It was surprising how quickly Yuko had gotten used to Takiyo. Every morning, she would greet him, saying, "Good morning, Takiyo-kun!" If he didn't reply and was immersed in a light novel, she would poke his cheek to get him to reply. She quickly morphed into the Yuko she would be with Ren and Arisu. He could swear she had undergone metamorphosis. She had also rung Takiyo into their teasings.

"You know, Ren and Arisu-chan," she told him one time while the four of them talked during break. "They both like each other, but they never admit it."

"Oh?" Takiyo looked at the two of them, and they instantly went red and yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING, YUKO/YU-CHAN!!" And they turned away from each other, blushing hard.

It's true, Takiyo thought.

Now, when Ren was hanging out with his friends and Arisu was hanging out with her's, Yuko had someone else to get along with, who coincidentally happened to have no friends.

"Michi-chan said you don't make friends." Yuko had said slyly.

"I preferred you when you were a stammering, nervous mess." Takiyo said in reply.

Takiyo had gotten unconsciously used to her. Used to all of them, in fact. It seemed normal to walk from class-to-class with them, normal to tease them, normal to have fun with them. Chummy thoughts about fate kept cropping up in his head, but Takiyo dismissed them. So far, friends weren't as bad as he thought.

Yuko and Ren were neighbours since childhood, surprisingly similar to Michi and his relationship. Only, Ren paid way to much attention to Yuko, the exact opposite of Michi. He would constantly worry about her, and repeatedly check up on her.

"Is she stupid or something?" Takiyo had asked him one time.

"No, no, she's actually good in studies." Ren answered. "It's just...with her social anxiety, you can't leave her alone." There seemed to be more to it, but Takiyo didn't press him for answers. "You'll make Kaneshiro jealous." He added quietly, turning away.

"Oy, what did you say?" Ren asked quickly.

"Nothing."

"Liar! I heard 'Kaneshiro'."

It was fun to tease them like this from time to time. He could see Yuko's pleasure in doing it.

The only limitation of his new friends was that Yuko and Ren's house was in the opposite direction from Takiyo's, so they couldn't walk home together. Arisu, meanwhile, walked home with her other friends, but in the same direction as him.

But he didn't mind. Everything was going fine. He finally felt like a regular high-schooler. Only... Yuko still seemed to be distant with him.

***

"Go for a walk, Takiyo."

"No."

"Get up."

"Do I have to?"

"Fresh air is good for a boy your age, now go."

"But..."

"JUST GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND GO!!"

And so, Takiyo was walking outside, thanks to his mother's insisting. He happened to be walking in the park aimlessly, hands in his pockets. He walked by the monkey bars, where two teenagers were hanging out. Upon seeing a blonde, Takiyo did a double-take.

The coincidence was insane. Yuko was sitting on top of the monkey bars, watching Ren as he talked on the phone. After hesitating a little, he started to walk towards them.

They're my friends, right? So no need to hesitate.

But before he reached them, Ren told Yuko something urgently, waved, and then took off. Takiyo slowed his pace, wondering whether it would still be okay. Shaking his head, he walked up to her.

Yuko's back was turned to him, but just as Takiyo reached her, she placed both hands on either side of her and slid backwards off the monkey bars so that she was hanging upsidedown, face-to-face with Takiyo.

At first, she looked surprised to see him, and Takiyo stared right at her. Then she smiled and said, "Oh, it's you. Hello." She twisted her arms to she landed on the floor with both feet. "What brings you here?" She asked, dusting her hands.

Seeing the impressed look on Takiyo's face, she added, "I do gymnastics. Ren's mom trains me."

"Have you participated in competitions?" Takiyo asked.

"Haha, no." Yuko said, looking elsewhere. Takiyo realised the stupidity of his question. With that level of social anxiety, how could she?

They stood in silence for a bit, then Takiyo asked suddenly, "Hey, wanna go to a café? There's this really nice one somewhere."

"Oh? Okay!" Yuko agreed, and they proceeded to walking.

***

"Takiyo-kun... Are you in love?"

Takiyo choked on his hot chocolate. He wiped his mouth and slammed his mug on the table, aware of his red face.

"Excuse me?!"

"I asked you if you are in love." Yuko said nonchalantly, twisting the straw of her milkshake.

Takiyo hesitated, then said, "How did you know?"

"Oh, you just have this aura of a person in love." Yuko replied, twirling a hand in the air.

"Aura...?" Takiyo asked, unnerved. "Are you one of those creepy people who can sense auras?"

"No, just seemed like it." Yuko shrugged and took a sip. Then she rested her head in her hands and asked, "So, who's the lucky lady?"

Takiyo diverted his eyes and quietly drank his chocolate to stall for time. Yuko continued to watch him.

"Tell me." Yuko said, but Takiyo ignored her. "Otherwise I'm gonna start guessing."

"Go ahead."

"Michi-chan?"

Takiyo choked on his chocolate yet again. After coughing for sometime, he glared at Yuko. "What are you, psychic?"

"There was something familiar about the way you look at her," Yuko said matter-of-factly, mixing her milkshake with her straw. "But doesn't Michi-chan have a boyfriend?"

"She does..." Takiyo said, looking elsewhere.

"Eh, but at least she doesn't ignore you." Yuko said cheerfully, giving him the thumbs-up.

Takiyo slammed his hand on his table. "She did! She had hardly talked to me for two years! Now she's talking more often and as if nothing happened!"

"Oh," Yuko sighed. "That's upsetting. Why, though? You have something she wants?"

"Michi isn't a bad person!" Takiyo said forcefully.

"Then why has she been ignoring you? Why is she suddenly noticing you?" Yuko asked. Her stare was so piercing, it was throwing him off.

Takiyo, however wanted to clearly get across the kind of person Michi was. Michi wasn't a bad person. "Michi...was blinded by love. She got so immersed in it, so fascinated, she forgot everything. All she could see was Ishida. Nothing else. She loved the idea of love." Takiyo explain, looking down.

"And does she like the idea of Ishida-san, or does she like Ishida-san himself?" Yuko asked.

(Note: '-san' is another Japanese honorific, used between equals of any age, and is the most common honorific. It is usually used between people who aren't especially close.)

Takiyo looked horrified. "Michi wouldn't go out with a person just to benefit herself." He said quietly.

Yuko continued to scrutinize him, then said, "Well, Michi-chan isn't a bad person. I believe that is true. But where does that put you? Isn't this just a sad unrequited love?"

Takiyo remained silent. It was hard to believe that a week or so ago, this girl was a cowering mess in front of him. What was worse was how bluntly she had put it.

"Well, it's not really something you can control, right..." Takiyo said, blushing. "What about you? Don't you like anyone?" He asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Yuko looked surprised.

"Yeah, you!" Takiyo yelled, pointing at her unnecessarily. "Like... Muranaka! What is he to you?"

"Ren?" Yuko asked. Then she smiled. "Ren is the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Eh?" Takiyo was confused. Then a memory came back to him. Of Yuko staring at Anzai-senpai.

(Note: '-senpai' is a honorific used for seniors.)

He was about to ask her about it, but then she stood up, clutching her milkshake.

"Well, Takiyo-kun." she said. "Before, I leave, I'll tell you three things. Firstly, I stopped believing in true love a long time ago. Secondly, stop falling into despair because you didn't get one love. There are many other types of love out there." She walked past him, and stopped just as she was standing behind his chair. "And lastly," This sent a chill down Takiyo's spine. "Romantic love is the worst kind of love. It's the strongest, which also means it can hurt you the hardest."

Takiyo turned around quickly, but she was already walking away.