Chapter 3: First Bond – Kyoto
The train hummed beneath their feet as it sped through the green and gold countryside, cherry blossoms drifting past the windows like snow caught in the wind. It was early April, and Kyoto was waking up in full bloom.
Hikari sat by the window, her face lit softly by the morning sun, eyes wide with childlike wonder as the city blurred into shrines, hills, and rivers.
"I haven't been here since I was ten," she said, her breath fogging the glass slightly. "It's just as beautiful as I remembered."
Kyoshi sat beside her, clutching a small sketchbook on his lap, pretending not to notice how close her shoulder was to his. "First time for me," he said. "Only saw it in documentaries."
Hikari turned toward him, smiling. "Then I'll be your guide."
They'd only been friends for a week, and yet, the distance between them had closed more with every message, every call, every random hallway conversation. The idea of a weekend trip had come up jokingly during lunch—and to his surprise, she hadn't just agreed, she'd planned the whole thing.
Now here they were. Two second-year students, technically strangers, now traveling together under soft skies and quiet laughter.
Their first stop was Fushimi Inari Shrine.
Rows of red torii gates stretched upward, winding into the forested mountain like an endless path. The air smelled of wood and incense, and the sound of footsteps echoed in the sacred quiet.
Kyoshi walked beside her, sketchbook in hand, occasionally pausing to catch an angle, a gate, or her silhouette between the beams.
"You draw fast," Hikari commented, peering over his shoulder.
"Used to drawing people who never stay still."
"Am I staying still?"
"No," he said with a grin. "But I don't mind chasing the moment."
She laughed again, softer now.
They wandered through Kyoto that way—Nishiki Market, where they shared sweet mochi and grilled squid; Kiyomizu-dera, where they stood at the balcony's edge, overlooking the entire city bathed in gold; and finally, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, where the wind whispered through towering green stalks like a secret language.
Hikari spun slowly in the grove, arms out, head tilted back, her hair catching the breeze.
Kyoshi just watched her, hands still, not drawing.
"You okay?" she asked, noticing his silence.
"Yeah," he replied. "Just... trying to remember this without the pencil."
She stopped spinning, her cheeks flushed. Their eyes met.
For a second, the whole forest seemed to hold its breath.
Then she stepped closer. "You're not like most people I've met," she said quietly. "You really listen."
He looked at her, then nodded. "You're not like most people I've met either."
A faint smile touched her lips. "Do you ever think... some people were meant to cross paths at the right moment?"
Kyoshi didn't answer at first.
Then, softly: "Yeah. I do."
They kept walking. No one said anything more for a while.
But the silence between them wasn't empty.
It was full of something new.
Something beginning.