First taste of smoke, addictive yet a bit unlikable.
(Tune in Song—From the first time, by laufey. )
In the Pub of Tokyo, Japan.
After party of the College Orientation.
I still remember well, It was too busy in the pub, in japan pub's are always busy at the nighttime, Senior's were forcing us to drink and I was too drunk to care.
My head was down at the table my right hand was at my temple. "Your third Year seniors are here lift your head up." Hanamichi senpai said. ragging all of us, I lifted my head up even tho it was paining like I could die any second, I've greeted all the senior's one by one, but than my eyes stopped at her mesmerizing beautie.
Ah... and that moment my soul knew that my heart didn't, that she will ruin me, ruin me for others. Cause if I would have knew the future maybe I would have kept my distance from her that day.
And maybe it was the beginning, beginning of everything, of us. She bought to me, my first everything Love, Pain, Sex, First Emotional attachment to a Stranger, and—the end of us.
It all began in spring, that year, the moment of us, and ended in the next winter like as the snow fell slowly in the earth. The season's of us. Where she teache him the love and ended it too. The season of first love, and a new beginning of my genuine love.
Sweet as her voice was— "May I sit here, she said softly, "Ss.. Sure I replied." Than He closed his eyes because of feeling a sudden ray of light at his face, and than He rubs both of his eyes with his one hand fingers since mine head was paining and as I open my eyes from the dark.
Here, she said. Her sweet voice and offering of a glass of Water was in front of me. "These man's can be so much," She placed the glass at his side of a table, than from the pocket of her coat she pulls out the small packet than slides it over to him. He picked it up with a blurry Vision than somehow, he read the label, "Hangover pills."
"Thanks Senpai, He muttered". ...as He lifted his head, his eyes met her's. The shade of beautiful dark Silver eyes. A silent scream awaken in his heart amidst the chatter of the people's. Warm silence was there between them. Than breaking through casually she leaned in, her posture was relaxed, but her every moment radiated playfull, yet curious and a faintly seductive Look.
Air in the pub was hazy with the laughter and the chatter of the people's, the faintest scent of a grilled yakitori. The afterparty of a college orientation had just begun to fade, groups of students had already drifted out into the neon night, leaving behind the half-empty glasses and forgotten jackets.
I leaned back against the wall, feeling the warmth of the Sake still humming through my veins, quietly glancing at her.
She turned toward me — Amano Reze — her hair falling slightly over her cheek, her eyes catching the dim golden light. She asked "So what's your name?" her voice soft but curious, like a song I almost recognized.
"youshimura Senkai, I said."
"Sen–kai" she said my name, maybe I was still too drunk, but it sounded so sweet when she said it.
He smiled gently, trying to sound composed though the room felt like it was swaying. "You make it sound so sweet like poetry, I murmured, unable to look away."
She laughed quietly, setting her drink down. "Maybe it is. But every name carries a story, doesn't it?"
"Then what's about yours? Senpai. I asked, though I already knew."
"Amano Reze," she said, tilting her head with a faint smile. "But everyone just calls me Reze. Amano sounds too formal."
He nodded. "Reze… like a rain," I whispered.
She looked at me, surprised. "Rain?"
"Yeah. Something about you feels like a... The moment before it starts raining" — calm, Yet alive. "Makes you want to stand still and just… wait."
Her smile softened, and for a brief second, the noise of the chatter of people and the pub's faded. It was just us — two strangers who had somehow found a quiet corner in the chaos.
"Maybe you're still drunk," she said. teasingly, brushing her hair back. "Maybe," I replied. "Or maybe I finally met someone worth being drunk around." She looked away, but I could see the small curve of her lips — that almost-hidden smile that would haunt me long after the night ended."
———
A quietness came around both again—
Hanamichi was looking at them from a while as he slammed his empty glass on the counter, sloshing the last drops of beer onto the sticky wood, as He squinted at the two across from him—his junior Yoshimura Senkai, grining like an idiot, and the Reze leaning in just a bit too close, her perfume cutting through the alcohol and chaos.
"Oi," Hanamichi slurred, pointing at her with the kind of shaky authority only a half-drunk guy could muster. "You—" he jabbed a finger toward her, "don't you dare involve him in your little games. He's is my junior, don't mess with that."
Then turned to him, his eyes narrowing. "And you… don't fall for that damn smile. That's a dangerous smile, you hear me?"
Bit awkward and annoyingly. She'd said to one of a friend of hanamichi."Hey he is far way too drunk you guy's should take him and drop him home before he starts talking nonsense."
Senaki, He'd laughed, brushing it off too, saying lightly "come on senpai your are drunk," but He, Hanamichi did not stopped. He leaned back with a crooked grin, shaking his head. "I'm serious. You think this is just fun, but I've have seen how it ends. Not once, not twice, many times I am telling you kouhai kun (junior)."
Just as a senior I didn't knew, while going out she tap's her shoulder lightly and said, while leaving "I'm going for the smoke wanna join." sure, "Reze, She said getting up, and following her friends out.
———
The staircase behind the pub.
The laughter from upstairs faded as the door swings shut behind them. The night air is sharp, tasting faintly of a rain and cigarettes.
Reze leans against the metal railing, the light from the street below sketching gold across her face. She takes a slow drag — elegant, practiced — the kind that says she's been through things he can't yet name. Smoke slips from her lips like a sigh... she's learned to control.
I lingered by the doorway, hands in pockets, unsure whether I'll followed her out or was just simply pulled by her orbit. Reze quietly, she'll glances at him — eyes dark, unreadable. You are out too? She asked. "He replied just taking the fresh air after getting sober up."
For a moment, neither speaks. only sound was the low hum of traffic below, and the scratch of her breath turning to smoke.
"Wanna smoke?" She asks
He shakes his head. "I don't, Never have."
She tilts her head, lips curving just enough to make it unclear if she's teasing or testing him.
She studies him — like a challenge, like a question. Then, with a half-smile that could ruin a man, she holds out the cigarette. "Try. Just once." He hesitates, "just once she said" then he takes it...
The filter was warm from her lips. He breathes in too deep, than coughs, how do people even enhales this— He said. "under his breath — embarrassed.
She doesn't laugh. But she just watches him. "See?" she says softly. "It burns first. But then it stays." But if you stay with it... it stops burning. It starts to feel like you need it."
He meets her gaze, unsure if she's talking about the cigarette — or about herself. Silence hums in the background, alive and the dangerous at the same time. And somewhere below, the city moves on, unaware that something fragile and irreversible has just begun.He exhales, the smoke drifting between them like a confession neither dares to make.
The city feels far away. But Her eyes don't. She smiled faintly, since you got sober now, how about you drop me home?
A silence went through for a moment as, He thought. "I knew... I knew what this meant, a dangerous invitation, but I still went along with it."
"Why? You ask." Just maybe... Because I liked her from the start." Back than there was no meaning into it just a deliberate attraction.
"I've gone in grabbed both of our coat's as I've followed her out. "I've told myself as I made up mind. "I am just going to walk her home and no more," But..."
———
Tokyo streets.
The streets outside Pub's were unusually quiet for Tokyo, the glow of neon signs washing the pavement in streaks of pink and blue. Senkai He walked beside Reze, hands tucked awkwardly into his pockets, still feeling the leftover buzz from the orientation party.
They had only just met that evening, but somehow they'd ended up leaving together, their laughter trailing softly through the night air. Until he was walking her home." The words of his senpai hanamichi hung there for a moment—half a joke, half a warning, before her sweet voice hit again. "You're pretty quiet for a first-year," Reze teased, swaying slightly as her heels clicked against the sidewalk. Her tone carried the easy authority of someone used to being listened to, but her smile softened the words.
Senkai Rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at her sideways. "I just… don't talk much around people. But you—" He hesitated, then added with a faint smile, "—you made it less awkward."
She chuckled, the sound low and amused.
"That's because I'm your senpai (Senior). Three years' worth of practice in making a nervous freshmen loosen up." Her eyes glinted under the streetlights, catching him in a way that made his Heart tighten. "Besides, you've looked like you'll vanish into the wallpaper if someone didn't drag you into the conversation."
He laughed softly, admitting, "Maybe I would've." Than by the time they reached her apartment, the easy banter had shifted into a quieter rhythm. She paused at the gate, turning to him with a lingering look. "You really were going to just walk me here and leave, huh? she asked, tilting her head." he nodded "yes, though his pulse betrayed him. "That was the plan.
She stepped closer, her voice lowering as she added, "You're sweet… you've know, but. with a pause she continued, Sometimes, plans are just meant to be broken." Her fingers brushed his sleeve, then curled around his wrist, firm but not forceful.
The playful senpai he had walked with all night seemed to fade, replaced by something sharper, more deliberate. "Come upstairs with me," she murmured, her gaze steady on his eyes. Did he didn't knew what she meant. "No he knew well. Senkai, torn between nerves and curiosity, He asked her a last question before finally letting her lead him toward the building's entrance. "Why me?"
"Why you asked?" Hum... Cause at the after party you looked like lonely, alone, if I didn't taken care of you, you'd vanish, disappear, alone somewhere I don't know of, but I'll know that feeling too, You feel alone, lonely, a burning pain listening to your heart."
Somewhere, that night. He knew that If he let her go alone "Tonight" he might lose her forever for the first time that night," He felt the world's tip into something unexpected."...
———
In the lift.
Elevatorridewas quiet, broken only by the soft hum of machinery and the faint shuffle of their shoes. He'd stood stiffly at her side, And his reflection in the mirrored walls was betraying the nervousness he tried to hide. Reze, leaning casually against the rail, watched him with an amused tilt to her lips, as though she could see straight through his composure. she smiled "Relax, she said softly, her voice a low ripple in the silence. "I'm not going to bite, you know."
When the doors slid open, she led him down a narrow hallway, her steps confident, his a bit hesitant. Than inside her apartment, the air was warm and faintly scented with a jasmine. She'd kicked off her heels with a sigh of relief and tossed her bag onto the couch, turning to face him. "You can sit if you want," she offered, almost teasing. He hovered awkwardly near the doorway, unsure if he made the right decision or not by following her.
His heart thudded too loudly in his chest, and somewhere he wondered if she could hear it.
———
Inside her apartment.
She crossed the room slowly, every movement unhurried yet deliberate. Than she take's the hung mug from the counter and pour the water on it from the sink, while drinking. she leaned against the edge of the counter, holding the cup as she studied him. "You're nervous," she said, more observation than question's.
Senkai finally stepping further into the room. "I've just didn't expect… this," he admitted, his voice quiet as ever expression calm. Her smile softened, as she look's at him, than "What did you expect? That I'd thank you politely at the door and than disappear?"
Playful glint in her eyes kept his gaze locked onto hers. She moved closer, the distance between them shrinking by deliberate inches, giving him every chance to step back. He didn't. When she reached him, her hand brushed lightly against his arm, barely there, enough to spark heat under his skin. "You can leave if you want," she whispered, her tone softer now, almost a dare, She gave it to me.
He looked at her, caught in the weight of her nearness, the calm patience of someone who knew exactly how to blur the line between danger and desire. I breathed out slowly, the tension stretching thin, sweet, and unbearable. And then, with the faintest nod I'll Stay, he said.
———
A little smile went through her lips as...
The first kiss lingered like a spark, and when She pulled back, I thought it was over—until her eyes softened and she leaned in again for a kiss. But this time, her lips pressed against mine with a more certainty, less of a question and more of an answer. His breath caught, but he didn't hesitated, Instead He responded, letting the kiss deepen, as his nerves melted down into the warmth of her closeness...
Her hand slid's from his jaw to the back of his neck, drawing him closer, while his own hands hovered awkwardly than finally resting against her waist. The moment was slow, careful, as if neither wanted to break the fragile thread that held them together. And the taste of her like a smoke lingered— bitter yet sweet, intoxicating, laced with the faint burn of a whiskey—and He felt it his pulse quicken within every second.
When they parted just enough to breathe, Reze, forehead rested against his, her lips brushing words into the small space between them. "You're a fast learner," she teased, her voice hushed but playful, her breath warming his skin.
He smiled. "Maybe I just had the right teacher." Her laughter was soft, almost a sigh, before she kissed him again—slower, and deeper, letting the tension unravel in deliberate threads. What began as restraint shifted into something fuller, more consuming.
The Silence of her apartment wrapped around them, broken only by the gentle sound of their lips meeting again and again, each kiss a step further into the unspoken. And By the time she finally pulled back, her eyes searched his, with a flicker of something more serious, something that felt like both a warning and an invitation. "Careful," she whispered, her lips brushing his once more. "If you keep kissing me like that, you won't get to leave tonight..."
———
Warning in her voice only made senkai's chest tighten, but instead of stepping back, he leaned forward, claiming her lips again with more courage than before. This time, there was no hesitation—only the pull of heat that had been simmering between them since they'd left the party. Reze her arms wrapped around his neck, drawing him fully against her, and he felt the last traces of his restraint slip away.
She guided him backwards toward the couch, never breaking their kiss, her movements confident yet unhurried. When they sank onto the cushions, she shifted into his lap with the ease of someone who knew exactly what she wanted, her fingers threading through his hair. His hands against her waist, the warmth of her body pressed close steadied him. Each kiss grew deeper, hungrier, their breaths mingling in a soft, uneven gasps.
She pulled back just enough to look at him, her eyes half-lidded, searching his. "Are you sure of it?" Reze asked, her voice husky but steady. The question caught him off guard, but without hesitation, his words coming rough and honest: "I don't want to stop. "Something flickered in her gaze—a mix of relief and desire—before she kissed him again, harder this time, sealing the choice.
Their clothes became less important in the blur of touches and stolen breaths, each layer shed carefully between the lingering kisses. Time felt suspended, the outside world erased until there was only the two of them, tangled together under the glow of the city filtering through her window. Senkai he marveled at how easily he forgot his nerves, how natural it felt to let himself be led by her, yet still finding moments where his own hunger matched hers.
Their first night together unfolded not in haste but in waves—slow, deliberate, drawn out like a secret they weren't supposed to share but couldn't resist. And when at last the rush settled, leaving them breathless in the quiet aftermath, Reze's head rested against his shoulder, His hand at her waist tightly hugging her they both knocked out By the tiredness of the night, and drinks.
———
At the Morning....
Noise of the Traffic came through the down of the apartment. He had just woken up, Senkai He looked around, she was not beside him, he'll got up and sit as he rubbed his face, than his eyes goes at the nightstand table beside the bed.
It had a note pad and writen on it was. "You seemed tired so, I left early before you."
"l have a morning class's and at in the kitchen counter I've made a breakfast for you too have it before leaving." Than too causally, too chill. "And let's forgot about the last night somewhere we both had wanted it. And at last, let's stay on a good terms as a Senpai and Kohai (Senior and junior)."
He grin, Than "Fuck! He shouted.
———
Tokyo university Campus.
"Haha haha... Who.. who did you had a one night stand with Reze Senpai? His voice was low, "Ah... yeah. "Last night she had her eyes fixed on him I knew it Hanamichi Said. While walking next to him. "And he still didn't took my damn warning."
"Why, Is she that Bad or What? "I mean least she seemed sweet and kind and... Than with a pause remembering her answer, in some sort of pain."
Hanamichi say's "Oh damn another one even after getting that note he still didn't got his mind right. "So what? He said. Hanamichi continued. "You don't know the Hearts she have eaten alone that Vixen." Masamune continued laughing in the background. Wait, ...am I missing something over here?" Masamune said, "A lot." While controling his laugh.
Hanamichi puts his hand at his shoulder, "Let this Senpai of yours tell you about the biggest four great Vixens of our third year." He raised a eyebrow. Tachibana Rui, Kujou Sara, hayuga Hinata and Amano Reze the one you slept With." What? has she been with that many guys He asked? "No Hanamichi continued, But count is not low either I know that much, but if you ask me it's actually cuz, she has the most desire able body and the looks..."
Ah... fuck it, I am going I don't even wish to listen He said, while leaving. "Yeah! Hey wait for me, Masamune said, as he runs after him."
Sigh... Concerned Hanamichi say's let's hope It be a another lesson for him and he stay's away from her now. "Wait should I tell cella about it." Let it be I'll guess, he won't go after her hearing about her anyway... "
Senkai was walking at the campus square, many of the students, girls and boys approaches both of the friend's and harassed them, handing out the Phamplet's, saying to join their clubs.
He'd had only been trying to cut through the campus faster, dodging all of those who where trying to persuade him into joining their club. Running from them all was, when he pushed open the wrong door—and stumbled straight into the hushed dark of the college theatre.
———
The stage room of the college.
Shush... A person standing next give him a glare. "Ah.. sorry." Keep quite he said and look ahead at the stage, a play is about to begin.
He tilt's his head throughward's the Stage as... He froze at the back, blinking into the dim light spilling over the stage. There stood, beneath the amber glow, her—Amano Reze, his enigmatic senior, draped in a flowing kimono, opposite of tomorrow, elegant, gracefull, her sweet voice weaving poetry through the silence like silk.
Audience sat entranced, but all he could do was stare. Her every movement seemed unreal, like something from a dream half-remembered, for a moment He forgot the note she'd left at the morning, forgot his Anger—forgot even how to breathe.
In that moment, as she turned toward the crowd with a flicker of sorrow in her eyes, he realized he'd walked into more than just a play.
———
Play continued—her silk kimono shimmering with the shades of rose and ivory, each fold whispering a story of love and longing. Cherry blossoms drifted down from the rafters like tender memories.
Lantern light reveals an old-era stage, yet the story was mix original of the their script, Reze enters dressed as a noblewoman of a bygone age, her kimono muted, restrained, like a heart taught not to ask too much. Chorus speaks of a lord of a clan who vanished without farewell, leaving only silence behind.
She kneels before an unopened letter, her voice steady but trembling beneath ritual grace. "He did not leave me because love ended," she said softly. "He left because love was dangerous to him."
"As she tells story of a man bound by the bloodlines and wealth, by family hierarchies heavier than devotion—of a lover who chose the distance so she would not be wounded by the life he was trapped in."
"But to protect me," she whispers, smiling sadly stupid she said, cuz he became the one to who hurt me at last." Petals fall as she reaches for an empty space beside her, where he should have stood.
In the final act, she rises—not broken, but changed within. as she faces the audience, no longer a woman waiting, trembling but the one who understands. "Love that runs away is still love," she says, placing her hand over her heart. "And love that ends without goodbye still leaves a beginning behind." and with that she bows to the past, to the man who chose fear over the honesty, and to the girl she once was.
For a brief moment, her eyes shine—not with tears, but with resolve—as if forgiving him through was the right itself. Curtain falls to hushed applause, heavy and reverent, because the audience felt it now: this was not just a play little did Senkai knew.
It was written script by reze, of a love once she had— transformed into the history—romantic, aching, and brave enough to be remembered as the show ended. she bowed her head a bit, than the lanterns dimmed, leaving only a gentle light upon her face — a symbol of love that endures beyond time.
Curtains closed as the lights Turned on, "What the play ended this quick He said." Person next to him before leaving said. "cause you joined after the interval see ya around...
He looked over him as he left than he looked back at the stage. "Oh they are doing the curtain call, than all the actors came out for the curtain call. "wait a min.. Where's the heroine(Reze)?" He thought...
———
To be continue...
———