"K-Kageyama..."
Goudo's face was pale as he rose from his seat, his movements stiff with fear.
His voice trembled as he leaned closer to Touka, lowering his tone as if he was trying to shield her from danger.
"Fujiwara-san, let's go… You shouldn't be near him. Kageyama Seijirou… he's dangerous. Everyone knows it. Come with me before something happens."
His eyes flickered nervously toward Seijirou, then back to her, his body angled protectively as if preparing to drag her away if he had to.
Touka hesitated, her hands tightening against her sleeves.
His words made sense; they echoed the countless rumors she had heard whispered in classrooms and hallways since the first day of school.
But in her heart, something didn't add up. Seijirou hadn't been cruel to her. He hadn't mocked her, threatened her, or hurt her.
When they both reached for the same book earlier, he could have easily taken it for himself and walked away without a word.
Instead, he had offered it to her, in his own blunt, careless way.
For Touka, that small gesture carried weight. It meant acknowledgment, it meant fairness.
To her, that already placed him closer to a "book buddy" than the monster the rumors painted him as.
She lifted her head slightly, her bangs falling to the side, and shook it softly.
Her words wavered as she spoke, stuttering with her usual timidity, but there was a thread of resolve woven through them.
"I-I… I want to stay. I still… want to borrow the book he's reading." Her voice was faint but firm enough to make Goudo blink in shock.
"What? No! Fujiwara-san," Goudo pressed, his voice sharpening with desperation. "You don't understand, being near him is asking for trouble! He's not someone you can just—"
He reached out, his hand moving toward her wrist as though he could pull her away by force if persuasion failed.
However, the moment his fingers brushed the air between them, Touka reacted on instinct.
Her hand whipped up and struck his away, the sound of her palm smacking against his skin echoing faintly in the quiet library.
The motion shocked her as much as it did him.
Her eyes widened, and she gasped softly, her hand trembling as she realized what she had done.
"I-I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…" she muttered quickly, her voice shrinking back to its usual timidity, her body folding in on itself as though she wished she could disappear into her oversized jacket.
Goudo froze, stunned, his hand stinging red where she had slapped him.
His mouth opened and closed, his pride and confusion mixing into a tangled mess of words that failed to leave his lips.
He tried again, his voice cracking with a mix of shock and hurt. "Fujiwara-san, I… I just wanted…"
But before he could finish, the chair legs scraped against the floor.
Seijirou rose from his seat, his tall frame casting a shadow that loomed over them both.
He didn't speak. He didn't raise his voice.
He simply looked at Goudo, his gaze sharp and suffocating, like a predator regarding prey that had wandered too close.
That was all it took. Goudo's breath hitched in his throat, his composure shattering.
He stumbled back clumsily, his legs tangling as he fell onto the polished floor with a dull thud.
Scrambling on his hands, he pushed himself up, his glasses sliding slightly down the bridge of his nose, his words dissolving into a frightened stammer.
Without another attempt, without even glancing at Touka again, he hurried toward the exit, his footsteps echoing fast and uneven until the library doors closed behind him.
Silence returned.
Seijirou exhaled through his nose, the sound closer to a sigh than anything else.
His irritation lingered, but he didn't waste another thought on Goudo. Without a word, he lowered himself back into his chair, opened the book again, and resumed reading where he had left off.
From the corner of his eyes, however, he noticed Touka.
She fidgeted in her seat, shifting her book nervously in her hands, her lips parting and closing repeatedly as though she wanted to say something but lacked the courage to let the words out.
He didn't look at her directly, but his voice cut through the air, low and sharp. "Just spit it out already."
She flinched, clutching her book tighter, before summoning the nerve to lift her gaze slightly.
"A-are you… really Kageyama Seijirou?" Her voice was quiet, weighed with uncertainty, her eyes flickering behind her glasses.
Seijirou's lips curled into a faint, almost mocking smirk as he turned a page. "Why? Are you afraid?"
Her head shook quickly, strands of her black hair brushing against her cheeks.
Her fingers tapped against each other, her forefingers pressing together repeatedly in a nervous rhythm. "N-no… it's just… you don't look like what I was expecting. More gentle than the rumours."
Seijirou's eyes narrowed slightly, his focus lingering on the timid girl across from him.
Her words echoed in his mind in a way that made him pause. Gentle? Him? As gentle as a rampaging bull, maybe.
He closed the book with a dull thud, tilting his head slightly as if trying to figure out if she was mocking him or if she truly believed what she had just said.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" His tone was low, deliberate, carrying no humor in it.
Touka flinched at his sudden sharpness, but she forced herself to answer, her voice soft, halting between syllables.
"I-I mean… you don't look as fierce… or dangerous as everyone says. You even look… kind, almost."
Her cheeks flushed crimson as the last word slipped out, and the moment his piercing gaze bore into her, she quickly ducked her head, her bangs falling like a curtain to shield her expression.
Seijirou lowered the book onto the table and leaned forward slightly, staring at her with the expression of someone looking at an idiot who had just said the most nonsensical thing imaginable.
Kind? Did she really just call him kind? The same Kageyama Seijirou who was treated as the school's resident monster, the "king of delinquents," the guy whose reputation alone was enough to make upperclassmen avoid crossing his path?
He almost wanted to laugh at how absurd it sounded.
He stood up slowly, the chair scraping against the floor. His eyes locked onto her, and his voice dropped, smooth yet heavy.
"Not dangerous, huh? Then why don't you test that for yourself. Follow me and find out."
He fully expected her to recoil, to shake her head violently and mutter some excuse before running off to the safety of her timid little shell.
That was how it always went. People talked bravely about him when he wasn't around, but once they were face-to-face, they scattered like leaves in a storm.
But Touka didn't do that.
Instead, she stiffened, her lips trembling slightly before she nodded, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"O-okay." Her head lowered further, but her agreement was clear.
For a moment, Seijirou actually froze. His thoughts tangled in disbelief. What the hell is wrong with this girl?
He had thrown out a challenge expecting rejection, not compliance. And yet here she was, nodding timidly as though walking into the lion's den was simply another step in her daily routine.
Something was definitely broken in the heads of these heroines. Whether it was foolishness, naivety, or something darker, he couldn't tell.
Still, he didn't linger on it. If she wanted to follow, then so be it. He wasn't going to waste time convincing her otherwise.
Besides, he doesn't believe that she would actually dare follow him.
For now, he needs to leave. His phone had been buzzing against his pocket for the past few minutes anyway, a constant vibration that told him Suzune and the others were probably wondering where he had gone.
He slipped the book under his arm and headed straight toward the front desk where the library clerk sat, her spectacles low on her nose as she glanced up from her own reading.
"I'll borrow this," Seijirou said bluntly, placing the book on the counter.
The old woman eyed him, her lips pursing slightly before she shook her head. "Library card."
He blinked, a small frown creasing his forehead. "I don't have one. Can't I just borrow this without it?"
"No."
Seijirou sighed in irritation. "Fuck it. Fine. How do I get one?"
The clerk adjusted her glasses, her voice calm and unyielding. "It'll take a few days to issue one. Sorry, but you can't borrow without it."
Seijirou clicked his tongue in annoyance. Just as he was about to shove the book back under his arm and consider other options, a small voice spoke up beside him.
"Um… you can use mine."
Both Seijirou and the clerk turned.
Touka stood there, clutching the strap of her bag tightly with both hands, her face tilted downward but her eyes glancing up hesitantly.
The clerk frowned. "Are you sure, Fujiwara-san? If you lend your card, you're responsible for the book."
The clerk knew her. After all, Touka was a frequent visitor of the library. It can even be said that she's here almost every day.
Touka nodded quickly, her tone still small but firm enough to surprise both of them. "Yes. I-I don't mind."
The old lady sighed, muttering something under her breath about troublesome young people, before taking Touka's library card.
She wrote something down in her record book with slow, deliberate strokes of her pen, then handed the book back toward Seijirou. "There. Don't lose it."
Seijirou took it, his eyes briefly shifting toward Touka.
The shy, timid girl stood there with her head slightly lowered, her expression hidden but her actions clear.
She hadn't hesitated to step in, hadn't balked at attaching her name to his. That was unusual, suspicious even, but it was also… oddly refreshing.
His voice softened, just slightly, as he muttered, "Thanks."
Touka's head lifted just enough for her lips to curve into a small, bright smile, a rare expression that transformed her features instantly.
For a second, it was like the timid, gloomy girl vanished, and in her place stood someone who looked genuinely happy.
"You're welcome," she said softly. 'He really isn't that scary!'
Seijirou turned away quickly before that smile could unsettle him, tucking the book under his arm as he strode toward the library doors.
Behind him, Touka adjusted her glasses, her steps light as she hurried to follow.
The clerk watched them leave together, her wrinkled face twisting with disapproval.
She shook her head slowly, letting out a long sigh. "Girls these days… always playing with fire without realizing how badly they can get burned."