“Hey… don’t you think that the best superpower one could possess is controlling squirrels?”

“I’m sorry… say what now?” It was lunch time, and by a small hidden garden with only a table for about four people, three students sat down as they ate. Within those three, a beautiful girl with long black hair started in favor.

“Just think about the chaos you could cause with an army of squirrels! Need to retrieve a baby from a tree? Pas de problème! Let the squirrels take care of it!” (Yae)

“Okay, why would a baby be stuck on a tree in the first place?!” A golden haired girl asked… clearly worried. “They may be small, but with the right strategy, they will take over the world! One acorn at a time!” (Yae)

“That’s not what I asked though?!” Yae, with her long hair, violet eyes that seemed capable of making anyone nervous, and her great body… Why is this in the script?

[Is not a novel if you don’t describe a character that way, is it?]

…W-whatever…

Yae possessed many qualities that undoubtedly made her quite a higher being in matters of abilities only. Though, she could be unserious from time to time. However, such a fool worked very hard for the student council. That’s where she was heading after a comfortable meal with his childhood friends.

❆

It was a day off, and Yae entered a cafe with the intention of reading a book in a calm atmosphere, something she already was accustomed to. She decided to get something to bit in the meantime, so she went over to the counter and scanned all the sweets available. Catching her gaze, she saw the last slice of what seemed to be a cheesecake. She turned to the attendant who was in front of her.

““Excuse me, I’ll like this one— Hm? [Eh?]”” Hearing a voice overlap with hers and a finger pointed at the same exact cake, Yae looked at her right, and saw two ruby-like eyes staring in shock at her. The other girl’s face turned red and she apologized… for some reason.

“I-I’m sorry, please go ahead! I-I’ll choose something else.” The girl said as she backed away a little bit. “No, it’s okay. Please do take it, I will feel guilty later otherwise.” Yae said composed.

“Excuse me, I think we have another cake of the same type at the back, let me confirm and I’ll be with you two shortly.” The attendant said. “O-okay:” The girl said, calming down while Yae only nodded.

As the two waited, Yae simply decided to break the ice, “The sweets in this coffee shop are great, while I don’t usually consume sweets, when I do, I feel like it’s best to buy the ones here.” (Yae)

“Huh? Eh, uh… T-they are… I haven’t been around here for a long time, so when I saw this shop I got curious… and I’ve been coming here usually.”

“I see.” Yae nodded with a satisfied smile, not too long after this exchange, the attendant came from the back of the store with the same cake in hand. “We still have one! Let me pack up some slices for the two of you.” She said with a smile.

“Thank you very much.” (Yae)

“T-thanks…” Now satisfied, the two grabbed their orders and parted ways, it was just a momentary meeting, though it felt familiar, they figured they wouldn’t bump into each other again, right?

❆

“Ouch?! Why was that for?!” Maki said as she held her head in pain. The day after such an encounter, she found herself in the staff room, due to her being called out by her biology teacher, Kaze.

“Definitely not for sleeping in class.” Kaze said sarcastically.

“Then, I’ll be taking my leave,” she said as she turned to leave. “No you won’t.” Grabbing her neck like a cat, Kaze asked her to sit down, until she briefly heard a click. “Did you just click your tongue?” (Kaze)

“What? No way. I respect my elders so much, Ms. Asano. There’s no way I would do such a thing.” Maki said feigning ignorance and shrugging her shoulders with a sad smile.

“Hah…” Kaze sighed. “What can I say? Eating makes me sleepy…” (Maki)

“Then drink an energizer or something!” (Kaze)

“I’m not old enough to drink one, you know?!” (Maki)

Releasing her grip, Kaze sat down at the table and arranged some papers by her desk, she stacked them up and handed them to Maki. “The actual reason I called you here was because I need your help. These documents are meant for the student council, could you deliver them for me?” (Kaze)

“What do I get in return?” (Maki)

“A juice?” (Kaze)

“Okay, be back in a sec.” Maki took the papers from Kaze’s grip and left the staff room. “Why do I have to do her job? Isn’t she abusing her authority way too much?” (Maki)

“Running errands for Ms. Kaze, I presume?” A voice called out to her and turned around, she noticed a boy with a gentle atmosphere approaching her. “Oh, Noah. Still here?” (Maki)

“Unn. There’s club activities after all.” (Noah)

“Oh, yeah, now that you mention it… Well, I only have them three times a week, and today is not one of those days, so…” Maki emphasized the stack of papers on her hands with a wry smile. “Need some help?” Noah asked.

“Much appreciated, but I can carry this much.” (Maki)

“I see, alright then, I’ll be going now, see you tomorrow, I guess?” (Noah)

“Unn. See you tomorrow!” (Maki)

As she walked, she hummed a tune from an old tv show she used to watch with the others when they were children, she clearly remembered those times. They would go to another one’s house and play around, at snack time some would fight for the last cookie and then they watched some tv together, sometimes, Noah’s father would read them a book.

“Please take care of him, okay?”

Those were the words that Noah’s mother Noelle told them, the context was still something that Maki herself just couldn’t accept. Knowing that in the short time she was gone, one of the persons she admired the most was no longer in this world… hurt her to a big extent. I wonder how much Noah is holding in… She thought in concern, reaching the student council office in no time.

❆

After she delivered what was asked of her, she reported back to Kaze and headed home. She walked through the commercial district of the city and passed by the familiar coffee shop where she had that meeting with that unknown girl.

She was really pretty, was she a college student by any chance? Maki asked within her head. She passed through an intersection, and not long after, she bumped into an unexpected person.

“Ah…” (Maki)

“Ara?” The girl looked wide in surprise as she left a bookstore. Maki coincidentally passed by. “You are the girl from yesterday, right?” She asked, a smile forming on her lips, her beautiful purple eyes lightning up in enthusiasm.

“Hahaha….” She only managed to muster a smile… a force one at that. The two of them met yesterday, when Maki was picking up some sweets on her way home. At the time, the two went for the same treat, which only seemed to have one unit left, until they were told that there was another whole cake in the back, as the tw waited, one of them started a conversation.

“You left quite an impression on me, it’s nice to see you again.” The girl said as she walked over with graceful steps. Maybe because of her social awkwardness… at least to some extent, Maki herself walked a few steps back.

“Oh? Why so cautious?”

“N-no… It’s just… force of habit.” (Maki)

“I see, then, mind accompanying me for a bit.” The girl said with a soft smile. I want to go home… Maki internally said, but she knew those were bad manners, she sucked it up and nodded.

❆

“I feel bad for making you go along with my selfishness, so here. Please, take it.” The girl said as she handed her a can of coffee. “N-no, it’s okay. Please, don’t apologize!” Maki said as she vigorously shook her head, the girl giggled and sat beside her.

“Well, I am really bad at approaching people, so I do apologize about that.” She wryly smiled in a self-deprecating tone. “You seem fine to me though?” (Maki)

“Ahaha… well… I’ve been told I can be a little… pushy. Furthermore, I could also be rude unconsciously…”

“Well, you do look like the serious type.” Maki said, the girl was a little taller than her, almost as tall as Myu, her childhood friend, she also had quite the sharp eyes, which made her look serious and single-minded.

“Is that so? I used to wear glasses when I was a kid… I also had my hair braided… I really looked kind of gloomy.”

“Eh~ But you look beautiful now, though!” Probably being a little more at ease, and probably due to the excitement of a possible friend, she found herself no longer stammering. “Fufu, is that so? Thanks.”

Glasses… braids… purple eyes? Nah, I’m hallucinating.

“Your uniform, you also study at Irakawa, correct?” At her mention, Maki became conscious of the other party’s clothing. A beautiful and carefully tailored black skirt with a black shirt, covered by a red blazer. Irakawa’s uniform worn solemnly by a beautiful girl.

“Eh?! You too?! How come we never bumped into each other? We’re both first-years, right?!” The unknown girl, wearing instead of the normal red ribbon given by the school a necktie, said necktie had a little deep blue pin attached to it, which symbolizes her grade, something Maki knew well.

“Oh! It seems like it.” Noticing she also had the same pin on her bowtie, she smiled in amusement. “Well… whatever, Maki Fujisaki, nice to meet you.” Maki said as she extended her hand, asking for a handshake. “Yae Ayasaki, now that I think about it, we never intro… duce… our… eh?” (Yae)

“…Huh?” (Maki)

At the same time, as if they were one, they froze, wide-eyed looking at each other, at the same time they frowned. Those names were familiar, no… they were unmistakable.

“Yae…?” (Maki)

“Maki…?” (Yae)

❆

“No no no, the hell?! There’s no way now is it?! I mean, you look completely different!” (Maki)

“Wouldn’t that be my line? I mean, you do look different too—”

“Not as different as you, though?! I mean, isn’t that a complete three-sixty from your former appearance?!” (Maki)

The two were inspecting the other from head to toe, unlike Noah or Myu, Maki never forgot the name of her childhood friends. She somehow knew from the start that the other three were enrolled in the same school, however she never expected one of them to have a complete makeover.

Yae was on the same boat as Maki, she never forgot about their names, but didn’t know their appearances changed that much. “L-let’s calm down for a moment, okay…?” (Yae)

“Y-yeah… I-I think that’s for the best…” (Maki)

Yae Ayasaki’s Side

For now, I told that gi— no… Maki, to calm down first. I have many inquiries I would like to make now, however it wouldn’t be efficient if her psyche was this turbulent, I doubt I would be able to get any relevant information.

If only I was able to go to the sweets store… I scolded myself. Let me see… It’s been five years since we have seen each other…

Ah, yes…

“Par où commencer…?” (Yae)