"It was love at first sight."
It was after the entrance ceremony when we first met in first grade.
I fell in love with that girl—Kasuimi Imaichi.
“Please marry me!”
Even though I was only a first grader, I proposed.
“…Huh? Me?”
Kasuimi-chan's eyes went wide as she pointed to herself and asked.
She was so cute, my heart pounded even more.
“Yeah!”
“I don't want to, though…”
“Huh?!”
I was rejected.
I was crushed and cried. Even though I was just in first grade, it was probably the most painful day of my life.
But I didn't give up.
The next day, my second day of first grade.
I remember seeing her on the way to school.
I thought it was fate.
“Kasuimi-chan!”
“Huh? Oh... Seiya-kun.”
“You remembered my name!?”
My name is Seiya, Sanjou Seiya.
I didn’t remember introducing myself, but she remembered me.
“Well, after what you said, of course I would remember…”
“I’m so happy! Kasuimi-chan, let's get married!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Ugh?!”
Rejected again. It hurt just as much as the first time.
But I still didn’t give up.
—The next day.
“Kasuimi-chan, good morning! By the way, our seats are next to each other!”
“Yeah, isn’t it a bit late to notice that?”
“It’s fate, right? Kasuimi-chan, let’s get married!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Nngh?!”
—The following week.
“Good morning, Kasuimi-chan! You look cute today too!”
“Oh, thank you…”
“Your blushing face is also cute! Kasuimi-chan, let’s get married!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Guh…!”
—A month later.
“Good morning, Kasuimi-chan. Oh, did you cut your hair?”
“Yeah, just a little. You noticed?”
“I’ve been watching you closely, Kasuimi-chan!”
“…I see.”
“So, Kasuimi-chan, let’s get married!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Huh?!”
—One year later.
“Kasuimi-chan, we’re in the same class again, and sitting next to each other!”
“Well, we haven’t changed classes yet, so of course we’d be in the same class.”
“I see! Well then, Kasuimi-chan, let’s get married!”
“No.”
“Gah…!”
—Three years later.
“Kasuimi-chan! Are you okay?!”
“Seiya...? Why are you in my room…?”
“Kasuimi-chan, you were out with a cold, so I came to bring you the class handouts! Your mom let me in.”
“Mom, you idiot…!”
“You don’t have to get up, just stay in bed. Are you in pain?”
“I’m fine… I’ve gotten a lot better.”
“That’s a lie. You look like you’re really suffering. Don’t push yourself.”
“…Okay.”
“Your mom told me to bring you some jelly. Do you want to eat it?”
“…Yeah, I’ll eat it.”
“Here, say ahh.”
“…Ahh.”
“So cute...! Kasuimi-chan, let’s get married!”
“…No.”
“Huh?! Which is it?!”
“…No.”
“Gah?!”
“Hehe, thanks, Seiya.”
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“I didn’t say anything.”
—Six years later.
“Kasuimi-chan, we’re graduating from elementary school! It was amazing being in the same class all this time!”
“Yeah, we had two class changes, but I didn’t expect us to stay in the same class the whole time.”
“We’re going to the same middle school too, so let’s keep in touch! So, Kasuimi-chan, let’s get married!”
“No.”
“Gyaah?!”
“Hehe, let’s do our best in middle school, Seiya.”
“Y-Yeah, let’s…”
—Eight years later.
“Seiya? Are you okay?”
“Huh... Kasuimi-chan? Why are you in my room...? Wait, is this a dream? Or did I finally marry you?”
“It’s not a dream, and we’re not married. You were out with a cold, so I brought you the handouts. It’s a thank-you for what you did back in elementary school. Your mom let me in again.”
“Nice, Mom…!”
“By the way, isn’t your room messy? I’m not good at cleaning either, so if both of us are bad at it, we’re in trouble.”
“What do you mean by ‘in trouble’…?”
“Huh? I-I mean, nothing! Just forget it! Anyway, are you okay? You’ve had perfect attendance until now, so if you’re taking a day off, you must really be suffering.”
“I’m not going to die and leave you behind, Kasuimi-chan, so I’m fine.”
“You’re saying weird things as usual, so I guess you’re okay. Your mom bought some pudding for you, so I’ll leave it here.”
“Huh, you’re not going to feed it to me?”
“Wha-?! D-Don’t tell me you remember what happened in elementary school?!”
“I’d never forget anything about you, Kasuimi-chan.”
“Ugh... F-Fine. Here, say ahh.”
“Ahh… Mmm, it’s delicious. It tastes a million times better because you fed it to me, Kasuimi-chan.”
“Idiot…”
“So cute... Kasuimi-chan, let’s get married.”
“No.”
“Guh… cough, cough…”
“Stop saying stupid things and get better soon. You’re coming to school tomorrow, okay? See you, Seiya.”
“See you tomorrow, Kasuimi-chan.”
—Nine years later.
“Kasuimi-chan, we’re graduating from middle school! Look, I left a two-page spread for you in the back of the yearbook, so make sure to write something!”
“No, I don’t need a whole spread. Just a short note in the corner will do.”
“Really? Then write something big like ‘We’ll be husband and wife in the future!’”
“…I’ll just write ‘Let’s do our best in high school, Kasuimi.’ Seiya, make sure you write in my yearbook too.”
“Of course! I’ll write ‘Let’s get married! Seiya’ in big letters across the spread, right?”
“…I figured you’d say something like that. If you’re going to write it, do it in the corner.”
“Got it—Alright, Kasuimi-chan, we’ve graduated middle school, so let’s get married!”
“No.”
“Gah?!”
“We’ve been in the same class all throughout middle school, so I’d like to be in a different class in high school.”
“I want to stay in the same class forever! And one day, I want us to live in the same house!”
“Yeah, yeah. Well then, let’s do our best in high school, Seiya.”
* * *
It’s been about ten years since Kasuimi-chan and I met.
We’re now first-year high school students.
“Kasuimi-chan, good morning.”
Now that we’re in high school, both Kasuimi-chan and I obviously don’t look like we did when we first met.
In other words, Kasuimi-chan’s appearance is completely different from when I first fell in love at first sight.
And yet—
“Good morning, Seiya.”
Her glossy black hair, with a subtle blue tint, is still the same as when we first met. But now, it’s much longer, reaching down to her back.
It seems like she uses a curling iron or something, as her hair below the shoulders has a gentle wave, which only adds to her beauty.
Her face has changed a bit from when she was little too. Back then, she was purely adorable, but now her eyes are slightly upturned, giving her a cool, refined beauty.
She hasn’t been one to smile often since we were kids, but even when she’s just sitting there, she’s beautiful and cute, and when she does smile, it’s the cutest thing in the world.
Even though her look and vibe have changed a lot since childhood, I still like Kasuimi-chan just as much.
“In fact, it feels like I fall in love with her all over again every single day…!”
“Seiya, what are you even saying?”
“I’m just saying Kasuimi-chan is super cute today.”
“Yeah, yeah, thanks. Hurry up or we’ll be late for school.”
“Right.”
As usual, I got brushed off lightly, and Kasuimi-chan and I headed to school.
Our high school is within walking distance, so unless one of us has to go early for class duty or something, we often walk to school together.
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