AN:Hello everyone! Here is a small short story for you all!
Also chapter 10 rewrite version is up! Do check it out!
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Satomi Koutaro didn't talk much—not out of shyness, just habit. Eight years ago, a Stellaron tore through their world. He doesn't remember much—just noise, dust, and the moment his mom pushed him out of the way. She didn't make it. He did. That was enough to change everything.
Since then, Koutaro mostly kept to himself. He didn't talk much, didn't get close to anyone. That changed in elementary school, when some kid with messy hair, a crooked smile, and zero sense of personal space sat next to him one day and just never left.
Noah Alden, descendant of the most famous family in the world.
Noah didn't tiptoe around him or act weird. He poked fun, pulled him into random stuff, and never gave him space to mope. One time Koutaro snapped and said he wasn't worth being friends with. Noah just shrugged and said, "Then get stronger so no one else has to go through that. You can't stay stuck in that forever."
That was it. From that day on, they were inseparable—partners in crime, training buddies under Grandpa Caelus, and co-conspirators in the great mission of Doing Dumb Stuff Together.
Now at fifteen, they were the loudest duo at school and probably the most well-known. Noah, oblivious as ever, somehow managed to charm half the school without trying. Koutaro watched in real-time as girls tripped over their words, clutched their chests dramatically, or stared with sparkly eyes every time Noah breathed near them.
The only thing stopping a full-blown love confession stampede? Maria Mikhailovna Kujou or just Masha to her friends. Always beside him like an unofficial bodyguard, best friend, and probably the only reason no one dared make a move.
Koutaro watched her blush like she was made of melting strawberry ice cream every time Noah said something unintentionally sweet.
It was painful. It was hilarious. It was peak Noah.
And even though he'd never admit it out loud—he wouldn't trade his place at Noah's side for anything.
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"Okay, serious question," Satomi Koutaro leaned in across the lunch table, eyes squinting like he was about to solve the mysteries of the universe. "If the world was ending and you had to choose—who would you date?"
Noah blinked, mid-bite of a rice ball. "I'm literally chewing."
"You're dodging."
"I'm eating."
Koutaro flopped face-first onto the table with a dramatic groan. "Dude. We've been friends forever and I've never even seen you glance at someone like you're interested."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "What do you want me to do, sparkle every time a girl walks by?"
"It wouldn't kill you."
Noah leaned back and sipped his tea. "I notice people. I just don't announce it with a megaphone like you do."
Koutaro held his chopsticks like he was holding a mic. "Fiiiiineee..... Then real question, what's going on with you and Masha?"
Noah paused mid-bite. "…What do you mean?"
"Oh come on. The two of you are always together. She basically glued to your side. She blushes every time you breathe near her."
"I breathe near a lot of people."
"Yeah, and none of them look like they're about to pass out from it."
Noah just sipped his tea.
"She packed your lunch last week."
"I forgot mine."
"She color-coded it."
"…It was a nice bento."
"You went on a date last weekend."
"...It was an apology outing."
Koutaro slumped in his seat. "Dude. Just admit it—you two are a thing, or almost a thing, or a 'thing-in-progress.'"
"We're friends."
"With extra steps."
"Why are you you?"
They both laughed, Koutaro nearly dropping his lunch as they leaned into each other like they were twelve again.
After the laughter settled, Koutaro looked sideways. "…Hey. Real talk. You ever think about the future?"
Noah tapped his fingers on his cup. "All the time."
"Like… college?"
"Further."
Koutaro raised a brow. "Like, how-far-are-we-talking further?"
Noah stared up toward the sky, as if it owed him answers. "Like something big. Not school or work. Just… something else. A feeling."
Koutaro leaned back. "Wow. You're gonna be that guy who vanishes and shows up years later with a mysterious cloak and glowing eyes."
Noah smirked. "I'll bring back keychains."
"Bring me a girlfriend instead."
Another round of laughter.
Two boys. One lunch table. One weird, possibly psychic declaration of future chaos.
Pretty standard Tuesday.