Fingering the lone earring he has on his left ear, Kise wandered around the hallway, aimlessly passing time as to ensure that his more persistent fan girls have left home already with the idea that he had gone first. Don't get him wrong, Kise adored the spotlight, however, the constant screaming and having his magazines shoved right in his face for autographs does have its cons. All the attention, whilst flattering, can be exhausting at times.
The sun is now spilling its goodbye to the horizon, painting the sky orange. A sigh escaped his lips as he debated internally whether he should now go on his merry way, or sneak in some late practice at the gym. The faint sound of music playing in a nearby room disrupted his private argument. Curious, he peeks in through the door's small window frame, and sees a girl with raven black hair sitting on the floor with her back turned to him. Her legs were stretched in front of her as she leaned back on her hands, her eyes closed. A slight knot was formed between her eyebrows, and Kise couldn't help but wonder why she looks so bothered even with such sweet music filling what appears to be Kaijo's dance studio.
A few seconds later, as Kise surreptitiously observed her reflection in the glassless mirrors on the wall, She opens her eyes, her face clearing with foreign determination; traces of her earlier frustration no longer apparent. She got up on her feet, and Kise estimated that she's only a little over five feet tall. Her hand lifted up, and the rest of her body followed gracefully along with the rhythm. Entranced, his gaze continued to surrender to her every move, thinking that the more he stared at the delicate flicker of her limbs, the more she looked like someone who came straight out of a music box.
A wrong twist in her spin snaps Kise out of his reverie. The girl falls, and the thud of her error ruins the fluid cadence of her dance. He was about to enter the room, and offer help because she had the stature of a porcelain doll until—
"Fucking hell, I swear this move was invented while taking a dump because of how shitfully difficult it is." She cursed angrily, surprising KIse with how foul-mouthed she apparently is. Was 'shitfully' even a word? She continued her splutter of resentful profanity, oblivious to the fact that Kise was clamping a hand over his mouth to try and stop himself from laughing at such irony.
That night, before he went to bed, he thought of the nameless girl with the doe-like eyes, and the toxic tongue of a drunken sailor, and as if his lips had a mind of their own, he smiled.
A day after, he would come to realize that she was in his class, and as her name suggested, something was definitely beginning.
"Yuri-chan, eat lunch with me!"
"Yuri-chan, let's walk home together!"
"Yuri-chan, watch me play ball!"
Yuri-chan this.
Yuri-chan that.
"It's official. Kise Ryota is definitely out to kill me." Yuri said in a dull, dead tone as she gripped her hair in both hands. She had dragged Aiko into the far corner of the library in a desperate attempt to escape the blond ball of sunshine.
"Aw, c'mon. Being the apple of Kise-kun's eye can't be that bad!" She countered, sighing dreamily as she thought of the ace player which earned her a disapproving snort from Yuri.
"I don't know how he does it but he's everywhere! He's like a tick and I'm the unlucky dog who just can't scratch him off!" With a frustrated grunt, she flopped her head down the table, turning slightly to look out the window, her eyebrows narrowed.
Ever since their fateful meeting in the boy's locker room, Kise has been sticking to her like a gum you accidentally step on while walking on the sidewalk, his unjustified clinginess reminding her of a lost puppy. Yuri grumbles more as Aiko pats her on the back, not really bothering to hide her amusement.
"I'd hate to leave you to your misery, but I have to go. My brother's coming home today." Aiko said as she stood up, gathering her books and placing them back inside her bag.
"Traitor," Yuri mumbled begrudgingly. "Say hi to Katsumi-nii for me."
"Will do." Aiko ruffled her hair once before exiting the library. Annoyed, she pats the wayward strands back into place, and resumes her position of lazily using her textbook as a pillow. A familiar head of blond locks enters her line of sight as her eyes fixate themselves again on the window view. A jolt of panic courses through her, hoping that he'd be too preoccupied to notice her presence on the other side of the glass. Of course, one's wishes don't always come true in desperate situations.
Kise catches a glimpse of those wide hazel eyes in his peripheral vision, a grin instantly forming in his lips. Frowning at him, she snottily turns her head away to the other direction. Kise pouts at the unwelcoming gesture, and heads over to her direction.
"Oi Yuri-chan, open up!" He called out, pounding on the glass lightly with his knuckles. Yuri remained acting ignorant of Kise's whining pleas. The blond continued to ram on the window frame, earning her dirty looks from the other occupants of the library. With an irritated twitch of an eyebrow, she stands up and finally complies with Kise's demands.
"I'm in the library, you idiot! You're disrupting everyone!" She whispered harshly.
"Ehhh, but I feel like I haven't seen you all day even though we're in the same class. I've been lonely, Yuri-chan." He moaned, folding his arms and leaning on the window sill to close the distance between them.
"Not my problem." She deadpanned, closing the window in his face before grabbing her things and shoving them angrily in her bag.
To no one's surprise, Kise makes his way over to her as soon as she steps out the building, waving and calling out her name loudly as if they hadn't just seen each other minutes ago.
"Are you done for the day, Yuri-chan? Let's go get coffee!"
"Don't you have anything better to do?" She asked monotonously, continuing to walk without sparing him a glance.
"Nah, it's one of my rare days off today. So? I know this coffee shop that serves the most amazing Iced Caramel Mocha, you'll love it!" He said enthusiastically, wrapping a hand around her wrist, and dragging her along.
"Let go of me, you tree!" She tried to push him away but to no avail, Kise remains unperturbed. The blond laughs at the soft punches she was hitting him with. With Kasamatsu as his captain, his immunity against such attacks has gone up a notch.
Yuri stops walking and Kise pauses along with her, turning his head to look at the girl questioningly. She gives him a hard look.
"I have no idea why you would suddenly think so, but one accidental conversation in the boy's locker room of all places doesn't render us friends." Yuri said seriously, expecting to anger him. Instead, a small smile tugs on his lips.
"Mmm, is that right?" He answered simply, adding more fuel to Yuri's ire with his nonchalance.
"Yes, so let go!"
"One hour." Kise said, lifting his pointer finger.
"Huh?" Confused, Yuri quirked an eyebrow.
"Give me one hour. If you still don't like me after, then I'll leave you alone." He explained.
"What are you playing at?" Yuri asked, eyeing him suspiciously which made Kise laugh.
"I just wanna be friends with Yuri-chan. What do you say? Unless you're too chicken to see for yourself that you can't resist these charms?" The blond taunted, grinning smugly at the fuming ballerina.
"Fine. One hour. Bring it on, you sasquatch!" Yuri huffed, folding her arms in front of her chest as she bravely accepted his challenge.
Kise takes a quick look at his watch before grabbing hold of Yuri's wrist again and dragging her to a different direction. Stumbling, Yuri scowls at him.
"Oi, where are you going?! I thought we were getting coffee?" She yelped, trying to maintain her balance while trying to keep up with his long limbs.
"Coffee can wait another time. It's time to pull out the big guns!" He exclaimed as he excitedly towed her towards an empty basketball court.
"Exactly what are we doing here?" Yuri dropped her bag on a nearby bench, scouring the place with her eyes skeptically. Producing a ball from his possessions, Kise spins it on one finger and flashes her a smirk.
"If you can get past me and score one point, I'll stop bugging you AND buy you lunch for a week."
Another vein in Yuri's forehead was threatening to pop due to the blond's arrogance. How dare he underestimate her so openly? She rolled the sleeves of her uniform, and ties her raven hair in a bun.
"Not only am I going to beat you, but I'm gonna shove that ball down your throat and make you shit it whole, you pompous ass." Yuri spat, getting another amused chuckle from Kise. Those indecent words coming from such a delicate looking girl only sparked his desire to befriend her more. Kaijo's ace loosened his tie and passed her the ball, taking Yuri by surprise. She fumbled with it for a second before it completely escaped her grip, rolling not too far away from where she stood.
"You did that on purpose!" She growled, pointing an accusatory finger at her opponent.
"Nuh-uh! I'm even giving you the advantage." He raised his hands in mock defense. "Is that all you've got?"
After taking a deep breath, Yuri takes hold of the ball and dribbles slowly, trying to get the hang of handling it. She muttered a few internal curses when it almost slipped from her hands again, and directing a few of the blasphemous words towards Kise for making it look so easy.
Once she gained her momentum, she darted off towards the net, hoping that her speed can gain her access to get past Kise's defense. The blond, however, isn't Kaijo's ace and an esteemed member of the famous Generation of Miracles for nothing. Before she can even finish taking a shooting stance, KIse had already slapped the ball away, running with it and effortlessly scoring a three-pointer.
"Wha-! No fair!" Yuri pouted, chasing after the ball.
Blatantly entertained by her uncharacteristic whining, he places a hand on his hip while watching her dribble the ball carefully with her eyes squinted as she tries to analyze an effective way to penetrate his guard.
Once again, she charges ahead, furiously ramming the ball on the ground. The way she was gritting her teeth made him want to laugh, but he was certain that doing so when she was this serious would make her throw the ball to his face instead of the net.
Much to Yuri's chagrin, her shot was once again blocked, and even if it wasn't it would have bounced off the ring because it was done without enough force.
A few more rounds of failure, Yuri was already panting, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Taking pity on her, Kise lightly passed her the ball, and he snickered when she eyed him warily.
"Relax, Yuri-chan. You're not getting your shots across because you're too rigid. Your arms are stiff, and when you shoot it's like you're trying to hit the ring instead of trying to get the ball inside it." He explained which only deepens the knot between Yuri's forehead.
"Are you trying to pick a fight?" She deadpanned, and another chortle leaves Kise's lips.
"Of course not." He said, moving behind her and taking hold of her arms. Yuri jumped at the sudden invasion of her personal space, shoving his face away.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"I'm trying to help, Yuri-chan. Stop squirming!" Kise rubs a hand on his cheek before resuming his previous position. "I told you, relax."
"F-fine. You better not do anything weird." She stammered, her ears slightly turning red.
Kise chuckled and breathed into her ear, "Trust me."
Yuri swallowed, but nodded nonetheless.
Guiding her arms and arranging her posture into the proper shooting stance, he counts to three. On the last number, he urged her to shoot, and when she did, the ball circled around the ring…
…before falling back on the ground.
Yuri glared at Kise who was rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
"Oops." He laughed apologetically.
"You suck! I thought you knew what you were doing!"
"I do, I do! But Yuri-chan, you're too tensed. It's like you don't trust me at all." Kise whined, making Yuri roll her eyes at him.
"That's because I don't." She countered monotonously.
"You're cruel, Yuri-chan!" Kise sobbed while clinging on her arm. Sighing, she decides to surrender to the whims of the infant in a high school boy's body.
"Ahhh, fine. One more time. Just stop smothering me!"
Grinning, Kise nods.
"To have better control of the ball, only your fingertips should be touching it. At the point of release, your elbows should be above your eyes. Relax your shoulders, balance the force you're exerting.." Kise continued to explain the basics of shooting, and Yuri furrowed her eyebrows, trying to absorb all that he's teaching.
"Think you can manage?" He asked, and she bobs her head determinedly.
"Good." He said before walking away from her to guard the net.
"Oi, where are you going?" She questioned him.
"I've already told you what you need to know. Now shoot!" He commanded her as he expands his arms. Smugly, she dribbled the ball and prepared herself for the onslaught. When she reached his location under the net, Kise moved to slap the ball away from her possession, but refusing to fall for the same trick twice, she leaned on the skills she's picked up from ballet, and literally twirls around him. Kise's eyes widened at the foreign maneuver, before snapping back to his senses and gleefully laughing at the ballerina's unexpected ploy.
In spite of managing to get past him, her shot fell short, giving Kise the opportunity to lunge for a rebound. As the blond's fingertips brush the ball, Yuri releases the one tactic that Kise could never have foreseen. Wrapping an arm around his waist, she tackles the blond to the ground, both of them grunting at the impact. Not bothering to waste time and wait for his reaction, she grabs the ball and incorporating Kise's teachings the best she can, she flicks her wrist and shoots.
Miraculously enough, it goes in, leaving Kise gawking at the ball as it made a thud and rolled, stopping at his feet.
"D-did you see that?!" Yuri exclaimed in ecstatic disbelief. She kneeled down and started shaking KIse by the shoulders, beaming at him. "I did it, Kise! Did you see?! That was amazing! I can't believe I actually did that!"
Snapping out of the initial shock, Kise smiled at her softly and patted her on the head. "You did good, Yuricchi."
Yuri's face heated up at the sudden gesture and the affectionate way he said her name, "T-thanks." She stammered.
"Congratulations," He gave her a pointed look. "Even if you did cheat."
"You said I had to score a point, but you didn't say I had to play by the rules." She reasoned, gleefully sticking her tongue at him.
"Hai, hai." Kise patted his pocket and fished a handkerchief out of it, gently wiping the sweat trickling on the side of her face, making blood rush to Yuri's cheeks once again. After doing so, Kise stood up and extended a hand towards her, pulling her up.
"So.. a deal's a deal." He began.
Yuri pursed her lips, avoiding his gaze and directing hers to the ground, "Mmmm.."
"Today's the last time I become a nuisance to you, then. I hope you had fun." Kise said, smiling at her sadly. "Bye, Yuricchi." He gave her one last pat on the head before walking away.
The blond picked the ball up, dusting it off before slinging his bag on his shoulders. He managed to take a couple of steps away before Yuri grabbed hold of his sleeve. Kise turned to look at her, confused.
"Yuricchi? What's wrong?" He asked, a bit worried. Perhaps she had hurt herself incidentally during their game?
"I—" Yuri swallowed, the words, she found, were excruciating to drag off her tongue.
Kise continued to stare at her, patiently waiting for her to go on.
"I think… it may not be too bad… to have you around," She trailed off, "just to play basketball with, that is!" She quickly added, biting the inside of her cheeks as a desperate attempt to keep the blush from spreading throughout her face. Yuri kept her eyes on the ground, too embarrassed to meet his.
After a few seconds of silence, Yuri finally looked up, annoyed that he hadn't said a word, "S-say something, you idiot—!" Her ire was cut off when Kise suddenly engulfed her in a tight hug.
"You're so adorable, Yuricchi, I could die!" Kise exclaimed, nuzzling his face on her hair.
"T-then die! Dammit Kise, get off!" At this point, trying to keep herself from blushing was futile, even as she tried to push him away.
"Never!" Kise laughed, tightening his embrace, "I knew it! I knew you couldn't live without me."
Yuri, finally able to wriggle her way out of his grip, smacked him on the head. "I'm only sticking with you for the free lunch." She lets her hair down, running her fingers though the tangles that formed. Kise rubbed the spot she hit, sticking his bottom lip in a pout.
She grabbed her things, ready to set off of the court.
"Well, are you coming?" She beckoned, giving him a small smile. Returning the tender expression, Kise follows after her, dangling an arm on her shoulders.
"Hai!"