The afternoon dismissal bell had barely faded.
Akiyama Shin and Horikita Suzune headed one after the other toward the corner of the first-floor hallway in the school building.
It was the route Sakura Airi took every day after school, and also the place where she was most likely to slip away.
Sure enough, as soon as they reached the corner, they saw her with her head lowered, hurriedly inching toward the stairs as if afraid of being noticed.
"Wait."
Horikita Suzune spoke first. Her voice was not loud, but it was clear enough in the gradually quieting hallway.
Sakura Airi froze abruptly, her shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly.
Her arms tightened around her schoolbag, and she lowered her head even further. Her bangs covered most of her face, and she seemed to be trying to shrink herself into an inconspicuous pebble.
When she slowly raised her head and saw the two people blocking her way, her body instantly stiffened, as though someone had pressed pause.
Her gaze first swept quickly over Horikita Suzune. Panic flashed through those eyes that always carried a trace of timidity before they slowly shifted to Akiyama Shin.
Akiyama Shin still wore that nearly expressionless look, yet merely standing there gave him a presence no one could ignore.
As Sakura Airi looked at him, there was a faint longing hidden in her eyes, one so subtle that even she had not noticed it herself.
It was an emotion that had built up after secretly watching him for so long. But more than that, she was panicked at being stopped on the spot, like a child caught after doing something wrong.
A light blush rose to her cheeks involuntarily. Her lips moved faintly as she had already prepared an excuse in her heart.
"I... I have something to