Kaito found himself in a familiar place. It was an old theater somewhere in Tokyo. He could remember frequenting there when he was a little boy on nights his mother performed. Most of the time, he had to sit backstage and wait until his mother was done. But he always had company.

His mother had loads of friends, many of whom were vocalists like her, but there were also plenty of dancers, musicians, and actors. They would always come up to him, pulling his cheeks or rubbing his head. “Oh what an adorable little boy!” Or, “did the fine young mister come to support his mommy again this evening?”

On lucky days, he was allowed to sit in the audience and watch all the performances. Seeing his mother perform was always his favorite act.

Her glowing beauty and sparkling dress always illuminated the stage. Her wavy, honey, brown hair flowed down the sides of her soft cheeks, complementing her shining red lips. Alone on stage, she slowly swayed in the spotlight, as if she was dancing to a music Kaito couldn’t hear. Kaito could see her lips moving, yet he couldn’t hear any sound.

Confused, Kaito looked around to see if the rest of the audience were experiencing the same thing, but the only thing his eyes could see was silence and darkness, which surrounded him.

Kaito quickly got up and made his way to the platform.

“Mama!” he cried out.

But she did not respond; instead, she kept singing her voiceless song.

Kaito wanted with every fiber of his being to hear his mother’s voice. But something was wrong.

He cried out to her again.

“Mama?!”

Silence.

The stage seemed so far away, but he kept running. He had to reach her. He just had to hear her voice one more time.

“Kaito.”

“Kaito!”

“Kaito! Wakey-wakey, Kaito!” Yui said pulling her brother’s leg in a bid to wake him.

“Don— No!” Kaito pulled the blanket over his head. “Sleep, please.”

Yui’s fingers found their way to Kaito’s ultimate weak spot. His feet.

“YUI!!” Kaito jumped out of bed screaming. Yui’s laughter had spread through distance.

“Get up, you lazy bum! You are going to be late for school!” his aunt’s voice echoed from downstairs.

Kaito felt sad remembering his dream but couldn’t help laughing at his sister.

I’ll get her back; I’ll definitely get her back.

Kaito’s sister, Yui, who recently turned twelve, and their aunt, Kanna, were already sitting at the table when he got downstairs. He noticed the big smile on his sister’s face and just shook his head when he sat down. Breakfast looked amazing as usual, and the kitchen was filled with some of Kaito’s favorite smells—bacon and toast. There was also white rice, leftover miso soup, natto, and eggs that Kaito could choose from to fill his growling belly with.

“So! Come on, Kaito, tell us all about it,” Kanna said with a cunning smile on her face. She was a beautiful woman, too young to be the guardian of two. Her brown hair and strong personality reminded him so much of his mother.

If only she hadn’t let go of that strength.

Kaito squinted his eyes. “Tell you all about… what?”

“Pft! Silly boy, we want to hear about yesterday. Your first day of school of course! Did you make any friends? Hmm? Meet any cute girls?”

Kaito looked at his aunt, who was scraping the last bit of yogurt out of the tub with a smile plastered across her face.

She’s enjoying this way too much.

“It was alright.”

“Just alright? Did something happen you’re not telling me?”

“No—”

“Is it bullying? Are you being bullied?! Maybe I should go talk to your teacher tomo—”

“Fine! Alright! It was… just fine. I met a guy called Touma. And… he’s friendly. I guess. And the classes were uh… just fine. Okay!”

“Well, mister everything-is-just-fine, have some more food,” she said emptying the pan of scrambled eggs onto his plate. “You need to eat enough food so you can grow big and strong,” she said with a serious look on her face, which fooled no one.

“And what about clubs?” Yui asked, still laughing at the conversation. “Are you joining any? I’m sure they’ll just let you straight in if they hear what a good vocalist you are, Kai-kai.”

“Don’t call me that! And no, I’m not joining any clubs! It’s the last year of high school; people don’t just join clubs in the last year.”

“Nah. Nah, that’s not how it works, Kaito,” said Kanna in a serious tone. “Life is a give and take, you know. You need to put in an effort.”

“I just—”

“I know it’s hard, Kaito. But that doesn’t mean you stop trying, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good. Now, I’m going to drop Yui off and go to work. Kaito, could you please clean the table before you leave?” She gave him a kiss on his forehead before she and Yui made their way out through the front door.

“See you guys tonight!”

Kaito had lived in Tokyo his whole life. The tall buildings, loud noises, and masses of people made it very easy to go unnoticed. He embraced the loneliness and made it a part of himself.

However, the town of Hakone was completely different. It was a small town in a mountainous region of the Kanagawa prefecture in Japan. Lush green trees filled every nook and cranny of the town, while the tip of Mount Fuji loomed in the distance. It all made for some picturesque views all-year round.

Simply put, it was the extreme contrast of Tokyo.

The people were much friendlier as well, greeting him with their big smiles as he made his way to the train station.

Life seemed to go by slower here. More peaceful.

But it annoyed him.

Ugh, Even the train moves slow!

By the time Kaito arrived at school, he was already in a foul mood, which worsened when he realized he was going to be late for his first class of the day.

He quickly made his way through the hall. This time, he took care not to run and opted to walk as fast as he could instead.

Out of breath, Kaito barged into the classroom. The loud chatter of his classmates quickly muffled and then turned into whispers and snickers. Annoyed, Kaito took his seat.

The professor isn’t even here yet!

The rest of the morning flew by while Kaito’s eyes wandered outside to the blooming cherry blossom trees.

This place is so boring.

How am I gonna survive a whole year here?

The chiming of the school bell synchronized perfectly with his growling stomach. Nonetheless, Kaito had no lunch box today and wasn’t pleased about it, because he would have to use the cafeteria, which, as he had expected, was packed with loud, annoying teenagers.

Kaito slotted in the back of the lunch line and waited patiently for his turn. His eyes traveled around the busy room, inspecting everyone around him. Soon, his eyes fell on a girl, who had appeared right in front of him, clearly waiting for him to finish daydreaming. She was short and slender with emerald-green eyes and pitch-black hair, which was tied up in a neat ponytail and kept together by a bright-red ribbon.

“H-hello?”

“Oh, good! Hello! I’m the student council president. My name is— OUCH!” she yelped as she was shoved aside by a big, muscular, and clearly rude guy who had been storming his way through the cafeteria, followed by a group of lackeys.

His head turned to the girl, and he smiled at her. “Oh, hey! Look, boys. It’s my sister!” He stretched out his arms, as if asking for a hug, and pouted his lips at her.

With a disgusted look on her face, she tried to push the brute off of her, “STEPSISTER!” she retorted, “NOW GET OFF OF ME, YOU PIG!”

The scene that was unfolding in front of Kaito triggered a burning rage inside of him, and without thinking, he gripped the guy’s arm. “Better let go of her, buddy.”

The clamoring inside the cafeteria had seized and was now replaced by excited whispers.

The brute let go of the girl, and his gaze turned to Kaito. Donning a broader, more maniacal smile, he asked laughingly, “Is this your boyfriend, little sis? Hey, what’s your name?!”

Kaito ignored the brute and moved past them. The students ahead of Kaito in the wait queue insisted that he get in front of them, and that’s what he did.

Again, he called out to Kaito. “Yo, kid!”

In one swift motion, the bully made his way over to Kaito. Then, he dragged his hand through his messy, dark-blonde hair as he laughed, apparently finding the situation hilarious.

“Yo, kid. You ignoring me?” he asked Kaito with hostility in his voice.

“My name is not kid,” Kaito replied, looking the guy straight in the eyes. Kaito had had his fair share of bullies and wasn’t about to start showing weakness now.

“Ha! See, now that’s funny. I like it!” he sarcastically remarked as he turned around to face his friends with a big smile on his face. “Did you guys hear that? This guy’s got some balls!” he said and then turned back to Kaito.

Silence fell over the entire cafeteria, and all eyes were focused on the two of them.

“So, tell me, what’s your name, kid?” the bully stretched out his arm and rubbed his knuckles through Kaito’s hair as if he was a little child.

Kaito pushed his arm away. “My name is none of your business. Now, go sit down with your friends before I put you down.”

“You little mother f—”

“Woah! Woah! Ace, hold up!” Touma interjected from the crowd as he pushed his way through the horde. “Ace, wait! He’s the new kid. He doesn’t know anything, please… we’re sorry. Just let me take him away, please.”

“You again?!”

“Kaito, please, shut up!” Touma said, distressed.

Kaito wasn’t the least bit impressed, but seeing the seriousness in Touma’s face, he decided to play along and follow his lead.

“Hahaha! keep your puppy on a leash, Touma, and teach it some manners!” said Ace as he turned back to his group of friends, who were all crying with laughter.

Touma dragged Kaito away from the cafeteria and back into the classroom they’d just came from before lunch. He opened up a lunch box and offered it to Kaito. Inside were some treats and half a sandwich.

“Here, eat it.”

Kaito thanked him and started eating.

“So, why did you interfere? Is he some gangster’s child I need to be scared of or something? Because I’m not, and I can defend m—”

“Yeah, I’m sure you can defend yourself, Kaito. And no, he is not the child of some Hakone gangster,” he said with a smile as if he thought the possibility of that would be hilarious. “Nope, but he is the principal's son.”

“Okay, and?”

“Well, let’s just say he is daddy’s little boy and whatever he wants, he gets. I can promise you, if you had landed a punch on his precious little cheek, you would be expelled before his cheek even starts swelling.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m afraid so. Sorry, buddy.”

“No. I’m sorry,” said Kaito reluctantly. “You still helped me even though I was a complete ass to you yesterday.”

“It’s all good; we all have bad days,” he said with a big smile on his face. Touma extended his hand once again. “I’m Touma. Touma Maki,” he said laughing while running his other hand through his crimson-red hair.

Kaito couldn’t help but laugh himself. “I’m Kaito. Kaito Igarashi. Nice to finally meet you, Touma.”

The two boys spent the rest of their lunch break laughing at the silly events of the past two days and eating all that Touma had in his lunch box.

After school, Kaito saw Touma and another boy, who was dressed in a baseball jersey and cap, head off toward Gora Park as he made his way to the train station. Touma had invited him along, but Kaito was convinced he has had just a little bit too much friendliness for one day that he made up an excuse.

“I’m home!” Kaito said as he removed his shoes and kicked them to the side.

Hmm, I guess no one’s home.

He made his way upstairs and let out a sigh as he laid eyes on all the boxes still piled up in his room.

Wait…

Ta-dum. Ta-dum.

I wonder if she is there…

She? She’s not real… is she?

… Yeah, she is.

Whatever.

… Just, say hello. Try it.

Fine.

“Hello?”

Nothing. See? I told you s—

“Hey,” she answered.

Kaito swallowed hard.

Ta-dum. Ta-dum.

“Um… are you r-real?”

She let out a soft giggle. “I am, yes. Are you?”

“Wha— Of course, I am!” Kaito said, taken by surprise. “How am I hearing you? Are you next door?”

“Yeah, I’ve lived here my whole life.”

It must be that crack in the wall!

“I’m Miyu by the way—Miyu Hoshino. What’s your name?”

“I’m, uh… Kaito.”

Again, she giggled. “It’s nice to meet you, Uh Kaito!”

“Huh? No! I mean… Ah, I see.” Kaito chuckled. “I’m Kaito Igarashi.”

A few moments went by in silence while the two of them were trying to make sense of what was going on.

“It’s because of this crack in the wall that I can hear you so well, isn’t it? Do you have it on your side as well?” Kaito asked.

“Yes, it must be! This ugly thing has been on my wall for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never been able to hear any of the previous neighbors before!”

That’s weird?

“That’s strange!”

“What’s even stranger is hearing a stranger randomly sing songs with me while I’m standing in my bedroom!”

Kaito’s eyes stretched wide, and he took a step backward.

Oh my god! She really does think I’m a pervert!

He scratched the back of his head. “Oh, you h-heard that?” He giggled nervously. “I was just kind of in the m-moment, you know?”

Miyu’s muffled giggle quickly eased Kaito’s nerves, as he figured she wasn’t being serious.

Hmm, I know just how to get her back.

“But you know, I couldn’t help myself when I heard your beautiful voice singing that song.”

“My wha—!” Miyu squeaked.

Kaito knew he made her blush without having to see her.

“You still there?” he asked after a few silent moments.

“Yes, I am.”

“Are you in your bedroom?”

“Wha— What are you asking me!”

Oh, no.

“No, no! I mean… Well, yeah. See, the room I’m in now is my bedroom, and well, I was wondering if yours is on the other side of this wall. It would make sense if the two apartments were mirroring each other.”

“Oh, that’s what you mean! Well, yes. This is my bedroom,” Miyu answered.

Kaito heard a door slam shut but wasn’t sure where it came from.

“I, uh, I need to go, Kaito.”

“Wait!” Kaito rushed closer to the crack in the wall. “Can we talk again sometime?” he asked, but there was no response.

He fell backward onto his bed and stared at the very boring, white ceiling.

How about that! She is real...