It was spring again. Ryosuke loved this season no matter what people told him. He was sitting at a bench by the train station. No he wasn’t going anywhere, he just loved this spot. This was where he could see everything and had a great view of the Sakura tree by the field.

He smiled sadly as he munched on some KitKat, green tea flavour to be exact. Being an assistant photographer at work was tiring but it was fun. The huge clock read 4:30 pm but the train wasn’t here yet. He couldn’t help but chuckle, it was always delayed.

Breathing in the spring air, he was brought back to the same season, about 4 years ago.

Past...

The train went on smoothly but Ryosuke was stiff as a board. He didn’t want to wake the girl using his shoulder as a pillow. It was the last day of exams and he was sure that she was exhausted. Unlike him, she actually gave an effort and studied.

The PA from above announced that their stop was approaching. He shifted slowly before prodding Mirai awake. “Na, Mirai-chan, we’re almost there.”

“Mmm, okaa-san 5 more minutes...” Mirai groaned, and if possible, snuggled closer to Ryosuke.

The latter chuckled. He pushed a stray lock away from Mirai’s face before trying to wake her yet again. “Mi-chan, wake up, we’re at our stop.”

Only when the train came to a halt did Mirai actually open her eyes. She was like a newly awakened toddler, still scratching her eyes and Ryosuke had to hold her arms so she wouldn’t lose balance as they got off at the same time taking hold of his camera with one hand.

People passed around them but they didn’t care and took their time walking.

“Can you believe it Ryou!” Mirai said once she found her voice. She stretched her arms above her head, walking a bit farther from Ryosuke. “Exams are finished and we’re going to graduate!” She turned back to look at him and he couldn’t help but raise his camera, taking a snapshot.

“Perfect.” He uttered, reviewing the shot he’s taken.

“Oi! You really love displaying my face in that camera of yours!” Mirai yelled.

Ryosuke laughed in answer then jogged up to walk with her. They fell into a rhythm as Mirai brought up yet again what she was saying a while ago.

“Ne, so have you chosen a university yet?” Mirai asked, her hands behind her back.

He scoffed and shook her head. “Nah! I don’t need to go to a university! I’m going to be a famous photographer one day!”

“Oh Ryou Ryou, education is very important!” Mirai countered. He knew very well that it was important for her; she planned to be a teacher in the future. She smiled as she looked at the cherry blossoms seemingly dancing across them.

‘Kirei da...’ He loved it when she smiled. He loved how her hair was blown away by the wind and he loved it when she closed her eyes whenever she was enjoying the breeze brushing her face. Well, he loved her in general. If only he had the guts to say so and so many other things.

“Ne, so you saw that video of the puppies and the old lady?” Sometimes he said the most random things.

Mirai turned to him, arching an eyebrow but finally laughed. “Maybe you should have fallen asleep in the train too, I think lack of it is making you crazy...”

Their houses were just a street away from each other so they went to school together and went home together. Being the gentleman that he was, Ryosuke made sure that Mirai was safe inside her own home before walking back to his. They were already at her gate when she invited him inside for a while. But he had to decline, knowing how tired she already was.

“I’ll see you at the graduation practice tomorrow...” He said, smiling softly.

“See you...” She smiled before entering her home.

Though they were close friends, once they were at school , they had their own set of friends, Mirai with her two girl best friends and Ryosuke with his two guy best friends. That particular day, they were having lunch before getting back to their graduation practice. Ryosuke was with his best friend Yuto, their other best friend Yuri was the valedictorian and was off somewhere, memorizing his speech.

“I wonder how Yuri is doing?” Yuto asked, munching on some chips.

Ryosuke shrugged as he drank from his juice box. He was pretty sure Yuri could handle the speech. He looked around the cafeteria, their school wasn’t that large so he was sure he’d see Mirai somewhere. True enough, she was at the end of the room but wasn’t with her friends, Suzuka and Umika. She wasn’t even eating lunch. From his position, Ryosuke saw that she was filling up papers. Were those college applications?  

“Chotto ne Yuto.” Ryosuke slowly stood up from the table. Yuto sighed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it since this was Mirai they were talking about.

Ryosuke approached his friend, readying a smile. Mirai was too preoccupied with what she was doing that she didn’t even realize Ryosuke was there.

“Hey what are you doing?!”

Mirai quickly scrambled away, hiding the papers she had.

Ryosuke’s eyebrows furrowed. What was she hiding?

“Hey Ryou.” Mirai smiled uneasily, gripping the papers close. “Why aren’t you with Yuto and Yuri?”

“Yuri’s practicing his speech and Yuto is over there eating... what are you hiding?” He inquired trying to peek at the papers but Mirai shook her head.

“Mmm, nandemonai.” She chuckled, standing up then stuffing the papers in her bag. “Anou, by the way Ryou, I won’t be going home with you later.”

Ryosuke looked at her, obviously wondering why. “Is everything alright?”

“Mmm! I’m just going somewhere with okaa-san.” Mirai said reassuringly. She grabbed her bag, swinging it over her shoulders before waving at Ryosuke. “Jaa, I have to find Suzuka and Umika.” She jogged out of the busy cafeteria, leaving Ryosuke to his thoughts.

That day, he went home still confused with how Mirai was acting. He was her best friend! Surely she would tell him if something was wrong right? The whole way he trudged home, not really feeling bouncy. It was his surprise when he saw who was sitting at the steps of their front porch.

“Mirai...” He uttered.

She stood up from where she sat and that’s when he saw that she had been crying. Immediate worry consumed him. He never wanted to see her cry, only smiles were allowed for her.

“Mirai! What’s wrong?” He asked, approaching her and dropping his bag by their feet. Did something happen with her mom? Mirai looked up at him, crying and smiling at the same time, if only she didn’t look so beautiful.

“Doua?” He repeated his earlier question.

Mirai let out a sob, followed by a small chuckle before reaching out to wrap her arms around Ryosuke. Though not knowing what was going on, Ryosuke reached forward and returned the hug, revelling in the feeling that the girl he loved was in his arms.

“I got in Ryou!”

He could feel her tears soaking his shirt. Slowly he pulled away so he could take a good look at her. “Got in? Got in where?”

Mirai sniffed. She looked so cute. “T-to UCLA. I have an uncle living in America. He’s going to support me when I get there.”

Suddenly it felt so hot and Ryosuke felt like he was going to throw up. UCLA? That was in Los Angeles! It was too far. But he didn’t want Mirai to know that he was feeling that way. With all the strength that he could muster, he offered a bright smile.

“That’s awesome Mirai! I always knew you’d make it big!”

Mirai smiled back, her crying finally halted. She shook her head as she gave some distance but not too much distance between the two of them.

“I wanted to tell you I was applying for a long time now but even I wasn’t that sure.” She explained. “But I’m still scared Ryou, it’s a new place, a new country and a new life for me.”

“You’ll do great.” Ryosuke said comfortingly as he patted Mirai’s head. “You’re forgetting you’re Shida Mirai, the girl who beat Yamada Ryosuke at badminton!”

“That’s my title?!”

Ryosuke laughed. Kami-sama, he loved this girl. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.” He said. Mirai only smiled back. He hoped those words reached her.

Graduation came by quickly. They all laugh and cried, some had already planned for their vacations before they took on university life. Ryosuke on the other hands was planning other things. That particular day he was at a small cafe with Yuto and Yuri, enjoying iced drinks. Mirai was leaving in a few days and he had some things to do before she left.

 “Ne, Ryou, when do you plan on telling Mirai?” Yuri asked, sipping on his iced mocha.

Ryosuke sighed. He was really nervous. He was planning on doing it tonight, during Mirai’s send-off party. All of their classmates were going to be there. But this was his only chance.

It was a casual gathering. Ryosuke would like to say only their close friends were there but he forgot that Mirai was Ms. Popular so the whole class really was there. Everyone was enjoying except him, he could feel his palms all sweaty. Now that wasn’t a good way to impress a girl you like.

Checking his watch, he realized it was already 9 in the evening, this was his chance. He saw Suzuka by the kitchen.

“Ne, Suzu-chan!”

The girl turned at his voice. “Oh hey Ryou! Enjoying the party?”

“Ou, have you seen Mirai?” He asked distractedly. He had to do this now or else he’d chicken out.

“i think I saw her at the garden...”

“Oh thanks!” He left before Suzuka could say anything more. He had to push pass a few people, even though they wanted to talk to him, he was too busy looking for Mirai. Finally he found her by the back gardens. And just his luck, she was alone.

“Na, why aren’t you enjoying the party Mirai-chan?” Good. Small talk. Always start with small talk.

Mirai slowly turned to him. She had a dust of make-up on which in Ryosuke’s opinion, she didn’t need at all, she was beautiful in her own simple self. “I’m feeling really nervous about LA. I mean, what if I fail and make a fool out of myself?”

Ryosuke chuckled as he moved closer, gazing at the night sky above them. “Well, we all will be going through university, you’ll just be going through it in a different country.” He smiled at her. “And LA is lucky to have a student as smart and awesome as you.”

“Ryou...” She uttered.

This was his chance. Gathering every ounce of courage inside him, Ryosuke held Mirai’s hand in his before gazing into her eyes. “The only loss is with me, I mean, the girl I love is moving away to a different country...”

“E-eh, Ryou, you just said...” Mirai stuttered only causing Ryosuke to hold on tighter.

“Mirai-chan, aieru...” He whispered before kissing her softly.

When he pulled away he saw Mirai was almost in tears. , did he do something wrong? Was she so grossed out with him? what was he going to do—

“Baka!” Mirai whispered. She sniffed, wiping some stray tears away before lunging at Ryosuke and hugging him close. “Aieru mou...”

Well if that didn’t lift the weight off of his shoulders...

The rest of the night they enjoyed each other’s company, trying not to think that in a few days time, their paths would finally be divided.

The day finally came, time to say goodbye. Ryosuke went with Mirai and her parents to the airport. The whole drive they both stayed quiet, just holding each other’s hands. These were their last moments together before being separated and just holding each other was enough. Until they reached the airport...

To describe what Ryosuke was feeling, it would be fear. What if she forgot about him? What if their worlds would be too different as time went by?

“Ne Ryou...”

“Hmm?” Ryosuke looked up from his thoughts. It was time to board. Mirai smiled sadly at him as she approached, carrying with her a large box. She handed it to him. “Open this when I’ve boarded alright?” She could barely speak the words out.

Her flight was being called by that time. This was it. Ryosuke placed the box on the ground before reaching for Mirai and giving her a bear hug. This was his moment to remember her. Everything about her, how she looked, her smell, how she felt and how she affected him.

“Aieru...” She whispered, breathing in to prevent the tears from flowing down her face. Then she moved closer and pressed her lips softly to his.

And with that she walked away, gone to a different place.

Mirai’s parents didn’t bother to talk to him the whole ride home, they knew he needed time. Instead, he opened the box, only to see that Mirai had assembled a scrapbook full of their photos and of their friends and families and had given him a small Polaroid.

Ganbatte Ryou!

Someday we’ll see each other again!

I love you!

• Mirai

And in that small car, he cried, cried until they got back home.

Present...

It’s been 4 years, sad to say, they haven’t kept in touch. Maybe that was how first love really was. An experience to remember by. He didn’t want to wallow in the past, opting to keep Mirai as a loved memory. He just realized that something was wet. Oh... he’d been crying. Hopefully no one saw. He stood up, wiping his tears away before heading on home. The sakura blossoms were dancing again, just like that one spring day.  He though about how Mirai was doing now, did she still have the same smiling or crying face? Well, he’ll never know.

It was getting dark as he reached his parent’s house. But he stopped mid-way when there was a figure by his front porch steps.

He almost dropped the bag he had with him.

“Mirai...”

He was brought back to that day she told him she’s be going to UCLA. But now years had passed. She’d grown more beautiful.

Slowly she approached until she broke into a run and he caught her, realizing that they were both crying.

“Tadaima Ryou...” She whispered.

He held her close. “Okaeri Mirai...”