Unexpected Hidden Figure

The pale streetlights shone on the railing by the lake. The trees between the Artificial Lake and the Dormitory Building rustled in the wind.

Amasawa Yuto looked around. Everything seemed no different from before.

Had that brief sense of unease just been his nerves playing tricks on him?

"Looks like I'm a little tired today."

Amasawa Yuto let out a breath and spoke softly.

That was Amasawa from her class, wasn't it?

She sat with her back against a tree, desperately holding her breath. She was quite confident in her ability to go unnoticed, but this was the first time she'd run into someone at this hour.

Why was Amasawa, a classmate, here at this time?

Panic flared briefly in her heart. Had he noticed her daily routine and come looking for her?

No, no, impossible. She and Amasawa had never had anything to do with each other—

"Looks like I'm a little tired today."

Hearing Amasawa say that, she let out a long breath.

Thank goodness. Thank goodness he hadn't noticed her.

Relief washed over her, but she also felt a little disappointed.

She hadn't been noticed again. Even now, she still hadn't been noticed.

No, if she walked right out into the open, Amasawa would notice her, wouldn't he?

She was hiding now. She had no right to feel disappointed.

She couldn't relax yet. She had to make sure Amasawa had left.

Trembling, she peered out from behind the tree without making a sound.

The lakeside was empty. Only the pale streetlights blinked mechanically.

At last, her tense body relaxed.

She'd been so nervous... Amasawa had actually been here. He'd given her quite a scare.

All right. Thankfully, Amasawa hadn't noticed her. Tonight, just like always, would be time that belonged to her alone—

She felt an emotion she couldn't quite name: disappointment, or maybe relief.

If Amasawa had noticed her just now, would that have been closer to what she wanted?

Suddenly, someone clamped a hand over her mouth from behind.

An unimaginable force dragged her back into the woods and pinned her against a tree. She struggled desperately to break free, but the other person didn't budge.

Her frail strength was like an ant trying to shake a tree.

"Who are you...?"

The other person's voice sounded familiar. At last, she realized who it was and stopped struggling.

"If I remember right, you're Yamamura Miki, in my class, aren't you?"

"Um... A-Amasawa... that hurts. Could you let go first...?"

Amasawa Yuto subdued Yamamura Miki in an instant. He twisted her arms behind her back and held them in one hand.

His other hand gripped the back of her neck, pressing her face-first against the tree trunk.

The rough bark scraped her cheek. Amasawa was using so much force that she couldn't move, and the pain nearly brought tears to her eyes.

Suddenly, the pressure on her eased. Yamamura Miki sank to the ground, only then realizing that her legs had gone too weak to support her.

"Sorry. I was a little rough." Amasawa Yuto stepped back, putting about three meters between himself and Yamamura Miki.

"I-I'm sorry. I hid without thinking." Yamamura gasped for breath.

"Amasawa... you actually noticed me..."

Amasawa Yuto nodded. "You were hiding very well. If it weren't for me, you probably wouldn't have been found tonight."

"Everyone in class... hardly ever notices me..." Yamamura's voice sounded forlorn.

Amasawa Yuto looked over Yamamura Miki as she sat on the ground. Her dark green hair was tied in a long side ponytail. Her features were quite neat—not strikingly beautiful, but pleasant to look at.

The girl usually had so little presence that tonight was the first time Amasawa Yuto had ever noticed her.

She was the kind of person someone might bump into while walking, then exclaim, "Oh! I didn't realize anyone was here!"

He'd never once noticed this girl in class, and hadn't even felt that anyone was missing from his view.

In other words, if the phone call tonight hadn't put Amasawa Yuto on alert, he might never have noticed Yamamura Miki hiding there.

With a talent for staying hidden like that, she could become an assassin.

"So, Yamamura, what are you doing out here so late?"

Amasawa Yuto could tell the girl in front of him wasn't very assertive, so he decided to take control of the conversation before she could ask him why he was there.

"I... I..." Yamamura hesitated.

Amasawa Yuto waited for her to speak.

Although her ability to stay hidden was impressive, given her temperament, Amasawa Yuto really didn't think anyone had sent her to work against him.

Besides, he'd suddenly changed his route today and gone out at midnight. That was how he'd run into Yamamura.

Could this be something she did regularly? Going out at midnight, when the school was empty?

"Do you often come out for a walk around this time, Yamamura?"

"Yes..." Yamamura replied timidly. "Because I... really like the atmosphere by the lake... I like being alone... So I often come out here in the middle of the night and sit by myself for a while..."

So that was it.

"Amasawa!" Yamamura suddenly raised her voice, but seemed to lose her nerve almost at once, and her voice grew quiet again.

"Amasawa... you noticed me... that's amazing... Because I have so little presence, no one ever notices me... Actually, there's a reason I come out so late. If there's no one around, then I won't feel sad about being ignored.

"Someone like me... would be better off dead, wouldn't I...?"

Amasawa Yuto listened in silence.

She'd probably been ignored so often that her confidence had been completely worn away.

That was why she spent time alone, shutting herself off from everyone. The more she withdrew, the more she was ignored, until it became a vicious cycle.

But it would be such a waste not to make good use of her talent for going unnoticed.

Yamamura Miki had already proven that she possessed an incomparable talent—she could even evade his own perception.

At this school, the number of people who could detect her following them wouldn't be more than five.

With that thought, Amasawa Yuto spoke. "I need your help. I don't know if you'd be willing, Yamamura."

"You... need help from someone like me...?" Yamamura looked up.

"Yeah. There's something I really want to ask you to help me with, and you're the only one who can help."

"I'll do my best!" Yamamura nodded firmly.

"Aren't you going to ask what I want you to do?"

"Amasawa is the first—the first person who's ever noticed me, the first person who's ever told me that only Yamamura can help. So... I want to do everything I can to live up to your expectations!"

"All right, Yamamura. Let's exchange contact information first. I'll tell you what I need by email later. It's gotten late."

"Ah... okay. I'm really sorry for taking up your time, Amasawa..."

She seemed a little dazed, not even realizing she could ask Amasawa why he was here.

But that was part of what made Yamamura Miki endearing.