The Pigeon

(Akane's PoV)

—

After the bell rang, signaling the end of the boring lesson with Takaneda-sensei, I immediately walked out of the class under the stares of all my useless classmates.

I went straight to buy the melon pan, then up to the roof, and, of course, I wasn't alone.

Shin sat on the bench with his tie loosened and a paper bag open across his knees, while Daiki had taken the far end, back against the railing, holding a sandwich he hadn't bothered to unwrap.

Neither of them was talking, just staring at the horizon like two dramatic anime characters.

The wind kept lifting the corners of Shin's bag while he didn't even seem to notice.

Then, Shin looked up when the door clanged shut behind me. His eyes asked where I'd been watching from.

Mine said 'later.'

One corner of his mouth moved a few millimeters before patting the spot next to him.

"Sit," he said softly, shifting the bag out of the way.

I sat between them and unwrapped the melon bread I'd bought downstairs. For a while, that was it.

Daiki was different, of course.

The loud guy who set a world record on a dance machine had been replaced by someone way more serious and silent.

I didn't speak, and neither did Shin. We both felt that silence was necessary in that moment, so I just kept leaning against him.

Then, after a few minutes, the serious Daiki sitting beside me finally unwrapped his sandwich and took a slow bite, staring out over the city.

"Ah damn, what a boring day..." He sighed. 

A pigeon landed on the railing and immediately started eyeing his lunch.

"Oh, you must be hungry, don't you, Mr. Pigeon?" He said before he tore off a corner of bread and held it out.

The pigeon hopped closer and took it from his palm.

"Here, Mr. Pigeon..." He said while watching the pigeon eat. "I envy you a lot, you know? Not being able to feel love and fly wherever you want... being really free..."

I felt Shin's body flinch after his words.

"You can relax, Daiki," I said, my voice flat. "Izumi won't be bothering you for a good while."

He didn't even ask what I meant. His eyes stayed on the pigeon for another second before he smiled again. Thin, tired, but real enough.

"Thank you for what you've done, Akane," he said. "I mean it. But I still feel like I'll have to talk to her sooner or later, even though I don't want to see her face right now."

"Well, that depends on you, actually," I said, still chewing my melon bread.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I know."

"The only thing that matters is that you feel better, Daiki," Shin said.

"I'll work on it, I promise." His tone softened. "But hey, I hate love." He then giggled.

Shin smiled, then let the conversation die out naturally for a few seconds before moving on to another topic. 

"So what do you want to do after school?" He said, his hand gently patting my back while my head leaned against his collarbone.

Daiki scratched the back of his neck. "Hm. Now that I think about it... I should probably go to thatvideo game shop. I've got some stuff on hold from last week." 

"Oh? Thatgame shop?" Shin said. "Okay. We'll go."

"You don't have to," Daiki replied, throwing another piece of his bread to the pigeon.

"I know." Shin bit into his rice ball.

"Perverts," I said, my voice flat. "I can literally smell your pervertness from here."

Shin and Daiki laughed. 

"You can't understand, Akane," Shin said while gently patting my back. 

"Yeah. She can't," Daiki added.

"Hey!!!" I tore my melon bread in half and then ate it. "If I didn't have girls' night, I'd come too," I added while chewing.

Daiki looked at me. "Girls' night?"

"Sora and a friend of mine. Don't ask." My voice sharpened as I pointed my remaining bread at Shin. "But keep an eye on this one for me. He's too stupid to notice when a girl is flirting with him."

"I notice," Shin said.

"No. You clearly don't. Trust me." I sighed, thinking about one girl in particular.

"I do! I'm not—" 

"I'm with her. You don't." Daiki snorted.

It slipped out before he could stop it, and then he actually laughed. Short, real, and completely unforced.

Shin covered his face with one hand and started laughing too.

My shoulders loosened with theirs.

Nobody had fixed anything or said anything profound, but for about ten seconds, the roof was just nice.

Then the speaker bolted above the stairwell door crackled to life.

"Good afternoon. This is the student council president, Sora Fujimoto."

Her voice came over the roof, calm and clear, carrying that slightly formal warmth she somehow managed even through a school speaker.

"This morning, certain photographs were displayed on the central bulletin board. After review, the student council has determined that the images show no identifiable student of this school. The incident has been classified as a prank in poor taste. The council asks that no one speculate about it, spread it, or name any individual in connection with it. Speculation of this kind can hurt people and would lead to serious consequences for this school's reputation. Thank you for your cooperation."

Click.

The speaker died.

For a second, noise rose from somewhere below us through the open stairwell. Voices, complaints, people reacting all at once, and then it faded.

Daiki lowered his sandwich onto his knee.

"She said that last line for me, I'm sure about it," he said quietly. "I already heard the voice depicting me as the culprit."

"She did," Shin said. "I should thank her."

"She'll tell you it's the council's job," I said.

Daiki gave a small smile.

"Probably..." Daiki smiled weakly. Then he looked down at his sandwich. "But I'll thank her anyway."

I kept my eyes on the remaining melon bread in my hand.

In my head, I could hear a shredder running in the corner of a quiet room, with Sora lying and risking her important position for us. And all she had asked in return was one thing.

'Next time, come to me first.'

It felt heavier now than it had in the council room.

'You're such a good person, Sora...' I thought.

While Daiki fed the last of his crust to the pigeon, Shin leaned slightly toward me.

"Please, just keep me updated later. I get worried and lonely when you're not with me," I whispered into his ear. "Please." My hand gripped the sleeve of his jacket tighter.

"Don't worry, Akane. I will," He said, his voice soft. "As for you, well... if you need help, just call me."

"I won't need help, don't worry. If I call you, it's only because I miss you." I whispered before landing a small kiss on his cheek. "By the way, I'm pretty sure that the gyaru is going to call you later, so be prepared."

Shin nodded. "I'll tell you everything if she does, in case."

Then his shoulder stayed against mine until the bell rang, and I couldn't help but lean onto him while my body kept searching for any kind of physical contact.

The thing I love the most about our relationship is how we communicate without any secrets between us. That was the only thing I had asked my whole life. I mean, for two lonely people like us, secrets and silence would only be our greatest enemies.

Then, after returning to our classes, the afternoon passed in chalk dust, fluorescent lights, and teachers talking at people who were mostly waiting to go home.

By third period, the corridors had already rewritten the morning. Nobody said Sakurai's name anymore.

They said things like  'fake.' 'Prank.' 'Whoever did it should be expelled.' 

All with the confidence of people who had apparently believed that from the beginning.

A girl near my window announced that Yamashiro-san had gone home sick. The boy beside her said she'd looked fine earlier, glanced down at his desk, then decided he'd suddenly lost interest in the subject.

By the last lesson, nobody mentioned her at all. Well, in my class, at least.

It was an efficient kind of forgetting: spreading lies to protect the culprits and change the narrative.

I knew it well, since I'd grown up in a house where this was common daily life.

During the last lesson, I texted Hoshiko under the desk.

Akane: 'Bringing the other girl tonight. Her name is Sora. Be normal.'

Her reply came almost immediately.

Hoshiko: 'I have never been normal a day in my life. What does she like??'

Akane: 'Paperwork, order, strawberry milk, and my boyfriend, I think.'

Three dots.

Then:

Hoshiko: 'Ah. I already love her. Tell her the door is open. TELL HER I SAID SO.'

Hoshiko: 'About the boyfriend part, well, I love him too. Everyone loves Shin.'

Hoshiko: 'Ah damn, another boring idiot client is coming, I'll text you later, Baby Wolf. Love you~.'

With a smile, I put my phone away before the teacher looked over.

Then, after some time, the last bell rang.

Without looking around, I immediately grabbed my bag and went downstairs at the speed of light.

The courtyard was soaked in late-afternoon gold. I crossed to my usual spot near the wall by the gate and leaned against the brick.

About a minute later, the east doors opened.

Shin came out with Daiki beside him.

Daiki had his hands in his pockets, and his head was slightly lowered, but he was walking straight.

Then I saw a group of first-years pass them, and one of them said something to him.

Daiki answered with no hesitation, as he had returned to his normal self.

Nobody stared at him the way they had that morning.

Then Shin spotted me over the crowd and lifted one hand.

Half a wave, barely anything. Somehow it felt like the size of the whole day.

I lifted mine back, and then Daiki looked up.

His eyes found me across maybe forty meters of gravel and stayed there for two seconds.

He lifted his chin once and then waved at me with a smile. It could've meant 'thank you.'

I nodded and waved at him too.

Then they left through the gate together, Shin walking slightly closer to Daiki than usual. Not enough to make it obvious.

I watched until the street swallowed them.

'Tch— Maybe life is not so bad after all...' I smiled.

"Akane!" A familiar voice called out.

I turned and saw that Sora was crossing the courtyard at a brisk walk, a folder tucked against her chest and a plastic shopping bag swinging from her other hand.

A very large shopping bag.

It bulged in several directions with the determination of something purchased by a person who had entered a convenience store with no idea what tattoo artists eat and solved the problem by buying everything.

A packet of rice crackers stuck out of the top, and so did a carton of strawberry milk.

"I brought snacks," she said when she reached me, slightly out of breath, before raising the bag. "I wasn't sure what to bring, so, uhm... I got out of school earlier to buy these things at the convenience store outside the street..."

"I can see that."

Sora looked down at it. "I-Is it too much? *hah*"

"It's perfect. Hoshiko will cry." I gave her a thumbs-up.

"That's... good?"

"Yeah. Hoshiko literally likes everything that's sweet. She's pretty easy when it comes to food tastes, you know?" I said, my voice soft.

"Ah... thank goodness...*hah*." She said, still trying to catch her breath.

I then pushed myself away from the wall and looked at her properly.

The shadows under her eyes were still there, but she'd pulled her hair back neatly and fixed her collar. Her chin was raised a little too carefully.

She looked like somebody about to walk into a room full of strangers who had decided, in advance, that she was going to enjoy herself or die trying.

I grinned.

"So, Sora... are you ready to have the most fun evening you've had in the last few years?"

Sora's eyes widened before she laughed, her fingers tightening around the shopping bag.

"Yes." She said. "Super ready!!"

"Good. Follow me, you beautiful idol."

I started toward the gate, and she then fell into step beside me.

"Tonight everything's on me," I said. "Everything."

Sora opened her mouth.

"And don't argue."

She closed it again.

That lasted about three seconds.

"Oh, Akane... pl—."

"Shut up. It's up on me." My voice sharpened.

'But we still have to have a serious talk...'