The moment Kuro Kurogane woke up he knew something bad was going on.

There were no messages from Mina Fujikawa all the whole day.

She sent nothing.

No memes. No insults. No conspiracy theories late at night.

It’s like she was totally off physically .

Even at school Mina made no attempt at teasing people.

She still had a smile on her face, and still laughed.

But as far as Kuro was concerned she had to be forcing it.

And once Kuro notices something about anyone he can’t see that other way anymore.

Another lunch time.

The roof was uncharacteristically quiet when Kuro went up there.

Mina was sitting up against the fence reading text on her phone without knowing it, while the wind drifted gently through her long blonde hair.

Mina normally would be taking Kuro’s food to eat , bothering Akari with random comments. Pressuring everyone with her emotional standpoint.

But today, there was no intimidation.

Kuro was near her without saying anything.

"Are you sick?" Kuro asked innocently.

Mina let out a snicker, then replied with,

"Romantic line."

"You are acting very strangely."

"Maybe I just have to evolve."

"To what, then." Kuro asked.

"I will be unemotionally working."

Kuro thought that wasn’t a bad answer either

but he noticed something in her smile again but not her eyes today.

Later, Kuro was going back home from school and saw Mina at the train stop.

The city was a soft orange from the sunset as Kuro approached her leaning against a vending machine with a soda in her hand and enjoying some liquid caffeine.

She saw him coming before he was right next to her.

"Now you are stalking me or something?" She said sounding confused.

"You haven’t made an insulting comment towards me in eight hours."

"How sad."

Kuro quietly stopped next to her.

After a moment of quietness.

"Did something happen?"

Mina quickly looked away from Kuro.

The quickness of her actions answered Kuro’s question.

"Family stuff," was the only thing Mina could say after an extended amount of soulless sounds.

Kuro waited in silence.No pressure to push her. Simply existing within her space.

Mina continued to stare past Kuro and at the city streetlights that were just beginning to turn on.

Then, she let out a weak laugh.

"Do you ever feel like the only people who appreciately you, are the people that see your worth to them?"

Kuro blinked at the question.

Mina continued this time, in a quiet voice.

"My parents do not care what I want.They only want me to smile the right way.To wear the right clothes.To act the right way."

The way Mina was speaking was casual.

Like she was trying to hide the emotional pain she felt inside.

Eventually, she quietly stated, "Earlier today I had an argument with my dad."

Kuro remained quiet while continuing to listen.

Mina gave a light kick to the ground beneath her foot as she stared straight ahead of her.

"My dad thinks I waste my time being immature by being myself.He told me I need to grow up and start acting more grown-up."

After saying that, she let out a small laugh.

Essentially saying, "I am not allowed to be Mina anymore."

That really blew Kuro away, because at that moment, Kuro realized that Mina’s .

Loudness is not an expression of her immaturity. Rather it is an expression of her being free.

Kuro spoke very quietly without any hesitation at all.

Kuro stated, "I like that you’re loud."

Mina was taken aback.

"What?"

"You help others feel comfortable."

Mina was honest.

"You fill in the gaps when you aren’t present."

Mina was silent.

Then Kuro said, "That’s a compliment to you."

Kuro looked away because he had been awkward.

Kuro was honest.

Kuro was continually accidentally honest.

And as Kuro repeated his honesty it caused Mina emotional damage after every single time.

Eventually, Kuro returned to the Fujikawa residence with Mina.

Mina did not make many jokes along the way.

She just stayed close and enjoyed the city lights reflecting on the street.

Then Kuro asked, "Would you like to come upstairs to my apartment again?"

"I thought you had already gone through that."

That made sense. More likely than not.

The Fujikawa residence was silent.

Mina threw her bag next to a chair and then collapsed forward over the couch.

"I hate rich people."

"You belong to rich people."

"I hate them because they fit in too well."

Kuro was sitting quietly at a distance from Mina when he noticed something.

Mina’s shoulders were shaking.

They shook slightly.

But Kuro could see them shaking.

"Mina," he said.

Then Mina laughed.

However, the laugh was broken.

Kuro did not understand what was happening until he saw Mina covering her eyes with one arm.

"Kuro, I’m going to cry," she said.

Kuro was frozen.

Mina Fujikawa was sobbing.

Alone.

There was no breakdown.

There were just tears rolling off of someone that was simply worn out from pretending that she was okay.

Watching her was painful.

After a moment, Kuro sat down on the couch beside her.

He didn’t speak.He didn’t attempt to comfort her.He just sat there quietly.

Just like he did when he sat next to Aoi in the snow many years ago.

Minutes passed quietly.

Mina slowly calmed herself while hiding her face from Kuro the entire time.

"You’re really bad at comforting."

Kuro did not respond immediately.

"Yeah, I probably am..."

"You didn’t even tell me anything to make me feel better."

"I didn’t really feel like that was needed."

Finally, Mina peeked through the strands of her blonde hair hanging in front of her face.

All of a sudden she laughed.

A real laugh.

The girl was so small. So fragile. But truly real.

At last she released her full arm.

Her eyes were still somewhat bloodshot.Her hair was disheveled.Her facial expression appeared vulnerable.

But Kuro thought she was beautiful just the same.

Then she smiled again.

Not like the typical flashy gyaru smile. And not like a broken smile.

At that precise moment Kuro felt an overwhelming sensation.

His attraction to her smile was stronger than the prior attraction he had for any of the others.

"Thank-you for being here."

Kuro looked at her silently not responding verbally. But he responded with his heart.

"I wanted to."

The silence in the room became tense.

Heavy. Comforting. Yet Possibly Dangerous.

Based on Mina’s reaction after Kuro’s response to her sincere question .

Kuro realised he had witnessed a girl who was genuinely beginning to fall in love.