Things could have gone differently.

It was another warm spring morning in Chiba's outskirts. The sky was an alarmingly clear blue today complimented by clouds so white and fluffy you'd swear they were floating balls of cotton. Insects buzzed as a gentle breeze blew through the countryside, overgrown grass swaying in the wind alongside the dirt road leading towards the city.

All in all, this seemed like the perfect way to begin the new school year. This is what the two children walking this path thought, taking their time as they advanced. Today was a big day and they intended to savor as much time together as they could before things kicked off.

"And remember that it's okay to ask for help if you don't know something," Yumi said, doing her best to try and bestow as much wisdom as she could before it all went down. That was the job of a big sister. "The people there are going to be nice. You don't have to try and do it all on your own."

"Okay," Yuu replied, squeezing Yumi's hand tighter as they walked beside each other. Things had changed rather dramatically for her within the last few months. While the actual story behind what that entailed was long and sprawling, the easiest way to summarize it would be that she was finally allowed to live a normal life. A normal life that involved being adopted into the Takano family.

But a normal life had its own fair share of challenges, the current one being school. While it was hard to commend her previous guardians for virtually anything they did to her, they were at least judicious enough to give Yuu a basic education on par with others her age. This made her able to join the new fifth year class at a local elementary school now that it was April.

She wasn't exactly happy about this, though. Interacting with other people was difficult enough already without the added pressures of tests and expectations at home bearing down on her. She wouldn't even have Yumi there with her for encouragement or hugging. Not only that, she'd learned enough about regular society in this short amount of time to know she had to worry about fitting in with others. How would that work? She looked different, acted different, sounded different, and generally carried the marker of "unlike" with her wherever she went.

Would she be left out? Ignored? Bullied? Would the teachers make things harder for her? What if she got lost somewhere? Would anyone help her? What if her phone died and she couldn't remember the number to call home?

"And if things start to get to be too much, you can call me anytime," Yumi said. "It doesn't matter if I'm in class or what. I'll pick up and we can talk. I'm always going to be there for you."

"Okay," Yuu said again. Having her sister by her side kept some of the unease at bay but it was still far from easy to embark on this new journey. She also knew that much of this journey would have to be on her own given they were too far apart in age to be at the same school.

Thankfully, Yumi could pick up on Yuu's turmoil even through her monotone. Stopping in her tracks, she placed her hands on her sister's shoulders and turned her to face her. "Hey, close your eyes," she instructed.

Yuu did as she was told immediately, feeling the hood on her new gray jacket be pushed back. Anyone else trying that would likely be punched out of instinct for invading her space like that. When it was Yumi, though, that was okay. Then she felt something touch the top of her head.

"Okay, you can look again," Yumi said, sounding excited about something.

Yuu opened her eyes, gaze immediately snapping to the barren air on top of Yumi's head. That wasn't right. She always wore her goggles up there. She was definitely wearing them this morning as well as just a few moments ago, so where-

Touching the top of her own head, Yuu's expression change from its default neutral into one of surprise. Feeling the lenses on top of her head, she looked to Yumi, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

"I think you could use those more than me now," she told her. "They always make me feel pretty cool when I've got them, so maybe they can help you at school."

Yuu closed the small distance between them in an instant, hugging Yumi with as much force as her little body could muster. "I'm glad you like them," Yumi laughed, patting her on the back of the head.

"Thank you," Yuu murmured, voice taking on an almost cheerful quality despite its usual low volume. On top of that, she was even smiling.

Yumi nodded, taking Yuu's hand again after being released from the hug. "Ready to go to school now?"

Yuu nodded back with a genuine sliver of confidence behind it, though she still pulled her hood back up.

They began to walk once more. "Then let's get going! Today's going to be super exciting, just you wait. And when it's over, we're going to walk home together and eat takoyaki for dinner."

They took the rest of the uneventful journey to school without issue, both silently thanking the obtuse series of events that led them to be in each others lives. No matter what came before or what might come after, it would all be worth it for a lifetime of moments like these they could share.

Here's a short little thing I got inspired to do after hearing a happy song that made me sad.

If you didn't catch on, this is a peek into another timeline in which things actually worked out. Here, Yuu wasn't dragged back and has been living as Yumi's sister for the last couple months. Saw her in the tournament and everything. All in all, it's a much happier place to be for everyone.

Part of the reason I did this was, frankly, to remind you all that Yuu exists. Ideally, I shouldn't have to do that, but I've been severely behind schedule and it's made the few chapters between now and her last appearance go a lot longer than it should have. All of this is to say she will be coming back quite soon in a big way.

Not much going on here besides cute shit, so not much to discuss. Maybe a couple hints of foreshadowing here and there for the perceptive to pick up on, but that's about it.

Thanks for reading. Share if you're enjoying. Always remember to take care of each other.