"You're acting more and more like a child."
The calm yet firm voice of the boy echoed in the silence of the night.
The moon hung high, silver and bright, spilling its light across the empty park. The trees stretched long shadows across the ground, and the cool breeze of early summer night rustled the leaves softly, carrying with it a faint, melancholic loneliness.
Yumiko Miura turned her face, her tear-filled eyes glimmering under the moonlight. The tears slid slowly down her delicate cheeks. That familiar voice made her shiver.
"Sora?" she whispered, her words trembling with a mixture of hope and disbelief.
Standing before her was Sora Tachibana, his expression serene, though in his eyes burned something she hadn't seen in a long time— that steady, gentle gaze that had comforted her countless times in the past.
"Do you want something to drink? Unfortunately, I only brought iced tea," he said lightly, almost casually, as he opened the bottle and handed it to her, just as he used to when they were children in elementary school.
That simple gesture struck Yumiko deeply.
She took the bottle with trembling hands, unable to answer right away.
"Why did you come looking for me?" she finally asked, her voice hoarse, trembling as she fought back the sobs that betrayed her recent crying.
Sora sighed, sat down beside her, and dropped his tennis bag onto the ground.
"Silly girl… should I have waited until your family filed a missing person's report before coming after you?"
He pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket, separated a few, and held them out to her.
Yumiko accepted silently, dabbing her face, though she avoided his gaze.
When she hesitated over what to do with the used tissue, Sora promptly opened a small plastic bag and handed it to her.
Yumiko stared at him for a few moments, her heart tightening.
Still as thoughtful as ever… she thought. It had been over a year since anyone had cared for her like that. Since the last time Sora had been by her side.
"How did you know where to find me?" she asked softly, her eyes still red.
"Hayama called Yuigahama asking about you," Sora explained calmly. "She happened to be with Totsuka, and Totsuka… well, he thought I'd be the one to find you."
"Totsuka?" Yumiko repeated in surprise. Her mind instantly connected the name to the adorable captain of the tennis club. She didn't remember Totsuka being particularly close to Sora.
But Sora continued with the same natural ease:
"It's only natural he'd know about us. After all… we made it to the quarterfinals of the national mixed doubles tournament."
The words cut into Yumiko's heart like knives.
"Partners." That word carried a bitter weight, dragging with it every memory—sweet and painful alike.
She lowered her eyes, trying to hold back another surge of tears. There was no cure for regret. The past was set in stone—nothing in the world could change it.
Sora, seeing her silence, didn't press further. He simply took out his phone, dialed quickly, and held it to his ear.
"I've found her. You can let everyone know," he said plainly before hanging up without waiting for a reply.
Yumiko blinked, confused. A part of her expected him to stand up and leave right after that. But he remained there, sitting quietly beside her, as though sharing that silence was exactly where he belonged.
"Summer's almost here…" he murmured, gazing up at the sky. "The heat will be coming soon."
She looked at him, uncertain of his meaning.
How many times had she imagined meeting him again, rehearsing perfect dialogues in her mind—full of apologies or explanations? But now, in his presence, she felt lost, unable to follow his train of thought.
Then, suddenly, he said:
"After the regional team qualifiers are over, the individual competitions begin."
Yumiko's eyes widened, her heart skipping a beat.
A thought crept into her mind like an unwanted weed, impossible to pull out. She wanted to believe she was mistaken, that this was just an illusion… but she couldn't.
"The list of individual competitors hasn't been submitted yet," Sora continued, pulling something from his bag. He turned to her with a serious expression and handed her a box. "This is for you."
Stunned, Yumiko held the box. She instantly recognized the logo printed on it—the unmistakable brand of sportswear.
With trembling hands, she opened it.
Inside lay a beautiful pair of state-of-the-art tennis shoes, perfectly matching her style and taste. Her eyes welled with tears once again.
"I bought these when I entered high school," Sora explained, rubbing the back of his neck, a faint blush on his face. "Back then, I didn't feel comfortable giving them to you… after all, we hadn't spoken since our last match. But I always thought they suited you."
Yumiko was speechless.
Her heart twisted with guilt.
She had been the one who gave up.
She had been the one who ended their partnership.
She had been the one who abandoned tennis… and broke the heart of the boy who, even now, stood steadfast before her.
She didn't feel she had the right to accept those shoes. Let alone the right to dream of reclaiming what they had lost.
But then, Sora smiled—calmly, steadily, just as he always had.
"Yumiko," he said, his eyes locking firmly onto hers, "are you willing to be my partner again… and win that championship trophy with me?"
For a moment, the world seemed to stop.
Yumiko swallowed hard. She didn't need words to answer. The light shining in her eyes betrayed the truth: this was the chance she had longed for, the hope she had never dared admit.
And in that moment, she understood—Sora had never given up on her.
---
(End of Prologue)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."
Just a bonus, in a few more days the full serialization begins. Daily chapters.