“It’s unusual for you to reach out to me, Chui.” It only now became apparent to Tanakamigi, standing alone in the courtyard opposite his old mentor as he struggled to come up with the words, how much Neji-senpai had changed in the last year. His hair had grown out considerably, his round glasses had been swapped for a more mature half-moon, his posture straighter and his eyes sharper. Gone were the matching pajama sets he used to favor even at midday—now he wore carefully ironed dress shirts with pleat-front slacks, currently complemented by a pinstripe vest and a scarlet tie. It was hard to imagine Amber’s Neji Kokuto being caught dead in a tie. Would the Neji-senpai of Amber have even recognized the Neji-senpai of Quartz? “Why…” The words Tanakamigi tried to say stuck there, behind his teeth. He swallowed them, and they jammed in his throat on the way back down in a strange and painful tracheal spasm. He winced, took a breath, and tried again. “Why did you transfer to Quartz, Neji-senpai?”