A/N: Before I begin, I'd like to mention briefly that the main storyline occurs in Rakuzan. Therefore, the chapters leading up to that point will involve unannounced time-skips, and will likely be a great deal shorter!

I

Teiko Junior High's opening ceremony had concluded with the announcement of the two first year representatives - Akashi Seijuro and Nanase Eru. It was not by chance that these two had been chosen; their astoundingly high scores in the entrance examination had secured their positions.

With bangs shielding her face from view, and eyes cast towards the ground, the girl appeared more shy than anything; she constantly wrung her hands, trying to keep in step with the boy. His brisk, confident stride and piercing gaze was a stark contrast to the girl. As a nervous second year ushered them towards a meeting room, she could not help but notice how neither of them spared a single glance at each other.

Seijuro had chosen this school due to its renown basketball team, which would be ideal to hone his skills. "A man from the Akashi family must excel in all fields," his father had always told him. It was unsurprising that he had received the top scores in the entrance exam, but it was slightly unexpected that someone had attained a mark almost on par with his own. He did not think his father would be pleased. Whether it was in academics, sports or music, he had to excel in order to live up to the Akashi name. He had to meet the expectations.

If he failed, he feared that the foundations he built himself upon would come crashing down on him. Sometimes he just wanted to escape.

As she studied the motionless figure to her right, Eru concluded that Seijuro had absolutely nothing in common with her in terms of their physical aspects. While his hair was crimson, mirroring the colour of his eyes, hers, in contrast, were both dark brown. Dull, just like her personality, she reflected. Even though he was quite short, Seijuro still towered over her petite figure - something that made her even more uncomfortable in his presence. The aura he exuded was unlike anyone she had ever met before. He carried himself with unrivalled confidence, but she did not detect any signs of arrogance on his features. In fact, he appeared to be quite benign.

Eru's feet tapped rhythmically against the wooden floor, unnerved by the fact that she had been left alone - and in complete silence - with a stranger for such a long time. Seijuro, however, maintained an air of composure. A serene, polite smile graced his face and he seemed unaffected by the tense atmosphere.

"So..." The moment the words escaped from her lips, Eru regretted her decision. Seijuro turned towards her questioningly, waiting patiently for her to continue. She flushed in embarrassment. It was already difficult handling normal social situations; now her ineptness was essentially placed on a pedestal for him to see. Sensing her obvious discomfort, Seijuro rose smoothly to his feet and extended a hand towards her.

"Akashi Seijuro."

She smiled gently, gripping his hand. "Nanase Eru."

She could not say that it was the beginning of a new friendship, but it certainly was a start.

Quite like any typical first day, the school year commenced with an air of lethargy. Since students were assigned to classes based on their scores in the entrance exams, Eru found herself in the same class as Seijuro - 1A. He seated himself next to her in homeroom, possibility due to the slight familiarity. She did not mind his company; it saved her from needing to interact with new people, as well as made discussions regarding their duties as level representatives much simpler.

Eru's eyes inadvertently settled on the figure to her left as the teacher's words swam languidly through her unfocussed mind. It was actually almost eerie how his attention never diverted away from the teacher. In the subsequent lessons, his hands were in constant motion, relentlessly copying down notes; she could not possibly share his diligence.

Finding herself jolted around as her fellow students pushed towards the classroom exit, Eru briefly reflected that this was not an entirely alien feeling. Her quiet disposition in addition to her small stature made it easy for people to overlook her, both figuratively and literally. Then, Eru felt a warm, calloused hand securing her wrist and pulling her away from the mayhem; now this was an uncommon occurrence.

"You appeared to be in quite an undesirable situation there." the amused upturn of Seijuro's lips caused her cheeks to take on a pink tint.

"T-thank you," she responded, hanging her head sheepishly.

"Let's go," his air of confidence was still something she could not quite fathom. It was as if he knew the inner workings of her brain; her fear that she would have to make an entrance into the cafeteria alone.

People did say that spring universally incorporated the elements of hope, love and renewal. Perhaps the future still held some promise for her.

Break times were routinely spent together, either at the cafeteria or in their classroom, reading in silence. She admittedly did enjoy his presence, even though she still felt uncomfortable holding conversations with him. In turn, he did not seem to be bothered by her introversion and would not actively try to break prolonged silences by making small talk.

Shafts of light from the midday sun streamed through the window and formed dappled patterns on the wooden floor. The gentle breeze ruffled Eru's hair as she stared idly at the literature text in front of her; she was having a particularly difficult time processing the words. After reading the exact same sentence for the fourth time - "How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world." - a soft sigh escaped Eru's lips as her eyes fluttered shut in exasperation.

Eru's eyes flickered open upon hearing the grating sound of chair legs against wooden tiles, followed by swift footsteps. Seijuro's figure loomed over her desk as he extended a board towards Eru with a half smile.

"Nanase-san, have you played shougi before?" Eru stared at him, uncomprehending, before shaking her head slightly.

"I only know the basics. I haven't played before."

"Allow me to teach you." In one smooth motion, he positioned a chair opposite Eru before taking a seat.

After setting up the pieces, Seijuro gestured towards the board, allowing her to make the first move. He was a patient teacher; despite the repetition of errors on her part, he never allowed the slightest bit of irritation to seep into his tone as he slowly explained her mistakes. Even though she was a mere beginner, Seijuro's skill did not go unnoticed by Eru. His instantaneous moves left no doubt in her mind that he was probably more than five steps ahead of her, and the disparity was growing steadily. Although the undeniable difference in skill should have been daunting, she could not help but feel awe for the boy in front of her - his intelligence was on an entirely different level.

"What co-curricular activity are you planning on joining?" Eru looked up from the board, noticeably embarrassed.

"Honestly, outside of academics, I don't really have talents. Sports are completely out of the question, and I'm the least artistically inclined person in Japan; that already rules out majority of the clubs. I suppose what I excel in is analysing, collecting data and doing research."

"That certainly seems to limit your options," Seijuro agreed, watching her intently. "Perhaps your interests are better directed towards being a club manager. For instance, the Teiko basketball team happens to recruit managers for each of the three strings."

When Eru looked back up at him, it was clear that the game of Shougi before them would be completely neglected. A shy smile adorned her features and Eru scrambled to her feet hastily before bowing to Seijuro.

"Thank you," she said simply, and hurried out of the room. There was not enough time to evaluate the pros and cons. Sign-ups ended today.

Seijuro's eyes drifted away from her retreating figure, back to the shougi board, as he pondered the consequences of his words.

He had merely used the basketball team as an example of a club that needed a manager, but he had clearly overlooked the possibility that Eru might take his words to heart and act rashly. He was uncertain if he minded Eru being in the same club as him; he could not deny that he was quickly getting used to her quiet and unassuming demeanour. However, they were already forced to spend extensive amounts of time in the presence of each other. There was a chance that the addition of club hours could be detrimental.

The other people who had signed up, Eru realised, were there for the sole purpose of staring at well-built boys playing basketball. It was no wonder she had been accepted as manager of the first string. Within ten minutes, she would be introduced to the members of the first string that she would be dealing with for the remaining year. She was not looking forward to standing in front of an entire team of judgemental boys.

"Are you sure she isn't still in elementary school?" A second year commented, studying Eru's small stature.

"Hah, she really is tiny. I heard she's really smart though - almost on par with Akashi Seijuro one year below us."

"You have got to be kidding me."

"No way that's possible," another voice echoed.

Eru hung her head as she compared her 150 centimetre tall figure to the incredible height of the basketball team. She was familiar with people judging her abilities just by assessing her physical appearance. However, being reminded constantly did not exactly ease the pain. Everyone tended to underestimate her; and she supposed she could not really fault them. She might do the same in their position.

"Pay no attention to their words. I'm sure you'll do just fine," Nijimura Shuzo offered her a benign smile, before calling the first string to attention.

Eru dimly noted that Seijuro had somehow made it to the first string, despite him being a first year. What resounded within her the most was the immense difference in abilities. While he invariably excelled at everything, she did not seem to possess any talents.

He was like the Sun, and she was a shadow that he cast.

Despite the rough start, the members of the first string quickly warmed up to Eru. Despite their initial reservations towards her, they begin to appreciate her unassuming presence. On her part, she was growing fond of their rambunctious dispositions in and out of court.

Eru especially enjoyed analysing their practices. As a person who was completely disinclined towards sports, Eru could hardly begin to comprehend the skill that the first string possessed. After a few lessons on basketball theory from Nijimura, she had actively watched professional games to broaden her knowledge.

Managing such a large team had been a daunting task at first, but it was not quite as bad as she expected. Their judgemental gazes had done little to calm her nerves, and Eru felt tongue-tied every time she had to address them publically. Her situation had improved drastically within the second week, when she had firmly reprimanded Haizaki Shogo for skipping practice. When she had approached him fearlessly, demanding to hear his excuses for playing truant, it had gathered a lot of attention from the players; it was quite a sight to see Haizaki put in place by a girl 30 centimetres shorter than him.

Perhaps it was their inevitable interactions as the acting level representatives. Perhaps it was the fact that they spent numerous hours in the club room together, studying documents after Seijuro became vice captain of the basketball club. Or perhaps it had been a combination of both factors. Either way, he had gradually become accustomed to Eru's presence, and the same could be said for the latter.

It was a common sight to see the two figures walking side by side towards their next classes. Strictly adhering to his upbringing, Seijuro sometimes offered to carry Eru's textbooks when they were heavier. She always refused.

Breaks were spent in class playing shougi, occasionally graced by the presence of Midorima Shintaro. Like himself, Midorima had been assigned to the first string during tryouts. He held a strange fascination for horoscopes, and seeing him without his lucky item was unfathomable.

While Eru was horrible at handling crowds, she coped relatively well once the numbers were reduced. Sometimes, Eru engaged Midorima in conversations about their daily luck; it seemed that she was the only person who did not deem Midorima as weird for his abject belief in fate.

"What is your star sign?" was his first question directed towards her. As Seijuro observed the two interact more frequently, he noticed that Midorima would bring Eru her lucky item when Libra's luck was questionable.

When Midorima had more pressing matters to attend to, Seijuro would find himself in the classroom alone with Eru. He usually tried to finish up his homework, but he often caught himself throwing an occasional glance towards the girl. It always intrigued him how her facial expressions could change so drastically when she was captivated by the contents of the book - his own features were schooled into a permanent, polite smile. Her brows would furrow slightly, and vague impressions of frown lines would appear on her forehead; her gentle smile was replaced by pursed lips; her eyes attention would be directed completely towards her novel.

Seijuro turned away. He could not afford to be distracted; his father would be most displeased.