The story takes place at a boarding school where four students—Kanato Fuura, Hibari Watari, Akira Shikinagi, and Seraph Dazzlegarden—formed VOLTACTION, a popular VTuber unit under NIJISANJI that uses special skills to bring happiness to everyday people.
The protagonist, however, is not one of them. Sumire Takanashi, a quiet first-year high school student who tends an old greenhouse behind the school, is secretly in love with Kanato. She can never bring herself to speak to him. Her days are spen
The Unseen Heart Behind the Stage - The Vanished Tsugumi, a Silent Wednesday
Wednesday morning.
The atmosphere in the classroom was exactly the same as it had been up until yesterday. Outside the window, the late-April wind rustled the fresh green leaves. The clock above the blackboard read 8:20. Five minutes until homeroom began.
Takanashi Sumire sat at her desk, tracing the corner of her textbook with her finger. Her fingertips were slightly cold.
*(Is Tsugumi not coming today either?)*
The seat diagonally in front of her. Shiina Tsugumi's desk had been empty since Monday morning. At the edge of the desk, a single pink mechanical pencil that Tsugumi always used lay abandoned. It was the only thing that quietly testified to the fact that she had once sat there.
Sumire lowered her eyes gently.
*(On Monday morning, Tsugumi was smiling.)*
She found herself replaying that day over and over.
—"Sumire! Today might be my fateful day!"
Tsugumi had said that with a laugh at the shoe lockers that morning. Her bright chestnut semi-long hair was tied into a ponytail with a pink scrunchie. When she smiled, her slightly protruding canine teeth peeked out, and the small mole near her ear seemed to dance.
"What do you mean, fateful day?"
When Sumire asked, Tsugumi winked mischievously.
"It's a secret! But I have a feeling today's going to be special. My intuition is always right, you know."
With just that, Tsugumi squeezed Sumire's hand tightly. Tsugumi's hands were always warm.
And then, Tsugumi never came to the classroom.
At homeroom, the teacher said, "Shiina is absent due to illness." Tuesday was the same. And now, Wednesday.
Beneath her desk, Sumire clutched her phone. She tapped the screen and opened the messaging app. Her chat with Tsugumi. The last message was a sticker Tsugumi had sent on Monday morning. Below Sumire's message asking "What's wrong?" there was no read receipt.
*(I called her, too.)*
Once on Monday night. Once on Tuesday morning. Once more on Tuesday night. The phone was on. It rang. But Tsugumi never picked up.
Sumire almost pressed the call button again, but stopped herself.
*(If Tsugumi really is just sick and resting...)*
Calling over and over would be a nuisance.
But somewhere in her heart, a part of her knew it wasn't that simple.
*(That flower's voice. Hibari-kun's words. Kanato-kun's kindness.)*
Ever since she'd touched the flower in the greenhouse on Monday, the world had been changing, little by little. And in the middle of it all, Tsugumi alone had vanished.
*(Tsugumi was worried about me.)*
Sumire remembered that Tsugumi was the coordinator for Kanato's fan club. After school, she was always chatting happily with the other fan club members. But in front of Sumire, she would go all out talking about Kanato.
"Sumire! Listen! Kanato-kun's new song is seriously amazing! I've been listening to it every single day!"
Saying that, Tsugumi would cling to Sumire's arm. That brightness felt so far away now.
Just before homeroom started, Sumire spoke to the girl sitting next to her. It took a great deal of courage just to open her mouth.
"Um... do you know anything about Tsugumi?"
Perhaps her voice was too quiet, because the girl next to her stared at Sumire's face for a moment. Then she answered in a disinterested tone.
"Eh, Shiina? Isn't she just sick? The teacher said so, didn't he?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"She's a lively one, so she'll be back soon enough."
That was all. The girl next to her immediately returned to chatting with another friend.
Sumire let out a small breath.
*(No one's worried.)*
Tsugumi was popular in class. Always cheerful, friendly with everyone, loud and bright. And yet, even though she'd been absent for three days, no one thought it was strange.
*(Am I the only one who thinks something's wrong?)*
A cold tightness gripped her chest.
Loneliness and unease spread slowly through her body.
Lunch break.
The school store "Canaria" was crowded as usual with students after yakisoba bread. A small shop at the east end of the main building's first floor. The clerk was the office staff member Miyamae-san, who remembered every student's face and name.
Sumire stood at the back of the line. She had no appetite. She hadn't eaten anything since morning. But she felt like her body wouldn't hold up if she didn't eat something.
*(Tsugumi always bought yakisoba bread.)*
Tsugumi loved yakisoba bread. When lunch break came, she would drag Sumire by the hand and run to the school store, breathlessly declaring, "Today I'm definitely winning the yakisoba bread!"
The line moved forward, little by little.
Two people ahead of Sumire. On the shelf, only one yakisoba bread remained.
*(One left.)*
The student in front took the yakisoba bread. No, wait. The student in front took a rice ball. The yakisoba bread was still there.
It was Sumire's turn.
Her hand stopped.
*(...I don't need it.)*
Looking at the yakisoba bread, Tsugumi's smiling face surfaced in her mind, and her chest ached. That taste she'd shared with Tsugumi. Eating yakisoba bread alone would surely be flavorless.
Sumire stood frozen in front of the shelf.
"If you're not buying it, let me through."
A cold voice came from behind.
Sumire flinched and turned around.
Standing there was Shikinagi Akira.
Tall and slender, with hair so dark it was nearly black. His bangs hung almost to his eyes, and the eyes peering out from beneath them were narrow and sharp, appearing blue depending on the light. Over his white dress shirt, he wore a black leather wristband—the kind the VOLTACTION members wore.
Akira looked down at Sumire expressionlessly.
"Oh, I'm sorry..."
Sumire hastily stepped back.
"Go ahead."
Akira stared at Sumire's face for a long moment. Then he picked up the last yakisoba bread from the shelf.
*(Ah, of course.)*
Sumire lowered her head slightly.
But then, Akira held the bag containing the yakisoba bread out toward Sumire.
"...You're thin, so you should eat properly."
"Eh?"
Sumire looked up.
Akira averted his gaze slightly, as if embarrassed. Then he added brusquely:
"I'd feel bad leaving leftovers. I'll give you half."
Half.
Sumire looked at the yakisoba bread in Akira's hand. Through the bag, she could see the bread had been split down the middle. Akira really did intend to give her half.
"But..."
"It's fine. Here."
Akira pressed the half-piece of yakisoba bread into Sumire's hand.
"...Thank you very much."
When Sumire bowed her head slightly, Akira turned his face away abruptly.
"It's nothing. I just said I'd feel bad leaving leftovers."
With that, Akira disappeared into the crowd.
Sumire stared at the yakisoba bread in her hand.
*(Shikinagi Akira-san.)*
A member of VOLTACTION. Cool, and someone who rarely smiled. But just now, Akira had been awkward, yet kind.
A warmth spread slowly through her chest.
*(...Wait.)*
That warmth quickly turned cold.
*(Is this the flower's power, too?)*
Until yesterday, Akira had never once spoken to Sumire. And yet today, out of nowhere, he'd given her half his bread.
*(Kanato-kun, Hibari-kun, Akira-san...)*
All of them had become kind to Sumire ever since touching that flower on Monday.
*(I'm happy, but I can't feel happy.)*
Sumire stood rooted to the spot, clutching the yakisoba bread.
The part of her that couldn't simply feel "happy" pricked painfully at her chest.
Afternoon.
The sky suddenly darkened.
By the time fifth period ended, the world outside the window was covered in gray clouds. In the distance, she could hear the low rumble of thunder.
*(Is it going to rain?)*
Sumire looked out the window.
After school.
Sumire stood at the shoe lockers in the main building. Outside, it was already raining.
Large raindrops pounded the dirt of the schoolyard. Puddles were forming everywhere. The air was cold and damp.
*(I didn't bring an umbrella.)*
It had been sunny in the morning. The forecast hadn't called for rain either.
Sumire stopped under the eaves.
*(I want to go to the greenhouse.)*
She couldn't stop thinking about that flower. Tsugumi's situation and the flower both swirled endlessly in her head. If she went to the greenhouse, maybe she'd learn something.
Sumire stepped out into the rain.
The cold rain soaked her hair, her shoulders, her uniform, in an instant. Her bangs clung to her forehead.
*(It's fine. It'll dry soon.)*
She started walking toward the path through the wooded thicket.
"Your hair's soaked. You'll catch a cold."
A voice came from behind.
When Sumire turned around, Seraph Dazzlegarden was standing beside her, as if he'd appeared out of nowhere.
Soft, silvery hair. Deep blue eyes. A gentle face. He was tall, and even through his uniform, she could tell he had a solid build. He, too, wore a black leather wristband.
Seraph tilted a large black umbrella toward Sumire.
"Um, I..."
Sumire couldn't find her words.
Seraph Dazzlegarden. A member of VOLTACTION, and a returnee from abroad. Gentle, and kind to everyone. But this was the first time Sumire had ever spoken to him directly.
"If you'd like, use this. I'm almost back at the dorm anyway."
Saying that, Seraph held the umbrella out to Sumire.
"I couldn't possibly..."
"Don't worry about it. More importantly, you really will catch a cold like that."
Seraph looked at Sumire's face intently. Then he tilted his head slightly and said in a gentle voice:
"Could it be that you're worried about Tsugumi-san?"
Sumire held her breath.
*(How does this person know Tsugumi's name?)*
Her heart lurched.
"...Why would you—"
Her voice trembled.
Seraph lowered his eyebrows slightly, looking troubled.
"Sorry, that was a strange thing to ask. But you've looked like you've been having a really hard time these past few days."
*(Looked like I've been having a hard time.)*
Sumire had no idea what kind of face she'd been making.
Seraph draped his own jacket over Sumire's shoulders.
"Take this too, if you don't mind. Your body will get cold if you stay wet."
"But then you'll get wet, Seraph-san."
"I'll be fine. You're much smaller than me."
Seraph smiled gently.
That smile seemed to blur slightly in the rain.
"When you're worried, don't carry it alone. Just talking to someone can make it easier."
With just that, Seraph pressed the umbrella into Sumire's hands and walked off into the rain.
Sumire stood frozen, gripping the umbrella.
Seraph's jacket on her shoulders.
*(Warm.)*
Seraph's body heat seeped through the jacket. The cold of the rain felt a little more distant.
*(But this, too...)*
Sumire bit her lip.
*(Is it the flower's power?)*
Seraph might genuinely be a kind person. But since Monday, VOLTACTION members had been kind to Sumire one after another. It was far too unnatural.
*(It's all because of that flower.)*
Thinking that, the warmth of the jacket on her shoulders suddenly felt heavy.
*(I borrowed it. I feel bad.)*
*(But I was happy.)*
Contradictory feelings tangled messily in her chest, and Sumire felt like she might collapse on the spot.
Her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
By the time she reached the greenhouse, the rain had grown even heavier.
The path through the thicket was muddy with puddles. Cold water seeped into her shoes.
Sumire stopped in front of the greenhouse door.
She took out the brass key. Her hands were shaking.
*Click.*
When she opened the door, the thick smell of soil and greenery flowed out, mingling with the scent of rain.
Sumire stepped inside.
She leaned the umbrella she'd borrowed from Seraph against the entrance. She slipped his jacket from her shoulders and folded it carefully.
*(I have to return it.)*
Even as she thought that, her fingers folding the jacket lingered just a little, reluctant.
Sumire headed toward the third section.
The soil that should have had nothing planted in it. In the very center, that flower was blooming.
Petals that looked pale purple, or perhaps silver. Perhaps because of the rain, the greenhouse was dim, and the flower's color seemed
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