When Izumi left the classroom, he nearly bumped into a small figure in the hallway.
“Ah!”
“Oh, sorry—wait, huh? Nanao?”
Yes, it was Nanao.
She seemed to have come over from the neighboring class just to hang out.
“Oh, Izumi-kun! Where are you headed?”
“Ah, well… Akeboshi asked me to show her around the school.”
“Akeboshi?”
Nanao looked puzzled and turned her gaze. When she spotted Akeboshi, she recalled what happened that morning.
“Ah, is she the returnee student Sato-kun mentioned earlier?”
Akeboshi responded with a bright smile.
“Nice to meet you~! I’m Akeboshi Meina~♪”
“Wow, thank you~ I’m Nanase Nanao. Nice to meet you too~♪”
The cheerful exchange of greetings passed between them.
Izumi thought from the bottom of his heart: If only peaceful days like this could last forever…
“So, you’re giving her a tour? Where are you two going?”
“Ah, no, um… she said she doesn’t know where the bathroom is…”
Nanao tilted her head at that explanation.
“The bathroom? …Then maybe I’ll go too?”
“For real!? That’d be a huge help!”
It made sense.
Given the destination, having another girl—especially someone like Nanao—was actually more helpful. Izumi gladly accepted her offer like it was a blessing.
But of course, Meina wouldn’t let that happen.
She clung tightly to Izumi’s arm and said with a beaming smile:
“I’d rather be alone with Izumi-sama~♡”
In that moment, Izumi froze.
Because—Nanao’s possessiveness over him was no joke.
He knew all too well how things had been heating up lately between her and Amane. Guys generally aren’t fans of that kind of tension.
And, just like he expected—
—Spark!
…did not happen.
(Wait… huh?)
Izumi was confused.
Nanao, still smiling pleasantly, just waved and said,
“Okay. See you later, Izumi-kun.”
“Ah… yeah. I’ll see you.”
Her reaction puzzled him.
In the end, it was just him and Meina, walking down the hallway together.
She stood out a lot. Even other students from different classes were sneaking glances at them. Some even peeked their heads out of classrooms.
“Kufufu~ We’re drawing attention, huh~?”
“Well, yeah…”
“This must be because of Izumi-sama’s charm, right~?”
“This situation is definitely not a compliment!!”
The rumor of a returnee student arriving—especially one this pretty—was already enough to stir up excitement, even if Sato hadn’t spread the word.
And now, that very girl seemed quite taken with Izumi, who’d already been the center of attention due to the whole situation with Nanao.
Izumi looked ahead toward their destination.
“So yeah, there’s the bathroom.”
It was only a two-minute walk to begin with.
He never really needed to guide her. In fact, it was on the way to the classroom from the entrance, so she had to have seen it.
“Right~ But let’s go to the one on the first floor~”
“…Why? It’s not really about the bathroom, is it?”
“Oh my~ Izumi-sama doesn’t know? Girls can only use the bathrooms they’ve personally approved, you see~”
“Wait, what? Is that some kind of battle manga logic!?”
No way any manga about bathroom wars would catch on…
Even though he was getting a taste of the secret struggles of the opposite sex— Well, not really. He knew full well this was a weak excuse. No matter how much girls confused him, he wasn’t that oblivious. Seriously. He knew.
Meina looked up at him with a cunning, puppy-eyed expression, swaying his arm while clinging to it. This was pure, sugar-sweet affection mode.
“Pleeease~?”
“…Fine, whatever…”
Izumi gave in. Instantly.
Honestly, it felt like he was bound to screw up with women in the future. Was that okay, Izumi? The other students were definitely watching with concern.
As they went down the stairs, the school grew quieter.
They reached the first-floor bathroom, which was near the faculty offices—
An area that students rarely went through.
As the distant sounds of laughter from other students echoed, Izumi spoke up:
“So, what’s your deal?”
“………”
Meina tilted her head innocently, like ‘hmm?’, looking up at him.
But now that they were alone, her exaggerated movements started to feel fake. And once he saw them as fake—everything about her seemed like a lie.
Meina used her fingers to mime wiping away tears.
“Izumi-sama, that’s so mean~ I don’t have any hidden motives~”
“Cut the fake crying.”
He grabbed her hand and looked at her face.
And sure enough, what he saw was a shameless grin that screamed “Oops, guess I’ve been caught☆”
Izumi glared straight at her.
“…You’re not connected to my family, are you?”
” ………… “
Meina’s expression faltered just slightly.
But it wasn’t like she’d been caught red-handed. Nor did she rush to deny it.
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Instead—a single tear ran down her cheek.
It was Izumi who was shaken.
He’d been almost certain that Meina was somehow tied to his family.
He didn’t have solid proof, just a hunch. He’d felt the same way about Nanao too, always considering the possibility. The only difference was that Meina was more obvious.
So he’d tried to bait her, hoping for a reaction…
But that tear—it didn’t seem fake at all.
It reminded him of something he’d felt recently—
Every time Nanao told him she liked him, he’d gotten the same feeling.
It was genuine.
He’d been raised under strict—and perhaps even cold—parents. From a young age, he’d learned to tell the difference between what people said and what they meant.
That’s why he gravitated toward people who had no hidden agenda—like Amane, or Hakua. Even Sato and the others in class were good people with nothing to hide.
But Meina confused him.
Most of the time, she was clearly putting on an act.
But this tear—this one moment—felt real.
Maybe it was just a cute little slip-up after he hit a nerve…
But his instincts told him otherwise.
“Um, so…”
Izumi was trying to find the next words when—
Meina suddenly buried her face in his chest and hugged him tight.
“…Izumi-sama. Do you remember?”
“Huh?”
As Izumi stiffened in surprise, Meina continued:
“It was back when you were just a little boy. In Kyoto, where your grandparents live—you helped a baby fox, remember? You bandaged its wounds and held it close.”
“…!!”
Izumi gasped, and Meina gently let go of him.
Still teary-eyed, she smiled softly.
“Now, I can finally repay you.”
“……….”
With that, Meina ran up the stairs alone.
Left behind, Izumi stood frozen in place.
Even as the bell rang for class to start, he didn’t move. Staring at his own hands, he muttered in disbelief:
“…No way.”
──That story would’ve taken place back when he was still young, And still on good terms with his parents.
Every summer, he’d go to Kyoto to visit his grandparents.
He’d run around the nostalgic town and its nature with his little sister and other neighborhood kids.
It was a place where people coexisted with wild animals. A world he might lose interest in once he grew up.
Izumi had taken all of that in with his whole body.
Then, one day…
In the woods near the road—
He found a baby fox, bleeding from its leg.
No parents around. All alone.
[ ………… ]
Young Izumi had stared at it.
To coexist with nature doesn’t always mean helping every creature. It’s about living as good neighbors, keeping clear boundaries.
By that logic, the fox was destined to die—a part of nature’s rules.
It was a hot afternoon.
Only the cicadas echoed through the trees.
There are some things in the world people just shouldn’t touch.
But little Izumi couldn’t walk away from a life in pain.
He reached out with small hands.
Maybe that was his [beginning]…
Such a bittersweet memory of childhood.
Except—
“No, wait—I’ve never saved a fox in my life!?!?!?”
That past—did not exist.
Yes, his grandparents lived in Kyoto.
Yes, he ran around town with his sister and other kids.
But Izumi had never saved a fox— In fact, he’d never even seen one in real life.
To top it off, young Izumi was scared of wild animals.
Even if he saw a hurt fox, he definitely would’ve run away. Not because he was heartless, but because for a kid, a wild, semi-large carnivore was just plain scary.
Realizing Meina had almost planted a fake memory in him, Izumi was actually kind of freaked out.
(That was close! I almost got swept up in the moment and believed it actually happened!)
He didn’t feel like going straight back to class. Instead, he slumped down on the stairs, feeling drained.
” Who is she really…? “
He racked his brain, but nothing came to him.
Still, he couldn’t believe everything Meina said was a lie.
(And somehow… it doesn’t feel like the first time I’ve met her either…)
He thought maybe he could just leave her alone, like Nanao.
But something about her stuck with him.
Izumi took out his phone and opened up a message thread with someone.
“I really don’t wanna rely on this you…”
Still, he had no other leads.
With a sigh, Izumi sent the message.
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