Home... Home is where the heart is. Sayuri felt the subtle spring breeze kiss her skin while she admired the place she calls “home”. She recently arrived from Canada to spend her Spring break in Japan to spend a little more time with her family before graduation. It’s been almost three years since the last time she smelt the calming and homey air of Tokyo. 

Sayuri looked around and saw familiar buildings in her neighbourhood where she practically grew up in. She can’t help but to feel nostalgic after seeing her high school, the neighbourhood parks and the little ramen shop she and her friends are frequent in when they were still teenagers. It seems like nothing had changed. Random feelings came back to her that brought flashbacks of memories from the past. Heck, she even remembered her childhood crush - Yuto Nakajima. 

“I wonder if he still live in this town?”, she casually thought to herself before fishing out her phone from her pocket. She shook her head to toss out the random memory in her mind and focused on her game. She grinned at herself as she thought that this is a good opportunity to play her favourite game - 'Pokemon Go'. You are NEVER too old to play Pokemon Go. 

Sayuri continued to roam around her home town while finding precious Pokemons. She thought it’ll be like hitting two birds using one stone - catch Pokemons and visit the places she miss around the familiar town. 

However, not having her full attention on the road ahead, Sayuri didn’t notice a certain ‘someone’ on his bicycle running up to her in full speed. 

“WATCH OUT!”, the guy said, waving his hand and gestured for Sayuri to move away. However, it was obviously too late. Trying to avoid the young maiden in front, he already lost his balance, making both of them stumble on the pavement. 

“Itaiiii!”, Sayuri moaned, feeling a sharp ache coming from her right cheek. She forced her eyes open and saw a young man caressing his head, obvious that he was also hurt from the impact. “Why the heck are you riding your bike in the pavemen-,” Sayuri glared at him but felt the reason to stop her sentence when she saw a familiar guy up close. 

“No way”, she mumbled to herself after seeing the same guy she was reminiscing about just a few minutes ago. 

—

“Are you hurt?” Yuto said in worry. He squinted his eyes and suddenly found himself taken aback at the girl standing in front. “Sayuri?”

“You!”, Sayuri pointed but soon withdrew her finger because she recognised that it was rude to point. “Out of all people to see, why do I have to bump into you?”, she thought to herself and cursed her luck. She looked at him up and down and forgot how handsome this man was. No. Not just handsome, he’s gorgeous. 

“I didn’t know you already came back from Canada”, Yuto beamed a smile.

Suddenly, Sayuri felt chills and remembered how infatuated she was before towards Yuto. She suddenly remembered she confessed to him before. Yes. She confessed to the same guy three years ago but she couldn’t do anything else because she was about to move to Canada to study. 

“Uhm… Yeah. Just for two weeks though. I’m just back for the Spring break”, she explained, trying her best keep her composure. She saw Yuto nod at this statement before leaning down to pick up something. 

“You dropped your phone”, Sayuri’s mobile rested on Yuto’s hand facing up, giving the boy a chance to look at what she was doing before the ‘bicycle accident’ that just happened. Yuto frowned after seeing the ‘Pokemon Go’ app still open. 

Embarrassed, Sayuri quickly swiped her phone from his hand. “Crap, he’s the last person I want seeing me playing Pokemon Go”, she thought before hearing the boy chuckle at her reaction. 

“Is it that funny?! Okay! I play Pokemon Go. You don’t need to laugh that hard. Jerk”, she glared, her lips were almost pouting which was not gone unnoticed by the tall boy. 

“No no. It’s not that. Actually, the reason why I accidentally bumped into you is because I was playing the same game while riding my bike. Look…”, Yuto showed his own phone and there it was, displayed on the screen was his character avatar wearing a ‘Mystic’ team uniform. 

“No way! You’re team Mystic too?”, Sayuri’s eyes sparkled and had forgotten how to act tough in front of the boy. Somehow, Yuto made her feel comfortable and like a child again with a click of a finger. “You know you’re not supposed to play while ‘driving’. You’re obviously ‘driving’ your bike which is dangerous”, she warned in a ‘matter-of-fact’ tone of voice. 

“Maa, if it wasn’t for my bike, I would not have bumped into you so good thing I did”, Yuto replied which was enough to make the younger one blush. If they were Pokemons, Yuto’s attack was SUPER EFFECTIVE. 

While trying to hide her tomato-coloured face, Sayuri tried her best to deter the subject and get the hell out of the situation before Yuto notices that she’s current struggling to keep her heart rate to a pace she’s comfortable with. “I-um… I should probably get going. I only have two weeks so I kinda need to take advantage of my time and go around places”, she excused herself and felt her body retreat. However, before she can even take a step, Yuto caught part of her hoodie. 

Yuto, himself was surprised by his sudden actions. He hasn’t seen Sayuri for awhile which gave him sudden urges to see more of her lovely face. He didn’t realise how much he missed her until now that she’s actually back. He felt dumb for not being able to reply to her confession three years ago. Maybe this is fate giving him another chance? Maybe? 

“I’m not a Pokemon, you know. You can’t just pull me like a dog”, Sayuri sarcastically said, her eyes still on Yuto’s hand tugging part of her hoodie - like she’s a dog being pulled in a leash by her master. 

“Oh, sorry…” Yuto scratched the back of his head before gathering all his courage to invite Sayuri out. She is only staying for a few weeks and something inside him is begging for her company, “Since you’re going around town anyway, then let me tour you around”

“Yuto-kun, you do know this is my home town, right? I know my way around”, Sayuri uttered. She wanted to hit herself for saying sarcastic (borderline rude) comments so naturally to people, like it was now a part of her nature. 

“I see”, Yuto looked down and felt defeated.

“But… I… think it’ll be fun to go around and catch Pokemons with someone”, Sayuri mumbled and could’ve sworn saw Yuto’s face lit up before she could even finish her sentence. 

“Come! I know where all the Pokemon gyms are!”, Yuto picked his bicycle up and quickly grabbed Sayuri’s arm with his free hand before leading her towards another part of the neighbourhood. 

—

Time Check: 00:14am

Sayuri and Yuto’s LINE messages:

YuToNakajima: I had a lovely time! Thanks for accompanying me today.

Sayuu_15: I should be the one thanking you. I caught a lot of good Pokemons! I can’t believe I finally caught a shiny Evee. I’ve been wanting one for a loooong time now

YuToNakajima: I didn’t expect you to reply this quick. It’s getting kinda late, don’t tell me you’re still playing? btw, a shiny Evee is nothing. We should go to another part of town, you’ll get so much more. 

Sayuu_15: Look who’s talking. You’re also still awake! And yes! We should!

YuToNakajima: Then if you’re free tomorrow, we can hang out again. 

Sayuri looked at Yuto’s message and felt both her eyes widen alongside the sudden “THUMP THUMP THUMP” sound inside her chest. Her heart suddenly decided to rebel against her rib cage. Did he just asked her for a date?

It took her awhile and just thought of a good reply. Right now, she’s currently struggling to stay as the ‘cool-headed-and-always-rational’ Yamazaki Sayuri. Yuto is somehow making her crazy! She was supposed to just visit her family here in Tokyo and not waste her time finding romance before going back to Canada. Besides, starting ‘something’ with Yuto would be too complicated. She was never a believer of ‘Long-distance’ relationships. THEY.NEVER.WORK.

YutoNakajima: Sayu-chan? Did your Pokemon die or something?

Sayuri panicked after hearing another ping from the guy she fancies. This shook her down to her core. With much hesitation, she slowly but surely pressed the ‘send’ button after typing the word “Sure”. She sighed and soon regretted what she did, “I’m doomed”, she said to herself and buried her face on her own pillow. 

—

On the other side of the Universe, Yuto isn’t doing very well himself. He blinked twice after seeing Sayuri’s reply to his invitation. He felt his own heart rate tripled after realising what he just did. He just asked Sayuri on a date! This is something he dreamt of doing ever since the girl confessed to him a few years ago. He wiggled himself on his bed and couldn’t help but to smile, remembering how perfect this day ended. “Oh man… I LOVE SPRING!”, he caressed his pillow, hoping to see Sayuri in his dreams tonight. 

—

*Next Day*

Sayuri Yamazaki’s POV

I have no idea how the hell it happened but one minute we were hunting for Pokemons and now, Yuto-kun and I are in the queue buying popcorn for the movie Annabelle. Yes! That scary movie now showing in cinemas. To be honest, I’m not very fond of horror movies, but one thing I cannot resist: someone giving me a challenge. 

“Are you sure you wanna do this?”, I heard Yuto say and I could’ve sworn, invincible devil horns