Unexpected Encounter

The ink-scarred pages spread across it were so worn that the scribbles seemed to blur together, but his gaze had already drifted past them—up to the half-burned admission papers pinned to the cracked wall. 

They were the same documents his parents had carried to Kyousei Academy on that day, before the car crash that had taken them away. The memory tightened in his chest. Arata’s grip on his pen grew white-knuckled as he recalled their bright, hopeful smiles, the way they had waved at him one last time, completely unaware of the fate waiting for them on the road ahead. 

It had been a year since that incident. The lack of credible documents and support hindered Arata's ability to get into any high-profile Highschool despite his outstanding grades.

Only a small highschool who's Headmaster had been acquainted with Arata's parents admitted him out of pity.

Sato wasn’t satisfied, however. As he knew that his grades and struggles were worthy of studying in an academy like Kyousei, the top Highschool in the country, whose alumni were granted entry to top universities without an entrance exam due to its rigorous curriculum.

He returned from his school back home as he stared at the bus stop he had to take, which was right beside the bridge that led to the Kyousei Academy

The glass shelter of the bus stop reflected Sato’s thoughtful expression. His black hair was messy, his uniform utterly worn out, and his troubled mind raced with restless thoughts—until the subtle sound of a gate opening caught his attention.

Across the bridge from where Sato stood waiting for his bus, the entrance gate of Kyousei Academy slowly swung open. From it, two luxurious black cars emerged and glided out through the gate.

The contrast between his own worn-out reflection and the academy students’ expensive rides stabbed at his pride.

He stepped onto the bridge, drawn toward the open air. He walked to the railing and looked down at the dark water below, needing to breathe.

 The peaceful sight slowly calmed him as Sato stared into the shifting water for a long moment before finally looking up and whispering,

“I’m sorry, Dad and Mom. It looks like I won't be getting into college at this rate.” His gaze fell upon the subtle ripples in the water below as he felt the memories of his deceased parents rushing back, the days he had spent playing in the park with his Dad and the time he spent cooking with his mother on holidays made his eyes water slightly. 

"I..miss you, Dad and Mom.."

Arata was abruptly cut off by a soft confession spoken in a sweet voice beside him. He turned to look.

A girl around his age stood just a few feet away, dressed in a spotless school uniform with a deep blue overcoat and a small red bowtie. She, too, was leaning on the railing, staring down at the water just a few feet away from Arata

She turned to look at him, and both of them froze. At the same moment, they blurted out, “You didn’t hear anything… right?” Each of them was nervous that the other might have overheard their deepest confession, even though neither had been aware of the other until the last second.

Sato’s thoughts raced. At the start of the bridge, he spotted a sleek car similar to the ones that had just driven into the academy, surrounded by a few servants repairing a punctured tire.

He glanced back at the girl—her student outfit, her neatly styled hair gently fluttering in the night breeze—and pieced things together. She must be a student at the academy, he concluded.

In a soft tone, she said,

“I don’t know if you heard anything, but if you did… would you mind keeping it a secret?”

Sato blinked, puzzled. He hadn’t heard anything at all in the first place. Still, he replied,

“It’s fine. I won’t tell anyone,” he said, hoping his answer would ease some of her tension.

He had been pulled out of his inner monologue mid-thought and thrown into an unexpected encounter with such a beauty—only to find himself promising not to share a confession he didn’t even know.

A few minutes earlier, inside the sleek car—

"It appears the rear tire is punctured, Miss Fuyumi," her maid informed her. "It won’t take long to fix," she added.

Fuyumi Kujo replied, “It’s alright, Bertha. I needed some fresh air anyway.”

Fuyumi Kujo stepped out of the car and walked to the side of the bridge. She leaned lightly against the rail, gazing down at the sparkling water that reflected the moon and the night sky. Under her breath, she whispered,

“I wish I could be a fish, swimming around—free of others’ judgment and expectations of me. Mother and Father have been so angry since I failed the entrance exam, always comparing me to Sayaka," she whispered. It was at that moment that Sato happened to notice her.

Back to now,

Fuyumi spoke as she slowly adjusted her hair, which kept fluttering in the soft breeze.

“I’m…Fuyumi Kujo. What’s your name?” she asked.

“I’m Sato Arata. I’m not a student here,” he said, knowing she was worried he might be her classmate. All the while, he assumed Kujo-san was a student at Kyousei High.

His words made Kujo-san visibly relax; at least he wasn’t someone from her school. Yet as her fingers nervously fiddled with the fabric of her skirt, a heavier feeling settled in her chest.

 She wasn’t a student of Kyousei Academy at all, and tonight she had only come to the bridge to find a little comfort under the night sky.

Just then, a stern voice called out to them. It was Miss Bertha, Fuyumi’s Maid.

“The car’s tire is fine now, Kujo-sama. We’ll be late if you continue your impromptu talk.”

Kujo-san turned to Miss Bertha and then returned to her car, relieved that her childish confessions hadn’t been heard by someone important.

Arata waved her goodbye, and she gently smiled as she got into the car beside her caretaker, and the two of them drove off.

Sato Arata then decided to walk back home instead, although the image of Kujo-san standing on the bridge beside him lingered in his mind. As a small part of him wished to talk with her again."

“If only I had another chance to enter Kyousei Academy, one where they wouldn't bother checking for my status," he murmured on his way back. 

He returned to the place he called home: an old-age home where his grandparents lived, along with several other elderly residents.

“I’m back, Grandpa,” he called, as his frail-looking grandpa, dressed in a simple coat and pants, welcomed him back softly.

Arata Sato had been living in that old age home since his parents’ death, and often helped out the elderly who, along with his grandparents, secretly housed Arata in the attic, hiding him from the authorities, who would come once a month to check in.

Throughout his dinner, Arata kept thinking back to the meeting on the bridge, until a sudden TV news report made him nearly choke on his food and drop his spoon in surprise.

[Breaking news: The well-renowned Kyousei Academy announces that their annual nationwide Merit-Entry Exam, known for its rigorous difficulty, will be held next week and that the sole outperformer in the entire Country will be admitted into the Institute with no additional fees.]