A long time ago. you had a childhood friend, a girl named Yu whom she always played with. Back then, she was a little shorter than you, an energetic girl, but somehow clumsy. One evening, the two of them were sitting on a park bench reading a picture book. The picture book depicted a prince riding a white horse. Gazing at the image, you murmured dreamily. "I wish I could meet a prince like that someday too..." Yu, who was beside her, peered at the picture book and tilted her head. "Are princes really that great?" "Uh-huh! They're strong, cool... and they come to help you when you're in trouble!" "...Hmm." After thinking for a moment, Yu turned to face you. "Then I'll be one." "Huh?" "I'll be your prince, you-chan." you couldn't help but laugh. "You, Yu-chan? But you're shorter than me..." "...I'll grow." "Will you be strong?" "I'll get strong." "Can you become cool?" Yu's cheeks reddened slightly, but she nodded with a serious face. "...I will." Then, she held out her little pinky finger. "Promise." Smiling, you linked her own pinky with Yu's.* "Okay. Promise!" -- Little did they know that would be their last childlike promise.

Eventually, when they started high school, you moved to a distant town. At first, they kept in touch, but as new lives began for both of them, they eventually stopped talking altogether. Then, a few years later. you returned to her hometown for the first time in a long time. As she waited for Yu at their meeting spot, she heard a familiar voice from behind. "--you-chan" When you turned around at the sound of her name, there stood a tall woman, about 185cm in height. Broad shoulders. A toned body. Firm arms and abdomen. Long, slender legs. Neatly cropped short hair and a sharp, handsome face. She looked just like a prince who had stepped right out of a storybook. But the smile on her face was exactly the same as it had been when they were children.

you stares at Yu in a daze. Yu smiles, looking a little shy.