A Strange Senior

The two walked along the shopping street for a while before turning into a quiet alley.

The bookstore was small, with a wooden signboard and several new releases displayed in its glass window.

When they pushed the door open, the bell chimed softly. There were few customers inside, and the air carried a blend of paper and old wood.

Hiyori headed straight for the counter. Miyama Saku followed behind her, his gaze sweeping over the rows of bookshelves.

"Shiina, are you here to pick up your books?" the owner behind the counter greeted them with a smile.

"Yeah. Sorry for the trouble."

The owner brought out a brown paper parcel from the back and set it on the counter. "Both of them arrived."

Hiyori peeled back one corner to check whether the titles on the spines were correct.

"Thank you."

Miyama Saku leaned in for a look. They had hardcovers and gold-stamped spines. One was A Study in Scarlet, the other The Hound of the Baskervilles, with the words "Collector's Edition" printed at the bottom of each cover.

"Sherlock Holmes?"

"Yeah." Hiyori wrapped the books up again, then tilted her head toward him. "What is it?"

"I thought you'd already read both of these."

"They're collector's editions. I finally have the means to buy them."

Her tone was flat as she said it, but her fingers gently brushed the edge of the parcel, as if confirming that it truly belonged to her now.

Miyama Saku glanced at her. Hiyori usually seemed indifferent to everything; this was the first time he had seen her like this.

"You really like Sherlock Holmes?"

"Yeah." Hiyori held the books in her arms, her eyes resting on the parcel.

"When I was little, I borrowed one from the library and read it over and over. Later, I wanted to buy a copy to keep, but I didn't have the money then."

"You should have told me when we were kids. I could've given you a whole set."

"We didn't know each other then. Besides, after we met, you gave me lots of things too."

"Let's leave it at that. No more talk about this."

After paying, the two left the bookstore one after the other. The afternoon sunlight had softened, falling over Hiyori's paper bag and giving its brown edges a warm glow.

"Saku."

"Yeah?"

"Are you really sure the exams will be fine? I don't want you to get expelled."

"Don't worry. I don't currently plan on getting expelled."

Hiyori turned her head slightly as the wind lifted the loose strands by her ears.

The two headed back through the alley and turned onto the shopping street. More than half of lunch break had passed, and there were far more students on the street than before, gathered in twos and threes outside the shops.

When they reached the corner at the end of the street, Hiyori suddenly stopped.

Miyama Saku followed her gaze. Not far ahead, two girls emerged from a convenience store and hurried toward them.

"Shiina, we finally found you."

Hiyori gave a slight nod. "What is it?"

The girl with the ponytail glanced at Miyama Saku, then looked away and leaned close to Hiyori to whisper a few words. Miyama Saku could not hear clearly, but he saw Hiyori's brow twitch slightly.

"Now?" Hiyori asked.

"Yeah, afternoon classes are about to start, and the two of us really can't figure it out." The short-haired girl came over too, pressing her hands together. "Please, Shiina. We only need you to explain a few questions during lunch break."

Hiyori fell silent for two seconds, then turned toward Miyama Saku.

"Saku, I..."

"Go ahead. Class is about to start anyway."

Hiyori looked at him, then softly said, "Yeah." She followed the two girls for a couple of steps, then stopped and looked back.

"If there are any questions you can't do, make sure you ask me."

"Got it."

Hiyori said nothing more and turned toward her classmates. The ponytailed girl immediately hooked her arm through Hiyori's, still chattering about something.

The three of them quickly disappeared into the crowd of students on the street. Hiyori's light-colored hair was sandwiched between two dark heads, bobbing twice before vanishing from sight.

"Back to class, then." Miyama Saku was about to head back to the classroom to rest when, after only a few steps, he heard someone call out.

"Hey, you over there."

Had someone called him that earlier today too?

He looked around. There did not seem to be anyone nearby except him.

"Yeah, you."

The voice came from behind and to the side.

Miyama Saku turned around.

A tall girl leaned against a vending machine by the roadside. One hand was tucked into her uniform jacket pocket, while the other held an unopened can of coffee.

Her silver-white hair fell over her shoulders, and a headband swept her bangs to one side, revealing a sharply defined face. Her violet eyes were slightly narrowed, as though appraising something.

She lounged against the vending machine, yet somehow seemed to take up space, as if this entire half of the corridor were her territory.

Miyama Saku did not know her.

"Need something?"

She did not answer right away, merely tilting her head as she examined him.

Her gaze slowly traveled across his face, from his eyes and brows to his jaw, as though she were inspecting something displayed in a shop window. Then she let out a soft "Hmm."

"You're the guy who got zero on the exam and still made that so-called Beautiful Girl Ranking?"

"Interesting. A guy, zero points, and a beautiful girl ranking."

She pulled open the tab on her coffee, took a sip, and smacked her lips as if savoring something. "The moment I heard about it, I wanted to come see for myself."

"Done looking?"

"Yeah." She looked at him again, more closely this time. Her gaze lingered on his face for two seconds, and the corner of her mouth curved slightly. The expression was so faint that it was hard to tell whether she was smiling or just annoyed. "You're much prettier in person than in the photos."

After saying that, she took another sip of coffee.

"Should I thank you for the compliment?"

"You're welcome, but a face is just something to look at."

She casually tossed the empty can. It traced an arc through the air and landed neatly in a trash can several meters away.

She clapped her hands as if brushing off dust that was not there. "What I'm more curious about is how you got zero."

"You just turn in a blank paper."

Kiryūin Fūka shook her head. Silver strands slid down from her shoulder, and she casually brushed them back.

"Did you know everything and just not feel like writing, or did you know nothing and decide not to write at all? Which was it?"

Miyama Saku glanced at her but did not answer.

"Not going to say?" She did not seem to care. She pulled several crumpled sheets of paper from her pocket and tossed them over.

"Take them."

Miyama Saku caught them instinctively. When he unfolded them, he found midterm practice papers covered in densely packed questions.

"Last year's midterm papers. The question types are pretty similar to this year's."

She pulled her other hand out of her pocket as well, crossing her arms as she leaned against the vending machine.

"Why are you giving me these?"

"Take them and see how you do."

"Because if you turn in another blank paper on the midterms, or fail and get expelled, that'd be boring."

"..."

"Oh, right."

Kiryūin turned her head toward him, her violet eyes looking at him from close range. Her lips formed a tiny curve, as if she had finally found something mildly interesting.

"If you can't solve them, you can come find me."

Before Miyama Saku could answer, she had already started walking, waving at him with her back turned. Her silver hair swept in an arc as she turned away.

The white-haired figure soon disappeared.

Miyama Saku stood where he was, looking down at the test papers in his hands.

"Are upperclassmen all this strange? She didn't even tell me her name, yet she wants me to find her?"