A cool breeze carressed Chisato`s face as she exited the door to the school roof. Gazing at Takumi, she couldn't help but feel a little excited. And so, she nonchalantly walked toward the seemingly spaced-out student. 

“Ara~ What are you doing here? Aren`t students supposed to keep away from the rooftop?”

The male student looked up, avoiding her gaze while showing a troubled expression. 

“Uh… “

“Tell me, how did you get up here? The door wasn`t locked?”

“Yes, I luckily stumbled upon an unlocked door to the school roof. Honestly, I was so stressed out from class earlier that I had to go to the infirmary. I`m going through a rough time. Now I just wanted to be alone for awhile… Y`know, to pick myself up. So senpai, can I ask for a favor…”

“You`re really good at lying aren`t ya, hitting the soft spots like that? But you can`t fool anyone with that Swiss knife laying there you know. It`s obvious that you picked the lock to get here, and this can`t be the first time either.”

(Ugh crap I forgot… This girl is so annoying) Takumi hid his expression.

“But still, I dislike being around too many people. Even if I ate my lunch in class I would be alone anyways.” He looked sad, momentarily.

“Hou? That`s surprising? Shouldn`t girls flock to such a handsome douche like you? You`re pretty good at pleasing people with your mouth too.” [lenny`s face]

“Haha…” He scratched his head “Actually I`m tired of it. Too many friends means too many people to care about, and I`ve just found that I simply can`t do that. If you can`t help a person you`d best not bother him or her, so it`s wiser just to take care of yourself first. Keeps people from worrying about you.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

(That was a straight out lie) His brain told him.

“Wow, what a manly person. I`m really interested in you right now.” She showed a meaningful smile “I`m also getting bored of my relationships lately, so how about you let me join you in the rooftop too? In exchange I will let this slip.” Chisato winked.

“Uh… Are you sure you want to spend time with someone like me?”

“You`re being modest! I`m quite popular myself, and I must say that I haven`t found anyone like you. Most guys would just put on their goodie-two-shoe mask and wag their tail to please me, while you actually talked about your problems once. Being able to share things, isn`t that what relationship are for? ”

(I`m the one that is putting on a mask right now…)

“I-if you insist, senpai…” Takumi pretended to look away in a blushed manner.

“Hehe don`t get any ideas ok? I barely know you, and although I`m sure you are a nice guy, but someone who is nice doesn`t mean someone that is suitable. I`ll be your friend and help you through this. That`s the duty of a student committee member after all, deshou ka?”

“Really? I-I`m really happy… Please take care of me.”

“Don`t worry, your senpai will get your spirits back up in no time.” She smiled gleefully.

(At least I made her feel good.)  

And so, their little agreement was carried out smoothly. Before he knew it, Takumi had already spent every of his precious peaceful lunch time with Chisato. The masquerade was clinging tightly onto his face without fail.

His perfect memory also told him that it was around those times he felt an unusual urge to sleep early. However, the syndrome wasn't able to make him remember whether it happened before or after he had started to spend more time with Chisato. Even more strange, his dreams would always be about the memories of his father, sorted by date. Each time he slept would be like watching a movie, and Takumi was able to see from a third person's view; something that he had never seen before. 

With the help of his senpai, Takumi slowly crawled back into studying. Of course he wasn't hopeless, as his English was good enough to return the favor to Chisato, which means very good. With semester tests coming fast, the whole student community sunk into homework and exercises, while the news about that serial killer quickly became history.

Winter has already come. Hailstorms with vicious winds cut open anyone stupid enough to face it alone.