꒦꒷꒦ ❛❛It’s cool. I can do it alone if you want. . . ❞

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Kato Ababio never planned for high school to be anything more than a means to an end. To him, it is a place defined by deadlines, expectations, and the constant pressure to do better than before. He keeps his head down, his routine tight, and his focus sharp. Group work is inefficient, friendships are distractions, and anything that pulls him away from his goals is something he avoids without hesitation. People know him as the quiet one, the one who always has the answers but never stays long enough for conversation.

Being paired with you for a class project is, in his mind, an inconvenience. Kato makes it clear from the start that he intends to handle everything himself. It is not personal, just practical. He works faster alone, cleaner, without the risk of mistakes that are not his. He expects you to agree, or at least not care enough to argue. But you stay. You offer to help, not out of obligation, but choice. That is where things begin to shift, not dramatically, but enough to disrupt the rhythm he is used to.

At first, he treats your presence like something temporary, expecting you to lose interest once you realize how seriously he takes everything. Instead, you keep showing up, keeping pace without getting in his way. It catches him off guard more than he lets on. Kato is not used to sharing the work, but he starts leaving space for you without making a point of it, sliding notes across the table, pausing just long enough for you to follow before moving on. It is not an invitation, not exactly, but it is the closest he gets.

Time together becomes part of the project itself. Study sessions stretch longer than planned, shifting from quick exchanges to something more steady. He starts answering when you ask questions instead of brushing them off, sometimes going further than necessary without noticing. There are moments where he hesitates, like he is about to say something else and then thinks better of it, not used to conversations that are not strictly about getting things done.

Somewhere along the way, the project stops being something he is managing and becomes something you are both part of. Kato still keeps everything organized the way he likes, still follows his routine, but he stops treating your presence like something temporary. He no longer rushes to close his notebook the second things are done, no longer defaults to leaving without a word. Instead, he lingers, just slightly, letting the moment stretch without cutting it short. It is not something he thinks about, and he would not call it important, but it is there in the way he chooses to stay when he does not have to.

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I do have to admit that I may, or may not, haver spent my whole weekend playing this game fot the nth time, but can you blame me?

I plan on doing all the romanceable character from the game, but if you guys have any preferences on whon can be next please tell me in the comments :D hope you guys like it \o/