“Maki! Over here!” A little far away from where a mother-daughter duo stood, there was a boy, his golden hair flowing like strands of spun sunshine. As he waved his hand in excitement, the girl’s mother glanced at her daughter and with a gentle voice, urged her to go and play with the other kids.

The girl shyly nodded, and trotted over to where the other five kids were, her mother warmly watching her fleeting back. That girl may've been shy and not sociable at all, but she was sure that if it wasn’t for the five of them and the promise she made, she wouldn’t have the courage to change.

❆

[Present]

…whoops, I called out to them on instinct… As the girl with brown hair stood in front of Noah and Myu, her head started to feel weird as she lamented the fact that, due to being somewhere else mentally, she ended up calling out to two students that ‘she didn’t know’.

“Is something the matter?” (Myu)

“Ah…” Unconsciously letting her voice out and for some odd reason, some previous memories of a few years ago resurfaced, she probably wasn’t wrong… Maybe—

“I-I’m sorry, haha…” She apologized with a wry smile. “You just… reminded me of some old acquaintance, that’s all… S-sorry to bother you… I-I’ll be taking my leave!”

H-how embarrassing… the girl thought as she quickly walked away. But just before she could get even some centimeters of distance, she felt her arm being grabbed.

“Wait.” Myu’s stoic face and her cold tone of voice made it sound like a command, which made the girl involuntarily shiver. “?!” Myu noticed this, and flusteredly let go of her arm.

“My apologies.” She shook her head. “I-it’s okay. Now then—”

“I don’t mean to pry, but—” Myu suddenly cut her off mid sentence and simply looked at the girl with a hint of curiosity. “What did you mean by ‘we remind you of old acquaintances’?” Myu asked.

Though her personality seems unique, her appearance seems really familiar… Noah thought as she inspected the girl in front of him. “U-um… W-well, it’s only that you reminded me of one of my childhood friends that’s all… W-white hair isn’t really common, I know… But, due to the personality of the school, I-I thought it would only be a misunderstanding…”

“…I know I’ve seen that tone of red somewhere…” What Myu meant was simple, her eyes. Though she has seen multiple people with red eyes, and knowing that the student council president also had red eyes, she felt a sense of familiarity with this girl’s tone of red.

“H-huh?” The girl, with eyes wide opened let out a small voice. “You are… Maki, right?” Myu said with a smile. Then, Maki knew she was no longer mistaken, because from all the unknown people around her, she knew that only some people would know her name.

“T-then, you are Myu, right…? Right?!” The girl, getting excited, said with a sparkle in her eyes. With the girl’s confirmation, Noah also raised his voice. “No wonder you seemed familiar!” (Noah)

“Huh?” Maki seemed confused for a second.

“Haha, it’s me Noah. It’s been a while, Maki. Well… more than five years to be exact.” He said with a chuckle. “Wait, Noah?! You look so different!” (Maki)

“I get you.” Myu only nodded, “Anyways, we shouldn’t linger in the hallways, it’s also getting late. What about we head over to a cafe to catch up?” (Myu)

“Let’s!” Maki excitedly said.

“Your actions don't match your words, Myu…” Noah sighed.

❆

Inside a cafe that was a little far from the two’s homes, they asked for a table on one corner of the cafe and when the three ordered their drinks, they started getting lively.

“I called out instinctively just because Myu look familiar, but I honestly thought I would’ve been mistaken. I mean, after all I thought Myu would look a little more…” (Maki)

“A little more…?” Nyu frowned as she repeated Maki’s words.

“A little more boyish…” Maki finished. “In contrast, you’re taller and… b-bigger…” Along with Maki’s, Noah’s gaze also trailed off from his drink. “Ouch?! W-why…?” Noah groaned in pain after Myu stopped pinching his side.

“You look more feminine than before!” Maki said with a smile. “W-was I really that tomboyish back then…?” (Myu)

“I thought you were a boy.” Maki said with a blank stare.

“...kuh…” Myu, defeated, slumped on the table. Maki slightly chuckled and then turned her attention to Noah. “However, excluding Myu, I would say that you were the one who changed the most.” (Maki)

“No surprises there.” Noah laughed. “Heh~ So you’ve also grown to be cocky, huh? Jokes aside— aren’t you too different?!” Maki unexpectedly raised her voice, of course, not to the extent that it became a nuisance to others.

“I only groomed my hair and used contacts though…” Noah said while toying with his bangs, to which Maki’s face grew even more astonished. “‘Only’ you say?! You look like a totally different person!” (Maki)

“You say that, but… haven’t you too changed a little?” (Noah)

“No no no no, in my case it's just my personality that’s a little cheerful! My appearance is the same! Even my hair is almost at the same length!” (Maki)

Myu, who has grown taller and has to tie her hair in a ponytail, which solidified her feminine appearance, and Noah, who’s bangs were cut and hair styled, along with removing his glasses and using contacts.

Just as Maki said, her change was mostly internal. Her stature, which was shorter than Myu’s, made her sure that even years later she would be the shortest of the six, her hair was kept a little over the shoulders in length for all these years, the only difference was on her eyes which seemed sparklier giving her a more bubbly look.

“That aside, I’m glad I could find you guys again. I was scared that I was the only one that remembered our promise…I was wondering what to do with my school life if I couldn’t find any of the five of you…” (Maki)

The other two laughed and then, Myu extended her hand to Maki. “We look forward to working with you again, Maki.” Besides Myu, Noah nodded with a gentle smile.

“Pfftt, somehow it doesn’t suit you. Well~ Who am I to reject my childhood friends upon reunion~?” Maki said in a carefree manner as she grabbed her extended hand. Three days after their entrance ceremony, Maki reunited with two of her childhood friends.

❆

“I’m home~” With an energetic voice, Maki trotted over to the living room after closing the door. “...welcome back.”

“Ah! Big brother! Guess what~? I bumped into Myu and Noah! They do remember our promise~!” Maki exclaimed in a happy voice as she recounted today’s event to her older brother, who was preparing dinner. “......I’m glad… Take a bath first… dinner’s almost ready.”

“Hehe~ Okay!” Maki said as she ran upstairs. As she walked down the hallway, she suddenly remembered something. Right! Since tomorrow is a weekend, I should invite Myu and Noah to hang out. I have a lot of things to talk about!

As she took her phone, she sent a message to the newly created group chat that the three shared.

Maki: Are you two free either Saturday or Sunday~? Let’s catch up, so tell me if you have plans~!

It didn’t take long for the other two to send a reply.

Noah: I’m free whenever, so I don’t mind.

Myu: I also don’t have much to do. So is Saturday okay?

Maki: Absolutely!

She decided to put her phone away in the meantime and wait until after dinner to discuss their plans. So she took out her clothes and headed to the bathroom, just as she was walking, a thought came to mind.

Now that I think about it… Wasn’t Noah’s surname Karuisawa back then?

(A/N)

Sorry if the chapters are kind 'slow'. I want the first six to be all introduced before I could work on their interactions.

Maki Fujisaki

Affiliation: Photography Club
Birthday: June 3rd
A Small Summary of Her: Though on the outside she's energetic and friendly. In reality, she's extremely shy and socially awkward. However, in hopes to have her childhood friends, who she hasn't seen for so long, see her growth, she decided to change herself little by little as she tried to blend into groups of people by adapting different personas. Something which eventually lead her to some sort of identity denial, but nevertheless, she would do what it takes to grow.