A/N: I love Ayane—she's my favourite character—and I love this underrated pairing. In the face of recent Pin/Ayane hints in the manga, I thought that maybe I could satisfy my Kento/Ayane urges with a fic. But then chapter 59 happened and I was not satisfied with just one one-shot. Disregard canon rape and enjoy this character study with romance hints, if you'd please! :)

Pairings: Kento/Ayane, Kazehaya/Sawako, Ryu/Chizuru, Pin/Kurumi, slight Pin/Ayane

01. 開始一致
Match Start

Ayane keeps a journal.

No one knows about it, and for good reason—it's a diary about other people. She's had it since her first year, so most of the pages are about Sawako and Shōta or Chizu and Ryu. But sometimes, she amuses herself with Jou's amorous failures and the flicker of a hate-love relationship between Pin and Ume (who would probably kill her if she knew Ayane uses her first name when she thinks of her).

And it goes smoothly. Smoothly as can be when it comes to high school romances. No one understands she knows everything that there is to know about flirting and crushing, which makes her job easier. Plus, Sawako is oblivious and Chizu is… well, stupid, so there is no one to hinder her. But in her second year, the gears shift. She comes to realise that maybe there will be a repeat of the Ume vs. Sawako incident as soon as Miura and Sawako raise their hands at the same time. She comes to be sure of that once his eyes linger on her for more than three seconds. She starts to dislike him when he starts teaching her how to smile.

Ayane crosses her legs, stares at the blonde until Math class is over, and starts planning.

Miura Kento is popular, handsome, and boldly honest. Miura Kento is her kind of guy—or he would be, if he wasn't an idiot trying to weasel his way between Sawako and Shōta. It makes her mad to think that he's trying to destroy the purest relationship she's ever had the pleasure of witnessing. It makes her even madder to think that he's trying to break apart the two people who are best made to each other. Doesn't he know that he's sinking her ship?

One day, after the last class, she corners him when he's leaving class.

"Stop interfering."

He plays it suave, even smiles. It's a nice smile, but Ayane has dated boys like him before, and she catches the hollowness in his eyes. It's a nice counterfeit of a grin, but it doesn't reach her level. She smiles back at him, and doesn't even try to disguise her contempt.

"What are you talking about, Yano-san?"

She steps forward, but Miura doesn't step back. The gall of him!

"You know what I'm talking about. What do you think you're doing, hitting on Sawako?"

He whistles. "You sure don't beat around the bush." Looking down on her, he's too close for comfort, and Ayane can't help but to take an unconscious step back. Shit. Miura smiles. "You're really my type, you know?"

Ayane hates herself for faltering, but deeply enjoys the surprise on his face when he notices she isn't blushing.

"Two can play this game, Kent."

She walks away from him.

One thing she notices is that lots of boys fall in love with Sawako's smile. First there is Mr. Lively, Shōta himself, and then there is Miura, who she has seen dating girls much prettier than TV idols. He might fool everyone else, but Ayane knows that he had his eyes set on Ume, as well. Too bad she's head over heels with Shōta, Ayane thinks, and grins predatorily.

The truth is:

Ayane likes to think of herself as pretty (because she knows she is), but she's the kind of pretty that attracts handsome creeps and pretty, mean perverts. Older men like to have young girls, and it's not her fault that her lips are too pursed, or that her face is too wise for her age. But Sawako? Sawako really hits people. Sawako is the light to the moths that are nice high-school boys. Because, deep down, Ayane knows that Miura is not a bad guy. He's severely misunderstood, and he is used to girls who chase after his wallet, his popularity, and his good-looks, which explains a lot about his point of view on girls (plus, he knew Ume, so he's used to being preyed on…).

She sighs. It makes her sick, but in the end, Miura and she are the same: capital lettered Cynics. She knows this, because rumours have a truth to them, and while she hasn't dated one hundred guys in middle school, she has dated at least thirty, most of them college boys, and she knows that most people are only looking to escape loneliness. If not that, then sex. Ayane doesn't know why, but everyone assumes she isn't a virgin; maybe it's her hostess face or maybe it's because she is used to skipping from one man to another. Or maybe it's because her maturity flashes in comparison to Chizu's tomboyish behaviour and Sawako's naiveté.

She wonders when love became uninteresting, and then remembers Sawako and Shōta, and breathes out a sigh of relief: there is still hope.

"I am not going to let you ruin them," she says to no one in particular. Two boys send her a look, and she feels her cheeks flush. Hanging out with Sawako is going to destroy her super-cool reputation one of these days …

Wednesday: Miura was seen latching onto Sawako. Shōta is still not talking to anyone.

She flips the page of her journal absently. Ayane makes it a point never to bring it to school, but these days there is so much activity that she can't help but to want to jot everything down. On one hand, there is Chizu and Ryu, who are getting closer to realising that they like each other, and on the other there is the wonderful love triangle between Shōta, Miura and Sawako. She draws a tiny heart on the lower corner of the page and looks around her. The classroom is empty, so she pulls out a mechanical pencil and writes get rid of Miura! She even makes it a point to underline it, harsh, until it's a dark, bold message in the end of the small page. It gives her a quiet sense of relief, and she doesn't know why.

She moves on; thinks harder.

The only plan she has to put in motion is … well, if Miura continues to put himself between Shōta and Sawako, then—wince—Ayane will put herself between Sawako and Miura. She's done stuff like this before, with Joe, so it can't possibly hurt. Except … She bites the top of her pencil and stares at her written exclamation. Except Miura isn't stupid and oblivious like Joe. Miura is smart, like a fox, and they are almost evenly matched. And after a while, Joe forgot about her and moved on to another girl; but Ayane doesn't know if Miura is enough of an idiot to forget about girls hitting on him.

Still, her protective instincts are maximized whenever Sawako is in danger, because … Chizu can take care of herself, but not Saw—

"What are you doing here, Yano?" Shit! She slaps her notebook closed, and with a fluid motion, she slides it beneath her desk. Pin stares at her curiously from the door, walking in. "Don't tell me—did you come here to confess, too!"

"Are you crazy!" She resists the urge to gag. "Is Kurumi not enough for you?"

"You're the one who gave me chocolates for Valentine's Day," Pin retorts with the sleaziest smile she's even seen on his face, and Ayane feels something inside her die. Still, she can't help but to laugh alongside the homeroom teacher. "What are you still doing here, Yano? Did you really come to confess to me? I know I am incredibly handsome, but I cannot keep a forbidden love with one of my students. Move along, kid." He makes it a point to close his eyes and wave dramatically in her direction.

Ayane closes her bag snippily, putting the notebook and her pencil case inside, and rolls her eyes.

"Baka kyōshi," she snaps, but it's missing its usual afronted edge. Stupid teacher.

Pin glances at her, all traces of amusement gone from his face, and taps his chin.

"Say, Yano. You always know everything about everyone—" she flushes red, feeling offended, but doesn't speak, "—so can you tell me what's going on with Shōta? Is he sick or something? Just the other day he even ignored me, even while I was calling him—" Ayane can admire Pin. His speed/words quotient is astounding, and Ayane thinks not even Chizu can speak that fast. Strike that—not even she can speak that fast. But … Ayane leans against her table, crosses her arms. The strap of her bag slides down her shoulder and she doesn't even notice as she watches Pin fold into a concerned show over Shōta. "—do you think maybe Sadako cursed him or something, they haven't been hanging together for quite some time—"

"Shut up, you're annoying," Ayane says, and sighs. Rubs the bridge of her nose. "And you're oblivious, too."

Pin eyes her suspiciously, like he's afraid she's going to hit him. "What's that 'mean?"

She shrugs, and smirks at him. He shivers and steps back when she gets up to leave; her work here is done.

"Hey! Yano!"

At night, after Chizu emails her goodnight, and after she stops talking with her latest catch, she stares at her ceiling. She met a boy a few days ago, and he's nice, and fairly handsome, but in the beginning they all are. She reads the emails on her phone and feels a little upset. Whenever his name flashes on the screen of her phone, Ayane doesn't feel changed. She doesn't love him. She doesn't think he notices that, but then again, he's only after her because she's straight-forward … They all tend to.

It's moments like these she analyses her love philosophy, when it's quiet and she can hear herself think.

The fact is, Sawako has changed her point of view regarding relationships. Ayane's first relationship, back in middle school, was docile and pallid. There were no fulminating blushes, no stutters, no fuss over holding hands. It was a usual confession ("do you want to go out?" "yeah, okay"), something meant to pass the time. Something meant to … show off to her friends, perhaps. But after that, she caught the flavour of a boyfriend, and she didn't want to let go. It felt good at the end of the day, to bid goodbye to her friends and have a guy walk you home, or have a guy hold your bag, or to simply … have a guy. And then Sawako and Shōta ruined everything.

They did. They ruined everything with their innocence, with their astonishing, overwhelming kind of love. It takes but a glance in Sawako's direction to know she has it bad. And … eugh, she can't believe she's thinking it but—even Ume. Even Ume was reduced to tears because of a failed love confession, and when Ayane thinks about all the confessions she turned down without a care, she kind of … feels a little bitter inside.

And when she thinks about Miura, who—supposedly—is so like her, she can't help but to feel a little jealous (even if he is the bad guy). Why does he get to fall in love, and not me? What am I missing? When her nightstand startles her with loud vibrations, she sits up and grabs her phone with expertise. She doesn't feel like reading "one new message from Taka Shōji", so she doesn't. Instead, she ignores the feeling of disappointment in her chest, and closes her eyes.

Tomorrow is another day.

Shōji is nice. He's taller than her, but not when she's wearing heels. His hair is a light-brown shade, and sometimes she catches herself wondering what it would look like if he dyed his hair blonde. That would attract too much attention, but he would look handsome. For all his good traits, he—however—is not boyfriend material. His movements are passionless, and she's the one who always talks to him when they are together. And more often than not, it falls apart like broken glass, and Ayane's the only one with the glue to piece the talk back together.

"Would you like to do something today?" he asks.

Ayane stares at their intertwined hands, and the only thing she can think about is how sweaty his palms are. Ordinarily, she would not be bothered; ordinarily, she'd be focused on him instead of picking out unflattering details. Ordinarily, she would like to feel her heart go doki doki like in those stupid mangas. She would like to feel in love.

But Shōji doesn't comply. She wonders why she's the one trying, when he's the one who started talking to her.

"I'm sorry, I'm busy today. Maybe some other time."

Miura is rude and bold, and sometimes Ayane drops her guard because sometimes, he can be such a boy.

"How have things been going with Shōji?"

She subtly chokes on her orange juice, momentarily looking away from Chizu, who looks as surprised as she does. She spits out the straw. How does he—? She hasn't told anyone. Ayane doesn't make it a point to announce when she is in the verge of starting a relationship, and she doesn't like that people are aware of her dating. It's bad enough since she is too mature to be bothered with things like being a slut, because she is just having fun (and why can't people understand that, right?).

Chizu's eyes dart from him to her, and she—for once—seems to have realised something, because she gets up to go to the bathroom. Typical of her only to take a hint the wrong way; Ayane doesn't want to be left alone with this guy.

"How do you know about that? And how does it concern you?"

He sits next to her, occupying Chizu's seat.

"It doesn't concern me, I was just making conversation. I wasn't aware it was a secret." He smiles. "I heard it from him. He was in my class last year."

Liar, Ayane thinks. You were in Ume's class last year, and Shōji wasn't. Liar. Stop underestimating me. Somehow she manages to smile brazenly at him and continues the conversation.

"Well, we've only been talking." He tried to kiss her a few days ago, but she turned her face away, unwilling to feed the false truth that she is as easy as they say. She looks around the classroom, disperses the curious looks from the Kento fanclub. The two girls who are enamoured with him know better than to mess with Yano Ayane. Ever since the rumour incident that Chizu and her have been deemed the queens of the eleventh year, and while Ayane doesn't know how that makes her feel, she knows it's a prestigious place.

She also knows that more people will talk about her, now. As evidently displayed by Miura. Ayane plays with the plastic straw, while Miura stares.

"Does that mean you're giving up on me and Sawako?"

She almost laughs. "Not at all."

The conversation ends when Chizuru returns from "the bathroom", because the bell rings, signalling the end of the lunch hour, but Ayane catches him staring at her more than once. Her notebook needs updating, because Miura is shooting in all directions, hoping to hit the target. The problem is he might hit something other than the target, and that's not good at all.

She breaks off whatever she has with Shōji a few days after that conversation, and in the end she has to endure a sappy speech about her being an ice queen and an enabler. She remembers her ex-boyfriend, and for a second, she's actually kind of apprehensive that he will hit her. The empty classroom they are in when she dumps him doesn't offer any consolation, and she steps back when he starts talking louder. She doesn't want to have to walk around with a band-aid on her face again, because that is unfashionable and she doesn't need Pin asking if it was a guy from her class who hit her, again. But above all, she doesn't need Chizu's continuous pleads: Just tell me who he is and I'll beat him up! I swear, Yano-chin, just tell me!

"Shōji," Ayane warns, and frowns at him when he stares at her, face pink, eyes hurt.

The door slides open, and when she turns to look, it's Miura, looking as lost as a new-born puppy. His eyes catch onto her, and they are wearing a feeling she doesn't know how to describe. Shōji quiets down (surprised and realising he was acting like a jerk), apologizes, and walks out, even while Miura explains: because he thought this classroom was empty, and maybe he left his notebooks here? Have they seen them?

"Try looking in your bag," Ayane says. It's the only thing she can say to him before she walks out. Later, she would find that the feeling in his eyes was friendly concern. For her? But why? She's only been hindering him … She doesn't know why, but she feels a little guilty that she's tripping his attempts at a relationship with Sawako. A quick trip to the bathroom to take care of her makeup fixes that, and after a few minutes she's fine.

When she comes across him again, she only feels uneasy because of Shōta and Sawako. And a little pissed off, but can anyone blame her? The guy has that effect on people.

"Are you alright?" he asks her.

"I'll stop going easy on you," she replies, switching the conversation. It's almost a whisper, but her eyes are hard and they mean it. Sawako, from behind her, turns to look at her, curiosity on her demeanour, and Ayane shifts into an easy-going smile. "I thought I should let you know."

"What are you two talking about?" Sawako asks, shyly, like she's afraid that she's interrupting something.

"We should go karaokeing one of these days!" Miura replies, like a well-oiled lying machine. Pin stifles a boisterous laugh from his desk, eyes attentive on the trio, and Ayane remembers to mark him down on her notebook as a possible threat.

Ayane lets him be for the moment. In the future, she'll be bringing out the big guns.

Miura glances at her when he's done talking to Sawako, and nods in acknowledgement.