[Serina Mikage POV]
Second period had just ended for the day, and I was in the middle of heading to our next classroom with Rio and the others.
It had been nearly a week since I consulted my homeroom teacher about whether I could pass a letter to that person through the police.
There had been no word that it reached him, and I didn't even know if we had reached the point where I could expect a reply. I understood that the verification process took time, and I knew trying to rush anyone wouldn't make things move any faster.
Even so, with each day that passed without any news, my desire not to overlook him only grew stronger.
The hallway bustled with students moving between classrooms, just like us. The breeze blowing through the open windows still carried the summer heat, lightly fluttering the sleeves of our uniforms.
"Hey, do we need our reference book for next period?"
Rio peeked into her bag as she walked.
"Didn't you tuck it inside your textbook?"
"I thought I did, but maybe not."
"If you search while walking, you're just going to drop something else this time."
Rebuked by Kotoha, Rio stopped in her tracks, pouting. Beside her, Miu pointed to the outside of the bag with her usual sleepy eyes.
"Back pocket."
"Huh?"
"The corner of the reference book is sticking out."
"Ah, you're right! Miu, good catch."
"It was right where anyone could see it."
Just as my lips began to curl at their usual banter, a boy's voice called out from behind.
"Mikage."
My body stiffened before I could even think.
Stopping in my tracks, I turned around to find a boy from our year standing a short distance away. I remembered seeing him around other classes a few times, but we had never spoken.
Clutched in his hand was a familiar mechanical pencil.
"You dropped this in the hallway earlier."
Before looking at what he held out, my eyes caught on his short black hair and his height—slightly taller than mine.
Normally, the moment an unfamiliar boy spoke to me, I would have put distance between us. Once I knew what he wanted, I would have had Kotoha or the others take it so I wouldn't have to get any closer than necessary.
Yet right now, my feet refused to move.
—Could he be...?
Before I could even weigh whether it was possible, that thought surfaced in my chest.
I didn't know that person's face.
Even the voice I had heard during the fire must have sounded completely different from his normal tone, hoarse as it had been from inhaling all that smoke.
Even the silhouette I remembered was nothing more than a vague impression glimpsed through the smoke and darkness.
Black hair, taller than me, looking about the same age.
That alone was far too little to go on to think the boy in front of me might be that person.
Even though I knew that, I couldn't bring myself to turn him away without making sure.
"Mikage?"
Finding my lack of response strange, the boy took a single step closer.
The instant he did, tension seized my shoulders.
Regardless of the hope welling deep in my chest, my body reacted purely to a male closing the distance. My breathing grew shallow, and my feet tried to search for a way out.
That sensation brought me back to my senses, and I edged slightly closer to Rio and the others.
The boy stopped moving as well.
"...Thank you."
I pinched the very edge of the mechanical pencil so our hands wouldn't touch.
I knew there had been an unnatural pause before I took it. Even so, I wanted to properly convey my thanks.
For a moment, the boy's eyes widened in surprise.
Perhaps when we had passed each other in the hallway before, I had made a much more overt effort to keep my distance. After a brief silence, a pleased look crossed his face.
"Sure. See ya."
With a slight lilt to his voice, the boy stepped aside to let us pass and walked away.
I watched his retreating back while clutching the pencil returned to my hand.
He wasn't that person.
I had no concrete proof of that.
Yet aside from his hair and height, I couldn't find a single thing to suggest he was, either.
"Serina, are you okay?"
Rio leaned in, peering into my face with concern.
"About what?"
"Just now, when that boy came up to you, you didn't dodge away right away."
Having it pointed out, I cast my eyes down to the pencil in my hand.
"He just returned something I dropped."
"I know, but normally, I'd expect you to have Kotoha or Miu take it for you."
"It's not like he touched me."
I answered as casually as I could, but Rio didn't seem convinced. She looked back down the hallway where the boy had disappeared, her brow furrowing slightly.
"That boy looked pretty happy at the end."
"Isn't that just because he returned an item and got thanked for it?"
"Is that all? Since you didn't avoid him like you usually do, there's a chance he took it to mean it was okay for him to approach you."
"Over something like that?"
"It's rare for you not to avoid boys in the first place, isn't it?"
"It's too early to jump to conclusions," Kotoha chided Rio.
However, she didn't seem to rule out the possibility entirely, casting a cautious glance in the direction the boy had gone.
"There's no way to know how he took it at this point. Still, even if Serina had no such intention, he might interpret a difference from her usual behavior as something directed at him."
"Your reaction was delayed."
Miu turned her sleepy eyes toward me.
"Was it because he had black hair and was taller than you?"
Having my inner thoughts pinpointed so accurately, my reply faltered.
That brief pause was all the three of them needed. A look of surprise, distinct from concern, appeared on Rio's face.
"Wait, did you think he might be that person?"
"...Just for a second. I thought he probably wasn't, though."
Denying it here would be seen through immediately.
"I just didn't want to avoid him without being sure, if there was even a chance it was him."
"Even so, you shouldn't force yourself to endure being scared when an unrelated boy approaches you."
Kotoha's voice was gentle, but her gaze was serious.
"I know. I don't plan on letting just anyone get close to me just because they might be him."
Even as I answered, the fact that I hadn't been able to put distance between us immediately weighed on me.
Searching for someone whose face and name I didn't know meant scrutinizing the boys who appeared before me, one by one, to see if they were him.
Yet the fear I felt whenever a male came close hadn't changed at all since before the fire.
I was scared.
Even so, he was the one person I didn't want to overlook.
Whenever those two feelings clashed inside my chest, I felt on the verge of losing sight of how far I should investigate and where I needed to protect myself.
Even after we entered our next classroom and took our seats, the expression the boy had shown at the end lingered in my mind.
Had he interpreted the fact that I stopped and took the pencil myself as a sign that he was special?
Maybe I was overthinking it.
However, if I hesitated the same way the next time we met, he might come even closer.
If I kept enduring fear solely on the hope of finding that person, eventually I might lose sight of the boundaries I genuinely needed to keep.
"Serina."
Sitting at the desk next to mine, Kotoha lowered her voice so those around us couldn't hear.
"Next time you feel scared, you're free to step behind us."
"But if it turns out to be him..."
"If it really is him, he wouldn't blame you for being scared, would he?"
At those words, the voice I had heard amid the flames came flooding back.
When I had pleaded for him not to touch me, that person hadn't gotten angry. He hadn't rushed me to stand, but had waited until I could reach out my hand on my own.
Even when he had to touch me to carry me on his back, he had always spoken to me first.
He hadn't taken my fear as a rejection of himself. Every time, he had let me choose whichever option felt less frightening.
If it were him, even if I reflexively pulled away, he would surely stop right there.
"...You're right."
When I answered, letting out the breath trapped in my chest, Kotoha's expression softened slightly, and she faced forward again.
The chime signaling the start of class rang.
I opened my textbook, setting the mechanical pencil I had been gripping onto my desk.
◇◇◇
After homeroom ended at the end of the day, my teacher asked me to stay behind.
Rio immediately turned around, an eagerness she couldn't hide in her eyes. Kotoha placed a hand on Rio's shoulder to calm her growing excitement, while Miu said nothing, studying the expressions on both the teacher and me.
"We'll wait in the hallway," Rio told me in a low voice.
"Let's wait without getting our hopes up too high," Kotoha cautioned, prompting Rio to pout.
"I know. But maybe something progressed, right?"
"We can celebrate after hearing the results."
Leaving those words behind, Miu stepped out of the classroom with the other two.
Waiting until the other students had cleared out, I headed over to the teacher's podium.
Before he could speak, the question in my chest spilled out.
"Is this about the letter?"
"Yeah. The police contacted the school."
At those words alone, my heart thudded loudly.
My anticipation must have shown on my face. Without rushing me, the teacher carefully chose his words.
"They said they are carrying out the necessary checks to deliver the letter to him."
"So it hasn't reached him yet."
"Right. But things are definitely moving forward. Once they're able to hand it to him, they're supposed to let the school know as well."
The anticipation swelling in my chest deflated slightly, replaced by relief.
The letter hadn't reached him yet.
The lack of a reply wasn't because he had read it and rejected me. The police were still working even now to deliver my words.
"It's not that he said he didn't want to receive it, right?"
"We haven't received any notice to that effect. I'm told they're currently at the stage of confirming details before officially handing it over."
"I understand."
I slowly exhaled the breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
"Thank you very much. Please keep me updated."
"It might take a little more time, but for now, just sit tight."
"Yes."
Bowing once more, I left the classroom.
The three of them were waiting by the window a short distance away. Noticing the door open, Rio was the first to rush over.
"How was it?"
"He said the police called. It seems they're making confirmations to deliver the letter to him."
"Then things moved forward a bit!"
Rio's face brightened.
Beside her, Kotoha asked to verify the situation.
"It hasn't actually reached him yet, right?"
"Yeah. But they said they'll notify the school once they hand it over. And they also said it's not like the other party refused to take it."
"Thank goodness."
Rio clasped her hands in front of her chest.
"If it hasn't arrived yet, of course there wouldn't be a reply."
"Last time, there wasn't even a response from the police."
Miu quietly laid out the facts.
"This time we know confirmations are underway. In that case, I think we have more reason to wait."
"Miu, you're only ever strangely positive at times like this."
"Rio gets carried away first, so I'm maintaining the balance."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Listening to their exchange, the tension gradually seeped out of my shoulders.
It wasn't that I had received a reply. Nor had I gotten any closer to learning his name.
Even so, my words hadn't been blocked somewhere; people were actively working to deliver them. Just knowing that made the time I had spent waiting helplessly feel like it had some meaning after all.
"Thank you."
When the words slipped out, Rio blinked.
"For what?"
"For waiting with me."
"Well, of course we are!"
Rio gave an embarrassed smile and reached out to touch my arm, only to stop halfway.
Ever since the fire, the three of them had become even more cautious about touching me. No matter how many times I told them I was fine with girls, their desire not to push me seemed to take precedence.
"It's okay."
I took Rio's hand myself.
After a moment of surprise, Rio squeezed my fingertips back gently, as if reassuring herself.
"We'll wait together until the letter gets there."
"Yeah."
"You aren't saying 'no matter how many days it takes' this time, are you?" Kotoha asked, a faint smile touching her lips.
"Well, Miu would probably just say it might take until graduation."
"As a possibility, it can't be ruled out."
"See, you really are saying it!"
Rio looked back indignantly.
While Kotoha let out an exasperated sigh at the two of them, a soft smile lingered around her eyes.
"Let's head home. Standing around talking here isn't going to make the news come any faster."
Prompted by her words, the four of us headed toward the entrance shoe lockers.
◇◇◇
Just as we reached the hallway leading to the stairs, an urgent voice rang out.
"Someone... Please, someone help!"
All four of us snapped our heads toward the sound at the same time.
On the stair landing, a female student with her black hair tied in a high ponytail was kneeling. Held in her arms, a petite female student was leaning her weight limply against her.
Dark brown hair reaching down to her shoulders.
Class logs and notice sheets scattered across the floor.
The moment I recognized the profile of the girl being cradled, my feet accelerated before I could think. A faint pain shot through my right foot, but I couldn't stop.
"Koharu!"
Calling her name brought no response.
The girl with the ponytail looked up at us on the verge of tears, supporting Koharu's back and head.
"She suddenly collapsed... and when I call out, she won't answer..."
"Kotoha, please get a teacher."
Before I could even finish speaking, Kotoha had already spun on her heel.
"Got it. I'll go call someone."
Leaving that brief reply, she took off running toward a nearby classroom.
I dropped to my knees beside Koharu.
"Koharu, can you hear me?"
Bringing my hand close to her pale cheek, I felt a faint breath brushing against it. Her chest was rising and falling weakly as well.
"Did she hit her head?"
Miu crouched down on the other side of the girl.
"I caught her before she fell. She didn't hit the floor."
The girl answered in a trembling voice. Even now, she hadn't let go of the hand protecting the back of Koharu's head.
"Then leave her as she is. It's better not to force her up."
Maintaining a calm voice, Miu kept her eyes on Koharu's complexion and breathing.
"Rio, watch the top of the stairs. If anyone comes, stop them."
"Got it."
Rio stood up immediately and informed passing students that we were calling a teacher, asking them to keep the stairs clear. She also began gathering the scattered notices to the side of the walkway so no one would step on them.
"Koharu, I'm right here."
The girl called into Koharu's ear.
The closed eyelids stirred faintly.
"...Anna?"
"I'm here. You don't have to force yourself to get up."
From the eyes of the girl called Anna, a single strand of held-back tears spilled over.
Koharu tried to turn her face toward the sound of the voice, but her eyes couldn't focus.
"Mikage...-senpai?"
"I'm here too. My friend just went to call a teacher."
"I'm sorry..."
"You don't need to apologize. It's okay, you don't have to talk."
I touched Koharu's hand.
Her fingertips were cold, with hardly any strength in them.
My chest tightened at the feel of them. Still, if I lost my composure here, it would only make Koharu anxious.
"Breathe slowly. You aren't alone anymore."
As I spoke to her, I regulated my own breathing as well.
Before long, the sound of multiple footsteps running down the stairs reached our ears.
"Over here!"
Kotoha returned, accompanied by a female teacher.
The teacher immediately knelt beside Koharu, checking her name, grade, and whether she could respond. After hearing what had happened from Anna, she instructed another teacher from a nearby classroom to contact the infirmary.
"She didn't hit her head, right?"
"Yes. I caught her as she started to fall."
"Thank you. Not forcing her to stand was the right call as well."
The tension left Anna's shoulders slightly.
The school nurse appeared with another teacher carrying a stretcher. After checking her consciousness and breathing once more, they carefully moved Koharu onto the stretcher.
Anna's knees trembled as she stood up. Even so, all the way to the infirmary, she never let go of Koharu's hand.
◇◇◇
Upon entering the infirmary, Koharu was immediately laid down on a bed.
The school nurse took her temperature and blood pressure, checking how long she had been unconscious and her condition just before collapsing. Once it was clear she was responsive, a cup of water was handed to her.
"Thirty-seven point three degrees. You have a slight fever. Your blood pressure is a bit low too, but since you can answer questions now, just stay lying down. Did you eat breakfast?"
"Only a little."
"What about lunch?"
"About half..."
Anna answered in Koharu's place.
The school nurse's brow furrowed.
"What time did you go to sleep last night?"
"A little after eleven."
"Has that been going on for several days?"
"Not every day. Only a few days where it was a little late..."
Koharu's voice grew steadily quieter.
Rather than scolding her, the nurse checked to make sure her hands weren't trembling as she held the cup, telling her to just drink as much as she could manage.
"With a lack of sleep and nutrition, combined with the heat and exhaustion, you might have suffered an episode of anemia. You have a slight fever and temporarily lost consciousness, so I can't let you go home right away today. Can you contact someone at home?"
"My mom is at work. My brother is waiting for me in front of the school gates..."
"Can you contact your brother?"
"Yes."
Koharu picked up the cell phone beside her pillow.
After turning on the screen, her fingers paused.
She probably knew that reaching out would worry her brother, whose injuries hadn't fully healed yet. Even so, she couldn't leave him waiting in front of the school gates without knowing anything.
"If you don't contact him, he'll only worry more," Anna told her quietly.
After hesitating, Koharu typed a short message and sent it.
A reply arrived almost immediately.
"What did he say?"
Asked by the nurse, Koharu kept her eyes on the screen as she answered.
"It looks like he's still in front of the school gates. He said he's coming right back."
Her voice was tinged with relief and guilt at the same time.
"I see. The school will contact your mother as well, so even when your brother arrives, don't try to go home immediately; rest here for a while."
"Yes."
The nurse stepped away for a moment to call Koharu's mother.
Koharu rested her head back on the pillow. Her cheeks were still pale, and the hand clutching her phone hadn't fully regained its strength.
Even seated in a chair, Anna never took her eyes off Koharu's face.
"I'm really sorry," Koharu said in a weak voice.
"What are you apologizing for?"
"For dragging you into this, Anna."
"You didn't drag me into anything. I chose to stay with you."
"Still, you must have been scared."
Anna didn't answer right away.
Without making excuses or blaming Koharu, she clasped her hands on her lap.
"I was scared."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"All the strength suddenly left you, and no matter how many times I called, you wouldn't open your eyes... I was terrified."
"I'm sorry."
"So instead of apologizing, just rely on me properly next time."
Koharu didn't reply, dropping her gaze to the edge of the blanket.
Knowing that putting it into words would make it a promise, she probably couldn't nod so easily.
After lowering her brows in distress, Anna turned toward us.
"Thank you so much for helping us. I'm Anna Sawamura."
Until we arrived, she had supported Koharu alone, desperately calling for help. Even so, she didn't seem to think of herself as having saved her.
"I'm Serina Mikage. I've talked with Koharu a little before."
"I've heard about you from Koharu, Mikage-senpai."
"What did she say?"
"That you're a pretty and kind upperclassman."
"Anna, you don't need to say that," Koharu protested from beneath the blanket.
The fact that she could manage a response close to her usual self, even if weak, caused the tension in Rio's expression to ease slightly.
"I'm Rio Kuze. Nice to meet you, Anna-chan."
"I'm Kotoha Komiyama."
"Miu Sahara."
As the three introduced themselves in turn, Anna bowed politely to each of them.
"Thank you so much, really."
"Because you were by her side from the start, Anna-chan, Koharu-chan didn't hit her head either."
When Rio told her that, Anna cast her eyes down, troubled.
"Still, I should have taken her to the infirmary sooner. She looked unwell ever since lunch, but Koharu kept saying she was fine..."
"Koharu-san was the one who kept insisting she was fine, wasn't she?"
Kotoha chose her words gently so as not to blame Anna.
"You accompanied her and caught her when she fell. I think you did everything you could on your own, Sawamura-san."
"The fact that Aiba-san didn't hit her head when she collapsed is huge," Miu added quietly.
"Your judgment wasn't wrong at all, Anna-chan."
Reinforced by Rio's words, Anna finally gave a small nod.
Even so, the worry in her eyes as she looked at Koharu didn't fade. I understood that feeling all too well.
When someone important to you is suffering, no matter how much you do, you can't help but wonder if you couldn't have noticed sooner.
The school nurse returned after finishing the call.
"I got in touch with your mother. She said she'll come pick you up as soon as she can step away from work. Let's rest here until then."
"Understood."
Koharu answered with relief, but her expression didn't brighten.
"I think my brother's going to come running back."
"He definitely will," Anna answered instantly.
"He's been worried about you since this morning, and he went out of his way to come pick you up at our classroom before waiting by the school gates, after all."
"Even though his injuries haven't healed yet..."
Koharu turned her gaze to the ceiling and bit her lip.
"I didn't want him pushing himself, so I was helping out around the house. In the end, I'm only making him worry more."
"Koharu."
Standing beside the bed, I peeked in through the gap in the half-drawn curtain.
"If you want to cherish your family, you have to cherish yourself just as much."
Looking slightly surprised, Koharu met my eyes.
"Hearing that from you, Mikage-senpai, makes it hard to argue."
"Why's that?"
"Because before, when I was troubled about my brother, you helped me then too."
"It wasn't anything big enough to call helping."
"It was to me."
Koharu smiled faintly.
Seeing the color gradually begin to return to her cheeks, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Koharu-chan, your brother worries a lot, doesn't he?" Rio asked in a hushed voice.
"Normally, he isn't that fussy."
With her eyes closed, Koharu answered slowly.
"He's kind, but when it comes to himself, he never says anything, and he always says he's fine even when he's pushing himself."
"Just like you, Koharu," Anna chimed in without hesitation.
"We're not alike."
"What you just said describes you today to a tee."
Koharu started to object, but apparently couldn't find anything to refute it with. Looking resigned, she pressed her cheek into the pillow.
Someone who never said anything when it came to himself, and always said he was fine even when pushing himself.
Listening to the words Koharu used to describe her brother, for some reason, I remembered the person who had kept hiding his injuries amid the smoke.
While carrying me on his back, that person had never once said he was in pain. When something collapsed, he put his body in the way to shield me, repeating all the while that he was fine.
Koharu's brother had also been hospitalized after being caught in an accident until recently, she had said.
Even now, his injuries hadn't healed.
Taken on its own, that was just a coincidence of someone nearby being injured around the same time. There was no reason to connect Koharu's words with that person whose face and name I didn't know.
Yet a small hitch remained deep in my chest.
It was an impression whose shape I couldn't yet discern—something I felt compelled to touch with my fingertips so I wouldn't forget it.
Before I could ponder the reason, from far down the hallway, the sound of someone running in a frantic hurry began to echo.