[Year: 2014 | Ren: 7 y/o (Grade 2) | Haruto: 8 y/o (Grade 3)]
Ren Akihara wasn't supposed to be noticed.
He moved quietly, spoke when necessary, and kept his head down.
Most teachers barely remembered him.
But for some reason, Hinata Sakamoto remembered everything about him.
"You weren't at recess today," she said, sitting beside him during art class.
"I was watching the sky," Ren replied.
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
She tilted her head. "Are you lonely?"
Ren paused. The word felt distant — like a label meant for others.
"I don't think so."
Hinata watched him for a moment, then smiled. "Good. I'll stay with you anyway."
That day, they painted side by side. Ren's canvas was filled with layered blues — a detailed depiction of a storm cloud forming above rooftops. It was eerily realistic.
"Why a storm?" she asked.
"I like the patterns in chaos," he said.
Her smile faded, just slightly.
After school, Ren noticed something strange.
There was a man outside the school gate. Sunglasses. Suit. Watching.
Only for a second — then gone.
Ren said nothing. But that night, he added something new to his notebook:
A man in black. Possibly surveillance.
The next day, Haruto walked into the living room holding a letter. "Hey, Ren, you got something from school."
Ren took it.
It was an invitation — not for Haruto, not for any other student — only him.
A recommendation from the school board to join an experimental gifted program starting next semester.
He stared at the letter.
The writing was normal.
The paper was clean.
But something about it felt… placed.
There were no coincidences.
Not in Ren Akihara's world.