Everything Changes
It was graduation day at Gakuen Alice. Yuka pushed her way past clumps of her sempai, some crying their eyes out, some shouting and messing around like there was no tomorrow. But she didn't stop to watch. There was only one sempai she particularly wanted to see at the moment.
"Kaoru!" Yuka exclaimed when she finally found her best friend.
Kaoru, who had been standing by a large fountain and daydreaming, waved at her as Yuka ran over.
"I've been looking for you everywhere, Kaoru! Congratulations on graduating," Yuka said quickly, slightly out of breath.
Kaoru smiled down at Yuka. Then she pulled Yuka into a big hug. "I always thought that I would be excited to finally leave this place," Kaoru whispered. "But now, I don't want to go." She released Yuka and placed a hand on her kohai's head. Yuka noticed that Kaoru's eyes were a little watery. "I think I'll have to blame a certain someone for making me worry about her too much."
"We'll still be best friends," Yuka reminded. "Nothing's going to change."
"Nothing's going to change? What are you talking about? I'm already changing. Ughh, graduation makes me feel so old!" Kaoru complained.
Yuka laughed. Kaoru joined in, but then she saw someone waiting a little ways behind Yuka. Kaoru's smile turned sly, and she bent down to whisper something in Yuka's ear. "It looks like I'm going to have to go. Someone seems a little impatient."
"Huh?"
Yuka glanced over her shoulder in the direction Kaoru was looking at. Her heart skipped a beat. Narumi was staring at them intently, standing underneath the shade of a Sakura tree. Kaoru was right. He did look a little impatient as he jammed his hands in his pockets and shifted from foot to foot. A small flush crept across Yuka's cheeks.
Kaoru nudged Yuka playfully. "I wonder if you'll be able to manage all of these 'boy problems' when I'm gone. Who will you turn to for advice when you want to hook up with someone?"
"Shut up!" Yuka hissed, hoping that Narumi couldn't hear.
Kaoru hugged Yuka one last time before pushing her in Narumi's direction. "Go see what he wants," Kaoru said with a wink.
"W-wait! Don't go!" Yuka exclaimed, but Kaoru had already vanished in the crowd. Shyly, Yuka glanced back at Narumi. He gave her a look that seemed to say, "What the heck are you doing? Hurry up, Ugly!" Yuka made a face, but she allowed herself to trudge over to Narumi's side.
"What are you doing here?" Yuka asked curiously. "You ought to go say goodbye to Kaoru."
"Already have," he muttered quietly.
"Oh . . ." Yuka trailed off, feeling rather flustered. They hadn't talked that much since the night when he kissed her and confessed to her. It was hard for Yuka to look him in the eyes, even though she could all too clearly feel Narumi's stare drilling into her.
After a while, Narumi broke the awkward silence. "You know, it kind of feels like you're graduating too."
His statement took Yuka aback. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
Narumi rolled his eyes at her. "Don't tell me you've forgotten already, Ugly. You're going to be going into the High School Division next year."
Yuka felt her mouth drop open slightly. Actually, she had forgotten. Wow, high school. Yuka glanced over at the high school building. It towered over her almost menacingly. It seemed like such a different place from middle school. Actually, she felt a little nervous standing in its enormous shadow. The girl shivered.
Before she could notice, Narumi took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Yuka's head snapped back at him. She blushed and asked, "Narumi? Is something wrong? You . . . you seem awfully serious today."
Yuka's breath caught in her chest when he met her eyes. The first time they've made eye contact in ages. His purple eyes were so deep, so serious. Yuka couldn't tear her gaze away from them.
"We won't get to see each other as much anymore," Narumi said in a soft voice. "The Specials class is only for elementary and middle school divisions. This will be the first year that we don't have any classes together."
Yuka tried to force a warm smile on her face. "We can still make time. Shiki-san and Kaoru still managed to hang out with us, right?"
"It won't be the same," Narumi disagreed. "I just can't help but think that maybe we wasted our last bit of time together these past few months. We keep avoiding each other. I should have been there for you more often. I should have held onto you tighter."
Her fake smile faltered. "You sound like you're saying goodbye," Yuka mumbled, frowning. She stepped a little closer, though she didn't really know why.
He took a step closer as well. "That's because I feel like I'm losing you," Narumi said in a low tone. He squeezed her hand even tighter.
"Nothing's going to change," Yuka reassured, repeating the same thing she had told Kaoru. But at this point, she was starting to doubt herself a little.
Narumi just looked at her for a while. Then he shook his head, smiling brokenly in disbelief. "What makes you say that?" His voice grew louder, almost angry. His grip on her hand was almost unbearable. "Are you able to predict the future? Are you able to swear it to me?"
"Narumi . . . you're hurting me," Yuka whispered.
The anger disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. Narumi's face softened, and his hand loosened around hers, though their fingers were still intertwined. He looked close to desperation. With a longing sigh, Narumi leaned down and closed his eyes. Suddenly, Yuka couldn't breathe. Their bodies were so close. Their noses were millimeters away from each other. Narumi's lips parted slightly, and Yuka could feel his warm breath against her face. She closed her eyes too. He touched his forehead to hers, just breathing and savoring the contact. Yuka's cheeks burned, but she couldn't find the strength to pull away. It was like Narumi had somehow slipped magnets inside of her. She couldn't move at all.
Someone cleared their throat. Narumi slowly opened his eyes to the narrowest slits, and he glared out of the corner of his eye at the person who interrupted.
"Yuka," the person said.
Yuka's eyes flew open as her stomach flipped. That was Shiki's voice! This time, Yuka managed to take a step back away from Narumi. As soon as Yuka had broken free, it was like her lungs instantly filled up with air, and she could breathe normally again. However, they were still holding hands, a fact that was not lost on Shiki.
Shiki stared at them, his face completely blank and devoid of emotions. The student council president stood off at a distance, a good few meters between them. "Yuka, let's go," he spoke in a quiet, flat tone.
Yuka looked back at Narumi's face, but he didn't see her. Narumi only had eyes for Shiki as he silently glared at his sempai.
"Alright," Yuka replied. She started to walk towards Shiki, but Narumi held her back, still clutching onto her hand for dear life. Yuka had to pull hard, and his hand reluctantly slipped out of hers. Yuka walked the distance between her two friends in a heavy silence. Shiki really wasn't that far away, but to Yuka it felt like ages before she reached him. She could feel both of their stares trained on her, watching her every move. Abruptly, Yuka felt like a little kid whose parents were divorced, and now she was being passed on from one parent to the next. No, it felt worse than that. Yuka didn't know exactly how to describe the tense, heavy atmosphere that had descended upon the trio . . . even though there was celebrating and laughter all around them.
Yuka finally made it to Shiki. Only when she beamed up at him did her sempai's face relax a little. As they turned their backs on Narumi and walked away, Shiki felt the need to put his arm around Yuka's waist. Yuka looked at him in mild surprise, because he had never done something like that in public before. Usually, Yuka would immediately complain that people would get the wrong idea about the two of them, and she would shrug his arm off. But this time, she didn't. Instead, she glanced back at Narumi. It was hard to tell, but he looked crushed and in pain. Wordlessly, Narumi lifted his hand, as if he could somehow reach Yuka and snatch her away. Yuka actually considered running back to Narumi and giving him one last hug. Shiki must have read her mind, for he pulled Yuka a little closer, preventing her from leaving. Sadly, Yuka tore her eyes away from Narumi. She bowed her head.
"I'm scared," Yuka admitted out of the blue. "Does this mean things are going to change?"
Shiki's expression was impassive as he told her, "Everything changes."
A/N: whoa! can you believe it? i actually wrote a fanfic that was more narumiXyuka than shikiXyuka! i feel proud . . . or not. ;D it's times like these when i wish i had mad drawing skills. i can so clearly see that moment between narumi and yuka in my head. i would love to draw it. i bet it would be adorable.
as always, review! onegaishimasu! (bows deeply)