The morning sunlight slipped through half-open blinds, stretching long amber lines across the wooden floor of Akari Minazuki's bedroom. A soft breeze stirred the air, lifting the scent of vanilla lotion and fresh linen. The city was awake beyond her window—cars rumbling, birds flitting between rooftop edges, and somewhere far off, the muffled bark of a restless dog.
Akari lay sprawled on her side, buried beneath soft gray sheets, the hem of her cropped sleep shirt bunched high above her stomach. The shirt—a faded pastel piece with a cracked cartoon bunny holding a slice of pizza—was more memory than fabric at this point. Her bare leg was hooked out from under the blanket, toes curling against the cool morning air, and her pink curls were splayed like a lazy halo across the pillow.
She blinked slowly.
"Ugh," she groaned into the mattress. "I need ten more hours or a caffeine drip."
Dragging herself out of bed, she padded barefoot to the kitchen, the floor cool against her soles. Her coffee machine whirred to life as she scrolled her phone, replying to a few messages, ignoring others. She leaned against the counter in fluffy socks and an oversized cardigan, sipping from her favorite chipped mug.
"Okay," she mumbled between sips, "today's a 'take care of me' day."
Twenty minutes later, she was on her balcony, a yoga mat beneath her and the sun warming her skin. Black leggings, wine-red sports bra, hair tied up in a loose puff. Calm jazz played from her speaker. Her breathing matched the movement, each pose deliberate and fluid, like a quiet conversation with herself. Her nose ring glinted in the sunlight as she shifted into downward dog, a light sheen of sweat building across her arms and back.
By the time she was done, the fog had lifted.
After her shower, she moisturized, tied on a clay face mask, and dropped onto her couch with a towel wrapped around her shoulders. "Bootylicious" played from her speaker while she scrolled TikTok with cucumber slices over her eyes and giggled at the chaos.
By noon, she was dressed and dangerous: high-waisted cream shorts with gold buttons, a sunflower-yellow crop top tied at the side, soft white sneakers with pink accents, and her favorite denim jacket slung lazily over one shoulder. Gold chain, hoop earrings, pink-tinted sunglasses. A little perfume at the collarbone and wrists.
Flawless.
The group chat was already blowing up.
[Kaede]WHERE U AT bimbo we brunchin??
[Mai]If I wait in line behind one more influencer wearing beige socks and calling it a vibe, I'm throwing hands.
[Akari]Relax, I'm coming. Keep the mimosas cold and the gossip hot 💅
She met the girls at their usual café downtown—a rooftop spot with hanging plants, brick walls, and that one server who always flirted too obviously. Kaede was in her usual leather boots and crop jacket. Mai rocked a black bucket hat and bug-eyed shades like she was evading paparazzi. Hikari had gone full pastel soft-girl aesthetic and somehow pulled it off.
"You smell like vanilla sin," Kaede said, raising her brows.
"I know," Akari replied, flipping her curls. "I radiate danger."
They toasted with mimosas.
"So," Mai leaned in, eyes narrowed, "you seeing your mysterious boy today?"
Akari sipped her drink without looking up. "Not today."
"You sure he's not in a cult?" Kaede asked, deadpan.
Akari cracked up. "He's just private. That's all."
They let it go, and the conversation spiraled the way it always did—mutuals cheating on mutuals, Jun's new crush who was definitely a walking red flag, Kaede's war with a fitness influencer, and Mai threatening to fight another barista for getting her order wrong again.
Laughter, shade, love. Loud and messy. Home.
After brunch, they parted ways. Akari wandered on her own through the city, weaving through busy streets and side alleys. She bought rings from a street vendor, picked up a poetry book from a hole-in-the-wall bookstore that smelled like ink and sunlight, and treated herself to a lychee soda from a food stall tucked between buildings.
As she crossed the plaza near the fountain, something caught her eye.
Across the street.
There he was.
Riku Yamadera.
He was walking with three others—two boys and a girl. Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara, though she didn't know their names. They all carried shopping bags, laughing at something Yuji had just said. Nobara was shaking her head, but grinning. Megumi had that exasperated older-brother expression. And Riku—he looked at ease. A quiet, real kind of happy.
His head tilted back in a soft chuckle, his posture relaxed, that calm confidence she recognized instantly in the way he moved. One hand rested casually behind his neck, the other swinging free.
Akari stood still for a moment, watching.
The breeze lifted her hair gently off her shoulders.
She smiled.
Not the "oh my god, I want to go over there and cling to him" kind of smile.
Just a quiet one. Like watching something that mattered, even if you weren't meant to interrupt it.
Then she turned and kept walking, sunlight catching in the rings on her fingers.
She didn't need to wave. Didn't need to say anything.
This was her day.
And hers was pretty damn good.
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Hey here is a short chapter before I go on my break. I wanted to change things up and please keep in mind I know almost nothing about a girls day to day so I tried my best. And also she's not dying I'm keeping her if you don't like it womp womp. Like always if you guys have any ideas then let me know. The song golden hours is peak and I had so use it as a title.