Author's notes: Dear Rosa . Carmesi (I'm sry I have no idea why your name disappears if I don't put spaces in between), thank you so much for taking the time to follow the story, and to all those who have taken the effort to give my story a try, thank you so much too!
It becomes an eccentric and unusual ritual. Amaya will stop by the neighboring classroom with a sandwich in hand, and proceed to play a shogi match with Yuuki. Or rather, she'll sit down in front of him, move a piece and proceed to eat her lunch while he spends a good ten minutes or so contemplating his next move. The most number of moves they have made so far is five, ending with - as usual - Yuuki's turn.
But as much as some of her friends (what is left of them, anyway) have chided her for wasting her time, Amaya doesn't mind. Because for some reason, sitting down and nibbling on her sandwich while watching Yuuki's serious eyes rove the shogi board is surprisingly calming.
(... Even if he does take a little long to execute a move.)
Amaya sighs as she fills in yet another sheet of paperwork, whilst her classmates mill about the classroom after lessons have ended. Since the karate team lacked a manager, all forms of administrative work fell in her, the captain's hands. Still, the mountain load of paperwork the teacher-in-charge, Hamada-sensei, has set her is ridiculous. Amaya half-wonders if it's some kind of silent revenge for launching a request to hire a bus and visit another school's karate competition last week - an attempt which had only spiraled into a tedious lecture about "financial limitations", "funding issues" and "lack of notable achievements thus far".
Amaya sulks gloomily at the last phrase. It's basically the politest way to tell her that the team is not performing wel, though she cannot exactly contest that claim when they have yet to reach any remarkable milestones so far. They are not exactly incompetent, to say. They are simply average - the kind of team that would make it to the semi-finals at best. But while that is enough to satisfy certain of her peers, it has never boded well with Amaya.
More, she wants to be able to achieve much more.
But Amaya has kept those thoughts to herself. She will only be deemed overly ambitious if she were to let the team in on her insights, after all. Ignoring that rather depressing train of thought, Amaya sighs and cracks her sore neck. She consults her schedule again whilst struggling to tame a yawn. Paperwork and training schedules were usually completed during her lunch breaks. But ever since she started playing shogi with Yuuki, she has switched to staying up to finish the administrative details after homework.
Amaya shakes her head to fight the waves of tiredness hitting her. The lack of sleep was starting to take a toll. Amaya yawns once more, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. The words she have meticulously written down on paper start to blur. Just ten, or maybe five minutes of rest. She'd be fully rejuvenated by then. Silently, Amaya rests her cheek on the crook of her elbow and closes her eyes.
"I thought the teacher was never going to let us off..." Isashiki mutters in relief as he marches down the corridor with Yuuki. "Oh? There's someone still in class."
At his friend's voice, Yuuki turns his head to spare a glance at whoever Isashiki is referring to. Most School Club activities were beginning soon. Why would there still be a person mingling in the classrooms? Unexpectedly, he pauses in surprise at the sight of that familiar auburn hair.
"Oh? Ain't that the girl who keeps playing shogi with you? Maybe your moves finally put her to sleep!" Isashiki comments cheerfully - still unable to get over the fact that someone (a fairly cute girl, to the boot) has been willingly playing shogi with Yuuki for the past few days. Willingly.
"Yea. Go on without me. I'll wake her up." Isashiki looks at Yuuki, mildly taken aback. Although it has been established that the two of them have become shogi partners, they still don't seem all that close. But then and again, Yuuki is probably far too responsible to let a friend or acquaintance be late for club practice. Either way, Isashiki shrugs and leaves.
As Yuuki approaches the table, he notices the large notebook Amaya is currently resting her elbows on. The words 'Complete paperwork during lunch break' have been sprawled in red ink. But the words 'lunch break' have been subsequently crossed out twice and replaced with the timeframe 'after school'.
Yuuki frowns. He was not aware that Amaya had duties during lunch break. Has she been intentionally sacrificing her breaks just to play shogi with him? Why would she even do that?
"Inoue... Inoue?" Turning his attention to the more pressing matter at hand, Yuuki taps the girl's elbow repeatedly, urging her to wake up. When she only stirs slightly, he sighs. Drastic measures will have to be taken.
"Inoue," he moves on to brush away the hair that is framing her face more insistently. Upon doing so, Yuuki realises that Amaya looks unusually calm in her sleep. The usual crease he sees on her forehead seems to have faded a little.
But when that does not work either, Yuuki sighs again. Amaya is evidently not waking up from her slumber. A part of him feels a twinge of guilt as he raises his fist - especially when her sleep-deprived state seems to be an indirect consequence of their recent shogi matches.
However, Yuuki steels his resolve with the reminder that compared to being forcefully awoken, missing club practice would be even worse for Amaya - especially when she is the captain of the team. Hence, with the usual force he musters when batting, Yuuki bends slightly over the sleeping girl and slams his fist down on the table.
"WAH–" Amaya releases a half-shriek when a sudden earthquake jolts her out from her dreams. She is on her feet so fast that her forehead collides with something hard. Utterly disoriented and in pain, Amaya blinks a few times before she realises that currently, there is a person standing in front of her rubbing his chin.
Her eyes widen in muted horror when she realises that person is Yuuki Tetsuya.
What I collided into... Was his chin? Amaya pales several shades at the realisation that she has injured the baseball team's captain. Can he still bat with a sore chin? Wait, more than that, what is he doing here? Doesn't he have practice–
Amaya freezes when the word 'practice' enters her mind. She'd fallen so deeply asleep that she has completely lost track of time. Sparing a quick glance at the clock, Amaya winces. Ten minutes before practice starts. She'll have to change at record-breaking pace and rush to the training room to make it in time.
Still, why was Yuuki here? As Amaya stuffs her belongings into her bag haphazardly, she suddenly recalls the presence of the baseball captain - which has slipped her mind at lightning pace in a moment of disorder and chaos. Turning around, Amaya stiffens at the familiar steely gaze.
"You were asleep, so I woke you up. You have practice to attend, don't you?" Surprisingly, instead of sounding irritated, Yuuki is as calm as ever - despite the fact that he is still rubbing his (undoubtedly sore) chin. "You better hurry. The captain can't be late."
Coming from anyone else, the words would have sounded patronising. But from Yuuki, they sound almost sympathetic. As if he can empathise with the high standards the captain has to set for the team.
"I... Ah... Thank you!" Amaya dips her head into a formal bow, heat spreading across her face rapidly. Did he notice how uncouth she had looked when she was asleep? Was she drooling? But there's no time to worry about that now. Grabbing her bag and speeding out of the room, Amaya skids to a stop at the door to shout a few more words of farewell - "I'm sorry about your chin!"
She proceeds to dash across the corridor at breakneck pace, praying hard that the teacher-in-charge will be slightly late today. In her hurry, Amaya does not notice what might have been a slight smile on Yuuki's face, as his eyes trail her progress across the school in mild amusement.
(Later)
"Inoue-san? Your forehead looks red. Did something happen to you?"
"... In a manner of speaking, I suppose."
"Oi Tetsu, why are you icing your chin? Did you get into a fight or something?"
"... It's nothing."