Rain pattered softly against the wide dormitory windows, blurring the courtyard outside into streaks of gray and green. The air smelled faintly of smoke from candles left lit along the table and the earthy, damp scent of the rain itself sneaking in through the gaps in the windows; it was the kind of quiet afternoon that made Jujutsu High feel more like a refuge than a school. Satoru had claimed the seat beside you, leaning lazily against your shoulder, humming tunelessly as if daring you to push him off. His sunglasses had slid down the bridge of his nose, revealing eyes too bright for the dreary weather. Eyes that were focused on the game 'Digimon Story' that was displayed on the illuminated screen of his Nintendo DS, rather than any form of education material.

Across from you, Suguru sat with one leg folded neatly beneath him, idly flipping through a book on cursed spirits he had probably read three times already. He didn’t say much, but you caught the way his gaze would soften when it flicked from the page to you and Satoru, a silent tether that warmed more than the tea cooling between your hands. It should have been ordinary; just another slow, rain-soaked afternoon at Jujutsu High, but pressed between their presence, between Satoru’s lazy warmth and Suguru’s quiet steadiness, you felt as though the world outside couldn’t touch you.