Snow had started to fill the roads of Tokyo. The sun also rose a bit later than usual.
Today was the day that me and Fuyuki would meet up. We decided to meet at the tall tower. I arrived at our meeting place 5 minutes earlier. I looked around to find the blonde-haired girl and had no luck. I decided to text her and said, “I’m already here. Where are you?” I then felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw the girl that I was looking for. The girl was wearing a brown trench coat and was carrying a small handbag. She leaned forward, with her hands clasped at the back. She also wore a wide smile.
“Chizuru-chan! Did you wait for a while?”
“I just got here a couple of minutes ago.”
“Well then, let’s go to the ice skating rink!”
She pulled my hand, and we went towards the ice skating rink. My lips couldn’t help but form a small curve at her action.
“Cute…”
She stopped walking and turned to face me, her hand not letting go of her hold on mine. Her head was also slightly tilted. “Did you say anything?”
My cheeks reddened at the realization.
Shoot! I accidentally said it out loud! Chizuru!!!!! Why did you have to say that out loud? Way to go in making things awkward. Well, she didn’t seem to hear it, so I can still make up something.
“Huh? W-What do you mean?”
She awkwardly laughed at herself and let go of her hold on my hand. “O-oh, silly me… ehehe… I probably misheard it or something. I guess we should continue walking to the skating rink, right?”
My heart dropped when she let go of her hold on my hand but hid it with my usual blank expression. “I guess so.”
An awkward silence enveloped us. We arrived at the skating rink without muttering a word. I tried to break the silence. “We’re here now.”
“Y-Yeah… we’re here…”
The place was full of people. There was also a long line in the tickets section. Luckily for us, we’ve already anticipated this and bought tickets in advance. We just had to change into skates. After a couple of minutes, we were ready to go skate. As we went to the skating rink, I noticed that Fuyuki was a bit hesitant to enter.
“Do you know how to skate?”
She averted her eyes and answered. “This is actually my first time…”
“I’ll teach you. For now, just hold my hand.” I reached out my hand to her. There was still some hesitation in her, but she took my hand. My heart palpitated on her touch but kept my composure.
“All you have to do is push one foot backwards and let the other glide. Don’t worry about falling; I’ll catch you just in case.”
Her hands started to relax. She took a deep breath before pushing one foot backwards. We both started to move, her movements starting to be more at ease. Her eyes sparkled.
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“I’m doing it… I’m doing it!”
“Now I’ll be letting go of one hand.”
I started to follow her momentum.
“You’re a natural at this, Fuyuki.” I suddenly let go of my hand and watched her skate.
“This is really fun, Chizuru-chan! Wait… you’re not holding me anymore… Chizuru-chan!!” Her movements became more tense. Just as she was about to fall, I was able to catch her in time.
“Don’t be scared. Besides, I won’t let anything harm you.”
She pouted. “Well, you could’ve at least warned me about it!”
“Look, I’m sorry for letting you go.”
She smiled. “It’s okay.”
We then continued to skate for hours. Fuyuki never seemed to run out of energy and quickly learned all of the fundamentals. The sun eventually sat, with us not realizing how long it has been. I checked my watch and saw that it’s already 18:27.
“Fuyuki, it’s already 18:27.”
Her eyes widened. “Huh?? But it hasn’t even felt like an hour.”
“We should probably go eat now.”
“Fine…” she pouted.
We changed back to our boots and went to the restaurant. We eventually arrived and were greeted with an elegant and sophisticated ambiance, with a view of Tokyo that’s way below us. We went up to the receptionist regarding our reservation.
“Excuse me, we have a reservation under the name Furukawa," Fuyuki spoke.
The receptionist’s eyes widened for a split second and quickly regained her composure.
“Ah yes, I will lead you to your seat. A table for two, right?" the receptionist politely said.
"Yes," Fuyuki replied.
The receptionist led us to our table. The round table was covered in white fabric with candles lit up.
I let out a deep sigh, “I’m tired from all that skating.”
“Why does time only fly fast when you’re having fun?”, she whined.
I chuckled. “I’m glad that you had fun.”
She had a big smile on her face. “Of course it was fun; you were there with me. But seriously though, where did you learn how to ice skate? You’re so good at it!”
“Well, my parents and I would go ice skating every year.”
Her big smile became more forced. “I-I see…”
My heart sank at the sight.
If only her dad were to come home more often… maybe she would’ve experienced what it’s like to have a parent in her life…
“Maybe you should join us sometime.”
Her eyes were in awe. “Really…?”
“I’m sure that my parents will agree.”
“Thanks, Chizuru…” Her eyes started to tear up. She wiped down the tears that were threatening to fall. “Heh, it seems like I’m getting a little bit emotional there.”
Fuyuki… if I could only do anything to fix your situation… why is her father neglecting her even if they’re the only family they have… Oh wait… I’m no different from her father… I also left her… I have no right to complain about her father…
“Uhh Chizuru-chan?”, Her tone was laced with worry.
Her words snapped me out of my daze.
“Well, our food just arrived.”
I was still startled from earlier. “W-well then, let’s eat!”
We said “itadakimasu” before we started eating our food. We ate and chatted about random things until we finished eating our food. We then went to our last destination, the observation deck. The whole of Tokyo was illuminated by the bright full moon. Fuyuki was in full awe of the view. She quickly went on one of the tower viewers and looked at the view. I watched her while she was looking at the view of Tokyo. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“The view here looks amazing!”
“Isn’t it exactly the same as the view at the restaurant?”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, looking through the tower viewer is a completely different experience. Besides, I was focused on our food earlier.”
“If you say so.”
“What, I was hungry.” She pouted.
I couldn’t help but laugh at what she said.
“Back to our original topic, going here at night gives off different vibes. It just feels more peaceful, you know?” She let out a contented sigh.
“Well, I’ve never been here during the day, so I can’t say.” I shrugged.
“You should also go here during the day to see it for yourself.”
“Well, I agree that the night feels more peaceful, but only if you’re at your house or from above here.”
She started laughing. “I mean, there are a lot of bars here in Tokyo.”
I would like these moments to never end… I wonder how she’ll react if she remembered our past… Would she get mad at me? Would she forgive me? Sigh, if things could only stay like this… Even if she remembers… Sadly, you can’t really pause time. I know that I would eventually have to tell her, but I just can’t bring myself to. What if she reacts terribly? What if she never talks to me again? I just can’t bring myself to let her go…