Mio fled the scene. Not since she was a little girl playing tag had she run this hard to get away from another.
She flew up the stairs, and in the blink of an eye, she was outside classroom 3-3—Kanbara-senpai’s class.
“Is Kanbara-senpai here?” she asked a boy near the door, suddenly feeling awkward. The boy looked surprised. Perhaps it was strange for an underclassman to be here. However, he turned and called into the room, “Hey, Kanbara!”
He was slumped sleepily over his desk. Blearily, he lifted his head, and when he spotted her, he lit up.
“Mio!”
The mention of her name brought a profound change to the classroom. The girls buzzed and stared at Mio. Drawn by the shift in attention, the boys also took interest.
It was the first time anyone in school had called Mio by her given name in front of others.
Surely he did so because she was his “girlfriend.”
After her flight in search of safety, the warm and gentle greeting nearly brought tears to her eyes. It had been so scary. So scary.
“What’s up?” Kanbara came over to the door and examined her face.
“Senpai… Shiraishi, he…”
She couldn’t imagine returning to her classroom.
Kanbara’s face clouded over. “Huh?”
Mio continued, “He just started talking to me. I was alone during the break, and he said something about a final warning. That I shouldn’t be friendly with you…”
“You were alone?”
Mio nodded. “I was only going to the restroom during the ten-minute break.”
Kanbara’s expression changed. He looked at the clock over the blackboard and whispered, “Class is gonna start.” He seemed quite serious now. “I’ll hear you out after school. Let’s have a real talk.”
“Okay.”
Mio didn’t think she could go back to the class with Shiraishi waiting. However, she felt better after seeing and speaking with Kanbara. She’d been careless. Being alone wasn’t an option anymore.
She made it back to her homeroom just in time, right before the teacher for the next subject arrived. When she slipped into her seat, she felt the gazes again.
The gazes of Hanaka and Saho, quietly concerned—and one more. Kaname Shiraishi was staring at her. She never turned to see, yet she knew.
Shiraishi probably knew that Mio had gone to her senpai. She had a hunch. It was creepy, but her senpai was how she kept him at bay.
Senpai knows what you’re doing. You won’t get away with this, Mio thought, doing her very best to ignore Shiraishi.
After school, Mio left immediately and hurried down the hall. She wanted to see Kanbara as soon as possible.
He was in the corridor outside the track room. That he hadn’t entered made it clear he was waiting for her.
Mio grinned at him, glad to have his concern. “Kanbara-senp—”
“Let’s go.”
“Huh? But we have practice.”
He pushed off the wall and grabbed Mio’s hand, leading her away from the clubroom. He shook off her protests and looked over his shoulder. “Is this really the time for that? We need to talk about what’s going on.”
“Oh. Then we should tell the teacher or other people that we’re skipping practice.”
Kanbara sounded sharp, agitated. He was going to tell off Shiraishi out of concern for Mio. What should she do if he said he’d confronted Shiraishi directly? It was nerve racking to consider.
Kanbara looked at Mio reproachfully.
She wasn’t used to the feeling of his hand in hers. It made her self-conscious.
“W-wait. Please wait.”
She felt bad about forcing him to stop for her, but skipping practice without telling anyone wasn’t a good idea. Mio worked her hand free of his and went into the clubroom. Inside, she told a first-year girl, “I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to skip practice today. Please let the teacher and the others know.”
“Okay, I’ll do that,” the girl replied. Mio could tell that she was curious about Kanbara behind her. Had he told the club he wasn’t going to be at practice? Mio didn’t enjoy that it looked like they were skipping practice together—never mind that they were. If they intended to be a couple on the team, it would be best to give their full efforts at practice and meets to ensure everyone was happy for them.
Mio felt guilty for leaving the club behind, but she took her personal shoes from the lockers by the front entrance anyway. She and Kanbara would have to pass by the track where the team practiced, which hurt. Mio crouched, trying to stay low and small, hoping no one would see.
However, Kanbara was bold about it. He showed no shame for leaving the others. When the third-years spotted him and said, “Huh? Itta!” he just smiled and waved.
“Yo!” He didn’t go out of his way to explain anything. It was a sign of his popularity that he could stroll off like this without anyone realizing he was ditching. Mio felt very self-conscious about the meaningful way everyone who spoke to Kanbara eyed her, however.
Was Kaname Shiraishi watching from somewhere? He’d learned that Mio and Kanbara had grown closer in the last few days. What if he tried to attack Kanbara or something?
Kanbara walked a step ahead of Mio, saying nothing.
“Sorry I forced you to skip practice, Senpai.”
He didn’t answer right away. Maybe just saying “sorry” like that was a little too familiar. Before, she would have said, “I’m very sorry,” or “I apologize.”
“Listen,” Kanbara began once they passed the school gate. “What’s going on?”
“Huh?”
“I told you not to let yourself be caught alone. On the phone.”
In the moment, Mio didn’t know what he was talking about. It was too abrupt.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized hastily. Finally, she understood that Kanbara was angry with her.
“I told my friends to help ensure I’m never alone during the morning, at lunch, and after school. This time it happened during a break between periods. Other students were around, so I thought it would be safe.”
“But it wasn’t, was it?”
“You’re right. I’m…I’m sorry,” Mio repeated, stunned. Hanaka and Saho had warned her, but she hadn’t thought Kanbara would scold her, too.
“Do you understand what you did wrong?”
Mio nodded. “Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“…I let myself be alone, even though you were worried for me.”
Kanbara sighed, long and heavy. The rattle in his breath froze Mio’s heart.
I don’t want him to be fed up with me.
“You’re not serious about protecting yourself, are you?” he said. “It’s occurred to me every time you’ve talked about this. If you were genuinely worried, you’d reject that guy, completely ignore him. Why are you talking with him?”
“B-but…,” Mio stammered. I wasn’t. “He just comes up and speaks to me. I don’t say anything to him.”
“Okay, then why are you letting him talk? If you’re really ignoring him, just run away immediately. I keep telling you to do that.”
Did he say that? Mio tried desperately to remember.
After each encounter with Shiraishi, Senpai always heard her out. When he said, “You’re all right,” or “I’m worried about you,” she felt safe and reassured. Maybe he had cautioned her, too. But Mio was having difficulty recalling any warnings this strict.
Kanbara exhaled. “This is why he takes advantage of you.”
“Huh…?”
“You’re so nice. You don’t tell him you don’t like what he’s doing, right? You’re not mean. You’re the class president, and you feel responsible. You can’t break your honor-student persona.”
It felt like Kanbara was saying this for Mio’s sake. They were things she thought about herself already.
Kanbara’s expression shifted. His eyes were narrow, searching her face.
“Those aren’t positives,” he stated coldly. “All that stuff you do just so other people think you’re nice is a weakness. And people take advantage of it. You have to change.”
Mio’s pulse quickened.
Unlike the day before, when her heart had raced from being close to Kanbara, it now beat quickly from panic and anxiety.
I need to apologize, she thought. He’s angry.
Mio didn’t want to hear this.