The qualifier was two weeks away now, and Kenji's training had become almost mechanical.
He woke before dawn, laced his shoes in the dark hallway so he wouldn't wake his mom, ran the same looping route through quiet residential streets, past the shuttered konbini, past the park where old men played shogi under streetlamps, past the hill that used to feel like victory every time he crested it. Lately the top just felt like another place to turn around.
At school he still showed up grinning, still high fived Haruto in the hall, still tossed Mio's backpack back to her when she "accidentally" left it on the bench. But the energy cost more. He could feel it, like running with weights strapped to his ankles.
Friday afternoon the group decided to hit the arcade after classes. It was tradition. end of the week victory lap, win or lose. Mio wanted claw machines, Haruto wanted racing games, Daichi wanted the rhythm game he was weirdly good at, and Aiko wanted to watch everyone make fools of themselves.
Kenji said yes immediately. Of course he did. He always did.
They crammed into the noisy, dim lit space on the third floor of the station building. The air smelled like popcorn oil and overheated electronics. Haruto immediately dragged everyone to the multiplayer racing setup.
"Teams!" he declared. "Kenji and me versus Daichi and Mio. Losers buy ramen."
Aiko laughed. "What about me?"
"You ref," Haruto said. "Or cheer for the winning team. Obviously mine."
Kenji slid into the seat next to Haruto, gripped the wheel. The screen flashed countdown. He focused on the burn in his forearms, the fake engine roar through the speakers anything but the way Aiko leaned against the machine behind them, arms crossed, smiling at the chaos.
Three laps in, Kenji was ahead. He always was on this track; he'd memorized every turn years ago. But on the final straight Mio rammed him playful, legal in the game and Kenji's car spun out.
"Gotcha!" Mio howled.
Mio and Daichi crossed first.
Kenji stared at the "2nd Place" flashing on his screen. His hands stayed on the wheel a second too long.
"Damn," he muttered, forcing a laugh. "Guess I'm buying."
They moved on. Mio spent twenty minutes and five hundred yen trying to grab a limited-edition cat plushie. Daichi destroyed everyone at the taiko drum game without breaking a sweat. Aiko took photos, posted one to their group chat with the caption "professional disappointments <3".
Kenji laughed along. He always did.
Then Aiko's phone rang.
She stepped a few paces away to answer it. Kenji watched from the corner of his eye saw her expression soften the moment she said "Hello?" Saw her turn slightly, shielding the call like it was private. Saw her nod, laugh quietly, say something he couldn't hear.
When she came back her cheeks were pink.
"Rei?" Mio asked immediately, zero subtlety.
Aiko nodded. "He's… he asked if I wanted to go to the autumn festival next weekend. With him."
The group went quiet for half a heartbeat.
Then Haruto whistled. "Prince Charming makes his move. Respect."
Mio squealed and grabbed Aiko's arm. "You said yes, right? Tell me you said yes."
Aiko bit her lip, smiling. "I said I'd think about it."
Daichi adjusted his glasses. "Statistically speaking, 'I'll think about it' means yes seventy eight percent of the time."
Everyone laughed. Kenji laughed, too loud, automatic.
"Great," he said. "He's lucky."
Aiko looked at him then. Really looked. "You think so?"
"Yeah," Kenji said. His throat felt tight. "The guy's got taste."
She smiled, small, grateful and the moment passed.
They left the arcade an hour later. Outside, the sky was already bruising purple. Streetlights flickered on one by one.
Haruto and Mio walked ahead, arguing about who owed who for the last game. Daichi trailed behind, earbuds in, reading something on his phone.
Aiko fell into step beside Kenji.
"You've been weird lately," she said quietly.
He blinked. "Me? Nah. Just pre qualifier nerves."
"You sure?"
"Totally." He flashed the grin. "I'm gonna win this thing and dedicate it to you. Imagine front page of the school paper 'Local Idiot Wins Race Because Childhood Friend Believed in Him.'"
She didn't laugh. "Kenji?"
He kept walking. "What?"
"You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?"
He stopped under a streetlamp. Looked at her, really looked. The same face he'd known since they were six. The same eyes that used to light up when he brought her half his snacks at lunch.
"Yeah," he lied. "I'd tell you."
She searched his face for a second longer, then nodded. "Okay."
They caught up with the others at the station entrance. Goodbyes, see you tomorrows, the usual.
Aiko waved as she headed toward the opposite platform. Her silhouette disappeared behind the crowd.
Kenji stood there until the train pulled away.
Back in class the next Monday, third period was self study. The room was half empty some kids at club meetings, some skipping to the library or some having a stroll around the school. Kenji had his head down on his desk, pretending to sleep, when something small hit his elbow.
A crumpled paper ball.
He lifted his head.
Rika Sato sat two desks over, legs kicked out, staring at him with flat, unreadable eyes.
She jerked her chin toward the paper.
Kenji unfolded it.
Scrawled in messy black pen:
Stop looking like a kicked puppy. It's annoying.
He stared at the words for a long second.
Then he looked up at her.
She was already looking out the window again, like nothing had happened.
He wrote back on the same paper, folded it, and flicked it onto her desk.
She caught it one handed without looking.
Unfolded it.
His handwriting was neater than hers:
Didn't know you paid attention.
She snorted quietly, barely audible.
Wrote something. Threw it back.
Because you're loud even when you're quiet.
Kenji almost laughed. Actually almost.
He didn't write anything else.
But for the rest of the period he sat a little straighter.
And when the bell rang, he didn't bolt for the door like usual.
He waited until most of the class cleared out, then glanced over.
Rika was still there, packing slowly.
She met his eyes.
Raised one eyebrow.
Kenji shrugged. "You're not wrong. About the kicked puppy thing."
She stood, slung her bag over her shoulder. "Then fix it."
She walked past him without another word.
Kenji watched her go.
Outside the window, the track team was already warming up.
He didn't move right away.