Chapter 7: An Unlikely Alliance

Afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows of the classroom, casting golden streaks across the wooden desks. Chatter filled the air as students huddled together, excitedly discussing the coming school festival. Haruto Kirigami sat in the corner of the classroom furthest from everyone, leaning his chin on his hand, disinterested. He had no desire to get entangled.

"Okay, let's choose our class activity," their class representative, Tanabe, said. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"A café!"

"A haunted house!"

"Both are too much effort," a sloth-like voice moaned.

Tanabe sighed and looked at the blackboard, where various suggestions already existed. "Let's vote then. Put up your hand for the café."

Haruto had hoped for only a few hands to be raised, but to his surprise, over half the class voted yes.

"And what about the haunted house?" Tanabe asked. A good number of hands were raised, but it was obvious that the café had taken the vote.

"Looks like we're doing a café," Tanabe affirmed, jotting it down. "Now, we have to create committees. Volunteers for planning?"

Nasaki Kitta quickly put up her hand. "I'll do it."

Some other students volunteered, and before long, the class filled out the other positions—servers, cooks, decorations, and finance. Haruto kept his head down, thinking he would go undetected.

But he underestimated his classmates.

"Kirigami," Tanabe said suddenly.

Haruto's face didn't change, but inside, he groaned. "What?"

"You organize well, don't you? You would be great to have on the design team for decorations."

"I'm busy," Haruto replied flatly.

"With what?" Tanabe smirked. "Sitting in the corner looking uninterested?"

A few students laughed, and Haruto's brow twitched in irritation.

"Come on, it's not like it'll kill you," Ishida, another classmate, chimed in.

Before he could argue further, Tanabe had already written his name under the design team. "Great! You're in."

Haruto ground his jaw, but he didn't argue. Warring with the class was more work than simply cooperating.

Nasaki, seated quietly in the corner, concealed a tiny smile behind her hand.

Haruto sat opposite Nasaki in the library of their school, roughing out a blue print for the café.

"This is surprising," Nasaki said, gazing at him.

Haruto didn't look up. "What is?"

"You actually taking this seriously."

Haruto stopped, drumming his pencil on the paper. "I don't want to hear any griping later."

Nasaki snickered. "You sure? I thought you might have a secret fondness for this."

Haruto gave her a dry stare. "You overthink."

Nasaki smiled. "Perhaps." She leaned in to study his drawing. "Your layout isn't terrible. You have a good sense of structure."

Haruto disregarded the compliment and kept working.

The library was silent, except for the soft rustling of pages from other students reading. The tension between them was strangely relaxed.

"So," Nasaki interrupted the silence, "why don't you enjoy festivals?"

Haruto continued to draw. "Too loud. Too crowded."

"Ah, so that's why you're always skipping them," Nasaki whispered. "But isn't it lonely?"

Haruto did not reply. He shifted a line on the drawing instead, then replied, "I like it better this way."

Nasaki leaned forward. "Liar."

Haruto's hand paused for a moment before proceeding as usual.

"You don't have to act with me," Nasaki spoke softly. "I understand that you're used to solitude, but that does not imply you wish to be."

Haruto looked at her, caught off guard by the abrupt change in her tone.

Before he could answer, Nasaki unexpectedly stretched. "Ahhh, my back is sore. Too much sitting." She smiled at him. "Let's have a break."

Haruto sighed but set his pencil aside.

They sat in silence for a moment. Nasaki drummed her fingers against the table, looking at him with a furrowed brow.

"Say, Haruto…" she began.

"What now?"

"You're not as scary as you try to be."

Haruto's eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting that. "…Huh?"

Nasaki smiled. "I mean, you're so cold and aloof, but you're actually a pretty okay guy."

Haruto clicked his tongue. "Don't try to analyze me like some experiment."

Nasaki laughed. "Too late."

Haruto shook his head, but something in her words stayed with him.

As Haruto walked home from school that night, he found himself thinking about the festival.

Normally, he would have already written it off as a bother.

But somehow, it didn't feel like that this time.

Perhaps it was because of Nasaki.

Perhaps it was because, against his will, he had liked working on something with someone.

He shook his head again, hard, to get rid of the thought.

"It doesn't matter," he grumbled.

But deep within him, he wasn't so sure anymore.