♡Nothing I Bake Is As Sweet As You♡ (Ayano x Amai)

11. Way Way Back In The 1980's

Ryoba Aishi never lived a normal schoolgirl life. In fact, for most of it, she felt....empty. She never felt joy, or anger, or fear. For most of her life, she lived in solitude with her mother and father. As she grew older, Ryoba's mother would always say, "One day, you'll find meaning in your life. I was the same as you in my youth until I met your father. One day you'll find someone special." It was always the same. Until one day, Ryoba met this one charming boy, Jokichi.

Jokichi Yudasei was your standard man. Smart, funny, handsome, and especially good with the ladies. However, despite his flirtatious nature, Jokichi had never once had a girlfriend. And it wasn't because he was a playboy. It was just because no one asked him out. However, one day, one of his classmates took a particular interest in him, Sumire Saitozaki. They talked for a bit and, wouldn't you know it, he fell in love with her. He actually planned on asking her out near the cherry blossom tree on Friday after school. But, when he put a note in her locker, she never showed up. He was hurt, but he didn't hold anything against her. But, the next week, he saw the cops at the school, talking to the headmaster. As he came closer, Jokichi heard that Sumire had actually been murdered. His heart shattered. He couldn't believe it. "Who would do something like this?" He thought, tears threatening to fall out of his eyes.

What he didn't know, was that his future wife was the one to kill Sumire. Surprisingly, luring her in and killing her was the easy part. However, cleaning up a body was difficult. Who knew people had so much blood? Apparently not Ryoba, since she left a single blood stain in the restroom, causing the police to suspect murder. This made Ryoba nervous. Scared. Fearful of the possibility that she'll be behind bars or, worst case scenario, dead. The fear drove her into a downward spiral of depression. Everyone recognized her from the quiet girl to the sad and anxious girl. Everyone felt bad for her, even the delinquents. To them, the death of Sumire hurt her. But in reality, the thought of being locked up forever hurt her more.

Eventually, Akedemi's counselor, Mae Kunahito, arranged for her to have an "anxiety buddy" to monitor her emotions and bring joy to her life once more. And then, at the end of every week, the student was to report on Ryoba's progress. At first, Ryoba thought it was a waste of time. No one can help her. No one, besides her mother, knew what she was going through. And even then, her mother was never around. It was just her and her father. So, the whole thing was pointless in her eyes. However, that all changed when she met her student anxiety buddy.

Jokichi.

Now Ryoba has never talked to the boy, but god, it was exactly how she imagined it. He was sweet, respectful, and a jokester. Jokichi was also very affectionate, grabbing Ryoba's hand whenever she was having a panic attack whenever someone mentioned Sumire's name. He'd often help her out of it, making sure it was okay to touch her beforehand. It was like a dream to Ryoba. Throughout 10 weeks, Ryoba felt many emotions. Joy, sadness, fear, anger, the whole package.

But one day, one beautiful Friday afternoon, Ryoba planned on asking Jokichi out under the cherry tree. The day felt slow and long. However, after the last bell of the day, Ryoba walked off to find Jokichi.

"Hey Jokichi-Kun." Ryoba smiled, walking up to her beloved. He was sitting at the outside cafeteria, writing something down. "Hm? Oh, Hello Ryoba-Chan. What's up?" He asked, smiling at the girl. During the long 10 weeks, Jokichi actually fell in love with Ryoba. But, after what happened to Sumire, he didn't want to risk asking her out. "Can you please meet me under the cherry tree at, let's say, 6:00? I have...something to tell you." Jokichi's eyes widen. The deja vu hit him like a truck. The only difference was that it was a girl asking him to meet her there. He soon shook it off and coughed.

"Y-yea. Sure. I'll see you there Aishi." He smiled, getting up to walk into the school. As Ryoba watched him walk off, she couldn't help but give a sad smile. While she was happy that she got to ask him, she felt saddened that it was at the expense of someone's life. She didn't mean to kill her. It was all done out of blind rage. It pained her every day that she was gone. "Now's not the time," Ryoba whispered, wiping her tears away with a balled-up fist. She couldn't focus on the past now. She had to worry about the future, more specifically, her future with Jokichi.

Time flew quickly as she stood behind the door, waiting for Jokichi. Her face was red with anticipation as she saw him pass by without noticing her, a smile seen on his face. This made her heart skip a beat, as she prepared to walk up to him. "Jokichi!" She called out from the bottom of the hill smiling. Ryoba's smile only grew as she saw Jokichi turn and beam with happiness. He stuck out his tongue as he ran down the hill, arms out as he reached Ryoba, hugging her. She hugged back, smiling as he spun the both of them around. "I love you Jokichi." She whispered as he put her down, putting his head on her shoulder. "I love you too Ryoba." He whispered back, his eyes closed as he cherished the moment. They stayed there for a while, then as he opened his eyes, he froze in shock.

Jokichi pulled away from Ryoba, making the girl confused. "R-Ryoba." He muttered pointing behind the girl. Before the girl had a chance to look, she was pinned to the ground by what appeared to be a journalist. "H-hey!" Ryoba cried, looking to Jokichi for help. "Let go of her!" He exclaimed, running towards the two, before eventually being held back by police officers. "Not so fast kid! This girl has been convicted of a felony. Stay back and let us handle it." The journalist spoke, grabbing Ryoba's neck and raising her up. She stared at her beloved, seeing a mixture of confusion and fear on his face. "Don't worry about me, I'll be back my love." She smiled, before being dragged off. Jokichi was eventually dropped by the cops and left to stare at his love getting taken away.

"I'll wait my love."

A/N: Yayayyay!

Word count: 1111