"Come on, Toru," I said, acting more exasperated than I really was. "Don't pout."

"But how come you can't tell me first?"

"Because we already agreed to do it this way," I told him, and I could see his next whine coming from a mile away. "Do you honestly think Haji will be happy if we end up telling each other first and break the promise we all made?"

"No," he said, still pouting.

"Ok," I said slowly, "and what does Haji do to you when he's not happy?"

Toru was hesitant to reply. "He usually hits me."

"So then, if you will: why would you put yourself in that situation to begin with?"

"Because I want to know," he said, perking up a little as we walked. We were heading to the park - and because Toru and I had spent another night stargazing since the weather had been so nice, we were heading there together. What he was making such a big deal out of were our letters of acceptance from the high schools we applied and tested for. We'd all selected independently, and today, we were finally going to tell each other.

"I want to know where you're going, too," I said, reaching over and patting his arm when he latched onto my own. "Just a few more minutes, and we'll have our answers. Ok?"

"I just don't want to be without you guys," he said, only continuing to pout. "Is that so wrong?"

"Of course not," I assured him, trying to be a continual voice of reason amongst his childishness. "But even if we end up going to different high schools, we'll all remain close friends - right? We wouldn't let distance get between us."

"Well, that's obvious," he mumbled, and I chuckled lightly.

"So you've got nothing to worry about," I said gently. "Now come on, stand up straight and get that pout off your face. You'll have chronic back pain and face wrinkles by our third year if you keep that up. With a frightened yelp, he stood up straight and schooled his face into one of neutrality, making me laugh. "There you go," I said. "Do you feel better now?"

"I'd feel better if you had a nickname for me," he grumbled, and I leaned closer to hear him better.

"Huh? What was that?"

"You've got a nickname for Iwa-chan," he pressed. "But not me."

"I call you by your first name, though," I said. "Isn't that good enough? You asked me to call you by your first name."

"Yeah, and so did Iwa-chan," he said. "And then you went and gave him a nickname."

"Oh, Haji?"

"Yes! But you don't have one for me!"

"Ah, I'm sorry," I said earnestly. "I just shortened Hajime's name so it would match yours. Two syllables, four letters."

"..."

"Toru?"

"Oh."

I giggled lightly. "Didn't think of that, did you?"

"Still," he said haughtily, "you ought to consider my feelings in all of this."

"Mm-hm," I hummed playfully. "Right. And what would you have me do, then?"

"Come up with a nickname for me!"

"Alright, alright," I said. "You call him Iwa-chan, and I'm (Y/n)-chan. So... Toru-chan? No, it doesn't fit." In my periphery, I could see him go from a grin at the nickname to completely crestfallen as I dropped it, but I did not mention it, and he did not say a word. "Oiks? No, that's just silly."

We continued on in that fashion for another block or so, with his shoulders slumping more and more with each tried and discarded nickname, until at last the park was in view.

"Oh," I chimed, grabbing Toru's hand and breaking into a run. "We're almost there! Come on, Tor!"

I didn't have to look back at him to know that he was grinning, that he was delighted at the nickname. I knew, because he curled his fingers around my own and allowed me to run ahead of him so that he could, to some extent, hide his joy and the fact that he was unable to speak until we reached the home of our dear third friend.

—

Just as I had predicted, Hajime was already there at the park by the time Toru and I finally arrived. When we reached his side, he led us further into the park and together we went, Toru bragging about how finally, at long last, I had granted him a nickname, to which Hajime responded: "That's not so great, considering I did it, too, Shittykawa."

Well, Toru hadn't found that terribly amusing, so he hung back for a single pace, just enough to then slip around Hajime and to return to my side. "He's in rare form today," I told him quietly. "Best lay low."

"You'll protect me though, won't you?"

"Depends on how mad you make him," I said, then directed my gaze towards Hajime. "Where are you leading us?"

"Somewhere a little less crowded," he responded, and we left it at that until we got there.

Up a gently sloping path we went, one carved out by people long before us and that would only be continually structured by as time went on. Birds, startled by our sudden appearance, burst out from their perches in the underbrush and branches above our heads, flitting out and about in their flights to get away from us. Those that did not leave sang to us, or watched on with curious eyes as we passed beneath their branches.

When the trail evened out, we found ourselves in a small clearing. The trees now behind us formed a crescent shape, and out in front of us was the crest of the hill we'd just climbed and beyond its steep slope down sat the rest of the park. From up here, we could see all of it - the gazebos, the swingsets, the benches and the fountains. We approached the slope and stood there for a few moments, just looking out at it.

"This is a good view," I noted, glancing up at Haji briefly. He caught my eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest, and allowed himself to smile proudly. "I remember you pushing Toru into that fountain."

"Hey!"

"That was fun," Hajime said, considering it.

"Yeah, well, I remember when you fell down over there, and skinned your knee, and Iwa-chan had to carry you back to his house to get it taken care of."

I looked at Toru, a smile threatening to break out on my face as his attempt to embarrass us like we had to him. "That's not embarrassing, Toru," I told him. "It was sweet."

"And," he continued, "let us not forget who distracted you while his mom was cleaning the wound!"

Alright, I smiled at the memory. I could remember it so vividly. The pain from the skinning itself was bad, but the cleaning process had stung so excruciatingly bad that I'd nearly cried. The damn injury started from my knee and went part way down my shin, so there was a lot of surface area to cover - which meant a lot of surface area to clean, and a lot of surface area to sting real bad.

While Hajime had been gathering some bandages for his mom to use, Toru had sat at my side as she cleaned the wound for me. He'd taken my hand in his own and patted it with the other, and began to talk - he had been able to distract me, and though it still hurt, it gave me something else to focus on.

"That is embarrassing," Hajime said teasingly.

"No," I protested right away, smiling warmly up at Toru. "That was sweet, too."

"Just think," Toru said, sliding his hands into his pockets and nudging my shoulder with his own, "we've only known each other for what, three years, now? We've got lots more memories to make."

"It'll be easier to do," Hajime said, "if we all got into the same high school."

"For me," I said proudly, "the decision was obvious."

"Same here," Toru said.

"No wasting more time then," Hajime suggested, taking out his own letter. "Let's get this over with."

"Right," I said, agreeing and taking out my own. Toru followed, and we all stood facing each other. With swift movements, all at once we opened our letters. Our eyes roved across our own respective letters, and then, all at the same time...

"Aoba Johsai!"

"..."

"..."

"Huh?"

"Did you say Aoba Johsai?"

"Did you?"

"Yeah."

"Wait, you too?"

"Did we just..."

"We all..."

"We're all going to Aoba Johsai," I exclaimed, shoving my letter back into my pocket and pulling them both to me for a hug. I hopped up, and their reflexes were quick enough for them to set their arms around me. Holding me up now, they all but had to get close, and I felt my heart swell with emotion at the realization that I would have another three years with my favorite boys.

"No way," Toru said happily. "You got in, Iwa-chan?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Could we for once just be civil? Please?"

The boys both looked at me, their respective expressions softening. "I was only teasing him, (Y/n)-chan," he told me.

"And I was only going to hit him once," Hajime offered.

"How about no more teasing and no more hitting? Just for a little while?"

"Alright, fine," Hajime said.

"Anything for you," Toru added.

I smiled. That was more like it.

—

"Aoba Johsai, huh," Miwa said, measuring tape in her hands. There was a warm smile on her face, one that had gotten there as soon as I had shown her the letter and had remained there, even as I asked her to help take my measurements for the uniform fitting. "I suppose someone as smart as you was bound to get in. Did you take the general entrance exam?"

"Yes," I told her.

"I suppose it wasn't too bad, considering you got in," she said, winding the measuring tape around my hips. "I applied there but didn't get in."

"It wasn't too bad," I said as she took my first measurement, then jotted it down. "There were a few questions I was stuck on for a while, though."

"Mm, well, maybe they dumbed it down for you youth," she said teasingly. "If everyone took the test I took, no one would ever get into that school."

Recognizing that she was, in her own strange way, complimenting my intelligence and congratulating me for getting in, I smiled at her as she took the next measurement. "Did your friends decide on where they're going for high school?"

"Yes," I told her. "We're all going to Aoba Johsai together."

At that, she stood up straight, foregoing measuring me to level an even look at me. "(Y/n)."

"What?"

"You didn't decide to go there because of them, right?"

"No," I said right away. "Not at all. We all decided independently. We didn't tell each other until we got our letters back."

"Alright," she said slowly, accepting my answer for now. After taking my measurements, we sat down together and I went through the rest of the welcome packet with her - discussing important dates for the semester, a general letter welcoming me to the school, a list of rules and protocol for school life.

"When in the Aoba Johsai uniform, even modified," I read aloud to her incredulously, "be on your best behavior, for it will remain representative for our school and its culture."

"What do they think you're gonna do, sell yourself?"

"Miwa," I said, my cheeks burning at the thought - but I couldn't help but agree all the same. "I know it's prestigious and all, but this all seems like a bit much."

"There's still time for you to switch," Miwa teased.

"No, I'm good," I said. "I'm not taking any more exams."

Miwa laughed a little, shaking her head. "You're definitely my cousin. At any rate, I'm happy you're able to go. Aoba Johsai is a great school. I have no doubt you're going to have a great three years there. It helps that you already know some people, too."

"It does," I agreed. "The programs they have there, the campus... It looks so great. I'm just so excited to start!"

"It is an exciting time," she agreed, "but listen, (Y/n)." When her tone turned serious, and she shifted on her knees to face me, I mirrored the movement and looked into her eyes, only to find that she was having a harder time looking at me and letting her attention linger.

"Is something wrong?"

"Kinda," she said, and with that single word, my heart dropped. A million scenarios flashed through my mind, each one worse than the last. But worst of all...

"Did something happen to my father?"

"No," she said right away, her eyes widening as she shook her head. "No, not at all. Sorry. I just... it's about me."

"Are you ok?"

"I'm great, actually," she said, and that confused me even more.

"So something's kinda wrong with you, but you're great?"

"I got a job offer," she told me. "It's far away, though."

"Is it for...?"

"Beauty? Yes," she told me. "It's with a great team and they've got a lot of really talented people working there. Somehow, they asked for me, specifically."

I knew where this was going already.

"And you'd be an idiot not to take it, right?"

"Exactly," she said. "I called them this morning, telling them that I accepted the position."

"So you'll be moving?"

"Yes."

"So it'll just be me and Tobi," I said slowly.

"Yes," she said once more, her voice small and quiet.

I looked down and away, wondering just what I had done in this life of mine to deserve not just my mother, and not just my father, and not just my grandfather, and not just my aunt and uncle, and for now my cousin too to all leave me.

I understood Miwa's reasoning, but I knew there was more to it than just the job. There had to be. And as if knowing I'd come to that realization, she began to speak again, to clarify before my mind could drift too far.

"It has nothing to do with you, or with Tobio," she told me, taking hold of my shoulders. I met her eyes once more, seeing how sad she was. This was hurting her to do - but she had to. That was clear. "It is a great opportunity for me. If I do well, I'll have great connections to call on later and the experience alone will be incredible to have. This is hard, because I love you and Tobio so, so much. But..."

"But," I filled in, "your parents dumped us on you."

She nodded. "I couldn't enjoy being young," she said. "I couldn't enjoy going out because I always had to watch you guys. It was easier when you got older, but Tobio..."

Yes, he was a strange boy. That was obvious.

"It is not your fault," she said firmly. "But I can't be here anymore. I have to live my life, I'm... (Y/n), I'm 20, and still haven't even started my life, and..."

"I get it," I assured her. "It's not fair, what your parents are doing."

"It's not fair for any of us," she agreed, taking my hands in her own. "When mom and dad said they'd take you in for your dad, they... they never said that I'd be the one in charge. They didn't. I know that they're working hard for us, to provide for the family but it's still hard."

"I know," I murmured. "You don't have to defend yourself to me - I don't think you're doing anything wrong."

She let out a relieved breath, one I don't think she realized she'd even been holding in. "You don't?"

"Watching us for a few hours is one thing," I said. "A few years... It's not fair to you, Miwa."

"The hardest part of this is knowing that now it's going to be unfair to you," she said, tightening her hold on my hands briefly. "And I'm so, so sorry about that."

"I know," I said. "And I forgive you. You have a life to lead that exists beyond this house, so..."

Miwa smiled, then leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I know it's not easy for you to be without your dad, but you've been so, so strong. And I'm so proud of you, (Y/n). You'll go to Aoba Johsai, and do incredible things there, and have a great, great life."

"Thank you," I said, warm and wonderful emotions welling up in my chest. "You, too. Now that you can finally begin, that is."

"Right," she said with a laugh, letting go of my hands and sitting up straight. "Now I just need to find a way to tell Tobio..."

"Oh? Did you tell me first because you thought it'd be easier?"

"Of course," she laughed. "Come on, that should be obvious. Have you ever tried telling that boy anything?"

"Unfortunately," I said, chuckling lightly. "You know what, I'll help you break the news, if you want."

"Maybe start with the good news, that you got into Aoba Johsai. Ease him into it."

"That might work," I considered. "Or he'll ask about the volleyball team there right away, see if I can't get him into the gym to work with some high schoolers."

"Yeah," Miwa said, thinking it over. "Hm. Maybe another angle, then..."

"Actually, it's been a while since you've played a game with us, right?"

"Right," she said, smiling now. "But I can't help but feel like you're setting me up for failure. There's a reason I stopped playing, and there's a reason I haven't picked it up since."

"Yeah, and then it fell on me to play against him," I said playfully. "I'm shit at volleyball, you know that!"

"Yes," she said right away. "That's obvious."

"Hey," I said, laughing through my protests. "That's not something someone who needs my help should say!"

"Tough," Miwa said, already standing. "I suppose both of us are going to get shown up by a junior high schooler today, (Y/n)."

"Wait, I never said I was going to play!"

"Oops," she called, already dashing from the room. "I'm going to tell him!"

"Miwa, wait!"

—

I stood before the main gate of Aoba Johsai, looking up at the grand courtyard that sat in front of the school and the winding paths leading around to either side of its campus. The large main school building stood just before me, imposing against the early morning sky.

Already, the grounds were swarming with students, all there with purpose and pride. This was Aoba Johsai, and they didn't accept just anybody. Rigorous academic programs, connections to other high-performing schools around the country, only the best staff when it came to everything from janitorial work to academic advising.

Aoba Johsai was a school of elites, for elites - and it was an honor to be here.

That would explain the nerves, then.

I clutched the strap of my bag tighter, hoping that I didn't look as nervous as I felt. But then again, what did I have to worry about? I looked up at the person standing immediately to my right, then to my left. Looking at Hajime and Toru respectively effectively calmed my nerves, simple though it was. They were looking on, a serious look on Haji's face and a wide smile on Toru's.

With them at my sides, I had nothing to worry about.

And I had to admit, we all looked good in this uniform. Well, I thought so, at least until a brisk breeze rolled through towards us, and I had to release my bag's strap to hold my skirt down. At my sides, both boys chuckled, and I lamented the loss of the longer skirts of junior high.

"Ah," Toru said, stretching his arms above his head in a leisurely way, "it sure is nice wearing pants."

"Shut up, Toru," I muttered, sneering up at him.

"Sorry, sorry," Toru replied, though I was certain the apologies were not genuine. "I think you look cute, (Y/n)-chan. We all look good, though Iwa-chan's tie is wrong, but I suppose that's part of the look he's going for."

"Do you want a black eye for the first day of high school?"

"Protect me, (Y/n)-chan," Toru yelped as Hajime wound up. He ducked behind me, and I didn't so much as flinch, because I knew there was no chance that Hajime would swing at Toru if he was anywhere near me. So I sighed, closing my eyes briefly as another roll of wind blew through.

"I need to get out of this wind," I declared, starting to walk. "Do to each other what you will - I'm going inside where it's warm. Besides, I don't want there to be any chance of being late today and if I watch Toru get hurt, I'm going to have to patch him up. So, I'm saving myself the trouble."

"(Y/n)-chan, wait!"

I did no such thing. I did, however, smile as Toru hurried after me, and it only grew when Haji reached my side too, chuckling himself as he did.