✓ NEVER LEAVE YOU LONELY, s manjiro

01

私は決してあなたを孤独にしない

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On an average early morning in Tokyo, students and adults filled the streets, all having someplace to be. Yuzana, a middle school student came out of her favorite convenience store on her way to the train station.

The faint sun rays framed her face as she quickly took out the contents of the plastic bag she was holding.

Salmon-filled onigiri and peach milk.

Holding the items in one hand, she used her free one to brush her black hair behind her, its long silk-like texture cascading down her back.

Continuing her walk to the train station, she was harshly patted on her back, making her almost drop the store-bought items in her hands as she turned around with a yell.

"Hey! What the hell is wrong w--"

Beside Yuzana was a group of her homeroom peers she was on good terms with, in other words, her friends. The girls all had beads of sweat running down their faces.

The girl shook Yuzana's shoulders, catching her breath before speaking again, "Yuzana! We need to catch the first train today! The lesson is starting more early!"

"WHAT?!"

Before anyone could do anything else, Yuzana shoved her things back in the plastic bag and began sprinting ahead of them all.

The girls yelled after her as they began following right behind and eventually catching up.

People gave them looks on their way as the hot sun began to beam in their faces. The group of friends ran through crowds. eventually, their shoes became untied and some of them even accidentally bumped into passersby.

It was chaos.

Finally, after running like their life depended on it and getting through the train station, they caught the first train right in time.

They all collapsed to the seats, some just collapsing to the ground as their knees gave out, their breaths shallow as they hit their chests like they were dying. Yuazana wiped the sweat of her forehead, fanning herself as she felt like she had just run a marathon.

Yuzana turned to the girl next to her, a smile on her face as she clung to her arm, tugging it softly.

"I owe you one Himari!"

"Buy me a milk coffee from the vending machine."

The train had begun to move and Yuzana was finally able to drink her peach milk, zoning out as she looked out the window despite her friends conversing next to her.

After getting off the train and walking to school, the girls were all on their way to their homeroom, Yuzana sometimes pausing to socialize and say hi to others on the journey there.

They slid open the door to their classroom, sighing in relief seeing that the teacher had yet to be there, quickly scurrying to their seats.

Yuzana's seat was in the middle of the classroom, surrounded by those she conversed well with. The black-haired teenager had many friends, whether they were years younger or older, she got along with just about anyone. Even so, she still had a favorite.

"HINA!!" Yuzana hugged a pink-haired teen who was about 7 centimeters taller, screaming her name in excitement.

The pink-haired girl stumbled back a bit in surprise, eventually hugging Yuzana back.

"You actually came early today?" She said sarcastically, her lips curling up into a smile as she broke off the hug.

Some classmates around them laughed as they were listening to their conversation and Yuzanas outburst, making her acknowledge their presence as well and spare them a greeting.

It wasn't long before the teacher entered the room, making all die down and everyone sorted out. The pair of girls sat down at their seats that were beside each other, sparing a glance before turning their attention to the teacher.

The lesson was long and boring, Yuzana putting her head down no matter how many times Hinata tried to scold her not to, whining as she would just wish the lunch bell would ring already.

After another 20 minutes, the announcements played through the halls, making Yuzana jump out of her seat and drag Hinata by the hand to the cafeteria.

The two had made it into the long line to buy bread, Hinata watching as her friend continued to complain about how hungry she was.

"you're training again today, right?" Hina asked changing the subject as she got tired of hearing the black-haired girl whines.

Yuzana turned to her friend, her face cracking into a wide smile, "yeah! Im training extra hard for the tournament coming up! You'll come to watch me compete, right?"

Hinata watched as Yuzanas smile got even wider, as that always happened when she talked about anything related to taekwondo.

Yuzana was a second-degree black belt, as she's been doing the sport for the past 8 years. It was one of her favorite things to do, as she always took it seriously and trained in her free time when she had nothing else to do even when she had already trained earlier that day.

The line for bread began to move forward, making Yuzana turn to Hinata as she pulled her with her in the moving line.

"Hina! Let's go! Go! Hurry--"

Yuzana was cut off as a crowd of students began pushing past her, almost knocking her to the ground if not for Hina's reflexes.

"are you okay?" Hinata asked, doing a brief pat down on the girl.

Students still continued to run past them, yelling incoherent things as just more followed behind, making the curious black-haired 14-year-old turn to her friend.

"Let's go see what's going on!"

Again, Yuzana dragged Hina by the wrist, running through the crowds until they seemed to get a clear picture of what the commotion was about.

Scattered near the foot lockers were the third years, some of them with bloody faces as some were just passed out. What Yuzana guessed was the culprit was a tall guy blonde-haired guy marked with a dragon tattoo near the side of his head.

The man stood beside another blonde-haired boy, although he looked way less intimidating as he was many inches shorter.

And lastly, another blonde-haired boy stood, although faced across the odd pair.

Hanagaki Takemichi, Hinata's boyfriend.

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