River of Stars

Chapter 1 - Courage to Change

April 2nd, daybreak. Nishikata woke up to his alarm and the morning light shining through his window. He turned off his alarm and sat on the side of his bed, looking at the window. He had eye bags.

Today was the first day of his third and last year in middle school. He and Takagi had not seen each other for the majority of spring break, she had gone on a trip with her family and they could only meet the previous night. They had talked about what they did during spring break and what they expected for their third year. But what really kept Nishikata awake was the fact that, during the break, he had realized his feelings for Takagi, and at the end of their long awaited encounter he had mustered the courage to hug her. That memory stayed in his mind through that long night.

Nishikata walked downstairs and found his parents having breakfast in the kitchen. He took a seat with them and they exchanged their good mornings, his eyes were still half shut.

"Excited for your third year, son?" asked Nishikata's mother.

"Um, yeah, I guess" Nishikata answered without much thought.

"You're gonna start studying for Sekai Eda High's exam, right?" His dad asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'll try to take last year's exam today" Nishikata said.

His dad smiled "Entering this school's really gonna boost up your career early, they're one of the best in Japan" he gave Nishikata a knowing look.

Nishikata's eyes became wide open. He didn't respond.

His dad laughed out loud "To think she would make you raise your scores so much, hahaha"

"E-Eh?" Nishikata muttered nervously.

"What was her name again?" His mother asked "Takagi, right?"

Nishikata's face went completely red, and he got up from the table "I-I-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT" he cried "I-I just wanna keep hanging out with my friends, that's all!" He quickly realized he freaked out and composed himself again, sitting down.

His father chuckled "No need to hide it from us, son, we've known you for 14 years" he said, messing with Nishikata's hair "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's just natural"

"You should ask her to have dinner here someday, I would love to meet her" his mother said, smiling.

Nishikata didn't really bother to deny any further. They were spot on, after all, and he figured it would be worse to hide it from them "I... also think about how it'll help me, you know?" he said.

"That's not the thought that made my son raise his scores from 47 to 96, was it?" His father asked, and Nishikata was unable to answer, he chuckled once again "It can't be helped, you're still in middle school. It's not really a bad thing in this case, but be mindful of why you do what you do, okay?"

"Y-Yeah" Nishikata said.

After finishing breakfast, Nishikata's parents went to work, and he left for school soon after. The talk with his parents had gotten rid of his sleepiness, and it also made him forget a bit about his realization from last night, leaving him free to think about something else. He smirked. 'Today, I'm gonna make her flustered for sure' was what he was thinking as he walked his way to school. Nishikata may have realized his feelings during spring break, but that didn't weaken his resolve to defeat her even by an inch.

'Ever since first grade, she dropped my honorific, thus establishing the positions of teaser and teased, and I wasn't able to drop the "-San" until last year' he thought with a grin 'But now! Now I'm a different man. After all this time, of course I can drop her honorific. I want to get close to her, after all' his face grew red as that last thought crossed his mind, but he shook it off quickly 'Get ready, because this is the year of my victory... Takagi...'