𝑆𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐴𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. | 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐢

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚.

"Which is better—short hair or long hair?" Rumi asked, flipping her hair back dramatically as they strolled to school. The morning sun danced through the leaves, casting playful shadows on the pavement.

"No, long hair suits you better. Please don't cut it short," Keigo chimed in, sounding almost serious for once, a hint of protectiveness in his tone.

"What? Short hair would look way better on you," Emi countered, laughter bubbling up as she envisioned Rumi sporting a bob cut, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

As they walked, Emi sighed, already growing tired of their silly debate. She glanced up at the sky, letting the cool breeze tug gently at her hair, momentarily tuning them out.

"Do you two really need to debate everything?" she muttered under her breath, a hint of exasperation lacing her words.

Keigo smirked, his playful demeanor unwavering. "It's how we keep things interesting, right, Rumi?,"

Rumi rolled her eyes but couldn’t suppress a grin. "Better than listening to you ramble about food all day."

Their banter filled the air with warmth as they continued down the street, laughter echoing around them. Just as Keigo launched into another sarcastic remark, Rumi playfully shoved him—perhaps a bit too hard.

"Careful there, sass queen," he teased, but before he could finish, he lost his balance, flailing his arms dramatically as he nearly stumbled into the canal.

"What the hell, Rumi?!" Keigo exclaimed, barely managing to stay upright, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Rumi burst into laughter, unable to contain herself. "Oh shit... my bad. Didn’t think you'd be that easy to knock over."

Emi shook her head, stifling a giggle. "You two are so chaotic…"

Keigo shot Rumi a mock glare. "One of these days, you're gonna pay for that, Rumi. Just wait."

Rumi grinned, unfazed. "Mhm, yeaaah, whatever."

As they neared the school, the hallways buzzed with the energy of students hustling to their classrooms. Emi trailed slightly behind Rumi and Keigo, her thoughts drifting until she overheard something that made her pause—a mention of a new transfer student.

❛❛𝘿𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮? 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨!❜❜ one student whispered excitedly, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

❛❛𝙄 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙-𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙤. 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨?❜❜

❛❛𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮? 𝙄 𝘾𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚?❜❜ another replied, eye wide with anticipation.

Intrigued, Emi leaned in to catch the rest of the conversation, but suddenly felt a tug on her arm.

"Come on, Emi! You're gonna get left behind," Rumi said, half-dragging her down the hallway.

"Wait, I was listening to that!" Emi protested, glancing back at the group of students. Rumi merely grinned at her, clearly enjoying the teasing. "You're way too nosy sometimes, you know that?"