Reo Kagami woke up before his alarm, the way he sometimes did when his body decided it had slept enough. The room was quiet except for the faint hum of the street outside. Morning light slipped through the gap in his curtains, pale and unremarkable.
He lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, counting nothing in particular.
It felt like an ordinary day. That was the only thing he was sure of.
He got ready on autopilot—uniform pressed just enough to pass, hair still slightly damp from a rushed shower. His mother spoke to him from the kitchen about something he half-registered. He nodded at the right moments, grabbed his bag, and stepped outside with a piece of toast in his mouth.
The air was cool, the kind that made you walk faster without realizing it.
At the bus stop, students gathered in loose clusters. Voices overlapped. Someone complained about homework. Someone else laughed too loudly at a joke that wasn't that funny. Reo stood a little apart, scrolling through his phone without really reading anything.
Then ]Yui arrived.
She came from the opposite direction, jogging slightly, one hand holding her bag strap, the other brushing hair out of her face. She slowed when she noticed him, as if surprised he was already there.
"Morning," she said.
"Morning," Reo replied.
It was nothing special. Just a greeting. But it felt lighter than it should have.
They stood side by side, not touching, but close enough that he was aware of her presence in a way that made the background noise fade. Yui talked about a quiz they had that day, how she hadn't studied as much as she should have. Reo admitted he hadn't either, and she laughed—quiet, genuine.
The bus arrived with a familiar hiss of brakes. They boarded with everyone else.
Inside, the bus smelled faintly of fabric and dust. Reo took his usual seat near the middle. Yui sat diagonally across from him this time, turning slightly so they could still talk. The bus filled quickly, the noise rising and falling as it pulled away from the curb.
Nothing about the ride stood out.
At school, the day unfolded gently.
In their first class, Yui sat two rows over, close enough that Reo could see her tapping her pen against her notebook when she got bored. When the teacher asked a question, Yui glanced at him first, eyebrows lifting as if silently asking Do you know this? He shook his head just slightly. She smiled anyway.
During group work, they ended up together without planning it. Yui leaned closer as they shared a worksheet, their shoulders nearly touching. Reo could smell her shampoo—something light, barely there.
"You're better at this than you think," she said, pointing at one of his answers.
"I'm really not."
"You are," she insisted, and for some reason, he believed her.
By lunchtime, the cafeteria was loud and crowded. Reo usually ate quickly and left, but today Yui sat across from him, legs tucked under the bench, peeling the wrapper off her chopsticks.
She talked about a movie she wanted to see. He listened. He found himself remembering details—not because he tried to, but because it felt natural to.
At one point, she went quiet, poking at her food.
"What?" he asked.
She hesitated, then shrugged. "Nothing. Just… it's nice today."
It was such a small thing to say, but it stayed with him.
After lunch, they walked together to their next class. Their hands brushed once, accidentally. Neither of them mentioned it, but neither of them pulled away too quickly either.
The rest of the afternoon passed in fragments—notes taken, bells ringing, chairs scraping against the floor. Reo caught himself glancing at Yui more than once, just to make sure she was still there.
When the final bell rang, relief washed through the building. Students poured into the halls. Reo and Yui ended up walking together again, backpacks slung over their shoulders, the crowd slowly thinning as they reached the exit.
Outside, the sky had softened into late-afternoon light.
They waited at the bus stop together, closer now than they had been that morning. Yui rocked slightly on her heels.
"Same bus," she said, unnecessarily.
"Yeah."
She smiled at him, a little wider than before. "Good day, right?"
"Yeah," Reo said again. Then, after a pause, "Really good."
The bus arrived.
Yui stepped on first this time.
Reo followed.
The ride home was warm with tired voices and movement. Yui sat a few rows ahead, facing forward now, but Reo could still see her—her posture, the way she leaned slightly toward the window.
He felt calm. Content, even.
He didn't know yet how rare that feeling was.
Reo sat with his bag resting against his knees, the bus rocking gently beneath him as it moved through familiar streets. The windows reflected streaks of light and shadow, the city outside already easing into evening. Around him, voices rose and fell—complaints about homework, plans for dinner, someone laughing too hard in the back.
It all blended together into something comfortable.
He leaned his head lightly against the glass and watched the streets pass. This was the part of the day he usually rushed through, eager to get home, but today he found himself wishing it would last a little longer.
A few rows ahead, Yui shifted in her seat.
She hesitated, then turned around halfway, resting one arm on the top of the seatback. For a second, she just looked at him, like she was deciding something.
"Hey," she said.
"Yeah?"
She smiled, softer than she had all day "I had fun today."
Reo blinked, caught off guard by how simply she said it. Like it wasn't a big deal. Like it didn't matter whether he said the right thing back.
"Me too," he said. Then, after a moment, "We should… do that again."
Her smile widened, just a little. "Yeah. We should."
The bus hit a small bump in the road. Yui steadied herself automatically, fingers tightening on the seat. For some reason, that small, unconscious movement stayed with him.
She turned back around after that, facing forward again. The space between them felt different now—not smaller, not larger, just defined.
Reo watched the back of her head as the bus continued on its route, the hum of the engine steady and unchanging. He felt calm in a way he wasn't used to, like something had quietly settled into place.
When his stop came, he stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He hesitated, just for a second, then spoke before he could overthink it.
"Yui."
She turned. "Yeah?"
"See you tomorrow."
She nodded, certain. "Tomorrow."
Reo stepped off the bus. Cool air brushed against his face as the doors closed behind him. The bus pulled away, taillights glowing red as it disappeared down the street.
He stood there for a moment, watching until it was gone.
At the time, it felt like an ending to a good day.
He didn't know it was something he would return to—again and again, in ways he couldn't yet imagine.