My Girlfriend Doesn't Exist.

"High school... What many consider to be the "golden years" of their lives. A place where friendships are forged, secrets are shared, and, for some, where they might meet the person they'll spend the rest of their lives with..."

The sound of students bustling through the hallways, laughing, chatting, and unwrapping their lunches, fills the air. Amidst all the noise, there's a couple sitting on a bench under the warm midday sun. They're feeding each other bites of their lunch, their faces glowing with happiness. The world seems bright for them.

But deep down, we all know... that’s never going to happen.

Akito Azuma watches the couple from the window, his reflection faintly visible beneath his chin. His eyes linger on them, his mind drifting. At least not for someone like me. The thought echoes, familiar and painful, as his gaze returns to the classroom.

His stomach tightens. He’s seen this hundreds of times before—couples, relationships, connections that seem impossible for him to make, almost like a taunt of how something so hard for him can be so easy for everyone else.He rubs his forehead in frustration, trying to push the thought away. The bell rings, and the next class is about to begin.

Gym class is next. Akito heads to his locker, grabs his gym clothes, and makes his way outside to the field. It’s ridiculously hot today, the sun hammering down with no mercy. His gym teacher must be out of his mind to make them play baseball in this weather.

Akito's position is in the outfield, but he’s not really paying attention to the game. He’s standing there, arms folded, his mind drifting. "Today of all days... is this guy trying to kill us?" he thinks to himself, his eyes squinting up at the sky, then hearing a familiar voice, looking outside of the field to see a group of 3 girls talking. He suddenly recalls a past conversation he’d overheard in class between the same girls, the moment being re-lived.

“My boyfriend was so rude yesterday! He forgot to open the door for me when we went out!”

“I know, right! Mine forgot our 1 and 1/3 month anniversary! Who does he think he is?!” the second girl chimed in.

A third girl had chimed in. "At least be thankful you have someone like that. Some people just don’t find something like that for a long time... maybe never.”

The first two girls laughed at the third, one of them asking “When’d you get so philosophical?”. The third girl joined in on the laughing, but the words still echoed in Akito's mind.

What if…that’s me?

Faded voices can be heard, calling out his name. A white flash engulfs his mind, with A faint image of a young girl flashing across his mind—a silhouette he couldn’t quite place, a face he didn’t recognize.

Before he could think further, he snaps back to reality, hearing his classmates call out to him, Akito seeing a baseball rocketing toward him. He ducks, but it's too late. The ball hits him hard in the back of the head, and everything goes black, the image of the girl being seen as the last thing before he completely passes out.

Who was that?

Akito slowly wakes up, gauging his surroundings; he's in a hospital room. A doctor stands by his bedside, greeting him as he wakes up.

"Azuma, right? Don’t worry, everything’s okay," the doctor reassures him.

Akito blinks, confused. "Where am I? What happened to the rest of the class?"

"They’re still at school," the doctor replies. "You got moved to the hospital, you got hit pretty hard back there. Nothing serious, though. Just a minor concussion."

Akito feels the back of his head. There's no pain. The doctor hands him a bottle of pills.

“Make sure to take one of these a day for the next couple of weeks,” the doctor says. “They’ll help with any lingering side effects, which can include…"

Akito stares at the bottle, his mind drifting as the doctor’s words fall unheard.

What happened in gym class? Why can’t I remember?

Akito lays down in the bed at the Doctor’s insistence, exhaling out of frustration. He closes his eyes, a final thought crossing his mind.

I guess It’s history now

The next day, Akito checks out of the hospital. As he leaves, he spots his friend, Ryu, in another room playing with a small child. He takes a step in the direction, but something purple catches Akito's eye—purple hair. He feels a strange twinge of recognition, but the moment passes quickly. Seems like he’s busy. Akito heads home for the day, greeting his older brother as he gets home. Words are exchanged, but Akito can’t seem to hear them clearly. He’s tired. Akito heads up to his room, flopping onto his bed and instantly falling asleep.

The next day, he's back at school. His friend, Ryu, is already in the classroom. He waves as Akito enters.

“Yo!” Ryu greets him.

“Yo. How you been?” Akito asks, placing his bag on his desk.

Ryu looks at him with a smirk. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”

Akito laughs, setting his hand on Ryu’s shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine. Thanks for worrying about me." He sighs in relief, a small smile following.

He takes his seat, noticing the desks in front of him are empty.

“Are they still sick?” Akito asks Ryu

“Yeah”

“Either that or they’re cram studying for midterms” Ryu quickly adds on.

Akito replies with “knowing them, they probably haven’t taken a single note” and letting out a quick chuckle.

“Probably”. Ryu begins to laugh alongside Akito, them both being caught in the moment.

A pause then follows, the smile being wiped clean off Akito’s face.

He also hasn’t studied.

A wave of sheer panic washes over Akito’s face as remembers that he needs to study for the midterms too. "Crap! The days I was resting were the days I was supposed to study!" His panic continues to rise.

“Y-yeah, midterms are soon, right?” he stammers, the stress clearly getting to him, but he tries not to let it show.

Ryu gives him a calm, nonchalant stare. “Maybe you’re the one who needs to hit the books”

Akito quickly starts paying attention in class, scribbling notes furiously. The clock ticks on, the day passing in a blur of textbooks.

He quickly walks home, speeding by his brother once more as he enters the house, going right to his room to begin his studying.

A few hours pass, Akito desperately trying to catch up on his work, blasting music in his headphones to completely focus. He doesn’t hear the door open behind him. It’s his brother.

Shoya enters the room, a plate of dinner in hand, but no reaction from Akito. Shoya gives a warm smile, appreciating the sight of his brother studying so hard, and wishing not to disturb Akito’s flow, decides to set down the plate on his desk in an empty spot.

Akito notices the plate moments later, and turns around, expecting to see Shoya but Shoya is already out of the room, the door just barely closing as he exited the room just before Akito turned around.

He stares at the plate of food, the thought not even passing that he’d not eaten in hours. He gives a soft smile, appreciating the gesture from his older brother, then continuing his studies.

This routine happens for the entire weekend, Akito studying endlessly in preparations for the midterm, this time Shoya leaves an energy drink on his dresser for him. Akito studies through the entire weekend, and with the midterm being the Monday after, wonders if he’d done enough studying yet. He looks at the door to his room, it being open with a direct view into Shoya’s room, seeing his older brother asleep in bed. A wave of determination washes over Akito, a single thought running through his mind:

It wouldn’t be fair if he was the only one trying.

Akito begins to study vigorously, into the later hours of the night, eventually falling asleep at his desk, Akito having a dream:

A gymnasium. Not one I’d seen before, but one looking straight out of a picture book. Confetti lined the floors, a banner being hung over the stage; something important must’ve happened, but where is everyone? I must’ve just missed what happened. I went on to the stage to better understand what's going on, but that’s when I see something…a chair, a piece of paper being on the back of it, but the writing isn’t something I can read from here. I jumped down from the stage to see if I could read it…but I never made it there. I’d slipped on the confetti strewn across the floor.

Ironic, isn’t it? The marker of celebration being the cause of pain.

I attempt to stand up again, but my arms are too tired to move, my legs too heavy to stand.

He hears some echoing mutters, familiar sounding, but nothing legible. The echoing gets louder, not being a voice but beeping. Akito shoots awake in his chair, looking over at his clock, the alarm waking him up. He rubs his eyes, then slowly adjusting to the surroundings, then he sees the time.

He was going to be late.

In a flurry, Akito gets dressed, mismatching socks, untucked shirt, bag still half open…but none of these factors really mattered to him. He was going to get there on time, no matter what.

He shoots out the door, leaving it open and Shoya is seen standing in the doorway, watching Akito sprint down the street, letting a proud smile out.

The clock on his watch ticks slowly, getting closer and closer to the midterm start time, Akito getting more and more tired but still keeping up the pace.

He enters the school just before the test starts, making his way to the classroom, opening the door in a panic as the bell rings, and the exam time starts.

The door slams open, grabbing the attention of everyone in the class, Akito drenched in sweat and massive bags being under his eyes…but he’d made it.

Akito takes his seat, writing the midterm, a bit of struggle seen in his face in some questions, but he pushes forward.

Ryu leans back in his seat, not really caring about the midterm itself, and his gaze fixes toward the ceiling.

Takuma is struggling on the first question, tapping his pencil on his head to try and activate his brain, to no avail.

Kenji has his head in his arms, laying down on the desk, the midterm sheet below, not even his name being on the page.

The final bell rings, indicating the midterm has ended, and that they need to hand it in. Akito taps Kenji, Kenji waking up in a half-awake state, haplessly scratching notes on the page and handing it forward, letting out a being stretch of relief that it’s over.

In the hallway afterward, Takuma complains, “I tried my hardest to study, but it never seems to click.”

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Ryu reassures him, patting him on the back.

“I think we all know he can’t even beat a punching bag,” Kenji adds sarcastically.

Akito laughs, still exhausted but enjoying the camaraderie. Takuma turns to him. "How do you think you did?"

“Not too bad," Akito says, grinning. "Probably would've felt better if I’d remembered it was happening."

Kenji suggests they walk home together. Takuma and Ryu need to use the bathroom, so Akito decides to meet them outside.

At the front steps, Akito waits, leaning against the railing. The exhaustion is finally catching up to him. He struggles to keep his eyes open. As he tries to stay awake, the door behind him opens.

Akito opens his eyes and turns to see who it is, expecting it to be his friends. At this moment, the fatigue and exhaustion set in; he’s too tired to do this.

As he falls asleep on the front steps of his school, someone appears.

Their gazes meet for a moment, but this is no moment which he’d forget anytime soon. This was the first time he’d seen her before. Her red hair seemed to radiate in the sunlight, the breeze slowing to a halt in his mind.

As his eyes fully closed, and his mind shut out thoughts and fell asleep, there had been one that’d snuck through and stayed:

If a moment exists between two people, which one can decide what it means?

He didn’t understand what this meant until just now.

Neither.

Exhaustion of studying had caught up to him, hitting like a truck. Akito’s mind remains blank, as he lays unconscious on the steps of the school, but his friends then exit the school, seeing him sleeping.

Takuma shakes Akito awake and asks “Are you okay?”

Akito rubs his eyes, being completely confused at what his friend is asking

“We left you for like 10 minutes, so you decided to take a nap on the ground?” Ryu jokingly asks Akito

“We already planned a funeral for you. Why’d you have to ruin it?” Kenji quickly adds on, Akito still being slightly confused and seemingly out of reality.

“Hopefully they can reimburse you for the costs” Akito replies, yawning directly after. Takuma and Kenji laugh at this, then Takuma helps Akito up off the ground, Kenji picking up his bag and handing it to him.

“We should get going now” Ryu tells the group, Kenji and Takuma beginning to walk toward the gates…yet Akito remains standing on the steps.

Who exactly was that?

Akito looks up to see his friends walking without him, quickly jogging to catch up to them, yet the thought still lingers. The walk home was silent, that was, silent for him. Ryu, Kenji and Takuma were all laughing and joking around, Akito not paying attention to any of it as his interest lies somewhere else…with someone else.

The group gets a bridge over a smaller stream, Akito and Kenji parting ways with Ryu and Takuma, with Ryu heading back the way they came, and Takuma crossing the bridge with them but going a separate direction. They all wave goodbye, when they split, with Kenji and Akito being the last to do so.

“You sure you can get there okay?” Kenji asks Akito, worrying about his walking ability from the lack of sleep

Akito turns to see the door of his house, saying back to Kenji in a soft and thankful tone “I should be fine. Thanks for walking me home too, I know it’s a bit out of the way-”

“Anytime.” Kenji cuts off Akito mid-sentence, both of them exchanging a look of understanding, then both smiling at this. Akito makes his way toward the door, Kenji making sure he gets there, then walks toward his own house.

Akito walks in and takes his shoes off, then looks up to see Shoya, wearing an apron and greeting him with a smile. Even through the exhaustion of the day, the mental toll that the late-night studying had on him, he manages to give a nice smile back to his brother.

The effort was for him, anyway.

After taking his shoes off, he sits down at the dinner table with his brother to eat, Shoya making a massive meal for the celebration of the midterm completion. Akito is grateful for this action, eating his brother’s cooking with great joy.

Dinner finishes, with He going to wash the dishes for him and his brother, but Shoya stops him from doing this

“I think you’ve worked hard enough today. You can take the night off.” Shoya says to his little brother in a calm yet warm tone.

Akito looks up to his brother, and with his last ounce of energy replies back “Thanks”

They both smile, Akito then sliding his way up to his room and immediately passing out on the bed, still in his school uniform.

The next morning comes, Akito being fully recharged from burnout and eager to start the day. He brushes his teeth, then heads downstairs to the kitchen, grabbing a bento box out of the fridge and putting it into his bag. He makes his way to the doorway of the kitchen, pausing himself. He’d forgotten to take his pills.

He heads back upstairs, fetching the bottle from his nightstand, taking 2 in his hand and heading to the bathroom, swiftly taking a sip of water to wash them down.

Akito heads to the front door, passing Shoya, who’s in the living room watching the news. His cup of coffee is on the table in front of him, but he’s fast asleep, snoring as loud as can be.

Akito chuckles to himself for a second, taking out his phone and snapping a picture of this moment; Shoya would never live this down. Akito puts his shoes on, then heads out for school.

He arrives at school before any of his friends do, switching his shoes to the indoor pair, and heads up to first period.

On his way to the classroom, he notices the hallways are empty. The morning sun peeks into the hallway, reflecting off the newly cleaned floors and lockers.

The Sun’s Bright Today

He glances across the courtyard to the other side of the school, the hallway over there being completely empty too, then Akito looks toward the sun as it begins rising above the clouds obscuring his view slightly. He raises his hand to block this light, but the sun seeps through the gaps of his fingers.

Akito chuckles to himself slightly, then turns to head into the classroom, but something catches the corner of his eye as he turns: A glistening pink strand of hair.

He rubs his eyes, the sunlight still having an effect on his vision, then looks to where he thinks he saw something, yet nothing is there.

He finally walks into the class, people having small talk around desks while waiting for class to begin. He glances at the board, remembering he’s on class duty today and lets out a disappointed sigh.

The other name next to his is Takuma’s, with Akito’s face lighting up a small amount at this sight, then he turns and walks to his desk, sitting down and waiting for his friends to show up.

The time gets closer and closer to starting class, with no sign of Kenji, Takuma, or Ryu yet. Akito sits at his desk, pen and paper out, ready to start class.

Just as class is about to start, Kenji and Ryu enter the classroom around the same time, the teacher giving them a stern look for being late, but the boys don’t notice this.

Kenji and Ryu walk to their desks then sit down, but neither of them grab anything out of their bags to write anything down.

“On time today? Is it a special occasion?” Akito asks jokingly, with a big small smile on his face

“Just be happy I’ve blessed you with my presence” Kenji retorts in a sarcastic tone. There’s a slight pause, with Kenji’s fake smug face slowly cracking, then letting out a quiet laugh. Akito laughs at this too, and Ryu lets out a smile.

Akito looks at the door, expecting Takuma to show up any minute…but that minute never arrives. After about 5 minutes, he gives up and accepts his fate of doing the class duty alone.

The day fades away, Akito writing notes down for each class but Kenji and Ryu seem to space out, neither of them writing anything down or really paying attention to what’s going on.

The final bell rings, and everyone gets up and is excited for what they have planned after school…that is, everyone except Akito. Ryu and Kenji get up to leave, grabbing their bags, but they notice Akito slumped over his desk.

“Should we call an ambulance?” Kenji asks jokingly, with no response from Akito or Ryu.

“Why’s he so down?”, Kenji questions, still confused at Akito’s mood, but Ryu then points to the classroom duty written on the board, with Takuma and Akito’s names written on it.

“Probably has something to do with that” Ryu states, Kenji’s eyes being opened at this sight, then leaning down and placing his hand on Akito’s head.

Kenji then apologetically says to Akito, “I’d help you if I weren’t already doing something after school”

Kenji then glances at the clock on the wall, then speeding off in a hurry

“Sorry! That thing…is…well…right now!” Kenji yells as he exits the classroom in a hurry

Ryu lets a soft chuckle out at this, then walks out of the classroom, waving goodbye to Akito in the process, but he misses this since his face is still buried in the desk.

A few more minutes pass, and the classroom finally clears out. Akito raises his head and finishes his self-pity party, and begins to clean up the classroom.

He stacks the chairs, and for a brief moment peeks out the window to see people walking away from the school, presumably on their way home. His gaze fixates on a couple.

They seem happy.

He continues with the classroom duty, making his way up to the chalkboard at the front and wiping the board full of equations clean, getting to his and Takuma’s name still written on there for classroom duty.

He pauses for a moment, then lets a light smile out and erases the names off the board.

You probably have a good reason. It’s not like you did this intentionally.

Akito gets to beating the erasers out the window, the clouds of chalk puffing up around his head in the process. Just when he’s about to be finished, the chalk cloud goes in his eyes and face, causing his eyes to water and him to start coughing uncontrollably.

He drops the erasers on the floor, grabbing a sip of water to clear his mouth, then rubs his eyes to clear them. He picks the erasers up and puts them on the teacher’s desk, then looks upon the empty classroom in front of him.

Feels different when you’re the only one around. Kinda spooky.

Akito notices the chalk on the board is almost gone, and reaches into the teacher’s desk to fill it up. Akito grabs the smaller pieces of chalk and steps toward the trash can to throw them out, but after a single step pauses himself. He then looks back at the trash can, then at the chalk in his hand.

I can definitely make this, right?

Akito then shoots the chalk like a basketball, but completely misses all of them, with some fragments ending up in the hallway outside the classroom.

This is why I don’t play basketball.

A wave of embarrassment comes over him, but then he remembers nobody was here to see it. Just to make sure though, he glances around to make sure the classroom is empty.

Akito exhales a sigh of relief then looks over to Takuma’s empty desk, smiling to himself

You wouldn’t have made that shot either, idiot.

Akito goes to clean up the chalk pieces he miserably missed before, then grabs the ones on the floor in the classroom first and throws them out.

He then walks into the hallway and crouches down to grab the chalk fragments, when a pair of shoes enters his peripheral view.

Akito jumps up, startled at seeing something unexpected, in the process headbutting the nose of the other person at an insane speed. They both fall backwards, ending up on the ground.

Akito grabs his head in pain, his eyes wincing as he holds the point of impact.

What the hell are they doing here? Who else would be staying this la-

Across from him is a girl, holding her nose in pain, her eyes closed but still angrily talking to Akito, blaming him for what just happened.

“What was that for?! I was just trying to help you clean this up and you decide that headbutting’s the best course of action? You could’ve given me a concussio-”

The girl’s eyes open finally to meet the gaze of Akito, his hands no longer holding his head, his eyes fixated on her’s

Silence fills the hallway, the two of them sitting face to face with each other.

“It's…you.”
“It's…you.”
They both ask the same question to each other, the girl’s hands falling from her face in disbelief.

The silence returns, only for it to be broken as Akito notices the girl’s nose is bleeding

“Your nose is bleeding. Let me get you a tissue”

They both head into the class, with the girl sitting at Takuma's desk as Akito retrieves the tissues from his bag, then handing them over to the girl.

As they sit in desks, an awkward silence overcomes the room, neither of them knowing where to start, or if they should even start it.

“You’re…from the other day, right? A-At the front of the school?” The girl asks Akito, her hands fidgeting in her hair, her eyes refusing to make contact with him.

“Y-Yeah…” Akito replies shyly, a nervous smile emerging to try and lighten the mood in the room.

Akito apologizes, saying “Also, sorry about your nose…that was completely my fault” then bowing his head to her.

“N-No…I’m to blame for this as well. I should’ve just let you do your thing” the girl replies regretfully, almost as if she’s blaming herself for his actions

It’s not her fault. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t missed so badly this would never have happened.

Akito then extends his hand and offers a compromise

“How about both of us are responsible?” Akito offers lightheartedly, a light smile on his face.

The girl extends her hard to grab Akito’s, then they shake on this conclusion.

“It's only fair” the girl happily says back, a heartwarming smile appearing on her face.

After a while of them lingering in the classroom, the girl’s nose stops bleeding, and so they get up and head for the door. They exit the room, closing it then about to head separate ways. Akito gives a light wave, the girl responding with a small wave of her own, and they begin walking.

If this was some romance manga she would be running back and yelling something like “Wait! I Love you!”.

Akito glances over his shoulder, seeing the girl still walking away. He looks forward again, slightly disappointed his fantasy didn’t come true. He then clutches his hand hard, then looks up to the ceiling.

“So listen….”

Akito turns around to face the girl. The girl turns around at the sound of his voice.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said this in my life before, but…”

The girl looks Akito in the face, her eyes widen in anticipation of what he has to say. Akito’s face tenses up, and his eyes close from nervousness.

“...would it be okay if…we talked more?”

A brief silence follows Akito’s question. His eyes remain closed, but the nerves haven’t calmed down at all.

The silence is broken by the sound of footsteps, walking closer to him, with Akito opening his eyes to see the girl closer to him than ever. The sight of her so close makes him blush. The girl then speaks up, asking Akito another question

“You mean right now? I have things I have to do lat-”

“Not now, if you’re busy…I just meant it as…uhh…” Akito stammers his words after interrupting the girl, then formulates his sentence.

“I meant in the future! I want to…I want to know you better!”

The girl’s eyes glisten at the sound of this statement, her face turns a bright red. Akito meets her gaze with his eyes, and they both begin blushing even harder.

This is a first. Not just for me, but it seems like it is for her, too.

The girl’s watch begins ringing, like an alarm she set was finally going off. She looks down at her wrist and inhales sharply.

“Sorry! I really have to go this time!” the girl says in a panic, then turning tail and running the opposite direction.

Akito looks at her running down the hall and begins asking in a quiet tone

“name…WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”

The girl looks back while still moving forward, then smiles

“Akari….Akari K-”

She’d gone too far for Akito to hear her.

Akari What?

His stare lingers in the hallway, looking to where she just was. Nothing had ever gone this way since…ever. At least for him. He nervously swallows the spit in his mouth, then looks down at his open palm.

He raises his fist to the ceiling, posing as if he’d won a massive victory. Akito then heads toward the lockers of the school, switching his shoes out for his outdoor pair, then exits the building.

The breeze, the sunset, the clouds. They didn’t seem fake today. The world changes regardless if you do or not…but today, today I changed with it. I took a step, for the first time I took the first step toward something I wanted to do. No matter the size, no matter the meaning, no matter the end goal…I moved forward.

On his way home, the sunset beams through the clouds, an almost scenic representation of how he feels. He walks alone, but the look on his face shows his mind is still lingering at that moment. The moment he saw her.

The trees bustle in the wind, the breeze swaying the grass. Akito takes this walk for granted each day, the scenery being lost on him for all this time. He stops by a bench, looking out toward a lake, the reflection of the sunset glistening in his eyes. The wind stops for a moment, allowing for a single moment of silence to pass. Akito takes a moment to absorb the scenery, gazing out into the seemingly endless body of water before him, really letting the event of the day sink into his brain.

Only one word can Describe this feeling…

Akito smiles to himself once more over Akari, remembering how stupid he was for headbutting her, then blushes out of embarrassment.

Clarity.

He faces away from the lake, and is preparing to take a step toward his house, when a gust of wind suddenly knocks the headband off his head, letting his hair fall on his face, obscuring his eyes

Akito panics and wipes the hair out of his face, the headband rolling down the street, stopping near a tree. He chases after it, tripping and falling into the tree, but he’d won this fight: the headband was under him.

An older woman passes by, giving Akito a confused and concerned stare. Akito nervously laughs this action off, then puts the band back on and begins walking home at a faster pace.

Akito makes it home, and walks in, taking his shoes off and setting his bag at the front door. Sizzling sounds are heard from the kitchen, then a series of muffled footsteps are heard.

Shoya then peeks his head out the kitchen doorway, wearing a very girly apron, scattered with hearts and pink fabric.

She definitely made that for him

“Welcome home! How was school?” Shoya asks, in a warm and comforting tone

“Same as usual, boring” Akito replies in a monotone fashion

Shoya notices something different about the reply today. Though the words remain the same, the person saying them might’ve changed. Shoya takes a moment to absorb this look, Akito looking like a glowing ray of sunshine in his eyes

“What’s the matter? Do I have something on my face?” Akito asks, confused as to why his brother is staring at him.

“It’s nothing. Hurry up, or the food’ll get cold” Shoya replies with a smile.

The boys sit down at the table, beginning to eat the food Shoya had prepared for them. They eat in silence for a moment, before Shoya breaks it with a question

“You doing well in school? I mean…after all you’ve been through, you’re bound to have a few setbacks-”

“I’m doing well! Everything is going smoothly, and I’m caught up on everything I missed” Akito interrupts Shoya’s sentence with a quick retort, alongside a smile on his face.

They continue to pick at their food once more, Akito getting a sip of water

“What’s got you in such a good mood today? You finally get a gir-”

Akito chokes on the water he was drinking, Shoya laughing at this response

“That’s one way to reply” Shoya jokes

“...Cough..n-no…not yet” Akito shyly responds, nervously blushing

A bit of embarrassment shows in his eyes, which Shoya picks up on, then stops what he’s doing and drops the subject.

“As long as you’re happy…”

Shoya hands Akito a napkin, and they look face to face, Shoya having another warm smile on his face while his arm extends to Akito. Akito takes the napkin from Shoya’s hand and wipes his face off with it.

“...then I’m happy for you”

Dinner wraps up, the 2 boys bringing their dishes to the sink to clean them

“So how’s Aoi-chan doing?” Akito questions Shoya, while both scrub and rinse the dishes.

“She’s doing good, thanks for asking.”

Akito hands another plate to his brother to dry

“She was really worried about you, you know. When I told her you’d be coming back home, she was happy for you. We both were.” Shoya continues, his tone coming in with the utmost sincerity and kindness

Akito taps his chest a few times as a joke, then laughs for a moment

“I’m back in one piece, as you can see. Was there any need to worry about me?”

“I’m your older brother, that’s my job.” Shoya calmly states

A brief pause ensues, then Shoya places his hand on Akito’s head and pats it a few times.

“Thanks, Aki. I can finish the rest” Shoya gives a soft and light-hearted smile to Akito

“Okay. Thanks for dinner!” Akito walks out of the kitchen, Shoya remains to finish the mess of dishes which are left.

He watches Akito leave the dining room, then Shoya seems to glance at the table again, but quickly focuses back on the dishes.

Some time passes, and we see Akito exiting the shower, pajamas on and a towel strewn across his neck and shoulders. He sets the towel in a laundry basket, then lays down on his bed. He stares blankly into the ceiling for a while, his mind finally getting a rest on this revolutionary day.

He then thinks back to when he first met Akari, him accidentally giving her a bloody nose, helping her clean it up, and seeing her leave the hallway.

What is it about her…that makes me want to see her again?

Akito then thinks of other times he’d liked someone, but never got the courage to do anything about it. He’d always been a spectator in relationships, not an active part.

This could’ve ended up like the other times, where I’d just sit back and watch my chances fade into nothing…spectate as the person I was interested in was swept off their feet by some prince charming before I got the chance-No, before I took the chance. But by sheer coincidence, I was able to confront her, and it made me question what had been holding me back from doing this the other times. Was it something different about her? Was she the person I’d been waiting for, and fate allowed this chance to happen?....or was it me who’d changed? Were my eyes closed so long that I refused to open them, even when the reason to was right in front of me?

Akito puts his hand on his chest, feeling the rhythm of his heartbeat

I’m a stranger to this feeling. Not once have I felt this way before. It’s because of her.

Akito puts his hand in the air, and crosses his pinkie fingers together.

Next time I see her…I’ll tell her about this feeling. Next Time I see her…I’ll tell her what’s been on my mind. I’ll grab onto this feeling, with all my strength…and this time I won’t let it go.

Akito pulls the covers up higher, rolling to face his nightstand, seeing a lamp turned off, a framed photo, the figures not quite clear, and his pill bottle for his head. He closes his eyes, and dozes off into slumber.

School resumes after the weekend a few days later, Akito strolling in to see a gathering of people near a board. The rankings for the midterms are out.

Akito looks around for his name, skimming by a few names Kenji Hitonoka, Ryusuke Iwatani, Takuma Oshiro, before finally finding his name, with him being ranked 17th overall, letting a little celebratory fist pump to himself.

Shoya’s gonna be pumped!

Akito turns to head to class, when suddenly an idea pops into his head. An idea so powerful it stops him dead in his tracks

I wonder how she did…

An image of Akari pops into Akito’s head, and he searches through the list of names, before coming to a realization

…wait, did she ever tell me her last name?

He looks at a person who places 24th, named Akari Kawano, and assumes it to be her, but is left unsure of this conclusion

He makes his way to class, pen and paper in hand, but not focusing at all during the class itself.

If I were a pretty girl…what would my last name be?

This one thought had overtaken his brain. The bell dismisses classes for lunch in what seems like an instant, Akito coming back to the present moment with the sounds of people getting up to go to lunch.

Akito goes to grab his bag, seeing a book in there, then remembering he has to return it to the library. His friends are waiting at the door for him

“Yo, Aki! What’s taking you so long?” Ryu asks

“Yeah! If you don’t hurry up, we’ll sell your seat to the highest bidder!” Kenji jokingly follows up

Aki stands from his desk, then heads out the other classroom door while informing his friends on what he has to do

“Sorry, I forgot about this book I have to return! I’ll meet you guys down there!” \

Kenji and Ryu look a bit confused at what just happened, but Takuma seems just happy to be there. They shrug it off, then exit the classroom as well.

Akito makes it to the library, walking in and handing the book to the librarian, then bowing as an apology for having it so long. He looks at the clock, then realizes how long that journey took

There’s not too much time left, might as well eat here

Akito heads to the back corner of the library, and sits down at a table to eat his bento.

“Hey! Looks like I finally found you!”

Akito looks up from his bento to see Akari, holding her own bento box.

She looks a bit shy, looking at the ground and holding her bento box close to her chest, then points at the seat across the table from Akito

“Is…this seat taken?”

“F-f-feel free” Akito replies, stuttering his words and blushing tremendously

Akari sits down, then unwraps her food and begins eating.

“The midterms are posted…h-how’d you do?” Akito asks nervously

“Not too bad…” Akari states, without further elaboration

“So that means…you’re Akari Kawano?” Akito asks skeptically

Akari is about to take another bite, but stops in confusion of this question

“What?”

“I figured, since you said you did pretty good…I…uhhh…made an educated guess” Akito explained himself in a shy tone.

Akito puts his hands up and starts making denying motions, trying to explain himself

“Since you didn’t give me your last name…I just went of first name”

Akari laughs at this, Akito confused at this laughter

“My last name is Kojima. I’m Akari Kojima”

Akito thinks back to the names on the list.

But…there was no Akari Kojima…I’m sure of it!

“But Akari Kojima…wasn’t on th-”

“My parents didn’t want my grade average affecting the overall school average…so they decided not to publicly share it” Akari interrupts Akito

But why would her parents need to do something like th-

A memory rushes back into Akito’s head, of the orientation ceremony. The principal, Jin Koijma, was giving a speech about something, something…I don’t know, I fell asleep during it.

Akito’s face has a visible recognition of the name at this point, and he looks up to see Akari, but she’s looking at her bento box, her hands held together.

“...since my parent’s run the school, it’s a bit hard for me to make friends, or even talk to people…”

Akari’s tone saddens, Akito remaining silent and listening to her words.

“...people are afraid to associate with me, most just choosing to avoid me entirely because they think one bad move or comment can lead to the wrath of the principal coming down on them. Most people just choose to not take that risk, and I understand why….but why?”

Akari grabs a hold of her skirt and clenches it in a tough grip in an attempt to fend off her emotion, only making her tear up.

Akito remains seated, his hand twitching, almost as if it wants to reach out and comfort her.

“Why does it have to be like this? Why can’t I just be like everyone else?”

Akari’s tears begin to overflow in her eyes, dripping onto her sweater. Akito reaches across the table to grab her hand

“Well…I don’t think you should try to be like everyone else, I think the person you are…is better than all of them”

Akito’s words resonate, with Akari and Akito having their eyes meet once more. Akito then stands up.

“I don’t care if your parents run this school…I still want to be your friend, I don’t see the daughter of the principal…” Akito states in a clear and meaningful tone

Akito then grabs Akari’s other hand, holding all of their hands together in the middle of the 2 of them.

“..I see Akari Kojima”.

Akari then stands up to match Akito, her eyes widening; her mouth slightly open, some tears remaining in her eyes.

“...anyways who cares about consequences when you’ve got a good friend like you” Akito tries to lighten up this conversation with a joke, providing no expected reaction from Akari.

However… this was a sentence she was never expecting to hear. Akari’s tears slightly well up once more, her asking a final question

“...friend?”

Akito looks confused about this question, then gives a warm and lighthearted smile

“Yeah, friend. Any objections?”

Akari pulls Akito in and hugs him, much to his surprise. He’s so surprised by this, that his body doesn’t react immediately.

Akari’s tears resume, this time being tears of happiness, and her head resting on Akito’s shoulder as they embrace.

Akito goes to hug her back, but a white flash invades his mind, a whisper echoing through his mind.

“...Aki….do you want to go to the park…..?”

Akito’s eyes are not filled with tears as he returns to the present, but he is unsure of how they got there. He finally hugs Akari back, and closes his eyes.

I was wrong. I was so sure this feeling was new to me, and now I’m unsure of that. The only thing I can still guarantee…is that I'm not going to let this go.