The Appearance of Nakano Koharu

School had been pretty chill today, at least to Yuu. She'd glided through the day, and even though she had swimming practice left, she still had half an hour or so to relax.

Man, doing sports was so tiring, but also felt... exhilarating, in some way. She wasn't the best in the school's team, and by a stretch, but at least she managed to pull her weight... and was only getting better at it. Pity that she had discovered the sport so late in her adolescence, because otherwise... she thought she'd have been pretty great a it.

Oh well, not much to do about it, except taking it as it came. Life was strangely great right now; not quite there, but hoping for people who'd been missing for pretty much a year was a bit of a ludicrous assumption, wasn't it?

No matter how much she had searched for them. Well, too bad, it seemed. Without a warning, a wild message appeared!

Yuu stared at it for a good while in utter disbelief. It just was so... ridiculous, in all honesty.

Without missing a beat, however, she answered. Nothing to lose, right?

<16:16> Yuu: Haru? Is that you? For real?

It was still pretty incredible, no matter how much she thought about it.

If you could speak right now, she'd probably be really vocal about what was happening right now. She just felt so happy that she felt like she could explode in this very moment. It was truly her!

<16:22> Yuu: Well, how can I know? You're being really casual about it, even though I guess that's just how you are.

It still surprised her how casual she was about being gone by pretty much one year, but there wasn't much she could do about it. At least she was just like Yuu remembered her. Unconsciously, she knew she was already smiling.

<16:23> Yuu: But I guess that doesn't matter anymore. Welcome back! I'm glad that you're around again; kinda missed you... a lot, you know?

Got held, huh? That seemed like serious business, even though Yuu figured asking about that through messages wasn't giving the reason of her disappearance enough credit. At the mention of the word 'boyfriend', however, her blood froze. Well, it was to expected, in all honesty. Still... it took her a small while to compose herself and answer to that last message.

<16:30> Yuu: I guess I'm doing alright. School's kinda good atm and so is life. Life's been fine too, even though it just became great thanks to a certain someone appearing again.

That sounded a bit... too cold? Well, that wasn't her intent at all, but... her first contact with her being this way felt weird.

<16:31> Yuu: Sorry, it's just that this is kinda sudden. When can we hang out? I'm dying to see you again.

Maybe her intent was mistook? Well, Yuu hadn't really reacted on the best way, but... what was the best to react to this? She was extremely happy for sure, but...

<16:33> Yuu: Well, I won't lie; it genuinely took me by surprise, but... it was a pleasant surprise! You know, I wasn't expecting to be messaged by my girlfriend who had been missing for a year or so while on a break at school, you know? It's almost otherworldly, but that's me rambling...

Well, at least it was nice to see that she was as jealous as usual, that even brought a smirk to her face. Enough for her to... well, joke a little. Haru seemed to be as good as always when it came to cheering Yuu up.

<16:37> Yuu: You'd be surprised, actually. Since you were out, I was asked out a lot, and by more boys than girls, while at it! Pretty crazy, huh? Had to reject them all, though; guess that was the smart move in the end, otherwise... I think you'd have my head in a platter right now. Or I'd be Kon-chan's hostage, one out of two.
<16:37> Yuu: I was kidding too, by the way.

Her expression ultimately grew sad when Haru said that they wouldn't be able to meet up, then grew extremely worried because...

<16:43> Yuu: Sort of state? Are you injured!? Haru, please tell me that you're fine, because...

She wouldn't withstand losing her twice, especially since she had just found her again. It'd be just too much.

<16:44> Yuu: Just take care, okay? You'll probably be the most surprised if we ever meet up, but I guess I can wait until you feel like it. And don't worry, I'll make sure to get Aria back, just like that time, alright? You definitely trust on me.

Yuu could only sigh. This was as frustrating as it can get, but... what could she do about it? She knew how much Aria meant to Haru, and currently she was being overly selfish, but... that was just how she felt right now. Oh well, to the wait again.

At least her words served to lift her sour mood by a good measure. Well, they weren't her words, but the implications they had.

<16:45> Yuu: Any request, huh? Well, if you're so eager... why not a close-up? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
<16:45> Yuu: Just kidding! I'd like it if Kon-chan wrote something for Kyo. She's been missing her too, you know? She's gonna be so happy once she gets to know you guys are back.

Yuu scratched her chin at the first message she got. It was an old habit, that'd probably never die, but she liked for it to be that way. Haru's problem had an easy solution, though.

<16:46> Yuu: Being dead isn't a problem nowadays. I'll probably sound like a parent, but I think that your education is important, Haru. Just tell me the word, and I can probably give you another identity to attend school. Your choice, however; won't force you to do something you don't want to do.

In all honesty, she'd love to attend school with her; well, she was a year younger, but still... waking up, having breakfast together and then walking towards school was enough of an idyllic scenario for her. Still, it seemed that that won't be the case.

<16:51> Yuu: No idea. Did you think that I looked like a girl? I mean, I was tall and kinda lanky, and compared to Ryo, I didn't have much in the way of muscles, but... that's something for you to know, isn't it? And... I think you know me enough to tell my gender, Haru. Otherwise, would you've dated a girl? That's kind of a funny idea.

An indirect answer, that Haru'd probably pick up on, but it wasn't like she wasn't enjoying being cryptic. Just like she was being right now. Dancing around each other, trying to tell stuff whilst not telling anything. That came could be played by two people, right?

<16:53> Yuu: That's fine. And don't worry; whatever makes you suddenly magnetic, I'll probably don't mind. Feel free to tell me what is it once you've come to terms with it.

And don't get closer to magnets, but that comment would probably be too mean, not to say that the sudden picture distracted her way more than what it should. Well, at least she had to admit that her girlfriend was as beautiful as ever.

<16:55> Yuu: Jesus Christ, Haru. It was A JOKE! I can't deny that you are even more pretty than before and... I'm glad that nobody was near me when you sent that. It could haven gotten pretty messy to me, you know? Anyhow... what a pity that Kon-chan is resting right now. Tell her I said hi, okay?

Well, situation got a little bit tense. but Yuu'd expected that much. Haru was a strange girl. Not to say that she was normal by any means, but... well. She guessed they were a funny couple just like that.

If they remained as one once they met up again, that is.

<17:01> Yuu: Your choice, as I said, not forcing you into anything. I'd love to videochat with you at some time, even though I'd really prefer to meet up personally. Neither of those are possible right now, but one can dream, right? And, whether you want to straighten your true name or just to get a new one, both are fine, at least regarding the amount of work I gotta do. And, hey! Las Vegas is a nice place to be. I should totally get you there at some time; place's really fun.

Regarding her unfounded accusations, however, she just smiled.

<17:08> Yuu: Well, won't make it easy for you. I don't know where you got those strange ideas of people randomly changing genders, but if you really think that's the case, you'll have to find out once we see each other! That way, you also have an incentive to come back, don't you think? Until then, you're free to go wild with your strange theories.

If it really wouldn't change anything, it didn't matter if she told her or not, right? The next photo she got, however, surprised her by a fair bit, even though she'd kinda expected something of the like already.

<17:10> Yuu: I can't say I'm not surprised, but I guess that the metal detector thing makes sense now. That doesn't cause any pain, does it? Because I can totally begin doing lame jokes about it if it doesn't.


Humor was probably the best way she coped with this like this. As lame as that humor was. Well, if she was leaving, it meant that some time had passed already, right? 17:15, huh? Welp, time surely flew. In fact, she was 15 minutes late for the club.

<17:15> Yuu: Don't worry. I gotta go too. Didn't realize that time flew so fast while chatting with you. Also, to take care of you? Haru, you should take that for granted, even though we can't really meet up right now. But don't worry about it. Guess there's only one thing to do about it, right?
<17:15> Yuu sent you a photo!

It was a simple drawing with overly exaggerated letters, but it's intent was really clear. 頑張って (がんばって)!

Now, Yuu had to run or she'd miss up practice entirely. The team manager was going to get so mad at her.

Getting to see Haru again felt good, but... hopefully the next time, it'd be for good. And in person.

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