“Sakata-kun! Sakata-kun! Good morning!”

Sakae: “Oh no. Not again”

It was a girl with long light blue hair, heading his way. Appearance-wise, she could be described as the dream girls for many boys.

A lovely face that always adorned a warm smile, long legs with socks that matched colors with her hair, small hair clip, and a slim, attractive figure. Needless to say she was a beauty.

She wore the standard uniform of his school with minor modifications (blue flowers stitched into the pocket areas).

Most boys tended to usually ogle at her chest area, though it was only average sized (B cup).

As for Sakae, he couldn’t care less how she looked; he just wanted to be left alone, but this girl made it very difficult.

Every morning Sakae tried to get up a little early so that he wouldn’t have to encounter this pest.

But every day, much to his chagrin, he would end up running into her along the way to school.

She did that almost every day since the last year of middle school and she seemed to have no intention of stopping now. Her effort was a little scary. Even the most loyal dogs are nowhere near this persistent.

She would always start the conversation and Sakae found himself more and more frustrated with her antics.

Her name was Ayumi Sakurai and he just happened to know her since elementary school.

Sakae: “For the two hundredth time, please go away”

Ayumi: “So mean, Sakata-kun. Your childhood friend just wanted to spend time with you….”

Sakae: “Acquaintance”

Ayumi: “What?”

Sakae: “You are not my childhood friend, just an acquaintance I just happened to know since childhood. That is all”

Ayumi: “*Her cheeks started to fill with air as she started giggling*. Ha-ha-ha-ha! So serious, Sakata-kun! That’s what I like about you”

Sakae: “And that’s exactly what I hate about you, you pest”

Ayumi: “So mean….”

She tried to hug Sakae only for him to quickly jump away and climb up the nearest tree.

Ayumi: ‘He looks so much like a black cat. So cute…’

Ayumi: “I was hoping you would have softened up to me a little by now”

Sakae: “Not gonna happen”

Ayumi: “But you are so ok with hugging Yuki-kun and Kai-kun!”

Sakae: “They are guys. That is different”

Ayumi: “Sakata-kun…are you into men?”

Sakae: “Shut up”

Ayumi: “*Sighes, whispering*. What a hopeless man I have fallen for”

He sure was hopeless.

Scaredy like a cat, even acted like one at times.

But this very black cat was there in her time of need.

* * *

As far as life goes, Ayumi’s one was a sad one.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

In her childhood she thought that peaceful and happy days would last forever.

But everything changed when she was 8. The company her father worked for ended up shutting down, resulting in her father losing his job. Without a source of income, hard times followed. Not long afterwards, her mother had left her and her dad.

The last thing Ayumi heard her mother say was “What a pathetic sight”.

That was the first time she ever saw her father break down and cry.

After that, her father started to work in odd jobs in order to support their livelihood. Even at the moments she felt lonely and missed her mother, her dad was there. Patting her head, he always assured her that everything would be all right.

As soon as she was old enough to work, she started doing part time jobs in order to help her dad out.

During the start of the middle school, she started to work as a waitress in a small restaurant.

No matter what, she wanted to make her father’s burden just a little lighter.

One day, her father came by to watch her work.

She had called him over on this day to let him relax a little after his long week of work.

She never knew just how much she would regret doing it.

It was all going smoothly until her father looked to the side. The cup of water he was holding fell on the floor with a splash. But he paid it no heed.

Following her father’s gaze, Ayumi looked at the neighboring table, only to end up dropping the plates she was holding.

The occupant of that table was none other than her mother. And she was not alone.

There was another man beside her and a little girl sitting on her lap. Both her mother and that man were wearing wedding rings.

From the hair color alone, she could tell that the girl was this woman’s daughter.

It was obvious what had happened. After leaving their family, her mother had replaced them with a new husband and a new daughter.

Not saying anything, her father quickly left the restaurant.

When she came back home, her father assured her that everything was all right.

She should have been more suspicious of his calmness.

The next morning, she woke up, but everything was suspiciously quiet.

Her father was a little clumsy, causing ruckus every morning trying to cook breakfast.

When she entered the kitchen, there was a single note on the “I am sorry”.

Alarmed, Ayumi ran towards her father’s room.

The door was unlocked.

When she entered, she saw a sight that she would remember for the rest of her life.

It was her father, hanging limply by his neck on a rope.

She was too late.

She should have realized it sooner.

Trembling and crying, she cursed her own foolishness. Everything started to fade into black…

That was the day she lost the only true parent she had left.

* * *

Afterwards, Ayumi was adopted by her aunt, her father’s younger sister.

No matter how much her aunt tried to help her, Ayumi would just sit in silence, not saying anything. Her reality had turned into a never ending nightmare. And her aunt’s love was not enough to alleviate the pain.

Then the second year of middle school started.

All her classmates remained the same, living mundane yet happy lives.

Except maybe one.

Sakae Sakata, a boy she knew ever since elementary school ,ended up ran over by a car.

He used to be one of the nicer boys, never rude and acting kindly with anyone.

When he came back, he was wearing braces on his right arm and right leg. Even his hair style ended up changing. Both of his eyes used to be visible when he had short hair, but now, his black hair always covered his left eye.

But the biggest change was his attitude.

He became far more withdrawn and short-tempered.

And for some strange reason, he developed a severe case of phobia of girls.

As for Ayumi, her sadness only kept growing.

Witnessing her mother’s betrayal, being replaced by another daughter, and then having her father die ended up taking its toll on the poor girl.

The pain was too much to bear.

She just wanted it all to be over.

Climbing up to the roof of the school, she patiently waited until everyone had left.

Now there was none to see her last moments.

Closing her eyes, she fell forward, hoping to see her dad very soon.

But what happened next was beyond Ayumi’s expectations.

Someone’s hand grabbed hold of hers, preventing her fall.

It was Sakae Sakata.

Even with one mangled arm and leg, he held on to her.

Sakae: “Don’t you dare let go!”

To that, she could only mumble “Yes” as her eyes filled with tears.

She was not sure how he did it in his injured state, but he pulled her up to safety.

What followed was her crying into Sakae’s chest as he patiently waited.

Without saying a word, as soon as Ayumi calmed down, Sakae carried her on his back to her aunt’s house.

It was surprising.

She never told him where her aunt’s house was, yet he was able to guess it just by seeing the direction she walked in every day.

But what was even more surprising was the fact he could carry her. After crying so much, her body had gone completely limp, she tried to protest but words wouldn’t form out of her mouth.

It was obvious that the endeavor of carrying his classmate for such a distance was exhausting and very painful, yet he just kept walking without a single word of complaint.

As he kept walking with her on his back, Ayumi couldn’t help but think ‘Even though you are under so much pain….How can you be so strong, Sakae-kun?’

After dropping her off at her aunt’s house, Sakae abruptly left.

The next day, she tried to thank him, but he simply avoided her, like he did with any other girl in the school. But having him nearby was enough for her. Even if he never would look her way, she swore that she would be there for him just like her was for her.

Ayumi: “What a hopeless guy indeed”