Around six years ago, it was the first time I met Tetsuo. It was an unexpected turn of events that led to that encounter. Back then, I was always infatuated with water bodies. As the sun was about to rise, little Aoi was swimming in a river. She then dived deeper into the water and resurfaced again, exiting the river onto dry land.
"That's a new record. I'll have to tell Mom about this," Aoi thought to herself. "Then again, if she finds out that I was swimming alone in a river with no one watching over me, she'll surely get mad. I guess I'll have to keep it to myself then," she sighed.
Aoi grabbed her towel and started drying her hair. "It's almost daytime already? I'll have to go home now." As the sun was rising, Aoi started walking down the street that led to her home.
"I honestly thought that moving here from Kyoto would be boring and miserable, but I'm actually loving it here. It brings peace to my mind. Plus, it's a whole lot cheaper for Mom to afford," Aoi thought as she walked past an open gate.
A dog that was lying down twitched its ears, got up, and started growling. "Huh?" Aoi said fearfully, turning around. "It's a dog, and a big one at that. What should I do?" she panicked as she froze in fear. The dog started barking and ran toward her. Aoi screamed and started running.
"If it gets a hold of me, I'm dead for sure! I need to find a way to shake it off. It won't stop chasing me. Oh no, it's a dead-end!" Aoi thought to herself. The dog's growls could be heard as it slowly walked closer, drool dropping from its mouth. Aoi slowly turned around in fear.
"Someone… anyone... please help me!" Aoi screamed as the dog rushed toward her. But before it could reach her, a large stone dropped onto its head, stopping it in its tracks. The dog yelped in pain and turned around, growling at the boy who had thrown the stone.
The boy then picked up a thick stick to intimidate the dog. "If you want to hurt her, you'll have to go through me," he said with courage. The dog rushed at him, attempting to bite. The boy swung the stick and hit the dog in the face, but it managed to bite him on the leg.
The boy grunted in pain but continued slapping the dog in the head with the stick over and over again until the dog howled in pain, released his leg, and ran away. Finally getting a breather, the boy exhaled and turned toward Aoi.
"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" he asked.
"No, I'm not... but your leg, it's bleeding!" Aoi said, panicking.
"Oh, this? Trust me, I don't feel a thing," said the boy as he smiled. Aoi blushed at the sight of him smiling.
"Tetsuo!" shouted another boy as he ran toward them.
"Oh, Kogure, it's you. Why are you always running off so suddenly? Remember, your dad put me in charge of you, so if anything were to happen to you, I'd be responsible," said Kogure as he rolled his eyes.
"Your leg... it's bleeding! What happened?" Kogure asked, shocked.
"A dog attacked this girl. I tried to fight it off, and it bit me," Tetsuo said as he walked over to Aoi and introduced himself. "My name is Tetsuo Kawaguchi, and this is my friend Kogure Kobayashi. And what's your name?"
"My name is Aoi Itakura."
"So Itakura, it's getting pretty early, isn't it? We'll walk you home just in case that dog comes back," said Tetsuo.
"Are you sure?" Aoi asked.
"Yeah, just lead the way," Kogure said.
"Thank you, guys," Aoi said, wiping her tears.
And that's how I met him—Tetsuo Kawaguchi, a boy who fearlessly protected me from a dog without even hesitating. I later found out that both he and Kogure were training for basketball for hours until dawn. If it hadn't been for that, I'd have been a goner that day, and he wouldn't have been there to help.
"Oi, Tetsuo, I heard that you and Kogure are in the semifinals. Best of luck to you guys!" said a boy.
"Yes, it's no biggie. We'll definitely win," Tetsuo smiled.
"Tetsuo, you're so cool!" said a girl in his class.
"Ten years from now, we'll be asking for your autographs!" said another girl as she chuckled.
"Everyone, get to your seats!" said the teacher. "We have a new transfer student today. Come on in."
"Good morning, my name is Aoi Itakura," Aoi introduced herself.
"Wait, it's her from earlier this morning," Tetsuo thought to himself.
"She moved here from Kyoto in order to study. I hope you guys get along with her," the teacher said. "Now then, Aoi, where would you like to sit?"
"Um, let's see," Aoi said as she looked around the classroom. Her eyes eventually met Tetsuo's, causing her to get flustered. "Wait, Tetsuo was in my class?" she thought, surprised. "Um, I would like to sit beside him," she said as she sat next to Tetsuo.
"How's your leg?" Aoi asked.
"The doctor looked at it and said that it's alright. It'll heal in two days' time," Tetsuo said.
"Oh, I see. Thank goodness," Aoi said, relieved.
Over the span of the semester, Tetsuo, Kogure, and I grew close with each other. They would come to the river with me to have fun and swim while I went to the basketball court to watch them play. They even attended all of my swim meets, and I attended all their matches. The more I got to know Tetsuo, the more I liked him. Everything was going great until one day…
Tetsuo shot a two-pointer that swished. Kogure took the ball and passed it back to Tetsuo. Tetsuo shot another shot that swished once more. "Oh, they're already here. I thought I'd surprise them with some cookies my mom baked," Aoi thought.
Kogure then passed the ball to Tetsuo again. "Hey Tetsuo, there's something I'd like to ask you. It's been bothering me for a long time now," Kogure said.
Tetsuo shot again and the ball swished. "And what's that?" Tetsuo asked.
"Be honest with me, do you like Aoi?"
"What!" Aoi thought to herself, shocked, as she started eavesdropping.
"Of course I like her. She's so talented and beautiful. Her hair is so beautiful," Tetsuo said, without realizing Aoi was listening.
"Did Tetsuo say that he likes me?" Aoi thought, blushing happily. "Please don't tell her, I don't want it to be weird between us."
"Your secret is safe with me, however, if I win you in a one-on-one today, you'll have to confess to her the moment you see her," Kogure said.
"It's not like you can win anyway," he added with a grin.
"Challenge accepted," Tetsuo said with a smile.
"So he feels the same way then," Aoi thought, smiling to herself. "I'll confess to him after school tomorrow," she said as she ran home happily.
That was the last time I ever saw him. He vanished without a trace, and Kogure wasn't the same after that day. It was apparent that Kogure knew something about his disappearance, but I didn't question him because he looked like he was hurting inside as well.
Tetsuo gently removed Aoi from off of him. "I'm sorry, but who are you?" he asked, confused.
"What do you mean? I'm Aoi Itakura. Don't you remember? I'm the girl you saved from a dog when we were kids," Aoi said.
"I don't know you, so don't hug me like that," Tetsuo said bluntly.
"But that can't be! When you protected me from the dog, you were bitten in the process," she said as she lifted up his pants.
"See, you even have the scar to prove it."
"I'm confused. What is this girl talking about? What is she to Tetsuo?" asked Haruko.
"Looks to me like she's begging for Tetsuo to take her back," Noboru said with a smirk.
"Shut up, idiot!" Nanaho punched him on the shoulder.
"Even if what you say is true, it doesn't change a thing. Time has changed. I've changed. I'm not the same person you knew, and I don't even remember you. If you're telling the truth, that was years ago, and it's time for you to move on," Tetsuo said as he spotted Kogure.
"If you haven't already," he added as he walked toward his team.
"Let's go, everyone," he called.
"Are you sure?" Yukio asked.
"Yes, captain," everyone responded.
As Aoi watched them leave the school, she fell to the ground and started crying. "I thought that seeing her again would have brought back some of his memories of the past, but it didn't. I'm sorry that you had to go through all that, Aoi."
"Wait, shoot! I forgot to take his number. Oh well, I could always go over to their school," Kogure thought to himself.