Chapter Five: Cracks in the Mask

It had been nearly three weeks since Takara moved into Dorm 2-B, Room 204. Just enough time for the worst of the awkward tension to settle—but not enough for things to feel easy. His stuff was half-unpacked, his alarm clock kept going off five minutes late, and his roommate… well, Kayo was still a riddle wrapped in a puzzle wrapped in a sarcastic glare.

But something had shifted since the thunderstorm.

Takara noticed it in the smallest things. The way Kayo handed him a towel after his shower instead of leaving it on the bed. The way he waited for Takara to catch up when they walked to class. The way they didn't argue over breakfast anymore—at least, not loudly.

The ice hadn't melted, but it had started to crack.

And for once, Takara didn't feel like breaking it with a hammer. He was curious. Curious about how someone so perfectly composed could look so utterly lost during a lightning storm. Curious why Kayo's eyes always seemed older than he was. Curious how someone who claimed to be bad at emotions had opened up—even just a little.

He told himself he wasn't trying to read between the lines. That he wasn't starting to like the weird silences between them.

He told himself a lot of things lately.

***************

That Thursday, Takara got out of class early and decided to surprise Kayo with his favorite snack—milk bread from the tiny bakery across from the campus gate. He remembered Kayo mentioning it once, completely offhand, during a conversation about cafeteria food.

It wasn't a big deal.

Not at all.

But when he opened the dorm room door, he stopped in his tracks.

Kayo was seated at his desk, head in his hands. His laptop screen was glowing, and his posture was wrong—too tense, too rigid.

Takara hadn't seen him like this before.

"Kayo?" he asked, stepping inside and closing the door softly behind him. "You good?"

Kayo jerked upright, eyes flashing for a moment before he realized who it was. He blinked. "I didn't hear you come in."

Takara frowned. "I just got back. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

Takara glanced at the laptop. The screen was still open to an email—something official-looking. He caught a glimpse of the header: "Placement Decision – Tsukishiro Kayo".

"You sure about that?" he asked carefully.

Kayo closed the lid with a sharp snap. "I said it's nothing."

Takara crossed his arms. "Right. Because normal people hold their head like it's about to explode over nothing."

Kayo didn't respond.

Silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable.

Takara sighed and walked over, pulling a small paper bag from his coat. "Well… I brought snacks. You said you liked this stuff, right?"

Kayo looked at the bag like it might bite him.

Then, slowly, he took it.

"…Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Takara muttered. He grabbed his own notebook and collapsed on the bed, feigning interest in his sketches while keeping one eye on Kayo.

They didn't talk for the next half hour.

But when Kayo finally stood, stretched, and quietly left the room to take a walk, Takara sat up and whispered, "You're not fooling anyone."

*********

The weekend came with an unexpected announcement.

"Hey everyone!" The dorm supervisor, Ms. Hanabusa, clapped her hands at the entrance to the common room. "We're doing roommate rotations next month for any pairs that feel incompatible. Just sign the form on the bulletin board if you want to be reassigned."

The room buzzed with murmurs. Takara felt a weird, cold flutter in his chest.

Kayo didn't say a word. He just looked away and walked off.

*********

"Are you signing up?" Takara asked later that night, his voice quieter than usual.

Kayo paused mid-sentence, pencil hovering over his physics worksheet. "Signing up for what?"

"The reassignment."

A long silence.

Then: "Do you want me to?"

Takara frowned. "I asked first."

Kayo didn't meet his eyes. "No. I'm not signing up."

Takara's shoulders relaxed before he could stop them. "Good."

"You?"

"Nope." Takara dropped onto his bed and grabbed his sketchpad. "You're annoying, but tolerable."

A tiny curve pulled at Kayo's lips. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should."

For a few minutes, they worked in silence. Then Takara spoke again, more hesitantly.

"That email the other day. It was from your dad, wasn't it?"

Kayo stiffened. "How do you know that?"

"I didn't. But you just told me."

Kayo sighed, long and slow. "He wants me to come home over the next break. Says there's a placement test for a private prep school. One he already picked out."

Takara blinked. "Wait, leave this school? But you just got here."

"I didn't choose to come here in the first place."

The words hit harder than Takara expected. "Do you… not like it here?"

"I don't dislike it," Kayo said carefully. "But liking something doesn't matter in my family. There's a path, and I'm expected to walk it."

Takara looked at him. Really looked.

And suddenly, he saw the edges. The cracks in the mask. The tension in Kayo's shoulders. The fatigue in his eyes. The way he always chose logic over feeling, distance over connection.

"Do you want to leave?" he asked.

Kayo hesitated.

"No," he said finally. "I don't."

Takara nodded slowly. "Then don't."

Kayo looked down at his hands. "It's not that simple."

"Maybe not. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try."

They didn't say anything after that. But the air between them felt different.

Not lighter. Not exactly.

But more honest.

********

On Sunday morning, Takara woke up to find a sticky note on his sketchpad.

"I'll stay. For now."

—K.

Takara smiled to himself, folded the note, and tucked it into the front pocket of his notebook like it was something fragile.

Because maybe it was.