The One Who Crossed the Line
Ever since the incident during lunch break, Shinjou Saya had been occupying Yuuki’s thoughts.
The last time they’d met, she’d seemed self-effacing toward him, or rather, driven by an intense desire to apologize. But the Saya he’d seen today was different from before.
Exactly how she was different was hard to put into words since it was more of a gut feeling, but Yuuki could clearly tell that something had changed.
On top of that, when he looked back on his life so far, his bad premonitions had almost always been right.
So what should he do?
Thinking that, he kept walking.
“Good work today at school, Yuuki-kun.”
“…Good work to you too, Yume-san.”
Yume had already arrived at their usual spot, as naturally as ever, and the moment she noticed Yuuki, she walked straight over to him.
Just hearing Yuuki say “good work” made the trip feel worthwhile to Yume, and it made her feel their relationship was growing closer, so she couldn’t help but smile.
Yuuki, on the other hand, was still bothered by what had happened earlier and ended up replying somewhat absentmindedly.
“Yuuki-kun, something happened?”
There was no way Yume would miss his distracted, preoccupied demeanor. They saw each other almost every day, and Yume genuinely wanted to understand Yuuki, so there was no way she wouldn’t notice.
That said, there were people who failed to notice even when they saw someone every day, but those kinds of people didn’t matter to Yuuki at all.
“…Yes. There’s just something that’s been bothering me a little.”
Just as he was about to explain, Saya, the very person he’d been about to talk about, was standing right in front of him. He had no idea how long she’d been there.
Yuuki flinched, his body trembling involuntarily. In response, Yume stepped forward as if to shield him.
“What do you want, Shinjou-san?”
When Yume asked that, Saya stared at her with eyes filled with pitch-black emotion, something that felt disturbingly close to killing intent.
Faced with the strange, oppressive atmosphere surrounding Saya, Yume didn’t back down. She met her gaze with cold eyes, the two of them clearly guarding against one another.
In the middle of that, Yuuki looked toward Saya despite himself. At the same time, Saya shifted her gaze to him, and their eyes met.
The pitch-black look she’d been directing at Yume softened, and she turned a sad yet somehow resolute gaze toward Yuuki.
“Your name is Yume, right? Please leave Yuuki-kun immediately.”
Saya said it the moment she opened her mouth.
From Yuuki’s perspective, it made no sense at all. But to Saya, this was a justified demand.
“My name is Yume, and I have no intention of leaving Yuuki-kun. Shinjou-san, you’re dangerous.”
Yume maintained her cold attitude without letting her guard down for even a moment. In response, Saya’s gaze grew thicker and more muddled.
Yume didn’t want Yuuki to remain here any longer, so she signaled to him with her eyes and chose to walk past Saya without acknowledging her.
Of course, she did so while keeping herself positioned so Saya couldn’t get close to Yuuki.
They passed each other in an instant.
Saya reached out toward Yuuki, but Yume slapped her hand away, sent Yuuki ahead, and followed right after him.
Left standing there alone, Saya’s eyes were more clouded than ever.