Strawberry Love

(Image Description: Fake screenshot with a pink shoujo background with sparkles and bubbles. Mafuyu, a bleached blonde high school girl in a dark sailor uniform and an unzipped white hoodie with red sleeves and accents, bridal carries Chiyo, a smaller ginger-haired girl in a different uniform with a gray blazer and hugging a brown school bag in her arms. Mafuyu meets Chiyo's gaze with a smile on her face and her eyebrows quirked in concern. Chiyo looks up at Mafuyu with wonder and mouth agape. Both girls are blushing brightly, and their violet eyes sparkle. End ID)

And that's not all! This was also the perfect excuse to write one of my fanfic ideas! So, without further ado, here's...

By Chance

The day of Chiyo Sakura’s high school debut, she awakens to a day of disaster. She’s late, skips breakfast, and rushes to the station before even considering her mother’s ability to drive. Then, a moment of panic sweeps her into the wrong train route and a painful wait for a stop to course correct and hopefully make it to school before the assembly finishes. When the train jerks to a sudden stop, a jittery Chiyo stumbles into another passenger and gets her hair and ribbon caught on the teeth of their jacket.

When the offending strands are freed and the ribbon removed to readjust later, Chiyo begins an apology to this stranger only to stop short at realizing that she’s certainly in the presence of a full-fledged delinquent. Messy waves of bleached hair with dark silver roots just beginning to show and shadowing a pair of violet eyes. An oversized jacket, with some orange hair still stuck to the teeth, draped over a dark sailor uniform with skirt unrolled and past the knees. Beat up sneakers and knuckles with bruises in various states of healing. The teen towers over Chiyo even though the difference is only by a few inches.

Chiyo’s obvious choice is to apologize and run, so that’s what she does. She disappears into the crowds with her bag pressed against her chest, belatedly realizing that she’d dropped her ribbon. Well, better the ribbon than her life. Several blocks later, she’s in somewhat familiar territory with a glimmer of hope of getting to school during teacher introductions. But of course, her bad luck clings.

A turn into an innocuous alley/possible shortcut turns into an encounter with several young and rowdy men eager for an easy target and quick cash. They block her exit and close in, their taunts and jeers and demands leaving her frozen as anxiety takes hold of her. Her breath falters as her heart thuds loudly in her ears. The men step closer. Chiyo closes her eyes and prays to any god that this is all just some nightmare that she’ll wake up from any moment now. Something touches her bag and begins to pull it from her grip.

Someone yells. Several things thud against pavement, brick, and metal. Her bag is left alone.

Chiyo opens her eyes.

The delinquent girl stands over the groaning bodies of the men. Her hair flutters and tangles with her movements as she ducks and weaves around the remaining attackers, hitting them where it hurts the most and shocks them into submission. Some of the men cower or run. Some curse this girl out and call for back-up. Chiyo remains rooted in place.

Then, there’s a warm hand on her shoulder, and this unexpected stranger asks her if she can run. Chiyo becomes all too aware of her shaking limbs and how they’ve already been put under so much exertion before this. She feels tears in her eyes as she looks up at this girl and shakes her head. The girl just nods with no apparent disappointment or judgment of any kind.

With an arm under her back and another under her legs, Chiyo feels her heart beat rapidly for an entirely different reason as this girl lifts her up without effort. Distant shouts of the promised reinforcements grow closer. The girl swears and starts running down the alley. She prompts Chiyo to give her directions to school; and with no other rational thoughts in her brain, Chiyo complies.

Left. Right. Down that street. Over there… no, there! She points when she can and tugs on the girl's collar when she realizes she's wrong. It's a simple rhythm. Chiyo's pulse steadies once the men's shouts are a memory and the only sounds are the steady footfalls of the girl accompanied by the morning cacophony of the town. She only grunts a bit when they make their way down a flight of stairs that jostles her.

When they're past the last step, the girl's gaze, which has been focused on finding the right path, finally falls on Chiyo again. Her face is red with exertion but the sun falls on her eyes and softens them, so unlike the fearsome sharpness in battle or the blank cold from the station. She smiles down at Chiyo, her brows converging into a dance of apology and concern and… something else.

"You okay?" The girl murmurs, jogging down the lane that leads to the school gates. Pink petals flutter around them, and suddenly it's like they're the only ones in the world. Chiyo opens her mouth and snaps it shut again, marveling at how hot her cheeks feel. Instead of replying, Chiyo settles for a shy nod. She should probably say that she can walk now, but she wants to linger in the safety and warmth of this girl’s arms.

The moment breaks as a man scrambles down the steps they’d left and yells for his allies to hurry up. Chiyo yelps as the girl speeds up, sprinting for the school entrance. Her heart drops as she notices the closed gate with only a single sluggish student milling about just inside. She feels the girl’s grip on her tighten.

“Sorry about this.”

“Huh?”

“YOU!” The tired teen on the other side looks up. “CATCH!”

And for a terrifying few seconds, Chiyo is airborne. Then, she slams into her fellow schoolmate and topples both of them into the ground. The tall boy under her is now certainly knocked out, but she scrambles up and turns back to the gates. The girl stands alone, Chiyo’s white hair ribbon in her hand as she gives a little wave with the other. Then, she turns and runs down the lane, leading the angry horde of men away.

Chiyo watches the girl go, everything about her etched forever in her mind. She feels herself go on autopilot for the rest of the day. A nurse is summoned for the poor boy caught in the splash zone of Chiyo’s luck. Teachers kindly go over everything that she missed about their overviews for the year, which she only kind of remembers. Classmates introduce themselves and welcome her while friends ask her why she arrived so late, though it all goes in one ear and out the other. Chiyo’s mind is only focused on one thing.

- 🦝 🐇 -

During Chiyo’s first year, she sketches this mystery girl over and over again. She asks classmates if they’ve ever seen her, if they recognize the uniform. The internet has no immediate answers for her very specific question. She turns to the only other witness, but Umetarou Nozaki has no recollection of that day and is more interested in hiring her for a project he’s working on. The project turns out to be a published shojo manga, but she accepts the job just for something to do so she’s not always obsessed with her search. She makes friends with the other assistants, and she’s glad for it.

But… until she finds The Girl, Chiyo’s life will never be content.

Then, finally (FINALLY) when her second year starts, a classmate says a friend of a friend of an online mutual knows exactly which school matches the uniform, and Chiyo is about ready to cut class then and there. Of course, having witnessed her brand of obsession for months, her friends calm her down enough to make a plan. There’s a long weekend coming. Apparently, this school is known for delinquents, so people should come along as back up. Which of them can even afford to buy a train ticket or is willing to lend some cash? Should they get disguises?

On the day of the trip, after braving a train ride where Yuzuki almost got into two fights and Kashima flirted with a couple dozen girls, Chiyo stands in front of an unfamiliar school as she tries to look intimidating in her brother’s baggy clothes. Yuzuki’s in her normal casual wear, treating this like a friendly day trip, and Kashima plays a perfect bad boy in an outfit made from several of their friends’ wardrobes. Scenarios plague Chiyo’s brain as she takes another set of calming breaths that stop short as students begin to filter out of the gates.

Kashima and Yuzuki look to Chiyo, waiting to follow her lead. Chiyo watches the students pass by, looking for that familiar face and bleached hair. When she can’t bear it any longer, she runs towards the nearest pair of students. A tall boy with a bored expression and a shorter one with a mole under his eye turn to her. She flinches at the immediate wary hostility of the latter as he takes in Yuzuki and Kashima standing like hired muscle behind her.

“Uh, um, excuse me! I’m looking for- looking for someone!” Chiyo stutters out. “She goes to this school, I think? Long hair, bleached. Uh, wears a hoodie with red arms. …Oh, here! I sketched her a few times…”

Chiyo pulls out her “mystery girl” sketchbook and flips to one of the better portraits. The girl is portrayed in the moment before she led all those thugs away. Hair golden in the morning sun and smile bright and reassuring as she’s frozen midwave with the white ribbon twirling in the fingers of her other hand. The two teens recognize her immediately, the boredom and hostility giving way to awe as they share a look.

“This-” The hostile teen begins, still staring at the drawing with fondness. “This is definitely Mafuyu.”

“Mafuyu…” Chiyo tests the name on her lips, liking how the syllables roll on her tongue. “That’s who she is? Are you friends? Can I meet her?!”

The boys share another look, their enthusiasm deflating.

The lanky boy looks to the side, his expression almost tortured, “I’m sorry, she’s… no longer with us…”

Chiyo’s heart stops.

“AT THIS SCHOOL!” Cuts in the other teen, pushing his friend aside with a palm to the face. “She doesn’t go here anymore. She goes to another school now.”

More questions spill from Chiyo’s lips, but the two won’t reveal much more than Mafuyu had to move after “something happened.” They’re cagey no matter how much she tries to bribe them, even willing to offer pages of her sketchbook. Kashima and Yuzuki cut in to help, but a whole bunch of teens join the boys, many assuming that they’re there for a fight. The teen with the mole starts herding them away but not before pointing at Chiyo.

“You seem okay, but it’d be trouble for Mafuyu if you found her. So, leave it alone!” And then, they’re gone.

Those words ring through Chiyo’s head as she and her friends go around questioning other students. None of them provide answers and, instead, shy away at the mere mention of Mafuyu. When teachers start to look at them suspiciously, they retreat to a cafe a few blocks away. Kashima buys Chiyo the sweetest thing on the menu to cheer her up. Yuzuki steals a big bite before mentioning that they should get back to the station before it gets any later. Chiyo just nods, barely tasting the sugar on her tongue.

Could she really give up her search for her mystery girl after all this time?

- 🦝 🐇 -

Months later, Chiyo cherishes the slivers of info she was rewarded for dedicating her free days and allowance to traveling back to that town. At this point, she thinks she’s good friends with some of the boys, although none of them will reveal much. Mafuyu likes old TV dramas. Mafuyu likes collectible t-shirts with cool prints. Mafuyu likes elegant, dignified rich women… Well, there’s no way Chiyo can live up to that, but apparently Mafuyu’s a sucker for most girls so she still has a chance! Her classmates have outright told her that they’re sick of repeatedly hearing about the things her mystery girl likes.

The lanky bored one (Maizono) promises that if she gets him a very specific thing from where she was going for her school trip, he’ll maybe share a bit more. So, after vetoing many of Nozaki’s outrageous options for where to spend their groups’ activities and promising pictures of scenery as an apology, Chiyo checks and double checks that she has the right amount of cash during the bus ride and books it to the temple so she can buy the exact charms. She feels her heart race as she splurges on a personal charm. Though, when she pulls a bad love fortune, she demands Nozaki tie it as high as possible. She’s not letting anything ruin her chances!

As groups ready themselves for activities the next day, a classmate notes the volume of other schools visiting. Of course, Yuzuki butts heads with another student and the only teachers around are from an unrelated school.

“Mr. Saeki, shouldn’t we do something?” the nervous one asks.

“Not one of ours. Not our problem,” the other says as they walk by Chiyo’s group.

Thankfully, Kashima intervenes with her gaggle of girls, so Chiyo has nothing to do but follow Nozaki to help with those promised photos. More groups of teens pass them by without issue. Chiyo tries in vain to help Nozaki think of good scenarios for Mamiko and Suzuki. Hours later, she’s about ready to call it quits and request they find the rest of their group. As she backs up to take another picture of a building, she bumps into another group of students and apologizes to a polite blonde teen and his friend with glasses. She hears a small exchange as she checks if she needs to retake the photo.

“Oh, Kurosaki! Done talking with your friend?”

“Yeah, I - uhhhhh,” whoever this Kurosaki is trails off, and Chiyo’s sure she’s heard their voice before.

“Kurosaki! Stop running!!” A new voice interrupts her thoughts, and when Chiyo turns to look, a slight teen with a white ribbon dangling from their dark hair starts sprinting away from an angry one in uniform. Definitely not wanting to be involved, she steers Nozaki somewhere farther away. By the time they return to their group and head back to the inn, Chiyo can’t help but feel like she’d missed something important.

The final day of the trip, students from all schools gather at the amusement park, a coincidence that most teachers/supervisors saw coming. Chiyo has long since placed the charm bribes for Maizono in a safe pocket of her luggage and tries to enjoy the rest of the trip despite Nozaki’s continuous pleas for pictures. It’s a miracle he hasn’t lost his camera during any of the rides. They’re taking a break at a table with MIkoshiba to review the photos, and he stops Nozaki to point at a few figures at the margins of a ferris wheel shot.

“Huh, these three appear a lot.”

Chiyo has to stand to look over Nozaki’s shoulder but she instantly recognizes the two teens from yesterday and concludes that the short one is the teen she’d only seen from the back.

“Well, the park is only so big,” Nozaki reasons as he moves to another photo that once again reveals the teens in the crowds.

“No way,” Mikoshiba shakes his head and points specifically to the short one. “I think this one is searching for you or something. Look! See!”

This next photo has a closer (somewhat blurry) shot of them at the bottom of the frame being pushed along with the crowd as kids cheerily ride a carousel behind them. Chiyo almost pushes Nozaki’s face straight into the table as she snatches the camera from him. The teen is looking not quite at the camera, not quite at Nozaki, but where Chiyo would have been standing near him talking to someone or taking her own pictures. The white ribbon is in their hair again, tied like a headband with tiny tails because of course it’s meant to be for butterfly ribbons. Chiyo would know, especially since that white ribbon was hers.

Mikoshiba and Nozaki can only watch as Chiyo, possessed, looks through the photos for a clearer picture. Near the tail end, she finds one of the ferris wheel again, this time bathed in its own lights and those of the rest of the park as the sun finishes setting. There, accidentally walking into frame with her two friends, is the mystery girl. Mafuyu. This time, she’s not looking at the camera, just talking with her blonde friend with her brow furrowed and a smile plastered on her face as if she’s trying to reassure him of something. This had probably been taken while Chiyo went with Mikoshiba to buy food.

“Nozaki!” Chiyo clutches the camera like a lifeline as she thrusts it right at his face. “Her! This girl!! Where’d she go after this?!”

“Oh, um,” Nozaki stutters as Chiyo’s intensity unnerves him. “Maybe to ride the ferris wheel? It was only a few minutes ago, so they probably just got off?”

Chiyo sprints away before he finishes speaking. The ferris wheel. The ferris wheel! She weaves through the dwindling crowds until she stands before it, her chest heaving. Her eyes search the interior of each car before doing a sweep of the ground. No sign of Mafuyu. Blinking away tears, Chiyo screws her eyes shut and takes a deep breath in.

“I hope Yui’s okay. He ran off pretty quickly.”

“Yeah… Hey, Hayasaka, go on ahead. I think I forgot something, too.”

“You need help looking?”

“No, no! I’m good! I’ll see you at the hotel.”

As the voice cuts through the crowds’ chatter with its familiarity, Chiyo turns. There, only a handful of yards away, is the mystery girl waving to her friend. And then, she begins to wander away in a completely different direction, ready to be lost in the night with the other park goers and disappear from Chiyo’s sight. Without thinking, she inhales, cups her hands around her mouth, and bellows,

“MAFUYU!!”

For a terrifying moment, Chiyo believes she didn’t hear her. Then, Mafuyu spins around, meeting Chiyo’s gaze, her eyes wide and sparkling from the park lights. Not waiting for a response, Chiyo closes the gap between them.

“Mafuyu! You’re Mafuyu! I’ve been looking for you!” Chiyo grabs Mafuyu’s hand and squeezes hard, needing the touch to ground her. To convince her that this wasn’t just another fanciful dream scenario.

“You’ve been…” Mafuyu lays her other hand on top of Chiyo’s and suddenly laughs. “I knew I saw you yesterday! I knew I wasn’t hallucinating you all day!!”

“You didn’t forget me?” Chiyo can’t help the big smile that stretches across her face.

“Of course not!” she taps the ribbon in her hair. “How could I? And, wait, how do you know my name?”

“It’s, uh, kind of a long story,” Chiyo suddenly feels embarrassed for how obsessed she’s been in the past year. “But, to put it simply, I met your friends from your hometown during my search. They told me a few things…”

“AGH! Kangawa!” Mafuyu throws her head back as she curses a few more of her old gang. “They didn’t tell you where I went, did they?” When Chiyo shakes her head, she sighs with a hint of fondness in her voice. “Those idiots are so protective sometimes…”

Chiyo giggles, “I can tell… Is- Is it alright that I call you ‘Mafuyu’? Your friends didn’t tell me your surname…”

“Oh, um!” Shifting her grip to gently hold Chiyo’s hands in hers, Mafuyu blushes as she nods. “Yeah, I’m okay with that. And… uh… My own search didn’t go so well. I don’t even know your name…”

“Ah!” Chiyo feels her own face heat up. “Then, um, let’s start over! Hi, my name is Chiyo Sakura! It was only by chance that we met last year, but I won’t ever forget it!”

Mafuyu laughs again, her shoulders shaking as she momentarily bows her head into their joined hands. A second later, she straightens up and clears her throat, “Nice to meet you, Chiyo! I’m Mafuyu Kurosaki, and I’d really, really like to get to know you. Can we exchange numbers?”

- 🦝 🐇 -

From then on, Chiyo texts Mafuyu daily as they update each other on their lives. She’s grateful that her high school life is only as exciting as the (mostly) harmless shenanigans her friends pull her into compared to the harrowing story of Mafuyu’s many brushes with delinquents and other fight-hungry teens. The texts turn into phone calls and then into actual hangouts during weekends and breaks. Eventually, Chiyo works up the courage to ask her out.

Then, during a date at a festival, Chiyo confesses to her in a moment of quiet away from the stands and people. Mafuyu’s wondrous smile is a cherry on top of the returned words of love.

And as fireworks bloom in the night sky, they share their first kiss.