Back in the Class D classroom, Sakura Airi collapsed into her seat as if all her strength had been drained away. Chabashira Sae's refusal had once again left her isolated and helpless.
"Natsukawa-kun... What should I do...?" Her voice was filled with despair. "Even the teacher... even she can't help me..."
Natsukawa Sosuke set his schoolbag on his desk, then turned to face her, his gaze deep and calm.
"Sakura, you heard her. The school's logic is this: until a crisis occurs, they won't waste resources." He laid bare the harsh reality before her.
"What you need to do now is make sure you can protect yourself when a crisis happens."
Sakura Airi looked up in confusion, her wide eyes full of questions.
He leaned toward her slightly and met her gaze. His voice was encouraging and reassuring. "I can't stay by your side all the time, but you can give yourself another way to stay safe."
"Starting today, how about you run with me every morning?"
Sakura Airi froze. Her body, utterly unaccustomed to exercise, instinctively resisted the idea.
"Running will help improve your fitness, so your legs won't give out when you need to escape." Natsukawa's voice had an encouraging rhythm to it. "More importantly, running on the track will help you get used to moving around in front of other people, and ease your embarrassment and nervousness. It's the simplest and most effective way to feel less anxious around others."
He reached out and gently touched her shoulder. "This is something you have to do for yourself. No one else can improve your abilities for you. But if you're willing, I'll go with you and give you the opportunity."
Sakura Airi looked at him, her mind racing through the pain of running on the track and the fear of being harassed by the stalker. In the end, her fear of the stalker outweighed the pain. She realized this might be the only lifeline she could grab hold of herself.
She nodded slightly. "Okay... I... I'm willing."
The next morning, at exactly seven.
As the first rays of daylight struggled to pierce the dense mist among the trees outside the dormitory, Natsukawa Sosuke's door opened.
Sakura Airi stood neatly in the hallway. She was more prepared than the day before—she'd changed into sneakers, and a white T-shirt could be seen beneath her school tracksuit. Her head was still bowed, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes.
"Morning."
"G-good morning... Natsukawa-kun."
Natsukawa said nothing more. He nodded for her to follow, then headed straight for the elevator.
The two of them made their way downstairs in silence and followed the main path toward the school's athletic field. The campus was cold in the early morning, and only a handful of students from the sports clubs were out training.
"Let's start with some simple stretches." Natsukawa stopped by the track and began to loosen up. He gave Sakura no instructions, simply doing the exercises himself.
Sakura Airi stood frozen, unsure what to do. She had never done anything so "attention-grabbing" in public. Her body began to tense instinctively, and she nervously scanned her surroundings, afraid someone might look at her.
"Sakura."
As Natsukawa stretched his side, he turned his head toward her. His voice was as gentle as a breeze skimming across a lake.
"What are you doing right now?"
"I..." Sakura Airi immediately lowered her head. "I don't know..."
"You're afraid people around you will notice you," Natsukawa calmly pointed out, identifying the fear at the heart of it. "So you've chosen to stand still, hoping you can blend into the background."
He slowly straightened up. There wasn't a trace of blame in his eyes, only gentle guidance. "But, Sakura, the more afraid you are of being noticed, the more rigid your body becomes. The more out of place you look, the more likely you are to draw people's attention."
"We're not here to play hide-and-seek. We're here to get used to this."
Natsukawa spoke like a patient mentor, guiding her toward an understanding of her own behavior.
"You don't need to look at anyone else. Just look at me." He turned slightly, his posture relaxed. "Follow my movements, one at a time. If someone looks at you, it'll only be because you're exercising. That's perfectly normal."
Sakura Airi slowly and hesitantly raised her head. In Natsukawa's calm gaze, her blue eyes found a little support. She bit her lower lip and finally took her first step.
Her movements were stiff and clumsy. Every bend and stretch felt like a struggle against her own body. She didn't even dare stretch all the way, afraid that moving too much would draw attention.
Natsukawa waited patiently until she had managed to finish a few stretches.
"All right." Natsukawa said, then stepped onto the track.
"We won't run too fast. We'll go at a pace that doesn't feel too painful for you. Let's start with one lap, okay?"
"O-one lap..." Sakura Airi's voice trembled. Ever since she was a child, she had always wanted to give up halfway through her running tests.
"That's right, one lap." There was no pressure in Natsukawa's voice. "Don't feel pressured, Sakura. We're not here to push your limits. We're here to help you get used to running."
"When you can focus completely on the track beneath your feet, your breathing, and your heartbeat as you run, instead of on the eyes around you, you'll have succeeded."
"Now, make my back your only focus."
Natsukawa didn't wait for her reply. He took the first step, keeping his pace slow enough for Sakura to follow easily.
Sakura Airi took a deep breath, steeled herself, and fixed her eyes on Natsukawa's upright figure as she began to run.
Her strides were short and unsteady, each one a struggle.
After only half a lap, Sakura Airi's breathing grew ragged and hurried. Her poor stamina caught up with her almost at once. Her lungs began to burn, and her legs felt as heavy as lead. Every sound around her seemed to grow louder, and she felt as though every student passing by was laughing at her clumsy running.
She wanted to stop. It was an instinct etched into her bones.
Just as she began to slow down, Natsukawa's voice came from ahead and to the side, unhurried, as if he had anticipated her struggle.
"Sakura, how many times is your heart beating per minute right now?"
The unexpected question pulled Sakura Airi's mind out of its attempt to escape and forced it into thinking.
"I... I... don't know..."
"Then count your breaths." Natsukawa's voice remained steady, with a strangely guiding quality. "One, two, three, breathe in. Four, five, breathe out. Just count."
Sakura Airi struggled to shift her attention from her lungs, which felt ready to burst, to this simple number game. She began counting mechanically: in, in, in... out, out...
This simple way of shifting her attention didn't make her run any faster, but it did temporarily shore up her body, which was nearing its limit. She was still exhausted, but she didn't stop.
When they had finally completed a lap, Natsukawa stopped. Sakura Airi nearly fell onto the track. She braced her hands on her knees and gasped for breath, sweat soaking the hair on her forehead.
"Good job, Sakura." There was a hint of quiet praise in Natsukawa's voice—not overdone, but just enough to reach the part of Sakura that longed for recognition.
"You didn't stop."
Sakura Airi looked up. Her blue eyes, blurred by sweat, were filled with shock and a hint of disbelieving pride. For the first time, she had truly run a whole lap by her own strength.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll run two laps." Natsukawa didn't give her much time to relax before setting a new goal. His voice was gentle, but the goal was firm.
"But for now, let's go back to the dorm, wash up, and head to class." He handed her a bottle of water.
Sakura Airi took the bottle and held it tightly. She knew Natsukawa Sosuke hadn't given her one-time comfort; he'd shown her a path she could walk on her own. And instead of hiding behind him, she was slowly learning to follow in his footsteps.
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