappear. The car vanished into Minase City's night. Red taillights, then gone around the corner. Saki crouched down right there. "...My calculation..." She whispered to no one. "...completely fell apart." Unpopular, won't cheat, peaceful. All three conditions met. Her perfect calculation, completely overturned. The successor to the largest organization in the underworld. Over three thousand subordinates. Ten black luxury cars. Where was the normal middle schooler in that? Saki stayed crouched for a while. The night wind was a little cold. Laughter drifted from the shopping district. And she realized something. She wanted to watch that car's taillights disappear a little longer. Saki shook her head violently. "...No. That's not it." It was just shock. Just confusion. Tomorrow she'd think clearly. Recalculate. There had to be another way— At the same time, in a car driving through Minase City's night. Tatsuya leaned deep into his seat, eyes closed. The suited man asked nothing. Just gripped the wheel, eyes forward. Tatsuya's phone vibrated. Text appeared on the screen. ——Movement on the Five Houses matter. Tatsuya's eyes opened. The peaceful expression vanished for just a moment. Icy blue eyes quietly fixed on the screen. Three seconds, motionless. Then he quickly turned it off. The car drove silently through Minase City's night.