Rain slid down the glass like slow tears, tracing patterns on the windows of Classroom 2-B. The fluorescent lights buzzed above, a low, constant hum that matched the sleepy mood of the rainy Monday morning.
Kaito Sakamura didn't mind the rain. In fact, he preferred it. People tended to quiet down when the skies turned gray—no shouting in the halls, no soccer balls bouncing off lockers, no fake laughs echoing from cliques. Just peace. And peace was good.
He stared out the window, chin propped on his palm, notebook open but untouched. The teacher droned on about the Meiji Restoration, but Kaito had already read ahead. Twice.
Then the classroom door slid open with a soft rattle. Every head turned.
"Sorry I'm late," a voice said—low, smooth, just a little out of breath.
Kaito turned too, more out of instinct than curiosity. And then he saw him.
The transfer student.
Tall, damp hair falling into storm-dark eyes. Black uniform slightly unbuttoned at the top. And a messenger bag slung lazily over one shoulder like it weighed nothing.
Even from across the room, something about him made Kaito sit up straighter. It wasn't just the cliché of his late entrance or the brooding look—there was something else. Something quieter. Like he was hiding a part of himself behind a practiced shrug.
"This is Ren Hayashi," the teacher said. "He transferred in from Sapporo. He'll be joining us for the rest of the year."
Ren gave a slight nod. "Nice to meet you."
"Take the empty seat by the window, next to Sakamura."
Kaito blinked. His seat.
Ren moved through the desks, eyes scanning the room but never really focusing on anyone. When he reached Kaito's desk, he paused—just a breath longer than needed—before slipping into the seat beside him.
Their eyes met.
It wasn't dramatic. No violin music swelled. No sparks flew. Just a quiet, lingering moment. Like two strangers recognizing something familiar in the other.
Then Ren turned away, pulled out a notebook, and began to copy the notes as if nothing had happened.
But for Kaito, something had shifted.
He just didn't know what yet.