Kaoru Hanazaki used to be unstoppable.

Back in middle school, she was always the loudest voice on the field, the fastest runner in gym class, the one who threw punches before asking questions. Her hair was short, her knees were always bruised, and she laughed with no filter. She was the kind of girl who made boys nervous and girls envious.

And the one person who stuck beside her through all of it... was Ryuji.

They were childhood friends. He was cool, older by a year, and everyone loved him — especially Kaoru. When he finally asked her out in her second year, it felt like everything was falling into place. Her first love, her best friend. It felt right.

Until it wasn't.

He began with harmless suggestions — "You'd look cute in a skirt,""Why don't you grow your hair out?" Soon it turned into, "Tomboys aren't girlfriend material,""Could you just act softer around my friends?" And Kaoru, desperate to be enough, listened. She threw away her hoodies. Quit basketball. Learned to walk in heels.

All of it... just to be "his type."

And then one day, in a hallway around the back of the school, she saw him — Ryuji — with Sayaka. The kind of girl who laughed behind hands and wore perfume to gym class. They weren't just talking.

He didn't even flinch when he noticed Kaoru.

"You really thought I was into you?" he said with that smug, crooked grin. "You were fun. But Sayaka knows how to act like a real girl."

He never apologized. Never explained. Never cared. Just left Kaoru standing there with her fists clenched so hard, her nails left crescent-shaped cuts in her palms.

Present Day — Third Year

Kaoru Hanazaki was no longer loud.

She still had the strength — still had that fire — but now it simmered beneath layers of silence and steel. Long hair tied back, shirt slightly wrinkled, tie loose. She moved through the halls with her head low, hands in pockets, looking like she couldn't care less.

People didn't approach her anymore. Not after what happened.

Even in class, she kept her words short. Cold. She didn't want to be anyone's "project." Didn't want to be noticed. She wanted to sleep through this year and move on.

That's why it annoyed her when the teacher said:

"Kaoru, you'll be paired with him for the assignment."

She barely turned. Just gave a tired shrug and muttered, "Do it yourself. I'll catch up later."

No malice. Just the usual wall she built around herself.

Instead of working, Kaoru slipped out of the classroom and climbed the old rusted stairs behind the east wing — to her secret spot. An unused rooftop utility room, warm and quiet. Her safe zone. She laid down on the dusty floor, arms behind her head, staring at the ceiling until her thoughts faded into sleep.

She didn't know how long she was out.

But when her eyes opened slowly, sunlight still soft in the corner, she saw something that made her heart skip.

A boy — sitting nearby, arms resting on knees, eyes quietly focused on her sleeping face.

He didn't say anything.

He wasn't gawking. He wasn't smirking.

He just sat there... watching her like she was something he didn't expect to find beautiful.

Kaoru blinked the sleep from her eyes, her brows furrowing as reality set in. Her chest felt tight — not from panic, but from the unfamiliar softness in the way she'd been watched. No one had looked at her like that in years. Not since before she started hiding herself.

"...The hell?" she muttered, voice low and scratchy from sleep. She sat up slowly, her hair falling over one shoulder, eyes narrowing at him.

"How'd you even find this place?" she hissed, cheeks dusted pink, but her tone defensive — sharp. "This is my spot. Nobody's supposed to know about it."

She tried to sound annoyed. But beneath it... there was confusion. Hesitation. A flicker of something softer.

Something she didn't want to admit was relief.