The Girl near the Window

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.

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