Chizuru Admits It. An Old Face Reappears?

The two of them stand at the stoplight waiting for their turn to walk. Chizuru smiles at Touma who notices and blushes in nervousness while looking away.

Chizuru "Sooo you gonna answer my question?"

Touma "W-what did you ask again?.."

He says nervously again. Chizuru blushes a bit with a smug smile.

Chizuru "What are you doing here? Just walking down the road like that."

Touma "O-oh that… I'm not sure. I-I guess I just wanted to get out of the house…"

He says softly. The walk signal activates as a few others around them begin to walk. They cross the street as Chizuru smiles widely at him.

Chizuru "Great! Then you can join me!"

Touma is surprised.

Touma "J-join you?.."

Chizuru nods.

Chizuru "Mhm! I need to go to the store so you're coming with me!"

She says with a laugh. Touma blushes a bit and nods softly. They enter the store and Touma looks around.

Touma 'A retail pharmacy store?'

Chizuru "Hey, I gotta get something over here but if you want to help me, you can go get me some green tea and a yummy snack too!"

She smiles. He smiles back and nods as they part ways. Touma walks down the aisle and grabs a box of green tea. He then walks around to the next aisle and sees individually packaged sweats. He looks at the shelves and sweats a bit.

Touma 'I'm not sure which one she wants… I should probably go ask her before grabbing one.'

He thinks to himself. He steps out of the aisle and turns the direction she went. As he walks, he realizes something.

Touma 'This way is where the pharmacy section is.'

As he makes his way there, he sees Chizuru at the counter grabbing a bag from the clerk.

Clerk "Here you go Chizuru. Tell Henry I said hi."

He says with a smile. Chizuru smiles back.

Chizuru "Thanks Mr. Gundo, I will!"

She turns away and begins to put the paper bag in her bag before stopping when she sees Touma looking at her. She gets a bit embarrassed.

Chizuru "Y-you got the tea and snack already?.."

Touma shakes his head.

Touma "I wasn't sure which snack you wanted so I came to ask."

He says softly. Chizuru nods a bit. They get their things and check out before heading home. As they walk, Chizuru is quiet and embarrassed. Touma notices and sweats a bit.

Touma 'Why is she so embarrassed? Is it about the medicine? How do I comfort her?'

Many questions run through his mind before he inhales deeply and speaks.

Touma "Chizuru, the medicine?.."

Chizuru looks at him surprised and blushes a bit.

Chizuru 'I don't really want him to know… I don't want him to think of me as weak or broken…'

She doesn't respond, making Touma even more anxious.

Touma "I-I heard you were injured about a year ago… Is it for that?.."

He asks. She shakes her head softly before closing her eyes and sighing.

Chizuru "It's for my heart…"

Touma looks surprised as she speaks.

Chizuru "I was born with a condition that affects my heart… It makes it so extreme levels of stress can disrupt my heart causing it to ultimately fail… The medicine helps alleviate the symptoms and keep my heart strong! Heheh…"

She tries to laugh it off to make it sound less dangerous than it is. Touma stares at her with a soft but intentful look. She looks down with a slightly saddened expression.

Chizuru "That's the reason I try not to fall in love… I'm afraid that one day I may end up dying from this dumb condition and leave behind the person I love… But that isn't the worst part. Thinking of how many tears they would shed over me is the worst part…"

She says with a deeply saddened expression. Touma stares at her as she lifts her head with a weak smile.

Chizuru "Sorry! I didn't mean to get all emotional like that! You don't have to worry about all that, I was just venting."

Touma "Chizuru."

He says confidently. She is surprised and looks at him before blushing a bit. He stares directly in her eyes with a caring look but one that is confident with no shred of hesitation or anxiousness.

Touma "I promise, no matter what happens to you, I will never shed a tear."

Chizuru blushes as her eyes shine. She gets a warm smile on her face as she looks at him.

Chizuru "Okay."

She says with an emotional tone as she smiles at him. They eventually make their way to her home as Touma waves goodbye as she walks inside.

With that, the summer comes and goes. Another one of Shiori's birthday's passes as the new school year begins.

Haru "Awww yeah! We're finally third years!"

He shouts with a happy tone. The others smile and laugh.

Kitaro "Who would've thought we'd make it this far?"

Hisana "Oh Kitaro, you think too little of yourself."

She says with a smile as Kitaro sweats. Mormo pops his head out of Suiyoubi's bag.

Mormo "I definitely didn't think you'd last. I for sure thought someone would've dropped out by now."

Alice "That's because you're a little demon who only sees the worst in others."

She says with an irritated tone. He turns and gives her an unamused look.

Mormo "Listen, I ain't no demon, I'm a ghoul. Ghoul King in fact, so put some respect on my name."

He crosses his arms in a matter of factly way. Alice sweats a bit as Chizuru looks around confused.

Chizuru "Where's Shiori and Hikigaya?"

Ryuji "They're not here?"

Lucy "I swear, if Hikigaya hurt her feelings again, I'm gonna-"

She says before they hear loud running coming in their direction.

Hikigaya "Crap, we're gonna be late!"

Shiori "It's not my fault you forgot today was the first day!"

They shout as they rush on over to the group. Suddenly, Hikigaya trips and begins to fall forward. Before he can fall completely, he falls onto Shiori. At the fast speed they were running, they both roll in a ball and crash into the ground before the group. Their eyes spin as the dust clears. Haru and Alice laugh loudly at them as the others sweat.

Haru "Haha! You guys excited about third year or what?"

Alice "You guys look so silly!"

They laugh as Shiori and Hikigaya dust themselves off. As they do, Shiori eyes Hikigaya then gets angry.

Shiori "What the Hell was that, you jerk!?"

Hikigaya "Yeah, like I was intentionally trying to fall over!"

Shiori "Next time break your fall with your face instead of me, got it?!"

Hikigaya "Maybe next time I'll just push you over!"

Shiori "Oh yeah?!"

They growl at each other as Chizuru sweats. Lucy smiles a bit while shaking her head.

Lucy "Looks like everything is back to normal."

As the group laughs and yells, a girl politely but confidently steps towards them.

Riley "Excuse me. Which one of you is Haru Tanaka?"

They stop and look at her surprised. Haru steps forward.

Haru "That's me, who are you?"

She softly steps towards him. He looks confused as she gets very close. She looks up at him and bends her finger in a motion to get him to lean close to her. He leans forward as she leans next to his ear. She cups her hand around her mouth as she whispers.

Riley "I'm going to kill you."

Haru's eyes widen as he jumps back in shock.

Haru "W-what!? Why?!"

She smiles softly as the others look at him confused.

Hikigaya "What's wrong? What did she say?"

He asks. She then turns and looks at Sugawara who has a concerned look on his face. She walks toward him with her hands in front of her still. He looks worried but doesn't step back. She stops before him before smiling a bit more.

Riley "Sugawara, it's been awhile. It's so nice to see you."

The others are shocked as Sugawara looks confused.

Sugawara "Do I know you?"

The others are shocked by his reaction.

Haru "First she threatens to kill me then is so nice to Suga?? Who is this girl?"

Kitaro "Wait, what?"

Shiori "Is she friends with Sugawara?"

Kitaro "Wait, threaten to kill you?"

Suiyoubi "Maybe they know each other from middle school."

Kitaro "Can we not gloss over the threat of life?!"

He says loudly. Riley then turns and looks at the group and bows.

Riley "Pardon the sudden intrusion. My name is Riley Tallflower. It's a pleasure to meet Sugawara's friends."

She then looks at Haru and glares an intense glare. Haru sweats.

Haru 'Then why do I feel so singled out?..'

He thinks.

Sugawara "Wait, Tallflower?.. Riley? It is you!"

Riley turns and smiles at him softly but is surprised when he hugs her. She blushes a bit as he pulls away.

Sugawara "It's been so long! What are you doing here?"

Riley "I go here now. I'm a second year."

The bell rings, signaling the beginning of class.

Lucy "Sorry guys, the reunion will have to wait! But meet us in room 108 after school, you'll have plenty of time then!"

She says with a hurried but happy tone. Riley smiles and nods. After school, in the club room, the group meets.

Alice "So let me get this straight, you and Sugawara met when you were younger because your families would have arranged playdates for you?"

Riley "Mhm. Our families are close business partners so it was only natural they'd want that partnership to keep going through the next generation. Especially since Sugawara and I are so close in age."

Alice "Got it, got it."

She says with a studying look and her hand on her chin. Shiori sighs as Sugawara speaks.

Sugawara "I'm sorry I forgot about you this whole time… and I know I wasn't exactly very nice to you back then…"

He says with a soft tone. He thinks back to when they were children and she first approached him.