As he was dreaming where he was standing in the greenhouse and a voice echoed behind as he turned around it was Kaori!
he woke up it was still early in the morning both ken and taka were asleep.
He didn't know what to say it was just a dream can't take it too seriously..
He washed his face, changed his clothes
Made a cup of tea.put his things into the bag,looked outside in the window the sky was cloudy the view was dark blue sun hasn't rose yet.
Shoya left the dorm with a copy of the
name Minami Ayaka scribbled at the top of his notebook, circled twice. As he was drinking the tea and walking the city not knowing where to go exactly he just wanted to kill some time until it's lecture time.
He was watching his notebook as he was writing stuff in it last night.
The page was a mess of arrows and half-thoughts:
"Kaori → Naomi?
Ayaka → disappeared
garden?
photo = greenhouse!
He didn't know what to make of it yet. But the web was spreading. That much was clear.
And Naomi?
She was standing right in the middle of it, unmoving, unreadable.
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Later that morning — literature class.
Naomi sat across the room, two rows ahead, pencil moving in clean, quiet strokes.
She hadn't looked back once.
Shoya tried not to glance at her, but he failed. Repeatedly.
Every time her hand lifted to tuck her hair behind her ear, his eyes followed.
Every time her body shifted slightly in her seat, it echoed in him like a tremor.
And the worst part — he missed her. He missed her whispers, her calm presence.
He felt like he was ignoring her for years and he was guilty.
He missed… whatever they were building before all this.
After class, he stood.
"Naomi," he called.
She froze. Slightly turned red.
But didn't turn around.
Shoya stopped a few steps behind her.
"I—" he started, voice catching. "good morning..."
She nodded, eyes still on her notebook.
"good morning shoya" she said.
"Okay," he replied softly. "Would you like to come and grab something together after lectures?"
A pause.
Then she finally turned her head, just a little. Her eyes looking everywhere except him.
Naomi: "…Thanks, but i can't today i have something else to do..."she hesitated.
Shoya: " ahh... then Ok maybe next time. If you needed anything just tell me"
Naomi nodded and said: " Thank you... now if you'd excuse me "
Then she walked away again.
( Asuna noticed them)
Afternoon. Library Courtyard.
A breeze drifted through the maples as Shoya sat at an outdoor bench, notebook in lap.
He flipped the page.
"Minami Ayaka"
→ Art Club?
→ Connection to Kaori: ???
At the bottom, he wrote:
"Ask Professor Amari?"
He wasn't sure if it was the right move — not yet.
A buzzing vibration broke his train of thought. He checked his phone.
No new messages.
No Naomi.
He considered texting her… but stopped himself.
She had looked so… closed off earlier.
He didn't want to push her.
Instead, he pocketed the phone and leaned back against the bench.
Eyes closed.
Breath slow.
Thoughts spinning like leaves in water.
Around him
, the courtyard shifted: pages turned, footsteps passed, laughter drifted in from some far edge of campus. But none of it reached him.
His eyes were fixed on a blank space between the words he'd written.
"Ask Professor Amari?"
He circled it once, then drew a hesitant line through it.
The name Minami Ayaka sat there, untouched. She was the quiet thread unraveling from Kaori's past.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and stared into his open notebook again.
His own handwriting looked foreign. Like a stranger had written it.
As he was killing time.
A voice reached him
" i see you are sitting alone"
It was Asuna.
Shoya opened his eyes. And said " oh hello Asuna"
Asuna: " Where is Naomi?"
Shoya looked at her kinda surprised: " Not here, said she has something to do"
Asuna: " i see i see, so how is it going between you two?"
Shoya: " it wasn't like there was something between us from the start"
Asuna: " are you sure ..hmmm?! Why i don't see it that way!"
Shoya: " you must be imagining haha... and i don't know what's going on with her"
Shoya: " these days i have been searching to know exactly what happened to Kaori and strange things happened actually strange to me, and i have been ignoring her ever since just a hi from here and there. Like we are back to where we were."
Asuna: " you mustn't overthink it... and why approached her from the beginning? And why ignoring her now?"
Shoya : " i don't know why this Kaori became my matter, i think there is something for me to find, and somehow i think Naomi is involved in it and i can't bring myself to discuss it with her."
Asuna:" to me Naomi is just desperate. Look if Naomi is more important to you or finding the truth behind Kaori's, then you know what to do " she said that sipping from her latte .
Shoya : " huh?"
Asuna: " what i mean is that why don't you try and talk to her more directly with her, as you say she is connected to that matter. I know it will be better for both of you"
Shoya: " you may be right i will think about it "
Asuna: " No need to take it seriously, you guys have things in common, im sure you will get what you are looking for this way".
She stood up brushing her skirt going to put the latter cup into the trashbin close to them.
She said " there is a festival in the next 2 days something we design club are working on it, invite her ,come and enjoy...hehe ~"
With a smile on her face she went away..
Shoya was still sitting on the bench and thinking what he talked about with Asuna, she was right in some points you can't get to your destination if you don't know the direction, so better ask for one.
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To be continued in chapter 15...