Intertwined: The Fabsome Foursome

Deshi's POV ~Middle School: Part 1~

   Elementary school had gone by in a flash. I could still remember the first day that Yumi came into our classroom. It feels like it was just yesterday. Since then Feng, Yumi, Mika, and I have all become really close. Especially since that whole 'breakingintoyumishouse' incident. Every day since fourth grade, we've all spent almost everyday together. Middle school was going to start in two days. I was trying to enjoy the last days of summer until I had to go to the dreaded middle school. I hadn't seen Yumi in a while though. She had been out of state for almost a couple weeks. Apparently she was visiting some relatives in Japan. Mika was gone at a writing retreat with her creative writing club from elementary school. They were initiating the 5th graders about to be 6th graders. I don't really get it. It's just a writing club... Feng, on the other hand, was dragged off to the mountains for 'family bonding time'. His parents believed that they should try to bond for a couple weeks which no distractions, before school started. There was no wifi, or manga, or anyone for miles. I hadn't heard from him for a couple weeks. But since school was starting, we finally would get to see each other after a long summer.
   My alarm clock screeched at me at 6:00am. School was here... I stumbled out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash my face. I slipped on my fairy tail t-shirt and went downstairs for breakfast. The middle school was right across the street from our old elementary school. It was bigger and more crowded. Since I could still walk, I lugged my backpack down the street with me. I stopped at a bench under a tree and sat down. As I waited for school to start, I heard two familiar voices.
   "No, see visual writing is when you're writing can paint a picture in your mind." Mika.
   "But a story can't paint a picture, it's a story! And if it's visual I should be able to see it." Feng.
   "Ugh! I don't feel like explaining this to you if you're not going to listen. It's a writing thing so you wouldn't understand." Bickering as always... Maybe it was just because Feng liked Mika. Maybe he acted the way he did so she would explain things to him. He was hopeless.
   I waved them over, "Feng! Mika! Over here!" Feng waved back as they walked over. "I haven't seen you guys in weeks. How've you been?"
   "It was great! The 7th and 8th grade writers are amazing!" Mika beamed.
   "It was terrible... Almost three solid weeks of nothing but my family. I had no manga or anime. They took it all away! And all the family pictures my mom wanted to take. Don't even get me started!" Feng ranted as Mika and I laughed.
   Suddenly I heard another voice, "Wow, sounds like you had a rough summer Feng!" It was soft and light. I turned around and saw Yumi. Her reddish-brown hair was pulled back into a wavy ponytail as always. Yumi was still the same height. She was short and petite. Maybe an inch taller? She smiled at me.
   "Yumi!" Mika shouted. She ran over and hugged her, "How was Japan?"
   "Sore wa subarashikattadesu! Oh sorry, I got so used to talking in Japanese again! It was really great. I got to see all my relatives and my old friends." Her old friends? Well of course she had friends back in Japan... Yumi was a very likable person.
"What all did you do?" Mika asked.
"Well, I did a lot. We went to the beach and went shopping a lot at the local shops. Speaking of which..." She started to pull out a plastic shopping bag from her backpack, "I go you guys some things! For Mika, I got you a Japanese literature book and some Hi-Chew."
"Oh my gosh! Thanks!" She hugged Yumi again.
"Feng, I got you a some awesome Japanese candy! It's super good" Feng took the candy and smiled.
"Thanks, Yumi." He took the candy.
"Hey Deshi! I got you something too." She turned to me and handed me a separate plastic shopping bag. I tried to look inside, but then she put her hand on top of mine very suddenly. She tied the two loops of the bag together. Then she whispered something to me so Mika and Feng couldn't hear, "But wait until you get home. I want it to be a surprise, and it's fragile. It's really special." She gave me her sweet smile again. My heart pounded as she whispered in my ear. She was so close...
   "U-um... T-thanks Yumi!" I could feel my face getting warm. Once school had started, I traveled from class to class after trying to open my locker almost 10 times. I had Art with Yumi and Mika, and Science with Feng. Finally, lunch had came. I found everyone else sitting at a table under the shade of a big oak tree. I sat down next to Feng. He was asking Yumi for help about his schedule. Mika was off in her own world as she sketched something.
   "Feng you're not listening... Room 310 is on the second floor on the north side." Yumi pointed somewhere off towards the school.
   "But which way is North?! Geez, I'm still tired..." He rubbed his eyes.
   "It's noon. You should be awake by now..." Mika glanced at him. I couldn't help but laugh. I really had missed these guys over the summer.
   When I got home, I carried the bag with my present in it. I couldn't imagine what it would be. Once I opened the door, Keiko, my little sister, jumped on top of me. She was the same age as Yumi's younger siblings.
   "Ani-kun!" She shouted.
   "Keiko! I thought we talked about no surprise attacking me anymore." We both got up and Keiko stared up at me.
  "What's in the bag Ani-kun?"
  "It's a present from Yumi."
"YUMI-SENPAI?! When is she gonna visit again? I liked it when she braided my hair last time she came over... What'd she give you?" Keiko looked at me with puppy eyes.
"I don't know..." I opened the bag to see a long cardboard box. Keiko and I went up stairs to my room and opened the box. Inside was a long paper tube. When I started to realize what it was my heart started to pound. I unraveled it to see all the Fairy Tail characters looking back at me. I turned it over and saw a note written on the back. It was Yumi's neat, pretty handwriting:
Deshi-kun,
Take care of your friends, they're the most precious things is the world. By Natsu Dragneel. (Look at the bottom corner on the front!)
~Yumi-chan
I turned the poster over again and looked at the bottom corner. I couldn't believe what was written on it. It was Hiro Mashima's signature... Yumi went through the trouble to get a signed poster for me? She was always thinking of others... I taped the poster to my wall and looked at it. She was the best.