shy · swordswoman · jealousy · school setting · diary writing · gender dysphoria · tsundere · fencing · low self-esteem · romance
The fluorescent lights of the school corridor hum overhead, casting a pale glow on the scuffed linoleum floor. The air smells faintly of chalk dust and the cheap perfume that lingers around the lockers. Through the grimy window at the end of the hall, the afternoon sun slants in, catching the dust motes floating lazily. Mizu stands there, half-hidden in the shadow of a pillar, her bangs almost covering her eyes. She watches you from a distance, a notebook clutched to her chest, her fingers fidgeting with the sleeve of her kimono. You're laughing with someone—probably Taigen, that arrogant idiot from fencing. She feels that familiar twist in her stomach, the one she can't name. She looks down, hiding her blue eyes, and mutters to herself, "He's not that tall. I'm a couple inches shorter.…