The chime signaling the end of class echoed through the corridor, followed by the usual rustle of notebooks, chatter, and squeaking chairs. "Alright, that's it for today."
Chihiro-sensei's soft yet authoritative voice carried over the noise as she began gathering papers from her desk. Her gaze shifted toward the front row. "Kotegawa, could you help me collect the holiday assignments and bring them to the staff room?" She asked. With her classbook in hand, she walked out of the class.
"Yes, sensei."
Yui Kotegawa stood up promptly, her serious tone as composed as ever. Her eyes flicked toward the small mountain of neatly stacked papers on her desk, the weight of responsibility already visible in her expression.
Rito, chatting lazily with Saruyama near the window, noticed her struggling to stack everything in order. The pile wobbled slightly as she lifted it. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
'She's going to drop those any second now.' He thought inwardly.
Before he even realized it, his feet had moved. After all, with how Yui is, he knew that she would never ask anyone for help. So, only he who knew her real personality could help her out.
"What happened?" Yui asked as Rito came to her side, her brows raising slightly. A surprised expression on her face.
"Nothing," he replied with a light grin, taking half the stack from her arms. "Just being a busybody." He joked with a casual tone.
Yui blinked, momentarily thrown off by his casual tone. Her lips parted as if to refuse, but seeing him already heading for the door, she bit her words back and followed.
"I never asked for help," she muttered, glancing sideways at him as they walked down the hallway. With her eyes looking at his side.
"I know," Rito said, shifting the papers in his arms. "But I did say I'm a busybody. So don't take it too seriously." He replied, given he knew it was coming. And did not get bothered by it.
For a brief moment, her expression softened. The corners of her mouth tugged upward—barely noticeable, but genuine.
Behind them, Saruyama leaned against his desk, watching the two with a smirk.
"Typical Rito," he chuckled under his breath. "Can't stop himself from helping anyone who looks like they need it. Even if it kills him." He mused about it. Staring at two of them walking together in the hallway.
By the time they reached the teacher's office, both were slightly out of breath. Rito set the stack down with a quiet exhale, flexing his fingers. Feeling that his choice was right? After all, this weight was quite heavy for a single girl.
'Man, even half of that was heavy…' he mused, glancing at Yui, who was wiping sweat from her forehead but still holding that stubbornly composed face.
"Thank you," she finally said, her voice lower, softer—as if admitting defeat. "It would've been hard to carry them all by myself."
Rito looked at her in mild surprise, then chuckled. "It's fine. Just make sure you ask for help next time, alright? We can't have our class rep overworking herself before exams." He asked in a requesting tone to it. Making her feel weird about it. It was not something she was accustomed to receiving assistance.
That earned a faint blush from Yui, who quickly turned away. "Hmm," she responded shortly, but there was no coldness in her tone.
As they made their way back toward class, the air between them felt… lighter.
'She's stubborn, but that's just how she is,' Rito thought, smiling faintly. 'Still, it's nice seeing her soften a little.'
Back in the classroom, the day's rhythm resumed. The next period passed quietly until the final bell rang. Students began packing up, laughter filling the room again. Rito was just slinging his bag over his shoulder when he noticed Yui standing by her desk, looking hesitant.
"Need some help?" he asked, walking over.
Yui turned slightly, almost as if she'd expected him to say that. "Chihiro-sensei needs an extra hand. She asked for you, too."
"Hmm, is that so?" Rito adjusted the strap of his bag and smiled. "Then let's go. Wouldn't want to keep her waiting."
His casual tone made Yui's lips curve into a small, rare smile. "Right. You're right about that."
As they headed out together, a quiet chuckle echoed behind them.
"Hehe~ Haruna," Momioka leaned forward on her desk, resting her chin on her hands, eyes sparkling mischievously. "If you keep sitting there watching, Rito might get stolen from under your nose."
Haruna's face turned red in an instant. "W-what are you talking about?" she stammered, trying to play it off, though her gaze betrayed the flicker of unease as she looked toward the door where Rito and Yui had just disappeared.
Momioka just grinned. "I'm just saying, Kotegawa smiling at a guy? That's a rare sight. Guess he's got a bit of charm after all."
Haruna puffed her cheeks slightly, unable to argue—because deep down, she had noticed it too.
And somewhere in the hallway, Rito and Yui continued down the corridor side by side, the late afternoon sun spilling through the windows, casting long shadows across the floor—the start of another small, unnoticed shift in Rito's story.
The door to the staff room creaked open, and a faint scent of coffee and chalk dust greeted them.
"Oh! Yui, you came," Chihiro-sensei looked up from her desk, smiling as her brown eyes curved in amusement. "And you brought Rito too—how reliable."
Her desk, as usual, was a chaotic battlefield—stacks of papers, half-empty coffee cans, and a dangling red pen from the side. But amidst all that, one large brown duffel bag sat neatly by the table leg.
"Perfect timing," Chihiro continued, brushing her hair aside as she stood. "I need one of you to carry this to a school dormitory not too far from here."
Yui blinked, surprised. "Dormitory?"
"Mhm. Sakura Kawai Dormitory. The student dorm under our school's supervision," Chihiro replied casually, crossing her arms with a teasing grin. "If you help me out, I'll make it up to you both with a nice treat later."
Her words hung temptingly in the air, but both Rito and Yui exchanged looks of mild skepticism.
Rito sighed, scratching the back of his head. A treat, huh… that usually means we're doing all the work.
Still, it wasn't in his nature to turn down someone asking for help—especially not a teacher.
"Leave it to me," Rito said, stepping forward. "Carrying heavy things is kind of… a guy's department, right?"
Yui gave him a sideways glance that clearly said "you never learn, do you?"
Chihiro chuckled softly, her voice low and amused. "Is that so? Well, that's definitely manly of you, Rito."
She patted his shoulder lightly before gesturing toward the duffel. "That's the one."
Rito hoisted it up—it was heavier than it looked—but he managed a grin anyway.
"Well, see you later, Kotegawa-san," he said over his shoulder, catching Yui's quiet nod before following Chihiro out of the room.
The hallway was still bathed in the lazy glow of the afternoon sun. Students were milling about outside the windows, their laughter faint behind the glass. The soft rhythm of Chihiro's heels echoed down the corridor as Rito trailed behind, adjusting the weight of the bag on his shoulder.
For a while, they walked in silence. Chihiro occasionally glanced sideways, as if checking to see if he was holding up. Despite his lean frame, Rito seemed sturdy enough, with a quiet determination in his steps.
"Not bad," she murmured with a small smile. "Most boys your age would be whining halfway already."
Rito chuckled lightly. "Guess I've had practice."
But while he kept his usual casual tone, his mind was running elsewhere — connecting dots he hadn't expected to see.
'Chihiro Sengoku… that name rings a bell.'
From the corners of two worlds in his memory—one he'd lived and one he'd only seen in anime—pieces began to fit.
She wasn't a major character in his story, but definitely not an ordinary one either. And when she mentioned the dorm's name, that faint spark of recognition flared brighter.
"Sakura Kawai Dormitory is just ahead," she said suddenly, breaking his train of thought. "Keep it up, kid."
Rito slowed for half a step, eyes widening slightly.
Wait… Sakura… dormitory?
He knew that name. Or something eerily close to it.
And then, as if reading his mind, Chihiro added with a smirk, "You might've heard of it before. It's technically called the Kawai Residence, but ever since half of it was turned into a student dorm, everyone started calling it the Sakura Dormitory."
Rito blinked. "That… sounds oddly familiar."
Chihiro laughed under her breath, her tone playful. "You're not the first one to say that."
'Sakura Dormitory… Shiina Mashiro…' The names clicked one after another inside his head, pieces from another anime altogether.
His grip on the duffel tightened slightly.
'Wait… no way. There's no chance it's that Sakura Dormitory, right?'
He looked at Chihiro, who was humming softly, entirely unfazed—as if the absurdity of her words was just another Tuesday for her.
"Is that even legit?" he muttered aloud before he could stop himself.
Chihiro glanced back at him, her expression somewhere between amusement and exasperation. "Oh, it's legit alright. You'll see soon enough."
Her tone carried a strange confidence, the kind that made Rito feel both curious and uneasy.
As they turned the corner, the silhouette of a small residential building came into view—bright, peaceful, and surrounded by blooming sakura trees even out of season.
And with that sight, Rito had only one thought:
Yup. This world's definitely starting to mix up its scripts.