A/N: Okay, so, first of all, I apologize. The first draft for this chapter was actually somewhat done back in early May, but then exam and holiday came and I didn't even touch my laptop for months lol. New semester just began for me so I figured I'd get back into writing. This second part was originally planned to only be around 800 words or so, as like I said it was only an after-credits kind of thing. But I felt like I owed you guys for making you wait so I made it a bit longer. I'm still not too sure if that was the right decision as I'm afraid it'd make the story feel dragged out, but I hope you enjoy!

School is amazing. It's a place for us to learn, to meet people, and most of all, it's a place designed to help us discover more about ourselves.

You got to experience fun times, you got to make friends and spend time with them..

..and in all honesty, it probably would've been the case. That is, if I hadn't been the person I was.

I just couldn't get it; school was supposed to be this place you'd love to be in,

"So why does it always drain my energy every time I set my foot onto that place..?"

Even just making the first step into the yard earlier this morning took me all I had.

And today was only the first day too..

I sluggishly walked down the path home. Today was the day students had to come to terms with the fact that holiday had ended for us. Though I might have worded it that way, the truth was most people from my class looked pretty energetic. Few, if not only me, had an expression I had been wearing since morning.

'I wanna go home.' Was pretty much all I had in mind.

Not much happened today; mostly introductions from both the teachers and students, and yet I already couldn't see myself enjoying this next year in class.

I did see some familiar faces from middle school back at the opening ceremony, but there was only a couple that turned out to be in the same class as me, none of which I had been close with.

The only person I really got to talk to was this happy-go-lucky type of guy, who did strike a conversation at least once with everyone in the class. I must say my first impression of him wasn't exactly the best, he looked like your everyday delinquent, turned out he was actually pretty nice.

Must feel good to not be socially awkward.

In all honesty, if it wasn't for my little sister and childhood friend, I would probably boycott school.

I sighed deeply as I continued walking towards the opposite direction of where the sun was. The pale orange that had been creeping over slowly for a while now signaled the upcoming sunset.

The sound of my rumbling stomach urged me to pick up the pace as I wondered what Mom was going to be cooking for tonight.

As I crossed the bridge signifying the exit of my school's neighborhood, I saw a young couple holding hands as they gaze at the sun-reflecting river, and having such a lovey-dovey conversation. Mind you, I wasn't even eavesdropping, they were just loud as is.

Let's see here, I've seen kids jumping into the clear water below, so I'm pretty sure it's safe even if you 'accidentally' fall right?

Now let me just push them and make a run for it, no one else's around anyway.

As demonic thoughts filled my mind, I traversed back to all the times I liked a girl.

For some reason, every time a girl interested me, I'd found out sooner or later that they were already into other guys, or even already had a boyfriend. The only time it wasn't the case was with my neighbor-and-childhood friend.

This girl, I got to know her sometime early in my gradeschool years. We would play every once in a while, and besides my little sister, she was the only girl I was actually close with. At one point I started seeing her as a strike target, but before I could even think of making a move, certain occurrences made me rethink all the steps I had almost taken.

Until now I still couldn't figure out what it was with her, but there were times where she would have this discomforting smile on her face whenever certain things happen. I could never understand what was happening inside her head because she would always avoid the question whenever I ask her about it. One thing I did know however was every time she went into said state, I would irk on reflex of the dangerous signals throwing off all around me.

What I did might have been purely out of intuition, but I decided to remain just as her friend for the time being.

Eventually, seeing as none of my feelings had ever come to fruition, I closed off my heart. Every time people would ask me, I would just say that I was waiting for the right one.

But don't you dare doubt if the right one existed, I'll beat the hell out of you.

If the gods had been playing their hands on me, I'd really like to have a word with them.

Without realizing, I had already crossed the bridge and was far ahead of the couple that made me reminisce the bitter times.

I really felt like going back and let it out on them for opening the wound in my heart, but what would be the point..

I continued walking as sounds of speeding cars started becoming audible. Chatters and footsteps fill the surrounding air as I walked by the main road, out of the silent neighborhood.

I just wanted to be home right now.

Well, it wasn't like I had any important routine or anything, I would most likely just have dinner and lock myself in my room after, maybe play some games with my online friends I'd never met before, watch anime, or read manga.

I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a shut-in, but I admit I spent most of my time alone in my room. Growing up with games, it had always been my primary source of entertainment. I couldn't even imagine what the world would be like without it, it had to be hella boring.

And perhaps I'd also indulge myself a little in my sister's care. I had a lovely li'l sis, I guess that was one of the things I truly felt blessed about in this world. You would think only anime main characters would get the chance.

It wasn't until a certain crossroad that I was distracted from my lonely train of thoughts,

"Wow, I never knew there was a game store here." I said in a whisper.

There was this new MMORPG game that was released last week. The reviews seemed to be pretty good, so I had been thinking about getting a copy for a while now.

I had just gotten my monthly allowance from my father, there was no reason I shouldn't use it, right?

Setting aside any hesitation, I entered the store. The sudden burst of anticipation masking the intense hunger I had been feeling.

After quite a while, I walked out of the store with a small plastic bag in my hand. There were actually a couple more games that caught my eye, namely the regular edition of Oceanrim, and what seemed to be a rip-off of BeastHun. But I already had the collector's ultra edition for the former, and the latter didn't really look promising, so all the more reason to save what I have left.

The street had become a lot less busy, as the sky was now drenched in a deep orange, with bits of black starting to appear in the horizon. Browsing the store that was larger than it looked might have taken more than just a while, huh.

The smell coming out of a nearby restaurant reminded my stomach of the craving I had been having earlier, urging me to go straight home and not pay visits to stores I came across. Now with a bit of excitement, I left the store front for my house.

But only after a few steps, something caught the corner of my sight, prompting me to stop right in the middle of the pavement.

..Not something, someone.

Standing among people waiting for the traffic light on the vehicles' side to turn red, was a student of my very own school. The slight difference in uniform gave away the fact that she was an upperclassman. A highschool student at this time of the day wasn't exactly a rare sight, but there was something about her that made me chronically mystified.

Blown by the softly whistling wind, her dark brown hair fluttered beautifully in the air. The brown locks covering her cheeks, and the way her hair was cut neatly just below the shoulders was a plus to the score. Her princess-style bangs complimented her cute, round face. Her wide eyes were round, but the way light bounced off of them gave a sense of sharpness. Her small mouth made her seem almost doll-like, further emphasized by the school uniform she was wearing. A mask of bitter frustration colored her expression, but not enough to cover up the natural cuteness she seemingly was born with.

On this still-busy street, the petite girl wasn't alone, but the aura she exerted was one of loneliness.

It just occurred to me that I was ogling a girl I had never met before.

A sudden rush of blood surged through my arteries, tensing me up in a way I couldn't remember ever experiencing. Euphoria overwhelmed me for a second, until the surrounding chatters brought me back to earth.

But before I could process any kind of reason, my vision blurred.

My hand made its way towards my eye as I wondered what caused it. I didn't know what I was expecting, or if I expected anything at all. The action felt instinctual, as if an act of reflex, as if my brain was filled with haze.

"Eh..?"

Is this..

"..Tears?"

When the realization hit, the waterworks came in full throttle.

"H-Huh..? W-What.."

Am I.. Crying..?

Glances arrived from people walking by. An old lady slowly walked up to me, a worried expression painted clear on her face.

Drowned in confusion and extreme emotions, I ran the other way.

What the hell. What is this? What's happening?

My breath was erratic, but nevertheless I ran, fast, even faster, that if the cause of this burst had a physical form, I probably would've long since outrun it, leaving it behind in the trails.

But my non-existent athleticity, combined with the overload of emotions, exhausted me faster than I thought it would.

Panting heavily, I stopped by a park near my house's neighborhood. Thankfully, no one was there. As a male highschool student, I couldn't even begin to explain how embarrassing it was to be seen crying in public.

But why did I cry in the first place? Just what the hell was that?

To suddenly cry after seeing a stranger, 'bizarre' couldn't even begin to explain it.

Now I didn't want to be called a chuuni, but if anime was anything to learn from, this would be the episode where the amnesiac main character met the girl of his story who was his childhood friend and lover or something. Which I really doubted to be the case here.

I took a deep breath and put my face in my palms. I've seen and experienced pretty weird things, but this was in a whole new level.

…

Behind my palms where light couldn't reach, her face appeared again.

And contrary to my initial thoughts, now that I had time to fully process it, she did feel familiar..

Like an old friend.. Even though I couldn't find her anywhere in my memories..

To most people, these kinds of occurrences would most likely weird them out. But instead, I'm feeling..

Calm…

As if a big part of me was in full acceptance of it… Like it wasn't anything weird to begin with...

As I placed her on my mind again, the wind started blowing softly, cooling me down into serenity. People tend to associate a sunny day with happiness, and rain with sadness. However, a windy day had quite a variety of images attached to it, and it was moments like this that you could truly feel one of them. The light breeze brought forth a clear mind, and made you put on a smile, even if sometimes they're bittersweet.

No way was I ever a hardcore believer in red strings of destiny, or anything the part, but seeing that girl really left an impression on me.

Who knows, since we were in the same school, I might actually get to see her again. And hopefully, next time, I wouldn't have an outburst.

Putting on an honest, defeated smile, I got up and started walking again.

But just when I got out of the park, I saw a couple girls on the other side of the road.

Not just ANY girls, but very, very, beautiful ones.

In a glance, they didn't look like anything outside of the ordinary. Chatting to each other and outfitted in casual clothes, nothing strange.

But what the hell's with that hair color? Blue and white? Are they cosplayers or something?

But even if they were, I didn't recall any event currently being held around here.

Seemingly taking notice, the blue-haired girl smiled brightly and waved towards me, while the white-haired girl smiled shyly and simply raised her hand a bit.

Flustered, and barely able to process what just happened, I reflexively faced the other side and sped up my pace. I could feel the blood rushing to my face, probably even drenching it red.

Do they know me? Because I sure as hell don't know them.

Gaahh! Just what IS IT with today?! First, I cried simply because of looking at a pretty girl I had zero idea whom. And now a PAIR of stranger, not to mention the beautiful girls they are, smiled and waved at me?! What is this, a dream?

Because if it is, I would very much like to wake up now.

I wonder if all this meant something..

I mean, compared to the average, I'd say I'm a pretty lucky guy most of the time. But for these things to occur nearly at the same time, feels as if lady luck was really smiling at me.

Maybe fate had decided to finally give me something?

Was it my time to shine as the main character of my own story?

Or, well, setting aside many of my absurd fantasies, maybe..

Just maybe..

...The gods had decided to give their blessings upon this wonderful world...

I chuckled as I opened the gates to my house. With the walk home that felt like eternity finally ending, a fresh feeling shyly re-introduced itself inside my heart.

For the first time in quite a long while, I looked forward to my next day in school.

-The End-