An intertwined reunion is what it seemed like. A long destined reunion is bound to happen.
Could it have been a coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.
To the young boy, this encounter may have been an everlasting dream. He didn't think he'd ever see her again. Remembering that pained look on her face when he told her that he would be with his father for the majority of his teen years. Then again, he was the first real friend to her.
He remembered how they first met at the beginning of primary school. Yumiko had instantly gained popularity as she had been regarded as the cutest child there. But also earned a bit of undesirable notoriety from the other female children, acting quite pompous for a girl as young as the age of five. But despite that personality of hers, he didn't once stop and tried to befriend her.
That pompous attitude would end up cracking down whenever she was around him. The two became the best of friends. Friends until they drifted apart.
Only to be reunited in the future. But what were they now?
Surely their relationship could only go further from what they were before... Right?
---
They stared at each other for what seemed like years. Still in the process of scanning each other up and down to make sure their eyes weren't deceiving one another and were actually standing in front of each other in the flesh.
However, Yumiko took a few steps forward before stopping a little. A deep breath escaped her lips, her mouth quivering a little in anticipation, her eyes wavering in nervousness as she couldn't seem to find the words to speak. Y/N was the same as well. With the gentle breeze of the wind brushing his bangs to the side, his brown eyes mesmerized by the girl's beauty, and particularly how much she's grown in not just height, but also other places, he could still recognize that this was still the same girl he befriended all those years ago. But his nervousness in not seeing her for a long time caused a wind to stay caught in his throat, unable to voice anything out.
Yumiko then took another few steps forward. She was now stopped right in front of him, maybe a little bit away from him to create a little bit of distance, but not too wide. Her olive green eyes stared dead into his brown eyes. She was the first to speak.
"You're... You're really N/N, right? My eyes aren't playing some sort of trick right now..."
Y/N scratched his cheek, staying silent for a bit. He then ended up putting on a smile, almost seemingly making Yumiko's heart flutter as a slight red hue made its way onto her cheeks.
"Yeah. It's me, Yumi-chan."
The blonde girl lets out a small, but elated gasp, a small smile gracing her face. Normally, at a reunion like this, a hug or some sort of affection is to be expected.
But in this situation, a loud crack filled the air. A red handprint on the L/N teen's face as Yumiko had reeled her hand back and slapped it right across his face. He recoiled in pain, yelping loudly as he held and rubbed it, the stinging sensation of the hit still being emitted all across his cheek, the warmth that had emanated from her hand.
It was quite the powerful slap.
"Ow!" He looked at her in bewilderment. "What was that for!?"
"That was for leaving me behind all those years ago, jerk," Yumiko retaliated with, tears prickling at the ends of her eyes. "You really made me believe you weren't coming back!"
His eyes widened momentarily before they relaxed, closing them as he sighed. She wasn't wrong.
When he told her that he was going to be leaving Japan to live with his father for a while, it had truly hurt her. The way she ran away from him during recess at school, extending a hand out to her fading figure as she bolted into the school. It was natural for her to feel heartbroken.
Scratching the back of his neck, looking apologetic, Y/N bowed his head slightly. A sad expression had plagued his face as well.
"I... Sorry about that, Yumi-chan. It was hard to even muster up the courage to tell you that day. I'm sorry."
She sniffled. "Yeah... You better be sorry." Soon, her pompous attitude took over. "A-Anyway! For doing that to me, you're going to hold my bags and walk me home!"
"Huh? Are you serious?"
"Yes, I'm serious! Consider it repentance!"
'How the hell did it end up like this?' He sighed, shaking his head, "Well, I see your pompous nature is still intact. You always did like ordering me around."
"Huh!? What was that!?" She jabs her finger into his chest, making him cough. "Be glad that you're actually able to see me again! Now, hurry up! I want to go home already!"
Shoving the bags of groceries into his hands, she soon marches off.
Y/N stood there for a second, making no motion whatsoever as he cradled the groceries in his arms. While some would be annoyed and irritated by her behavior, Y/N, however.
'She certainly hasn't changed... But... She wouldn't be Yumi-chan anymore if she didn't act like that,' he thought, a fond smile appearing.
---
"So... How long are you going to be in Japan?" She asked, peering her eyes over to him as they walked side by side down the street.
Y/N hummed. "Honestly, not sure. At the very least, I do know I'll be here for at least a year because I'll be attending Sobu High."
"Sobu? That's the same school I go to!"
"Really?" A grin couldn't help but make it to his face. "Then, let's have a good year together, Yumi-chan."
Seeing that face of his, especially how his grin ended up morphing into a warm smile, made her blush. The heat emanated off her cheeks as she cleared her throat, facing forward, and crossing her arms. Stopping in front of him, which made Y/N look very confused as he halted in his tracks, Yumiko pointed her finger at him. With a bit of a pout, an expression that was slightly embarrassed, but also irritated, she points her finger directly at his face.
"If we become classmates then, there's a certain condition when we're around others."
"Okay...? What's that?"
"When we're around others, you call me 'Yumiko', not 'Yumi-chan'. It'll be embarrassing. Got it?" To reinforce it, she then jabs her finger in his chest.
Y/N deadpanned. "Huh? Why? I thought you liked it when I called you that?"
She blushed, "Huh!? Of course I like it when you call me by that nickname, but it'll be embarrassing around others! So use it when it's just us, okay!?" She ordered. "In return, I won't call you 'N/N' whenever we're around others, too. It's only fair that way."
"Alright, alright, fine," he said, sighing. "In hindsight, it sounds stupid, but if you want it that way, sure."
"Good. Now that's settled, I want some coffee. Let's go. My favorite local coffee shop is down the corner."
"Huh? But what about your groceries? Shouldn't we get them home soon?"
She waved it off, "It'll be fine. My mom can wait a little longer, can't she? Besides, she'll just want me to help with cooking, and that's honestly a hassle."
Y/N deadpans once more. "Look, I get that cooking can be difficult and stuff, but it's not a bad skill to have. Same thing with things like doing the laundry and sewing."
"I'd rather not damage my nails," Yumiko retorts. "Besides, why should I learn all that stuff when I can have a partner do all that for me?"
At the mention of a partner, Y/N almost faltered a bit, even almost taking a misstep forward and nearly falling over. But he was quickly able to catch himself and cleared his throat. Of course, it was still obvious to himself, the feelings he held for her still remained. He liked her more than a friend.
However, he was unsure of how Yumiko felt toward him. While he was a bit optimistic that maybe they could pursue a relationship together, but for some reason, the thought of it made him feel quite doubtful that it could happen. Though, it seemed he was deep in thought about it for quite a bit as Yumiko had noticed that Y/N stopped following her for a while now. Turning around, she walked back up to him and stopped before him, a confused expression on her face.
"You okay? You've got this look on your face that's making you think a lot."
"...Huh? Was I?"
She nodded. "Yeah. You want to talk about it, or...?"
He dismissed the notion. "No, it's fine. It's nothing too serious, really."
"Okay..." Yumiko had narrowed her eyes at him for a bit, but dropped the subject.
Of course he couldn't tell her. Not right now, anyway.
He was still afraid of what could happen. Afraid that if he were to tell her that it would end up ruining their relationship. He didn't want things to become awkward between them, which was the last thing he wanted. For now, all he could do was keep that feeling he's held onto since they were young bottled up within him.
It was all he could do.
But he looked on the bright side of things. He was able to reconnect with her now. And there was for sure going to be more moments to reconnect with her. Now, was to wait.
Wait for the right moment to confess to her about how he's felt about her after all these years.
[Chapter One] | Reconnecting
---
So, how has the book been for you all so far?
Was honestly surprised to see the prologue chapter reach sixty one votes or something like that. That's basically comparable to the time I first released the first chapter of the Itsuki Nakano book, crazy.
Anyway, hope you all have been enjoying what's been out so far. The amount of reading time per chapter will vary, but I want them to at least be like ten minutes long or something like that. No actual promises on that.
In any case, until I release the next one. Until then, folks.