Ryousuke's POV:

Everyday on my way home I would see this girl.

The most beautiful girl I have seen before, sitting on the bench in front of the river, her small black dog sitting beside her. 
She would pet her dog with the most loving eyes and biggest smile on her face. 
Her Beautiful bangs would always fall In front if her eyes as the breeze blew her dark black hair, gently dancing in the air.
Sometimes when she was mad she would get up and yell into the river, each time that happened I would chuckle to myself.
With all the stress in my life it felt as though this girl would relieve it.
She didn't know it but I knew that from the first time I saw her,

I was in LOVE with her.

It was a rainy day in the middle of April.
I went back home just as I usually did.

~~~~~~flashback~~~~~~~

"Kuu! I'm home!!!" I say, expecting my cute dog to come running into my arms.

'Huh? I wonder why he's not coming to greet me.' I think as I walk into the living room.

"Mom do you know were kuu is?" I yell to my mom who was cooking in the kitchen.

"No, I don't, Ryousuke, but when you come home the first thing you should say is Tadaima. I swear you never have manners," Mom says, sighing.

"Oh, sorry I forgot, tadaima Kaachan!" I say extra enthusiastic.

"Okaeri," she says, sounding like she doesn't care.

"Mom, tell me if you see Kuu, ok? I can't seem to find him. Usually he'd be the one greeting me at the door...." I say wondering what happened to my cute dog.

"Ok, I will sweetie, now go upstairs and do your homework."

"Yeesh, I know already I will do my homework " I say, rolling my eyes.

'But first I need to find Kuu.....I wonder where he is.....Kuu!" I yell.

"Kuu, come out, it's me Ryousuke!" I yell again as I reach my bedroom door.

I turn the knob and pull the door open.

"There you a.." I start to say. "Kuu!!!!!!!!!!! Are you ok? Kuu?"

I gently shake Kuu, who's laying on my bed not moving. 
My heart starts to beat faster.

"Kuu?" I say, shaking him a little harder.

He still doesn't move.

"Mom!!" I yell on the top of my lungs. "Come here quickly!! Kuu....he's - he's - he's......"

I'm starting to hyperventilate.
 I check his heartbeat.
Silence.
'Dead,' I think to myself, words not coming out of my mouth.

"What happened, dear?" Mom comes rushing to my room.

I point at Kuu, suppressing my tears.

"Oh my..." Mom says, hand on with a horrified expression.

I sprint out my door, running down the stairs, and force the door open.
It was dark outside since the rain clouds were covering the sun.
I walk out into the rain, bare feet, and no umbrella.

"Kuu....kuu.....KUU!!!" I yell out, letting my tears fall for the first time. 

I try to wipe at them, shoving my hands furiously at my face, but the tears keep streaming. 
Still sobbing, I go to the park. 
Kuu's favorite place. 
We would come here everyday for our walks.
I would throw the ball and he would go fetch it.
It was the one time of the day that I felt peacful.
Ever since I became a member of Hey Say JUMP my life has been chaotic.
Kuu saved me.
I loved him.
I really loved him...

"Kuu...kuu..." I whimper as I make my way to the usual bench at the park.

It was the bench me and kuu would always sit on after playing catch.
It feels so empty without him here...
I place my hands over my eyes as I recall all of the memories.
I try to push them all away, but more keep on pushing into my mind.
I wished all the sorrow would wash away like the rain.
Suddenly I stop feeling the rain hit my head.
That disappoints me.
I want to feel the sorrow the rain distributes, feel the sadness that the rain can only give me.
But instead, I look up and see a girl.

She looks a little uncomfortable.
She's biting her lip, rubbing her elbow gently.

"Umm... I think you will get sick.......please use my umbrella," she says, holding it out to me. 

I wipe my tears off of my face....though the rain did camouflage it.
I look at the girl who gave me the umbrella.

"Thank you," I whisper, clutching the handle of the umbrella tighter.

I stand up.

"Are you ok?" she asks, tilting her head, looking sincerely worried.

"Y-ye.." I try to finish, but instead of words tears start to flow.

I sit down, dropping the unbrella, my hands immediately going to my face.
The girl picks up the unbrella and holds it above my head.

"Come on, let's at least get you under some shelter," she says, pulling on my hand with a surprising amount of force.
Her palm is soft, though, and gentle. 
I get up and let her guide me.
'Why am I letting a girl I dont even know lead the way,' I think to myself, as she pulls me towards a collection of park tables.
It has a built in roof, protecting us from any oncoming weather.
It has no walls; instead it's held up by four wood columns.
She makes me sit down and then pulls from her pocket a soft pink hankerchief. 
She places it in my hands, and when I don't move, she begins to gently wipe the tears away from my face. 

 "What's wrong?" she asks me in a sweet voice. "Why are you so sad?"

I face away from her, looking at the ground instead.

"Today......my dog died. I know you think it might be really stupid for me to come here and wallow in my tears, but he was like my best friend. I've had him for all my life and I loved him so much. We would come here every day you know. I would talk to him, too. I know he couldn't understand me, but sometimes it seems like he could actually hear me, you know? He was such a good listener..." I say as my voice starts to break.

I don't know why I'm telling her all of this.
I mean, didn't I just meet her?
I look beside me at the girl and I'm surprised to find that she is crying.

"Why are you crying!?" I ask, shocked.

"B-because t-tha-thats so s-sad!!!" she blubbers as the tears fall down her cheeks.

I smile.
Is she really so kind that she would even cry for a dog she never met before?

"Thank you," I say, as I take her handkerchief and wipe her tears.

When she settles down, she gives me a gentle smile.

"Don't be sad. I know that your dog had a wonderful life, with such a caring owner! Don't cry! I don't know how to help you get rid of your sadness but don't cry!" she says as she grabs my sleeve and looks into my eyes.

I chuckle.

'This girl is so weird , she's crying more then me..' I think to myself.

"You know....I can't really cry anymore..." I say to her softly.

"Why?" she asks as she stops her sobbing and looks at me.

"Because your taking all my tears.." I say putting my hand on her cheek and wiping her tears off.

"Oh," she says as her cheeks take on a whole different shade of red.

I look into her eyes and we both burst out laughing.
20 minutes ago, I thought I would never laugh again in my life but now I was.
What is it about this girl that makes me want to take care of her?

-----5minutes later------

the rain had started to calm down.
The girl and I were sitting in silence, her hand still grabbing my sleeve.
I blush. Believe it or not it was the first time I was alone with another girl.
I may look popular but with the busy schedule there was hardly any time for myself.

"i have to go...." the girl mumbles as she looks at her watch.

She looks at me and follows my gaze to my sleeve.

"oh I'm so sorry!" she says quickly letting go of my sleeve.

I look up at her to find her a bright shade of red.

'She must be embarrassed how cute!' I think to myself.

"umm...thank you..." she says bowing her head down.

" huh? Wait! Why are you thanking me? I'm supposed to be thanking you!" I say as I put my hands on her shoulders and make her face me.

"thank you" I say smiling. She blushes again.

"....no problem.... Ummm....ok....bye" she says walking away, giving me a small smile and wave.

"bye!!! Thank you" I yell again as she makes her way to the exit.

My eyes seem to be following her, and only her.
The girls figure gets smaller and smaller until a tree gets in my way.

"thank you...." I whisper again.

I stand up strait, feeling a new fire of hope burning in my heart.

"bye kuu, thanks for always being with me" I say looking into the sky.

'wierd, I'm not feeling sad anymore' I think.

~~~~end of flashback~~~~~

you see, she helped me to realize that I didn't need to be sad.
I knew kuu had a great life and that instead of mourning for his death I should just live my life happily.
That would be what kuu wanted me to do.
I still remember him from time to time, and I still keep him in my heart. And that girl....ever since then I haven't spoken to her,
I just look at her from afar.
That day after she left, I noticed that she forgot her umbrella.
On the umbrella it was her name.
Bitou natsuko.
I tried to go up to her and give her umbrella back but in the end I always chickened out.
Why was I like this!! Why couldn't I just have the courage to go up and say

"thank you and......I ...l-l-l-love ...you" just saying it to myself is hard enough.

I can barly say I ..l-l-lov.... I can't even think it!!! My heart goes crazy!
I hate myself.
I feel so stalker right now, watching her everyday.
If only I had the courage to talk to her.
Suddenly a huge gust of wind blows, and natou-san's hat flies off.
I watch the hat flutter to my direction and land I front of me.

"kyaa my hat, don't fly away!" she says as she chases her hat and runs towards me.

I walk over to her hat and pick it up.

'this is my chance to talk to her!' I think to myself.

I pick up her floral hat and wait.
She comes running to me , huffing and puffing , out of breath.

"arigatou" she says In-between breaths.
"no problem" I say, smiling.

She looks up and gives me a smile, suddenly her eyes grow big from surprise

"OMIGOD!! YAMADA RYOUSUKE OF HEY SAY JUMP!!" she squeals.

'at least she knows me :)' i think.

"umm hi" I say kind of awkwardly.

" hi! I'm a big fan of yours" she says excitedly.

"thank you..." I respond.

She looks at me with gleaming eyes fora while, in silence.
I try to break the silence.

"I always wanted to thank you but I never had the chance.... Thank you" I say blushing.

"wait! Why is yamada ryousuke thanking me?!" she asks surprised.

"don't you remember last April... I met you at the park..."I trail on.

"that was you? Omg I'm so sorry I didn't notice" bitou-san says surprised.

"um.. You saved me in a way... So... Umm... Thank you again" I stutter.

'stupid ryousuke! Why are you so nervous!! You finally get to talk to her!' I mentally slap myself.

"so that's why you know my name... I remember I forgot my umbrella " she says as she recalls the past.

"but since I still haven't properly introduced myself...my name is bitou natsuko, 2nd year in nishikou, and this is my pet dog choco short for chocolate. It's nice to meet you" bitousan says with a big grin spreading from ear to ear.

"I'm Yamada ryousuke 2nd year of horikoshi gakuen. Yoroshiku" I say, trying to hide my nervousment.

'wow she's cuter up close' I think to myself.

"so Yamachan...is it ok if I call you that?" she asks.

"um ya that's fine bitou san" I quickly answer, blushing.

"bitousan is too formal! Call me natsuko" she half whines.

"...natsukosan..." I say quietly.

"ya that's it Yamachan! No need to be shy!" natsukosan said energetically.

This was the second time I talked to her but I know I love her.
Her energy and kindheart.
Her smile and her eyes.
Everything about her made me like her.

"oh I have to go... Can I have my hat?" she giggles.

"ya! I'm sorry! I forgot" I answer quickly, handing her the hat.

"thanks Yamachan! I can't believe I got to talk to you ! This is the best day ever" she says shyly.

"ok bye" she waves her hand cutely and walks away.

She kept getting smaller and smaller as she walked further and further away from me.
This was a once in a lifetime chance for me.
If I let her go now without doing anything I may never see her again.
I work up my courage and start running.

"natsukosan!" I yell out as i run after her.

She stops and turns around.
I stop in front of her and take a deal breath.

"I love you" I look into her eyes.

"I fell in love with you ever since that night in April, will you go out with me. " she covers her face with her hands to hide her red cheeks.

"am I aloud? Can I fall in love with you"? We live in 2 different worlds" she says confused.

" I don't care. I pick who I love, so do you like me?" I give her my puppy dog eyes.

She peeks from the gaps of her fingers and smiles.

"yes" she says shyly.

"YAAA!! " I yell out, dancing around.

I pull her into and embrace.
I hug her tighter and take a deep whiff of her flower scented perfume.
I slowly pull away to see her tomato red cheeks.
I pinch them slightly to see her squirm.
I laugh and she giggles with me.
I slowly bend down so that we are face to face, looking into each others eyes.
I Intertwine my fingers with hers and lean in.

Bitsuko's POV:

'kyaaaa omgomgomgomgomg! Hamada ryousuke is gonna kiss me!!' I think to myself as I close my eyes.

'wait it's my first time what do I do what do I do!!!' I start to panick.

I could feel his body heat closely getting closer and closer.
I wait a while but then nothing happens.
I open my eyes to see Yamachan smiling at me.

"sorry I think I was going to quickly, let's take everything one step at a time." he says lovingly.

"ok" I shyly answer.

He pulls me in the direction I was going and we keep walking, fingers still Intertwined.

"hey, Yamachan." I say to get his attention.

" yes" he answers turning around.

I muster all my courage and go on my tippy toes, lips crushing into his.
I pull away and giggle.

"hehe sorry I just couldn't wait" I say.

He turns around covering his mouth.
I can see that he is red to his ears.
I laugh.

"stop teasing me" he wines.

"sukidayo~(I love you~) " I sing song.

Then I let go of his hands and skip ahead.

Ryousuke's POV:

And like this my love from afar became so much more<3

omg!!!! This took sooooooo long!!!! I'm so sorry this took so long!!! I hope you like it RuHyuki San!!!!! I worked hard lol