"Sometimes, the brightest hearts shine where the clouds touch the sky."
The soft rustling of leaves filled the quiet air atop the school rooftop.
It was nearing the end of spring — the kind of afternoon when the sky looked like a watercolor painting, smeared with soft blues and sleepy white clouds.
The world below was busy: classes, chatter, footsteps… but up here, everything was slow, gentle, timeless.
Mika stretched her arms above her head, her ash-brown hair catching the sunlight.
The breeze ruffled her school blazer as she leaned against the rusty old fence, sighing lazily.
"This place never changes," she murmured to herself, a lazy smile tugging at her lips. "Still as empty as ever."
She liked it that way.
Away from noisy classmates and boring lectures, Mika could have her own little kingdom here.
It was her secret escape, her tiny throne under the endless sky.
Or at least, it was.
Today, someone else was already there.
Sitting quietly near the far corner of the rooftop was a girl Mika had never seen before.
Her long black hair shimmered like ink under the sunlight, soft and flowing past her shoulders.
She wore the same uniform as Mika — navy skirt, crisp white shirt — but somehow, on her, it looked almost too neat, too delicate.
The girl hugged her knees to her chest, her violet-pinkish eyes staring off at the sky as if lost in another world.
Mika blinked.
She tilted her head slightly, observing the newcomer like a curious cat.
'Cute,' she thought immediately, lips quirking up into a mischievous smile.
Without hesitation, Mika strolled over, her footsteps soft against the concrete.
"Yo," she called out, casual as a summer breeze. "New here?"
The girl flinched slightly, startled out of her thoughts.
She turned toward Mika, wide-eyed like a startled rabbit.
"I—I'm sorry!" she squeaked, scrambling to her feet and bowing awkwardly. "I didn't mean to— I'll leave right away—"
Mika chuckled, holding up her hands in surrender.
"Whoa, whoa. Chill." She grinned. "No one's kicking you out. Just surprised to find someone else up here."
The girl paused, uncertain.
Up close, Mika could see how ridiculously pretty she was — soft, porcelain skin, lips like a delicate petal.
"I...I just wanted some air," the girl mumbled, voice barely above a whisper.
Mika smirked, dropping onto the ground with a careless plop.
"Same. Rooftop's the best place for that," she said, patting the spot beside her. "Come on. Sit. I don't bite."
The girl hesitated.
Then, after a long moment, she sat down — keeping a careful, polite distance between them.
Mika propped her chin on her hand, studying her openly.
"So, what's your name?" she asked.
"...Yui," came the shy reply. "Sakuraba Yui."
Mika's grin widened.
"Cute name," she said without missing a beat. "I'm Mika. Asakura Mika. Nice to meet ya, Yui."
Yui flushed, fiddling nervously with the hem of her skirt.
The silence stretched between them, not uncomfortable exactly, but full of tiny, buzzing tension — the kind that made Mika's mischievous instincts itch.
"So, Yui-chan," Mika drawled, leaning a little closer. "Why're you hiding up here alone? Dodging scary teachers? Secret agent on a mission?"
Yui blinked, startled, before a small, embarrassed smile tugged at her lips.
"...No," she said softly. "I just...don't really fit in."
Mika raised an eyebrow.
"Fit in?" she repeated. "What, are you secretly an alien?"
Yui let out a tiny giggle — the sound light and musical, like the first drop of rain in a dry summer.
"I'm just...bad at talking to people," Yui admitted, voice dropping again. "They always think I'm weird or boring."
Mika tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Nah," she said finally. "You're not boring. You're kinda adorable."
Yui's cheeks turned a vivid pink.
"I—I'm not—" she sputtered, looking everywhere but at Mika.
Mika laughed — a warm, easy sound — and flopped back against the concrete, arms spread wide.
"Don't worry," she said lazily. "We weirdos gotta stick together."
Yui peeked at her, eyes wide and curious.
"...You think you're weird too?" she asked.
Mika grinned up at the sky.
"Totally," she said proudly. "But that's what makes life fun."
For a while, they just sat there — two strangers basking in the soft afternoon sunlight, the world far away and unimportant.
The breeze played with Yui's long hair, lifting it like silken threads.
Mika watched, enchanted, as a few strands brushed against Yui's flushed cheeks.
Impulsively, Mika reached out.
"Hold still," she murmured, gently tucking a stray lock behind Yui's ear.
Yui froze, her breath catching.
Their eyes met — a soft crash of brown against violet-pink — and for a heartbeat, the whole world seemed to tilt.
Mika felt something warm bloom in her chest, something unexpected and dangerous.
'Uh-oh,' she thought faintly. 'I might be in trouble.'
Yui, meanwhile, looked like she might combust on the spot.
"I—I should go!" she blurted, scrambling to her feet so fast she almost tripped.
Mika laughed again, sitting up with a lazy stretch.
"See you around, Yui-chan," she called as the flustered girl fled toward the rooftop door.
As the door clicked shut behind her, Mika leaned back on her hands, smiling up at the endless, cloud-dappled sky.
"Definitely trouble," she said to herself, grinning. "But the fun kind."
And somewhere deep inside her heart, a tiny, fluffy spark flickered into life —
small and fragile, but burning all the same.