The final week before the start of their third academic year was drawing to a close. The long spring break was nearing its end, and a sense of excitement mixed with a slight wistfulness began to creep into the hearts of the students. Some cherry blossoms still clung to their branches, their delicate pink petals occasionally fluttering down with the breeze, as if bidding farewell to the season.
For Leo Tsukino, every passing moment made his heart beat faster. The "two-week" deadline Lumine Komori had requested to give her "answer" was rapidly approaching. He tried his best to act normal, reading the books she had lent him, taking walks to keep his mind from overthinking, but every time he picked up his smartphone, he couldn't help but hope for a message from her, or find himself repeatedly checking her LINE profile.
Lumine, on her part, had spent the last days of the break thoroughly reflecting on her feelings. The warmth, sincerity, and courage Leo had consistently shown her over the past few months had slowly melted away almost all the icy walls around her heart. Her confidence in her feelings for him grew stronger with each passing day, her nervousness gradually replaced by an eager anticipation to finally voice what was in her heart.
The first morning of the new school year arrived. The school grounds buzzed with renewed energy. Students in their crisp uniforms, looking a little more grown-up after the break, all headed towards the same destination: the student placement notice board, prominently displayed in the main entrance hall or the primary school building. A cacophony of chatter, exclamations of joy, and disappointed sighs filled the air.
Leo's group was no exception. They had arranged to meet in front of the notice board early that morning. Ken, Zeno, and Takumi stood with their arms crossed, scrutinizing the board with serious expressions. Riku Lancaster, finally shedding his status as a repeating second-year student to become a full-fledged third-year, stood with his hands on his hips, searching for his name with a typically roguish air, though an undercurrent of excitement was undeniable.
"Hey! Found my name! 3-A! What about you guys?" Ken was the first to call out, pointing to his name on the board.
"Yes! 3-A for me too! We get to make more epic memories together this year, buddy!" Zeno cheered, jumping up and down before patting Takumi on the back, who merely pointed silently to "Yoshida Takumi - 3-A" on the board.
"Whoa! Finally! 3-A, baby! No more repeating with those second-years! Hahaha!" Riku yelled at the top of his lungs, a mixture of immense relief and joy, drawing amused glances from other students.
Meanwhile, Himari and Iris were also jostling with a crowd of female students to find their names. "I'm in 3-A too! And Iris-chan is in 3-A as well! Yay! We're all in the same class!" Himari cried out happily, then threw her arms around Iris, who simply smiled faintly, her eyes betraying her pleasure.
Leo's heart pounded with particular intensity. He scanned the list for his own name, and more importantly... Lumine's. "Found it! Tsukino Leo... 3-A!" He grinned in relief, then his eyes quickly darted across the board again, searching for the name he longed to see.
And then, he saw her... Lumine Komori. She was standing in another corner of the notice board area, her slender finger slowly tracing down the list of Class 3-A students, just as he was. In that instant, as if an invisible current had passed between them, they both looked up and their eyes met. They had both realized it: "We're in the same class again." A small, meaningful smile was exchanged in that fleeting moment, a wave of joy and relief washing over them both, before Lumine quickly looked down, a blush rising on her cheeks as her friends started to tease her.
Once it was confirmed that everyone in their core group was in the same class, another cheer erupted, along with plans to "conquer" the best seats in their new classroom.
The morning in Class 3-A was filled with a gentle chaos of new seating arrangements and greeting old friends. Leo and Lumine, by luck (or perhaps by someone's design), found themselves seated not too far from each other, allowing for occasional stolen glances. But neither of them could concentrate much on the lessons; their minds were already drifting towards lunchtime and the "important matter" Lumine had hinted she wanted to discuss in her message the previous night.
Finally, the long-awaited lunch bell rang. Other students began to file out to the cafeteria or their usual lunchtime spots, but Leo and Lumine remained at their desks in the increasingly empty classroom, as if an unseen force held them there. A quiet tension, pleasant yet palpable, filled the air.
Lumine took out a bento box she had specially prepared and placed it on her desk. There were two. Leo's heart skipped another beat when he saw them. He, too, had secretly bought a slice of matcha cake, knowing it was Lumine's favorite.
"Lumine..." Leo was the one to gather his courage and speak first, after they had been eating their lunch in comfortable silence for a while. "About what you... uh... said you wanted to talk about... Is it about..."
Lumine put down her chopsticks, nodding gently, her cheeks beginning to flush a deeper shade of pink. "Mm... It's about... our promise."
"I..." Leo took a deep breath. "I still feel the same way, you know. My feelings for you... they haven't lessened, not even for a day." He looked at Lumine earnestly, his eyes filled with sincere emotion. "Every time I'm near you, talk to you, see your smile... it makes me incredibly happy. Lumine... you're beautiful... you're cute... and you're the one I..."
Lumine looked up, meeting Leo's gaze. Her beautiful eyes shimmered slightly, but they were also filled with a clear and resolute feeling. "Leo..."
She took another deep breath, as if gathering all her courage. "I... I've thought everything through... over these past two weeks." Her voice trembled slightly with emotion. "You've made me feel warm... safe... and able to be myself in a way I never have before." She offered him the most gentle and sincere smile, her eyes sparkling like a million stars.
"The feelings I have for you... they've grown clearer every day too."
And then, the moment Leo had been waiting for all this time finally arrived...
"I like you too, Leo... I really, really like you..." Lumine said, her voice firm yet tinged with shyness. She looked deeply into Leo's eyes, which had widened in blissful disbelief, before uttering the words that made his entire world light up. "...Will you... be my boyfriend?"
It felt as if the world had stopped spinning. Leo stared at Lumine's face, her words echoing in his mind. An overwhelming sense of joy washed over him, and tears welled up at the corners of his eyes. He broke into the widest, most radiant smile of his life.
"Lumine..." he whispered her name, almost reverently, before gathering himself and replying, his voice trembling but firm with happiness, "...Yes! I... I'll be your boyfriend!"
As those words were spoken, they might have looked at each other and let out soft laughs, a mixture of shyness and pure happiness. Leo slowly reached out, his hand gently covering Lumine's where it rested on the desk. She didn't pull away; instead, her fingers lightly squeezed his in return. That warm touch conveyed all the unspoken feelings between them. The quiet classroom, with only the two of them, was filled with an encompassing warmth, a sweet tenderness, and a hopeful glow, as if cherry blossom petals were once again falling around them, even if only in their imaginations.