By the time practice was supposed to end, Haruto's legs were already heavy.
He adjusted his grip and reset his stance, breathing slow, ignoring the dull ache creeping up his calves. The gym echoed with familiar sounds. Shoes scraping the floor. A ball hitting wood. Voices overlapping in short bursts that didn't really mean anything.
Focus. Move. Reset.
He moved through the drill again, cleaner this time. Not faster. Just precise. The kind of movement that didn't draw attention, but didn't waste energy either.
Someone called his name. He nodded without answering.
For a moment, his timing slipped. Just barely. The ball skimmed wrong, bounced off line. Haruto clicked his tongue under his breath and bent to retrieve it, pretending it didn't bother him.
It always bothered him.
Practice finally broke apart in fragments. Teammates drifted toward the benches, some laughing, some complaining. Haruto wiped his face with his towel and headed for the water area, eyes down, mind still half on the court.
He almost didn't notice the shift in the room.
A group passed near the entrance. Different voices. Older. He didn't look up. Seniors practiced around this time. It wasn't unusual.
He took a long drink and turned back—
And nearly ran into someone.
He stopped short. "Sorry."
She had already stepped aside.
"No, it's fine."
Her voice was calm. Not sharp. Not rushed.
Haruto glanced up without thinking.
Senior. Taller than him. Hair tied back loosely, a few strands falling out of place. Her expression didn't change when their eyes met. She just looked at him, steady and quiet, like she wasn't in a hurry to move on.
He felt the urge to look away first. So he did.
"Uh… excuse me," he muttered, stepping past.
As he walked away, he felt something strange. Not discomfort. Not curiosity exactly. More like the sense that he'd been seen, even though nothing had really happened.
He shook it off and sat down to change his shoes.
The moment should've faded. Most things did. But when he tied the second lace, her voice surfaced in his head again. Flat. Even. Not awkward.
He frowned slightly, annoyed at himself.
Outside, the air felt cooler. Saki caught up to him halfway down the steps, stretching as she walked.
"I'm exhausted," she said. "Coach was brutal today."
"Yeah," Haruto replied.
They walked in silence for a bit. Then Saki spoke again, casual.
"Oh, did you see Aoi-senpai earlier?"
Haruto slowed before he realized it.
"Aoi… senpai?"
"Mm. Third year," Saki said. "She's usually around this time. Really good. Calm type."
He pictured steady eyes. A quiet voice.
"I don't think so," he said after a second.
Saki hummed, unconcerned, and kept talking about something else.
Haruto listened, nodded when he was supposed to. But his attention lagged behind his steps, caught on a moment that shouldn't have mattered.
He didn't know her name.
Now he did.
The next day passed without much incident.
Lunch was louder than usual. Kenta had claimed a corner of the table, half his tray already empty, talking with his mouth full like always. Mei sat across from him, scrolling through her phone, occasionally glancing up just to make sure he wasn't about to choke.
Haruto listened more than he spoke.
"So," Kenta said suddenly, leaning back in his chair. "This weekend. Anyone got plans?"
Saki looked up from her drink. "Why?"
"Because," Kenta said, grinning, "we never do anything. We're always just… here." He gestured vaguely at the cafeteria. "What if we actually hung out?"
Mei raised an eyebrow. "You mean all of us?"
"Yeah. You, me, Haruto, Saki." He pointed at each of them in turn. "No practice. No school stuff. Just normal."
Haruto blinked. "Normal how?"
Kenta shrugged. "Food. Walking around. Maybe a movie. I don't know. We'll figure it out."
Saki tilted her head, considering. "That's… not a bad idea."
Mei locked her phone and set it down. "As long as it's not something loud."
"Hey," Kenta said, offended. "I can be quiet."
"No, you can't," Mei replied instantly.
Haruto almost smiled.
He hadn't thought about the weekend at all. Lately, days blurred together too easily. Practice. School. Home. Repeat. The idea of breaking that rhythm felt strange. Not unwelcome. Just unfamiliar.
"I'm fine with it," he said finally.
Kenta's grin widened. "See? Haruto's in. That settles it."
Saki glanced at him. "You sure?"
Haruto nodded. "Yeah."
It was a small decision. The kind that shouldn't matter much.
Still, as the conversation shifted to details and arguments over where to go, Haruto felt something loosen slightly in his chest. Like a door cracking open, just enough to let something new in.
School ended with the usual noise. Chairs scraping back. Bags zipping shut. Someone laughing too loudly in the hallway.
Haruto stepped outside with the others, the late afternoon sun hanging low enough to warm without blinding. The gates were crowded, but their group naturally drifted together, falling into step without thinking about it.
"So," Kenta said, swinging his bag over his shoulder, "we're actually doing this, right?"
Saki glanced at him. "You're the one who suggested it."
"Yeah, but people suggest things all the time," he replied. "They don't usually happen."
Mei adjusted the strap of her bag. "That's because your ideas are usually bad."
"That's harsh."
"Accurate," she said.
Haruto walked beside them, listening. He liked moments like this. When no one expected anything from him beyond being there.
"Okay," Kenta said, counting on his fingers. "Saturday. After lunch. Somewhere cheap."
"Why cheap?" Saki asked.
Kenta looked at Haruto. "Because we're students."
Haruto shrugged. "Fair."
They passed the convenience store at the corner. Someone mentioned snacks. Someone else mentioned a movie. The plan shifted shape every few steps, nothing solid yet, just possibilities stacking loosely on top of each other.
"I don't want to walk around the whole day," Mei said. "Somewhere we can sit."
"Food first, then," Saki suggested. "That solves half the problem."
Kenta snapped his fingers. "See? This is why we need group meetings."
Haruto smiled faintly, eyes on the road ahead.
He didn't speak much, but he nodded when they looked to him, gave short answers when asked. Every now and then, he caught himself imagining it. The four of them. No uniforms. No schedules.
It felt strange. In a good way.
At the intersection, they slowed. One by one, paths split off.
"Message later," Saki said. "We'll decide properly."
"Yeah," Kenta replied. "I'll make a group chat if we don't already have one."
Mei sighed. "Please don't name it something stupid."
"No promises."
Kenta and Mei headed off first, still arguing about food. Haruto lifted a hand in a small wave as they left, watching until they disappeared around the corner.
Saki stayed beside him.
They turned down the same road, walking in a familiar silence. Not awkward. Just unspoken. The kind that came from doing this too many times to count.
The street felt quieter without the others.
As they walked, Haruto realized something.
For the first time in a while, he was actually looking forward to the weekend.
That night, Haruto lay on his bed with his phone resting on his chest.
A notification buzzed.
Kenta: Okay, group chat made
Kenta: Don't judge the name
Haruto opened it. The name was bad. Predictably bad.
Mei complained immediately. Saki sent a single laughing emoji. Kenta defended himself with way too much energy.
Haruto typed, deleted, then typed again.
Haruto: Saturday's fine for me.
A second passed.
Saki: Same
Mei: As long as it's not crowded
Kenta: We'll figure it out 💪
The conversation drifted into places, food, times. Nothing decided. Just ideas piling up.
Haruto locked his phone and stared at the ceiling.
Saturday felt closer than it should've.
He didn't know why that mattered. It was just a hangout. Nothing special. Still, his mind kept circling it, like there was something waiting there he hadn't seen yet.
Down the hall, a door closed softly. Outside, the streetlights flickered on.
Haruto turned onto his side, eyes closing.
He told himself not to think too much about it.
It didn't work.
That night, the group chat stayed active longer than Haruto expected.
Kenta was clearly excited. Too excited. He threw ideas into the chat without stopping, as if momentum itself might keep the plan from falling apart. Food places. A movie. A shortcut he swore would save time. Haruto could almost see him grinning at his screen, eager in the way only someone who hated routine could be.
Saki replied in bursts. Short messages, quick reactions. She sounded normal. Cheerful, even. But Haruto knew her well enough to catch the pauses between replies. She was looking forward to it, he was sure of that. At the same time, she was thinking ahead. About time. About balance. About where she stood.
Mei spoke the least. When she did, it was practical. Crowd levels. Noise. A place to sit. She wasn't excited so much as cautiously willing. Still, she didn't leave the chat. That, on its own, meant something.
Haruto watched it all more than he participated.
He wasn't nervous. Not exactly.
It was more like standing at the edge of something unfamiliar and realizing there was no reason to step back. His days had been predictable for so long that the idea of breaking pattern felt strange. Almost fragile.
He typed one last message.
Haruto: Just tell me the time.
Kenta replied instantly.
Kenta: See? Reliable as always.
Haruto set his phone down.
The room was quiet. Too quiet. His thoughts filled the space easily. He wondered what the day would feel like once it arrived. Whether it would pass quickly. Whether it would change anything at all.
Probably not, he told himself.
Still, as he stared up at the ceiling, there was a faint, unfamiliar pull in his chest. Not excitement. Not anxiety.
Expectation.
Saturday was coming.
And whether he was ready for it or not, Haruto knew one thing for sure.
It wouldn't be just another day.