The alarm rang exactly at 5:30.
I opened my eyes by habit even before the second signal.
“I’m already starting to get used to it…”
Getting up from the bed, the first thing I did was walk to the window.
The city was just waking up.
Rare cars.
Cool morning air.
Silence.
It was precisely for moments like these that I loved early training.
I quickly washed my face, brushed my teeth, and headed to the kitchen.
As usual, breakfast looked more like a ration for a small family.
Several packs of rice.
Chicken breast.
Eggs.
Oatmeal.
A couple of bananas.
A liter of milk.
All of this disappeared in less than twenty minutes.
I just smirked.
“No matter how much I eat — it all goes into muscle.”
After breakfast, I quickly took a cool shower.
Dried my hair.
Put on black compression shorts, loose sports shorts on top, a light T-shirt, and a tracksuit jacket.
The phone habitually went into my pocket.
Today I would need to shoot a few more shorts.
I was already about to open the door.
Click.
The door of the apartment opposite opened first.
Yuki carefully peeked out from it.
Seeing me, she noticeably perked up.
Although she tried to pretend she had just happened to come out right at that moment.
“She was on guard.”
“She’s not even trying to hide it.”
I smiled.
“Good morning, Amano-san.”
She immediately straightened her shoulders.
“Good morning, Kurisaki-kun!”
Her voice already sounded much more confident.
Nothing like a few days ago.
I nodded approvingly.
“There.
That’s a completely different matter.”
She smiled shyly.
“I’m trying.”
We left the entrance together and headed toward the small stadium.
For the first few minutes we talked about trifles…
About school.
About the weather.
About the new anime series she managed to watch in the evening.
Yuki no longer stumbled over every word.
Sometimes she even started the conversation herself.
The progress was noticeable to the naked eye.
After a few minutes, the familiar private houses appeared.
I habitually looked ahead.
And involuntarily smiled.
“Really…”
The door of Hayato’s house opened.
Mio was the first to step onto the porch — exactly in those same black leggings we chose yesterday.
They fit her perfectly. They tightly hugged her thighs and especially effectively emphasized her main pride — a sporty, firm, ideally round ass. Every muscle was visible, the shape was clear, seductive, but at the same time remained athletic. The leggings slightly glistened in the morning sun, accentuating every movement.
Hayato, still sleepy, followed her, adjusting his sports top on the go.
“Good morning, Kagami-san… Thanks for waking me up. I definitely would have overslept on my own.”
Mio awkwardly looked away, trying to keep herself together.
“No… no problem. We run together anyway.”
She was clearly trying to act calmer than usual. Without the usual teasing, without punching him on the shoulder. She just smiled softly.
Hayato looked at her… and froze for a second.
His gaze involuntarily slid downward — along her legs, thighs, and especially to that very part that the leggings so openly emphasized. He quickly looked away, but it was already too late.
“You… by the way…” he scratched the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. “The new outfit looks good.”
Mio froze.
“Huh?..”
“Well… the leggings. They look… sporty.”
He coughed, blushing more and more.
“In general… beautiful.”
Mio instantly turned crimson to the tips of her ears. She sharply turned away, trying to hide the smile that appeared on her face against her will.
“Th-thank you…”
I stood a little to the side and watched all this with a satisfied smirk.
“Got him.”
Even such a simple step had already produced results. Hayato, who had always seen Mio only as a childhood friend, suddenly saw her for the first time as a girl. His embarrassment was visible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, Mio tried to pull herself together, but the tips of her ears were still red.
“Okay…” she muttered. “Let’s run already, or we’ll just stand here.”
Hayato nodded, still somewhat flustered, and they jogged together along the morning road.
I watched them go and thought:
“Good. The first stone has been moved.”
“Now the main thing is not to stop.”

Yuki stopped almost silently next to me.
While we waited for the others, I watched her out of the corner of my eye.
A minute ago she was smiling, even laughing at Hayato’s latest awkwardness.
But now…
Her gaze was fixed on something completely different.
Mio and Hayato had come out of the same house.
They were talking cheerfully about something.
And then Hayato, embarrassed, still managed to compliment her.
Yuki imperceptibly lowered her head.
Her thin fingers slowly clenched the sleeve of her sports top.
She was still smiling.
Trying very hard to look normal.
But her eyes…
A quiet sadness appeared in them.
I just mentally smirked.
“It’s working.”

We ran at our usual slow pace.
Hayato and Mio gradually moved ahead.
Yuki didn’t even try to catch up with them today.
She silently looked down at her feet.
One step.
Another.
A third.
It was clear — she was thinking hard about something.
Finally she made up her mind.
“Kurisaki-kun…”
“Hm?”
She gathered her thoughts for a few more seconds.
“Can I…
Ask one question?”
“Of course.”
Yuki took a deep breath.
“Why…
Did you and Mio-san go to the mall yesterday?”
I pretended the question surprised me a little.
“Because she asked for help.
Just like you asked once.”
Yuki bit her lower lip.
“But…”
She fell silent.
I deliberately didn’t rush her.
“You promised to help me…
I promised.”
“And did I stop?”
She immediately shook her head.
“N-No…”
“Then?”
She looked away.
“It just…
Seemed to me…
That now you’ll be spending time with her…”
She said the last words almost in a whisper.
I laughed quietly.
Not mockingly.
Rather calmly.
“Amano-san.”
She looked up.
“Imagine a doctor.
If he has several patients…
It doesn’t mean he stops treating the first one.”
She thought for a moment.
“Probably…”
“It’s the same here.
You got your task.
Kagami-san got hers.
And then everything depends on you.”
Yuki slowly exhaled.
As if she had only just stopped holding the tension inside.
“I…
Seemed to have overthought it too much.”
“It happens.”
She laughed quietly.
Just a little.
But it was enough.
Her shoulders relaxed again.
Her breathing evened out.
Familiar softness returned to her eyes.
“That’s good.”
“You calmed down.”
“Because you got exactly what you were afraid of losing.
My attention.”
“It begins.
First a person is happy when everything works out when they are with you.
Then they start seeking your approval.
Then they feel calmer if you walk beside them.
And one day they realize they no longer want to be without you.”
“The main thing is not to rush.”
“Such things grow gradually.”
Outwardly, I just calmly smiled.
“By the way…”
Yuki looked at me questioningly.
“Today there will be a new task.”
Her face immediately lit up.
“Really?”
“Of course.
You’re not planning to stop at what you’ve achieved, right?”
She energetically shook her head.
“No!”
“Then after school we’ll meet again at the mall.
No more simple exercises.
It’s time to move to the next stage.”
Yuki even slightly quickened her step.
“Okay!
I’ll definitely come!”
“That’s my smart girl.”
“The stronger you believe that I’m leading you forward…
The stronger you become attached to me.”

The rest of the morning training went as usual.
While Hayato, Mio, and Yuki were warming up, I habitually set up my phone on the tripod.
Short videos won’t shoot themselves.
Today I recorded exercises for starting speed, a couple of variants of explosive push-ups, and a new leg complex.
Several takes.
Quick editing right on the phone.
Done.
I could post it after school.
When Mio and I stepped up to the starting line again, I almost immediately noticed something amusing.
No…
Not even amusing.
Rather expected.
Hayato could barely take his eyes off her.
Or rather…
He tried very hard not to look.
But his gaze still returned again and again to the new leggings.
Especially when Mio got into a low starting position or bent over while warming up her legs.
He immediately looked away embarrassedly.
A few seconds later he looked again.
And looked away again.
“Ah, Sakurai-san…”
“No matter how much you convince yourself that the person in front of you is just a childhood friend…
Instincts still work faster than the brain.”
After the third run, Mio carefully approached me.
She made sure Hayato couldn’t hear us, and only then spoke quietly.
“Kurisaki-kun…”
“What is it?”
She nervously adjusted the hem of her top.
Then unconsciously ran her palm over her thigh, as if checking if everything was okay with the leggings.
“What do you think…
Maybe…
I shouldn’t wear something like this after all?”
I looked her straight in the eyes.
“Is this the same girl who yesterday declared she was ready to fight for her love?”
Mio guiltily looked away.
“I…
It’s just…
He keeps looking…”
Her cheeks instantly turned red.
“And I… somehow…”
I smiled.
“Awkward?”
She nodded almost imperceptibly.
“Very…”
“Then answer honestly.
You yourself wanted him to finally see you as a girl, right?”
She froze.
She was silent for a few seconds.
Then quietly exhaled.
“Yes…”
“Then don’t take a step back after the first success.”
She looked at the track under her feet for a long time.
Then suddenly smiled.
Just a little.
“I understand…
Thank you, Kurisaki-kun.”
After that, she returned to the starting line with a completely different expression on her face.
And she ran the next laps much more confidently than before.

We reached school as usual, as a whole group.
Mio, as always, walked briskly ahead, occasionally arguing with Ayaka.
Yuki walked next to me and Hayato. Today she no longer hid behind others and even supported the conversation herself. Sometimes she joked at Hayato’s expense, which only made him embarrassedly scratch the back of his head.
The progress was noticeable.
I smiled contentedly.
“This is much better.”
Classes went calmly.
In math, I was already automatically solving problems faster than most of the class.
In English, I answered without hesitation.
Even the teachers started paying less attention to me.
“Excellent.”
“The less noticeable I am now — the easier it is to move the plot forward.”

During the second break, preparation for the next stage began.
Amano-sensei entered the classroom with her usual stack of papers.
She quickly handed out printouts, made a few announcements, and, as always, placed the bunch of keys on the edge of the teacher’s desk.
I automatically noted them with my eyes.
“There they are.”
A couple of minutes later, the teacher was distracted by two students from the neighboring class.
She went out into the corridor without even glancing at the desk.
That was enough for me.
I lazily approached her desk, as if looking for a forgotten notebook.
My fingers habitually covered the bunch.
Click.
The key disappeared into the pocket of my tracksuit jacket so quickly that no one even looked in my direction.
I calmly returned to my desk.
A minute later, Amano-sensei returned.
She continued the lesson as if nothing had happened.
“First step.”
Next break.
I approached the teacher’s desk again.
“Amano-sensei.”
She looked up from the journal.
“Yes, Kurisaki-kun?”
“You said yesterday that the class president didn’t have time to fill out the attendance journal.”
She sighed tiredly.
“That’s right…
Could you help?”
I smiled good-naturedly.
“Of course.
I’m free anyway.”
The teacher nodded gratefully and, without any hesitation, handed me the thick class journal.
“Just don’t forget to return it after the long break.”
“I definitely will.”
I bowed politely.
“Thank you.”
“Second step.”

During the long break, our whole group as usual occupied several tables in the cafeteria.
Conversations jumped from one topic to another.
Mio was telling everyone how she finally found comfortable sneakers.
Ayaka immediately began assuring everyone that Mio had finally turned into a fashionista.
Rin just smiled, occasionally inserting calm remarks.
Yuki secretly glanced at me and supported the conversation much more confidently.
And I just observed.
“A little more…”
After lunch, I was the first to get up from the table.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Where to?” Ayaka asked.
“To the toilet.”
No one paid any attention to it.
A few minutes later, Hayato went there too.
That was exactly what I was waiting for.

When we almost simultaneously came back out into the empty corridor, I acted as if I had just remembered.
“Sakurai-san.”
He looked at me questioningly.
“Can you help me out?”
“Of course. What happened?”
I lifted the journal I had been holding under my arm the whole time.
“I promised to return the attendance journal to Amano-sensei, but I urgently need to run to the vice-principal.”
In reality, there was no urgency.
Hayato, of course, didn’t even think about that.
“No problem.
Take it to the classroom?”
“Yes.”
I handed him the journal.
Then I took the bunch of keys out of my pocket.
“The classroom is locked right now.
Here’s the key.”
Hayato looked at it in surprise.
“She trusted you with the key?”
I calmly shrugged.
“She asked me to drop off the journal and lock the classroom if she wasn’t there.
You know how teachers sometimes run around the whole school.”
“Ah, got it.”
He took the journal in one hand and the key in the other without any hesitation.
“Then I’ll take it now.”
I smiled.
“Thank you. You’re a big help.”
Hayato nodded and confidently headed toward Amano-sensei’s classroom.
I watched him go until he disappeared around the corner.
A barely noticeable smile appeared on my lips.
“That’s it.”

I calmly stood around the corner of the corridor.
The door to Amano-sensei’s classroom had just opened.
Hayato, without suspecting anything, knocked and slightly opened the door.
“Amano-sensei? Can I come in?”
There was no answer.
He took a step inside.
And immediately froze.
From behind the screen came a startled cry.
“S-Sakurai-kun?!”
Hayato instantly turned red.
“I-I’m sorry!”
He spun sharply toward the door, about to dash out.
“Wait!”
The teacher’s voice made him stop.
“Don’t go out now!
If you run out with that face right now, half the school will get the wrong idea…”
Hayato froze like someone caught red-handed.
“S-Sorry… I didn’t mean to…”
“I know.”
From behind the screen came the hurried rustle of clothes.
Almost a minute passed.
For Hayato, it felt like eternity.
Finally, the screen moved aside.
Amano-sensei was already in her strict teacher’s suit. Only her slightly disheveled hair and barely noticeable blush gave away that she had indeed been caught off guard.
She smiled awkwardly.
“Now everything’s fine.”
Hayato bowed guiltily.
“I’m sorry… Kurisaki-kun told me to bring the journal…”
He handed her the journal and the key.
She took them, then quietly sighed.
“This is more my fault. I locked the classroom but completely forgot I had left the key.”
She looked at Hayato attentively.
He was still standing there red as a tomato, carefully avoiding looking her in the eyes.
She suddenly found it funny.
“You didn’t even try to peek.”
Hayato frantically shook his head.
“N-No! Of course not!
I wanted to leave immediately…”
She laughed quietly.
“I believe you.”
This sincerity…
It was painfully familiar.
For a moment, her ex-husband’s face flashed before her eyes.
Once upon a time, he too got embarrassed over trifles, always came to help, and smiled just as openly.
Her heart ached unpleasantly.
“Stop…
This is a completely different person.”
But the comparison had already appeared by itself.
She looked at Hayato a little softer.
“Thank you for bringing the journal.
And… thank you for not getting flustered.”
Hayato awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“It’s… nothing special…
You always help our class.
I wanted to repay you at least a little.”
A truly warm smile appeared on the teacher’s face.
“You’re very kind, Sakurai-kun.”
These words made him even more embarrassed.
“It’s nothing…”
She quietly shook her head.
“People like you are rare these days.”
A short, slightly awkward silence hung between them.
Hayato broke it first.
“Then… I’ll go?”
“Of course.”
She smiled.
“And thank you again.”
“Goodbye, Amano-sensei.”
“Goodbye, Sakurai-kun.”
Hayato left the classroom, carefully closing the door behind him.
I watched him go and smirked almost imperceptibly.
“Got it.”
“Exactly how it all started in the novel.”
“An awkward coincidence. A few minutes alone. And the first comparison with her ex-husband.”
“The first flag of the route has been successfully activated.”
The rest of the school day passed surprisingly calmly.
If you don’t count one detail.
I almost imperceptibly watched Amano-sensei.
And where Hayato’s gaze constantly went.
After that awkward incident in the classroom, nothing changed between them… or at least that’s how it seemed from the outside.
But if you looked more carefully…
A lot had changed.
During the next break, Amano-sensei glanced into the classroom.
“Sakurai-kun.”
Hayato immediately stood up.
“Yes, Amano-sensei?”
“Could you help carry a stack of textbooks to the neighboring classroom?”
“Of course.”
He didn’t even hesitate.
“I’ll do it now.”
She smiled gratefully.
“Thank you.”
Hayato just embarrassedly scratched the back of his head and lifted the heavy box.
I watched him go.
“First step.”

After the next lesson, the situation repeated itself.
This time, Hayato himself noticed how the teacher was trying to carry a stack of printouts to the classroom alone.
“Amano-sensei, let me help.”
She looked slightly surprised.
“You don’t have to, Sakurai-kun, I can manage.”
“It’ll only take a minute.”
He had already taken the papers from her hands.
The teacher watched him for a few seconds.
Then she smiled almost imperceptibly.
“Thank you…”
Very quietly.
So quietly that no one but me heard it.

By the end of the last lesson, this had begun to look almost natural.
If something needed to be moved…
Hayato was the first to stand up.
If documents needed to be delivered…
He asked himself:
“Amano-sensei, can I help?”
If something in the classroom wasn’t working…
He was there again.
To everyone else, it looked completely normal.
A kind guy helping the class teacher.
Nothing special.
But I saw something else.
Amano-sensei had already started looking for his gaze.
As soon as a small problem arose…
Her eyes almost immediately stopped on Hayato.
Not because she couldn’t handle it herself.
But because he had already proven himself as someone who would never refuse.
“That’s exactly how it works…”
“Not with loud events.
But with small habits.”
“Asked once today.
Tomorrow — twice.
In a month, help will become something completely natural for them.”
I couldn’t help but smirk.
“The first flag has indeed been launched.”
“From now on, the plot itself will start pushing them toward new joint scenes.”
The bell rang.
Students started noisily packing their things.
Mio had already managed to call out to Ayaka:
“Well, let’s go faster!”
“Who are you calling shorty?!”
“Who did you just call shorty?!”
Rin just smiled tiredly, watching their usual bickering.
Yuki secretly glanced in my direction.
She remembered.
After school today, we had another meeting at the mall.