Chapter 4 – Yui Sakurai

Little Yui stood in her room; her favorite teddy bear clutched tightly in her arms. Through the closed door, she could hear the distant shouting of her parents arguing again.

As the yelling grew louder, Yui’s small hands gripped the bear even tighter. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she stayed quiet, pressing her face into the soft fur of her bear like she always did.

/Morning/

Her mother helped her get dressed. While fixing Yui’s shirt collar, Yui looked at her mom, her mom looked pale, tired—but still beautiful. She caught Yui looking at her and smiled gently, then kissed her on the forehead.

“Okay, you’re all set. Now let’s get you some food.”

The Sakurai family sat at the dining table and ate their toast in silence. Little Yui could feel the tension between her parents. They didn’t say a word to each other.

After breakfast, her dad drove her to school. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek, then drove off. That was her routine. Her parents fought almost every day. When they weren’t fighting, their house was just... quiet. Too quiet. They never fought in front of Yui, but she always knew. She could feel it.

She stood in front of her classroom, sad, but she took a deep breath—and smiled.

“Good morning!” she greeted her class cheerfully as she stepped in.

Yui always hid her pain behind her smile. Smile was mask to her. A mask she wore unconsciously — a mask to keep her sadness out of sight.

The classroom was pure chaos—kids chatting, laughing, paper airplanes flying around. Yui’s eyes scanned the room. She was searching for someone.

And there he was, in the corner—Shun. Ishikawa Shun.
The light in little Yui’s darkness.

// High School //

“He’s late,” Yui said to herself.

It was a fine Monday morning. She stood under their usual meeting spot near the vending machine, waiting for Shun.

She pulled out her phone and typed a message:
‘Where are you? It’s getting late.’
She waited. No reply.

Maybe he left already? Maybe he’s out sick? Should I go check on him?
Thoughts swirled in her head. She looked at her phone again. Still nothing.

“I better get going,” she muttered and began walking.

While walking, she texted him again:
‘I’m leaving, Shun. Is everything alright? Are you sick?!’
She paused for a second... then added:
‘I’m worried.’
She sighed and hit send.

Bell rang.
Students groaned as the teacher left the classroom.

Takashi yawned and stretched.

“Tanaka-kun,” Yui called.

He looked her way.

“Where’s Shun? What happened to him?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. He messaged me yesterday saying he’s not coming today. Didn’t tell me why though. Did he not say anything to you, Sakurai-san?”

“No. He must’ve forgotten…” Yui smiled softly—a forced smile.

She stepped outside the classroom and looked out the window, sighing.

Shun wasn’t like this. He always told her ahead of time if he was going to miss class. They used to share everything. Now, it felt like he was drifting away from her.

It’s like he’s pushing me out, she thought.

“You’re zoning out,” a gentle voice said.

She blinked and turned. Soutarou stood beside her, smiling.

Yui smiled back. His presence was always calming.

“Is something troubling you?” he asked.

He was like that—kind, gentle, caring. Yui liked being around him. It soothed her.

“It’s nothing,” she said, smiling as they walked towards Megumi’s class.

“Well, I won’t pry. But if you ever want to talk about it, I’ll be there for you,” Soutarou said with a warm smile.

Yui blushed slightly.
Considerate, she thought.

But sometimes she wondered—did he mean it? Did he talk like this to every girl? Did he always go around saying “I’ll be there for you”?
Or... was it just for her?

“Do you always talk like this?” she asked.

“Talk like what?”

“Well... going around saying things like ‘I’ll be there for you’ to random girls,” she teased him.

“You’re not some random girl, Yui,” Soutarou said, meeting her eyes. “You’re special.”

Yui was caught off guard. Her breath hitched. That look in his eyes… He said she was… special?

“Oi! What are you guys doing, staring at each other?” a voice snapped them back.

Megumi stood beside them, smiling, full of energy.

“N-Nothing,” Yui said quickly. “So, Megumi, about that karaoke place we talked about…”

Yui changed the subject quickly.

The girls began chitchatting like usual.

Soutarou  stood by them looking at Yui.

She was his light in the darkness.

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Shun stared at his phone.

The screen was still lit with the last message Yui had sent him.

“I’m worried.”

He was lying in bed, the blanket loosely thrown over his legs. The morning light spilled through the curtains, casting a dim pattern across his room. He sat up slowly, letting out a sigh, and got out of bed.

As he walked out of his room, he passed the badminton racket hanging beside the door. He walked past it without a thought.

Downstairs, the house was quiet. Too quiet.

There was food on the dining table—his mom must’ve left it before leaving for work. Dad was probably gone even earlier. Shun poured himself a glass of water, drank it in silence, and went back upstairs.

His phone buzzed.

A message from Takashi.

“Why are you absent? Yui Sakurai asked about you.”

Shun looked at the message for a moment before typing his reply.

“I didn’t feel like coming.”

He hit send.

Almost instantly, another message popped up.

“Wtf dude. Anyways, one of the upperclassmen from the badminton club asked about you—if you wanted to join the club.”

Shun sighed and typed back.

“I’ll think about it.”

He locked his phone and stared at the black screen for a while. His own reflection looked back at him—expressionless, dull.

He reached for a novel on the shelf above his desk, crawled back into bed, and opened it.

Reading helped. It took him away from thoughts—it gave him peace.

As the pages turned, the world outside faded away.