- Chapter 1 -

Makoto Tachibana meets the new kid

Thump. A small bag filled with clothes was dropped on the floor as a sigh of relief was heard. A teenage girl around the age of sixteen was sitting on the floor exhausted while small pants were escaping her mouth. "That was the last one" she breathed out and clenched her chest, trying to control her breathing pace. When she finally did, she stomped on her feet and leaned on the wall to prevent herself from falling down.

After a couple of minutes, the girl was sitting on the bed as her grey eyes were staring at a picture frame which was resting on her lap. The picture was showing two tiny figures of the opposite gender. At the left, there was a boy with pitch black, like the nighy sky, hair, his grey eyes staring at the camera with excitement. His arm was wrapped around the shoulder of a girl which was completely identical to him- only the length of her hair which was reaching her waist was different

Her usual empty grey eyes were now looking with sadness and nostalgia at the photo which had been a little dusted from the years that have passed. The silence was cut off by a muffled voice which called her name from downstairs: "Misaki! Come, the lunch is ready!"

"Coming, Oba-san!" the girl named Misaki replied as her hand reacted its own and hid the photograph under the pillow of the bed.

Misaki stood up on her feet and made her own way in the living room where her grandparents were already sitting on the table. She mimicked them and took a seat on the floor across them. She raised her chopsticks and clasped her hands together. "Itadakimasu" the girl murmured with closed eyes.

The three of them started eating in silence, only the sound of the chopsticks hitting on their bowls was been heard in the room. Suddenly, the sound of the bell ringing cut off the awkward silence which made them stop their actions.

"I will get it" Misaki exclaimed and stood up. She wipped her hands with a napkin and approached the door, opening it.

In front of her stood a slightly taller and good-looking teenage boy. His brown hair which fell in his eyes were taking a slight green color because of the sunlight which was beaming on him, his green eyes looking at her and a gentle smile appearing on his face. "Hello. I'm Makoto Tachibana and I live across your house; you must be the new family which moved in here?"

Misaki stared at him with her usual blunt face but decided to be nice towards him, since it was her first day in his town. "Yes, we are. I'm Misaki Namizake. Nice to meet you, Tachibana-kun"

Makoto left a small chuckle before xtending his hands towards her and handing her a basket with a variety of goods inside. "Yosh! Welcome to the neighborhood, Namikaze-san!"

"Th-Thank you" Misaki stuttered, managing to balance the basket in her hands before it would fall down.

Makoto bowed slightly at her, "It was nice to meet you, Namikaze-san. See you around~!" And with those words, the boy left her house as fast as he could.

Misaki took a glance at the basket before stepping inside and closing the door behind her. She walked inside the living room again which caused her grandparents to turn around and look at her. The teenage girl raised an eyebrow at him, returning their confused glare.

"Who was it, Misaki?" her grandmother asked with curiosity. Misaki sat back on her seat and placed the basket besides her. "Ano... A neighbor named Makoto Tachibana brought us this basket to welcome us in the neighbrohood" the girl exclaimed, holding again her chopsticks.

The old woman seemed to remember something because she snapped her head towards the girl, "Tachibana? Where have I heard this name before? Hmm.... yosh! It was two decades ago, when me and your Oji-san were living in this town. The same person came to greet us in town but not with the name Makoto..."

Misaki took a sip of her water before thinking about it. "It must have been Tachibana-kun's father or grandfather because the person who welcomed us must be around my age"

The wrinkled old woman nodded and continued eating her food. Misaki, bored out of her mind, decided to leave the table and start washing the dishes. She placed them all in the sink and while washing them, she started thinking about the new person she had met, Makoto Tachibana.

I wonder, is he always happy like that? And so friendly? .......hn, I bet that when he will get to know me better he won't be so friendly with me, the teenage girl thought and shook her head in disapointement. I just wish that people wouldn't need friends so I would be an equal with normal people.

Misaki finished doing the dishes and wiped her hands on a napkin. She checked the time; it was already past 8 in the night, since the whole day they had been fixing the furniture around the new place and carrying clothes in bedrooms. She decided that a small walk around the neighborhood would be a good idea.

She was ready to step out of the house, when she felt someone nudging her foot. Her eyes darted downwards and captured the sight of a small black kitten, rubbing its small face on her pants' sleeve. Misaki smiled slightly and bended down, taking the small kitten in her hands and walking out of the house. She didn't go far away from home, just some blocks away to admire the view of the mountain.

The teenage girl sat on the ground with crossed legs and placed the kitten on her lap, stroking softly its black furr. The neko (= cat) purred loudly, sending a small urge to Misaki to chuckle. But the girl stayed as calm as always, holding the kitty like it was something fragile.

"This is a very cute kitty, Namikaze-san". A voice behind her made her stop what she was doing and snap her head to the destination of it. A figure stepped out from the shadows and Misaki recognised immediately the tall boy; it was Makoto Tachibana.

His warm smile was still on his face and he took some steps front, sitting besides Misaki. The girl followed him with her steady gaze, her hand still on the kitten's head. Makoto tilted his head when he saw the kitty and then looked at Misaki. "Is this yours?"

Misaki didn't utter a word but she nodded in agreement, caressing the cat's furr softly. Makoto's eyes fell on the kitten again and the girl understood that he must love cats. She sighed and grabbed the kitten gently, placing it on Makoto's lap. "Here"

Makoto looked once at the kitten and then at the girl, himself raising slightly an eyebrow. "Meow~" the kitten purred, rubbing itself on Makoto. Misaki grinned slightly; the kitten seemed pleased with Makoto's presence.

Misaki knew that the small kitty was approaching whoever she liked so she thought that Makoto may be special. Maybe... Misaki snapped out of her thoughts, looking at Makoto. The boy was playing with the kitten and was chuckling cutely, making Misaki smile a little more.

I guess Makoto Tachibana isn't any bad at all.