[Word count - 1,784]
Same day...
Location - The Park
Your POV
The Sakura party here at the park is still going on. It's only been almost an hour, and a lot of the girls are interacting with me, as well as asking me if I am having a good time or not. To be honest, I am having a good time, especially since what happened between me and Kanon is long behind us.
On top of that, the Sakura trees are still a lovely sight to behold. I wish they can stick around forever, but sadly, that is not the case. But that's just how life is, I suppose.
"(Y/N)!!!"
I snapped out of my thoughts as someone yells my name. I looked around to see where that voice is coming from, and it almost sounds like...
"Kokoro?"
Indeed, it was Kokoro. She appeared before me with a big grin on her face.
"(Y/N)! Just the person I was looking for!"
"Hi, Kokoro." I said. "Can I help you with something?"
"There's someone I want to introduce you!" She said, still showing off that big grin of hers.
"Oh yeah? Who?"
Kokoro motion someone to come over towards us. It was a girl who is wearing a Hanasakigawa uniform. She even smiled at me when we made eye contact for the first time.
"Nice to meet you, (L/N)-san." She said politely. "My name is Charlotte Louise Misono."
"Oh, well, nice to meet you too, Charlotte." I said as the two of us proceeded to shake hands.
"Feel free to call me Charely, though." She said. "It was my nickname back in France."
That information took me by surprise. Who knew Kokoro would have friends in other countries.
"France, huh? That's pretty cool." I said.
"You bet! Charely and I even grew up together." Kokoro said as she suddenly grabbed her arm and hugged it.
"Really?" I asked and looked at Charlotte.
However, Charlotte's mood quickly soften and looks away slightly.
"I guess you can say that, yes." She replied. Was she mad or something?
I figured anyone would be happy to be childhood friends with Kokoro given how happy and upbeat she is 24/7, but... it seems like Charlotte doesn't approve of it? Something tells me that I need to keep an eye on her.
_____________________________________________
A few minutes later...
The Sakura party is still going on, and I was hanging out by myself until someone called me over.
"(Y/N)-san!"
I looked up and there was Reona with a smile on her face.
"Oh, hi Reona. Are you having fun?" I asked.
"I am, but what are you doing here by yourself?" She asked.
"Huh? Oh, no reason." I replied.
"Do you mind if I sit with you, too?" She asked.
"Sure, that's fine."
Reona smiled more as she sat down beside me.
"So, how's RAS doing?" I asked.
"Everyone is doing great!" She replied. "Just recently Lock-san was the guitarist for a band that was recently disbanded."
This bit of information surprised me. Given how skilled of a guitarist Rokka is and how stubborn Chiyu is, I'm surprised she even agreed to it.
"Oh yeah? What was their name?" I asked.
"They're called Mirror Dreams!" She said. Mirror Dreams, huh? That's a good name for a band.
"That's cool, but you said that they disbanded, right?"
Reona's face fell into sadness when I asked that.
"Yeah... Poor Lock-san was pretty upset about it, but they decided to go on their own separate paths in life, and... she had to accept it at some point."
"I see..."
Things were silent before I spoke up.
"I guess Rokka is doing better now?" I asked.
"Yeah, she's doing much better now." She answered, now grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, that's good to know."
"By the way..."
"Yeah?"
"I wanted to thank you for helping me get tickets for Pastel*Palettes' last show." She said. "I am a big fan of theirs, and I would do anything to see them on stage."
"But you had trouble, didn't you?" I asked.
"Yeah, the ticket price was too high for me to pay on my own, so you really made my day when you covered the cost."
Reona blushed as she looks at me with that smile of hers. For some reason, seeing that made my heart melt a little bit. What is going on with me?
"Anyway, I better get back to Chu2-sama and the others." Reona said as she stood up. "Let me know if there's anything you need, okay?"
"Yeah, will do." I said as I watch her walk away.
_____________________________________________
A few hours later...
I'm still in the same spot watching the girls from the distance, and I am happily say that everyone is having a good time. This is exactly what I wanted to see; everyone having fun and not be bothered with life. Towards the left, I can see Chiyu and Touko catching Sakura petals that are falling from the trees.
"Hey! Check out how many petals I have!" Touko said as she showed Chiyu.
"That... sure is a lot, Touko." Chiyu replied.
"Do you think it's fun to catch them?" Touko asks.
"I wouldn't know... I haven't really done that kind of thing before." Chiyu replied.
"Come on, dwarf, go ahead and catch some petals and put them in your shirt." Touko said, encouraging her to play along.
"DON'T CALL ME A DWARF!"
I let out a chuckle as I look away. Now I see Ran and Moca on one of the picnic blankets. Moca was staring at one of the flowers with a smile on her face.
"Hey Ran, this flower is beautiful, isn't it?" Moca asked her childhood friend.
"Yeah, it's not bad." Ran replied with a smile.
"Is it giving you an idea for your next flower arranging piece?" Moca asked.
"Well, not really, but I know something would come to me soon." She replied.
"In that case, why not base it around this flower?" Moca asked before picking it off of the ground, then giving it to Ran.
"I guess it couldn't hurt." Ran said and grabbed the flower.
Meanwhile, I see Hina playing her guitar in front of Tomori. The two of them seem to be having a fun conversation.
"So, you've been taking care of the astronomy clubroom, right Tomori-chan?" Hina asked.
"Yeah, I've been in there almost everyday with Ano-chan." Tomori replied.
"That's good to know!" Hina said happily. "So what do you think of stargazing? It's boppin', isn't it?"
"So yes! They're absolutely amazing!" Kokoro said, interrupting their conversation.
"She wasn't talking to you, idiot." Misaki sighed.
I chuckled to myself again as I look somewhere else. This time, I am looking at Anon, who is interacting with Aya, Chisato and Kanon.
"Wow! You watch Nyamu-chan's videos too, Anon-chan?" Aya asked.
"You bet I do!" Anon replied. "Her videos are so addicting that I can't take my eyes off of her for even a second."
"Nyamu-chan is quite popular, isn't she?" Kanon asked.
"Yes. Given how she plays the drums as well, you would think that she was part of a band or something." Chisato replied.
"Now that I think about it, Nyamu-chan does remind me of someone, but I can't exactly put my finger on it." Aya said before letting out a small sigh.
"Yeah, I've had that feeling as well." Anon said before sighing herself.
It looks like Aya and Anon are acting like the same person. I wouldn't be surprised if the two of them became friends by the end of the day.
_____________________________________________
Sunset...
"Man, where has the time gone?" Tomoe asked while we clean up the mess.
"Agree. Moca-chan doesn't approve of this." Moca said.
"Well, it can't be helped." Rei said.
"Yeah... I just wish we could stay here for another few minutes or so." Tae said as a sad look appears on her face.
"There's no need for the doom and gloom look." Kokoro spoke up.
"Kokoro, what do you mean by that?" Ako asked.
"Even if today ends, there's always next time, right?"
"Well, I can't argue with that." Himari said.
"It's going to be a while before that next time comes, won't it?" Tae asks.
"Yeah, it seems so." Lisa sighs.
Everyone seems to be feeling down in the dumps now. I wish I could cheer them up, but how do I do that?
"Wait, I know."
I brought my guitar with me in case I ever wanted to play it. But because a few people were talking to me, I didn't get a chance to do so. I pulled it out of the case, and I start to playing with it, catching everyone's attention.
"(Y/N)-san, are you really playing the guitar at this point in the day?" Yukina asked.
"Yeah, I am." I said. "After all, Kokoro is right. There's always next time, and we don't need to wait until Spring to get together like this."
Everyone fell silent as my words were sinking into their heads.
"Yeah, that is true. We can do this again in the near future." Lisa said.
"It might hard... with how different our schedules are." Rinko added.
"But we can make it work, right sis?" Hina asked before hugging her sister tightly.
"Hina! Don't hug me so suddenly like that!" Sayo said as she starts to blush.
We all started to laugh before we started to go our separate ways. As I walking with some of the girls, I think to myself...
"Maybe all of this was part of my destiny, too."
_____________________________________________
Evening...
Location - Residential Area
I was now getting closer and closer to my house after walking Lisa and Yukina safely to their houses. Some of the other girls already went in different directions to get home, and now I am by myself. Upon approaching the front door of my house, someone was there waiting for me.
"We meet again, (Y/N) (L/N)-san."
I don't believe it... Sakiko is standing right in front of my house. Judging my the look on her face, she's not here for a friendly visit.
"Sakiko? How did you know that this is where I live?" I asked.
"I did my research, and I came here for one reason." She said.
"Oh yeah, and what is that?"
"I am here to stop you from following your destiny."
To be continued
A/N: Thank you so much for reading this chapter. I hope you guys liked it and I'll see you in the next one. :)
Next book to update: Childhood Feelings