Classroom, late afternoon. Students chatter. Ren Hayashi sits at the back, sketching in his notebook. Aika Kisaragi sits at the front, surrounded by an air of elegance and distance.
Ren never expected that standing up to Aika that morning would ripple so loudly across the school's social atmosphere. But the whispering had already started.
Classmate 1:
"Did you see Aika actually talk to him? Like, she acknowledged his existence."
Classmate 2:
"He probably got lucky. No way someone like her would ever hang out with someone like him."
[Aika turns slightly, glancing back. Her eyes briefly meet Ren's. He looks away. Her expression flickers with curiosity.]
Aika (internal):
He didn't grovel. He didn't flatter me. He just... spoke. Who are you, Ren Hayashi?
[After class, Ren is headed out when Aika blocks his path at the gates.]
Aika:
"You have a sketchbook. Let me see it."
Ren (frowns):
"Is that an order, princess?"
Aika:
"No. It's a request."
[Surprised, Ren hands it over. Aika flips through, stunned. It's full of ordinary moments: people on buses, janitors, tired students.]
Aika:
"You draw\... real life. Not fantasy."
Ren:
"Because I live in reality."
[Beat. Aika closes the book and hands it back, quiet.]
Aika:
"Reality... must be heavier than I thought."
That was the first moment something cracked in her. And the first time Ren realized she wasn't untouchable—just unreachable...