Sakura and Shizuku

The danger was over, the suffocating tension finally dissipating. Ichinose Honami carefully supported Sakura Airi's arm, helping her slowly stand up from the cold ground. "It's okay, it's okay, Sakura-kun." Ichinose's voice was gentle and full of soothing power; she meticulously brushed the dust off Sakura's skirt and tidied her messy pink hair. "That bad guy's been chased away."

Sakura Airi's body was still trembling slightly, but compared to the despair before, now there was more of a dazed relief and lingering fear from having narrowly escaped disaster. She lifted her tear-streaked little face, first looking at Shimiya Kuki, who had just saved her, and bowed deeply. Her voice was faint but filled with sincere gratitude: "Th... thank you so much... just now... truly, thank you!" She didn't know his name, but that didn't stop her from expressing her thanks.

Then she turned to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Ichinose Honami, bowing just as deeply. "And... thank you too, Ayanokoji-kun... and... this classmate..." She didn't know Ichinose's name either, her voice carrying an apologetic tone.

Ichinose immediately broke into a warm smile, naturally taking over the conversation. "I can't believe there's a creep like that hiding in the school! It's terrifying! Good thing Kuki-kun stopped him in time, or the consequences would've been unthinkable!" As she spoke, she patted her chest, as if letting out a sigh of relief herself.

She then enthusiastically introduced herself to Sakura: "By the way, you're Sakura Airi-kun, right? I'm Ichinose Honami from Class B." She pointed at the calm-looking boy beside her. "This cool-looking classmate who saved you from danger is Shimiya Kuki-kun from our class. Are you hurt anywhere? Do you feel unwell?"

Sakura was slightly surprised that Ichinose had accurately called her name, but she shook her head, a weak smile appearing on her face. "Thanks to... thanks to Shimiya-kun showing up in time, I... I'm not injured, just... startled."

Shimiya Kuki, being addressed, merely gave a faint nod, his voice as steady and flat as ever. "No need to thank me. I just happened to be nearby and saw it, so I made it in time." His explanation was simple and direct, as if he'd done something trivial, with no hint of taking credit.

Ichinose bent down to pick up Sakura's fallen school bag. Her gaze swept over the scattered letters with twisted heart stickers on the ground, and she thought back to the man's desperate shout of "Shizuku" and Sakura's fierce reaction, "I hate you." Curiosity ultimately won out. She hesitated, then asked softly, "Um... Sakura-kun, these letters... and that man shouting 'Shizuku' just now... what's that about? Of course, you don't have to say if you don't want to!" She quickly added, afraid of touching on Sakura's pain.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka seemed about to speak up to explain for Sakura, but he paused, turning his gaze to Sakura as if asking, "Can I tell them?"

Sakura Airi kept her head down, both hands gripping her school bag straps tightly. She was silent for a few seconds. Finally, she gave a slight nod, as if she'd made up her mind. Since Ayanokoji-kun seemed to already know, telling these two who had just saved her might be okay.

With Sakura's permission, Ayanokoji explained in his usual flat tone to Ichinose and Shimiya: "Sakura Airi-kun used the stage name 'Shizuku' for a while in junior high, working as a print idol. Those letters... were probably written by that rabid fan just now. I'm afraid he happened to realize how close he was to his idol and acted out in a crazy way. Besides me, a few others in the class also know about this."

Ichinose Honami covered her mouth in surprise. "A print idol?! Shizuku? Oh my god, Sakura-kun, you were an idol?!" Her look at Sakura instantly filled with amazement and a hint of admiration.

Sakura's cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.

Ichinose immediately turned excitedly to Shimiya Kuki. "Hey hey, Kuki-kun! This is a teenage idol, you know! Aren't you surprised at all?" She was a bit "dissatisfied" with his unshakably calm demeanor.

Shimiya Kuki, called out, merely tilted his head slightly to glance at Sakura, his eyes still without much ripple, and said flatly, "I happened to come across her work before. Last time in the hallway, when Sakura-kun left, I already recognized her." He was referring to the time when Sakura had fled in panic after Ichinose greeted her.

"Huh?!" This time it was Sakura's turn to look up at Shimiya in surprise. She hadn't expected that besides Ayanokoji and a few in her class, this cool-looking Class B student had also long recognized her past identity.

Sakura's gaze shifted between Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Shimiya Kuki. One was a classmate who silently helped her and knew her secret; the other was the "hero" who had just saved her from the most dangerous situation. Their temperaments were completely different—one deep and hidden, the other cold and strong—but at this moment, they were both on her side. An unprecedented sense of security and a faint spark of courage finally seemed to dispel the thick shadow of fear from earlier. On Sakura Airi's pale face, a real smile, carrying a hint of relief and hope, slowly and effortfully bloomed.

She gently pushed up her slightly plain glasses and, in a small voice tinged with self-mockery and tentative inquiry, asked, "Um... if from tomorrow I don't wear glasses and change my hairstyle... would everyone notice...?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka looked at her and replied calmly, with a trace of very faint teasing in his tone: "Not just notice—it might cause a sensation at school... if that's okay with you."

"Whoa... that's seriously cute...! Completely different from the image with glasses!" came Ichinose Honami's delighted exclamation from the side. She had already whipped out her phone, apparently searching for something, and was now staring at the screen showing a photo of "Shizuku," whispering excitedly in joy, her face beaming like she'd found a treasure. "Sakura-kun! You're so cute without glasses! Of course, you're cute now too."

As they talked, they naturally walked out of the secluded and thrilling alley, returning to the relatively bright and open school path. The glow of the setting sun fell on them, stretching their shadows long. Ichinose was still excitedly sharing photos on her phone with Sakura, who occasionally showed a shy but relaxed smile; Ayanokoji walked calmly a bit ahead; Shimiya Kuki, as always, remained silent at the back.

In the distance, on the third-floor balcony of a cafe.

A woman with deep brown wavy long hair leaned lazily against the window. Between her slender fingers, she held a round lollipop, casually licking it with the tip of her tongue. The sweetness seemed to add a hint of playful amusement to her refined face. Her gaze was sharp as an eagle's, clearly capturing the figures of the four people emerging from the alley below, especially the black-haired boy at the back, whose expression had returned to indifference.

"Heh," she let out a light chuckle, her tongue gliding over the candy, her voice carrying a lazy, teasing tone. "Really playing the hero... his moves were clean and neat, at least he didn't waste that look of his."

Standing beside her was a girl in an exquisitely modified maid outfit, with a gentle temperament. The girl also followed her gaze, and when she saw the four walking together below—especially the pink-haired girl who seemed to have a hint of shyness (maybe looking at that cool black-haired boy?), and another girl with a bright smile who looked so warm and lively—her eyes lit up instantly! Those originally gentle eyes now seemed to have literal little stars jumping in them, filled with a blazing fire of gossip!

"Right, right!" The maid-outfit girl unconsciously cupped her cheeks, leaning forward slightly, her voice rising a bit with excitement, full of longing. "A hero saving a beauty! This is a classic scene from manga! Look, look, is that pink-haired girl sneaking glances at Shimiya-kun? Ah! And that sunny-smiling girl next to her seems really concerned about her too! The four of them walking together feels so story-like! I wonder if something touching will develop in the end? Ahhh—I really want to know what happens next!" Her mind was clearly already playing out countless romantic scenarios, her face glowing with uncontrollable excitement.

The woman with deep brown wavy long hair glanced at the excited maid beside her, rolled her eyes helplessly, and crunched the lollipop in her mouth with a crisp snap. "Better not." Her voice carried a cold sense of reality, dousing the girl's pink bubbles with cold water. "It's better for both of them." She straightened up, taking one last look at the figures fading into the distance below. "In this school, people from different tiers getting too close... isn't a good thing. It usually ends in a pretty miserable outcome." Her words carried a pointed meaning, a cold awareness of the rules.

"Eh—?! Big Sister, don't say such mood-killing things!" The maid-outfit girl stomped her foot in dissatisfaction. Though the fire of gossip in her eyes had been dampened, it clearly hadn't gone out. She still stared reluctantly at the figures below, as if trying to see through the distance to their relationships. "They clearly look like they have chemistry! Especially Shimiya-kun and that cute pink-haired girl!"

"Let's go." The woman called "Big Sister" ignored the girl's complaints, flicked the lollipop stick into a small box on the windowsill, and strode away, her figure disappearing neatly into the shadow of the stairs.

"Wait for me, Big Sister!" The maid-outfit girl took one last quick, hopeful glance downstairs, her gaze lingering especially on the "hero" whose name she knew, before, full of gossip and regret, she hurried after her, vanishing into the depths of the third-floor corridor.