Gravity Isn’t Always Down

Chapter 4: Gravity Isn’t Always Down

Kazuki Rei was halfway through his bento when Ayumu Naruse jabbed a chopstick into his rice and said, “Alright, what gives?”

Kazuki blinked. “What?”

“You’ve got the look.”

“What look?”

“The ‘I’ve either fallen in love or joined a cult’ look. And knowing you, I honestly can’t tell which is more likely.”

Kazuki pushed Ayumu’s chopstick away with a sigh. They were sitting beneath the ginkgo trees on the far end of the schoolyard, where the leaves turned gold before anywhere else. Ayumu always said it made the place feel like a memory from a movie that hadn’t been filmed yet.

“I haven’t joined anything,” Kazuki muttered.

“So love it is.” Ayumu leaned back on his elbows. “Is it that transfer girl?”

Kazuki stiffened.

Ayumu caught it. His grin widened. “Bingo.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what’s it like?”

Kazuki stared at the wind in the trees, the way it carried leaves like soft yellow feathers.

“It’s like… every time I see her, the rest of the world goes quiet.”

Ayumu didn’t speak right away. He just studied Kazuki’s profile, unusually serious.

“Dude,” he said after a while, “you’ve never talked about anyone like that. You barely talk about yourself.”

Kazuki picked at his rice. “Yeah. It’s weird.”

“You like weird now?”

“…I think I do.”

Ayumu leaned forward, his voice low. “Okay, but — and don’t punch me for this — does she seem… normal?”

Kazuki glanced at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean she always looks like she knows things people don’t. Like she’s seen something she’s not supposed to remember.”

Kazuki went still.

“Forget I said that,” Ayumu said quickly. “Just… be careful, okay? I’m not saying don’t fall. I’m just saying make sure she’s falling with you.”

Kazuki looked down at his untouched food.

“I think,” he said quietly, “she already did.”

The bell rang in the distance, but neither of them moved right away.

And high above them, unseen in the daylight, a single star blinked.

Interlude: The Girl in the Window

Three days before she said his name for the first time, Kazuki Rei heard it from someone else.

It was seventh period. Rain tapped softly against the windows like a second hand trying to remember the beat. Mr. Takamine, their literature teacher, was reading from a novel about time travel and longing. Half the class was asleep.

Ayumu nudged Kazuki’s elbow with the back of his pencil.

“You ever see the transfer girl?” he whispered.

Kazuki didn’t look up from his book. “What girl?”

Ayumu leaned closer. “White uniform. Kinda like ours, but older. Long black hair. Walks like she’s not sure her feet are touching the ground.”

Kazuki turned a page. “Sounds made up.”

“She’s not. I saw her yesterday in the music wing. She was just standing there, looking at the skylight like she forgot why she was human.”

Mr. Takamine cleared his throat, his eyes flickering toward them — not annoyed, just listening.

Kazuki finally glanced at Ayumu. “What’s her name?”

Ayumu shrugged. “Don’t know. No one does. But she’s on the attendance sheet. Class 2-F. Hoshina-something.”

“Hoshina?”

Ayumu nodded. “That’s what Natsuki-senpai said. She thought Hoshina was a ghost.”

Kazuki gave him a flat look.

“I’m serious,” Ayumu insisted. “Natsuki said she tried to ask her a question after club, and the girl just… looked through her. Like she was remembering something from a different year.”

Kazuki frowned slightly, but said nothing.

Mr. Takamine looked up from his book. “Sometimes,” he said quietly, “people arrive before the story knows how to write them in.”

The class fell quiet. Mr. Takamine smiled, faint and knowing, then continued reading.

Kazuki’s fingers paused at the edge of the page.

He didn’t know why, but the rain felt colder now.

As if someone had just whispered his name — not aloud, not in voice — but across time.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***