Chapter 0:

Prologue

Sakura and Spring


One night, Haru Miyamoto met his special someone.

It was a normal mid-February night. Past midnight to be more specific.

A twenty-minute walk brought him from his house to a local park. Naturally, it was vacant at this hour, and the place gave off a certain creepy vibe.

Disappointed, Haru sighed.

Taking a stroll to the park wasn’t helping him in the slightest to induce sleep as his mother had told him would. If anything, the cold wind could potentially make anyone sick. But since he had confidence in his immune system, he wasn’t particularly worried about that.

As Haru stared at the moonless night sky for a while, boredom and tiredness eventually took over him. So he thought it was time to head back.

He decided to take a detour on the way home.

While walking down the dead-quiet streets of Kishimoto City, he considered maybe it was time now he quit pulling an all-nighter to try to finish an entire manga volume. The consequence of that action was not being able to sleep the following night.

He took a turn to Kishimoto Park Road.

The streets were neither too dark nor too lit: the moonlight was scarcely visible, and there were dim-white street lights here and there, which prevented the night world from going pitch black like a haunted town.

When Haru almost reached the intersection of Kishimoto Park Road and Oda Ogino Street—which crossed perpendicularly—he saw quite a sight to behold.

A girl who looked his age dashed across the straight streets ten meters in front of him.

At that instant, time seemed to stop for Haru alone.

Dressed in pajamas, holding a basket-like figure in her hand, and with serious-looking eyes, it appeared like she was competing in some sort of childish race with someone.

Her long, black hair faintly gleamed under the dim radiance of the street light as her scarf wrapped around her neck fluttered.

Haru stood still, staring in astonishment at the dark, now-blank street. Without any announcement, an interesting feeling developed in his heart. Curiosity.

This was a first for him.