Several days later, Haru's first day of his returning to school after two years had finally begun. He awoke from his sleep, and looked to his dresser. On it was the boy's uniform for Uranohoshi Academy, the school that he's going to be attending. "I hope they remember me… No… I hope they don't hate me…" He got dressed, packed up his bag, and slung it behind his shoulder. "Okay, it's been so long, I don't know if this looks okay…"

He walked down the stairs, and was greeted by his mom. "Good morning, Haru. Are you excited for your first day back at school?" He nodded slightly. "I know you'll do amazing. Are you going to eat breakfast, or go straight to see Kanan?"

"I'm going to skip breakfast today. I might pick something up on the way, but I want to go see her. I'll see you later, Mom."

"Okay, Haru. See you later! And don't forget to say hi to Sakurauchi-san for me!" She called out to him.

"Don't worry, I won't! Bye!" He then left the house, and was on his way to the train station. Upon arriving, he took the train that went to the docks. "I really hope she's there." He whispered to himself. Haru got off the train and walked towards the diving shop.

He walked in and stood at the counter. A young woman walked up to him. She had a long, blue ponytail, and was average height. She was wearing a blue diving suit as well. Haru knew exactly who she was. "Hello there. What may I help you with this early in the morning?" She spoke softly.

"K-Kanan…" He whispered, dropping his school bag. "It really is you…"

She looked at him, confused beyond belief. "Um...excuse me, but why do you know my name?"

"Kanan, don't you know who I am?"

She looked at him more closely. "No way…Haru-kun…? No...that's not possible…" She was in so much denial.

"Kanan, it's me. I'm standing right in front of you." Tears started to form around her eyes. Haru held her close. "D-don't cry, Kanan."

"Haru-kun!! Where have you been all this time!?" She shouted, continuing to cry.

"I'm so sorry, Kanan… I didn't want you to go through what you did… I am so sorry…"

She pushed him away. "I don't want to speak to you… Go enjoy your life, Haru-kun. It isn't like you needed me in it to begin with…"

"Kanan, you know that's not true! You three were the greatest thing that ever happened in my life. I just… I was stupid and threw it all away for my own selfish reasons. I just came to see how you were… I'm sorry for intruding…" He said, turning around to leave.

He felt her arms wrap around his waist. "Haru-kun… I missed you so much… Please…don't leave me again…"

He turned around, and hugged her. "Kanan, I promise you, I'm not going anywhere this time."

"Haru-kun…" She smiled. "I'm so happy that you're back. I see you're going back to school as well." She said, looking at his uniform.

"Yeah, someone I met by chance convinced me to go back. And… I came here to try to convince you." Her expression changed. It was a happy smile before, but now it was a look of sorrow and grief,

"Haru-kun, I'm not going back…" She began to say. "Not after what happened…"

"Kanan, I know you stopped going to school because of me." She looked surprised. "My mom told me everything. I want you to come back with me, Kanan."

She shook her head. "No… I won't… I…I can't believe you. I don't want you to leave me again. I don't want to go through that much pain ever again…"

"You don't believe me…? Kanan, I went out of my way just to see you…"

"Well, you sure took your damn sweet time!!" She shouted, looking very upset. "Haru-kun, you hurt me so much when you left, and you never even bothered to see me, let alone call me. I was so worried about you!"

He started walking away. He had heard enough. "I'm sorry, Kanan. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm going to school now."

She grabbed his hand, pulling him back. "You hurt me so much, Haru-kun… I just want it to be like it was before… I just want us to be close again!" Her face was covered in tears. "I've waited two years for the chance to see you again…"

"Kanan, I already told you. I'm not going anywhere this time. I've decided to face my fears, and to not run away from them anymore. Though… I can't do it alone. Will you…will you stay by my side, Kanan?"

She smiled, nodding her head. "Of course I will, Haru-kun. I'll always be by your side. Always."

"Thank you, Kanan. I really have to get going now. Will you please consider my offer, Kanan?" He asked her, picking up his bag.

"I will, but I need some time…" She answered, looking away from him. "Now, you better hurry. I bet Chika and You are going to freak out when they see you."

"Yeah, probably. I'll see you later, Kanan."

"Bye, Haru-kun!" She called out to him.

After seeing Kanan, Haru made his way back to the train station to take a train to Uranohoshi. "I'm such an idiot for leaving them like that…" As he boarded the train, he bumped into a short, red haired girl. "O-oh, I'm sorry about that."

She was lying on the floor of the train, looking up at him. "I-I...I'm sorry!!" She suddenly shouted.

"W-what? I-it's fine, really." He held out his hand for her. "Here, I'll help you up."

Her face became bright red. "U-um, I um… um… I'm...um…"

"Hey! What do you think you're doing!?" A voice shouted, sounding very angry. "How dare you scare my sister like that!?"

"S-scare her? I was only-"

"Oh, were you just trying to grope her or something!? I swear, I can't leave you alone for a second, Ruby…" She said to the little redhead, helping her up.

"O-onee-chan… You misunderstood it again…" The girl, apparently named Ruby, whispered to her older sister. "He was only trying to help me up after I ran into him. Please don't accuse an innocent person for doing something like that…"

"W-w-what? Oh…" She then bowed in front of Haru. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions like that!"

"Don't worry about it…" He said, forming an obviously fake smile.

She looked at his uniform. "Hm…you go to Uranohoshi? I don't think I've ever seen you before." She asked him.

"Well, today is my first day. I'm Akashiya Haru, a second year."

"Hm… Akashiya Haru… That name sounds strangely familiar…" She whispered to herself. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Kurosawa Dia, a third year and also Student Council President. This is my little sister, Kurosawa Ruby. She's starting her first year at Uranohoshi this year."

"H-hello, A-Akashiya-senpai. I-it's a p-pleasure to meet you…" Ruby spoke softly.

Haru held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Kurosawa-san. You too, Student Council President."

Ruby smiled lightly, and shook his hand. "Akashiya-san, you may refer to me as Dia, if you so choose. Just so you don't confuse me and my sister."

"Okay, Dia-senpai." Her face turned red. The train then came to a halt. "Wow…she was right. It's only like a five minute train ride…" He whispered. "I'll see you two around the school. Bye!" He said, walking towards his class.

"Bye, Akashiya-senpai!" Ruby shouted, waving to him.

"Ruby, I've never seen you this happy around a boy before." Dia said, looking at her. Ruby's face turned red, but she didn't say anything. She only smiled at her.

"I could say the same to you, onee-chan." She giggled.

Haru opened the door to his class. The teacher came to introduce herself. "Hello there. I'm assuming that you are the new student, Akashiya Haru-san?" She asked, smiling warmly.

He glanced down at her desk, seeing a name plate. "Yes, Miyahara-sensei, that's me.." Haru nodded.

"Okay. You may sit in the empty seat that's in the back corner." He nodded, walking to the back of the classroom. He noticed that there were three empty seats. One was in front of his, one was to the left of his, and one was diagonal from his.

"Hm… These might be their seats…" He whispered, sitting down. The bell for class had then rung.

Suddenly the door swung open quickly, revealing two young students. "Shoot…"

"I told you we should have not stopped for breakfast, Chika-chan!" The gray haired girl said, panting. "Jeez, Chika-chan…"

"I'm sorry, You-chan! I didn't think we'd be late…"

"Will you two please just sit down…?" Miyahara-sensei asked them. "I won't count this for your attendance records, since it is the first day. Just please try to be here on time tomorrow, Takami-san, Watanabe-san."

"Y-yes, ma'am! Sorry, Sensei!" They both exclaimed, walking over to their seats. Haru recognized them instantly, but didn't say anything.

"Oh… Who are you?" The orange haired girl asked him. "I haven't seen you here before."

"I'm a new student here this year." He vaguely responded.

"Oh, okay. My name's Takami Chika. This is one of my best friends, Watanabe You." Chika said, smiling at him. "So, what's your name…?"

"Don't you already know?" He smirked. She looked confused. "I'll give you a hint. We're best friends."

"W-what… We're...best friends…?" She looked closer at him. "No way…"

You looked at him better too, and she gasped. "It can't be…"

"HARU-KUN!?!?" They shouted out loud in unison.

He nodded, smiling. "Yep, it's me." Chika's eyes started to water. "C-Chika… Why are you crying?" He asked, looking worried.

"I-idiot…" She barely whispered.

"What? Can you say that again?" He asked.

"You're such an idiot, Haru-kun!!" She shouted, running out of the classroom.

"Takami-san! Where do you think you're going!?" The teacher tried to call out to her. "Akashiya-san, Watanabe-san, I need you two to go after her, okay?" They both nodded, getting up from their seats.

They left the classroom, and began tracking her down. "Haru-kun…" You began to say. "W-where have you been all this time…? Chika-chan and I worried so much about you… Kanan-san even quit school because of you…"

"You, I'm really sorry… I left because something happened to me… Something I didn't want anyone to know about, or else they'd pity me. I didn't want that, so I stopped coming to school."

She pushed him against a wall. "What about our feelings!?" You shouted. "Don't you care about us? We used to be so close…"

He didn't look her in the eye. "I-I know… You...I'm sorry…" He tried to apologize. "I know now that I should have kept in contact with you three. Kanan already made me feel guilty about it… I...I didn't think you three cared so much…"

"Of course we cared, Haru-kun." Chika suddenly spoke out, coming out of hiding. "You're our best friend. Why wouldn't we care about you? You mean so much to us."

"Chika…" He went up to her and hugged her. "I'm so sorry!"

Her eyes began to water. "I'm not mad at you anymore, Haru-kun. I missed you so much, but I'm not just going to forget about all of the memories we had because it's been so long."

He smiled, looking over to You. "Hey, You. There's room for one more."

She giggled, walking over to them. They all hugged each other, laughing. "Chika-chan, can you even believe this is real…? He's finally back. Don't you think you could tell him how you-"

"You-chan! Shhh!!" Chika exclaimed. "You better forget what you heard her say, Haru-kun!" She told him, blushing brightly.

"I'm actually a little curious to know…" He whispered, smiling.

"Noooo! You can't know now, Haru-kun! It's way too soon!" Chika shouted. "I-I'm not mentally prepared yet…" She whispered quietly.

He began to laugh. "You're still just as weird as ever, Chika. I'm glad nothing's changed."

"Well...some things have changed…" She began to laugh nervously.

"No, don't you even bring it up to Haru. Don't drag him down with you, Chika-chan." You scolded her.

"But You-chan! I need someone to help me hand out flyers later…"

"Flyers? For what exactly?"

"I'm going to start an idol club! We'll talk more about it during lunch." She said, smiling. "Haru-kun, we should head back to class."

"Yeah, you're right. Come on, You." He said to her, holding out his hand for her.

"H-Haru-kun…" She whispered, grabbing his hand. "You know that you're not off the hook just because you came back, right? You have two whole years of stuff to catch up on." She giggled, poking his cheek.

He laughed. "I know, You. So, you two really aren't mad at me anymore?" They both shook their heads, smiling. "Okay, that's good. I'm glad you two are still my friends."

"We are too, Haru-kun. Every day that we had no school, You-chan and I always spent time at our old treehouse we made together. Wow...it's been so long since we made it…" Chika started to remember…

"Chika-chan! You-chan! Let's build a treehouse together! It can be where we go when we want to hang out." Haru exclaimed. "Do you two want to?"

You climbed out of the pool, and wrapped a towel around herself. "I don't really mind. What about you, Chika-chan?"

"I would love to!" She exclaimed. "Maybe one day, we could use it when we're older to keep in touch with each other if we were far away from one another."

"Chika-chan, why would we ever be far away from each other? I'd never leave you two ever. I love you two so much!" He hugged them, laughing.

You giggled. "Haru-kun, you're getting wet now. Here, dry yourself off." You handed him a towel. "So, where would we build one?"

"My mom said we could build it in the forest behind the park. Well, as long as we were careful." He answered her, smiling.

"Oh, okay. Let me get dressed, and we can start building." She said, leaving to go to the bathroom at the pool.

"Haru-kun, why do you want to build a treehouse so suddenly anyways?" Chika asked him, sitting down next to him.

"Well, because I'd be building it with you two."

She blushed a little. "That's really sweet, Haru-kun. We'll always be together, right? Even after we graduate from school?"

"Chika-chan, of course we will. I'll never leave you two. You're my two best friends. Nothing would change that."

"Haru-kun…" She smiled.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's get building!" You cheered.

"Yeah!" Chika and Haru exclaimed.

"You two really did that…?" He asked them.

Chika nodded. "Of course we did, Haru-kun. We hoped that one day you would visit the treehouse, and we'd get to see you again. But…you never came…"

Haru stopped walking, and looked down at the floor. "You two… You two cared that much… I'm such an idiot… How could I do that to you…?" You got closer to his face.

"Haru-kun, look at me." He looked up, his face turning red. "We've already said that we weren't mad at you anymore, so don't be like this anymore, okay?"

He nodded. "O-okay, You…" They continued walking back to the classroom before Haru said something. "Chika, You… you two are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I just want you two to know that."

They both blushed a bit, smiling. "Oh, Haru-kun… Of course we are! You couldn't do anything without us when we were growing up!" Chika teased, walking faster towards the classroom.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" He exclaimed, running after her. She just kept giggling and running away from him until they made it to the classroom. He caught up to her, and grabbed her arm. "Gotcha!"

"Yeah… cause I stopped… Come on now, Haru. Get serious. We gotta go back to class."

"Okay, okay…" He sighed, letting go of her arm.

You finally caught up, panting when she made it. "If.. you guys are gonna… run… at least warn me… next time…"

"S-sorry, You-chan…" Chika let out a nervous laugh, patting her back gently. "Alright, let's head on in, you two." You straightened up herself and Haru gave a nod of agreement. Chika then opened the door, and the three of them walked over to their seats.

"Takami-san… if you're gonna run out of the classroom in such an outburst like that… at least tell me before you do it." Their teacher said to her, sighing. "Thank you, Watanabe-san, Akashiya-san. You three stay after class for a few minutes so I can go over with you the things you missed."

"Okay, Miyahara-sensei!" The three said in unison, sitting down at their desks.

All throughout class, Haru kept glancing at the other empty desk, the one that was in front of him. Is that supposed to be Sakurauchi-san's seat? Why isn't she here today, then…? He thought to himself as class went by.

About 2 hours later, the class was dismissed for lunch. Chika let out a loud sigh of relief. "Finally!"

"What are you girls gonna get to eat?" You took out a bento from her backpack.

"I brought mine from home, like I always do." She smiled at him. "I think Chika-chan just brings a couple oranges to eat…"

Haru glared at Chika. "It's been two years… and you're still obsessed with oranges, Chika?"

"Hey! Don't hate on my mikans! Hmph!" She turned away, peeling one of her oranges.

"Well… I'll be heading to the cafeteria by myself then. I'll come back up here once I get my food."

"Okay!" The two exclaimed happily, starting to eat.

Haru walked out of the classroom, heading downstairs to the cafeteria. Once he arrived, he realized how busy it was. "...I'm about 90 percent tempted to just not eat until I get home… Oh! I have an idea." He pulled out his cell phone, dialing a number. After a few moments, someone answered. "Hello..?"

"Haru-kun..? Is that you?" Kanan's voice rang through the phone. "Aren't you at school? Why are you calling me…? Actually, better question… how are you calling me?"

"Well, I've had your number saved on my phone for like… 4 years, Kanan. And as for your other question, we're on our lunch period now."

"Oooh, okay. So, what did you need?"

"Well, it's super busy here in the cafeteria, so I was wondering if you wanted to go out to eat later. Like, you know… after school?"

"Y-you mean… like a date?"

"If you wanna see it as that, then sure. I'll even pay for you too. So…? You in?"

"I need to get ready!!" She shouted into the phone in a panicked tone. "When will you be here to pick me up?"

"Hm… 5:30? That should give me enough time to get home, get dressed, and head over to you. Does that sound good?"

"Yes! Of course! I'll see you then!"

"Yeah, see you then, Kanan." The call ended. "She seemed way too excited about that… Well, guess I'll just head back." He made his way back to the classroom, picking up a drink and a small snack from the vending machine along the way. "Chika, You, I'm back."

Upon arrival, Haru was met with his two childhood friends fighting over an orange. "Chika-chan! You need to stop eating so many of these at once!"

"Noooo! You-chan, stop it! Leave my mikans out of this!"

Haru just ignored them and sat down. "Weirdos…" He smiled to himself.

In the end, You was successful in retrieving the orange from Chika. "Haru-kun, you're back! Do you know how many of these things she had in the time you were gone?"

"Let me guess… 4?"

"No. 9." Haru once again glared at Chika.

"I was only gone for like seven minutes, Chika…"

"I like my mikans! Sue me!" She huffed, looking away from the two of them.

"Anyways… wasn't there something you two wanted to tell me earlier? Something about… handing out flyers?"

"Oh yeah! Tomorrow morning, we're gonna be advertising our new club to the students of Uranohoshi!" Chika said, proudly.

"New club? What kind of club?"

"A school idol club!"

"I'll pass."

"WHAT? How come??"

"Sounds too girly for me."

"You don't have to become an idol, dummy! That's what You and I will be doing! Now that you're back… I would love it if you could be our manager!"

"Please, Haru-kun? If Chika-chan is dragging me down, she's gonna drag you down too. All for one, one for all, right?"

The two of them looked at Haru with pleading eyes. He sighed. "Fine… But! Chika, you have to make sure you get this club validated by Dia-senpai."

"By who…?" She asked.

"Dia-senpai. You know… the student council president…?"

"Ooh! Yeah, we planned to! How do you already know her, Haru-kun?"

"We ran into each other on the train ride to the school. She seemed like she'd be a pretty strict president though. So, good luck." He sat back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"Wait… but if you're friends with her...maybe you can help persuade her for us!" Chika enthusiastically said.

"First, I never said we were friends… I just met her for like 2 minutes this morning. And second, not a chance, Chika."

"Aww, come on! You said you'd be our manager! This is exactly what that would imply you would help us do! Besides, you owe You-chan and me big time for these last 2 years…" She looked away, attempting to guilt trip him.

"You suck, you know that?" He glared at her.

She smiled, grabbing his hand. "You know you love us. Your tsundere act doesn't work on me, Haru-kun."

"W-what…? I'm not a…" He paused. "I'll help, okay? I won't guarantee anything though. I'll just talk to Dia-senpai tomorrow after school."

"Why not today?" You asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I have plans tonight, so I don't want to keep her waiting."

"Her…?" Chika questioned.

"Kanan, obviously. I called her when I left the classroom and asked if she wanted to go out to dinner later tonight. I decided not to eat at school today."

"Y-you're… YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH KANAN-CHAN??" Chika shouted very loudly.

"What is it with you people…? It's just two friends, who haven't really seen each other in over 2 years, going out to have dinner…" He tried to exclaim, holding his ears from when she screamed.

"Oh… oh… that's how you see it, okay… Okay." She kept repeating herself. "Well, You-chan and I will be here for most of the afternoon trying to get some first years to join."

"We...are?" You sounded like she was about to deflate.

"Of course!"

"Well, have fun with that, you two." The bell rang for class to start up again, and Haru turned back towards the front of the classroom. I wonder what Sakurauchi-san is doing right now…

A few hours passed, and the end of school day was upon them. "Hey, Haru-kun, treat Kanan-chan well, got it? She's really fragile now, because of you…" Chika said it with no sense of holding back.

"Thanks for rubbing that part in… Go hand out your flyers…"

"Wait… that came out wrong, didn't it…?" He nodded, sighing. "Darn it! Just… go give her a good time, okay? For old times sake."

"Yeah, I don't plan to bore her, Chika. Well, I'll be off then. Gotta be home really soon to get ready. See you girls later! I'll try to call you guys if I have time later tonight!" He called out to them, walking out of the classroom in a hurry.

"Hey, You-chan…"

"Yeah, Chika-chan?"

"Do you think Haru-kun has a crush on Kanan-chan?"

"Doubt it. He didn't really seem to think that this was a date. He's too oblivious to realize that sort of thing. Literally nothing has changed about him."

"Yeah… you're right. I'm worried for nothing. Let's go. We got a lot of work to do."

"Yeah! Full speed ahead!" You smiled as the two of them got to work.