"Hey Yunake! Get the ball will you?"
The Teitan high soccer players looked expectantly at their goalkeeper. Yunake swallowed and looked down at the grass. After ten awkward seconds, and no sign of movement, Shinichi sighed.
"I'll get it."
He walked towards the bush in which the pesky soccer ball had disappeared, and parted it down the middle. When their was no sign of the missing ball, Shinichi stepped in further, only to realize that the ground below him suddenly steeped into a cliff.
"No!"
He tried to grasp the leaves of the bush but had no success, and began to stumble down the steep cliff.
"Ag! Help!"
He could hear the footsteps and yells of his fellow teammates, but he knew they wouldn't be able to reach him in time.
Great. Just great.
He began to pick up speed, now hurtling down the slope. He could have sworn he saw two squirrels exchange glances.
Confused? Surprised, maybe?
But before he could check again, his body slammed into something rough and hard, or also know as the ground.
He struggled to lift his head, but after a few minutes, he gave up and decided to close his eyes. His mind began to wander to other things, to be specific, Ran.
Gradually he let sleep take over him, until all he was aware of was the excruciating pain in his left arm.
...
"Okay, class!" Kagota sensei clapped her hands to get attention. "After doing attendance, the only person absent...or more likely late is Shinichi kun." Everybody turned to look at the empty seat beside Ran.
Of course, Ran had already noticed that Shinichi was missing, not only because she sat next to him, but because he was always the first person she looked for when class starts.
And usually she would remain gazing at his good features for the whole class.
Not that she would admit that to anybody.
Sonoko poked Ran's side. "So where is your husband, Ran?"
"I don't know... he was playing soccer at lunch." She replied without thinking.
Her classmates giggled and made kissing noises.
Ran blushed and looked down at her desk. It was not the first time their classmates had teased them. But one day...Ran hoped that it would come true.
Shinichi Kudo...My husband...
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. Kagota sensei sighed and walked up to the door.
"That must be Shinichi. He better have a good reason as to why he's late...again..."
She opened the door and gasped. Shinichi stepped into the classroom, and Ran too, gasped.
Shinichi looked fine, just embarrassed... but on his left arm was a bright neon green cast.
Shinichi ran his hand through his hair. "Gomen sensei... Chotto ude ga... I kind of broke my arm?"
Kagota sensei raised an eyebrow. Shinichi laughed awkwardly.
"I even got a cast..." He awkwardly waved his left arm around.
It was then somebody spoke up.
"Kudo! I call signing your cast first!" A boy ran up to him, a black, fine point permanent sharpie in his hand. It was if the boy had started a chain reaction. Suddenly everybody started to crowd around Shinichi.
"Me too!"
"Yeah! Let me sign!"
"No! Let me sign first!"
Sonoko and Ran shared an amused look as Shinichi "drowned" in the crowd.
But slowly as the crowd became smaller, Ran reached into her pocket and pulled out a red sharpie. Their favourite colour. She got up and stood behind her desk. By the time she reached Shinichi, everybody else had returned to their seats.
She looked into his deep blue eyes. "Any space left?"
Shinichi smiled and turned the cast over, revealing a large space on the back.
"Reserved for the best." He said softly.
He turned his attention to the pen. "Red?"
"I want it to stand out."
She gently took his arm and wrote down a message. She then crossed out a part and wrote some more.
She looked up and met his eyes.
His eyes are so blue...so endless..I could stare at them for the rest of the day, and never get tired...
Little did she know, Shinichi was thinking the exact same thing while looking into her eyes.
They probably would have stayed that way, looking into each others eyes and making everybody else feel awkward, if weren't for Kagota sensei's coughing awkwardly.
"You two may return to your seats now."
The two teenagers turned red and walked back to their seats, ignoring the knowing looks of their classmates.
...
As Kagota sensei taught everybody who was listening about the "wonders of science", Shinichi took the time to observe his cast. Or the messages on the cast.
To be specific, he was only looking at one particular message. Ran's.
Slowly he re-read it for the tenth time.
I can't believe you broke your arm! Wasn't it just last week when you told me that you were "always careful"? But I still hope you get better!"
Shinichi blushed.
Anyways...
He tilted his head. After the word, anyways, was a crossed out sentence. He decided to come back to it.
I decided to cross this out because I'll you this personally, soon. I promise. Get better! XXX Ran.
He ran his fingers over the X's, blushing again.
X means kiss...right?
He turned to look at Ran, but realized she wasn't there. He glanced at the clock. 3:45. School ended, and he didn't even realize.
He yawned and lifted his cast up to the sun. He looked back down at the cast and realized that...the crossed out lines were faded!
Yes! The sun had faded the red sharpie, revealing the hidden message!
He grinned and read the message.
And gasped.
And turned veeeery red.
He reread it again...and again...and again, blushing even harder each time. Finally, when he was sure that he was not seeing things, and the colour of his face was identical to a tomato's, he ran out of the door with a ginormous smile on his face, planning on catching up to Ran, the one he loves the most in this world.
And once he found her, he would tell her the exact same words that she wrote on his cast, and then crossed out in hope that she could tell him personally. They would tell eachother the same words.
He was sure of it.
And maybe once that was done...he would get three,(or hopefully more), of those X's too. The ones that stand for kiss.
The three fateful words written on his cast.
I love you.