Spring Comes

See You When You Get Back

A seventeen-year-old girl lay in bed at her boarding school, Hanabira Finishing School For Your Ladies. The girl, Yayoi Sohma, had long, curly dirty-blonde hair. Her brown eyes were closed. She was fast asleep, dreaming of her past.

Yayoi was walking with her little brother Momiji through the Sohma estate when they passed by her friend Hatori Sohma's office.

"Hey, we haven't seen Hatori in a while. Let's see if he has time to talk!" Yayoi suggested, smiling. She had never told anyone, but she loved Hatori. She had been in love with him ever since they first met nine years ago. But she knew he only saw her as a kid because of their age difference, and she didn't want to ruin what they already had. She just wanted to be close to him. That was enough. So she kept her deeper feelings to herself. Yayoi straightened up her middle school uniform and walked over to Hatori's office with her brother. The door to the veranda was open, so she had a clear view of Hatori working at his desk.

Then his assistant Kana walked into view and stood next to him, smiling down at him. Hatori looked up at her with loving expression on his face.

Yayoi froze. She was shocked and suddenly scared to approach. She had never seen Hatori look at anyone like that before. Her heart clenched in her chest. It was painful. She could see how much Hatori loved Kana. She was startled when Hatori and Kana noticed her and her brother, and Kana called out to them.

"Oh, hello! Yayoi! Momiji! Have you come to visit?" Kana asked, smiling kindly at them.

"Yeah! Guten Tag! We've come to see how Harii is doing!" Momiji said brightly. "We haven't seen him in a while."

"I'm afraid that's my fault," Kana said, smiling wryly. "I've been selfish, keeping him all to myself."

"Are... are you two a couple?" Yayoi asked before she could stop herself.

Hatori and Kana looked a little surprised, but then they looked at each other and smiled before looking back at Yayoi and Momiji.

"Can you two keep a secret?" Kana asked quietly.

"Yep!" Momiji promised with a smile.

Yayoi felt herself nod.

Kana smiled at them, glowing with happiness. "Yes, we are!"

It hurt so much Yayoi couldn't breathe. 'Smile. You have to smile... If you don't smile, he'll know. He'll know you aren't happy for him, and it'll ruin everything. Smile!' Yayoi told herself, and she forced her expression to brighten as she curled the corners of her lips up. "Congratulations!" she said as cheerfully as she could manage. Fortunately, she sounded normal enough that Hatori and Kana didn't seem to notice anything was off in their happiness, but Momiji looked at her with concern. Yayoi clenched her fist at her side. 'That's right, be happy for him. You want him to be happy. Even if you can't have him, you want to see him smile. Don't say anything hurtful. Don't break what you already have. You're just a kid to him. He'll be troubled if you blurt out what you're really feeling. He's so kind, he'll feel bad that he can't return your feelings. You're no good if you cause him pain just to make yourself feel better!'

Yayoi tossed in her sleep, turning on her side.

"What is this!?" Yayoi asked when she saw the bandage over Hatori's eye after returning from a trip she had taken with her mother, father, and little sister. "What happened!?"

"Kana and I asked Akito for his permission to marry... He didn't take it well," Hatori said.

"And he did that to you because of it?" Yayoi asked, horrified. "Just how badly are you hurt?"