Shiori "Hey Chizuru, why did you want to come so bad?"
Chizuru looks at her with a slightly surprised look before smiling.
Chizuru "It's just been so long since I've been at an elementary school! The fond memories I have of those times."
She sighs in bliss as she thinks of the good childhood memories when Lucy stops swaying and looks at her with a smirk.
Lucy "I'm sure they're all real good memories. Definitely not a bunch of jerks picking on you because of your silly antenna."
She points at Chizuru's hair as she gasps, grabbing her hair and holding it softly with a look of shock and betrayal on her face.
Chizuru "It's not weird! I like my hair and I'll have you know, I do think of those memories fondly because you and Hikigaya and Ryuji would always come to my rescue as Haru comforted me. Those times, I always felt so safe and secure."
Shiori looks a bit surprised.
Shiori 'They were picked on too?'
Her look then changes to that of a bit of jealousy.
Shiori 'At least they had each other..'
Chizuru "What elementary school did you go to?"
Shiori snaps out of her thoughts and looks at Chizuru surprised.
Shiori "Me?"
She nods.
Shiori "Oh, I went to Blossom Elementary too."
They get surprised looks.
Lucy "You went here too? That's actually not surprising."
Chizuru "Do you have any fond memories from this place?"
She asks happily as Shiori just shrugs a bit.
Shiori "Not really. I wasn't well liked so the few interactions I did have were people bullying me for my eyes and the way I looked. But I didn't have anyone else to come help me.."
She says softly while looking down a bit. Tears form in Chizuru's eyes as Lucy looks sad.
Chizuru "Aw, Shiori! That's so sad! I wish we were all together back then. Knowing Hiki, he'd probably do nothing but spend all day with you anyway."
She says with a giggle as Shiori blushes.
Chizuru "But of course, he had to go to our elementary school."
Lucy "To be fair, he did only join us in 5th grade after he moved. I don't even remember what elementary school he went to beforehand."
She says while trying to remember. Chizuru thinks for a moment too before suddenly remembering.
Chizuru "Oh, wait! He went here, Blossom Elementary, remember?"
She asks Lucy who also remembers with a smile.
Lucy "Oh yeah, he totally did!"
Shiori is surprised as she remembers the young boy she saw in her inner world visions whose eyes were covered by rays of light. Her eyes grow wide as she remembers his smile on a swing set but his eyes are still out of range.
Shiori 'Could he..?'
She shakes her head, shaking the thought away.
Shiori 'No, that makes no sense! There's no way.'
She then smirks and chuckles a bit. The others notice as she speaks.
Shiori "Actually, I think I did have one friend. I just remembered he existed. Wanna hear something I used to tell him?"
Chizuru/Lucy "Yeah!"
They say enthusiastically. Shiori laughs, a little embarrassed by her past actions, as she smiles softly. It fades off into a cloudy sky of a day long ago…
A young Shiori sits by herself on the swing set. She is a bit bruised and scratched as she looks up to the sky, no scar under her left eye. She stares with a blank look when a young boy, the one from her visions, sits down next to her in the swing seat. They sit in silence for a moment as Shiori doesn't look at him.
Boy "You're sitting here all alone again?"
Shiori "Yep."
Boy "Why?"
Shiori "Because nobody wants to sit with me."
They sit in silence again as the boy stares at her. He thinks for a moment before speaking again.
Boy "You sure do stare at the sky a lot."
Shiori "Yep."
Boy "...Why?"
Shiori smiles a bit for a moment before finally looking at him.
Shiori "Because I really like the clouds."
Boy "Are clouds really that interesting?"
Shiori shakes her head softly.
Shiori "They're not interesting but they are happy."
Boy "How do you know?"
Shiori looks up at the clouds again with a smile on her face.
Shiori "Because they have each other."
The boy looks intrigued and looks up.
Shiori looks at him again with a warm smile.
Shiori "I love clouds because I've never seen one all by itself. They're always together and never alone."
The boy blushes before getting a big smile on his face.
Boy "Shiori, we should be friends!"
He says as his smile fades…
In the present, Shiori blushes a bit and smiles.
Shiori "I love clouds because I've never seen one all by itself. They're always together and never alone."
She says softly. Lucy gets a very surprised look as Chizuru blushes warmly.
Chizuru "You're so cute, Shiori."
Shiori smiles embarrassedly a bit and chuckles.
Shiori "I know it sounds silly but it's what kept me going when everything seemed so bad… until I forgot about all that…"
She says softly with a sad look, regretting some of the decisions she made.
Lucy "Well guess what?"
Shiori looks at her as she smiles warmly at her.
Lucy "Now you're just like the clouds. You'll never need to be alone again."
Shiori's eyes widen as they shine. Chizuru smiles widely.
Chizuru "Yeah! That's right! We're gonna be together forever!"
She throws her arms into the air as Shiori starts to tear up.
Shiori "You guys…"
She says with a shaky smile and nods as they sit on the swings under the starry sky.
Later that night, Ryuji opens his door to see Lucy, panting and sweating a bit. He looks surprised.
Ryuji "Lucy? I didn't know you were coming over tonight."
Lucy "We have to talk."
She says with a happy smile. She steps inside as Ryuji's mom sees her and smiles.
Fuyuko "Lucy! It's so good to see you!"
She hugs Lucy for a moment before stepping back and coughing into her hand a bit.
Lucy "How are you doing?"
She asks with a concerned look. Fuyuko smiles weakly.
Fuyuko "Oh you know. Strong as an ox."
She laughs a bit before stepping away.
Fuyuko "Let me get you guys something to drink."
Ryuji and Lucy sit at a table together.
Ryuji "What did you want to talk about?"
Lucy smiles widely.
Lucy "Do you remember what Hiki said cloud girl used to say?"
Ryuji "Of course. I remember perfectly from the day he told us. 'I love clouds because I've never seen one all by itself…"
Ryuji/Lucy "They're always together and never alone."
She says the last part together with him as Ryuji gets a surprised look. Lucy smiles at him.
Lucy "It's her."
Ryuji "Shiori?"
She nods as his eyes grow wide and he smiles.
Ryuji "I knew it."
Lucy "We have to tell the others! I'm gonna call Haru-"
Ryuji "Wait."
She pulls out her phone but stops as Ryuji thinks for a moment. He smirks at her.
Ryuji "Let's have some more fun with this."
Lucy is surprised for a moment before smirking too. She sits down next to him and rubs her shoulder against his.
Lucy "Mm I like the way you think."
She says lovingly as they blush.
Early in February, Shiori and Hikigaya are walking to school together as usual when Hikigaya sneezes. Shiori looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
Shiori "You've been sneezing more than usual this morning. Allergies?"
Hikigaya sniffles a bit.
Hikigaya "I don't have allergies."
Shiori "Welp, it sounds like you might be getting sick."
Hikigaya looks at her with a slightly pouty look.
Hikigaya "You might be weaker than some germs but I'm quite literally built different. I don't get sick."
Shiori "Hmph ohkay."
She says sarcastically as they approach the school. Suddenly, Chizuru comes running at them with a big smile on her face.
Chizuru "Shiori!"
She shouts while jumping on Shiori. She hugs her before pulling back a bit, her arms still around her neck.
Chizuru "Do you know what day it is?!"
She asks excitedly.
Hikigaya "Thursday."
Chizuru looks at him with an irritated look and takes Shiori's hand.
Chizuru "Sorry, this is girls talk only."
She sticks her tongue out as Hikigaya sweats. Touma steps next to him.
Hikigaya "You know what that was about?"
Touma shrugs.
Hikigaya "I know what you're saying. Come on, let's go get a juice or something."
He says with a smile as they walk off. Chizuru walks towards the school with Shiori in hand.
Shiori "Okay, I think we're far enough away from him. Can we stop? I don't want to get in trouble for not sticking with him."
She says nervously. Chizuru winks at her.
Chizuru "Don't worry, Principal Ai hasn't talked to you guys in months. I doubt she even cares anymore. Now, for the important stuff."
She takes her hands in her own and looks at her with a smile.
Chizuru "Valentine's Day is right around the corner!"
Shiori is surprised a bit.
Shiori "Already? That's crazy."
Chizuru "Mhm mhm! So what are we doing this year?"
Shiori just stares at her.
Shiori "I don't know. Nothing probably."
Chizuru is shocked.
Chizuru "What??"