Her parent's red string was the most blinding thing she'd ever seen.
At the dinner table it was hard to look at her parents because of just how bright it was as it glowed around the two as they talked about their day or complemented one another on their cooking. It was always glowing, always curling and twisting and just circling around the two. When she was younger and could get away with staring at nothing, Yumiko would just gawk at the way a tiny string that no one but herself and Grandfather knew of and just be amazed at how it sometimes took up the entire room.
Her parents themselves were the exact definition of love.
From Yumiko's earliest memories her parents always seemed to be in some kind of honeymoon stage (and eventually Yumiko would learn that they had been married for nearly six years before she was born), and as she grew up they only got worse.
According to Grandfather, they had a love story that hopped out of shoujo manga. Delilah Yamamoto (formerly Delilah Jones) had only been to Japan to visit some penpal she had ever since she was a child. Haato Yamamoto was running late for his part-time job. They crashed into each other, literally, and the details get a bit iffy from there as they just kept meeting each other.
("It was love at first sight," Haato says with a big dopey grin on his as he looks at his wife with love in his eyes.
"After the first few times running into each other, I accidentally punched your father and gave him a black eye...He cracked jokes as I got him ice and by the end of it he got me to agree to go on a date with him...I've loved him ever since." Delilah says with a smile on her, a sack of flour over her shoulder, and she pats her daughter on the head.
"Haato came home with a grin on his face and that string on his finger," Grandfather says as he points to Yumiko's parents, too engrossed in their lovey dovey actions to look in their direction, "What's a father to do but help his stupid son with his soul mate?")
Yumiko grew up with her parent's gross flirting, lovey-dovey comments, and adoring looks passed between the two even when they knew anyone could be watching. They loved each other, loved their children, and loved their friends. (It was so different from her last life where everyone was distant and cold and heartless and just so...unloving? Uncaring? Unforgiving?)
Her parent's string, and even her grandparent's string, was always bright and always moving and wrapping around them. Even when they were arguing or having bad days it was bright and curling in on itself enough that it would make little hearts out of itself. They were in love. They were soulmates.
Yumiko was born with her red string, limp and dull and was always lying pathetically on the ground. (And no matter how many times she scolded herself for it, she was jealous)
With only two days before the school festival, everyone in the school was making outlandish preparations in attempts to impress their parents. Chieko was one of those people as Yumiko had spent several lunch periods cheering her on from the sidelines as Chieko made calls over what had to be ordered and what needs to be constructed. ("I hate this part of school festivals," Chieko said with a sigh, she had just spent most of a phone call stuttering out orders and her face was a deep red from embarrassment, "I-I'm really no good at making serious phone calls."
"I'd say you're just no good at talking in general," Yumiko teased. Chieko pouted at the jibe and Yumiko laughed at how adorable she looked.)
Yumiko herself had barely been able to participate in planning or construction and had spaced out during homeroom when plans over who does what for their class theme (Yumiko was pretty sure they were doing some kind of French tea party where most of the students would be serving guests and families).
The past few days had been almost...lonely. With Chieko gone and Yumiko being way too poor to be able to participate much she had wasted most of her lunches studying or spamming Kura texts. The school festival really shoved in the fact that she only had one friend in all of Ouran, and any acquaintances that she'd talk to when she couldn't talk to Chieko were busy with their own school festival duties.
But hey, eating lunch alone did give her an opportunity to sneakily listen to the rumor mill. While it was normally something she wasn't all that interested in unless it concerned her (she was almost sad that the rumors about 'the mysterious Kenran boy who dropped off the scholarship student' had gotten dull and was dropped), there was an interesting rumor that had caught her attention.
Apparently one of the third years themes required live animals and that one of them had escaped. Not only had it escaped but not even the school security could catch it. And just what kind of animal was it? A monkey.
The first time Yumiko had heard that rumor (she was sitting in the lunch room...alone) she had spit out her water and descended into laughter. A monkey?! Like the one from the anime?! Oh dear God that thing has been running around the school since Mitsukuni's and Morinozuka's first year?! That's hilarious (and a little worrying if the school security couldn't catch a monkey in three years)!
The rumor was only further confirmed when on the way back to class she saw a male student slip on a banana peel. She giggled about it all the way to class and had to chew on her lip to stop her giggles from slipping out as during her teachers lessons.
Time passed and rumor said that more people were still slipping on banana peels and people made claims about where they had seen the monkey. It was hilarious and Yumiko couldn't help but giggle at the thought. She couldn't exactly remember how many times the monkey gag had been used in the anime; but the fact that it was true here? Hilarious to Yumiko's terrible humor!
Anyway, with two days left before the school festival (and Yumiko was just barely dreading the idea of her parents or grandparents or even her sister embarrassing her in front of her classmates - or worse in front of Chieko) Yumiko was excited for the construction to be over and for things to go back to normal. She was also just a little ready for a certain blonde to hurry up and confront Haninozuka because seeing him try to be manly all the time was getting tiring and a more than a little worrying.
Yumiko was walking out of school, waving goodbye to anyone who waved at her or said goodbye first. She was just about to say goodbye to Chieko and hurry up on walking to the usual meeting point Kura picked her up at to avoid the limo traffic, when her phone went off. It was a text from Kura.
'Trouble wanna help?'
Yumiko stopped walking, earning a confused head tilt from Chieko, and she could feel her eye begin to twitch. She clenched her teeth, looked up at the sky, and weighed the consequences in her head.
On one hand getting his ass kicked might help Kura into learning to pick his fights more carefully. On the other hand, he's an idiot and is about to get beat up.
Another text. 'Pretty pls?' with a dozen other heart and animal emojis.
"Motherfucker," Yumiko mumbled to herself before sending a nervous smile to Chieko, "Kobuchi-kun...think you can drop me off at Kenran academy?"
"I'm going to KILL YOU," Yumiko yelled at her best friend, punching his arm with the little bit of strength she had left.
The two of them were leaned against the gates of Kura's household. A first aid kit was at each of their sides as they patched each other up.
Yumiko had a big patch on her cheek, on the side of her temple, and a small one just under her lip. Kura, who had been fighting longer and on his own, looked worse with a black eye and bruises all over his arms and knuckles. His hands were wrapped up and patches covered his cheek. He had cotton stuffed up his nose to stop the bleeding and a comical bump was on his head.
"AH! Look I get it already! Quit picking fights, quit getting beat up you already told me off after the fight," Kura grumbled, rubbing at his bruised arm.
"That's not it stupid," Yumiko hissed through gritted teeth before pointing to her face, "How the hell am I supposed to show up to school looking like I got into a fight and lost."
Kura blinked one, then twice before glancing to the side and shrugging. "Tell...the truth? That you got into a fight and won?"
He just barely dodged her thrown fist.
"Ugghhhh," She groaned, pulling lightly at her long her, "My parents are gonna kill me when I get home! Ughhh, and Chieko's probably gonna freak out when she sees me covered in bandages...Damnit and the school festival is-" She snapped up, sitting straighter and tugged at her messy locks of hair, "What am I going to do at the school festival?!"
Kuranosuke winced, lip curling up slightly as he looked everywhere but his friend. Guilt was churning in his stomach while anxiety was storming Yumiko's. Anxious and panicked thoughts were brewing in the back of her mind (how the hell she would explain that yes she regularly got into fights and yes her best friend was a future gang lord in the making and yes she was technically involved with a small gang because of this, all without ruining her scholarship and letting her parents find out the specifics about Kuranosuke and and and and-).
Kura grabbed Yumiko's hands, gently taking them away from her hair so she would quit tugging so hard at her dark locks. He gave quiet instructions to help her focus on breathing not hyperventilating and that things would be fine as long as she focused on breathing (he'd seen her anxiety at its worst before and he was more than prepared to help her through it again).
Yumiko sucked in large breaths of oxygen, trying to slow her breathing and calm down her anxiety. Minutes passed as she calmed down and the two delved into silence. They did last minute fix ups and ended up leaning against the gates in silence.
Yumiko sat with her legs up to her chest and her arms resting on her knees, her chin resting on her arms as she silently moped. Kura glanced at his friend and inhaled through gritted teeth before looking away from her.
"...She could be into this sorta thing," Kura said suddenly, a small smirk on his face, "That girl you're into, she could be into bad boy-er girls."
Yumiko looked up at her friend, her chin still resting on her knees, and raised an eyebrow.
Kura flashed a goofy smile, "Some rich girls are into the whole rebellious/delinquent type. You already beat the shit outta plenty of yakuza kids before, now ya just gotta look like one. Plus mean the whole beaten black and blue look gives an improvement to my handsome face so it must work twice as much for yours."
Yumiko lifted her head up, sending a flat look towards her best friend (and no she definitely was not fighting back a smile at her friends bad attempts at cheering her up). "Are you trying to cheer me up by calling me ugly?"
With a guilty smile Kura shrugged, "It's worked before!"
Yumiko punched him again, a smirk appearing on her face when the boy winced. Yumiko let out a sigh as she got up, dusting off her legs as she did so.
"Next time you call for help I'm gonna join the bastards kicking your ass," Yumiko grumbled, sending a flat look to her friend, "Then I'm gonna let you be someone else's problem for once." Despite the harsh words she still stuck out a hand to help Kura up. The two for silent for just a second before Kura grabbed her hand.
"Nah...You've said the same thing before," Kura said as he hopped up, "But you're still stuck with me!"
Kura threw his arm around her shoulders (the pair winced in unison) as they started walking to Yumiko's home.
"So should I show you how to cover up those bruises with just a bit of makeup or…?"
"Mmm, I don't know yet. I like my freckles just a bit too much to cover them up."
For Yumiko it felt like she blinked and suddenly she was being scolded by her disappointed parents, blinked again and she was dealing with Chieko's panic at seeing so many bandages on her face and hands (and after some pestering during lunch Yumiko showed her the bruising on her arms and knuckles) plus the questioning from some classmates.
"I had to do some late night errands and nearly got mugged." Was the easy lie Kuranosuke and her had come up with. It had caused Chieko to tear up as she fretted over Yumiko (and the sight of her friends pretty face looking so devastated made Yumiko's heart twinge with guilt and her stomach feel sick because she was lying to her crus- friend).
Other classmates did ask for a more detailed story (something she was afraid of giving because even if she had been nearly mugged before Yumiko didn't want to make up an entire story on the spot) but Chieko, wonderful Chieko, had came to her defense...surprisingly.
"D-don't you thi-think it's rude," the quiet girl said in a voice that wasn't a quiet hush, "To-to ask for details when Yamamoto-san is cl-clearly hurt."
It surprised the boy that sat in front of Yumiko, who had spent the last minute asking for details on what had happened last night. It surprised Yumiko who had spent the whole school year (which was much longer than a normal school year should be thanks to time being so weird) never heard Chieko talk above a loud whisper.
The boy turned around while Yumiko looked at Chieko with wide eyes. Chieko met her stare for a handful of seconds before looking down at her hands in her lap.
"U-Uh s-sorr-"
"Thank you Kobuchi-kun."
This time Chieko looked up with wide eyes, not shocked or surprised at the greeting but just waiting to see what would happen next (and probably not sure what to say). Yumiko smiled, not exactly a big one but a happy one (a pretty girl had just tried to stand up for her, how couldn't Yumiko be happy ) that tugged more at one side of her face than another.
Chieko smiled back, a bigger one that made her eyes close and show off all of her perfect white teeth. A small blush was on her cheeks. Yumiko could have sworn little flowers and sparkled had surrounded her friend because of just how cute she looked (Heart you quit that doki doki junk right now, Yumiko thought and she could just imagine a comedic arrow striking her through the heart in the moment).
"So," Yumiko broke the nice moment with a smirk a raised eyebrow, "what was that about? My obnoxious attitude finally rubbing off on you? What's next? Ya gonna meet me in a commoner back alley and say a curse word?"
Chieko, who was still smiling albeit a much smaller one, pushed her two pointer fingers together. "W-well while I-I don't plan on d-doing any of that anytime s-soon, I wouldn't c-call you obnoxious. M-more uncultured than anything."
The smirk dropped and for a second Yumiko had a look of confusion on her face before, "Oh my God...now you're teasing? Who are you and what have you done with Chieko Kobuchi?"
She giggled in response and their teacher walked in before the conversation could continue.
Saying she frequently stared at Morinozuka and Haninozuka would be lying. Most days she sent one or two momentary glances and then continue on her day. It was Chieko who would convince her to go to the lunch room just so she could send adoring gazes at Haninozuka.
Yumiko didn't interact with the duo. Once or twice she'd accidentally make eye contact with Morinozuka besides that, they haven't even talked with each other.
Yumiko was plenty curious about who was on the other side of Morinozuka's string. Wondered why it looked so sad, so pathetic, so limp (one day she looked at her string and his and realized they almost looked similar and for just one second wondered a cursed what if before crushing that thought where it stood, what if's were always too dangerous). Haninozuka was safe. In her last life she'd wasted plenty of money on the manga, knew that one day he'd meet a girl from the black magic club who he would somehow con into marrying him.
Point is, they were classmates, strangers to each other. Did it bother Yumiko?
…
No. Not really.
Chieko had covered the bruises on her face with cover up. It saddened her quite a bit when the cover up also covered her freckled cheeks (she actually really did like her freckles) but it beat having to face high status, upper class rich folk with bruises and cuts all over her face. The bandaged up knuckles were fixed with gloves that went along with the waiter uniform she and a few other classmates chose to wear. Gotta dress up for the part and all that!
For most of the school day, everything went borderline perfectly! Some of her classmates pointed her out as the scholarship student and she would often get complimented for how hard she must be working to be top of her class in Ouran Academy. (Maybe the many praises inflated her ego just a bit)
Her parents and grandfather showed up and she was forced to endure an embarrassing amount of tears from her mother (who yes did take a horrible amount of photos) as her father crushed her in a hug. Her grandfather patted her on the head and eyed her dead looking string before saying she looked nice.
She sat the small trio of adults down and happily sat down next to them for a few minutes, chatting about school and her friends and acquaintances and pointing them out where they were and what family they belonged to.
She did get up eventually, promising to bring food in drinks in a few minutes. Or at least she would have if Chieko hadn't latched onto her the second she was out of hearing distance from her family.
"W-was that you're family?" She asked in a whisper, eyeing her family with curiosity as she dragged Yumiko to an empty table to sit at.
"Yes but please avoid them."
Chieko looked almost hurt at the statement. Yumiko was quick to explain herself.
"Trust me, if my mom gets ahold of you, you'll be stuck over there for ten minutes getting your picture taken. Then they'll probably grill you for all the saucy details about what I'm like during school."
That got a small giggle out of her.
"The-they seem nice," Chieko hummed with a small smile.
"They are but they're so embarrassing."
Another giggle. Both girls caught sight of more people entering the room. Their short conversation would have to end soon.
"M-My father's like that, h-he's always so busy so he likes to spoil me when he sees me."
Yumiko raised an eyebrow, glancing around the room as she spoke, "Speaking of your father, where are your parents? I thought you said they'd be coming."
Chieko winced and glanced to the side before getting up, "Probably bothering Kenta about how he's been. He promised he'd be here and Mother thinks he doesn't visit enough so she always hounds him about how he's been every chance she gets."
"Kenta? You have a bother?"
Chieko was quiet as she took a few steps away Yumiko. "I actually have two brothers but Kenta isn't one of them," She looked back with a small smile that seemed...sad, "Kenta's my fiance."
The string around Chieko's finger actually hummed at the confession, twisting and curling in on itself as Chieko walked closer to the door. The string got shorter the closer she got.
Yumiko was stuck, slightly frozen (and those stupid feelings that she kept trying to stop and squash were in the front of her mind as her feelings had the audacity to be hurt at the idea of her adorable and pretty friend's soulmate being so close) as she watched her walk away.
Oh.
Oh.
Yumiko got up and got her family the food she promised. Smiling and laughing with them for a few moments before going back to work.
Things started getting bad when the dull and pathetic looking string wrapped around her pinkie started getting tight. Tighter than it normally would. And there was tugging. It still wasn't tight enough to really hurt and it wasn't like something was strong enough to actually get her to move.
But it was getting close. Close enough to hurt and close enough that Yumiko almost had to fight to keep her arm steady. Meaning...Something?
Yumiko forced a smile as a lady (which Yumiko could have sworn she'd seen before in one of grandfathers dramas he watches on TV) complimented her. They went through a small conversation before Yumiko managed to slip away.
Brown eyes glanced around the room, straying just an extra few seconds at the occasional pair of parents that (thankfully) had connecting red strings or (way more depressing) had strings that were leading in the opposite direction of each other. Very few students had strings. And none that were leading or even in the general direction of Yumiko. Then why the hell was it getting so damn tight? And why-
There was movement in the corner of her eye, a quick moving shape that many rumors had been centered around. Yumiko's head snapped in direction of the door (that for some strange reason had no one around it) and she was fast enough to just barely see the rumored monkey slip out of the room. In a...waiter uniform?
A snort slipped out as Yumiko was quick to slap a hand over her mouth and she was quick to move in the opposite direction. Somewhere around the room there was probably a banana peel and some poor fool was going to slip and she didn't want to be the one to mention seeing the monkey and not telling anyone.
Oh but it would be hilarious! Some poor student or, even funnier, a parent would end up causing a small scene yet hilarious scene as they-
"Takashi!"
"Morinozuka-san!"
With a jump Yumiko turned around and suddenly the world slowed down. A body was falling with Yumiko being right behind them. Plates and teacups were in the air. She could either catch them, scramble to catch the very expensive fine china, or do nothing and let the body crush her and let the plates and teacups shatter.
She acted without thinking and suddenly she had a very big and heavy person in her arms.
(And suddenly something on her hand burned the second they touched, and she could feel it travel somehow as her heart suddenly seemed to be pumping with adrenaline and her stomach felt sick with butterflies and her cheeks burned from blushing.
Her string -the string that had been limp, dull, sad, pathetic, dead since she first opened her brown eyes - started glowing. It hummed, low but deep before exploding in sparkles and seemed to leap in the air and it stayed there. It started to curl around the pair and it twisted itself so that it made dozens of little hearts out of itself.
All of this happened in one second.)
The person in her arms had managed to catch the plates and teacups. Nice reflexes, Yumiko thought as her eyes traveled from the large hands that balanced the plates and teacups to the face of the boy in her arms.
A string, glowing bright red and curled around them caught her eyes and her heart stopped as the world died around her. Dull browns and handsome greys stared at each other, both in shock (although Yumiko was more horrified and he was just surprised).
Takashi Morinozuka, kendo world champ, captain of the kendo club, cousin to Mitsukuni Haninozuka and future silent type host to the Ouran Highschool Host Club was in her arms.
A blush, very small and barely noticeable, appeared on the boys face as he realized the girl was holding him bridal style. Also very easily holding him at that.
Takashi Morinozuka was in her arms. Takashi Morinozuka was in her arms and he was blushing. Takashi Morinozuka was in her arms, blushing, and was on the other side of her red string.
Yumiko eyes remained almost comically wide (still with that splash of horror in them) as she slowly forced her focus away from (her soulmate? The other end of her red string? How? Why? Why why why why why why why why why why) Morinozuka-san.
She looked at his family, who all stared at her with equally wide eyes. The people in the general area starred as well, not expecting the small and overweight girl to be able to hold such a tall boy.
There was probably an appropiate way to escape the situation but the most the was going on in Yumiko's head was - 'AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'
A small idea popped up in the back of her mind as she slowly, almost mechanically, let go of Morinozuka. She was careful to let him down gently, straight faced as she held up her pointer finger as if she was scolding someone.
"You should be more careful Morinozuka-san."
And she turned around and walked to the other side of the room and ignored the red string that was quick to untangle itself.
"Kuranosuke! Keep laughing and these bandages are going around your throat next!"
The threat did nothing to stop the boys hysterics. With one leg propped up on Yumiko's leg and the while the rest of his body laid in the dirt, Kura was clutching his sides as he laughed.
Bandages and patched covered the handsome boy. His hands had been carefully wrapped up, a bandaid was covering the cut on his head, and patches were scattered on his arms and legs. Yumiko was in the midst of trying to wrap the boys sprained ankle but he was too busy laughing at her to notice.
The girl herself was glaring at him, mouth twisting in contempt as her threat was ignored and Yumiko was wondering if the boy would even notice if she got up and left him alone in the park.
It was late at night. Or actually more like early morning at this point. Kura had woken her up by spamming her phone with texts and calls, then got her to sneak out of the house by showing up and throwing pebbles at her window. Yumiko walked out the door to see the idiot with a big smile on his face despite the black eye, bruises everywhere, and a bleeding cut on his forehead. She nearly decked him right then and there for getting into another big fight (without her to back him up).
So they walked to the park. The same park that they had gone to when were little kids to play and the same park they go to as older kids to patch each other up at. And with her walking and Kura limping he asked her about yesterday, well aware that it had been the schools festival. Well aware that something big had happened judging by the curses she had spammed his phone with yesterday during his own school festival (and despite how hard he questioned her she didn't explain because she couldn't fully explain because Kura couldn't see what she can and if he could he would see the brightly twisting string that was connected to her finger and he would understand but he can't see what she sees so what's the point of explaining when no one but her and Grandfather can see so you know what? It's fine Kura, I was overreacting really I'm fine something weird just happened really I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine).
And she told him what happened (the censored version that involved no red strings or horrified looks exchanged with Grandpa or no anxiety filled hours as Yumiko watched the red string her red string twist and turn and glow when she made eye contact with him after the thing that happened). She had already patched him up for the most part when she told him the thing.
He burst out laughing. Then he kept laughing. And laughing, and laughing. His face was going red by the time she had started threatening him.
Honestly, her story wasn't even funny. Horrifyingly embarrassing, yes. But not funny.
"AHAHAHAHA-Oh GOD! That happened! That honest to God happened! And in front of most of your CLASSMATES! And THEIR FAMILIES!" The boy wheezed out before descending back into hysterics. Yumiko raised her fist. "Oh man! The rumors! Yumi ya gotta tell me about the-OW! SON OF A-"
Yumiko glared down at the boy, a flat look on her face as she raised her arm up and away from the already heavily bruised area on his leg. A quick punch to one of his many injuries always got the bastard to shut up.
Kura hissed and cursed, bringing his leg up to grip spot on his leg that was throbbing in pain (and with one of Yumiko's punches the bruises would only get darker). He spent another minute breathing through clenched teeth and mumbling curses and threats directed at the people who did this to him and to Yumiko herself.
It wasn't until he put his leg back onto her lap did he calm down and Yumiko went to work patching him up. They were quiet until she finished wrapping his ankle, and Yumiko let out a big sigh before letting her upper body drop onto the dirt.
"...Some kids are calling it 'an act of passion as I promise to confess my undying love' and Chieko-kun heard someone say it was an 'obnoxious and angry threat to the entire clan'...So I need to transfer schools immediately..."
Kura burst into laughter. Again.
"Oh seems he's thinking about you again."
Yumiko slammed her hands on the living room table before pointing a finger at her grandfather, "I'll smash your teacups and burn your fancy tea leaves old man!"
He took a loud sip in response.
Yumiko sighed, slumping over and letting her head bang against the table. She groaned, very aware of the fact that the very light touch of her red string skimming across her arm was because Morinozuka was thinking about her. Again.
'Let me diiiiieeeeeee aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'
It had been a week since the school festival, and Yumiko had been doing her best to avoid Morinozuka. It honestly wasn't the hard since the two didn't interact with each other already but he thought about her and sometimes they made eye contact with each other and the their shared string would hum everytime they did.
Sometimes she wondered if Morinozuka thought she had a crush on him. It would explain the dark blush on her face every time she looked at him (and at one point she did have a small crush on him. In her last life where at one point or another she had a crush on all of the hosts members because to her they were just fictional characters she could revisit every time she needed a laugh they weren't real but now they are real and one of them is apparently her soulmate) and why she was so embarrassed by the rumors about them. She tried to ignore those thoughts as it just made her cringe and want to die from embarrassment just a little bit more.
Chieko had hounded her for details and even laughed at the hilarity of it all because she didn't know about just what truly happened between her and Morinozuka. ("You must have looked so cool Yamamoto-kun!" Chieko whispered, the adorably quiet tone somehow managing to hold so much excitement and awe, "No one would ever expect such a small girl to be able to hold Mori-san up like he weighed nothing! How did you get so strong Yumi!"
Yumiko inhaled through clenched teeth as she remembered the daily jogs, work out sessions, and 'I'm trying to save your ass ya Bastard' fights she had gotten into since elementary school. All thanks to the asshole she called a best friend.
"Er...I work out a lot with a friend," Yumiko mumbled, a comical sweat drop on the side of her face as she pulled at the ends of her large sweater.) At one point during lunch she had asked just how much Yumiko could carry, as a joke of course. But Yumiko just shrugged before lifting Chieko up bridal style. The blush on Chieko's face was adorable and definitely worth the bit of spilled tea that ended up on her sweater.
Grandfather and her talked, mostly late at night and mostly about her calming down her anxieties about the whole situation. Hell that's why the two were in the living room so late currently.
"You don't have to do anything about the situation," He told her after a long sip of his stupid tea, "You can ignore it and there's a good chance nothing will happen. Just because you share a string doesn't mean you have to be together."
Yumiko glanced up from her slumped over position a frown on her face as she realized just what he was referring to. When Yumiko had been younger the family had neighbors that had only been married about two years. They lived right next door for only about five months. The pair were soulmates, Yumiko knew that from the string on their pinkies that glowed whenever the two held hands. The housewife had babysat her occasionally.
At least until she found out her husband was having an affair.
Yumiko could still remember peeking the hedges when the wife had left for the last time, remembered the string that suddenly dulled and lowered (it didn't touch the ground and it didn't completely fade out) the further away she got. The husband moved out a few weeks later (Yumiko and Grandma had egged his house the night before he left, Grandma hated the idea of men cheating on their wives).
The string glowed again and Yumiko wondered just what Morinozuka was doing thinking of her so late at night. He should be sleeping damnit. Unless he was dreaming abou- stop that thought right there stop it stop it stop it.
"The boy could still live a happy life without his soul mate in it," Grandpa got up and took his half full cup of tea with him, "I think we both know just how happy he'll be soon enough."
Just because a couple shared a red string didn't mean they were going to end up having their own happy romance ending with a happily ever after. Yumiko considered herself lucky that her parents were so in love with each other. She was well aware that just because someone had already met their soulmate didn't mean they were in love. Chieko was proof enough of that as she still had a huge crush on Haninozuka despite having a fiance who was also her soul mate. You could still fall in love with someone or even out of love. Or maybe you could live a perfectly happy life without coming anywhere near your soulmate.
So what was the point of these stupid strings? Yumiko had questioned it time and time again since she was reborn, wasted days just scribbling notes in loose pieces of notebook paper and connecting bullet points and writing down theories just trying to get some kind of answer. Grandfather had given up on finding answers early on in his second life but Yumiko was stubborn enough to still question why?
Yumiko didn't talk to Takashi, and outside of making eye contact at school and apparently the occasional thought of the other, they didn't ever interact. They didn't have to.
Takashi Morinozuka was going to live a happy life surrounded by friends and eventually he would get his own wife and have kids. Yumiko already knew that, hell in her last life she had borderline memorized the words that stated he would either have a calm traditional wife or an energetic outgoing girl. Yumiko wasn't needed there. He'd find love and he'd be happy.
But...was that selfish of her?
(and there it was, that one guilty thought that had bothered her insistently since the night of the school festival, the thought she wanted to ignore more than the ones about her crush on Chieko. Was she a bad person for avoiding Morinozuka?)
Supposedly they were soulmates, meaning they were meant for each other. Something about her worked so well with him that they would work better than any other pair. But how? What was it?
How much would it affect either of them if they never interacted?
…
Who cares? The only people in the entire world that know they were destined for each other was Yumiko and her grandfather. So who cares? No one that's who! So why the hell should she let herself be bothered by it? (Drop it Yumiko forget it forget it forget it forget it Yumiko scolded herself, well aware that her anxious thoughts would always be in the back of her head)
Ignorance is bliss and all that shit.
The school day had ended nearly an hour ago, and Yumiko was horribly aware of how long the walk would be from the school to the train station and then to home would be. Just loitering around the school grounds was doing nothing to help her time issue. The dull ache on her cheek wasn't helping either. Another late night with Kura which resulted into getting real close to actually getting mugged by a trio of late night drunks. Kura and her won the fight (thankfully) but not without some bruises and even cuts. The bandage on her cheekbone did keep her from scratching at the very thin cut.
Yumiko had stayed to work on an extra credit project for history and she didn't want to deal with the disappointed looks from her parents for getting in another fight (even if the two were happy she didn't get seriously hurt, they didn't like how frequently their oldest daughter seem to get dragged into fighting). While she definitely didn't need extra credit, history was her worse subject. Still top of her class but only just barely and that extra credit would definitely solidify her place.
Yumiko bit at her lip, realizing she was actually pretty close to the schools dojos. She could always peek in and watch the other students practice…
Ugh but is she saw Morinozuka or Haninozuka...Ughh…
Her string jumped at the thought, curling and twisting itself until it formed all sorts of little hearts. Gross.
Yumiko sighed before turning around, ready to start her long walk home-
"Excuse me princess but could you- PRINCESS YOUR FACE!"
And that's how Yumiko Yamamoto met Tamaki Suoh.
Author's Note: Every time I tried to end the chapter another scene just kinda popped up instead...This really is gonna be a long story, especially since I'm basing it more on the manga...Oh geez.
But thanks to everyone that favorited and followed and even reviewed. I was really nervous about how my story would be received! I'm glad people like Yumiko as a character and I hope this chapter wasn't disappointing.
This chapter made me realize that it's gonna be a short while before we third year though maybe another two chapters? Hopefully, I'll be able to get them out in a shorter amount of time.