Trust?

"Good evening."

Keta's eyes glowed at the familiarity of the voice, "Evening, Miori." He acknowledged her greeting.

They stood face-to-face, a couple steps away from each other.

"What's that?" Keta pointed to Miori's wrist. Sharp vermillion glares coming from the window shimmered on it.

"This's a bracelet." Miori leaned to her wrist, caressing it softly.

"Weren't you supposed to submit those downstairs?"

Her fingers froze, then it hovered over the bracelet."I'm told that a lot." She said, but didn't look at him. Again her fingers resumed.

Keta just stared at her doing so. His eyes moved from one corner to another, slowly, observing everything.

"Hm, hm, hmmm, hm... "

That's Mozart's symphony.

Keta recognised the tone, left eye glancing at her hair-covered face for a split second.

"Um, are you... A transfer student?"

Keta's eyes paused then reverted back to its initial position.

—"No."

"Which school, then? Rokuru high, maybe?" Miori's back straighted up, facing him with her side face.

"None of it. This's my first time inside a schoo—" Keta got cut off by a stern gaze aimed at his lips.

"A Academy. Careful with that." She said before taking a soft breath, "and first time? You never attended one?"

Miori's eyes twitched in surprise.

Keta paused for a moment.

"There actually was one institution that I used to attend, now it's shut down." Miori nodded, then softly returned to herself.

Keta took a left turn and strolled towards his desk. The shadow increased in length, it's torso almost all over the wall behind him.

"When's the excursion?" He tilted sideways, body leaning on front, on the desk.

"You'll come to know, soon. Very soon." Miori muttered, hair wiggling. When she faced him, Keta couldn't help but avert his eyes.

"What?"

—"Your face's glittering with light."

Miori's eyes twitched then it closed as she exhaled. For some reason she looked sort of disappointed.

Then suddenly the window shutter parallel to her left ear, moved. A strong breeze gushed in.

"Oh." Miori covered her face, the frost air hitting her cheek was too much. It continued to hit and even threatened to move her skirt up, when she moved away.

A while later the sky turned a soft shade of blue with the original yellow-red-vermillion, fading in slowly.

RIIIING. The dispersal bell screamed throughout the floor.

Waiting for the signal, Keta walked towards the door. "Bye." Miori's eyes softened. Keta paused as if noticing her eyes soften. But actually he heard a sharp crack.

My imagination, maybe?

"Hm." Keta glanced around and pulled the knob.

CLICK. The door closed, leaving only Miori and the cries of the cicadas to echo in.

"Now, then.."

Hearing his footsteps fade, Miori's usual smile disappeared. She began caressing her bracelet, a bit more sensually than she did in front of Keta.

—

DAY 2

"Good Morning, sir!"

Orahashi barged inside, the excitement overflowing on his face.

"Dude, calm down. He can hear you." A white-capped boy, sitting beside the entrance waved downwards.

Immediately Orahashi's voice was a meekly cat's. "S-Sorr—" However he was cut off by the tall, lean person standing at the teacher's desk.

"Enter." Tadano, who'd been paused from looking at his register, sternly waved at him.

Orahashi stepped in, slowly. Except his, everyother desk was occupied.

"One more second and you'd be late." The register shuddered as Tadano grazed a whitener on it, probably beside his name.

"Did he start anything..?" Orahashi paused for a split second.

"Yes. Attendance—"

"Keta, speak and you are marked absent."

Keta kept quiet. Orahashi moved on. The class turned their heads on the two, as if they were convicts.

"Respond in your desks... Kawaguchi."

The silence toned down. The first sound of movement came from the back.

CLICK.

"Present." Said the boy from the back. Keta waited for a few more names, while his own desk properly booted up.

I even left it in standby yesterday. Keta pressed the power button a bunch of times, but the screen was still stuck at the startup.

"Keta."

His name was announced.

"Uh, present." Keta spoke, uncertain.

"I didn't receive your response from the desk."

"Yes, about that—"

As he was about explain the problem he faced, another student spoke up.

"My desk isn't turning on, sir." Miori's brows drooped, lips curled into annoyance.She'd the same uncertainty as him except it was mixed with a undertone that only Keta understood.

"Not turning on, how—" Tadano raised a brow, about to walk out and check when—

"Mine too!"

Another girl sitting parallel to Miori raised up her hand.

Soon many more hands from the back, were raised.

"Is it hacked?" The same boy at the doorside, murmured. Keta considered it.

Not with 256-bit encryption in it. Keta turned towards Miori and then slowly to the other students. According to the Guidebook of this institution, this was the highest calibre of cyber security offered here, even in the simplest electronic devices.

"Perfect time, Keta..!"

He heard a desperate voice whisper in his ear, relentlessly tapping the right shoulder.

"Wha—"

"Listen." Orahashi pulled his head, towards his face. It was only a few seconds until Tadano turned his eyes back.

"After class—" He started, eyes darting around, as if checking for a intruder listening in.

"— At the Eastern hallway."

The murmurs of the students toned up too high, making the previous words inaudible to Keta.

Meet him there?

However they were easy to guess.

Keta nodded, but with caution laid in his usual neutral tone, "If only we aren't late to the lab." He said, reminding each other the Lab Instructor's face.

"... You can count on me." Orahashi quickly pushed his head back, worried if Tadano saw them whispering.

Not really. Keta wasn't convinced by that tough smile and a thumbs up that Orahashi gestured.

It takes more than that, for you to have me rely on you.