No matter how much he tried to focus, his mind kept drifting—to her.  

Aoi Fujikawa.  

The name alone stirred something in him. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it was there—a quiet pull he couldn't ignore.  

She was seated a few rows ahead of him, chatting with her friends. He didn't watch her openly, but he was aware of her presence in a way that frustrated him. It wasn't logical. He barely knew her beyond the surface. Yet, every little detail about her—the way she tucked her hair behind her ear, the way she smiled at something amusing—etched itself into his memory.  

"Spacing out again?"  

A familiar voice pulled him back to reality.  

Kaito Hoshigawa leaned on Reiji's desk, smirking as he tossed a mechanical pencil between his fingers.  

"You've been staring at that blank page for five minutes," Kaito said. "I'm starting to think your brain short-circuited."  

Reiji exhaled, shaking his head. "I was thinking."  

"Yeah? About what?"  

"Nothing important."  

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "Right. And I'm the Emperor of Japan."  

Reiji ignored him and turned his attention back to his notebook.  

"Let me guess," Kaito continued. "hmmmm?"  

Reiji didn't answer, which was answer enough.  

Kaito sighed, dropping into the seat beside him. "Damn, man. You're really in deep, huh?"  

Reiji tapped his pen against the page, keeping his voice neutral. "It's not like that."  

Kaito gave him a look. "Then what's it like?"  

Before Reiji could respond, the classroom door slid open, and a presence stormed inside—Sena Tachibana.  

She didn't walk. She moved with sharp, deliberate steps, as if she was constantly on a mission. Her sharp ponytail swayed behind her as she made her way toward her seat, completely ignoring everyone in her path.  

Reiji glanced at her briefly, then turned away.  

If Aoi was warmth and light, Sena was the opposite—a storm that rarely calmed.  

The few times he'd interacted with her had been… unpleasant, to say the least. She was blunt to the point of hostility, and for reasons unknown to him, she seemed to have taken an immediate dislike toward him.  

Not that he cared.  

"Man, she always looks pissed off," Kaito muttered. "What's her deal?"  

Reiji shrugged. "No idea."  

"Well, good thing you're not into her. I doubt she'd give you the time of day."  

Reiji smirked slightly. "Not worried about me stealing her away, then?"  

Kaito snorted. "Dude, if you somehow got Sena Tachibana to even tolerate you, I'd be more impressed than anything."  

Reiji hummed in amusement, but his mind quickly drifted elsewhere.  

As class resumed, he forced himself to focus. Aoi was close, but unreachable. Sena was a storm he had no intention of getting caught in.  

And yet, the paths ahead of him were already beginning to intertwine.