“Timeout,” Rin called. “Let’s take a break.”

The basketball bounced to a slow stop near one of the hoops, and Rin’s teammates congregated by the bleachers of the gym. Some of them sat down; Rin only grabbed a water bottle and a towel. He wiped his face dry and took a long drink.

“Shini-sama, you’re so winded,” came a cheerful voice. “You been skipping exercise these days?”

Rin capped his bottle and gave his friend a flat gaze. “We’ve been practicing consistently. I haven’t missed any exercise at home either. I’m just putting a little more effort in today.”

Wen Xulong continued to grin. “That’s good. Who knows, we might have a real game this year!”

“. . .Mm. Maybe.”

After resting for a few more minutes, the group started practicing again. Rin slipped right back into his groove, scoring one point after another, the monotonous sound of the ball bouncing between the floor and his palms filling his mind. With every second that passed, the world seemed to fade out a little more, until all that existed was the pounding of the ball, his feet, his heart, his breaths. . .All of these rhythms, entangling and mixing into a familiar, comforting drone.

This peaceful state was shattered in an instant; Rin’s foot caught, and he fell on his face.

All at once, Wen Xulong’s laughter burst out, accompanied by restrained chuckles from the others. He continued to laugh with abandon, but crouched down to help Rin up nonetheless. Feeling a little dumb, Rin took his hand and stood up again, then inspected his foot.

. . .His shoelaces had come undone.

“Shini-sama, I think that’s enough practice for today,” Wen Xulong said, still laughing. “You might break your nose if you do that again.”

Rin squatted to retie the laces, flushing slightly. It wasn’t very noticeable since he’d already been flushed from exertion. “. . .What time is it?”

“Four fifty-eight,” Wen Xulong answered. “Time to quit anyway, yeah? Let’s hit the karaoke room. Or we could go get some barbecue from that place you like.”

“Not interested,” Rin said absently as he stood up. “Exams are coming up soon. I have to study. You might not care much about passing, but my aunt will lock me in a dungeon if I don’t.”

“Shini-sama, you haven’t come out to play for weeks,” Wen Xulong said. “It’s unhealthy. You’ll go bald in your twenties if you keep this up!”

“I’m not going bald,” Rin said, rolling his eyes. “If I go out, I won’t have enough time to study before bed. I’ll have to stay up late. I’m already running late, so don’t tempt me.”

Wen Xulong punched his arm, then hooked his head in and gave him a noogie. “You’re coming out with me this weekend, whether you like it or not! Someone has to watch after your health!”

Rin shoved him off, strolling over to the bleachers to grab his schoolbag. “I already came out. Good luck, though. じゃあね (see you).”

“You know what I mean, ya little shit!” Wen Xulong called after him as he left the gym.

It wouldn’t be too long before the station outside the school shut down for the night, so Rin planned on going straight home. He’d left a couple of things at his desk, though, so he headed for the classrooms first.

At this time, basically everyone had left the school except for a few teachers, who were in the lounge. There wasn’t a sound in the halls aside from Rin’s own footsteps. In the dim, cold light from the overcast and dusky sky outside, it was almost eerie.

The classroom door slid open with a click and a rattle. Rin stepped through and paused.

In that moment, he was half-tempted to turn around and step back out, then shut the door quietly and leave without getting his things at all. It seemed like no matter where he went, he always ended up running into this person at some point.

His pause lasted for a good few seconds, but Nao still showed no reaction to the sound of the door opening. Thinking that perhaps he was too absorbed in thought, Rin walked over to his desk and started gathering up the books and papers he’d left behind.

Nao suddenly spoke in the silence, causing Rin to jump.

“No. That’s wrong.”

Rin turned a little, looking at the other boy over his shoulder. He was biting the eraser of his pencil, looking deeply troubled. He reached toward his face, froze for a moment, and then lowered his hand again, his frown becoming more noticeable.

Rin recalled that Nao had said he used to wear glasses.

Nao still didn’t realize that Rin was also here in the room. He sat there with the eraser between his teeth for a moment, then slumped down and put his head in his arms with a groan. “Helen-chan, this would be so much easier if I could still talk to you. . .”

Rin paused in the middle of turning back to his desk, a sudden spark of insight flashing through his mind like a phantom. Before he could make any connections, it disappeared, leaving him with only the frustrating sense that something obvious was sitting in front of him.

Nao blew out a sigh and sat up again, scrubbing a hand over his eyes. He seemed to have finally become aware of his surroundings after dropping that hand; he looked up at Rin. “Oh. . .Rin-san.”

Rin met his gaze, then looked away and turned back to his desk, stuffing things into his bag. “It’s past five. You should be getting home.”

“. . .Yeah.”

Nao stood and picked his things up as well, then walked a few steps toward the door before stopping again. After a second, in a quiet and sincere voice, he said, “Thank you, Rin-san.”

Rin gritted his teeth, suddenly feeling irritated. He brushed past Nao and tossed out a few words. “Stop thanking me. I haven’t done anything to help you.”

However hard he tried, Rin couldn’t stop seeing the ghost of the person who had ripped his life to shreds whenever he looked at Nao; when the words ‘thank you’ fell from those lips, it was like a knife in his heart.

“Rin-san, you probably saved my life,” Nao said, the hint of a smile in his voice.

That line broke Rin’s fragile calm.

He whirled around. “Would you just leave me alone?! If I’ve helped you in any way, then it was nothing more than coincidence! We ran into each other a few times, that’s all. I only ‘helped’ you because it wasn’t inconvenient! But I seriously don’t like you, and I don’t want to be your friend, so just forget about all of that already!”

The volume of Rin’s voice was startling in the silence. Nao’s smile had frozen on his face, his eyes full of bewilderment. With that gentle half-smile and his eyes wide and round, entirely innocent, he looked nothing like Hanaka.

This wasn’t the person Rin hated, and he didn’t deserve to be treated as such.

Rin felt a flush creep across his cheeks. He had steeled himself to apologize when Nao suddenly cast his eyes down, his smile deepening slightly. Yet no matter how deep that smile was, there wasn’t a trace of joy within it, only a profound melancholy. It wasn’t the sort of smile a sixteen-year-old boy should’ve had.

“Sorry, Rin-san. I overstepped your boundaries. I’ll leave you alone from now on.”

He shouldered his bag, then walked slowly past Rin, being careful not to bump or brush him.

In that moment, Rin felt something inside himself cracking apart.