Akiko's room was ventilated in the morning. On the table with her school items and a large mirror also lay her makeup. There was an abundance of clipped pink hair on the floor beside the desk.
Yumiko could not sleep all evening after last night's event. As she lay there, Akiko texted her in her private chat room.
Attyan: "Hi! Will you come out for a walk tomorrow morning?"
The brown-eyed girl didn't know how to answer her. Certainly the suggestion came as a shock to her, for they had never tried to communicate online before. Not to mention that they rarely talked in private, which made Yumiko feel that there was something hindering their communication.
Yumi-kun: "Hi, OK."
She acted unconsciously, anxious to finally fall asleep. Her eyes fluttered shut time after time, and when the phone vibrated, she let it pass her ears and fell asleep on her bed.
When she awoke in the morning, she hadn't forgotten her friend's suggestion. It had gotten noticeably colder outside after the previous day, and snow was predicted to fall. The meeting was scheduled at the entrance to the central square, and a warmly dressed Yumiko decided to come a little earlier than planned, since she lived a little farther from the center. When she arrived at the appointed place, she stood near the entrance and looked around.
Seeing the happy people walking in the park, she didn't notice Akiko walk up to her and call out to her.
Yumiko turned to her, and immediately froze in surprise. Before her stood a girl with dark hair whose length reached all the way down to her beautiful jaw. After analyzing the situation thoroughly, she measured her dumbfounded gaze and recognized the girl as Akiko.
Her pink hair had been dyed back to its original color, and its length had shortened noticeably.
"You've changed noticeably."
"Shall we walk around the square?"
Akiko seemed content and open, and Yumiko found it easier to walk alone with her. Entering through the entrance archway, they immediately began chatting.
"At last we have time to talk face to face," Akiko said. "Please introduce yourself, my name is Akiko Akiyama, your new friend. This is how our real acquaintance was supposed to begin."
"We didn't seem to get to spend time as friends."
"Even in this weather, there are a lot of people here, especially families."
"Yes, the truth is, people want to relax on weekends and choose public places where they can go with their families."
"And that's true. That's pretty much what we do now. Or is it easier to say we're doing procrastination? Oh, there's a shop that sells cotton candy!"
"Shall we go to the restaurant after this?" Yumiko said, running after Akiko to the shop.
The girls bought cotton candy and proceeded to walk around the square, looking at the fountain that was in the epicenter, and where many young people were gathering.
"I used to spend my life carefree in the circle of urban teenagers, thanks to which many people began to recognize me. However, after the situations that happened, I realized that it was time for me to change something in my life, too. With you, I was able to find the real happiness I dreamed of during my school years.
A smiling Akiko overtook Yumiko and stood in front of her.
"Akiko-chan, are you enjoying your time at the club? If you talk like that, your friends outside the club and school won't know where you're going."
"I recently managed to overcome my doubts, and I narrowed down my social circle. So it's my turn to take a different path and start a new life in which I no longer have to deceive myself."
"Akiko-chan, is that why…?"
"Uh-huh, that's why I decided to cut my hair and dye it my natural color. I don't want to be afraid of anything anymore. However, I will have to spend a lot of time to purge the people around me and leave the ones I really genuinely have fun with. It's a pain in the ass to choose between people."
Akiko looked at the fountain and saw the water jets depicting heart and love.
"Let's move on."
As they finished eating cotton candy, they spent time taking pictures together near landmarks and statues.
"Surely it won't be easy for us to transition back to normal conversation…" Akiko said, stopping at the statue of lovers.
"We'll manage," Yumiko took her hands. "The club days will go on, rest assured! After all, it's important to all of us."
Akiko was touched and nodded her head.
Soon they entered a nearby restaurant, which encouraged the girls with its pleasant surroundings. The warm colors and brown decorations brought bliss to the souls of diners who wanted a break from work and the rest of a hard day's work.
They went to the register and ordered two caramel lattes. As they sat down at the table, they waited, and there was an awkward pause between them that Akiko didn't mind clearing up.
"It's amazing how many fine restaurants there are downtown…"
"I agree. Akiko-chan, how do you like the weather?"
"Terrible," Akiko said, leaning her head on her palm and looking out the window. "I don't like the cold."
Yumiko looked closely at her, an adorable girl staring thoughtfully at the road. She thought she was distinctively beautiful at that moment.
Yumiko looked closely at her, an enchanting girl staring thoughtfully at the road. She thought she was distinctively beautiful at that moment.
"With hair like that," Yumiko retorted, "you look just like Akiko Yosano!"
"W-what, really?" - Akiko lost her grip, blushing. "No one's ever complimented me like that. Yu-chan, and you look just like Honda Tsubasa!"
"That's t-too much," Yumiko was confused and waved her palms.
She was glad to be called "Yu-chan" for the first time.
"Still, Akiko Yosano was a beauty, I'm glad to hear such praise from your lips, Yu-chan. Akiko Yosano is an example for girls, and frankly, I'm impressed by her life journey..."
"I think you are just like her. That's not flattery: you're impetuous and confident, and you inspire people's confidence."
"Really… it pleases me."
She thought to herself that Yumiko was overestimating her, and that she wasn't as pretty as many people thought. She didn't mind such compliments, though, since they were coming from the mouth of a beloved girlfriend that she wanted to get to know better.
After the latte was brought to them, Akiko instantly began to drink it.
"Yu-chan, I arranged this meeting to find common ground with you. There was no respite after so many events, so I'm probably too late, but still, I'm glad we're together. From the beginning of our relationship, all I could think about was how to hurt you because of my worthless ideals, and here I am. Please forgive me. I'll try to make it up to you."
"You don't have to worry. Our relationship has been through a lot, and it has grown stronger! It's enough for me that you consider me your friend."
"Yu-chan, I want to get to know you better so we can be real friends without all the lies, so please accept me. All this time all I lacked was a sincere friendship with people, and at night I suffered from it, but after meeting the members of the club I was able to change. Our friendship is very important to me, and I don't want to lose any more of you…"
After a while Akiko asked interestedly what Yumiko thought about Ryo, to which Yumiko, who was looking at the visitors, responded sharply and was surprised by the question.
"And you, Aki-chan, have you decided to let Ryo-kun go?"
"Well, my feelings were actually false. More accurately, I fantasized the whole thing for myself. And the truth is, I dream of a guy who will be a support for me… That's why I kept it for you, my friend. Is that what you think of Ryo-kun?"
"Well… I don't think I'd be interested in a relationship, because that's not what I'm looking for. I want to think more about my future life and develop, because exams will start soon and it will be time to think about going to university."
"So you're not ready for a love relationship, I understand. I trust your decision, Yu-chan, since you know more about what you want… However, you shouldn't disown Ryo-kun, for love is an abnormal thing, so… why don't you talk to him about it?"
"Uh-huh, when the time comes."
"Exams, then… Yeah, we'll be graduating very soon and moving on to university… Oh, by the way! Yu-chan, where do you want to go?"
"I like the idea of going to some university that will help me in living on its campus, and obviously, so that education won't be useless. No one wants to study where they would be idle."
As Akiko hummed thoughtfully, placing a finger to her smooth chin, other thoughts caught up with her.
"Where do you want to go, Attyan?"
"I don't know…" she muttered, and soon she was embarrassed. "I want to study with you…"
Her answer astonished Yumiko. Of course, she was pleased to hear that, but she wished Akiko had found her own way, rather than moving along the path laid down by others.
***
In the evening, as Akiko was in her room in front of the mirror brushing her hair, her phone vibrated and messages came to her.
Yumi-kun: "May I offer to go shopping with me?"
Akiko happily agreed and held the phone up to her small breasts. She sympathized with Yumiko as someone whose trust was very important to her.
'Yu-chan,' she thought to herself as she undressed in the shower, 'I want to be your best friend because I admire you. You've warmly accepted me, which I can't help but be happy about.'
Her thin, slender body matched her short hair. Turning on the water, she began to take a shower.
"How can I be as strong as you?"
With a gentle washcloth, she began to rub her body slowly. Her thin waist was the envy of her peers, and her skinny shoulders gave her the look of a modest girl.
The next day when they met at the proper place, Akiko couldn't believe her eyes. Yumiko had also cut her hair into a braid, but at a slightly longer length.
"Yu-chan, why are you…" she covered her gaping mouth.
"In honor of our friendship. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Yumiko, I would be happy to support you."
"You really shouldn't have…"
"It seemed to me that we could have become much closer, and besides, I've liked short hair since long ago, so… Attyan, I decided to cut it off, too."
"How adorable you are, Yu-chan. Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
"Oh, what? No… I haven't."
They went into several stores, both clothing stores and jewelry and accessory stores, where they were looking for new jewelry. and her type couldn't be better matched with soft toys. Akiko chose what was to her and her friend's liking.
So, as they came out of the next store, they were carrying small bags of things. Akiko enthusiastically picked up her step and held both hands up. Throwing an incomprehensible look upward, Yumiko noticed snowflakes that had begun to gather from the light and cloudy sky. These snowflakes fell leisurely to the ground, heralding the arrival of the white nights.
"The first day of winter has come! And the first snow follows!" declared Akiko charmingly.
Soon it would be the end of their school year.