On Saturday, they visited the public library.
Haruto picked a book about planets. Ren picked a picture book about a bird that couldn't fly.
As they read, a teacher from the upper school, Kirishima-sensei, sat nearby reading his own book.
He glanced at Ren.
"That book looks interesting," he said.
Ren smiled slightly. "The illustrations are nice."
Kirishima nodded and returned to his reading. Nothing strange. No suspicions.
Ren noted: If you don't look too smart… people don't ask questions.
That night, Ren opened a small notebook in his room. He wrote:
> "The world likes what it understands."
"If I'm different, I have to hide it."
He didn't know why he felt the need to write that down. But he knew it mattered.
And somehow… he knew this was just the beginning.