5/12

Kawakami yawns.

"I trust," Principal Kobayakawa says, "that I am not boring you, Kawakami-sensei."

"I'm sorry, sir," she blurts out. "It was-" She is about to say, 'a long night,' but wisely snaps her mouth shut. "I'm sorry, sir," she repeats.

Kobayakawa nods and continues to lurch his way forward. Kawakami follows him a half-step or so behind, a respectful distance. They stroll the early morning halls of Shujin. The only students present are those belonging to clubs.

Her whole body feels sluggish. It really had been a long night. And it's shaping up to be a long day too.

"You were saying?" the Principal prods.

"Yes. Ann Takamaki," Kawakami says. "There isn't much to tell, sir. She's a decent enough student. She excels in English."

"And her relationships?"

"I'm sorry, sir?"

The Principal glares over his fat shoulder and spits, "Her relationships, Kawakami-sensei. I'm asking how well she gets along with her classmates."

Kawakami frowns but averts her gaze. "Well, her best friend is Shiho Suzui. But, thanks to Kamoshida's rumors, she doesn't have many other friends."

The Principal makes a harrumphing noise, but says nothing.

Kawakami blinks. "Sir, if I may ask, why are you asking me about her? Has she done something wrong?"

"I am not in a position where I have to address your questions."

Jackass.

"What of Akira Kurusu?"

Kawakami shrugs. "There was a hiccup a few weeks ago, but I can't complain since. I got Makoto Niijima to tutor him privately."

"Did you now?" Kobayakawa asks. He whirls and stares at her. "And what prompted that decision?"

Kawakami balks under the weight of his attention. "I just figured he could use a helping hand. Who better than the student council president?"

"Who else, indeed?" Kobayakawa asks, and to Kawakami's ears, it seems he's speaking to himself. He turns and continues his waddle down the hall. Kawakami follows. All she wants to do is retreat to the faculty office, where she can drop her head and grab a few winks before the day officially begins. Why the hell is he asking me all this?

"Do all these students," Kobayakawa begins, gesturing casually, as if the point had just struck him. "Get along? Amongst themselves?"

"All three of them?"

Kobayakawa nods. "Kamoshida-sensei - during his confession - indicated that he'd asked Kurusu to assist him in... well, you were there."

The thought makes Kawakami sick. "I recall. Though, if I'm being honest, sir. I never got that impression from the two of them. Takamaki and Kurusu seemed to get along fine. I didn't see him trying to pressure her, but I know plenty of students claim otherwise."

"Yes," Kobayakawa drawls. "I've heard as much."

"As for Niijima, I couldn't say. I believe the study sessions are ongoing, but I can't recall ever seeing Niijima interact with Takamaki."

Kobayakawa is silent for a moment. "Keep an eye on them," he says, finally. "I want to know if they're more than just... chummy."

Chummy? "Uh, okay," Kawakami replies. "Anything I should be looking for, in particular?"

Kobayakawa sighs in that way he does when he feels he must condescend to explain. "You've been in this school for the past month, haven't you, Kawakami-sensei? I don't feel I should have to elaborate."

Kawakami rolls this over in her mind. "Does this have anything to do with the Phant-"

"It does not," the Principal snaps. "And you would do well not to entertain that notion. Simply do as I've instructed." He lifts his large wrist towards his face. "I believe the students will begin to arrive in earnest soon. You're dismissed."

Kawakami politely excuses herself and breaks from Kobayakawa's orbit as fast as she's able. She retreats to the faculty office and collapses at her desk. Since Kamoshida's arrest, the place has been exceedingly quiet and tense. Those teachers that do speak with one another do so in hushed voices. No one seems willing to bring attention to themselves, which suits Kawakami just fine.

She had wanted to escape the Principal and take a quick nap, but now she finds that she's wired. Why did he want to know all that? Kawakami pulls out her phone and queues up the PhanSite. She rereads the new rules for posting.

None of the teachers want to discuss the Phantom Thieves. When Kamoshida's Calling Card had appeared, the faculty room had been abuzz with speculation. Clearly, it had been the work of one or possibly a few students Kamoshida had victimized. Once Kamoshida suffered his change of heart, however, the topic became less fun.

Kawakami wasn't dumb. Someone had to have blackmailed Kamoshida, or maybe the scumbag had seen the writing on the wall and decided to play into it. No one could just change a heart.

Yet.

Over the past week, Kawakami has found her attention wavering, continuing to come back to the PhanSite. Why keep it up if all the Phantom Thieves had wanted to do was stop Kamoshida? Not for the first time, Kawakami thinks about making her own Request, but the guilt this elicits rises within her, and she turns the phone face down on her desk.

She doesn't deserve an out like that.

#

Lunch. Ann stands from her desk, turns to Akira, and with a twinkle in her eye and a 'haha I know something you don't' hitch to her smile, whispers, "I know who Yusuke Kitagawa is."

Akira feels his eyes widen. He'd hoped, after he relayed his conversation with Ohya to the team that morning, during which Ann had declared that the name 'Yusuke Kitagawa' sounded familiar, that she would produce results. He didn't imagine it would be during lunch, though he had peered around her hunched-over back during class and seen her furiously scrolling through her phone.

Further back, in his peripheral vision, he sees Kawakami-sensei staring at the two of them. When she sees Akira seeing her seeing them, she pauses a second longer than is comfortable, and it almost looks as if she's about to approach them. She aborts this a moment later, snatches her materials off the desk, and leaves the classroom, head hung.

"Roof?" Ann asks.

"Roof," Akira acknowledges.

The two exit their homeroom, detouring to snatch Ryuji as he saunters out of his own, and adroitly climb their way to the roof. The A/C rumbles, providing sufficient white noise, and Morgana greets them, perched on one of the chairs. The cat frequents this spot every lunch, officially if there's any need for a meeting, and in reality, there's a significant chance one of the three Phantom Thieves will likely feed him some of their lunch.

"What's up?" Morgana asks, pretending not to eye Ryuji's packet of ramen the boy pulls from his bag.

"Not much," Ann says. "Just proving, yet again, that I am the most valuable member of this team."

Akira and Ryuji glance at one another. "We bow to your superiority," Akira says flatly.

"Yeah, what he said," Ryuji replies, jerking his head in Akira's direction. "Now, what's all this about Kitagawa?"

Despite their exams and the deep-sea level of pressure on the team, Akira knew he couldn't keep his very many conversations from the previous day from the others.

He'd informed the Phantom Thieves of his conversations with Takemi and Ohya. No one seemed particularly concerned with his giving himself away to Takemi, which surprised Akira until he recalled that Ryuji and Ann had told or confirmed their secret to others. Ryuji did lament that there were just as many people who weren't in the Phantom Thieves but knew their identities, as there were actual Phantom Thieves. Though no one beyond Shiho knew Morgana could talk. There were still some surprises.

Akira had left out the part where he'd tried to lie to Takemi, insisting that he only knew the Admin of the PhanSite, and therefore had only a passing connection - but still a connection - with the Phantom Thieves. She had not believed him, and Akira couldn't blame her, so he had come clean. His explanation of the Metaverse and Palaces had been an abbreviated one, and he had opted not to show her his phone to verify, as he didn't want to risk spreading the app to her.

Takemi, while not having appeared sold, did seem thoughtful, and the rest of the visit passed without incident. Akira did feel guilty, though. He genuinely liked Takemi, and keeping things from her had hurt far more than he had thought. Coming clean alleviated that somewhat, but part of him still felt muddied by the whole thing.

To his rapid-fire exchange with Ohya - in the telling of which Akira ensured he sounded more proficient than he'd been - Ryuji only commented that Shinjuku was 'a weird place' and Akira could do nothing but agree.

At the name Yusuke Kitagawa, Ann's brow had furrowed, and her face had taken on the look of someone trying to remember something they hadn't deemed important at the time. She had promised to look into it for them, and Akira agreed. He had not been looking forward to blitzing his way through all of Japan's social media and news articles, trying to find a specific person by that name, and then deducing their connection to Madarame. Especially since he hadn't made his way to Akihabara yet to secure any of the material Mishima cited as necessary to mask his searching.

Ann clears her throat for no reason Akira can see. "Yusuke Kitagawa is Madarame's apprentice."

"For real?" Ryuji asks. "Like Nakanohara used to be?"

Ann nods. "Exactly. But he's Madarame's current apprentice." She brings up her phone so the two boys and the cat can read the screen's contents.

"'Modeling Gig - Artsy Fartsy?'" Akira reads, feeling his confusion and his brows lift as one.

Ann's face explodes with crimson, and she quickly scrolls past the subject line. "My agent's weird," she stammers. "She didn't think I'd be interested in this thing, and I wasn't. It's a request for some modeling work, but not for a magazine or anything. Yusuke Kitagawa is looking for someone to paint."

"I thought all you models only, uh, modeled for magazines and shit?" Ryuji drawls. "Guys paint you too?"

"Are you even reading the email?" Ann asks.

"No," both boys say.

"Not really," Morgana says.

"Just tell us what's going on," Ryuji groans.

"Fine. God, you guys are the worst," Ann snaps, shoving her phone back in her pocket. "Okay, look. Yes. Typically, I model for magazines and ads. Stuff like that. No one at my agency will take a painter's request seriously, especially a student painter no one's ever heard of.

"The only reason it got posted was because of Kitagawa's connection to Madarame. I didn't even know that when my agent sent it to me. I read the first two sentences and declined. 'A student named Yusuke Kitagawa is looking to paint someone. Will pay, but not much.' Talk about a hard sell. Anyway, that's all I needed to hear." Ann nods toward Akira. "You said the name, and it took a bit, but I remembered. I was texting my agent during class. The gig is still open. I requested it, citing my interest in Madarame, which is true, but I've got this huge fascination with art, which is total bullcrap. My agent booked me for the gig as soon as exams wrap up."

Ann beams.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Akira smiles.

Ryuji grins.

Morgana does that thing he does when he's happy.

#

"High-Intensity Interval Training," Ryuji declares, sounding the words out.

Akira sighs, and looks across the table at Ann. "Did you finish those practice problems yet?"

Ann nods, but makes a face. "Yeah, if by finish you mean 'crashed and burned.'" She turns her book around so Akira can read the scratchings she's made on the paperwork. "I think I'm about ready to give up. I don't have a head for math."

"You guys aren't even listening to me, are you?" Ryuji asks.

"Nope," both Akira and Ann say, together.

Ryuji leans back in the booth, crossing his arms, a scowl etching itself across his face. "Can't believe you guys are still trying to study. It's-"

Ann cuts him off by dropping her head onto the table, then rearing back and glaring at him. "And I can't believe you're still trying to get us to discuss exercise plans! We're in the middle of exams, Ryuji. I mean, seriously, if you keep this up, Akira and I will just study without you!"

Not one to just sit quietly and take abuse, Ryuji digs in his heels. "If you know you're going to do bad, why bother? I'm talking about real stuff we could be doing now that could impact... well, you know what I mean."

"Just because I don't think I'm going to do well doesn't mean I'm not going to try," Ann counters. "And I see a bunch of books open in front of you, Ryuji. So why are you even studying since you're so dead-set on doing bad?"

Ryuji rolls his eyes. "What else was I gonna do?" He lowers his voice. "Explore Mementos by myself?"

Akira finishes copying down Ann's answers and compares them to his own. He's sure he's done alright on the practice questions, but if that's true, then Ann is in a rough spot.

Or, Akira thinks. I'm not half as good at this as I thought.

"Let's be real," Ryuji says. "You may do well on English, but the only one of the three of us who's going to get a good score is Akira, and that's because he had the Prez helping him." Ryuji blinks and quickly turns to Akira. "Not that you're not good at studying without Niijima's help or anything, man." Ryuji frowns. "Actually, are you a good student?"

"Little on the nose, don't you think?" Ann asks.

"What's that mean?" Ryuji replies, then turns back to Akira. "Seriously, dude. Are you, like, good at school?"

Akira lifts himself away from his textbooks, leans back, and adopts a slight smirk. From deep within him resonates a faint chuckle, and he raises one hand to his glasses, adjusting them with splayed fingers so the light of the cafe will glint off them just so. "As a matter of fact," Akira replies, a lilt to his voice. "Not especially."

Ryuji and Ann deflate. "All that buildup for that?" Ryuji asks.

"Lame," Ann mutters.

Akira shrugs. "I don't know. I'm not a genius or anything. I don't like studying or tests. I get decent grades, though. Plus, with the help of Makoto, I think I'll end up with a pretty good score."

Ann's brow arches up. "Since when do you call her, 'Makoto?'"

Ryuji's eyes squint. "Speaking of the Prez..."

Ann's frown deepens. "No. I've got a better idea. Let's not talk about Niijima-senpai."

"No, but for real," Ryuji says, waving for Ann to be quiet. "I think she's sitting over there."

Akira feels his pulse jackhammer. "Seriously?" He asks, and is immediately embarrassed by how his voice sounds. He clears his throat and quickly says, "I mean, Oh?"

Ann gives him a look he reads as 'Oh please,' and turns to follow Ryuji's gaze. "Where?"

"There," Ryuji says, and points at some booth on the other side of the cafe. "The chick behind the... uh, I mean, it looks like a magazine or manga or something. A big one."

Akira spots her. As he does, the hands that hold the manga lower it just enough for a pair of eyes to peek out over the top. Then, just as quickly, they vanish again as the periodical shoots back up.

Yep. That's definitely Makoto.

"What the hell is she doing?" Ann asks.

"Reading, duh," Ryuji replies.

"Like that?" Ann asks. "Have you ever seen someone read like that?"

Ryuji is silent for half a moment. "Okay, yeah. It does look pretty weird."

"Is she trying to hide?" Akira asks. "From someone?"

"From us?" Ann asks.

"Why would she..." Akira begins, but trails off. His mouth quiets, but his brain speeds up. What is she doing here? Why wouldn't she want me to see her? Is she following me? What could she want? Is she following me, or us? Akira feels himself settle. This is going to require some subtlety. I need to figure out what's going on without-

Ryuji stands up in the booth and shouts, "HEY YO! PREZ! IS THAT YOU?"

Every head in the diner turns towards them. The hands that hold the manga tighten, visible even from across the room.

Or, Akira thinks. We could take the Ryuji approach.

"HEY!" Ryuji shouts again and lifts his hand, waving. "PRESIDENT NIIJIMA-SENPAI? THAT YOU?"

"Ryuji," Ann hisses, face extraordinarily red. "Sit down!”

Ryuji waves a hand to hush her, and then, "STUDENT COUNCIL PRESIDENT NIIJIMA-SENPAI, THAT'S YOU, RI-"

Makoto slams the manga down on the table and bolts upright. "Yes," she growls into the sudden silence. "Yes, thank you, Sakamoto. It's me."

Ryuji nods as if everything had gone as planned. "Oh, cool. Come on over." He plops down in his seat. "Guess it was her."

"Guess so," Akira says, through gritted teeth.

Ann says nothing, having just reburied her head in her hands.

Akira turns and gazes back at Makoto, meeting her eyes. She has yet to move. Akira offers what he hopes is an apologetic smile and spreads his hands in a shrug. You might as well come over, he tries to transmit.

Having received this signal, Makoto straightens and begins to walk toward them with as much dignity as she can muster, which is still a lot considering the situation.

"Hello," Makoto proclaims once she reaches the table.

"Hey," Ryuji replies, beaming.

"Hi," Akira tries, suddenly blank on what he should be saying.

"Niijima-senpai," Ann says, without looking up. Indeed, she seems to have become more interested in reviewing the answers to her math problems.

"Thought that was you," Ryuji says.

"Yes," Makoto grunts. "I know." She runs her eyes over the various texts and open notebooks. "Preparing for your exams?"

Akira smiles. "I figured I could still use some brushing up, not that you're a bad teacher or anything."

Makoto smiles a bit at that.

"Wanna sit with us?" Ryuji asks.

"She's not even in our grade," Ann points out, still without looking up. "She's studying for different topics."

"It's fine," Makoto says, glancing around the room. "I'm not sure I... well, it is true that I have my own exams to study for."

"Right, so?" Ann says, leaving a hanging thread for Makoto to exit the conversation. Akira shoots her a look, but the girl doesn't respond.

Akira opens his mouth, wanting to say something, but with Ann and Ryuji this close, he finds that he's stumbling over his words. "Let's uh, go back to your table?" He suggests. "Alone," he adds when he sees the other two stare at him. "I'll be right back."

Akira slides out of the booth and, too late, realizes that Makoto is standing almost on top of him. The girl blushes a bit and takes a few quick steps back while Akira waits for her to move before he finishes exiting the booth. He gestures towards Makoto's table, and the girl nods.

Fortunately, by this time, the rest of the patrons have returned to whatever conversations or food they'd been previously interested in, and Makoto can return to her table without them dragging the stares of anyone else. Akira does glance back at his table to find Ann frowning after them, but he resolves to deal with that later.

"How are your exams going?" Makoto asks, sliding back into her booth.

Akira remains standing. "Pretty well, I think." He nods his head in genuine respect. "Your help was invaluable."

"That's good."

Akira blinks at the abrupt silence. "So, what brings you here? Not following me, I hope?"

Makoto frowns at this, and looks away, then shakes her head. "No. I came here to read and study. I noticed you and your friends over there, but I figured you were in the middle of your prep work, so I didn't want to bother you."

Akira laughs. "Really? That doesn't sound like you. Next time you see me somewhere, just march over. Save Ryuji some breath."

The corners of Makoto's mouth twitch up a bit, but then fade back down. "So, did Sakamoto manage to ask Takamaki out?"

"Ah," Akira says, and makes a show of turning back to regard his two blonde friends. "I'm afraid he hasn't quite gathered up the courage to ask her out on a date yet. But he's getting there."

Akira turns back and, for a moment, is very confused. A rather sad look has passed over Makoto's face as she stares up at him. A hint of shame snakes its way through him, and Akira finds that he cannot meet her gaze.

"I should be on my way," Makoto says. "I've intruded on your study session enough."

"No, hey, come on," Akira counters. "You can stay. Are you sure you won't join us? I could even sit with you if you want some help studying."

Makoto shakes her head and starts to gather up her things. "No, thank you."

"Okay," Akira replies. "That's, um, next time, then."

"Mmmm," Makoto passively agrees.

"Oh," Akira says as Makoto begins to stand. "I started reading Lies of Locke Lamora. I'm only a few chapters in, though. Cool book."

"Indeed," Makoto says. Then she fixes him with a stare. "Apt title." She takes a step away from him, then speaks. "Goodbye, Akira. Good luck on your exams."

"Yeah," Akira says to her back. "You too."

Geez, Joker whispers in his mind. What did you do?

#

Haru leans forward. "So, do you think there's another girl?"

The concept jolts through Makoto like ice water. "What?"

"Another girl," Haru says, then shakes her head. "I'm not saying there is one, but it seems like he's doing a lot of... I don't know, avoiding?"

"I don't think there's another girl," Makoto adds. "But I know he's lying about something." She has brought Haru up to - relative - speed. Of course, Haru has no idea that Makoto is just looking into the Phantom Thieves, so Makoto wonders why she thinks Makoto is so interested in the private lives of Sakamoto and Takamaki.

"Well, when I work with him at the flower shop, I'll try to get more information from him. Want me to turn it towards Sakamoto and Takamaki? If that will help."

"I don't know," Makoto adds, sighing. The incident in the cafe had been very embarrassing, and it hadn't helped when Akira continued to lie.

Hypocrite, she thinks. Here she was, complaining about Akira lying while doing the same thing to her 'friend.' "I suppose I could put together a list of things to ask."

Haru waves this suggestion away. "I already have a list. So don't worry, Mako-chan. We'll get to the bottom of this."

Makoto is beginning to wonder if any of this is worth it.

#

Morgana's paw arches out, swats the fluffy substances, and curls back towards his belly.

"Stop that," Akira says.

"I can't," Morgana replies. He swings his arm out again, and bats his target. "It's so fluffy."

"You're bothering Haru."

Haru smiles over at him. "No, it's fine."

Morgana turns to him and says, "See?"

Morgana takes another swing at Haru's hair. She giggles and scratches his ear. She holds him in her arms, and smiles down at him. "You're so sweet, Mona-chan." Then she grins up at Akira. "It's like you two are having a conversation."

Akira sets the box of plant seeds down and smiles.

"Sometimes, I think he's the smartest person in the room." Morgana beams. "Sometimes, not so much." Morgana hisses.

Haru nods and deposits Morgana onto a nearby table. The two teens are in the back office of Rafflesia, organizing some shelves. Hanasaki mans the floor at the moment and given that it's a slow night, they don't expect to return to the front.

"Hey, Akira?"

"Yeah?" Akira replies, absently.

"What kind of movies do you like?"

Akira feels his brows knit together. Morgana, from where he lazes on the table, looks over at him as well. "What kind of movies do I like?"

Haru nods. "Yes. I was just wondering."

"Oh, well, all kinds, I guess."

"All kinds? Surely you must have a favorite genre?" Haru’s breath appears bated.

Akira feels his cheeks redden. What's going on? Why is she asking me this? "Action movies are fun. Mysteries. I'm not really into romances or horror."

"I see. You like action and mysteries, but don't like horror or romances."

"Yes." That is, indeed, what I said.

"Good to know."

"Why?"

"Hmm?" Haru frowns.

"I mean, why is that 'good to know?'" Akira asks.

Haru smirks and shakes her head. "I'm just curious, is all. We're friends, yes? I was interested to know what kind of movies you were into. Oh, and what about books?"

"Books?"

"Yes, what kind of books do you like?"

Akira sighs. Now what's going on?

Akira sighs. "I don't know. The same. Mysteries and action novels."

"But, you don't read horror novels? Or romance books?"

He shakes his head. "I wouldn't be caught dead with a romance book. Have you seen those covers? And horror stuff freaks me out." He thinks of Caroline and Justine and shudders. I get enough horror in my real life, thank you very much.

“Hmm…” Haru hums, she nods as though in confirmation of suspicions. “I’m going to ask you something else, alright?”

“Okay,” Akira drawls, not sure why his nerves spike.

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Had Akira been sipping a beverage, he would’ve spit out the contents, but as his mouth is empty, all he can manage is a strange noise that sounds like, “Shbeehwha,” but isn’t quite.

Morgana arches onto his hind legs and yells, “Conference!” so loud that Haru jumps in her seat.

Morgana jumps down off the counter and bounds over to Akira. He leaps, and Akira barely has any time to catch him.

"Is he alright?" Haru asks, standing.

More than a little taken aback, Akira asks, "You okay, Morgana?"

"Conference, idiot!" Morgana says. "Move away from the girl!"

Akira frowns. "Uh, Morgana wants a few moments of private time. Sorry, he does this sometimes. I'll be right back."

Haru nods, and Akira takes a few steps away and turns his back to her. "What's going on with you?" He hisses.

"Are you really this dense?" Morgana mewls in response. "Don't you know why she's asking you these questions?"

“I’ve got a few guesses, yes,” Akira replies.

“She’s going to ask you out,” Morgana insists, apparently assuming all of Akira’s guesses to be wrong.

Now that it is spoken out loud, the ground falls away from Akira's feet. A million thoughts vie for his focus. Haru? Ask me out? Impossible. Makoto! What will she think? What will she do? What about the team? What will they do? The investigation! Madarame! Mementos! Haru?! Movies? Romances aren't all bad!

Morgana shifts in Akira’s arms and peers over the boy’s shoulder. “Poor Haru. She’s probably been pining after you all this time!”

“Thanks, that helps,” Akira growls. Then, he shakes his head. “Hold on. This can’t be right. She teases me all the time about Makoto."

"That's a classic diversion! Duh!"

“No, that still doesn’t seem right.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you wise to the ways of women now? I hadn’t noticed.”

“And you are?” Akira demands.

“I’m a third party. I’m being objective!”

“Um,” Haru says. “Is everything alright?” Akira glances back and finds Haru with her hands clenched together in front of her, a worried look on her face.

“Yep,” Akira replies, and smiles at her. “All good. Just a sec.” He turns back to Morgana. “What should I do?”

“Haru’s great,” Morgana says. “But things are complicated right now. A romantic entanglement would only put more stress on you. I would let her down, but gently.”

Akira sighs then nods. “Awesome. This won’t make work awkward at all.” He sets Morgana down and then turns back to Haru.

“Everything okay?” She asks, as he approaches.

“Yeah, we’re all good,” Akira replies, then sticks his hands in his pockets. How am I supposed to do this? I’ve never turned down a girl before. “So, listen Haru.”

“Yes?” She asks.

“I’m, uh, flattered. Yeah, flattered. I really am. But, I’ve got a lot of things going on in my life right now, and I don’t think-“

“Oh my,” Haru says, turning red. Then she begins to shake her head, vehemently. “I’m sorry to interrupt. But I think you have the wrong idea. I wasn’t-”

Akira blinks. “Wait, you weren’t-”

“I wasn’t-”

“Oh, good.”

“Asking for me.” Haru finishes her thought, pauses, and says, “Oh, oops.”

Akira stares at her for a long time, then says. “Wait, you weren’t asking ‘for you?’ Does that mean you’re asking for someone else?”

“Ummm,” Haru replies, by way of confirmation, then turns to the boxes. “Oh, Hanasaki is going to be mad at us. We’ve barely done any work back here! We should, uh, get on that.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Akira says, moving in front of her. “What did you mean by that?”

“N-nothing,” Haru replies, side-stepping around Akira. “It’s just that I wasn’t asking you those questions because I was interested. Not that I don’t think of you as a friend, Akira. I’m…um, well, I don’t think I should really say anymore. Confidentiality and all that.”

Confidentiality? He looks back at Morgana, and the cat shifts his legs around in a shrug. He lets out a long sigh and says, “Okay, fine. Whatever you say.”

Haru flashes him a smile as she lifts a box of seeds from the floor. “By the way, you never answered the question.”

“The question?”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Uh, no,” Akira replies. “No, I don’t.”

“Very good,” Haru says, and walks gingerly away, the box of seeds secure in her arms.