Haruna couldn't sleep that night. Her mind running at full speed, thinking of the same two tone haired boy she had seen earlier today. Although laying down in bed, her hands rested on top of her stomach and eyes wide open, staring into the darkness. Synonymous, it is her last night of the school break and tomorrow would be her high school ceremony at Sacred Heart. The night was quiet, with the exception of the wind blowing against her window, the sound of rustling trees could be heard, and a faint light peeking through the blinds.
Whenever she attempts to sleep, she would see his grinning face in her closed eyes. Tossing and turning around in her bed, not a single spot seems to be the perfect one for her to sleep on. Her mind was completely blank, with her brain only focusing on his image. She could feel her heart racing, the sweat accumulating on her forehead and her chest pounding. This was the first time Haruna has ever felt this way.
To feel something this way for a person she doesn't know feels very foreign to her, not even knowing how to express herself when what she feels for him comes from the inside. All she knows is that this boy made her heart race earlier and she wanted to see him again. Haruna didn't want to forget him, she would at least want to know his name, whisper it and let the wind sweep his name into the atmosphere. As the wee hours would pass her by, her face would flush with her cheeks burning, not realizing how she is falling for him already. She didn't even know him, nor had a single interaction with him, but just his presence made her feel like this.
Sometime around three in the morning did sleep finally consume her; the pink haired girl drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
The following day, the sun had risen and a new day was born, as if nothing had happened yesterday. With the morning breeze passing by the blinds, the rays of the sun would peek through the slits, illuminating the dark room, and the birds chirping, greeting the residents of Makochi. It is already ten in the morning and Haruna continues to sleep peacefully in one of the private rooms just above Cafe Pothos; already two hours late for her first day ceremony. Downstairs is her older sister Kotoha, meticulously preparing her lunch box. Just as she has finished closing the lid of the bento box and wrap a cloth around it in a secure fashion, she hears the chimes of the cafe doors ringing.
"What?" Kotoha quizzes, turning her head towards the door. "Sakura, what's wrong? Do you have a tummy ache?"
"Hurry and get the hell off of me! You've sure got guts to use me as your damn horse!"
Much to Kotoha's surprise, it is Sakura carrying an elderly woman behind his back. But it wasn't any elderly woman, it is-
"Granny Sato!" Kotoha gasps.
Granny Sato beams, waving her hand at the older girl. "Good morning, Kotoha!" She greets her, her facial expression turning into a confused one, her eyes drifting from left to right. "Oh? Is Haruna not awake yet? Growing girls like her surely needs a lot of rest!" She adds, diverting her attention back to Sakura.
"And are you telling an old lady to jump off your back from this height? Be more considerate of your elders, boy."
"I'll crush your rusted bones, granny!"
Granny Sato leaps off from Sakura's back without any warning, immediately standing back up on her feet as she draws closer towards Kotoha's side. "Goodness. You're so inconsiderate..." She laments at him.
"Hah?! Didn't you say your hips were hurting so much, you can't stand?!" Sakura snaps at her, his hands clenched into fists and his teeth bared.
The elderly lady then takes a small glance at him from her shoulder. "Did I say something like that? Gosh, I don't remember..." She spoke, earning herself a giggle from Kotoha, all the while Sakura continues to snap at her.
"Don't go spouting that crap when you stuck that landing like you're part of the Avengers!"
Granny Sato moves to sit down comfortably in one chair. "You may be rude, but you're still a Furin boy." She begins to say, her lips forming into a bright smile. "You were a lot of help. Thank you."
Unable to accept such compliments, Sakura grimaces with a pink flush on his face. Grumpily leaving the cafe as he turns around on his heels. "Damn it all! I'm leaving!" He announces.
"Hey, Sakura! Hold on!"
"What do you want?!"
Kotoha lays down two plates of Pothos' morning menu which consists of fully packed egg sandwich with seasonal fruits and a cup of coffee. Just as Sakura was about to get a strawberry from the second plate, Kotoha is quick to slap his hand away. The two tone haired boy tilting his head up to glare at her. "What gives?"
"That's not yours." She simply replies.
Getting the strawberry from the plate in front of him, Sakura was reminded that Granny Sato did mention a second name - Haruna. As someone who is an outsider like him, he has yet to know of the residents and familiarize with their faces. Chomping down the tangy fruit and tossing it's calyx away.
"Don't all entrance ceremonies start at ten in the morning?" Kotoha wonders aloud, turning around to look at the wall clock perched up on the wall. She couldn't brush off a feeling; a feeling that tells her that something is wrong. And this wrong feeling is related to Haruna.
Quickly turning around to face Sakura, did she finally realize something in him. "Are you that excited?" She jokes, laughing as he already wore the uniform.
"No, I'm not!" Sakura is quick to defend himself. "Just went out for a walk!"
"Hm...well, whatever." Kotoha replies, not buying his excuse. "It's nice to be excited. Because there are a lot of interesting folks there, after all!"
"I-I-I already said I'm not excited!" Sakura stammers.
When Kotoha could not shake off the lingering feeling that revolves around Haruna, she turned her attention towards Granny Sato who quietly sips on her cup of coffee in one table. "Granny Sa-" her words were cut off as someone entered the cafe.
"Kotoha!"
"Oh, good morning, Nirei!"
"Good morning, Granny Sato!"
In came a boy with messy short blond hair with wide dark brown eyes and wearing the standard Furin High School uniform.
"How does my Furin uniform look, Kotoha? It looks dapper, isn't it?" He asks, grinning widely to himself until this expression has been swapped for a crestfallen look. "I'm already late. I wish I could have shown Haruna what I look like with my uniform." He laments, a sigh escaping his lips.
Haruna. The same name that rolled off Granny Sato's lips. Just who is this Haruna? Sakura doesn't know.
"Nirei," Kotoha calls out to him. "What time does Sacred Heart's ceremony start?"
"Uh...if I recall correctly, it's at eight in the morning!" Nirei replies.
Kotoha gasps, running towards the end of the stairs. "Haruna!" She calls out to her. "Haruna!" She calls out to her one more time.
Sakura's eyebrows furrow, his curiosity piqued. Who is this Haruna that everyone seems so concerned about?
He has yet to know, but it isn't like he wants to know about her and see her. To see this girl named Haruna, the only person who has somewhat managed to pique his interest.
"H-Huh? She's still here?!" The boy named Nirei stutters, immediately dusting away whatever dust or dirt that clings to his clothes.
Just then, a door from upstairs bursts open and a pair of feet begins to descending down the stairs in a rushed manner. In Sakura's eyes, a pink haired girl clad in a white button down blouse paired with a blue and green checkered pleated skirt came into his view. With one hand on the railings, she leaps down from the final step of the stair, drawing closer to the table of the cafe's bar, picking up the single strawberry from her plate and into her mouth, the calyx sticking out of her lips.
As the two of them lock eyes with one another, they both stare at each other with flushed faces, blinking their eyes twice, the calyx of the strawberry falling off from her mouth and back to her plate.
Immediately did she turn around and leave the cafe. The boy named Nirei pressed his palms and cheek against the window, his gaze following her figure as she runs outside. "I can't believe it! I get to see her!" Nirei exclaims, his eyes sparkling.
"Whozzat?" Sakura asks, downing the rest of his egg sandwich in one bite.
With an appalled expression, Nirei slowly turns to look at Sakura as if he were a pest. "What do you mean, who is that? Show some respect to her." He replies in a low tone, glaring down at Sakura.
"Show some respect to me first, stupid!"
Behind the elongated bar table, Kotoha couldn't help but only laugh as she hears their conversation. "I'm sorry, Nirei!" She begins to say, "This guy here is Sakura. And the girl that just left is my sister, Haruna." She explains.
"That's right!" Nirei exclaims. "Haruna is Furin High's ideal type!"