9.1 — Lunch Hour: When the World Paused
It started like any normal day.
Sunlight filtered into the classroom as lunch began. Students laughed, bento boxes opened, chopsticks clicked, and soft music played from the hallway speaker.
Chiharu sat at her usual spot near the window, setting down her homemade bento. She'd made it with her mom this morning—star-shaped tamagoyaki, rice with tiny seaweed hearts, and a little note folded beneath the napkin that read:
> "Today might be the day he finally sees you. ❤️ – Mom"
Minato dropped his bento on the desk beside her with a happy thud.
> "Tada~ Chii-chan! Wanna trade fish again? You always say mine's too salty, but you still eat it!"
> "That's because you never drain the oil properly—wait, give me that."
As they began exchanging food, the classroom buzzed.
> "Look at them again..."
"Do they even know how close they are?"
"Seriously. Just kiss already!"
"Nooo fair! I wanted to sit next to Minato-kun today!"
One girl in the back finally snapped.
> "Minato-kun! You're always with Chiharu-chan! If someone else confesses to you, would you even say yes?!"
The room went dead silent.
Minato looked up, mouth still full of rice.
> "Huh?"
> "I mean—if someone you didn't grow up with liked you—what would you say?!"
All eyes turned to him.
Chiharu froze, half a sausage in her chopsticks.
Minato blinked, swallowed... then did something he rarely did:
He spoke from the heart. Clearly. No fluff. No teasing. Just truth.
> "I already promised Chii-chan I'd always be hers."
The room stopped.
> "I don't really know
9.2 — Minato's Clear Words
Minato stood up, still holding his chopsticks in one hand. His voice was calm, but unusually steady. The kind of voice that made even the teachers in the hallway stop mid-step.
> "I don't really know about love-love stuff yet. I don't even get why everyone makes it so dramatic."
He looked at Chiharu. Not with a clueless grin. But with something quiet. Solid. Certain.
> "But I know that… I feel happy when Chii-chan smiles. I feel safe when she's next to me. I always want her to be with me. And I promised her—long ago—that I'll always be hers."
Chiharu's heart exploded in her chest.
She stared at him, lips parted slightly, completely stunned. The world faded around her—the noise, the whispers, the blinking girls in the back row. All she could hear was his voice.
> "So even if someone else confesses… I'll say no."
> "Because I already belong to her."
Dead silence.
Then, all at once—
> "—KYAAAAAAA!!"
> "He just confessed!!"
"They're basically MARRIED!!"
"He said it like he was already sure??"
"I CAN'T—HE'S TOO SMOOTH FOR AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD!"
---
9.3 — Chiharu's Reaction
Chiharu's face was on fire.
> He… what?? He—said that? In front of everyone? That clearly?
> This isn't like when he gives me cookies or tells me I smell like books and lavender. This was real. He meant it.
She wanted to run. Or cry. Or scream into her math notebook. Instead, she picked up a rice ball and shoved it in his mouth.
> "Idiot."
> "Mmmph?!"
> "You can't just say things like that with your serious face and then go back to eating like a squirrel!"
He blinked. Then smiled, soft and warm.
> "But I meant it."
Her heart thudded again.
And for the first time in forever… Minato had said something clear, real, and undeniably romantic—and he knew it.
---
9.4 — POV: Sayaka Aizawa (Chiharu's Mom)
At that exact moment, Sayaka Aizawa was sipping tea with Aki Tachibana on the balcony of a café near the school.
Sayaka's phone vibrated.
A message from another mom.
> "You'll never believe what your daughter just got told in class. Your future son-in-law just dropped a full-blown public confession."
Sayaka blinked.
Then:
> "Oh my god."
She showed Aki the screen.
Aki blinked once.
Then leaned back in her chair, eyes wide.
> "He did it… He actually did it."
> "They're eight."
> "And already more emotionally committed than half the adults I know."
Sayaka pressed a hand over her chest.
> "I think I need a moment. I waited years for that confession and I didn't even get to hear it in person…"
> "Don't worry," Aki said with a smirk. "We'll get a wedding invitation before we get a graduation ceremony."
---
9.5 — POV: Ryo Tachibana & Hiroshi Aizawa (The Dads)
Later that night, the dads sat together on a bench outside the community center during a PTA event.
Hiroshi looked up from his drink. "So… your son finally confessed to my daughter. Publicly."
Ryo scratched his head. "Yeah. I got the message too. My wife already printed the transcript like it's a national treasure."
Hiroshi groaned.
> "What am I supposed to do now? He basically proposed. And she looked like she was about to cry from happiness."
Ryo chuckled.
> "You could always fight fate."
> "I tried. I failed. Now I'm just holding on to hope they at least wait until college."
A pause.
Then Ryo asked, "You okay with it, though?"
Hiroshi didn't answer for a long moment.
Then sighed.
> "...He's a good kid. He annoys me. But he's a good kid."
> "And if it's gonna be anyone—"
"Yeah."
"—I'm glad it's him."
They bumped cups together in resignation.
---
9.6 — That Night: Chiharu and Minato, Separately
In her room, Chiharu stared at her ceiling, hugging a pillow.
> He said he belongs to me...
Her heart wouldn't stop fluttering.
> And he looked at me like… like I was his favorite thing.
> "I love you," she whispered into her blanket. "I already do. So much."
---
Meanwhile, in his room, Minato lay in bed, arms behind his head, smiling faintly.
> "I'll always be hers," he repeated to himself.
He didn't know where the words came from.
But somewhere, deep down, a sealed piece of soul remembered—
That promise had been made long ago.
And today, he'd simply said it again.