The end of winter break meant that it was time to say goodbye. Not to my family- they weren't going anywhere, and neither was I. Instead, my farewell was due to the person I had spent as much if not more time with than my family.

[When is your next break?] I asked Yuu-chan as we sat atop our glass corridor. It was a silent, cold, and foggy morning.

The mood was really set by the sombre ambience.

Today was the day she headed out to her new school. The place where she would spend the coming 9 years of her life. She was a year higher than I was, so while I was still in kindergarten, she had already moved on to elementary. And the elementary school was not in town.

[I guess I'll be free around the next winter break.] She said.

[So next year, huh? That's a while off.] A whole year considering that this week was the last one before kindergarten started up again tomorrow.

[It is. But it should pass by rather quickly judging by how we keep ourselves busy.] She sighed.

Her bus was in an hour from now and all her stuff was already packed up and ready near the front gate.

"Are you going to miss me?" She asked in her voice. Was it stiff? Playful? Slightly wistful? I wouldn't know.

I should be honest here.

"Of course…" Her face started to blush and right before it was about to contort into a smug face. She really wanted to have the upper hand here but- "NOT YOU DUMB TURD! I CAN FINALLY HAVE SOME PEACE AND QUIET AROUND THE HOUSE WITHOUT YOU NAGGING FOR A SECOND! I CAN'T BE HAPPIER!"

'Sike!' I fist-pumped in my head.

The impending smug impression got replaced with an angry one as she formed a punch and hit me. With her strength, it wouldn't have been a problem if she just blew me away, yet I barely felt one.

"You really are an asshole, you know?" She continued hitting my sides with her weak punches.

"You jest, you pest! You just wanted me to say that I would miss you so you could make fun of me."

"Ugh! Whatever! It would've been disgusting if you actually missed me. I'm so happy that you wouldn't miss me!"

Yep, this sort of interaction was way more fitting for us than some sappy farewell.

By the end of the banter, the fog had cleared up and the temperature around us had risen.

"Shall we go?" I said while raising my hands up.

"We oughta." She cast a wind spell and descended down.

There was a straight path that led from the palace's gate to the estate's gate. Right inside which, there was a large fortified bus and a group of 7 waving at us.

We picked up our pace a little.

"Took you two long enough." Rune complained before clinging to his sister. The rest of the Sadou family joined in too and a little later so did Mom.

Dad reminded her of her training schedule. And the family ended their last verbal goodbye. This was after the entire goodbye party we ended up throwing yesterday.

"Ma-kun why don't you take her there?" Sadou Jou-san said.

"Uhh... sure." I replied.

I still hadn't said goodbye to her.

Quickly rather than not, we were standing there in front of the large fortified bus, looking at each other rather awkwardly.

"So what. Are you gonna hug me as well?" She asked with a wide smile on her face.

As if I would!

"W-why would I do that? What's wrong with you?" I quipped.

"Isn't that normal for goodbyes? We won't see each other for a year, ya know?"

"That might be normal in America, but we're in Japan, and we aren't even family. Acquaintances of different sexes don't touch each other casually here." That was so stiff that I started to feel like a grandfather.

But then again unless you were a pervert you wouldn't show more than 80% of your skin in my previous life.

"Are you really pulling that card after all the hand holding and stuff that we've been doing? Should I count that as molestation or something?"

"THAT WAS FOR THOUGHT TRANSMISSION!" I yelled.

Yuu-chan was really on top of her game today.

"Ugh! Whatever. You are like 5 years younger than me, but I didn't expect that I would have to lug you around like this. It's not like I want to do this or anything- It's just that you will regret it if we don't do it now."

Before I could retaliate, the brute grabbed my shoulders and pulled me in. She was taller than me so her chin hit my forehead.

For some reason, I didn't want to push her off. Perhaps because she was the one who would actually feel lonely throughout the next year. Seeing that Luha, her family, and I were the ones staying behind and she was the only one who was going there. I understood that much at least.

But what I didn't get was what I was supposed to do with my arms. They just floated there awkwardly for a while without ever gripping her back.

[Take care of yourself.] I transmitted.

[Eh? What was that I heard?]

[N-Nothing! Annoying wench.]

[Ehehehe. Loser.]

It took a while but her bear hug slowly loosened and she stepped back. There was almost a skip in her steps. She looked happy as if her metre had been recharged to last her a year.

"I guess this is it then!" She lifted her luggage and placed it in the bus' storage compartment.

"Have fun there." That was the whole point of moving out in elementary school anyway. Giving noble kids the freedom they deserved in a secluded area without constantly worrying about getting kidnapped.

"I'll try!" She replied.

"Study properly! Don't just train your body!"

"As if I wouldn't study. I have an image to maintain!" Of course, she wouldn't! She got bored of studying after the first year of kindergarten ended.

Luckily most of the material was congruent with the stuff she had already learnt in her previous life. So I guess she would at least be able to pass the first year of elementary with that disposition too.

The pitch black doors of the bus slowly started to shut.

"BYEEEE!" I called out.

"See you in a year!" She replied right before the door hit the other side.

And that was how she left. The bus turned transparent and took off on the road.

'Isn't that a safety hazard?' I asked myself. But they probably had measures against that.

Behind me, I could hear the rest of the family bid her farewell. I turned around to catch them waving as well.

By the time I turned back around, the bus's presence faded altogether.

Maybe I might feel a little lonely.

.

.

.

"Hey! What are you getting all pouty for?~" Hime-nee threw herself over my shoulder and poked my cheek.

'Damn, she's heavy!'

But I shouldn't say that lest I want to be turned into one of those shoutas I have heard so much about.

"I am not pouty!" I retaliated pushing her hand away but another thicker hand coiled around my neck.

"We are still here with you." Alez said.

"I know… I know… But I'm really fine. I'll meet her next year." Yep. We'll be together for 9 years after this year. This was just some breathing room. "Plus I think there is another that you should console."

The three of us turned around to find Rune balling his eyes out and our parents rubbing his back.

'Oh dear.'

Well, that was that and now I was alone for a year. But we were all alone together.

###

And so a week passed.

Maybe I did not realise how big of a space she had in my life. Maybe it was just the immediate realisation of how much she used to pester me… but the days were much emptier with her gone.

I mean surprise surprise. Who would have thought that you would notice the absence of someone you spent at least 6 hours a day with for 6 whole years. But the feeling was probably just temporary blues. I would probably come to enjoy this alone time as more weeks pass by.

Today I felt a little older as I went to the second year of kindergarten.

"Ma..un"

"Mao…un."

"Mao-kun!" A hand violently shook my back.

"Ah yes! I'm awake!" I stood up in a hummer. "Oh. It's just you, Luha… what happened?"

"Your stop. We're here."

"Oi! Yuuno why didn't you wake me up?" I shouted to my side and accidentally shouted at a 5-year-old kid. She wasn't here.

Yuu-chan would wake me up like 9 times out of 10 by slapping my head right before we got to the stop.

She was a convenient alarm clock, to say the least. I didn't miss her or anything.

"I am sorry." I apologised to the kid before getting off the bus.

It was just a long day.