Yin and Yang

[ 6 months ago ]

"Is that you Yoshi? Wait up!"

Yoshi after hearing that chirpy voice behind him, turned around to look at the person who called him out.

Nishio Namina, in her school uniform, was running towards Yoshi while waving her hand with a happy smile on her face.

Yoshi after seeing his best friend running towards him, smiled a little and stopped walking to wait for her.

Yoshi was on his way to school when Namina called out to him and he was sure she was angry because he didn't wait for her near her house. Though he still thought she would forgive him for that with just a simple apology.

"Why didn't you wait for me!?" Namina asked while panting heavily while using Yoshi as a support for her to stand.

Yoshi after hearing her, patted her head and said with a bright smile on his face

"Sorry, I forgot." Yoshi apologised innocently.

After hearing Yoshi's words, Namina, who was enjoying Yoshi's patting just a moment ago, looked at him with a flabbergasted expression on her face and said in a loud voice

"How could you Yoshi?! Do you have any idea how long I waited for you?! Give me back my precious time!!" Namina said while shaking Yoshi through his collar.

"...N-Nami...C-C-Can't...b-breath..."Yoshi choked out after being strangled by his friend's hands which had turned into a common occurrence for him.

"Oh, I am sorry. I didn't do it on purpose." Namina said with an 'innocent' smile on her face which told Yoshi she definitely did it on purpose but he decided not to comment on it.

After their greetings for the day were done and over with, Yoshi again started walking towards their school with Namina walking alongside him with her usual spring on her steps.

Just as they were halfway on their way to school, Namina stopped in her tracks and called out to Yoshi

"Nee Nee Yoshi~"

Yoshi after being called out by Namina, noticed that she had stopped walking so he turned around to look at her with a plain expression on his face and asked

"What is it Nami? Don't tell me you forgot to bring your English textbook with you again? Sena Sensei is going to kill you for it." Yoshi said in a plain tone of voice.

"No that's not it! I actually bought something for you. I went shopping with my mom yesterday and decided to buy this, Here." Namina said while dangling a pendant in front of Yoshi with a large smile on her face.

Yoshi after seeing the pendant in front of his face, grabbed it from Namina's hands and examined it.

It was a black coloured pendant in the shape of a leaf, at least that's what it looked like to Yoshi. It had a Yin and Yang symbol on it. In simple words, it was a Yin pendant.

"It looks cheap." Yoshi said with a straight face.

After hearing Yoshi's inconsiderate words, Namina puffed her cheeks and said

"Hah! What do you mean it's cheap?! I used all my pocket money to buy this for you!" She said in an angry tone of voice.

Yoshi after seeing Namina's puffing face, smiled and patted her head which calmed her down. He looked at Namina's goofy expression and then looked at the pendant in his hand, and decided to say

"You know, it actually looks pretty cool! Thank you very much for this Nami. I will treasure it." Yoshi said with a smile on his face which was only reserved for his mother and Namina. After saying those words, he put the pendant in his pocket and started moving again.

Namina after hearing Yoshi's words and seeing his smile, blushed a little. After seeing that Yoshi was ahead of her, she started running before catching up to him and said

"Look at this Yoshi, We are matching now!" Namina said while showing Yoshi the Yang symbol Pendant on her neck.

Yoshi after seeing that, looked at Nami with an amused expression on his face and asked

"Why the similar pendants? Was there a buy one get one free offer going for it and you just so happened to get mine for free?" Yoshi asked curiously.

"No you idiot. It's actually the whole set, yours and mine are from the same piece. Mine is the Yang one and yours is the Yin one." Nami clarified with a smile.

"Why do we have matching pendants then?" Yoshi asked curiously.

"That's for a reason Yoshi. A very important reason." Namina said while nodding her head in a sagely manner.

"And that reason is...?" Yoshi played along with her and asked again.

"Well, this is like a promise between the both of us. Just like the Yin and Yang symbols are inseparable and are always together, I want the both of us to be together forever too. This pendant is like a promise between the both of us so I don't want you to ever lose it Yoshi. Keep this pendant with you forever and ever. That's an order!" Namina said in a sincere tone of voice and ended it with a smug smile.

Yoshi after hearing Nami looked at her and asked

"Why is mine black then? It looks cool so I think you might have taken it for yourself." Yoshi asked curiously.

"Well, seeing as how you are dark and gloomy when I am not around you, I think it will suit you more." Namina said in a teasing tone of voice.

Yoshi after hearing her just smiled a little and didn't voice his disagreement over what she said as he knew she was right.

Just as they were about to reach their school, Namina once again stopped in her tracks prompting Yoshi to also stop and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Seeing the look Yoshi was giving her, Namina smiled sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head and said

"Well, Yoshi. I think I forgot my English textbook at home today!"

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[ Present Time ]

The entire class turned silent when they saw the person coming inside their classroom; or more appropriately, the state that person was in.

Their homeroom teacher, Sekai Sena, entered their classroom with a grim expression on her face.

Every student in the class was a bit surprised after seeing her condition.

Their teacher's hair, which was usually put in a bun, was in a disheveled state. She was not wearing the glasses she usually wore and her eyes were red and swollen.

To everyone looking at her, it was obvious that she had been crying before coming here.

Nobody in the class said anything to her and just looked at her moving figure with worry filled eyes. They knew their strict and harsh teacher was a kind woman, that's why they couldn't help but feel worried about her.

When their teacher reached her lecture stand, she just stared at the ground for a few moments without looking at any of them.

Everyone in the class after seeing their usually calm and collected teacher act this way, couldn't help but get worried.

After a few moments of hesitation, their teacher finally looked up to stare at them and said in a cracked tone of voice

"Last night, there was a g-gas leakage in Nishio's residence, resulting in a small explosion to take place. As a result, N-Nishio N-Namina-" After saying those words, their teacher's voice cracked and she couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

Everyone in the class after seeing their teacher break down into tears like this, understood what she wanted to say. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. How could they even believe it? According to their teacher's words, Nishio Namina, their hyperactive classmate and friend, was d—

"There's no way that's true! You are lying aren't you?!! I just saw her yesterday!!" A girl seated on the front bench, said with a horrified expression on her face. She was one of the girls Namina was very close to.

"Y-You are k-kidding right Sena Sensei...? Y-You are not serious a-are you? STOP JOKING ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS DAMMIT!!" A black haired boy shouted at his teacher after hearing her words with a pale expression on his face. He was one of the many boys who had a crush on Namina.

"Mii-chan....." A girl wearing glasses, said while bawling her eyes out while her friends tried to calm her down. She was a girl who was too afraid to make friends at first, but then received Namina's help and ended up befriending many nice people.

"Mina-Chan, it can't be....." Haruka said with tears in her eyes while covering her mouth with her right hand.

"Nishio-san....." Yuki said in a soft voice with his everlasting smile, absent from his face.

"Namina-san." Saori said in disbelief with furrowed eyebrows. She looked down to notice drops of water on her hands. Upon touching her face, she noticed she was crying.

The entire classroom was in chaos after hearing their teacher's words. Many students were crying, both boys and girls included. Some looked sad and some straight out didn't believe her.

Seeing that her students were panicking, Sena decided to calm them down but her words died in her throat when she heard a voice

"Sensei..."

Matsumura Yoshihiro, called out to his teacher while raising his hand.

The whole class went silent after hearing Yoshi's voice.

If there was one thing everyone in the school knew for a fact, it was that just how much Yoshi and Nami cared about each other.

They were always seen together, be it their seating arrangements or just walking home, they were inseparable.

If you were to see Namina somewhere, you would be sure to find Yoshi there too. They were the prime example of Yin and Yang.

Despite being contradictory opposites of each other, they couldn't BE without each other.

So upon hearing Yoshi calling out to their teacher in a normal tone of voice even after being informed about what happened to his precious friend, everyone in the class couldn't help but look at him with worry filled eyes.

There was no sadness in Yoshi's face. No anger. Nothing. He was just raising his hand while looking at his teacher with a plain face.

Upon being called by the boy who she was sure would be the most affected by this news, Sekai Sena looked at Yoshi's face with tears in her eyes.

She was devastated after seeing the look Yoshi had on his face. She was sure his classmates missed it, but being an adult, Sena could see it clearly in his eyes.

Denial.

Yoshi was in Denial.

It was normal for people to feel this emotion when someone close to them dies, but upon seeing this emotion in the eyes of someone as young as her student, Sena couldn't help but cry at his situation.

Seeing that he was waiting for her to give him the permission to speak, Sena said in between sobs

"What is it Matsumura-kun?" Sena asked while avoiding looking into Yoshi's eyes.

Yoshi after seeing he had his teacher's attention, opened his mouth and said

"I am sorry Sensei, but I don't think I am feeling that well. Could I take my leave for today?" Yoshi asked in a plain voice while his hair covered his eyes.

After hearing Yoshi's words, everyone in the class was confused.

Knowing how close Yoshi was with Namina, they were sure he would be the most devastated among them. But seeing him act in this nonchalant way, despite the sadness they were feeling, they couldn't help but get confused over their classmate's reaction.

Except for three students.

Only the three students seated closest to Yoshi, had a slight inkling to what Yoshi was feeling at the moment.

They saw it in his eyes when their teacher started crying after telling them about this tragedy.

And what they saw, was a sight that will forever be embedded in the darkest part of their memories.

Yoshi's eyes after hearing this terrible news, were hollow. At first, they thought he would start crying. But after a few moments of silence, Yoshi's face turned completely blank.

He didn't believe it.

How could he believe it?

Namina was someone who Yoshi had been with for all his 13 years of Life. Hearing these words coming out of his teacher's mouth out of nowhere, Yoshi was sure to not believe in something like this.

He refused to believe in something like this.

Sekai Sena, after hearing her student's request wanted to reject him but she stopped herself.

She knew if she rejected this request of his, Yoshi would snap.

Sekai Sena knew, that Yoshi was not asking for permission. Rather, he was acting.

He was acting like everything was normal.

So despite being worried about her student's mental state, Sena couldn't help but say in a shaky tone of voice

"Alright Matsumura-kun, If you are not feeling well then you can go and sit in the reception office and wait for your mother to come and pick you up." Sena said with a pained expression on her face.

After getting his teacher's permission, Yoshi bowed his head to her one last time and left the classroom with an apathetic expression on his face.

Seeing Yoshi leaving her classroom, Sena gathered her courage to at least say something to console him but she couldn't find the right words.

What could she say to him?

'It's alright'

'Everything will be fine'

'I am sorry for your loss'

'You need to stay strong in times like this'

'Namina wouldn't like to see you in this state'

These were the words she wanted to say to her student. She wanted to help her student.

But before she could, He had already left the class.

Seeing that he had already left the classroom before she could tell him this, Sekai Sena looked at the ground in disappointment.

She was the worst.

Seeing their classmate's retreating back, most of the students were confused. But the three students with closest seating arrangement to Yoshi had a feeling.

That Matsumura Yoshihiro, will never be the same.

~

After exiting his classroom, Yoshi was moving straight towards the reception office.

He wasn't looking at anything in particular. He didn't respond to any greetings coming his way neither did he greet his teachers like usual.

He just kept on walking with a blank face.

Just as Yoshi was about to reach the reception office, he heard the sound of something falling from his pocket.

Looking down, his eyes caught the sight of something black.

It was the Yin pendant Namina gave him.

Picking up the pendant from the ground, Yoshi held it in his hand and went inside the reception office.

That day Yoshi got to know something new about him.

He hated the colour black.

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Hello Dear Readers!

Author here.

So, I am writing this Author's note to explain some things in this chapter.

Yin and Yang symbol.

I think that most of you already know that the Yin symbol represents a female rather than a male, despite that, I gave Yoshi the Yin pendant.

There is a reason behind that. Yin symbol represents quiet, cunning, dark and many other elements that suits Yoshi's character more than Namina. So I decided to give him the Yin pendant.

Next chapter will be the end of the prologue of this story, I hope you guys liked this chapter.

I don't know whether you found this chapter sad or not, but the next one is ....well...

You have to read and find out for yourselves.

Peace!