Mei scanned the crowd of students gathered around the station, trying to look as nonchalant as she could manage, looking for a blonde head of hair more nervously than she would admit.

Yuzu was late and she felt partly responsible, seeing as she let her sleep even as she left the house. She knew she should have woken her up, but she couldn't bring herself to face her, in case avoiding her for more than a month hadn't already made that obvious. In fact their interactions had dropped to such a minimum, she wasn't even sure what would happen if they had to face each other for more than a few minutes while she lacked a decent pretext to run away. The tables had turned so unexpectedly and it was now her turn to feel unnerved in Yuzu's presence, while she let the older girl take her place as the cool-headed and unaffected one. Of course she wasn't planning on letting Yuzu in on that, especially after already getting rejected once, and so she methodically avoided her like hell. (author's note: cause God forbid Yuzu finds out Mei has feelings)

Mei sighed nervously, checking the time on her phone again. Fuck, it was almost time to go and Yuzu was still nowhere to be found. Mei wondered if maybe she had already arrived without her noticing, but quickly dismissed the thought, admitting to herself that the way she had been inspecting the crowd at the station she wouldn't miss the girl even if she'd spontaneously decided to dye her hair back to it's natural color right after Mei left the house. After hearing a teacher starting to round everyone up for roll call she looked back at the phone in her hand, contemplating calling Yuzu, but she almost instantly let her hand fall to her side thinking she couldn't possibly do that. After a few seconds of students gathering closer to the teacher, and still failing to spot the troublesome blonde, the impending guilt of the girl missing the trip she was so excited for got the better of her and muttering "fuck it" under her breath as she once again brought her hand up, this time going to her contacts and quickly finding Yuzu's number.

Just as she was about to press the call button a voice called to her from behind, the proximity of which made her eyes widen in surprise as she swiftly turned to face the person invading her personal space.

"Good morning prez!" Harumi spoke with a cross of a smile and a smirk on her lips, making Mei shortly contemplate whether or not she took a glimpse at her phone screen before she got jump-scared. Oh well, she thought, pocketing the device, there was the distinct possibility the girl knew more than she let on anyway.

"Taniguchi-san" Mei replied, now that she regained her composure, acknowledging her presence more than anything else, seeing as her mind was occupied with the pressing matter of Yuzu's tardiness.

"Aww, no need to be so formal!" Harumi answered instantly, her smile not faltering for a second as she took in Mei's distracted expression. "We'll be sharing a room now, won't we? Just call me Harumin."

"Alright." Mei answered hastily, barely paying attention to the conversation as she contemplatively looked at the girl before swallowing her pride and directing a single angry thought towards the subject matter for leaving her no choice but to do so as she asked "Have you seen Yuzu?"

Harumi was definitely smirking now, not pretending to buy into Mei's calm facade for even a second.

"Oh yeah, she called. She's not gonna make it, most likely." Mei's eyes shifted to the girl, widening ever so slightly for second, but Harumi continued talking, pretending that small pause she made was unintentional. "She said she'll take the next train if that happens." she added, satisfied by the small, but still noticeable reaction Mei had to her words.

"I see." Mei said, ignoring the slight annoyance Harumi's knowing smile invoked, and allowing herself to feel relieved knowing that Yuzu was on her way, but also because this little mishap would allow for her to run from her feelings a little bit longer, which she desperately needed right now. For the next few days she would have to face what she feared the most presented to her in almost irresistible packaging, made even more difficult by the fact that petty excuses to run away and her –until now– ever-present shield of student council work could hardly follow her to Kyoto.

Mei excused herself before leaving Harumi's side after being called by a teacher, suppressing an amused laugh as she realized her thoughts seemed to be more fitting for a video game boss fight rather than her loving, human teddy bear of a sister. Oh well, not really all that "loving" for me, some part of her added bitterly, but she quickly shushed it, refusing to be reduced to a self-pitying ball of sadness right in front of everyone in her year.

Backtracking to her previous, less painful thoughts, she had a sudden realization. This felt like a boss battle because that was exactly what it was. No matter the outcome, she was acutely aware of her incapability to just let things be when the option of fleeing became unavailable. The unavoidable proximity that would result from this trip would most definitely prompt an unforeseeable response on her part – as prolonged exposure to Yuzu always seemed to provoke. This only meant one thing: something would change in the course of the next few days. Whether it would be for the better or for the worse was debatable, even though the rejection she faced not too long ago didn't make her feel optimistic.

Maybe... maybe she could try speaking from her heart for once. She even sure she was capable of going through with it, but even the slightest possibility of Yuzu accepting her was worth a try, and it was still better than the foolproof failure plan she currently had in effect. By the time she boarded the train she had already made up her mind. It felt strange, exactly like what someone she had already met once but was soon to meet again, would describe as destiny.

Right, well, I hope you can excuse the wishful thinking and silly metaphors that went into this. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

Constructive criticism is very much welcome! Also feel free to PM me or contact me on my tumblr (displayed on my account page) for anything you might want to talk about. Have a great day :D

p.s. please do let me know if you think something is ofc, fanfiction is not my strong suit, but I'd like to improve.