HIS AND HER ORIGIN!

YUKIKO HARUMI!

MY FIRST LOVE!

I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd meet her again. Agh! This brings back a lot of memories.

.....

" Prodigies and Underachievers. The stark contrast they both are with respect to each other, even though at the end of the day, they are humans, and yet the world looks at them with a magnifying glass tells you a lot about the world itself."

If prodigies are the saviors of this world, the one's people worship and sing their glories, then the underachievers are the clowns of the very same world, the one's people like to stomp on their suffering, ridicule them, and raise their miseries. Such is how they are treated, even if they wish otherwise.

Both are two different faces of the same coin called potential, but always only one is favored over the other. The world loves to submit themselves before supremacy, but at the same time, they love to rub it in the face of someone, who had the same capability that they never had, but are still at the same level as the worshipers.

"If Yukiko Harumi was the new princess in the exceptionally rare breed of prodigies, then it is fairly obvious that I Naofumi Nifuji, am the new prince of the clowns,

The Clown Prince. Let there be anarchy. Ha ha ha ha."

One thing was certain, both of us were never to coexist in the same bubble. As for why?....

...

December 10, 1995.

The day I was welcomed to this dreaded world.

Though, it was a wonderful moment for my mother and father, as it was their first step into parenthood.

I would like to believe that so.

I don't remember much of my life as an infant, and probably that's the same for all.

As for what I remember;

"Here you go, your favorite orange juice."

I can still remember the warm feeling I felt while taking the cup from the palm of her hands.

"Thank you Rin-chan. I love you."

"Really? I'm so glad to hear that. I love you too, my dear Nifuji. Here, let me cuddle you a little more."

"Really, yee.....!"

4-year-old me. The innocence that radiated from my face, is really joyful to watch. I loved the cuddle from her more than my own mother. I wish I could have held onto that a little longer.

"It's not Rin-chan, it's Rin-san. How many times have I already corrected you? You can't call her like that. It's bad manners."

My mom was correcting me, as usual.

"Eh? Why not? I like her more as Rin-chan than Rin-san!...."

I remember that I cried a lot after this.

"Oh dear, don't cry. Don't worry about it, I will always be your Rin-chan, Nao-kun."

I was really happy, hearing those words.

Back then, I was a crybaby. If I didn't like something but was forced to do it, I would instantly cry out.

And the only woman who would accept that part of me wholeheartedly and would hold onto me until I stopped crying, was not my mother. Not something you would normally think.

But it was this woman,

RINKO HARUMI.

Yuki-nee's mom.

Rinko-san and My Mother go a long way back. Both were good friends since high school and close neighbors and it was given that their bond would gradually deepen over time.

There was a time when both of them were unable to be in contact with each other, as each individual was busy in their own job and was dedicated towards their career.

But that was only for a short time, as by the time Rinko-san's wedding was about to take place, my mom was also in a relationship with my dad and they both wanted to introduce themselves to their respective families.

I heard from Rinko-san that both my mom and dad had endured a hard time getting the approval, and by the time it was all done, Rinko-san already had completed the first trimester of her pregnancy.

Since then, both of them were closer than ever, and at times, inseparable. There were a lot of pictures of their picnics that support the fact. My mom started as an attorney, and while I remembering hearing that she had a rough start, her reputation started getting better and she had less time to spend with Rinko-san.To make amends for the time lost, she started having sleepovers at Rinko-san's place almost every day of the week, while her husband used to hang out with my dad and sleepover at our place. Both my mom and Rinko-san were next-door neighbors, so it was pretty convenient for both the couples.

Time passed by and finally,

October 18, 1994.

Everyone welcomed Yukiko Harumi.

Everyone adored her, but none more than my mom, and rightfully so. To my mother, Yukiko was the reason why she and Rinko-san were back together once again, and why their bond deepened a lot and is way stronger than before. She never left Yukiko's side until she was aware of her own pregnancy, and she slowed down.

Anyway.....

"Nao! Nao-kun. Come, let's play."

Here's the lady tyrant herself, Yuki-nee. Even though she was a year elder than me, she still chose to play with me every day and never left my side.

I often spent more time at Rinko-san's place than my own, as ever since my younger brother was born. I often felt alone, as my parents were busy watching over him since he was just a toddler.

And, I never had any friends that I could play being a crybaby. I would often find myself in Rinko-san's kitchen, try to help her.

"NO! I want to stay with Rin-chan and help her."

Unlike me, she was a strong girl for her age, and "no" was never an option. She dragged me like a pet dog.

"We're going!"

"No!"

This was quite common, I used to make a fuss, but later latch onto Yuki-nee and never leave her and she never complained. We always played in the park by ourselves and she would never let go of my hand, and I felt at ease. But that was all a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode and rain misery.

You see, Yukiko Harumi was a prodigy, a genius. When I say that, I really mean that. She could grasp subjects and games quickly for her age and would master them with ease, which people consider that she's already at the level of a middle schooler, even though she just enrolled for elementary school and was just a term in. Such a talent would seldom go unnoticed and very soon, she was the star of the show. And everyone, be it her far away relatives, or colleagues from her parent's workplace who would visit Rinko-san's house and see her talents would recommend that she must go to an elite school and quickly cast me away claiming that she was wasting her time playing with the likes of me, and needed to make friends of her kind.

I couldn't remember what they said at that time, but I did remember their face. Even though there were many different faces, they had one common expression;

"You are not needed. Go away!"

I really wanted to cry back then, but I didn't want to cry in front of Rinko-san.

A few days later, both Rinko-san and her husband were faced with the prospect of enrolling their kid in an elite school, but there was an air of uncertainty.

And one woman who got wind of this situation immediately decided to act on it before it was too late. That woman was none other than my mother, Yumiko Katsuki.

"What are you waiting for? Why are you hesitating over her future now? You should be extremely happy about it. What are you worried about?"

As expected of an attorney. A resounding argument.

Well, there was one problem, and that is.....

"No! Yuki-nee, the star of the show was against it.

"If I join that school, then I won't be able to go to school in the morning and play with Nao-kun in the evening. I don't want it".

But my mom was strongly against it, but she talked her into a cunning scheme.

"How about this? To make up for the time lost with Nao-kun in the day, how about you have a sleepover every night? In that way, it will be balanced."

Yuki-nee thought for a while and agreed.

And that was where everything went wrong...