𝗔𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗘 || 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘆𝗮 𝘅 𝗢𝗰

𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀; 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗗𝗔𝗬
𝟰 𝗔𝗠

𝗞𝗨𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗢 𝗬𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗢 sat alone in her house. Bored, cold, tired, longing for friendship. No, she needed to get that stupid thought out of her head. Nobody would want to be friends with her. Kenya and Satoru will just get bored of her. At least, that was what she was thinking. Her eyes began to water, much to her dismay.

'Stop being such a crybaby.' She thought, wiping her eyes. Her nose had turned red thanks to the cold or her crying, she wasn't too sure.

Kumiko put on her black rectangular glasses since she couldn't see all too well without them. She then went into the kitchen to cook breakfast. Her dad wasn't home yet, as always.

After eating, Kumiko got dressed for school despite it not even being remotely close to the time she needed to be there. She then walked out the front door, making her way back to school.

And now, she'd wait until 7:30 AM which is when they'd let her in. That's exactly what she did. Her black hair was being moved by the harsh wind yet Kumiko didn't care at all. '

No point in trying to fix it if it gets messed up again.'

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𝗔𝗧 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗟

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗨 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗧 𝗞𝗨𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗨𝗣. Satoru went up to her with an envelope in his hand. "Hey, Kumiko?" Satoru said, tapping the girl on the shoulder.

"Hm?" Kumiko said to indicate she was paying attention.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come to my birthday party." He smiles, handing her the envelope.

Kumiko's eyes lit up, she had never been invited to a birthday party before. Kumiko quickly cleared her throat. "I'll think about it." She says blankly, looking at the envelope in her hand.

Satoru nods and walks away. Kumiko puts the envelope into her bag. Goddammit! Why did I say that! He probably thinks I don't want to go now... Kumiko thought, frowning to herself. She put on her coat and scarf, leaving the room.

Kenya had stayed in the classroom with his friends, leaving Kumiko to walk home alone. A certain man was taking note of this.

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𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗞
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗗𝗔𝗬

Satoru and Hamada were about to race. Kumiko watched the thing from afar, she wasn't in the mood to be with her class.

She did notice that Kayo and Satoru shared an interaction.

"Go on, Kayo! Aren't you gonna cheer for your boyfriend?" The girls teased.

Kayo and Satoru blushed Simultaneously, Kayo looks at Satoru.

"You got this, Satoru?"

"Mhm. I think so."

The girls giggle in the background.

"You better not suck," Kayo says bluntly.

It was now the time where the race was about to start.

"Ready! Set! Go!"

The two boys were rapidly moving, Kumiko knew for sure that she'd never been able to do this kind of thing. It was a very close race with Satoru in the lead. And then...

Satoru lost.

Kumiko felt disappointment yet decided to push it away. Although, she knew that he let Hamada win, for sure. With a sigh, Kumiko got up and dusted the snow off of her pants. She heard his friends saying things like: "That was a close race!" or, "You'll get him next time!"

The class then left the ice rink and it was time for dismissal.

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𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗟

𝗞𝗨𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗬𝗔 although she wasn't too sure why. For some reason, she just wanted to walk home with him. Perhaps it was to speak with him or she just enjoyed his presence? Whatever it was, she knew that she would stay there, waiting.

Finally, Kenya walked outside. Kumiko waved at him from afar. He widened his eyes and picked up his pace.

"Is it true that Satoru likes Kayo?" Kumiko blurted out as they began to walk to their homes.

"Mhm. He definitely has feelings for her." Kenya nods, walking next to her.

"Oh wow, Good for him. Sorry." Kumiko apologizes, looking down at her feet.

Kumiko felt as if this whole walk was super awkward but she stood silent, not knowing what to say.

Little did they know that Kenya's friends saw the two walking together. Oh boy...

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𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗗𝗔𝗬
𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗘𝗣𝗧 𝗞𝗔𝗭𝗨 𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗨𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗬𝗔 𝗛𝗔𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗞𝗨𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗢 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 after school.

"So, Kenya..." Kazu begins, a mischievous glint in his eye. Kenya mentally groans, knowing he was up to something.

"You've been walking Kumiko home after school, hm?"

Kenya clears his throat, "Yes, I have. Don't think anything of it though, I just want to be her friend."

Kazu laughs, "I don't know, wasn't that your book that she was carrying?"

Kenya nods, "I simply gave her it because it was similar to a book she was reading." He confirms.

The door of the classroom opened and Kumiko walked in, completely oblivious to the fact that Kazu was accusing Kenya of liking her.

She sat at her desk calmly. Kumiko was in a good mood today for some reason.

"Ah yes, the lady we were just talking about." Kazu smiles, pointing at Kumiko.

Kumiko sighs, thinking that he was probably talking bad about her. She places the book on her lap and begins to read, tuning out the rest of the noise.

"Kumiko!" Kazu calls her name, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Don't disturb someone while they're reading." Kenya sighs, mentally facepalming.

"Kumiko!!!!" Kazu shouts and Kumiko jumps.

'Is this how Satoru felt when I scared him? Poor Satoru!' She thought, then turning to Kazu.

"What do you want?" Kumiko asks, a bit more rudely than intended.

"Did you know that Kenya likes you?" Kazu smirks widely whilst Kenya sighs.

Kumiko stays quiet and turns around, sighing as well. She goes back to reading her book.

'As if.' Kumiko thought.

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'This is good. Kenya can keep Kumiko company after school. Then she'll be able to be watched by her parents.'

Little did he know, she was always alone. Except during the school day and with Kenya.