Fortunately, I managed to wake up early before the start of class with plans to meet Ryu’s friend Hano-chan. Yet for some reason, after yesterday’s run in with a delinquent, Ryu seemed to not be in his office.

As I arrived in class, I glanced over the classroom.

Ryu-kun was resting his head on the table. All I could really do now was just sit down with Ryu and wait until class starts. Waking him up was an option, but he seemed to be sleeping.

“Ryu?” I leaned over, trying to overhear what he was saying, “Tanaka-kun?”

“Yeah…” He mumbled, his voice almost hushed, “I want to…”

“Ryu!”

He instantly shot up from his table, returning to his usual sitting posture despite the tired look over his face.

“Who were you talking to?”

“Oh…” Ryu gave a short chuckle, “I was dreaming”

“That’s… quite weird from you”

“You’re one to talk”

Ryu was never the type to get bored. Usually if he was waiting for me, I would often walk into him writing things down in a notebook or simply arrive a bit late. If he was too early, I would sometimes walk into him leaving class to run some errands of his own.

He never tells me what errands he does though.

Before I could say anything, I took a glance over by the door, noticing Hano Aki who stood by the door watching the whole class.

“Good morning Hano-chan!” I called out, “You’re quite early today!”

“Morning Yuki” Hano gave a short wave, “Good morning Ryu”

“Good morning Hano-chan” Ryu gave a warm smile, “How’s your day?”

“I’m doing good Ryu!” She copied Ryu’s smile, “I managed to catch the early morning bus this time!”

“I see” He leaned back from his chair, “I was starting to worry to a point that I had to call you”

He paused for a moment, before glancing back up.

“Oh right, you don’t have a phone yet”

“Yeah…” Hano scratched the back of her head, “Although, I may consider getting one”

“Mhm” Ryu nodded, “Did you manage to get Sakura-sensei’s homework done?”

“Of course! Although I may need some help with a question”

“Well, feel free to show me it”

As Hano pulled out a few papers from her bag and placed it over at the table, I looked at the two of them with interest.

The two of them had been talking from time to time. Even for a long time I had fallen asleep on multiple occasions. Yet as I woke up, Ryu always maintained this smiling expression as if he had won something life changing.

The only thing I had noticed was it seemed Hano’s interests had changed to what Ryu remembered.

“You two look like a couple…”

“We’re not” Both of them responded at the same time.

“Right…” I looked around the class with a giggle, “Aren’t you meant to have a council meeting at this time?”

“Well yes but they said it’s not that important” He waved dismissively, “After all, if I left, you two would be struggling to finish Megu-nee’s classwork on time”

“Yeah…”

As the three of us went through our respective homework, I glanced over at Ryu who had already looked like he was deep in thought.

“By the way Ryu. Do you happen to know if there’s an Art Club? I wanted to see if you and I could try painting something” Hano looked over, before giving a short pout upon realising Ryu was still staring at his books, “Yuki, could you call Ryu for me?

“Ryu?” I turned over, “Would you like to stop by at the Art Club?”

“Hm?” He glanced over, before delving back deep into his notebook, “Sure Yuki. Although if we’re both doing it, I may need to teach you some of the basics”

With that brief and awkward conversation, I couldn’t really muster the words to say that Hano was the one that proposed it.

“Uh…” I stuttered for a second, “It was Hano who wanted to go with you”

“Oh…”

“Heh it’s no big deal” Hano waved dismissively, “Perhaps all that time wearing headphones really got to you eh?”

“Sorry about that Hano” Ryu turned over with a friendly smile, “For old time’s sake right?”

“Yeah. For old times”

“Perhaps we could rerun that oil paint project with Yuki” He turned back towards the table, continuing to write in his notebook, “That’d be a breather from the usual schoolwork”

“What a relief” I chuckled, patting Ryu's shoulder in the meantime “I was worried you were gonna make Hano jealous because of the fact you were prioritising me over her. I’m not that artistic–”

Ryu froze up for a moment, his pen abruptly stopping as he stared at the notebook.

“Ryu?” Hano and I both glanced over at him, “Everything alright?”

After a few seconds, he quickly regained his senses, glancing over at the both of us with a rather calm expression. Yet I could notice his right eye almost twitching.

What was he thinking?

“Sorry to interrupt Yuki-san, but I’ll be back” He got up from his chair, “I need some fresh air”

“Eh? Where is he running off to?” I turned to Hano with an awkward look, “I’ll be right back! Just don’t run off”

“Uh… okay” She grabbed onto my hand briefly, “Is he alright?”

“Yeah!” I responded back with a smile, “I’m sure he isn’t mad about anything”

“Oh…” She withdrew her hand, before looking up at me, “Could you at least make sure he isn’t mad?”

“Of course!

I followed suit, making a quick sprint towards the rooftop stairs. As I reached the top, I noticed Ryu who stared down at the football field with a blank look over his face.

Yet before I could say anything, Ryu gave a short mutter while looking down at the rooftop.

“Just like last time…”

Huh?

“Karma really does exist” Another quiet mutter from him, his fist clenched.

“Ryu? You alright?”

“Huh?! Oh… Yuki,” Ryu glanced back at me, clearly startled, “Is Hano-chan with you?”

“She’s still in class”

“Got it…” He took a deep sigh, “Sorry about what happened”

“Heh” I chuckled nervously, “What was that all about?”

“Sorry…” He glanced over at the field, “I just remember things sometimes. Not all good memories of course”

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“No wonder” I leaned forward with an intrigued look, “Anything about Hano?”

“Always. We tend to have arguments that people think we’re a couple”

“Huh?” I gave a short pause, before giving out a smile “You still get along with her, right?”

“Yeah…” He turned over with a smirk over his face, “It’s not really that serious. Just slight disagreements over what we should draw back in the day”

“I see. But that’s good! Usually those light arguments mean you two now understand each other!”

Ryu-kun glanced at me rather oddly after that comment, before giving a shrug.

“I think I’ll hold back from going to class today Yuki”

“Why’s that?”

“Schoolwork. Although I did say the meeting wasn’t that important, I’m sure they’ll call for me. Besides, my fight with the delinquents is sure to create tension”

“Well…” I gave a quick pause, “You could just ignore them”

“Yeah right…” Ryu scoffed, “Didn’t work out for her last time”

“Her?”

“Hano-chan” He turned around, “Just something back in middle school”

“About her getting bullied, right?”

Ryu raised an eyebrow, before giving a short sigh

“You have quite sharp ears as well…” He shrugs, “Well, telling them to stop never works. She can testify to that, but perhaps thats the bad of middle school”

“I do feel bad for her… do you think that she would manage on her own?”

“That’s why I’m always close by with her” He smirked, “Feels like I’m her babysitter. But hey, at least that paid off, right?”

“You do talk with her a lot, don’t you?”

“Yeah”

“You always talk with her as if you won’t see her tomorrow” I gave a short pout in response, “Sometimes I feel like a third wheel in every conversation you have. And Megu-nee probably feels like that”

“Ah sorry about that Yuki” Ryu gave a short awkward chuckle in response, “It’s just that we have a lot to catch up on and you often don’t join in the conversation”

“You talk to her more than everyone else in this school combined… sometimes it’s awkward having to sit in class after school waiting”

Ryu gave a blank expression at me, giving a short pause.

“Yuki?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I…” He gave a short stutter, his hand almost shaking uncontrollably, “Can I tell you something?”

“Uh, sure”

“I know I’ve been leaving you to your own devices, but just know I’ve been doing this for you” His voice turned soft almost instantly in response, “But I want to let you know that… it won’t happen again”

I gave a blank look at Ryu, almost incapable of responding to what he said. He wasn’t exactly that overly reactive to such a comment. And even now, with Hano-chan around, I sometimes worried that he would forget about me. It seemed… desperate.

Yet by the look of his face, I knew he didn’t want me to believe that. As if he had already seen it happen before over and over again. As if the same line of events occurred yet this time he was trying to change it.

“Ryu?”

“Hm?”

“Is everything alright?”

He gave a short pause, before nodding with a warm smile in response.

“Sorry about that, Yuki. It’s just… I’m a bit paranoid”

“Right…” I glanced back and forth between the field and him, noting the small crowd of students who were having a jog, “You… you just seem a bit on edge. Do you want me to get Hano–”

“It’s alright” He interrupted with a sharp voice, before clearing his throat, “Sorry, I just don’t want to interrupt Hano’s studies”

Although I wanted to bring Hano into the conversation, something felt quite off. Ryu’s excuse made sense but I knew he was hiding something.

“Is everything alright with you and Hano?”

“Why’d you ask?”

“Over time, I’ve noticed that you start to act more and more tense everytime we talk with Hano. Have you two been arguing?”

“No it’s not that” He gave a brief smirk, “It’s just that I feel bad”

“Huh? Why’s that?”

“Well…” He placed his hand by the railing, “It’s just that I wanted to say sorry to Hano. But I don’t really know how to say it?”

“Oh…” I paused for a second, “Would it be awkward if you said it straight up?”

“No, it’s just way more complicated, you know? Like if I said it upfront it wouldn’t have the intended effect”

“Well” I paused for a second, thinking of a way to give Ryu some advice, “Can you tell me why you wanted to apologise to her?”

“Plenty of things I’ve been holding back for a few years” He sighs, “Where do I even start”

Ryu gives a short pause, tapping his finger on the railing.

“I lied about standing up for Hano. Back in Middle School, I didn’t have the stomach to stand up for her… and uh…” He fiddled around for a brief second, “Not to mention that I forgot to wish her a happy birthday just days before she left. And ever since that I’ve been regretting it and I’m not sure if we may even see each other after school”

With the overwhelming issues Ryu held, I felt my head spin for a moment. I’ve never had such an issue, but I wished I had Megu-nee here to help me.

But what would’ve Megu-nee responded with?

“Can I tell you something, Ryu?”

“Hm?”

“Although it may seem bad, I'm sure Hano would understand! You worked really hard in school and the fact that you’ve been trying to spend time with the Club says a lot already. After all, just because we have graduation soon doesn’t mean it’s not too late to apologise!”

“Well yeah” He shrugs for a moment, “But perhaps some apologies are too late to be accepted–”

“Don’t say it like that! Apologies are never too late to be accepted” I grabbed onto his arm, “After all, you still have this year to make it up, right? Perhaps you two should do something together!”

“But I don’t know what to do to make it up to her…” He scratched his head, “What about you? Have you ever felt like you messed up with a friend and tried to make amends with them?”

“Well, not really” I scratched the back of my head, “Sometimes it's just my friends and family who apologise for forgetting about my birthday”

“Oh… why would they forget such an event?”

“It’s just… not a lot of people celebrate it as they grow older, you know?”

“That’s… just cruel…” He stared at the ground for a moment, visibly disappointed for a second before looking back up, “Do you have any ideas for the apology?”

“Ummm… Perhaps a gift could do!”

Not my best idea.

“Or maybe… some flowers?”

“Flowers?”

“Yeah! It may seem romantic at first, but what could’ve hurt from just grabbing some different coloured flowers for Hano-chan?”

“As in?”

“Red represents romance obviously. But pink can represent a special occasion! Or blue, which could be used for something like…”

My mind went blank upon trying to remember what yellow meant.

“Eeeehhh…”

“It’s alright Yuki, perhaps I should consult the library after this”

“Yeah! Or you can ask Rii-san! She is part of the Horticulture club as well”

“You sure? She’s more into vegetables rather than… flowers”

“It wouldn’t hurt asking her, right?”

“Yeah…” He glances over at the garden, before opening the door to the school, “Perhaps I should get going now, Yuki. Thanks though”

Before Ryu walked off, I leapt forward, grabbing onto his arm and pulling it back. He flinched for a moment, before turning around with an awkward expression.

“Am I missing something, Yuki?”

“Sorry” I released my grasp over him, “It's just… I just wanted to tell you something”

“Oh?”

At that moment, I froze up, almost unable to say something really important to Ryu. During the awkward pause, he slightly tilted his head out of curiosity while patiently waiting.

Eventually, I took a deep breath.

“Sometimes, you may feel like you’re not doing enough for someone. But just being around for them, may sometimes be the best thing to do”

I stuttered for a second, before continuing.

“Whatever happens between Hano and you… just know even if the outcome doesn’t go as expected, just know that you’re one amazing friend!”

Ryu gave a long pause, almost in shock after what I had just told him. We both exchanged awkward stares at each other, only to be broken when he gave a smirk in response.

“Is that… so, Yuki?”

“Mhm!” I nodded, “You may think you’re not. But everybody knows that you are. Nobody in this world will ever disagree!”

His slight smirk turned into a warm smile, nodding in acknowledgement.

“Yeah… thank you”

“It’s no big deal!” I responded with my usual smile, “Let me know how that apology went!”

“Tell Sensei I won’t be in class today”

“Will do!” I waved at him, “Good luck!”

He turned back, giving a short wave in return before making his descent down the stairs.

I had high hopes that Hano would accept his apology. After all, why wouldn’t anyone accept an apology?

Although he doesn’t express it often, Ryu would do anything to make sure his friends are safe. It’s within his nature. Anybody would understand such a sentiment. After all, Ryu’s a great friend.