The school grounds of Aoshima Academy looked as normal as ever, painfully normal. Students moved through the halls; chatter buzzed in the air, nothing out of place—except Itsuki, who was very much not okay. He paced near the lockers, chewing on his nails like they'd personally offended him.
"Where the hell are you, bro…?" He muttered to himself, trying—and failing—to stop spiraling.
Down the corridor, Nene walked by with her books hugged to her chest, already mentally preparing for study time like always. She slowed when she spotted him. "What's with that face, Itsuki?" She asked. "You look like you're about two seconds away from crying."
That was all it took.
Itsuki practically teleported in front of her and grabbed her shoulders, eyes wide, hands shaking, sweat already forming like he'd just run a marathon. "Nene, don't you see the problem?!" He blurted out. "It's Taki! He's not here! Not in class, not at school—nothing! That man does not skip school!"
She blinked. "…Maybe he's sick?"
Itsuki gasped like she'd just cursed his entire bloodline. "Sick?! No, no, no—this is way worse!" He leaned in, lowering his voice dramatically. "He told me yesterday he was going out at night."
Her expression faltered.
"What if he got eaten alive?!" Itsuki continued, now fully unhinged. "Just gone! Snatched up! How could the universe allow that to happen to such a handsome young face, Nene?!" He shook her lightly. "That jawline had a future!"
Nene stared at him in silence as he hyperventilated, absolutely convinced the worst had already happened.
The second of those words hit the air; Nene's face went pale. "He said he'd do what?" She snapped. "I knew he was deep into the Aoshima incident stuff, but going out at night? That's asking to get erased."
Itsuki spun around, hugged himself, then dropped into a crouch like the weight of the universe just landed on his shoulders. "I know Nene. I know," he groaned. "Dude's unhinged. Once he locks in, that's it—decision made, fate sealed." He dragged his hand down his face. "Even me. Me. His best friend. Couldn't talk him out of it. I'm gonna regret that forever, I swear."
Nene leaned in, trying to keep it together. "Relax. He's probably fine," she said quickly. "Maybe he just slept through his alarm and he'll show up late."
"Overslept?!" Itsuki shot upright like he'd been personally attacked. "Nah. Absolutely not." He shook his head hard. "That man does not oversleep. He's way more put together than I'll ever be." He pointed at himself. "If you told me I overslept? Yeah, fact. But Taki? No shot. Dude runs on five hours of sleep and pure responsibility."
Nene paused, thinking aloud as she searched for a different angle. "Maybe that explains why he always looks half-dead in class," she said. "Like a fish that forgot how sleeping works."
Itsuki stared at her, visibly unimpressed—and a little embarrassed for her. He snapped his fist into his palm, eyes lighting up with sudden determination. "That's it. If that man doesn't show up by tonight, I'm going out there myself," he declared. "I'll find his skeleton if I have to. Monsters don't eat bones, right?"
His voice carried just as the lunch bell rang, sending students flooding toward the cafeteria.
Later, seated at one of the long tables with trays in front of them, Nene drifted into another thought. "Now that I think about it," she said slowly, "I haven't seen Aoshiki anywhere this morning either. She's usually around the council room or in class, but today—nothing."
That was all it took.
Itsuki's head snapped up, ideas spiraling immediately in the worst possible direction. "W-Wait don't tell me," He said, horror creeping into his voice. "You think he went out with her?" He slammed his hand on the table, his tray bouncing. "That traitor! I knew it! I knew he was weak to popular girls!"
Nene took a calm sip of her noodles before responding, clearly unfazed. "I think Takumi is the last person on earth who would go out with someone like her." She crossed her arms and sighed, watching Itsuki spiral on his own.
"Speak for yourself…" Itsuki muttered under his breath.
His attention drifted toward the serving counter just in time to catch a very familiar face stepping up, taking a tray, and thanking the cook with practiced politeness. He squinted for a moment, then nodded to himself as if confirming a theory. "Guess she was at school after all," he concluded, immediately biting into his food with a wildly exaggerated expression that made it hard to tell whether he was enjoying it or fighting for his life.
As he chewed, Yuna turned away from the counter and began scanning the cafeteria, her eyes moving methodically from table to table as if she were looking for someone specific. The seconds passed, and then her gaze snapped into place—locking onto Itsuki and Nene with unsettling precision.
Neither of them understood what she was trying to see, or why her attention had landed on them, but it was clear something was weighing heavily on her. "He's not here either…" she whispered, barely audible over the cafeteria noise.
After a brief pause, Yuna drew in a deep breath and stepped forward, walking directly toward them.
The realization hit almost instantly.
"…Is she coming over here?" Nene asked quietly, disbelief creeping into her voice.
Itsuki didn't respond. He just sat there, frozen, wearing the same stunned expression as several nearby students who had also noticed the popular girl deliberately making her way toward their table; all of them equally baffled by the sight.
Nene followed Yuna's approach the way a cat tracks movement, her head subtly turning in sync until she realized Yuna had stopped—standing right beside Itsuki with her tray balanced neatly in her hands.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
The question caught her off guard. Nene glanced around the cafeteria, noticing several empty tables, even among the usual clusters of popular students, yet Yuna had chosen their table. The choice alone was unsettling. Still, she looked back up and answered.
"Um… sure. Go ahead."
Yuna thanked her quietly and took a seat beside Itsuki.
Itsuki, meanwhile, had a completely frozen fork suspended halfway to his mouth, eyes wide, and body locked like a statue. A bead of sweat slid down his face as the reality set in the most popular student in school was sitting right next to him. Someone he barely knew beyond her name.
"Sorry if that was sudden," Yuna said evenly as she set her tray down. "I don't mean to impose, but there are a few questions I'd like to ask you."
Nene took another bite of her food before lowering her fork. "What, here to lecture us about our grades?"
Her tone carried mild irritation, but it faded when Yuna looked up with an unexpectedly serious expression and calmly took a bite of lettuce. "No. Your grades are fine," she said. "I actually wanted to talk about your friend."
Itsuki and Nene exchanged a look—confused, alert, and suddenly hopeful that she might know something they didn't know.
Itsuki leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms; one eye squinted shut while the other stayed open in exaggerated suspicion. "Alright, let me stop you right there," he said. "If you're about to ask why he's not here, save the breath." He tilted his head dramatically. "We don't know. No secret intel. No dramatic reveal."
He gestured vaguely with his fork. "Trust me, Mrs. Popular. If we had answers, I'd be screaming them from the rooftop. But right now? We're just as lost as you—minus the fan club."
Yuna showed no sign of judgment—something she was usually careful about, especially when dealing with other students. Her tone remained calm and composed. "Shirai," she said, addressing Itsuki by his last name, "I'm sure you remember yesterday. After school, in the hallway. There's no secret about what happened, right?" Her gaze shifted briefly to Nene. "You most likely told Momose about it too."
Nene hesitated, the realization hitting her all at once. "Do you mean—" she started, but Yuna answered before she could finish.
"Yes," Yuna said evenly. "It's about Kisaragi going out during the night."
The moment the words left her mouth, Itsuki shot to his feet and slammed his fist into his open palm, loud and dramatic enough to draw attention from nearby tables. "Oh, come on, Aoshiki!" He snapped. "If you're here to get Taki expelled just because he went out at night, then maybe you should expose yourself too while you're at it!"
Heads began to turn.
Yuna's patience thinned instantly. "Sit down," she said sharply, irritation cutting through her calm as she noticed students listening in. "I didn't say anything about expelling him." She paused, then added coolly, "And even if I wanted to—how could I?"
Her voice lowered. "He saved me."
Without waiting for a response, Yuna picked up her tray, stood, and walked away, her frustration clear. Itsuki watched her go, utterly thrown off; his earlier outrage melted into confusion.
Just before disappearing into the crowd, Yuna stopped. She glanced back over her shoulder and spoke one last time.
"If you want to know more," she said, "meet me on the rooftop after school."
Then she turned away and walked across the cafeteria toward the table where the popular students were sitting, rejoining them with practiced ease as if the conversation she had just left behind hadn't unsettled anything at all, leaving Itsuki and Nene frozen in place and struggling to process what they had just heard.
To be continued...