Sakura..... Why is Sakura suddenly talking to me..... I..... I'm not good at making eye contact..... I don't know how to communicate..... Could it be..... Could it be..... they know I'm the witness?
Saiki Kusuo could not only hear Sakura Airi's thoughts but also clearly see, through his X-ray vision, her breathing quicken and her heart rate accelerate.
'Sakura's issues with communication are even worse than Shiina's,' Saiki thought.
While Shiina Hiyori struggled with social interaction, there was a significant difference between her and Sakura. Shiina deeply desired to meet someone she could connect with, but Sakura seemed to resist interacting with others altogether.
One was simply bad at it, while the other was unwilling.
Edward T. Hall, a cultural anthropologist, divided personal space into four categories. One of them is "intimate distance." When someone enters this extremely close range—close enough to embrace—people naturally feel a strong sense of rejection. However, with lovers or close friends, this distance isn't uncomfortable. In Kushida's case, even when she enters the intimate distance of someone she's not close to, she doesn't trigger rejection. It's as if she makes people unaware of the intimate distance itself....
Ayanokōji Kiyotaka observed the pair from a distance, his thoughts drifting.
'Who is this guy? And you're analyzing the situation in your head, quoting experts? You're the first person I've seen do that.'
Saiki Kusuo mentally rolled his eyes.
He hadn't expected today's events to involve him, but Horikita Suzune had "invited" him along, claiming it was to prevent any unexpected situations.
Saiki glanced at Sakura, who held a small camera. Using his telepathic abilities, he knew she had accidentally captured something earlier.
"Um, I wanted to ask you about Sudō," Kushida said politely, her smile warm.
"I-I don't know! I don't know anything!" Sakura stammered, backing away as if threatened. Her eyes darted everywhere but at Kushida.
"It won't take long, this is important!" Kushida pressed on, surprised by Sakura's reaction.
"I really don't know anything!" Sakura turned to flee but tripped, falling to the ground. Her camera clattered beside her.
Ignoring the pain, Sakura scrambled to check her camera.
"S-Sorry, are you okay?" Kushida asked, taken aback.
'She tripped on her own, it's not my fault! Ugh, if others misunderstand, this will be a mess!' Sakura thought frantically, her camera refusing to turn on.
"S-Sorry," she mumbled, then grabbed her camera and dashed away.
'I..... don't want anyone to know the real me.....'
"Sakura....." Kushida hesitated, but by the time she reacted, Sakura was gone.
"Looks like things just got complicated," Ayanokōji remarked casually. Horikita nodded in agreement but didn't intervene, soon leaving the scene.
...
Meanwhile, in the special classroom building, Sakura sat alone on an empty staircase, repeatedly pressing her camera's power button to no avail.
This was where Sudō Ken had clashed with Class D earlier. Unlike regular classrooms, this building was only used for lab sessions, so it was usually deserted.
Sakura, a part-time online idol and model, often took selfies here to keep her identity secret. She never imagined she'd witness Sudō's conflict with Class D.
"It's broken..." Sakura stared at the camera, her eyes filled with despair.
'The camera's broken..... What about the photos inside...'
'If I'd just admitted I was the witness from the start..... would things be different?.....'
'But..... I can't communicate normally..... The camera's broken..... A new one costs too much..... I'll have to get it repaired..... But that shopkeeper..... I don't want to go there.....'
Tears welled in Sakura's eyes, threatening to spill.
'Yare yare, this is getting messy,' Saiki observed from a nearby corridor corner, having overheard her thoughts.
'Sakura's communication issues are worse than I thought.'
Just then, Saiki's phone vibrated silently—he'd set it to mute after running into Kushida that night.
He glanced at the screen. It was a message from Kushida.
Kushida: I think I broke Sakura's camera..... I'm planning to take her to the school's digital shop tomorrow to fix it. Want to come?
Saiki: Yeah.
Saiki replied almost instantly, uncharacteristically decisive.