Our two families—The Takamuras and the Shirasakas—moved into neighboring identical prefab houses in March, the year Hikari and I were about to start elementary school.
Just before that, at the end of February, I came down with a terrible case of chickenpox right before graduation from kindergarten and the move. I couldn’t even say goodbye to my kindergarten friends and ended up moving into this house without closure.
Even after the move, in April, my body was still covered in the aftermath—rashes and scabs from the illness. As a result, I barely attended school and ended up in something like self-imposed truancy right after starting first grade.
My face, arms, and legs were still covered in ugly spots. I hated the idea of going to school, being seen in the neighborhood, or even stepping out into the yard. I cried and refused every time. My parents were clearly at their wit's end, but they didn’t scold or force me. They just let me be.
So for a while, I shut myself in my room, spending my days lying in bed, staying up at night because I couldn’t sleep, completely free—yet not happy at all.
Then, on one Sunday, that miserable daily routine shattered.
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"Ah! There you are!"
"Huh…?"
That day, bored as usual, I casually opened the window of my room for the first time since we moved in. Just on a whim.
But the view outside wasn’t some wide, open scenery. It was the wall of another identical house—typical of prefab homes—and directly across from my window was another window.
And in that window was… not a reflection, but a girl about my age, resting her chin on her hand, staring right at me.
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"Heyyy, hey! What’s with all those spots on you?"
"Wha—?!"
The very first time we saw each other, she—Hikari Shirasaka—blurted out a question about the marks left on my body by my illness.
It was pure, innocent curiosity from a child. I know that now that I’ve gotten to know her well. There’s no doubt about that.
But for a shy first-grade boy, being asked something like that out of nowhere by a girl he just met? It was… well, brutal.
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"...uh…"
"Huh?"
"Uuuu…waaahhhh!"
"Wha—EHHHHH?!"
I cried—so loudly the neighbors could probably hear me. Both our families were stunned.
Afterward, Hikari’s parents found out why I cried and rushed over to our house to apologize, bowing repeatedly. They even scolded Hikari harshly in return, making her cry too, and then my parents felt terrible… It was a whole mess of apologies and guilt.
Still, that intense first meeting ended up kickstarting over ten years of close friendship between the Takamura and Shirasaka families.
To this day, whenever both families get together for dinner or an outing, this story always comes up. Hikari gets mad, I get embarrassed, and everyone laughs. It's a classic.
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The next morning, the doorbell rang. When Mom opened the door… there she was.
Hikari, with her school bag on, grinning ear to ear—completely ignoring the mood—and asking me to walk to school with her.
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At school…
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"Hey, look at this kid! He’s covered in gross spots!"
"Ugh, gross! Stay away, man!"
"……"
Led by Hikari, I nervously made it to the classroom… only to be immediately hit with jeers from the boys.
Sure, the rashes had scabbed over and weren’t contagious anymore—but no first-grader could know that.
One by one, boys started mocking me. Before I knew it, ten of them had joined in, shouting and laughing.
I was about to cry again, thinking, “I never should’ve come…”
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"YOU CAN’T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!"
Her voice echoed through the entire classroom—maybe even reached the staff room.
The girl who brought me here, Hikari, stood there, face bright red, yelling.
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"It’s a disease anyone can catch! You could all get it too!"
"It really hurt, okay?! He put on medicine, toughed it out, and now he finally made it to school!"
"That makes him amazing! Way more amazing than any of you!"
…Those words sounded really familiar.
Yeah. It was almost word-for-word what her parents had scolded her with the day before.
So, no, those weren’t her own words. It wasn’t some deep understanding or insight.
She was just parroting what her mom and dad had told her.
And maybe… she hadn’t even truly understood it herself.
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But even so…
That clumsy, borrowed, self-righteous speech of hers—
I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen.
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During first period, the teacher used the whole class to explain my condition in detail.
The boys who teased me had to apologize in front of everyone. (Honestly, probably traumatized them too.)
Justice was served. And Hikari? She wore a smug look the whole time.
---
That was the day I had my fateful encounter—and fell in love for the first time.
Looking back now, there’s plenty to critique in how she handled things.
When I told this story to four of my friends, three of them said, “You fell for her over THAT?”
But I didn’t care.
Back then, I was saved by her clumsiness… and by the way she stood up for me without needing a reason.
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"From now on, if anything ever happens, tell me, okay? Ta~kun!"
"Y-yeah… thanks, Hikari-chan."
…That said, she didn’t actually remember my real name correctly.
And so began my life as “Ta~kun,” her childhood friend.
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Takamura Yuu, first grader at the time.
Back then, I never imagined she’d be such an impossible girl to win over…
Or that I’d turn out to be such a hopeless romantic clinging to my feelings.
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