The words hung in the air.
Heavy.
Unreal.
"…Sora, will you please go on a date with me?"
For a moment—
Time itself seemed to pause.
Sora froze completely.
Her fingers, still lightly gripping his clothes—
Stilled.
Her breath—
Caught.
"…W-What…?"
It came out barely audible.
A whisper.
Her mind—usually composed, measured, unshakable—
Collapsed into pure noise.
Null, however, didn't look like he was joking.
Didn't smirk.
Didn't deflect.
Instead—
He continued, voice quieter now.
Honest.
"…I feel like I'll be miserable without being in your presence from the day after tomorrow until you return."
A small pause.
His gaze didn't waver.
"That's why… I want to spend as much time with you as possible tomorrow."
Sora's eyes widened slightly.
Her heartbeat—
Loud.
Too loud.
Null exhaled softly.
"…Moreover…"
A faint hesitation.
"…I want to explore this mysterious connection between us."
His grip on the floor tightened slightly.
"…And find out where it leads."
Silence.
Then—
"…Don't you want to?"
The question landed gently.
But carried weight.
Sora didn't answer immediately.
Couldn't.
Her thoughts were tangled.
Emotions unfamiliar.
Unorganized.
Her lips parted slightly—
And before she could stop herself—
She nodded.
A small—
Absentminded—
Unconscious nod.
"…Ah."
Null blinked once.
Then—
A faint smile formed.
"…I'll take that as a yes."
Sora froze again.
Realization hit—
Hard.
"…Wait—!"
Her face flushed instantly.
"I—I didn't— That is—!"
She stumbled over her words, trying to regain control.
Trying to reconstruct her composure.
"…I have not properly agreed yet!"
Null tilted his head slightly.
"…You nodded."
"That was not intentional!"
"It looked intentional."
"It was not!"
A beat.
"…Half-intentional?"
Sora turned her face away immediately.
"…That is not the point!"
Her voice rose slightly—
Then dropped again, as if she remembered where they were.
A deep breath.
She pressed a hand lightly to her chest.
Trying to steady her racing heartbeat.
"…A date…"
She murmured softly.
The words lingered.
Still trembling in the space between them.
Sora's hand remained over her chest—
As if trying to contain something that refused to be contained.
Her breath came uneven.
Unfamiliar.
Unsteady.
And then—
Null spoke.
Quietly.
Not teasing.
Not playful.
"…Sora."
His voice carried something different now.
Something raw.
Unfiltered.
"When I first met you…"
A pause.
His gaze softened—
Yet deepened.
"I felt true emotions."
Sora stilled.
"…What?"
"…Emotions I don't have to imitate… just to blend into normal society."
The words landed softly—
But shattered something invisible.
Sora's eyes widened slightly.
Null continued.
Calm.
Almost detached—
But not quite.
"…You see, Sora… I was born with an incurable condition."
A faint breath.
"{Unemotionality}."
Silence.
Heavy.
"This condition makes me… extremely apathetic."
His voice didn't waver.
"…Towards anyone but myself."
No dramatics.
No pity.
Just fact.
"I can't sympathize with anyone."
"I can't feel for anyone."
"No matter what I try…"
A faint, almost imperceptible tightening of his fingers against the floor.
"…I can't change it."
"It's… impossible."
Sora's fingers tightened slightly over her chest.
Her gaze—
Locked onto him.
Unmoving.
The gravity of his confession wrapping around her heart like a vise. She felt inexplicable sorrow wash over her soul, realizing the burden he bore.
This caused her very being to writhe.
Sharp.
Unfamiliar.
Pain—
Not for herself.
For him.
"…However…"
Null continued.
"…that doesn't mean my situation is completely hopeless."
A small pause.
"There are rare instances… in my life…"
"Where I felt something real."
"Moments where I could feel for someone other than myself."
His eyes met hers.
Direct.
Unavoidable.
"And those moments only happen…"
A breath.
"…when I'm close to people who are very special to me."
His eyes reflected a deep complexity.
Sora's heart skipped.
Then raced harder.
Faster.
Uncontrollably.
he interrupted, his tone soft and longing.
"And when I first met you…"
Null's voice lowered slightly.
Not weaker—
But deeper.
"…I experienced something different."
A flicker of something complicated passed through his eyes.
"…Intense."
"Real."
"Overwhelming."
A pause.
"…Emotions I couldn't understand nor articulate."
"Couldn't name."
"unlike any other"
"But—"
His grip tightened faintly.
"They filled my heart with mystical bliss and illuminated my soul like rays of hope and love"
Sora's breath hitched.
"…It felt like…"
He searched for the words.
"…like something inside my unfeeling existence… finally stirred."
A faint, almost disbelieving smile touched his lips.
"…Like I was alive for the first time."
Sora froze.
Completely.
Her chest tightened.
Something deep—
Achingly deep—
Stirred within her.
And then—
Null chuckled softly.
Embarrassed.
Genuine.
"…Do you know something?"
A small pause.
"In that moment…"
"…despite my indifferent facade…"
He glanced at her.
"…only one word reverberated in my mind while looking at you."
Silence.
"…Beautiful."
Sora's breath stopped.
"…Absolutely beautiful."
Her vision trembled.
"In fact, I even felt like jumping around excitedly because that's the first time I was genuinely able to feel and appreciate someone's appearance without imitating fake emotionality."
A faint, self-aware smile.
"…And for the first time…"
"…I wasn't pretending to feel."
"…I genuinely did."
Silence fell.
But it wasn't empty.
It was full—
Overflowing.
Sora felt it.
Deep in her chest.
A strange—
Painful—
Warm ache.
Something fragile tightening painfully.
A sorrow that didn't belong to her—
Yet settled within her anyway.
Who would have thought—
This boy…
This frustrating, insufferable, teasing—
Attractive yet playful otherworlder also had an unbearable past, despite being born in a mortal plane?
And yet—
Alongside that sorrow—
Something else bloomed.
Quiet.
Warm.
Treacherously soft.
Her heartbeat surged, nearing its limit.
Any more, and she feared it might literally explode.
She could hear the rhythm of his heart beating in sync with hers, two erratic pulses forming a fragile connection.
And yet—
She didn't want it to stop.
Because mixed within that overwhelming storm—
Was something else.
Something soft.
Something bright.
Something terrifyingly precious.
She realized it.
Without needing words.
She had felt it too.
That same unexplainable pull.
That same strange familiarity.
That same… brightness.
From the very beginning.
And that realization—
Shook her.
Completely.
Her lips parted—
But no words came.
Because—
Null spoke again.
And this time—
His voice carried a quiet desperation.
"…So, Sora…"
A breath.
"…please."
"…Give me a chance to connect with you."
His gaze held hers.
Unwavering.
"I feel like… if I don't ask you now…"
"…I won't get another chance for a very, very long time."
A pause.
"…That's why…"
His voice softened.
"Go on a date with me."
Silence.
"…Let's figure this out together."
A beat.
"…These strange feelings."
Another.
"…Because I know…"
His eyes didn't leave hers.
"…you feel the same way."
Time slowed.
Sora's world—
Narrowed—
To just him.
Her thoughts—
Gone.
Her composure—
Gone.
Her carefully maintained distance—
Gone.
Sora's vision blurred slightly.
Not from tears—
From something far more overwhelming.
Her heartbeat—
Unbearable.
Loud enough to drown thought.
And yet—
Her answer came easily.
Too easily.
"…Al—right."
The word escaped her lips before she could stop it.
Soft.
Shy.
Certain.
Her eyes lowered slightly.
"…I'll go."
A faint flush spread across her cheeks.
"…with you."
She didn't even think of refusing.
Not even once.
When it came to Null, her heart and soul felt utterly helpless, leaving her feeling thoroughly unraveled in his presence.
Her carefully built cold persona—
Fell apart.
And strangely—
She didn't mind.
Not at all.
—
—
Silence followed.
But this time—
It wasn't awkward.
It was full.
Quietly glowing between them.
—
"…We should… get up."
Sora finally murmured, voice softer than usual.
Null exhaled lightly.
"…Agreed."
This time—
Carefully—
She helped him up.
One hand supporting his arm.
The other steady at his back.
His weight leaned into her slightly.
Not heavy—
But present.
Real.
—
Together—
They walked out of the training hall.
Slowly.
Quietly.
—
The corridor stretched ahead.
Bathed in silver moonlight.
Their footsteps echoed softly.
Side by side.
Close—
But not quite touching beyond necessity.
—
Neither of them spoke.
Not because they had nothing to say—
But because there was too much.
Words would only get in the way.
—
Occasionally—
Their hands brushed.
Accidentally.
Both immediately pulling back—
Only to fall into silence again.
—
Eyes avoided.
Then—
Stolen glances.
Then—
Avoided again.
—
The air between them felt… different now.
Lighter.
Warmer.
Dangerously alive.
—
By the time they reached the residential wing—
The night had deepened.
The world had quieted.
—
But between them—
Something had begun.
Not loud.
Not defined.
—
But unmistakably—
Real.