The afternoon break was nearing its end, and the trio left the courtyard. Tobi soon noticed Ryuuko lagging behind, however. And then Monika began to drift toward her, farther away from Tobi.
“Er… I, umm,” Ryuuko stammered.
Monika was far more nonchalant. “We’re just gonna powder our noses real quick,” she said.
Tobi had no idea how to reply, so he simply nodded, and the two girls hurried off on their way.
“Hey, Tobi, y’know what ‘powder your nose’ means? Well, it— Agh!”
Tobi gave Baku’s strap a good yank, shutting him up in a hurry. Of course I know what it means.
When Tobi reached Class 2-3, he found Asamiya crouched in the hallway, leaning against the wall. He was focused intently on his phone, and Tobi wondered if it’d be best not to interrupt him. He didn’t want to make the other boy any more upset than he already was.
Not too long ago, Tobi wouldn’t have even considered approaching Asamiya. In fact, he doubted the two of them would have been on speaking terms. Now, however, he knew what he had to do, even if it required quite a bit of courage. He took a deep breath.
“Asamiya,” Tobi slowly walked over to the other boy, who shoved his phone into his pocket in a fluster.
“…Oh. Hey, Otogiri.” Asamiya stood up, fiddled with his bangs, and flashed Tobi a forced smile.
The expression was stiff, but it didn’t feel like he was rejecting Tobi’s attempt at conversation. Tobi felt a surprising wave of relief. His heart practically leaped. Oh, he thought. I’m pretty happy about this, aren’t I?
“What? Something wrong?” Asamiya asked. He was still restlessly fidgeting with his bangs, pinching and twirling his hair between his fingers. His cheeks were faintly flushed, as well.
The question put Tobi at a bit of a loss. He didn’t need anything. Had he just wanted to chat? No, that wasn’t it, either. The truth was, he’d wanted to confirm if Asamiya had really taken a disliking to him.
“Nah, not really,” Tobi replied.
He couldn’t just come out and ask if Asamiya hated him, and moreover, he was starting to get the impression he’d been wrong. Suddenly, he couldn’t look Asamiya in the eye. A strange sense of embarrassment had come over him, and he lowered his gaze. He happened to glance at Asamiya’s neck—and that was when he finally saw it.
“Not really…,” Tobi repeated.
What am I talking about? Something is very wrong.
“Hey, Tobi—is that what I think it is?” Baku muttered. He’d started trembling, probably out of confusion.
“What?” Asamiya asked, frowning.
He seemed suspicious, and Tobi couldn’t blame him. Tobi was doing his best to stay outwardly calm and composed, but his best probably wasn’t good enough. In fact, it definitely wasn’t. He was failing, and he knew it.
A thin band was wrapped around Asamiya’s neck. It looked like a thread, or tape, or maybe a belt. It was easy to overlook, partly because it was semitranslucent. It had no color, and Asamiya’s skin was clearly visible through it. Tobi might have assumed it was some sort of fashion accessory, if it hadn’t been moving. Whatever it was, it was squirming. Looking closer, it reminded Tobi less of a piece of string or a belt, and more of a snake. A semitranslucent snake had wrapped itself around Asamiya’s neck and was attempting to strangle him—or maybe it was just looking for a comfortable place to rest.
“Not really,” Tobi repeated once more with a poor excuse for a smile. “It’s nothing.”
“…Oh? Okay.” Asamiya didn’t look satisfied, but he didn’t ask any more questions, either. The two of them walked back to class together, but they didn’t say much. Tobi, at least, was in no condition for small talk.
It didn’t seem that Asamiya had noticed the thing around his neck, but Tobi could see it clearly.
It was a zingai. Asamiya had relapsed.
✦ ✦ ✦
After school was over, Tobi shot Ryuuko and Monika glances. The three of them stood up and moved toward Asamiya, surrounding him. They’d met in secret beforehand and worked out a plan of action, and now Tobi just had to hope that it all went off without a hitch.
“Huh? Wait—what? Huh? Er…?” Asamiya was understandably shocked. He shot Tobi a pleading glance, looking for help. Tobi felt bad for not obliging, but these were extenuating circumstances.
“Hey, Asamiya?” Tobi said. “I, umm… Er, what was it…? Um.” He’d worked out his script in advance, but the words weren’t coming out in the heat of the moment.
“Tobiii,” Baku groaned.
“Excuse me, Asamiya!” Ryuuko spoke up, unable to keep watching. She grabbed onto Asamiya’s arm.
Asamiya, however, reacted quickly. He shook her off without wasting a beat. “Wh-what was that for? What’s going on?!”
“Asamiya, there’s, umm,” Tobi said, then finally remembered his line. “There’s…something we want help with. From you. I mean, umm…only if you don’t mind.”
“…From me?” Asamiya repeated.
“Yeah.”
“Actually…” Monika gazed up at him from below. Her expression was a little scary. “We need your help, whether you mind or not.”
“…Hell of a way to ask for a favor.” Asamiya sighed. “All right, fine. No promises, but I’ll hear you out. Not like I have anything better to do…”