Chapter 9

The overjoyed Sayumi arrived at the park twenty minutes before the appointed time.

[I'll finally be reunited with you. I'm never taking you out of the house ever again. The abuse you must have suffered. I'm so sorry, baby basuke.]

"Kineno-chan!" the flashy blond boy in shades waved as he strolled onto the basketball court.

"Kise-kun. You're early." Sayumi was beaming with so much happiness that the boy hesitated a little before taking the gym bag off his back.

"Here."

"Hontouni arigatou Kise-kun..." Sayumi dug out the basketball from the bag and stared at it. "Kise-kun. Does Aomine-kun have my ball?" Kise looked away. "Kise-kun. This isn't my basketball. Please. What did Aomine-kun say?" Sayumi forced the boy to look her in the eyes.

"Kineno-chan. Aominecchi told me he left the ball here, in the park." Kise looked apologetically at the shocked girl.

"Where? I never saw it. Did he perhaps bring it home and forgot he did?"

"No," Kise said sadly. He didn't want to tell the girl, but he had to. "He said it was raining that day and left it here to dry."

Sayumi returned the "wrong" basketball to Kise and began searching for her treasure. It hurt Kise to watch the girl search frantically for the basketball that his friend so easily tossed away.

"Kineno-chan. Aominecchi and I searched the whole yesterday, but we couldn't find it."

The desperate girl ignored Kise. The selfless boy aided in her aimless search. They searched the entire area twice.

"Kineno-chan. It's not here." The boy broke the undeniable truth to the naive girl.

Again, Sayumi chose to ignore him. "You can go home first," she said, blinking back the tears she tried very hard to hold back. Kise stood frozen as he watched the girl begin a new search. Sayumi looked up and climbed the stone structure, the only place she didn't search.

"Kineno-chan. Be careful. It's high up there." Kise's helpful advice came too late. Gravity claimed the girl when she lost her balance on the stone structure. Immediately, the tall boy ran up the steps and looked down at the girl.

"Kineno-chan. Are you all right? Can you get up?" his voice shouted. Kise heard a little whimper. "Stay there. I'm coming down." The boy jumped and landed safely and knelt down next to the unmoving girl.

"Does it hurt?" Kise asked when he saw that her entire knee was covered in blood.

[Of course it hurt. What kind of question was that?]

The girl shook her head.

[Don't lie. It looks so painful. I think even I'm feeling a little sick.]

"Try standing." Kise watched as the girl limped her way up. He walked her back to the bench area.

"It's okay to cry. No one's watching."

Kise looked at the girl.

"I can turn around if you like," Kise added quietly.

A drop of water trickled down her right cheek. Kise saw that and searched his pockets for a tissue. He gave up at last when he knew there was nothing in his pockets. The girl noticed his fidgeting. Sayumi closed her eyes and tilted her head backwards.

Kise watched the girl from aside.

[What's wrong with you? Just cry if you want to. No need to act tough. I would cry if I had a cut like that on my knee. But I might have already fainted from that much blood lost.]

"I'm fine," Sayumi said after a while. Kise didn't believe the girl and bent down until he saw her face clearly.

"But you didn't cry yet. Let it out. You'll feel better."

"If I let myself cry, I'll be admitting that I've given up. I'll find the ball." The girl looked at Kise seriously.

"I'm talking about your knee. You can cry if it hurts. It really looks painful," he commented.

"Oh." Sayumi allowed a few tears to roll down. Kise turned around. Sayumi wiped away the water on her face and blinked a few times to make sure she was done. "Kise-kun. I'm fine now. Thank you so much for staying so long. You should probably hurry. Today is still a school day."

"And you?"

"I think I'm going to look one more time."

Kise looked at the girl who he thought was joking. She was serious. Sayumi stood up only to be swept up by the blonde model.

"What are you doing?"

"You need to go to school too. You didn't forget, did you?" Kise's mesmerizing eyes met hers.

"Can you put me down?" the girl looked away.

"Only if you leave with me. That's my only condition."

"I want to keep on looking."

"We can look together afterwards." Kise's words worked like a charm. Sayumi turned to his handsome face and he saw her eyes filled with tears. "Ah. Why are you crying now?"

"Tears of joy." Sayumi tried wiping away the new tears with the back of her hand.

"You're that happy?"

"Well, my knee still hurts a little," the timid girl admitted. "Can you put me down now?" Kise released the girl from his princess carrying. He walked over to the ball he left on the floor and slipped it back into the handy gym bag.

"Wear this." The girl complied. Kise knelt down on one knee. "Climb on." The girl's eyes widened and then looked at the floor. Kise couldn't help letting out a laugh. Sayumi turned even redder. "Kineno-chan. I can carry Aominecchi."

Sayumi stared at the blonde boy in awe. "Aomine-kun?" Kise nodded. "He's nothing compared to Murasakibaracchi, though. But even if it's him, I can manage," Kise proudly shared. Sayumi scooted forward and Kise easily lifted her up. "You're heavier than you look," he teased and walked out with her on his back.

...

"Thank you," the cashier said in a monotone and handed the blonde customer two scratch cards.

"What's this?" the curious teen inquired.

"Dear customer. This is a scratch card that you get for every thousand yen you spend. The biggest prize is meeting the famous model Kise Ryouta. Now scratch away."

Kise glanced at the giggling girl at his side. "Kineno-chan. Scratch them out." Sayumi scratched out the two cards. Kise glanced over her shoulders.

"Aww. Better luck next time," the cashier said sarcastically.

"Haha. Better luck next time Kineno-chan." Kise took off his shades and pulled the girl out with him, leaving the cashier speechless.

...

"Kise-kun. You really don't have to walk me to school," the girl said when her school was within view.

"Kineno-chan. I already walked you most of the way. What difference do a few blocks make?" They continued walking together. "Kineno-chan. Why is that basketball so important to you?" Kise asked curiously.

"A very special person gave it to me." She looked at the interested boy next to her. "I've watched him play basketball my whole life."

"Really? How's he like?" Kise asked casually.

"He...Well, can't really be described with just words. But if I were to really try..." Sayumi paused to think for a little. "He's very easygoing, but can also be unnecessarily strict." Kise waited for her to continue. "He attracts people to him very easily." She smiled at the thought of him. "In addition to athletics, he excels in his academics. He often represented his class in competitions and such."

Kise listened attentively. Her description led him to recall a few people he knew. "So he's good at everything he does?"

"Basically." The girl blushed a little at her direct answer. "But basketball was his strength above everything else."

"How does he play?"

"Very much like Aomine-kun." This time, Sayumi walked ahead of her escort. "That's why watching Aomine-kun play in the park was like seeing a miracle."

"Kineno-chan." Sayumi turned around. "Does he, by any chance, play shogi?"

"Haha. He does. He often goes to challenge other players at the place where the elderly gather to play on the weekends. It's a little silly to me since I can't play to save my life, but he enjoys it very much."

Kise looked at the girl. "I see."

"Oh. We're here. Kise-kun. You should probably go before you stand out anymore." Sayumi motioned with her head at her schoolmates whispering in the corner. "We have hardcore Kise fan girls here."

"You're right." The model glanced around and fixed his shades.

The girl looked at her watch. "Omg. You're going to be late Kise-kun!"

The blonde looked at the time and knew it was time for him to go too. "Alright. I'll tell you when I'm off and we can search again together."

"Kise-kun. It's fine. You have other things to do." That was indeed true.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." The girl returned the gym bag with the basketball inside to the boy. The boy took it and wore it like a backpack. Sayumi watched as Kise sprinted to his own school.

When Kise finally made it to his own school, he had exactly five minutes before class started. He sat down and pulled out his phone.

{Text from Kineno Sayumi}: Kise-kun. Thank you for searching with me. As well as carrying me all the way to the convenience store. Which reminds me to also thank you for paying for the tissues, disinfectant, bandage, and my breakfast. But above all else, thanks for cheering me up.

"Kise. Stop smiling and put your phone away. Class is starting," the grumpy teacher half-heartedly scolded.

Kise reluctantly hid his phone away and smiled once more as he pretended to pay attention in class.