Around 9 years ago
"..."
Yuriko was alone in her classroom, she was finishing the homework that was given by the teacher, as for why she was doing that instead of doing something else more fitting for her age, like playing with the other kids the same age as her, was simple... She had an unrivaled beauty and height for someone of her age
Due to that, many of the girls who were in the same class as she would admire her, but also feel very embarrassed about talking with her, something normal with little kids. As for the boys, some would feel jealousy towards Yuriko for getting all of the girls' attention, something that at their age they didn't understand, but at the same time due to Yuriko being considerably taller than them, they also feared her, which understandably made all of the boys avoid her at that time
And today was no different, after the lessons ended many of the kids would either go home, if they lived nearby, or play on the school field with their friends as they waited for their parents or a relative to pick them up. Yuriko fitted the latter, as she was always picked up by either one of her parents or her older brother, so she would always try to invite the girls in her classroom to play with her, but they always ran away from her with a red face, and the same with could be said about the boys, but for a different reason
"Kyahahaha!" "Kyahaha!"
"!"
Then just as Yuriko had finished doing her homework, she heard the sound of girls laughing outside, so she went towards the window and from there she saw a group of girls playing together, and the girls in question were the same ones that she had tried to invite to play earlier, slightly away from them, a group of boys was doing the type of things they would regret later on in their lives
"..."
Seeing those kids happily playing together, made Yuriko pout in anger as she began to stomp the floor with one of her legs
Meanwhile
"Huff... huff... huff... Arf... Arf... Arf... *Looks around*"
A dark green-haired girl was running down the hallway with a desperate face, that was because she was running away from an unrelenting pursuer, then she stopped and looked down on both ways of the hallway and saw that she was alone
"... Haa... Haa... Huhuhu... I definitely lost her in this maze"
*Tap tap tap tap*
"Found you~"
"Huh?"
When the little green-haired girl heard the voice of a girl the same age as her coming from behind her, making her turn and then she saw an orange-haired girl standing menacingly over there. Making the green-haired girl make a despairing face as she began running in the opposite direction of the orange-haired girl, who also began to walk and then run after the green-haired girl
"Huffhuffhuff! *Looks behind* ?! Hiii!"
The green-haired girl was running as fast as she could, but the orange-haired girl was slowly closing the gap between them
*Stomp stomp stomp*
It was then, that the green-haired girl, heard the sound of someone stomping the floor coming from inside a classroom that she was about to pass by. Then in her desperation, she turned and dashed inside the classroom, and in there she saw a tall silver-haired girl, it was Yuriko, who now had stopped stomping the floor and instead appeared to be on the verge of crying
"HELP!"
"?! Huh?! Eh?!"
The green-haired girl kept dashing towards Yuriko, and then... Went around her and hid right behind Yuriko, which left Yuriko very confused. Immediately after doing that, the orange-haired girl appeared and stopped right in front of the door
"Get out of there, Ayano!"
"Never! You're never going to catch me now, Aki!"
"Let's see about that"
"!! Y-You, what's your name!"
Ayano looked at Yuriko and asked for her name
"Huh? I-It's Yuriko"
"Yuriko is it? Alright! Stop Aki from catching no matter what!"
"Eh? Huh?! Y-Yes!"
"Thanks!"
Then Ayano made a mad dash to the other side, and Aki tried to go after her, but Yuriko stood right in front of her, blocking Aki from chasing after Ayano. Aki tried to go around Yuriko, but she always reacted on time, making it impossible to bypass the wall that Yuriko was doing
"... Okay, you leave me with no other choice..."
"Huh?"
Aki then put a hand on Yuriko's shoulder
"... You're now it"
"Eh?"
After saying that, Aki began running away from Yuriko, who was stunned by confusion
"... ... ... Ah!"
Then Yuriko remembered about the game of catch where one person is it, and must chase the other participants, after remembering about that, she quickly began chasing after Aki. The three eventually ended up at the outdoor area of the school where they continued playing catch for quite a long time
Some time later
"Yuriko-chan! Your brother is here!"
"Ah! I'm coming! I-I'm sorry, but I have to go back home now"
Yuriko bowed to Aki and Ayano with a regretful face
"Ah, it's fine. We can play more tomorrow"
"! R-Really?!"
"Yes! The more the better, because I plan on conquering the sand pit! And you're the perfect candidate to help me with that!"
"... Yes!"
Yuriko was slightly surprised by Aki inventing her to play tomorrow, but she still agreed with a big happy smile on her face
"Oi! Yu-chan! We need to get back home soon!"
"Y-Yes!... Erm Bye-bye!"
" "Bye-bye!" "
Then hearing her older brother calling for her to hurry, Yuriko gave her farewells to Ayano and Aki and ran back to her classroom to get her stuff. As for Ayano and Aki, they continued playing some more until their parents came to pick them up a little later
The next day
The next day was a regular school day as usual, and the lessons had just ended. But this time, Yuriko didn't go around her classroom to ask if the girls wanted to play with her, instead, she left her classroom as soon as she was allowed to, and went searching for Aki and Ayano, and not long after, she found the two inside a classroom
"Aki! Ayano! Let's play!"
And immediately went to call them to play
" "Hm? Ah! Lets!" "
And the two immediately agreed, so the three went on to conquer the sand pit and monopolize it until their relatives came to pick them up. After that, Yuriko would always go to the two to play, and the two would always agree to play with her. That was how Yuriko got her two childhood friends, and the only friends she would have for a long time