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The train is moving too fast.
That’s the first thing Yagyuu Hiromi notices, not the noise, not the press of bodies, but the way the windows blur the city into streaks of light, like the world is trying to outrun something it doesn’t want to face, a quite familiar feeling for her. She stands near one of the windows, briefcase in her hand, posture straight despite the lack of space. Her reflection stares back at her from the glass, quite tired but looked composed on the outside, exactly as she has trained herself to be.
It’s just another evening train, crowded and uncomfortable, the kind where everyone is pretending not to exist. She’s tired in a dull, familiar way, her shoulders aching from a day hunched over paperwork. Her glasses slide down her nose slightly when the train jolts, and she pushes them back up without thinking, eyes unfocused on the blur of people around her.
Then someone laughs.
It’s quiet. Barely anything. But it lands wrong in her chest, like a sound remembered rather than heard.
Yagyuu’s gaze lifts before she can stop herself. Her eyes widened.
Her brain refuses to cooperate. No, she thinks immediately. That’s not possible. That’s just—someone who looks similar. Similar hair. Similar posture, maybe. Faces overlaping in memory happens all the time when you’re tired.
But the woman standing near the door has silver hair cut shorter than it used to be, beauty mark beside her lips and she’s leaning in that careless way that always used to irritate Yagyuu during practice, like balance came naturally to her and effort was optional. One hand grips the strap overhead, the other scrolling through her phone, mouth curved into something that might almost be a smile.
Niou Masaharu.
The name surfaces uninvited. Yagyuu’s breath catches, sharp enough that she has to consciously slow it down. Her fingers tighten around the handle of her briefcase. The leather presses into her palm, grounding, real.
It’s been years. Long enough that Yagyuu has stopped expecting the past to ambush her like this. Long enough that she’s built routines meant to protect her from exactly this kind of moment. She hasn’t seen Niou since graduation. Hasn’t heard from her. Hasn’t allowed herself to wonder what kind of life she’s living now.
She stares anyway. Niou looks different, older, but not in a way that makes her unrecognizable. If anything, she looks more like herself—sharper, more settled into her own skin. The sight of it sends something cold and heavy through Yagyuu’s chest.
Then, without warning, The familiar stranger looks up. Their eyes meet. It’s brief. A second at most. But Yagyuu feels it like a jolt of electricity.
Niou’s expression changes almost imperceptibly. Her brows lift slightly, surprise flickering across her face before she hides it into something neutral. But she’s looking directly at Yagyuu. There’s no mistaking it. Recognition lands, quiet but certain. She knows.
Yagyuu looks away first. Her heart is pounding now, loud and humiliating. She stares at the floor, at the scuffed shoes of strangers, at anything except the woman who has just seen her after years of silence. Her thoughts trip over each other. She noticed. She remembers. Of course she does.
She stands there for what she believes was almost a minute, she closed her eyes, waiting for Niou to do something—to smile, to look again, to say her name like it hasn’t been sitting in Yagyuu’s chest all this time.
A minute passed, then another. Nothing happens. The train keeps moving. Yagyuu opens her eyes and risks another glance.
Niou is back to her phone, expression unreadable, as if that moment never happened. As if recognizing a past teammate, not to mention her old doubles partner was no more significant than noticing a familiar brand logo on a wall. That hurts more than Yagyuu expects it to.
The announcement for the next station crackles through the speakers. This is Niou’s stop—Yagyuu knows it instinctively, though she has no idea why. Maybe it’s the way Niou straightens, or the way she shifts her weight like she’s preparing to move.
Panic blooms, sudden and sharp. Yagyuu doesn’t want anything. That’s what she tells herself. She doesn’t want explanations or apologies or confessions that come too late. She just—she doesn’t want this to end like this. With a glance and nothing else.
The train slows. Niou pockets her phone and turns toward the doors. For a brief, impossible moment, Yagyuu thinks she might look back again. Might say something. Might acknowledge the years between them.
She doesn’t.
The doors slide open, and Niou steps out onto the platform without hesitation.
Something inside Yagyuu twists. She moves before she can stop herself, stepping off the train just as the doors begin to close again. The platform is loud, crowded, filled with movement, but she keeps her eyes locked on that flash of silver hair ahead of her.
Niou walks quickly, confidently, weaving through people like she knows exactly where she’s going. Yagyuu follows, heart hammering, her steps careful and controlled.
She doesn’t know what she plans to do if she catches up. Call her name? Pretend this is accidental? Ask a question she’s been holding for years?
The station branches out into multiple exits, staircases, corridors. People split off in every direction. Yagyuu hesitates for just a second, slowing to avoid bumping into someone. And that’s all it takes.
Niou turns a corner and disappears.
Yagyuu stops short. She stands there, breath shallow, scanning the crowd desperately. Silver hair. Tall frame. Anything. But there’s nothing—just strangers, just the rush of evening commuters moving past her without a second glance.
She walks forward a few steps. Turns. Checks the stairs. Nothing.
Niou Masaharu is gone.
The realization settles slowly, heavy and undeniable. Yagyuu’s chest aches in a way that feels embarrassingly raw, like she’s lost something she was never entitled to chase in the first place.
Niou saw her. She recognized her and still, she chose to leave.
Yagyuu exhales shakily and adjusts her glasses, the familiar gesture doing nothing to steady her this time. Around her, the station continues on, indifferent. Another train arrives. People push past her.
The last time she saw that girl with the sharp grin was on their graduation day.
She remembered that day clearly in the back of her mind. It was autumn, the gym bustling with teachers and fourth year students enjoying their last day with huge excitement on every turn.
That’s the first thing Yukimura notices as he scans the room, eyes lingering a little too long on the edges of the crowd. Graduation decorations hang crookedly from the walls, paper flowers already wilting under the heat. She heard someone laughing near the snack table as she approached her team members gathered around the table.
“Has anyone seen Niou?” Ayaka speaks first, chewing the pack of chips in her hand really loudly.
"Actually, now that you mentioned it, where is she?" Marui asks around a mouthful of cake, balancing a paper plate in one hand.
Sanada frowns immediately. “She was supposed to help clean up.”
“She said that?” Marui snorts. “That should’ve been your first warning sign.”
Jacqueline chuckles, but her gaze drifts instinctively toward the open doors anyway. “What about Yagyuu? She disappeared too.”
That makes Yukimura look up. She hadn’t consciously noticed it before, but now that it’s been said aloud, the absence becomes obvious. Yagyuu should be here, standing just behind her, posture straight despite the chaos, glasses catching the overhead lights as she quietly observes everything without inserting herself into it like always.
“She was right here earlier,” Yukimura says slowly. “During the speeches.”
Yanagi nods, cleaning the crumbs of chips around Ayaka's mouth with her handkerchief “I saw her leave with Niou.”
That earns her several looks.
“Together?” Marui asks, eyes narrowing with sudden interest.
"Okay, no. This is suspicious.”
“What is?” Jacqueline asks beside her, all the while nagging her to not chew loudly.
“Don’t play dumb,” Marui says, scanning the room dramatically. “We’re missing two people. And not just any two people"
Sanada crosses her arms. “Are you implying coordination?”
“I’m implying destiny,” Marui says solemnly.
Ayaka laughs. “You’re implying they ditched us together.”
Sanada took out her phone, “I'll call them.”
“Leave them be, it's our graduation, I'm sure they have a lot to talk about before departing” Yukimura interrupts gently, “I'm sure they'll suspicious.”
Sanada sighs and quietly puts her phone back into her pocket.
“They've been out for 17 minutes” Yanagi voiced.
Marui gasps. “You timed it?!”
“I noticed too,” Yukimura says.
“They're our double partners anyway so they're closer, there's nothing that suspicious”
“Me and Jacqueline are double partners too, that doesn't mean we disappear whenever”
Jacqueline exhales slowly. “Right.”
Marui claps her hands together. “Alright! Investigation time! Last known sightings!”
Ayaka shoots her hand into the air. “I saw Niou near the exit! She said something about ‘air’ and then disappeared like a cryptid.”
Sanada rubs her temples. “That is not helpful.”
“Maybe she went out for some air,” Jacqueline offers.
“I saw Yagyuu leave earlier,” Yukimura adds. “Quietly. She didn’t say anything.”
Marui squints. “That’s worse.”
“How is that worse?” Jacqueline asks.
“Because if Niou drags her somewhere, she complains,” Marui explains patiently. “If they left silently, they must be doing something together.”
Ayaka lets out an exaggerated gasp. “Scandal.”
Sanada straightens. “This is graduation. They are allowed to be elsewhere, for a few minutes atleast.”
“Yes,” Yukimura agrees. “Well, they tend to be quite secretive, you know how Niou is, and also how much she influences Yagyuu”
Jacqueline hesitates. “Do you think they’re fighting?”
“That’s worse,” Marui says. “Much worse.”
Sanada looks conflicted. “If Niou is antagonizing Yagyuu—”
“She’s been antagonizing Yagyuu for four years,” Ayaka says. “That’s not new.”
Yukimura’s gaze drifts briefly toward the gym doors. “If anything, this is quite normal”
Marui drops her voice dramatically. “Do you think they’re confessing?”
Sanada chokes. “That is wildly inappropriate speculation.”
Ayaka grins. “They aren't dating already? That's surprising”
Jacqueline scratches her cheek. “I always thought something was… different.”
Marui gasps again. “You noticed too?!”
“I have eyes,” Jacqueline says defensively. “They always stand too close. And Niou messes with Yagyuu way more than she messes with the rest of us.”
Sanada looks deeply uncomfortable. “You are all reading far too much into this”
“What if she pushes her weirdness onto Yagyuu?”
“The possibility of Niou passing her dirty tricks to Yagyuu is 67%”
“They sure sound like a couple to me”
There’s a lull then, the noise of the gym swelling back around them. Someone calls for another photo. Someone else laughs too loudly. Graduation keeps happening whether they’re ready for it or not.
“Well above anything else, since they promised to help clean up,” Sanada stands up abruptly,“This means they're both slacking off so we will have to punish—”
"Vice captain! This is a celebration do NOT even–”
“Yeah Sanada, shut up already!”
“Everyone, please calm down and let's really just enjoy tonight”
Marui sits up, taking another slice of the cake left on the center of the twhen and placing it on his plate.
“How about this? Let's bet to see when they'll come back in, the loser will have to give 10 yen to the winner”
“Bunta, don't get started..”
Yukimura stands, smoothing her skirt. “I'm sure they’ll come back when they’re ready.”
“And if they don’t?” Ayaka asks.
Yukimura pauses, then says quietly, “Then this was something they needed more than cake and photos.”
Her words lining up with her gaze to the door made them all look toward the doors again, half-expecting silver hair or neatly tied back dark hair to appear at any moment. Neither does.
That day, they had slipped out out under the disguise of Niou needing air, they were walking around the school for the last time.
The campus looked different without the noise of practice courts and footsteps rushing between classes. It felt like the place had already begun forgetting them.
Leaves littered the paths in messy layers, crushed flat by shoes from earlier celebrations.
Yagyuu walked with her hands in her coat pockets, scarf pulled high enough to hide half her face. Only her eyes showed, steady behind her glasses, fixed forward.
Niou walked beside her, hands behind her head, posture lazy as always—like this was just another afternoon.
They walked past the tennis courts.
Niou slowed down. They didn’t say anything. In fact this was the first time in years they've walked together silently like this.
Yagyuu's eyes looked up straight, but she could feel the undeniable feeling that Niou was gazing at her. She stops in her tracks, finally turning towards her partner.
“…You’re staring,” Yagyuu said.
Niou shrugged. “Habit.”
They stood there for a moment, listening to the wind scrape leaves against the fence. Graduation banners flapped weakly overhead.
Niou clicked her tongue. “Nobody's around.”
“Probably because everyone else is inside having a blast at the party, does that annoy you?” Yagyuu replied.
Niou blinked. “Not exactly. It's just really quiet out”
They resumed walking.
Niou spoke again, lighter this time. “You going straight into office slavery?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. Predictable.”
“That is not an insult.”
“That was actually a compliment.”
“Huh?”
Yagyuu adjusted her scarf.
Niou kicked at a leaf. “You know, I'm probably not sticking around.”
Yagyuu stopped. Niou kept walking two steps before turning around.
“…What.”
The memories of that conversation would still frighten Yagyuu at night, whenever she's alone in bed and her brain decides to haunt her with the past.
“You said that too casually,” Yagyuu replied.
Niou just shrugged.
Yagyuu tried to maintain her composure,“Where will you go?”
Niou rocked on her heels. “No idea. Somewhere with good food or maybe somewhere stupid where I won't be found for a good couple of years.”
“That is irresponsible.”
Niou grinned. “It's unpredictable tho.”
Yagyuu hesitated. “What about tennis? Will you keep playing?”
“Well i hope so, although I don't think I'll ever find such an interesting group like this again”
“You always keep things so vague” Yagyuu whispered under her breath.
She disliked that side of her, when she would purposely not give any details, not sure if she does it in order to hide her background or she just doesn't want to bother getting closer to someone with that topic.
“…We will not see each other again, will we.”
Niou tilted her head. “You make it sound dramatic.” Niou didn’t joke this time. “Probably.”
The word sat between them, heavy and unfinished. Niou looked away first.
“Relax,” she said. “People come and go. You’ll be fine.”
Yagyuu clenched her hands in her pockets.
“You say that,” she murmured, “as if you are not the one leaving.”
Niou looked back at her, really closely. For once, her grin didn’t come.
“…You hate emotional conversations,” Yagyuu added quietly.
Niou went silent, and after a few minutes, stopped walking again.
“…Oi, Yagyuu.”
"...Hm?”
“Since we'll be going our seperate ways after today, maybe we could...”
Niou goes silent yet again, making Yagyuu turn around curiously.
As soon as she turns around, the former one tugged the quiet one's scarf down, leaning in for a kiss, well, it was more like bumping their lips together awkwardly which would still make Yagyuu gasps loudly, they stayed like that for a few seconds before Niou pulled back first.
“Well, shit. That was not how I'd planned it would go” Niou cursed quietly as she bumped her forehead against the other's.
They stayed like that for a while, just staring into each other's eyes, their earlier action stirred up so many things to discuss yet neither of them said anything about it.
“How about this then, I'll ask you for your hand in marriage in the future if we happen to meet again” Niou whispered as to not let anyone else hear it, even though the only things that could overhear their conversation were the little insects resting on the plants around them.
Yagyuu just stared into the eccentric girl's eyes before finally standing up straight and sighing.
“You always do things the hard way.”
“So do you.” Niou laughed softly. Her heartwarming laughter causing the other to crack a faint smile as well.
Niou slides her hands on her waist, pulling her closer to kiss her properly this time. Not resisting, Yagyuu tried her best to remember the taste of her lips for the first and possibly the last time.
When they finally broke apart, Niou stared at her.
“Well, do you want to go back in the hall or are you inviting me over to your house for the night?”
Yagyuu turned around immediately. “Come with me.”
That was the last time she saw the silver haired girl, at her own house where they spent the night together.
She remembered clearly how Niou didn't leave a note, nor ever contacted her again after that. She remembered how the next morning she just sat up on her bed and simply stared at the door for a very long time, maybe in the hope that this was all a dream and right by the door would come in the troublesome double partner of hers to stick by her side and fulfill her promise already.
That was how she ended up trying her best to forget, but after her impulsive action today, she realised that she was far from moved on, she was still yearning for that girl in her heart, yearning for the day she'd come back and take her hand in marriage, but seeing how she reacted to today quietly crushed her heart. Did she not remember the vow, or did she simply not want to fulfill it anymore and feigned ignorance?
Did she choose to forget the evening they spent together at the house and the things they did together wrapped closely in each other's arms? The same night that keeps Yagyuu awake almost every other night, she simply couldn't have forgotten all the sweet nothings they whispered to each other all night. The same feeling that made up brain curl up in embarrassment everytime she thinks back on what she said.
As these thoughts stirred deep in her mind, she sadly turned around to head to the exit. The only thing she wanted to do now was soak herself in a salt bath, to forget her growing fatigue and possibly today's event too.
Just as she took her first step on the stairs, a familiar voice. She quietly wondered how many times she's been surprised by that warm voice on that exact day.
“Yo.”
She knew exactly who it belonged to, it was a voice she would recognize even between a crowd of people separating them.
She turned around sharply, and there she stood. The girl she hasn't been able to let and slip out of her head.
Niou stood in front of her, she really did still look the same as the day she left, her short messy blue hair sprawled over her shoulders, her expression and position as laid back as ever.
She stood there playfully smirking, staring right into Yagyuu's eyes, making her slightly embarrassed as her presence contradicts her earlier thoughts and speculations.
“I knew you'd follow. Been a long time since I've caught you unguarded.”
“...Niou” Yagyuu stood still, unable to move even if she wants to, out of shock, mostly.
“You're looking as sexy as ever, aren't you”
“...That is highly inappropriate” Yagyuu turned her gaze away, trying her best to make herself look composed again and not act impulsively in a highly honored place such as a train station.
“You're the same as ever I see”
“You too. Carefree as ever, aren't you”
Niou didn't reply further but she takes a step closer, making Yagyuu's breath hitched
“Well, here we are. Meeting again”
“....” Yagyuu didn't know how to respond while her mind kept wandering back to their graduation day about 5 years earlier.
“Megane, do you remember what I promised you before I left a few years ago?”
Yagyuu could only stand there, silently, she became tongue tied as she just stared into Niou's eyes, falling for her all over again right there.
“I hope you haven't been betrothed to another since I'm not planning to go back on my words”
“...You idiot” Yagyuu spurts out.
You could see an amused face on Niou's face for a moment, before she changes it into an even wider grin.
“That's really how you're gonna welcome me back into your life?”
Yagyuu stepped forward, her steps felt as light as feather, almost making her not even aware of the move she's making.
As soon as Niou was an arm's length away from her, she tied her arms tightly around the girl's neck, resting her head on her shoulders, trying her best not to let the tears out.
“Mhm. I missed you too”
Niou wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her in, pressing their bodies tightly together.
“I really thought you'd leave again...”
“You can be really honest too, huh”
Yagyuu pulls back, looking into her eyes with her own tear clouded eyes.
“So, can I ask you where you were this whole time?”
“You can, but I won't tell you”
“Of course you won't..." Yagyuu laughed quite loudly through the tears rolling down her cheeks
“I really missed your nagging through the years, that could be the primary reason I came back”
“You could have lied about remembering something more pleasant than that, nagging isn't the only thing I do you know. ”
“There is, but I need to remember my roots and why I fell for you no?”
“What else can you name?”
“Well, there's that night.”
“Oh.”
They both know what Niou was referring to, the topic made them both realise their embarrassing position in such a respectful place such as the public train station.
Yagyuu tries to push back, only for Niou to grab her wrist instead pull her even closer. The tension between them was so thick, they knew exactly what they wanted from each other right then. Their unstable breath mingling together until they gave into it.
When their lips finally met, Yagyuu felt the years of sorrow and lonliness breaking under their lips. It was the kind of kiss that made her realize she's never been this happy in her whole life. Her lips were just as sweet as she remembers—so effortlessly sweet, more tears falling from her eyes unstoppably.
When they were finally out of breath from the intense kiss they share, they just stood their like idiots, smiling at each other, not caring about a thing in the world.
“Well, the last train heading to my station just went by so maybe I can drop by your house” Niou suggested, with an obvious smirk. She cupped the tall one's face, gently wiping her tears away with her thumbs.
“You can, but if you even think about leaving again, I might not take you back ever again even if you make a more romantic proposal somehow”
“Ooh, you're so feisty now. There's also some new objects I've been collecting as a hobby that I really want to try out with you”
A cold wind blew pass them as the evening sun completely hides behind the tall buildings at the far distance.
“Let's get warm first, we'll talk about the other issues while cuddling”
Niou put her hand out towards Yagyuu, fully expecting her to take it, that she did. “I couldn't agree more”
As the night lamps lit up the streets, the two tall figures head down the road, holding each other's hands tightly, a possible promise to not let go again.