He looked at her for a full minute then he smiled and embraced her tightly. This made the passers by to look at them, including Hiyoshi. After a few more minutes they stayed like that locked in each other's arms. Without warning she swayed a bit, almost fell on the sidewalk but he got a hold of her.
He looked at her with worried eyes; instead she smiled back at him. Hiyoshi was caught by surprise when she smiled at the other guy, mainly because she seldom smiles.
"Just as I thought, it really is you…" she said weakly as she straightened herself up with help.
"Nothing's change I guess?" he replied softly.
They walked slowly mainly to prevent her from becoming more exhausted than she was now, oblivious of the eyes that followed them with curiosity. They went inside the nearest café and he helped her take her seat. Then he settled on the chair across from her.
"You look pathetic…" he said blankly.
"It's been long since—"
"—where have you been? I've been worried sick…" he said cutting her off.
"America…"
"Are you alright now?" he said his eyes softening.
"Wakaranai…" she replied almost to herself.
"Yukimura why am I supposed to meet you here urgently?" a guy suddenly said.
Both Miyu and Seiichi looked up to the said guy. When his eyes fell upon Miyu's face he fell silent and his features softened a bit.
"Genichirou…" Miyu muttered.
"Yuki… Yuki- chan?" he mumbled.
"Now you know the answer to your question, ne Sanada?" Seiichi simply said.
None of them said anything for a few moments; Sanada silently sat down beside Miyu and stared at her incredulously. Miyu on the other hand interested herself in her palms, while Seiichi looked at them musingly.
"Yuki… chan…" Sanada started but he was out of words.
For a while the three of them sat silently, staring into each other. Hiyoshi was together with his teammates: Atobe Keigo, their captain, Kabaji Munehiro, a fellow second year, Mukahi Gakuto, the acrobat, and Oshitari Yushi the genius. They were sitting three tables from where Miyu and her company sat.
The Hyotei team was having a little meeting but Hiyoshi wasn't interested at all because his attention was engaged with Miyu.
"Hiyoshi, are you listening to what I'm saying?" Atobe asked indignantly.
"Gomen ne Atobe- sempai…" Hiyoshi replied snapping out from his reverie.
"Sa…" was the only thing Atobe said before he continued his monologue.
Sanada looked at the girl in front of him as though he had seen her for the first time. He took his time looking at her every feature. Then unable to control himself anymore he reached for her hand.
"Yuki- chan… it really is you right?" he said hesitantly.
"Seems to me you haven't recovered from your initial shock." Miyu replied.
"Now it really is you, I'm sure of it." Sanada snapped.
"Oh you're already pissed?" Miyu said teasingly.
"Yamete…" Sanada said quietly.
This made both Miyu and Seiichi smile. For the second time that day Hiyoshi saw her smile genuinely. Atobe droned on about their plans for the training before the tournament. After fifteen minutes the trio stood up and got ready to leave. Miyu locked eyes with Hiyoshi, who looked dumb- founded. She slightly bowed her head which did not pass the attention of the rest of Hiyoshi's company.
The trio made their way out of the restaurant and when they clearly out of earshot Gakuto started a ruckus.
"Ne Hiyoshi do you know that pretty girl?" he asked pointedly.
"Yes…" Hiyoshi admitted.
"Why are you blushing?" Gakuto asked.
"No I'm not!" he replied heatedly.
The question and answer went on; even Oshitari's interest was piqued as well as Atobe's. Atobe the self- centered so called king of Hyotei was now bothered and somewhat blushing?
"Is she your girlfriend or an ex- girlfriend?" Oshitari chimed in.
"Iie… she's just—"
"—how did you meet her?" Gakuto cut him off.
Hiyoshi was having a hard time answering questions from his teammates, while Atobe silently listened to every detail that Hiyoshi was giving.
Miyu on the other hand was walking with Seiichi and Sanada. The two boys decided to walk her home. Sanada was still staring at her disbelievingly.
"Yuki, when you have free time can you visit us in school?" Yukimura suddenly said. "The others would be glad to see you again."
"I'll try… I'll just call you when I can." She replied shortly.
"If you want I'll come and fetch you." Sanada said.
"You don't have to, Genichirou…"
Sanada somewhat stiffened when she mentioned his first name, which made Seiichi chuckle. The guy with the cap glared at him but when he met Seiichi's gaze he looked away immediately.
'We're here… at least come in and say hi to the old man." Miyu said.
"Iie… I think I'll pass for now." Seiichi said quietly.
"I'll pass too. Maybe we'll drop by some other day." Sanada agreed.
"Okay, well then I'll go inside now. You two take care." She said patting each of them on the arm.
They waved to her and started walking; she watched their retreating figures until they were out of sight. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her lips curled into a smile.
