Post by MissChurro on Feb 19, 2016 13:50:14 GMT -5
Here's my entry for the Shoujo Writing Contest! It's a sequel to my story Love Without Words. I hope you enjoy!
The brightly lit convenience store held silence, except for the low drumming of fingers tapping on the cashier counter. The tall raven haired boy sitting behind the counter let out a bored sigh as he retracted his fingers from the counter and turned to look at the wall beside him. Dread filled his stomach as he saw the wall clock read 6PM. He’d only been here an hour, even if it felt like an eternity.
The sudden ringing of the bell above the door was music to his ears.
“Welcom--! ...Oh. It’s Aki-kun.” The raven head lowered himself back into his chair with a defeated exhale.
“Satoshi-kun, why do you sound so disappointed?” The brunette huffed, crossing his arms.
“Because I am disappointed. I see enough of your face at school, I was hoping for a customer.”
“I am a customer!” Aki waved the snacks he was gathering from the nearby shelf. “I think you were really just hoping for a girl…"
“I think you’re really just hoping for a hit over the head.” Satoshi scoffed and Aki fell silent, quickly returning to his hunt for snacks.
Satoshi spun in his chair a few times before opening his mouth to speak once more. “That reminds me, Valentine’s Day is in a few weeks. Do you think Michiko-san will give you something?”
“I hope so! …I-I mean… I’ve already prepared plans for her White Day gift…”
“You’re optimistic. What’re you going to do with the gift if she doesn’t give you something?”
“Then I guess it’s yours.”
“Gee, thanks. I’ve always wanted secondhand chocolate and flowers from a boy.” Satoshi jeered sarcastically, opening a nearby newspaper to re-read it for the third time this evening. Aki let out a snort and made his way up to the counter, basket of snacks in tow. Satoshi slowly rang up each item and placed them in a plastic bag. He took the money Aki handed him, and handed Aki back a receipt.
“See you at school tomorrow, Satosh— Hey, who’s that?”
Satoshi looked up and out the window to see the figure of a girl, supposedly attempting to hide herself against the wall.
“Ugh, not her again… She keeps standing there all evening, but we can’t figure out what she wants. She runs if we try to ask.”
“Well I’m not going out there… what if she’s got a knife or something?!”
“Honestly, you watch too many anime…” Satoshi grumbled as he sat up from his chair and made his way to the door. He opened it quickly and turned to face the girl, but he couldn’t even get a good look at her before she let out a startled squeak and started to run away. Satoshi sighed and turned his head around to face Aki.
“She’s gone. Go home, wimp.”
“You should call the cops next time she does that…”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Satoshi yawned and returned to his seat.
---
It was finally 10PM and his shift was over. He bowed to the store manager who came to lock up, and then proceeded on his route home.
The remaining winter chill bit at his skin as he made his way through the streets, causing him to instinctively curl his hands around his coat, pulling it tighter. He saw the warm lights of his neighborhood in the near distance, and let out a relieved sigh that showed white in the air. He relaxed his pace as he stepped further into the neighborhood; all the events of today were finally catching up with his body and sending a wave of exhaustion through him. He made his way to his front door, fitting his key that was still cold enough to sting his hands despite being in his pocket for the whole day. The door swung open, revealing the dark entryway. He slid his ss of and treaded gently further into the house. The warm light beaming from the dining room caused a rush of surprise to pass down his spine.
“I’m home…” He called out cautiously as he approached the source of the light.
“Welcome home!” The friendly voice called, and Satoshi visibly relaxed despite the questions whispering in his mind.
“Dad, what are you doing home so early?” Satoshi asked at the sight of his smiling father, comfortably seated under the blanket of their kotatsu, a pot of tea in the middle.
“There wasn’t much work to do today, so we all left the office early. Quite a rare event, hm?” His father let out a hearty chuckle. “Let’s enjoy it. Take a seat, I’ll pour you some tea.”
Satoshi did as he was told and set his school bag in the corner of the room, and then seated himself on the opposite side of the kotatsu. He didn’t realize how cold he was until he felt the warmth of the heated blanket engulf him, causing him to let out an exhale as his body finally relaxed.
“How was your day?” Satoshi’s father asked as the pot he held slowly trickled tea into their cups.
Satoshi bowed slightly as he accepted it and wrapped his cold hands around it tightly.
“Nothing too exciting… Aki-kun came into work today and annoyed me for a while, though.”
“And by ‘annoyed me’ you mean ‘kept me company’? That was nice of him.” His father smirked and Satoshi rolled his eyes.
“Tch. Anyway, there was also this girl…” Satoshi trailed off and his father cocked an eyebrow. “Ah, never mind.” Satoshi concluded and took a sip of his tea.
“Oh, there’s a girl you like~?” His father inquired with a mischievous grin, causing Satoshi to choke on his tea.
“It’s nothing like that! I swear, Aki-kun is bad enough and now you… are you sure he and I weren’t switched at birth? You two are alike in more ways than I’d like to count.” Satoshi sighed, and his father chuckled again.
“I’ll take that as a compliment, since he’s your best friend.” Satoshi was about to mutter protests before his father cut him off. “You just take after your mom, is all…”
The air plummeted from playful to solemn in less than a second. Satoshi took another sip of tea and let his father continue.
“She was just like you when I first met her. She always acted annoyed or aloof… but once you got past her shell, you could see the warm heart within. She was always a very kind and caring person, in the end. I know that’s how you are inside too, even if you talk back and roll your eyes a lot.” His father smiled warmly at his son, whose head was turned to the side, avoiding eye contact with him.
Satoshi wanted to be annoyed, he was not some softie, but he couldn’t bring himself to be even sigh at the comparison. His father lifted himself off of the floor and walked to the other side of the kotatsu.
“I know it can be hard to remember her, but… if the day comes where you want to, just look in the mirror. She’s right there.” His dad ruffled Satoshi’s hair before making his way out of the dining room.
Satoshi looked down at the teacup his hands were still wrapped tightly around. For once in his life, he couldn’t help but let a small grin creep across his mouth when he saw the reflection there.
---
The next day at school had been completely ordinary, until Satoshi entered his last class of the day: music. He played his violin tune from memory and ignored his sheet music all together, choosing instead to stare at the figure one seat in front of him. Something about her was really bothering him…
…Wait! The hooded head that hung low, the long auburn bangs covering her eyes… That’s the girl from the convenience store!
Even if he never got to see her face, he’d recognize her back anywhere, as it was visible from the convenience store window almost every evening. He didn’t realize class had dismissed until he saw everyone standing up, and without thought, he quickly scooped up his violin case and trotted after the girl.
It didn’t take her long to notice and she increased her pace. He picked up his own as well, but slowed quickly as he realized the suspicious stares around him. By the time he considered his next course of action, the girl had already disappeared. He let out a sigh and turned on his heel, heading out of the school and to the convenience store to start his shift.
---
“Welcom--! ...Oh. Aki-kun, it’s you again.” Satoshi plopped back into his seat and awaited the irritated reactions from his best friend, but none came. He looked up at the boy stuffing snacks into a basket, his eyebrows knitted in some sort of stress or frustration.
“Aki-kun? What’s gotten into you?” The raven asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could. If he showed any sign of concern, the brunette wouldn’t let him hear the end of it.
“I saw my mom looking at recipes for Valentine’s chocolate.” Aki stuffed a bag of chips into his basket with more force than intended, probably crunching a few.
“So? Obligatory gifts to her co-workers?”
“She usually just buys them something from the store, nothing special like that. Besides, she’s just been… acting differently. I think there’s someone she likes.”
Satoshi shifted in his seat and Aki kept his head lowered to the ground.
“How long has it been since your dad left? Seven years?”
“Yeah…” Aki shuffled his feet.
“So don’t you think it’s time she let go? I mean, doesn’t she deserve to be happy too?”
Aki huffed and slammed the basket onto the counter, startling Satoshi enough that he visibly jumped in his seat.
“We can be happy, just the two of us.”
“…Are you…” Satoshi coughed and pulled at his collar, realizing the awkwardness of the situation. Consoling someone was not his specialty. “Are you worried she’ll leave you if she meets someone else, like your dad left?”
There was a long silence until Aki finally nodded a slowly.
“Baka, your mom would never do that, and you know it. I know how you feel, but isn’t it a little selfish of you to try and hold her back? You’ll move out and have your own life and own family one day, and what about her? She’ll be left alone because she didn’t meet anybody else for your sake.”
Aki, startled, looked up at Satoshi for a second before bowing his head in shame. “Y-You’re right…”
“I always am. Now here,” Satoshi handed Aki the bag of groceries Aki hadn’t realized he’d bagged, and yanked the money out of Aki’s hand. “Please get out of my store before you start crying or something.” Satoshi waved his hand dismissively and Aki managed a small smile.
“Thanks, Satoshi-kun.” Aki piped up to his normally cheerful mood as he waved goodbye to his friend. “Have a good weekend!”
As the door shut, Satoshi let out a long, drawn out sigh as he slid deep into his chair. It was only 7PM!
---
10PM rolled around, and Satoshi proceeded on with his normal nightly routine. But this time, something was different…
Through the windows and out in the darkness, he could clearly see a figure, the edges of her frame being vaguely lit by the bright fluorescent lights inside the store.
She never comes this late…
Suddenly, Aki’s words came rushing back to him.
“You should call the cops next time she does that…”
Satoshi shook his head, deciding that would be irrational. But he opened his phone in his pocket and left his fingers on the buttons with his left hand as he reached for the door with his right. Just to be safe.
As usual, a startled squeak came from the girl and she began to turn on her heels, positioning herself to run. But for some reason… she didn’t run. She just let out a strange sound, some mix between grunting and whining. It was then Satoshi realized the soft thing in his grip.
His eyes shot downwards, and he found his hand clutched tightly around the girl’s wrist. With a flood of embarrassment and confusion, he ripped his hand away.
“E-Eh…! Sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh... grab you…” Satoshi stuttered and offered a small bow, his hair falling over his reddened face. The girl had pushed her hands away into her pockets, and looked at the ground, analyzing the situation.
“Um…” The girl finally said, “I-I’m the one who’s sorry… for hanging around here.”
“It’s fine, I think… but can I ask… why?” Satoshi rubbed the back of his neck, the awkwardness of the situation weighing down on him.
“I wanted… to talk to you. About something.”
“Me? Oh, um… do I… know you?”
“Not really… But I know you… sort of…”
Satoshi tilted his head, his huffed sigh visible in the cold air. He didn’t know what to say.
“Satoshi-san… can we talk?”
---
Satoshi wasn’t really sure how or when he got to this café but now he had a warm hot chocolate in his hands and a shivering girl sitting at the other end of the table. He placed his phone back in his pocket, after texting his father that he’d be a home late, and then turned his attention back to the girl.
“Yuki-san, was it? What did you… want to talk about?”
“Oh, right… Well, this probably seems very sudden…” The girl shifted in her seat, “But I wanted to… thank you.”
Satoshi was about to ask what he did but her next words stopped him dead in his tracks.
“More specifically, I wanted to thank your mother.”
“But my mom is—“
“Yes, I know… I was there. She saved my life.”
Satoshi’s cup nearly slipped out of his hands.
“When I got older, I spent a long time looking for her, because I wanted to express my gratitude… but then I found out she had died in that incident. Someone told me though, that her son was my age and went to my school…”
Satoshi’s eyes suddenly felt oddly warm.
“Forgive me if I’ve stepped out of line… I didn’t mean to bring back any painful memories. I just wanted to pay my respects, and let you know that she was an amazing woman and she helped so many people and she saved lives and—“
“Thank you.” Satoshi whispered, stopping Yuki’s babbling. A gentle smile crept onto her face, and Satoshi felt respect for the girl bloom inside of him as he noticed her smiling dark eyes held no pity, but genuine happiness. His father smiled at him like that, Aki smiled at him like that, but nobody else… he began to associate that smile with closeness, with home… and now he suddenly felt so natural around the girl across from him. He had only just learned her name and yet he felt so comfortable, so at home. He wanted to slap himself for being so open and vulnerable to a complete stranger, but somehow he couldn’t seem to regret it much.
“Yuki-san, would you like to meet up with me again tomorrow?”
---
The next morning, Satoshi took no hesitation in rising from bed and rushing out of his door. He ran down the streets of town, straightening his coat before opening the door to the small library. Yuki was already there, and Satoshi couldn’t help but smile as he saw her lost in her book, black reading glasses set on her face and hair tied up so it won’t fall into her eyes. Satoshi coughed to announce his presence and Yuki’s eyes shot upwards in his direction.
“Satoshi-san.” She beamed, her voice gentle and steady.
“You don’t have to address me formally, if you don’t want…” Satoshi’s took a seat next to her and observed the books in her stack. He’d assumed she’d be more of an academic reader, but he was wrong. These were all fantasy novels.
“Okay, Satoshi-kun.”
“Y-Yuki-chan?” Satoshi tested the honorific, and Yuki gave a nod.
“Well, Yuki-chan…” He cleared his throat, “My friend Aki-kun and his girlfriend Michiko-chan invited us to a picnic on Valentine’s Day, and I was wondering if you wanted to come…”
“…Is this a date?” Satoshi noticed the tips of Yuki’s ears turning red.
“Well… I guess it might be, in some way, kinda considered something along the lines of a date? Maybe?”
“Th-Then yes. I’d love to.”
“Great!” Satoshi proceeded to hide his face behind a book, but still spared a few glances at the figure in front of him every now and then.
---
The morning of the 14th couldn’t come soon enough, and Satoshi was outside thirty minutes early, dressed in a crisp white dress shirt and black jacket. He was glad he was early as Yuki arrived fifteen minutes early herself, dressed in a pink dress with her hair tied neatly in a bun. Satoshi tried to avoid looking at her, lest his face turn the same color of her dress. They had a lot of time to talk, seeing as it was now 10:30AM, thirty minutes past their meeting time, and there was no sign of Aki and Michiko. What if they ditched us and I have to entertain Yuki-chan all by myself?! I don’t know how to do this ‘date’ thing! That thought was terrifying.
Suddenly he heard two pairs of footsteps on the concrete, and turned to see Aki rushing towards them, Michiko hanging tightly onto his sleeve, trotting closely behind.
“Aki-kun, I swear, you need to learn a little thing called punctuality—“
“Satoshi-kun, forget that! I figured out who my mom gave the Valentine’s chocolate to…”
“…Who?”
“Let’s just say… you and I might be step-brothers soon.”
Correction. That thought was terrifying.
The sudden ringing of the bell above the door was music to his ears.
“Welcom--! ...Oh. It’s Aki-kun.” The raven head lowered himself back into his chair with a defeated exhale.
“Satoshi-kun, why do you sound so disappointed?” The brunette huffed, crossing his arms.
“Because I am disappointed. I see enough of your face at school, I was hoping for a customer.”
“I am a customer!” Aki waved the snacks he was gathering from the nearby shelf. “I think you were really just hoping for a girl…"
“I think you’re really just hoping for a hit over the head.” Satoshi scoffed and Aki fell silent, quickly returning to his hunt for snacks.
Satoshi spun in his chair a few times before opening his mouth to speak once more. “That reminds me, Valentine’s Day is in a few weeks. Do you think Michiko-san will give you something?”
“I hope so! …I-I mean… I’ve already prepared plans for her White Day gift…”
“You’re optimistic. What’re you going to do with the gift if she doesn’t give you something?”
“Then I guess it’s yours.”
“Gee, thanks. I’ve always wanted secondhand chocolate and flowers from a boy.” Satoshi jeered sarcastically, opening a nearby newspaper to re-read it for the third time this evening. Aki let out a snort and made his way up to the counter, basket of snacks in tow. Satoshi slowly rang up each item and placed them in a plastic bag. He took the money Aki handed him, and handed Aki back a receipt.
“See you at school tomorrow, Satosh— Hey, who’s that?”
Satoshi looked up and out the window to see the figure of a girl, supposedly attempting to hide herself against the wall.
“Ugh, not her again… She keeps standing there all evening, but we can’t figure out what she wants. She runs if we try to ask.”
“Well I’m not going out there… what if she’s got a knife or something?!”
“Honestly, you watch too many anime…” Satoshi grumbled as he sat up from his chair and made his way to the door. He opened it quickly and turned to face the girl, but he couldn’t even get a good look at her before she let out a startled squeak and started to run away. Satoshi sighed and turned his head around to face Aki.
“She’s gone. Go home, wimp.”
“You should call the cops next time she does that…”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Satoshi yawned and returned to his seat.
---
It was finally 10PM and his shift was over. He bowed to the store manager who came to lock up, and then proceeded on his route home.
The remaining winter chill bit at his skin as he made his way through the streets, causing him to instinctively curl his hands around his coat, pulling it tighter. He saw the warm lights of his neighborhood in the near distance, and let out a relieved sigh that showed white in the air. He relaxed his pace as he stepped further into the neighborhood; all the events of today were finally catching up with his body and sending a wave of exhaustion through him. He made his way to his front door, fitting his key that was still cold enough to sting his hands despite being in his pocket for the whole day. The door swung open, revealing the dark entryway. He slid his ss of and treaded gently further into the house. The warm light beaming from the dining room caused a rush of surprise to pass down his spine.
“I’m home…” He called out cautiously as he approached the source of the light.
“Welcome home!” The friendly voice called, and Satoshi visibly relaxed despite the questions whispering in his mind.
“Dad, what are you doing home so early?” Satoshi asked at the sight of his smiling father, comfortably seated under the blanket of their kotatsu, a pot of tea in the middle.
“There wasn’t much work to do today, so we all left the office early. Quite a rare event, hm?” His father let out a hearty chuckle. “Let’s enjoy it. Take a seat, I’ll pour you some tea.”
Satoshi did as he was told and set his school bag in the corner of the room, and then seated himself on the opposite side of the kotatsu. He didn’t realize how cold he was until he felt the warmth of the heated blanket engulf him, causing him to let out an exhale as his body finally relaxed.
“How was your day?” Satoshi’s father asked as the pot he held slowly trickled tea into their cups.
Satoshi bowed slightly as he accepted it and wrapped his cold hands around it tightly.
“Nothing too exciting… Aki-kun came into work today and annoyed me for a while, though.”
“And by ‘annoyed me’ you mean ‘kept me company’? That was nice of him.” His father smirked and Satoshi rolled his eyes.
“Tch. Anyway, there was also this girl…” Satoshi trailed off and his father cocked an eyebrow. “Ah, never mind.” Satoshi concluded and took a sip of his tea.
“Oh, there’s a girl you like~?” His father inquired with a mischievous grin, causing Satoshi to choke on his tea.
“It’s nothing like that! I swear, Aki-kun is bad enough and now you… are you sure he and I weren’t switched at birth? You two are alike in more ways than I’d like to count.” Satoshi sighed, and his father chuckled again.
“I’ll take that as a compliment, since he’s your best friend.” Satoshi was about to mutter protests before his father cut him off. “You just take after your mom, is all…”
The air plummeted from playful to solemn in less than a second. Satoshi took another sip of tea and let his father continue.
“She was just like you when I first met her. She always acted annoyed or aloof… but once you got past her shell, you could see the warm heart within. She was always a very kind and caring person, in the end. I know that’s how you are inside too, even if you talk back and roll your eyes a lot.” His father smiled warmly at his son, whose head was turned to the side, avoiding eye contact with him.
Satoshi wanted to be annoyed, he was not some softie, but he couldn’t bring himself to be even sigh at the comparison. His father lifted himself off of the floor and walked to the other side of the kotatsu.
“I know it can be hard to remember her, but… if the day comes where you want to, just look in the mirror. She’s right there.” His dad ruffled Satoshi’s hair before making his way out of the dining room.
Satoshi looked down at the teacup his hands were still wrapped tightly around. For once in his life, he couldn’t help but let a small grin creep across his mouth when he saw the reflection there.
---
The next day at school had been completely ordinary, until Satoshi entered his last class of the day: music. He played his violin tune from memory and ignored his sheet music all together, choosing instead to stare at the figure one seat in front of him. Something about her was really bothering him…
…Wait! The hooded head that hung low, the long auburn bangs covering her eyes… That’s the girl from the convenience store!
Even if he never got to see her face, he’d recognize her back anywhere, as it was visible from the convenience store window almost every evening. He didn’t realize class had dismissed until he saw everyone standing up, and without thought, he quickly scooped up his violin case and trotted after the girl.
It didn’t take her long to notice and she increased her pace. He picked up his own as well, but slowed quickly as he realized the suspicious stares around him. By the time he considered his next course of action, the girl had already disappeared. He let out a sigh and turned on his heel, heading out of the school and to the convenience store to start his shift.
---
“Welcom--! ...Oh. Aki-kun, it’s you again.” Satoshi plopped back into his seat and awaited the irritated reactions from his best friend, but none came. He looked up at the boy stuffing snacks into a basket, his eyebrows knitted in some sort of stress or frustration.
“Aki-kun? What’s gotten into you?” The raven asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could. If he showed any sign of concern, the brunette wouldn’t let him hear the end of it.
“I saw my mom looking at recipes for Valentine’s chocolate.” Aki stuffed a bag of chips into his basket with more force than intended, probably crunching a few.
“So? Obligatory gifts to her co-workers?”
“She usually just buys them something from the store, nothing special like that. Besides, she’s just been… acting differently. I think there’s someone she likes.”
Satoshi shifted in his seat and Aki kept his head lowered to the ground.
“How long has it been since your dad left? Seven years?”
“Yeah…” Aki shuffled his feet.
“So don’t you think it’s time she let go? I mean, doesn’t she deserve to be happy too?”
Aki huffed and slammed the basket onto the counter, startling Satoshi enough that he visibly jumped in his seat.
“We can be happy, just the two of us.”
“…Are you…” Satoshi coughed and pulled at his collar, realizing the awkwardness of the situation. Consoling someone was not his specialty. “Are you worried she’ll leave you if she meets someone else, like your dad left?”
There was a long silence until Aki finally nodded a slowly.
“Baka, your mom would never do that, and you know it. I know how you feel, but isn’t it a little selfish of you to try and hold her back? You’ll move out and have your own life and own family one day, and what about her? She’ll be left alone because she didn’t meet anybody else for your sake.”
Aki, startled, looked up at Satoshi for a second before bowing his head in shame. “Y-You’re right…”
“I always am. Now here,” Satoshi handed Aki the bag of groceries Aki hadn’t realized he’d bagged, and yanked the money out of Aki’s hand. “Please get out of my store before you start crying or something.” Satoshi waved his hand dismissively and Aki managed a small smile.
“Thanks, Satoshi-kun.” Aki piped up to his normally cheerful mood as he waved goodbye to his friend. “Have a good weekend!”
As the door shut, Satoshi let out a long, drawn out sigh as he slid deep into his chair. It was only 7PM!
---
10PM rolled around, and Satoshi proceeded on with his normal nightly routine. But this time, something was different…
Through the windows and out in the darkness, he could clearly see a figure, the edges of her frame being vaguely lit by the bright fluorescent lights inside the store.
She never comes this late…
Suddenly, Aki’s words came rushing back to him.
“You should call the cops next time she does that…”
Satoshi shook his head, deciding that would be irrational. But he opened his phone in his pocket and left his fingers on the buttons with his left hand as he reached for the door with his right. Just to be safe.
As usual, a startled squeak came from the girl and she began to turn on her heels, positioning herself to run. But for some reason… she didn’t run. She just let out a strange sound, some mix between grunting and whining. It was then Satoshi realized the soft thing in his grip.
His eyes shot downwards, and he found his hand clutched tightly around the girl’s wrist. With a flood of embarrassment and confusion, he ripped his hand away.
“E-Eh…! Sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh... grab you…” Satoshi stuttered and offered a small bow, his hair falling over his reddened face. The girl had pushed her hands away into her pockets, and looked at the ground, analyzing the situation.
“Um…” The girl finally said, “I-I’m the one who’s sorry… for hanging around here.”
“It’s fine, I think… but can I ask… why?” Satoshi rubbed the back of his neck, the awkwardness of the situation weighing down on him.
“I wanted… to talk to you. About something.”
“Me? Oh, um… do I… know you?”
“Not really… But I know you… sort of…”
Satoshi tilted his head, his huffed sigh visible in the cold air. He didn’t know what to say.
“Satoshi-san… can we talk?”
---
Satoshi wasn’t really sure how or when he got to this café but now he had a warm hot chocolate in his hands and a shivering girl sitting at the other end of the table. He placed his phone back in his pocket, after texting his father that he’d be a home late, and then turned his attention back to the girl.
“Yuki-san, was it? What did you… want to talk about?”
“Oh, right… Well, this probably seems very sudden…” The girl shifted in her seat, “But I wanted to… thank you.”
Satoshi was about to ask what he did but her next words stopped him dead in his tracks.
“More specifically, I wanted to thank your mother.”
“But my mom is—“
“Yes, I know… I was there. She saved my life.”
Satoshi’s cup nearly slipped out of his hands.
“When I got older, I spent a long time looking for her, because I wanted to express my gratitude… but then I found out she had died in that incident. Someone told me though, that her son was my age and went to my school…”
Satoshi’s eyes suddenly felt oddly warm.
“Forgive me if I’ve stepped out of line… I didn’t mean to bring back any painful memories. I just wanted to pay my respects, and let you know that she was an amazing woman and she helped so many people and she saved lives and—“
“Thank you.” Satoshi whispered, stopping Yuki’s babbling. A gentle smile crept onto her face, and Satoshi felt respect for the girl bloom inside of him as he noticed her smiling dark eyes held no pity, but genuine happiness. His father smiled at him like that, Aki smiled at him like that, but nobody else… he began to associate that smile with closeness, with home… and now he suddenly felt so natural around the girl across from him. He had only just learned her name and yet he felt so comfortable, so at home. He wanted to slap himself for being so open and vulnerable to a complete stranger, but somehow he couldn’t seem to regret it much.
“Yuki-san, would you like to meet up with me again tomorrow?”
---
The next morning, Satoshi took no hesitation in rising from bed and rushing out of his door. He ran down the streets of town, straightening his coat before opening the door to the small library. Yuki was already there, and Satoshi couldn’t help but smile as he saw her lost in her book, black reading glasses set on her face and hair tied up so it won’t fall into her eyes. Satoshi coughed to announce his presence and Yuki’s eyes shot upwards in his direction.
“Satoshi-san.” She beamed, her voice gentle and steady.
“You don’t have to address me formally, if you don’t want…” Satoshi’s took a seat next to her and observed the books in her stack. He’d assumed she’d be more of an academic reader, but he was wrong. These were all fantasy novels.
“Okay, Satoshi-kun.”
“Y-Yuki-chan?” Satoshi tested the honorific, and Yuki gave a nod.
“Well, Yuki-chan…” He cleared his throat, “My friend Aki-kun and his girlfriend Michiko-chan invited us to a picnic on Valentine’s Day, and I was wondering if you wanted to come…”
“…Is this a date?” Satoshi noticed the tips of Yuki’s ears turning red.
“Well… I guess it might be, in some way, kinda considered something along the lines of a date? Maybe?”
“Th-Then yes. I’d love to.”
“Great!” Satoshi proceeded to hide his face behind a book, but still spared a few glances at the figure in front of him every now and then.
---
The morning of the 14th couldn’t come soon enough, and Satoshi was outside thirty minutes early, dressed in a crisp white dress shirt and black jacket. He was glad he was early as Yuki arrived fifteen minutes early herself, dressed in a pink dress with her hair tied neatly in a bun. Satoshi tried to avoid looking at her, lest his face turn the same color of her dress. They had a lot of time to talk, seeing as it was now 10:30AM, thirty minutes past their meeting time, and there was no sign of Aki and Michiko. What if they ditched us and I have to entertain Yuki-chan all by myself?! I don’t know how to do this ‘date’ thing! That thought was terrifying.
Suddenly he heard two pairs of footsteps on the concrete, and turned to see Aki rushing towards them, Michiko hanging tightly onto his sleeve, trotting closely behind.
“Aki-kun, I swear, you need to learn a little thing called punctuality—“
“Satoshi-kun, forget that! I figured out who my mom gave the Valentine’s chocolate to…”
“…Who?”
“Let’s just say… you and I might be step-brothers soon.”
Correction. That thought was terrifying.
