"I have something to tell you..." Shizuku said.

She refused to move from the position she was in, as evident by her determined expression and her rock solid body language.

However, there was one thing that I didn't understand.

What thing could compel her to be so serious and rigid when talking to me?

We weren't really close enough to talk about anything of importance, so I have no idea what she is about to say.

"About your childhood friend..." She began to say.

I looked at her with a confused expression. "Huh? What about my childhood friend?"

Shizuku closed her mouth and looked at me anxiously for a few moments before she mustered up the resolve to tell me.

"I'm your childhood friend, Haru," Shizuku smiled. "It's been a while."

Wait, wait?

Did she just say she was my childhood friend?

That's... impossible.

It can't be.

She shouldn't be here right now.

What is happening?

"You... It can't be..." I gasped.

I didn't want to believe her, but her mannerisms, actions, and way of calling me were way too familiar to be just a coincidence.

Even that exotic-colored hair was something that tickled at my memories.

The nicknames didn't help either, they only further reminded me of the person I had once known.

Shizuku pouted. "I didn't change that much..."

If I wanted to know who she truly was, I needed to find a way to verify her identity.

"I'll ask you some questions to verify your identity," I explained. "If you're really my childhood friend, what age did we separate?"

"Ten-years-old," she instantly replied.

How did she know?

"Correct," I nodded. "Where was our secret base located?"

"In the forest behind our homes," Shizuku explained. "The closest left tree that has exactly four branches and a circular pattern in the middle of the tree."

How is she getting all of this correct?

She's even getting the minute details correct without me asking...

"Correct once again. Last question," I said. "What is one secret that you know I would take to the grave?"

"Hmm..." A mischievous smile appeared on her face. "You wet the bed until you were seven."

"Agh! It is you! La-la-la I can't hear you!" I yelled.

How could she remember such an embarrassing fact about me?!

That wasn't even the thing I was expecting her to say!

That's a secret only few people including my family know, but she knew it somehow...

Stop, I can't avoid the facts that are laid out in front of me now.

I need to address the person that I've been waiting for since six years ago.

"I guess it is you," I chuckled. "Long time no see, Shizuku."

Even though I had properly greeted her, a displeased expression appeared on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

Shizuku pouted even more when I tried to ask her what was wrong. "My name..."

"Your name? Like the movie?" I responded.

At this point, Shizuku's face was almost completely covered in a reddish color.

"Gah! You idiot!" Shizuku yelled at me. "Why are you calling me by my name? What happened to the nicknames we gave each other?!"

Would this be a good point to tell her that I had very faint memories of the past?

Yeah sure, I had a lot of memories of us playing together, but a good chunk of those memories had also faded with time.

I'm only human after all.

"I'm sorry, I forgot some of the stuff that we did in the past," I apologized. "It's been a really long time after all..."

When she heard this, Shizuku's expression immediately loosened up when she realized I wasn't at fault.

"Oh, my apologies," she apologized. "I just thought we could go back to calling each other Shizu and Haru again..."

Nicknames? Again? That doesn't sound too bad.

"Sure, that sounds great," I smiled. "Nice to meet you again, Shizu."

"Mhm!" Shizuku happily nodded.

After six years of wanting to reunite with her, I finally did it.

All those things I had been planning to tell her...

...disappeared and were replaced with an empty void.

How do I interact with someone I haven't talked to in several years?

The answer? I don't know.

One thing I do know is, I want to know why it took her so long to tell me.

"Hey, why did it take you up until now to tell me that you were my childhood friend?" I asked her.

Shizuku sighed. "I didn't know if you remembered me or not. After seeing you have a good thing going with Sakura, I didn't want to interrupt your happy married life."

Good thing going with Sakura? Oh, it was a misunderstanding.

"Well just like I told you, I'm not dating Sakura and there's nothing going on between us," I stated.

Shizuku squinted her eyes and scrutinized me. "I guess I'll believe you for now..."

Why is she being so cautious and wary?!

"Let's go back and eat lunch with Sakura for now," I told her. "We can talk later at my house."

Shizuku's eyes widened. "Your house?"

"Yep, is there a problem?" I asked.

She shook her head vigorously. "Nope! Your house it is!"

Today, I managed to reunite with my childhood friend who I haven't seen in several years.

A reunion six years in the making.

I wonder what the future will hold for us two.

Let's hope that it's a bright future without any obstacles or problems in the way.

Yeah, as if.