Takane no hana
'Flower on a high peak'
Summary:
She is our takane no hana, our flower on a high peak: her beauty out of reach for everyone, so every admires her from a distance... as close as they can get. Those things never mattered to him anyway. [Roxiri]
- loosely based on the manga hibi chouchou -
Part One
From a distance
I don't want to be a flower as a flower is motionless, forever stuck at the same place, unable to move.
I want to be a butterfly, flying to wherever he is.
-x-
He glanced at the trees marking the path up to the school.
It was still Summertime, they had all blossomed and the pinkish petals were spreading everywhere.
The sky looked rather promising; it would be a great day today. Weather-wise, at least.
Just as he reached the school gates, he felt an arm swing around his shoulder, dragging him down somewhat.
"Good morning!" the familiar brown haired guy keeping him in a headlock said with his trademark grin fixed in place. "Had a nice Summer?"
"Hey, Sora," he greeted his friend. "It was good. Yours?"
"Man, you wouldn't believe what I did this Summer," Sora started, his arm still tight around his friend's neck as they slowly progressed towards the school. He hadn't seen his friend in a while, which was the only reason why he allowed this headlock. "It's been wild!"
As they neared the entrance, the noise around them grew.
Sora was in the middle of the story about him camping alone with his brother Vanitas in the woods when the excited chatter grew too loud to actually hear his story.
"What's all this ruckus about?" Sora said, letting go of him as the guy stood on his toes to see what was going on, the tip of his tongue visible as he tried to go up even higher than his toes would allow him to. "I can't see-"
"Beats me," he said rather indifferently, stuffing his hands in his pockets, waiting for the mass to separate again.
They were lucky they had arrived so early; at this rate, they would've been late otherwise.
"It's the new first years," Sora said, rather baffled. "Did they cause trouble or- Oh."
"What?"
Sora lowered himself down on his heels and grinned widely. "There's a really cute girl among them."
"Oh," he said, rather irritated that they were being held up because of such an insignificant little thing. "Is that all?"
"Apparently," Sora said, a bit stung that his friend wasn't even slightly interested in this news. "She is really pretty."
He rolled his eyes at that remark and tried to move past the mass (which consisted mostly of guys, he now realized). "Were you going to join any clubs this year?" he said, calling to his friend over the loud noise of people chattering.
Sora squeezed himself through a group of awestruck girls. "Haven't really thought about it… have you?"
"I thought about the sword fighting club, for a change," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as Sora had finally gotten through the mass as well.
"It would suit you," Sora said, imitating a battle pose that seemed base on a weird kind of anime as he let out a strange phrase that definitely came straight from the same anime too. He didn't get it, but thought it was kind of funny either way.
"Yeah, well," he said, chuckling slightly at Sora's antics. "I thought it seemed cool. Cooler than the chess club, at least."
"You were acing that one too," Sora said, now sounding a bit disgruntled. "Do you have to be the absolute best in everything?"
"I just don't like losing," he said with a shrug. "Which makes winning a lot more interesting."
"If you look at it that way," Sora said vaguely. "Maybe I'll join the club too."
He gave his friend a little bump against the arm with his fist. "Sweet. So you're going to be my sparring partner, then?"
A look of dread crossed Sora's face. "Do I want that?" he asked, his voice a bit squeaky. "I mean, will I survive that?"
"Don't be silly," he said. "You survive the weirdest things. Besides, Vanitas is your brother, so I don't see why you're complaining."
"I really should look for a less violent environment," Sora breathed out as he shook his head. "It'll cost me my head one of these days otherwise."
-x-
School had been the same as last year, so far.
Even though the faces and the names changed during introduction rounds, the class usually had the same kind of people in it.
Even the material they had been given seemed the same.
As the bell rang, he and Sora came out of their classroom, on their way to the registration center to apply for the club they had been talking about earlier that morning.
He had just shoved all of the paperwork inside his bag and flung it over his shoulder as they walked when something sparked Sora's interest.
"Look, look, there she goes!" Sora said excitedly, pointing at the other end of the yard.
He turned, automatically, even though he had no interest in the girl that every guy seemed to fuss about.
Up until that point, he hadn't even seen her.
She seemed petite, her straight auburn hair surprisingly short for a girl. It just barely reached past her cheeks.
He couldn't see from this far away, but her expression seemed a bit off, almost as if she was a porcelain doll, her eyes trained on the ground as she walked through the crowds with a friend who glared angrily at all the guys surrounding them.
She was pretty, he had to admit that at the very least, but he really didn't see why it was causing so much uproar.
Besides, she didn't seem too pleased either.
"Must be a pain," he wondered out loud. "She doesn't seem to enjoy the attention."
"Yeah," Sora said, craning his neck for a better look. "Even so, she must be used to this. They even call her 'takane no hana', flower on a high peak, they say."
He raised his brow at Sora, who shook his head. "Oh, you know, the whole: 'she's a gem to look at, but there's no way anyone can get her' thing. She doesn't speak or smile either, which makes it really hard to approach her in the first place, so I guess the name kind of fits."
He stopped for a bit to give his friend a disbelieving look. "Don't they have anything better to do?"
Sora flushed; he had clearly been part of the conversation that led to that name. "E-er… apparently so."
He smirked a bit at his friend's discomfort. "Come on, Sora, we have to register ourselves before we're too late. Let's leave your 'flower ideas' for what they are, for now, okay?"
"Y-yeah, you're right."
-x-
He had hoped for the first week to be over more quickly; it was still only Wednesday and he had had just three days of school yet.
Summer was still miles and miles away and at this rate, it would take forever before Summer Break started.
He swung his backpack over his shoulder as he made his way home.
Sora had taken extra lessons in maths on Wednesdays in advance to prevent the historic failing he did last year, so he would be heading home on his own today.
By the time he reached the gate, a flash of auburn caught his eye.
She was backed up against the wall surrounding the school, holding her bag protectively in front of her as she was cornered by a couple of guys he recognized as Xigbar, Vexen and Marluxia.
She didn't look that expressionless anymore; her brows were furrowed together and she was shaking a bit.
He stopped, almost automatically.
He couldn't hear what they were saying, but the situation seemed clear enough when Xigbar pulled at the girl's bag, ripping it in the progress, all of her things tumbling down on the floor.
She didn't open her mouth, though, but there was something about the distressed look on her face that made him turn completely and march towards the group of students instead of ignoring it and going home.
"Stop it."
He hadn't really thought that would be enough. He considered it both a warning and a greeting.
The three turned around to face him, a taunting expression forming on Xigbar's face, who recognized him. "Look who we've got here, it's little Kid-"
He really wasn't thinking straight, but for some reason, he didn't lack any accuracy in the placement of his fist.
Xigbar dropped to the floor upon the impact, holding his sore jaw. "What the hell?"
"Get lost," he said, clenching and unclenching his sore hand. He hadn't meant to use that much force. "Unless you want more, of course."
Xigbar got to his feet and gave him a glare. "Fine, we'll let you off this time. C'mon, guys," he added in a mutter to his friends, who seemed highly startled.
They gave him dirty looks as they walked off to the smoking area just beside the entrance of the school. He shook his head a bit before he turned to her.
"Sorry about that," he said to the girl, who was still frozen, her eyes wide as she stared at him.
He bent through his knees as he began to collect her things.
For a girl, it wasn't much, he noticed. There was just a plain notebook, a gray pencil case, a water bottle and an old-looking phone.
"There you go," he added, handing her her things.
As she didn't say anything, he remembered that Sora said this girl didn't speak.
She did, however, bow slightly before glancing up at him again.
Her eyes were a stunning indigo colour, lighting up in her face. He cleared his throat. "Ah, right," he muttered distractedly.
He wasn't necessarily good around girls and now that he had no reason to be here anymore, he'd rather go home. There wasn't much else to say, was there? "Well, see you around, I guess."
She gave another nod and he quickly brushed past her.
For some reason, his face felt rather hot.
He touched his cheek with the back of his right hand and he could feel his skin burn.
There had been something unnerving about the way she had looked at him.
Most girls averted their gaze after a while, but she had been staring straight back at him for the longest time.
Maybe that was her tactic for getting rid of the noisy people, he thought to himself. Even so, he wasn't quite sure how that would work.
He was sure Sora, for example, wouldn't mind staring straight back at the girl.
Maybe if he had been more like Sora, he wouldn't have minded either.
Well, he thought to himself with a shrug, straightening his back. He wasn't Sora, he had helped the girl out and he would probably never cross her path again.
That was all there was to it.
-x-
"- I mean, I did try," Sora complained loudly the next day, folding his arms behind his head as he concluded the self-pity-induced story of how he failed his literature test.
School had just started and Sora was already on a roll.
He decided not to laugh as they were on their way to their next lesson.
"It's just that the old geezers write so boringly, am I right? I said that too, I said- Oh. Hi there," Sora added as he glanced over his shoulder.
He turned too and with a jolt in his stomach, recognized the auburn haired girl.
She had become the porcelain doll again, her expression as neutral as could be.
Even so, her bright indigo eyes seemed warm. He felt slightly flustered and he didn't understand what she was doing here.
"Can we help you?" Sora asked her kindly, immediately taking initiative in the (what would be one-sided) conversation.
He was slightly impressed that Sora tried nevertheless.
Even though Sora was the one talking to her, she was slightly turned to him, her gaze on his face; he could feel it heat him up, his heartbeat picking up as he started to sweat slightly.
Then, it struck him that she might be in trouble again.
He didn't see her friend with her which supported that theory, but she didn't carry that distressed look, which didn't make much sense.
"Are you all right?" he asked her, just in case she was in trouble.
She nodded, tilting her head to the side.
Sora gave him a confused look.
Right, he hadn't told Sora about yesterday's incident either.
Just when he was about to explain it rather briefly, her friend turned around the corner.
"Kairi! There you are!" she said, rushing up to her friend's side, who acknowledged her with a nod.
The newcomer straightened herself, throwing her brown curls over her shoulder, her face a bit red because of all the running she had apparently done. "You're the one who helped out yesterday?"
He nodded wordlessly, almost mimicking the silent girl.
He wondered how the girl would know, if … Kairi (that was her name, apparently) hadn't told her. If she had been watching, wouldn't she have come to help one way or another?
"Thank you," the girl said wholeheartedly. "I couldn't come home with her yesterday and I'm glad you helped out. My name's Olette by the way. I'm sure you know Kairi," she added, her voice a bit colder.
He realised she must've thought he was like the other guys, swarming around the auburn haired girl.
He felt slightly insulted, for some reason. "We haven't exactly introduced ourselves," he set that picture straight at once. "She was in trouble and I helped, that's all."
"But he's Roxas and I'm Sora, by the way," Sora quickly added, afraid he might be left out of the conversation, even if he had no clue what they were talking about. In his voice was a hint of eagerness; of course he would want to introduce himself to the girl everyone was talking about.
"Right," Olette said, smiling slightly. "Thanks again. Come on, Kairi, let's go to class."
Kairi nodded, though she looked back over her shoulder at him.
At least, he was fairly sure she was looking back at him.
His face felt extremely hot again and now it was even worse because Sora was standing right next to him.
"Dude, you know 'takane no hana'?"
Now that he had learned her name, the nickname annoyed him. "Her name's Kairi."
"Cut the bullshit, Roxas! Where the hell did you meet her?"
"She was being cornered by Xigbar and those others," he said curtly as he picked up his pace. "I stepped in to help her out, that was all. I went home straight afterwards."
Sora was now running slightly to keep up with him. "Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Was there any need to do that?"
"Roxas! We're talking about the 'takene no hana' here!"
"It's Kairi," he said, gritting his teeth. "Look here, Sora, that stupid name is exactly why she's being bothered all the time."
"It's just a nickname," Sora said softly. "I mean no harm with it."
"Then don't say it," he said, still greatly annoyed.
"I thought you had no interest in her, though," Sora said, giving him an inquisitive look.
"I felt sorry for her, that's all," he said. "That's the end of it."
They had reached their classroom and they silently went to their seats.
When they were settled down, however, Sora turned backwards to look at him. "That was a good call, though. To help her."
"Glad to hear you think so too. Now look in front of you, teacher's coming," he added firmly as the door of the classroom opened.
Sora quickly turned back, much to his relief.
After all, he was still feeling rather flustered.
Why had she bothered to find him? He didn't need an explicit thanks from her, after all, especially if she couldn't give it.
Why was he getting so worked up about this?
-x-
He sighed in annoyance as he opened his locker and his P.E. clothes weren't there.
He wasn't afraid of Xigbar, Vexen and Marluxia, but he would have to get his stuff back before the P.E. lesson would start and that was just kind of annoying to him.
What a childish bunch of cowards. To think they were a year older.
Just as he closed his locker, he felt a soft tug at the fabric of his shirt on the back.
He turned, a bit surprised.
Sora would usually be much less subtle about making his presence known and there weren't many others who wanted his attention usually.
She was standing there, folding her arms behind her back as soon as he turned.
Again, her eyes seemed to do the talking, but sadly enough, he wasn't fluent in that language.
"Er… hi," he offered, to which she gave a soft nod. He waited for a bit, but of course, she didn't say anything.
Rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, he decided it was best to go find Xigbar and his friends to get his P.E. stuff back.
When he gave her a small nod as a goodbye, however, she reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
He was really confused. What did she want from him? Couldn't she write it down on a piece of paper or enlighten him in any other way? How in the world did she communicate with that Olette girl if she didn't?
Then, he realised she seemed rather… concerned.
Even though she didn't speak, the way her head was tilted, her brow slightly furrowed as she looked up at him, it seemed clear that she wanted to express worry.
Or she was upset that he was about to turn his back to her, but he felt like the first would make more sense. Usually, she would prefer a guy to turn his back to her, right?
"You're worried?" he asked nevertheless, just to be sure. She gave a gentle nod as she let him go.
"You don't have to be worried about me," he said to her, afraid Sora might appear anytime now, or any other guy that would make a big deal about him speaking to her. "Just take care of yourself, all right?"
Her expression went neutral so fast it startled him slightly.
He didn't have time to think about what happened, because the bell rang and he still hadn't collected his clothes yet.
He didn't turn to glance over his shoulder, but he could feel her stare on his back.
She really was an odd one.
-x-
"Why am I the only one who's serious here!" he called out to his lousy teammates. "Get your act together!"
"But we're on a trip," one of them complained. "This is just for fun."
"Don't make him mad," Sora advised him. "This is not just for fun, this is a case of life and death, you know."
"Shut up," he grumbled, turning back to the other team. "Don't exaggerate things either."
They were indeed out on a school trip with a couple of classes to one of the nearest beaches as the temperature was still rather mild.
Since the area for beach volleyball was empty, they decided on a whim to play a match.
His team consisted of some of the sportive guys from the second year, including Sora and himself.
The other team were a few first years who really wanted to take down their seniors.
It was just that his team lacked motivation and he needed them for the victory too.
What a drag. He wanted to focus, because otherwise he would start to be nervous.
The fact that there were first years around unnerved him quite a bit, because he had this feeling she'd be here too.
She'd always pop up like that, when he was not expecting her to.
Even though she never said anything, he felt strangely defenseless.
He shook his head, focussing back on the game.
Tidus, a friend of Sora, was standing in the back of the field and saved the ball, sending it flying to Sora, who passed it to him.
He got up to the net and smashed the ball back to the other team.
He was quick to realise he had put too much strength into the move, because he heard a couple of gasps and he made eye contact with a very startled looking auburn haired girl, who tentatively touched the side of her face, the ball laying forgotten next to her.
"He hit Takane!" he heard Tidus gasp behind him, who was clearly unaware of her real name and thought her nickname was the real one. "Damn, Roxas!"
The guys from the first year immediately swarmed around her and he couldn't see her anymore.
He rubbed the back of his neck. He really hadn't meant to hit her straight in the head and felt uneasy not being able to apologize.
"Well, seems like we won't be playing anymore for a while," Sora said, scratching the side of his face. "Looks like you finished it, Roxas."
"Yeah, thanks," he muttered, feeling rather guilty.
The teachers rang a small bell to let them know it was lunchtime.
He felt relieved as the mass of students got up to the tables, searching for the auburn haired girl.
If he could find the chance to do so, he did want to apologize, after all.
Even so, he couldn't find her, neither at the other side of the net, nor at the lunch tables.
He did, however, notice the brown curls of her friend Olette.
She was walking casually up to the lunch tables and nodded at him before gesturing over her shoulder.
He narrowed his eyes as he stared into the direction she had pointed at, to see a familiar flash of almost red in this bright light.
"Thanks," he mouthed at Olette, who simply shrugged, picking up his pace as he walked over to the sea.
The closer he came to her, the less noise he could hear from the other students.
She was sitting near the waves, letting them gently wash over her feet.
She seemed to be deep in thought as he neared her.
He felt another pang of guilt in his stomach as he saw the reddish bruise on her cheek.
"Hey," he finally said as he stood next to her.
He had startled her; she turned to him at once, her indigo eyes wide.
She quickly gave him a small nod as a form of greeting. He couldn't help but smile a little at that. "How's your head? Does it hurt?"
She seemed to think about if for a while before shaking her head. She was obviously lying, but he appreciated her attempt to make him feel better.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you in the head," he said. "Sorry."
She got to her feet, shaking off the sand of her legs. Now that he had apologized, he started to feel nervous.
She didn't have to stand up either.
"Well, then," he said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'll leave you be; they're expecting me to be back for the ending of the game, I-I think."
She gave another nod and he turned at once.
He found her indigo gaze quite intense and it made him feel strangely vulnerable.
He was about to walk back to the field; he could already see Sora looking around for him.
"Roxas."
She doesn't speak or smile either, which makes it really hard to approach her in the first place.
He froze up, turning back very slowly. She was looking at him, her head tilted slightly.
"Yes?" he said quietly. He couldn't have misheard, there was no one else here and though the voice had been soft, it had been as clear as the sound of the waves.
"Good luck," she continued, he could see her pink lips moving before her face warmed up and the same lips curled up in a smile.
She doesn't speak or smile either, which makes it really hard to approach her in the first place.
His blush must've covered every inch of his body, all the way down to his toes. "Thanks," he said, giving her a small nod as he ran off as if his life depended on it.
His heart was beating in his head, he could feel the thumping rhythm as her voice kept ringing through his head.
Why had she spoken to him? Why had she smiled? Why had she wished him 'good luck', of all things?
Why, oh, why was he so flustered? He patted his cheeks in a desperate attempt to clear his head.
Nothing happened, he told himself sternly. Nothing to be embarrassed about.
"There you are!" Sora said impatiently. "Where the hell were you?"
Everyone was already back on the field, the other party tossing around the ball for a bit.
He cleared his throat, afraid his voice had stopped working. "I… I was just… taking a walk around."
"A walk?" Sora said incredulously, studying his friend's face. "You look like you've run a marathon. Are you all right?"
"Sunburn," he lied. She had gotten back, too, sitting down next to Olette. Their eyes met once more.
Good luck.
He averted his gaze. He needed to focus. It was easier than expected. He was pretty competitive in nature, but for some reason, his drive to win seemed a bit bigger than last time he stood here.
As they scored the first point of the second set, after Sora had given him a high five, he suddenly understood as he met her gaze again.
He understood the point of her wishing him 'good luck'.
Why she was doing it, he had no clue, but she was… somehow cheering for him. She was doing it again, a smile breaking through the porcelain doll expression that unnerved him so much, making her look so much more real as his heart started to beat a little faster.
Sora caught him staring, though. "What are you-"
He also realised didn't want Sora to see, not yet; in an instinctual movement, he swung his arm around Sora's neck and took him in a headlock so he couldn't look up and see her smile.
He wanted to keep that smile to himself for a while.
It was exactly the reason why he needed to win here, too.
Still, he didn't understand why all of this was happening, or how, but it was happening and it was making him happy, somehow. That was all he needed to know for now.
"Ouch! What are you doing that for?!"
"No reason," he said, strangely cheerful as he let go of Sora. Sora glanced up at the girl, whose expression could have matched a porcelain doll again.
"Were you looking at Takane- uh, Kairi?"
"No."
"There's no shame in it, though. Everyone-"
"I said, I did not look at her."
-x-
It had kept him up at night.
The girl who didn't speak or smile had just done both things.
Why?
Maybe he was mistaken, maybe she was just really quiet and shy, maybe that was it.
There was no other way to find out than to ask Sora, who seemed to know a lot about the general knowledge of Kairi.
He wasn't particularly looking forward to asking, though, since Sora would be suspicious again or talk about her for ages, neither of which he wanted to achieve.
The girl was already so much on his mind that he wanted a break for once.
He wasn't even safe in his own dreams anymore. She really turned up everywhere he went, it was insane.
"So, uh," he said, finally having mustered the courage to ask Sora the week after the schooltrip during their lunchbreak. "Kairi really doesn't talk or smile, does she?"
"What a weird question," Sora said, rather moodily as he poked in his sandwich with a fork. "No, of course she doesn't. You've crossed her path before, right? She doesn't talk or smile, period."
"I know, I know," he said defensively. "But she surely must talk to friends, right?"
"Yeah, that Olette girl, probably," Sora said, sinking low against the wall he was sitting against. "But when you try to overhear their conversations, it's just Olette talking. I wonder whether she can talk at all. Kairi, I mean."
She could, he thought dryly to himself. Maybe it wasn't that weird that it kept coming back in his dreams. It seemed like he had seen, or rather heard in this case, an once in a lifetime thing. "I see."
"Man," Sora sighed, folding his arms behind his head. "You know, even if she doesn't say anything, I'd still date her. She's too cute."
He glanced up at the sky, when he noticed a small, auburn spot on the rooftop.
He froze up a little, narrowing his eyes to get a better look.
It really was her, again. See, she really was everywhere!
She was standing on the rooftop, leaning over the railing. He wondered what she was looking at. He didn't see anything in particular that could've caught her interest here.
"Seriously, though," Sora said to him. "You don't think she's pretty?"
"I never said that she wasn't," he said, looking away to hide a new rush of redness to his face.
"That's what I thought," Sora said, sounding rather satisfied. "There's no way you couldn't at least see that, right?"
"Right," he muttered. He had to snap out of this, whatever it was.
Hadn't he disliked all the guys obsessing over her in the first place?
He took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. "Right."
-x-
He hadn't seen her around after lunchbreak anymore. He was partially relieved, partially disappointed.
School was over, that was a good thing, at the very least.
He and Sora were on their way to practice and he was trying to listen to Sora, though he felt highly distracted.
"There you two are," a girl's voice came from behind them.
They turned around and recognized Olette and, why wouldn't she, Kairi behind them.
Kairi was hiding a bit behind Olette, though, her eyes trained on the ground, which he found rather strange.
Usually, she always met his gaze right away.
Just when he found himself wishing she'd look up and almost regretting those times when he turned away voluntarily, she did look up momentarily.
She gave him a slight nod of acknowledgement before looking back at the ground again, though he felt strangely relieved that she had greeted him at least. This was really getting out of hand and he didn't understand why.
He had missed the entire conversation, too. If he had, he might've been able to stop it before it escalated. He was too late now.
"Oh, sure," Sora said excitedly. "We can do that for the both of you."
"Wait, what?" he said, a bit alarmed.
"Don't be daft, Rox," Sora said easily. "Don't worry about it, Olette and… Kairi," he added, a bit shyly. "We'll get this done and meet you on the rooftop."
"Thanks!" Olette said, before walking away and dragging Kairi with her.
"Rooftop?" he said, his voice an octave higher than normal. "What the hell are we doing on the rooftop?!"
"Geez, just listen for once then! Don't worry, they just asked us to get them some drinks from the canteen," Sora said in a hushed tone. "They can't do it because Kairi's Takane."
He bit his tongue; it wouldn't help him now either way.
He didn't speak again for the entirety of practice.
As he was deflecting blows, he found he couldn't focus.
He kept thinking of the auburn haired girl and couldn't get her out of his head.
She had spoken to him. She had smiled at him. She kept greeting him. Now this. Why? This couldn't be gratefulness anymore, could it?
If it was, he had to tell her to stop feeling indebted, she was just overwhelming him with… what was this, even?
"Ouch!"
Sora knocked reality back into him again as he was too spaced out to dodge. "Stop spacing out!"
"I'm sorry!" he said, rubbing his sore forehead. This was the third time already. He had to focus. Focus!
As they went back into the changing rooms, he could feel his helplessness and frustration turn around to an incredibly cranky mood.
As he moodily followed Sora to the canteen, he couldn't believe he got beaten in practice, he couldn't believe he was going to have to face that strange girl again and even hang out with her, apparently.
He couldn't believe Sora would do this to him.
As he glanced at the gleeful expression on his friend's face, he sighed.
Sora didn't know. Sora had absolutely no idea of the strange tingles in his stomach every time she caught his eye.
That eased his bad mood just slightly, but he was still pissed off as they headed to the roof.
It was all her fault, then.
She popped up in his head again, with that smile, and he couldn't be mad at her either.
Then it had to be that Olette girl, with whatever weird scheme she was planning.
In his defense, Kairi hadn't seemed at ease with it either, so it had been an awful request.
They finally took the stairs to the roof, opening the door to the small area on top of the school, surrounded by a railing.
The two of them had laid out a blanket, enjoying the warmth of the sun in silence.
He had to admit that this was a pretty cool place to enjoy the last bit of sunlight in Autumn.
Nevertheless, he hadn't forgiven Olette for her stupid request yet.
"Oh, thank you so much," the girl said easily, beaming at Sora. "I'm glad you two could make it. Do you want to hang out together now that you are here anyway?"
"Hell yeah!" Sora said at once, before he had the chance to open his mouth.
Kairi didn't protest, but he hadn't really expected her too.
Sighing, he sat down next to Sora, who had immediately claimed his spot next to Kairi. "So, you guys come up here every day?"
"Yeah," Olette said, much to his surprise.
It was a question that Kairi could've answered by nodding, after all, yet she didn't move.
Instead, she seemed rather flustered, her gaze trained on the blanket.
He was getting mad at Olette.
As her best friend, she should've known better than to invite guys, of all people, to their 'secret' hideout.
Well, it was not as if Olette would listen to him. He might even achieve the exact opposite by making Kairi even more self-conscious.
As he glanced at the bright blue sky, he suddenly realized he could secretly find out what she was always looking at whenever she was leaning over the railing.
He shouldn't, though, he thought to himself as he glanced at the railing.
He shouldn't be so curious, but yet, here he was.
He wasn't planning to ever come up here again, so he might as well solve one piece of the puzzle, right?
He stood up, trusting Sora with the task of keeping up the conversation (with Olette, at least, because he could feel Kairi's gaze on the back of his head).
The view was much more limited than he thought it was. Most of the view was blocked by the other part of the building itself.
He froze up, though, because the only thing he could see was the small wall where Sora and he always met up for lunch.
His thoughts kept repeating the same patterns, but now with a new element.
She had spoken to him. She had smiled at him. She kept greeting him. She was watching him. Why was she doing this?
He didn't think it was a good idea to confront her here; he didn't want to make her feel even uneasier than she already did.
He clenched his hands around the railing, taking a deep breath.
Even though he was confused, he felt strangely happy, again, just like that time at the beach.
Somehow, he started to feel scared of that happiness. What did it mean?
"So, are you guys going to the Autumn Festival?" Olette asked.
She was talking about the festival that celebrated the end of Autumn.
It was a place where everyone got together to try out foods, test their luck on some games or just hang out until the night came.
Traditionally, there was a firework show at the end of that festival and the organization that organized the festival rarely cut down on their expenses for that show, so it was usually worth it to watch.
"Yeah," Sora said, rubbing the back of his neck, lacking his usual enthusiasm. "I have to go with my brother, though."
Ah, that explained the lack of enthusiasm. Usually Sora was rather stoked for these kinds of festivals. "I'm not going," he said with a shrug. "I don't really like festivals. Too many people."
"Are you two going?" Sora returned the question to the girls.
Olette shrugged. "Don't think so."
Sora chuckled. "Well, at least you might be able to check out the fireworks. I heard it's really going to be spectacular this year."
He was a bit glad she wouldn't be going.
At least he didn't have to worry about something happening to her there.
He was strangely relieved at that logical reason.
It made sense, especially in comparison to the other messy thoughts in his head.
See, there had to be a logical explanation for all of this.
That made him feel at ease, finally.
He was sure he could explain all the other things with logic too, if he really tried.
-x-
It was another Wednesday and he was about to head home on his own when the sky became darker and rain started to pour down onto his head.
"Shit," he cursed, holding his backpack over his head as he picked up his pace.
Raindrops started to fall down heavier and heavier as he turned the corner, leaving the school grounds behind him.
There she was, leaning against the outer wall, raindrops trickling from her hair.
She glanced up and her face lit up as she recognized him.
He acted again without thinking as he grabbed her wrist when he passed her, dragging her along with him.
She followed him, wordlessly, yet the sound of her breathing, her footsteps echoing off the pavement, her warm wrist in his hand, it felt reassuring to know she was there, right behind him.
He didn't stop until they reached a small temple where they could shelter from the rain for a bit.
"You okay?" he asked her, panting a bit.
She rested her back against the wall, her breathing heavy as well as she nodded at him.
He realized he was still holding her wrist, letting her go at once, as if he had been stung. "Sorry," he mumbled.
She gently shook her head, but he wasn't quite sure what she was responding to.
She turned to him, fidgeting a little, shifting her weight before finally glancing up at him.
He was about to ask her what she was getting nervous for when she extended a shaky hand. There was a small, folded piece of paper in her hand. Frowning rather confusedly, he took it over and folded it out.
There was one word written on it.
Fireworks.
Fireworks? He tilted his head to the side as he glanced back at her.
He thought she wouldn't go… why had she changed her mind? More importantly, why did she specifically want him to know that?
"Do you… want to go with me?"
Again, he had not expected her to talk, especially since she had just given him a piece of paper.
He felt a bit uneasy as she knew he never went to that particular festival.
He lived rather close to the plaza, so he was able to hear and see the fireworks well enough from the attic anyway, so there never was a special reason for him to go.
For her, it seemed a bit odd that she wanted to go too.
She was already having a hard time at school dealing with the crowds.
If she wanted to go, why didn't she go with Olette? Why didn't she go with family members? Maybe they didn't want to go… then… should he go with her instead?
Would he go with her?
Was she a reason enough to leave his house that evening?
He realized he really couldn't reject her, even if she had asked him to go to Mars with her.
She was tensely waiting for his response, clenching and unclenching her hands to fists as she stared at the ground beneath her, her cheeks pink.
"Yeah, sure," he said, suddenly as red as her hair.
He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.
What had he done? Sora would be there; most guys from their school would be there.
What if they found out he went with her? What if they started to bother her? Sure, he could fight off a couple of them, but all of them?
Then, however, she beamed at him and he could almost feel his resistance melt under the radiant smile that she seemed to reserve for him.
He felt almost lightheaded at the feeling.
Then, later, as the rain had reverted into a few drops and they went separate ways, he stopped in the middle of the road as realization slowly dawned on him.
Wait. Wait…
Had he just agreed to… no, he couldn't… had he… had he really agreed to go on a date with her?
Was he going on a date with her?!
-x-