"Hahahahah!! Come on Ha-Chan you're too slow. A cute young girl the age of 9 was running holding the hand of a boy of a similar age. They were simply running through a playground.
"Hah…Hah…hah you're too fast…. kae-Chan." The two children Hajime and kaede were playing in the same playground they met two years ago. Both of them had changed a lot since then, Kaede had become more sociable and Hajime less chunni. Kaedes' parents had already met hajimes parents and they became very fast friends like Hajime and kaede. They were talking somewhere in a park located next to the playground.
"Ehehe let's go over there!!!" Kaede was the dominant one in their relationship. Hajime wasn't very active as he spent most of his day playing video games and reading manga. Kaede was stronger than him and could easily drag him around. They played for an hour until kaedes mom had called them over.
"Kaede-Chan! Hajime-Chan! Come over here so we can eat!" She called them over and both Hajime and Kaede had sat down on the towel they placed on the grass and ate the food Kaedes mom made for lunch. Finally the memory faded and Kaedes was slowly coming back to conciseness, she could feel a tear roll down her eye at that memory. She didn't know if she was dead or alive. But she just wanted to go back to those days. Only for something to stop her thoughts completely.
"Oh. You're finally awake. Took you long enough." Her eyes snapped open and she heard a voice. The voice was very familiar yet different at the same time. She quickly got up and saw a handsome boy with white hair and crimson red eyes. Though he looked different, though he felt different, she could tell after all she spent 11 years of her life with him.
"H-Ha-Kun?" She said in a quivering voice like she was about to cry. Hajime had never seen her cry once in the 11 years they've spent together. So he looked at her like she was a weirdo.
"Yeah it's me. How'd you know? What's wrong with you? You're acting…MHHHHH!!!" You're acting weird is what Hajime wanted to say. But just as he was about to finish, Kaede jumped towards him. Naturally one would expect a hug or something but kaede was different. As soon as she came into contact with him and tackled him she immediately kissed him on the lips.
"Mhhh….mhhhh…. Hah… haa." Kaede had always been straightforward but Hajime did not expect this. Kaede had finally separated her lips from Hajime and Hajime decided to say something.
"Hey! What the he-" He suddenly stopped talking after all there was a bigger issue.
"Hic,wahhhhhhhh…. I-I thought Y-You d-died, wahhhhhh!" Kaede had buried her face into hajimes chest sobbing the entire time.as much as she put on a cold face and acted with resolve to at least take hajimes body out of the abyss, she hoped in a little portion of her heart that he wasn't dead.just like that her feelings came loose. Hajime immediately shut up and looked at her. Even though Hajime had the blessing of the wisdom god that helped him in dire situations he did not know how to handle this, he felt as if the wisdom god was telling him to just knock her out and leave her alone. He followed the healing goddess instead and thought about Kaede and hugged her close to his chest. Easing her soul.
Kaede had stayed like that sobbing for an hour. Her eyes still red, she brought her head up from hajimes chest and looked at him.
"You okay now?" Hajime had asked somewhat awkwardly. It wasn't exactly a gentle voice but it was nothing like what he sounded when he fought the wolves or the claw bear. Hajime had also started using the god of wisdom blessing and started thinking about their time together since his mind was able to think faster, he thought about all their memories together. That kiss that she gave him made him finally realize her feelings for him.
"You know,you have a delicate girl in your arms right? You can at least sound more gentle." Though her words were admonishing she was clearly joking around. She knew Hajime had been awkward back then but the way he was now she seemed to find it quite funny.
"Say what happened to you?" Kaede had finally brought it up. After all he had pure white hair, Crimson red eyes, a handsome face, and his muscles were more toned. Hajime, although having an average looking face, his face was kind and gentle. His new look he had made him seem more….wild? It was as though he had gone through a machine that changed his appearance. Hajime scratched his cheek, troubled. In the end he told Kaede all about what happened since the fall.
2 hours later
"I-I see that's very terrible." Hajime had told Kaede everything that happened though he made his days off suffering seem shorter than what he actually spent in that time. Kaede's face had turned pale after she heard about what happened to Hajime but he quickly reassured her.
"Although it happened like 6 days ago it's in the past there's no point in crying about it." Hajime had said, his attitude made it seem like I was nothing. As if he was talking about the weather.
"Okay I understand. Still those blessings and your body. I don't really care for your appearance, though I won't say that the way you look now isn't making me excited." Though she didn't mind the way Hajime looked, she grumbled that pests might be attracted to him.
Hajime found her wording weird but remembered her kiss. That wasn't the embrace of a friend Hajime could easily tell her feelings.
"Hey kaede." Hajime figured out what she was gonna say so he called out to her but before he could avoid the topic and move on she obviously didn't let him.
"Hmmm what is it? Want to ask about that kiss earlier?" Kaede had known Hajime since they were little. She could tell when he was gonna change the topic and she wouldn't let him. Hajime groaned slightly; he knew where it was going.
"How long have you felt like this?" Finally deciding to speak up, he asked a question. Hajime wasn't dense per se but him being around kaede all the time made him numb to certain romantic situations. To him, Kaede hugging him and holding his hand was something she always did. So he just accepted it.
"Since middle school. I don't really know how it happened but I guess since we were always together, and because of you I changed the way I thought about people. Then one day I just realized I had fallen in love.Auntie and Mom were the first ones I told." She gave her answer without hesitation. She had separated herself from hajimes chest and looked at him.
"Wait. Mom knew that you liked me?" Hajime thought back to the way his mom would look at him whenever Kaede used to go up in his room to play games. Hajime had thought she left a condom by accident that his father and mother were going to do it but maybe she left it so he and Kaede could do it. 'Just what the hell was she thinking?' Hajime thought back to his mother she teased him a lot but to think she was suggesting to her son to have sex when he was in his last year of middle school? She truly was someone without common sense, well his whole family was they are otakus after all.
"So what are you gonna do with this knowledge? Also if you reject me I won't give up you know? I'll keep trying till you love me as well." Kaede looked at Hajime resolutely. Though Hajime could see in her eyes that she was scared of being rejected. Hajime felt like just saying something along to reject her feelings, but decided to speak the truth.
"I won't say I've never thought about it and it may be nice. But I don't want to accept your feelings here. Can you at least wait till we find a way out? I'm assuming you just jumped here without hesitation and didn't think about a way out.". Hajime had of course thought of them being a couple. After all he was an adolescent boy and the girl closest to him was kaede. Hajime had also pointed out the fact that Kaede hadn't thought of a way to get out of the abyss.
"I see. I can accept that,but just so you know just because you haven't given your answer I'm still gonna keep flirting with you." Kaede was somewhat relieved and disappointed. She also didn't think of any escape plan and simply jumped in with the thought of finding Hajime. So just like that, childhood friends have been reunited.
