The dim light of the school's chemical room flickered slightly, casting uneven shadows across the rows of flasks and tubes. Minami sat hunched over the workbench, sleeves rolled up past her elbows, a faint chemical scent clinging to her uniform. Her safety goggles sat pushed up onto her head, tangled a bit in her hair, which had started to frizz at the ends from the humidity in the room.

She scribbled notes into her small, well-worn notebook with a pencil that had clearly been chewed on, her handwriting as neat and precise as her experiments. A thin stream of violet smoke curled lazily from the beaker in front of her. She didn’t flinch, just observed. Carefully. Quietly.

The silence wasn’t awkward to her. It was... peaceful. Controlled. Easier than conversations.

— Just a little more sodium chloride... maybe...

She reached out and adjusted the Bunsen burner’s flame ever so slightly, murmuring under her breath.

She sat back for a moment and stared at the little bottle she’d just finished mixing. It looked harmless. Pale blue, almost pretty. You wouldn’t know how potent it was unless you were looking for it. A lot of people didn’t.

That thought made her smile; just a little, just with the corners of her mouth. Then she frowned again, realizing the smile was weird, probably. She scratched her cheek and glanced toward the door, debating whether to leave now or finish cleaning up.

— They probably already started eating…

She stood, gently placing the beaker into the cooling rack, and peeled off her gloves. She wasn’t good at words, or crowds, or jokes that came easily to people like Karma. But she was trying. Bit by bit. Like titrating a solution. Carefully, slowly, until something finally changed color.

With a quiet breath, Minami fixed her uniform and braids, tucked her notebook under one arm, and stepped out of the lab.