Hi…

I’m Aiko.

Just a girl in a sea of perfectly polished students at Hoshikawa Academy. Or at least… that’s what they think.

But here’s a little secret:

I’m not supposed to be here.

Not because I’m not smart or rich enough.

But because someone stole my name… my place… my crown.

Yes, that girl is wearing my title. Everyone bows to her like she’s the heiress. But that life? That identity? It was mine. Until the day everything was taken away from me.

Now I sit quietly in the back of the class —

round glasses, long sleeves, messy notes —

watching the drama unfold like I’m not part of it.

But I am.

More than anyone knows.

And then there’s Haruki chan—

silent, sharp-eyed, like winter pretending to be spring.

He doesn’t talk much, but somehow… I think he sees me.

And Riku chan —

bright, reckless, like a firework you can’t ignore.

He says he’s just playing around, but sometimes he looks at me like he’s trying to remember something he lost may be a friend from a past.

This school is full of secrets.

And so am I.

But I’m done hiding.

So if you’re reading this…

Get ready to step into the halls of Hoshikawa.

Where crowns glitter, whispers spread, and the truth…

has finally found its voice.

— Aiko

The first day at a new school always felt like a new beginning. But for Aiko Minazuki, it was something else entirely.

It wasn’t a beginning.

It was a return.

The gates of Hoshikawa Academy stood tall and polished, a little too clean, a little too perfect—like the kind of place where mistakes were forbidden and secrets didn’t exist. But Aiko knew better.

She adjusted her round glasses and stepped through, her black hair brushing against her cheeks as a breeze carried soft cherry blossoms past her shoulders. Around her, students buzzed with new-year energy—group chats about clubs, uniforms, crushes. None of them noticed her. She blended in too easily, and she didn’t mind that.

They didn’t know that she was once the real heiress to this perfect world.

And someone had stolen her place.

Her homeroom was on the second floor. She chose a seat by the window. A quiet place. A watcher’s place. She stared out at the sakura trees that lined the courtyard, each blossom a memory.

She didn’t even glance up when someone slid into the seat behind her.

“You look like a transfer student,” a low voice said.

She turned.

Haruki Sakamura. Tousled black hair, hood over his uniform, sleeves rolled up like rules didn’t apply. His blue eyes didn’t quite meet hers, like he was already bored with the conversation he’d just started.

She blinked, then said softly, “You sound like someone who thinks he’s seen everything.”

That made him look at her properly. Just for a moment.

He tilted his head. “Have we met?”

Aiko smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Not exactly.”

At lunch, Aiko didn’t go to the cafeteria. She didn’t want noise or company. She found the old rooftop staircase—still unpainted, still creaky—and slipped through the door.

She didn’t expect him to follow her.

“Is this your usual spot?” Haruki asked, leaning on the railing like he owned the sky.

“It was. A long time ago,” she said.

He raised a brow. “You’re being cryptic.”

“I’m being honest,” Aiko replied, brushing her skirt as she sat. “There’s a difference.”

Something about her calmness unsettled him. She didn’t have the energy of a new student. She had the stillness of someone who had already lived here once—and lost something important.

But before Haruki could speak, the rooftop door swung open again.

And she walked in.

Rinea.

Poised. Immaculate. Ice in her eyes. Wearing the school crest with pride like it was stitched into her skin.

Aiko met her gaze without flinching.

“Well,” Rinea said, her voice cold, “I didn’t expect to find you here.”

Aiko stood, brushing petals from her blazer. “I’m sure you didn’t.”

“You’re the scholarship student, right?” Rinea continued, walking closer. “I hear they let just about anyone in these days.”

Haruki stepped forward, slightly—just enough to be noticed—but Aiko stopped him with a glance.

“I’m not here to fight,” Aiko said quietly. “I’m just here to remember.”

Rinea's smile flickered, just for a second. A crack.

“Its cute that you are trying to fight me” she whispered in her evilist voice.

Aiko walking past her, calm and composed.

“I don’t need to fight you, Reine.”

“I just need to show up.”

Riku Tetsuya had been watching from the doorway—his red hair messy from the wind, earbuds dangling around his neck. He watched Aiko descend the stairs with a thoughtful look.

“Who is she, really?” he murmured.

Haruki didn’t answer.

But something had shifted.

And all of them felt it.

The day had felt longer than it really was.

Aiko sat under the sakura tree near the back of the courtyard, where no one really came unless they were lost or hiding. Her fingers fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve. The sun filtered gently through the pink petals above her, making patterns on her notebook, but she hadn’t written a word.

Her eyes stayed on the locket in her hand.

It was small and dull now. The kind that people might overlook. But not her.

She turned it over in her fingers once… twice… then finally let it open.

Inside was a tiny, faded photo. A man smiling softly at a little girl. He had a worn-out uniform and kind eyes. The little girl looked like she didn’t know how to pose, caught mid-laugh.

It was the only photo she had left from back then.

She didn’t remember every detail of that night. But she remembered the warmth of his hand. The way he told her to be brave. How he didn’t think twice before saving her.

He never made it out of that car.

And Aiko had never said his name since.

---

She snapped the locket shut when she heard footsteps approaching.

She slipped it into her pocket just as Riku walked past. He didn’t see her right away.

Then he slowed.

Looking at her.

He didn’t say anything at first.

"Hey..." he said after a moment, like he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to say.

Aiko glanced up. “Hey.”

He studied her for a second, like trying to place something.

“You’ve got that look.”

“What look?”

“That ‘I’m thinking too hard and pretending I’m not’ look.”

She let out a small breath, almost a laugh. “You caught me.”

He tilted his head. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

Aiko hesitated. Not long. Just enough for it to feel like a choice.

“No,” she said softly. “I don’t think so.”

He gave a small nod, then walked on. But she could feel his curiosity hanging in the air, even after he disappeared around the corner.

Don’t remember me yet, she thought.

Not until I’m ready to be who I was.

---

Elsewhere in the school, Reine sat at her desk in the student council room, flipping through messages on her phone without really reading them.

Someone had mentioned the new girl again

Aiko Minazuki .

The name didn’t bother her. It was ordinary. Nothing worth remembering.

But the face?

That bothered her.

There was something about it she couldn’t shake.

“She has that look,” Reine muttered, not realizing she’d spoken aloud.

One of her followers looked up. “What look?”

Reine narrowed her eyes. “Like she knows something I don’t.”

She swirled her drink without sipping it.

Or like I’ve seen her before. Somewhere that mattered.

---

Later that evening, Aiko found her way back to the rooftop. The sun had dipped low by then. The sky was soft and blue, the kind of blue that made everything feel slower.

Haruki was already there, arms over the railing, looking out like he didn’t care if anyone joined him or not.

“You again,” he said without turning.

“You don’t own the roof,” Aiko replied, leaning beside him.

He shrugged. “You’re not exactly subtle. You always walk like you're trying to blend into the wind.”

“I used to come up here a long time ago,” she said.

“That so?”

She nodded.

“I like places that don’t forget.”

Haruki looked over at her, really looked this time. “You talk like you’ve lived here before.”

“Maybe I have.”

He smirked a little, then stopped. “…You’re weird.”

“I get that a lot.”

They stayed there for a while, not really talking. The silence didn’t feel awkward.

It just felt… quiet.

Safe.

---

That night, in the stillness of her dorm, Aiko held the locket beneath her pillow. She didn’t open it this time.

She just kept her eyes on the ceiling, tracing invisible lines in the dark.

Some truths don’t need to be spoken yet.

Some are too heavy to share.

I haven’t forgotten who I am.

And when the time is right… they’ll remember too...