It was something Ken had never felt before. His heart seemed to have skipped a beat. The longer he looked at her the more his mind felt overwhelmed. It was as if time had stopped completely and he was wrapped in bliss. His deep brown eyes gazed into the girl's scarlet pink eyes. Her skin was faint pink and smooth to the touch.
Ken was hit with several emotions he didn't understand but somehow made sense to him.
"What the hell is happening to me? I can feel my temperature increasing but why? Oh no, am I in love? Is this what they call; Love at First Sight? Big Sis Vivian told me about this when I was younger, she said I'd feel something like this if I ever fell in love! Okay Ken calm down, just breathe" Ken was panicking inside his own mind, trying to make sense of his current situation, he completely forgot about reality
"Uh...thank you sir but, you can...umm...let go of my hand now," the pink-haired girl said a little creeped out
Snapping out of his thoughts, Ken quickly let go of her hand before breaking out into a nervous chuckle "Oh…ah, right, I'm sorry"
Fixing up her outfit and straightening the bokken on her waist, she replied "...Thank you again for holding the door for me...my name is Hanako Sakura" Hanako introduced herself
"...Well, my name is Ken Granfold and you're welcome" Ken replied
"Umm…th-thank you again," Hanako said with a slight head bow "...bye…"
And with that, what seems to be Ken's first "Crush" left to go take a seat. Ken stood by the train doors trying to collect himself.
Pulling his own cheeks Ken told himself "Get a hold of yourself, don't let this encounter be as awkward as your last" Him referring to the young lady at Cardia Port
Taking a deep breath Ken was able to calm himself "If that's what you call love, then it seems like I need to train and study more about it so I don't creep her out next time" Ken thought to himself
Looking down the row of seats, all of the other seats were taken, and the train was packed. Ken spotted the Pink hair girl, and she was the only one with an empty seat next to her, it was as if the Goddess of Love was giving him a second chance to redeem himself from the embarrassment earlier.
"Okay, how do I take a seat next to her without being a creep or a weirdo," Ken thought to himself trying to hatch out a plane
The Young Boy stood there for a few minutes thinking of several ways to execute this plan of his, but nothing came to mind.
"What's wrong with me? I'm normally not the nervous type, I'm more the straightforward type…is love some kind of charm spell that weakens one's mind and heart?" Love seems to be more complicated than magic" Ken continued to think to himself
While Ken was racking his brain trying to figure things out, the Ticket inspector came around asking people to show their tickets. After the inspector had asked a few people, he arrived at Hanako
"Excuse me, ma'am, may I see your ticket please," The Ticket Inspector asked Hanako
"...Y-yes just give me a second" Hanako replied as she searched her pockets and purse for her tickets but couldn't find it
"Well?...don't tell me you don't have it," the inspector said looking sharply at Hanako
"No no I should have a ticket...unless I d-dropped it while running here" Hanako replied as she started to get worried
"Without a valid ticket, you will be issued a fine ma'am" The Inspector replied
Seeing the little commotion happen between Hanako and the Inspector, Ken took this as a chance to make a move.
"Alright, it's now or never"
"Oh, I found this ticket on the floor it must be yours Hanako," Ken chipped in as he held out his own ticket
Hanako was a little confused, but she didn't want to be fined, so she took Ken's ticket and showed the Inspector.
"Saved by the bell. Now young man where is your ticket," the inspector asked looking at Ken
"Give me a sec" Ken reached into his Socks and pulled out the extra ticket "Here you go"
The inspector hesitated to take Ken's ticket, seeing as he pulled it out of his socks, but he took it nonetheless. Once he checked it, he left the two alone and moved on to the other passengers.
"Thank you, Old Man!" Ken said in his head, praising his Grandpa
"...That wasn't my ticket," Hanako said looking up at Ken
Taking the empty seat facing Hanako, Ken sat down as naturally as possible, trying not to be weird "I had two tickets, and it seemed like you needed one, Ken replied looking up at Hanako
"Well...thank you, Ken, your a nice person" Hanako replied with a grateful smile
"You're welcome" Ken replied
After Ken's reply, it went silent for a few seconds. Not wanting to waste the opportunity the Goddess of Love gave him, Ken continued to talk, hoping she replies
"...So where are you heading? If you don't mind me asking"
"...Im h-heading to Elenora's Academy of Magicka…" Hanako replied
Hearing her answer, put a smile on Ken's face. "Oh sweet, I'm also headed there"
"...that's, n-nice…"
Hanako twiddled her fingers together, looking down at her lap. She seemed agitated and shy, during her short interaction with Ken, she struggled to maintain eye contact for more than 2 seconds. Ken saw that she was shy and probably wasn't used to holding a conversation.
"I need to think of something, leaving now would be super awkward!" Ken thought to himself looking into the darkness of the tunnel the train was still traveling in
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ken finally spoke again
"...So, are you also taking the Entrance Exam?"
Hearing Ken suddenly say something, made Hanako tense up a little. Still looking at her lap, she replied "...N-no…Im, already a student…at the a-academy"
"So you must be a senior?"
"No...I graduated from Elenora's School of Magicka, w-which gave me...a direct pass to the academy"
"That makes sense. Still, I wonder, what the Exams going to be like"
"I hear that…the entrance exams for the academy are h-hard. Not many people pass it. Only a small percentage ever make it"
"Well, whatever it may be, I know I'll definitely pass"
"...H-how can you…be also sure…?"
"Well that's easy, I have full faith in my magic. I've gone through intense training to get to where I am, as long as I don't lose faith in myself, I believe I have no limits to what I can achieve" Ken replied looking out the window, gazing at all the colourful bright lights appearing in the tunnel
Hearing this, Hanako finally looked up at Ken, her eyes glittered with inspiration. "F-Faith in my Magic and M-Myself?…" Hanako mumbled to herself with a slight smile, filled with envy, before looking back down at her lap
Returning his gaze to Hanako, Ken spoke "My uncle told me that the Academy is a very high stake academy, and normally people that go there have some sort of big goal they want to achieve. If you don't mind me asking, what are you trying to achieve?"
"Well…my goal isn't anything…b-big.."
"I'd still like to hear it"
"Ehh..uh...uhmm, w-well...I want to become a brave person. As you can probably already tell...im a very shy person, even as we speak...I'm finding it hard to keep e-eye contact with you" Hanako said as she gripped her lap "I want to be strong, so I can stand up for myself, I want to be strong so... I can believe in myself, and believe in my magic" Hanako replied, as she mumbled the part about her believing in herself and her magic "if I become brave...then I can become stronger and if I b-become stronger, I can….protect those around me and those that need it"
"I think that's a great goal," I replied. Ken was truly amazed at her goal. "I know we have just met, but I truly believe in you"
As Ken said this, Hanako's tense body relaxed. "You truly have a great will power, you know your weakness and instead of complaining you're trying your best to overcome it, I think that makes you brave already"
Hanko's soft pink cheeks immediately turned deep red, after Ken had given his little speech. She was flustered and didn't know how to react.
"Ehhh...ummm...mmmmh...gaaa" she couldn't put words together, only whimpering noises escaped her lips.
" Did I break her?...." Ken thought to himself
Hanako finally collected herself and once again, gained the ability to speak "umm...so what do you wish to achieve?"
"That's a good question,"
Ken hadn't thought about what he wanted to achieve. He's never thought of some grand goal for himself since he's been on an island up until a few hours ago.
"Well, if I had to say, I'd probably say I want to explore this world and experience as much as I possibly can. I grew up isolated from the world, so seeing everything it has to offer would really be a great life goal, and maybe help in whichever way I can, to make this world a better place, for everyone to enjoy"
"I-i...think that's an...amazing g-goal"
"Thanks. But first I need to make lots and lots of friends. My elder Sister and Grandma told me that if I truly want to enjoy life, then I need to make friends who will stick with me through thick and thin, never abandon me. Making friends and meeting people, is actually one of the main reasons I'm attending this Academy''
Ken stood up out of his seat, standing in front of Hanako, with his right hand held out for a handshake.
"What do ya say? Become my first ever friend and help me reach my goal. As your friend, I'll help you achieve your goal as well, no matter how long it might take" Ken said with a smile
Hanako looked at Ken's hand, then slowly looked up at the boy standing before her. Still a little confused, but upon seeing his cheerful smile, a soft smile played upon her lips. Altho Hanako and Ken had just met, their hearts were quick to connect and understand each other
"...Sure…"
Hanako reached out and grabbed Ken's hand, accepting his friendship. The train had finally exited the tunnel, Ken looked away from Hanako taking a peek at the view.
The train was now in the sky, just below the clouds, beneath them was a clear blue ocean glistening in the sunlight. Birds and other sky creatures occupied the sky.
In the short distance, Ken could see the beautiful City of Belthon, the city was huge and had buildings of all sorts and sizes planted everywhere.
Ken hadn't even stepped foot in the city yet, and he was already feeling a little overwhelmed. He was already curious about everything, he wanted to try everything.
Ken looked back at Hanako, who also gazed out the window admiring the view.
"...Beautiful…" Ken mumbled to Himself
At the time, Ken didn't know what was more overwhelming, the view of the ocean and city, or the girl known as Hanako Sakura. He couldn't help but smile at the mere sight of her.