4 Chapter 3: There's Never A Dull Moment With You Two Around

"Let's walk to school together~"

Kyoko excitedly says as she shows me a bright smile.

"…cute." Those were my immediate thoughts.

I try to keep myself composed and respond back to her.

"Sure, let's go."

I walk past her and head toward the front gate.

"Jiiiiiiii…"

I don't have to be looking at her to know she's pouting right now.

"Ei!"

She rushes over and locks arms with me.

"H-Hey what are you doing all of a sudden!?"

"Ehehe."

She looks like she has no intention of letting go so I give up on trying to resist.

Kyoko smells really nice, so it's hard to keep my cool when she clings to me so early in the morning.

We begin making our way down the street toward the school, arms locked together.

"By the way Akira-kun…"

"Hm?"

"Did Ayase-san already leave for work?"

"Yeah, she left about 15 minutes ago."

"She's such a hard worker, I hope she isn't overdoing it…"

She looks down with a worried expression.

I recall our banter this morning.

She seemed perfectly fine to me.

"She's just as energetic and troublesome as ever."

I try to reassure her by gesturing that it's no big deal.

"Well if you say so, then I'm sure she's fine…"

"By the way, my family wanted me to give you their regards. They seem to be quite fond of you."

"Do you really think so? Tell them I said thanks and that I'll be in their care."

"They totally do! And I'll be sure to let them know."

Apparently, Kyoko's parents have been friends with my mom for a long time. That would probably explain why they welcomed the idea of me dating their daughter so easily. They're all good people and I can tell how much they love Kyoko. Who knows what would've happened if they weren't already familiar with me when I started dating Kyoko? I shiver at the thought as I imagine her father saying "I'll never hand over my daughter to a punk like you!"

"Truly terrifying…"

As we continue toward the school, I find my eyes being drawn to the girl by my side.

I've always known this, but Kyoko sure is cute. She has smooth sakura pink hair tied into two twin tails. She also has sky blue eyes, along with fair skin. She has a great sense of fashion as well. Even just wearing the school uniform, she definitely stands out amongst other girls.

"Is there something on my face Akira-kun?"

Seems like I unintentionally ended up staring at her.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about how cute you are, that's all."

"I-Is that so…ehehe~"

I just said that without thinking much, but for some reason, she looks incredibly happy.

She clings to me even tighter and nuzzles her face on my arm.

(Sigh)

"What am I going to do with you?"

I reach over to her with my free arm and pat her head.

"But you like me this way, don't you?"

"That is…" I avert my gaze as I start to feel embarrassed.

"Wellll?" She presses me for an answer with a smug grin plastered across her face.

"You already know the answer to that question don't you?"

"Maybe, but sometimes a girl still wants to hear the words, you know?"

"…"

I feel like I'm playing into her hands, but I decide to tell her what she wants to hear.

"I…like you." I mumble the last part of the sentence as I start to feel bashful.

"Hmmm? What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."

She cups her ear with her free hand and winks at me.

"Ugh… you're doing this on purpose aren't you."

I pull my arm free and walk ahead of her.

"Awww, don't sulk, I was just teasing you a bit."

"Hmph." I pay her words no heed as I continue on.

"Akira-kun…"

I turn around and see Kyoko holding out her hand, making an apologetic face.

"That's not fair, and you know it."

I take her hand in my own and grip it tightly.

"I love that part of you Akira-kun~"

She flashes me a smile. This is a special smile, one that she only shows to me.

We've arrived at the bridge above the riverbank which means we're a little less than 10 minutes away from school.

"Hmm?"

I notice someone laying on the grass by the riverbank. His clothes look a bit tattered.

"I wonder if he's homeless?" I silently think to myself as I look in his direction.

"What's wrong Akira-kun?"

"It's nothing." I quickly look away.

"Well, it doesn't concern me anyway…" I quietly mutter to myself as we continue to walk hand in hand.

Just as we cross the bridge…

"You two are as lovey-dovey as ever I see."

We both turn around simultaneously.

"Ri-chan!"

Kyoko immediately lets go of my hand and goes over to hug the girl that just arrived.

"Good morning to you as well, Kyo-chan."

She looks over at me.

"Yo, Fuyuki, your face is still as run-down as ever."

She jeers at me.

"Glad to see your tongue is still as sharp as ever, Yamaguchi."

I rebut.

"Now now, let's all get along."

Kyoko interjects between our little standoff.

"Hmph."

"Hmph!"

We both look away from each other.

"Let's walk to school together Ri-chan!"

Kyoko smiles brightly at her.

"Well if you insist, I suppose I don't mind…"

"Tsundere much?" I mumble.

"HUH!? Who're ya calling a tsundere?!"

"Do you see any other dishonest girls around here?"

I exaggeratedly look around, searching for no one in particular.

"Why you!"

Yamaguchi moves to put me in a headlock, but I avoid her and stick my tongue out at her.

"Tch!" She hisses.

We continue to mess around for a bit as we make our way to school, now in a group of three.

Yamaguchi Yurika.

She's Kyoko's best friend.

I met her in my first year of high school after Kyoko introduced the two of us.

She's a tall, fierce girl with long silky purple hair and violet eyes. She dresses sort of like a gyaru, with her provocatively altered uniform and baggy socks. You'd never expect her to be good friends with someone as well-behaved as Kyoko. Objectively speaking, she's a beautiful girl, but our personalities often clash. She has a sharp tongue and intimidating-looking eyes. That's probably why no one approaches her at school, but in reality, she's not really a bad person. She's very caring and protective of Kyoko, and although we butt heads quite often, she always listens to me when I have any troubles. I feel pretty comfortable around her since we both have trouble expressing ourselves to others.

"Do you think we'll be in the same class this year?" Kyoko asks the two of us.

"It'd be nice if the two of us were in the same class. I don't mind if Fuyuki is in a different class though."

"Awww, but I want to be in the same class as both of you." Kyoko sulks.

"W-Well, I think it'd be nice if we all ended up in the same class."

"Heh." I snicker at how weak she is to Kyoko.

"What the hell are ya laughing about over there!?"

She shoots me a quick glare, but I pay her no mind.

I decide I'll tease Kyoko a bit as payback for earlier.

"As for me, I don't particularly mind either way."

"Ehhh? You don't want to be in the same class as me, Akira-kun?"

"If we were in the same class it would be problematic for me in many ways."

Kyoko slumps her shoulders and looks disheartened.

"Hey! Do you know what yer saying asshole!?" Yamaguchi roars at me.

She looks like she's ready to pounce at me any second.

"After all, if we were in the same class I'd be too busy looking at you to focus on my work."

"Ah" Kyoko's eyes widen.

"Hmm? Did I say something strange?"

(Thump)

She runs up to me and hugs me tightly with both arms.

"I really love you~" She nuzzles her face into my chest like a child clinging to their parent.

"…Mmm." Embarrassed, I avert my gaze and pat her head.

"Jeez, you should've just said that from the start dummy!"

"Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to tease you as payback."

"Mmmm…"

Kyoko pouts and turns her head, still clinging to me.

"Oi Oi, how long do you two intend on flirting in front of me?"

"Jealous?" I jeer at Yamaguchi.

"LIKE HELL I AM!"

"Hahaha" Kyoko laughs and goes over to hug Yamaguchi.

"I love you too, Ri-chan!"

"Hmph," Yamaguchi starts pouting whilst hugging Kyoko back.

Other students have begun to come into view.

They're all talking enthusiastically with one another.

"I don't understand how they can all be so energetic this early in the morning," I say as I start to feel lethargic.

"Yer just too damn lazy," Yamaguchi remarks.

"I suppose that's true."

Kyoko is walking in front of us and looking at the Sakura trees along the path, not even watching where she's going. For someone as diligent and studious as her, she can be quite clumsy sometimes.

"Hey Kyoko, watch where your-

(Bump)

"Going…"

She bumps into someone.

"Tch! Watch where the hell you're going!" A girl hisses.

She's a small girl, even smaller than Kyoko. However, contrary to her size, she is quiet well endowed. Her curves stick out in all the right places. She has blue eyes and long red hair tied into twin tails with ribbons like Kyoko. She's wearing thigh high socks and has her vest tied around her waist. Her nails are painted different colors and she has on a bunch of jewelry as well as accessories.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention, are you hurt at all?" Kyoko bows, apologizing to the girl.

"Are you stupid or something? Why aren't you paying attention to what's in front of you!?"

"Yeah, you need to apologize to her."

"Yeah! Yeah! Get on your knees and apologize to Kotori!"

Two of the girl's friends join in and start berating Kyoko.

I get ready to interject as the situation has started to get out of hand.

"He-…"

"..."

Someone rushes past me in the blink of an eye.

Before I know it, Yamaguchi is standing in between Kyoko and the group of girls.

"Is there a problem?" Yamaguchi glares daggers at all 3 of them, it's enough to send a chill down my spine.

"T-That's right, this stupid bitch bumped into me and didn't even apologize!"

Kyoko keeps her head bowed, but she isn't showing any signs of being afraid.

"Are y'all idiots or what? The first thing she did was apologize to ya."

Yamaguchi points at the red-haired girl whilst looking down at her.

"Ugh…"

The girls stand there, unable to rebut Yamaguchi.

"Ya got anything else ta say?"

The three girls stand there scowling at Yamaguchi.

"If that's all ya wanted, then she already did it, so step off, now!" Yamaguchi made sure to emphasize that last part as she points in the direction of the school.

"H-Hey let's just go Kotori…"

"Yeah, we shouldn't mess with Yamaguchi, she looks like a delinquent."

"Tch. I'll remember this…"

The three girls quickly walk away.

"Thank you Ri-chan, you totally saved me!"

Kyoko grabs Yamaguchi's hand with both of hers and flashes a vibrant smile.

"It's no big deal, I just couldn't let them gang up on you like that is all.

"You're my hero Ri-chan, ehehe."

"Wha—."

Yamaguchi's face starts to flush red.

I quietly watch this wholesome interaction as I think, "There's never a dull moment with these two around."

The three of us arrive at school.

We're currently looking for our names on the board to see what class we're in this year.

"Hmmm…."

There's a nervous silence between the three of us.

"Ah…"

We spot our names at the same time.

[Class 2A]

Fuyuki Akira

Yamaguchi Yurika

Yuzuha Kyoko

"W-W-We're all in the same class!"

Kyoko breaks the silence as she rejoices, sounding like she's about to cry.

"Heh. Looks like we'll be together this year." Yamaguchi smiles uncharacteristically.

"I'm shooo happy…"

Kyoko pulls us together for a group hug.

"Kyo-chan!?"

"Kyoko!?"

Both Yamaguchi and I are taken aback and try to pull away.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm just so glad I get to be together with the two most precious people to me…"

Tears begin to flow out of Kyoko's eyes

"…."

Yamaguchi and I look at each other.

"Just this once ok?"

"I guess it can't be helped this time."

The three of us embrace in front of the board.

There's a warm feeling deep in my chest.

I want to hold onto this feeling.

I want to protect the people that make me feel this warmth.

I can't quite figure out why, but…

I have a feeling this will be a year that I won't ever forget.