He ran away, hoping that Chizuru wouldn't chase after him.
Underneath the starless blanket of black as snowflakes lazily descended onto the hallowed grounds of the New Year celebration site.
Please don't follow me... please don't... He could get it done in 10 minutes and be back.
Then he heard her calling after him.
"Ryu... Wait… Where are you going?" Chizuru enquired between heavy inhalations and exhalations of the wintry zephyrs.
Ryu trod a few more steps in the piling snow before turning around to be greeted by a puzzling look from Chizu. He consolidated his thoughts and replied "I was bored. Figured that Joe wanted to spend some alone time with Yano-chin..."
"Oh, ya, of course..." Chizuru agreed though her perplexity remained.
He needed to do this alone, for her..
"You go ahead and look around first... Kazehaya called me a while ago." lied Ryu, rehearsing his carefully-orchestrated plan in his head.
The chestnut-brown haired lover muttered an almost inaudible "hai" before retreating back into the crowd.
Alright, coast is clear. The shrine was 5 minutes away.
He cast a furtive look to the burgeoning crowd where Chizu had disappeared into before beginning his brisk walk north east.
Something was not quite right.
Chizu snaked her way through the suffocating mass of festival goers as she attempted to fathom the enigma that is Ryu. But it was an exercise in futility amidst the noise of the New Year's Countdown.
T minus 3 minutes to the New Year. He wasn't going to make it for the magical moment.
An emboldened sense of urgency overcame Ryu as he broke into a sprint towards the shrine ahead, inevitably nudging and elbowing through the crowd.
Finally, he was in the queue to the altar. T minus 2 minutes.
Ryu cracked his knuckles in palpable nervousness. Hurrying quickly after the lady before him, Ryu walked up the traditional wooden stairs of the shrine and rang the bell single-handedly.
2 bows, 2 claps and 1 bow. The ritual was familiar; he had practiced it so many times on his own.
"I earnestly pray for Chizu, that she will always be happy and cheerful. And that she and I will always have great times together."
It seemed trite, what he prayed- but it was his own declaration and mission statement. A dedication unsurpassed for the seemingly aloof adolescent and his first encounter with ardent love.
Meanwhile, Chizu was strolling mindlessly through the throngs of people swarming around her.
Was he afraid? She pondered.
After all, it was all a new experience. It was for her as much as for Ryu as well. Maybe he had the jitters.
Maybe the confession was an impulsive declaration for a wall flower like her.
It was almost time to herald in the New Year, but all Chizu felt was a physical pain that assaulted her stomach as a man rushed past her, unknowingly hitting her. The pain resonated with her heart.
Frantically, Ryu pore over the celebratory mass.
In the peripheries of Chizu's mind she heard the countdown begin.
"10!"
Ryu's heart raced. Chizu trembled as the overwhelming pang hit her like a sledgehammer.
"9!"
Ryu's blood coursed through his veins like rapid fire rounds. He hadn't got the written oracle but it didn't mattered. She needed him now.
"8!"
Chizu was fatigued. Her surroundings seemed to have been washed into an eddy of noise and anarchy.
"7!'
She reached out for anything as her legs gave way both to her emotional rollercoaster and the blistering coldness.
"6!"
The seconds seemed to decelerate as Ryu entered into the crowd, tiptoeing to find his oblivious inamorata.
"5!"
Ryu, detached from his environment, raced around the crowd, looking for that one countenance.
"..4!"
She now sat at a bench where only the echoes of the countdown were audible, heaving and puffing with effort as tears drenched her cheeks.
"3"
Her heart wrenched as reverberations reminded her of her loneliness. She cupped her face with her hands, as the melancholy asphyxiated her.
"2"
The consequence of his stubbornness to do this alone was materializing.
She straightened in shock as two firm hands gripped her shoulders. She glanced up.
But before she could get a clear look of the person, a warm sensation came over her as the lips of the stranger locked with hers. Her eyes shut tight as she withheld her lachrymose.
Though physically dry, an inexplicable relief filled Chizu as they embraced.
Then gradually, he let go of his embrace around her waist. Lips still sealed, he whispered. "Sorry, I missed you."
The deep voice ricocheted through her ears. She fluttered her eyes open and witnessed the countenance of Ryu standing before her.
No words were exchanged as they locked eyes.
Chizuru merely regained a step forward closer to Ryu's face and planted a gentle peck on his cheek.
A salty taste of perspiration caressed her lips- but it didn't matter. They were together on their first new year together. And they shared their first kiss with each other.
"I missed you too." And Ryu smiled.