"Takamine… went out with Misaki again?"
"If you're that worried, you could just follow them."
"E-eh!? I-I'm not worried about Takamine and Misaki's relationship, really I'm not…"
"I didn't even say anything yet."
From the classroom, the students saw Mei pulling Rinji away.
Since the two of them had previously been treated as nonexistent, everyone thought it natural for them to stick together.
Sakuragi Yukari watched Rinji leave with Mei, feeling strangely conflicted.
Her hesitation, wanting to ask but lacking courage, was naturally noticed by her friend Akazawa.
"Izumi… do you think Takamine and Misaki are a couple?"
"Doesn't look like it."
"Really?"
"…You look way too happy right now."
"No, it's just…"
"Since Takamine saved you once, it's natural to feel that way."
Akazawa smiled, turning her gaze toward the direction Rinji left.
"Though he came in with such an overbearing attitude and seemed hard to deal with, after these weeks you can tell he's not that cold of a guy. And besides, he gives off this strange sense of security. That's…"
Halfway through, Akazawa caught herself and noticed Yukari staring curiously at her.
"Don't tell me you—"
"What are you thinking!? I don't have any special feelings for Takamine at all. It's just respect, okay!?"
"Relax, I didn't say anything yet."
"…"
These past few weeks, Rinji had indeed become the center of attention.
Even if he wasn't often in their sight, he became a topic of conversation after class.
Many girls in Class 3-3 had unusual feelings toward him, not love but a desperate reliance born of fear of death, clinging to the last straw of safety.
And not just the girls. The boys too…
"As expected, Takamine went out with Misaki again."
"Hey, those two aren't a couple, are they?"
"If they were, they wouldn't seem that distant. But if they're just friends, they sure stick together too much."
"Speaking of which…" Naoya narrowed his eyes. "Don't you think Misaki and Takamine actually suit each other?"
"How do you figure?" Tomohiko asked.
"Just look at appearances. Misaki's face is very pretty, and her fair skin gives her an air of mystery. Takamine's looks could be described as overly delicate. If you put them together, doesn't it feel like a pair of dolls in a display case?"
"Eh…"
The boys imagined it for a moment, and the image came vividly to mind.
"Wow, when you put it like that, it's kind of true."
"Told you."
Naoya's smile grew mysterious.
"Now imagine Takamine in a frilly dress, sitting on the ground in that duck-style pose."
"…"
They tried to picture it, and their cheeks instantly turned red.
"This is bad, way too bad!"
"But it strangely fits!"
"Super cute!"
As the group got carried away, Tomohiko calmly pushed up his glasses.
"I can't imagine it at all. Takamine is clearly a very manly person, a warrior who dares to challenge the unknown. I really can't connect him with the word 'cute.'"
"Tomohiko, you're such a buzzkill."
"I don't think I'm wrong."
---
"…"
"What's wrong, Takamine?"
"For some reason, I suddenly feel a chill, and an urge to punch someone," Rinji muttered, frowning.
At that moment, he and Mei were in the school library, borrowing the graduation list from the year '83.
Normally, it wouldn't be loaned out, but thanks to a certain Mr. Chibiki, they managed to borrow it.
"You're from this year's Class 3-3, right?"
The one asking was Chibiki Tatsuji, a middle-aged librarian with gray hair and black-rimmed glasses.
Mei nodded. "Yes."
"I see, didn't think you'd come all this way to check the '83 graduates."
"Was there a problem with that year's Class 3-3?" Rinji asked.
"I was their homeroom teacher."
"Eh?"
"That year was the most unusual of all the Class 3-3s," Chibiki said, eyes filled with recollection. "Normally, once the calamity begins, it never stops. But… the class of '83 was different. For some reason, after August, it just stopped."
"…"
Rinji and Mei exchanged a glance.
So Matsunaga Katsumi's information was correct—the calamity really did stop that year.
Rinji looked down at the thick stack of lists.
The first page was new, the further down, the older they got. The last page was even handwritten.
It was the complete list of Class 3-3 students through the years. Rinji was currently reading the '83 edition.
"The names with marks beside them are the dead?"
"Yes," Chibiki nodded. "After several incidents, we started recording the deaths of students, including time and cause, to see if there was a pattern."
"I see…"
Rinji's eyes moved across the names.
In August, Hamaguchi was killed by lightning, Hoshikawa fell off a cliff. Combined with the note of August, it matched Matsunaga's tape perfectly.
Then his gaze locked onto the very last line—handwritten and circled.
Looking back at other years, he saw the same thing. Each class list ended with a handwritten, circled name.
"What's that last name?"
"That…"
Chibiki pushed up his glasses.
"That's the person who shouldn't have existed in the class. The extra one. The real 'dead one.'"