Something floated down softly from above. Ayato caught it mostly out of
reflex.
Gleaming brightly in the morning sunlight of early summer, it had looked
for a moment like a pure white feather—but once it was in his hand, he could
see it was just an ordinary handkerchief.
Judging from the cute yet clumsily stitched flower embroidery, it was
probably not store-bought, but handmade. It did not feel very new, and with a
closer look, he could see where it had been mended.
He could practically feel the affection its owner had for it. This
handkerchief couldn’t possibly have been discarded on purpose.
“Did it get caught in the wind…?” he wondered. But from where? As he
turned to look around for the answer, he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Ayato himself had just come to this city—to Seidoukan Academy. He had
arrived a little earlier than planned and decided to take a stroll around campus
to kill time. But the grounds were so vast that now he had no idea where he
was. He wasn’t exactly lost, since he had simply followed the promenade.
Still, there was little hope of a newcomer like himself finding the
handkerchief’s owner.
“Oh, well. I guess I’ll just take it to the office later.”
He was about to meet the student council president anyway, so he could
just hand it over then. With that thought, Ayato neatly folded the
handkerchief and placed it in his pocket.
It was still early but a nice time to be outside. The promenade wound
through lush trees full of the cheerful chirping of birds.
