"Too late, Hidaka!　How long do I have to make you wait?

The lunchtime chime rings, and Masamune meets Saeki's parasites as usual. Today's "delivery" was delayed, partly because the concession stand was crowded, and partly because of this, Saeki was in a bad mood and Masamune was being abused. Because of this, Saeki's mood was bad, and Masamune was being heckled.

"I'm sorry....

I'm sorry, but I don't need your bullshit mule!

Ichijo and Kawachi are not in the classroom. So there is no one here to protect Masamune. Kotori watched the scene from the corner, but whatever she thought in her mind, she never took action.
Then Masamune left the classroom.

　Once the cursing stopped, the lunchtime paciation was over. After that, there would be a little bit of freedom. But Masamune hadn't even had lunch when he found himself in the library.
When he opened the door with dark eyes, he found that the 'library residents' were already there. The usual. Masamune didn't bother to take a suitable book, took a suitable seat and put earphones on his ears.
You could call it a discriminatory term for the "library dwellers". The same students gather in the library almost every day at noon. All of them are lumped into the category of "negative characters" in their classes. Most of them are, in a manner of speaking, anime geeks. For some reason, these anime geeks gather in the library every day, and before I knew it, the other students who don't frequent the library called them "residents of the library". It's a derogatory term.
Masamune is one of the "Library Dwellers".

Masamune took out his Walkman, selected a song and played the music. Then he opened the page of the book he was holding and followed the printed text only, not reading it. This was Masamune's daily routine. He opened the book, but he didn't read it. He followed the print, but there was no print in his line of sight. There is nothing but a blurred vision. --There is nothing but a gray world. Everything appears in black and white, with only the sound of an explosion playing in your head. Only during that time can I be cut off from this world and escape into my own. Come to think of it, Masamune may have already suffered from a kind of 'other world syndrome' at this point in time.
He flips through the pages of the book in vain. No one is looking at Masamune. But Masamune had a timid character that couldn't help but care about his surroundings. He doesn't want people to think he is unnatural. So he took a book he hadn't even read and played music as he unfolded the pages. A heavy bass sound echoed in his head, and when he did, he felt like he was justifying this kind of life for Masamune.
Then suddenly, the sound is cut off from one ear.

''.......what?''

The earpiece slipped out of his right ear, and when he followed it with his eyes, he found Kenshiro Sonoda there.

''The library is neither your refuge nor an infirmary to escape from despair. The sound leakage is depressing...

Apparently there was a faint sound spilling out of Masamune's earphones. It seemed to be too noisy for Sonoda, who was nearby.

''I'm... sorry.''

Masamune turned the volume down and was about to move to another location. Then Sonoda called him back.

''I heard....''

Sonoda suddenly starts to say that. Masamune had stopped in his tracks.

''........''

Masamune looks back at him with dead eyes. Sonoda was staring into Masamune's eyes, book in hand.

'You were talking to Ichijo, right?　How do I feel about feeling like I'm the only one left behind?

....

The library is supposed to be a quiet place, but here it is relatively noisy. That's why the conversation between the two of them can't be heard by those around them.

"...even if you're left behind, time will go on. Even if I leave you behind, time will go on, and the past cannot be changed. Fooling you with music won't change the world, and it won't clear your dark eyes. This is not a place to fool your despair. It's just a place to read a book. Can you not use books as a tool to deceive me?

Sonoda deciphered Masamune's emotions as if he were reading a book. This was Sonoda's habit. Sonoda himself has no interest in Masamune. But when he realizes, he considers it and wants to test his knowledge.

''........''

Sonoda did not change his eyes, nor did he inflect his words, but he said so matter-of-factly. Masamune was silent for a while at those words. However, he remained on his feet, so he knew that the conversation was still going on.

'Despair? .....

Those were the first words to come out of Masamune's mouth.

'Isn't it?　You can see it in your eyes. The eyes show the state of a person. You can tell everything about a person's personality, everything about their thoughts, even what kind of person they are, by looking into their eyes. You're desperate and more intoxicated. It's called self-absorption, that's what it is.

Huh ... as if you don't see it?

What? .....

You were in despair a long time ago.

....

Then Masamune half turned around and met Sonoda's eyes with a sideways glance. There was no emotion in them, but to Sonoda it seemed as if he was staring at them.

'Have you ever seen a world without color, Sonoda-kun?'

What? .....

'Despair has a colour. It's despair because there is still hope in the first place. When there is no hope, there is no despair, and then there is - nothing. No color, no nothing, just nothingness. It's always fuzzy. I can't hear a sound, as if there's water in my ears. I know I left home a while ago, but I've already been back home, but I did go to school, but I don't remember that. But I can't remember that. I came home. It's such a.......feeling....

You ... what are you talking about?

See?　What did I tell you?　So you can't see...................you can't see. You can't see anything.......you'll never see anything....

At that moment, Sonoda looked into Masamune's eyes. -- If you look into the eyes, you can understand everything. Sonoda said that, but he didn't understand the meaning of Masamune's words. I don't know how I don't see myself, I don't know that. However, Sonoda is not a good person. It is not necessary to understand Masamune's words.

Sonoda-kun should understand 'if' he's 'locked in'... in the time it takes to not move.

Then, leaving the unintelligible words behind, Masamune left the room. Sonoda stared at his back as if he was in a bad mood.

Sonoda shut himself up in his own world by reading a book. There was no guilt in it, and he didn't have to, because of the justified notion that reading was such a thing.
The same is true of Masamune.
Masamune was a man of his own ideas, a man who covered his vision with the concept of philosophy and shut himself away inside. But in Masamune's case, it was no more justified than reading in the public eye.
Communication was becoming less and less, and the harmful effects began to show in his eyes and expressions.
In this world where people are judged by their appearance, Masamune's impressions were bad, and unlike Sonoda, that was not something that could be tolerated. Subconsciously feeling guilty as well, Masamune's mind is gradually affected, and he becomes more and more ill.
Due to the multiple effects, Masamune was changed.

-- Masamune's eyes are dark.

To Sonoda, that was his impression of Masamune.

-- "You can't see........"

That irritating expression has remained in Sonoda's memory ever since.
Then Sonoda, after Masamune had left the library, opened the book and took his seat, and lost himself in reading with an expressionless expression on his face.
Like Masamune, Sonoda, like Masamune, had retreated into his shell.