Confidante

The episode opens with a gloomy classroom the morning after the fight. Hikari hasn’t shown up yet. Renji sits at his desk, staring blankly at his notes, barely turning the page. His usually neat handwriting looks messy. Whispers float around him:

---

Girl A (whispering):

“Didn’t Momose storm out on him yesterday?”

Girl B (snickering):

“Guess the nerd couldn’t handle her after all.”Renji grips his pencil tightly, his face hidden behind his bangs. Then—softly—a gentle voice beside him.

---

Mizuki Arai

(quietly, setting a carton of milk on his desk)

“You’ll break your pencil if you keep holding it like that.”

Renji blinks, looking up. Mizuki sits next to him, her short dark hair tucked behind her ear, expression calm. She pushes the milk toward him without meeting his eyes.

Renji Aozora

(hesitant)

“…Arai-san?”

Mizuki

(soft smile)

“You looked like you needed it. …Besides, I think people are being unfair.”

Renji stares, caught off guard. Mizuki tilts her head slightly, eyes calm but kind.

---

Mizuki

“Momose-san laughs with everyone… but the way she laughs with you feels different. So… don’t let rumors make you doubt yourself.”

Renji’s eyes widen. No one has ever spoken to him that directly before. He swallows hard, unsure how to reply.

---

Cut to later—library after school. Renji sits across from Mizuki, textbooks open. She quietly explains a math problem to him, her voice calm and precise. He notices the edge of a sketch peeking from her notebook.

---

Renji

(surprised)

“…You draw too?”

Mizuki blinks, then blushes slightly, closing the notebook halfway.

---

Mizuki

“A little. Not like you. I’ve seen your sketches before… they’re amazing.”

Renji’s face heats up. No one besides Hikari has ever praised his drawings. Mizuki looks down, fiddling with her pencil nervously.

---

Mizuki

“…Honestly, I think it’s cool. You put your feelings into your art. That’s… something I wish I could do.”Meanwhile—cut to Hikari. She’s in her room, sitting cross-legged with open books in front of her but clearly not studying. Her phone lights up with Renji’s contact. She hovers her thumb over the call button, then pulls back, biting her lip.

---

Hikari (inner monologue):

“…Why can’t I just say sorry? …Glasses-kun, what if you don’t even want to see me anymore?”

She tosses her phone onto the bed and flops backward, staring at the ceiling, trying to hide the sting in her chest.

Back to the library. The sun sets outside, bathing Renji and Mizuki in golden light. Renji looks at her, the weight in his chest lightening for the first time since the fight. Mizuki notices, smiling faintly.

---

Mizuki

(quiet, almost to herself)

“…You don’t have to carry it all alone, Aozora-kun. If you ever need someone to talk to… I’ll listen.”

Renji blinks, stunned by her sincerity. For the first time, someone other than Hikari is reaching out to him. The camera pans out: Renji and Mizuki at the table, two notebooks open, a fragile connection beginning to grow.

Author: Sorry for not updating for a long time 😓, i lost my inspiration for a while, but now I got it all, I might even release a new novel. So look out for that too, bye !

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