A cold shock tore through him. Ikko's eyes jolted open, wide. He tried to move, but grasping warmth seized his chest, crushing the wind from his waking gasps. He wrenched and writhed. A noise almost like a voice shrieked in his ear. He weight gripped him tighter. "Off- off! Get off! Get off get off!"

He lurched from the bed, dislodging himself with such violence and desperation that he slammed into the leg of his desk. Ikko scrambled on all fours into the corner of the room, chest heaving, hands clammy, eyes wide.

The bedside lamp flickered on. Kia, t-shirt hitched up, wide eyes an empty blue, skin paled and splotched, stared at him from the bed. "Ikko. Ikko, it's me. It's Kia…"

His head span. He felt his bones breaking. Ikko curled up, yanking his knees into his chest, breath laboured. Kia rushed forward, scrambling to grasp his arm before that, too, closed off. "Ikko – hey, Ikko, it's okay! It's just a dream. Just a dream, yeah?"

Her arms wrapped over his head. His mind sank back into the dark, into the grasping, crushing warmth. He curled tighter. "Lemme go – lemme go, Kia please- I need-"

"Ikko!" He ripped from her embrace, unbalancing her in his efforts to get away. He staggered, rising, clutching his chest. Kia struggled to her feet. "Ikko, it's just a nightmare! You're safe!"

"Memory," he retched. "S'a memory, Kia. It happened, I can – I can feel it! I can feel him…"

"What happened? What?" He steadied himself against the wall, slumping against it. Ikko pulled his hair out of his eyes. "Ikko, you don't mean Kotsubo? He's done! You're safe!"

"I'm not!" He moaned. "I'm not. I can't be, not here. That's- that's the truth."

Kia whispered his name, clutching her chest. Her next question came quiet, so quiet that she had to repeat it over his panting. "What do you need? What can I do?"

"I need-" Ikko tried to master the explosions in his ribcage, the hollow thundering of his heart pounding a frightful din in his ears. "I can't- I can't breathe. I can't…"

Fingers scrabbled and clung to a shirt drenched in sweat. He clawed at the collar, yanking it down, hearing threads strain and snap as elastic fought to hold its shape. Tears burned his eyes, his throat cracked and scratching for every broken rasp.

Hands – soft, smooth – slipped under his shirt. Ikko's knees gave out, but the carpet didn't greet his fall. Kia guided him down, sat behind him. She pressed herself against his back, squeezing gently, breathing. Slowly, surely, with every inhale measured to be shorter than the exhale. "It's alright." She whispered, sniffling. Every assurance followed a warm sigh washing over the nape of his neck. "It's okay. It's over."

He stopped trying to tear his chest open to let the air in. Ikko's breathing steadied, little by little, as he remembered the welcome warmth of his friend. His heart, too, calmed; and as it did, Kia began to move, nuzzling the back of his neck. Ikko hiccuped on a choking sob and a broken apology. Kia squeezed him, forgoing words until their breathing barely filled the silence.

"What time is it?" Ikko croaked.

Kia released him to check her phone, wincing at the sudden flash of its brightness. "Three. Let's go back to bed."

"No – no, I'm awake. I'm not sleeping." Ikko curled forward again, raking through his hair. It refused to stay back, thick clumps tangling in front of his eyes. "I can't sleep after that."

"Ikko, it's three in the morning. We've got class!"

"I'll be fine. I've done worse." He struggled to his feet, wiping his eyes. "Gonna clear my head."

He picked up the controller on his desk and claimed the chair. White, somehow sleeping through the entire ordeal, woke to the spin of the console's fan as he booted it up. Kia opened her mouth only to cut herself off, instead asking, "D'you want me to stay?"

"It's okay." He looked back to her, his smile barely a smile. "You need rest, right?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about me."

Kia hesitated. She placed a hand on his shoulder, grip gentle. "Right… good night, Ikko."

"Sleep well." He whispered, absorbed in the screen. Kia lingered for a moment longer, thumb stroking, before she departed, leaving him with the brief flash of the hall light before plunging the room back into the night.

Etsuko lingered at the bottom step of the dorms, bag slung over shoulder, attention split between the clock silently marching towards the start of school, and the news feed of her blog subscriptions. The morning rush passed her by, paying little attention to her or her blazing copper hair.

"Yanase." Etsuko looked up. Masumi smiled, hand raised in greeting. "Aren't you coming?"

"Morning, Yakumaru." She locked her phone, jamming it in her bag. "I'm waiting for my friends."

"Did they oversleep?"

"I don't know." Her phone buzzed. She resisted the urge to check it, as Masumi shifted from obstructing the flow to hovering closer to her. "What about you?"

"Judo and I meet at school. He's up a lot earlier than I am for his exercises. I saw you and, well – why not greet a clubmate? That is the point of such things."

"It is." Etsuko tried to watch the stairs. "You should hurry, Yaku-"

"Call me Masumi."

"Yakumaru." Etsuko finished, shoulders straightening. "I don't want to make you late as well."

"So considerate." Masumi's genteel smile slipped from the pedestal of his sincerity. "I'll look forward to seeing you at club, Yanase."

He walked backwards for a hand of paces before spinning on his heel and joining the last trickle of students. Checking the exit, seeing him gone, Etsuko retrieved her phone.

'im taking today off'

Chewing her lip, she paused her response when another voice called out from the bottom step. Ikko, his shirt untucked, eyes heavy, hair an untended mop – more untended than usual. "Etsuko."

"Rough night?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Kia's playing hooky. I'm gonna check on her."

"She'll be fine," Ikko mumbled, staring at his shoes.

"And you know that how? You're barely conscious yourself."

Ikko shrugged, limp, and dragged himself out of the dorm room. Etsuko looked from her phone, to his back. A smile crept onto her lips, quickening her steps as she caught up to his pace, matching it. "Aha."

"Aha?"

"Moving a little quickly, aren't we?"

"What? Oh, sorry – I'll slow down." Ikko yawned.

"God, that late? I didn't know you had it in you!" Etsuko nudged his shoulder, causing him to wobble as she urged him back up to normal speed. "You're exhausted, Kia's not coming in for, I presume, the same reason. So…?"

"So?" Ikko closed his eyes, rubbing them. He stumbled over a deceptively flat stretch of the road.

Etsuko rolled her eyes. "Don't play coy! How was it?"

"How was what?"

"Last night!"

Ikko ground to a halt. He looked at Etsuko, snapping awake, breath shuddering. "H-how did…?"

"Ikko, come on. I'm not blind. There's a reason she drags you everywhere."

He tripped over his words, gaze flicking in every direction as Etsuko tried to pin them. "So how was it? How is she?"

"I-I don't…" He stuttered, shoulders slumping. "Can we not talk about it? Please?"

His words ripped the wings out of her elation. She crashed into a sympathetic shade of her gossipy grin. "That bad…?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" The quiet, twitchy, anxious Ikko shouted. Etsuko stared, dumbfounded, as he remembered himself. "Sorry. Sorry, I didn't… Please excuse me, Etsuko."

He hurried off to the Academy. She watched him go, chased away by his own words. Mouthing bafflement to herself, she finally grabbed her phone and hammered out a response to Kia.

'What happened? O:'

'nothing'

'Nothing?'

'im trying to sleep'

"Mmmngh." Etsuko turned her back on the dorms, curiosity blazing fiercer, blinding her to sensitivity. She homed in on Ikko's back as she marched to homeroom, trying to catch him, but he kept to crowds and the middle of the halls, turning only when the others did, navigating his way homeroom. "Ikko!" She called, but the first bell cut her off. She lost him to the corner of the classroom, his slouch and sullen aversion to her staring sticking out like a sore thumb without Kia's bouncing presence to drag him up to his usual self. From her seat near the front, she couldn't monitor him as the class president called for the morning routine, and so focussed on the homeroom meeting.

Miss Shirayuki, too, stifled a yawn as she took her seat on the table. "Okay, guys. Golden Week's starting soon – I'm sure you've all got your plans."

An excited murmur rippled through the room. Etsuko used it to glance back, seeing Ikko staring out of the window. "Yeah, yeah, it's very exciting; but it's not the time for slacking off. You've got your assignments, midterms'll be here faster than you think. I won't have any of you flunking on your first month back, clear?"

A far less enthused murmur of assent followed. Miss Shirayuki smiled wearily, taking to a lollipop. "Get your work done, behave yourselves, and we won't be having any awkward conversations on the other side. I'm sure most of you have nothing to worry about, so long as you apply yourselves. Oh – and don't forget, if you're planning a family visit, come see me before the end of the week so we can get it authorized. Does anyone need that?"

Not a single hand. Miss Shirayuki nodded. "Alright, then. Have a good day, guys."

How she managed to get away with ending her homerooms so early, Etsuko didn't know; not that she complained, as it gave her valuable time to wrap up homework or, as the case would be today, cornering Ikko. She gathered her things and rushed to grab him before he could leave. "What's wrong?" she started, placing her hands on her hips, widening her stance so that he couldn't slip out of his corner.

Ikko didn't move from his seat. He turned from his window-gazing to face her, but lacked the courage to hold her stare. "You're acting weird." Etsuko pressed. "I don't think I've ever seen you like this. Won't you talk to me?"

"Is that really what you think?" he asked, watching his hands as he fidgeted.

"Is what what I really think?" At his sigh, her frustration began to bubble through. "Ikko?"

"That she drags me along. That I don't want to hang out with you guys unless she forces me to."

"That's- no, I don't. Of course I don't!"

"Then why did you say that?"

"That's not what I meant. What happened last night?"

His fist balled. "Maybe you're right. Without her…"

"Guys?" Miss Shirayuki looked up from her folder, rolling her lollipop between her teeth. "Everything okay over there?"

Etsuko wheeled to reassure her, but Ikko got the first word in. "We're fine. Actually, Miss, there's something I wanted to ask you."

She levelled an accusing glare at Ikko, but he looked straight ahead, forcing stoicism. A feeble guise, given the tremble of his fist. Miss Shirayuki examined the pair of them with a quick flick of her eyes. "Sure. In here, or my office?"

"Your office," he replied, "I-if that's okay."

Miss Shirayuki's curiosity fixed more heavily on Etsuko.

Sensing the implication, she pursed her lips and secured her bag. "I'll see you later."

She lurched from homeroom and turned the nearest corner, finding a quiet space to call Kia's number. It rang out. "Come on – come on – Kia, I swear to God if you don't-"

"'Lo." Kia sniffled, picking up. "Don't what?"

"Kia! Nothing, nothing. Actually no, not nothing! What the hell is wrong with you two?"

"What?"

"First you dodge class, then Ikko's all cagey and depressed. I know something happened last night – you better start talking!"

"Why is that your business?" Venom sizzled from the speaker, so cold and abrupt that Etsuko held her phone away from her ear, fearing momentarily that it might rot her skin to be so close to it.

"Excuse me?"

"Ikko, he's – it's best if we leave him be."

"Kia," Etsuko breathed, "Kia. You're not making any sense. Yesterday you were hanging off his arm!"

"Yesterday he didn't – he hadn't-!" Kia choked on a sob. "I'm sorry, I can't- I have to go. Leave him alone, Etsuko. It's for the best…"

The call end chime bleeped, covering Etsuko's baffled cursing. Knowing that he hid with Miss Shirayuki, and that they shared no classes, she resolved to wring the truth from his lips before the day ended.

Mizore let Ikko into her office, locking the door behind him. "Is this a teacher-student thing, or a friend thing?"

"Friend." Ikko yawned, head drooping. She offered a lollipop, then moved to clear the duvet and pillow furnishing the small couch in her office. "Have you been sleeping here?"

"We're not here to talk about me." Mizore sat down, patting the seat next to her. "Is this anything to do with Etsuko pinning you?"

"No." Ikko sighed. He dropped onto the couch, rolling forward to cradle his head in his hands. "Maybe. Probably. I think so."

"What's going on?"

"I had a nightmare." Ikko began, "I've been having them for a while, but this was- different. I had Kia there."

"In the nightmare?"

"No, no. There. In my room."

"Oh." Mizore blinked. "Wh- oh. Seriously?" He nodded, causing her lip to tick upwards. "I guess you're more like him than I thought."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. So, Kia was there. How did that go down?"

"Terribly. I woke up and- and…" Ikko slumped, exhaling the rest of the thought. "It sucked. Now Etsuko wants to know what happened, and I can't tell her. No-one 'cept those involved and Su knows it was me with Kotsubo, so I can't talk about it, and even then! Even then, she only cares about what happened between us."

"What did happen between you?"

Ikko turned his head from his slouch to meet her eye. The bags weighing them down gave him a bitter edge. "Really?"

"Hey, I'm curious. It's been less than a month."

"I know, but… really?"

"Fine, fine." Mizore rolled her lollipop about in her mouth, thoughtful. "What's this for, then?"

"For?" Ikko scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know. Help, I guess?"

"I can't help with nightmares. That's… trauma's hard, Ikko. It's not easy, what you've been through. Balm'll only get you so far with your physical wounds."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Have patience. Look after yourself." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I've been where you are. It's the only thing you can do."

"You have?"

"My time at Yokai wasn't all sunshine and rainbows." Ikko thought back to the photo he'd seen at the newspaper club. "We had our share of hardships. Got into a few fights. Healing wounds is only the beginning."

"You got into fights?"

"Oh, yeah." Mizore laughed. "More than a few. Some we brought on ourselves."

"I saw the newspaper club. They had some clippings and photos – you're telling me they led to fights?"

"Only sometimes." She sighed, risking wistfulness as her gaze slipped away. "We did a lot…"

"It looked like you had fun."

"I did." She nodded. "I do…"

"Mizore?"

"Hm? Sorry, we were talking about your nightmares. Have you spoken to Kia since?" He marvelled at her ability to close off so suddenly, as deep as his longing to know more ran. Every time it looked like he might scratch some new facet of the tale, she shifted, distracting them both or getting them back on point.

"No, I haven't." He admitted. "I was gonna message her, but…"

"No phone. Right. Still working on that." Mizore pushed back one side of her hair. "I can't excuse you from classes. You'll have to wait until after school – or you can talk to Etsuko."

"She'll find out I'm human!" Ikko shook his head in desperate refusal. "That's way too risky."

"Don't you trust her?"

"Yeah, I do." Mizore watched him retreat from his conviction, cradling the back of his neck. "'Least I thought I did. After last night, I'm not so sure. She thinks I'm here 'cause Kia drags me around."

"I can see why she thinks that."

"You, too?" He flinched from her.

"Am I wrong?"

"I-!" Ikko's indignance gave way to confusion, contorting his brow into a deep furrow. "Yeah? I think?"

"If I'm wrong, then it's not me that needs convincing. If you're that worried about her finding out, then don't tell her the whole truth."

"Lie?"

"No, don't lie! Just… take your time with it."

"That sounds a lot like lying."

"You only need to tell her about last night to clear things up, don't you? Focus on that – on the problem right now. The rest comes later."

Ikko exhaled heavily through his nose, slouching back against the cushion. He covered his face with his hands. "Kia's right."

"What about?"

"I am a 'girls-are-hard' nerd."

"She's sort of right." Mizore smiled, peeling back one of his hands to make sure he saw it. "People are hard. Not just for nerds – for everyone. She's probably about as confused as you are about what to do."

"You think?"

"You won't know until you speak with her."

"I guess…" The bell chimed, muffled by the walls between them and the Academy proper. Ikko groaned. "Time's up."

"Time's up." Mizore nodded, standing and brushing herself off. "No more hiding, Ikko."

"Yeah, yeah…" Ikko struggled from the couch, stretching out. "I'll see you later."

"That you will." She held out one more lollipop, which he happily accepted. "Oh, Ikko?"

"Hm?"

"Maybe next time, don't tell your teacher about you and your girlfriend breaking curfew."

All the blood in his brain spilled into his face. "She's not my girlfriend!"

"That's what you focus on?"

"I-I mean…" Ikko locked onto the floor. "I didn't – we didn't- I've never-"

"Relax, Ikko." Mizore laughed, quiet. "I'm kidding."

"Oh."

"About the girlfriend thing. Not the curfew thing. At least try to stay out of trouble, will you?"

"I am!" He flushed hotter, eyes scrunching. "S'not my fault Kia knocks on at weird hours."

"Your fault for opening the door."

"If I had a phone, this wouldn't be a problem."

Mizore sighed, hands on her hips. "Touché. Go on, now. We can't both be late."

Every class dragged on. No matter how much he tried to focus, his rehearsals for tackling Etsuko could not distract from the agonised crawl of time. Pushing it to one side did nothing to avail him, either; he would focus on the lesson for a few moments before the notion struck him again, some new phrase or idea that changed how it could play out. On top of that all, the exhaustion. Crippling, heavy waves of fatigue punished his choice to stay awake, away from the nightmares.

Break found him slouched in front of the vending machines, nursing one of a handful of sodas. He contemplated giving up. Surely the nurse would give him leave in such a state. Go home, collapse, tackle this after a nap.

"I've been looking for you." Ikko dragged his eyes up from the slouch. Etsuko smiled down at him, markedly more subdued than her bubbling excitement from the morning. Where class only served to wind him up further, Etsuko's day apparently tempered her curiosity, gave her an even tone. She sat next to him on the kerb, pulling her hair over her shoulder and using it to occupy her hands. "Have you heard from Kia?"

"No phone." He mumbled into his can, using it to mask his desire to frown.

"She must be exhausted. I've not heard anything."

"Must be." He refused her eye. All the scenarios he'd planned saw her agitated, frustrated, horrified. What did calm mean?

"I spoke to her this morning." He abandoned his aversion as quickly as he'd decided to stick to it. The slightest hint of a conversation worried him; what had she said? What did Etsuko know?

"Y-you did?"

"She said it'd be best to leave you alone."

"Oh…"

"But I'm a journalist." Etsuko grinned. "Maybe that's insensitive of me, but you two dangled a thread right in front of my eyes. I can't help but pull on 'em – it's how we got our first big scandal of the year."

"Scandal?"

"Kotsubo." She announced, nodding proudly. "I pushed and pushed until someone gave in. Specifics are for the staff, so I don't know the whole story, but we had enough to go on to push for his banishment. Lots crawled out of the woodwork when he got exposed for assaulting a student."

Ikko frowned, withdrawing to his soda. "I didn't realise it was your story."

"Yeah – why?"

He shook his head. "Didn't know, is all."

The conversation lapsed for a time, spare her thanks when he offered a soda. Like the café visit marking their first proper meeting, they broke the silence together. "Etsuko-"

"Why does- oh, sorry!" She giggled. "You first."

"No, you."

"It's okay! I want to hear what you have to say."

Ikko's frown deepened. "Why?"

"Kia likes you," she offered, matter-of-fact. "I like you – and, uh… I'm sorry that I said that about you being dragged around. I only meant it, like, you're always with her. Y'know? It's you and Kia – that's how it's been."

Ikko tried to think of a time when he and Etsuko talked on their own, coming up empty. He ceded to the truth of it – to Kia's immeasurable impact on his social life. Etsuko's eyes trembled with quiet determination. "I don't want to believe that she'd drop you for no good reason. There has to be something, right? Something that happened, something that upset her…"

He shrank, shamed. "I-I don't mean you meant it!"

"No, no. I know." He breathed in, bracing himself. "Last night – last night, well… Kia slept over."

She nodded, giving him the silence he needed to compose his answer. "Things were fine. She was… fine. Nice. Close – closer than I'd ever expected her to be. She wanted to- to uh… but…"

The dread grasping at his chest swelled as he recollected their morning, coiling around his tongue, wringing it of the coherence he so desperately needed. "I have these nightmares. I didn't even think- but Kia, she got the worst of it. I woke up and- and she was on top of me, and I… kinda freaked out a little."

"Because she was on top of you?"

"'Cause of the dream." Ikko sighed. "I tried to explain. I did explain, but I couldn't go back to sleep after that. I needed space, so I played some games after she went back to her room."

He didn't mention her Guise slipping. Never had so terrible a visage stared at him with so much fear. Ikko recalled his promise to her, eyes lidding. "I thought things were gonna be okay. Some friend I am."

"You should go to her."

"I can't – not until school finishes."

"You've got time now!" Her urging came with an offered hand. "You want to, don't you?"

"I-I do, but…"

"But nothing!" Etsuko wrung her hand in front of him. "What's more important; one late class, or Kia?"

"Kia, but- ow! Hey!" She smacked him on the arm, before seizing his wrist and dragging him to his feet. "What was that for?"

"But! Nothing!" Her blazing eyes rolled. "The more time you waste here, the more trouble you're in."

Flustered, Ikko collected his bag and stared at her. She stared right back, strands of fire shimmering in the dull light of Yokai's miserable weather. He saw now why Kia liked her so, for the spark she brought to all she took to. He nodded, resolved, and repeated her words. "But nothing."

"That's more like it."

"That's more like what?"

Masumi rounded the corner Ikko made to dash for, causing him to stumble back and nearly trip. Etsuko caught his shoulders. "Yakumaru – what do you want?"

"Yanase…" he smiled, eyes thin slits that masked his gaze, head tilting at an angle. He came to lean on the wall. "Where's Kia?"

"She's-"

"-Your ex." Etsuko finished Ikko's sentence, releasing him to cover her chest with folded arms. "Why do you care?"

"Oh, my. Is she unwell? Is that who you thought overslept today?"

Ikko clenched his fist. His desire to reach for his friend – his best friend – and honour Mizore's plea to stay out of trouble dimmed, Masumi closing the window on the moment, and he smiled all the while. "I wouldn't worry about her," he said, "It's not the first time she's dropped out. She'll be back in tomorrow, I'm sure."

"Thank you for your input." Etsuko bit back a dry hiss. "Go on, Ikko."

She nodded, and he saw that her fists also balled, curling around the same restrained frustration that whitened his knuckles. "R-right. Excuse me, Yakumaru." He made to pass.

"It's her eyes, isn't it?"

His words tangled like snaring roots about his heel, catching Ikko in place. "What?"

"Her eyes. I'm sure you've seen them at this point. She always did have trouble with her Guise around her boys."

"Ikko- go. Just ignore him."

"Ignore me?" Masumi opened one eye, smile wilting. "I'm only trying to help. If she's taken the day off, she's dangerous to be around. You don't want Akada to get hurt, do you?"

His chuckle gnawed at the back of his mind, tendrils of poison ivy itching under the skull. Ikko clenched his jaw. It grated. He grated. He kept talking. He wouldn't shut up-

Silence crashed over them. Masumi turned to face Ikko. "What did you say?"

"I said," Ikko quaked, turning around. "Shut up."

"Ikko…!"

Masumi laughed, unfazed. "Why? I said, I'm only trying to-"

"All you've done is hurt her!" Ikko cut across. He glued his hands to his sides. Squared his shoulders, repulsed by his instinct to cower. "All you've ever done – all she's ever done, whenever you come up, is cry. That's all you do. All you're good for! You don't want to help me. You want to hurt her – hurt my friend!"

The word lit a fire in him, steadying his breath. Masumi opened both eyes, now, boring into Ikko – but he stood tall, and stared straight back. Their eyes locked. "Leave us alone." Ikko hissed. "Don't you dare come near her again."

"Or what?" Masumi spoke clearly. "What will you do?"

The flames he so desperately stoked sputtered out. In two questions, Masumi reminded Ikko of everything he couldn't do. Everything his nature prevented. The bluster he'd scraped together faltered. "I'll… I'll – I'll-"

Etsuko bumped into his side. She stood strong next to him. "We'll protect her."

Ikko's jaw slackened. He dared to look across. Masumi's laughter ripped him back to the moment, crisp, cruel snickering just under his sickeningly sweet tone. "You will? You'll protect her, truly? Oh, Yanase. The only thing Kia needs protecting from is herself."

"You don't know that." Ikko tried.

"I'm the only one who does, Akada." All sincerity rotted away, leaving only a withering, wretched glare. The glare he'd seen from a distance so many times. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

He pushed past the pair of them, breaking through their front with a sharp thrust forward. Ikko stumbled into the wall; Etsuko hurried to his side. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Y-yeah, I'm good." He blew his cheeks out, taking a ragged breath. "That was scary…"

"No kidding – look at you, stepping up!" She wrapped an arm over his shoulder, squeezing his assuredly. "Some friend you are, indeed."

Ikko smiled, raking his hair out of his face. He trembled still, but didn't regret the fear freezing his sweat. "Don't worry about that prick," Etsuko huffed, "He's all talk. You need to get to Kia."

"Kia…"

"Yes, Kia! Dorm!"

Ikko snapped awake, breaking from the confrontation. "Dorm! How long have I got?"

"Doesn't matter – go already! Jeez!"

He broke into a run, leaving her with a hasty farewell. Etsuko laughed, watching his clumsy bolt from the campus. "Some friend, indeed…"