The courtyard fell quiet again after Khael's footsteps faded away.

Shigeo Motome stared at the drifting sakura petals, a faint sigh escaping him.

"…What a complicated world."

His voice was soft, almost swallowed by the night. He leaned his head back against the tree trunk, book open again though he wasn't really reading.

He closed one eye.

A breeze shifted.

"…You can come out now," Shigeo said flatly.

A playful voice chimed from behind the tree trunk.

"Aww, did I ruin your dramatic moment?"

Shigeo didn't move.

"…Saya."

Saya Kurenai stepped out from the shadows, arms crossed, her dark red hair tied loosely, twin swords resting against her hips. Her steps were light, almost dancing, but her eyes — sharp, crimson-violet missed nothing.

"Wow," she said with a smirk. "Deep talk with the dragon boy? Should I be jealous?"

"Jealous of what?" Shigeo asked. "My stress level?"

Saya flicked a sakura petal at his forehead.

"You know, Motome… normal people comfort their friends without sounding like they're diagnosing a robot."

"Normal people don't sneak up on me."

Saya scoffed.

"You sensed me three minutes ago. You just ignored me."

Shigeo finally looked at her, sighing.

"You were eavesdropping."

"I call it 'concern,'" Saya said. "I was worried you'd accidentally blow Khael's brain open with one of your lectures."

"…I was being gentle."

"Your gentle sounds like a thesis paper."

Shigeo shut his book loudly.

Saya laughed under her breath that soft, half-mocking laugh she always used with him. Not cruel, not dismissive. Familiar.

She sat beside him, dropping onto the stone bench with a dramatic sigh.

"You okay?"

Shigeo blinked.

"…Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because your eyes do that thing," Saya said, pointing at him.

"What thing?"

"That thing where they look like you're solving the universe and losing."

Shigeo looked away.

"Maybe I am solving the universe."

Saya rolled her eyes.

"And? Are you winning?"

"…No."

She nudged him with her shoulder.

"Then stop thinking so hard, idiot."

Shigeo blinked slowly.

"…Advice from you?"

"Yes. Because you clearly need it."

Shigeo stared at her, unimpressed.

Saya leaned back, supporting herself with her hands behind her. Her eyes glowed faintly the unstable resonance of Bloom and Blight always dancing under the surface.

"You said it again, you know." she murmured.

Shigeo tilted his head.

"Said what?"

"'What a complicated world.'"

She shrugged.

"You only say that when something actually bothers you."

Shigeo fell silent.

Saya's expression softened only slightly, but enough to break her usual sharp facade.

"You worry about Khael," she said quietly. "Even if you pretend you don't."

"He's… difficult."  Shigeo admitted.

Saya raised a brow. "And you're not?"

"I'm easy to understand."

Saya snorted.

"Shigeo. You're literally the most confusing person in the academy."

"…Incorrect."

"Very correct."

Silence again.

Not awkward familiar.

Saya glanced at the sky, voice quieter now.

"Do you think he can handle it? The dragon stuff. The destiny stuff."

Shigeo rested his chin on his hand.

"He will. He just hasn't realized it yet."

Saya nodded slowly.

"Good."

Then smirked.

"Because if he goes crazy and burns the school, I'm blaming you."

"…That's unfair."

"You're used to it."

Shigeo sighed deeply.

Saya watched him for a moment, her eyes tracing the tired lines in his face, the ones most people never noticed because he hid them behind laziness and sarcasm.

"You know…" she said softly, "you don't always have to be the one who sees everything."

Shigeo froze for a heartbeat.

Saya's voice remained unusually gentle.

"You're human too. You can let people carry some of the weight."

"…I don't trust people to make good decisions."

"I know," she said.

"But you trust me, right?"

Shigeo hesitated.

A long moment.

"…I do."

Saya's lips curved not a smirk, not a tease. A real, warm smile that she rarely ever showed.

"Good. Because I'm not letting you break your brain over destiny stuff. Leave some of the worrying to your team."

Shigeo looked at her. Really looked.

Saya Kurenai sharp-tongued, bright, chaotic, loud yet steady. Reliable. A strange opposite to his quiet storm.

She nudged him again.

"And for the record?" Saya added.

"You give good advice. Even if it sounds like a math lecture."

"…Thank you" Shigeo muttered.

Saya bumped his shoulder again.

"See? Talking to me is healthier than thinking alone."

Shigeo gave her a flat stare.

"You say that, but half the time you cause the problems."

"Half? Excuse you, I'm at least sixty percent."

He sighed dramatically.

"This is exhausting."

"Then stop thinking so much."

She poked his cheek.

"Come on, Shigeo. Say it again."

"…Say what?"

"That your best friend is right."

Shigeo looked pained.

"I would rather die."

Saya folded her arms and leaned forward.

"Say it."

"No."

"Saaaay it."

"…I refuse."

"I'll keep bothering you until sunrise."

Shigeo closed his eyes.

"…My best friend is"

Saya leaned closer, smug.

"a menace," he finished calmly.

Saya's mouth dropped open.

"You!"

Shigeo turned away, satisfied.

She smacked his arm lightly.

"Idiot!"

Shigeo smirked.

For a moment, beneath the calm stars, the complicated world felt a little less heavy — because instead of fate and destiny and burdens…

…it was just Shigeo and Saya.

Opposites. Annoyances. Best friends.

And for once, Shigeo didn't mutter his usual cynical line.

He simply whispered,

"…Thanks for coming."

Saya froze for half a second then smiled.

"Always."

The memory came quietly.

Not with pain.

Not with regret.

But with the soft echo of a voice he had almost forgotten.

A small, trembling voice.

"Stop… please…"

The old Shinrin Primary School yard was empty except for a cluster of children near the back fence. The wind carried faint laughter sharp, cruel, echoing across the cracked concrete.

"Look at her cheeks!" a boy jeered, grabbing a fistful of red hair.

"Hey, don't-!" the girl cried, trying to pull away.

Another kid chimed in, "She looks like a tomato!"

"Tomato! Tomato-face!"

The girl covered her face with both hands, hair falling messily over her cheeks. Her body shook with each insult, shoulders curling inward as if she could become smaller than the pain choking her.

Saya Kurenai was not the girl she would one day become.

No sharp eyes.

No fierce words.

No blazing energy rattling the world.

At age ten, she was quiet.

Chubby-cheeked.

Insecure.

Always hiding behind her hair.

"Stop…" she whispered again, voice cracking.

But the boys only laughed, pushing her back against the fence.

She didn't fight back.

Didn't yell.

Didn't glare.

She simply curled inwards like she believed she deserved it.

And then

A shadow fell over them.

"…Move."

The voice was flat.

Cold.

Completely unimpressed.

The boys turned.

A small boy with messy black hair and sleepy eyes stood there holding a library book.

Shigeo Motome.

Even at ten, his face carried that expression:

Why did the universe hand me this stupidity?

One of the boys scoffed.

"What do you want, Motome? We're busy."

"You're blocking my reading spot," Shigeo said simply.

"This is a playground, not a library, idiot!"

Shigeo blinked once.

"Your insults are as unoriginal as your haircut," he replied.

Saya's eyes widened behind her hair.

The boys froze, stunned that the quietest boy in school just fired back like he was reading out of a logic textbook.

"You little!"

The biggest boy shoved him.

Shigeo didn't even stumble.

He just brushed the dust off his sleeve.

"Your push force is weak," he said. "If you're going to act tough, at least commit to it."

"What did you say?!"

Shigeo sighed.

Then he stepped forward, placing himself directly between Saya and the bullies.

"You're annoying me," he said calmly. "Stop it."

The boys exchanged glances.

"Why are you protecting Tomato-face?"

"Do you like her or something?"

"Gross!"

Shigeo stared blankly at them.

"…Are you all stupid?"

"Huh?!"

"You're bullying someone who hasn't done anything wrong. That makes you by definition, idiots."

The leader raised a fist.

"Say that again!"

"If you hit me," Shigeo said, "I'll tell the teacher you damaged school property."

"We didn't damage anything!"

"You touched my book."

The boys froze.

They all knew Shigeo's library obsession.

Hurting his book meant death by librarian.

"Tch… whatever! Let's go!" the leader shouted.

They ran off, muttering.

Silence lingered.

Saya remained curled up against the fence, hair covering her face. Tears had smudged dirt on her cheeks.

Shigeo turned to her.

"You can stand now."

She didn't move.

Shigeo frowned.

"…Are you injured?"

She shook her head weakly.

"N-No…"

"Then why aren't you standing?"

She whispered something he could barely hear.

"I… I didn't want you to see me."

Shigeo tilted his head.

"Why?"

"Because I'm… ugly…"

Shigeo stared at her for a long second.

Then he sat down beside her, hugging his book.

"That's incorrect."

She blinked.

"You're not ugly," Shigeo continued in his usual monotone.

"You're just round."

Her breath caught offended, embarrassed, confused.

"R-round…?!"

Shigeo flipped a page of his book, unfazed.

"Round things are statistically cute. Kittens, dumplings, birds, pastries"

"I'm not a pastry!!"

"You could be." he said.

Saya gaped at him.

It wasn't comforting.

It wasn't poetic.

It wasn't even tactful.

But

It was the first time someone had talked to her without mocking her.

Shigeo closed his book gently.

"You're crying."

She wiped her face quickly.

"S-sorry…"

He blinked.

"Why are you apologizing for that?"

Saya froze.

No one had ever asked her that.

Shigeo stood, offering her the sleeve of his uniform.

"Wipe your face. It's dirty."

"…You don't have to"

"I'll get in trouble if you start crying again on the way to class," he said plainly.

"Teachers will assume I caused it."

Saya let out a small, surprised laugh.

It felt like a tiny flower blooming inside her chest.

"Why did you help me?" she asked softly.

Shigeo shrugged.

"You were sad."

Saya stared.

No one else had ever cared if she was sad.

"Thank you." she whispered.

Shigeo blinked, expression unreadable.

Then

"…If you're always crying, you'll get dehydrated."

Saya choked.

"W-what kind of advice is that?!"

"The practical kind."

Saya laughed again louder this time.

Shigeo frowned slightly.

"I didn't say anything funny."

"You're so weird…"

"I know."

She looked at him really looked and something shifted inside her.

A warmth.

A spark.

A voice that whispered:

You're not alone.

For the first time in her life, Saya felt the urge to stand a little straighter.

To be stronger.

To be loud enough that no one could ever push her down again.

She breathed in.

And smiled.

"…I want to be like you."

Shigeo blinked, confused.

"Like me?"

"Brave. Honest. Not scared of anything."

"I'm scared of many things."

Saya shook her head.

"No. You're not scared of being yourself."

Shigeo paused.

Saya continued, voice gaining strength.

"One day… I'll be strong too. Strong enough to protect myself. Strong enough to protect others. Strong enough that no one will ever make me cry again."

She pounded her small fist against her chest, cheeks puffed out with determination.

"I'll become stronger, Shigeo! You'll see!"

Shigeo studied her for a moment.

"…You're loud."

"I'll get louder!"

"…That sounds exhausting."

Saya grinned widely almost aggressively.

"It's decided! We're friends now!"

Shigeo's eye twitched.

"I never agreed to that."

"Too bad! I just did!"

She grabbed his sleeve with both hands.

"And you're stuck with me forever!"

Shigeo sighed.

"…What a complicated world."

From that day on

Saya's voice never quieted again.

Her steps grew lighter.

Her back straighter.

Her smile brighter.

And Shigeo…

though he would never admit it…

He didn't mind having someone sit beside him.

Even if she was loud.

Even if she teased him endlessly.

Even if she forced herself into his quiet life like sunlight through a closed window.

She was the chaos he never asked for

and the friend he ended up needing.

To be continue