OBLINE, KUSUO SAIKI.

✶. reversal red.

✶ . . . OI, KUSUO, WHICH PICTURE OF Inoue Waka should I put as my new wallpaper? This one of her in the red dress or the black one?" You held your phone in front of Kusuo's face and flicked between the pictures.

Kusuo batted you away. You changed your wallpaper last week.

"Come on, pick one. I'm kinda feeling the red, to be honest."

Then pick the red one.

You huffed. "You're terrible at this. I'll just ask Nendo then."

You scooted your chair over to Nendo to ask for his opinion. Out of everyone, he was the only one you had been able to convert into an Inoue Waka fan. He still thought she was an anime character, but she was technically an actress so you guessed that was close enough.

Nendo rubbed his chin appreciatively. "The red dress is exquisite but the black is extremely flattering."

"Yes, exactly! You're the only one who understands me."

"Red this week and black the next," Nendo said, and you nodded, going in to change your wallpaper. He flipped his phone around to show you something. "Have you seen this picture of her? I found it in a magazine last night."

Your eyes bugged out of your skull. "Goddamn. Send me that right now."

You could practically hear Kusuo rolling his eyes. You smiled to yourself, not quite listening as Nendo started prattling on about something or other. It had been a week since the rain episode, that day you'd gone to visit Tokyo Jujutsu High. You had been a black mood after that, only lifted by the adorable white cat who had come to visit you. It was gone by the time you retrieved the empty saucer the next morning. Something about the cat reminded you intensely of Kusuo. Actually, you were willing to bet that the cat actually was Kusuo, but if he didn't say anything, neither would you.

There was a good chance he might have been able to hear your thoughts while Infinity had been down. You'd appreciate it if he didn't say anything about that, either.

"Are you guys looking at pin-up girls again?" Aren asked over your shoulder.

"How dare you?" you gasped, clutching your phone to your chest. "Inoue Waka is a gravure model. She's not just some common model you can find in a calendar."

"You still haven't told me which anime she's from," Nendo said.

Aren chuckled as you shot Nendo a look.

"Is Shun here yet? I have to give him back his math notes."

"No, I haven't seen Chibi all morning," Nendo replied.

You raised an eyebrow. "That's weird. He's always super early."

As you said that, Kaido entered the classroom. You knew that his uniform was intentionally tattered, but he looked particularly scuffed today, his hair askew and dust coating his face and uniform.

"Jet Black Wings, what happened?" you said. "Did you have a run-in with the Dark Reunion?"

Kaido sniffed, swiping a hand across his nose. "No, just some low-level delinquents this time. It took all of my energy just to hold myself back."

You glanced at Kusuo. He said, Those guys beat up Kaido pretty badly. They took his entire wallet.

Aren had gone very still. "Where did you meet those guys?"

"Just on the way to school." Seeming to notice Aren's dark expression, Kaido said hurriedly, "It's fine. They look way worse than I do." His haughty laugh faltered when he realized that no one believed him.