Running After You

Chapter 1: We Don't Hang Out Anymore

The sun rose on a beautiful spring morning as light shone into the bedroom of one particular boy. An alarm clock blared its ringing, filling the room with a loud annoyance which wouldn't end until he slowly moved his hand over his clock to shut it off.

"Ugh." The boy said as he wiped his eyes to bring vision from his slumber. His name was Youta Morikawa and now was the time for him to get out of bed so he'd spent yet another long day at school. As he gathered his books and put on his uniform, his eyes wandered over to the window.

His room was situated so that it would see the house neighboring his home. Inside was someone dear to him, but despite his mind thinking of them. He made no attempt to continue looking over once he had gotten ready for the day.

Youta took care of the usual routine. Using the bathroom, grabbing some breakfast, then finally heading outside to feel the warm sunlight on his face. There was nothing special about his morning, nor was there any fanfare as he began his walk to school as he did every morning.

He was alone, but only for the first half of it. The quiet walk would quickly get loud suddenly as he heard a voice calling from behind.

"Youta!" A girl shouted to him. Her heavy breathing and loud footsteps told him everything he needed to know to sidestep just in time before she would give him a big slap on the back. "You didn't wait for me again."

This was Mitora Fukaminato, also known as his next door neighbor. Who was also known as what one would call a childhood friend of his. The pair had essentially grown up together ever since his family moved here.

"That's because I knew you'd come running like you always do." He replied with a chuckle. She didn't run just because she was a cheerful energetic girl. Mitora also was one of the school's best track runners. The morning run to school was simply a part of her workout, at this point.

"Then how about we race to school?" She challenged him, as she did nearly every day.

"Can't we just-" He was about to decline, but without saying another word. The girl took off and dashed away through their route to school. "Ugh." He groaned and started a light jog to make his futile attempt to keep up with her. Of course she was much quicker than him, and much more determined to win as well, so he wasn't able to stick with her for long.

That said, given her careless nature, while he still had her in sight. Youta did see her white panties flashing as her short skirt fluttered up and down from her speed. The boy had to shake his head as he succumbed to the temptation of looking directly at them. She was his childhood friend, not his girlfriend, after all.

The second half of his trip to school was much less peaceful than his first half as he ran the rest of the way. While he didn't push his body nearly as much as her, Youta still was exhausted when he finally arrived to the front entrance.

"Sheesh, what took you so long?" She was there to greet him with a giggle as he finally was able to stop and bend over to catch his breath. "It feels like you're not getting any faster at all."

"That's because I'm not." He abhorred this feeling of tiring himself out. His lungs burned from the heavy breathing and his muscles would get all stiff after he pushed them. Not to mention the uncomfortable sweat making its way into his clothing to stay there for the rest of the school day. "I'm going to class now."

He had the misfortune of not having the same homeroom as her. And yes, despite his harsh responses to her overenthusiastic actions, it was indeed unfortunate they were not classmates. This didn't mean he was lonely during class though. After all there were plenty of guys he chatted with during break periods. He hardly had any idle time to himself until after school was over.