Chapter 15: — “Just Us Two”

Mika stayed curled up on the couch, knees drawn to her chest, the TV still glowing faintly in the dim room. But her eyes didn’t move. She wasn’t watching anything, not really. Her mind was far from the present. Far from the awkward silence she now shared with Riku. Far from the ache in her chest.

Another memory stirred. Gentle, soft, like the beginning of a song that had long been buried.

She remembered small feet slapping across wooden floors.

“Mika-chan! I brought my cards!”

The front door slid shut behind a much younger Riku, his backpack slung over one shoulder. Mika peeked out from the hallway of her childhood home, holding a stuffed cat in her arms.

“You’re late,” she pouted, but she smiled all the same.

“Dad made me help with groceries,” Riku mumbled, kicking off his shoes. “But I ran here as fast as I could!”

The two of them ended up in Mika’s room, sitting on the floor with snacks scattered between them. Cards turned into board games, board games turned into silly dares, and dares eventually became giggling matches over who could eat the most sour candy without tearing up. Mika always won.

They had been inseparable in those days, always finding ways to have fun without needing anything fancy. Just each other.

Another flash.

It was a warm day in spring. Cherry blossoms had just started falling. Mika and Riku ran around the park behind her house, their laughter echoing across the field.

“I bet I can climb higher than you!” Riku shouted, already scrambling up the monkey bars.

“No way! You’re totally gonna fall!” Mika called after him, half-worried and half-challenging.

He reached the top and struck a pose. “Ta-da!”

“Show off…” Mika muttered, arms crossed, though a smile crept onto her lips.

Riku eventually hopped down and collapsed on the grass beside her, panting. Mika sat next to him, their shoulders just barely brushing.

They said nothing for a while. Just watched the petals float through the air like tiny pink snowflakes.

“I like this,” Riku murmured.

“Like what?”

“Us. Hanging out like this. Just you and me.”

Mika felt a twinge in her chest. Even then, before she had the words for it, she knew those moments with Riku were special. Sacred. Safe.

Her memory blurred again, pulling her into another day.

It had rained all morning. The park was soaked, but that didn’t stop them. They wore boots and splashed through puddles, shrieking at how cold the water was. Mika slipped once, falling into the muddy grass.

“Ow…”

Riku rushed over and held out his hand. “You okay?”

Mika took his hand and looked up. “You’re not gonna laugh?”

“No way. Only jerks laugh when people fall.”

Mika grinned. “Thanks.”

Riku beamed. “Let’s get you cleaned up, mudball.”

Back in the present, Mika curled tighter on the couch. Her eyes prickled, but she blinked quickly, holding it back.

All those years… all those memories. She’d known him for so long. Watched him grow. Shared her laughter, her secrets, her childhood with him.

And now?

Now he didn’t even know how badly she was hurting. How much she regretted letting that moment slip away, the confession she couldn’t finish. The one chance she had, and she blew it.

She buried her face in her arms.

“…Riku,” she whispered.

There was so much she wanted to say. So much her heart had held for years. But the words still wouldn’t come.

Not yet.

But maybe someday.

Maybe soon.