Chapter 2: Whispers in the Park

Yūitsu sat alone in the elegant secondary residence, the afternoon light filtering through the tall windows in soft golden threads. 

The old magic book lay closed on the low table before him, its ancient leather cover cool beneath his fingertips. 

With a quiet breath, he set it aside and leaned back, the polished wood of the chair creaking faintly under his weight. "This luxury is not mine to enjoy," he murmured, the words settling heavy on his tongue. 

His gaze drifted to the small handmade box resting in the corner of the table  Ellina's gift, still tied with its bright ribbon. 

The faint, sweet scent of strawberries drifted from it, a reminder that refused to fade. He reached out and lifted the lid, picking up one of the sweets. 

The sugar-dusted surface gave slightly under his thumb, revealing the soft pink filling inside. The taste bloomed on his tongue  tart strawberry balanced with gentle sweetness. 

For a moment, the flavor carried him back to Shore District, to his little sister's bouncing pigtails and glowing smile. 

Then the image shifted, as it always did now. Ellina alone on cold streets. Grandmother's gentle hands, empty. Grandfather's steady gaze, lost. 

He set the half-eaten sweet back in the box. "I'll never use the name for my own benefit," he whispered to the empty room, voice steady despite the ache. "Never again."

The week stretched ahead  quiet and hollow. High school at Eternal High wouldn't begin for another seven days, leaving him with nothing but time and the weight of his own resolve. 

Staying inside felt wrong, like hiding behind silk chains once more. So Yūitsu stood, pulled on a simple jacket, and stepped out into the streets of EastBank. 

The city met him with a different rhythm than Shore District  bustling yet orderly, tall buildings framing wide avenues, the distant roar of a football stadium bleeding into the afternoon air. 

He wandered without purpose, letting his feet carry him until the noise softened and green swallowed the concrete. 

Queen's Park unfolded before him like a quiet world hidden inside the city's heart. Towering trees stood proud, their leaves catching sunlight in shifting patterns of gold and green. 

The air smelled of fresh earth and blooming flowers, and birdsong threaded through the canopy in clear, unhurried notes. 

Yūitsu found an empty bench beneath an ancient oak and sat down, the wood warm from the sun. He closed his eyes. Leaves whispered overhead. 

A bird called nearby, its song unburdened by anything. Footsteps approached  light, unhurried. "May I sit here?" The voice was soft, like a breeze brushing through silk. Yūitsu opened his eyes. 

A girl stood before him, a white scarf draped loosely around her neck, contrasting with shoulder-length brown hair that caught the afternoon light in warm highlights.

Her expression was open and natural, with a small, easy smile that reached her eyes  no exaggerated warmth, no performance. 

Just a person asking a simple question. "Of course, You don't have to ask me" Yūitsu replied, shifting slightly to make room. "Please." She sat down gracefully, folding her hands in her lap. 

Up close, she carried a quiet composure that felt almost foreign to him the ease of someone who saw him as nothing more than a stranger on a bench. 

"I'm Yew Shihai," she said. "Second-year at Eternal High. Nice to meet you." "Yūitsu Flott. First-year. I just arrived in EastBank." 

She nodded, unhurried. "If you don't mind let me give you some information,This park and the surrounding residential zone belong to Eternal High  it's quieter here by design, away from the busier parts of the city." 

She spoke clearly and without rush, painting pictures of campus shortcuts, which clubs were genuinely worth joining, which teachers formed their first impressions on day one. Her words were practical, precise  helpful without being eager. 

"Thank you," Yūitsu said when she finished, and meant it. "The map they sent was useful, but this feels more real." Yew tilted her head slightly, scarf shifting with the motion. 

"If anything else comes up, just ask." She rose smoothly, brushed a stray leaf from her skirt, and offered a small wave. "I have some work to finish. See you around." 

She walked away along the shaded path  steps light, pace unhurried until she disappeared behind a cluster of trees. Yūitsu remained on the bench. The birds continued their song. But his thoughts stayed with the brief exchange. 

For the first time in days, someone had spoken to him without the weight of the Flott name pressing down on every word. No instant deference, no kindness layered beneath expectation. Just normal conversation between two people. 

It felt good. Surprisingly so. A quiet breath escaped him, steadier than the ones before it. The guilt still lingered in his chest, but it sat lighter now, tempered by something small and honest. 

Honour was earned, not given  and today, even this simple exchange felt like a step taken on his own terms. Yet somewhere beneath that warmth, faint and barely perceptible, a ripple stirred. Like the first disturbance on still water.

The next morning, Yūitsu jolted awake, chest heaving, skin slick with cold sweat. "Ellina…" Fragments of the dream still clung to him his sister's bright pigtails, her small handmade box, then her small figure standing alone on cold streets, forgotten. He sat up slowly and rubbed his face. 

The guilt from yesterday hadn't faded. It had simply settled deeper, like sediment at the bottom of a clear lake. His gaze fell on the box of strawberry sweets. 

Without thinking, he reached over and bit into one. The familiar tart-sweet burst spread across his tongue  comforting and painful at the same time. He finished it slowly, then stood and headed for the bathroom. 

The cold shower hit like needles, washing away the last threads of the nightmare. By the time he sat down to a simple breakfast, his mind had steadied. 

He spread his notebooks across the low table. "Two chapters from each subject," he muttered, pencil already moving. "I need to be prepared." Hours passed. 

His back began to ache from the hunched posture, a dull protest building between his shoulder blades. He stretched, glanced at the window where afternoon light poured in, and made a quiet decision. A walk wouldn't hurt. 

Queen's Park welcomed him again with the same easy peace  leaves swaying, birds calling, the distant city noise reduced to a murmur. Yūitsu made his way to the same bench beneath the ancient oak without quite deciding to, and sat down.

He leaned back. The wood was warm. Leaves whispered overhead. Minutes passed. He found himself glancing, once, toward the path where Yew had appeared the day before. 

No footsteps came. No soft voice asked to sit. The park was pleasant  it had always been pleasant  but something in the quiet felt different today. 

Incomplete, in a way he couldn't quite name. He pushed himself to his feet. "Flott? Good afternoon." Yūitsu turned, and a genuine smile crossed his face before he could think about it.

Yew Shihai stood a few steps down the path, white scarf catching the breeze, brown hair bright in the afternoon light. She raised a hand in an easy wave as she approached. 

"Hey," he replied, and sat back down without thinking, making room on the bench. She settled beside him, posture relaxed and open. "This park is really something." 

"It reminds me of my grandparents' garden back in Shore District," Yūitsu said. The words came lightly, without the weight they usually carried. "I keep finding myself here." "I love it too," 

Yew replied, her voice carrying simple warmth no performance, no layered meaning. Just shared appreciation for a quiet place. "It's one of the few spots in EastBank where you can actually hear yourself think." 

A comfortable silence settled between them, broken only by the rustling leaves. "Shore sounds peaceful," she said after a moment, her tone light with genuine curiosity. 

"You came all the way here for school?" "For better education," Yūitsu answered. "And…" he paused briefly, the real reason sitting just beneath the surface. "Something I needed to find on my own terms." 

Yew didn't press. She simply nodded, as though that made perfect sense, and let the answer settle without pulling at it. A moment later she rose, brushing a leaf from her scarf. "Alright. I'll see you when school starts." 

A small wave, a light step, and she was gone down the shaded path unhurried, unbothered  until the trees folded around her. Yūitsu stayed on the bench a little longer, watching the spot where she had disappeared. 

He had wanted to talk a few minutes more. Just that  a few more minutes of conversation with someone who saw him as Yūitsu, not Young Master Flott. A soft, quiet breath escaped him as he finally stood and walked back toward the residence. 

The guilt still lived in his chest, but it felt fractionally lighter now, eased not by grand gestures or earned victories but by something far simpler. 

Being treated like an ordinary person. Yet beneath that warmth, almost too faint to notice, the ripple stirred again deeper this time, like wind moving just below the surface of still water, before the storm arrives.