Taking Our First Small Steps

For some reason, Fuyumi was acting strange. Before class began, Kazuyuki noticed how she subtly scanned the room before entering, and when she saw him, she instantly looked down and walked to her desk. Even when he greeted her, she ignored him.

“What’s wrong with her? Did I do something?" He wondered.

During one of their breaks, he would catch her occasionally peaking at him whenever he interacted with other classmates. The only normal thing about her today was her classic disappearing at lunch act.

Kaede walked up to him. “Kazuyuki-kun. Let’s all have lunch together.”

“Oh, sure.”

It was usually Kazuyuki and Daisuke who would have lunch together since the others often have plans to attend to, so it was somewhat refreshing to be able to sit with everyone. Still, his gaze would involuntarily wander across the vast sea of bustling conversations to the isolated girl on her little island. He couldn't help but wonder why she wouldn’t acknowledge him.

Nori noticed his eyes were focused on something else. She turned around to see what he was looking at. “Who’s that?”

“Who?” Kaede noticed who they were staring at. “Oh, that’s Satō-san. She’s in our class.”

“Is she? I’ve never noticed her before.”

“She sits in front of Kazuyuki.”

"They've been hanging out a lot recently," Daisuke added.

“Really?” She turned back to Kazuyuki. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“Huh?” He replied, taken aback by the question.

“You keep staring at her, so I thought you might have some sort of relationship with her.”

“We don’t have that type of relationship!”

“Really? Are you friends?”

“Um, it’s complicated.” He scratched the back of his head.

“Complicated, huh?” She leaned forwards, implying she wanted to learn more. The rest followed her motion.

“I don’t know what we are at the moment. Sometimes she talks to me, and sometimes she acts like I don’t even exist.”

“Maybe she secretly hates you.” Ichiro suggested.

“Do you think so?”

“Maybe she has a crush on you.” Daisuke joked.

“Huh?”

“Or maybe you have a crush on her and she knows, so she’s avoiding you.”

“Huh?!” He felt like he was about to faint.

“You don’t want to make Ichikawa-Senpai jealous, do you?” Daisuke teased him.

“Why would I be jealous?”

Everyone turned around when they heard the voice of Ichikawa Ami behind them.

“N-nothing!” Kazuyuki tried to take her attention away from the conversation. His face lightened up when he realised why Fuyumi might be avoiding him. “Jealous…” 
What if she was jealous? It would make sense why she was avoiding him and constantly looking at him and his friends. But why would she be jealous?

Today, her peculiar behaviour sparked his curiosity, but to his surprise, she seemingly returned to her usual self the next day, which was exemplified when she entered the classroom and greeted him. Even when they were sitting together at lunch, she acted as if she wasn’t trying to avoid him the other day. Nevertheless, he was glad they were talking to each other again.
He watched as her eyes lit up with realisation and she began looking through her bag for something. She pulled out the pen he had given her.

“Here.” She held it out for him to grab.

“Oh, keep it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I have another one anyway, so you can keep it.”

“Thank you," she said, putting the pen back in her bag.

Despite his hesitation, he gathered his courage and decided to ask her the question that had been on his mind. “Yesterday, did I do something to annoy you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yesterday, it was like you were avoiding me."

Kazuyuki watched as her eyes darted downward to avoid eye contact with him.

"If I did do something to annoy or offend you, I'm sorry."

"No." She straightened her back and reconnected with his eyes. "It's not your fault, it's mine." She looked back down, revealing some signs of embarrassment. "Um... you see... I- um..." Her legs anxiously fidgeted, moving up and down in a rapid rhythm. "I've been experiencing this strange feeling lately, but I can't quite put it into words."

The sudden comment surprised him, making him wonder if she was actually in love with him.

"And it happens whenever I see you."

"Wait! Is she about to confess?"

"Whenever I see you hanging out with your friends, I feel like I'm in a separate world from you. It made me realise that I don't have many friends."

"Oh, so that's what this is about." He sighed in relief. "I'm sorry if it felt like I was neglecting you. It wasn't intentional."

"I've never had friends before, so I want to experience what it's like to have some."

A sudden realisation washed over him as he understood that she had been feeling lonely all this time. He thought she was the one ignoring her, when in reality, he was the one ignoring her. He began to feel sick of himself for being a horrible friend. For once in her life, she finally had a friend, but it was clear she felt like there was still some distance between them. He had been out enjoying his time with his friends so much that he didn't even consider how she must have felt sitting alone and watching him. At the moment, he was filled with determination to correct his mistake and help his friend overcome her isolation and connect with others.

"Meeting new people can be intimidating, especially when you're unsure how they might respond. But I don't want you to feel like you're alone, because you're not. You have me."

Her face lit up when she heard those words. Although her mask was covering it, there was a hint of red on her face.

"Satō-san. As your friend, I promise I am going to help you make more friends."

He didn't realise it at the time, but he had made her so happy that she was struggling to hide her emotions behind her mask. She suddenly got up from her chair and picked up her bag.

"I'm going to the toilet quickly."

Before Kazuyuki could reply, she zoomed across the lunch hall at lightning speed. When he realised that he had something very embarrassing, he slammed his head onto the table.

Lunch had ended, but Fuyumi had not returned yet, which made Kazuyuki very worried. He decided to check on her. As he walked towards the toilets, he wondered if he had made Fuyumi uncomfortable.
When he turned the corner, his gaze fell upon Fuyumi standing by an open window, the glacial wind delicately lifting and blowing her hair as if it were enchanted by a magic spell. The bright winter daylight cast a gentle glow on her delicate features, and her eyes sparkled with a hint of glee. It was like the cold wind had cut through the air and frozen time itself. It was in that moment that he realised the true extent of her natural beauty; she was like an undervalued and rare piece of art. He couldn't help but be entranced by her. 
"How could this unique person not have any friends? I swear I will make sure people truly see her for who she is."

The next morning, for the first time ever, Fuyumi approached him, which Kazuyuki did not expect.

"G-good morning."

"G-good morning."

Fuyumi rummaged through her pockets, retrieved an adorable pen with a cat head at the top of it, and held it out to him. "Here."

Kazuyuki carefully took it from her.

"That is a thank you for the pen," she said, showing signs of nervousness, "and it's also a thank you for being my friend."

Kazuyuki examined the pen while Fuyumi watched. A delighted expression formed on his face.

"Thank you."

Caught off guard by Kazuyuki's bright smile, Fuyumi took a step back, ready to retreat to her seat. But just as she was about to walk away, Kazuyuki called out to her.

"Satō-san, would you like to have lunch with me today?" He could not believe what he had just said, but her lack of hesitation to approach him motivated him to speak up.

"Yes."

Though hidden by her face mask, a radiant happiness gleamed in her eyes, and Kazuyuki was yet again mesmerised by her.

These were their first small steps towards an exciting and beautiful future.