By the time Haruto returned home, the afternoon light was already slanting through the windows. The living room was unusually quiet. Neither Kato Megumi nor Sakurajima Mai were there. Haruto leaned against the wall, pulling out his phone, and dropped a message into the group chat.
Haruto: "Oi, Megumi, Mai—where'd you two vanish to?"
A few seconds later, Megumi's icon blinked.
Megumi: "…I went home."
Megumi: "There wasn't much left for me to do."
Haruto smirked faintly. She must've left right after watching the livestream yesterday. She didn't say it, but he could read between the lines.
Haruto: "Figures. Well, see you tomorrow."
Megumi: "Mm."
As for Mai, her name stayed silent in the chat. Haruto sighed, sliding his phone back into his pocket.
He walked down the hall, stopping in front of her door.
Knock, knock.
"You're still inside, right?" His voice was light, almost teasing. "I'm heading for a bath. Need the bathroom first?"
From behind the door came a muffled, irritated reply. "No!"
Haruto gave a wry grin. He'd expected that much. Yesterday had been a shockwave for everyone. Necessary, yes—but still a shock.
Steam soon filled the bathroom as the water roared on. Inside her room, Mai pulled her blanket tighter around herself, biting her lip.
"Go ahead and wash," she muttered under her breath, face burning. "Scrub off all that filth."
She hated herself for not looking away from the livestream, for letting those scenes brand themselves into her mind. No matter how hard she tried, her body betrayed her, and she'd already had to change underwear once today.
She was furious at him for being so reckless, and at herself for watching. But when her thoughts drifted to Megumi—calm, unreadable Megumi—she fell silent.
"…Does she… like him too?"
---
The next day, third period brought gym class for Haruto's class. Today was the start of the fitness tests.
After warm-ups, Megumi walked toward him, expression as calm as ever. "Haruto-kun, aren't you going to stretch a little first?"
He tilted his head at her, playful grin tugging his lips. "You saw yesterday, right? I'm not exactly ordinary. I'll be fine."
"…I know," she said softly. Her eyes didn't waver.
Haruto's grin lingered, but behind it his gaze sharpened. Despite yesterday's chaos, Megumi hadn't distanced herself, hadn't even mentioned it. Her face was still unreadable as still water. Even he couldn't quite grasp what she was thinking.
"Boys' fitness test, line up!" the coach barked.
"Guess that's me." Haruto shrugged.
The events were simple: high jump, grip strength, sprints. Haruto had planned to hold back, but even moving casually, his enhanced physique made him look like a natural-born record breaker.
"Holy crap!"
"Did you see that jump?!"
Gasps rippled through Class 3 as one record after another shattered. Inevitably, the noise drew Class 4's attention.
A pink-haired girl, Yui Yuigahama, peeked curiously from the sidelines. "Eh? What's going on over there?"
Her friend Hina Ebina adjusted her glasses, eyes sparkling. "That's Haruto Amakawa from Class 3. Super handsome, super cool, and apparently… superhuman." She clasped her hands together, practically drooling. "Imagine him racing Hayama, both sweating under the sun—ahh~"
"W-wha—Ebina!" Yui flushed red, shuffling backward in embarrassment.
Not far from them, Miura Yumiko stood with her arms crossed, trying to look aloof.
Yui's eyes flicked to her friend. Yumiko's face was perfectly composed, but Yui knew the truth. Back in their second year, Yumiko had written a love letter to Haruto. She never got an answer. Since then, she'd pretended not to care about boys, her pride keeping her mouth shut.
Now, though, as another round of cheers erupted—
"Whoa, look at that speed!"
"Insane!"
—Yumiko's mask wavered. She itched to look, to see for herself what kind of man he'd become. She told herself to keep her composure, to not give Yui or Ebina any satisfaction. Still… Haruto Amakawa remained her first crush.
"Enough staring," she finally snapped, dragging her eyes away. "Our turn for sprints."
The track was small, so Classes 3 and 4 shared it.
The girls lined up first. Yumiko was distracted at the start but quickly caught up, her pride refusing to let her fall behind.
The boys lined up next.
At the signal—
Whoosh!
Haruto launched forward like a gust of wind. His stride devoured the track, and in seconds he left everyone else behind.
"Too fast!"
"Is he even human?!"
The crowd was stunned into silence.
Yui, meanwhile, blinked hard. The world tilted. Her head swam, and Haruto's blurred outline rushed past her. A gust of displaced air hit her, and her knees buckled.
She was falling—
—but before she hit the ground, strong arms caught her.
"Easy there."
Yui blinked up into Haruto's face, his playful grin softened with unexpected gentleness.
"Yui!" Yumiko's panicked voice rang out as she rushed over, dropping her usual airs.
Haruto shifted her lightly in his arms. "Relax. I didn't touch her. She just looks dizzy."
"D-dizzy…" Yui whispered weakly, her body trembling.
Yumiko, concern etched across her face, glanced at him. For once, she didn't sound haughty. "…Can you take her to the nurse's office?"
"This way's faster."
Without hesitation, Haruto scooped Yui up in a princess carry, moving steadily toward the infirmary. Yumiko barked a quick order to Ebina, then jogged after them.
Back on the field, Megumi watched silently, her calm eyes following Haruto's back. She gave nothing away.