Manjiro Sano {Maiki} ⁰⁰⁷

Early morning, in a quiet classroom bathed in soft sunlight, before the first lesson begins...

He was sitting at the back of the class, his head resting on his hand, his eyes half-closed as if he were waiting for something, or perhaps... someone.

She was late today.
And there he is, staring silently towards the door, as if whispering inside it:
"How long will I keep running after you?"

He let out a small sigh, stared at the empty seats in front of him, then muttered:
"You've always been slow to come back... not just in running, but in everything... even in expressing your feelings."

He slowly raised his head, and a faint, sad smile appeared on his face:
"But I will wait for you... even if you are late again, I will stay here."

A long moment of silence, then he closed his eyes, as if he were reliving an old encounter, or imagining the sound of her footsteps approaching the door.