Later that day.
Haru sits alone in a corner on the school's rooftop, he stares out at the lines of houses that reach to the horizon, a calm breeze sifts through his hair but his peace is disturbed by an uncomfortable damp coldness on his right thigh.
He looks beside him, apparently it had been raining the night before and the shade kept some remnants from evaporating. Haru shifts to the left and bumps into something big, it pulls away from him as he looks up.
"Do you mind?" Ketsuki asks in a monotonous tone, with her legs outstretched forward like him and a lunch box in her hand, a pair of chopsticks in the other.
Her nonchalant demeanor seems to vividly speak to him, 'ah I see, it's just that girl from yesterday.'
"Wait what? Ketsuki-san?" His eyes dart around them, no one is visible but he hears a group of students talking nearby. Haru whispers to her without moving, "what are you doing here...!" His eyes open slightly as something strange happens, she chuckles.
Ketsuki's bland tone suddenly feels as sweet and charming as a box of straight up sugar cubes, although almost as quickly as he heard it, her voice returned to normal yet it didn't feel as distant now.
Haru realizes something because of this.
Ketsuki straightens her back up against the wall and opens the lid on her lunch box, she whispers back to him, "I'm here to eat my lunch of course, what else could I be doing here?"
Feeling taken aback, Haru quietly breathes out a shallow sigh and his expression calms.
"Sorry but couldn't you eat somewhere else? Surely there's other places that fit what you want." Popping a chunk of rice down, she turns to him, "like where? I'm new here you know."
"I know that but they gave a tour of the school right?" Ketsuki neatly places her chopsticks down on the lunch box, "sorry, I uh- I didn't pay attention. I'll go if you're not fine with me being here..."
Haru ponders for a moment, their eyes remaining locked on each others.
The puddle of water a mere inch away and the now limited space causes Haru to shift awkwardly in his position as he takes his eyes off of hers. "It's... Okay, you can stay if you want to and I don't mind that much."
Whilst looking back at her, he thinks to himself, 'she seems to be a quiet girl, it should be fine right?'
Ketsuki reaches beside her and pulls out a flask, she twists the cap open, unleashing a fresh yet unpleasant stench. Haru glances at the mysterious liquid, its unsavory red color and smooth texture causes his stomach to churn, 'stuff looks like blood.'
As they continue eating beside each other in silence, Haru continues staring out at the scenery before them as the sun starts to loom overhead, in his peripheral he notices Ketsuki avoiding the sunlight.
"I've heard of people that are allergic to sunlight, are you one of them?" She moves closer to him, Haru feels the side of his left arm being brushed up against and his chest feels as if it thumps harder, he clears his throat, "you okay?"
"Ah- Yeah, I guess I'm allergic to sunlight, sunlight itches my skin when it touches me and after awhile it gets worse."
Haru checks for the puddle from earlier, by now it has dissipated in size so he moves closer to the left, allowing Ketsuki to shuffle closer in the shade. "Thank you Sasaki-kun," she says whilst swiping some dust off her skirt and rearranging herself.
Wondering what to say, yet not being able to come out with any words, Haru silently acknowledges her appreciation with a nod and continues to finish his food.
A faint smell of moist air after rain mixes with the light aroma of sausage and vegetables, the wind maintains its gentleness as Haru feels the rough bumpy surface of the concrete wall through his clothes.
Only the occasional clack from Ketsuki hitting the bottom of her lunch box with chopsticks broke through the silence, yet melded harmoniously with the peaceful atmosphere.
Even though they were so close a moment ago, the extra space allowed for some space between the two classmates, although they're a mere few millimeters apart, for some reason Haru feels the distance as a great chasm between them now.
'There's no point thinking about this now, it won't happen again so there's no reason to.' Haru packs up his utensils and pats down his pants as he stands up.
"Where are you going?" Ketsuki asks to Haru's surprise, her prior silence suddenly broken.
"I'm done eating so I'm going back to the classroom." He looks down at her, legs still outstretched and both hands holding onto her lunch. Haru continues speaking with one hand around his nape, "... What about you?"
"I'll... I'll go back once I'm done." Her sad tone suggests that there was something else she was indirectly talking about, 'done with what I wonder.'
"Alright then, I'll see you in class later Ketsuki-san."
After Haru leaves, she lets out a heavy sigh.
'I don't want to go back to that place.'
Ketsuki looks up at the scenery Haru had been staring at for the majority of the time they'd spent together, "I wonder what it's like out there in the sun," she turns to the line of sunlight nearby, "feeling that warmth on your skin."
She grabs her left shoulder, she feels a faint warmth in her palm and for once, genuinely smiles out of pure happiness. 'Heheh, oh well, I got to experience some of it already.'