The following day passed with an unusual heaviness in the air. Mushi couldn't explain it, but from the moment he woke up that morning, something about the day felt different. The sky outside his window had been unusually clear, painted in a pale blue that seemed almost too calm, as if the world was holding its breath before something inevitable happened. He tried to ignore the strange feeling as he made his way to school, convincing himself that it was nothing more than leftover irritation from yesterday's encounter with the transfer student.
Yet the moment he stepped into the hallway at Kurohana High, his eyes instinctively searched the crowd.
And found him.
Nagasaki stood near the window again, almost exactly where he had been the day before. The morning light streamed behind him, outlining his tall frame in a soft glow that made him look strangely distant from everyone else around him. Students passed by, whispering quietly about him, stealing curious glances, but Nagasaki seemed completely unaffected by the attention. His posture remained relaxed, his expression calm, as if the noise of the hallway simply didn't matter to him.
Mushi quickly looked away before their eyes could meet again.
He had no intention of repeating yesterday's strange moment.
Classes began as usual, and for most of the morning, nothing particularly unusual happened. But every now and then, Mushi could feel it, that quiet awareness of Nagasaki sitting beside him. Even when he tried focusing on his notes or the teacher's lecture, there was always the faint sensation of being watched.
Not constantly.
Just enough to make him notice.
It was irritating.
By the time lunch arrived, Mushi felt strangely restless. Instead of following Ren and the others to the courtyard like he normally did, he found himself wandering the quieter parts of the school building. His footsteps echoed softly in the nearly empty hallway as he walked past the stairwell that led to the upper floors.
He stopped.
For some reason, Nagasaki's voice from yesterday echoed faintly in his mind.
"The rooftop. You should visit it sometime."
Mushi clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Why am I even thinking about that?"
Still, his feet moved.
The stairwell was quiet as he climbed, the sound of his shoes tapping lightly against the concrete steps. With every step upward, the noise of the school faded further away until the only sound left was the faint rush of wind somewhere above.
At the top of the staircase stood a heavy metal door.
The rooftop door.
Mushi hesitated for a moment.
Most students didn't come up here during lunch.
That was exactly why he liked quiet places like this.
After a brief pause, he pushed the door open.
The rooftop greeted him with a sudden rush of wind.
It was stronger than he expected, carrying the cool scent of the open sky as it swept across the wide concrete space. The city stretched far beyond the school walls, buildings rising in the distance beneath the bright afternoon sun. The wind tugged gently at his uniform as he stepped forward, squinting slightly against the light.
For a moment, he thought he was alone.
Then he saw him.
Nagasaki stood near the metal safety fence at the edge of the rooftop, looking out over the city below. His long black coat shifted softly in the wind, the dark fabric moving like a shadow around him. His dark hair lifted slightly with the breeze, revealing those unmistakable blue eyes as he slowly turned his head.
He had already noticed Mushi.
Of course he had.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
The wind moved between them, carrying the quiet tension in the air.
Finally, Mushi sighed.
"So you planned this or something?"
Nagasaki tilted his head slightly, studying him with that same calm curiosity.
"Planned?"
"You told me to come to the rooftop yesterday."
Nagasaki's lips curved faintly.
"I didn't tell you to come today."
"…You're annoying."
Mushi walked a few steps closer, stopping several feet away from him. Up here, the sounds of the school felt distant and unimportant. The world below continued moving as usual, but the rooftop felt strangely separate from it all.
Nagasaki rested one arm casually against the fence.
"The wind is stronger today," he said quietly.
Mushi frowned.
"You brought me up here to talk about the wind?"
"I didn't bring you here."
Mushi opened his mouth to argue but stopped.
Technically, Nagasaki wasn't wrong.
He had come up here on his own.
That realization annoyed him even more.
For a moment, they stood there in silence again. The wind tugged at Mushi's messy hair while Nagasaki's coat fluttered softly behind him.
Then Nagasaki spoke again.
"You were curious."
Mushi crossed his arms.
"About what?"
"About me."
Mushi scoffed.
"Not really."
Nagasaki stepped away from the fence and walked slowly toward him.
The distance between them closed in only a few seconds.
Up close, Mushi could see the exact shade of those blue eyes, clear and sharp, almost unnatural against the calm expression on his face.
"You looked at me three times yesterday," Nagasaki said quietly.
Mushi blinked.
"…You were counting?"
"I notice things."
The wind blew harder for a moment, rustling the fabric of their uniforms.
Mushi looked away first.
"…You're still weird."
But this time, his voice sounded slightly less confident.
Nagasaki leaned closer just enough for Mushi to feel the subtle shift in the air between them.
"And you're interesting."
Mushi immediately stepped back.
"Okay, that's enough."
Nagasaki watched him with quiet amusement.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
"I'm not avoiding you."
"You are."
"…I just don't like people who stare."
For the first time, Nagasaki's expression softened slightly.
"I'm not staring."
"Then what are you doing?"
Nagasaki's gaze held his steadily.
"Observing."
Mushi sighed heavily.
"You make it sound creepy."
"Does it bother you?"
"…Yes."
Nagasaki seemed to consider that for a moment.
Then he said quietly, "Good."
Mushi blinked.
"…What?"
But Nagasaki had already turned back toward the fence, looking out over the city again as if the conversation had ended.
The wind continued moving across the rooftop, carrying a strange tension that neither of them fully understood yet.
But one thing was certain.
This meeting was only the beginning.
And somewhere deep inside, Mushi could already feel it.
Something had started between them on that rooftop.
Something neither of them would be able to stop.