Yuta leaned his shoulder against the gym wall. The sun warmed the concrete in the distance, but there, in the shade, the air was cooler.
Megumi stood, backpack still on her shoulders. She didn't speak, just waited.
Yuta took a deep breath. Explaining this kind of thing wasn't easy.
"You felt like the whole world was ignoring your presence, right?"
She nodded.
"It wasn't a coincidence. It was a malignant influence. Something invisible that latches onto certain kinds of vulnerability. Most people never realize they're being drained… until it's too late."
Megumi kept her face serious.
"That's what you took out of me this morning?"
"Yes."
Silence.
He continued.
"These things don't follow rules science can measure. They're not viruses. Not diseases. They're… hidden pressures. Rotten energy, floating around, looking for weak or distracted hosts."
She furrowed her brow slightly.
"And why me?"
Yuta looked at the ground for a second.
"Because you were perfect. Alone, quiet, ignored. No one would notice if your mood shifted. If your health declined. You became invisible to the world… and that attracted the wrong kind of thing."
Megumi clenched her fist.
"I could've died, right?"
Yuta hesitated.
"Yes. But not the way you think. These entities don't kill with a knife. They erode. One piece at a time."
She took a deep breath, holding it for a moment.
"So why tell me this? Why show me something I apparently can't understand or fight?"
Yuta met her eyes.
"Because until yesterday… I was just like you."
The gym's shadow covered half his face, darkening his eyes.
"I didn't know anything. Didn't feel anything. Lived like anyone else… until I realized something was wrong. Something big. Invisible."
He paused briefly.
"I could've died too."
Megumi didn't respond right away. She just watched. Attentive.
Yuta went on.
"The difference is, no one helped me. I didn't get lucky enough to meet someone at the right moment. I just… got lucky. Lucky to be one of the few who can see these things. And, more importantly… who can destroy them."
He stepped away from the wall, moving slightly.
"It was this morning that I pulled that thing out of you. If it had taken longer… we might not even be having this conversation."
Megumi stayed serious, but her throat moved with a hard swallow.
"Are there more of those out there?"
"There are."
"Are there worse ones?"
"There are."
His answer was blunt.
Megumi crossed her arms, looking away for a moment.
"So you're in the middle of all this… alone?"
Yuta fell silent for a few seconds, staring at the ground.
"I… don't know."
She looked back at him.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know if there are others like me. Maybe there are. Maybe across Japan or even right here in Kuoh. But I've never seen them. Never met anyone."
Yuta ran a hand over the back of his neck, his voice quieter now.
"If they exist, they don't show themselves. Or they've already died trying."
The silence between them returned for a moment, broken only by the sound of a ball bouncing somewhere in the courtyard.
Megumi exhaled slowly, arms still crossed.
"I'm never going to look at anything the same way after this."
Yuta nodded, his eyes locked on hers.
"That's the price of knowing."
Megumi lowered her gaze, absorbing his words.
"You saved my life. That… I get. But now I'm stuck in this too, aren't I?"
"Maybe. Or maybe you'll just be more aware. That's already more than most people manage."
She didn't reply, just nodded.
Yuta took a step forward, closing the distance slightly.
"Look… as long as you're near me, you're safe."
The words came out simple, without dramatic flair, just a fact.
Megumi raised her eyes slowly.
Her heart tightened for a moment, not from fear—but from memory.
The voices of her classmates still echoed in her mind.
"The quiet ones are the worst."
"Her and Yuta, behind the gym…"
"It's practically official."
She looked at him. Again, that direct, steady, honest face.
'If everyone thinks that, maybe… it wouldn't be so absurd.'
A faint sound of footsteps on the grass interrupted the moment.
Aika Kiriyuu appeared from behind the gym, her face radiating blatant disappointment.
Her expression said it all.
She'd expected a different scene. Maybe something more intimate. More physical. More… scandalous.
Yuta watched her without surprise.
'Of course. She wanted to see something.'
Aika crossed her arms, still standing, narrowing her eyes.
"You two are way better behaved than the rumors suggested…"
Megumi didn't react. Didn't flinch.
"What exactly were you expecting?"
Aika laughed, a bit awkwardly.
"Nothing. Just… scientific curiosity."
She turned her head slightly, her tone shifting to practical.
"The vice-president of the student council's headed this way. I heard it in the hallway. Seems someone tipped off that people were meeting back here."
Yuta narrowed his eyes.
"Someone's trying to screw us over."
Megumi shrugged.
"So what? We didn't do anything."
Yuta, though, felt unease creeping up.
'The last thing I need is to end up on the radar of a student council that might all be devils.'
He pulled out his phone with a quick motion.
"Give me your Toknet."
Megumi raised an eyebrow.
"Now?"
"Yeah. Better settle this before we get interrupted."
She typed. He accepted.
Connection made.
Aika smirked at the sight.
"Look at that… modern couple. Now it's really official, huh?"
Megumi didn't respond.
Yuta pocketed his phone, already scanning escape routes.
Megumi gave him one last look, unhurried.
"We'll talk later. Stay with your friend there."
She turned calmly and walked off, as if there was nothing to explain.
Yuta followed her with his eyes until she rounded the corner and vanished into the side hallway.
'Cold as ever…'
Aika let out a soft whistle.
"That girl's got zero patience, huh?"
Before he could reply, she grabbed his wrist firmly.
"Come on. This way."
She pulled Yuta with ease, dragging him in the opposite direction Megumi had gone.
"If the vice-president shows up there, we're already gone. Simple."
Yuta let himself be led, not resisting.
'She's pushy… but useful.'
As they walked through the narrow hallway skirting the gym's side, Aika said casually:
"You've really changed, you know? Now you've even got a girlfriend."
Yuta glanced at her sideways.
She continued.
"And you're lucky. 'Cause she doesn't seem the jealous type. Didn't make a scene, didn't ask anything."
She smiled, her voice dropping half a tone.
"But luckier still… I'm not either."
Her eyes met his for a moment. Clear, direct.
"In fact, I kinda like it."
Yuta caught the full message. Word for word.
The way she pulled, spoke, tested boundaries.
But at the same time, a doubt nagged at the back of his mind.
'Why now? Before, no one talked to me. Not her. Not Megumi. Not anyone.'
The memories of his old body were clear. Total isolation. People avoiding contact. Voices that didn't answer.
Now… too much attention. Too fast.