𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 || 𝕂𝕪𝕠 𝕊𝕠𝕙𝕞𝕒

It's Not That Simple

It was strange; a little less than a year ago, they'd been standing in this same spot, staring up at the same estate doors with just as much anxiety. Just like last time, the gates were shut, which meant they had to ring the bell to be let inside. Of course, to do that, they would first have to get over their nerves.

How long had they just been standing there? Five minutes? Or was it ten by now?

As Tohru clutched her bag in her hands, Hiyori let out a deep breath. "...Okay. You ready?"

Swallowing, Tohru forced herself to stand tall. "Y-Yes!" She reached to press the doorbell. "Forward march..!"

But nothing happened. It took Hiyori a second to realize that was because Tohru hadn't actually pressed it. She sweatdropped when she found her cousin pale, frozen, and trembling.

"Um...Tohru..?"

Tohru slumped. "Nope. Can't do it." Grabbing Hiyori's hand, she turned away from the door. "Let's do another lap to calm down!"

"Ah..." Hiyori glanced back over her shoulder at the door. "If you say so..."

'I guess we should've thought this through a little more. In the first place, we don't even know who will answer when we ring the doorbell. They may not even let us in.'

You're probably wondering what brought them here on the afternoon of this fall weekend. Well, that would be an unexpected conversation with one of their best friends at school just yesterday.

"Alright..." Flashing a grin, Uo took the card from the top of the deck she held. "This was the card you picked, wasn't it?"

Sitting in Uo's desk chair, Hiyori lit up. "It was! I can't believe it -- you gotta tell me how you did that!"

Her friend winked. "Sorry, kid, but I can't go revealing my secrets. That'd take all the magic out of it."

"Aw..." She pouted. "Fine, I get it. You just don't want anyone else to become as awesome as you are, right?"

Uo smiled as she ruffled Hiyori's hair. "Yeah, that, too."

Lately, it was almost rare to see her smile like that. These past few weeks, Hiyori had noticed how unspirited Uo seemed. They caught her lost in her thoughts more often than usual, and unlike the start of the term, now she just seemed...sad. So Hiyori never missed a chance to try and make her smile for real.

"Uo-chan!" They both glanced up to see Tohru running into the classroom. Hana followed, but at her own pace, of course. "Hana-chan just told me; is it really true? Did you quit all of your part-time jobs and get a new one?"

Hiyori sat straighter. "H-Huh?"

Uo shrugged casually. "Oh, yeah. I'm at a restaurant now. I actually start today."

"Um..." Tohru hesitated. "But if you're working somewhere else, then..."

"Yeah, the chances of me ever bumping into him again are slim to none." As she glanced off to the side, Hiyori stood up to join Tohru's side. "It's a big change, but...I've just had enough. Whenever a customer came in, a part of me got excited, hoping it was him. But then, when it wasn't, I'd get depressed real quick." She smiled faintly. "It just wasn't like me. I mean, since when do I act like a lovesick puppy? I guess I just got worn out torturing myself like that, you know?"

Tohru and Hiyori shared a quiet glance. Hana hummed. "If you knew his name, you could track him down."

"Huh?" She blinked. "Oh, my bad. Didn't I tell you? His name's Kureno."