Kokoro murmured, ‘So, is Fuka-chan here, too?’ She was just trying to recall what Fuka looked like. Fuka was in her second year of junior high, so she too was a senpai to Kokoro – one year ahead of her.

Masamune said, a little sarcastically, ‘What, aren’t you gonna call her senpai, too?’

Kokoro was not used to being teased and began to feel a little flustered. She shook her head vigorously. ‘No, it’s just – I used it with Aki-chan because, I don’t know – she seems like such a senpai.’

‘Well, Subaru and me are your senpai too, for that matter.’

Masamune was clowning around, kidding her. Kokoro was still trying to work out how to respond when he added, ‘Fuka comes here a lot. Almost every day. Though she doesn’t hang out with us much.’

‘Does she stay in her room?’

‘Yeah. I invited her once to play video games, but she said she doesn’t play. I thought she was joking. I mean, she looks like such a loser.’

‘Masamune.’ Subaru’s tone was sharp.

‘What?’ Masamune protested. But when he saw the glare in Subaru’s eye, he let out an exaggerated sigh. ‘She seems to stay shut up in her room a lot,’ he said, changing the subject. ‘I don’t know what she does there, but she’s basically a loner.’

Changing the subject, Subaru said, ‘He wasn’t here yesterday, but Ureshino usually turns up after one o’clock.’

‘I see.’ Kokoro nodded.

That made sense to her that he came in the afternoon. It seemed to suit him to have lunch at home first.

Like Kokoro, Ureshino was in his first year of junior high, and as she reflected, she remembered the other kid who was also in seventh grade.

‘What about that other boy?’ Kokoro asked.

Masamune turned his gaze lazily on her. ‘Who?’

‘Rion-kun.’

‘Ah, the dish.’ His words sounded barbed.

It wasn’t because he was handsome that she’d asked, but she had no idea how to explain that.

‘What’s a dish?’ Subaru muttered. ‘Is it something bad?’ When Masamune didn’t respond, Subaru turned to Kokoro and raised his eyebrows.

‘He always gets here in the late afternoon,’ Subaru replied in Masamune’s place. ‘Always wearing a jersey, which makes me think maybe he’s attending a juku or studying somewhere during the day. I often bump into him just as the castle’s closing.’

‘He plays video games with us, too,’ Masamune added.

THE HANDS OF THE GRANDFATHER clock were pointing to twelve.

Kokoro went home, ate the curry her mother had prepared, brushed her teeth, and headed back to the castle. When it came to lunch, it seemed they each had different habits – some went home to eat, others brought in bentos.

For Kokoro, going home for lunch and then returning to the castle felt like her school timetable all over again.