I'd already read the same sentence three times.
Not because it was difficult. Just another paragraph about the lead-up to the Meiji Restoration. Names. Dates. Political reforms. But the words floated. I'd reach the end and realise I couldn't recall how it started.
My eyes drifted upward, not to anything in particular. Just away.
The library was quiet. The kind of quiet that builds in layers. Air conditioning hum. Distant footsteps. The soft tick of the wall clock behind me.
My lunch was still in my bag. Cold rice, pickled vegetables, and a juice box.
It would've been gone by now, eaten while reviewing, annotated between bites.
But something about today disrupted the usual sequence.
He'd asked if I wanted to eat with him. Ranjiro.
I declined. I saw no benefit in altering my routine.
And yet… I hadn't touched my lunch. I hadn't opened my notebook.
A lack of hunger and a lack of focus. Both inefficient.
I reread the line. Fourth time now.
The words stayed in place, but nothing registered.
I closed the book.
Not because I was finished, just… no point, for now.
I left the library five minutes early.
Unusual, but not unprecedented. The chapter wasn't productive, and I didn't see the point in sitting still for the sake of formality.
My footsteps echoed against the corridor tiles: steady, deliberate. The halls weren't empty, but they felt it. Loose conversation drifted from nearby classrooms.
I should've taken the stairwell by the faculty office. It was faster. Direct.
Instead, I turned left. The longer way around, through the science wing and past the student communications board.
I didn't have a reason.
I searched for one anyway.
By the time I reached the board, my gaze had already landed on it.
Pinned near the bottom, the edges slightly curled, was a familiar flyer.
INTERESTED IN FANTASY ADVENTURE?
TOMORROW. AFTER SCHOOL. ROOFTOP.
Tomorrow was yesterday.
Not the same copy from before. I still had that one, pressed between the pages of my planner, now faintly creased along the fold lines.
I stared at this one for a moment longer than necessary.
Then took it down.
It didn't belong there anymore.
The classroom had already begun to fill.
I took my seat near the window. Set my bag down. Opened my notebook. Uncapped a pen.
Behind me, nothing.
No sound. No weight to the presence that was usually there.
Ranjiro's desk.
Empty.
I didn't turn around. I didn't need to. The absence was enough.
He wasn't always early. That wasn't unusual.
But for some reason, I noticed today.
Hazumi-sensei entered, attendance sheet in hand.
"One student will be out this period," he said, flipping to the next page. "Assisting the student council."
Then class began.
Only one student was missing.
And that student only knew one person on the council.
Iroha.
The conclusion wasn't difficult.
He was with her.
Why?
The club, probably.
That made sense.
Except, why wasn't I involved?
I was part of it too. I signed the same form. Attended the same meeting.
Why them, and not me?
A new variable had been introduced. I couldn't define it.
I shifted my pen slightly on the page.
He hadn't said anything about helping. No message. No warning. Not that he needed to.
Still… I'd grown used to hearing his voice during these lessons. Muted, behind me. Scribbling. Fidgeting. Occasionally humming under his breath when he didn't realise he was doing it.
Today, it was silent.
I told myself it didn't matter.
The words didn't hold.
The final bell had rung. Students filed out in twos and threes, voices rising as classrooms emptied.
I went back to the library.
Not for any particular reason. My original study block had already passed. But I hadn't finished the chapter, and unfinished things linger.
Besides, it was quiet. Predictable.
Ranjiro hadn't returned to any of our shared classes. Not fourth period. Not fifth.
I hadn't asked why.
But I'd noticed.
I found a seat near the back. Not the one from earlier. A different view might help.
My bag slid to the floor. I pulled out my textbook. Then paused.
I tapped the side of my phone twice. Then unlocked it.
No messages.
It wasn't urgent, not really, but I scrolled to his name anyway.
Call.
It rang once. Then clicked straight to voicemail.
That could mean several things. Battery dead. Device off. Signal issue.
Or he declined it.
I stared at the screen.
He wouldn't hang up. That didn't make sense.
Unless…
I shut the thought down.
There was no reason for it.
I had intended to ask about the game, his notes, his spell lists, the parts I missed in Session One. If the club was going to be real, I wanted to be prepared.
That's all.
A purely academic inquiry.
Still, I didn't redial.
"Ah… Morisaki-chan?"
I looked up.
Hashimoto-sensei stood by the nearby shelf, a cart of unsorted books at her side. Her glasses slid slightly down her nose, and she pushed them back up with her wrist.
Hashimoto-sensei stood by the nearby shelf, a cart of unsorted books at her side. She was young. Early twenties, maybe. Shoulder-length hair, loosely tied. Her glasses slid slightly down her nose, and she pushed them back up with her wrist.
"You're still here?" she asked, smiling. "Studying again?"
"Yes," I said.
She gave a small nod. "Iroha-chan mentioned your club was approved this morning. That's exciting, congratulations. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all do with it."
I nodded. "Thank you."
"I mean, technically I'm your faculty advisor now," she added, almost laughing. "I guess that makes this my first club, too."
She looked proud of that.
Then, almost as an afterthought:
"Oh, did you end up seeing the room yet? Iroha-chan said it looked surprisingly spacious for something that used to be the old Cultural Research Society's."
I didn't answer right away. I think that was the moment she realised.
Her smile dimmed. "Ah. I assumed you all went together. Maybe I misunderstood."
My grip on the desk shifted slightly.
Ranjiro never came back to class.
They hadn't said a word.
And now there was a clubroom I didn't know existed.
It wasn't hard to solve.
They were there.
Together.
I stood up quietly.
Hashimoto-sensei blinked. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes," I said, closing my textbook. "Just remembered something."
I gathered my things.
North Wing. Old Cultural Research Society Room.
My feet had already started moving before I understood why.
Whatever this feeling was…
I didn't have the words for it yet.
I walked faster than usual.
Not by much. Just enough for it to feel… noticeable.
I tried slowing down. Didn't work.
I didn't understand what was compelling me forward. I told myself it was curiosity.
I told myself it was because I was a club member too.
That it was logical to check in.
We were clubmates. It made sense.
Then why did it feel like something else?
Something harder to name.
The corridor curved. The stairwell passed. North wing. Room 2218.
My steps slowed when the door came into view.
I hesitated.
There was no reason to knock. Not for a club I belonged to.
And yet…
I pressed my hand against the door. Pushed it open.
It was quiet inside. Dim. The light from the hallway spilled across the floor like a curtain being drawn back.
They were there.
Ranjiro — seated against the wall.
Iroha — curled beside him, her head resting on his lap.
Their hands loosely entwined.
Sleeping.
It wasn't indecent. It wasn't inappropriate.
It just… was.
And something inside me folded inward like paper catching flame.
No sound. No warning. Just a small, contained implosion I didn't have the vocabulary for.
I stood frozen in the doorway.
His body stirred at the sound of the door.
His eyes opened slowly, unfocused at first then sharpened when they landed on me.
He said something.
I didn't hear it.
I couldn't.
It was just silence.
And just like that,
I left.