In Our Corner of the World || y.h.

chapter one ; spring

The world has a funny way of putting people where they need to be. Some of us are world-class athletes, while some of us are lost trying to make our way to school.

The morning breeze was light and chilly, as he made his way to school after not attending for a while. His career made it impossible for him to lead a normal life as a student, much less a teenager. He was as diligent as he was mischievous, and he was as strict as he was kind.

That was his life, that was Yuzuru's life.

In the Spring after turning seventeen in December, he had made his triumphant return to his hometown of Sendai, and as usual, whenever he came home, everyone would know about it - from the children playing in the park to the grumpy neighbourhood elder. He truly was treated like a war hero whenever he comes back.

He walked along the familiar streets to the high school, in his school uniform and his schoolbag slung onto one shoulder. The sakura blossoms were falling beautifully in the season, and as he walked along, he noticed that the people were paying more attention to him rather than the falling petals.

Unlike the other students of Tohoku High School, he didn't prefer to take the normal route to the school, due to it being crowded in the early mornings with the students buying food and walking at glacier pace whenever meeting up with their friends. He purposely took a turn up a hill, to the much more private and narrow street, where most of the high-class bunch lived in

As he made his way, he suddenly paused and stood still, as he noticed another student, in the same school uniform as him. The girl had middle-length hair, that was just below her shoulders, that was the colour of burnt leaves. She looked down onto a piece of paper in her hand, as her eyebrows furrowed at whatever was written on it. He can't help but feel as though she had no idea where she was going.

He slowly made his way towards her, and he greeted her politely, "Excuse me," he uttered, "are you trying to find Tohoku High School?"

The girl looked up and her copper brown eyes met his, as she gave him a smile and nodded, "Yeah, but I'm kind of terrible with directions. I'm not used to this town yet."

Yuzuru stayed quiet, unable to stop his staring at how beautiful she looked. She waited for a while for him to speak, as her expression changed as if she was anticipating a response.

"Ah, I see." He said, rather awkward, "It's a much more private road here. It's that narrow street with the sakura blossoms and you just have to make a left turn, then you'll see the school not far from there."

The girl's eyes lit up as she expressed her gratitude in a slight bow.

"Thank you!" Her tone much overjoyed, as she made a quick run through the sakura blossoms as they fell, and her amazement towards them sparked a bright smile on her face. Yuzuru couldn't help but admire such a peculiar act of enthusiasm. He continued walking through the same narrow street, arriving to school on time.

As he made his was into the compound, he was greeted by his peers and the teachers, he was practically the most popular person in town, and as he walked through the hallways, he was showered with congratulations and presents by some of his schoolmates.

The moment he reached class, he wondered more about the peculiar girl he had met earlier, questions like her name, her grade, and if anybody knew her lingered in his mind till the teacher came in.

The entire class greeted her, and as everyone sat down, she began to speak, "Class, we will be having a new student joining us starting from today. I'll go call for her."

The moment she left the classroom, everyone began murmuring, and some asked Yuzuru if he had known about the new girl.

"I didn't." He answered.