Reading over my schedule for the rest of the week, I chewed on the end of my pencil. Daily vlogging is out of the question now that school has started back. I had to cut my workload down to three videos a week, posting on Monday, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Surely, I've got enough footage for tomorrow's upload… right? The bell rang signaling the end of the school day. I'll just have to deal with it later. Neatly placing my planner and pencils into my school bag, I nearly fell out of the chair when Kindaichi leaned over my desk. "Um… hi?"
"We… have a practice match today. Are you coming?" Kindaichi asked, a hint of blush on his cheeks as he turned his gaze out the window to avoid eye contact. Kunimi still sat his chair, watching the two of us.
I paused packing, slightly embarrassed myself. "Yeah, of course." Toru hadn't mentioned a practice game today. The only thing he talked about the last few days was about his sprained ankle, mostly to complain about missing practice. It'll be a good opportunity to get some more footage for my vlogs. And of course… my eyes met Kunimi's brown ones, and I instantly returned to packing. "Who's it against?"
"Karasuno," Kindaichi answered.
That piqued my interest. Karasuno is where Kageyama decided to go, I think. Mirai sat at the front of the class, seeming to be in no hurry to leave today. She's in and out of class with her busy schedule, but the theatre play she'd recently been in had ended last month. It amazed me how Mirai could keep it all together having to be out of school so much and still be at the top of the class. Ooh, I could interview her today if she's—
Kindaichi had followed my gaze and made a sound of disgust. "Mirai, are you coming? Your tyrant boyfriend will be there."
Oh, not this again… Kindaichi still held resentment toward Kageyama for the way he acted in junior high. He could be pretty mean, always yelling at everyone, including me sometimes. He told me once that I was a distraction for the boys and to go away. I knew he didn't mean it that way, because deep down he cared about helping his team win.
"Since rehearsals have been rescheduled, of course I'll be going to support Tobio," Mirai threw back, a big smile on her face. The sparks shot out from between the two of them. They may never get along like they used to.
"Way to show some school spirt."
I reached up and grabbed his sleeve. "Kindaichi, don't start a fight with Mirai, okay?" This could turn bad quickly. Since Mirai and Kageyama began to date, Kindaichi has had it out for her. Maybe it's because he used to have a crush on her, but never asked her out? I had no idea. The four of us used to be close, and Kageyama hadn't been so mean his first year of junior high.
Before things could escalate, Mirai choose to leave. Though she'd tried to look bored, I could see the worry on her features. Did Kindaichi's words have that much of an effect on her? Should I go after her?
"She's fine, Aiko," Kunimi spoke up, standing from his chair. "Want to walk with us out to the club room?"
Nodding my head eagerly, I placed the last items into my bag. "Sure!" The more time I get to spend with you the better! Oddly enough, Kunimi is the one who kept the three of us from falling into an awkward silence. He always asked me about the latest news on my vlog channel.
The problem with our situation was simple. Kindaichi had a crush on me, Iwa-san had told me last year. But me, I had my heart set on Kunimi. Ever since we met our first year of junior high, I'd liked him. It didn't help that we'd been in the same class, and he played volleyball with my brother. Too bad nothing has gone the way I wanted. It seemed like Kunimi didn't even acknowledge me as anything other than a friend.
My mind wandered back to Mirai. She was a strong girl, never letting words or rumors hurt her. At least, on the outside. I debated texting her. "Are we sure Mirai is okay?" I asked, interrupting the conversation about the most recent English test.
"Something's wrong with Mirai?" Iwaizumi said from the top of the stairs. Both Kunimi and Kindaichi left to go change, leaving me alone with him. "Aiko, did something happen?" Not too far behind him was my brother, taking a selfie.
I chewed on my lip for a moment. "Her and Kindaichi got into a huge fight about Kageyama and the practice match and she left looking not okay. I wasn't sure if I should go talk to her because recently it seems like she doesn't like me."
Iwaizumi ruffled my hair. "Mirai likes you, it's Kindaichi that gets under her skin. I'll go find her." With that, he walked off toward the back of campus, where she went to practice lines in peace.
"Hey, has Kora mentioned any reason why she's been coming home late?" Toru asked, flipping between to photos, trying to choose which one to use.
Kora is the middle sibling, and she chose to go to Shiratorizawa last year, to everyone's surprise. She said it was because she'd always wanted to go there, but I knew she'd gone to get away from us. For whatever reason, Kora has become distant lately. "No, she barely talks to me," I replied. Following beside him, I realized we weren't going to the gym. "Where are you going?"
"Kuri says I have to go the trainer before she'll let me play," Toru answered. There was a hint of sadness when he said her name. They have a weird relationship, always breaking up and getting back together multiple times. She'd left our house in tears a week ago and it seemed they still weren't back together. "You go on to the practice match, okay?" He left without giving me much choice. Though most couldn't see it, his heart always broke when Kuri left him.
The match is in the third gymnasium today, right? I was still adjusting to the size of Aoba Johsai. This campus was much bigger than Kitagawa Daiichi. Rounding the corner, I smacked into someone hard enough to knock me over. "I am so sorry!" I immediately apologized, rubbing the sore spot on my forehead.
"Gah! I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and-and ahh your forehead is red! Please forgive me!" The orange haired boy rambled, sporting the same red spot his face. We were about the same height. He bowed over and over again.
A familiar voice started to yell at him. "Hinata, you dumbass! That's the wrong way… Aiko?" Kageyama stared down at me with a confused look. It seemed like he'd gotten taller since I last saw him.
"Kageyama, hi," I said, smiling.
Someone pushed past them, holding out his hand to me. "I apologize for these two. Are you alright miss," the boy had a bright smile. He gently helped me up, inspecting the red spot on my forehead. He reminded me of a mom.
"I'm fine, thank you," I said, straightening out my skirt.
"Suga-san, this is Aiko. We went to junior high together," Kageyama said.
I bowed slightly. This boy must be a third year. "It's nice to meet you." Another boy from the Karasuno team told them it was time to start the match. "Well, bye, then," I waved awkwardly and retreated up to the top of the gymnasium to watch. Kageyama seems a little different than last year. More respectful.
Leaning against the railing, I found the person I actually came to see. I rested my chin on my palm and smiled to myself. Kunimi had on the number thirteen, which coincided with his actual uniform. Anything he wears looks good on him, though. Things had been like this for a while. I could never muster up the courage to tell Kunimi that I had feelings for him. But, I still hung around him as much as I could, trying my best not to look like an idiot. Every now and again on the rare occasion that we were alone, I could almost sense that Kunimi liked me, too. That could just be my imagination wishing that to be true.
I groaned to myself with how pathetic I felt. Get it together, Aiko! He's just a boy that you've liked for forever and have only had your heart set on him for three years. It's not like I've spent countless hours daydreaming about dates… and a wedding… Dropping my head down to rest it against the cool railing, I chewed on my lip.
"Why can't you notice me, Kunimi?" I whispered.