The Girl Beneath the Tree
—-Ryu—-
The afternoon sun slanted low in the sky, its golden light spilling through the tall windows and washing the classroom in a warm, drowsy glow. It stretched across the polished floorboards, warming the room and giving the soft shadows of desks and chairs a hazy edge. Dust floated lazily in the beams of sunlight, drifting in delicate spirals, caught midair like time had slowed.
Then came the sound we had all been waiting for.
The school bell rang, clean and clear, signaling the end of the day. The final note hung in the air for a moment, then dissolved, leaving behind the collective exhale of an entire class.
A sigh escaped from every corner of the room, like a balloon finally losing its air. Shoulders relaxed. Pens dropped. A few students leaned back in their seats dramatically, others stretched and yawned like they had just survived something unbearable.
"That's all for today." The teacher pushed up his glasses with two fingers as he closed the lesson planner on his desk with a soft thud. His tone was the same tired cadence we had heard all week. "Don't forget. Your homework is due tomorrow. If there are no questions, then you're all dismissed."
The moment he left the room and the door clicked quietly shut behind him, the classroom broke into motion.
The once-orderly space filled with the growing noise of conversation and movement. Some students were already zipping up their bags, others huddled together beside desks, chatting about weekend plans or club meetings. The screech of chairs pushing back across the floor mixed with the rustling of papers and the occasional burst of laughter.
I sat still for a few seconds longer, letting the noise rise around me without really taking part in it.
It had been over a month since I stepped through the gates of Mikami Private Academy, not as a visitor, but as a student. Thirty-six days in a new uniform, in new halls, surrounded by new faces that didn't know who I really was.
And still, even now.
A hand came down lightly on my shoulder, breaking my thoughts.
I turned and looked up to find Taishi Yasunaga standing beside me, a calm presence amid the shifting energy of the room. The sunlight caught the frames of his glasses, reflecting a soft gleam across the lenses. His expression was unreadable as always, somewhere between mild amusement and perpetual tiredness.
His dark blue hair, neatly styled, gave him a serious look that most people mistook for maturity. But I knew better. He was sharp, observant, and rarely said more than necessary. That was Taishi.
"Are you heading anywhere after this?" he asked casually, his voice steady and composed like it always was.
I blinked and shifted my posture, snapping out of whatever haze I had drifted into. I slung my bag over my shoulder in one smooth motion, the beige-colored vest of my uniform shifting with the motion, catching the last of the afternoon light. "Hmm… I think I left something at the gym earlier." The lie slipped out of my mouth without pause. My tone was practiced, too practiced.
"You and Emilia go on ahead. I'll catch up." I added.
He barely had time to reply before I stood and made my way toward the door. My steps were brisk but not rushed. Just fast enough to avoid any follow-up questions. I didn't need to see their reactions. I could feel their eyes on my back, the murmurs beginning to form.
"Why's he in such a hurry again?"
"He always disappears after class lately."
"Maybe he's meeting someone?"
None of them knew anything. They didn't know about my family. They didn't know that the name NISHIHARA meant anything at all. And that was how I wanted it. That part of me stayed hidden, locked behind the polished surface of my uniform and my silence.
Only two people at Mikami knew the truth.
Back in the classroom, Taishi sighed quietly and adjusted the strap of his bag. "Guess we're on our own again."
Standing next to him was Emilia Campbell, already slipping her phone into her side pocket. Her long, straight blonde hair gleamed under the soft afternoon light, neatly framed by the white headband she always wore. Her maroon-colored sailor uniform looked as crisp as ever, not a wrinkle in sight.
She looked toward the doorway I had just exited and gave a small smirk. "Who knows what he's up to this time?"
Taishi raised an eyebrow. "You're still thinking about that iced coffee, aren't you?"
"You promised, remember?" she replied, tilting her head playfully.
Taishi groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I was afraid of that."
Meanwhile, I moved through the hallway.
The third floor was bathed in light, brighter than the lower levels. Sunlight poured through the windows and stretched long shadows across the smooth floors. The walls were quiet here, the footsteps more spaced apart. Students moved calmly, talking in hushed tones, some alone, some walking together in twos.
I wasn't heading to the gym.
I had never planned to.
My feet took me along a familiar path, one I had followed too many times in recent days. I didn't need a map. I didn't need to think.
The second-year classrooms were on this floor. Older students. More composed. They never loitered like the first-years. They just packed up and left, leaving behind a silence that almost felt sacred.
I slowed my pace as I walked past the classroom doors.
2-C. A few students were still packing up.
2-D. A group of girls chatting near the front. Not her.
2-E. I swallowed. My fingers tensed around my bag strap.
2-F. Empty. Just chairs and quiet air.
Nowhere.
I sighed, the breath long and quiet, and walked to the end of the corridor. I leaned against the windowsill, the metal warm beneath my hand. A soft breeze floated in through the open window, brushing against my face and stirring my hair slightly.
From here, the entire campus stretched below me.
The trees lining the courtyard swayed gently, their leaves glowing in the sun's fading light. The stone pathways, the flower beds, the benches, all arranged with precision and care. I could see the gates far off in the distance, where students were already trickling out toward the main road.
And among them, I spotted two familiar figures.
Taishi was checking his watch. His expression was exactly what I expected, calm with just a hint of impatience. Emilia stood beside him, scrolling through her phone with one hand while the other toyed with the strap of her bag.
I told them I would catch up.
I should go back.
But I didn't move.
That restless feeling hadn't left me. If anything, it had grown. It clung to me like a shadow, always at my heels. I couldn't name it. I couldn't explain it. But it was there. This pull. This sense that something was out of place.
That someone was missing.
I remembered her again. That quiet girl under the tree. The one who didn't flinch when our eyes met. The one who returned to her book like I had never been there.
She was still in my mind, as vivid as the moment I saw her.
I didn't know her name.
But I would.
Eventually.
I clenched my fists gently, staring out the window as the light deepened to gold and the wind carried the distant murmur of students below.
Someday, I'll find her.
For now, all I could do was wait.