Yuta watched Tomoya's fingers clasp Utaha's with restrained firmness.
No hesitation.
The pact was sealed.
Utaha tilted her head slightly, satisfied. Her eyes didn't blink.
Tomoya seemed smaller now. But also calmer. As if a part of him had finally clicked into place.
Yuta remained seated.
Just the three of them in the room.
Him.
Them.
And the invisible observers hovering among the empty desks.
'Seems like, just like the phantoms… I've become invisible too.'
Yuta's body relaxed slightly. But his chest stayed firm.
'No hostility. No curses in sight.'
The mission continued.
Silent.
Slow.
'I'll have to keep watching Utaha. But… for how long?'
---
The school's side courtyard was the quietest at that hour.
Just a few trees and a shaded concrete bench shared space with the sound of wrappers being opened.
Megumi was already seated when Aika arrived. Her bentō rested carefully on her lap, still closed.
The two exchanged a brief glance.
No smiles.
But also… no hostility.
Aika approached and sat on the other end of the bench. The distance was respectful.
Megumi opened her bentō carefully.
"Have you been friends with Yuta for long?"
The question came without weight, but direct. Megumi didn't look as she spoke—just adjusted her chopsticks calmly.
"Actually, we only started talking recently. He… well, he wasn't the type to make friends. I think I was the first."
Megumi raised an eyebrow, as if weighing each word carefully.
"The first, huh?"
She ate a piece, chewing with almost rehearsed slowness.
"So he talks to you more than others… I see."
Aika didn't look away but didn't try to justify herself either.
Her response came with quiet firmness.
"I approached him because I felt he needed it. Not because I expected anything in return."
She opened her own bentō. Controlled, precise movements.
"But he… was kind. He listened. He cared."
Megumi paused chewing for a second. The silence settled between them like a colder breeze passing through.
"He listened to me too."
Aika looked at her now—truly. No competition. Just acknowledgment.
Megumi continued, her gaze drifting for a moment to the branches above.
"And even when I didn't say anything… he listened all the same."
For a moment, they just ate. The sound of the wind was the only thing filling the space between words.
Aika broke the silence with a soft sigh.
"Do you think he's okay?"
Megumi glanced at her sideways, unsurprised.
"He said he had to deal with something… supernatural."
Aika toyed with her juice cap, but her tone was genuine.
Megumi lowered her chopsticks.
"If he said he'll handle it, he will."
Her reply was short but heavy with certainty.
"I trust him."
Aika stared at her bentō for a few seconds before nodding slowly.
"Yeah… me too."
Finally, they both returned to eating. No rivalry. No tension.
Megumi wiped her lips calmly with a napkin. Her eyes were on her bentō, but she seemed more focused on the words than the food.
When she finished the last piece, she set the container aside and spoke in the same tone she'd use to comment on the weather.
"I wanted to tell you something… before you heard it from someone else or saw it by chance."
She didn't look at Aika right away—just kept her eyes on the tree's shadow ahead.
"Yuta and I… we started dating yesterday."
The pause that followed wasn't uncomfortable.
"It's not to push you away. Or to cause misunderstandings."
Now Megumi turned her face. Her gaze steady. Her expression sober. But kind.
"You matter to him. I saw that. And… I wanted to be honest."
She didn't expect an immediate reaction.
Nor did she want anything in return.
Just the quiet silence of someone speaking the truth, even if it might hurt.
Aika closed her bentō harder than intended.
It took a few seconds before she spoke.
Her eyes were low, fixed on the now-empty lunchbox.
"He didn't tell me…"
Her voice was quiet, restrained.
But there was strength there.
She raised her eyes, without aggression—but also without hiding.
"But… it's not news either. People were already talking about you two."
Her tone was calm but direct.
A second passed.
And then she added:
"But you know… even so, I'm not giving up on him."
Megumi didn't react right away. Nor did she defend herself.
She just listened.
The silence between them stretched like a thin line—until the wind broke the tension with the rustle of leaves around them.
Megumi finally looked forward.
The same neutral tone. No trace of resentment.
"I didn't expect you to."
She stood smoothly, gathering her bentō and napkin calmly.
"But now, at least… we're on the same page."
Her gaze met Aika's for a second longer.
The two walked in silence for a few meters, their footsteps muffled by the dry earth of the side courtyard.
Aika, glancing sideways, spoke suddenly—without warning, without preparation:
"Have you slept with him?"
Megumi froze for a moment.
The answer didn't come right away. Just a faint flush creeping up her cheeks.
She turned her face slowly, not breaking eye contact.
"No. And even if I had… it wouldn't be your business."
Aika nodded with a smirk at the corner of her mouth.
"Maybe not. But the way you blushed… that answers for me."
She turned and walked ahead, hands in her pockets, laughing softly.
Megumi stood still, her face warm.
But her eyes… still confident.
Megumi narrowed her eyes for a moment, steadying her breath.
Then she walked to catch up with Aika and stopped beside her, lifting her chin with a hint of irony.
"You talk like you've got a provocateur's stamp on your forehead…"
She turned her face just enough to meet her rival's gaze.
"But after hearing that… I think I know why they call you 'Aika, the pervert.'"
Her smile was short. Dry.
Aika tossed her hair back with a light gesture, her eyes half-narrowed.
"Perverted for Yuta? I don't see a problem."
Her smile widened—just a bit.
"Especially after that day in the forest."
Megumi stopped instantly.
But Aika was already walking ahead.
She didn't say what happened.
But left it all in the subtext.
Megumi quickened her pace. Caught up to Aika in three long strides and stood beside her.
"Enough teasing. Tell me what happened in the forest."
Aika spun on her heels, facing Megumi with a mischievous smirk on her lips.
"Scared to hear it?"
Megumi held her gaze, eyes narrowed.
"Not scared. I just don't like games."
Aika raised an eyebrow, then sighed as if sharing a forbidden secret.
"He saved me. Pulled me away… and the rest…"
She took another step and whispered calmly.
"…the kiss was behind the gym."
Megumi didn't move for a moment.
Her eyes were fixed on Aika, but there was no anger. No jealousy.
Just something caught in her throat.
"You're sure it was a kiss…"
Her voice was low. But firm.
"…or just your imagination, after almost dying?"
Aika didn't answer right away.
Megumi took a step forward, her eyes sharp, as if weighing each word before it left her mouth.
"You were in shock. Hurt. You could've fainted. Could've dreamed it."
Her tone wasn't harsh. But it carried an invisible pain—the kind hidden behind logic.
"Yuta didn't mention anything. Didn't act differently after."
She pressed her fingers discreetly against her thigh.
"So tell me, Aika…"
Her eyes now locked on hers.
"Was it really a kiss… or just what you wanted to have happened?"
Aika turned slowly to Megumi, her tone still laced with irony.
"You've got an interesting point, Megumi…"
The smile that emerged was cold, calculated.
"…but there's one detail."
She took a half-step forward. The shadow of the leaves above trembled across her face.
"The kiss happened before the forest."
Her eyes fixed on Megumi's, hard as glass.
"In fact, it was the first time you and I saw each other."
Megumi didn't blink. But the impact hit.
"Back then, you weren't his girlfriend yet. Remember that?"
The silence between them grew denser. Aika turned her back, but her voice came over her shoulder, quieter.
"I'm not saying this to provoke you…"
Her tone was emotionless, like she was just correcting a mistake.
"…it's like you said—to make it clear we're on the same page now."
Her tone was neutral but firm.
Megumi crossed her arms, not breaking her gaze.
She understood.
Aika didn't back down or advance.
She just walked, unhurried, letting the words linger between them like something that didn't need an answer.
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