She handed us a printed outline.
The Human Connection Project
Leaders: Ren Yukimura & Aira Minami
Duration: Two weeks
Objectives:
- Facilitate one class-wide discussion using anonymous moral dilemmas.
- Design one interactive activity about truth and emotional understanding.
- Submit a joint reflection on "What You Learned from Each Other."
The bell rang before I could protest.
As the class filed out, Fujimoto called after us, almost casually, "First planning session starts tomorrow. Don't be late."
Chairs scraped back, conversations ignited, and the classroom shifted from intellectual battleground to after-school blur.
I grabbed my notebook, already halfway back into silence, when the guy beside me leaned over like he always did.
"You actually talked today. Didn't expect that from you."
I didn't look at him. Just closed my pen.
"Really?" I said flatly.
He shrugged. "Oh… maybe not."
That was his thing. He never said anything directly. Just half-formed commentary, like he was narrating the background of a documentary I didn't ask to watch.
He wasn't my friend.
He just sat next to me every day and acted like proximity meant permission.
But he was observant, in his own way.
And annoying. Also in his own way.
Page 50 – ("Class 2-A: Student Profiles")
Riku Aoyama – "The Friendly Parasite"
Speaks to whoever is next to him—out of habit, not connection.
Avoids silence like it might expose something.
Mediocre in everything except casual charisma.
Doesn't care who you are as long as you fill the space.
Conclusion: Not deep. Not fake. Just allergic to loneliness.
He watched me scribble and leaned in again. "You're not writing about me, are you?"
I didn't answer.
He took that as a yes.
"Dude, I better get a cool nickname or something. 'Mysterious Stranger' maybe?"
"You talk too much to be mysterious," I said.
He grinned. "Fair."
Then—like she had been standing there long enough to make it awkward—Aira Minami stepped into our row, stopping just beside my desk.
She looked between us, then down at the notebook I hadn't quite closed.
"I figured you took notes," she said. "Didn't realize they were psychological evaluations."
Riku let out a low whistle. "Uh oh. She found your secret files."
Aira ignored him.
"You really think you can understand people just by watching them?" she asked.
I looked at her. Calm. Neutral.
"No. I just think most people tell the truth when they think they're hiding it."
That made her pause—but not back off.
"Huh. And what am I hiding, then?"
I didn't answer right away.
Because the truth was: I didn't know yet.
Not completely.
She wasn't like the others.
But I was going to find out.
So I looked at her, deadpan, and said,
"Still under observation."
She smiled—genuine this time.
"Good. So am I."
And with that, she turned and left.
Riku leaned over again, voice lower now. "She scares me a little."
I didn't say it out loud, but I agreed with him.
Only difference was…
That's exactly why I couldn't stop watching.