I was already almost at school when I noticed a familiar figure ahead.
Black, slightly tousled hair.
Ordinary school uniform.
Short stature.
Haruto.
He was walking unhurriedly, slinging his bag over his shoulder, and talking about something with the girl next to him.
Mio.
Seeing her in person, I involuntarily whistled to myself.
Even knowing her from the game, it was hard not to acknowledge the obvious.
A bright, athletic beauty.
A toned, athletic body, long slender legs, and the confident gait of someone who has been doing sports for many years. Her short hair swayed slightly with every step, and a lively, mischievous smile constantly played on her face.
She spoke loudly, gesturing actively.
— I’m telling you! If you forget your uniform again, I’ll drag you back home myself! Hey, are you even listening?!
Haruto scratched the back of his head guiltily.
— I’m listening… I’m listening.
— Liar!
She lightly elbowed him in the shoulder, without any malice.
— Ow…
— See! You weren’t listening!
I couldn’t help but smile.
This was exactly how I remembered them.
Not as a potential couple.
But as friends who grew up together.
At that moment, another familiar figure appeared ahead.
Yuki.
She emerged from an alley, tightly clutching her bag to her chest.
At first, her gaze slid across the street…
…and then immediately stopped on Haruto.
I literally saw her expression change.
Her tense shoulders relaxed.
Warmth appeared in her eyes.
A very light, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips.
She didn’t speed up.
She didn’t call out to him.
She just… looked.
The way people look at someone they’ve been hopelessly in love with for a long time.
— Damn… — I muttered under my breath.
Mio also noticed her almost immediately.
She followed the direction of Yuki’s gaze.
Then looked at Haruto.
Then back at Yuki.
A faint, understanding smile appeared on her face.
No irritation.
No jealousy.
Rather… light sympathy.
She understood everything perfectly.
But she said nothing.
She just waved her hand friendly.
— Yuki! Good morning!
Yuki seemed to snap out of it.
Her cheeks instantly flushed pink.
— G-Good morning…
She bowed awkwardly and came closer.
Haruto smiled too.
— Good morning, Yuki.
— G-Good morning…
And that was it.
The entire conversation.
But even those few seconds were enough to understand far more than any dialogue.
Yuki literally glowed next to him.
I slowly shifted my gaze to Haruto.
He calmly adjusted the strap of his bag.
Yawned.
Looked at the sky.
Then started telling Mio about a new game that came out on the weekend.
…
Seriously?
I looked at Yuki again.
Then at Haruto.
Then back at Yuki.
She was literally looking at him with heart-shaped eyes right now.
Are you blind or what?!
It was at that moment that I finally understood one thing.
No.
All those routes, confessions, and romance didn’t happen because Haruto was incredibly perceptive.
But despite how often he noticed absolutely nothing around him.
Haruto suddenly slapped himself on the forehead.
— Shit…
— What now? — Mio narrowed her eyes immediately.
— I think I left the manga at home.
Mio sighed heavily.
— I knew it…
— No, not that one. The new one. Today Yuki wanted…
He faltered and looked guiltily at the girl.
— …I mean, I wanted to let you read it.
Yuki froze for a second.
— Ah… i-it’s okay… I… can do it later…
— Sorry. I’ll bring it tonight if I don’t forget.
— Just try forgetting it again! — Mio poked his forehead with her finger without malice. — You have the memory of a goldfish.
— Hey, that’s mean.
— Because it’s true!
I couldn’t help but smirk.
There it was.
Something that was never in the game.
In the visual novel, such conversations were simply skipped.
I pressed the button.
«Move to school.»
End of scene.
But now…
In front of me were not game characters.
Just ordinary teenagers.
They talked about all sorts of nonsense.
Teased each other.
Got embarrassed.
Laughed.
…Lived.
And for some reason, this made a much stronger impression than any plot twist.
At that moment, Mio suddenly raised her head.
Her gaze accidentally slid across the street…
…and stopped directly on me.
The smile slowly faded from her face.
She tensed up almost imperceptibly.
Haruto, noticing the change in her expression, also turned around.
Yuki turned around a moment later.
…
Three pairs of eyes met mine.
Yuki turned pale almost instantly.
Her fingers clutching the bag strap tightened so hard that her knuckles went white.
Haruto said nothing.
He simply became a little more attentive.
No challenge.
No aggression.
But I noticed how he almost imperceptibly took half a step forward.
Just enough to position himself between me and the girls.
…
“Instinctively…”
I wasn’t even offended.
On the contrary.
If you throw everything else away…
It was the action of a normal guy.
Mio also said nothing.
She looked at me attentively, as if trying to determine whether all the rumors about Kurosaki Ren were true.
For a few seconds, a strange silence hung over the street.
I mentally smirked.
“Well then… first meeting.”
For a few seconds we just looked at each other.
Strange…
In the game, this moment looked completely different.
Although no.
It didn’t exist at all.
I quietly exhaled.
“Alright.”
“Enough acting like something special is about to happen.”
I calmly nodded.
— Good morning.
No smirk.
No challenge.
No mockery.
Just a normal greeting.
Without waiting for a response, I walked past them toward the school.
…
Behind me, silence lingered for a few more seconds.
Mio was the first to break it.
— Was that… Kurosaki just now?
Haruto slowly nodded.
— Probably.
— I heard some new guy is transferring to our class today… — Yuki said quietly, still looking after me. — I think… his last name is Kurosaki…
— Yeah, — Mio crossed her arms over her chest. — But the rumors about him are pretty creepy.
— What kind? — Haruto asked.
— Different ones. They say he was constantly getting into fights. That he was almost expelled from his previous school.
Yuki shivered slightly.
— And… he looks really scary…
Haruto thoughtfully looked in my direction.
— But…
— What?
— He just said hello.
Mio shrugged.
— Maybe.
Or maybe he’s just good at making a first impression.
Don’t forget, we don’t know him at all.
I couldn’t help but smirk.
“And that’s right.”
“Don’t believe it.”
“If I heard such rumors about a stranger, I’d be cautious too.”
First impressions rarely change someone else’s opinion.
Especially when a bad reputation has already formed around you.