Ayato stood outside the nurse's office, frowning. He was hoping that since it was around lunch time, there wouldn't be any other students here. Unfortunately, the room seemed to be quite crowded today, with a total of three people inside. Two students and a nurse to be specific.

Ayato recognized one of them, a boy who he'd seen talking to Jonzu many times. He was lean and built, with thick dark hair and sharp grey eyes. They'd only spoken once before, but crossed paths enough times to become familiar with each other. The other student sat on the small bed, looking miserable. He had a bloody, beaten, and swollen appearance and was currently being treated by the nurse.

While still standing at the doorway, Ayato scanned the room. He'd gotten word from Info-chan that the school had many lethal and nonlethal poisons in stock. All he needed was a bottle, then he could finish what needed to be done. A task that was simple, yet complex, given the time restraints. On his way here, he managed to get Kokona and convince her to keep Osana busy for about ten minutes. So far, two minutes had passed. He decided to go forward while he still had time to spare.

He stepped inside and made his way to the small bed.

"Ayato," the non-beaten student flashed a small grin. "Nice to see you."

"What's going on in here?" Ayato asked.

"Another fist fight." The nurse shook her head disapprovingly. "Mr. Masuta was kind enough to break it up."

The beaten student on the bed glared at him. "I had it under control Budo!" He snarled.

Budo raised an eyebrow. "Your face says otherwise. Besides, you shouldn't be getting into fights anyways."

"Says the martial arts leader!" He snapped.

"That's different and you know it." Budo sighed. "Maybe if you joined, next time you picked a fight with the delinquents you wouldn't lo-"

"SHUT UP!"

Ayato paid them little attention, his eyes focusing on the sealed bottles locked with the cabinet behind them. There were many ways he could go, many routes he could take, but which one was the most appropriate? Just thinking about failure made his head hurt like never before. It felt like he was overthinking things, like there was an easier way to get what he needed and he'd just zipped past it. This was also a new feeling he had to get used to... Worry, they called it.

"Is there something you need from in there?" The nurse asked.

Ayato suddenly realized how long and intensely he had been staring. "Oh! Uh..."

He decided to just be frank and pointed at the cabinet. "I need to see those bottles."

The nurse walked over to the cabinet, pulling out her keys. After reading the labeling, she paused. "What for?"

Already expecting the question, he answered. "Science project."

Instead of accepting his answer, she narrowed her eyes, and Ayato suddenly wished that he'd made a different decision.

"What class?" She asked. He knew what she meant by it, but still the question annoyed him, and he wasn't able to stop himself from making a peevish response.

"Science." Ayato said, and immediately regretted it.

The nurse didn't seem to appreciate his sarcasm at all, in fact, she looked like she was ready to kick him out.

"It's alright Ms. Nasu," Budo suddenly said. "Another friend of mine has the same assignment."

The nurse blinked. "Are you sure? I don't remember-"

"Positive." He nodded.

She thought for a moment, then simply sighed as she grabbed the bottles. "Well, I suppose I can trust you Budo. "

Ayato shot him a curious glance, to which he responded with a wink.

"Be sure to return them." Ms. Nasu urged.

Budo nodded once more. "Of course."

And with that, he took the bottles, grabbed Ayato by the wrist, and strolled out of the room and into the hall.

They stared at each other for a while, until finally, Ayato spoke up. "What was that for?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you lie for me? We barely know each other."

Bud smiled. "It's nothing like that, you just looked like you were in a hurry."

"Yeah but-"

"Don't worry about. Honestly, I was ready to leave just as much as you were." He drops the bottles into Ayato's hands. "I don't know why you would want these, but here you go. Tell Jonzu I said hi if you see him." Budo turned to leave, then stopped. "Actually... Don't. He tends to talk a lot. But I'm sure you already knew that."

Ayato smiled. It was a fake one, full of practiced enjoyment and artificial kindness. "Right."

After watching Budo turn down the hall, Ayato quickly headed to Osana's classroom. He'd wasted a good seven minutes with the nurse, and wasn't sure Kokona was still even there. He kept one bottle in each pocket; lethal in the left and nonlethal in the right. Another decision had to be made very soon.

As he got closer to the room, he could just faintly hear her voice.

"I know it's in here somewhere!"

He peeked inside. Osana was bent over, seemingly searching for something underneath the classroom's desks. He saw Kokona standing nearby, watching her intently.

"Are you sure it's not inside your bag?" She asked.

When she noticed Ayato at the doorway, she silently greeted him, pointing at Osana and giving him a thumbs up. He returned the gesture and mouthed a quick "thank you" her way. Ayato then pointed at the two of them and veered his hand towards the hallway. Kokona paused for a moment before nodding eagerly.

"Hey," she began. "Maybe we should check the girl's restroom. You probably left the phone in there."

Osana sighed. "I guess... Ugh! I really don't have time for all of this! I'm suppose to be meeting with Senpai right now!"

Ayato pretended to be admiring a poster on the wall as the pair walked out of the classroom. When they were a good distance away, he went inside, heading straight to Osana's desk. There were two bento boxes sitting next to one another, all the food packed neatly inside.

It would be so easy to just poison her meal and leave. No one would notice, no one would know. It was tempting, but he knew he had to wait. There was something there, something inside him that didn't want her to die yet. Something inside him wanted to draw it out, to make it painful. Why should he let her die now, while still thinking that there was hope for her and Taro-senpai? Why give her such a merciful death when he could make it so much worse?

Ayato opened a bottle and drenched Senpai's lunch. "Sorry, love."

As he screwed on the lid, he could hear Osana's voice getting closer.

"I'm so glad we finally found it! Now I can head to the roof."

He managed to walk out just as they were walking in. He turned around once last time and caught Kokona's friendly wave of farewell. He gave her a small smile and headed upstairs. Though the thought of any discomfort coming Taro-senpai's way hurt him immensely, Ayato figured he might as well see the result of all his efforts. It would all be worth it just to see Osana's miserable face.

The moment he opened the doors, he came face to face with another student. A rush of emotions seemed to fill him almost instantly.

"Ah! My mistake!" Taro said, taking a step back. "I guess I should've used the right door instead of rushing through the left." He let out a small laugh.

Ayato froze, his mind going completely blank. "S-se..."

"Are you.. alright?" Taro asked, his expression deep with concern. "You're whole face is red."

This was probably the closest Ayato had ever been to Senpai. It was a million times different from admiring him from afar, or staring at a photo. Taro-senpai was just inches away, and it made Ayato feel so.. Ayato was... He felt... hot? Yes, that was it. He was hot. Everything was hot. He was on fire and his mind had practically melted. The flames ate through his chest, scorched his heart, and burned his soul.

Ayato made a sound that could only be described as a "squeak" when Senpai got closer.

"Um, excuse me? Are you ok?" He grabbed Ayato's wrist. "I was just leaving anyways, I could take you to the nur-"

"Move it buddy!" Osana shoved the pair aside. "Honestly! Don't just stand in front of the door like an idiot!"

Ayato responded with a small "mhm" and stepped aside, his eyes glued to the ground.

"Osana," Senpai said. "Where were you? I was just-"

"I had to find my phone." She sighed. "Anyways, I'm glad you're still here. C'mon!"

"Alright but- Ow! Ok, I'm coming!" Osana dragged Taro-senpai away, leaving Ayato alone.

His mind was still buzzing, and he barely reacted moments later when Senpai rushed past him again, hands clutching his stomach. He barely notice when Jonzu approached soon after and began to talk with him, or when the lunch period was over and he had to go back to class. He didn't even stop to look at Osana, who stood alone in the halls after class, sulking. The rest of the day was a blur, and before he knew it, Ayato was back at home, in his room.

He stared at his left arm, rubbing it gently. "Taro.. touched me..."

Ayato sat on his bed and curled into a ball. The small kitten jumped onto the bed and curled up as well, resting on his head.

"..and... spoke to me." He muttered.

He reached over and turned out the lights.

The day seemed to have lasted forever, so many things seemed to have happened. But it was only Monday. This was only the beginning.