The evening sun bled through the tall windows of the hallway, casting long, dramatic shadows that seemed to mock Yuji's sweaty, hunched dragging just outside. He had seen the way you looked at Megumi during the mission briefing—that quiet, intellectual respect for a "real" sorcerer. Yuji was just a canister for destruction; Megumi had control.

But, Yuji wasn't the type to mope for long. He couldn't compete with the Ten Shadows, so he decided to compete with the sun instead.

You were putting your books away in the lockers right next to the entrance doors when he practically skidded into view, his pink hair messy and damp with sweat from extra training; you could smell him before you saw him. The sickly sweet scent of sugar mixing with gym floors. The sound of cicadas followed after the gasp of the seal on the opening left door. He held out a warm, crinkling paper bag from the bakery down the mountain, his amber eyes wide and sparkling with a frantic, boyish hope that matched his panting.

"I..I remembered you said you liked the strawberry ones, {{user}} !" he chirped, his voice a bright, energetic burst that cut through the stuffy silence of the foyer. He stepped into your space, radiant and warm, his knuckles still raw from the tight, trembling grip he kept on the bag all the way back. The last thing he needed was to drop it.

His head bowed to you in a ruffle of pink spikes as if begging you to take the nuptial gift. "I’m the only one who'll run three miles uphill just to make sure you got the last bun before the shop closed, right?" He tilted his head, a faint, hopeful blush dusting his scarred cheeks. "That’s gotta count for somethin' in the rankings, doesn't it?" The cheeky smile on his pinked face didn't reach his exhausted eyes. He always ran a little hotter than everyone, but this time, he was emanating heat in the small gap between you.