After Classes

I woke up to my phone alarm going off. When I rolled over to turn it off, I noticed that Sakuno was already up and about. He poked his head out of the washroom door.

"Oh, hey," he said with a mouth full of bubbles. "Finally awake, eh?"

"What time is it...?" I groaned.

"Uh... Seven thirty in the morning. Don't you have a class at eight?"

"Ah, shit. Yeah."

I pulled my blanket to the side and sat up, throwing my arms up for a stretch. The memory of yesterday began replaying in my head again. No matter what I tried to do to get it out of my head, it wouldn't stop. Even during the mission that Sakuno called me for, I was nowhere near as focused as I should've been. Still, we succeeded, so all's well that ends well, I suppose.

Dammit... That's not going to go away for a while. I picked up my phone to turn off my other alarm that was set to go off in ten minutes, but I paused when I saw a notification from Line.

A message from Ayaka? Looks like she wasn't done just yet. For an hour past midnight, we kept going back-and-forth nonstop. It wasn't that bad. I always stay up late anyway, and our conversation gave me a decent reason this time.

I scrolled back to the bottom to read Ayaka's most recent message.

Ayaka: "Stop sleeping and get up."

This was sent about fifteen minutes ago.

Me: "I don't know who you think you are, but I'll wake up when I want to."

I dropped the phone on my bed and prepared myself to get up. Unexpectedly, it began to ring the moment I stood up. I answered the call and held it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Boo!" she said. "Hehe, were you surprised when I called you?"

"Hah. Just a little bit. You reacted pretty quickly there. Were you just sitting on your ass doing nothing?"

"Hey! I was doing something! You can't see it, but I have my homework right in front of me. I bet you don't even do your homework."

"The hell? Of course I do."

"Bet you're failing your classes."

"... No, I'm not."

"Really? You don't sound so sure."

"I'm sure."

No, I most definitely am not passing any of my classes. It's not like I don't try. My brain is just wired differently. Numbers and words don't come to me as naturally as it does for normal people.

"Hey, hey, when are you free today?" asked Ayaka.

"Let's see... Chemistry is my last class of the day, and that ends at three," I said.

"Which building?"

"Uh... Four, I think."

"Great! I'll meet you outside at three."

"Are we going somewhere again?"

"Hmmm...? Was yesterday not enough for you? As if pinning a helpless girl to the floor wasn't already bad on your end. Now you're looking for another chance?"

"W-what are you on about? I told you, that was purely an accident!"

"Hahaha! I'm kidding. Don't worry, I'm not holding anything against you. Anyway, I was just planning to walk around for a bit. Maybe take a look at the festival grounds to make sure that everything is set? Unless you wanna go somewhere, then I'm down for that too, but you're choosing this time."

"I'm not exactly the best at picking hangout spots."

"Then it's settled. We'll just take a walk together. If you come up with an idea later, then we'll talk about it."

"Sounds good to me."

"Alright! See you then, Tsuki."

Yeah. See you later, Taiyori."

She hung up. I couldn't help but smile. Plans with the 'Belle of Campus,' huh? Sounds interesting enough. If it's anything like all the other times, then perhaps I'll enjoy it.

"Damn, bro. Who's got you smiling like that?" Sakuno grinned hideously. "Oh, wait... I think already know."

"Shut up," I sighed.

"Dude, there's no way you're still trying to tell me otherwise. It was flawlessly etched into the stars. Each light, a tale to be told of the greatest love story in the making! The beauty and the beast, enemies to lovers! Just say it. You, Tsuki no Ran, have feelings for Taiyori Ayaka! Ahhh... My heart..."

"Have you been taking theatrical lessons with Ai no Uta?"

"Hey, man. What can I say? She rubbed off on me."

This time, I couldn't even disagree with him. Considering how I felt about her at the beginning, my opinions have taken a drastic turn. The back and forth arguments I used to think were annoying have now become what I look forward to, just to hear her voice.

At this point, I can't keep denying it. Taiyori Ayaka... What have you done to me?

Soon, it was time for classes to be in session. Like always, I tried to pay as much attention as my brain could allow, but I still retained nothing.

In the end, I left no smarter than I was when I went in. I was right. School just isn't for me, but at least there was one silver lining.

I stepped out of the science building and began making my way down the stairs. My head turned left and right, but I didn't see Ayaka. Did she forget that we were supposed to meet here?

A part of me wanted to send her a text, but that might seem too weird. I'll just wait a bit. We only recently started talking. There's no need for me to rush anything.

For a while, I waited in front of the building, but she never came. Did she fall asleep? Maybe something came up.

I pulled out my phone to check the time. The lock screen read, '4:23 PM.' I've been waiting for almost an hour and a half now. I gave in to my impatience and sent her a text.

Me: "Hey, did you fall asleep or something?"

No reply. Strange. She usually takes no more than a minute to answer. Her Line activity isn't exactly 'booming' as one would call it. To my knowledge, she has notifications turned on for me, Saki, and Misha. The rest are either muted or blocked.

Maybe I should just call her. If she yells at me, then I'll just counter it with the fact that she forgot.

I held the phone to my ear as it rang. Each second that passed felt like hours.

"Huh..." I muttered under my breath. "Did she really fall asleep?"

Oh, well. It's not like I can expect any more from her. I'll just be happy with what I currently have.

As I began walking away, my phone suddenly rang. There she is. I wonder what caused her to forget. However, when I looked at the caller, it wasn't Ayaka.

I picked up and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Tsuki," Saki said, but her voice sounded somewhat frantic. "Is Ayaka with you right now?"

"Hm? No, she's not. Is something wrong?"

Just like that, her troubled tone became much more obvious. "Oh, shit... Oh, no... F-fuck..."

"Hey, Shiro. Calm down. Tell me what's going on."

"Okay, okay... Um... Earlier today, Ayaka was on the phone with me. She was walking around at the mall, shopping for new clothes and whatnot. But then, she suddenly hung up, and I haven't been able to reach her since."

"How long ago was this?"

"Half past noon. Four hours ago."

Suddenly, an uneasy chill rapidly made its way throughout my entire body. Countless scenarios appeared in my head, and none of them were good. No way... Did something really happen to her?

"She told me that she had plans with you after your classes today, so that's why I was hoping she'd be with you," Saki mumbled. "S-should we call the police?"

"No, don't," I quickly said. "I'll handle it."

"Eh?! But how are you gonna find her?! W-what she got kidnapped or something, and the people holding her are dangerous?!"

"Shiro."

I took a deep breath and steadied myself. Slowly, my heartbeat decelerated. What's done is done. Now, I have to remain calm.

"No matter what, I'm going to bring Taiyori home safe and sound."

"Tsuki... As much as I want to trust you, this is beyond us. What are you even going to do?"

"I have friends in places you wouldn't expect. Please, trust me."

She remained silent for a bit. I don't blame her. We have reasonable suspicion to assume that something happened to Ayaka, and she's panicking.

"Okay, Tsuki," she finally said. "But if I don't hear from you or her by tonight, then I'm going to call the police."

"Understood. Try not to worry too much. She'll be home by tonight. I promise."

Right as she hung up, I immediately began scrolling through my contact list and called one of the unnamed contacts toward the top.

"Hello?" the soft yet menacing voice of a woman answered.

"Mujihina no Hato," I said. "It's me."

"...You've never once been the first to make contact, Tsuki no Ran. Did something happen?"

"Yeah. I need your help. There's no one I know who's better at surveillance hacking than you. If you're willing, that is."

"Hah... Why are you asking, kid? We're family. Just say the word, and we will always answer to the Hunt... just as you've always done for us."