The weekend had passed imperceptibly and I found myself eating lunch in the classroom again. 

Everyone in the class was behaving just as usual. Nobody was staring strangely at me. Yamaguchi didn’t mention anything as well. This could mean that nobody from my class had seen the incident on Friday. 

(Now that you owe me your life... would you like to become my servant... or something.) 

I couldn’t stop thinking about that over the weekend. 

On my way to school I had tried looking around more carefully, but I didn’t notice anyone with blond hair at all. 

I thought that she was just an apparition guarding the staircase, but it’s not like supernatural things like that really exist. 

Anyways, what did she mean by ‘servant’? She seemed rather embarrassed saying that, and ran away just a moment later. 

Was that just a slip? Maybe she meant to say something else, but was thinking about something else and somehow confused words? 

How was she able to think about anything else in that situation in first place? In any case, that didn’t change the fact that she wanted me to become something for her... That would have been rather sudden, though... 

That was one of the many things that made me more interested in her. It was strange that it had been my first time seeing her peculiar figure, even though she was attending the same school as me. 

Another oddity of hers was the eyepatch, especially that it wasn’t the medical kind, but the one you see pirates or some game characters wearing on their eyes. It was more like a cosplay thing than something you wear every day. 

Moreover, she had a specific aura around her. Something that led her to seem pitiful. It was caused not only by her way of behaving, which I hadn’t gotten to experience much of, but also by her appearance. 

Those things didn’t allow me to forget about her. Furthermore, I wanted to know more about her... it would be great if I was able to meet her again. 

I think I thanked her properly on the place. I hadn’t seen her since then. 

Was she in the neighboring classroom right now? Did she come to school today at all? In any case, I had no idea where I could find her. 

No, I think that if I really wanted to, it wouldn’t be that much of a problem to find her, but... I was afraid. 

It would be great if she approached me on her own, but I knew that it was pointless to place my hope in that. 

That said, I really couldn’t bring myself to leave the classroom, and even without expecting much, slowly walk around the hallway taking a few peeks into the other classrooms. 

I was also forgetting about something even more important. If I actually came across her, how would I be supposed to talk? Unfortunately, I wasn’t that kind of person that was able to approach a stranger and talk to him. 

In fact, I think that I had developed a slight social anxiety. The only people that I could talk to without being nervous at all was my family, but I couldn’t talk about anything I wanted with them. Even talking to Yamaguchi sometimes made me a bit stressful, but luckily it was usually he who started the conversation, so that made it a little easier for me. 

Perhaps I might be able to muster my courage if she was alone and the room was empty, but these conditions were hardly possible. 

Come to think of it, it was she who had run away first back then, so I could assume that she had been at least a bit more humiliated than me. I might be overthinking that as well, because I could imagine even an outgoing person running away in such a situation. 

That’s why I thought that the task of approaching her was on pair with jumping off a bungee. You know, some people would just jump without any worries, but others would never ever bring themselves to do it. I was the latter kind. 

Deep inside me... well, maybe not that deep, was an... urge? I think that would be the proper word, an urge to meet her. 

It would have been great if we were able to meet in similar conditions. With nobody around to see us, so in case something goes wrong, only she would be able to laugh at me. 

I wasn’t really sure if that was a real thing, but in some TV dramas and anime, I saw people leaving so-called ‘love letters’ in recipient’s shoe box asking to meet them on the rooftop. 

It was incredibly awkward just to think about that. Had I admitted that I want to leave her a love letter? Talk about embarrassing. 

Anyway, my head was devoid of ideas. 

Well, I thought that I might try leaving the classroom during breaks hoping that I may accidentally spot her and... no idea what later. Maybe I would follow after her... and if she spotted me as well, then... well, I would have no idea what to do. 

The break was going to end soon. Yamaguchi was off to somewhere... 

Right, Yamaguchi! 

I thought that maybe he knew something about her... even as much as in which class she was. But was that a good idea to ask him? I could already see him making an unnecessary fuss out of that. ‘You finally got interested in girls! I’m proud of you, Takao!’ or something like that, obviously in such a loud tone that the whole school would be able to hear him. 

Also, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to fill him in. On the other hand, he might be helpful. He would be able to keep it a secret... I mean, it’s not like there was anyone that would be interested in that. 

Either way, he wasn’t in the classroom right now, so I would have to wait for the next break anyway. 

There was a possibility that he didn't know anything, though. After all, that girl had been such a mysterious figure that managed to keep her existence barely known despite her such distinctive characteristics. 

Nevertheless, I decided to ask him after all. 

… 

An hour had passed. I approached Yamaguchi’s desk. I was a bit nervous which caused my body to tremble slightly. He was dumb, but it was possible that he would notice and make fun of me. Also, that might bring clear suspicions that I was interested in her. 

“Hey, Yamaguchi...”, I asked him with the tone of my voice already strangely unsteady. 

“?” he only mumbled. 

I made sure that my right hand was ready. If you asked me what for, it was to cover his mouth in case he started to shout. I even cleaned it properly beforehand. 

“There is a girl.” 

It didn’t take long for him to respond. 

“Huuh? A girl?” his tone was dubious. 

It was a fact that he had said it louder than usual, but it wasn’t enough for anyone to notice us. 

“Do you know anything about a girl with...” 

That was the moment when I was supposed to describe her, but my stress caused me to stop. It was evident that my face was slightly red and my hands trembling. 

If it caused me that much trouble just to talk about her, what would have it been if I actually met her? 

“blond hair and an eyepatch?” 

I think that it might have sounded as if I were interested in her... 

Without a doubt, there was only one girl in that school with blond hair and an eyepatch just as I described. He should have known who I was talking about by now if he knew anything at all. 

“Oh... the chopping board!” it didn’t take him much time to come up with that incredibly naïve response. 

From what I had seen on TV, girls with small breasts don’t like being reminded of that. 

I didn’t usually pay attention to that, especially that I were in middle school, but come to think of it, she did seem kind of flat. 

“So... what do you know about her?” I asked him directly what I was interested in, averting my stare from him and fidgeting with my hands as if I were a cute embarrassed girl. 

“Huh... you sure have an unusual taste, Takao!” 

Really? I didn’t really mind that... 

“But she’s truly strange. I didn’t know she was a student here until last Friday when I saw her on the hallway.” 

...honestly. 

“So... you don’t know anything?” I asked him visibly puzzled. 

“Sorry.” 

“I see...” 

It seems that I unnecessarily filled Yamaguchi in and didn’t gain anything from it. I could already see him asking me every day how it goes with making her my girlfriend. 

That meant that in the end, I was left all alone with that... like always. 

•

For the past few days, I had been leaving the classroom on the lunch break. My activities were limited to walking around the hallway and the stairway. I had also tried taking a peek into the cafeteria and the library, but I hadn’t seen her there. 

I was aware that I had been overlooking a lot of things, like the most obvious one – classrooms. 

In case she had really been in her classroom, I hoped that she would leave it someday and then... what? 

In my imagination, I would successfully talk to her about anything that I wanted to and get to know her better, but in reality, I wouldn’t have been able to let out more than a single word from me. 

It was Friday. Soon, it would become weekend again and I would spend my time at home reading books and playing games. That’s what I always did. I can’t say that it was boring, but sort of... repetitive? 

The thing was that, I didn’t want to change that. Or rather, I was afraid to. Some people don’t like changes... maybe that was the case for me? 

Either way, the lunch break began. People were slowly gathering in groups to chatter and eat lunch together, but I didn’t bring my lunch out of the bag before standing up to leave the classroom like I had been doing for the past few days. 

I left the classroom, pretty much without any expectations. Even though it was only the fourth day of my ‘search’, it had already become a kind of routine. 

That was mostly because the only thing I had been doing was pointlessly wander around and hope that she would appear there. 

That was when I finally found what I had been looking for... unbelievably. It was pretty much only my luck, because... 

The person with long, blond hair holding a neatly packaged lunchbox in her right hand was passing by my classroom at that moment. 

She had already passed the door, so she didn’t see me leaving at all. In any case, I instantly backed into the classroom, startled. 

I couldn’t believe my own eyes, so I leaned my head out the door frame and confirmed what I had seen a moment ago. It was the blond girl I had met a week ago in those unusual circumstances. 

I wasn’t able to confirm whether she had an eyepatch, but her figure seemed familiar enough for me. 

I took a step out of the classroom and looked at her side. She was approaching the staircase, and... to my surprise, she didn’t chose to go downstairs. She went upstairs instead. 

As I currently were on the third floor, above there were only rarely used storage rooms and a rooftop entrance that should have been closed. 

She was holding a lunchbox, so she definitely wasn’t asked by a teacher to bring something from there. That said, what was she going to do with her lunch there? 

I thought that there was no way she was going to shut herself in one of those dusty rooms and eat her lunch there... or was there? Keeping in mind her pitiful figure, I thought that it might have been the case. 

Unlike the rooftop entrance, these doors were really old, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she managed to open them without the need of a key. 

That said, I decided to go after her. One thing that eased my mind was that she went there alone. I felt as if I were obliged to check on her. 

After I finally arrived at the staircase, I think that it had taken me a few minutes to reach the top taking many reluctant steps. 

I didn’t notice anyone behind me. That meant that we were on the fourth floor alone. There wasn’t anyone but her in one of these rooms. 

There were a few old, wooden doors and a large rooftop entrance. Each seemed closed. 

Come to think of it, I had assumed that the rooftop was closed. It might have not been the case. After all, I hadn’t been there for a few years. Also, it seemed like a good place to be alone at. During this time of year, it usually wasn’t that cold there. 

That’s when I thought that it might have been the place I had been looking for from the beginning. She might have been there all the time. It would suit her pitiful aura... which wasn’t good, because that would mean that I wasn’t wrong all this time. 

But what was important was the present. I was standing right before the door that might lead to her. Now that I was certain of it, it made it even harder. Pushing that handle could have meant a sure encounter. 

That was what I wanted to do from the beginning, wasn’t it? But somehow, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. 

I had always been such a coward. 

I thought about that girl... sitting alone there quietly digging into her lunch. Nothing more. 

She was alone there... and I was alone as well. 

I thought that maybe I should bring my own lunch from the classroom, but I wasn’t able to trust myself that I would surely come back here. 

There were basically two choices for me: open the door, or forget about her. It was a hard choice. The former would lead me to the unknown, whereas the latter would basically mean not changing anything. The former, in the worst case, would make me humiliated for a few weeks, whereas in the best case, I could make a friend. 

That said, I stopped thinking and reached the handle with my hand. I pushed it slightly moving the door which made a sound that could have been heard by someone that was there. 

I couldn’t believe that I had really done it, but I had yet to confirm whether she was really there. 

All this time I thought that the rooftop was closed, but it seems that I was wrong. 

There was no going back. Looking up, I opened my eyes and got a view of a gray, cloudy sky. It looked as if it could start raining at any time. 

There was a large, gray concrete surface which looked really unfriendly. 

Leaning against the fence, there was a girl with long, blond hair. This time, I had a short look at her face – the blue eye next to the eyepatch was looking straight at me. 

On her left, there was the lunchbox I had seen her holding before. 

In her left hand, there was a bitten triangle-shaped rice ball, whereas in her right hand, a smartphone. 

I was certain – it was the same girl that I had bumped into a week ago. 

... 

I wasn’t able to do anything but stand there still without uttering a word. She only moved her gaze away from me and looked down, but didn’t move at all. 

I wanted to say something, but I wasn’t able to. All I felt was a gentle wind blowing through. I heard some laughs from a distance. 

It was colder than I had expected. There was no way I was going back, because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to ever face her again. 

That’s why... 

“Y-yo.” 

I managed to say something, obviously stuttering. It was said so quietly that I wasn’t sure if she heard me properly. I must have looked like a moron. 

To my surprise, she looked in my direction and mumbled something. After that, an awkward silence fell. 

I felt a rather strong wind on my body again. The sky looked as if the rain was approaching closer and closer. 

She was only indifferently looking forward, and she hadn’t touched her rice ball since I came here. 

How many times had I hesitated too long, lost my chance and regretted it later? I guess it was one of those situations. She would have laughed at me already if she wanted to, wouldn’t she? 

I was sure that we were both alone on that rooftop, yet I couldn’t say anything anymore. She had an embarrassing look on her face that she hesitantly tried to hide from me. 

It would have been great for me if I didn’t think about anything and said whatever I wanted, but... you can’t just say anything, can you? 

However, I managed to enter the rooftop somehow, in a way intruding her territory, so I should have taken responsibility. 

I looked in her direction again. She was still looking nowhere in particular not having touched the bitten rice ball ever since I came here. 

Here goes nothing, I thought. 

I gathered all of the courage left in that miserable body of mine, closed my eyes, looked down and said firmly. 

“I’m sorry!” 

... 

It turned out way louder than I wanted to. And what I wanted to say was “Thank you” to begin with. 

Utterly humiliated, I opened my eyes and looked at her face which was returning the gaze with a surprise. 

I thought that I saw a smile on her face for a split second. Somehow, I didn’t feel intimidated because of that. It was actually more of a relief. 

Suddenly, she finally decided to open her mouth and utter her first words in a quiet, but firm tone. 

“Why are you here?” 

That question sounded as if she wasn’t expecting me at all, as if she didn’t want to see me here, which didn’t fully make sense after she had abruptly run away the last time we met. 

As for the question, I wasn’t sure how I could answer it. ‘Because I wanted to see you’ would be true, but it sounded too ambiguous, didn’t it? 

(would you like to become my servant... or something...) 

Her words from back then suddenly came to my mind, along with an idea for a question. 

“What did you mean by servant?” 

“No... please forget about it”, she looked down and barely let out these words after a while of hesitation. 

Her response wasn’t that surprising. It looked like she was embarrassed by that. Maybe I was right that she had only slipped back then. 

We weren’t able to look directly at each other. It might have looked cute if someone was watching us from the side, but the only thing I felt was humiliation that would haunt me for the next few days. 

Why was she alone eating lunch on the roof, I wondered. It was the kind of a place that downhearted people went to. Schools usually had more places like that, of which the rooftop was probably the most popular one. That said, there was the highest possibility that you might meet a lonely person there, just like you. 

Come to think of it, if I had known that the door was open, I might have come here myself. 

That said, right now we probably ended up like those two lonely people accidentally meeting. 

There was one more question I wanted to ask her right there that would make me satisfied enough for the day. 

“What’s your name?” 

I recalled telling her my name after that incident, but she hadn’t responded with her name back then. 

“Lumiya”, she responded in a low tone still averting her eyes. 

That was one strange name. Usually, when someone responded to that question with only one name, they meant their last name, but there was no way it had been her last name, unless she were a foreigner. 

That said, it was pretty unusual as a given name as well, but not impossible. That didn’t really matter, though. If that was what she wanted me to call her, then I would do so. 

“I’m Fujioka Takao”, I presented my name to her once more in case she had forgotten it. 

When I took a look at her, I saw her tiny, motionless figure, pretty much like when we first met. Her gaze was directed at the gray, concrete floor, and her left hand was still holding the bitten rice ball, which hadn’t been touched ever since I came here. 

That was when I realized that she may not finish her lunch if I stayed here. 

We exchanged our names, so was there anything left for me there? I mean, of course there were a lot of topics that I could talk about, but I thought that was enough for now. 

... 

I didn’t want to go away at all. I wanted to stay there with her for some more time, but I was making her uncomfortable. 

There was nothing coming out of her mouth... of course there wasn’t. 

That was when I suddenly felt something on my shoulder, and a moment later on my hair, and then I looked at the floor. 

I confirmed that it had started raining. 

At that moment, all that was left for me was to go back inside. I turned around and took a few steps towards the exit, thinking that she would naturally go after me, but she didn’t even budge. 

“It’s raining”, I stated the obvious as I turned around to her to encourage her to stand up and come back inside, but she didn’t move. 

It went without saying that I couldn’t just leave her there. 

Nevertheless, I headed toward the exit, hoping that she would go after me after all, but when I, standing right before the door, turned my head to look at her, she was still in the same position. 

“Hey, aren’t you going inside?”, I said firmly. 

Suddenly, the rain turned into a heavy pour. It looked like I would catch a cold if I stayed there any longer. 

... 

Was she doing that on purpose? Was she that embarrassed? 

I took a few firm steps back and stopped right before her. To my surprise, she turned her head in my direction, and tried to faintly look at me. 

“Hey, do you want to seriously catch a cold? Let’s go.” 

I had an idea to grab her by her wrist like I had seen on TV, but apart from being too embarrassed to do it, I wasn’t sure if she would be alright with it. 

... 

There was something wrong with that girl. As if that wasn’t obvious already. 

I thought of a better idea. The chances of success were poor, but at least it wasn’t that embarrassing and intruding as the previous one. 

I held out my hand to her. Maybe she would grab it, maybe not. 

After seemingly mindlessly looking at me for a few seconds, she put away the bitten rice ball and grabbed that hand. 

Having a girl holding my hand made me uneasy, even though our bodies had already completely touched each other before in that incident. 

I felt the weight of her body as she was pulling the hand to stand up. Her uniform was already pretty soaked. 

Even though she finally stood up, she didn’t let go of my hand, which made my movements a lot more difficult. 

I picked up the lunchbox that was lying aside. 

We weren’t able to say anything as we were taking small steps towards the exit, her hand still holding mine. 

She let go of my hand only when we went through the door. 

There was a lot of water dripping from her clothes and hair. She didn’t seem to be bothered by it, though, as she stood with her hands hanging freely. 

“Do you have anything to change into?”, I asked her as I looked at her wet uniform, even though I had no idea what I would do if she didn’t. There was no way I would give her my jacket, after all. 

“Do you think that this rain is enough to break me?” she responded faintly as she raised her left hand to her forehead, but I wasn’t able to see her expression as she was looking down. 

I was taken aback by that reaction. Was she perhaps trying to act tough? 

That’s when I noticed that in her right hand that she didn’t raise, there was a smartphone I had seen before. 

“Is your phone alright though?” 

The raised hand immediately fell down as she swiftly lifted her smartphone and tried to turn it on to confirm if it was still working. 

She turned on the screen and fiddled with it for a moment. I thought that I saw a female anime character on it. Anyways, It looked like everything was working. 

“You’re more worried about your phone than yourself?” I continued. 

She looked in my direction with that single eye of hers. 

“It takes a lot more to scratch me. But this device is of utmost importance. Should it break, I would lose my streak.” she said directing her gaze at the device. 

That was a very peculiar, exaggerated way to say that. She meant a game, didn’t she? 

As if nothing ever happened, she started casually walking away towards the staircase. 

... 

Seeing her manner of speech, I thought that she had really wanted to say ‘servant’ back then. That said, she hadn't really meant ‘servant’. 

I might have had an idea what she had really meant. 

“Lumiya-san.” 

Even though I myself was a withdrawn coward, I knew that her toughness was only an act. 

When she heard that, she instantly stopped and didn’t turn around to look at me. 

“Which class are you in?” I asked her further. 

She took a while before responding. 

“3-A”, I didn’t have an idea of what was her expression as she replied without even turning around. 

Then, she continued to make a suggestion I would have never expected. 

“Come 20 minutes after class if you want.” 

That made my life a lot, lot easier. To be able to meet her again in a more comfortable place without the pressure of time was certainly a great offer to me. 

“Alright”, I responded as she started to run downstairs not turning around at all and gradually disappearing from my vision. 

... 

After she left, I noticed that I still had her lunchbox in my hand.