Chapter 7 – A New Name and a Sketch Outside

The week started without anything interesting. Monday’s clouds lingered into Tuesday, casting long gray light over the hallways. The morning announcements dragged. Homeroom felt slower than usual.

Then, midway through second period, the teacher spoke.

“We have a new transfer joining us today, Hayama san, please introduce yourself.”

A student stepped into the classroom. Light brown hair, a polite smile. His uniform was neat, but not too formal. He stood with the kind of confidence that suggested he’d done this before.

“I’m Mitsuki Hayama, I moved here from Kanagawa. Looking forward to studying with you.”

A few scattered whispers followed, Nothing dramatic just curiosity. Mitsuki took the empty seat two rows in front of Reina, diagonal from Haruki. He bowed again before sitting.

Haruki didn’t think much of it until lunch.

He usually stayed in the classroom or found somewhere quiet outside, But that day, as he stepped into the hallway, he noticed something.

Mitsuki had approached Reina’s desk.

He was saying something casual, smiling, friendly.

Reina didn’t speak right away.

Her expression was calm, the way it always was. But Haruki noticed a small shift in her hands. The way her fingers tightened slightly around her chopsticks. She answered with a polite nod.

Mitsuki kept talking for a bit longer, then gave a short wave and left.

Reina resumed her lunch in silence.

Haruki didn’t know why that stuck with him.

After classes ended, he found himself wandering behind the gym. The courtyard was quiet, A few leaves sitting on the empty benches.

She was there.

Kneeling near the tree, her back to him. A sketchbook lay across her lap, her pencil moving lightly across the page.

He didn’t call out.

Just walked up quietly and stood nearby, waiting until she looked up.

She didn’t seem surprised.

“…You came,” she said softly.

Haruki shrugged. “I like the atmosphere here.”

Reina closed the sketchbook slowly, But not before he caught a glimpse of a familiar outline. A person sitting near a window, head tilted down, hand holding a book.

“Was that… from today?” he asked.

She hesitated.

Then opened the book again and turned it toward him.

The drawing was rougher than the others he’d seen. Looser lines. Less polished.

But the shape was unmistakable Haruki, from behind. Sitting in the literature club room, his fingers on the edge of a page, half of his face lit by afternoon light.

“You remember it that clearly?” he asked.

“I draw things I don’t want to forget,” she said.

Haruki studied it for a moment.

“You made me look calm.”

“You were.”

He didn’t know what to say to that.

“…Thanks,” he said after a while.

She gave a small nod and looked down at her pencil.

Then, quietly, she added, “I like the way you read.”

That stopped him.

She wasn’t looking at him when she said it. Her voice is normal. It wasn’t a compliment, exactly. Just something she’d noticed, and wanted him to know.

The wind blowed again.

Somewhere nearby, a door slammed shut, but neither of them moved.

After a moment, Reina flipped to another page. This one was a tree the one they always sat under.
Two figures on the bench beneath it.

“Do you ever draw other people?” Haruki asked.

“I used to,” she said. “But not often anymore.”

“Why not?”

She was quiet for a second.

“Because most people don’t stay long enough to finish.”

Haruki didn’t reply right away.

Then he said, “But you still drew me.”

Reina looked at him. Just for a second.

“…You’re still here,” she said.

They walked back to the building side by side.

Their steps weren’t synchronized. Their bags didn’t swing the same. But they stayed close, neither one hurrying.

When they reached the classroom again, Mitsuki was standing by the windows, chatting with Akari. He glanced over when they came in.

“Oh, Sakamoto, right?” Mitsuki said, walking over. “You’re the one in the literature club.”

Haruki gave a small nod.

“I’m thinking of stopping by sometime, Seems quiet in a good way.”

“You’d probably like it,” Haruki said.

Reina didn’t say anything. She was already back at her seat, unpacking her books for the next class.

Mitsuki gave a casual grin. “Cool. I’ll see you around then.”

When he left, Haruki glanced over at Reina.

She wasn’t sketching anymore.

But her hands were still on the edge of her desk, fingers resting gently against her notebook like she hadn’t moved since they got back.