19. the one where soulmates are reincarnated and keep finding each other throughout their different lives.
Yuri had caught glimpses of her out of the corner of her eye many times before, but never gotten a good look at her - the brown haired girl that everyone kept talking about. She knew, at the very least, that the girl's name was Monika, and that she was supposedly the most beautiful, athletic, and kind person in school.
Of course, this was the polar opposite of Yuri herself. She preferred to stay in and away from others whenever possible, wasn't particularly considered outstanding in terms of beauty (aside from her chest, which she received surprisingly few rude comments on from hecklers and passerby), and she couldn't have the foggiest idea of if others found her kind, creepy, off-putting… anything. Most didn't know she was even alive, or a person that existed.
And so, due to their many differences, Yuri never turned to look at Monika. Never bothered to see, knowing she'd be outclassed in every way. Forever she would stay the girl just out of sight, just as Yuri had for so many others. Perhaps it was jealousy, some minor form of revenge, or an uncharacteristic sudden lack of curiosity. She just didn't feel the need to know what everyone else wanted, and what she would never be.
Though, what she couldn't prevent was that Monika would reach out to her first. She found a hand extended to her one day, offering entry to a newly formed club. Reluctantly, Yuri turned her head up from the book she'd been reading, and looked, for the first time, into Monika's emerald eyes - and became utterly entranced by her. Perhaps that's what it had always been - a reluctance to acknowledge all that she could have. She couldn’t know, herself.
Either way, she did know one concrete fact for certain - it felt as though, in that moment, she’d known Monika for years upon years. Everything about her felt so… familiar, despite having only truly come into focus on that day. Yuri couldn’t help but be drawn closer, to learn more about her. She accepted her status as the club’s vice president without as much as a second thought.