The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity

Rintaro Tsumugi keeps his head down at a rough boys’ school and spends off hours helping at his family bakery. Kaoruko Waguri, a poised student from the academy next door, finds the shop and keeps returning for the cakes and the quiet way he wraps them. He looks like trouble to most people, so he’s careful when she lingers, careful when her uniform draws stares, and careful when talk about the wall between their schools turns small kindnesses into gossip. Library study sessions pull them close enough to clash with friends who want the old lines kept, yet apologies follow and the circle loosens. A day at the beach gives him the nerve to say what he feels; a summer festival becomes the first date they plan instead of bumping into each other by luck. He learns to answer plainly instead of retreating. She learns to stand firm when others speak for her. Step by step they start meeting in daylight, and the label of rival schools matters less than the habit of showing up for each other.