Tokuno university, a very well-known university in japan. Hundreds of thousands of students apply to them each year, all hoping to start their wonderful college careers in what they perceive to be the best university in their country. Tokuno university has an infamously low acceptance rate and students who fail the entrance exam often become distraught and forced to live their lives as “ronin” students. Inside the university, a person dressed in a black coat and muffler walked quietly as he approached the snow-driven gate. He nodded towards the guard as he walked past the gate leading to the outside, he quietly sighed as he listlessly looked around. Snow endlessly filled his sight as he took a right and walked until he reached a place filled with people.

Colorful lights surrounded him, he could hear songs and people speaking all around him as they basked in the glory of today’s holiday. The man’s phone buzzed inside his pocket, prompting him to reach for it. Inside the screen was the word “mom” below it was a message “Yuu, can you stop by a cake shop and buy one? Dad forgot to buy one and he’s already home. Your classes have already ended haven’t they? Please.” Yuu immediately replied to her “Got it,but pay me back later okay?” Yuu put his phone back in his pocket and headed for a nearby cake shop, his eyes wandered around the plaza as he spotted numerous types of people; those with their family, people like him who were walking alone, and couples that were flirting around. Yuu settled his gaze  on one such couple, they were quietly holding their hands and sitting near a christmas tree, he looked at them as they talked and laughed whilst looking at each other as if they were having the time of their life. 

A person suddenly appeared inside his head while he was looking at the couple. He shook his head gently ignoring the nostalgia he felt as he walked towards the cake shop in front of him.

(It’s too late anyway.)

Yuu smiled tiredly as he waited in line along with the rest of the customers.

**

Yuu was standing in front of a bulletin board along with his fellow classmates as they turned their eyes upon the results of the Final exams. A smile was plastered on his face as he stared at the bulletin board.

1st. Ikuno Saya - 499

2nd. Ogawa Yuu – 498

3rd. Amane Ino – 469

4th. Miyata Izo – 465

His gaze fell upon the 2nd place “Ogawa Yuu”. His classmates wanted to comfort him due to the results of their final showdown, showing him pity as they thought his smile meant he had gone mad. His smile wasn’t there because he had gone mad, it was the opposite. He felt calmer than ever and smiled because he knew Saya wasn’t affected much by what happened earlier. He felt a tap on his shoulder and thought it was one of his classmates trying to comfort him so he put a strict expression on his face.

“Thanks.”

His expression softened as he realized who was clutching his shoulder.

“Don’t mention it.”

 He saw the corner of her lips curl a bit upwards and found himself smiling as well

Two weeks later

Yuu stood near a tree as he looked upwards at the falling leaves, he was clutching a cylindrical object on his right hand as he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching him. He turned to see who it was and saw Saya, she stopped in front of him, still wearing the same happy smile she had as always.

“Up till the end, I was never able to surpass you huh?”

“Well, It was just as I expected but. You know... you reeeaaally came close this time.”

Yuu chuckled a bit and replied.

“Does this mean you’ll stay here then?”

Saya opened her mouth but immediately closed it again, instead, she smiled and shook her head slowly. 

“I won’t. I decided to go and accept their offer.”

Yuu’s eyes widened slightly and tried to say something. However, he stopped himself and simply sighed.

“I see. That is... for the best, isn’t it?”

Yuu smiled at her and spoke.

“I didn’t think I’d ever say this but. I’m going to miss you.”

This time, it was Saya who was surprised at what Yuu said. She leaned closer to him and spoke:

“Then, why don’t I give you a memory you won’t soon forget”

Yuu blushed a bit and had a puzzled look on his face.

“W-what do you mean?”

Saya pulled her phone out and pointed at the camera.

“A picture! This way, we won’t forget the time we spent here and I’ll even send it to you. Why? Were you thinking about something else?”

Saya’s tone reminded Yuu of her pranks and mockery of him for the past 2 years so he relaxed a little, feeling a bit more relieved now.

“Okay, let’s do that then.”

Saya urged Yuu to come closer to her, the latter tried to keep some distance between them but she pulled him closer to her until they were touching each other. 

"Here! Smile~"

A click sound came from the phone as they separated and took a look at the photo.

“Ok! Another one!”

“What? Isn’t that enough? Just sen—”

“Just do it!”

She pulled Yuu close to her again. Yuu then gave up as he stood near Saya who let go of him. He felt a little relieved now that they had a little space between them until— Saya suddenly darted towards Yuu as she kissed his cheek and snapped the photo. Yuu’s face turned red as he covered his cheek and looked at Saya in shock. Saya was also blushing a little but her blushing face was plastered with a smile.

**

Yuu reminisced about his time last year, it was the most fun he’s ever had in his life. He didn’t have many friends due to his attitude and so, most of the time he didn’t have anyone he can openly talk to. Having Saya with him, even though he doesn’t want to admit it, made him happier and he became softer even to his fellow classmates. He was honestly relieved when Saya won against him because he thought Saya wanted to stay too, but at the last moment she changed her mind and went to England. They weren’t able to talk as much as they did for the last few months since classes started, Yuu felt a little lonely but fought back the urge to call her because he knew that the time they spent on chatting would be time wasted. They both focused on their studies and rarely talked to each other, last month being the latest.

As he mulled over it, his phone buzzed again and this time his mother was calling him. 

“Mom, I’m already here. I’ll buy the cakes and go home afterwards, don't worry.”

“Ahh no, that wasn’t what I was going to ask. Somebody came in, said she was your friend.”

“What? Well, first, why’d you let her in?”

Yuu tried to lower his voice as much as he could, he couldn’t believe his mother let someone who claimed to be his friend inside their house. He sighed and asked his mother to put her on the phone.

“Hi Yuu! Did you miss me? Forget about the cake, I brought some!”

A familiar voice was emitted from his phone as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Wh—Saya!? What are you doing here? When did you come back!? And would it kill you to at least inform people when you’re coming!?”

“Aww, seems like you really missed me huh? Well, come home as soon as you can, I’ll be waiting bye~”

“Hey wait!”

Saya dropped the call. Yuu had a lot of questions inside his mind but he disregarded each and every one of them because when he suddenly turned to look around. The people were staring at him, wondering what the commotion was about. Yuu raised his muffler up to his nose and looked down as he hurriedly exited the cake shop.

Ogawa residence

“So, would you mind explaining what your relationship to Yuu is?”

Yuu’s parents were smiling eagerly at them. Saya was all smiles as well while beside her, Yuu, was looking away from his parents with an irritated look in his face. 

“ Oh no, no, I’m really just his friend, nothing more, nothing less. But well… we are pretty close, right?”

An “Oohh” noise came from Yuu’s parents and he snapped a look at Saya who smiled innocently at him.

“Stop riling my parents up, there’s nothing between us.”

“Ohhh Really? Then… what’s this?”

Saya held her phone up to let Yuu see. His eyes widened as he looked at the photo showing Saya kissing him from last year. Another “Oohh!”came from his parents, but louder this time which made him blush and drag down Saya’s hand. He then dragged Saya to their kitchen to privately talk to her.

“Haaaaaah, what are you doing here? I doubt you just came here to mock me.”

Yuu sighed tiredly as Saya laughed at him.

“Yeah well, it’s Christmas you know? And since it’s my vacation, I thought, rather than spending Christmas alone, I could come back to japan and surprise you!”

Yuu felt a little sorry for her since she was gonna spend Christmas alone, from previous interactions he was able to know a little about her life. Her parents were both high-ranking people in their respective companies and so, they didn’t have much time to spend with her. Even though her parents are like that, Saya still loves them and they spend their breaks with her giving what she wants anyway so she wasn’t too annoyed by it. 

“Well, you’re already here anyway so… enjoy I guess.”

“Mhm, I will.”

Saya smiled at him as his parents brought food to the table. They talked a lot afterwards and showed her pictures of Yuu when he was just a child along and asked her how they met and such things, much to Yuu’s embarrassment. Yuu’s parents insisted that Saya stay with them for now since it would be better for her than staying in her old home, alone. Saya agreed to it and thanked them for their kindness.

“Did you bring anything with you? Clothes for example?”

“Sure did… Ah! I didn’t bring my toothbrush since I thought I’d just come home later.”

“Alright. Mom! I’m heading out for a bit, I’m gonna buy her a toothbrush”

“Ohh! I’ll come with you, I have something to buy too anyway.”

“Really? I’ll just buy it for you.”

“You wanna buy me sanitary napkins?”

“Mom! We’re going out now!”

Saya chuckled as they both stepped out of the house.

**

Yuu and Saya walked along the streets and caught up with each other’s lives as they walked, they eventually reached a convenience store and bought her supplies as they hurriedly returned to Yuu’s home. 

“Ohh, your room is pretty clean. I’ve always thought boys’ rooms are supposed to be messy and riddled with porn or adult magazines.”

“Please, you think I have time for that? I’m not some pubescent teenager anymore, I have to plan my future seriously.”

“Always so serious… but, I guess that suits you just fine.”

Yuu could hear Saya chuckle softly, he knew Saya meant no harm in it and just wanted him to relax a little. The two of them were currently inside Yuu’s room, Yuu’s parents mischievously smiled at him but he simply ignored them. Saya was a proper woman who was also an outstanding student. Needless to say, Yuu was confident that Saya didn’t come here with those in mind which meant that Yuu also shouldn’t have such thoughts in respect of it.

A little while later, he could hear Saya breathing a bit heavily and thought she was asleep, when he turned around to look, He saw Saya holding a paper in front of her. She held the paper in front of her to let him see the contents.

“It’s for you, read it.”

Yuu gave her a puzzled look and took the letter from her.

After a few minutes his eyes widened and he took an even closer look at the paper as his hands almost crumpled the paper. 

“T-This… Saya, you… recommended me to your university?”

“Yes, the professor, the one who found me, took an interest in you when I told him that your intelligence was the closest to mine in the whole country. I told him you were far more hardworking than me and to give you a chance. I’m sorry I didn’t take your consent for the matter.”

Yuu was, to say surprised would be an understatement. He was struck by a surge of emotions leading his mind to come to a halt. A professor from a distinguished university taking an interest in him was surely something that made him overjoyed but, the question in his mind was, why did Saya do something like this for him?

Yuu audibly gulped a lump of air as he asked.

“W-Why did you recommend me?”

At this point, Saya stayed silent and was looking downwards. Yuu was anxious to hear it from her so he tried to ask again when—

“Because I want to be with you.”

Needless to say, Yuu was shocked. He tried to process the information laid out to him when Saya spoke again.

“I-I tried to drown my feelings with my studies but… no matter what I did, I always remembered you and the time we spent together. My feelings just grew stronger as the days passed.”

Yuu silently watched her as tears streamed down her face.

“That’s why, when I heard the professor’s positive response, I immediately flew here, hoping to take you with me.”

Saya tried to wipe her tears and struggled to continue.

“Because Yuu… I—”

Yuu suddenly stood up and embraced her, Saya’s eyes widened when he did so. He whispered something to her and Saya’s eyes flooded with tears again as she returned Yuu’s embrace. After calming her down, they sat face to face with each other with Yuu smiling at her.

“Does this mean… you’ll come with me…?”

“Yeah. Well, of course I’d have to ask for my parent’s permission first bu—”

“You do~”

His parents suddenly burst inside his room.

“So… there you have it. They were already listening in on us.”

“Mhm, please take care of our Yuu-chan for us Saya-chan.”

“Hehe, I will.”

Afterwards, Yuu’s parents exited his room and left them alone as midnight rapidly approached for the two young lovers.

3 years later

“Hurry up!! We’re already running late as it is!”

“Yeah, I know! Be there in a minute!”

The man responded to the woman as he tried to fit his shoes while hopping to the door.

“Our parents are already at the airport. We gotta pick them up!”

The woman hurriedly ran, knocking a picture frame stand. The man saw it and fixed its angle, he stared at it for a little while, smiled and then ran towards the door.

“You ready?”

“Yup! Let’s go!”

The two figures smiled at each other and held hands as they walked outside, closing the door behind them.