The next morning, Izumi arrived at school a little earlier than usual. The air was fresh and cool, carrying the scent of early spring. As he walked past the school gates, he could already hear a few students chatting animatedly, some tossing baseballs in the courtyard, others taking pictures under the cherry blossoms that bloomed in full glory.
He found his seat, opened a light novel he was halfway through, and tried to sink into the comforting world of fiction. But today, the words seemed to blur and slip past his focus. His mind drifted—not to fictional characters, but to Ayato.
The memory of their walk home yesterday, her quiet smile, and the way she talked about subtle feelings kept looping in his mind.
As more students trickled into the room, Ayato entered with her usual grace, dressed neatly in her school uniform. Her white hair caught the morning sun, and her green eyes scanned the classroom. The moment she noticed Izumi, her face lit up.
"Good morning, Izumi-kun!" she said, waving.
A few heads turned at her cheerful tone.
Izumi's heart skipped. He replied with a quiet, "Morning," and tried not to overthink it.
But it was too late.
"Wait… did Yamada-san just greet Ichikawa?" a boy whispered behind him.
"No way. That Ayato Yamada? She talks to him?"
Izumi could feel the stares, hear the whispers creeping through the classroom like wildfire.
During lunch break, Ayato came to his desk again with her lunchbox. "Come on. Let's eat on the roof today."
He followed her quietly, though he could sense the storm building behind them. By the time they reached the roof, he finally voiced his concern.
"Um… Ayato-san. Aren't people… talking?"
She blinked. "About what?"
"Us."
A pause. Then, she looked at him with a soft, amused expression. "Let them talk."
Izumi stared at her. "But… aren't you popular? Being seen with someone like me… it could be a problem."
Ayato took a bite of her onigiri, chewed thoughtfully, then said, "Do you think I care about status or appearances?"
"I… don't know."
She leaned a little closer, her tone sincere. "I talk to you because I want to. That's all."
The silence that followed was not awkward this time. It was peaceful.
They ate in quiet harmony. Occasionally, a breeze would send petals floating past them. From the rooftop, the whole school looked small, the problems even smaller.
But as they returned to class, Izumi realized something was already shifting. Several students glanced at him—not with malice, but with curious eyes.
"Ichikawa-kun," a girl he barely knew called out. "You're friends with Yamada-san?"
Izumi froze. "U-Um…"
She smiled. "That's kind of unexpected. But cool."
Cool? Cool?
For the first time, the word had been applied to him. And it felt… strange.
Later, as he sat through math class, Izumi scribbled in the margins of his notebook. Not equations, but a single sentence, over and over:
"Let them talk."
The words weren't his.
But maybe… they could become part of him too.
The cultural festival was just around the corner, and the anticipation at school was palpable. Decorations were in full swing, and students could be seen rushing between rooms, setting up booths, and preparing for the big event. But amidst the bustling campus, Izumi felt a growing unease that hadn't been there before. The reason for his discomfort wasn't the work—it was Ayato.
Over the past few weeks, their relationship had gradually changed. What had started as a simple friendship, built on quiet conversations and shared schoolwork, was now something deeper. Izumi wasn't sure how to handle it. He was used to being alone, immersed in the worlds of manga and anime, but this was different. Ayato wasn't like anyone he had ever met before. She was warm, kind, and constantly made him feel like he mattered—something he hadn't experienced in a long time.
Yet, something was different that day. As they walked together toward the art room, Ayato's smile seemed a little brighter, her laughter a little lighter. Every word she spoke seemed to carry more weight than it did before. It wasn't that she was doing anything overtly different, but Izumi couldn't help but feel the shift in the air around her. Was it his imagination, or was there something more behind her smile?
When they arrived at the art room, Ayato took her usual spot beside him, picking up a brush to start painting the banners that would hang across the school hallways. Izumi focused on the sketching and outline work he was doing for the decorations. He felt the pressure of the situation, the weight of his own feelings beginning to mount. As Ayato hummed softly while working, a sudden silence fell between them.
"Izumi-kun," Ayato said, her voice soft, yet tinged with something else. It was almost as if she was hesitant, unsure of how to continue.
Izumi looked up from his sketchbook, meeting her gaze. "Yeah?"
Ayato set down her brush and turned to face him fully. "I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now… but I wasn't sure how to bring it up." She paused, as if searching for the right words. Her cheeks flushed lightly, and for a brief moment, Izumi wondered if he was imagining the slight nervousness in her demeanor.
"What is it?" Izumi asked, his heart suddenly pounding in his chest. The unease he had felt earlier seemed to grow, like an invisible tension in the air. Was she about to tell him something important?
Ayato bit her lip, then looked down at her hands. "Well… I know we've become good friends, and we've been spending a lot of time together lately. I just... I wanted to ask if you've been feeling the same way I have."
Izumi blinked, confusion clouding his mind. "Same way? What do you mean?"
Ayato hesitated, looking up to meet his eyes. Her expression was sincere, and there was something vulnerable in the way she held his gaze. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but... I've been feeling like there's something more between us. I—well, I like you, Izumi-kun."
For a few moments, all Izumi could do was stare at her, his mind racing. His heart skipped a beat, and a sudden warmth spread through him. He hadn't expected this. Not at all. Ayato was... confessing?
"I-I don't know what to say," Izumi stammered, his voice a little shaky. His thoughts were a whirlwind of emotions. Was he dreaming? Did Ayato really feel the same way about him?
Ayato smiled softly at his reaction, her cheeks still tinged with pink. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything right now. I just… I wanted to let you know how I feel. I don't want to rush anything."
Izumi swallowed hard, the pressure in his chest intensifying. He was overwhelmed by the fact that Ayato, the girl who had always been so kind to him, felt something more than just friendship. The thought of her liking him, of being the focus of her affection, was so foreign to him. He had spent so long in his quiet, isolated world that he hadn't even considered that someone like Ayato could have feelings for him.
"Ayato-chan…" Izumi finally managed to say, his voice quiet. "I… I don't know if I feel the same way. I've never been good with these things, with relationships or anything like that. I don't want to hurt you by saying the wrong thing."
Ayato's smile didn't falter. "Izumi-kun, you're not saying the wrong thing. You're being honest, and that's what matters. I'm not asking you to decide right away. I just wanted to tell you how I feel."
Izumi's heart was still racing, but a sense of relief washed over him. The pressure in his chest eased slightly. She wasn't expecting him to have the answer right away. That gave him time—time to figure things out and understand his own feelings. But there was still something lingering. Something deep within him was starting to stir, a small, unrecognizable feeling he couldn't yet place.
"Thank you, Ayato-chan," he said quietly, offering her a small, uncertain smile. "I'll think about it."
Ayato's smile widened, and she nodded. "That's all I ask, Izumi-kun. Take your time. We can still be friends, no matter what."
And with that, the air between them seemed to shift again. The tension that had been thick before now felt lighter, more open. Ayato returned to her painting, and Izumi, although still unsure of what to feel, began working again too.
But in the back of his mind, a new question lingered. Could he really be someone's romantic interest? And what if, just what if, he could find it in himself to return those feelings?
As the day wore on, the sunlight outside began to fade, casting long shadows through the art room. The sounds of the other students working around them became a soft hum. But for Izumi and Ayato, the moment had passed. There was still so much left to understand, so much left unsaid between them.
And yet, for the first time in a long time, Izumi didn't feel quite so alone.
The next day at school was, for Izumi, one of those days where everything seemed too quiet. The air in the hallways felt heavier, more charged than usual. It wasn't that anything had changed externally; no, it was his own mind, constantly replaying the conversation he'd had with Ayato the day before.
He couldn't stop thinking about it. Her confession. The way she looked at him, so honest, so open, and yet so vulnerable. Ayato, who had always been a source of brightness in his otherwise dull world, had bared her feelings to him. And now he was left to sort through his own.
Was he ready for this? Could he really take the step into something more than just friendship? His heart and mind were at odds, and with each passing moment, he felt more unsure.
As Izumi walked to his locker, his thoughts consumed him. He didn't notice the whispers starting to swirl around him, or the way his classmates seemed to glance at him with curiosity in their eyes. It wasn't until he noticed a few familiar faces turning away hastily when he approached that he realized something was off. He froze, looking around. It was like a shift had occurred in the atmosphere—a sudden tension that seemed to ripple through the entire school.
"Izumi-kun," a voice called from behind him, and he turned to see Ayato, walking toward him with a soft smile on her face. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of her, and for a moment, everything else around him faded.
But as Ayato drew nearer, Izumi couldn't shake the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't from Ayato herself, but from something else. Something about the way people were looking at them—at him and Ayato—was starting to feel… off.
Ayato stopped in front of him, her eyes shining with her usual warmth. "Good morning, Izumi-kun."
"Morning," Izumi replied, his voice a little strained. He wanted to ask her if she'd noticed the strange looks from the other students, but he hesitated. It wasn't like he wanted to ruin the moment with concerns.
"Did you think about what I said yesterday?" Ayato asked, her voice soft but hopeful.
Izumi opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, a group of students from his class passed by, and he heard snippets of their conversation.
"Did you hear about Izumi Ichikawa and Ayato Yamada?"
"They're so close, it's obvious something's going on."
"They must be dating, right?"
Izumi froze, feeling his heart drop. The whispers were spreading, faster than he could process. A flush of heat rose to his face. His first instinct was to turn away and retreat into his shell, but Ayato, ever the composed one, didn't seem bothered. She simply smiled, though her eyes held a flicker of concern.
"Don't worry, Izumi-kun," she said, her voice gentle. "I've heard the rumors too. But… it's not like I regret what I said."
Izumi blinked, a little taken aback. "You heard them?"
Ayato nodded, a hint of sadness in her smile. "People talk. It's not the first time I've been the subject of rumors. But as long as we're true to ourselves, that's what matters, right?"
Izumi felt a weight lift off his chest, though there was still a lingering discomfort. The rumors, he realized, were going to spread regardless of what they did. It wasn't something either of them could control. But Ayato's calm demeanor reassured him, in a way. She wasn't backing away from the situation, and that steadied his nerves.
"I'm sorry," he said, finally looking her in the eye. "I didn't mean for things to get complicated. I wasn't ready for all of this… attention."
Ayato chuckled softly. "You don't have to apologize. And as for the attention… well, it's not like we can avoid it forever. People are bound to talk."
Izumi nodded slowly, still processing the weight of her words. He wasn't used to being in the spotlight, but now that he was, he wasn't sure how to handle it. He glanced at Ayato again, feeling a strange mixture of gratitude and anxiety. She was so different from him—so confident, so open. It was one of the reasons he admired her so much.
They stood in the hallway for a moment, both lost in their thoughts, before Ayato spoke again.
"Izumi-kun," she said quietly, "No matter what people say, just know that I'm here, okay?"
He felt a warmth spread through him at her words. The weight of the rumors still hung in the air, but in this moment, Ayato's presence was a source of comfort. He wasn't alone.
"Thanks, Ayato-chan," he replied, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
As they walked to their next class together, Izumi felt a strange sense of calm settle over him. The rumors were still there, hovering like a cloud, but for now, he would hold on to the fact that Ayato had been honest with him, and that she was there to face whatever came next, by his side.
The day went on with its usual mix of classes, chatter, and laughter, but in the back of Izumi's mind, he couldn't stop thinking about how much had changed in such a short time. His feelings for Ayato were beginning to bloom in the same way that the spring flowers outside the school were starting to unfold—slowly, but steadily. He didn't know what the future held, but for the first time in a long while, he was excited to find out.