Cleanup at Café Daisan finished just past seven in the evening. The desks were returned to their original positions, the tablecloths folded, the paper cranes removed from the windowsill. The classroom transformed back into Year 2, Class 1 in an instant. Only the handmade washi paper plum blossoms that Shinji had pasted on the blackboard yesterday remained. Music drifted from the gymnasium where the after-festival was happening. A folk dance song. "[excited]Let's go, Shinji! The after-festival! Folk dancing! The teacher's good at this kind of thing, you know~!" Misato poked her head in from the hallway and shouted. Her purple short bob swayed softly. Her eyes sparkled. Shinji smiled wryly, still holding the blackboard eraser. "Yeah, I'm coming now" The moment he entered the gymnasium, the music volume jumped. The lights dimmed, and only indirect lighting like a mirror ball swept across the walls in circles. Classmates were beginning to form a circle. The instant Shinji tried to stand at the edge of the circle, it happened. Someone grabbed his right hand. "[angry]Dance with me. That's an order" It was Asuka. Her red hair swayed. Aqua blue eyes looked straight at Shinji. Her grip was strong. At the same time, someone gently took his left hand. "Ikari, your hand" It was Rei. Silver-white hair. Deep crimson eyes. She pulled Shinji's hand with a quiet but certain force. And from behind, both shoulders were grabbed firmly. "[excited]Shinji~! Let's dance with the teacher~! Come on~!" It was Misato. From her 172-centimeter height, she pulled backward, and the force gradually pressed against Shinji's back. Three directions. All at once. Shinji's body creaked. "[scared]W-wait a second! One at a time! One at a time, I'm telling you!!" The instant he shouted half in tears, the gymnasium erupted in laughter. Not just classmates. Students from the neighboring class turned around too. "[angry]I'm first!" "Ikari is with me" "[excited]The teacher's the youngest, so me first!" All three spoke at once. Three different voices overlapped. Asuka and Rei looked at Misato simultaneously. "That's not relevant" Their voices harmonized perfectly. Misato's eyes went wide. "[surprised]Huh, that's rare—the two of you said the same thing!" "That was an exception" "[angry]It'll never happen again, so be prepared" The gymnasium shook with laughter again. Shinji, still being pulled by all three, couldn't help but laugh. In the end, Misato, wielding her authority as homeroom teacher, claimed first place. The logic was mysterious, but no one seriously stopped her. --- First song. Dancing with Misato. "[excited]Here we go! Step, right, left, right!" "Right, left, right, but..." The moment Shinji tried to step, Misato moved in the opposite direction. They collided. "[laughing]No worries! No worries! You're lucky to dance with the teacher!" "I'll decide if I'm lucky later" Misato laughed heartily and took Shinji's hand, spinning him around. The centrifugal force made him stumble. Classmates whispered, "Is a teacher-student pair even okay...?" "It does look fun though." But before he knew it, Shinji was laughing. Laughing while being swung around. That's what she's like, he thought. Misato. Zero personal distance, excessive, sometimes tone-deaf. But being near this person... somehow makes things easier. "[gentle]You did really well today, Shinji" Between steps, Misato said it softly. Not her usual loud voice, but small and quiet. Shinji was a little surprised. "...Yeah" --- Second song. Dancing with Asuka. They faced each other. Asuka looked at Shinji. Shinji looked at Asuka. Neither extended their hand. Several seconds passed like that. Asuka extended her hand first. Shinji extended his. The moment their fingers touched, Asuka looked away. Shinji looked away too. Both their ears were bright red. They swayed awkwardly. No words came. Almost no steps. Just moving gently to the music. Only their hands were connected. Asuka murmured quietly. "...Not bad" Shinji asked, "Huh?" "[angry]You didn't hear that!!" Asuka stepped on Shinji's foot. It was unclear if it was intentional. Shinji said "Ow" but was still laughing. --- Third song. Dancing with Rei. Rei silently took Shinji's hand. Shinji's hand was taken. With just that, the two began to sway. There were no words. Only music. It was a slow song. The gymnasium's lighting swept across the walls. Shinji felt the warmth of Rei's hand. Her hand was slightly cool. But he didn't want to let go. Gradually, their movements began to align. That's when Rei's mouth moved slightly. She was smiling. To be precise, the corners of her mouth rose by maybe a millimeter or two. But it was definitely Rei's smile. One he'd never seen before. Something tightened in Shinji's chest. Why was his heart racing like this? He didn't know. But it felt like he didn't need to know. --- Everything was cleaned up a little later. Shinji went up to the rooftop alone. Beyond the fence, the nightscape of Third Tokyo spread out. The Hayase River reflected the streetlights in long, thin lines. The silhouette of the Towada Hills to the southwest dissolved into the darkness of the sky. And stars were out in the night sky. He sat on a bench. The wind was cold. Autumn air. After a while, he heard three sets of footsteps climbing the stairs. Shinji didn't turn around. But he knew who it was. Asuka, Rei, and Misato naturally stood around Shinji's bench. No one had called out to them. But they all came. The four of them looked up at the stars. For a while, no one said anything. That silence didn't bother him at all. Asuka spoke first. Still facing forward. "[sarcastic]...Because of you, it was the worst cultural festival" A beat. "But it was the most fun" Shinji glanced at Asuka sideways. She kept facing forward, her ears red. Rei spoke quietly. "...I'll bring a lunch box tomorrow too" Misato spread both arms wide. "[excited]The teacher won't lose either~! Starting tomorrow, I'm bringing my special teacher lunch, so Shinji, you have to eat it!" The three voices came down in order. Shinji stayed silent, looking up at the stars. It wasn't like he was about to cry or anything. Just... his chest felt warm. Gradually, from edge to edge. "...Thank you" The words came out. Honestly. "All three of you" Asuka turned her face away. Rei lowered her eyes. Misato smiled brightly. But all three of them had bright red ears. Shinji found that sight incredibly happy, and smiled once more, quietly. For the first time, he felt like he was smiling from the bottom of his heart. --- The next morning. The moment Shinji arrived at school, walked the fifteen-minute walk from Heights Shirakaba, and opened the door to Year 2, Class 1's classroom. Three lunch boxes were lined up on his desk. First one. A white furoshiki cloth. Even without opening it, he could tell—Rei's carefully prepared Japanese home cooking. She came yesterday and came again today. As promised. Second one. A red plastic container. If he opened it, the edges would probably be a little burnt—Asuka's German-style lunch box. She'd said she was too busy during the café day to make one, but she brought it today. Third one. A convenience store bag hastily transferred into another container—Misato's "special" lunch. She'd declared war last night and was already executing it the next morning. Fast. Too fast. Shinji held his head. "I can't eat three..." He looked up at the ceiling. The classroom burst out laughing. "[angry]Eat mine first. I got here earliest" "Mine was placed first" "[excited]The teacher's still good even when it's cold, so you can eat mine last, right, Shinji?" All three made their case simultaneously. Classmates laughed while keeping their distance from the desk, observing. Suzuhara said happily, "Here we go again today." (I said all three were important, and now I get three lunch boxes as an immediate response...) Shinji looked back and forth between the three lunch boxes and the three faces. Don't run away. But he wanted to run away. He thought that honestly in his heart. Then Shinji's smartphone rang. A vibration in his pocket. He checked the screen. Ikari Gendo. The classroom laughter seemed to fade away. Shinji said "Sorry, just a moment" and stepped into the hallway. He closed the door. The hallway. Morning light streamed through the windows. He answered the call. "...Hello?" A voice came through. Low, flat. A voice without emotion. "We're moving to the second phase" A beat. "Shinji, you still have things you need to do" With just that, the call ended. Shinji leaned his back against the hallway wall. He held his smartphone, unmoving. Second phase. The words rolled through his mind. He didn't understand. What was the first phase, and what was the second? What were these things he needed to do? How did it connect to Rei's words about "proceeding as planned"? He'd thought he'd grasped the bonds with all three through the cultural festival. He'd chosen to believe. He'd laughed. He'd been able to say thank you honestly. All of that was now wavering at the edges from his father's single sentence. From beyond the door, the three were still bickering and laughing. Shinji took a deep breath. (Don't run away.) He didn't say it out loud. But this time, he felt like he meant it a little more genuinely. Different from yesterday. Not just weakness. Even scared, he'd decided to move forward. That much was real. Shinji opened the door and returned to the classroom. Three lunch boxes and three faces waited for him. Smile and smile and smile. Something still hidden beyond them. But for now, he was here. A smile and anxiety both floated on Shinji's face.