4.1 — After-School Plans
The bell rang.
Shoes were shuffled into cubbies, lunch boxes zipped shut, and the kindergarten hallway was filled with little voices. Some kids ran into their parents' arms. Others hopped in place with all the energy only 5-year-olds could manage.
In the corner near the shoe rack, Minato Tachibana stood confidently with his backpack slightly unzipped, a crayon poking out like a sword. Next to him, Chiharu Aizawa held her notebook like it was a shield against embarrassment.
> "You want to come to my house today?" she asked in a whisper so soft even a ghost might miss it.
> "Sure!" Minato grinned. "You said you got that new puzzle book, right? Let's beat it!"
Chiharu's cheeks turned pink, her fingers twitching nervously.
He said yes… He's coming over… Okay. This is fine. Just childhood friends. Totally normal. We're just going to play puzzles and maybe sit kind of close and maybe—STOP THINKING LIKE THAT, CHIHARU.
---
4.2 — POV: Sayaka Aizawa (Chiharu's Mom)
Sayaka Aizawa, age 34, stood in the kitchen of their modest but cozy two-story home, stirring curry while humming softly to an old song.
She glanced at the clock.
> "Should be home soon," she murmured. "And she's bringing Minato-kun today... I wonder if he still eats like a tornado."
Sayaka adored her daughter. Sweet, polite, and terrifyingly smart for her age. But when it came to Minato? She turned into a blushing disaster zone.
She had noticed it early.
The lingering looks. The way Chiharu triple-checked her hair before leaving. The notebook entries that Sayaka wasn't supposed to read but definitely had. (One particularly memorable page said: Minato smiled → heart rate +46% → conclusion: dangerous boy.)
And as for Minato?
Sweet kid. Incredibly respectful. Helped carry groceries when he came over, gave the cat a name (that it actually responded to), and once unknowingly made her daughter cry by saying, "You're kinda like my sister!"
Sayaka had never seen a child suffer such an internal breakdown while still smiling.
She smiled fondly to herself. "She's in deep, poor thing. And he's so clueless."
---
4.3 — POV: Aki Tachibana (Minato's Mom)
Meanwhile, back at the Tachibana home…
Aki Tachibana, age 35, sat in the living room, sipping tea while texting her son's homeroom teacher.
> [Aki-san: Was Minato behaving today?]
[Mayumi-sensei: He taped forks to his hands and called himself a utensil samurai. Also he tried to marry the class goldfish as a joke.]
[Aki-san: So... a normal Thursday?]
Aki sighed with a mix of pride and horror. Her son was brilliant—truly—but in a way that bent logic.
She smiled, eyes drifting to a photo on the shelf. Minato and Chiharu, age 3, in matching bear pajamas. He had chocolate all over his face. She was handing him a napkin, red-faced.
> "He still doesn't notice," Aki muttered. "Chiharu-chan's practically shining every time she looks at him."
But she didn't worry. Chiharu was a sweet, grounded girl. And if there was anyone who could steer the Minato-chaos-train, it was her.
> "Take care of him today, Chiharu-chan," she whispered with a soft smile. "Even if he doesn't know it yet… you're already his safe place."
---
4.4 — The Playdate Begins
At the Aizawa house, Chiharu unlocked the door with shaky hands.
> "M-Mom, we're home!"
> "Welcome back~" Sayaka called from the kitchen. "Minato-kun, good to see you again."
> "Hi, Aizawa-san! It smells amazing in here!" he said, nose sniffing the air like a puppy.
Chiharu grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs before her mother could say more.
> "We're going to my room to play puzzles!" she announced too quickly.
> "O-Okay??"
Sayaka raised a brow. "Puzzles," she repeated, before chuckling and returning to her curry. "How romantic."
---
4.5 — Upstairs in Her Room
Minato flopped onto the floor. "Your room smells nice, like... lavender."
> DON'T SAY THAT WHILE LOOKING DIRECTLY AT ME, YOU IDIOT!
Chiharu turned away so he wouldn't see her face lighting up like a red lantern.
They worked on puzzles. Or at least, tried to. Minato made weird animal noises every time he found a corner piece, and Chiharu tried not to scream every time their hands brushed.
> "You're really good at this," he said casually. "Hey, when we grow up, wanna solve puzzles together forever?"
She dropped a piece.
Minato blinked. "What's wrong?"
> "I—I think I need to scream into a pillow real quick," she mumbled.
---
Later that Evening…
As Sayaka sent Minato off with a wrapped box of cookies for his mom, she smiled down at her daughter, who was still standing in the entryway, hands pressed to her cheeks.
> "Did he do something sweet again?"
> "Yes," Chiharu whispered. "He said he wants to solve puzzles with me forever…"
Sayaka smiled and gently ruffled her hair.
> "Then you'd better make sure your heart doesn't explode before then, sweetheart."
> "Too late," Chiharu said, falling forward in a dramatic swoon.