Childhood Friend Heroine V1 Chapter 1

The harsh winter cold had begun to yield, and with the approach of spring, the sun now rose a little earlier each day.

Clad in a jersey, a tall boy named Minazuki Saito was running along the riverbank.

“Huff, huff, huff, huff…”

With long strides and a steady rhythm, he moved briskly forward. But today, he was running just a little faster than usual, sprinting down the familiar path.

“Oh! Good morning, Saito-kun.”

“Morning, gramps! You’re looking energetic today, too,” Saito called back cheerfully.

At his usual turnaround point, a familiar old man had greeted him. Saito slowed his pace, transitioning into a light jog in place.

“Ha ha ha! I think you’ve got me beat there, Saito-kun. You seem even more full of energy than usual today.”

“Oh, you can tell? It’s my high school entrance ceremony today!” Saito explained happily when the old man asked what had gotten into him.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! Congratulations on your enrollment.”

“Thanks! It’s my first time commuting by train, so I’m super excited.”

“Is that so, is that so. Well, do your best out there.”

“Yeah! I definitely can’t be late for the ceremony. I’d better get going. See ya later, gramps!”

Spurred on by the old man’s encouragement, Saito bid farewell and resumed his run.

Well, what I’m most excited about is finally going to school with her.

Once he’d put some distance between them, a slight smile curved Saito’s lips. The person on his mind was his childhood friend. They had been close for nearly ten years, but their homes were quite far apart, so they had always attended different elementary and middle schools. Now that they were entering high school, however, they could finally go to the same school. There was no way he wouldn’t be excited. He still remembered the moment they both found out they had passed—he had been so overjoyed that he’d lifted her up and spun her around in celebration.

“Alright! I gotta hurry home and get ready.”

The desire to see his childhood friend as soon as possible spurred him on, his feet naturally pushing forward, faster and faster until he was in an all-out sprint. It was obvious this would have consequences later, but Saito was so hyped up he couldn’t bring himself to stop.

“Whew… haa… I got way too carried away…”

“Oh my, you’re back early today, Saito.”

When he returned home, he was completely exhausted, just as he’d expected. He collapsed in the hallway the moment he took off his shoes. Hearing the thud, his mother, Yahana, poked her head out from the living room.

“Ugh, I’m beat…”

“How unusual. For a fitness freak like you to get that worn out.”

“Well… I got all excited and went overboard.”

“I see. Your habit of not thinking ahead when you get worked up hasn’t changed, even now that you’re a high schooler,” she said with an exasperated sigh. It had been a while since she’d seen her son so exhausted, and the reason was so typically Saito-like that she felt she’d worried for nothing.

 “Come on, go take a shower already. You can’t meet Lily-chan while you’re all sweaty and smelly.”

“…Okayyy,” Saito replied, but showed no sign of moving.

“…Are you really going to be alright?” Yahana asked, a twinge of anxiety in her voice as she returned to making breakfast.

A few minutes later, her concerns proved to be completely unfounded.

“Mmph… delicious! Mom, today’s rolled omelet is perfect, as always.”

The Saito who emerged from the shower was back to his usual self, wolfing down his breakfast with gusto. He was the kind of kid who could catch a cold and bounce back to full energy after a short nap. Yahana let out another sigh, realizing she’d been foolish to worry.

“I think you’ll be fine, but just to confirm—what time are you meeting up?” she asked, watching the heaping pile of rice before him rapidly disappear.

“I think it was 7:30, at the station on her side. Hold on, let me double-check.”

Though he was sure he’d checked thoroughly the night before, a seed of doubt had been planted. He pulled out his phone and opened his messaging app, scrolling through his chat with his childhood friend.

“Yep, we’re good. I had it right. So I’ll leave around 7:00.”

“Alright. Be careful on your way. As we discussed yesterday, your dad and I will head over a bit later.”

“Got it. Thanks for the meal!”

“You’re welcome.”

Breathing an internal sigh of relief, Saito quickly finished the rest of his rice, stood up, and after giving his dishes a quick rinse, returned to his room to change.

“I really don’t like brand-new uniforms.”

He stood in front of the full-length mirror, moving around in various ways, but the crisp fabric felt uncomfortably restrictive. He’d never gotten along with formal clothing. With a sigh, he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt and loosened his tie a bit.

“This should be fine, probably.”

The result, combined with his spiky hairstyle and cheerful face, made his reflection look not entirely unlike a delinquent. He shrugged it off, convincing himself that everyone did this sort of thing, grabbed his school bag, and left his room.

“Saito. Good morning.”

“Morning, Dad.”

As he stepped out, his father, You, emerged from the bedroom diagonally across from his.

“The uniform looks good on you,” You praised, seeing his son in it for the first time.

“…You think so?” Saito replied, his face twisting into an indescribable expression, his earlier thought still fresh in his mind.

“What’s wrong? You don’t seem very happy about it.”

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

“Don’t worry. You’re the pride and joy of handsome me and beautiful Mom. Have some confidence—you’re pretty good-looking yourself.”

“Your self-evaluation’s pretty high there.”

You had apparently misunderstood his son’s hesitation as a lack of confidence and tried to encourage him, but Saito was more taken aback by his father’s incredibly high self-regard. While his mother, Yahana, was indeed beautiful, his father couldn’t be called handsome by any stretch of the imagination. He figured his dad was just exaggerating to cheer him up, but it felt like a bit of a stretch. Deciding it was best to keep quiet to avoid trouble, he simply nodded.

“Well, thanks. I better get going.”

“Yeah, have a good day.”

Sensing that prolonging the conversation might lead to trouble, he chose to make his escape. After a quick stop in the bathroom to fix his bedhead and brush his teeth, he left the house.

It was a decent three kilometers from his home to the station, too far to walk, so he went by bicycle. Since it wasn’t yet time for the elementary and middle school students to head to school, the sidewalks were mostly empty, allowing him to arrive faster than expected.

“Ugh, there are so many people here, even at this hour.”

After parking his bicycle and heading up to the ticket gates, he was met with a crowd of well over a hundred people. Saito frowned, not having expected so many people at this small station, especially before seven.

I was totally planning to get a seat, too.

It was a long ride to the station near his new high school, and he’d hoped to sit, but looking at the crowd, that seemed unlikely. His shoulders sagged as he swiped his commuter pass and went through the gates. He went down to the platform, found a line, and killed time collecting login bonuses on his phone until a train arrived. It was one train earlier than he had planned to take, but figuring it was better to be early, he boarded.

After being jostled around uncomfortably on the swaying train for a while, he arrived at the station where he was supposed to meet her. He stepped off the train and immediately scanned the platform for his childhood friend. He figured she probably wasn’t there yet, but as he looked around, he spotted a crowd gathered off to one side.

No way.

Though he dismissed the thought, he found himself walking toward the crowd anyway.

“That girl over there is super cute, isn’t she?”

“Is she a celebrity? Her figure is insane.”

“With the blonde hair, she must be foreign, right? Damn, I can’t speak English.”

As he drew closer, the voices of male students reached his ears. The moment he heard them, his suspicion solidified into certainty. Following their gazes, he found exactly who he expected: a strikingly beautiful girl. Her flaxen hair was silky smooth, cascading down to her waist, with a section braided together with a blue ribbon that matched her eyes. She was tall for a girl, with a glamorous figure that curved in all the right places—a picturesque beauty brought to life.

Yet, while a crowd had formed around her, no one dared to approach. The reason was likely the cold, intimidating aura she projected, a blizzard-like presence that seemed to reject anyone who got too close. Everyone was intimidated, content to watch from a distance. In the midst of this, however, one boy walked right up to her.

“Yo!”

That boy was, of course, Saito. Completely ignoring the tense atmosphere and the icy aura she was giving off, he casually approached the beautiful girl with familiar ease.

Eyes as cold as absolute zero turned toward him. Everyone who saw that look thought the same thing: That guy’s done for.

“…Good morning, Saito.”

But in the next moment, the frigid air around her melted away, replaced by a warm, soft presence that welcomed him. The onlookers’ eyes widened at the drastic change, but for Saito, it was only natural.

This beautiful girl was none other than his childhood friend, Machigane Lily, whom he’d met by chance at a campground when they were little.

“Morning, Lily. You’re here way earlier than we planned…” 

“Just felt like it. I figured you might come early, Saito. Though I didn’t actually think you would.”

“Seriously? …Wait, Mom probably contacted you, didn’t she?”

“Oops, busted?” Lily replied, sticking out her tongue with a playful “tee-hee.”

Saito sighed. 

He should have known. They’d known each other for a long time, and he knew she wouldn’t act on something as unreliable as a gut feeling. There was always a reason when she managed to find him.

“Yahana-san texted me that you had left, so I thought I’d try to surprise you~”

“There’s no way you could stay hidden with this many people around.”

“Ahaha, true enough,” she laughed, as they both looked around and exchanged a wry smile.

Trying to surprise someone after attracting such a large crowd was definitely a tall order.

“Let’s move somewhere else,” Saito suggested.

“Yeah.”

Being the center of so much attention was uncomfortable. They broke away from the crowd, escaping the curious gazes, and found a less populated spot.

“This feels weird,” Lily muttered as they walked.

“I know what you mean. I was just thinking the same thing,” Saito agreed with a nod. They usually met up in the afternoon or evening, so being together this early in the morning felt strangely new.

“Heh, but we’re really going to the same high school. Honestly, with your grades, I thought it was impossible.”

“Well, I studied like my life depended on it. That whole period was seriously rough.”

There was a considerable gap in their academic abilities; normally, attending the same high school would have been out of the question. But he remembered how she’d always spoken of wanting to go to school together, her expression tinged with loneliness. So, he had resolved to study relentlessly to make her wish come true.

“It was hilarious seeing you at the exam site, muttering textbook facts like incantations. I have a video of it—wanna see?”

“Stop, I don’t want to remember that.”

He didn’t regret his choice, but his third year of middle school had been a blur of non-stop studying, leading to more than a few embarrassing, mentally fried moments. It was a dark period he preferred not to recall.

“Don’t you have any compassion?”

“Oda Nobunaga implemented free markets, pi is 3.14, and the re-reading mark goes one space back—”

“Ahhhhh!”

“That’s what you get for saying I don’t have compassion,” Lily said with a sigh as she watched him lose it. She hadn’t actually intended to play the video, but when he accused her of having no heart, her finger had somehow slipped and hit the play button on its own.

What followed was a mutual blackmail battle of embarrassing revelations. They were just getting into the thick of it when their train arrived, ending the contest in a draw. The psychological damage was severe, and both wanted nothing more than to rest, but as expected, the train car was packed. They found a space just big enough for two and squeezed in. Hanging onto the straps, they absent-mindedly watched the scenery rush by.

Hmm?

Just as they were approaching their high school’s station, Saito caught a suspicious movement in the reflection of the window. A nearby salaryman in glasses was slowly extending his hand. The target was Lily’s skirt. It was almost certainly a groper.

Saito shot his hand out to grab the man’s arm, but at the same instant, another hand from a different direction also seized the man’s wrist.

“Molester!” a boy’s voice shouted, ringing throughout the train car. Despite being an unremarkable voice, it had a strange clarity that cut through the noise and reached everyone’s ears.

In this case, however, it backfired.

“What! Where?”

“Could it be you?”

“No way, it’s not me!”

“No, it’s this person!”

The accusation, without a clear target, sent a wave of panic through the car as passengers began to suspect one another. The boy tried to speak up again to clarify, but his voice was drowned out by the ensuing commotion.

“Ah!”

Damn it.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the man shook free from both their grips. Saito reached for him again, but just then, the train doors opened, and the man made his escape.

“Tch, he got away.”

“It’s fine, Saito,” Lily said, stopping him as he was about to give chase. “Even if we’d caught him, there’s no evidence. He would have just played dumb. Chasing him would be pointless.”

“…Grr! …Well, I guess it’s good we stopped it from happening,” Saito conceded, though his frustration was palpable. He still wanted to go after the man, but she was right. Without any physical contact, there would be no proof. He roughly scratched the back of his head and gave up the chase.

“Thanks for stopping him before he could touch me.”

“Don’t mention it. If you’d noticed, you could have handled it yourself anyway.” He had thought he was the only one who had seen it, but if she had been aware of it too, that was a different story. Lily was smarter than him; she probably would have found a better way to handle it. The thought frustrated him, and he couldn’t bring himself to accept her thanks gracefully.

“Even so, you acted because you were worried about me. That made me happy. Thank you, Saito.”

“…You’re welcome.”

But for Lily, who had her own issues with men, avoiding contact with a stranger was far better than the alternative. She was genuinely grateful. When she conveyed this again, peering into his face, he finally understood. Looking embarrassed, he turned away with a “hmph” and accepted her thanks.

As they were about to exit the train, Saito spotted the boy who had also tried to stop the molester. He recognized him by the bandage on the hand that had grabbed the man’s arm.

“Hey, thanks for earlier,” Saito said, running over to him.

“Huh? Um?” The boy tilted his head in confusion, caught off guard by the sudden approach. With his baby face, the gesture looked almost girlish, making Saito momentarily wonder if he was really a guy.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t explain. The girl who was almost groped is my childhood friend. Thanks for helping out.”

“…Childhood friend? Oh! I see. No, no, I didn’t do anything worth thanking for. He got away, after all.”

“With all that chaos, it couldn’t be helped. Besides, preventing an incident is better than dealing with one after it happens. We stopped him, so don’t worry about it. Though I was feeling bad about it, too, until my friend told me the same thing.”

“I see. Well then, that’s good.”

Like Saito a moment before, the boy seemed reluctant to accept the thanks, but Saito’s self-deprecating encouragement seemed to brighten his expression a little.

“Oh, right. Come over here,” Saito called to Lily. “This guy also tried to catch the molester. You should thank him, too.”

At Saito’s words, Lily approached, her expression clearly displeased.

“…Thank you very much.”

She gave a small, stiff bow, then immediately turned and walked off by herself, leaving Saito behind.

“Hey, where are you going? Sorry about that,” Saito said to the boy, feeling the need to explain. “She’s just not good with guys. But she’s a good person deep down, so please don’t take it personally. See ya!”

“Ah, wait—”

If he lingered any longer, he’d really be left behind. Saito offered a quick follow-up and chased after Lily. They departed in a rush, like a passing storm, leav

ing the boy’s voice to echo emptily on the platform.

“Your dislike of men is as strong as ever, you were just saying thanks. You could have been a little friendlier.” Even if she didn’t like men, her attitude had been far too cold. A simple smile would have left a much better impression. He was speaking with her best interests in mind, but Lily just sighed.

“But if I do that, he get the wrong idea, won’t he?”

“Ah… oh, yeah.”

Her statement, delivered with the weight of experience, hit him right where it counted. As beautiful as she was, Lily had probably dealt with this countless times through elementary and middle school. Saito didn’t really understand it himself, but he had a friend who once mistook a girl picking up his eraser as a sign of romantic interest, confessed, and was promptly shot down. Having witnessed that firsthand, it was hard to argue.

“…That was probably for the best, then.”

“Right?”

If she had no intention of forming a relationship, then perhaps that distant approach was for the best, even if it didn’t sit quite right with him. When Saito conceded, Lily nodded with satisfaction.

“Speaking of which, since you didn’t deny it, does that mean you have experience with that kind of thing, Saito?” Lily asked, her interest piqued. They hadn’t really talked about this kind of thing before.

“Nope. None at all. I’ve never fallen for someone just because they picked up my eraser.”

“I feel like that sounded incredibly specific. Anyway, I get that nothing like that has happened.” When he answered honestly, Lily seemed to convince herself with a simple, “Well, it is Saito, after all.”

Games over clothes. Sports over shopping. Chain restaurants over fancy cafes. Even now as a high schooler, his sensibilities hadn’t changed one bit. He was just a kid whose body had grown bigger—that was Minazuki Saito.

“Romance seems a bit too early for a child like you, Saito.”

“Shut up. Just you wait—I’ll definitely get a cute girlfriend before we graduate and show her off to you.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be waiting, but I won’t hold my breath.”

While he was somewhat self-aware, being teased about it still annoyed him. He declared he’d prove her wrong, but Lily clearly didn’t believe him, letting his words go in one ear and out the other.

“More importantly, we’re at the school.”

“‘More importantly’…? It’s still huge.”

Having his romantic prospects so easily dismissed deflated him a little, but his interest quickly shifted to the massive school building before them. This was Seira High School, located right outside the station. It was a prestigious school, known for producing professional athletes, entertainers, and graduates who went on to famous universities. Its reputation was so solid that getting in was said to guarantee a secure future. He still couldn’t quite believe he’d managed to get accepted.

“Where do they post the class assignments?”

“Um, wasn’t it in front of the school building?”

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s gathered there. Hey, could I ask you something?”

He’d forgotten where to check his class assignment, and Lily’s uncertain response didn’t inspire much confidence. Spotting a male student with naturally curly hair taking pictures of the cherry blossoms nearby, Saito decided to ask him.

“Um, what is it?” the boy asked, jumping with a start as he turned toward Saito, clearly not expecting to be spoken to.

“Ah, sorry for startling you. I want to check my class assignment but forgot where to look. Do you remember where they are?”

“…Oh, that’s what it is. In that case, you can see them over there in the courtyard.”

Feeling bad for surprising him, Saito explained his reason, and the boy seemed to understand, pointing him in the right direction.

“Thanks! Oh, right. Since we met here, it must be fate. Mind if I ask your name? I’m Minazuki Saito.”

“Akashi Kai.”

“Akashi, huh. That’s a cool name. If we end up in the same class, it’ll be nice to know you. Thanks so much, you really helped me out.”

“Likewise.”

After thanking Kai again, Saito returned to where Lily was waiting some distance away. The fact that she had moved so far made him smile wryly, wondering if she had really found the brief interaction that unpleasant. Learning his lesson from before, he decided not to call out to her this time, which seemed to be the right choice.

“He said it’s in the courtyard.”

“Okay. Let’s go check.”

“It’d be nice if we ended up in the same class,” Saito said.

“I think so too, but it’s all up to luck, so who knows.”

There were five first-year classes, meaning only a twenty percent chance of being together. Neither of them got their hopes up too much as they headed toward the courtyard to check the lists.

“No way.”

“You’re kidding.”

When they found their names, they were, incredibly, in the same class. Moreover, since their surnames started with the same letter, their student numbers were consecutive, which meant their seats would likely be close. Their luck was almost unbelievable.

“…I knew he’d be here,” Lily muttered under her breath.

“Hm? Did you say something?”

“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, isn’t it great we’re in the same class?”

“It really is. You’re the only person I know at this school, Lily. This is seriously great. Here’s to a good year.”

“Yeah, same here.”

He had been worried about how he would manage, but having Lily with him was a huge relief. When Saito held out his hand, she grasped it tightly.

This is going to be a fun year.

Without any basis whatsoever, Saito had a premonition that he was in for an exciting year ahead.

◇

Click, click.

The sound of their loafers echoed as they climbed the stairs side by side. These were stairs she had climbed over and over again. She had thought she wouldn’t feel anything special about them anymore, but having her childhood friend beside her—someone who hadn’t been there last time—made the experience feel entirely new.

It really is a strange feeling.

With that thought, she lightly climbed the stairs, step by step. As they neared their classroom, the familiar chatter of students reached her ears, and a wave of nostalgia washed over her.

I’m back.

Last time, the classroom had been just as noisy, making her question if this was really a prep school. At the same time, she had worried about whether she would be able to fit in. Even now, after traveling back in time, so much had passed, yet that feeling hadn’t changed.

—Will I be able to handle this well?

—Maybe I shouldn’t have come after all?

Fear crept in, and her hand trembled, unable to open the classroom door.

“You okay, Lily?” Saito asked, peering at her face from the side, puzzled by her sudden hesitation.

‘Alright! Well said. You can do it. So go out there and give it everything you’ve got.’

‘Yeah!’

Come to think of it, that’s right. I’d already made my resolve long ago.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

The moment she saw his face, an exchange from several years ago flashed through her mind. From that day forward, she had decided to keep moving forward, no matter what. It was too late for cold feet now. The die had been cast the moment she decided to enroll in this high school.

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Lily opened the classroom door.

Instantly, all eyes in the room turned toward them. The first time, she had been scared and had run away from those stares. But this time, she met them with confidence and walked to her seat.

A moment later, a gal-like student with reddish-brown hair from a nearby seat approached her.

“Hey, hey, is that hair dyed?”

“No, it’s natural. My mother is from France, so I got it from her.”

“Really?! That’s so nice~ I wanted to dye mine a brighter color, but the school rules are so strict. Real blonde hair is seriously enviab—”

“Ahaha, it’s not that great,” Lily replied with a dry smile. The girl’s eyes sparkled with genuine envy, stirring complicated feelings in Lily, who had been bullied for her hair color in the past.

“Me too, me too! I have a question! Your skin is super pretty—what cosmetics do you use?”

“Do you have a boyfriend?!”

“Which middle school did you go to?”

“What’s your favorite food and what’s your type?”

The first question opened the floodgates, and soon, students were bombarding her with one question after another. Lily’s face twitched at the sheer volume, and she immediately began to regret not running away after all. But, at least this was within her expectations.

“I mainly use products from Yuki Seirei.”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

“It was a place called Yoshino Middle School. I don’t know if you’d know it.”

“I like sweet snacks.”

Having faced similar questions in her first life, she managed to handle them. As she answered, she happened to make eye contact with Saito, who was sitting some distance away. He was looking at her with a warm expression, like a father watching his daughter’s proud growth. It was a natural reaction from someone who had known her since she was a child, but it seriously annoyed her. Her birthday was earlier than his, and mentally, she was far more mature. She wished he would stop treating her like a child.

Saito’s got some nerve.

She glared at him while cursing him inwardly, but it had no effect. The barrage of questions from her classmates didn’t stop until the teacher arrived, and Lily had to endure Saito’s paternal gaze the entire time.

The entrance ceremony concluded without any particular issues. Afterward, students returned to their classroom for their first Long Homeroom. At the podium stood a female teacher named Hayama Chie, dressed in a brand-new suit just like the students. As a newly appointed teacher, she seemed quite nervous, occasionally stumbling over her words and looking embarrassed each time. She passed out handouts and explained everything from upcoming classes and events to grading policies and important rules for school life.

“—That concludes the explanashun. A-anyway! Please follow these rules and enjoy your three years here. That’s all for today. Thank you very much. Please be careful on your way home.”

The explanation finished in about thirty minutes, and with that, the day was over.

“Alright, let’s head home, Lily,” Saito said, having already packed his bag.

“Yeah, just a minute.”

While other students were still getting ready, Lily quickly stuffed the remaining textbooks into her bag.

“Ready.” She stood up and moved to his side.

“Right then. So where should we go for lunch? My dad said they’d take us anywhere we want.”

“I haven’t decided yet. Do you have somewhere in mind, Saito?”

“Burger King.”

“…It’s an entrance celebration. Shouldn’t we eat something a little more fancy, like sushi or yakiniku?”

“Burger King is expensive.”

“For a hamburger place, sure.”

They were supposed to go out for a celebratory meal with both sets of parents, but a burger joint was definitely not happening. Lily was exasperated with her childhood friend, who was still a burger junkie.

I need to be the responsible one here.

If she didn’t come up with a better option, they would end up eating hamburgers. As Lily was pondering some good restaurant ideas, a quiet-looking girl approached them.

“Hey, can I ask you something? What’s your relationship? I saw you coming to school together this morning.”

Apparently curious as to why Lily, who had been so cold toward other boys, was talking so familiarly with Saito, she had decided to ask.

“We’re childhood friends,” Lily explained. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Saito added. “Though this is our first time going to the same school.”

“…Hmm, I see.”

Since there was nothing to hide, they answered honestly. The girl took on a thoughtful expression and looked toward Saito. Their gazes met, and a few seconds passed in silence.

“…It seems to be true,” the girl finally said, seemingly convinced by Saito’s lack of a flustered reaction. “I’m sorry. I was being nosy. I was just a little curious.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Saito replied. “If I saw something similar, I’d probably wonder if they were dating, too.”

“Thanks for being so understanding. Sorry for taking up your time. See you later.”

“Hey, hey, how did it go~?” another girl asked as the first one returned to her seat.

“They’re not dating. They’re childhood friends.”

She shared the results with several other girls who had been waiting, revealing that she hadn’t been the only one who was curious.

“We’re being seriously misunderstood,” Saito said with a wry smile.

“Girls love romantic gossip. It can’t be helped,” Lily replied, and they exchanged a look before leaving the classroom together.

At that moment, Lily was lightly tugging on the hem of Saito’s blazer, a small gesture that neither of them, nor anyone around them, seemed to notice.

Previous          ToC          Next