-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people youâre close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since itâs cutesy and childlike.
Wanting to talk more in private, I headed to the rooftop with Yuki. The cerulean skies extended to the horizon, warmly enveloped by the sunâs embrace. We walked up to the fence, where we had a clear view of the blooming cherry blossoms below.
She slowly turned around, facing me as the spring breeze swirled in between the rosy petals; her ivory hair swaying along with their dance. Her eyes, blue as the sky above, glistened with their slight moisture, and her cheeks were rosy as the petals that swirled around us.
When we were in elementary school, I liked Yui, whose face I had never even seen. I honestly had no clue how cute she truly was wrapped under those bandages, and it made my heart flutter even more. If she was just a pretty girl I didnât know, someone I could never reach, it wouldnât have moved me as much.
Yuki had been by my side more than anyone else, I couldnât contain the galloping of my heart. I felt like I could wake up at any second.
âHaru-kun, we can talk more in private here.â
âOh, Yuki⊠You surprised me. Youâre really back.â
âA lot has happened, so I only told you today. Iâve actually come back a few months ago.â
âAlso, why the surname change? Youâre now a Shirahato, right?â
âIâm sorry, but itâs hard to talk about it⊠Thereâs a lot going on.â
âI see⊠Youâve got your own circumstances.â
âYeah, but anyway, Iâm glad I was able to see you again like this.â
âYouâve worked really hard out there, and you finally got your bandages removed⊠I also did my best here. Since this school, the one weâd promised to meet again at, had a very high deviation score, I drowned myself in studying for three years and managed to enroll here.â
âIâm really sorry for that. I didnât know much about these things when I was in elementaryâŠâ
âWell, I used to say this schoolâs building was gorgeous with all the cherry blossoms, and the uniform was cute. You wouldnât really know the deviation score and things like that as a kid, so all you could use to judge was how it looked.â
âIâm sorry I made you go through thatâŠâ
âDonât worry about it. Going to the same school as you was my dream, and I was desperate to make it come true. Besides, if I didnât study that much back then, I would only drown in thoughts of you, of missing you⊠It was the right thing at the right time for me, really.â
When Yuki left, a piece of my heart was ripped out of my chest. Studying was the only thing capable of distracting me from the ever-growing loneliness. I devoted myself to studying because of that, and to make my dream of meeting her again come true.
âFrom now on, weâll be together every single day. For the next three years, please be as close to me as you were in elementary school.â
âThatâs a given. Weâre classmates now, so letâs keep being friends.â
In elementary school, I used to play with her every day, and now Iâm in high school. Iâm genuinely happy to see her again, to be with her once more.
âWhere have you been living since you came back? the house you used to live in seems to be occupied by someone else.â
âIâm going to start living in a certain apartment, starting today.â
âI see⊠Actually, Iâm living in an apartment by myself, too. This school is pretty far from my old house, so my parents rented me an apartment nearby. Iâve been living here since before starting my freshman year here. Itâs a really big two-bedroom apartment. By the way, Yuki, where did you rent yours?â
âYouâll find out soon enough, so donât tell anyone right now.â
If I stay as close to Yuki as I was before, Iâm sure Iâd visit the place she lives⊠Just like we did back then. Iâll ask her that next time we go out to play.
âWell then, Haru-kun, today was just the entrance ceremony, so there are no afternoon classes. Letâs go home, then.â
âYeah, youâre right. Letâs go home together!â
âFufu~, Iâve been looking forward to going home with you, Haru-kun. Shoulder to shoulder.â
âMe too, Yuki. Iâve been always hoping this day would come.â
And as we slowly strolled home, I couldnât help but be overjoyed. Days like these would continue to happen from tomorrow onward⊠My heart wouldnât stop thumping with excitement.