Only once Kaede and her friend vanish down the corridor does Reika finally turn on her heel. Her expression settles back into cool composure.
The message Kaede left for Ryoma lingers in the air, but Reika carries nothing with her, except her own quiet satisfaction.
"Let's go, Aki," she says, already moving the other way.
Aki trails after her, biting her lip, eyes narrowing as if she's watching a line being crossed. Until finally, she blurts it out.
"Reika… you know that was Ryoma's girlfriend, right? Don't you think you're pushing too far?"
Reika doesn't flinch. She smooths a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile faint but deliberate.
"Girlfriend?" she repeats, the word rolling off her tongue as if it's something trivial. "Strange… I don't recall Ryoma ever saying that himself."
Aki stops dead in front of Reika, staring at her. "You're seriously going to pretend you don't know?"
