Normal Afternoon…?

“Hey, Sora…” He heard a faint voice call out to him. However, he deemed said voice as nothing serious, deciding to ignore it.

“Hey…wake up. Class is over!” He heard the voice once again. When he heard the phrase “Class is over”, he decided to actually listen to the voice, causing him to slowly sit up from his previous laying position on his desk.

After slowly opening his eyes as he sat up, he looked at his surroundings. The desk on the back row of the classroom, in the corner next to the window, opposite from one of the two entrance doors. Even though he’d been confused for a split second, it was obvious: he was in school.

People who knew of his family would often assume that he doesn’t go to school However, that’s obviously not the case; as a 16-year-old boy, alongside his family matters, he still has typical teenager responsibilities to take care of, such as attending school and doing homework.

“The sleepy head is finally awake! Did you sleep well?”

He turned to look at the all too familiar female voice behind him. His mouth curled up. “As a matter of fact, I did. Aiko.”

Aiko smiled back and crossed her arms. “That’s good to know. It’s lunchtime, so do you wanna go grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria?”

Sora couldn’t refuse for two reasons. First, he couldn’t just refuse an offer from one of his closest friends. Second, he was starving to death.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s go!” He responded.

Aiko Sakurakawa. She was a student that was relatively known in her school year. Sure, she might’ve not been the most popular or anything like Sora, but no one had a particular negative opinion about her. One thing was for sure, though: everyone knew about the fact that Sora and Aiko were best friends. Of course, they both had other friends, however the two of them would usually hang out with each other when they did so, some others sometimes joining. The fact that they were childhood friends also helped, as well.

After going to the cafeteria and buying their respective lunches, Sora and Aiko walked one of the hallways in the school’s third floor.

“So, wait, you’re telling me that your sister told you that?” Sora asked.

“Yeah, she loves to gossip with me about her classmates, and the fact that this one guy told that to the teacher is just…surprising. I mean, they’re only 12!”

Currently, as they continued their walk, Aiko was telling Sora about something her little sister had told her. She told him that one of the boys in her class had straight up told the teacher to shut up and teach better. Her sister doesn’t know what happened afterwards since the teacher told him to stay after class, but they can assume that it wasn’t pretty.

Then, they came across a set of stairs on their right. The one they were planning to use to go up to their destination.

“You have the keys, Aiko?”

“Of course I do, silly! As a member of the Photography Club, we use the rooftop to take many pictures.”

Oh right. I forgot about that for a second, he thought as Aiko put the keys inside its respective keyhole to open the door.

Aiko herself, unlike Sora, was actually part of one of the school’s many clubs. Sora had actually considered joining one of them, but after careful consideration, he figured that it’d interfere with his and his family’s matters.

And so, Aiko pushed the door open, revealing that one mythical place to many people in Japan.

The school rooftop. A place of, usually, the utmost privacy. Some even considered it a sacred place, others a place where you could do most things without getting punished.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Sora and Aiko were planning to do something illegal or dirty or anything. They simply chose to eat on the rooftop today because Sora wanted to talk to Aiko about a few certain things that he didn’t want anyone else listening to, even if they thought he was lying.

They found a certain bench on the rooftop that overlooks the distant scenery of the town they’d lived in. It was one not small enough to be called a village, but not big enough to be called a city, so “town” fit perfectly. A very big forest and giant mountains surrounded it, making it a town within a valley.

Moments after they both sat down, Aiko asked: “So, Sora, what did you want to talk about?”

After taking a deep breath, Sora responded her question as they both began eating after clasping their hands together and thanking their meal: “As you know, I’m going to become head of my family tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah, I know.”

That’s right. Aiko was one of the very few people outside the supernatural circle that knew of the truth behind Sora’s family. His family did in fact know that she knew, which made sense. She was his childhood friend, and their families were very close together, so it was only obvious. There had been various occasions in which the Yukisaki family did special favors for the Sakurakawa family.

“Not gonna lie, I’m feeling very…nervous about it. I used to feel normal towards it, but now since it’s the tomorrow, it’s finally getting to me.”

Sora looked down once he finished, his emotions emerging. Truthfully, he felt anxious, and slightly sad, for some reason. Even knowing that he couldn’t just hold on to those emotions and had to move on the day after, it was hard to do so. But it was only natural. Anyone would feel the same way if they were in the same situation.

As he looked down, though, he felt something on his right shoulder. He looked up and saw Aiko putting his hand on it.

“To tell you the truth, I completely understand you.” She said as she smiled, “But don’t worry. Everyone goes through these things at some point, so it’s completely fine to feel nervous. I mean, you’re about to become your family’s head. I think I’d feel even more stressed out if I was on your shoes.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Sora responded with his own smile as he looked at his best friend.

“And besides, I know what you’re capable of. You’re a very powerful person, both in terms of magic and in terms of physical and emotional strength. I think you got this.”

That was the truth. Aiko had seen what Sora was capable of doing with his magic. Even as someone who wasn’t experienced in said field, Aiko knew that he was a very powerful being. She couldn’t deny it when she said that she was slightly jealous of him since she didn’t have any magic herself. As sad as it was, she was a normal, Japanese girl. Even so, she never told him nor anyone, not even her own family, about the envy she felt for him since she didn’t want him to feel bad for her.

“Thanks, Aiko. You mean a lot to me, you know that?”

Aiko was surprised at Sora’s sudden comment, blushing in the process. “H-Huh?! W-why the sudden comment?”

“Because you know that’s the truth. I don’t know where I’d be if you weren’t here.”

“I-I know that, but still…!”

As she looked down and stuttered, Sora got closer to her and hugged her, Aiko blushing and stuttering even more in the progress.

“Thanks for everything, Aiko.” Sora said with his arms wrapped around her.

“Ah-” Aiko stuttered, but regained her composure, wrapping her own arms around him. “Fufu…of course. And thank you, Sora…For always being there for me.”

They both smiled at each other as they shared a sweet embrace.

Maybe it was obvious for everyone else, but Aiko did indeed have feelings for Sora. They’d been together for so long that she developed them a while back, after a certain event that caused him to save her life during a certain tragedy.

As for Sora, it was a strange case. He did have feelings for Aiko, but he wasn’t completely sure if he wanted to pursue the relationship due to still having doubts about various things. Either way, he didn’t know if she felt the same way towards him, so he decided not to tell her, at least for the time being, because of that and because he still wanted time to decide if he really wanted to pursue it. On the other hand, Aiko was scared. Scared because she thought Sora would reject her, just like he thought she would reject him. They were both in a standoff, and unless one said something, nothing would ever go anywhere.

As they embraced, Sora, like Aiko, also blushed.

I wish I could tell you how I feel… Aiko thought as she lay in his other’s arms.

I don’t know what to do… I like you, Aiko…But do I really…?”

After a minute or so, Aiko returned to the real world.

“Um!”

That caused Sora to return to reality as well. Once he did, Aiko knowing he did because of his sudden “Oh!”, they let each other go, looking away at each other.

“Um…we should probably keep eating…”

“Oh! Yeah, let’s do that!”

They both picked up their respective food, they continued to eat. A few minutes were spent not talking to each other due to the sudden awkwardness, but Sora said something that caused that feeling to go away. The both of them continued to talk like normal, talking about whatever came to mind.

Once lunch ended and that familiar school bell rang, they stood up, threw their food containers away, and from the rooftop, made their way back to their classroom. Even though they went up the rooftop to talk about tomorrow, they got a bit distracted embracing and talking about random things for the most part.

The bell rang again, this time signifying the end of classes for the day. It was currently 3:00 pm, and Sora spent the last 5 minutes or so looking out the window.

“Finally, the day ended. I was getting bored, honestly…” He said at the same time he stood up and stretched.

“Hey, Sora, are you going to do anything after school?” Aiko asked him from the seat beside him.

“Not particularly. Do you wanna go somewhere?”

“Yeah, sure. Meet me in the gate in 15 minutes or so. I gotta go to the Photography Club room for a bit.”

“Alright, sounds good.”

And now, it’s time to walk back home together. This never ceases to excite me. He thought to himself as he waited for Aiko near the school gates.

The name of the school was Jun Ayama High School, named after its founder many years ago. They were in their first year, and so far, they’d highly enjoyed their time there.

“I’m here!” A voice was heard in the distance, Sora looking in its direction when he heard it.

Of course, it was Aiko. She walked up to him, holding her school bag with both her hands in front of her.

“I’m sorry I took so long. They made me stay there a few minutes longer.”

“Nah, I’s okay, don’t worry. Now, are you ready to go?”

“Yep! Ready when you are!”

Sora, with school bag over his right shoulder and left hand in his pocket, and Aiko, still holding her own school bag with both her hands in front of her, began their walk together. Sora on the left, Aiko on the right.

2 random students stared at them from behind them as they made their way out the school gates.

“They look so cute together. They’re meant for each other.”

“You think? Of course they are!”

They’d been walking for a while at this point. They walked around the town. As they did, they looked at the surroundings they were so used to looking at. The clear, blue sky, the countless amounts of high school students walking close to them, the modern buildings in contrast to the nature, such as mountains, trees, etc, surrounding the town. For someone who’d never been there before, it was strange to see such modern builds next to such an abundance of nature, but for its residents, it was obviously normal.

“I will say, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this town.”

“Yeah, same. Let’s just hope it lasts.”

“It will, Sora. Don’t worry. Anyway, I gotta be honest, English class was kinda strange today.”

“Really? How so? I slept through a bit of it, so I don’t really remember much of it.

“I don’t know. It was sort of…boring? The short stories we read today were sort off boring, more so than the usual ones. I mean, why would I want to read a story about someone’s daily life living in a deserted island?”

“Someone probably liked said story. Everything has an audience.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

They continued their walk. They reached the shopping district of the town, which had a plethora of different stores.

They talked about how they both wanted to check out some of the stores. They didn’t know if they wanted to buy anything, but they thought it’d be fun to look around just because.

And so, they began walking around the district. At first, they simply looked around all the stores, noticing how there was a good number of people also walking around the area. It was slightly more crowded than usual, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying their time together.

“Oh, look at this, Sora! The crepe stand has new flavors!”

Once hearing Aiko’s exclaim, Sora looked at what she’d mentioned: the crepe stand.

Everyone knew about these famous crepes. They were a very well-known Japanese food. However, they were mostly famous because of the symbolism they entailed. In this town, they were known as a symbol of romance. If a couple bought one together, there was a myth that they would end up together in the future.

Of course, both Sora and Aiko knew about this myth, and secretly, that’s why they both wanted to buy one. However, they both thought it way too embarrassing to just buy the one, so they each wanted to buy their own to avoid the awkwardness.

“I see. You want one?”

“Yeah- I mean, we can each get our own, if you want…”

“O-oh… Yeah, sure!”

And so, they each bought their own crepe and sat down on a nearby bench. They immediately became distracted because of them. Sora got a blueberry one, and Aiko a strawberry one.

I would’ve loved to buy a singular one, but maybe she wouldn’t have…

I would’ve adored to buy one together, but what if…?

Sora and Aiko thought respectively.

It was painful for both of them to each have their own crepe, however they knew it probably would’ve been awkward to only get one because of that and because people would’ve absolutely stared at them.

Sora bit down his crepe first, his face blushing slightly.

“It’s so good…I forgot how good these tasted!”

It was now Aiko’s turn. She took a bite out of hers, her bite bigger than Sora.

“Oh my!” She said, smiling as she closed her eyes and putting her free hand on her cheek. “It tastes amazing!”

“When was the last time I had this…?” Sora questioned.

Aiko responded soon after, “I don’t know, but it’s been a few months since I had one of these. I forgot they were so good!”

Both Aiko and Sora looked at each other, both blushing as they did. Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the delicious crepes, but they both knew one thing: they wanted to taste the other’s dessert, but who would ask first?

After thinking about it for a while, they both decided to not do nor say anything. However, Aiko was too curious, and in that second…

“H-hey!” Sora shouted, however, with a tune that seemed to show a slight sadness.

Aiko had taken a big bite from Sora’s crepe. Of course, her face was completely flushed red, symbolizing that she was embarrassed.

“I’m showwy…” She said as she chewed, covering her mouth to avoid anything gross.

“Okay, I can’t lie…”

“Hm? Shomething wrong?”

“I…” He hesitated for a second, but then spoke: “I also want a bite from yours.”

“Eh?!” Aiko responded, shocked. “I mean, it’s only fair…”

She extended both her hands, looking away from him due to her feeling of embarrassment.

“Go ahead… You can try it…”

And so, Sora took a big bite from it, himself also embarrassed. He looked away as he chewed.

“Oh, wow… These are both amazing!”

“Hehehe!” Aiko let out a giggle.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Sora questioned, embarrassed but mostly confused.

“I’m sorry! It was just kinda cute that-” She noticed what she’d said. “Um, never mind! I just thought it was funny, for some reason!”

“Hahaha!” Sora now laughed at her.

“Huh?! What now!”

“Now YOU were funny, Aiko!”

Sora continued laughing, Aiko joining in soon after, both laughing with each other.

They stopped laughing. Now, they noticed that they were alone.

Then, Aiko spoke. “Hey…Sora?”

“Hm? What’s up?” He responded.

She noticed that this could be her chance. Her chance to tell him how she really feels.

“Um, I need you to know…”

“Yes?”

After pausing, she decided it was finally time to tell him. “I need you that I-!”

But then, a ringing sound could be heard.

“Hm? Oh wait, sorry.” Shit, why now?

Dammit! Why?!

After questioning in both their heads, Sora took out the ringing item from his pocket, his phone, and answered it.

“Hello?” He began.

“Sora, is that you?!” A male voice could be heard from the other side. He didn’t know who it was, but he knew that it had to be important due to the voice’s desperate tone.

“Y-yeah, something wrong?”

“Listen, Sora, I’m Commander Cheng, privately hired by the Remna family! There’s a very dangerous enemy in Satekura Forest, more powerful than the usual, and we require you right now-!”

Another voice interrupted the first one. This one much more familiar than the former.

Sora! Hurry up! Near the giant tree in the field! Hur-

The call was gut.

“That was…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Shira…”

“Huh? What do you-”

“I’m sorry, Aiko. I got to go.” He stood up abruptly.

“Huh? What happened?”

“There’s danger inside the forest… A friend just told me… I’ll see you soon Aiko.”

As he began to run, however…

“Wait!” Aiko shouted, standing up suddenly herself. “Take me with you!”

“No, I’m sorry. It’s too dangerous for you.”

“I know it might be, but you know what I’ve done before!”

Of course, he knew. After all, she’d also saved him once during that tragedy years ago…

“Okay, fine.” He ran back to her, grabbed her forearm, and made her run along with him.

“Let’s go!” He spoke.

“Alright!” She responded.

Judging from the first voice and his friend, Shira’s, voice, he knew they weren’t joking around. He was also able to capture some of the noises in the background of the call, and they weren’t… pretty.

And so, they began their way, running towards the well-known location within the forest. A giant tree. One that could be seen from most places within the town.

They were both nervous. Sure, Sora had fought many enemies before, but instinct told him that this one was… different.

And judging from his atmosphere, Aiko felt the same way.