"Woke... woke up!" Shouko rushed to the first-floor stairwell, holding the wall with one hand while fanning herself furiously with the other.

God knew why—she had frozen at the door earlier, completely captivated by Akira, staring like a statue.

"Do you want to come eat a bit more breakfast?" Miyamura Shizuka called from the dining room, unaware of the flustered edge in Shouko's voice.

"No... no need, Auntie. I already ate at home. I'll just wait... wait for Akira in the living room."

Afraid Shizuka would walk out and see her like this, Shouko darted into the living room, turned on the fan, and let it blast her burning face.

Air conditioning would've taken too long to cool things down—by then, her embarrassment might have evaporated her on the spot.

A few minutes later...

"Awake, Young Master Miyamura?" Shizuka teased as Akira entered the dining room, sat down, and immediately grabbed a sandwich.

He ignored her tone completely, gave a tired nod, and started eating.

"Oh ho ho~ Is Young Master Miyamura planning to go with the 'mysterious and aloof' aesthetic for middle school?"

Akira almost choked mid-bite. He quickly swallowed and raised his hands in surrender. "Mom, please. I give up. No more."

Smiling, Shizuka poured him a warm cup of milk and placed it in front of him. "Drink. You'll choke at this rate. Want me to drive you to school?"

Akira shook his head. "No need. Shouko and I will walk. It's not far, and we can get familiar with the route."

"Alright then. But hurry up—Shouko came over early and you were still passed out," Shizuka said, nudging him to speed up.

Akira downed the milk, finished the sandwich in record time, and stood up to escape further teasing.

"Let's go, Shouko."

Akira called from the living room entrance, knocking lightly on the doorframe.

Shouko turned to him, quickly averted her eyes, then shut off the fan and stood up. "Mm-hmm."

"Mom, I'm heading out!"

"Auntie, I'm leaving!"

"Be careful on the road! Look both ways before crossing!"

"Got it!" they chorused.

"Is this it?"

"Yeah. The name matches."

"It looks so big!"

"Yeah, it really does..."

The two stood in front of the school gate, reading the name etched above: Minato Namikaze Junior High School.

According to what Akira's mom had found online, Katsuragi was supposedly a renowned Japanese author, and the school was named in his honor to inspire literary excellence.

Of course, Akira thought it was a little suspicious—he didn't remember any famous writer by that name. He only remembered a certain Hokage's dad from another life...

"Shall we go in?" Shouko glanced at the uniformed security guards standing at the gates, a little nervous.

Akira gave her hand a firm squeeze. "Yeah. Let's ask where we can check the class list."

Shouko took a deep breath, then nodded. Hand in hand, they walked up the steps.

The security guards were helpful, directing them toward Teaching Building One, where the class assignments were posted.

"Thank you," both of them said politely before entering.

Their first sight was the massive sports field—centered by a grassy soccer pitch, encircled by a red track. It was easily twice the size of their elementary school's.

Beyond it stood three school buildings in a classic Japanese architectural style, with pale walls and dark tiled roofs, each one labeled in bold Arabic numerals.

Following the directions, they arrived at the ground floor of Building One—only to find a small crowd already gathered.

"Still so many people…" Akira grimaced. "Wanna explore the campus first?"

Shouko nodded eagerly.

For the next 20–30 minutes, they wandered through the grounds. The spectator stands, the gymnasium, an outdoor pool, a small campus store, a peaceful courtyard, and a cherry tree-lined walkway.

Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms hadn't bloomed yet. Still, Shouko was beaming.

"I'm getting more and more excited about school life. I can't wait to meet new friends."

They sat on a bench beneath one of the buildings. Shouko leaned back, gazing at the school with genuine anticipation.

Akira, meanwhile, eyed the bulletin board in the distance, still mobbed by students. Absentmindedly, he reached out and patted Shouko's head.

Suddenly, a soft voice interrupted them.

"Students… They're very strict about puppy love here."

Both turned their heads.

A girl stood nearby—a Miko, dressed in white with long dark-brown hair. She was smiling gently, almost teasingly.

There was a flicker of mischief in her eyes—but it vanished in an instant.

Shouko panicked. "N-No! We're not dating! A-Akira and I aren't a couple yet! So—so this doesn't count as puppy love!"

"Shouko, calm down." Akira, mortified, gently reached over to stop her flailing arms.

If she kept waving like that, she might accidentally knock someone out—or herself.

"Akira… why do you look like there's three of you…?" Shouko blinked, woozy.

"..."

The mysterious girl gave a soft chuckle and turned to leave without another word.

Akira watched her walk away, completely thrown.

Did she really just show up to tease Shouko?

They didn't know her at all.

Who was she?

And… was she going to be a classmate?

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A/N: The School sounds cool right 😅

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