The night faded, and morning crept in gently. The sun rose over a world blanketed in snow, casting a soft golden glow through the windows.
Haruta was the first to wake up.
While Rei, Alya, and Sera yawned and sat around like sleepy sloths, Haruta quietly made his way to the kitchen. The smell of freshly toasted sandwiches and brewing coffee soon filled the air.
He plated the sandwiches, poured coffee into cups, and set out a glass of orange juice—just the way Alya liked it.
Rei took one bite and nearly fell off his chair.
"BRO, this is insane! Have you been hiding this talent from us?"
Sera raised an eyebrow. "Wait—how do you cook this well? Are you like… secretly Gordon Ramsay's student or something?"
Alya chimed in with a smirk, "Tell me your secret, you hidden Sanji."
Haruta chuckled softly. "What can I say? I've got talent."
"I've got talent in cooking too!" Alya said proudly, thumping her chest.
"Yeah, talent in making a healthy guy violently ill," Sera deadpanned.
"Shut up, you big meanie!" Alya huffed.
After the breakfast chaos, it was time for school. Haruta, Rei, Alya, and Sera bundled up and headed out. On the way, they ran into Sia and Souta.
"Did you guys enjoy your night?" Sia asked with a curious smile.
"Yeah, kinda... We even had the First Great Pillow War at midnight," Rei said, sighing like a war veteran.
Souta snorted. "Guess you all had fun, huh?"
At school, everything felt… normal. Just another regular day.
At least, until recess.
Haruta was walking down the hallway when he spotted a group of four boys crowding around Alya.
"Aren't you an energetic one," one of them sneered, yanking her notebook from her hands.
"Back off, you moron," Alya snapped, glaring daggers.
Haruta froze.
"It's none of my business," he muttered, trying to walk away.
But his hands were trembling.
When one of the boys tried to grab Alya's wrist—he snapped.
Haruta appeared in front of them like a ghost. He grabbed the guy's wrist mid-reach, grip tight.
"No one touches her," he said coldly.
His glasses glinted under the hallway lights. The other boys backed off instantly, shaken by the storm hidden behind his calm eyes. They scattered without a fight.
Alya ran up to him, cheeks flushed. "Why'd you do that?"
Haruta didn't meet her eyes. "They were noisy. I don't like noise."
And just like that, he turned and walked away.
Inside the restroom, Haruta leaned against the wall, his breaths uneven. Then—he punched the wall, hard.
"Is this how far I've fallen…?" he whispered.
And yet…
"Then why… why does this feel kinda good?"
His hands trembled—not from fear.
But because, for the first time in so long…
He cared again.
—to be continued
~Rei