The Everlasting Bond

Chapter 1: Under The Starry Sky

The everlasting bond we share and hold dear,

The Earth and everyone's brightest whimsical star.

I want to talk, and laugh with you again,

so please...

*******

It was the new beginning of the school year and Izumi Iori's final year in high school.

The cherry blossoms bloom as a sign of a new beginning.

But even though it's a new beginning and supposedly a new start to everything, it has always been the same for Iori. Years passed by him like a fleeting breeze. Acing his tests, helping Tamaki with his studies, helping out at his family's cake shop and then, a whole new year begins all over again.

Soon, he'll be in University and then finding a job which wouldn't be all that difficult with either taking his family's business or getting a good job that he could easily obtain through his high grades.

At the end of his second year of high school, he'd been given a form asking what he wants to do in the future and without putting much thought into it, he wrote down 'wanting to help with his family's shop'.

"Iorin~"

He hears his name being called out from behind and with that nickname of his and how outstretched his name was called out, he immediately knew who it was.

"What is it, Yotsuba-san?"

Yotsuba Tamaki, who sat behind Iori, is Iori's only friend and the only person Iori is willing to talk to in school. His appearance and the atmosphere around him makes it hard for his classmates to approach him but it didn't bother Iori anymore, the only reason he's friends with Tamaki anyway was by accident in Iori's case. On the first day of high school, Iori found Tamaki leaning on the corridor wall slumping over with a gloom in his face and when Iori quietly walked past minding his own business, Tamaki sprung up and wrapped his arms around Iori's leg begging if Iori had any King pudding.

Fortunately for Tamaki, Iori had a King pudding in his bag from Mitsuki as a somewhat good luck charm and wanting Tamaki to let go of his leg, he'd given the pudding to him. And from that day on, they became friends/acquaintances.

"Do you think you can help me study for all of our final exams this year~ It's going to be a pain to do it on my own and having our school periods changing AND only having a couple of months before our exams!"

Iori turned his head to look behind him and saw Tamaki slumped on his chair, trying to balance his pen that was below his nose.

"I've always been helping you with school work every year so what's the difference now?" Iori deadpanned, "I'm even waiting for you to finish your homework even though the final bell rang fifteen minutes ago."

"But you're not helping me with my homework! You've been staring at the window all this time, are you trying to look for something outside? Maybe counting how many petals has fallen already? That would be super hard to count though."

Iori and Tamaki's seats were right beside the window viewing the main gate of the school, two trees that had fully bloomed flowers stands besides the main gate in the school's premises.

Iori turns his whole body around properly facing Tamaki with his pen in hand ready to help and muttered out, "I was just thinking to myself that's all," His expression then softens, "Let's hurry up and then we can get going and maybe go to the shops or the arcade if you really want?"