#02- Card Castles and Lunch Boxes

Concentrate… Akane shakily placed a card on top of another, breathing a sigh of relief when the castle succeeded on its stand. She took another card and placed it tensely beside the card that she placed earlier. The current art activity was enough to make her feel exhausted due to the toll it takes on her mental and physical capabilities.

However, because of her will to get a proper grade for something so simple, failure wasn't an option. To think that I even prepared for this when sensei told us about it…ah, so embarrassing…

"Need help?"

"No thanks."

"Eh? But I'm already done, Hime-chan~ You can be selfish with me once in a while you know?"

Akane turned to the speaker and raised a brow. "You really like to say the most embarrassing things, don't you Takao-kun…" her gaze fell on the card castle in front of the raven head and her jaw instinctively dropped. His card castle was composed of cards that supported one another properly and it stood mightier than hers.

"Hehe, amazing right?"

"Y-Yeah… It's good that you can do something like that. Don't worry I'll show you something greater."

"Eh? But your base is weak, Hime-chan. Two… uh no, three more cars and that will fall soon."

"D-Don't underestimate me just because you can do it properly!"

"I already offered my help, Hime-chan~ I'd seriously help you."

"N-No thanks!"

She returned to her card castle and placed cards on her card castle once again. She tried not to tremble too much and made extra effort to stay calm. She managed to set six cards in addition to the current ones. However when she added another, her castle finally fell.

"I'm amazed that you're able to add three more…" Takao curled his lips to form a laid-back smile. "So need help?"

She glanced at her wristwatch and breathed hard in exasperation. "But we only have three minutes and if you help me it wouldn't look like—"

"Stop," he said in rough English. "Don't worry too much, just follow what I'll tell you."

"O-Okay."

"First of all, arrange six groups of triangles beside one another first."

"Y-Yes…"

She breathed hard and started the triangles as he instructed. He continued with the instructions and she followed while trying to keep calm. Soon, she was able to create a steady and proper card castle before the art teacher can even announce the end of their activity.

"I-I made it…"

"Yippity yep~ you succeeded in doing it."

"T-thank you…"

She turned to the raven head and beamed at him. Her cheeks dusted crimson from her gratitude for what Takao did for her. The raven head smiled back at her and raised a peace sign.

"Just don't let that fall okay?"

"Okay…"

"Hime-chan really is cute."

"Eh?"

"Okay~ Time's up let me check your castles~" the art teacher announced enthusiastically while she raised a white flag as indicator. Akane shifted her gaze from the raven head to the art teacher so to avoid getting caught.

"It's a secret, Hime-chan…" Takao uttered quietly.

Akane flinched but hesitated to look at the raven-haired's direction. Instead, she remained on her seat and tried to keep a straight face. The art teacher was already walking around and looking at how the students formed their own card castle.

"Ahm… here, you should have placed another support card here…" the teacher said to a brunette with a genial smile. The student nodded in agreement before the teacher moved to another card castle.

"Amazing… you did it well." Then another…

"You shouldn't go to the safe side by choosing to build a small castle, okay?" then another…

"Good job."

The teacher then stopped near Takao and praised how well his card castle was and joked with him about how he can let a royal family live there before turning to Akane. The teacher gazed at the cerise head's castle in observation. When she finished, she nodded at the nervous looking student.

"It's a bit sloppy but you've done your best, Himeyama-san."

"Thanks, sensei!"

"Now for the next—woah!"

The teacher pointed at something from the back that made all eyes turn to its direction. At three seats from Takao's position was a well-made castle that no one would have believed that it was a card castle at all. It looked like something straight out of a picture book that toddlers' usually read about.

"Midorima-kun, excellent! Really excellent!" the art teacher walked over the greenhead's desk and giggled in amazement.

"I only did what you required us to do, Sensei… and I believe that I wasn't able to perfect it yet…" Midorima raised his spectacles to the bridge of his nose, ignoring the drastic glares from his background and the shiny aura of his teacher.

"Oh nonononono~ It's perfect already!"

"Is it?"

Akane turned back at Takao and heaved out a dismal sigh. "Ah… that guy… he's so full of himself again…"

"I know but isn't that cool? I wasn't aware that Shin-chan could do something so great! I actually assumed that he's only good at shooting threes!"

"Huh? Shin-chan? You're giving him a nickname too?"

"Well, isn't it cute?"

She shook her head in disbelief and pulled out another dismal sigh. "If you're his girlfriend, it would be…" but it's not like Midorima would like such a cutesy nickname…

"Nononono, I wouldn't take that position from you?"

"Ah… you really don't care if you're saying something embarrassing and please I wouldn't even dream of it."

She stood up from her seat and slowly strode to the greenhead's desk much to the raven head's surprise. The students are already standing up from their seats also to head for their next class. Human chatters filled the room and covered the sound of her tracks.

"Yo." She greeted silently when she finally managed to stand in front of the bespectacled teenager.

"It's rare for you to be approaching me now." Midorima replied as he stood up from his seat and loomed over her. "Do you need something… again?"

She pointed at the card castle which still stood mightily among the rest despite Midorima's movements. "C-Can you teach me how to do this next time…? I would pay you for it."

She said it! Takao grumbled. He strode near to the pair and was about to say something to support the cerise head when the green head spoke ahead of him.

"Why would you pay for something so simple like this? Even a monkey can do this."

"Uwah! Just look around you, Mister! No one was able to create something like that! Only you! And freak I'm only asking you this once!"

"Why are you shouting at me?" Midorima crossed his arms smugly. "You're the one asking me a favor."

"B-But—you're one to talk, hmph!"

"What would you need it for… this is just a simple activity, Himeyama. It wouldn't affect your grades that much and it's not like it would appear on the final exams."

"I know it wouldn't but… geez…"

"Shin-chan, can't you just hear her out?"

Midorima raised his glasses to the bridge of his nose. He shifted his gaze from the raven head and back at the cerise head. Tears are already on the edge of her eyes while the male beside her looked like he's enjoying the show.

The green head breathed out a sigh.

[~]

"S-Something like this?" Akane asked while her hands rolled a card. She glanced at the card next to it and did the same thing. After doing the same thing for three cards, she glanced at Midorima expectant of a reaction from him.

"No I think you've got it wrong…" he leaned down and inspected it for the second time then heaved out a sigh. "However, it looks like it will do. It might end up sloppy but it doesn't mean that you won't be able to achieve your goal."

"Really? Is this really going to do…?"

"I already told you that it will. Can't you really trust me even a little, Himeyama." He glanced at her in disappointment written all over his face. "You've been asking every single time after doing every single thing that I told you to do."

"Ah, but that's because—" she scoffed and averted her gaze. "Who would think that I'd really talk to you anyways?"

"Changing the subject again, I see…"

"Hmph, you even asked me to stay a meter away from you. That's not normal, is it?"

"For starters, I told you that Cancer and Aries make the worst compatibility. If you stand a meter closer, I would die."

"So you're only worried of your own death, then what the hell would happen to me?"

He glanced at her as if she just grew out two heads all of a sudden. She raised a brow in confusion. "Isn't it obvious, Himeyama? Of course, you would die too."

"Eh, is that so? EHHH!? Why?!"

"Sometimes… you really have the brain of an insect, don't you?"

"Huh? Don't insult me!"

"You two, how can your please-teach-me-act turn to some awful argument again, hmm?" Takao butted in making the color duo turn to his direction. He was finishing his bento with a goofy grin on his face.

"Takao-kun, you traitor! Why are you eating already?"

"You really do have a brain of an insect. Do you really think that anyone would wait for your idiocy to pass?"

"I don't have a brain of an insect! And what insect would that be exactly?!"

"Pfft…"

"WHAT?!" Akane turned to Takao in annoyance. Her head already swarmed with thoughts of killing both he and Midorima together at once. Takao only laughed at her sentiments and placed his bento down.

"Well, what would you do now, Hime-chan? Time is running, y'know?"

"Huh?" her gaze dropped to her wristwatch. The numbers ticked forty minutes away from the end of lunch break. "Eh, it's this late already! The canteen, yes, I'd head there so—"

Before she can even walk away, the raven head put her to an abrupt pause by grabbing her arm. "Wait a minute, Hime-chan~ Don't just let Shin-chan hang there."

"What nonsense are you spouting, Takao? If she wants to go then just let her be. This card castle making lessons will rest in the mean time." Midorima uttered as he settled down with his lunch box sitting on his lap.

"…Somehow that just made me angry," Akane uttered and averted her gaze in annoyance.

"Actually, if you go now you won't be able to finish eating." Takao fished out something inside his lunch bag and handed it over. "I brought this for emergency~"

"And what would I do with this?" Akane grumbled feeling unutterably furious all of a sudden.

"Oi, Shin-chan you wouldn't mind if Hime-chan gets a share of your bento, would you?"

Midorima closed his lunch box and raised his lime green irises to face the two. He looks terribly annoyed. "I do have a say in certain matters, Takao. Please stop doing something nonsensical."

"But my daughter would starve!" Takao mumbled dramatically.

"Since when did I become your daughter?!" Akane snapped at the raven head.

"An insect can only stuff—"

"I'm not an insect, geez!"

Before any of them could say anything, her stomach grumbled fiercely that she quickly fell to her knees and hid it with both arms.

"Ah, you're that hungry, daughter?"

"Who wouldn't be?! I've been bugging Midorima since the morning break and he only agreed to teach me now!"

"It's your fault, Shin-chan. Come on, give her something to eat." Takao waved his empty lunch box. "I really want to but it's empty now…"

"I can't shake off the feeling that you planned this from the start, Takao. You really are a terrible excuse for a human," Midorima grumbled in annoyance.

"Wah, Shin-chan, you don't have to insult me that far~" Takao reacted dramatically with the same goofy smile in his face. He remained unaffected by the green head's insult.

The green head heaved out a displeased sigh and started dividing his lunch with both the cover and the main box. He then pushed it a meter away from where he was seating. "It's too much for someone with a brain of an insect but it can't be helped."

Akane glanced at Takao and back at the waiting lunch for her. Can I really have that? She asked in her thoughts then glanced back at Takao who smiled at her in approval.

"W-Well, I guess I don't have a choice. Let's just hope that it turns out okay!" she quickly went to the bento and clapped her hands together. "T-Thanks for the food."

Her hand trembled as she slowly dug in the golden rice in front of her. She gulped nervously and started eating. Both the green head and raven head's eyes were focused on her would-be reaction.

"Ah… it's normal…" she uttered blankly and quickly turned back from them, hiding her further embarrassment from them.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Midorima's left brow twitched up in a quizzical fashion while Takao only grinned.

"Who knows~"

[~]

Ah… this ball… Akane picked up the soccer ball from the ground after it rolled to her feet. She glanced from left to right trying to find the possible owner of the ball. Deep inside her, she felt that it belonged to someone familiar.

"Ah… that's mine…" someone said from behind. She turned silently only for her to gasp voluntarily. The male right in front of her was wearing the standard orange sports uniform for a Shuutoku soccer player. His hair was cut way too short than the last time she saw him and he looked like someone from the military.

"Y-You…!" she threw the ball at him and he caught it cautiously before it even hits him in the head.

"O-Oi, what the hell would are you doing?!" he snapped at her and threw the ball back which directly hit her in the head opposite to what happened to him.

She fell unceremoniously on the ground with a loud thump and a bruised forehead. The ball rolled back a few meters away from where she was sitting. Ah… I really hate this guy… He didn't even think about hurting me..

"That's what you get for messing with me. You don't even know how to dodge," the male lent her a hesitant helping hand which she eyed suspiciously. "Come on…"

She raised her hand and took his with hers. When she stood up, she quickly lost her balance that the male had to catch her before she fell down again.

"I thought your head was too hard that you wouldn't lose consciousness…"

"Y-y-you hit too hard…"

He released a sigh and guided her to a nearby bench. He placed her head on his shoulder to rest her a bit. "You haven't changed, huh?"

"I-I did… and l-look who's… talking…"

"I did change, you know…"

She didn't speak anymore, instead she squeezed her eyes shut and dwell on the pain. The male who aided to her seemed coincidentally warm. So… he attended Shuutoku, huh? Didn't he intend to follow Nanami-chan?

"You need to go to the clinic? I could get you there… since it's my fault or something…"

Her eyelids fluttered open and she managed a nod. She felt like her world's shaking from the impact with the ball. He offered his back and she didn't refuse to ride his back.

He was strangely silent and more responsible than before. Not the swarthy guy who would always bother her with little things and always get her to an argument. Unlike Midorima, the male carrying her right now didn't know when to calm down. So what exactly changed…?

[~]

When her eyes opened to the world, she quickly got up from the white bed. Her eyes looked around in anxiety seeing nothing but the white curtains surrounding her bed. The smell of antiseptics was all over the place—in the pillows, in the curtains and in the blankets. If she remembered correctly, she was in the school's infirmary.

"E-Eh? How long did I—"

"Oh, you're awake…"

"K-Kanda?"

"Whaddya look surprised for?"

The male walked to her direction and glanced at her silently. He passed a cold can of shiruko to her which made her frown at him in suspicion.

"What's this for?" she asked still refusing to take it.

"It's what it is…" he replied still passing the can to her. "Kayo told me that you like this kind of drink. It's too sweet for me so I wouldn't drink it."

"Kayo…? Why are you referring to her by her first name?"

"…Hmph, don't dream. We're not like that. She flat out rejected me."

"Eh? She did…"

She finally took the can from him and breathed out a sigh. "Is that the reason why you attended this school…? To ran away from that?" she raised her eyes to him in justification. He in turn averted his gaze to try to hide what he really felt.

However, because of the fact that Kayo Nanami's bestfriend would always be Himeyama Akane. And Himeyama Akane would always be the one who would end up talking to him than Kayo Nanami, there was no use hiding it.

"What is it to you?" he finally glanced back at her with annoyance that he couldn't hide himself. Having someone to tell him that he was running away felt too much for him to handle, after all it was reality. "It's not like you wanted us to end up together, right?"

"You don't know anything either." She pushed the blanket off her and got to her own two feet. "And yes… I do want you to be together but if you gave up that easily…" she broke out to fits of laughter which made him turn to her in surprise.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

"It doesn't matter." She patted his shoulder. "We both gave up… on Nanami-chan."

She looked up to him and he glanced away, obviously hit by what she just said to him. Silence drifted alongside them like it was the most natural reaction right after what just happened. She didn't talk to him like this before and treating him like a friend felt a bit like taking it far.

She shook her head and hit his back with her palm making him grit his teeth in annoyance.

"What was that for?!"

"Don't get all gloomy now, Kanda-kun." She stepped away from him and opened the can that he brought for her. "I don't know what High School she attended so I can't help you with that but please… don't give up on her yet. Even if we're not friends anymore, I would always care for her."

He silently nodded with suspicion wrapped on his features. She curled her lips to a devious smile before stepping out of the infirmary. Somehow, she felt hurt after saying the words that she just said.

Well… that's how it always is… she glanced to the world outside. Her eyes reflected the orange tainted sky and the red sun that was about to sink deeper on the pink and orange bubblegum colored clouds. Ah… so it's this late already… I have to get back to class and apologize to the teachers…

She was about to step forward but then she paused and went closer to the window. Outside was a strange sight that she would have seen from a dream or from a certain movie that it couldn't be considered real. However it was undeniably real.

"That is a rear cart, right?"