Amamiya Yoru was cute.
Not just her appearance—her personality was gentle, considerate, almost painfully kind.
So why…
Why did someone like her have no friends?
The more Hirakawa Tetsufumi thought about it, the heavier the question became.
He remembered clearly
That day in the staff room.
The same girl had looked straight at him and said, coldly:
"Teacher, consider this a warning. If you don't want to lose your job, don't interfere in things that don't concern you."
And now
That same girl was crouching beside a wooden box, smiling softly at newborn kittens, whispering that she didn't want to trouble her mother.
The contrast was jarring.
Almost unreal.
Which one was the real Amamiya Yoru?
Hirakawa didn't know.
No matter how he looked at it, that earlier threat hadn't felt like a joke.
And yet, everything after that
Her apology.
Her kindness.
Her quiet warmth.
All of it felt genuine too.
It was as if she wore two completely different faces.
Was she hiding something?
If she was, then she hid it perfectly.
Too perfectly.
Hirakawa found himself staring at her, trying to see through that gentle expression—trying to uncover whatever lay beneath.
But his gaze lingered too long.
Yoru noticed.
Her expression turned slightly uneasy.
"Sensei… what is it?"
He snapped out of it.
"Nothing. Sorry."
He exhaled quietly.
This wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Right now, there was a more immediate problem.
The cats.
She couldn't keep them.
She couldn't tell her mother.
She had no friends to rely on.
And yet she wanted both—to give the cats a good life, and to still see them.
It was an impossible situation.
Animal shelters?
Pet boarding?
None of those satisfied her second wish.
Hirakawa frowned, thinking hard.
Then
An idea formed.
"Amamiya," he said, his tone softening, "what if you give the kittens to a classmate who wants to adopt them? That way… you could use that opportunity to become friends with them too."
The moment he said it, even he felt it was a perfect solution.
The cats would be safe.
You could still visit them.
And
She might finally gain a friend.
A solution that solved everything at once.
But
"Sensei… I can't do that."
Her answer came immediately.
Accompanied by those soft, almost pleading eyes.
Hirakawa blinked.
"You can't?"
She nodded.
Small.
Helpless.
He rubbed his temple, then tried again, more gently this time.
"Amamiya, making friends isn't actually that difficult."
"If you find someone willing to adopt the kittens, you'll naturally have a connection. It might be small at first, but over time… you can visit the cats, talk more, spend time together."
"That's how relationships grow. Step by step."
"Human connections are built through interaction. You just need the courage to take that first step."
He spoke earnestly.
Because he truly believed this was the best path forward.
And because
For a high school student, friendships mattered.
Maybe not everything.
But without them, youth became unbearably lonely.
Yet
His words failed to reach her.
Yoru didn't respond.
She simply turned her gaze back to the kittens, as if everything he said had never existed.
The tiny cats let out soft cries, their voices fragile and pure.
Perhaps, in her heart, she was thinking
It would be so much easier to be a cat.
No worries.
No expectations.
No need to face people.
Hirakawa sighed.
There it was again.
That wall.
As someone who had lived as a language teacher in both his past and present life, he understood better than most
Words could be powerful.
They could inspire, move hearts, even change lives.
But sometimes
They were utterly powerless.
Especially against a heart that refused to open.
Yes.
That was it.
Amamiya Yoru had closed herself off.
Beneath that gentle, caring exterior, there was something else
Something hidden.
Something unresolved.
Just like that moment in the staff room.
That sharp, almost threatening side of her hadn't appeared out of nowhere.
It came from somewhere deep inside her.
And that same place was what kept her from reaching out to others.
From forming connections.
From making friends.
"Amamiya," he tried once more, "are you really not willing to consider making a friend, even now?"
No answer.
She didn't even look at him this time.
Hirakawa let out another breath.
If this were anyone else, he might have walked away already.
He had said enough.
But
He was her teacher.
And more importantly
He knew he could change this.
Words alone might not be enough.
But there had to be another way.
A way to reach her.
A way to break through that invisible barrier around her heart.
He thought back to something
The "system" he possessed.
A strange ability he still didn't fully understand.
Could it be…
That it existed for this very reason?
To build bridges where words failed?
To allow communication to reach hearts that refused to listen?
Standing in the quiet shrine, beneath the watchful presence of unseen gods, Hirakawa felt something click into place.
Understanding.
Purpose.
He took a slow, steady breath.
The forest around them was silent, save for the rustling leaves and the faint cries of the kittens.
Sunlight filtered through the branches, scattering soft patterns of light and shadow across the ground.
And in that stillness
He made his decision.
He turned toward her.
His expression firm.
Serious.
Resolute.
"Amamiya," he said quietly,
"you don't want your mother to know… do you?"
"That you want to keep these cats."
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