“That’s… the last of them…” 

Reo exhaled, wiping a bit of sweat off his brow. Before him lay several cardboard boxes, and a few steps further ahead, his mother nonchalantly polished a shiny wooden counter.

Today marked Reo's first day at school, but he couldn't neglect his mother and forego helping out at what would soon become their new source of income. After all, his mother had inherited the store and the place upstairs from her late aunt. The view before him was filled with wooden chairs, stools, and tables— the components of a simple pub just a few blocks away from the main square of the island.

“You can go, Reo-chan. We’ll be okay here.” Hilary, his mother, smiled sweetly, while his sister emerged from the backroom, carrying a few more things.

“Ufff!” 

She set the box down with a thud, and gave a wry smile. Her blonde hair was loosely tied in a bun, but that didn’t detract from her good looks. The glasses randomly fixed on her forehead like a band, though, gave her a slightly messy appearance 

“Yeah, have fun at your first day while we are working our butts off.”

Reo’s sister, Mahono, was a few years older than him, and had already graduated high school some years back.

“Miss your student days, Nee-san?”  

Reo cracked a smile as he strolled toward the exit of the spacious pub, his shoes echoing across the wooden flooring. But not before he paused in front of the window, catching a reflection of himself.

“Heh, does it show?”

Reo didn't reply hastily; instead, he adjusted his simple black blazer and pants with deliberate care. A sweep of his palm ran through his bleached blonde hair, cut short all over except for his long bangs that parted in the middle. A quick motion of his palm cleared his hazel eyes, allowing him to cast a glance back at his family.

“Only a little. I’ll be off, now.”

“Okay, don’t get into any trouble. And remember, first impressions are always important!”

“Got it.”

His mother, always the one to worry a little too much, smiled at her son with the same shine as always.

“Iterashai!”

“Itekimasu.”

After the usual exchange occurred, Reo waltzed out from his family’s establishmen and stepped out onto the fresh islandish air.

The street before him was narrow, and every house in his peripheral vision appeared similar, yet different from the other. Wooden facades adorned with intricate shoji screens and blooming window boxes painted the scene. The architecture spoke tales of tradition, the houses standing shoulder to shoulder like silent guardians of the island's history. Although quaint, the residential structures exuded just the right amount of island charm.

With the sea stretching out from both sides equally to the next island over, and the blue sky stretching similarly but with no end in sight, Hinami really was a sight to behold.

Reo walked over to the bike he had left by the door, and undid the chain. Locals here said there’s no fear of robbery but a city boy like him wouldn’t just trust the townsfolk THAT easily.

The young man guided the red sports bike toward the road, swinging his leg around the saddle. After casting one last look back toward the exterior of the pub, where his mother waved, Reo rode off down the road. Wind swept his hair back at once, saltiness hitting him in the face like a bomb. The air was humid, but also surprisingly cool.

He was in… Hinami.

A remote island far away from the bustling streets of Kyoto he used to live in. Cut off from rush hours, speedy trains and all the who’s who and what’s what. Here he was a nobody. And that’s exactly what he needed.

Hinami itself was just one of 12 points in a larger whole; a bundle of islands forming an archipelago. Alongside Hinami, eleven other islands completed the map of the Shinrin Archipelago, a cluster of land situated around the middle of the Japanese sea, and directly between the mainland and Vladivostok. It took approximately 14 hours to reach those parts by ferry, making it safe to say that they were quite cut off from many necessities.

For a city boy, it was challenging to grasp the reality of where he would be living. The picturesque islands that one might envision as the perfect destination for a week-long vacation would now become his home

Naturally, it was his mother's idea to come all the way here, insisting on getting away from the city. Neither Reo nor his sister objected. The young man, especially, loved the idea of running far away from all that had been plaguing his heart.

As it turned out, Reo's mother, Hikaru, had an aunt who lived on the island. The same aunt had entrusted the keys to her house and establishment to Hikaru after she passed. Initially, their plan was to sell the property, but amidst that big decision, his mother remembered a dream of her own. She decided to quit her office job and own her very own establishment. Thus, the idea for the pub was born. Not only was Reo in need of a new place to live after everything that happened with his family, but his mother and sister were also eager to start anew themselves.

Start anew.

Reo's bike wheels spun as he took in the scenery of the town. It was a small countryside town filled with quaint houses, narrow paths, charming little shops, and a central square serving as the charming jewel atop a silver ring. The square was adorned with a small but lovely park, complete with nature trails, beautiful flowers, and a large dark metallic statue standing tall in the middle, rising above everything else. The statue had been so high that Reo had even caught a glimpse of it during the docking of the ferry yesterday morning.

He couldn’t really grasp what it displayed however…

The statue depicted a man standing tall, holding a rapier in his hand—or at least, that's what it seemed like. The statue showed signs of age, with worn details. The man sported a peculiar square hat, and his foot was propped up on something Reo couldn't quite figure out.

Beside him was a small maquette of something peculiar— was it a ship?

Reo shook his head as he continued down the road with his bike, the wheels turning with a reminiscent sound resembling crickets.

He hadn't bothered researching Hinami much, given his disinterest in where he’d be living to start with. As long as it was far away from his father and the memories that haunted him, he didn’t care one way or another. The statue, prominently standing tall in the town square, didn't pique his curiosity anyway, so maybe he'd learn more about it if it turned out to be significant.

“Hm…”

Reo hummed, slowing down his bike and surveying the surroundings. Not far from the square, groups of students caught his attention as they all moved purposefully toward a particular spot on the island. At the edge of the road, a stately building stood tall, radiating an air of significance.

That’s… my new school.

Reo made a quick deduction and decided to follow the students, matching their pace either on foot or by bike. While the destination was likely within walking distance for Reo, he was determined to enjoy the newfound pleasure of biking. Back in the city, he never used a bike to go to school, but with the discovery of an old bike in the shed of his new home, he seized the opportunity to make his bicycle debut in the sparsely trafficked streets of Hinami.

While he glided down the road, he couldn’t help but notice a few weird glances from his soon to be schoolmates. Boys and girls alike turned to look at the average young man, with the strikingly blonde hair waltzing down the street like he owned it.

They couldn’t have… recongised him, right?

Despite the idea briefly crossing his mind, Reo swiftly dismissed it. While he had gained some recognition among soccer enthusiasts, he wasn't exactly a BIG name.

Nevertheless, he didn't hesitate to adopt his mother’s surname as well, just to be thorough.

Smoothly gliding past his schoolmates, Reo reached the simple school gates and passed through with ease. Following along a few other bike owners, he moved behind the plain school building where he would park his newest possession.

The air was filled with chatter, and giggles wafted from idle conversations among some kids on the way. As Reo rounded the corner, carefully avoiding a few lingering puddles from the previous night's rain, a large, looming presence seized his attention. His eyes seemed magnetically drawn to it, and his brain commanded him not to look away as a set of grand floodlights filled his vision.

Encircling the floodlights were tall, firm tiers of black and white seats, almost reaching the height of the school building itself. At the center, the pinnacle of it all, a dark green, well-kept expanse of grass stretched out – a football pitch, or more accurately, a football stadium.

It looked grand, almost too professional to be just another school football pitch. The young man was left staring in awe.

“Tch.”

Reo clicked his tongue in annoyance, after he snapped out the trance he found himself into.

A football stadium? There was no way. It must have been some kind of attraction. The stadium itself seemed rather behind the ages too.

Maybe his mind was subconsciously stuck on the past and labeled everything related to football as weird and out of place?

That must have been it.

As Reo affirmed, and shook away some more fleeting stares, he wrapped a chain around his bike and locked it tight.

“Right—“

As the blonde young man raised his head away from the bike, a black and white sphere flew past his face, and away from his field of vision in an instant.

“Ah, crap! Damn it! Shit!”

In a flash, a rather short silhouette of a young man traced the trajectory of the ball and passed by Reo like a bullet.

Naturally, unable to contain his curiosity, he followed the peculiar event with his eyes, determined to see it through. It appeared a young man was chasing after a soccer ball, flung directly from the other side, and was going to great lengths to reach it.

With a long, springy leap, the short student neared his target and kicked the ball up in the sky, cutting off its trajectory. His jump felt as heroic as a goal-line clearance…

SPLASH

The result? He landed butt-first into a puddle of water, the kind Reo took special notice of avoiding earlier.

As the short young man grimaced in discontent the ball flying high up in the sky came back down to land in his eager palms, almost like the whole thing was planned.

“Gotcha!” He grinned, and stepped out the puddle like there was no big deal about it. His backside may have been soaking wet, but his grin never left his face.

“Huh?”

Although the whole ordeal didn't even make the student flinch, Reo's gaze, a result of his bewilderment, caught his attention. For a moment, the young man forgot he was staring, as the student carrying the ball proudly raised a brow. He had a bundle of messy almost spiky black hair, and a pair of big and dark brown eyes.

“Hm? And who might you be?”

“Eh? Me?”

Reo seemed taken aback, being addressed by some stranger out of the blue like that.

“Could it be… are you a transfer student?” The young man showed a goofy, toothy grin, as he inched closer.

Was it that obvious to have a transfer student around here? Reo nodded hesitantly.

“Yeah, just moved in the other day.”

“Hooo…!” The student’s grin widened, “So you’re with the mysterious family that arrived yesterday morning and were moving stuff about that old pub!”

“Word sure gets around fast…” Reo couldn’t help but vocalize his thoughts.

“Heh, that’s a given around these parts…” The young man kept on grinning, as he took a look between his new acquaintance and himself.

“Oh, forgot to introduce myself!” He corrected his posture quickly. “Totori Shuichi, at your service. Some people call me Toto, though. You’re free to call me Hinami’s most prolific number NINE!”

Reo’s brow twitched, as he looked at the hand offered to him. The same damp hand Totori Shuichi had used to raise himself out of the puddle.

Even excluding that, his words on their own, were something of an enigma too. A number nine, huh? Was he talking about football?

Nevermind the fact he ticked all the boxes containing the word weird in them, he seemed to be a major football-head too. Really, what had Reo gotten himself into?

“Uh… Jyu…” Reo stopped himself, and shook his head. He had a different surname to go by now.

“Yuusaki Reo.”

The blonde student introduced himself, but didn’t exactly go in for a handshake. Instead, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, and turned to the school.

“You might wanna get that cleaned.”

“Ah!” Totori jumped in realization, as he looked at his wet palm. “You’re right, I completely forgot!”

“And those pants too,”

“WHA?! WAIT! My butt is SUPER soaked!”

“You didn’t even realize?”

“…Well I WAS preoccupied with not letting this ball get away from the training ground or else only God knows where it would end up. We don’t have a lot to spare, and some shots have sent a number of them all the way to Russia so…”

While Totori seemed like the one to never stop talking if given the chance, Reo stayed mostly silent throughout their exchange. He had realized the young man played soccer in the stadium he had just seen, and he wondered how far the roots of the sport were tied to the school. 

Could he have really ventured into such a football-centered school? His memory also recollected a few figures walking from the stadium to the school before the ball was flung over his way.

That was just his luck, Reo sighed.

While Totori continued to prattle endlessly about balls and pants and school, Reo’s gaze swept the campus.

That was when he saw her. Right across from him, briefly standing before the school buildings’s entrance was a girl. A slender girl, with long legs, short, neatly cropped brown hair, with one side swept back and tucked behind her ear, and a pair of what looked like clear ocean blue eyes.

There was something about her that exuded an air of confidence. An unwavering sense of self. A touch of charm, and a beauty there for all to see. Her face was slim and sharp, and her gaze tried.

After the two of them exchanged a fleeting glance, the girl retreated back into the school.

Other flocks of students entered the school, and some even wore training gear and black tracksuits, undoubtedly heralding from sports clubs.

Even if Reo had come a little earlier to school for his first day, he would still be late if he didn’t hurry.

He turned to secure his bike one last time.

“Hey, you don’t even need to lock it, nobody will steal it. You can take my word for it!”

“No thanks.”

“Eh?!”

As Totori stood bewildered, Reo began walking towards the main building.