The lunch bell rang, its echo fading into the chatter of students flowing out of classrooms. In the corridor of 1-F, Leah and Rika Sakurai were packing their notebooks when a familiar figure stepped into the doorway.
Miyazaki didn't speak at first. She stood there—composed, expression unreadable, as always—yet there was something thinner in her voice when she finally asked:
"Leah. Sakurai-san. Do you know where Jousuke is?"
Both girls paused.
Leah tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "We… we visited his house. Rika and I."
Miyazaki's eyes lifted. "Yesterday?"
Rika nodded. "No. We thought he was just taking a day off, but—"
Leah's fingers tightened around her bag strap.
"—but his mother told us he wasn't home. She didn't know where he went."
Something subtle flickered in Miyazaki's gaze. Not shock. Not anger.
But recognition.
Like she had already been suspecting this.
"I see."
Her tone was calm, but the hallway silence seemed to notice the weight in it.
Leah took a small step forward. "If you're worried… we are too. He didn't answer our messages."
Rika added quietly, "Daimon-sensei said he submitted his project early last week. So… it's not school-related."
Miyazaki looked down at her hands. Her nails were neatly kept. Always tidy. Always controlled. Yet her fingers trembled for half a second before she steadied them.
"Jousuke doesn't disappear without a reason."
It wasn't a question.
It was a certainty—spoken softly, but firm.
Rika and Leah exchanged a glance.
They both knew that tone.
They had heard it before—in different moments, spoken from different people.
It was the tone of someone who cared too deeply to admit it aloud.
Miyazaki's next question was quiet.
"When you were there… did his mother seem worried?"
Leah inhaled slowly, remembering the warm smile that didn't quite reach Jousuke's mother's eyes.
"She looked… tired," Leah answered. "Like she was trying not to show she was worried."
Miyazaki closed her eyes. Once.
A breath.
Short. Contained.
"Thank you," she said, bowing slightly—formal, but sincere. "If he contacts either of you, please tell me."
"Of course," Leah replied immediately.
"Miyazaki… are you going to look for him?" Rika asked softly.
Miyazaki lifted her gaze.
Her expression was clear now.
No more masking.
No more distance.
"Yes," she said.
"Because if he is hurting, I want to be the one who finds him."
The hallway fell silent.
Not dramatic.
Not loud.
Just a truth, spoken out loud for the first time.
She stepped past them, leaving the faint scent of lavender behind her.
Leah stood very still.
Rika looked at her.
"…She's serious," Rika murmured.
Leah nodded.
Her heart tightened.
"Yes. She is."