Daily life of childhood friends

Childhood love

Two elementary school kids were walking home from school. One was an eleven year old boy named Soji Mamoru who had brown hair and green eyes. Walking home with him was his best friend Kotori Sakurai, who was the same age as him. The two of them were always together and Soji felt like he could be himself around Kotori. The two of them thought that they would always be together, but this was not the case. Let me explain.

Six years later in high school, things changed drastically. Soji walked into the classroom and two girls casually walked up to him. Soji now had white hair, pale skin and light blue eyes. He also wore two necklaces around his neck. The top button of his shirt was undone and his red tie came down. Soji was now the popular guy and had tons of friends. However, this was not the case for Kotori.

Kotori had grown into a beautiful young woman with long chestnut brown hair, pale skin and brown eyes. Unlike Soji, she was an introvert who was always alone. Let me explain. As Soji and Kotori got older, Soji started hanging out with the other kids and gradually began making more friends. 

Towards the end of Junior High School, Soji went through an extreme makeover which explained why he now had white hair and light blue eyes. Soji and Kotori drifted apart with time and did not talk to each other at school anymore.

Kotori nervously waited on the rooftop, her heart pounding in her chest. She had rehearsed her confession countless times in her mind, but now that the moment had arrived, her words seemed to escape her. Soji arrived, his usual charismatic smile on his face, unaware of the storm of emotions brewing within Kotori.

"Hey Kotori, what's up?" Soji greeted her, his voice filled with warmth and familiarity.

Kotori took a deep breath, gathering her courage. "Soji, I wanted to talk to you about something... something important."

Soji's eyebrows furrowed slightly, sensing the seriousness in Kotori's tone. "Sure, what is it?"

Kotori hesitated for a moment, her eyes searching Soji's face for any signs of rejection. "Soji, I... I've developed feelings for you. I've liked you for a long time now, and I couldn't keep it to myself any longer."

Soji's smile faded, replaced by a look of surprise and confusion. He had never expected Kotori to confess her feelings to him. He valued their friendship deeply, but romantic feelings had never crossed his mind.

"Kotori, I... I didn't know you felt this way," Soji stammered, struggling to find the right words. "You're an amazing person, and I cherish our friendship. But I've never thought of you in a romantic way."

Kotori's heart sank, her worst fears coming true. She had hoped for a different response, but deep down, she knew that their paths had diverged too much over the years.

"I understand, Soji," Kotori replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just needed to get it off my chest. I don't want our friendship to be affected by this."

Soji reached out and gently placed a hand on Kotori's shoulder, his eyes filled with empathy. "Kotori, you're one of the most important people in my life. I don't want this to change anything between us. We can still be friends, right?"

Kotori nodded, a bittersweet smile gracing her lips. "Of course, Soji. Our friendship means the world to me."

And so, on that rooftop, their friendship remained intact, despite the unrequited feelings that lingered in Kotori's heart.

One Friday after school, Soji was attending a matchmaking party with some of his other friends. He was sitting on the opposite side of the table and was talking to one of his friends named Kazuma Shotaro. It was like this until a stunning girl with long brown hair, pale skin and brown eyes sat down in front of him.

"Sorry, I'm late." The girl said

"Kazuma, who is this girl?" Soji asked

"Erika Yamamoto, she's from Fukuhara High." Kazuma said

"Really, she looks like a gyaru." Soji said

"I'm not a gyaru, I just wear two clips in my hair." Erika said

"Sorry. My friend was just curious about you." Kazuma stated

"Will you shut up?!" Soji asked

Watching Soji and Kazuma argue made Erika laugh. The two boys then froze and had never seen her laugh. Erika was the popular girl at Fukuhara High and everyone wanted to be friends with her. 

Soji texted Kotori and stated that he was talking with a really beautiful girl. Kotori responded and stated that she was happy to see that he was happy. Despite how Soji friend-zoned her, Kotori still cared about him, despite their differences in popularity at school.

When the matchmaking party came to end, Soji and Erika exchanged numbers. Kazuma and Soji's other friends were extremely jealous that Soji got the number of a beautiful and popular girl.

The next day was Saturday and Soji was casually chatting with Kotori over the phone. Despite not knowing her for long, Soji talked all about Erika and how they were good friends right now. Soji then felt guilty.

"Hey, are you mad that I turned you down?" Soji asked

"No, not at all." Kotori said

"I'm happy to have you as a friend... no, best friend." Soji stated

"Me too Soji. By the way, Erika sounds like a really fun and beautiful girl based on what you have told me." Kotori said

"Yeah, she is a really good friend. But don't worry, I'm not going to replace you or anything, I promise." Soji said 

Although Kotori's confession did not pan out quite the way she had hoped, she was happy to know that Soji still cared about her and wanted her to be happy. It was at this moment when Erika joined the video call.

"Hey, you must be Kotori!" Erika bellowed

"Yeah. I take it that Soji has told you a lot about me?" Kotori asked

"He sure did." Erika said