Author's Note: There used to be 5 chapters to this story, but I have recently decided to re-write it since it wasn't heading in the direction that I wanted to. This re-write of this chapter is similar to the original, but the rest will be completely new. I hope you look forward to it!

Mochizou Ooji watched as the train approached the station. It would make a good shot, he noted absentmindedly. With the afternoon sun high in the sky, the light reflecting off the windows drew attention to each carriage as it came around the bend. The details grew finer as they head of the train entered the shade of the station. The smooth metal surface of the vehicle with its glossy advertisements on the side, all coming into focus for him.

The faces didn't escape him either. His eyes travelled down the windows. Some were anxious, some looked bored. He wondered where they were going. Did they travel from somewhere else to work here? Were they visiting family? How long would the commute be if they did this every day…

Would it be possible from Tokyo?

His hands gripped the straps on his bag tighter as the train doors hissed open. He vaguely registered his right foot inching forward towards the doors, but his mind was already elsewhere. At the moment, it was back at breakfast when he reminded his parents about his trip today. His mother had nodded and wished him good luck. As for his father-

"If you like Tokyo so much, why don't you go there forever? Hmmph, like I care!" He had grumbled.

Mochizou frowned. Despite what his father thought, he wanted this. Even if it meant he had to leave the place he grew up in for a place he'd only visited once in his life, or that he was abandoning his father's dreams of him succeeding the mochi store. Even if it meant not being able to see her for months, and months…and months…

Her image popped easily into his mind. It didn't require any thinking, she was always there. Her beautiful smile, the way her bangs fell just right on her forehead, the way her eyes would shine whenever she talked about mochi. He loved all of her, but now the image of her shocked face, speechless and sitting in the water, mingled with his other memories too.

Part of him still regretted ever revealing his true feelings to her. Maybe if he didn't, then she wouldn't be treating him so distantly now. They'd walk to school together as usual, share late night conversations over the paper cup telephone. Now she became a different person whenever they met. Her movements would stiffen and her eyes glaze over. Before this, he thought that part of her was only reserved for intimidating crowds, but apparently now it included him too.

His heart ached as another image popped into his mind. An old memory from their childhood: she was waving from a distance, running towards him as she called his name.

"Mochizou."

Right, just like that. He couldn't even remember the last time she said it—

"MOCHIZOU!"

Wait, what?! He whipped his head around, eyes widening.

One step away from leaving the platform, he stumbled backwards, earning a few surprised looks from the people behind him. His heart beat quickened. It couldn't be… right? He was too afraid to hope. But as the crowd of people cleared, his eyes landed on two mochi-shaped hair ties, and he swore at that moment, his heart had stopped.

He realised she must have run all the way there. Her bangs were stuck to her forehead with sweat, and her chest was heaving in desperate need for air. The cheerful smile he knew so well was replaced with a look of desperation, her eyes dotted with tears that threatened to spill over at any moment. He felt his heart tighten up like a fist.

"Tamako?" he heard himself ask. The platform was clearing rapidly, the train already preparing to leave.

"Wait," she shouted, "WAIT!"

He didn't think he could move even if he wanted to; his feet had gone numb in shock. He just stared at her as she ran towards him. "Tamako, why-", he began, but his voice caught at his throat as she hurled a flurry of sentences at him.

"Why… why Tokyo? It's so far. Tokyo is so far away," she said, her eyes shut tightly. "We were always together, why are we moving apart?" She continued, her voice on the verge of breaking. In the background, the train doors hissed shut and it began to depart from the station.

"Eh… But… Huh?" he stuttered. Is this a dream?, he thought dazedly. He slapped himself and pinched his own face, trying to wake up. But when he opened his eyes, she was still there. He could still see the beads of sweat that trailed down the sides of her face, hear the tension in her voice. "I haven't told you anything… I…" She looked down at the paper cup telephone she held in her hand. After taking a deep breath, she threw it to him.

On reflex, Mochizou caught the two ends of the paper cup telephone. His eyes narrowed perplexedly as he looked from the paper cups in his hands, and back to Tamako. Both sides? What was he going to do with this? He wondered.

Seeming to notice his confusion, her eyes widened and she started to do a nervous dance. "Ah, no, not that!" she managed.

Looking down at the cups again, he noticed that one had his name on it, the other, hers. His eyes widening in realisation, he took a deep breath of his own and reeled back his arm. In one quick movement, he threw her end towards her.

Jolted by his sudden action, Tamako began to move forwards and backwards, her arms stretched open to catch it. Everything seemed to slow down.

In his mind, Mochizou flashed back to the beginning of the year, a similar moment. He had intended to confess to her if she caught her end of the paper cup telephone. And he almost did that time, but his eyes had deceived him then. He should have known, the chances of Tamako actually catching her end was too sli—

A small clapping sound brought him back to reality. When he looked up, he saw the paper cup in her hands. At the same time, another train was pulling into the station. A look of determination came onto her face then. She lifted the cup to her mouth.

He stared at her, hesitantly lifting his end to his ear and closing his eyes, too afraid to expect anything from her next sentence.

There was a silence.

"Mochizou, I love you!" After a moment's hesitation, she added: "Over."

People began filing out of the train, crowding the station once again. Mochizou gasped, face flushed and eyes widening, while Tamako stood there, still with that look of resolve on her face.

If this is a dream, even if this is a dream, it's… too much. He clamped his hand over his mouth, barely able to contain himself as the happiness overtook him. He felt tears prick at the back of his eyes, hardly registering the girl who had begun inching towards him.

"M-m-mochizou?" she squeaked, all the bravery from a few minutes ago lost. When he looked up, he saw that she was crying. Her face was streaked with sweat and tears, and she was gripping her paper cup so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. But her lips were curved into a wobbly smile that told him everything was fine.

He felt the tears spilling out from his eyes then. On a sudden impulse, he closed the distance between them with a hug. Tamako began sobbing too, her tears falling like raindrops on his coat as he drew her in closer. Tamako... he thought, feeling his own tears of happiness trailing down the sides of his face. I love you too.

Neither of them could remember how long they stood there in embrace. All they could remember was eventually breaking away, wiping away their last tears with bashful smiles. Mochizou had bought Tamako a drink from the vending machine, and then they sat together in the momentarily vacant platform. Occasionally, they would sneak glances at each other before turning away, blushing. Mostly, they kept quiet, the gentle silence punctuated by Tamako's slow sips.

He was the first one to break the silence. "I guess now I'll have to retake the entrance exam next week", he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Tamako whipped her head around suddenly to stare at him, causing him to jump a little. "E-e-e-entrance exam? I thought you were already leaving for Tokyo?" she stuttered out.

"No, I'm only leaving after graduation. Today was just the entrance exam."

"B-but Midori-chan said you were going to Toky-", she suddenly cut herself off, her face turning a violent shade of red. Mochizou looked at her, a curious expression on his face until it dawned on him. His cheeks suddenly felt hot as well. There was a brief silence.

"I'm sorry I made you miss your entrance exam", she said quietly.

"It's alright, I'm kind of glad I missed it", he said shyly. He turned to look at her, only to realise she was looking at him as well. At that moment, a train arrived at the station, causing the two to break eye contact and look away, both their faces an even darker shade of red than before.

As more and more people began to file out of the train, Mochizou snuck another peek at his childhood friend. Not noticing his gaze, she absentmindedly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears. The sweat and tears from before had already dried up. Even though she should be tired from running around, Mochizou could see that she was still on the edge by the way her eyes kept flitting to where their hands were placed, side by side and only an inch away from touching.

Suddenly, she turned to look at him, jumping a little when their eyes met. "M-mochizou!" She exclaimed. "I want to know wh— ah, nevermind." She stopped mid-sentence, her cheeks beginning to flush again. Tamako hurriedly turned her face away.

He cocked his head to the side. "What is it, Tamako?"

Tamako shook her head furiously in response. He watched her for awhile before decidedly placing his hand on hers. His eyes widened slightly when he found that her fingers were cold. It didn't occur to him before, but she was only dressed in her school uniform. The sweat after drying would have given her a chill. All of a sudden, he felt so selfish to be dressed as warm as he was.

Quietly, Mochizou scooted closer, closing the gap between them. Tamako let out a small yelp and turned to look at him. Her cheeks were still pink and her eyes were widened, but it didn't seem like she disliked it. He took that as a good sign and reached over to pull her closer. Her body stiffened up for awhile but soon relaxed against his, her breathing slowly becoming more peaceful.

"Feeling warmer?" Mochizou asked, smiling.

The only response he got was a flustered nod.

"So, what did you want to ask me?"

There was a silence before he heard her reply softly. "I just wanted to know... why Tokyo? I know you're not leaving now, but do you have to go so far away?"

Mochizou paused for awhile. "I guess... it's because I want to experience more things, beyond our town." Tamako suddenly looked up at him with a worried expression. "No, no. It's not that I don't love it here. I mean, this is where you are, and all." He blushed, causing a similar reaction from her. "I just… want to expand my horizons a little, and since the university in Tokyo is offering the exact course that I want, I just thought it would be great opportunity. I didn't want to have any regrets later on, that's all."

Tamako looked away. There was a silence before Mochizou heard her hesitant reply. "It… seems like everyone is thinking big except for me. Even Shiori is planning to go overseas to study. Before I know it, everyone will be leaving." Suddenly, she turned to him, her eyes glistening over again. "Is it wrong that I want everyone to stay here together?" She asked.

"Tamako…" Mochizou looked down at her. "It's not wrong. I also want to stay together with everyone. But sometimes, to get something you want, you have to give something else away."

Tamako didn't respond, only squeezed his hand even tighter. The two watched as the next train arrived, taking with it the remaining people at the station before departing once again. They were the only two people left now.

"Are you sure you won't leave me alone?" She said quietly.

"I promise I won't," he said, gripping her hand tightly. "And neither will Tokiwa, or the other two. Even if everyone is in different places, I'm sure that they'll be thinking of everyone else and wanting to meet up. So, don't worry, Tamako." He turned to her, wanting to give her a reassuring smile, only to realise a fraction too late how close their faces were in that position.

Suddenly, it became all too clear to him; the smell of her shampoo, the gentle pressure of her hand on his, the way her teeth grazed against her bottom lip… His face began to steam. He jumped away from her, his hands gripping the sides of the bench desperately while he caught his breath.

"Mochizou?" Tamako scooched closer, her face showed an expression of worry. "Are you okay? Your face is very red—" Mochizou looked up, his face inches away from hers.

Tamako's eyes widened as he locked eyes with her, a heavy blush appearing on her face. "M-Mochizou…?!" She squeaked.

He gulped, his hand tightening his grip on the edge of the seat. "Tamako..." he murmured.

All of a sudden, there was a loud crash. The two jumped back and turned their heads to the source of the sound. An elderly lady was on her knees, scrambling for the bags of groceries that she had dropped. "Oh no, I'm going to be late." She said worriedly. Her hands trembled as she reached out for the nearest bag.

The two automatically jumped up from their seats, avoiding each other's gaze. Mochizou grabbed the bag nearest to him, while Tamako ran to support the old lady. "Oba-san, are you alright?" She asked. The lady nodded wearily. "Where are you going? We'll help you carry your things there." Mochizou offered, already holding a few bags in each hand.

"Thank you, dears, but I'll be fine. I'm just getting onto the next train." The old lady steadied herself before smiling gently at the two teenagers. "It's comforting enough to know that there are kind souls like you who would help a clumsy old lady like me."

"It was our pleasure—", Mochizou begun.

"No, it's my fault for interrupting you two just now." The lady cut in. "I must say, you two make a great couple." She said, beaming up to them.

Mochizou and Tamako locked eyes for a second before turning away shyly. "W-we're not r-really—" Tamako began.

"Young love sure is great. I still remember when my husband and I first started dating." She continued obliviously.

"We just only— I don't kno—" Mochizou mumbled, scratching his head.

"Oh, I've got just the perfect thing!" The old lady exclaimed suddenly, interrupting them again. She rummaged through her purse before reaching out to Tamako. "Here. The shopkeeper gave me this earlier as a lottery price, but I think it would suit you two more. Think of it as a token of my appreciation." She winked.

The two of them began protesting, but their voices were soon overpowered by the overhead voice announcing that the next train was arriving. The old lady looked towards the tracks, but not before determinedly placing her gift into Tamako's hands. "Take it. You can't deny an old lady's blessing, it's bad luck!" She said cheekily. Turning to Mochizou, she smiled again.

"That's my train. I'd hate to trouble you some more, but do you think you could help me once more?" She asked.

He nodded, still flustered from her previous assumption.

After helping her safely board the train, the old lady mouthed another "thank you" while waving, her gentle smile still visible even after the train began to depart. Once the station was left vacant once again, Mochizou turned behind. Tamako was standing there, looking intently at the objects in her hands. He approached her silently, leaning over to see what they were.

The objects turned out to be two round orbs. They were the lightest shade of pink and blue, and glistened gently in the sun as Tamako shifted her hands from side to side. After looking awhile longer, Mochizou could see the pink one had an image of a girl on it, and the other, a boy. "What are those, Tamako?" He asked next to her ear.

She jumped backwards in shock, almost losing her balance before he reached out to steady her. "Mochizou! Don't scare me like that!" She exclaimed as she leaned against his arm, puffing her cheeks indignantly. Much to her exasperation, he began to laugh. When he didn't stop, Tamako hit his arm. "What's so funny?" She pouted. But the longer she watched him, the harder she found it to keep up her angry facade. Soon, she found herself just as unable to stop laughing as he was.

When the laughter finally died off, Mochizou looked to his childhood friend. Panting heavily, he managed to point to her hand, waiting for the answer to his previous question. Just as breathlessly, Tamako opened her palm and picked out the blue orb, placing it in his own. "It's a bead." She said in-between breaths.

Mochizou eyed the round orb between his fingers. Now that he had it closer, he saw that the boy in the bead looked surprisingly like him. "We're meant to wear these, right?" He asked.

"The oba-san said it was for c-couples." Tamako stuttered, her cheeks pink.

Mochizou blushed. "Well, I guess we are... Um, what I meant to say is..." He mumbled, scratching his head shyly. There was a silence. He turned to look at Tamako, only to realise that she was looking at him too. They instantly turned away from each other, their faces even redder than before. "Um, so, should we go home now?" He asked nervously, moving his hand towards her. His other hand gripped the bead in his palm tightly.

His heart jolted when he felt a gentle pressure on his fingers. Looking up, he saw an extremely red-faced Tamako holding his hand. "Okay." she mumbled, a small smile playing on the edge of her lips.

A smile instantly spread across his face, making her blush even harder. "Mm! Let's go home." He said.

After eventually parting ways with Tamako, Mochizou took a tentative step into his family's store. He knew what kind of trouble he was going to get into. His best bet now was just to rush off to his room and hope it would be forgotten by dinner time. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he had a lot of luck left in his reserves. The minute he stepped through the door, he was ambushed by his mother.

"Mochizou, how did the entrance exam go?" she asked, popping her head out from the back of the store. As she moved to block the only route to his room, he cursed inwardly.

"I… I didn't take it." he mumbled, avoiding her gaze.

"What? Why not?"

"I, uh, missed my train", he replied, scratching his head nervously.

"I bet it was the guilt of leaving your old man behind, wasn't it?" his dad suddenly exclaimed loudly, waltzing out from the back to put his arm around his dutiful son.

"Dad, I'm still going to Tokyo. I'll just take the entrance exam next week." Mochizou protested, wiggling out of his father's embrace and past his mother. Now if I can just make it to my room...

Still, it appeared that his luck was really out. Before he could even make it past a few steps, his mother piped up again. "But why did you miss the train?" She asked.

This time, Mochizou couldn't help it. His mind immediately wound back to the moment when he first heard her call his name. Finally hearing her say the words he'd always wanted to hear, being able to hug her and hold her hand, seeing her adorable blushing face... He shook his head, feeling his body temperature rising at each thought.

Meanwhile, his parents observed their only son, who had stopped in the middle of the staircase to blush, of all things. "Did it have anything to do with Tamako?" his mother asked slyly. She looked amusedly at her son, whose face turned an even darker shade at the mention of their neighbour's name.

"T-t-t-tamako?! What does t-tama— I mean, trains! What would t-trains have to do with Tamako?!" He exclaimed, before clasping both hands across his mouth in horror.

While his mother was obviously stifling her laughter in the background, his father took the pleasure of replying him. "Hmm," He stroke his chin as if in deep thought. "What would Tamako-chan have to do with trains? I don't suppose you would know, dear?" He directed the question to his wife.

Mochizou's mother cleared her throat. "Well, she did come over this morning to retrieve their paper cup telephone that she and your son share." she explained, as slowly and clearly as possible to her husband. "Hmm, I wonder what she did with it." She wondered out loud, but not before shooting her son a devious look.

"Ah, I see." Her husband responded in the exact same tone. "Any ideas, son?"

With both his parents giving him the eye, Mochizou finally felt like he'd reached his boiling point. "I-I-I wouldn't know!" He managed to stutter out, before bolting the rest of the way to his room, where his parents wouldn't be able to intrude.

After slamming the door behind him, he slid to the floor, panting. Things were not going to be easy from now onwards.

Note: Welcome to my first multi-chapter fic! I decided I had to write this after watching Tamako Love Story (and after that, it took another 10 times watching the ending to be able to write it out). But it's official - Tamako and Mochizou are too cute together! There weren't enough fanfics to satisfy my needs, so I decided to write my own. I hope you like it!

Update: How did you like my rewrite? I know I've been testing your patience a lot, but I promise I will be uploading a lot more chapters after my exams end in the middle of June. Till then!