Outside the exam room, Touko walked all the way down the long corridor and entered an empty classroom. Sakuta followed and closed the door behind him.
With just the two of them, it was even quieter than the exam hall.
“What did you want?” he asked, getting to the point. Hoping to get back to his essay.
“What’s your girlfriend up to?”
“Meaning?”
“Everyone’s saying she’s Touko Kirishima.”
“Somebody gave them all a weird dream.”
“She’s your girlfriend. Make her fix this.”
“That’s for her own good, so I’d love to. But if you’ve got a problem with it, why not just come forward as the real Touko Kirishima?”
The central garden was right outside the window. That was where Touko had done her Christmas Eve live broadcast.
“You could stream right here and now. I’ll help.”
That seemed fastest.
“No use.”
“You’ve tried it?”
“Nobody can see anything that’s got my face in it. Best I can manage is a long shot of my back.”
Where they could only make out her silhouette.
“Then you’ve just gotta make yourself perceivable again.”
And to do that, he needed to know just why Touko had become invisible. He didn’t imagine she’d tell him that easily…and it was always possible she didn’t know, either.
“Kirishima, do you know why you’re like this?”
“Nope,” she snapped.
“Does Iwamizawa know why?”
“……”
That earned him silence.
Silence signaled agreement.
“I’m taking that as a yes.”
He’d talked with her enough to realize she was bad at lying. And she had a habit of clamming up when he was right.
“Your girlfriend needs to deny it.”
“Once a rumor or mistake spreads this far, it’s pretty hard to refute.”
Some people believed it unquestioningly. Others didn’t care either way and the truth didn’t matter. Trying to passionately explain the truth to them would likely not get much across. The truth was as they perceived it.
“And if you know that, you’ve got a plan, right?” Touko said, giving him a searching look.
“If I do, is there a reward?” he asked, meeting her eyes.
“Hmm,” she said, crossing her arms.
She thought of something soon and smirked.
Catching his eyes again, she said, “I’ll take you on a date.”
“If it’s not a sleepover date, I’m hardly tempted.”
“I wouldn’t mind. If you aren’t scared of that girlfriend of yours.”
The gleam in her eyes indicated that she was trying to wind him up. She was enjoying this.
“You win. I’ll do something.”
“Then it’s a deal.”
She offered up her hand, and he shook it.
If they could clear the air around Mai and learn more about Touko, that was two birds with one stone. Forget the joke about a sleepover.
“Get it done,” she said, turning to go.
“What dream did you have, Kirishima?” he asked.
He’d figured she’d just ignore it, but she paused at the door and turned back.
“I didn’t have one.”
A surprising answer, at this stage. Mai wasn’t the only one.
“Same as Mai,” he said.
Touko made a face.
“Do you have time for this? You’d better get back to class. You’re cutting it close.”
At that, the bell rang. End of the third period—and the end of his exam.
It was his turn to make a face. Clearly what she’d been after. Touko said “Laters,” fluttered a hand, and was gone.
✦ ✦ ✦
By the time Sakuta got back to the core curriculum room, it was deserted. His answer sheet had been collected, and the only things left were his stuff—and a girl, sitting across the aisle from his belongings. He recognized that half-up, half-down hairstyle—Miori had taken the same exam.
She heard him coming and turned around.
“Welcome back, pukeface.”
“What is that, the title of a morning soap?”
“Nobody would watch that.”
She laughed, amused.
“Everyone took off already. Planning a new-term party or a post-exam kegger.”
Miori glanced around the empty room. Takumi had mentioned something like that. Sakuta had actually met Miori at one of these core curriculum parties.
“You didn’t join them, Mitou?”
“If I go, I’ll just get hit on.”
It was amazing how she managed to keep that from sounding spiteful.
“And I had a question for you, Azusagawa.”
“My type? It’s Mai.”
“Then who was the girl you left with?”
“……”
This was the last question he’d expected, and it left him dumbfounded.
“Sneaking off for a tryst, mid-test? My word.”
It took him a minute to even register what he was hearing.
What was Miori saying?
“She dresses up like Santa sometimes, yes? Miniskirt and everything.”
She just kept mercilessly piling on.
And he could no longer reject the idea.
“……You can see her, Mitou?”
“She marches right in like that, how could I miss it?”
“No, I mean, you could see her?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Miori looked baffled, obviously not following what he was saying.
“You and I are the only people who can see that woman.”
“……”
Now it was her turn to freeze. She likely wasn’t processing that at all. It didn’t seem like she’d understood his words.
For a long moment, she simply blinked at him.
“……”
“……”
A very, very long silence passed.
Her lips didn’t move again until the fourth-period bell rang.
“Azusagawa,” she said.
“What?”
“Are you insane?”
It had taken her a long time to reach that conclusion.
But it was by far the most appropriate one.