Haruta didn't take any more classes.
He walked home through the quiet, snow-blanketed streets, his breath visible in the frosty air.
When he stepped inside, the warmth of the house wrapped around him.
His maid greeted him at the door with a concerned look.
"Master, you're early today… Is something wrong?"
"Just felt sick," he muttered, brushing past her, his voice low and tired.
He walked straight to his room, shut the door, and locked it behind him.
In the mirror, he stared at his reflection—cold eyes, messy hair, a face that didn't feel like his anymore.
"We swore we'd never care for anyone again… but you broke it," he whispered to himself.
He leaned in closer, voice tighter.
"Why did you let yourself get into a fight again?"
But deep down, he already knew.
"I can't let you have her… No, you can't have her.
She's everything I'm not. She's sunshine—I'm rotting snow.
She's melody—I'm silence."
He laughed softly, but it wasn't happy.
"I've been alone for years, and somehow… without her, each day feels even longer," he said to himself.
He paused, eyes flickering.
"But it's fine. I'll just keep my distance from now on… You're an angry moron, after all."
He smiled. Soft. Bitter. Empty.
So much behind that smile, yet no one would ever see it.
He lay in bed for hours, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling as the world outside fell into quiet snow.
His phone buzzed.
A message from Alya:
"Thanks for today."
Haruta stared at the message for a full minute, frozen.
Then typed,
"No problem."
And set the phone aside.
A breath left him, almost a laugh.
"…Grandma would've loved her as my wife," he murmured, a real smile tugging at his lips—
until he immediately punched himself in the arm.
"Shut up, you moron."
The night passed, slow and still.
Haruta lay in bed, gaze fixed to the ceiling.
And somewhere else… Alya couldn't sleep either.
Her thoughts kept drifting back to that moment in the hallway—
The look in his eyes. The way he stood in front of her.
Outside, snow continued to fall—soft, steady, silent.
And somehow, beneath that cold winter sky…
Two hearts were blooming gently.
--To be continued
-~Rei