After the sports festival ended and the cheers dissolved into ordinary school days, something in Hitori's routine shifted.
It wasn't sudden.
It wasn't obvious.
But it was there.
He began going to the library more often.
Not because he had to.
Not because of duty.
But because the silence there felt… fitting.
Like a place where nothing expected anything from him.
[ "Readers, remember not for that girl, hehe," the author whispers from somewhere beyond the page. ]
The library remained the same as always.
Tall windows allowed soft sunlight to spill across wooden tables.
Dust floated lazily in the air, drifting without purpose.
Pages turned quietly.
Pens moved in steady rhythm.
And silence stretched across the room, calm and undisturbed.
Hitori sat at his usual seat.
Back straight.
Book open.
Pen in hand.
Everything was in order.
Everything made sense.
Until something small disturbed it.
A faint sound.
Tap.
Then a soft, wandering motion.
Roll… roll…
A small white eraser slipped from the edge of a nearby desk and slowly made its way across the table, stopping near Hitori's hand.
He looked at it.
Then slightly to the side.
A girl sat there.
She didn't seem to notice.
Her attention was fixed on her notebook, brows slightly furrowed as if she was trying to understand something.
For a moment, Hitori simply watched.
Then he picked up the eraser.
He held it out toward her.
"…Here."
She blinked, as if pulled out of her thoughts, and looked at him.
Her eyes shifted to the eraser in his hand.
"Oh."
A small pause.
"Thank you."
She took it gently.
And then it happened.
Her eyes caught the light.
Just for a moment.
A small spark.
Quiet.
Soft.
But bright enough to stay.
Hitori didn't look away.
That faint brightness lingered in his gaze longer than it should have.
And somewhere inside him, something stirred.
A warmth.
Not sharp.
Not overwhelming.
But unfamiliar.
He kept looking.
Too long.
She noticed.
Her brows knitted slightly as she tilted her head.
"…What?"
A pause.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Hitori blinked.
As if waking from something he didn't understand.
"Oh."
He turned his gaze away almost immediately.
"…Sorry."
He returned to his book.
But the words no longer settled the same way.
They blurred.
Shifted.
Lost their usual clarity.
That moment stayed.
That small spark.
That warmth.
[What was that? Love? ]
Maybe... something else
That didn't make sense.
Or maybe something else.
Something he didn't have a name for.
Days passed.
Nothing changed.
And yet everything felt slightly different.
Then one day, by coincidence or something pretending to be coincidence, Hitori discovered something simple.
She was in the classroom next to his.
Just a wall between them.
A small detail.
But it stayed in his mind longer than it should have.
After that, his visits to the library didn't change.
But his awareness did.
He noticed when she arrived.
When she placed her bag down.
When she turned a page.
Not intentionally.
It just happened.
Like his attention moved before he decided it should.
One afternoon, Hitori was assigned library duty.
The room was quieter than usual.
Almost empty.
The faint sound of a clock ticking somewhere in the distance blended into the stillness.
She was there.
Same seat.
Same quiet presence.
Hitori glanced at her.
Then, after a brief pause, he spoke.
"So."
She looked up, slightly surprised.
"You're in the classroom next to mine."
A small pause.
"Yeah."
She shrugged lightly.
"Maybe."
A faint, low laugh escaped him.
Barely audible.
She frowned slightly.
"What?"
A pause.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"Never mind."
Silence returned again.
Comfortable.
Yet different from before.
Then, after a moment, he asked,
"What's your name?"
She blinked.
Then leaned back slightly, crossing her arms.
"It's been so long since we've been sitting here together…"
Her tone carried a faint edge.
"…and now you feel like asking my name?"
Hitori paused.
"…Sorry."
A slight hesitation.
"My bad, bu—
She let out a quiet sigh.
"You can call me Tachibana."
A small pause.
"Utsuro Tachibana."
He repeated it silently in his mind.
Once.
Then again.
"Umm…"
"That's kind of hard to say."
She raised an eyebrow.
"So?"
"…Maybe I'll call you Utsuro."
For a brief second, she froze.
Then a faint blush appeared across her face.
"No."
She shook her head quickly.
"…Not my first name."
Hitori blinked.
"Then?"
A short silence followed.
"…Tachi?" he suggested.
She hesitated.
Thinking.
"…Hmm."
Then she gave a small nod.
"Okay."
But then she leaned forward slightly, her voice lowering just a little.
"…Only here."
Hitori looked at her.
"Only in the library," she added.
"…Only for you."
A pause.
"And don't call me that outside."
"…Alright."
Silence settled between them once more.
But it wasn't the same silence as before.
Something had shifted.
Quietly.
Softly.
Hitori turned back to his book.
But this time, the pages didn't feel as empty.
The words carried a faint distraction.
And somewhere inside him, that unfamiliar warmth appeared again.
Still without a name.
Still unclear.
But no longer something he could ignore.