The MagiArtist Collection

As Equals (Nagisa Furukawa x Reader)

The school bell rang as you gathered your things. You got out of the classroom as the rumors of a ghost girl began to echo across the room. Every day, your fellow students would talk about this rumored girl, how she could give you cursed items and all that doom and gloom crap.

You didn't need more depressing crap on your table. It had been a week since your third year in high school began, and you're mostly set for the rest of your academic life, what with you passing your university entrance exam. Your school was alright. Your classmates, while rowdy, were pretty cool people to hang with, and the teachers were some of the nicest you've meet so far. Despite all these good things in your life, a part of you just felt... empty.

There was obviously a hole in your heart.

You sighed as you remembered a girl in your high school last year. She was beautiful, no doubt about it. Looking at her always made a bright day for you.

But alas, she was a senior. You were merely a sophomore when you saw her. Not only were the gaps between you significantly large, but an attempt to pursue a romantic relationship would result in heartbreak when you two inventively separate come graduation. You looked to her merely as a senpai. Unfortunately, while you had a huge respect for her, she never really noticed you.

And she has never noticed you for that entire year. She had left without her ever noticing you existed. You took this time to speak with your counselor of what the next step in your life should be, whether you'd line up with a job or go to university. However, it instead mutated into a chat about your feelings.

It's true that you were depressed upon entering school this year. But you hadn't put two and two together until your counselor did it for you.

You missed her. You missed your senpai. You looked out the window and sighed. You looked out to the scenery of the schoolyard. You watched as a girl with brown hair ate some bread while sitting by the tree.

That's when you realized her hairstyle was very familiar. Short, brown, and two... small... fringes similar to antennae.

I-is that your senpai!? You thought of this and couldn't help but look at her. It was as if you saw a ghost. People did say how the ghost was a girl and how she haunted the school. It couldn't be, you pondered.

Then she looked at you.

She.

Looked.

At.

You.

Despite you standing on the second floor of the school, separated from her by a few dozen feet and a sheet of glass, you two shared a gaze. You felt your heart skipping a beat. For the first time in forever, senpai noticed you.

Not only that, but after a moment of staring at each other, she closed her eyes, smiled, and waved at you. You waved back, gestured with your hands that you were going to go down.

-_-_-_-_-

You felt nervous approaching the girl. She still hadn't finished her bread, so you had time, you thought. You slowly approached her. Each step made you a little more confident in speaking.

"H-hey there." But she gave the first blow. Her voice sounded so young, so innocent, that it momentarily turned into a bullet and shot you through the heart. Your muscles tensed up as you smiled.

"H-hi..." Your voice squeaked. However, you had to continue. You walked over to her and sat on the stone support that held the soil for the tree in place. You sat a few meters from your senpai. "Y-you're Miss Furukawa, right?" You asked her. She hesitated, only to nod.

"Yes, I am." She said. You placed your hand right on your chest.

"My name is [y/n]! We haven't formally met, but we run into each other a lot when we went home! Well... Some of the time." You muttered. You remembered why you enjoyed her presence. For most of your time last year, Furukawa barely made it to school due to illness. She had always been such an enigma to you. It was part of the reason why you hesitated to talking with her. But just the sight of her in school was such a rare spectacle.

And here you are, looking at her in all her beautiful adorableness. You blushed and hid your face away from her.

"I'm sorry, Furukawa-senpai. I'm just so shaky." You said to her.

"I remember you. We're in the same class, right?" She asked.

"... Wait, what? But... You're a grade higher than me... Didn't you gradua-" Your mind suddenly clicked.

Of course, when you miss one day too many, it's almost certain for you to repeat the same grade. And if she's repeating her senior year...

"I... I'm a repeater." She gave a faint smile.

"So, I guess we'll be seeing each other more often, Miss Furukawa?" You smirked a bit. Though, just a happy, hope-filled smirk. She nodded. You gripped at the leggings of your pants. As much as you wanted to, hugging Furukawa would probably not be the best move to make. "That's good. You... You always brighten up my day and..." You couldn't help but shed a bit of a tear as you thought of just why the stories of the ghost girl unnerved you. "You heard of that girl who died in the traffic accident?" You asked.

"A... A little." She said.

"I... I thought... With you disappearing for a good chunk of the year... I thought that girl was..." You couldn't bare to finish, but Furukawa instantly knew what you meant. Your face felt the soft cotton of a handkerchief as it dried up your eyes.

"No... Don't worry. I didn't get into any accident. I'm fine!" She said. You smiled as tears streamed from your face.

"I'm glad, Furukawa-senpai!" You said.

"You don't have to call me that anymore." She continued to wipe your tears. "We're in the same grade and class now! We should view each other as equals now." You smiled and nodded.

"O-okay, Furukawa." You said. Just then, the bell rung.

"We should get back to class." Furukawa said as she got up. You followed her, though now with a soft glow in your heart. You smiled, knowing that now, you saw Furukawa Nagisa not as your senpai, but rather as your equal.

This school year will be great.