The Letters I Never Sent

Chapter One: Meeting Her

Harukawa Maki's POV

[Early] First Year Senior Highschool

"Maki-roll. Hello. How are you? Are you ready for class?" Himiko asked her friend at the front of the school.

"Oh, hey Yumeno-san, Chabashira-san. I guess so. You guys can go ahead while I put my shoes in my locker."

"Oh alright. Let's go Tenko-chan!"

The two left Maki alone. While she was changing her shoes, she heard a loud voice saying, "Maki-roll! How are ya? Are you ready to be the best today?" The owner of the voice put an arm around her, and she blushed.

"Hey idiot...what are you doing?"

Kaito went to his shoe locker. "I came with Shuichi-kun. I wonder where he is..." He turned around. "Ah, he's with Akamatsu-san. She's pretty, isn't she...Let's go to class Harumaki."
Maki followed Kaito with a frown on her face. She had never gotten a compliment from her friend, and she always wished she had. Even if she were to act upset over it, deep down, she would've loved it. Over the years, Maki felt a closer connection to Kaito, and she wanted to be more than a friend to him. Sadly, she knew that she was always going to be a pal to him. However, even though she wanted Kaito for herself, she also felt bad because he fell in love with his own best friend's crush.

First Day of Senior High School:

Dear Kaito-kun,

I thank you and Saihara-san for giving me a fun first day. However, during lunch, when we met Shuichi-kun's other cool friends, Akamatsu-san and Amami-san, I remember the way you looked at Akamatsu-san. I have never seen you look at someone that way before, so it was unusual. But even though you were basically the life of the party, you kept your eyes on her. You kept addressing her and asking her questions. Maybe, it's just the jealousy catching up to me because I know how friendly you can be. But...my gut feeling is telling me that you definitely have different feelings for her. You guys are so different yet so alike. I'm jealous, and I'm sorry about that. But still, thank you for a good first day.

Sincerely,

Harumaki

Maki had a suspicion that Shuichi had feelings for Kaede as well and secretly wished that he wouldn't tell Kaito-kun about it. She was scared to know what he would do because she knew that he always wanted to be the superior person. Winning over the girl he liked would've been something extremely special to Kaito. However, Shuichi was extremely open about his crush on Kaede to the two. When he admitted it for the first time, Maki looked at Kaito, expecting him to go insane, but Kaito just kept his mixed feelings on the inside and wished Shuichi good luck. It made Maki feel pity for the both of them

"Maki-chan...Maki-chan...Hello...are you there?" Himiko asked, waving a hand in front of her friend's face.

"Ah..Yes, Yumeno-san?" Maki came back to the present, trying to forget what she was thinking of.

"What are you thinking of? You look depressed."

"Ah..nothing, nothing."
"Are you sure about that Harukawa-san?" Kaede Akamatsu asked as she was sitting right next to Maki.

"Is this about Kaito-kun again?" Himiko bluntly said.

Maki's face turned red with anger and embarrassment.

"Oh, what about Momota-kun?" Kaede questioned.

"She totally likes him, but unfortunately, Kaede-chan, it's not like a wonderful fairytale full of magic. She's not going to tell me the details though."
"Oh. That is unfortunate. I hope your love life will be less sad in the future...I'm going to go to the bathroom now. I hope you feel better soon Harukawa-san."

Maki side-eyed Kaede as she left. Her straightforwardness was questionable, but the blunt girl was kind enough to her.

"Kaede-chan can act weird sometimes... But why do you like Kaito-kun anyway? He has a big head and is an annoying idiot."

"Well...I don't know...he's so impulsive that I want to protect him...he's fun to be around..he's not super attractive, but the way he makes me feel is like I'm floating in a paradise...or something like that."

Himiko's eyes nearly filled with tears. "That's so romantic Maki-roll."
Maki was so embarrassed but chuckled at how monotonous Himiko sounded even though she seemed emotional.

"Oh look...what is Kaito-kun doing?"

The two friends eavesdropped on what was going on at the other side of the room.

"Kaede-chan!"

"Yes Kaito?"

"Are you going somewhere?"

"To h3ll...no, to the bathroom," she answered.

"May I walk-" Kaito started before freezing up. "I mean..hah..Shuichi should walk you!"

Himiko saw Shuichi looking terribly confused.
"I don't need protection Shuichi-kun"

"Erm...um...ah-I-"

"But I'll gladly accept," Kaede said with a smirk.

A gasp came out of Himiko's mouth. "She smiled at Shuichi-kun. What?!"

Shuichi and Kaede walked to the bathroom together, and Maki turned to look at Kaito's reaction. He cursed under his breath and mouthed something along the lines of, "I messed up."

This was another reason she liked him. Even though Kaito liked Kaede a lot, he still tried to support his own sidekick. When he wanted to be, he was very kind. One part of Maki wanted to root for Kaito, but the other part wanted him to fail at pursuing Kaede for multiple reasons.

She muttered under her breath and hid herself in her pigtails, "Why did I have to fall for my friend? This is too frustrating. Agh."