“So,” you ask. “Who’s Yukibana Midori?”Well…I’m a Kobayakawa High student, currently a freshman, manager of the track team. I have light brown hair that rest just on my shoulders. I have light bangs that I keep trying to tuck behind my ear (and, of course, I fail to do so). I’m fairly small; I stand at a height of 5′1″.
I totally LOVE sushi maki, and, believe it or not, I don’t like wasabi. Yes, I’m Japanese, and I don’t like wasabi. Anyway, I live up to my namesake: my favorite color is green.
“But,” you ask again, “Who IS Yukibana Midori?”
Yeah, I’ve asked that myself several times, too. I’ve always wondered what people would think when the time for me to die comes. No, it’s not that I WANT to die, mind you, but… I dunno. I guess everybody gets their sentimental, philosophical, rethink-your-life days.
Sometimes I just get this feeling of just the one being in the sidelines. Not that I mind, though, I’m actually used to it, being the track team manager and all. At first I thought it was an easy, boring job. You just watch the team run around in circles, blow the whistle every now and then, keep record of their running times, bark at them when they do something wrong, and just be plain bossy. Not that I’m bossy, of course.
OK, maybe a little.
OK, maybe a lot.
But that’s beside the point.
The point is, I volunteered to be the track team manager’s assistant, thinking I could get away with being active in extra-curricular activities without working a sweat.
Big mistake.
I learned that being manager actually ties you to the team. I mean REALLY tie you to them. Like, when they’re tired, I feel tired. When they’re super duper happy, I’m super duper happy. When they’re down, I’m down.
You get the idea.
A few months into our freshman year at Kobayakawa High, the manager, Ayanami-sempai, had to move elsewhere in Japan, and the job was passed on to me. Though I really really really wanted the job, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why me?” I mean, I AM just a freshman. Ayanami-sempai told me that she thought I was exceptionally good at managing the team, and that she hadn’t seen anybody that’s so passionate about track, and loves the team as much as I do. Actually, I KNOW I love track (though I don’t run myself), and I know I love the team, but it really struck me that she saw me as that exceptional. I never thought myself as THAT special as to stand out.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I have low self-esteem, but, being around Ai-chan for 3 straight years, you’d really have a lot of pride to think you’re still the Queen of the World.
And Ai-chan…she’s… she’s Ai-chan. The first time we met was the first day of junior high. I had just moved to a Nerima, and I knew nobody, except Rei. ahem Let’s not talk about him right now.
Anyway, on the way to our room, I saw Aiko walking with a bunch of girls. One had a pretty loud voice, that’s why I noticed them. It turns out that the girls were all in one class, and Aiko was in another one. Specifically mine. When she went into our room, she took a seat beside me, wearing a huge smile on her face, and befriended me on the spot.
“Hao!”
“… Hi…”
“I’m Kazetenshi Aiko.” The smile on her face never disappeared.
“Yukibana Midori.” Of course, if anybody offered you their name, and they looked harmless, what else would you do?
“Oh,” Aiko suddenly said, making a motion to stand up, “you’re not saving this seat for anyone, right?”
“Nope.” Now, let me inform you that I was, by nature, pretty talkative, but, of course, this is a new acquaintance here.
“OK,” Aiko said, sitting back down again. “So…are you new in town?”
I swear, she had telepathy. That or I looked too much of a newcomer.
“Yes.”
“Oh. Well, it doesn’t really matter whether or not you’re new here. I mean, this is first year junior high. EVERYBODY’s new.”
“That makes sense.”
“So, wanna go around and take a tour around the campus together after school? I mean, if you have time…”
“OK.” Of course I had time. I had PLENTY of time.
That tour around the campus was pretty fun. I pretty much loosened up that afternoon, since Aiko wasn’t a “new acquaintance” anymore. Later on, Aiko and her friends from elementary drifted away from each other. Though they were still good acquaintances, they never became as close as they were again… Not that I stole Ai-chan from them, but, I guess that’s just how things work. I heard that your friends from high school and college are really the ones that stick. But I guess, in my case, since I’ve known Ai-chan since junior high, and we still get to be together in track… you get the point.
My first impression of Ai-chan was that she was a cheerful, bubbly girl. But I never thought that she was an A student. She’s the kind of people that…when you’re around them long enough, your conscience would eat you alive, and you’d be going and doing your best in school, too.
Thank goodness I met her.
But before I did, I never thought I would meet one of those people that’re highly intelligent, yet STILL have a life. Yes, Ai-chan actually has a life aside from books. She’s friendly with everybody, and she’s totally fun to be with. She actually took karate lessons before, but she doesn’t train that much anymore. I guess that explains why she’s physically fit to start with.
Ai-chan’s, like, almost the perfect girl: intelligent, sporty, pretty, active, friendly. But she doesn’t look it, she doesn’t flaunt it. Heck, she doesn’t even want to talk about it! It really…ummm… humbles you.
Huh? What’s that? And how DID I meet Kamui? Well… it was that same morning — the first day of junior high, I mean— just before our class started. About five minutes before the bell rang, I heard laughing outside the door, and Rei and some black-haired boy suddenly appeared on the doorway, laughing their brains out.
“Boys…” Aiko muttered, shaking her head. “Oei, if the teachers catch you like that you’d be in trouble!”
“Eh?” the black-haired boy said. “Why? Is laughing illegal?”
“No, Kamui, but if it disrupts other classes your butt gets kicked, anyway.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
The black-haired boy named Kamui went to sit behind Aiko, exchanging side fives with her along the way. Rei, on the other went to sit behind me. But before that, he stopped beside my chair.
“Long time, eh , Midori?” he said, emphasizing my name.
The NERVE!
“The name is Yukibana,” I said coolly.
“Ah, yes, yes. I thoroughly apologize, Yukibana-sama,” he said with an overdramatic bow.
“Yokaze, if you don’t get your butt in your seat and keep quiet, I’m gonna put you there myself.”
“Try it.”
“Don’t dare me to.”
“I just did.”
That did it. Of course, laying my hands on such a filthy creature was my last resort — though IF I get fed up enough, I’d have no second thoughts of doing it — so I GLARED at him first. As expected, he took a tiny step backwards with a “Gggk…” Ah, yes, I LOVE my eyes. Green, and totally scary when I want them to be.
I noticed in the corner of my eye that Aiko was looking back and forth from me to Rei, as if trying to decode the situation, then she looked at the person seated behind her. In a second, Rei was literally PUT into his seat when the boy named Kamui shoved him there. He cleared his throat, then he smiled at her.
“Nice to you! I’m Toriyama Kamui.”
“Yukibana Midori,” I said, bowing my head slightly.
Hm. I think I got pretty sidetracked there. Of course, even if we didn’t meet that morning, we would’ve sooner or later. You just can’t be friends with Aiko without discovering about Kamui’s existence. So that’s how Kamui and I met. And how he and Rei did? They said it was on their way to school, he nearly ran Aiko down with his bike. The idiot.
Perhaps you’re wondering why I’m so hostile towards Rei then. Well, it’s… hard to explain, actually. We were actually pretty OK in elementary. I mean, his “friends” were the pranksters, and being the immature elementary schoolboys they were, they usually teased the girls. Rei, though, was usually just quietly following behind when they did. He never teased the girls himself. That I found…nice.
Anyway, as I said, he never teased girls, but he never did anything to stop the others, either. But… the thing is, in sixth grade, we became assigned as study partners for a math problem set. We got along well, but we weren’t super duper friends, either. So the problem set came and went.
Stupid math. That actually was the start of everything.
After that…incident with math, he started telling the guys off when they picked on me. Weird, I know. I supposed he finally decided to be nicer than he already was.
So he tells them off. That doesn’t stop them, though. They still go at it. But that time around, Rei doesn’t do anything. Fine, I thought. Boys will be boys. I just plainly ignored them. But then, there was this one time. It was a hot day, and, as a normal person would do on a hot day, I voiced my thoughts out.
“Maaa! It is SOOOO hot!” I told my friends, fanning myself.
“Aww… is the Green Snow Flower melting?” a mocking voice behind me spoke up.
I turned around, raising my eyebrows at them. “What do you want now,Takashi?” I asked icily. Takashi had recently taken up this habit of teasing me about practically everything and anything. Sometimes it’s even over nothing.
“C’mon, guys, lay off…” called Rei from his seat a few rows away.
“Would you like us to fan your majesty? O Queen of Ice?”
“I’d rather you don’t.” I replied.
Honestly, I would’ve liked that nickname if it didn’t come from them. I hadn’t noticed then that Rei had actually stood up and was walking towards us.
“Hey, man!” the one of the other guys spoke. “Maybe we SHOULD fan her! I think she’s been melting, that’s why she’s so skinny!”
By that comment, I felt my blood go up to my head. I may be thinner than the other kids, yeah, but I am SO not skinny.
“What, Yukibana? Toungue-tied?” Takashi asked. Actually, I was. My other friends started to shoo the boys away, but to no avail. Takashi just said something else to embarass them more.
“C’mon, guys, fun’s over.” Rei told them, putting his hand on Takashi’s shoulder.
“Well, look who’s not able to take care of herself now!” Takashi continued, anyway. “Getting your friends to fight your fights now, Yuki-onna?”
“Aren’t snow women really skinny and pale? Ne, Yukibana, you really ARE a snow woman, aren’t you?”
“Why don’t you guys just shut up and let her be?” This time, Rei had stood between me and the guys.
“Aww, Yokaze, you’re no fun.”
“I mean it.” I looked at him then. He had a really serious face. Takashi made a serious face, too.
“Move it, Yokaze.”
Rei crossed his arms on his chest, making it clear that he had no intention of budging. The boys in front of me suddenly started a glaring competition. Honestly, I felt they were gonna get into a fight. I finally stood up and broke the “eye combat”. Takashi looked from me to Rei, then smirked and shrugged.
“Sure, buddy, whatever you say…” He then walked away.
When they left, I let myself breathe freely. Rei just glanced at me, and wordlessly went back to his seat. The day went pretty well, we went home that afternoon, everything was normal. Until that night, when Rei showed up at my door.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Good evening…I didn’t bother you or anything, did I?” Rei asked, his eyes catching the book I was holding.
“No…but even if you did, there’s nothing I could do about it now, is there?”
“I…suppose not…”
Silence.
“So…ummm…” he started again. His eyes started to dart from me to the pavement and back. “…Are you OK?”
I blinked. “Huh?”
“I meant…Earlier today… y’know…” I raised my eyebrows, then my mouth formed into a small “o”, realizing what he meant.
“Yeah, I’m fine…thank you.”
“Oh…OK. I just thought maybe you…” he trailed off.
“I what?”
“I just thought you’d… y’know.”
“…No… I obviously don’t.”
“Y’know…Cry about it like girls do.” he said slowly, finally looking at me again.
I was about to bonk his head with my book, but then, I realized: yeah, girls my age usually did cry when guys tease them. As a matter of fact, my friends had always been amazed that I was even able to talk back at them. That being the case, I realized he was just being concerned. That was sweet.
“I’m fine,” I repeated with a smile.
“Oh…OK,” he said, smiling slightly, too.
A pause.
“Is that all?” I asked. Not that I was shooing him away, but I wasn’t about to stand out there all night.
“Well…” his eyes started darting everywhere again. “Yeah…”
“O…K…” I said with an awkward grin. “I’m going in now. See you tomorrow?”
“OK…” he said, stepping back a couple of paces. Honestly, he looked pretty dejected to me.
“Ja…” I said with a small wave. I turned around to open door behind me, when I heard his voice again.
“Wait!”
I turned around to see that he had taken back those three paces he took. I tilted my head curiously.
“I…I…”
I turned to face him, waiting as patiently as I could.
And let me tell you something: I’m not very patient.
“Well?” I finally asked.
“I…” he started, then he mumbled something.
“Say again?”
He then clenched his fists and spoke VERY fast.
“Iwantedtoaskyoutogowithmetothedancenextmonth!” he said, looking at the floor.
I blinked. HUH?!
“I mean…I know it’s WAY early, but I thought I could suggest that we go together before you made plans to go with your friends and stuff…” he said in one breath.
I suppose I looked apologetic in an instant, that’s why he mumbled, “But you already did…”
“Well…actually… yeah…” I said. I felt sorry for the guy. I mean, he went all the way to my house at this hour of the night to ask me to the dance, but I couldn’t leave my friends, either. We decided to go together. No dates. At that age, there was a war between the sexes. They won’t stand for it if they found out I decided to go with Rei.
“Oh…Yeah, yeah, that’s OK… I mean… It’s OK…” he said, trailing off.
“I’ll dance with you, though.” I said with a smile.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah…”
“Great! I mean…OK…great…” he said, beaming.
I really thought he was being too nice, and I started to rethink my decision, but I waved those doubtful thoughts away. He was nice to start with, isn’t he? Right.
The month went by pretty fast, and I was VERY relieved that the guys stopped picking on me. And they didn’t seem to be bothering Rei, either, so all was well. PLUS Rei and I got along well in class. Remember that we rarely talk at all in class. We even started calling each other by our first names later, though that one NOT in class. I just don’t know how my friends would react if they found out about that.
When the day came, the dance went great. My friends and I practically never left the dance floor — except for the slow songs, we had to go and freshen up— it was really fun. But the dance was coming to a close, and Rei and I hadn’t danced yet. I honestly thought he forgot, but about 10 minutes before midnight (the school gave us a curfew), we bumped into each other at drinks table.
“Having fun?”
“Yeah, but my feet are killing me!” I said with a laugh.
“You’re not too tired for another dance, are you?” he asked. I looked at him, and he was wearing a hopeful smile. I smiled, too, and put my glass down.
“Nope!”
Rei offered his arm formally (though he WAS wearing a smirk), and I laughingly took it. As we moved towards the dance floor, the song suddenly changed to a slow one. Not that I minded, though. As I said, I was tired. And, we didn’t have any choice, either, the disk jockey announced that it was the last song. When we found a spot, I put my hands on his shoulders, and he put his on my waist. We just stepped from side to side for a while, until he decided to strike a conversation.
“Y’know, Midori…I think you’re pretty neat,” he said. I just smiled. It was a plain, innocent compliment. That adjective won’t be one you’d use if you wanted a girl to be swept off her feet.
“I see…”
“I mean, you’re nice to your friends and from what I’ve seen for the past years, you look pretty fun to be with… I mean, you haven’t gotten into fights and stuff…”
“Uhuh…”
“But then you’re not the typical softie girl…You’re strong and you stand your ground when the guys tease you — sorry ’bout that, by the way. But then you’re not angry at all the guys still. I mean, look at us!” he said with a chuckle.
“Yeah,” I said with a laugh. “I suppose.”
And so the conversation ended. Pardon me, but I realized I really WAS tired. That being so, I didn’t notice at once that I had entwined my fingers behind his neck and rested my head on his shoulder… I was REALLY sleepy… The moment I realized that, though, his hands had already moved from the sides of my waist, and were now resting lightly on my back. So I supposed he didn’t mind, then. Well, I didn’t mind being that close, either.
The song was about three quarters done when I heard a very familiar, annoying voice behind Rei.
“So, Yokaze, you finally did it, huh?”
I lifted my head and dropped my hands, and Rei turned around.
“What do you want, Takashi?” he asked.
“Aww, c’mon, buddy! You can stop acting now. You won the bet already!”
The bet?
“What’re you talking about?” Rei demanded. He looked pretty angry.
“The party’s over, buddy. So you finally proved you could get Yukibana to go all mushy over you. But, c’mon, man, it’s disgusting to see you dance with her like that!”
I felt all the color drain from my face.
“Really, man, your strategy’s really good! Playing hero for several weeks must’ve taken a lot out of you!”
“What?” I said in a half-whisper.
“Don’t you get it yet, Yukibana?” Takashi said with a smirk. “It was a BET. We wanted to see if you’re as tough as you act, and guess what? Yokaze here just proved that you weren’t.”
I started putting two and two together…and everything matched. Or at least they did at that time.
“Yes,” I said, “he DOES have a knack for proving himself right, doesn’t he?”
I was so angry at him, then, I didn’t even want to look at him.
“W-wait a second—” he said. But I ignored him.
“Unbelievable…Unbelievable… And to think… And to think I…” My chest felt tight, and I could barely breathe.
“Mi…Midori, listen…”
It was then that I finally looked at him. No, scratch that.I GLARED at him. It was the first time I did it, and his reaction was exactly what I wanted at that time. His sentence was cut, and his mouth was hangning open, though no sound was coming out.
“Don’t you DARE call me by my first name…” I told him. I almost didn’t recognize my own voice, but I didn’t care.
“But, Mi—”
“Don’t you DARE call me by my first name!!!” I screamed at him. This guy is UNBELIEVEABLE! Then, I felt tears stinging my eyes. No way. I am NOT going to cry in front of these… these…BOYS! I turned my heel and ran out of the school gym.
So there. That practically ruined our… ummm… whatever we had. He tried calling and going to my house several times that weekend, but I ignored him. That Monday, he didn’t talk to me at school, and if you ask me, he acted like nothing happened. I didn’t care.
Or so I told myself.
A couple of months later, because of yet another math problem set, we had to pair up again. Yes, this was definitely a chance for us to fix things, but instead of things getting better, it actually started to get worse. At first, he didn’t talk to me unless it was absolutely necessary, and it really ticked me off. OK, so I admit now that my stubbornness had a huge part in it… But, anyway, I tried talking to him, but things just exploded. I’d rather not go into the details. But the point is, things went downhill from there. It came to the point where we both ALWAYS argued in class. My friends said that I was better off not talking to him at all, but… y’know, it was as if some force just kept pushing us together to argue.
Stupid math.
Good thing I learned how to Glare at him so he’d back off for a while.
So that’s how things went until we finished elementary school. Nothing was resolved.
It spilled over until junior high.
A few weeks into our second year, Rei was suddenly quiet. It was different from before, when he would just ignore me. That was fine with me, of course, since I did the same thing. Now, though, I had his attention when I spoke. Heck, he would look me in the eye! As for his opinions, he NEVER responded to my unless Kamui asked him for them.
That’s why I was pretty sure Kamui was behind this.
That meant Aiko was in there somewhere, too.
A month passed, and Ai-chan and Kamui set us up. Yeah, she tricked me, and he tricked Rei. The two told each of us to wait for them at the Spazio, and that they’ll be there in a few minutes. So I arrived there, and I saw Rei in our usual booth. I wasn’t about to move to a new booth just because of him (YES, I had so much pride that time) so I sat across him, though I didn’t face him.
“Waiting for Aiko?” he asked after a while.
Oh my goodness, the man spoke. But he was looking outside the window. Makes you wonder if he was speaking to me or not.
“Yeah…she told me to wait.”
Well, he was still looking out the window, and he didn’t say anything more, so that was that. If you would call it a conversation…fine. If you won’t, then don’t. About 15 minutes passed, and still no Aiko. Then I heard a loud sigh beside me, so I sideglanced Rei. He was looking at the table, and his fists were clenched.
“What’s up with you?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“Yukibana, can you promise me that you won’t leave or react to what I’m going to explain to you until I’m done?”
I knew at once what this conversation was going to be about. And, as much as I wanted all this fracas to end, I was still admittedly scared. I mean, I guess I was so used to being angry with him, I don’t know how to act around him otherwise, anymore. So I didn’t say anything. I looked away, instead.
“Please?”
Whoa. I looked at him, and saw that he had a pleading look. And, let me tell you, it scared me even more. I stood up to leave, but he caught my wrist, making me sharply turned around.
“What?!” I said angrily, using my trademark Glare at him. Acting angry was easier than being honest.
But this time, it didn’t work.
“Please?” he repeated. “Just give me five minutes. And I promise, I’ll never bother you again.”
The determined, unstoppable, persistent Rei was back. For some reason, I just knew he wasn’t going to give up if I told him no. I was pretty sure he was going to run after me if I tried to walk away from him today. That is, if I somehow get out of his iron grip. So, I sighed and sat back down. He let go of my hand when I tried to pull it back.
“Spill.”
He went on to explain his side of the story about our last few months in sixth grade. He said that there was a bet, but he wasn’t in on it.
“I really thought you were neat…and I still do, no strings attached,” he concluded.
I let a few moments pass.
“Are you done?”
He nodded, so I leaned back, asking the first question that came to mind.
“If that’s the case, why did you suddenly treat me like that?” I asked.
“Defense mechanism, I guess. I did try apologizing several times, but you didn’t respond to anything I did, so…”
“Yeah, I know,” I said quietly. “But… why did you yell at me at your house? I mean, I was trying to explain my side then…And you wouldn’t let me.”
“You wouldn’t let me explain that weekend.”
Oh, no, not again… I was seeing the beginnings of another fight, but I tried to keep my cool. “I was still angry at you then. Besides, Takashi had me fully convinced.”
“Funny how he easily convinced you, and I couldn’t.”
“You…didn’t try to talk to me after the weekend, so I thought…”
“You thought what Takashi said was for real?” Rei finished for me, his voice rising. “What did you expect me to do, wait for you forever?”
Ouch.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Yeah, but that was what you implied, isn’t it?”
If this happened a year ago, we’d be at each other’s necks. But this wasn’t a year ago. So, instead of snapping back, I looked out the window and tried to keep my breathing steady. Shouting at him will just waste my energy, so I won’t do that. And I will NOT cry, either!
“Oh, man…” I heard him say. “I…I didn’t…I didn’t mean that…”
“Defense mechanism, huh?” I asked, still looking out the window. I closed my eyes. Did we always have to end up like this?
“Yukibana…” he started again, taking my hands (which were still on the table, by the way). Of course, the contact made my eyes snap open, and I saw him leaning on the table, looking straight into my eyes. “Look, I’m really sorry. For what I said just now, and for everything that happened… Can’t we be friends again? I…”
He paused, his shoulders sagging as if in defeat. Against what? I never found out.
“I miss you, Midori.”
Up to now, I don’t know what it was. Whether it was his clear, utter sincerity, the words he used, his hands holding mine, the way he said my name, the way he looked at me, or maybe it was simply his eyes — it was just then that I realized just how blue and deep and warm they were — but I felt the wall, the wall I had so carefully and furiously put up for over a year, break into tiny million pieces and crash down.
So who is Yukibana Midori? I’m a normal girl. And like any normal girl, I’m an individual. That means I have a combination of qualities unique to myself. I’m talkative, and funny, or at least Ai-chan says so. I’m not very patient when it comes to dragged conversations, but at least I try, ne? I can be bossy, I can be scary, and I can be pretty much a nagger. But, hey: overall, I’m a pretty nice girl. If I wasn’t, then I won’t have any friends, right? I’m not the most intelligent person, but I have been trying to survive school (which I am, thank God).
And about Rei? Well, he’s Rei. He’s proven to me that he told the truth that afternoon in the Spazio, and we’ve become close friends since.
Aiko asked me once if we’ll become closer, Rei and I…
You know what I told her?
“I really wouldn’t know.
I guess we’ll just have to see.”
