CH. 81 - Memories From the Past

Later in January… Shiori, Chizuru and Lucy hangout in Shiori’s room. They play a card game when there is a knock at her door. 

 “What is it?” Shiori calls out. Hikigaya opens the door.

 “Hey, I’m going out with the boys. It’s Crush tournament night.” He says.

 “Don’t forget, Riku’s thing is tonight.” Shiori reminds him. Hikigaya puts the back of his hand on his head and looks up dramatically.

 “Ah! I totally forgot! The tournament could run long. I don’t think I can make it.” He says casually. Shiori rolls her eyes.

 “Whatever, not like I care. Just don’t come crying to me when he kicks your shin for not helping out.” Shiori warns. Hikigaya rolls his eyes.

 “Yeah, okay.” He turns around and immediately is kicked in the shin by Riku angrily. “Ow! Why you little…”

 “I can’t believe you’re not coming! You expect sis to do it by herself?” Riku shouts.

 “I think she’s more than capable. Now come here! I’m gonna give you a knuckle sandwich!” Hikigaya reaches for him angrily. Riku sweats and runs down the hall screaming as Hikigaya chases him. Chizuru turns and looks at Shiori excitedly.

 “Wait, do you need help with something?” She asks enthusiastically. Shiori shrugs a bit.

 “Eh, not really. I can set it up myself. It’s only for a bunch of elementary kids.” Shiori says.

 “No way! Let us come! We can replace Hiki!” Chizuru says excitedly.

 “Who’s we?..” Lucy asks. They ignore her.

 “You sure? You guys totally don’t have to.” Shiori says.

 “Of course we will!” Chizuru says happily as Lucy sweats.

“Who’s we?” Lucy asks again, a bit louder as Chizuru puts her fist in the air happily. Shiori smiles, and soon, they make their way out. 

 Later that evening, at Blossom Elementary, a bunch of parents and their children gather and mingle in the large cafeteria as different booths and tables are set up with academics and snacks around. Shiori, Chizuru and Lucy stand behind a table with aprons and gloves on as they pass out small cookies to the kids and parents. Riku runs up to them with a smile on his face.

 “Thanks for helping! Teacher said we wouldn’t be able to have cookies if no one could pass them out!” Riku says before hugging Shiori happily. She pats him on the head as he lets go.

 “Can’t let my little brother go without his cookies on such a fun night, can I?” Shiori says warmly as Riku smiles.

“Nope!”

 Riku fist bumps Lucy with a smile and hugs Chizuru tightly. He lets go before getting a studying look while staring at her. Chizuru looks confused before he turns and looks at Shiori while pointing at Chizuru.

 “I want this one! She’s soft and much nicer than Hikigaya.” Riku says. Shiori then starts squishing his face roughly with an angry look as Riku whines.

 “Maybe if you weren’t such a brat all the time, he wouldn’t be so hard on you. You’re lucky he does it instead of me.” She says intensely as Riku groans.

 “Owkayy… I’m sowrryyy…” Riku says. Cuts to Riku smiling with his cheeks red and a bit puffy. “Anyway, I’m gonna go find Mama and Papa. Maybe they’ll get me more snacks!” He says happily while running away. The girls watch him go and smile as a teacher approaches them.

 “Thanks for your help, girls. Now that things have died down a bit, why don’t I take over?” She says softly as Lucy quickly takes off her apron.

 “Finally!” Lucy says in relief before rushing off. The teacher looks shocked by the action. Chizuru sweats a bit embarrassedly before following her as Shiori waves and does the same.

 They walk out of the cafeteria, the sun now beginning to set, and a darker blue hue waves over the school. They walk down the halls with no particular destination in mind. Lucy puts her arms up and behind her head as they walk.

 “Main, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’m ever having kids. You can’t tell if they’re gonna come out good like Riku or bad like that kid throwing a fit over his cookie having one too many chocolate chips on it.” Lucy says. Shiori sweats at her words.

 “Riku is good?..” she asks in a low tone as she thinks about her brother.

“I think they’re cute. It’s not their fault they’re so small and their emotions are so big. You just gotta let them get it out and do your best to stay calm and listen to what they have to say.” Chizuru says casually. Shiori and Lucy look at her with surprised looks before Lucy pats her on the back softly.

 “Yeah, maybe you can have kids for both of us, cause you’re definitely more cut out for it than I am.” Lucy says as Chizuru giggles slightly embarrassed. They eventually come to a playground in the schoolyard with four swings at the side of it. Lucy smiles and runs up to it.

 “I love swings!” she says as she hops into one of the seats and begins playfully swinging with soft giggles coming out of her. Shiori and Chizuru smile and join her on the swings next to her.

 As the girls sit on the swings, swaying gently, they chat happily, just taking in the time together without a worry to be had.

 “Hey Chizuru, why did you want to come so badly?” Shiori asks. Chizuru looks at her with a slightly surprised look before smiling.

 “It’s just been so long since I’ve been to an elementary school! The fond memories I have of those times.” Chizuru sighs in bliss as she thinks of the good childhood memories when Lucy stops swaying and looks at her with a smirk.

 “I’m sure they’re all real good memories. Definitely not a bunch of jerks picking on you because of your weird antenna.” Lucy says, pointing at Chizuru’s hair as she gasps, grabbing her hair and holding it softly with a look of shock and betrayal on her face.

 “It’s not weird! I like my hair, and I’ll have you know, I do think of those memories fondly because you, Hikigaya, and Ryuji would always come to my rescue as Haru comforted me. Those times, I always felt so safe and secure.” Chizuru says as Shiori looks a bit surprised, thinking.

‘They were picked on too?’ She thinks. Her look then changes to that of a bit of subtle jealousy. ‘At least they had each other..’

 “What elementary school did you go to?” Chizuru asks, snapping Shiori out of her thoughts. She looks at Chizuru, surprised.

 “Me?” she asks. Chizuru nods before Shiori answers casually. “Oh, I went to Blossom Elementary too.” Shiori says. They get surprised looks.

 “You went here? That’s.. actually not surprising.” Lucy says, realizing of course she went where her brother currently goes.

 “Do you have any fond memories of this place?” Chizuru asks happily as Shiori just shrugs a bit.

 “Not really. I wasn’t well liked, so the few interactions I did have were people bullying me for my eyes and the way I looked. But I.. didn’t have anyone to come help me..” She says softly while looking down a bit. Tears form in Chizuru’s eyes as Lucy looks sad.

 “Aw, Shiori! That’s so sad! I wish we were all together back then. Knowing Hiki, he’d probably do nothing but spend all day with you anyway.” Chizuru says with a giggle as Shiori blushes. “But of course, he had to go to our elementary school.” Chizuru says with a sigh.

 “To be fair, he did only join us in 5th grade after he moved. I don’t even remember what elementary school he went to before that.” Lucy says while trying to remember. Chizuru thinks for a moment too before suddenly remembering.

 “Oh, wait! He went here, Blossom Elementary, remember?” Chizuru asks Lucy, who also remembers with a smile. 

 “Oh yeah, he totally did!” Lucy says.

 Shiori is surprised as she remembers the young boy she saw in her inner world visions, whose eyes were covered by rays of light. Her eyes grow wide as she remembers his smile on a swing set, but his eyes are still out of reach. 

 ‘Could he..?’ Shiori thinks before she shakes her head, shaking the thought away.‘No, that makes no sense! There’s no way.’ She thinks before stopping and smirking to herself, remembering something. The others notice as she speaks.

 “Actually, I think I did have one friend. I just remembered he even existed. Wanna hear something I used to tell him?” Shiori asks her friends.

 “Yeah!” they both say enthusiastically. Shiori laughs, a little embarrassed by her past actions, as she smiles softly. It fades off into a cloudy sky of a day long ago…

 Young Shiori sits by herself on the swing set. She is a bit bruised and scratched as she looks up to the sky, no scar under her left eye yet. She stares with a blank look when a young boy, the one from her visions, sits down next to her on the swing seat. They sit in silence for a moment as Shiori doesn’t look at him.

 “You’re sitting here all alone again?” The boy asks.

 “Yep.” Young Shiori answers.

 “Why?”

 “Because nobody wants to sit with me.” She says casually. They sit in silence again as the boy stares at her. He thinks for a moment before speaking again.

 “You sure do stare at the sky a lot.” The boy points out.

 “Yep.” Shiori answers. The boy sweats before awkwardly speaking.

 “...Why?” He asks again. Shiori smiles a bit for a moment before finally looking at him.

 “Because I really like the clouds.” She says. The boy looks surprised.

 “Are clouds really that interesting?” He asks. Shiori shakes her head softly. 

 “They’re not interesting, but they are happy.” She says.

 “How do you know?” he asks. Shiori looks up at the clouds again with a smile on her face.

 “Because they have each other.” She says warmly. The boy looks intrigued and looks up to the sky with her. Shiori looks at him again with a warm smile. “I love clouds because I’ve never seen one all by itself. They’re always together and never alone.” Shiori says softly with a shine in her eyes. The boy blushes before getting a big smile on his face.

 “Shiori, we should be friends!” He says as his smile fades…

 In the present, Shiori blushes a bit and smiles, recalling that moment.

 “I love clouds because I’ve never seen one all by itself. They’re always together and never alone.” She says softly. Lucy gets a very surprised look as Chizuru blushes warmly. 

 “You’re so cute, Shiori.” Chizuru says. Shiori smiles embarrassedly a bit and chuckles.

 “I know it sounds silly, but it’s what kept me going when everything seemed so bad… until I forgot about all that…” Shiori says softly with a sad look, regretting some of the decisions she made. The friends sit in silence for a moment before Lucy speaks.

 “Well, guess what?” Lucy says. Shiori looks at her as she smiles warmly at her. “Now you’re just like the clouds. You’ll never need to be alone again.” Lucy says. Shiori’s eyes widen as they shine, Lucy’s words hitting her soul. Chizuru smiles widely.

 “Yeah! That’s right! We’re gonna be together forever!” Chizuru shouts as she throws her arms into the air. Shiori starts to tear up hearing the words of her friends.

 “You guys…” She says with a shaky smile and nods as they laugh together on the swings under the sunset sky.

 Later that night, Ryuji opens his door to see Lucy, panting and sweating a bit. He looks surprised.

 “Lucy? I didn’t know you were coming over tonight.” Ryuji says.

 “We have to talk.” Lucy says with a happy smile. She steps inside as Ryuji’s mom sees her and smiles.

 “Lucy! It’s so good to see you!” Fuyuko hugs Lucy for a moment before stepping back and coughing into her hand a bit.

 “How are you doing?” Lucy asks with a concerned smile. Fuyuko smiles weakly.

 “Oh, you know. Strong as an ox.” Fuyuko says as she flexes her arm sarcastically. She laughs a bit before stepping away. “Let me get you guys something to drink.” She offers. Ryuji and Lucy sit at a table together.

 “What did you want to talk about?” Ryuji asks. Lucy smiles widely.

 “Do you remember what Hiki said cloud girl used to say?” Lucy asks.

 “Of course. I remember perfectly from the day he told us, unlike you or the others.” He says teasingly. “‘I love clouds because I’ve never seen one all by itself…'” he begins to recite when Lucy speaks with him.

 “'They’re always together and never alone.'…” they say the last part together as Ryuji gets a surprised look. Lucy smiles at him.

 “It’s her.” Lucy says.

 “Shiori?” Ryuji asks. Lucy nods as his eyes grow wide and he smiles. “I knew it.”

 “We have to tell the others! I’m gonna call Haru-” Lucy says excitedly when Ryuji stops her.

 “Wait.” He says. She pulls out her phone but stops as Ryuji thinks for a moment. He smirks at her. “Let’s have some more fun with this.” Ryuji says with an oddly mischievous smile. Lucy is surprised for a moment before smirking too. She sits down next to him and rubs her shoulder against his.

 “Mm, I like the way you think.” She says lovingly as they blush.

 Early in February, Shiori and Hikigaya are walking to school together as usual when Hikigaya sneezes. Shiori looks at him with a raised eyebrow.

 “You’ve been sneezing more than usual this morning. Allergies?” Shiori asks. Hikigaya sniffles a bit.

 “I don’t have allergies.” He says firmly. Shiori closes her eyes and looks ahead.

 “Welp, it sounds like you might be getting sick.” She says. Hikigaya looks at her with a slightly pouty look.

 “You might be weaker than some germs, but I’m quite literally built different. I don’t get sick.” He says.

 “Hmph, ohkay.” Shiori says sarcastically as they approach the school. Suddenly, Chizuru comes running at them with a big smile on her face. 

 “Shiori!” she shouts while jumping on Shiori. She hugs her before pulling back a bit, her arms still around her neck. “Do you know what day it is?!” Chizuru asks excitedly.

 “Thursday.” Hikigaya says plainly. Chizuru looks at him with an irritated look before taking Shiori’s hand.

 “Sorry, this is girls' talk only.” Chizuru says. She sticks her tongue out at him before leading Shiori away. Hikigaya sweats as Touma steps next to him.

 “You know what that was about?” Hikigaya asks. Touma just shrugs as Hikigaya nods, looking at him. “I hear what you’re saying. Come on, let’s go get a juice or something.” He says with a smile as they walk off. Chizuru walks towards the school with Shiori in hand.

 “Okay, I think we’re far enough away from him. Can we stop? I don’t want to get in trouble for not sticking close to him.” Shiori says nervously. Chizuru winks at her.

 “Don’t worry, Principal Ai hasn’t talked to you guys in months. I doubt she even cares anymore. Now, for the important stuff.” Chizuru says, taking Shiori’s hands in her own and looking at her with a smile. “Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!” Chizuru says. Shiori is surprised a bit.

 “Already? That’s crazy.”

 “Mhm mhm! So what are we doing this year?” Chizuru asks excitedly. Shiori just stares at her.

 “I don’t know. Nothing probably.” Shiori says casually. Chizuru is shocked.

 “What??” Chizuru whines. Shiori just shrugs at Chizuru’s reaction before talking plainly.

 “I mean, why would I? I only made chocolates our first year for Ryuji. The year after that, I made some cookies that just happened to go to Hikigaya. I don’t have a reason to make anything this year.” Shiori says. Chizuru pouts angrily.

 “What do you mean?? You like Hikigaya, don’t you?” Chizuru says openly. Shiori blushes and nervously looks around while shushing her.

 “Don’t say that out loud!..” she whispers while sweating.

 “Well? What are you gonna do if someone else comes and gives him some chocolates? What if someone else asks him out?” Chizuru asks with a serious look. Shiori shyly looks over to see Hikigaya, Touma and the others laughing and talking, waiting for them. She stares at Hikigaya with a worried look.

 “I do like him… I’m just scared..” Shiori says shyly. Chizuru smiles with a supportive look.

 “I know, but you have to at least try. Make him chocolates this year but actually give them to him. No excuses this time.” Chizuru says, trying to be a little firm with her. Shiori nods and gets a determined look. “Perfect! Meet me at my place tomorrow after school. Suiyoubi and Alice are coming too.” Chizuru says as Shiori looks upset.

 “But they don’t know! What if they find out?..” Shiori says as Chizuru begins to push her back to the rest of the group.

 “Well, they’ll find out eventually when you and Hiki start going out, won’t they?” Chizuru asks as Shiori blushes even more at the thought. With the rest of the group. Tsuki, Milo and Riley approach them. 

 “It is soon to be Valentine’s Day, Sugawara. Will you be leaving this commoner and joining me in matrimony?” Riley asks plainly as Sugawara sweats. Haru grabs Sugawara and moves him behind himself and gives Riley an angry look.

 “He will not! Now be gone!” Haru shouts before throwing Riley into the air as she spins and floats for a moment, unphased by being thrown.