"You look awfully happy today," I
observe, noting the faint smile on Kurumi-senpai's lips as she gazes dreamily out the massive window before us, at the scenery of colourful houses that we leave behind one after the other. The sky is thick with clouds, but the weather is just the right amount of chilly, and for the first time in a while, we managed to snag some seats on the morning train to school.

It doesn't matter that the sun is hiding. All I need to brighten my day is right here, by my side.

The ghost of a smile on her face comes alive. "Akito asked me to come pick him up from school today," she says softly. "That's...a good sign, right? I was worried he might have been annoyed that I just showed up at school the other day without saying anything, but now I'm glad I did." She looks at me, her face radiant with hope.

I instinctively reach for her hand and grip it. I know that there's no red string glowing between us, connecting us, or helping us understand each other. But maybe I'm hoping that if I close the gap between us directly and hold on to her tightly enough, I'll somehow be able to get my feelings across. I'm happy for you.

"Senpai, that's so great! Akito is a tough nut to crack, and most times it's impossible to tell what he's thinking, but we just have to keep shooting our shots and hope they don't miss." I place my hand over my heart. "Someday, they're gonna hit him right over here, and he'll never be the same again."

Senpai laughs, automatically drawing a smile from me. "Yeah, let's do that." Then she straightens, turning serious. "I've been meaning to ask, how are things between him and Ren? Every time I try to ask him about it, he brushes me off." She pauses for a beat, then starts again before I can answer. "Oh. He was making an extra lunch portion today but wouldn't tell me who it was for. Could it be...?"

I nod excitedly. "I think things are good. I'm hopeful. They've been spending a lot of time together, and I think they've really started to warm up to each other." Senpai sighs happily. "And yeah, the extra portion was for Ren. He's going to help Akito study in exchange for the lunch box," I explain, pleased.

The train jerks to a stop, and a businessman standing nearby almost falls on top of me, but I can't bring myself to be annoyed about it. Senpai raises our linked hands into the air and cheers under her breath, delighted. Amidst our little celebration, I forget that we're at Irina's stop.

"Good morning!" Kurumi-senpai greets cheerfully when we see her get on.

"Good morning," she says, and with a straight face, she proceeds to sit right between the two of us, breaking our hands apart. If I hadn't moved out of the way at the last second, she would have ended up on my lap. I hide a smile. She's so childish sometimes.

She turns to face me. "Can I hug you?"

The question comes so out of nowhere that it throws me off. "S-Sure," I stutter, because I don't see a reason to say no. Are we close enough to hug each other good morning? I guess we are.

I expect something stiff and fast, but she goes for my waist, and I let her, unconsciously raising my arms to give her room. She slowly pulls me close, blocking out the cold but giving me enough room to breathe. My head drops onto her shoulder, having nowhere else to go, and I don't know what to do with my hands, so I leave them hanging loosely at my sides.

She strokes my hair. "I-Irina," I mumble, embarrassed. Isn't this too much?

She sighs and pulls away. I shift slightly, putting some space between us. A strange feeling churns in my stomach.

"Do you want a hug from me too?" Senpai asks playfully.

"No thanks," Irina answers, blunt as ever.

I'm hoping for Senpai to keep the conversation going, but an acquaintance of hers-a young girl with a cute perm-has approached her, starting up a conversation that Senpai obligingly engages in. This happens almost every day. It also means that it's now up to me to say something to Irina, because it feels like things will get very awkward if I don't.

"Oh right." There's something I never got the chance to ask her. "That girl we met last week at the station, Sayuri, did you get her number?" I half expect her to look confused and ask me why on earth she would ask a girl she just met for her number, but she nods. It feels like a pit has opened up in my stomach. This shouldn't be what I'm feeling. Things went as planned, I should be happy.

"I did, actually."

"Did you...talk after that?"

"We did. She's been very helpful."

I force a smile. "That's..." I sort of hate myself right now. "Great." What did I expect? How could I have hoped for a different result?

"She told me that you two used to be friends," Irina says, watching me.

I avert my eyes. "Ah yeah, we...we lived in the same neighbourhood, so we played together a lot as kids." Is Sayuri the reason Irina is a hugger now? Could she have had such an influence on someone as hard and reserved as Irina in such a short time? Of course she could. This is Sayuri we're talking about. She's perfect.

"I see." I should try to explain to her that she shouldn't hug me the way Sayuri hugs her. That sort of intimacy...should be reserved for your soulmate. Not just anyone.

I take a quivering breath. Say it. The announcer's voice floats into the car, updating the passengers on the upcoming stop. I can feel her eyes on me, but I can't bring myself to look at her. Just say it. "Irina-"

My words clog in my throat at the feel of the warm press of lips against the side of my face. I whirl to look at her, just as the train clatters to a stop again. She stands up, her braids swishing. "I was going to restrict myself to a hug for today, but I couldn't help myself. Sorry," she says frankly. "Not for the kiss, but for not telling you before I did it."

With that, she strides out of the crowded train with all the grace of a peacock. I turn away, my hand hovering over my cheek, and lock eyes with Senpai. She grins.

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"You aren't fucking listening! Four men and six women can complete the work in eight days, while three men and seven women will take ten days. Did you at least get that part!?"

"Yes. That was in the question."

"Okay. So one man can pour a bucketful of water into a tank in one minute. In short, you have to multiply the speed with the number of people." A pause. Then again, "Are you getting it?"

"Sorry, I...if you could go a little slower-"

"How many fucking times do I have to repeat myself!? Keep up, idiot-"

"Shhh!" I hush. "Ren, for god's sake, we're at the library! And I'm doing your committee work for you so that you can study with Akito, in case you forgot. I'm trying to focus here. Be quiet," I finish with a hiss.

Ren frowns at me from across the table.

"I can't go any slower than this. I'm not a fucking sloth-"

"You're human, that's precisely why you should be able to adjust the speed of your teaching to suit your peer," Irina helpfully points out from beside me, running her pen across the paperwork before her.

She was already at the library when the three of us got here and announced that she was going to be working with us as a fellow committee member from this day on. She's not helping me with the boys' share of the work, however, because according to her, that's not what she signed up for. Take your time with it, I'll wait for you, she said.

She seems to have a lot of time on her hands. And she doesn't seem to mind spending it...with me. Maybe Sayori doesn't get off until late in the day, and Irina wants to stick around until then and meet with her at the station. If that's the case, then...I guess this is okay. I'm glad I get to spend this time with her.

"Fuck off, won't you?" Ren snaps. "Nobody asked you to be here. We don't even need you." Again, a string of sentences that would deeply hurt anyone else.

"You do need me. To tell you that you can't teach," she says calmly. Ren's glare turns murderous, and Akito's eyes dart nervously between our two brutally honest companions. I sigh. "Show me the question, maybe I can help."

Irina peers into the book after Akito passes it to me. She studies the problem for a moment before realigning her posture and speaking directly to Akito. "When I have difficulty solving a question, I sometimes replace the objects used in it-the men and women here, for instance-with something I like. Sour candies, sheep, or," she glances at me. "A kiss." I look away. I don't know what this is. "It helps to motivate me."

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't make any sense-" Akito starts, visibly concerned, but Irina doesn't let him finish.

"Look at this question, for example," she says, bringing her pen to his book. "Suppose you and Ren are boyfriends." I look up at her face again, that flawless, frustratingly composed face. What the heck?

"-and he kisses you three hundred and ninety four times a month. The number of times he kisses you during each day of the week is equal, except for Sundays, when he gives you one extra kiss compared to usual. So how many times will Ren kiss you on a regular day?" Irina, that beautiful, undeniable genius, puts her pen down and fixes her expectant gaze on Akito.

He's frozen in place, his mouth slightly agape. I think he stopped breathing the moment the words Ren and kiss left Irina's mouth.

"What the fuck?" Ren growls, displeased. "Seriously?"

"I-I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how this is relevant-" Akito tries, struggling to maintain his composure.

"Thirteen times," Ren says, looking him dead in the eyes. "I would kiss you thirteen times a day, dumbass."

My jaw drops. A hint of a smirk appears on Irina's lips. Akito's face blooms like a blossom right after a drizzle. "This is a level one question," Ren prattles on, oblivious. "If you can't even answer that...what's up with your face?" I decide not to interfere this time, and sit back to watch the scene play out, my lips trembling with suppressed laughter.

"I don't think this is going to work."

"You...you think I'm a bad teacher too?" When Akito doesn't answer, Ren scoffs. "I can fucking teach." He snatches the notebook back and slams it on the table between them. "Now keep your damn ears open. This is easy to understand." Akito's lips tightly purse together, but he doesn't protest.

"Case one," Ren begins, deliberately slow. "There are thirty days in a month. That gives us four weeks where I kiss you..." he trails off, then tries again unfruitfully. "K-Kiss you...fuck. What the fuck is with this problem!?" He glowers at Irina, finally catching up with the rest of us. "This question is fucking weird. And why the hell are you grinning like that!?" I shrug.

Akito stands up. "This is impossible." I'm surprised he held out this long. I know that we've been tugging at the limits of his patience. I probably shouldn't be enjoying this as much as I am.

Without another word, he leaves, acknowledging the librarian with a small bow of his head before exiting the room. "That bastard," Ren mutters, jaw protruding, and noisily thrusts his chair backwards before running out of the room, hopefully after Akito.

I shake my head, impressed, and finally turn to Irina, who's stacking up the finished papers. "How did you-"

"It's obvious." She looks pleased with herself. Gathering up her things, she glances down at me with a small smile. "You can finish the rest later. Let's go home."

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It's been more than an hour since school finished, and the grounds are mostly empty. She's waiting for us before the entrance, highlighted by the dozen undulating marvels of red branching away from her. The strings are like the reins to our hearts in her hands. My Senpai. My friend.

Akito and Ren are standing on either side of her, pointedly facing away from each other. "I found these two arguing, is everything okay?" Senpai asks as we approach.

Arguing. I glance over at Akito, who returns my gaze, eyes glossy and brows partially furrowed. I know how hard he can be on himself when he lets a study session go unproductive. I know how hard all of this has been for him. But even until yesterday, every sentence he spoke to Ren had been carefully tailored to please, and as cheesy as it may sound, I'm glad he let his heart take over for once.

I reach for his hand, only to find it halfway there, coming to me, fingers outstretched. I clasp it and squeeze, smiling shamelessly.

"It's nothing you need to worry about," Ren murmurs to Kurumi-senpai before ploughing ahead. She laughs and follows after him, pushing for answers.

"I shouldn't have talked back to him. It was stupid. Reckless. But he just makes it so...impossible to...I don't know," Akito rasps, fingers curling tightly around mine. It's the most he's ever said to me on his own, with no probing. "I'm sorry things didn't go the way you wanted," I whisper.

He clutches at his chest again. "No...it's been quiet. All day," he mumbles, his eyes trailing Ren. "It's working. The lunches were a good idea, as was asking my sister to come. He's happy."

I blink. "That's why you asked Senpai to get you from school? For Ren?"

"Yeah." His quiet voice betrays what his face doesn't. "He loves her." My heart contracts.

It's painful to look at him, so I turn away and notice Irina, still standing at the gates, her depthless eyes transfixed on me. She's waiting for me, I realise. She always waits. Things aren't perfect right now. Akito is under a lot of pressure; he might be using Kurumi-senpai to keep Ren under control, and Ren might still be in love with her.

Even so, today might be the least lonely I've felt in a while. And it's selfish, I know, but I can't help but hope for things to stay this way for just a little while longer.

END OF CHAPTER