"Akaashi?"
Keiji stared at the girl. She has shoulder length, brown hair so straight, it looked like it could never tangle. It also looked silky.
Akaashi is so tempted to run his hands down her hair to confirm his suspicions.
Her eyes are emerald green in color and the seem to hold a sparkle within them. They're the most beautiful shade of green that Akaashi has ever seen.
Her pink lips were parted ever so slightly, probably from shock. Akaashi wonders if she wore tinted lip balm or if her lips were really that cute shade of pink.
Overall, she looks so..
So..
So…
Unfamiliar.
"I'm sorry, but have we met before?" Keiji inquired.
The girl immediately recoiled. She sat up straight and her eyes were wider than they were before. Her face is now bright red.
Akaashi's sure he heard glass break somewhere outside, accompanied by a shrieking lady.
"O-oh, uhm," she started. "Sorry. You just look like someone I know. And he goes by the name Akaashi. Sorry," the girl bit her bottom lip and looked away.
"You got my name right. How did you know?" Keiji's curiosity is getting to him. The girl's eyes immediately snapped back to him.
"Wait. I am right? You are Akaashi?"
"Yes, that is my surname. If you would like to know my first name, then it's —" he was abruptly cut by the sounds of chairs being pushed back. The two teenagers looked around to see that the entire class was is about to greet their homeroom teacher.
They followed suit.
"Good morning, sensei," the entire class of 1-5 chorused.
Class five's homeroom teacher is a woman with short, black hair. She has a petite build and is a little on the short side. Her face has a placid expression but she seems to give off a strict aura around her.
"Good morning, students. You may now be seated," they did as they were told. "I am Hayami-sensei and I will be you homeroom and English teacher for the entire year. I have been teaching here in Fukurodani for two years now and my previous students all know that I am a very kind and understanding teacher. I can also be, somewhat, a friend to you all. But do not even try to take advantage of my kindness as it also has a limit. I am stern when it comes to deadlines and quality outputs. Since you all made it to the advanced class, my expectations for you are quite high. Please do not disappoint me."
"Yes, sensei."
"Now now, let us not have a gloomy atmosphere in this room!" Hayami-sensei chirped. "I want our class to be cheerful and fun. Now, let's take this time to get to know one another. Shall we? Let's start with you there at the back."
Emica was lost in her own little world. As all her classmates listened attentively to the one introducing his or herself, she was busy thinking about the boy next to her.
'I am certain that this guy is Akaashi! He looks just like his kindergarten self. Except for the fact that he has grown waaay taller, has a nice built, a sharp jawline, a wonderful deep voice, his eyes seem to have a darker shade of blue now..'
She has to admit, this guy's glow-up is the king of all teenage boy glow-ups because hot damn.
The teenage Akaashi looks so handsome.
Emica shook her head. Okay, now's not the time to fawn over Akaashi's looks. First, she has to make sure that this guy is really him. 'What was his first name again? I am sure it starts with a K.' Emica ran through all the possible names that started with the letter K.
Kenjiro.
Nope, that's Shirabu's name.
Kousei.
What's this, Your Lie in April?
Kouki.. Koushi.. Ken.. Kenta.. Kaede.. Kanji..
Is Kanji a name?
Kenji.. Keishin.. Kenshin.. Kei..
Emica giggled. Firefly.
"Akaashi Keiji. I am from Itachiyama Junior High. Pleased to meet you all." Emica gasped.
"Keiji!" she blurted.
The entire class, plus Hayami-sensei, turned to her with weird looks on their faces. Emica realized her mistake and she slowly sank on her chair. All she wanted right now is for the Earth to swallow her.
A few of her classmates giggled while some were stifling their laughter. The orange-haired girl that sat at the front gave her a smirk. The girl on Emica's left just smiled.
She did not dare to look at Akaashi's direction right now.
"Are you okay over there?" Hayami-sensei asked. She had a worried look on her face. Some of her classmates gave up on hiding their laughter and downright guffawed. Emica felt her face heat up and she clenched her fists.
"I am fine, sensei. Sorry for interrupting. I just remembered something," Emica ducked her head in embarrassment. That is now the second time today.
Way to go.
Hayami-sensei just smiled. "Looks like someone is really eager in meeting new friends. Don't worry, you can talk to Akaashi-kun later during your break time," that comment ensued more laughter to erupt in the classroom. "Quiet down, class. Let's move on to the next person."
As the next person gave an introduction, Emica made sure to pay attention so she would not embarrass herself for the third time.
But try as she might, she just can't stop getting lost in her thoughts.
So his first name is Keiji. Yep, the guy next to her is indeed the kindergarten Akaashi. He's just pretty hard to forget. He is the boy who helped her when she was bullied by her classmates. And ever since that day, she and him became pretty close.
Heck, they were best friends.
It ticked her off that he didn't remember her. Was she really that insignificant? They spent almost every day with each other. They were practically glued to the hip. Maybe he just didn't recognize her? Her friends back in Miyagi did say she looked different back when they were still kids.. Did she really change that much?
A tap on her shoulder interrupted her train of thought and Emica looked around to see that the class was staring at her.
Again.
She immediately stood up as some snickers were heard around her. She glared at the students who did and they immediately stopped.
"I am Kimura Emica. I graduated from Shiratorizawa Junior High. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."
"Shiratorizawa Junior High? Where is that?" Hayami-sensei asked.
"It's in Miyagi, sensei."
"Oh, I see. Do you live in the dormitory?"
"No. I am not from Miyagi at all. Well, my mom is, but we don't live there. I only studied in Shiratorizawa for two years. Prior to that, I studied in another school here in Tokyo, in Hokkaido, and in America. But now I moved back here in Tokyo and now I live here."
"Ahh. Well then, Kimura-san, welcome back to Tokyo!"
"Thank you, sensei," Emica sat down and looked behind her to see the next person to introduce.
"Kimura-san," Akaashi whispered. Emica whipped her head to look at him. Hope starts to stir in her. Maybe he remembered her after she said her name.
"What is it, Akaashi-san?"
"My pen, please. You still have it." Emica's heart shattered.
So much for remembering her.
"Oh, sorry. Here you go,"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The rest of the class period went by with both Emica and Akaashi stealing small glances at each other.
Keiji felt guilty. No matter how much he went through his brain for information, he just can't seem to remember a girl named Kimura Emica from his kindergarten days. He remembered being the quiet kid in class who did not have much friends. From what he could remember, he only had one close friend whose surname was Sakurai. He also vaguely remembered some other boys from his class who hung out with him. One was named Yahaba something. His first name is hard to recall but Keiji remembers him because of all the expensive shoes and clothes that kid used to wear to school. Not to mention his cool toys that cost a fortune as well. There was also this kid named Kenji, who always wanted to impress the girls in their class. Specifically, this one girl with wavy brown hair. He also stuck in Akaashi's mind because the two of them were always mixed up for some reason.
And that is as much as he could recall from kindergarten.
He glanced at Kimura and saw her talking to the girl seated by the window. Shiota Rianna is her name. They were talking in low voices so he could not make out what they were talking about. Not that he was interested anyway. It is none of his business.
Yep, none of his business at all.
Akaashi sighed and grabbed his wallet from his bag. It was break time now and all he really wanted is to eat. He should have eaten more for breakfast, after all. As he made his way out the classroom, he felt a presence next to him.
"Are you going off for lunch?" It was Kimura.
"Yes. Are you on your way too?"
Emica nodded. "Is it okay if I come with you? Shiota-san has to go to the office to fix some things. I don't know anyone else around here."
"Okay."
The two made their way through the hallway in silence. Until Emica spoke up.
"So.. You really don't remember me, huh?"
"No, not at all."
Emica frowned. "Alright then."
Akaashi sighed. "I'm really sorry. It's just been so long, you know? Twelve years?"
"Yeah, twelve," she chuckled. "To be honest, I was quite mad about it at first but I'm okay now. A lot can happen in twelve years and a lot of my childhood friends said I've changed so much. Maybe that's why."
He hummed. "Some people said I've changed too. But you still recognized me."
"Yeah, you did change but I don't know. People don't fully change, do they? You still have the kindergarten Akaashi face on you. Plus, I have been told I have quite a good memory," Emica grinned. "And besides, you're really hard to forget." Keiji's eyes widened at that. He froze on the spot which made Kimura stop walking as well.
'You'll be hard to forget, 'Kaashi-kun!'
'That line,' Keiji thought. 'It sounds so familiar where have I heard it?' Akaashi continued to stare at the floor in deep thought. In the deepest parts of his memory box, there is a silver glint. A little girl's voice can be heard, saying that line to him. Her silhouette stood before him. This girl had her har bunched up in two pigtails at the sides. She was wearing a dress. He really could not tell but he knew she had a smile on her face when she said that.
"Akaashi-san?"
He was stepped out of his reverie upon hearing Kimura's voice. He looked up to see her staring at him with a worried look. "I'm sorry, what I said was weird. Are you okay?"
Akaashi only nodded in response. Emica gave a gentle smile and tilted her head towards the end of the hall. "Come on, let's get something to eat. You're probably hungry that's why you spaced out," Akaashi nodded again and followed her silently to the cafeteria.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Just the usual 'introduce yourself to all your subject teachers' kind of first day. Emica grabbed this opportunity to remember all the names of her new classmates since she didn't really listen to them during her homeroom period. She found out that the orange-head's name was Tachibana Haruka. The guy in front of Emica was Minamoto Makoto. His name sounded like a tongue twister. She knew the girl to her left already, Shiota Rianna, who is half Japanese and half Russian, and prefers to be called Ria instead of her surname. This surprised Emica because Shiota is in the short side and she was rewarded with a "I may be short, but I can give a killer spike!" and a sample of that spike on her left shoulder.
Akaashi surprisingly made a friend today. Well, friends if you counted Kimura. His other friend is a guy named Uchida Daisuke. Akaashi has known Uchida since his junior high because he played against his school in one of their tournaments. They've never spoken before until today. Keiji was silently eating his lunch when Uchida appeared next to him and said "Akaashi! Didn't think I would see you here. Thought you would stay in Itachiyama?"
Since their conversation during lunch, Uchida requested Kimura that she transfer to his seat so he can sit next to his new friend. Emica declined and that resulted to a long banter between the two. Akaashi and Emica's other seatmate Shiota, could only sigh.
When dismissal came, Akaashi waited for Uchida to finish fixing, upon the latter's request. They engaged in a conversation about Fukurodani's volleyball team.
"I've heard that one of their spikers here is pretty cool. He became a regular during his first year and rumors say he is actually better than the current ace now," Makoto said enthusiastically. "Man, you think we'll be like him? Regulars on our first year?"
Akaashi thought for a moment before responding. "Fukurodani is a powerhouse school. To be a regular, you must be really good. Good enough to be on par or to be better than the current regulars they have. It's going to be tough."
"But I bet we could do it," Uchida smirked. "We were quite famous in junior high." It was true. Uchida was the ace of Nekoma Junior High last year while Akaashi was known for his skill in strategizing which intimidated other players.
"Fame would not guarantee a spot in the team," Akaashi responded.
"Lighten up a bit, Akaashi. I was only kidding," Uchida chuckled. "Man, you're so serious."
"What else do you know about the team?"
"Let's see.. Oh, they have a player they call "Jack of all trades Master of None"! I dunno if it's meant to compliment him or insult him but yeah. Oh and their captain is stern. Like, stern stern. Which is why the coach ket's him do the talking during time outs 'cuz he can round up the team singlehandedly. And they say he's scary so no one can say no to him."
"In short, bossy."
"Not bossy. Stern. And feared by the team."
"I strongly dislike that kind of captain."
"But you'll still join, right?" Uchida asked hopefully. "I don't know anyone else who plays volleyball here."
"Of course." Akaashi answered. Uchida grinned. A ring interrupted them from their conversation.
"It's my mom. She's probably already here to pick me up. See 'ya tomorrow, bro," Uchida gave Akaashi a salute and jogged off to the front gate. Akaashi chuckled. They have not known each other personally for 24 hours and Uchida was already calling him bro. But it did surprise Akaashi that Uchda was able to make him talk that much.
Oh, the wonders of volleyball.
He shook his head and walked off to the front gate as well. He decided to go home alone today since he still did not know anyone who lived near him or took the same bus as he did.
Honestly, it made him feel sad.
Back in Itachiyama Academy, he walked to the train station with his team mates. He didn't talk to them or even start a conversation with them but the company was nice. On days when there was no practice, he would go home with some of his classmates who took he same train. And again, he would not engage in a conversation with them. He would just listen to them and talk only when asked. His silence is always mistaken by his classmates, thinking that he always wants to be alone. But in reality, he really is juts not the type to start up a conversation or make comments about something.
That is just how he is.
Plus, it doesn't mean that he's silent means that he does not want anyone to be near him. But of course, he would not tell them that.
As Akaashi neared his stop, something caught his eye. On the sidewalk was a red, braided knot. Looks like someone lost their red string of fate. Curiously, he picked it up and examined it. It was not that dirty so that someone must have just dropped it maybe five minutes before he got there.
Keiji is not the kind of guy who would just keep things he's found. Okay, he was like that but not anymore. Should he just leave the string there? The owner might look for it. But it's just a string..
In the end, Akaashi stuffed the string in his pocket. Maybe it could be useful someday.
AN: Sorry it took me this long to update. I had so much school work (and still do *sobs*) and it ate up all my time. I kind of had a hard time writing this chapter and I'm not sure if it turned out okay. I'll try to make the next one better and maybe a little more fast paced (?) or I dunno maybe a little slow burn would be fine haha. Oh, and thank you to all those who faved, followed, and reviewed! I honestly did not expect the number of faves and reviews that I got now. Although they're not that much, it means a lot to me :) I'll do my best to update whenever I can!