Ringo Hoshimiya, the owner of the bento shop down town was working on the recipes that have been ordered in. Ringo was the proud mother of her daughter, Ichigo Hoshimiya, and her son, who isn't born yet, Raichi Hoshimiya. Ichigo wants to help her mother in the shop but her mother said that she is too young and will have to wait until she's older. Ringo is having trouble with convincing her daughter to make friends. Ichigo is very shy and has hard time talking to people. Because of her shy nature Ichigo is often the target of bullies at school and it doesn't help that she's a crybaby ether. Ringo recently learned that new neighbors and saw this as an opportunity for Ichigo to make friends because she also learned that her neighbors also had a child around Ichigo's age. Rengo and Ichigo were at their new neighbors' house so they could introduce themselves. Ringo rang the doorbell and waited for someone to open the door. After waiting for about 15 seconds the door opened. A woman in her late 20's with mid length brown hair was standing in front of them. Beside her was tall man with short blue hair.
"Hi there, my name is Ringo Hoshimiya, and I'm here to welcome you to our neighborhood" Rengo said
"It's nice to meet you Ringo, my name is Aino Kiriya and this my husband Aoto" Aino said
Aino noticed that Ringo had a large belly and smiled at her before asking her a question.
"I see your having a little one coming soon" Aino said
"That's right, he has about 3 months left until he's born." Ringo said
"So, where's your husband?" Aoto asked
"He's on a business trip" Rengo said
"Really? What does he do?" Aoto said in curiosity
"He's an explorer who travels seeks out different types of food that the world has never seen before" Rengo replied
"Sounds interesting" Aoto said
"Yeah, unfortunately his job takes doesn't allow him to come very much but if he can make it he tries to come home every once in a while" Rengo said
"Sounds rough, especially with a baby on the way" Aino said
"Don't worry we're just fine" Ringo said in response
"What's husband's name?" Aoto asked
"His name is Taichi" Ringo
It was then that Aino noticed that there was something behind Rengo and was clinging to her very tightly.
"Who's that behind you? Aino said with a smile
Ringo gave her a smile back and answered her.
"That would be my daughter, Ichigo" Rengo said
Ringo grabbed Ichigo brought Ichigo forward so that the married couple could see her. Ichigo was about 5 years old with blond hair that was tied in low pig tails and red eyes. She was wearing a pink summer dress with red hearts and flowers on them. She was also wearing orange sandals that completes her outfit. Ichigo looked at both of them and looked very uncomfortable. Ichigo just wanted to run away and go back to the house because the thought of meeting new people really scared.
"Aww! Your daughter is really cute!" Aino said
"She looks like she's about to cry" Aoto said
"She's just really shy. She tries to avoid interacting with other people as much as possible" Ringo said
"Maybe meeting our daughter can help, so they can be friends" Aoto said
"That's great idea I heard that our neighbors had a child maybe this will help Ichigo break out of her shell" Ringo said
"Aoi! Come meet our neighbors" Aino shouted out
10 seconds later a little girl around Ichigo's age appeared and introduced herself with confidence.
"Hi, my name Aoi Kiriya, it's nice to meet you" Aoi said
"Wow! Well-mannered and confident, not to mention cute as well" Ringo said
Aoi saw the girl that was hiding behind Ringo. She approached Ichigo introduced herself.
Hi, my name is Aoi what's your name?" Aoi asked
Ichigo's only response was a small whimper and hid behind her mother once more. Aoi was confused at this. Why the girl in front of her didn't introduce herself.
"Hey what's wrong? Why are you hiding?" Aoi asked
"Go on and introduce yourself" Ringo said
Ichigo remained silent.
"We're not going home until you say hi" Ringo said in a serious voice
Not wanting to stick around forever, Ichigo decided tell the girl her name.
"M-m-m-m-m-my n-n-n-n-n-name i-i-i-i-i-is I-I-I-I-I-Ichigo" Ichigo said in stuttering voice
Aoi smiled and gave her a response.
"It's nice to meet Ichigo" Aoi said smiling
"Well, that's a start" Ringo thought
The next day it was time to start to start kindergarten, and of course both Aoi and Ichigo were in the same class. When Aoi saw Ichigo she smiled and ran over to her.
"It looks like same class, I'm glad it's with you" Aoi said happily
Ichigo just looked at her before she backed up from her a little bit
"What's wrong don't you want to play me?" Aoi said in a confused tone
Ichigo just shook her head and ran away from her, Leaving Aoi all by herself. Aoi looked hurt at first but then she remembered that Ichigo was very shy and had no friends. Aoi made a decision to keep trying to talk to Ichigo until she can get through to her. Soon it was lunch time. Aoi tried to sit next to Ichigo but of course Ichigo moved somewhere else. When it was time for recess Aoi was looking for Ichigo to see if Ichigo would play with her. She heard some yelling in the distance and decided to go see was going on and what she saw made her angry. Aoi saw Ichigo being bullied by some other girls. The other girls were calling her names and even shoved her to the ground. Ichigo was already crying. At this point Aoi was already in front of Ichigo defending her against the bullies.
"Hey! Stop picking on her" Aoi yelled
"Us?! She's the one who thinks she's better than the rest of us. Always avoiding us" one of the girls said
"She's just shy! Leave her alone!" Aoi yelled
"Whatever! Let's go!" the girl yelled to her friends
As soon as the girls were gone Aoi turned to Ichigo who was still crying on the ground.
"Are you okay Ichigo?" Aoi asked concerned
Ichigo looked up and saw Aoi, but instead of looking relieved she looked scared backed away quickly
Aoi realized that Ichigo was scared of her because she thought that she was going to bully her too.
"Don't worry I'm not gonna bully you" Aoi said
Ichigo looked up at Aoi with surprised look before giving her a reply
"Your not?" Ichigo asked with a surprised look
"Of course not! I was looking for you to see if you wanted to play with me" Aoi said
For the first time in a long time Ichigo felt happy. She actually gave Aoi a smile. Aoi saw that and decided to comment.
"That face suites you the best" Aoi said
"Huh? What face?" Ichigo replied, clearly confused
"A smile on your face suites you the best" Aoi said
"Huh? You really think so?" Ichigo asked
"Of course! I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true" Aoi said
Ichigo blushed and looked away from Aoi for a minute. Ichigo turned back to Aoi and decided to ask Aoi an important question.
"A-Aoi!" Ichigo said in a loud voice
Aoi got surprised by Ichigo's raised voice
"W-what is it Ichigo?" Aoi asked
"W-w-will you be my friend" Ichigo asked in a loud voice
Aoi had a big smile on her face.
"Of course I'll be your be your friend!" Aoi said in an excited voice
Ichigo gave Aoi another big smile and started cry again.
Aoi saw that and looked concerned for her new friend.
"What's wrong Ichigo? Are you hurt?" Aoi asked in a concerned voice
"No, I was so happy that I started crying "Ichigo said
Aoi only gave her a smile in reply.
"I think a smile on Aoi's suites her best too" Ichigo said
"If that's how you feel then I'll smile a lot for you" Aoi said
"I'll try to smile a lot for you too" Ichigo said
This was how Ichigo and Aoi became friends, but this was only the beginning of their friendship.