Normally, Mato would have taken her time in walking to school. She would appreciate and admire the environment, especially the fall of the cherry blossoms in this season. And she actually had a good reason to take her time considering what she went through, but there was something she wanted to get through first.
"Good morning, Mato."
"Ah, good morning to you too, Yomi."
Mato quickly walked up towards Yomi who was standing at the side of the school gate, likely waiting for the others to arrive. Several students had already started entering but since it was only Yomi waiting for her, that meant Yuu hadn't arrived yet.
Yomi was somewhat surprised that Mato arrived this soon, as she was often the last one in their group to arrive. Then she was even more surprised when Mato suddenly hugged her out of nowhere.
"E-eh? M-Mato?" Yomi mumbled as her face turned slightly red. "W-what is this all about?" she asked. "Are you alright?"
When Mato didn't respond immediately and just kept hugging her, Yomi hesitantly hugged the girl back. Then Yomi started to feel embarrassment and nervousness when she noticed several of the students looking at them as they passed through the gate. A full minute passed before Mato finally stepped away from her, giving Yomi a sense of relief and disappointment.
"Oh, sorry about that," Mato replied with a sheepish grin and a shrug. "I guess I just... missed you a bit."
"W-what do you mean by that?" Yomi asked hesitantly.
Yomi could feel her face getting a bit more hotter after Mato's reply. The girl was always a bit more sentimental than most people, but this seemed a bit too much even for her. As if they just didn't see each other yesterday.
Wait, perhaps Mato is...
"W-wait, I think we're going a bit too fast," Yomi said while flailing her arms. "W-we can't just go hug each other publicly you know, think of what other people would think," she said in a hushed voice. "Ah, but if you insist I guess we can..."
"Huh?" Mato frowned and tilted her head at Yomi's behavior. "Are you alright, Yomi? You're face looks a little red."
"Good morning, Mato, Yomi!"
The awkward conversation got interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice calling out their names. Yomi turned her head to the left to see Yuu walking towards them while waving her left arm in greeting, with Kagari following behind her a few steps away. Mato, of course, also turned around after hearing her name being called out.
"Ah," Mato smiled as she saw them. "Good morning to you as well, Yuu," she said as she started walking towards Yuu.
Yuu, meanwhile though, had a mischievous grin on her face as she saw them. "Oh oh dear, what were the two of you doing earlier?"
"It's n-not what you think," Yomi protested as she saw Yuu's grin widen. She could feel herself sweating a bit as even Kagari started eyeing her suspiciously. "H-hugging is normal, right? We're just-"
"Yuu!"
Mato raised her arms in front of herself and embraced Yuu, not unlike the way she did with Yomi earlier. This sudden action caused the rest to stop in surprise, with Yomi's jaw left hanging mid speech. Mato seemed oblivious to their reactions though.
Yuu was the first to recover from the shock and quickly hugged Mato back before she could notice.
"Er, is there something wrong, Mato?" Yuu asked as she glanced back at Yomi for some explanation. The girl in question though had her head slumped so Yuu couldn't see, but Yuu could haphazardly guess what her expression was...
"Oh, its nothing really," Mato replied as she disengaged from Yuu. "I just felt like hugging you guys today."
"Hmm... if you say so I guess," Yuu said after a while. Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Mato as she asked, "Are you sure that didn't come from watching those animes again?"
"Hey, I don't watch that much anime," Mato protested. "Where did you guys get that idea from?"
"Oh of course you don't," Yuu answered as she put on her best doubtful expression. "You've been saying that like almost every time."
"R-really? Oh yeah, I guess I did hehe," Mato laughed nervously. "I think it was-"
"Jeez guys, how long are we going to stand here?"
Kagari, who had been staying silent until now, suddenly interjected herself into the conversation. Her suddenness was enough to break Yomi out from her stupor to raise her head at her childhood friend. Kagari had an annoyed expression at the others, and only now did Yomi realize that they've forgotten about her.
"Oh sorry, Kagari," Yomi smiled apologetically. "I guess we just got carried away..."
"...Kagari-san?" Mato murmured as she turned to said person. There was a long pause she started looking the girl over, as if Mato was trying to assess her character.
Kagari frowned at Mato's gaze for while before crossing her arms. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when Mato smiled at her.
"Ah good morning to you, Kagari-san," Mato greeted her warmly. "I'm sorry I forgot to greet you earlier."
Yuu looked shocked while Kagari had a dumbfounded expression at Mato's words as she started walking towards Kagari. She could only close her mouth as Mato grabbed her hand.
"But don't worry, I definitely wont forget next time, because starting today," Mato paused as she clasped their hands together. "You're part of our group now and we're going to become good friends."
Kagari could only stare as Mato looked at her expectantly with those bright blue eyes and big smile. She kept opening and closing her mouth, but no sound would come out. Kagari also noticed that not only Yuu was looking, but some of the student passing by were staring at the scene of her holding hands with Mato. They were eagerly waiting for her to respond, which she honestly didn't know how.
Then Yomi's voice called out to them, diverting the attention away from Kagari. The three of them turned their heads to see that she had already passed the school entrance and was in the middle of the school field.
"Hey guys we're going to be late," she said while pointing at her watch. "We've got to pass our math assignments, remember?"
"Wait what!? Math assignment?" Mato asked anxiously.
No one answered her as everyone else started walking briskly, with Yuu immediately running ahead while Yomi seemed content to just walk normally. Kagari quickly ran forward only to walk beside Yomi.
Left all alone, Mato could only sigh as she muttered, "such misfortune" before slowly walking forward, apparently having lost all her energy from earlier.
Meanwhile, Kagari sighed in relief after finally pulling away from Mato as well as being back with Yomi. After a few seconds of calming down, she turned her head to the side to thank Yomi.
"You really saved me back there, I really had no idea how to respond to that girl..." Kagari trailed off with another sigh. "Was that how people become... friends?"
"Well, not quite, only Mato does that kind of stuff. She'll just suddenly assert herself in front of you to become your friend..." Yomi trailed off with a chuckle as she thought back on their first meeting.
"That girl is weird... or am I the one who's weird?" Kagari asked hesitantly. "It has been a long time since I last talked with people other than doctors..."
"You don't have to worry about that, your doing fine," Yomi gave an encouraging smile to her childhood friend. "Mato is just that weird."
"I guess so..." Kagari agreed hesitantly. "...you really know that girl well, Yomi."
"...I guess I do know her a lot more than others," Yomi replied with a small smile.
Actually, Yomi herself was also surprised earlier. But not because what Mato was doing was surprising or different, as it was true that she had done that, at least regarding Yomi.
No, what surprised her was Mato doing it 'now', rather than doing it yesterday when Kagari was just new.
And not just for yesterday, for the previous days as well, Mato wasn't quite like herself.
...well, at least she seems back to her old self again.
Yomi she glanced back at Mato trudging towards them with a comical expression on her face, causing her to chuckle a bit.
Looks like there really was nothing to worry about.
Though she still felt bummed out from earlier.
well guys summer classes are coming next week, probably will take longer to update. was kinda distracted this week since im learning to drive and was enrolling.
so here, I hope this can satisfy you guys for now. tell me if something feels off, il try to correct it next time.