The Green God and the Red Princess

                                             Genre: Romance, School, Slice of Life

(A concept I randomly wrote in class because I wanted to write a story that would perfectly fit in 1 piece of paper, and it did. Of course, this isn't the original version; a lot was added into this one to make it cooler. Anyway, enjoy!)

As of the current moment, the time was 9 pm. The night was already out, and it was incredibly beautiful. The moon wasn’t exactly full, but it was very close to that state, it still being a complete beauty to look at. To anyone who was living their regular life, it was an indifferent night.

However, there were 2 individuals who thought otherwise. After all, tonight was a special night to 2 certain high school students. It was the night they’d dubbed… the “Promised Time.”

A boy was currently speed walking to school. You could assume that he was doing so because he was late to something or because he wanted to be early. In truth, he was doing so for one reason: he was extremely nervous.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening…” he muttered to himself as his feet were practically moving forward by themselves.

He was what you’d call “lost in space.” This specific night having been planned months in advance, and the undeniable fact that it’d finally arrived were making him feel many different emotions within his heart, that being the reason as to why he was speed-walking without fully realizing it; his stress was making him extremely distracted deep within his thoughts. Currently, the best he could explain the specific emotion he was feeling was with the phrase “My face is on fire.”

In other words, he was blushing as he speed-walked.

The reason as to why he was blushing? Because of what tonight entailed.

The boy, even though it was so late at night, currently wore his high school uniform, the generic one you’ve probably seen before. He was wearing it because he’d honestly been too lazy to change to something nicer. He thought he should’ve because of tonight’s importance, but he decided to ignore the fact.

“After 5 months…it’s finally happening…” he muttered under his breath once again. “We can finally begin…a true relationship…” he smiled as he talked to himself.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one who was feeling this way. There was another certain individual who felt the same.

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On a certain school rooftop, staring out its small fence, a certain girl resided. Coincidentally (?), she also wore her respective high school uniform, but this was more because of the fact that she enjoyed wearing it.

She stared at the scenery that could be seen from this school at this time and only this time: the beautiful city of Tokyo in the distance. It wasn’t the greatest view you could get of such a city during the evening, but it was still one with a slight…nostalgic feel to it.

“I never thought this day would come…” she said to herself out loud, “but…what am I supposed to say?”

Due to part of the promise, they couldn’t talk to each other until the exact night they planned.

But what exactly was this “Promised Time?” Why did the 2 of them plan such a strange time to meet for something? Well, let’s rewind time a bit. 5 months, to be exact.

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November. A time very close to the beginning of winter break. For the most part, it was a regular school day. At least, that’s what he thought.

They were currently in English class, possibly his best class. Even so, while he loved it so much, there was something that distracted him from paying attention to the teacher currently talking.

“She’s so beautiful…” that was his train of thought most days of the year during this certain class.

Haru Midorikami was a 15-year-old student, currently in his final year of middle school. He was someone that always preferred to go unnoticed and wasn’t the most social person, making him the lone wolf type.

However, even if he willingly decided to isolate himself from most of his peers, he did still feel the same emotions as everyone else, of course; he was human after all.

Joy, sadness, trust…and love.

Haru always had a certain distraction in English class, that being the beauty of his grade: Akahime Ryuzawa, or Aka, as how many people referred to her. But she also had another nickname: the “Red Princess.”

As to why she was called that wasn’t really known. Was it because of her beautiful crimson hair? Was it because her name in English literally translated to “Red Princess”? Or maybe it was because of something she’d done long ago (?).

Regardless of the speculations, she was a mystery. But anyhow.

Haru, akin many boys in his class, was captivated by Aka’s beauty. She stood at the top in terms of girls’ appearances. Many people also idolized her for her intelligence, having one of the top 5 grades in the entire class. Sadly though, she wasn’t really the best at sports but even so, the former 2 reasons were enough to love her.

Haru would often stare at her and glance at her directly. He just couldn’t get her eyes off her.

It’d be cool if she was my friend…too bad I don’t have a chance.

He went back to paying attention in class and wrote what was on the chalkboard up front. Once he was done, he went back to staring at Aka, but something unexpected happened.

Aka was directly looking at him. They exchanged eye contact.

When Haru noticed this, he was surprised and looked away immediately.

W-what was that?! He couldn’t prevent himself from thinking.

That was the first time that Aka had looked at him…ever. Haru went back to get another glimpse, and she was looking again!

They both then looked away at the same time, now obviously unable to see each other’s face.

Aka…looked at me? That’s never happened before… he thought whilst he blushed.

However, Haru wasn’t the only one who was nervous.

No way…he’s actually been looking at me this whole time?! Aka thought to herself, blushing in the process.

Surprisingly, even though it didn’t show, Aka did find Haru interesting. Maybe it was due to his “mysterious aura”, or maybe because he’s so “distant.”

Regardless of whatever cliché or original reason she found him interesting, the fact that he was interesting to her was undeniable.

It’d been 2 days since that exchange, and it still resided on both their minds. Even though they never talked at all before, they did walk past each other several times throughout the week.

Every time they either walked past the other or accidentally shared eye contact with each other, they would blush and immediately look away; it was too much to handle.

This kept happening the exact same way those last 2 days, but it all changed during lunchtime that day.

As per usual, Haru would partake in the consumption of his bento box alone on the school cafeteria; this was one of his favorite areas in the school, after all.

He was browsing his phone through many different apps whilst eating at the same time. He enjoyed the alone time.

But that day, he heard a voice he never heard before.

“Hey…Midorikami…?” he heard a voice behind him.

He couldn’t believe the voice he heard. It was too familiar to not recognize.

With his shocked eyes, he turned to see her. His crush. Akahima Ryuzawa.

He was…flabbergasted, to say the least. But he was able to say something through all the studder.

“Y-yes…?” he made out, blushing as he did.

But he wasn’t the only one who was like so.

“C-do you think I can sit down here…?” Aka responded, herself also blushing.

Haru couldn’t show it, of course, but his heart was going what felt like 200 mph. All he was able to get out was the simple “y-yeah…sure…”

And so, Aka sat down next to Haru.

They both felt something around them both, and they really couldn’t be blamed for it. Many of the students currently in the cafeteria were staring at them.

Haru turned to look at Aka, and she was looking down, her eyes currently covered by her beautiful crimson hair.

Why would she choose to sit next to me…? He thought.

“So…this is what you do every day? Don’t you…get, like…l-lonely?” Aka asked him, stuttering in the process.

“Ah-y-yeah…but it isn’t that bad.”

This was an event for all the other students currently watching. The Red Princess herself talking with what they considered to be one of the biggest losers within the entire school was something that found too unexpected.

Of course, many people were jealous, but that didn’t stop Aka from accomplishing her goal.

I must talk to him…I have to start conversation… she thought to herself. “So hey, w-what’s your favorite class?”

“Huh? Oh, uh…I-I like English. A lot.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

Haru smiled as she asked that small question. “I’ve always been interested in learning the language. Also, the teacher makes it a really fun learning experience. Well, for me at least.”

Aka giggled. “That so? If I had to pick, I’d say I really enjoy math. Something about doing equations and learning formulas has always been interesting to me.”

And so, Haru and Aka kept talking and talking for the remainder of the lunch period.

Once the bell rang for next class, they ended up walking together to their next class, only realizing so after they noticed that they had to part ways, for they had different classes.

They’d engaged in a really long conversation, ranging from what their favorite school subjects were to hobbies that they had.

And so, once they said goodbye, they fully took in what’d just happened.

I can’t believe that I…actually talked to her…

Why do people dislike him…? He’s so…interesting…

They both thought to themselves as they blushed and smiled.

A few days had passed, and they started talking during every lunch period. It quickly became a daily ritual for them, one that they both really enjoyed. Many different topics of conversation were born from these meetings, making both Haru and Aka learn a lot from each other in the process. Even so, it wasn’t all perfect. Obtaining your true desires never comes flawlessly.

Haru and Aka were walking from the cafeteria to the school’s main area once again, this time walking around the school’s various hallways to kill time. As they did, though, something…unwanted occurred.

Out of nowhere, Haru felt something behind his back. Something that forced him forward, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

Aka quickly got down to reach Haru’s body. “Haru! Are you ok?!” She said before looking behind her.

Haru and Aka turned their sight to behind them, and now that they knew the perpetrator’s identity, they weren’t as shocked as before.

“What is wrong with you, Eric?!” Aka exclaimed at him.

That was Eric Hart, a 16-year-old student with the identity of being one of the main bullies at their school.

“Why do you care, Aka? I thought you disliked this guy!” Eric said, laughing afterwards.

“What?! I do not!” She responded back to him.

“Oh really? Weren’t you the one that told me that you find this loser to be extremely creepy?!”

When he heard that, Haru felt… dismay. After all these days of talking to her and finally feeling at her level, he felt all that progress fall to the ground.

No way…that can’t be true…

Even though Haru had only just heard that, he couldn’t help but assume the worst. And honestly, it’s kind of hard to blame him. Seeing as one of the most popular girls in his school started talking to him out of nowhere, it was easy to assume that maybe she just talked to him only as like a dare or maybe because she felt extremely bad for a loner such as Haru.

Regardless of this, Aka’s voice spoke up as these thoughts circled through his head.

“Don’t listen to him, Haru!” she said as she was knelt down next to him.

I used to think that…but everything…everything’s different now.

“None of what he’s saying is true! I don’t hate you…”

As she spoke, Haru looked up and looked at her face. The sight was unbelievable. She was…blushing. As red as a tomato.

“I could never hate someone… that I like.” She finally admitted.

Once he heard this, he couldn’t contain himself. He blushed as well.

“Huh?!” Both Eric and him exclaimed at the same time.

“You…like me?”

Aka nodded towards Haru, confirming the truth.

Haru was astonished. Aka, the most popular girl in school, had a crush on him, of all people?! How was this possible?

Aka stood up to face Eric. “I don’t care what you think. I don’t care what ANYONE thinks! I…I like Haru Midorikami, and I’m not ashamed to admit it!”

As Haru heard these words, his confidence rose. He stood up next to her and faced Eric alongside Aka.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening. But yeah, you aren’t the only one. I also like you, Aka, and that will never change!”

After he’d said this, he smirked to himself and added: “No wonder they call you the Red Princess. As beautiful as the color of love.”

He realized that he’d said that without thinking, which made Aka and himself blush ever more once it was said.

“Really, loser?! That’s so pathetic!”

Once he said this, they started to hold each other’s hands without fully realizing it. They didn’t know it at the time, but that would be the start of an interesting course of events.

As this all transpired in front of Eric’s eyes, he couldn’t help it anymore. He knew it was hopeless, ad much as he didn’t want to admit it. “Ugh! Forget this. You do what you want, Aka.”

He walked away.

Once they both realized their hands were interlocked, they faced each other, blushed, and let go of the at the same time.

The event that transpired between Eric, Aka, and Haru had already made its way around many of the students. Everyone now knew about the fact that Haru and Aka both had feelings for each other. Many students were surprised, some were happy, and most…not so much. Even so, everytime someone saw either of them, they’d start saying your generic comments like “Ooooh!” or something about lovebirds or something? The point is that everyone already knew about everything.

But the most surprising thing is that not only was Haru getting more attention, but he’d also been given a nickname by others: The Green God.

As to why that was his new nickname, there were already a few theories floating around his head. Maybe it was because of his last name, or maybe because people saw him as a “god” because he was able to conquer Aka’s heart. Regardless of what the true reason was, Haru had a new assignment.

That day, after school, they sat down next to each other, both extremely nervous. After letting go of their hands, they were so flustered that they couldn’t talk to each other too well, so they nodded at each other, and each went their different ways.

They also somehow knew that the other would be free after school, so they sat down a bench near a park close to their school and started talking.

“So…um…Eric…” Haru began.

Aka followed afterwards. “Y-yeah…I apologize about that. He’s…always been…you know…envious of others.”

They were both still incredibly flustered that it was slightly harder than before to maintain the pace of a normal conversation.

“I’m not going to lie…what you said to Eric before…” Aka started.

Haru was very nervous for what she was going to say.

“…was kinda cool.” She finished.

“Eh? It…it was?” Haru said, blushing in the process.

“It was! I’d never heard anyone use my nickname in such a cool way!” Her eyes lit up as she started.

“Oh, really? Thank you. To be honest, I wasn’t thinking when I said that.”

And out of nowhere, the conversation returned to a regular, comfortable pace just as the ones before.

They talked for what seemed like hours, thought it was actually around 20 minutes or so. The atmosphere seemed as though everything was perfect.

But in reality, one of the 2 of them had something to say. Something important.

“Hey, Haru…” Aka spoke to him.

“Hm? Yes?” He responded with his usual innocent demeanor.

“I think that…” Aka stopped for a second.

No…I have to tell him. He must know about my idea!

“What is it?” The boy was questioning to himself just what exactly she could be thinking about.

Aka sighed before she started speaking again.

“I think…” she paused. But not long after, she continued: “…that we should stop talking for the time being.”

What? That was the one word that was currently within Haru’s mind.

“W-what do you mean?? Do you not want to talk to me anymore?”

Even though he sounded composed, he was feeling something within him. The emotion that we like to call…sadness.

However…

Aka smiled and shook her head.

“On the contrary,” she started again with that smile Haru knew so well on her face. “I’m doing this because I want to talk to you more. But I came to realize…”

“Uh huh?”

“Seeing what happened with Eric, maybe it’s better that we stop talking so much for now. I know this sounds like I’m being extremely selfish, but I want to protect you, Haru. That way people won’t bother.”

Haru heard this and he felt…relieved. He felt…happy. Knowing that the one he admired wanted to protect him to much made him feel as if he was surrounded by an unbreakable shield.

“Alright then…but I want you to promise something, Aka.”

“Hm? Yes?”

“Once this is all over…no, once this year is over, would you consider being my…girlfriend?”

Aka blushed at his words, which in turn made him blush as red as her. They both looked down. Silence flew around the air for a handful of seconds. Until Aka broke it.

She giggled to herself, placing her index finger over her mouth as she did. “Of course. I’d love to.”

Instead of being flustered, Haru just…smiled. “Alright then. Then how about this?”

Aka tilted her head. “Hm?”

“On the final day of the year, let’s meet here at night and officially confess to each other and enter a relationship. But until then…” he had a hard time trying to say the final part of his idea, but he couldn’t keep it bottled up any longer: “we won’t talk to each other in any way.”

Aka nodded her head. “Yes. Let’s do it.”

“Okay.”

“I promise I won’t forget…I’ll remember that I love you, Haru.” She said as she smiled.

He smiled back. “I won’t forget either…Akahime.”

“D-don’t just use my full name like that! It’s kinda embarrassing hehe…”

As they talked, Haru put his pinky finger out. “Let’s make it official. Until then, I’ll see you around…my love.”

Aka put her pinky finger out as well. “Yes. See you soon…darling.”

They locked their pinky fingers together and officially made the promise.

And so, for the next few months, they never talked. They kept their distance to prevent anyone from judging the other, and in order to protect each other.

They couldn’t interact with each other in any way, neither in person nor through messages. The most they could do was look at each other.

Those were the conditions set.

But after all that time, after they both desired to be with he other so bad, the Promised Day came.

It was finally the time.

The time…to reveal their desires to each other once again. A test to see…if they both indeed kept their promise.

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The reason their school was still open at 9 pm was because of a certain activity currently being held, which was perfect. It was the perfect place to tell each other their true feelings; the place in which they’d met for the first time.

As if time was ticking, Haru made his way through the school’s corridors, trying his hardest to reach the rooftop, wondering if Aka really would be there; if she’d really kept her half of the promise.

At that same time, Aka looked at the city scenery, pondering if Haru had really kept his part of the promise.

Please…be there!

Please…come here!

Haru and Aka respectively thought.

And so…their wish was granted.

The rooftop entrance’s door opened. Aka turned around and looked at it. And sure enough, Haru was there. And gladly for Haru, Aka was there.

They both looked at each other, each blushing in the process.

It’d been many months since they’ve talked, 5 to be exact.

It was the last day of middle school. The day they’d promised to share their true feelings to each other officially.

The Promised Day.

“Uh…”

“Um…”

Haru and Aka respectively stuttered. Haru was the one to break the awkwardness.

“It’s been a long time…Aka.”

“Yes…it has…Haru.”

As they both looked at each other, they both walked towards the other.

“Do you still feel the same way as before…Aka?”

Aka looked down until she reached his vicinity. She looked up and smiled.

“Yes. I do, Haru! What about you?”

He smiled back and looked at her. “Yes. My feelings haven’t changed in the slightest, Aka.”

As they both looked at each other, they unconsciously held each other’s hands.

“I…I love you!” They both exclaimed at the same time.

And so, they looked at each other, each putting their left hand on the other’s right cheek…and they kissed.

The beautiful crescent moon shined behind them as they shared their first kiss with each other.

After 15 seconds, they let go, both of them blushing, of course.

“Hehe…that was my first kiss…” Haru said.

“Same here…” Aka responded.

“Wha-really…?”

“Y-yeah…I wanted to save it for when I found someone I really love.”

They both smiled at each other and fell into each other’s embrace.

“I love you…Aka.”

“I love you…Haru.”

They once again said at the same time.

And that was the day.

Even though they didn’t know it, that was the day in which Haru Midorikami, the “Green God”, and Akahime Ryuzawa, the “Red Princess”, tied their eternal knot.