Chapter Text
Elementary school, a time for learning the basics and making friendships you think will last forever. Koushi Sugawara was in grade 2, 8 years old. He was a friendly kid that almost everyone got along with, the favorite of his teachers. He never got into any fights and generally was considered a very good kid.
Koushi thought today was just a normal day, he and his classmates sat down and their teacher came into the room soon after. However, instead of her usual speech about what they would be working on today, she said something strange.
“Class, today we have a new student.” His teacher said and gestured to someone outside the door to come in.
‘Weird.’ Koushi thought. ‘It’s almost winter time already, why would we have a new student? School starts in the spring.’
A couple moments after, the teacher gestured for the supposed new student to walk in and a girl about his height shuffled into the room. She was wearing a soft looking cream sweater, a brown, corduroy overall skirt with a cartoon bear face embroidered on the pocket, a pair of warm looking leggings, and the standard indoor shoes. She nervously fiddled with her hands as she stood before the class and kept her eyes on the floor in front of her. Koushi noticed the small, nervous frown on the girl’s face as their teacher pushed her to introduce herself.
“My name’s Takahashi Y/n… I just moved from Tokyo, it’s nice to meet you.” She said very quietly as she looked to the teacher for approval. Their teacher nodded and pointed to the desk by the window as she said something softly to the girl.
The silver haired boy watched as the girl walked towards him before sitting down at the desk next to him. She glanced at him and he whispered a small “hi” to her. She gave him a small wave as the class started. Throughout the class, he would glance at the new girl, curious about her and why she seemed so nervous. However, those thoughts and questions would have to wait. Now was time for learning.
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After their morning classes, it was time for lunch. After they all got their lunches, most students went out to the yard or visited their friends in other classes. Not Koushi Sugawara though, he had a mission. Holding his tray of food, Koushi spotted the mysterious new girl sitting alone at her desk. Bingo. He watched her for a moment and noticed how she kept looking out the window. He wondered what was so interesting, now time to approach his target.
“Can I eat lunch with you?” She nearly jumped out of her skin as the boy approached her. Koushi smiled as she nodded and sat down next to her at his own desk. She watched him with big, curious eyes as he sat down.
“My name’s Koushi, you’re Y/n, right?” He asked with a bright and friendly smile. She nodded yes to his question, still a little wary of the boy. After all, how could someone be so friendly with someone they just met? He noticed her almost nervous demeanor, and instead of being dissuaded by it, it made him want to be her friend anymore. You weren’t escaping him, quiet mystery girl!
“I like your skirt.” He said after taking a bite of his rice.
“Thank you.” She said softly and looked at his own outfit. “I like your shirt.”
“Thanks! My mom got it for me at the beginning of the school year!” Koushi spoke, covering his mouth since he still had food in it. He had fond memories of the back to school shopping that took place. He had practically begged his mom to let him get this shirt, and it had been his favorite since.
“Why’d you move here?” He asked as he swallowed the food in his mouth.
Y/n shrugged as she placed another bite of food into her mouth and glanced out the window. She watched the autumn leaves silently fall for a moment before she spoke up again.
“My mom said we needed some fresh air.”
“Is the air in Tokyo dirty?” Koushi asked with a curious tilt of his head. He’d never heard of air being dirty, but he had never been to Tokyo. How on earth could the air be dirty? Did it just smell very bad, or was it all smoky like around a fire?
“Maybe?” She said softly as she took a sip of her milk. “I just know the air smells nicer here.”
The two ate their food and continued their conversation. It was mostly Koushi talking about things that happened or his interests with Y/n only talking to answer questions. Neither of them minded though and it was a pleasant lunch. They talked about things like how Koushi really liked spicy tofu or how Y/n was allergic to imitation crab. Koushi had shared how he had a baby brother and Y/n said that she had an older brother. By the end of lunch, she’d come out of her shell a bit and a small smile rested on her face. The silver haired boy considered her a little strange, but he thought she was really nice even if she didn’t talk much.
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The school bell had rung a while back, and most of the students were leaving or had already left. Koushi was walking towards the exit when he spotted his new friend Y/n standing by the school gate. She had a pensive look on her face as she gripped the straps of her backpack. Their class had finished cleaning the classroom ages ago–at least ages ago for an 8 year old–what was she still doing here?
“Y/n?” He asked as he approached her. He made sure his footsteps were loud so he didn’t startle her like at lunch. “Why haven’t you gone home yet?”
He watched as she sighed and kicked some of the orange leaves that had fallen to the ground, spraying them slightly into the air before they floated back down.
“I don’t know how to get home…” She said softly as she stared down at the ground with a pout. “My mom walked me to school but I wasn’t paying attention so I don’t know the way back. I’ve never walked home on my own before.”
“You’ve never walked home by yourself?” He repeated her statement with a questioning tone. He’d always walked to and from school, even when he was super little. As far as Koushi knew, most kids walked home alone or with groups of other students.
She shook her head and kicked some more leaves.
“My brother’s middle school was right next door to my school so he’d always walk me to and from school… Now he goes to school in the opposite direction.” She said sadly.
“Where do you live?” He asked as he noticed her distress. The last thing he wanted was for his new friend to be sad. “I can show you how to get home!”
She told him her address and she watched as the silver-haired boy’s eyes lit up. He was practically beaming, and the next thing he did surprised her. He grabbed her hand softly and started pulling her along and out of the school gates. She made a small squeak of surprise, but ultimately let him pull her along down the leaf covered sidewalk.
“That’s my street! I can show you the way!” He smiled at her while he held her hand. He slightly slowed his pace as she could walk next to him instead of running behind him.
The two of them peacefully walked hand in hand–so Y/n didn’t get separated and lost–while Koushi talked about how he was excited to finally have another kid living on his street. Apparently, he didn’t have any friends who lived in the same neighborhood. For the first two years of school, he had no one to walk with to and from school.
“When did you move in?” He asked as he lightly swung their intertwined hands. It was chilly with the winter quickly approaching, but Kouchi didn’t mind all that much.
“About a week ago.” She answered and nuzzled her red nose into the blue scarf she had brought with her. Her mother had made it for her when she was in kindergarten, it was very dear to her. “Aren’t you cold?”
“A little.” He said as he kept swinging their hands. “But it’s ok, I have my coat.”
He, in fact, did have a puffy red coat on that probably kept out the cold pretty well. It was luckily keeping him warm, but it didn’t save his nose from the bite of the cold, turning it all red.
She nodded and went back to watching the leaves fall along the path as her new friend led her home. She was glad that the two of them lived on the same street because she didn’t know how she would have got home otherwise. It was nice to have someone so nice in her class.
She listened to him talk about his parents, his little brother, and the playground two streets over. She seemed really interested in whatever he was saying, nodding along and taking in the information with wide eyes. They both got so lost in their conversation that before they knew it, they were standing outside her front door.
“This is my house.” She said in an almost melancholy manner as she looked between Koushi and her front door.
“”Yeah…” He sounded sad as well as he didn’t want to let go of his new friend. However, he quickly changed his tune and let go of her hand. “ It was nice talking to you!”
“It was nice talking to you too, Koushi.” She said with a small smile as she opened her front door. “See you tomorrow.”
Koushi was stunned for a moment, she’d see him tomorrow? He almost forgot she was in his class now.
“See you tomorrow Y/n!” He said a bit louder than was necessary with a brilliant smile. “I’ll walk with you to school in the morning!”
And with that, the two said their goodbyes for the night. This was the start of a friendship that would last a lifetime…