Takeshi opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the ceiling.
'Don't come out, don't come out, don't come out…'
The chat appeared.
[Good morning, sleepyhead]
[haha the idiot really thought it was a dream]
'Damn it!'
He turned over and saw Aoi Mizuhara sitting on the edge of his desk, staring at him in complete silence.
She didn't say anything or move. She simply watched him with her hands folded neatly in her lap and her back perfectly straight, as if sitting like that for hours was completely normal.
Takeshi sat up abruptly and scooted back against the headboard.
"What… how did you get in!?"
Aoi blinked once and then lowered her head slightly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"That doesn't answer the question!"
"The door wasn't locked."
She paused briefly.
"I came early to make sure you were okay before the day started."
Takeshi stared at her. He automatically checked her stats.
[Life: 100%]
[Sanity: 90%]
[Trust: 98%]
'I don't know if those numbers are good, but the fact that she's sitting in my room watching me sleep isn't normal.'
"And what if I had been… I don't know, changing?"
"I would have waited outside."
She said it without changing her tone.
Takeshi decided not to pursue that line of thought. He ran a hand over his face and breathed.
"You said you came to make sure I was okay. Why?"
"Yuki knows where you live."
Aoi said it directly, without any preamble.
"After what happened yesterday, it wasn't out of the question that she might try something during the night, so I wanted to stay close just in case."
Takeshi processed that. It was a concrete reason with some internal logic, but the problem was that staying close and entering his room unannounced at six in the morning were two very different things.
'But she didn't kill me and technically saved me yesterday, so for now she's the closest thing I have to an ally.'
"Alright."
He said finally.
"Thanks, I guess."
Aoi nodded once, as if the conversation had concluded satisfactorily.
It was at that moment that the bedroom door opened and Akari poked her head in, her face showing surprise when she saw Aoi there.
"Eh? Takeshi, you have a visitor this early?"
"She's a classmate from school."
Takeshi said before Aoi could respond.
Aoi stood up, turned toward Akari, and gave a short, precise bow.
"Good morning, I'm Aoi Mizuhara. Sorry for the intrusion at this hour. I only came to walk Takeshi to school, if that's not a problem."
Akari looked at her for a second and then smiled.
"Not at all. It's nice that Takeshi has friends who come pick him up. I'm about to make breakfast—would you like to stay and eat?"
"I'd love to, if it's no trouble."
"None at all."
Takeshi watched the two of them walk together toward the kitchen without anyone asking for his opinion on the matter.
During breakfast, Aoi was exactly what Takeshi hadn't expected: polite, attentive, and prompt with her responses. She helped set the table without being asked, asked Akari about her routine with what seemed like genuine interest. By the time they finished eating, Akari was already calling her by name.
Takeshi ate in silence and didn't say much.
'This is weird. I don't know if it's bad yet, but it's weird.'
The walk to school was calm. Aoi walked on his left side the entire time, never more than a meter away. When Takeshi stopped at a traffic light, she stopped. When he picked up the pace, she adjusted hers without comment.
The chat appeared floating for a moment.
[Unofficial escort of the day]
[Not even an inch of distance lol]
[Someone's taking the role very seriously]
Takeshi ignored the messages and kept walking.
At school, the situation didn't change. Aoi sat directly behind him in the classroom, even though other seats were available. During the first class, he could feel her presence without needing to turn around. She didn't make noise or bother him—she was simply there.
Mid-morning, during a class change, a student Takeshi didn't recognize approached to say hello. They talked briefly about an assignment and made a comment about the teacher, to which Takeshi responded normally.
He turned his head for a moment toward where Aoi was.
She was looking at him, not at the student. Her expression was the same as always: calm and composed, but there was something in the way she held the book against her chest that hadn't been there before.
The student left and Aoi looked forward again.
Takeshi also turned forward.
Later, during another class, a girl from the back passed him a note asking to borrow some notes, so Takeshi nodded and passed them over without issue.
Three seconds later, he heard the very faint sound of a pencil tapping the desk behind him.
It wasn't loud, but it was there.
Takeshi kept looking straight ahead.
'Was that her?'
At the end of the class, he glanced sideways at Aoi's stats.
[Life: 100%]
[Sanity: 85%]
[Trust: 90%]
'Her sanity dropped five points and trust dropped eight since this morning, and I didn't do anything.'
At lunchtime, Takeshi tried to sit at a table with three students he didn't know, just to change the environment and have a moment without someone watching him, but Aoi appeared with her tray twenty seconds later and sat down across from him.
The other three students looked at the scene, said nothing, and finished eating quickly.
Takeshi and Aoi were left alone at the table.
"Did you have to sit here specifically?"
He asked.
"I prefer to have a clear view of the cafeteria entrances."
She said it in a practical tone.
"In case Yuki shows up."
Takeshi couldn't say she was lying.
'But I also can't say she's only thinking about Yuki.'
They ate in silence for a while.
"Aoi?"
"Yes?"
"Are you always like this with the people you protect?"
She lifted her gaze from her plate and thought about the answer for a moment.
"I don't protect many people."
"That doesn't answer the question."
Aoi looked back at her plate.
"With you it's different."
Takeshi waited for her to continue, but she didn't.
"Why?"
"Because it is."
She said it as if that were explanation enough.
Takeshi decided not to push. He continued eating while looking toward the cafeteria entrance, just like she was.
The rest of lunch passed in silence.
At the end of the day, while packing up his things to leave, Takeshi took stock of what he had seen.
Aoi had entered his room without permission, won over Akari in less than twenty minutes, followed him throughout the entire day without leaving any gaps, and reacted every time he interacted with another person, even if it was something minor.
'Protecting and watching are starting to look way too similar.'
Aoi appeared at his left side, ready to leave.
"I'll walk you home."
Takeshi looked at her for a second.
'I don't think I can refuse.'
"Sure."
He replied, and the two left together, unaware that they were being watched by someone else.