(Kiyomi's POV)
Sunday mornings have a strange way of making everything feel slower — softer, quieter.
The kind of morning where the world feels half-awake, and all you can hear are the thoughts you've been trying to ignore.
I sat by my bedroom window, knees pulled to my chest, watching the sunlight slip through the curtains. The sleepover ended just yesterday, but the memories clung to me like perfume — faint, but impossible to shake off.
Minato's voice.
His smile.
That moment in the kitchen.
Every time I thought about it, my heart would skip, then fall heavy again — because nothing about it felt normal anymore.
Ayumi peeked into my room around 9 a.m.
Ayumi: You're up early.
Kiyomi: Couldn't sleep.
Ayumi:(Teasing) Still thinking about your guests?
I tried to smile, but she caught it — that slight blush, that tiny hesitation.
Ayumi:(Softly) Kiyomi… just don't "get hurt", okay?
I wanted to fight back and tell her "It's not like that" but I couldn't, because my heart didn't agree with that.
Then she left, leaving the scent of her perfume behind and too many thoughts in my head.
Later that morning, I found Minato outside, sitting under the maple tree near the side of our house. He was flipping through a notebook — sketching, maybe — his eyes distant.
Kiyomi: You're still here.
Minato:(Smiling faintly) Didn't feel like going home yet.
He looked peaceful, but there was a faint exhaustion in his voice — the kind that came from somewhere deeper than sleeplessness.
Kiyomi: You should rest.
Minato: I'm fine, Kiyomi. Don't worry so much.
He said it like it was nothing — but that's exactly why I worried more.
We didn't talk much after that. Just sat there, letting the morning drift around us.
The silence wasn't awkward — it was… safe.
Until it started to feel like something was ending.
Around noon, Hinata sent a message to our group chat.
"Hinata: Morning, everyone. Thanks for the sleepover. It was… fun.
Akio: Yeah. Fun.
Asahi: We should do that again sometime.
Minato: Sure.
Kiyomi: Definitely."
The word definitely felt heavier than it should.
Because deep down, I could tell — we wouldn't have another night like that again.
(Hinata's POV)
(A quiet emotional window from her thoughts)
I lay on my bed, headphones on, staring at the ceiling.
The music couldn't drown out the memory of Minato and Kiyomi in the kitchen, or the way Akio looked at me when I laughed with Asahi.
I missed how things used to be — before feelings got in the way, before everyone started hiding things behind smiles.
I texted Akio, "You okay?"
He saw it, but didn't reply.
(Akio's POV)
I stood by my window, gripping my phone, staring at the unread message from Hinata.
I wasn't angry — just tired.
Tired of watching people drift away from me, tired of pretending that Kiyomi and Minato's closeness didn't bother me.
I thought about Asahi's laughter with Hinata — the way she smiled at him. Something twisted in my chest.
"Why does everyone keep looking at someone else?"
(Asahi's POV )
I was the only one who didn't sleep much last night — because something about Minato's calm didn't sit right with me.
That faint cough Minato tried to hide, that unusual stillness, that moment in the hallway when Minato held his chest briefly, thinking no one noticed.
I did.
And I couldn't shake the thought: "There's something wrong".
But then, when I thought about Hinata's smile in the backyard, my heart softened — and my suspicions faded.
Back to (Kiyomi's POV)
By evening, everyone had gone home.
The house was quiet again — too quiet.
I sat on my bed, hugging my pillow, scrolling through our group chat one last time. No new messages. Just a few emojis, half-hearted goodbyes.
It felt like we were all slipping into our own corners again — back to our lives, our secrets, our hearts.
The kind of quiet that comes before something changes.
I didn't know what tomorrow would bring.
But I could already feel it — the distance, the tension, the weight of things unsaid waiting for Monday to begin.
I sighed and whispered, almost to myself,
"Minato… please don't drift away from me."