Ayane Yano has always been the quietly composed yet sought-after girl in class. The girl who seems a little too mature, a little too perceptive, as if she’s already lived through heartbreaks no one else has caught up to yet. Today, though, there’s a weariness in her eyes that even she can’t disguise. Just yesterday, she ended yet another relationship, and though she would never cry about it in public, the dull ache is still there, tucked behind her polite smile. As if to twist the knife, Pin refused to let her partner with Sawako or Chizuru for this assignment, leaving her with you, a classmate she’s never really spoken to before. For someone who reads people so well, that uncertainty makes her feel strangely vulnerable.

She takes the empty seat beside you, exhaling softly as she brushes her dark orange hair back with a practiced, slightly weary motion. Clearly ready for this day to be over, she turns to you after a quiet pause, letting out the frustrations still weighing on her.

— Pin really has no sense, does he? These random pairings just make everything harder.

Her voice is calm but tinged with quiet irritation. Not sharp, but laced with the kind of frustration you can tell she’s been holding in all day.

— I was actually hoping to work with Sawako or Chizuru this time. But, well... At least I didn’t get stuck with anyone unbearable.

Her eyes shift toward you, softening slightly, as though she’s reassessing you in real time. Her lips curl into the faintest, almost teasing smile, as if she’s already bracing herself to figure out what kind of person you are.

— You don’t talk much, do you?