Several days passed and Misaki finally left the hospital. During her stay, the police came to ask for her statement regarding the assault case she was involved in. Luckily, the person was Shirogane's father, someone she was familiar with, so she didn't feel too nervous talking to him. As requested by Shirogane, Misaki fabricated some details. No one suspected anything because it seemed like a trivial but important matter. And after that day, the rest would be handled by the police and her parents who were filing a lawsuit against the suspect.

Now finally she's out, Misaki tries to live her life as usual, attempting to forget about the problem she went through. However, there are some slight changes in her daily routine.

For example, at this moment.

"When you are gonna talk about it?"

"Someday."

"Hmph!"

Shirogane, who appeared earlier in her life and now interacts with her more frequently since they spoke properly in the hospital, has been visiting her house often to hang out. This annoys Misaki because she's curious about what happened after her death, something Shirogane promised to explain to her. She feels like she is a curious ghost that cannot go to afterlife because how curious is she.

"Hey, hey, Shino-chan. Do you think Saki-chan seems too close to that Shirogane-boy? They seem very close even though Saki-chan says they've only met a few times."

Sakura whispers to Shinomiya.

"Hmm? And what are you going to do about it?"

Shinomiya asks flatly while sipping his tea.

They've been visiting Misaki's house more often since the incident because Misaki has become more rarely goes out due to trauma. Currently, the four of them are in Misaki's library.

Actually, they were surprised that Misaki had another friend outside of school, especially a boy. But now they've gotten used to it because they've met him several times at Misaki's house.

"I'm so jealous! I mean, Saki-chan seems to talk to him more than us! We barely even appeared in the previous chapters, making me feel almost forgotten!"

Sakura grumbles with watery eyes... Though it must be said, there's a glint of mischief in her eyes that makes Shinomiya sigh tiredly at her.

"Sigh, Saki-chan just talked to you 5 minutes ago."

"But I haven't hugged and kissed her hair—ouch!"

"That's just lewd behavior. Don't even try it."

Shinomiya says after tapping her head.

"Argghh! Hey, don't run away! Stop running, be careful when you going down the stairs! You'll fall!"

And just like that, Shirogane has left.

"What does he really want?"

That boy behaves oddly. He just visits briefly and sometimes touches a part of her body before leaving like the wind.

"He's making me impatient too."

And Misaki is frustrated with Shirogane. He's visited several times but hasn't tried to explain anything to her as promised, which tests her patience.

"Heh! Whatever, I don't care anymore!"

She shouts before slamming the door.

"And Endou, don't use my book as a pillow to sleep on! You don't appreciate it at all!"

Endou, who is also there and lying down, gets hit by a book thrown by Misaki, who is in a rage.

"Ack! Aren't you also not appreciating the book by throwing it at me!? You're just using me as a punching bag!"

Endou, who wakes up, finally retorts.

"Why is there so much noise here? Did Endou break something?"

Kazuto, who arrives and opens the door curiously, having just come from the toilet.

"Why am I always blamed when something happens!? Is this what they call racism!?"

"No, it's just that Endou-senpai feels nice to get bullied!"

Sakura replies cheerfully.

"Did you use the wrong word!? Right!?"

"Maybe the right word is harassment?"

Shinomiya says, tilting her head.

"Hey! Where did you learn that word!?"

Misaki laughs at the lively atmosphere created by her friends. They are here for her because she's rarely been out recently. She feels like she's inconveniencing them by making them come to her house.

I should get back to being my usual self soon so I can hang out with them later. Misaki thinks.

"It's nice to have friends. Right, Natsu?"

"Yawn~"

Natsu, who has actually been there for a while and lying on one of the fluffy pillows, yawns and goes back to sleep. Pretending not to hear Misaki's question and the commotion happening around.

"Haha, it's okay. Keep sleeping."

Looking back at her friends who continue to tease Endou, Misaki sighs softly with a smile, enjoying this peaceful and fun time.

"Ah, that's right."

Misaki says as she heads towards the exit.

"Where are you going, Misaki?"

Kazuto asks, noticing her about to leave.

"I'll go to the kitchen for a moment. The cake I put in the oven might be ready."

Misaki replies, then closes the door. Kazuto has been asking her where she's going every time she seems about to leave lately. Since she left the hospital, he's always trying to stay close to her. Maybe he's afraid the same thing will happen again if he leaves her. Honestly, it seems cute to her... Though also annoying because of his overprotective nature.

"Ehh? The sound of the TV?"

Walking down the stairs to the ground floor, Misaki hears the TV still on in the living room. And indeed, when she checks the room, the TV is still on with no one watching it.

"Mou, they should've turned off the TV if they're not watching."

By "they", Misaki means are her parents. When she arrived home after school, she saw them hurrying to attend something, who knows what. So maybe because of that, they forgot to turn off the TV.

"Well, let's turn it off—"

Just as Misaki is about to press the button to turn off the TV, the broadcast on the screen makes her cancel it while her expression is filled with shock.

"... reported that the criminal who committed violence against a student has been found dead in his cell. The cause is still unknown. But based on speculation, it's believed to be a heart attack and...."

Misaki didn't listen to the rest of the news because she was too shocked.

"How is that possible?"

The criminal who had hurt her and almost killed her... Found dead?

"Even in the past, he was still alive and terrorizing people, so how did he...."

When she's eager to know that, someone suddenly crosses her mind.

"Shirogane."

---

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Wait ... I just remember I work alone.