Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to the "genius" creator.
Kimonobo Kogure wiped his face with the towel he always kept in his gym locker. He was alone in the locker room now. The rest of the team had left earlier, even the more diligent ones. He had stayed a little longer because third years were assigned to make sure the gym was locked up securely. Since he and Akagi were the only third years in the team, the responsibility fell unto them. Akagi was still nursing an ankle injury so Kogure forcefully sent him home with the assurance that everything will be taken care of.
When he looked back at how the team played today, he could not help but feel pride. The team had spent what he considered a very satisfying practice session. Everyone was improving steadily. Everyone was determined to better himself and was working hard to rectify any weakness that may have surfaced in the Elimination games. There was no doubt they had good chance at the Inter-High games.
He had just taken off his shirt when somebody burst in. Since he took off his glasses in order to change his shirt, the newcomer looked a bit like a colorful blur. But because he had somehow memorized clothes and figures, he knew that the person who burst into the room was none other than the basketball team manager, Ayako. The girl just enters the boy's locker room without knocking. It was a good thing he hadn't taken his shorts off yet or they would be facing a more embarrassing situation.
The open locker covered his torso, which was probably why she simply rushed to his side excitedly. She paused only when she stood directly beside him and noticed his state of undress. Because she was now close enough for him to see her clearly without his glasses, he noted that her mouth formed a small "o" before she blushed and turned around abruptly.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I thought you were still dressed."
He chuckled softly. He was surprised at her sudden attack of modesty. After all, she was the girl who more or less saw them in various stages of nudity. It was curious that she suddenly decided to be embarrassed about seeing him half dressed when she must have seen him in less. Even more curious was the fact that he knew he could ease her embarrassment by putting a shirt on but he did not feel inclined to do it.
"Come on, Ayako," he teased. "It's not like you haven't seen me like this before."
She still didn't turn around and persisted on talking to the adjacent locker door.
"Yes, but never alone," she asserted.
He crossed his arms on his chest and gazed at her graceful back. He decided to have a little fun.
"So why are you here when you knew I would be alone?" he said softly. "And this is the locker room, you know, you should have expected that people who enter this room usually come in here to change. Were you seeking me out for a particular reason? Or did you just want to see me undressed?"
She drew a sharp breath when he finished that question. He moved closer and whispered against her neck. She trembled when his breath tickled her nape.
"If that is the case, you should have come to me in a more private setting, not somewhere anyone could come into anytime. Though, the timing does make the situation more favorable. There is no one else in school but us, is there? We're all alone. Is that what you wanted?"
Ayako turned around to face him. Her face was flushed and angry but the words she wanted to scream at him were caught in her throat. She had never seen him this way before. Usually, she never looked beyond his glasses so she'd never really seen his eyes before. Now, bright brown eyes that fairly gleamed, stared at her with ill-concealed hunger. With his glasses on, he seemed to be a likable, cuddly lamb. Without them, he was like a wolf, wily and cunning. He even grinned wolfishly.
He took a step closer and she took one back. Her back bumped against the locker behind her. His grin only widened when he saw the expression on her face. She knew she was trapped.
He placed a hand against the locker just behind her head, bracing himself against it. She was effectively cornered now and she was forced to tilt her head back it she wanted to keep eye contact. He leaned closer until their faces were separated by mere inches.
"Well, little girl," he said in a soft seducing voice. "Tell me what you want. Where do you want me to touch you first?"
He raised his free hand and slowly reached out for her. Her mind was blank. She couldn't think of anything. She was enraptured by the dangerous glint in his eyes that she had never seen in him before. She breathlessly anticipated his next move.
His hand reached behind her head. With a short tug, he removed her cap and tossed it over his shoulder. His hand returned to her head and released her lovely brown hair from its binds. It fell on her shoulders catching luster from the artificial light.
He watched how it framed and made lovelier her already radiant face. He touched it slowly, running his fingers through the strands. He then reached out to touch her face. Beginning at the corner of her eyes, he traced a path to her jaw. His fingers traveled back to her cheek in a caress. Then without warning, he gave her a hard, lingering…pinch!
Ayako cried out in surprise as Kogure stepped back laughing.
"You should have seen your face," he said in between barks of laughter. He was holding his stomach and leaning against his locker. "Your eyes were so wide, they were like saucers."
Ayako cupped the cheek he had pinched. Though it was not painful, her pride was a lot hurt. Her eyes were narrowed on the guffawing idiot.
"That was not funny," she told him through gritted teeth.
"Yes, it was," he said wiping his eyes. When he read in her eyes that she wanted to scratch his out, he raised his hands in surrender. "O.K. I'm sorry. I was just kidding. You know, you should really knock before entering this room. It would have been worse if you caught someone else in here on his own. You're lucky it was just me."
"Yeah, lucky me," she muttered darkly, still rubbing her stinging cheek. He just chuckled at her irate expression.
"Does that really hurt? I didn't pinch you too hard, did I?" he raised his hand to her cheek but she moved away.
"Put a shirt on," she commanded him. She was still eyeing him suspiciously. Obviously, she was never going to appreciate the joke.
He sighed. "As you command, mistress," he said with a low bow. He reached into his locker to put on his glasses and uniform top. He glanced back at her.
"I'm going to have to change my pants," he said with a grin. "Sure you don't mind?"
This time, it was her turn to sigh.
"Fine," she threw up her hands. "I'm never going to be able to talk to you seriously unless you're fully dressed. I'll wait for you outside."
She turned to leave but Kogure grabbed her arm.
"Come on, Ayako, let's be friends. I promise I won't play jokes on you anymore today. Scout's honor," he said as he raised a hand solemnly. She shook her head at his dubious vow. He grinned again, "Besides, I'm almost dressed. We can have an almost serious conversation."
Ayako rolled her eyes but a smile was twitching the corner of her lips.
"So, tell me what made you brave the boy's locker room at this time of the night," he teased.
"O.K.," she relented. She showed him the pages of paper she had been holding. They were slightly crumpled in all the excitement. "I just received new information about the teams we'll be competing against. I was going to give it to Akagi but he already left. I thought I'd give it to you. There's a lot of analyzing to be done. And there are video tapes to be picked up tonight, I'd go there myself, but I'm not really that certain of the direction. So I was hoping you'll go there with me and then we can drop them off at Akagi's."
"No problem, we'll work it out," he said. "Why don't you change into your street clothes and we'll head out together." Then with a challenging smirk, he said, "Unless you want to change in here with me."
"Ugh, I'll meet you out front," she said as she stomped out the locker room. She slammed the door as hard as she could but it didn't drown out his laughter.
She pulled at the hem of her blouse again. The night had become cold and she had not thought to bring her jacket. They still had a long way to go to her house after they had picked up the videos and after they had dropped off the notes Akagi's house. Kogure had insisted walking her to her house even when she told him that she could manage on her own.
She looked at Kogure who was walking beside her. They had been having one mundane conversation after another. It was still startling for her to remember the way he acted in the locker room. He had been playing a practical joke on her. And it had worked perfectly. She fell for his dashing seductive character hook, line and sinker. What would have happened if it weren't a practical joke? She shivered with the thought.
"Are you cold?" Kogure asked suddenly.
It took her some time to think of the appropriate answer.
"Just a little."
Kogure smiled in that gentle way of his and took off his jacket. He draped it over her shoulders and gave her a quick hug.
Now, however, he was back to normal. No more sly looks. No more wolfish grins. No more deep brown eyes hungry for her.
She shook her head. She was much affected by his little joke. She could still remember how much her heart rate increased in those few minutes of being alone together. She side-glanced at the gentleman who was walking beside her. Where did that guy come from? Where did that dashing, reckless, bold seducer come from? Did she want him back?
She was thinking way too much into this. It was just Kogure playing a little joke. A mean little joke in her point of view because he made her feel scared and…and excited.
They finally reached her gate. Kogure was just about to say goodbye when she stopped him.
"Kogure," she said. "That little joke of yours—"
"Hey, I already apologized for that," he reminded her.
"Well, that's not what I want," she said to him. He glanced at her with an eyebrow raised. "What I want is revenge. Pay back."
"It won't be much of revenge if you warn me about it," he shrugged and insolently tucked his hands in his pockets.
"Don't worry, when the time comes, I'll make it so good, you won't realize I've gotten my revenge until you're waist deep in it," she promised.
He leaned down close until like before they were a mere inch apart. She wasn't going to be intimidated this time. She raised her chin and looked at him straight in the eyes. She once again saw an expression of hunger.
"Oh, I'm so scared," he taunted her softly.
"You should be," she whispered back.
He grinned and, to her great surprise, brushed his lips against her cheek. He whispered 'good night' in her ear and walked away. She watched him with a hand touching her cheek. What had just happened?
* * *
What had just happened?
Kogure turned to look at Ayako again. She was in that corner of the gym where she and Sakuragi did their basic training. She was standing over him with her hands on her waist, sternly instructing him to concentrate on what he was doing and stop minding Rukawa who was warming up on the opposite side.
He had a rough night. He couldn't seem to remember how to sleep. His bed had turned into a mess of blankets because he had tossed and turned throughout the night. His mind kept on replaying the events of the night before. Every detail was carefully etched on his mind. Yet still, he didn't know what happened.
He knew he had played a practical joke on Ayako. It was a usual thing to do. Friends do that all the time. Jokes had been played on him many times especially with the company he keeps. And of course, he has learned to get back by playing some jokes of his own. But the jokes never affected him the way his joke on Ayako had.
He could safely say that he knew what he had been doing. Ayako was acting unreasonably prudish which was strange because she never was that way before. Didn't she just enter the boy's locker like she belonged there, and then turned like a proper lady? That just sparked a mischievous streak in him. What does a hot-blooded male do with a proper lady? He seduces her.
When he was playing the seducer with her, he thought he was just going to have a little fun with her. But the situation seemed so real. Even to him who knew he was just being silly. The huskily spoken words and the heat in his eyes were all real, but part of the joke. They were a part of the role he played. But what he didn't count on was his own reaction to her short intake of breath. Her wide guileless eyes were watching him in fear and excitement. The sweet, soft scent he never knew she had until he stood that close to her.
Before he knew it, it was more than just a joke. Somehow, he wanted to touch her skin. He wanted to smell her scent. He wanted to see her hair frame her face. He wanted to feel his fingers run through her hair. More than anything, he wanted her. He was really feeling like a seducer. And the dangerous part of that was that he enjoyed it. A little too much.
If he hadn't suddenly remembered where they were, he would have gone through the whole thing and he knew it. He saved himself the embarrassment by pinching her. She was upset with him but it was better that way. What if he didn't stop and change course in time? What would she have done? Would she have screamed and stopped him? Or would she have willingly participated?
He glanced back at where she was. Who wouldn't desire Ayako? It was no doubt that she was seen as one of the prettiest girls in the school. She would definitely get his vote if there were some contest that named the prettiest girls in the campus. She was a very attractive girl. She was pretty. She had a beautiful figure. And she had the hottest legs he'd ever seen.
"Ayako has the hottest legs, doesn't she?"
Kogure started. Had he been thinking out loud? He looked at the source of the statement and found Ryota Miyagi watching Ayako with ill-concealed admiration. He almost sighed in relief.
It was just him, he thought, he says those kinds of things all the time. He turned to look at Ayako and pretended to consider the question despite the fact that he had been thinking of the same thing just moments before.
"I suppose," he told Miyagi as if he just came to the conclusion after some consideration.
"She has to be the prettiest girl in high school," he said dreamily.
"I don't know about that, there are a lot of girls in high school," he said as if trying to make his statement sound ridiculous.
"Yes, but there is only one Ayako, my love," Miyagi said with a sigh.
Kogure looked at him. Was he really serious about all that he was proclaiming? Or was this another case of puppy love?
"What does Kogure look like without his glasses?" Haruko asked Ayako as they watched the team play five against five.
Ayako was surprised. Does Haruko know what happened last night? Did Kogure boast to Akagi about the joke he played on her and Akagi in turn told Haruko? She wanted to question her about that right away.
"Why do you ask?" she asked instead.
"Well, my friend Fuji," Haruko replied while gesturing at her companion with short brown hair. "She thinks he's cute. She's been going on about wanting to see him without his glasses on. Since you're with them most of the time, I'm sure you've seen him without it. What does he look like?"
Ayako felt a little relief that the little practical joke was not public knowledge.
"He looks just about the same," Ayako said evasively. Even as she said it, her mind went back to the night she saw his eyes so perfectly and so clearly. It still took her breath away.
"Hmm, really? Do you think he'd look better if he wore contact lenses instead? Maybe you can suggest that to him," Haruko said.
"Contact lenses? I don't know about that," she said. "There's a possibility that it would fall off in the middle of a game and we'd have a hell of a time trying to find it."
Besides, she didn't think she could stand having him so ruggedly handsome every time she looked at him. Her heart wouldn't stand a chance.
"I guess," Haruko shrugged.
"Does Kogure know that your friend is interested in him?" Ayako didn't know why she asked but the words left her mouth before she could stop them.
If Haruko thought it was strange she did not indicate such. "Oh, Fuji's not really interested in him. She just thinks he's cute. She's sort of a fan, an admirer. She's a secret admirer! So don't tell, O.K., Ayako? "
Ayako nodded but her eyes fairly gleamed. A secret admirer.
* * *
Kogure, Akagi, Mitsui, Rukawa, Sakuragi and Miyagi had just finished cooling down and were one their way to the locker room. As they were about to enter, the rest of the team who had gone ahead to change met them at the door.
"Great going, Kogure," said one as he slapped him in the back.
"Yeah, I didn't know you had it in you," said another.
"I thought only Rukawa and Mitsui had a fan club."
Kogure looked confused at the felicitations he was getting and asked the others what it was all about. They merely shrugged and walked on.
When they entered the locker room, his questions were answered.
"Well, that's cute," Miyagi said.
On the door of Kogure's locker were three red roses tied up with red lace. They were plastered on the very center of the metallic door. There was a card attached to it.
"Maybe they had the doors wrong," Sakuragi said. "After all, my door is quite close to yours. It would be no wonder for someone to send roses to a genius like me."
Every one rolled his eyes. Kogure unfastened the flowers and read the card. There were only two words. In a neat print, it said:
"Kiminobo Kogure."
Beneath the words, there was a lip print made by a pink lipstick. He lifted the card closer to his nose. It smelled like strawberries.
"Well?" Mitsui asked. "Did they make a mistake?"
"No," he said with some wonder in his voice. "It is for me."
The jeering started immediately. Each one, except Rukawa, who didn't care one way or another, gave several suggestions for what he should do and the like. They of course badgered him about the identity of his new girlfriend. Of course, Kogure insisted that he didn't know who sent it.
He opened the locker and was surprised again when a small envelope fell out. It was a pink, scented stationery envelope.
"Oh, my," Mitsui teased with a hand on his chest. "Look at that, a fan mail. Who would have thought that the most quiet member of the team would receive the most blatant displays of adoration."
"You're just jealous," Akagi said as he helped Kogure pick the envelope up.
"Well, come on open it up," Sakuragi commanded.
"I don't think I should," he said. "It looks tricky."
"What's tricky about some love letter?" Mitsui said leaning against the lockers. "Open it up, Four-eyes. You're not going anywhere until you do."
Kogure looked at his teammates incredulously. They were all lined up against the lockers waiting for him to open up the letter. He sighed. There wasn't much he could do. Their curiosity must be appeased. He opened the letter.
The envelope contained a small pink card that vaguely smelled of roses. There were a few lines and then the same strawberry scented lip print at the bottom of the note. He read it silently. He was about to return the card into the envelope when Akagi cleared his throat.
"Well, what does it say?" he asked.
Kogure stared at him. Even Akagi wanted to know. He read it to them.
"I think it's an excerpt from a poem. It kinda sounds familiar," Kogure said with a shrug.
"It's a poem?" Miyagi asked. They were passing around the small card and reading the familiar lines.
"I don't know why this sounds so familiar," Mitsui said reading a card that was just passed to him. "I don't read poetry."
"You don't read at all," snickered Sakuragi. Mitsui hit him.
"I think it's from a book we were required to read in junior high," said Akagi.
"Does that mean your secret admirer is in junior high?" Miyagi teased Kogure.
"Why, you little cradle-snatcher," jeered Mitsui.
"I don't think so, we haven't seen any junior high girls around here," Kogure insisted.
"Or any junior high boys," reminded Sakuragi.
Miyagi dropped the card and the guys made a collective sound of disgust.
"I think someone's just playing a joke on me," Kogure said. "And I think I know who may want to get back at me."
* * *
He found Ayako in her classroom. She was laughing with some female classmates. She caught sight of him and smiled. She met him at the door.
"Hey, third year," she greeted him. "What brings you to the second year floor?"
"I just wanted to talk to you," he shrugged. He gestured for her to take a walk with him. She agreed by preceding him.
They walked some distance in silence.
"Well?" Ayako prodded.
"It's been a week now," Kogure began. He looked straight into her eyes. "Your joke's getting a little old."
"What joke?" she asked in genuine confusion.
"Oh, come on, you know what I mean," he said. "The roses on my locker, you send love poems everyday. Don't you get tired of it?"
"Of what? What exactly are you accusing me of?" she asked with some annoyance. She crossed her arms across her chest.
Kogure was confused. He had been so sure that the roses and the love poems were Ayako's way of getting back at him for his practical joke. Ever since the first time, he had received at least four cards covertly inserted in his locker. At first they had been familiar love poems from a book he himself once read as a requirement in the literature class in junior high. The next couple of days, he received what seemed like original composition love poetry. All of them written by the same hand and all of them signed by the same lip print that smelled of strawberries.
He first suspected Ayako because she had the motive for revenge. He just laughed them off and waited for her to gloat. She must have heard how embarrassed he had become at being the recipient, as Mitsui puts it, of such "blatant display of adoration". That was probably her goal to embarrass him in front of his teammates. So, he waited for her gloating so he could tell her that they were even. But nothing came.
He would turn to her many times during practice but she never made any comment. And the cards kept on coming. The team still had fun over his ignorance of his admirer's identity. So, now, he decided to confront her. But why did she not acknowledge that the trick was hers?
"The secret admirer joke, it's your way of getting back at me," Kogure prompted. "Isn't it?"
Ayako shook her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Kogure. I know I promised to get back at you but I haven't thought of anything yet. You'll just have to wait."
With that she walked back to her classroom. Kogure watched her in bafflement. She seemed truly innocent of the incident. He had been so sure. What will he do now?
Kogure held his breath as he opened his locker door. His teammates looked on with amusement. It had been part of their ritual now to watch if the notes would come. When they did they'd have a good laugh at them. So far, they haven't been disappointed.
He jerked the door open and once again, an envelope scattered to the floor. Mitsui and Miyagi picked it up and handed it to him. They always let him read it first before passing it around to everybody.
As usual, it was a short poem. Despite the fact that the general ideas of the poems were the same, they were actually good. They had taken to calling the author of the poems Strawberry Lips because of the signature lip print at the end of each note.
"Your girlfriend's getting mushy," said Mitsui as he passed the card he had just read to Sakuragi.
"They're all mushy," said Sakuragi. "I don't know why we still hang around reading this crap."
"Hah! You're just jealous, Hanamichi," Miyagi snorted. "Because you know that no girl is going to be writing you poetry."
"Have you figured out who keeps writing you?" Akagi asked.
"Actually, I thought I did but it turns out it wasn't her," Kogure said as he passed the last one to Akagi. "She wasn't Strawberry Lips."
"So maybe it is a 'him'," suggested Sakuragi. Every one of the guys glared at him.
"Why can't we lock this place up anyway?" Mitsui asked.
"School policy," Akagi said. "This room has to be available for faculty inspection. So they can be sure we're not hiding anything illegal in here."
"Maybe we can have the place watched," Sakuragi suggested.
"Who do we get to watch it? The letters come during practice."
"Then we should just ask around school who has a crush on Kogure, that should narrow the field," Miyagi recommended.
"No way, that's too embarrassing," Kogure replied.
"How about comparing the handwriting?"
"Too hard."
"I know," Mitsui said. "We can have every girl in school kiss us with lipstick on. Then we'll compare the lip print."
The boys perked up at the suggestion.
"As enjoyable as that may be, Mitsui, I doubt if you can find many girls to agree with the procedure," said Kogure.
"Oh, I don't know," Mitsui said with a raised brow. "I bet I can get quite a number of them to agree."
"Thanks but I think I'm going to need another way to find out who she is," said Kogure. "Or at least to get her to stop."
"You want her to stop?" asked Sakuragi.
"Well, yes," Kogure replied. "I don't exactly like the idea of receiving love letters from a mystery girl."
"Maybe you should write to her," Rukawa spoke up for the first time. Everyone turned to stare at him. He shrugged and proceeded to change his shirt.
"How would he send the letter, bone-head?" Sakuragi mocked. "He doesn't know who she is, he certainly doesn't know where she lives."
Rukawa turned and narrowed his eyes on him. "He can just tape it on the locker door. The secret admirer sends her letters by slipping the notes through the slot. If Kogure tapes his letter to the door, the girl will get it when she decides to send more notes."
"Hey, that might actually work," Kogure thought. He asked them, "but what would I write?"
* * *
That night Kogure sat at his table still asking himself that question. His teammates were no help when he asked them. They all had silly suggestions most of them concerning either meeting with her or telling her to bug off rudely. Since he had no intention of doing either, he didn't know what to write.
Actually, he didn't know what he wanted to do about his admirer. He looked at the pile of love letters he kept on his table drawer. When he thought it was Ayako's work, he had kept every card thinking that he would tease her about it when she finally decided to gloat. But now, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do about them. He read the original compositions again one by one.
They were really good. Most of them were quite touching. He wondered at the person who wrote them. Did she really feel that way about him? It made him feel uncomfortable now to know that someone out there, someone he knew nothing about, was feeling like… what was it that she wrote?
A ship set adrift in a lonely voyage
My heart wills that the winds
Would carry me to where you are
Because only with you do I belong
Who is she? Kogure thought. Why does she feel that way about me? He sighed and glanced at the piece of paper he had on the table. After an hour, all he had to show was "My Dear Secret Admirer". He had already scratched out the "My Dear" part, but he wondered if he should try to endear himself to someone whose heart he was about to break.
He began his letter for the fifth time.
To my Secret Admirer, (he had thought of calling her Strawberry Lips, but it didn't seem apt)
I am very flattered by the attention you've bestowed upon me. Your poems are very good (or should he say exceptional) and they certainly tugged at my heartstrings (O.K. that might encourage her, maybe he should just say 'they are touching'). But I must say that these feelings you have for me cannot be returned. You see, dear secret admirer, my heart belongs to someone else.
Kogure stared at the words he had just written. Where had that come from? Or better yet, who was 'someone else'? He considered the words closely. They actually made sense. How else does he end someone's pursuit of him but by saying that there was 'someone else' in his life.
His eyes brightened. Of course, he should have thought of that before. All he had to do was to tell his secret admirer that he was in love with someone. I had to be someone real. Someone who was more real to him than a phantom who liked leaving love poems in his gym locker.
He had to make up a description of his ladylove, he supposed. Perhaps he should start with her eyes. A lovely pair of brown eyes that sparkled with emotion be it excitement, sadness or joy. There is so much one could read in her beautiful, expressive eyes.
Or maybe he should begin with her hair. Or possibly the radiant face framed by that hair. Those eyes, those lips, that cute nose, how does one describe such beauty in mere words? How does one describe the smile that seems to light up any darkened room? A smile that encourages, a smile that scolds lightly, a smile that simply says, "I care".
Kogure started from his reverie. Suddenly, in his mind's eye, he was looking at a girl he had always known. The girl wasn't made up anymore. She was real. A girl whose face he saw everyday. It was her eyes, her hair, her radiant face, and her multi-faceted smile that he was seeing. It was she.
He found it hard to breathe as the biggest realization dawned on him. The letter was real. The words of the last sentence he had written were true. Even if his secret admirer turned out to be the most desirable person in the whole world, the feelings would not be returned. His heart did belong to someone else. His heart belonged to her.
He lifted his pen. With a smile that slowly filled his face and heart with joy, he started writing. He wrote what his heart said.
Kogure walked around the gym with a light step. They had finished a rousing practice game and he was feeling very energized. The team was now cooling down before they left. He took a deep breath. It felt great to be free!
Yes, he was finally free. Not only was he free from his mysterious admirer, he was also free from the nagging feeling that there was some secret he had but did not know about. Now, he knew it of course.
He was in love. He had no idea what he as going to do about it but he knew he would work something out in time. There was no rush. She wasn't going anywhere. Or so he hoped.
He noticed Haruko and her friends at the doorway of the gym. He walked to where they stood.
"Isn't it a little late for you to be around here?" he asked them pleasantly.
"Oh no," Haruko answered with a wide smile. "We've come to fully support the team. Even if that means staying here later than usual."
"You don't have to stay here late to support us," he said. "We know you want us to win. All we need is for you to pray that we do well."
"Oh but I always pray for that every night," she said.
"I bet there's someone you pray especially hard for," Kogure teased her. He laughed when she blushed furiously.
"I don't know whom you mean," she pouted. "Well, we better get home then. You're all done anyway. See you."
Kogure waved them good bye. Before he could go back to the gym, he was jolted solidly from behind. He turned and saw Ayako. She hadn't looked up from the clipboard as she muttered a half-hearted apology. She continued walking out of the gym.
"Ayako," he called. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
Without even looking back at him, she said, "I can't right now. I'm busy." She then walked away quickly.
Kogure stared at her with puzzlement. She had been difficult to approach for the last couple of days. He had some things to discuss with her but she never seemed to be available. And surprisingly, she seemed cold to him. Maybe it was just his imagination.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. It was Rukawa.
"I remembered something about that secret admirer of yours," he told Kogure. "I think I may have a clue to her identity."
"Oh, that's O.K., Rukawa," he said. "She stopped writing two days ago. That idea of yours worked."
Rukawa shrugged. "I just thought you may want to know," he said as he turned to leave. "I remember that stationery. It was very popular in my junior high. At one time, every girl in campus had a set."
Kogure's eyes widened.
* * *
My heart belongs to someone else…
Ayako wiped the tears leaking from her eyes with the back of her wrist. She must have read the letter a hundred times. And every time she did, another part of her heart fell off. She was so stupid.
How could she fall for someone who was in love with someone else? She wanted to pull all her hair out, hating herself so much. She took out the crumpled letter from her pocket. All afternoon the piece of paper burnt a hole in her pocket and another one in her heart. She should have just torn it up and burned it but she couldn't. She wanted to keep it as a reminder of her stupidity. A warning of what could happen when she didn't think straight. But most of all, she wanted to keep it as a reminder of Kogure.
For the past two days, she watched him like a hawk. And she noticed the subtle changes in him. Ever since the time he left a letter to her, his secret admirer, he seemed… happier. She couldn't name what it was exactly that changed, but there was something more relaxed and unconstrained about him. And she knew it was because he was free of his secret admirer. He was free of her.
She knew she was being silly. The whole thing began as a prank. Just as he thought, she was the one who taped roses to his locker door and copied lines from old poems in a high school Lit book. It was she who embarrassed him by pretending to be an adoring fan.
At first, her only intention was to get back at him. But at the fourth day she was looking for love poems to copy from, she found that she had run out. At first she had thought to confess and to gloat at her fine prank, but it didn't seem enough for her. She still wanted to send him more fan mail. She would then have to write her own adoring poems.
Initially, she balked at writing mushy love poems. But she drew inspiration from the character she was playing. She made herself think like someone who loved Kogure from afar.
She was surprised at how easy the words flowed from her. Originally, she thought that perhaps she was just a really good poet who could write from the feelings of someone else. It wasn't until the fifth day, that she realized she was actually writing from the heart.
The recognition of those feelings simply bowled her over. She had no idea how to deal with it. She was panicked actually. What if Kogure suspected that it was she who was writing those poems? What would she say if he confronted her about it? What was she going to do about her new found feelings?
Then before she could figure out the answers to all her questions, Kogure himself showed up in her classroom asking to talk to her. She had never felt so nervous in her life. She put on a smiling mask and acted as if everything was normal. She pretended ignorance when he started asking questions about the letters.
What else could she do? Was she supposed to admit that everything was just a silly joke? What about how she actually felt for him? Was she supposed to confess at the next instant that everything she had written was truly how she felt for him? She wasn't sure about anything and she wasn't ready to answer questions. So she walked away leaving him with the impression that she and his secret admirer were two different persons.
That night after much tossing and turning, she had come to all the answers she would ever need. She got out of bed at two o' clock in the morning and began to write the longest letter she had ever written to him. In that letter she poured out her heart and her soul. And for the very first time, she signed the letter with her name. But he would never see it.
Just before practice began, when she knew the locker room would be empty and the corridor would be cleared out, she went to his locker door and was surprised to find the small plain envelope. It was addressed to the secret admirer. She took it from the door and ran to the ladies room and quickly read its contents.
In the beginning, the words did not register and she felt as if she was just reading about someone else's life. She hid the letter somehow and her own letter was hidden, buried deep in her own locker, like the feelings that it was supposed to reveal. She was able to go through practice as routinely as possible. If anyone noticed her lack of spirit, no one said a word.
It was only that night when she read the letter again and again in the privacy of her bedroom that she understood what Kogure had written. He explicitly expressed his feelings…for someone else.
Tears began to sting her eyes but she couldn't let them fall. She wouldn't. She knew that if she allowed them, they wouldn't stop flowing. And then people would ask questions. He would ask questions. Questions that she was not ready to answer.
She read and she thought about the letter all night. Before dawn of the next day, she had herself convinced that the whole letter was a lie. Surely it was just a ruse to keep the secret admirer from writing to Kogure again. After all, if she had received the same treatment as Kogure had, she would probably do the same thing he did and would pretend to be in love with someone else. Surely, that must be the case because if Kogure were even mildly interested in another woman, she would know. He couldn't keep something like that a complete secret even if he wanted to. He would unconsciously be dropping hints.
She had herself fully convinced of that logic until later today, just after the practice session. She had been watching him surreptitiously, as usual. She noticed the freedom he seemed to have now. And then he purposefully walked to where Haruko and her friends were. She saw him laugh with her and even tease her into blushing. Suddenly, his words in the letter came back like a flood.
Aside from her breath-taking beauty, there is something about her that makes her the most important girl in my life. She has been with me, with our team, through thick and thin.
I've known her for a while but my feelings for her, I must admit, sprung only recently. Despite the fact that I wear glasses to improve my eyesight, I have been very blind. If not blind, then very near-sighted for I did not see her for what she is to me until I stood close to her. In fact, my friend and teammate noticed her value before I did. I don't know what I'm going to do about him when I finally tell her what I feel about her but that is another story.
The point is; I'm hopelessly in love with her. Now you know and soon she will too. I just hope that I have not given you untoward pain. If I have, then I am truly sorry. But I cannot lie myself any longer. She is my love.
Of course, who else could it be but Haruko? He had described her pretty face and even her undying support for the team. He had known her for a long time since he and Akagi have been friends since they started junior high school. And of course, the teammate he meant was Sakuragi. Everyone knew he joined the team to attract Haruko.
Ayako couldn't take the punishment anymore. As soon as she could she left the gym with tears blinding her. She collided with him but she rushed out before he could notice her tears. The tears finally fell and just as she thought, they wouldn't stop falling.
"Ayako!" a voice called out from behind.
She turned and saw Kogure running to catch up with her. She walked quickly and entered the ladies' room. She went directly to the sink and looked at the teary faced girl in the mirror. She ripped off her cap and threw it against mirror. How could she be so stupid?
"Ayako," Kogure knocked at the door.
"Go away!" her voice trembled.
She looked up when she heard the doorknob turn. He wouldn't dare enter this room! He did.
As he entered, she backed away from him wiping the tears from her face. "What are you doing? You're not allowed in here."
"Ayako," he said softly. He asked the obvious question. "Have you been crying?"
"No!" she lied. "Something went into my eyes."
He smiled at her gently. "Both of them?"
"Yes!" she almost screamed. "What do you want? I told you to go away."
Kogure stepped closer. She was backed against the sink and had nowhere to go. She stood and waited for his approach.
"I just wanted to ask you something," he said as he closed the distance between them. "I have to know."
"What?" she eyed him suspiciously.
"I have to know… what you taste like."
Her small cry of surprise was muffled when he leaned down to kiss her. Never would she have thought that something like this was possible, yet Kogure's lips were moving over hers in a light, hesitant manner, and then suddenly, with no hesitancy at all as his kiss deepened for a full tasting.
Ayako was thoroughly entranced. She didn't move. She barely even breathe. She certainly didn't think. She just stood there and experienced the wonder of the kiss and every sensation that accompanied it.
Kogure broke off the kiss reluctantly. He waited for her eyes to open and focus on him before he said his next words.
"Just as I thought."
"What?" she was still a little dazed.
"You taste like strawberries," he said. "Strawberry Lips."
"I don't know what you mean," she was finding it hard to think straight but she knew that she had been found out.
"There's no denying it now, sweetheart," he chuckled. "You're my secret admirer. My sweet little poet."
"I have no idea what you— sweetheart?" Ayako's eyes widened.
Kogure placed his hands on her slim waist and drew her close to him. She was too bemused to resist him.
"Do you prefer 'darling'? 'Honey'? 'Honeybunch'? 'My love'? 'My sweet'? 'Baby'?" he teased her.
She shook her head. "I don't understand."
"What's to understand?" he shrugged. "When two people find that they have strong feelings for each other, they tend to call each other by those silly pet names."
"That's not what I meant," she said as she pushed against him, trying to get away. He didn't let go. "What do you mean by 'strong feelings'?"
Kogure sighed even as he tightened her hold on her.
"You're going to make me say it, huh?" he said. He lifted her chin so that she looked at him in the eyes. "Ayako, I know you're in love with me."
Ayako gasped at his declaration, then shook her head. "No, I'm not. Where did you get a fool idea like that?"
Kogure chuckled but he persisted. "Tell me the truth now. Are you or are you not the author of those love poems?"
She didn't answer him. She just looked down.
"You can't lie about it any more, I know that you have a set of stationery very similar to the ones I've been receiving."
"So? A lot of girls own that a set like that I'm sure," she pouted.
"But how many of them also wear strawberry flavored lipstick?"
"I'm sure there are quite a number," she retorted.
"How many of them can write short love poems every day?" he said. "Maybe I should recite them to you, will they spark up a memory. Hmm, let's see how did the first one begin? Ah, yes. 'My love is like a ship in the ocean'—"
She covered his mouth with her hand. "O.K. I admit. I was the one who wrote all those. Please don't repeat them. It's embarrassing."
"So you are in love with me!"
"Will you give it up?" she fairly screeched at him. "I am not in love with you!"
"Why won't you just admit it?"
She took a deep breath. "I am not about to declare my love for someone who happens to be in love with someone else!"
"Ah, yes, my letter," he said. "You got that, didn't you?"
"Of course, I did. And I read it, too," she said. "You said your heart belonged to someone else."
"Yes, it does. It belongs to you."
"No, it doesn't," she insisted. "It belongs to Haruko!"
"Haruko!" Kogure was genuinely surprised. "Ayako, she's a little kid sister to me."
"But you said that you loved her because she had always supported the team. You said that you've known her for a long time but that you just realized that you were attracted to her. And you said that your teammate was attracted to her before you were."
He chuckled. "I meant you, Ayako. It was you I was talking about in that letter. It was all you."
"Then why didn't you just say so!" she flushed.
"I thought I was writing to a stranger," he explained. "I didn't want whoever it was to know whom I meant. I didn't want you to be exposed to anything that a woman scorned would do."
Ayako settled down and leaned against him, subdued.
"It was me? You meant me?" she asked with some wonder.
"It was all you, my secret admirer," he whispered against her hair.
"How did you figure it was me? I denied it when you asked me the last time. I thought I had you convinced that you were barking up the wrong tree."
"You did. It was only now that I realized it was you all along."
"How?"
"It was Rukawa."
"Rukawa?"
"He recognized the stationery."
"Oh, yeah, it was really popular in our school. I had two sets left."
"I figured you were the only schoolmate he had around here," Kogure said. "Or at least you're the only schoolmate of his that really mattered. Ever since I got the first poem you wrote, I had secretly hoped it was you who wrote them even when you denied it."
"You did? Why?"
"I think I was half in love with you all this time," he said chucking her chin. "When I played that little joke on you, I didn't realize it at first but it was something I wanted to do for a long time."
She gazed into his eyes deeply. These were the words she had been waiting to hear from him ever since she became aware of her feelings for him. She was hanging on to every word.
"Then you started sending those poems," he said.
"That started as a joke, too," she said.
"Yes, I know," Kogure smiled. "And I know the exact moment it became real."
"But you thought it was written by someone else," she reminded him.
"I only thought that way for a while when you very convincingly denied being my secret admirer," he said. "Then when Rukawa told me about the stationery, I knew then that you were in love me too."
"You're pretty sure of yourself," she teased.
"Why shouldn't I be," he said. "After all, wasn't it you who said that 'your heart wills that the winds take you to where I am because it is only with me that you belong'?"
She swatted him playfully. "Don't repeat those things to me. I still can't believe I wrote those things."
"Don't be embarrassed," he told her. "I loved them all. Even when I thought it wasn't you."
"What would you have done if it wasn't me?" she asked him seriously.
"Well," he considered the question. "I think that I would still have declared myself to you. And if Miyagi decided to have some sort of duel for your hand, I would oblige him."
"Yes, he would probably want something like that," she said with a sigh. "I still can't see what that fool sees in me."
"Oh now, I think I can come up with some answers to that," Kogure said with a sensual look at her lips.
She blushed becomingly. "Well, there will be no need for a duel. I've already chosen. I chose you. I chose you because you were willing to tolerate a secret admirer and mushiness from an amateur poet. And especially because you were willing to enter a girl's bathroom just to tell me you love me."
"And I can't be more grateful that you entered the boy's locker room that night," said Kogure. "I just wish I could change something about that night though."
"What would you change?" she asked breathlessly.
"It should have ended this way." With that, he freed her hair from its bonds. He cupped her chin and kissed her.
The end