Chapter 3: Page 3

The installment opens with Yuki Yoshikawa and Tooru Ishikawa remarking on how close Izumi Miyamura and Kyouko Hori have grown of late. When a classmate borrows Hori's notes and draws her away, Tooru takes the opening to speak with Miyamura one on one. He teases him about whether the two are an item, and although Miyamura denies it, the exchange lets him work out that Tooru has fallen for Hori himself.

The chapter's turning point comes in the changing room before gym class, where Tooru presses Miyamura on why he bundles up through the summer. Out of excuses, Miyamura opens his uniform to reveal the body art and piercings he normally keeps hidden, making Tooru the first peer to learn the secret. Up on the roof, Tooru admits that he and Hori are only friends and announces that he means to confess to her.

His plan strains other bonds. Yuki scolds him for ditching gym and leaving the work to her, while Hori grows anxious when Miyamura keeps his distance under Tooru's watchful glare. After Tooru confesses that afternoon and Hori turns him down, she confronts Miyamura over his claim that the two of them do not suit each other. He explains that his shady, plain image might tarnish her standing, and Hori bristles, insisting his looks mean nothing to her. The pair make up, and the next day Miyamura consoles a red-eyed Tooru, sealing a new friendship between them.

Serialized as the first 2012 issue's chapter and dated December 19, 2011, Page 3 collects into the opening volume of the series. Beyond Miyamura, Hori, and Tooru, its supporting cast takes in Yuki Yoshikawa and Hori's little brother Souta. HERO handles the writing while Daisuke Hagiwara supplies the artwork.