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Almost everyone has had a crush at some point, especially teenagers. That giddy feeling is what everyone wants. Seeing them down the hallway, at the canteen, during gym hours — it makes school life exciting.
Unless they're two years older than you and graduating soon. You don't even know if you'll see them again.
“Oh well…” Yuno pouts, resting her head on her crossed arms on the classroom window, “Guess we’re just not meant to be.”
She stares out of the classroom window to see her crush glistening under the early sun while running in the field for gym practice. “I'll just have to cherish the next two months before Kotoko-san graduates.”
“Yuno-chan!” A voice calls out from the other side of the room, “We’re gonna be late for music class. Quick!”
Yuno hurriedly takes her notebook and runs over to her friends, Hana and Marika. “Sorry, sorry! I spaced out for a bit.”
Marika nudges her shoulder while walking. “Oh, come on, Yun. We all know you were watching the third years’ gym class.”
“Poor YunYun.” Hana pats her head, “she won’t be able to see Yuzuriha-san after this school year.”. “Why won’t you talk to her already? Get her number and all. Do you even know where she’ll be studying next?”
“What are you talking about, Hana. I don’t need to know that. This is just a silly little crush – I’ll get over it.”
She did not get over it.
A year has passed and Yuno has also graduated. It is her first year as a freshman in her university, taking a major in business.
"Alright, now where's my building... I really should've checked before the first day." She says as she takes out her phone from her pocket. She tries to search for it on her phone but no luck, there seems to be no signal.
No worries, she can just ask around, not that hard to do.
"OK!" she exclaims, "I need to ask someone who looks like they've been here for a while."
Glancing around, Yuno spots a guy with blond-tipped hair. He’s fairly tall, a little above average it seems, but overall a normal-looking guy. He's holding a cup of boba, walking at a slow pace. He sits down on a bench under the shade, seemingly waiting for someone.
"Surely he's old enough to be my senior," she whispers under her breath. She walks over to the brunet with a soft smile.
"Excuse me? Do you know where the marketing building is?"
The guy looks up and thinks. "Marketing building..." He puts his hand on his chin, "I think it's to the right over that corner. There you’ll see two tall buildings that look exactly like each other. Pretty hard to miss." He sips a bit of his boba.
"Thank you," Yuno pauses, "uhh..."
"Mikoto!" A voice calls out from afar.
"Ah! Perfect timing," the guy exclaims.
"That voice..." She wonders, "it sounds so familiar." The lost girl finally looks to the direction of the voice and her heart rate starts to quicken. The lost girl turns her head in the direction of the voice, feeling her heartbeat quickening.
"This is my sister. Her building is near yours."
As though time slowed down for a split second; a gust of wind came through. Blood rushes up her cheeks and she becomes stiff as a board. Blood rushes up her cheeks and dyes her skin a vivid pink - her whole body turning stiff as a board.
"Kashiki Yuno?" The familiar woman lowers her head at the same level as Yuno’s to get a clearer look.
Her eyes widen, "K-Ko...Yuzuriha-san?!"
"Hold on, who are you calling your sister?" Kotoko says, irritated by the man’s words, and hits his arm. She then sighs, "I'm sorry, Kashiki-kun."
"Nooo, it's okay!" she laughs it off. ”Wait. You remember me?” Yuno questions, pointing a finger towards herself, mouth agape in surprise.
The brunet stands up and sets down his drink on the bench. "Seems like you already know each other." He reaches his hand out and introduces himself with a smile, "I'm Kayano Mikoto, Kotoko’s senior."
"Kashiki Yuno," she replies and goes in for the handshake.
“Koto-chan, Yuno-chan here doesn’t know her way to the marketing building. Would you mind taking her there?” Mikoto asks.
“That’s just beside mine. Sure.” Kotoko accepts the favor. “Let’s go.”
Yuno stands still for a few seconds before realizing she’s being called by Kotoko. “Kashiki-kun?”
“Ah! Right!” Stunned by whatever’s happening at the present, Yuno snaps out of her daydream and sets herself straight, “Let’s go!”
As they start walking, Kotoko pulls out her earphones from her bag and slips one end into her right ear. Yuno happens to be at Kotoko’s left side so she takes this as a chance to try and make small talk.
“So…” the long-haired girl tries to think of a conversation starter, “Is Kayano-san your actual brother?”
The taller woman chokes on her breath, stopping her from walking. “No, he’s not. He only says that because he’s one of the only few people I've talked to since I started studying here.”
“Oh, speaking of that. What are you studying?” Yuno asks.
“Criminology. Not so interesting for people like you, right?” Kotoko replies.
Yuno frantically shakes her head, “No, no, no!!! I find it really cool that you’re interested in something so complicated.” She starts fidgeting with her hands, “Is that really hard?”
“Hmm…” Kotoko ponders, “Not really. Since I’m very into it.”
The taller woman stops walking and turns to the side, “We’re here.” The other girl also stops and traces the building with her eyes. “Th-thank you,” she mutters, overwhelmed with mixed emotions. Aside from feeling the pressure of being a freshman, Yuno feels a wave of sadness crash onto her as the time she spent with her high school crush will soon come to an end. Then, she thought of something.
“Yuzuriha-san!” Yuno exclaims.
“Kashiki-kun?”
“M-may I have y-your num… your number!” the younger girl shakingly bows as she hands her phone to Kotoko. “Since I’m new here, I don’t have anyone to talk to, so… Maybe we can…”
“Pfft-” Kotoko chuckles at Yuno’s sudden outburst, catching her offguard, “Sorry, Kashiki-kun. No need to be so nervous. Here.” She takes the girl’s phone and starts to enter her number.
“Cute…” Yuno thinks to herself. Coming to her senses, she realizes that Kotoko is still in front of her. “Uh… UHM… Thank you again!”
“No problem,” Kotoko smiles and hands back Yuno’s phone. They part ways as they wave back at each other. Yuno finally turns back to her building, kinda hopping to the door. She stares at the name on her phone "Kotoko Yuzuriha" and renames it to "Kotoko-senpai <3".
“What a day to be lost!” She hums to herself.