Winter break had finally ended. Haruya sighed as he pulled on his uniform and put his bag over his shoulder.
Stepping outside, the surrounding streets were busy again, filled with students walking in groups and chatting, a clear sign that the holidays were over and the school season was finally back.
Walking at the usual fork in the road where they always split after school, Haruya was surprised to see Nagisa walking up from the other side.
"Haruya-kun!" she called, lifting her hand in a small wave.
"Oh, Nagisa-san. Good morning," he greeted.
She slowed her steps so they could walk together. "Good morning! What a coincidence. Want to head to school together?"
"Sure. Why not?"
As they walked, Nagisa leaned forward and looked back at him with a little smile. "By the way, my family really loved the cakes you and your mom made. My sister especially wouldn't shut up about how good it was."
Haruya rubbed the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed. "Glad they liked it. My mom was pretty happy too."
"Hopefully, I can taste more of it again," she grinned.
"I can think about it if you stay good to me."
"Mou~!"
Soon, the school gates came into view.
Coincidentally, there was a familiar companion that had also just arrived nearby.
"Hazuki-chan!" Nagisa ran towards the latter.
"Hey, you two," Hazuki looked back and waved, her usual calm tone carrying a small smile. "Back from break, huh?"
"Yeah," Haruya replied casually. "How was your holiday?"
Hazuki leaned against the railing, crossing her arms. "My family went on a trip to Hokkaido. It was fun… but kind of exhausting. Traveling with my little siblings isn't exactly relaxing."
Nagisa tilted her head curiously. "That sounds interesting. Did you do anything special?"
Hazuki shrugged lightly. "A few hot springs, skiing, some local food… nothing too crazy. But I guess it was nice to get out for a bit."
"That sounds amazing!" Nagisa said. "Did you take lots of pictures?"
"Of course," Hazuki replied. "Maybe I'll show you guys later."
The three of them walked together toward their classroom, chatting about all they had done during their vacation, making the winter morning suddenly feel a lot warmer despite the cold air.
In the school's hallways, the trio kept chatting on their way to the classroom.
Nagisa was talking to Hazuki about Haruya's baking skills when, suddenly, a sprinting boy with black spiky hair appeared out of nowhere and bumped into Nagisa, causing her to fall onto the floor.
"Nagisa!" Haruya and Hazuki called out, coming to her aid.
"I'm fine..." Nagisa had a pitiful expression on her face, slowly rubbing the shoulder she had been bumped on.
Despite hearing this, Haruya had a rare, angry look on his face.
He looked at the boy who had bumped into Nagisa, staring at them at a distance with a blank expression.
The boy had messy, spiky hair that flowed backwards like a shrub. Black shirt, wearing beige cargo pants. Quite unkept for the beginning of a school day.
Soon afterwards, two other boys, one pale-skinned with short blonde hair, and the other a chubby kid with shaven hair on one side, with the middle reaching down to the back of his neck, appeared and ran towards the latter.
The blonde boy called out to him. "Ishida! You good?"
Ishida raised his hand and replied, "I'm fine, just bumped into someone. Sorry 'bout that. Let's go, Kazuki, Keisuke."
Giving a half-hearted apology, he put his arms around the two other boys and marched forward.
When suddenly—
"Hey!"
A loud shout came from behind them, attracting not only their attention, but other surrounding students in the hallway as well.
Everyone looked towards the sound and saw Haruya standing there with a cold expression on his face.
Nagisa, still sitting on the floor, tried to intervene.
"Haruya—"
"Nagisa, don't say anything. Let him handle the situation."
Hazuki had suddenly cut her off. She still had her usual calm look, but one could feel the boiling emotions underneath.
Nagisa hesitated a little bit, but decided to leave the situation to Haruya in the end.
The three boys looked back towards Haruya. The boy in the middle, Ishida, was visibly unhappy.
"What is it?" Ishida asked, crossing his arms.
"Apologize to Nagisa. Properly," Haruya added.
Ishida scoffed, clearly not taking Haruya seriously. "I already said sorry, didn't I?" His tone was careless, like the bump was nothing.
Haruya stepped forward slowly, each step deliberate. The air around them grew tense, and the students nearby instinctively gave space, creating a ring of silence in the hallway.
"Sorry?" Haruya repeated, his voice low and sharp. He towered over Ishida now, his gaze unwavering. "That didn't sound like an apology to me."
He heard of this guy before.
The trio of troublemakers of Class 5-B.
Shouya Ishida.
Kazuki Shimada.
Keisuke Hirose.
A group of rowdy kids that liked to cause trouble in their class, giving their teachers a headache.
Haruya hadn't encountered them before, but he wouldn't be as tolerant of them as the adults were.
"Whatever. Stop trying to act cool," Ishida scoffed.
Haruya suddenly reached out, grabbing Ishida's shoulder firmly. Not enough to hurt him—but enough to make him flinch at the sheer strength in his grip.
You think he hadn't adapted to greater strength in the past 3 years?
His grip was probably comparable to an adult male.
"You think bumping into someone and brushing it off is fine?" Haruya leaned in slightly, his cold eyes staring straight into Ishida's. "If you hurt her, you don't get away with half-hearted words. You look her in the eye and apologize properly. Or we're going to have a problem."
The two boys, Kazuki and Keisuke, stepped forward.
"Hey, it wasn't that serious. Leave him alo—"
Kazuki suddenly froze before he could even finish his words.
Haruya's cold glare looked seemingly straight into his soul, making him swallow the words back into his mouth.
As young 5th graders, when have they ever seen such a cold and angry look aimed towards them?
Not even when their parents got angry at them did they feel this kind of hesitation and fear.
They didn't expect to be this scared of someone similar to their age.
Seeing the two of them lower their heads and not intervening anymore, Haruya returned his attention to the Ishida.
Ishida tried to shake off Haruya's grip, but it was like trying to move against steel. His expression wavered, and for the first time, a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.
Nagisa, still sitting, whispered nervously, "Haruya-kun…"
Hazuki quietly placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head. "Watch. This is Haruya being serious."
Finally, Ishida clicked his tongue and forced out, "...Tch. Fine. I'm sorry."
Haruya's grip didn't loosen. His eyes narrowed, his voice dropping even colder. "Louder. Look at her."
The hallway went dead silent again. Ishida's childish pride twisted in his chest, but Haruya's hand on his shoulder felt like iron clamps—unyielding.
With dozens of eyes watching, Ishida reluctantly turned toward Nagisa, his jaw clenched in pain.
"I'm… sorry," he muttered, this time clearer.
Only then did Haruya release him, shoving his shoulder slightly as he stepped back. Ishida staggered, quickly regaining his balance, but the humiliation on his face was plain.
Haruya didn't break eye contact. "Next time, don't run through the halls like an idiot. And don't let me catch you brushing people off again." His tone wasn't loud, but the weight of it made Ishida's fists clench helplessly at his sides.
He was too afraid of the boy in front of him, fearing that his mouth might say something to anger him again.
Kazuki and Keisuke quickly grabbed Ishida's arms, trying to pull him away. "C'mon, let's just go," Keisuke muttered nervously.
Ishida clicked his tongue again, glaring daggers at Haruya, but for now, he turned his back and walked away with his friends.
The moment they disappeared around the corner, the gathered students slowly began murmuring, gossiping about what had just happened.
Haruya turned back to Nagisa and held out his hand. "You okay?"
Nagisa blinked, still a little stunned by his rare intensity, before nodding and taking his hand. "Y-Yeah… thank you, Haruya-kun."
He helped her up gently, his cold expression softening a bit now that it was over. "Good."
Hazuki stepped forward, her arms still crossed, but a faint smile appeared on her lips. "You handled that well. Maybe too well. I don't think those three will forget today."
Nagisa puffed her cheeks, half relieved, half flustered. "Still… it was scary seeing you like that, Haruya-kun. You were so… different."
Haruya exhaled slowly, his tone calm again. "Some people only understand when you make them."
The bell rang faintly in the distance, pulling everyone back to reality. The three of them resumed their walk toward the classroom, though the atmosphere lingered heavy with what had just happened.
Nagisa looked up at him quietly as they walked, her thoughts muddled.
That side of Haruya… she'd never seen it before.
'He was so... cool.'