Homeroom usually feels slow, sleepy, and harmless. But today, something in the air felt sharp, like invisible threads of tension stretched across the room.
I glanced sideways.
Hinata sat right next to me, just like always, her chin resting in her palm, eyes glued to the window. Her expression looked distant, unfocused. She looked like she'd put her emotions into a box and locked it shut.
She wasn't normally like this.
Sure, Hinata had quiet days. But not the kind where she wouldn't even look at me.
Did something happen yesterday…?
No, it started even before that.
This is about her, isn't it? About Ohtani…
I only knew the surface. Hinata used to be close with a girl named Ohtani from another class, something happened, and now she despised her. What happened between them? Nobody knew. And Hinata never said anything, even when I tried to ask gently.
I turned a little in my seat.
"Morning," I said.
She didn't look at me. "Morning."
Her voice was flat like a practiced reply.
Far away, near the windows on the right side of the classroom, Shuuta slumped over his desk like he'd been up for three nights straight. When our eyes met, he mouthed,
Save me.
I almost laughed.
Makoto must've kept him up texting again.
Our homeroom teacher, Tanizawa-sensei, clapped his hands. "Take your seats, everyone."
As students scrambled, the classroom door slid open again but not for sensei.
My stomach dropped when I saw who walked in.
Ohtani.
Brown hair loose around her shoulders, light steps, and a mischievous smile like she already had something planned. She wasn't from our class. She had no reason to be here. Yet she walked in like she owned the place.
"Hinataaa," she said, stretching the vowels like an affectionate joke.
Hinata stiffened. Completely.
Tanizawa-sensei didn't even sound surprised. "Ohtani. Again?"
"I'm returning her notes," she replied, waving a small notebook. "See? I'm being responsible."
The way she said it made it sound anything but responsible.
I swallowed nervously as she walked straight toward us. Each step seemed to make Hinata's shoulders rise.
When she reached our desks, Ohtani leaned a little too close, smile bright and playful.
"Here you go, Hina."
Hinata snatched the notebook without looking at her.
"Leave."
Ohtani let out a light laugh. "Still mad?"
"Leave."
Her voice cracked. Just a bit. Barely.
But I caught it.
Ohtani didn't look bothered at all. She just tilted her head.
"Kiiinda cute when you're angry, you know."
"…Leave."
"Fine, fine." She turned her eyes to me instead. "Morning, Yukito."
"Oh, morning."
She winked before walking out like she hadn't just dropped a bomb in the room.
When the door slid shut, Hinata's grip on the notebook tightened.
This isn't normal. This is something deep… painful.
But I didn't know enough to understand it.
Break Time
As soon as the bell rang, I barely had time to stretch before Shuuta thundered across the room toward me.
"Bro. BRO." He leaned close. "What was that?! Hinata looked like she wanted to commit murder."
"I can still hear you," Hinata muttered.
"You're strong, that's a compliment," Shuuta said quickly.
I sighed. "It's complicated."
"Is it Ohtani?" Shuuta asked. "Makoto said she's weird. Like, she'll study with you one second, then steal your bread and laugh about it."
"That… sounds like her."
Hinata's shoulders stiffened.
Shuuta didn't notice, of course.
"Anyway, Hinata, you okay?" he asked casually.
"I'm fine."
The lie was so thin I could see right through it. But I kept my voice gentle.
"If you need anything,"
"I don't."
She buried herself in her notes, ending the conversation.
Shuuta leaned close to me and whispered, "Wow. She's mad."
I nudged his elbow. Stop.
Lunch
Lunchtime usually helps lighten the mood, but not today.
Hinata ate silently. She barely touched anything in her bento. I kept glancing her way, hoping she would talk, but she didn't.
Then…
The door opened.
Again.
Ohtani peeked in with a grin. "Heeey, I heard someone's talking about me."
Shuuta groaned. "Whyyy is she here again?"
Ohtani slipped into the room like she lived here. Her eyes immediately jumped from me to Hinata and landed on the empty seat in front of us.
"Oh, nice. I'll sit."
"No," Hinata said sharply.
"Thanks for the hospitality." She sat anyway.
I felt Hinata tense up. Even her chopsticks shook.
Ohtani smiled at me. "Yukito, your lunch looks good."
"Uh… thanks."
"Want to trade?"
"No," Hinata snapped.
"I wasn't talking to you," Ohtani replied lightly.
None of this felt playful to me. Not with the way Hinata kept trembling.
Finally, Ohtani leaned forward, resting her chin on her arms.
"You're still mad at me, Hinata?"
"Get out."
"You're holding a grudge over something tiny—"
"It wasn't tiny."
The air froze.
Shuuta looked between them, clueless and terrified. "Should I… get Makoto?"
No. That would probably make it worse.
Ohtani stared at Hinata for a moment. Something flickered in her eyes, a sympathy? A memory? Something complicated.
But then she smiled again. Cheeky. Carefree.
"Well, whatever. I'll stop messing with you for today." She pointed at me as she stood. "You should watch over her. She's stubborn."
Before I could reply, she waved and left the classroom.
And just like that, she was gone.
Hinata set her chopsticks down with a sharp clack and immediately stood.
"Hinata,"
"I'll be back."
She walked out without another word.
Shuuta collapsed onto my desk. "Dude. What do we do?"
"…We wait," I murmured.
Because I still didn't know enough to help her properly.
Not yet.
After School
I walked with Hinata along the quiet after school path, the sakura leaves drifting slowly around us. We had walked home together many times before, but something about today felt different. Heavier. Like the air around us had decided to settle.
Hinata clutched her bag tightly. She still had one of those expressions where she wanted to speak, but something was holding her voice back. Fear, maybe. Or shame. Maybe both.
I slowed my steps.
"Hinata," I said softly. "You don't have to force yourself. But if you want to talk about it, I'm here."
She stopped walking.
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
And then she exhaled, as if she had been holding her breath since morning.
"…Yukito."
Her voice was small.
"I think I should tell you. About Ohtani."
My heart tightened.
I nodded. "I'll listen."
She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering the pieces of herself she had locked away.
"Everything started last year. Our last year in middle school."
The wind stirred her hair as her voice dropped into something quieter, rawer.
"Back then, she was my best friend."
I stayed silent. Hinata needed to speak freely, without interruption.
"She was the kind of girl everyone loved. Cheerful, funny, always smiling. And I admired her. I trusted her."
She bit her lip.
"She was the one who told me that I should try to smile more. That people would talk to me more easily that way. I believed her. I tried my best."
I could picture it. A younger Hinata, following a cheerful girl with brown hair and a cheeky smile.
"But then something changed," Hinata said. "Suddenly, people were talking behind my back. They whispered things when I walked past. At first I thought I was overthinking, but…"
She swallowed.
"…then I heard it clearly. A rumor. That I was a clingy girl who used Ohtani to get attention."
My hands clenched at my sides.
Hinata continued, voice shaking.
"They said I acted like a child. That I tried to keep Ohtani away from her other friends. That I cried in front of teachers to get sympathy. None of it was true, Yukito. Not a single thing."
"Hinata…" I whispered.
She shook her head.
"It hurt. It hurt so much. Because none of those rumors existed before. And because the person closest to me… she never tried to stop them."
Her eyes dimmed.
"She… let the rumors spread."
The sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears.
"Did she start them?" I asked carefully.
Hinata's voice cracked.
"I found out later. She did."
For a moment, it felt like the world tilted slightly.
Ohtani. That playful, smiling girl who waltzed into our class like she owned the place. The girl who teased Hinata without hesitation. The girl who smiled like nothing had ever gone wrong.
She did this?
"Why?" I asked quietly.
Hinata shook her head.
"I don't know. I still don't know. Maybe she felt crowded. Maybe she wanted to be the one everyone talked about. Maybe she thought it was funny. But she never apologized."
Her breath hitched.
"And when I confronted her… she laughed."
The words sliced through the silence.
"She laughed and said I was too sensitive. She said nobody would believe me anyway. That rumors were just rumors, so I should ignore them."
Hinata's fingers trembled.
"But I couldn't ignore them, Yukito. They followed me everywhere. People looked at me differently for weeks. I almost stopped going to school. I cried every night wondering why she did it."
She wiped her eyes quickly with the back of her hand, trying to stay composed.
"I thought we could fix it eventually. I thought that maybe she would say something. Anything. But she never did. She treated me like nothing happened. Like everything was normal."
She hugged her arms tightly.
"And when she talks to me now… when she walks into our class with that same smile, acting like she cares…"
Her voice broke completely.
"I feel sick."
I stepped closer, slowly, carefully, as if approaching a wounded bird.
"…Hinata."
She looked up at me with red eyes.
"Do you hate her?" I asked softly.
There was no hesitation.
"Yes."
A single word. Heavy. Honest.
She took a shaky breath.
"And I hate that she can still smile at me. I hate that she pretends nothing happened. And I hate that part of me still wonders what I did wrong."
Her tears finally spilled.
I reached out and placed a hand gently on her head. She shut her eyes, leaning into the touch ever so slightly.
"You didn't do anything wrong," I said. "Someone who spreads rumors about their best friend… that's not your fault. It's hers."
Hinata's fingers tightened on the strap of her bag, as if holding onto something fragile.
"Yukito… thank you."
I swallowed hard.
"I'm glad you told me," I said honestly. "I'm not going anywhere. Whatever happens with Ohtani now, I'll be by your side."
Her voice trembled.
"Really…?"
"Always."
The evening sun cast long shadows on the pavement as we continued walking. She didn't say anything else, but the weight on her shoulders seemed lighter.
And for the first time since I met her, Hinata showed me the part of herself she had always tried to hide.
And I knew one thing for certain.
I wouldn't let her face any of it alone.