Subaru, standing there with arms folded, said, ‘Me too. I went to my ninth grade classroom. I waited and waited but Masamune never appeared, so I went over to his classroom. But he wasn’t there either.’

A hush came over them.

‘What’s going on?’ Aki asked, to no one in particular. She ran her fingers roughly through her hair in frustration. Kokoro noticed her hair colour had changed again.

Her reddish dyed hair had gone back to black.

So she could go to school. She’d probably dyed it black the night before, after she’d got home from the castle.

Aki wasn’t making it up. Like Kokoro, she’d set her mind on going to school, and indeed she had.

‘Even though I didn’t want to see the girls from the volleyball club.’ Aki seemed to murmur this unintentionally. She spoke so faintly, so weakly, that it was painful to hear.

So Aki was a member of the volleyball club? This was news to Kokoro. These past eight months she’d never mentioned it. Her frail tone sent a sharp pain racing through Kokoro.

The volleyball club. Miori Sanada’s volleyball club.

Had Aki still been going to school when Miori started at the club? Could Aki, so close to her now, be that girl’s senpai?

‘Shall we ask the Wolf Queen?’ Fuka suggested. All eyes turned to her. ‘She might be able to explain what’s going on. Then again, she might not, just to be tricksy.’

‘We could, but shouldn’t we ask Masamune first?’ Subaru said.

Kokoro agreed. They all looked over at Masamune’s game controller, lying idle.

‘Masamune may not be here today … but the same thing must have happened to him – he couldn’t meet us. Right?’

Actually – I’d like your advice on something.

I was wondering … if you all … could you come to school? Just for one day. One day would be enough.

Kokoro recalled how timidly Masamune had broached the topic. Her chest ached as she remembered how he’d prepared Christmas presents for them, and how hard it must have been for him, with all his pride, to ask this favour.

He was so desperate for them to be there, and yet – they weren’t.

How had Masamune taken it?

‘Do you think he misunderstood what happened?’ Fuka said. Her eyes were sad. ‘Thinking none of us turned up?’

‘I think so. And if that’s why he isn’t here today, that totally sucks.’

‘Maybe it’s just coincidence he’s not here. Perhaps he’ll appear this afternoon.’

Ureshino shook his head.

‘Maybe when he went, they beat him up … I’m just thinking of what happened to me.’

They were holding out hope that Masamune would slip through his mirror in the grand foyer and show up any minute now.

But that didn’t seem about to happen.

It felt like his unspoken anger lingered, and it pained Kokoro.