"Yo." I raise my hand to Ayano.

"Yo-oh!" She jumps at me, giving me a high-five. "Yeah!"

"Yeah."

Firing ourselves up, we both raise our fists in the air. 

"Woo-hoo!" Ayano exclaims, the tone in her voice overflowing with energy. "Fist bump!"

"Yup, fist bump."

....................

"What are we even doing..?"

"Getting motivated!" Ayano answers me with such an energetic aura. Her eyes have this spark that shows how excited she is. "Yasutake! First day! AyaMayu, let’s do this!"

"...AyaMayu? Really? That sounds so dumb..."

"Excuse me? It is not dumb! It is a name that literally represents the most iconic duo there ever is in Japan, Ueyama Ayano and Sakuragi Mayumi, it is—"

"Oh man, I feel embarrassed." 

"Huh? Why? What for?"

"For having a best friend like you."

BONK!

"Aghh, seriously!? That was so unnecessary!" I rub my head, glaring at Ayano with a bit of a mad expression on my face. "We aren't even in school yet, but I already feel tired because of you..!"

"Well, you better muster up all of your inner energy, because this is going to be one heck of a day, Yumi-chan!"

"Idiot, how bold of you to assume that I have inner energy."

"...Erm, yeah, anyways..." Ayano confusingly scratches the back of her head, looking at me with somewhat muddled eyes. "You're one weird person, Yumi-chan. Sometimes I can't really understand you—"

"Yes, I am fully aware of that. You’re weird too, you know? Don’t be a hypocrite, now." I let out a short exhale. "But putting my weirdness aside, shouldn't we be walking to school by now, Ayano?"

"Oh, right!" Ayano quickly stands straight as she turns back to the road, pointing ahead of it. "Alright, alright, then! Off to Yasutake High we go! AyaMayu, let's—"

I hurriedly cling to her, stopping her from saying any more embarrassing words. "...Please don't do that ever again."

"Why not?"

"Because... it gives me a bad case of second-hand embarrassment. It makes me want to bury my head under a rock."

"Ahaha, well okay! If you say so!" Ayano laughs, slowly pushing me off of her. "Then, let’s go!"

And so, we start walking to school.

"...The wind is quite cool, huh?" I stop walking for a bit, and I feel a sudden puff of air blow onto me. "Feels so refreshing! It truly is spring!"

"You know, Yumi-chan, spring started like... last month."

"Yeah, but I didn’t go outside that much last month, so I didn’t notice." I breathe in and out as I continue walking with Ayano. "I mean, I knew it was already spring, but... I guess I just didn’t really feel it."

"Hmm... you didn’t feel it, or you just didn’t care?"

"I didn’t feel it."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. Believe me."

"Hmm..." Ayano hums as if she's suspecting me for something. "Okay then, sure. I didn’t go outside that much too, but unlike you, every time I took a step outside, I'd be like ‘ahh, it’s spring!’, then I’ll get all hyped up as I feel the spring breeze blowing onto my face."

"Haha, I see." I chuckle. "That’s such an Ayano-ish thing to do."

"Yep, it’s super Ayano-ish. Are there any other things that are Ayano-ish to you, Yumi-chan?"

"Anything can be Ayano-ish as long as it’s dumb."

"...Yumi-chan, I’m hitting you again."

"Geh— No! Anything but that!” I flinch, and I look at Ayano. “I’ve already gotten my hit of the day a while ago!"

"If so, then stop being mean! For goodness sake, Yumi-chan!" She sighs as if she’s disappointed in me.

"I wasn’t being mean at all!" I slightly hit her shoulder.

"Lies! You’re mean and you know it!" Ayano replies to me, with her hitting my shoulder back as a response.

"I don’t know if you’re jokingly arguing with me or if you’re just being too sensitive!" I exclaim as I hit her shoulder once again, except this time, harder.

"I’m half-kidding and half-serious, Yumi-chan!" Ayano shouts, shoving her shoulder onto mine as a clapback.

...Man.

This conversation has officially become a battle of shoulders.

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"...Wow."

In a heartbeat, there are opened, black-colored gates that’re right in front of me, and students who are wearing the same uniform as Ayano and I are cheerfully going through the entrance. The beautiful cherry blossom trees that are surrounding the gates look absolutely amazing, with the blossoms’ petals slowly falling off with the wind.

This.

This is Yasutake High.

A while ago, as I was walking with Ayano, I didn't even notice whether we were already near or not. We just kept talking to each other over silly little things as we were walking to school. Yasutake High is about twenty minutes away from our homes...

...But now that we're actually here, the walk we took felt like it was just one single minute. 

The opened gates which were right in front of me serve as the entrance to a large, prestigious building. To think that I’ll be spending most of my time every day in this building... now that I'm thinking about it, it's honestly making me pretty nervous. From now on, I'll be considering this huge place as my second home.

All the students around Ayano and I are chattering and bustling about, going through the entrance with excitement and no regrets, and yet here I am, standing in a trance-like daze. 

"Wahhhh—!!!"

A slight shriek makes me flinch as I snap out of my daze, getting rid of my inner thoughts. I turn around and I look at Ayano, who's so starry-eyed as she stares at the building which was right in front of the both of us.

"Yumi-chan! This is it! It’s Yasutake! Yasutake High!" Ayano quickly looks at me with thrill and delight in her eyes. "This is amazing! I’m feeling all sparky now!"

"Ahh, right? I don’t even know what to say, now that we’re actually already here!"

"Gahhh..." Ayano mumbles with an overwhelmed tone in her voice. "But we're here now, so let’s... let's just go!"

“Eh, wai—!” Ayano cuts me off as she takes my hand, bringing me with her as she quickly runs towards the opened gates.

Although I was telling her to wait, I’m honestly also feeling so enthusiastic, knowing that I’m already here in Yasutake.

As a new freshman to this school, I think... no, I know that taking a step into the entrance would change everything.

...Everything.