Chapter 1 Part 3: Underneath The Bandages

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Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.
Picked up a series that seemed very good! Enjoy!

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.

That same day, I dropped Yuki off at her home, which was surprisingly close to mine.

I still remember how surprised I was when she began telling her beautiful mom, tears streaming down her face, how I had helped her when she was being bullied, and how I’d become her first friend. Her mother was elated to hear that and said “Thank you, please keep being friends with her.”

Her mom usually gave her a ride to school, but since that day, Yuki began walking to and from school with me. I don’t remember the finer details, such as if we carried our bags in a certain way, but we walked shoulder to shoulder.

One day, I ran into some bullies from Yuki’s class at school and got into a fight with them to get revenge for what they did. I was strong enough to fight and howl back at them.

Furthermore, Yuki always came to my class during recess.

“Haru-kun, I’m here again today… Is this really fine?”

“Yuki, heya~! I wanted to ask you something.”

“Hm? What do you wanna ask me?”

“Do you have any plans for next Saturday? I’m going to the aquarium with my mom, but I wanted you to come too.”

“Really? I’m free on Saturdays… If you don’t mind, I’d love to go as well…”

“Yay~! I’ll tell my mom then!”

“Y-Yeah! I’m looking forward to it…!” Yuki beamed under her gauze.

I adored seeing her laugh like that, and never wanted to see her sad again. The memories of me helping her when she was bullied at school, whilst doing everything I could to make her happy, still surfaced in my mind.

As we got to know each other more and more, I learned what kind of girl Yuki was—Underneath all the pieces of cloth, she was just a normal girl you could find anywhere. A bit shy and not good at talking, but she was earnest and tried her best to express herself.

With our friendship only growing stronger, her house and mine began almost merging together. We went out to a lot of places during the holidays; we went to aquariums, summer festivals, and even a Christmas party in the winter. When we visited the shrine during New Year’s, both of our families went there.

While putting the coins in, Yuki kept putting her hands together and praying for something only she knew. I asked her about what she prayed for, but her ears had turned crimson and she fidgeted around, embarrassed.

I still found out what it was later. The contents read—

“I hope I can get to know Haru-kun better.”

When I found out her wish, my heart was filled with overflowing joy. With that, I had to take even better care of her, so that her prayer could actually come true.

And on that same visit, all I did was clasp my hands together and hope for the best for the following year. My prayer read—

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“I wish I could spend more time with Yuki.”

And when April came in that same year, and we moved up a grade, my wish was thankfully fulfilled.

In our fourth year, Yuki and I were put in the same class, and we grew even closer together. From then until our graduation ceremony, we were always placed together. I managed to always stay by her side, and the bullying had finally stopped. It was safe to say her school life turned 180 degrees. With me by her side, she was budding sunflower, always smiling.

And deep inside the crevices of my chest, love flourished.

Love for the girl wrapped in bandages, a girl whose face I’ve never even seen. I was drawn to her earnest personality and to her kindness. While I always helped her when it came to social interactions, she taught me a lot of things related to study I wasn’t good at. Yuki was very intelligent, always scoring perfectly on all subjects. What we lacked, we made up for in each other.

She shined brighter than anyone under those gauzes. Her gentle smile was an angel’s, and we both shared a solid connection to each other—All that, however, was cut short just before we went to junior high. It was due to the reason why she wore bandages.

I didn’t know if it was due to a disease or an injury, but she told me they had found a hospital that could cure it in a foreign country far away.

I was heartbroken to say goodbye. It was painful to even imagine a day without Yuki, who had always stood by my side. I broke down on a pillow several times, tears dampening the fabric. I was sure it was the same for her.

Yuki gently snuggled up to me at the airport as we parted ways. She told me she wanted to be with me again, to be friends once more after she came back to Japan. Once she could finally unwrap the bandages off her face.

That’s when I made a promise with her—We’d go to a high school together, one where cherry trees blossomed beautifully. That school was one of the most famous schools in the prefecture.

When I went to junior high, I was completely lacking in the studying department. However, I had the drive to get into the same high school as Yuki, so I faced my weakness head-on. My parents helped me, telling me to be a great man so I could proudly show my face to Yuki once she came back. They spared no effort.

Across the ocean, she worked hard to fight against whatever put bandages on her face. That’s why I had to work harder too, I thought. With our vow in my heart, I dedicated all three years of middle school to my studies, hoping to see her again in the future. My efforts paid off, and I was able to pass into the promised high school…

But “Yuki Amagi” was not a name among the successful applicants for the school. I thought she wasn’t able to remove her bandages yet, so she wasn’t able to come back to Japan. My dream wouldn’t come true—But I was wrong.

She beamed a smile in front of me right now, her face unraveled, unwrapped.

I gazed into that angelic smile and felt my chest warmer as her blue sapphires gazed back.

Aaah… It’s Yuki. She wore the same smile she had shown me countless times when we were kids, once wrapped in bandages.

It was just like back then, when she was radiant under the gauze.

“Yuki, welcome back.”

“I’m home, Haru-kun.”

That smile, so sparkling and carefree. I recalled the wishes we had made back on that shrine—

“I hope I can get to know Haru-kun better.”

“I wish I could spend more time with Yuki.”

I’m convinced those wishes have been granted once more.

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