Tzuyu didn't know she has a protective side,
but she knows Sana is putting up a front.

 

---

 

Tzuyu was supposed to be at the usual lunch spot with her friends on the courtyard, but something came up with the two minions, and she decided to spend her time on the rooftop on her own. 

So here she is now, hunched on the railing with a packet of bread. Her long raven hair is being blown by the gentle breeze of the wind, a few strands slapping her face but she is unfazed. She takes a bite of the potato bun, slowly chewing as her eyes scan the front courtyard for a face. Unknown to her, a figure is creeping on her back, both hands raised to attack her.

Only for Tzuyu to stretch her arm out with a carton of milk.

“Ugh, milk again?”

“It’s good for bone growth.” Or more like her vertically-challenged built, but Tzuyu is not someone who enjoys ridiculing other’s weaknesses.

“Tch, how considerate.” Chaeyoung grumbled, earning a silent giggle from her tall friend. She puts the milk aside for Dahyun who needs it more as she takes out an apple from the pocket of her PE jacket.

“Is she with Dahyun?”

“Yep, Jihyo-unnie wants to meet her.”

“Jihyo-unnie? What for?” 

The girl shrugs, biting off a huge chunk of the fruit. “Probably about that day.”

Tzuyu’s chewing paused. She swallowed the remaining bits of bread with difficulty as the memory of the recent incident begins replaying in her mind like it just happened yesterday

 

 

Last week...

 

Tzuyu quickly ran down the staircase, ignoring the teacher shouting at her to not run on the hallway. She was met with a few girls yelling at the back courtyard of the block. She sees Chaeyoung already in her tracksuit standing by the bench, consoling someone.

Her jaws tighten as she gets closer - it’s Sana.

She’s smiling, but Tzuyu can see red watery eyes and the faint streak of tears on her cheeks. Clenching her hands into fists, she marches forward to the group. She found Dahyun among them, the small girl bravely confronting the few students with sloppy appearance. As she gets closer, Tzuyu could make out who these people are - the so-called infamous gang of seniors, known for bullying and messing with new kids. 

Her eyes land on the leader, one she’s so familiar with who tried to mug her lunch money on her second day of freshman year. She was slightly buffed and daunting, with short hair and rolled up sleeves, but it wasn’t enough to intimidate Tzuyu. The leader was clearly annoyed with Dahyun’s presence, the former pushing the pale girl with so much force, it caused Dahyun to stumble backwards a few steps. 

They expected the annoyingly fair second year to harshly fall on the gravel ground, but they didn’t expect a tall girl to cushion the stumbling Dahyun with her body. 

Tzuyu holds her friend’s shoulders to steady her stance, the girl sighing in relief at her presence.

“Tzuyu, thank god… I thought I was gonna end up as their punching bag.” She whispered, which didn’t go unnoticed by the troublemakers.

“Heh... You think with your friend here, we won’t dare beat you up?”

Dahyun whips her head to the gang with a glare as she rubs her clothes off the nonexistent dust while Tzuyu calmly faces the leader. The short hair senior scans the familiar newcomer up and down, before letting out a loud scoff.

“You should step aside if you value your pretty face, princess.”

Tzuyu kept mum but Dahyun is never one to back down from other’s mistreatment. “After what you did to Sana? No way! You’ll have to face me first!”

The leader shakes her head exasperatedly. “Look, my problem is with that new girl so move before I wreck both of you badly!”

“Pardon - may I know what she did to you?”

Everyone turns their head to the tall girl, not expecting the formal and polite question in the middle of their squabble. The leader snorted, while another senior with a ponytail stepped forward, arms folded together. 

“She stole my boyfriend!”

“Yah, she already said she doesn’t know anything!” Dahyun intervenes but the ponytail senior takes a step forward, pushing a finger on the former's chest.

“You think I’d believe that? That is a liar!”

“What about you?”

“W-What?” The senior fumbled on her words when Tzuyu stepped in, glaring down on her.

“Unless you have proof, I can claim that you’re lying too.”

Dahyun loudly scoffed. “Better yet, she might be lying about her imaginary boyfriend as well.”

“Why you–!”

The senior snatches Dahyun’s collar, a hand raised for a punch but before it can land on her face, another hand seized it. Dahyun blinked her eyes open when she felt nothing hit her, only to see Tzuyu towering above them while holding the senior’s wrist in a tight hold. 

“H-Hey! Let go!”

The senior squirms, trying to release herself from the strong grip. She can feel the blood supply cutting off, her hand slowly turning numb. A whistling sound came from the leader, signaling her gang members to take charge. One of them is getting ready to pounce on the tall second year while another grabs Dahyun’s collar. 

However, a booming voice suddenly filled the area, all heads turning to the brunette striding her short legs to them.

“Alright! Hands off now, people!”

The seniors reluctantly backed away when Jihyo approached them with her menacing aura. They had a bad history with Jihyo - she’s not to be messed with. They had been caught a few times by Jihyo and the punishment was horrible. The girl might look small, but Jihyo’s influence in school is on par with the principal’s daughter. Even the president of the student council relies on her for troubling cases such as these. 

Dahyun heaved a deep breath but she worriedly looked at her tall friend - Tzuyu is still holding the ponytail senior with no sign of backing down. Jihyo approaches the angry giant, gently patting her arm to release the shaking senior.

“Tzuyu.”

She blinked twice, as if snapped out of a trance, before releasing her tight grip. The senior cussed while clutching her sore hand, a bright red mark can be seen on her wrist. Seeing that everything had settled down, Jihyo turned to the troublemakers.

“All of you are coming with me.”

“Us - Yah, we didn’t do anything! These brats start it first, Park!”

“Come with me now or you’re going to face worse consequences.” 

Her voice was calm, but they knew better than to mess with Jihyo when she used the deep tone. The senior relents and tells her gang to follow Jihyo, but not before glaring at the second years. Jihyo clears - a small warning, telling the troublemakers to walk away to the staff room. She catches the forlorn look of the Tzuyu, but Dahyun gives her an assured nod that she will take care of the upset tall girl. 

 

 

Tzuyu was glad to have her friends back then who had stumbled upon Sana and the gang by accident. Chaeyoung was on her way to track practice while Dahyun was taking trash to the back of the building when they saw Sana being surrounded by the girls. She was suddenly pushed to the ground, and that’s when Dahyun ran to them out of impulse while Chaeyoung dragged the shocked Sana to the bench, checking her for any injuries. 

She recalls the memory vividly, learning a new, frightening side of her. It took a while for her to calm down, but she managed to break out of her aggravated state when Sana approached her, the warm smile on her face appeasing her clouded head. 

“It was the first time I saw you like that.”

The tall girl snapped from her daydream, turning her attention to Chaeyoung with a questioning look.

“What do you mean?”

“You were really scary, Tzu.” She lets out a small laugh. “I really thought you were gonna beat the crap out of that senior. She was actually shaking in fear!”

“Oh.” 

She was surprised herself with the new information, knowing she was never one to resort to violence and would rather stay out of trouble. She’s always the calm before the two storms that are her two prankster friends, being the one who actually uses her brain rather than blindly reacting to a situation. 

But that day, she didn’t know what possessed her. The only thing she remembered was seeing Sana’s troubled face and everything after that was a blur. 

Her eyes catch three familiar figures on the courtyard walking towards the building entrance. She keeps her gaze on one in particular, seeing a smile plastered on the girl’s face despite their distance. 

Perhaps, it was because of her protectiveness to her childhood friend, who always protects her in the past. Sana was always the bold and daring girl when they were children, but it changed after she moved back from Japan. Tzuyu can see how fragile the older is at times, always staring out in the distance or only talking when she is asked to - it was as if she’s putting up a front for everyone.  

When her eyes landed on Sana, she felt the need to protect her childhood friend from harm, because it feels like the right thing to do.

Tzuyu received several pats on the shoulder, startling her from the deep thought. Chaeyoung wears her trademark dimpled smile, showing her resemblance to a young cub.

“I’ll put that as a reminder to not mess with you in the future, Tzuyu.”

She merely shoves the small girl who snickers playfully, before letting out a silent sigh as she chucks the last piece of lunch into .

 

*

 

“Alpha 1 to Delta 2, over.”

“Delta 2 responding.” 

“What’s the situation?”

“Negative sighting, over.”

“Alright, cover my six.”

Sana scratched her unitchy head in confusion at the pair of smol beans hunching down behind a pillar by the school gate. She turns to her childhood friend, the latter unbothered by the awkward scene as she watches them with a smirk. Sana raised a brow, the girl shrugging before mouthing to just go along with it. 

Before she could respond, her hand was yanked forcefully by Dahyun. 

“Come on, Sana. We gotta go now!”

“Eh? What do you - Yah!”

Sana was pulled to jog along with the tofu as Chaeyoung followed closely with eyes warily scanning their back, while Tzuyu calmly strides beside them with her long legs. They came to a stop when they reached the building entrance, all of them catching their breath except for Tzuyu who silently laughed at the scene.

“We made it!”

Sana doesn’t know what that was, or what’s going on, because Tzuyu only gives her a shrug and a chuckle when she asks about it. She thought it was just a one time thing, only for it to happen again on the following days with the trio. 

“Sana, come eat with us! Tzuyu brought a lot today and her food never disappoints!”

“You should walk with me to the library. I’m the perfect target for kidnapping, you know? Since I’m a smol kid…?”

“Unnie, are you going home? Let’s go together, just like old times.”

Sana has been getting these questions from the three musketeers every day, the girls always accompanying and keeping her under their sight. It’s really cute and considerate of them, but it’s a bit put off for her to have them constantly tagging her tail everywhere she goes. After putting two and two together, she finally understood why they are acting like overprotective sisters. 

The incident last week didn’t only affect Sana, but the girls as well. Even Sana has a hard time overcoming the fright; it took her a lot of effort to attend school the next day without feeling anxious of everyone. Sana is deeply grateful for their considerations, but she doesn’t want to burden them more by acting as her bodyguard 24/7. 

She finds Tzuyu already waiting outside her class after the last bell rang. The girl is smiling politely at her classmates as they greet her by the door, only for a dimpled bright smile to appear when she spotted Sana. The latter shakes her head, making her way to her childhood friend.

“Why are you grinning like that?”

Tzuyu looks around on purpose, “Because it’s time to go back home?”

The dimpled smile appears again, causing Sana to chuckle as she sneaks her hand under Tzuyu’s arm. Their walk back is filled with small talks and playful teasing, until Sana remembered the thing bothering her.

“Tzuyu?”

“Hm?”

“You don’t have to accompany me after this, you know? I’ll be fine on my own.”

“But our home is in the same direction.”

Sana frowned, “You need to turn back to the bus stop after sending me off at the building’s lobby.”

“Yeah, it’s a nice lobby. I like looking at the interior.”

Sana merely rolled her eyes of Tzuyu's lame excuse - it's just a simple lobby with a big wide glass sliding door and a steel cabinet of pigeon holes for the residents. 

Nothing interesting, really.

“Tzuyu.” She stressed on her name, the latter responded with furrowed eyebrows.

“What? Did I do something wrong?”

Sana looks up to the girl who blinks her eyes innocently, knowing she is feigning ignorance. 

With a sigh, she tugs their connected arms to the playground near her apartment building. She leads them to a vacant swing set, the place is void of children since it’s still early in the evening. She pats the empty seat beside her, motioning the confused Tzuyu to sit.

As soon as Tzuyu takes a seat, Sana cackles. The tall girl frowns at her current state; the swing is too low for her long limbs, she looks like a frog. Tzuyu sheepishly grins as she stretches her legs outwards, while her friend slowly sways at her side. 

“Do you still remember? One time you fell off the swing because a boy pushed you?”

Tzuyu laughs at the memory. “Yeah, he was telling me to get off since that swing is his.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t cry that time.”

“Why should I cry?”

“Tzuyu, your knee was bleeding!”

“Oh, that’s right!” Tzuyu claps her hands, a finger pointing to the smiling girl. “You got really mad and punched him - oh, you were the one crying as we walked back home!”

“Yah! I was hurt, you know?” Sana pouted, causing Tzuyu to laugh louder.

“I was the one with a bleeding knee.”

“Well, seeing you hurt makes me hurt too.” 

Tzuyu stops her laughter when Sana dips her head, a frown apparent of her face. The younger quietly stands up, making her way to her friend’s back. She ruffles Sana’s silky brown hair, prompting the girl to look up at her.

“I felt the same, you know?” Tzuyu gives her a gentle smile, fingers playing with Sana’s baby hair. “That day when the seniors hurt you, I was hurt too.”

She notices tears pooling in Sana’s eyes, the girl quickly ducking her head down. Tzuyu lets out a light chuckle, pulling Sana’s head to lean on her before patting her crown to console the girl. 

“You’re still a crybaby, huh?”

“Am not.”

“You are.”

“Am not!”

“Yes you are.”

“I said I’m – Yah, Tzuyu! Stop!”

Tzuyu cackles as she pulls the swing backwards and releases it with a strong push, the oblivious girl shrieking from the unsuspected action. They shared laughter and screams (mostly Sana), running around the playground without a care, just like they did as children.

 

*

 

After their talk yesterday, Tzuyu had agreed, albeit reluctantly, to lessen their obvious supervision of Sana to a certain degree. That is with one condition; Tzuyu will still accompany her going to and fro school. 

 

“But it’s going to be a hassle for you, Tzuyu.” Sana protested with a frown, “You’re going to make double trips between my house and the bus stop.”

“Sana-unnie, even if it takes ten trips, I’d still walk with you.” Sana opens for a retort, only to have her jaw hanging open from Tzuyu’s unusual pout. “Don’t you want to walk together like we used to?”

“Uh, t-that’s… I don’t-" Ah, who is Sana kidding. She can never say no to that face - she can never say no to Tzuyu. “Ugh, fine! But only on days you don’t have archery practice!” 

The taller one nods, but that’s not enough agreement for Sana.

“Deal?” 

Sana reaches out a hand, trying to get her warning across with her serious face, only for her expression to falter at the adorable sight of Tzuyu triumphantly grinning.

“Deal!”

 

Truth to be told, she doesn’t mind troubling Tzuyu. If that’s the case with the younger - wanting to reconcile their lost times - then Sana is more than happier to fulfill her childhood friend’s wish. 

Well, that is until she found out that Tzuyu had to stay back after school to prepare for the upcoming school festival. 

Tzuyu had volunteered to be one of the representatives for the second year, effectively making her a committee member for the event. Which means, Sana has to wait for her childhood friend when the latter is attending meetings and such. It’s not really a bad thing for Sana - she can complete her piles of homework and make some light revision while waiting.

Today, however, is more nerve-wrecking and tense for Sana - her fidgety legs keep on bouncing up and down as she tries to keep her focus on the open textbook. Her attempt to complete her homework was rendered futile as the books were already thrown to the side, unable to make out the solution of a simple equation just because she was too nervous for dinner later with Tzuyu.

Yes, she had invited Tzuyu for dinner at her home, intending to surprise her mother with their former neighbor. 

She had informed her mother beforehand about inviting her newly-found friend, hiding the fact that this friend she’s bringing is actually Tzuyu. She wonders if her mother still remembers about the timid little girl from Taiwan and the granny who lived next door. 

If her father is still alive, he would be elated to see how much Tzuyu had grown for the past few years. He would make cheesy remarks such as an ordinary bud blooming into an exotic flower, or just claim Tzuyu as his lost beautiful child instead. Sana silently laughs to herself, unaware of a stray tear streaking down her cheek. 

“Here.”

A handkerchief appeared in her view, startling Sana as she looked up to be met with a girl with shoulder-length brown hair smiling back at her. Sana’s eyebrows knitted together at the gesture, the girl pointing at her eyes. She touches her wet cheek, realizing she is crying. Sana takes the offered handkerchief with a grateful smile, wiping away the streaks on her cheeks. 

“Are you okay?”

Sana merely smiled back at the girl sitting on the empty seat beside her, but the sniffles tell the latter otherwise. Sana is familiar with the new presence - Dahyun had introduced them before for a short questioning of her unfortunate incident with the seniors.

“You’re Jihyo-ssi, right?”

“You can drop the honorifics. We’re both of the same age, actually.”

Sana’s brow lifted from the undisclosed particular of hers, “How did you–?”

“I went through your student profile before your transfer to our school.” Jihyo noticed the furrowed eyebrows, quickly resuming her sentence. “For filing purposes. I hope you don’t mind...?”

The transferee quickly gives a shake of her head, flashing an assured smile to the secretary of the student council. The conversation lulls to a pause as Jihyo lets the newcomer compose herself, oblivious of the fact she’s been staring at Sana with her big curious brown eyes. The latter suddenly feels self-conscious when she feels the senior visibly gawking at her. 

“Um, is there something on my face?”

“What?” Jihyo snaps out of her daze, slightly shaking her head to rid off the embarrassment of getting caught. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to, it’s just – your eyes… They look sad.”

Sana averts her gaze to the book on the table, avoiding Jihyo’s sympathetic stare. 

She doesn’t like that look, it makes her feel vulnerable. She feels like bolting out of that place and hides herself, away from everyone and everything that reminds her of the sorrow...

 

BZZZ BZZZ

 

She lets out a quiet sigh, relieved to see a message from Tzuyu popping up in the notification. She quickly shoves her belongings into her bag, a rueful smile directed at the confused Jihyo.

“Sorry, I need to go.”

“Yeah, it’s good-”

Jihyo didn’t get to finish her sentence when Sana abruptly stands, picking up her things in a rush. She didn’t spare the senior another glance as she stormed off towards the door, hastily dragging Tzuyu waiting outside by her arm to leave the place, forgetting the handkerchief clutched tightly in her grip belonging to the senior.

 

*

 

“Should I buy flowers?”

“What for?”

“To make a good impression.” Tzuyu stated while lifting her shoulders, earning a small chuckle from Sana with her outrageous idea.

“You don’t have to. Your younger state had already left a great impression on her.”

“Still,” The tall girl frowns, eyes wandering at the stores along the road. “I should bring something for aunty.”

“Tzuyu, we’re just having dinner… not asking for my hand in marriage.”

The younger chokes on her spit, eyes blinking a few times at the mention of marriage. She gives Sana an incredulous look, her face shading a bright red. Sana raised an eyebrow at her friend’s weird expression, before letting out a laugh.

“Tzuyu, why is your face red?”

“Do you really need to mention marriage?”

“I was just joking!”

“Well,” Tzuyu tries to come up with a better comeback, trying to hide her flustered state. “It’s a bad joke!”

Sana cackles heartily as she clings to the tall girl, unaware of the small smile playing on Tzuyu’s lips. She noticed Sana was a bit off earlier, the latter was rushing to leave the school ground before getting weirdly silent along the way. She’s glad to see her friend back in her cheery state, despite having to bear being ridiculed by Sana along the way.

Tzuyu looks up at the familiar building of an apartment complex, already seeing it a few times when she accompanies her friend home. She waits as Sana fishes her pocket for the access card, the glass door beeping with a green light after Sana swipes it on the card reader. 

Her hands begin to get clammy as they ride the elevator, her nerves slowly dissipating as they arrive at a specific door. She discreetly takes a deep breath when Sana unlocks the door, her mind thinking of proper words to say as a greeting to the woman she hadn’t met for five years.

“Mama will be back in an hour, so make yourself at home.”

Hearing that, she released a loud huff, making Sana startled.

Tzuyu lets out a shaky laugh, waving it off as nothing as she warily takes a step inside. She marvels at the interior, the place looks cozy and a bit small, but not too cramped for a family of two to reside. The simple decoration is sufficient to make the place look like a comfortable home, one of Miss Minatozaki’s specialties of making out the best with only the bare minimum.

Sana excused herself to her room to change out of her uniform, leaving Tzuyu to make a self-tour of the house. She spots frames of pictures on a cabinet in a corner, her feet automatically bringing her closer. She inspects one by one, smiling in amusement of Sana’s portrait collection from when she was a baby until her elementary graduation. She comes across a newer picture, where two other people stood beside Sana holding their scrolls with pink sakura trees in the background. Must be from her middle school graduation in Japan, Tzuyu guessed.

She feels a slight melancholy of recalling her own, having no picture captured since they can’t afford one. She only remembers grandma giving her a few stalks of white carnation she plucked from their backyard garden, decorated with self-made ribbon. She was content though, to have a family member by her side on such a glorious day. 

Her eyes fell on a frame hidden behind the front rows, the face of a man stood out. They must have kept it back there on purpose, the memories bring more pain than joy for the family. She had experienced it, but the only picture she had of her parents was torn and burned when she was a child. The remnants of their memories were never to be spoken of again, along with the pain in her heart.

“Do you want a drink?”

She whips her head around, catching Sana coming out of her room with a hair tie in between her lips. The girl makes her way to the kitchen while tying up her hair, Tzuyu tagging along with her usual poker face.

“Water would be fine.” 

“Ey, it’s your first time here and you expect me to give you water?”

Tzuyu shrugs with a smile, taking the glass of orange juice from Sana. She takes a small sip while watching curiously as her friend takes out a few ingredients from the fridge.

“What are you making?”

“Just some simple side-dishes.”

“Are you sure you’re fine in the kitchen, unnie?”

Sana frowns - she catches the curl of Tzuyu's lips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Grandma always chased you out of the kitchen in the past - you almost set the house on fire once.”

“That was just a one time thing!” She defended herself, earning a giggling fit from Tzuyu. “Besides, I’m a grown up now.”

Indeed, Tzuyu feels like she missed a lot about her friend in the span of their years of separation. It almost feels like Sana is a different person, but in a good way. Still not trusting her friend, she slides beside Sana while rolling up her sleeves, before taking the knife lying on the chopping board.

“I’ll help you.”

“You?” Sana snorted, “Are you sure you can handle a knife, princess?”

“Watch me.”

Tzuyu wasn’t even kidding when she told Sana to watch her, the latter having her jaw agape watching her friend’s skill with the knife. The ingredients were chopped into perfect sizes and shapes that even Sana wouldn’t pay much attention to because for her, as long as it’s a good size to chew, then that’s good enough. 

“How’s that?”

“Tch, show off!”

“I haven’t shown you my prowess over the stove yet.” Tzuyu wiggles her eyebrows smugly, Sana rolling her eyes in response.

“Aish, fine! Just cook everything while I wait with a glass of juice at the table.”

Tzuyu laughs from Sana’s annoyed state, the latter sticking out her tongue before joining in with the laughter. Suddenly, they heard jingles of keys coming from the door, both heads turning to the living room.

“Tadaima!”

Sana motioned for Tzuyu to be quiet - index finger on her lips - before walking away to greet her mother. Tzuyu rubs her clammy hands on her shirt, her weight shifting from one foot to another as she hears the voice of the older woman getting closer. Sana appeared again, this time pulling her out of the kitchen, exposing her tall figure to the woman who’s expecting no one but Sana’s new friend.

“Hello, aunty.” Tzuyu gives a perfect bow. “It’s really nice to meet you - again.”

The woman stares at her in confusion from the informal way she was addressed, her eyebrows knitted together. “Have we met before?”

“Um…” Tzuyu scratches her head, glancing at her friend for help but Sana only responds with an excited nod. “It’s me, Tzuyu. Your neighbour?”

The woman narrows her eyes before letting out a loud gasp. Without warning, Tzuyu was pulled into her embrace, a small groan escaping from the crushing hug. The woman pulls away, taking her time to study the face of the already grown-up little girl.

“Is it really you, Tzuyu?”

“Yeah.” She smiled, a dimple apparent on her left cheek. Miss Minatozaki’s face lit up from the uncanny resemblance, tears pooling in her eyes.  

“You’ve really grown! I can't believe we met again - oh, come here!” 

She pulls Tzuyu into a hug again, this time the younger reciprocating as she wraps her arms around the woman that once acted as her guardian. Sana let out a snort from her mother’s comment. 

“It’s been years, Mama. I’ve grown too!”

“But Tzuyu is slightly taller than you! How is that possible?”

“I guess it’s because of the milk she always gives me from your packed lunch, aunty.”

Miss Minatozaki glared at Sana, who rubs her nape sheepishly before busying herself with the fried chicken her mother bought, Tzuyu giggling happily at the sight of her busted friend.

   

*

 

“You’re still living in that house, Tzuyu?”

“Of course. Grandma loves that place so much, she wouldn’t trade it with anything else.”

“Ah, your grandma... Still the stubborn woman she is, huh?”

Tzuyu smiled with a hand covering , politely chewing on her food. “Yeah, she is. Even with her aged body, grandma is still working every day.”

“Eh? The witch is working?”

Miss Minatozaki gives her daughter a pointed look, stating her disapproval before Sana flashes an innocent grin to her mother. 

“Grandma is doing house cleaning service around the area, mostly at the apartment complex opposite the road. The pay is good, but she doesn’t really have to work.”

Creases formed on Miss Minatozaki’s forehead from the revelation. She knows the family’s background, the old woman always taking up some odd jobs in the past to accommodate her family of three. She always refused their help, and her husband had to resort to other sly measures because only by the expense of Tzuyu, would the grandmother accept their aid. 

“What about the school fees?”

“I applied for a scholarship program.” Tzuyu sips her water to wash down the remnants of food in before turning her full attention to Sana's mother.  “My uncle sends money every month too, so we’re faring really well actually.”

Miss Minatozaki nods her head, recalling the grandmother’s only son that was sent to a boarding school in Seoul after she brought them both from Taiwan. He must either be in college or working right now, capable of supporting the small family financially. 

She really admires them. 

Even with their hardships and tragic backstory, they manage to live through their miseries and appreciate the small things that would make a smile appear on their face. A feat that always makes her feel so small under that old hag smug stare.

“Sana, let’s go give that witch a visit.”

“E-Eh?”

“It’s been a while since I met a sparring partner worthy of my sassiness.”

Sana loudly smacks her forehead while Tzuyu muffles a giggle as Miss Minatozaki grins excitedly with a crazy look on her face. After finishing their dinner, Tzuyu excused herself to leave early to catch up with the last bus, despite Sana’s mother insisting to drive her back home.

“It’s fine, aunty. I don’t want to impose on you more than it is.”

“You’re never a bother to us, Tzuyu. I'm really glad to see you again.” She pats her shoulder with a warm smile. “You’re already a part of our family.”

Tzuyu feels a pang in her chest, one she hasn’t felt in a long time after five years. She barely remembers how it feels to have a family other than her grandmother, but now that she met the Minatozaki again, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She wraps the woman in a hug, hoping she could convey her appreciation with the simple gesture. Miss Minatozaki was startled at the sudden affectionate action - Tzuyu was never one to show, being the reserved girl she once was - but deep inside she knows how much Tzuyu cares for her despite the girl’s aloofness. 

“You’re welcome here anytime, Tzuyu.” She pats her cheek, earning a grateful smile from the tall girl. “Make sure to visit again, okay?”

“Sure, aunty.”

Sana waits for her by the door, adamant to keep her company as she waits for the bus to arrive. They walk in comfortable silence along the paved walkway, both deep in their own thoughts with hands connected. 

It’s been a while since she feels content like this, having the familiar presence of her neighbors once again in her life. They always make her feel secure, belonged, despite being total strangers with no blood relation. It’s a complete opposite with her former family, and Tzuyu is really grateful to have met with Sana’s family.

She can still vividly recall uncle asking her to call him Papa, her friend willingly agreed to share her father. It was a really tempting offer at that time, but being the oblivious and naïve child she is, Tzuyu had to reject it, afraid that one day she might replace her real father's memory with uncle’s loveable presence. 

She steals a glance at her friend, thinking how hard it must have been for Sana to lose a man she loves so dearly. A man that acts as her hero, her support, her best friend, and her one and only father. Sana never mentioned his father at all, not even once after they met again. It was as if he was an insignificant presence, his loss having no effect on her emotionally.

But maybe Tzuyu was wrong, because she can see it, can feel it, behind those calm pairs of honey brown eyes, is a torrent of grief and sorrow swirling in a current of veiled emotion. 

“Sana?”

“Hm?”

The gentle smile Sana gives her makes the latter conflicted. It might be too soon, Tzuyu contemplates. Sana might not be ready yet to talk about it, and Tzuyu doesn’t want to add more afflictions to her already wounded heart. She needs to give Sana more time, and she hopes one day, Sana can let go of all her pent up emotions and have them bare for Tzuyu to see, to hold and carry the burden together.

“You look cold.”

“Eh? I’m fine, though.”

“Come here.” 

She makes a small tug of their joined hands, prompting Sana to get closer as she shoves their hands in the comfort of her sweater’s pocket. Sana gives a funny weird look, all the while giggling from Tzuyu’s abrupt action. 

“You’re weird.”

She shrugs with a smile, giving a light squeeze of their intertwined hands.

One day, she will let Sana know that she wasn’t the only one who lost a dear presence by the name of Mr Minatozaki.

 

 

 

They both did.