The chime signaling the end of classes rang out.

Normally, that sound was the fanfare announcing the end of another hollow day, a prompt for me to head straight home and meld into my bed.

But today, the chime rang heavy and oppressive, like footsteps leading to the gallows.

"Yo, Mawaru. You free after this? Rui and I are gonna hit the arcade by the station on the way home—you wanna come?"

My best friend Ryuki came up to my desk as I was packing up, as casual as ever.

That dazzling smile unique to social butterflies. A welcome invitation, but right now, I was in no position to accept.

"...Pass. I'm a little tied up dealing with an unreasonable natural disaster today."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? You astral projecting again—"

Just as Ryuki was about to laugh it off, it happened.

"—Kageya."

A cool yet penetrating voice rang out from the classroom entrance.

In an instant, the classroom, which had been wrapped in the after-school bustle, fell as silent as if water had been thrown over it.

Amid the converging stares of our classmates, that "Ice Princess" walked straight to my seat with a languid gait.

"Hey. How long are you planning to make me wait? Hurry up."

Rin Himuro.

She acted as though the curious eyes around her were no more than pebbles on the roadside, looking down at only me with those crimson eyes.

"Wha—? Wait, you and Himuro-san... huh?"

Beside me, Ryuki's eyes were round as saucers, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly. No wonder. The unattainable flower of the school had gone out of her way to call out to a background character like me by the window. And on top of that, with a bombshell remark like "make me wait," hinting at some kind of relationship.

"...I wasn't making you wait. The chime just sounded."

"The moment I came to get you, you were already late. Come on, let's go."

Himuro grabbed my tie roughly and gave it a sharp yank.

My neck constricted. I tried to protest, but the depths of her eyes seemed to threaten, "If you don't hurry up, I'll pull sushi out of your shadow right here," so I stood up without a word.

"Later, Ryuki. If I don't show up at school tomorrow morning, contact the police."

"R-right... Come back alive, man..."

Leaving Ryuki, who clearly hadn't processed the situation at all, behind, I was practically dragged out of the classroom by Himuro.

For the second time today, following lunch break, the rooftop.

The moment the iron door slammed shut, Himuro released my tie and let out a small sigh.

"The stares around here are so annoying. Just get it out already."

Perching herself on a pipe, she jerked her chin like a queen taking her throne. I heaved a colossal sigh and sank my hand into the shadow at my feet.

I hauled out the premium sushi tub and the cardigan of hers I'd been safekeeping since lunch.

"Here, the medium-fatty tuna you purchased. And the clothes I was holding for you."

Himuro took the cardigan first, gently touched the fabric, then brought it close to her face and sniffed it.

A flicker of surprise ran through her otherwise downer expression.

"...Incredible. Time really is stopped."

"I told you. Unless I'm conscious of it, things I put inside don't degrade."

"My body heat from lunch break, the scent of my citrus cologne, all still there. This space really is like a cheat."

Placing the cardigan on her lap, Himuro next picked up the disposable chopsticks and plucked the remaining medium-fatty tuna from the tub.

She popped it into her small mouth with a little bite.

"Mm... Delicious as expected. The fact that it hasn't gotten fishy even after school, amazing."

As she narrowed her eyes and chewed, her face was that of a girl her age, and the Emptiness Filter in my heart nearly malfunctioned.

...Crap. Calm down, me. She's a predator threatening my peace.

"Satisfied? Then I guess that concludes today's 'storage vault' duties—"

"What are you talking about? The main event starts now."

Himuro set down her chopsticks, narrowed her eyes sharply, and stared intently at the shadow at my feet.

"That hole of yours... You said it can't take in living cells, right."

"Yeah. It's part of my body. Foreign objects get repelled."

"Then what about this?"

Himuro pulled out her smartphone, operated it with practiced ease, and showed me the screen.

Displayed there was the page of an online shopping site.

"...'Luxury Down Blanket' and 'Portable Cooler/Warmer.' Hey, don't tell me—"

"The pipes on the rooftop are hard and uncomfortable to sleep on. So I've decided to keep a 'nap set' permanently stocked in your shadow. I'm gonna order all this after school."

I clutched my head.

"You... I'm telling you my shadow isn't a storage trunk! Besides, if you put in something that huge, my capacity—"

"It'll fit. You put that ridiculously giant sushi tub in during the day."

She had me there. While storage size changes depending on the size of the shadow, using the shadow of my entire body, something of that scale would fit easily.

"...I won't put it in. I have the right of refusal."

"Hmm. Then, starting tomorrow, shall I tell the whole school how you grew a premium sushi tub out of the ground during lunch and sat there grinning creepily to yourself?"

"That's way too fabricated! I was not grinning creepily!"

"You were. In fact, during the day, you were muttering creepy soliloquies like 'The fat on medium-fatty tuna never betrays me... heh heh heh.'"

How much had she overheard?! My hollow heart nearly resuscitated from sheer embarrassment for a moment.

"If you understand, then obediently become my personal locker. Or else."

Himuro stood up and slowly approached me.

The pressure radiating from her 165-centimeter frame and the citrusy fragrance enveloped me. She peered into my face and whispered in a cold voice.

"You should be happy, shouldn't you? I'm going to mark my luggage with 'my personal scent' inside your shadow. Or maybe you want a more direct reward?"

"...No thanks. Fix that rotten personality of yours."

"Heh heh. Then, the deal's settled. Starting tomorrow, bring my belongings here every day during lunch. I won't forgive lateness."

With a satisfied smile, she once again thrust the cardigan from her lap at me.

"Keep this again too. I'll use it tomorrow, so make sure you maintain the body heat, okay."

And with that, she gave a fluttering wave and left the rooftop.

Left behind were her cardigan saturated with her lingering scent, the empty sushi tub, and... the hopeless reality that she had completely seized the initiative.

‘...It's over.’

My heart was hollow, but I was dead certain that from here on out, my stomach would develop a hole.

My quiet high school life had thus been completely put to an end in the form of being privatized by the "Ice Princess."