Chapter 148: Little Princess

Chapter 148: Little Princess

Lets turn back the clock, to a time when Id just entered kindergarten. In the small playground where all the little kids like me were running about, surrounded by the fluttering descent of cherry blossoms, that was when I first saw her.

Dazzling blonde hair and clear blue eyes. My first impression of her was that she was a living, breathing western doll. Like, she was a character from TV. She felt, out of this world.

What, are you looking at, nii-san

Sakura called from the side, looking displeased, trying to catch my attention.

Hey look, Sakura, isnt that girl a for-ener? Ive never seen a real one

Like maybe an American? That was where the blond haired, blue eyes people came from as far as I could tell, at the time, and I distinctly remember having this rather rude conversation with Sakura at that time.

Is this about, Adelhyde-san?

Ada What? Her names so long

Her full name is Reina Adelhyde Ayase

I was somehow rather impressed with the concept of this foreigner and her surprisingly long name.

What, are you curious about that girl, nii-san?

Sure am, its a real live American right there!

I heard shes actually mixed

Oh, you sure know your stuff, Sakura

I just, learned it the other day, is all

Sakura had apparently learned a lot about this Reina Adelhyde Ayase, who was from a different class than us, long before I had any clue. Of course, she stood out due to her unique appearance But shed become a topic of gossip for a different reason.

You, shouldnt get too close to her

Eh, whys that?

Take another look

When I looked back, I could see her surrounded by lots of kids, they were all talking excitedly.

Shes really popular!

No, see, theyre all boys over there

When she mentioned it, yes she was. All around Reina, I could only see light blue colored smocks that us boys had to wear. The girls, who wore a similar but pink smock, were looking at the crowd from a slight distance. They looked annoyed.

How come?

Hmm, who knows

Isnt it just a coincidence?

Id hope so Anyway nii-san, lets go back to exploring

Oh yeah! Awesome, lets go, Sakura! Ill beat any monster that comes our way!

Okay, nii-san

I had fashioned a fallen branch into my awesome sword, and excitedly went onwards in my quest to explore the new in mysterious kindergarten playground.

After that, Id practically forgotten about Reina. Everyday, I played to my fullest with Sakura and my friends from the Dove section of kindergarteners that we belonged to. So naturally, I wouldnt have any dealings with kids from another section until,

Uaaaa, aahhhh!!

At a corner of the playground, I could see some of those same friends from my section crying loudly.

This here is Reina-chans castle, you guys will not be allowed passage!

The boy speaking in a menacing voice, making my friend cry, he, no, they, as there were a number of them, stood as a wall as they spoke their threats.

The castle that came up referred to the new jungle gym complex theyd finished putting up just that spring. It was the type of stuff you could see in public parks, but this one was themed after a fantasy castle, the very top had a cone shaped roof and ended in a long slide.

Many of the kindergarteners were desperate to get to ride such a fun looking slide, but no one had.

Ever since the castle had been built, one person had dominated the top of the slide. It was Reina.

But strangely, shed never slid down, always simply sitting there, at the top. And furthermore, no one had attempted to push her aside and use the slide themselves either. As for why, it was because the place was strictly being guarded by the boys in her section. Like knights protecting their princess.

The knights were too strong, too forceful for the other kids. Even the older kids wouldnt dare approach them.

But a bunch of my friends from class wouldnt take this oppression anymore. They attempted a raid, but had the tables turned by Reinas knights.

Team Dove only had a handful of people while the knights seemed to be consisted of practically every boy in their class. Theyd been outmatched.

Stop it you boys! Dont act so selfish!

But among my sad, crying friends, one girl shouted out in defiance It was Sakura. She had a strong heart ever since she was little.

Sh-Shuddap! This place belongs to Reina-chan!

Get out of here you doveys!

Get out! Get out!

Faced against so many boys meanly shouting at her, even the strong-willed Sakura had a strained face, as if she was about to cry any time.

Thats when Id finally arrived.

My friends were crying, Sakura was about to, and the ones thatd caused this were laughing in a self-satisfied manner, not intending to apologize in the slightest. This was the perfect setup for my sense of justice to spring into action.

Hey you! Dont bully Sakura!

Nii-san!

I jumped into the fray, standing in front of Sakura.

Who the heck are you

Its another dovey

Get out! We wont let you have the slide

I was becoming angrier as they kept talking selfishly.

No, I wont! This place belongs to everyone, its not for just you, youre doing something very bad!

Shuddit, this heres Reina-chans castle!

Thats right, and were gonna protect it!

I quickly made it to the top, the place where the big slide started. Though I kept describing it as a castle, it was still a jungle gym designed for little kids, it wasnt that big at all.

Who?

That was when Reina had first looked my way.

Her clear blue eyes felt like they would suck me in with how pretty they were. I felt love at first sight for an instant, but kept that a secret from Sakura. I still kept it a secret from her.

Get down from there. Everyone wants to use the slide too

No matter how cute she was, she was still the evil boss. I firmly told her my demands.

The slide?

Yeah, youre taking all your time going down it, and everyones been waiting ages

Once Reina slid down this slide, we could finally all begin using it. Sure she was evil, but I wasnt cruel enough to kick her down from a place this high.

No

W-why not!

Im scared. Its so high

I was surprised. She had closed her eyes and made an expression that she was genuinely scared.

Why are you even here then

Its nice. The cherry blossoms

That was when I finally understood. Reina wasnt actually monopolizing the slide, but simply enjoying the higher view of cherry blossom petals as they danced their way to the ground.

Though in actuality, the place wasnt all that high. But for pre-school aged children like us, it was surely high enough for us to enjoy a wonderful view.

Oh So you didnt take over the slide, did you?

No, I didnt. What are you talking about

Which meant, that Reina was only enjoying the view here, while her so-called knights made up their own interpretations, and blocked our paths all this time.

How come no one noticed? Why did it turn out like this?

Reina hadnt done anything wrong. But all those boys preached how it was for the princess, making a huge scene, causing problems for everyone, which ended up culminating in this great war.

Haah That was stupid

I hadnt one clue why those boys went so far to claim this as Reinas castle. Or at least, the little kid me at the time couldnt be expected to understand.

But I was stupid too, deeming Reina as their boss only because I saw her sitting at the top of the castle.

Thats good then, that youre not a bad guy

I really was glad. Id finally realized that Reina was just a kid too, just like us.

Im sure that because of how different she looked, with her blonde haired, blue eyed, cute looks, that no one saw her true feelings. When in reality, she was no different from my little sister Sakura, just a normal girl.

Ok, so you wont mind me using it right?

Sure

Since Reina was only enjoying the view, I was fine to do as I pleased. Once I took the lead and slid down, everyone would know that they can too. That It didnt matter if Reina was here.

I was about to make my triumphant return, I sat down, positioning myself on the slide.

Youre going?

But I was finding it a bit hard to actually go through with it under Reinas intense stare.

Of course

Youre not scared?

Nope, its awesome

Well, it was better than the one at the park at least. This castle slide was a lot higher, and I was expecting a great deal of fun riding it.

What, so you DO want to slide down

But Its so scary

You want to though?

Yes

It appeared that once she saw me getting ready to slide down, she got interested as well. She was free to do it, of course. But it was kind of sad, her climbing all the way here, only to get cold feet

At this point, I just wanted to get this thing over with But somehow, I just couldnt bear to leave her alone. She wasnt bad, she just looked a bit different, but was otherwise, a normal girl. So I could totally become friends with her too.

Ok, you want to go together?

Yes!

Thats when I first saw Reinas smile, I was astounded.

She sat in front, while I sat grabbing on behind her. And we took off. As tall and long as this slide was, our journey down ended in moments.

Hey, whats your name?

Once wed gotten down, Reina looked straight at me as she asked.

Oh yeah, I never told her my name, I realized after all was done and past. It wasnt fair for me to know her name, but her not knowing mine, I thought in my child-like logic.

So I readily replied.

Im Yuuto, Souma Yuuto!

Yuuto Yuu-kun then!

Reina cheerfully shouted, Yuu-kun, as she jump hugged me. The sudden action left me no time to catch her, and losing my balance We fell with a bang.

Oof, A, ahh

It need not be said that I cried more fiercely than anyone that day after hitting my head on the edge of the slide. At the end of it all, it was Reina whod managed to actually defeat me.

Well, that wasnt very cool of an ending at all But that was how I first met Reina.

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TL: Scallop