Morning Photography

Whenever a day off came around, the students at Advanced Nurturing High School would sleep until late morning, not much different from students at schools outside.

Shiraishi Makoto occasionally slept in too, but today, he had gotten up before dawn, changed into casual clothes, and arrived beneath the school building.

A girl carrying a travel bag was waiting downstairs.

She wore her hair in twin tails and a pair of old-fashioned square-framed glasses. Her bangs covered the upper half of her face, and with her head constantly lowered and her back hunched, her true appearance was impossible to make out.

"G-Good morning... Shiraishi-kun." The girl had noticed Shiraishi Makoto long ago, but only nervously greeted him once he drew close.

"Good morning, Sakura." Shiraishi Makoto held out his hand. "Give me that. It doesn't look light."

"N-No, it's fine. Sorry for the trouble." Sakura Airi shook her head like a rattle, but the bag in her hands was still easily taken away by Shiraishi Makoto.

"Let's go. Where to? Your classroom?" Shiraishi Makoto asked.

"Yes..." Seeing Shiraishi Makoto holding the bag steadily, Sakura Airi lost the courage to ask for it back and could only nod like an ostrich.

Shiraishi Makoto walked ahead while Sakura Airi followed two or three meters behind him. Before long, they reached Class 1-D's classroom and pushed open the door.

Since the entire school was covered in surveillance cameras and being caught stealing would deduct Class Points, no classroom needed to be locked. That also spared them from assigning someone to get up early and unlock the classroom.

Naturally, that also made it easier for the two of them to enter.

"Where should I put this? Is it okay to put it on the floor?" Since the bag seemed packed with quite a lot of things, Shiraishi Makoto worried that its contents might spill out when it was opened. It would be bad if anything broke from falling.

"Y-Yes, that's fine. Sorry for the trouble..." Perhaps startled by Shiraishi Makoto suddenly speaking, Sakura Airi's voice trembled noticeably.

However, Shiraishi Makoto understood Sakura Airi's personality well enough. This was not a good time to comfort or reassure her, so it was best to simply act as usual.

"Please wait a moment. I need to change clothes." Sakura Airi took out the outfit she would wear today, along with a makeup bag, then hurried toward the restroom in tiny steps.

Shiraishi Makoto left the classroom instead. Being alone in Class D's classroom felt a little strange.

About ten minutes later, Sakura Airi came jogging over with her things.

"Slow down. Don't fall." Shiraishi Makoto only took a quick look from afar, not daring to stare.

Sakura's shortcomings in athletics were even worse than Ichinose's.

"Sorry... for making you wait." Sakura Airi stopped three meters in front of Shiraishi Makoto.

"This is the most common type of school uniform outside," Shiraishi Makoto said, looking her over.

Sakura Airi was not wearing the school's burgundy blazer. Instead, she wore a black blazer over a white shirt and blue tie, paired with a black pleated skirt and brown round-toed leather shoes. It was a very standard "JK" style.

Today's shooting background was a classroom, so the style suited it perfectly.

Compared to before, Sakura Airi had removed her non-prescription decorative glasses and changed to a fluffier hairstyle, allowing her burgundy hair to fall freely. Her whole aura had changed at once, transforming her into the idol "Shizuku."

"She really was beautiful. As expected of the idol 'Shizuku,'" Shiraishi Makoto praised.

Sakura Airi, when acting as "Shizuku," was probably the prettiest girl in the entire school.

"N-No, it's not that exaggerated..." Perhaps because she had never heard someone praise her like this in person, Sakura Airi lowered her head again and tightly clenched the edges of her blazer with both hands. She looked especially cute.

"Alright, alright. Let's go inside and take the photos. It'll get late soon." Seeing Sakura Airi becoming shy again, Shiraishi Makoto could only change the subject.

The two entered Class D's classroom, and Sakura Airi took a camera from her bag. Shiraishi Makoto had seen the same model in an electronics store at Keyaki Mall before. It was probably worth over 60,000 Private Points, meaning Sakura Airi had spent half the savings she had accumulated since arriving at school on this camera.

"Shiraishi-kun, do you know how to use a camera?" Sakura Airi asked softly after adjusting the settings for a while, only then remembering to ask.

"I understand the basics, like the shutter and focusing, but I've never tried adjusting the settings or changing the image texture," Shiraishi Makoto answered honestly.

"I-It's okay. I've already adjusted all of that." Sakura Airi handed him the camera along with a tripod. "Shiraishi-kun just needs to put the camera on the tripod, aim it, and press the shutter."

"No problem. How should we take the shots?" After taking the camera and familiarizing himself with it, Shiraishi Makoto asked.

"Please stand at the second seat from the right in the third row. Yes, this distance should be fine. It should capture the classroom door and the whole blackboard, right?" Once the topic turned to photography, Sakura Airi spoke much more smoothly.

"It can capture them." Shiraishi Makoto positioned the camera as instructed.

Sakura Airi stood behind the podium. Just as she was about to strike a pose, she remembered that she was not alone in the classroom, and her movements suddenly became stiff.

"What's wrong?" Shiraishi Makoto noticed the awkwardness in her movements and asked.

"N-Nothing." Seeing Shiraishi Makoto fully focused on the camera, Sakura Airi silently encouraged herself twice, then struck the pose she wanted.

The morning glow slanted through the classroom windows and spilled across the blackboard. The interplay of light and shadow added layers to the entire room. With the camera's built-in filter, Sakura Airi in the lens had shed her usual reserve and looked especially radiant and captivating.

"Three, two, one."

"Click."

The camera's shutter was quiet, yet in the silent classroom, it sounded exceptionally crisp.

"Sakura, take a look. Is this okay?" Shiraishi Makoto removed the camera from the tripod.

"Wait a moment, I'll check." Sakura Airi composed her expression and carefully accepted the camera. Her fingertips gently swiped across the screen as she reviewed the photos, and a smile gradually appeared in her eyes.

"N-No problem. Shiraishi-kun took them very well."

"Then let's continue." Shiraishi Makoto carried the tripod and moved to another position.

Under Sakura Airi's detailed guidance, he roughly understood the details that required attention in photography: lighting, angles, height, distance, composition, and so on. Sakura Airi's movements also became increasingly natural, and they took more than twenty photos in a row with good results.

"That should be enough. Thank you, Shiraishi-kun." After confirming all the photos, Sakura Airi gave Shiraishi Makoto a deep bow.

"You're welcome. It's getting late too." Shiraishi Makoto took out his phone and checked the time. "Soon, there'll be more students around the school. It really would become troublesome then."

After Sakura Airi went to the restroom to remove her makeup and change clothes, the two left the school building.

"So I still don't quite understand. Why did Sakura invite me to help with your photos?" As they neared the dormitory building, Shiraishi Makoto finally brought up his question.

"Well, because Shiraishi-kun is the only one in the whole school who knows I work as an idol, and Shiraishi-kun is very kind..." Faced with this question, Sakura Airi fidgeted for a while before giving her answer.

"Kind?" Shiraishi Makoto was somewhat surprised by that assessment. Where did this yasashii development come from?

"Didn't Shiraishi-kun support our class with 20,000 points?" Sakura Airi said softly.

It turned out that after Kushida Kikyo returned to class, she had told everyone about Class A's support and also clarified how much each student had lent.

"Uh... that was nothing." It seemed he could no longer admit that he was the main culprit behind Class D's expulsion incident.

"Also, after Shiraishi-kun learned that I was 'Shizuku,' you didn't look at me strangely, unlike the other boys."

No, that was because I had always known you were "Shizuku"...

"Selfies only allow for very few angles, and they're inconvenient too, so I wanted to try inviting Shiraishi-kun..." As she spoke, Sakura Airi seemed unable to continue and lowered her head.

"It's fine. If you need help again in the future, you can call me. As long as I'm free, I can come." The two entered the elevator.

"S-Sorry for the trouble." Sakura Airi actually used honorific language.

"You don't have to be so polite. See you next time, Sakura." When the elevator reached his floor, Shiraishi Makoto stepped out and waved.

"Goodbye, Shiraishi-kun." At the moment of parting, Sakura Airi revealed a faint smile.

After returning to his room, Shiraishi Makoto opened the door, only to find a figure standing in front of him. The next moment, a fist slammed into his arm.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shiraishi Makoto was badly startled and cursed.

However, the other person had not hit him very hard, and Shiraishi Makoto recognized her. It was Kushida Kikyo.