Chapter 5: Words That Echo
The door slammed shut behind him.
The dim classroom swallowed the hallway light, leaving only a faint gray glow leaking through the narrow gap under the door. Ryugenn's heart thudded once, hard, against his ribs as he turned toward the figure standing between him and the exit.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then the person stepped slightly forward.
A girl.
The weak light from the doorway brushed across her face just enough for Ryugenn to recognize her. Long dark hair fell over one shoulder, and her sharp eyes were fixed on him with an intensity that made the air feel heavier.
Ryugenn blinked once.
"You're… Elina, right?"
The girl didn't answer immediately. Her hand was still wrapped around his wrist, fingers firm but not painful. Up close, he could see the faint tension in her jaw.
Finally she spoke.
"You recognized me faster than I expected."
Her voice was calm, but there was something restless underneath it.
Ryugenn gently pulled his wrist free. She didn't resist this time.
"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to steady the sudden rush of thoughts in his head. "I don't understand anything."
Elina crossed her arms, leaning lightly against one of the desks. Even in the dim classroom, it was obvious she was beautiful—sharp features, confident posture, the kind of presence that usually drew attention the moment someone walked into a room.
But right now her expression was far from confident.
"I'm not doing anything wrong," she said quietly. "Is it wrong to do something for yourself?"
Ryugenn frowned slightly.
The pieces of the situation clicked together in his mind with the same quiet logic he used when debugging code.
Hidden file.
Locked classroom.
Someone watching.
"You're not about to say…" he said slowly, "…that you were the one who hid Naomi's things."
Elina didn't hesitate.
"Yes," she said simply. "I was."
The answer hung in the dusty air of the classroom.
Ryugenn stared at her for a moment, surprised by how easily she admitted it.
"Why?"
Elina looked away, her gaze drifting toward the faint outlines of the paper-covered windows.
"For the same reason most people do stupid things," she said after a moment.
"Which is?"
Her fingers curled slightly against her sleeve.
"Because they're tired of being invisible."
The room went quiet again.
Outside, somewhere down the corridor, a door opened and closed. The distant murmur of students echoed faintly through the building.
Elina spoke again, her voice lower this time.
"Since the first week of college, everyone has been talking about Naomi."
Ryugenn didn't interrupt.
"She's talented," Elina continued. "Calm. Smart. Beautiful. Teachers like her. Students admire her. People always gather around her desk like she's some kind of center of gravity."
Her laugh was small and bitter.
"And me?" she said. "I work just as hard. Maybe harder. I stay up nights practicing algorithms, rewriting my code, trying to get better. But no one notices. No one understands."
Her eyes flicked back toward him.
"So tell me, Ryugenn. Is it wrong to want people to see you?"
Ryugenn considered her words carefully.
The frustration in her voice wasn't fake. It wasn't theatrical either. It sounded… tired.
But still.
"That's not Naomi's fault," he said calmly.
Elina's brows drew together.
"What?"
"If someone is better than you," Ryugenn continued, "it's not their fault."
The words were simple, but they landed heavier than he intended.
Elina stared at him.
Ryugenn kept speaking, his tone steady.
"It's the fault of the person who keeps thinking, they're better than me."
Elina's lips parted slightly, but she didn't interrupt.
"I know what I'm saying might sound harsh," he went on. "Maybe it even sounds unfair. But it's the truth."
He stepped a little closer, resting his hand lightly on the back of a chair.
"If you believe someone is above you, then you've already decided you'll never reach them."
Silence filled the room again.
Ryugenn's voice softened.
"Instead of comparing yourself to someone else… look at yourself."
Elina didn't move.
"Ask yourself one question," he said. "Am I better today than I was yesterday?"
He shrugged slightly.
"If the answer is yes, then you're doing fine."
For the first time since dragging him into the classroom, Elina didn't look angry or defensive.
She just looked at him.
Really looked.
Ryugenn added quietly,
"Trust me. If you keep doing that… you'll do well."
The words settled into the room like dust in the afternoon light.
After a moment, he exhaled.
"Now," he said, gesturing lightly toward the door, "take your hands off and go home."
Elina blinked once.
Ryugenn continued, almost casually.
"Maybe it's time to go home from college."
For several seconds she didn't say anything.
She simply stared at him.
Her expression had changed.
The frustration that had been in her eyes earlier had faded into something else entirely—something quieter, harder to read.
Almost like curiosity.
Almost like… admiration.
Ryugenn shifted slightly under her gaze.
"What?"
Elina finally spoke.
"You know," she said slowly, "you just achieved something today."
Ryugenn tilted his head.
"What?"
She pushed herself off the desk and stepped closer.
Her eyes were bright now, the earlier bitterness replaced by something strangely amused.
"Something many boys here have tried to do."
Ryugenn blinked.
"And what's that?"
Elina smiled faintly.
"They've tried to impress me," she said.
Ryugenn raised an eyebrow.
"Okay…"
"They've tried with compliments. With gifts. With stupid pickup lines." She waved her hand dismissively. "Some of them even bragged about their grades or projects."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"But none of them could do what you just did."
Ryugenn frowned slightly.
"Which is?"
Elina's smile widened just a little.
"You made me stop and think."
For a brief moment the tension in the room disappeared completely.
Then she turned toward the door.
"Well," she said lightly, "I guess I should take your advice."
Her hand rested on the handle.
She glanced back over her shoulder.
"See you around, Ryugenn."
The door opened with a quiet creak.
A thin strip of hallway light spilled into the classroom.
Then she stepped out.
The door closed behind her.
Ryugenn stood there for a moment, staring at the empty doorway.
"…What?"
He ran a hand through his hair.
"You know, you've achieved something today…" he muttered, repeating her words quietly.
He shook his head.
"I don't understand anything she said."
But at least one thing seemed clear.
Maybe—just maybe—she'd understood what he meant.
Ryugenn let out a slow breath and stepped back into the hallway.
The corridor was quiet again.
Classes were still in session, and the sunlight coming through the windows had shifted slightly, stretching longer shadows across the polished floor.
He glanced toward the direction Naomi had walked earlier.
She was probably already inside the lab by now.
Good.
That meant she wouldn't get marked absent.
Ryugenn checked the time on his phone.
He had missed almost half the lab session.
"…Shin is going to make me copy a mountain of notes," he muttered.
With that thought in mind, he started walking toward the dorm.
The evening air outside Sakura Heights felt cooler than usual.
The sky was fading from bright blue into soft orange and violet. Students were scattered around the entrance—some chatting, some heading out for dinner, others staring at their phones.
Ryugenn climbed the stairs to the fourth floor and unlocked Room 404.
The door opened with its familiar quiet click.
The room was silent.
Haruto's side was still empty, just like yesterday.
Ryugenn tossed his backpack onto the desk and stretched his shoulders slightly.
"What a weird day," he murmured.
First Naomi's missing file.
Then that strange classroom.
Then Elina.
He replayed the conversation in his head while pulling off his shoes.
You made me stop and think.
Ryugenn frowned slightly.
"…That's not something to brag about," he said to the empty room.
He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone.
Something brushed against his fingers.
He paused.
"That's weird."
Slowly, he pulled the object out.
It wasn't his phone.
It was a small folded piece of paper.
Ryugenn stared at it.
"I definitely didn't put this here."
The paper was folded neatly—almost carefully.
He unfolded it.
The room was quiet enough that he could hear the faint rustle of the paper as it opened.
His eyes moved to the message written inside.
And his brow slowly furrowed.
"…What?"
He read the words again.
Outside the window, the evening sky of Aozora City was still impossibly blue at the edges.
But inside Room 404, something had just changed.
Ryugenn stood very still, the note resting lightly in his hand.
(End of Chapter 5)