Sumire sighed as she sat down at the table, looking at the brightly polished floor of the gym of Takezato High, where the game between Shoyo and Takezato would be taking place. This was the first official game that she would be attending as the manager of Shoyo, and she had to admit that the whole thing made her nervous.
Just breathe, Sumire, relax, she told herself. You're not going to be playing out there. You're just going to be watching them all play and record as much as you can about your observations of Shoyo's team and Takezato's. But still, the anxiety was still there, mostly because she felt nervous FOR them: for Ito and Hasegawa and Nagano and Tagano, but most especially for Toru and Fujima.
Toru came up to her then, smiling when he noticed the slight tension in her shoulders. "Oi Mire-chan, relax, okay? You aren't going to be playing, you know. You shouldn't be so uptight."
Sumire laughed at her cousin's comment. "I know. Demo, I feel nervous for you guys. I know that you're in the best shape you can possibly be and all that, but still… Things can happen out there."
"Hai, but we can't exactly plan everything down to the last detail, ne," Toru said with a cheerful shrug.
Sumire sighed. "I know." Toru was called back then by Fujima for a few last-minute pointers, and then the group headed out towards the middle of the gym. The starting lineup consisted of Fujima, Toru, Hasegawa, Nagano and Tagano. She smiled, and yelled, "Ganbatte, minna!!"
The team turned to her, and acknowledged what she had said with smiles of their own. Toru winked and flashed her the thumbs-up sign, while Fujima grinned, and nodded, mouthing an 'arigatou' just before he turned to the game at hand.
The whistle blew, and the ball was thrown up into the air. Sumire sighed, and settled down to watch as Toru tapped the ball away from his opponent's hand and towards his teammates. The game had begun.
* * *
The air of elation was everywhere, and it was so palpable that Fujima could almost taste it on the air whenever he breathed. He grinned as he stretched, loosening the somewhat tense muscles in his back.
They had just returned to Shoyo campus from Takezato, where they had literally wiped out their rival team. And they were supposed to be the third best in the prefecture…they offered practically no challenge! All the others had gone home, even Toru, but Fujima and Sumire had to stay behind to look over the stats of the day.
"Congratulations, Fujima-sempai," Sumire said as she came
up to him, a brilliant smile on her face. "You were fantastic out there!"
Fujima chuckled then, and smiled, once more attempting to keep his blush down. "Arigatou, Sumire. Actually, I have to say that we ALL had a hand in this victory, so it's not just me that needs congratulating."
"I said that to everyone else already," Sumire said matter-of-factly. "You were the only one I hadn't spoken to yet."
"Honto?" Fujima said then, laughing a little, more at himself than at her. "Arigatou, Sumire." It was then that he noticed something. She braided her hair?
This was something he hadn't seen before. Usually, Sumire tied her long, jet-black hair in a ponytail whenever she was required to do something that needed her hair to be out of her face, which was practically every day of the five-day school week. But today, her hair was tied back in an intricate-looking braid, beginning close to the top of her head and ending just above her waist, tied off with a rubber band.
She must have noticed him staring, because she laughed
quietly, and fingered the tail of her braid. "My braid, eh? There's a little
story to this…"
"Would you mind telling me?" Fujima asked as he picked up his bag, the both of them heading towards the exit of the gym. Fujima had decided to walk Sumire home again, to which Toru hadn't complained at all. I must thank Toru for this later on…
Sumire shrugged as she walked beside him, one hand on the strap of her schoolbag while the other fiddled with the tail of her braid. "It was some time back, when I was thirteen. I was just a freshman in high school then, in the Philippines, and I was one of the first six for our volleyball team. Since my usual ponytail just wouldn't work for that kind of situation, I decided to braid it. We won that game, though it wasn't really an easy win. We were up against the seniors of our school. But that basically clinched the Inter-Level Volleyball Cup for my batch.
"Later on, that same year, I took an exam for the school paper, which was very difficult for freshmen to get into on their first try. On the day of the exam, I braided my hair, more out of nervousness than anything else. When the test results came out, I learned that not only did I pass the test, I was immediately made into a permanent staff member. New staff members were NEVER given such a consideration, and my achievement was the first in the entire history of our school.
"And the third time was during an inter-school cultural competition. I was fifteen then, and in my junior year. One of my best friends was going to sing in front of a huge crowd, and just for her, I decided to braid my hair. She won that competition hands down."
She turned to him then, and smiled. "So now, whenever something important is going to happen, I always braid my hair. It brings me – or the people around me – good luck."
Fujima smiled at her, charmed by the story. "So does Toru know about this?"
Sumire shook her head, and tilted her chin downwards, a soft blush suddenly appearing on her face. "Iie, I never told him. Of course, he never asked, and I would have told him if he had, but…you're the first one to have noticed."
For some odd reason, that quiet admission made Fujima feel warm and tingly all over. I know something that she has only dared to share to me… Toru doesn't know everything about her, then. It made him feel rather…special, in a way. Trusted, as though he had suddenly become a confidante to whom she would confide anything and everything. At the very least, this sense of trust she shared with him meant that she liked him in some ways. Maybe not yet in the way I like her, but soon, it will come around…it's all just a matter of time and patience…
Just then, Sumire spoke up, "Fujima-sempai, do you know who my secret admirer is?"
Fujima glanced at her, eyes wide in surprise. Why would she ask me that? "Nani, Sumire?"
"Do you know who my secret admirer is? Toru-kun keeps on saying that it's someone on the team, but I just can't figure out who." Her face scrunched in frustration then, though Fujima admitted to himself that it looked cute on her when she did that. "I mean, I try to observe the others as best as I can. The first one I eliminated was Toru, for obvious reasons. Then I crossed Nagano and Tagano off my list, since they have girlfriends of their own. Hasegawa was next, because he was courting another girl already. That left only you and Ito. That was so strange, especially considering the fact that all of you were teasing Ito that he had a crush on me, but I watched him closely, and I don't think that he's the one. That left you, but I realized then…what would you want to do with me?"
Nani? "Sumire, what are you trying to say?"
Sumire let out a laugh, but it was quiet, and deprecating. "I mean, what would you want with me? I'm as ordinary as all-get-out!! I'm like a hundred other girls in the school. No, I think that you would want someone prettier than me, and smarter. Someone who could match up to you and stand toe-to-toe with you in everything. Someone who could make a good match with the Basketball Ace and Heartthrob of Shoyo. And I never can be that someone. Never."
Fujima halted right then and there, staring at her with utter disbelief. Is that how she thinks of herself, he wondered incredulously. Does she really think so low of herself?! Does she really believe that she isn't good enough for me?! Gods, if anything, I'M the one who isn't good enough for HER!!!!
It was as if he had lost utter control of his body motions. He watched in a strangely detached manner as his hand shot out, grasping Sumire's wrist.
"Nani? Fujima-sempai, is something wrong," Sumire asked as she turned to him, dark brown eyes boring straight into his blue ones.
He stared at her, at the delicate face that always drifted in and out of his dreams. Gods, he wanted to kiss her right there, show her how much she meant to him. He wanted her to see just how deep he had lost himself in this pit, show her that by falling in love with her his soul had become irretrievably lost, and yet the only way to redeem himself was to succumb to the feelings he felt for her…
Sumire wriggled against his grasp, a hint of discomfort flitting across her face. "Fujima-sempai, let me go, onegai. You're hurting me."
With those words Fujima's control was restored, and he released Sumire's wrist with a sharp jerk. He gasped for breath, trying to suck air into his lungs while at the same trying to steady the rapid beating of his heart. What have I done? "Sumire, I-I'm sorry, I-"
"Iie, it was nothing."
The smile again, the smile that always seemed to say, 'I'm okay, nothing to worry about'. And Fujima would have believed it, if it weren't for the pain and anguish so clearly seen in her eyes. He shook his head. "It was something." He lifted her hand gently, holding it as though it could break with the slightest implementation of force. There, in the glow of the streetlights, he could see a row of slowly darkening bruises in the shape of his fingers.
He winced when he saw them. "Gomen nasai, Sumire, gomen nasai…"
She just laughed, carefully tugging her hand away from him. "You shouldn't worry about it so much, Fujima-sempai. I tend to bruise quite easily." She wrinkled her nose then in annoyance. "I guess that's the reason why I'm not so good at basketball. My parents think that since I bruise easily, I should avoid playing sports as rough as basketball, and thus I lose opportunities to practice and gain experience."
Fujima laughed weakly, and they continued walking towards Sumire's house, though there was no further conversation on the way.
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle giggling: Ooh-la-la, did you REALLY want to kiss her then, Fujima-kun?
Chibi-Fujima smiles bashfully: Well, uh, yeah…
Maia sighs: Oh, that was SOOO romantic!!!!! Just reading it gave me the tingles!!!!
Chibi-Sumire frowns: But why did you have to make me get bruised so easily?! In the prologue nothing like that happened!!!
Harle giggles: Oh hush up!! It makes for VERY good
copy, do you realize that? And besides, you don't REALLY bruise that easily;
it's just an excuse!
Chibi-Sumire blinks, finally understanding: Oh.
Harle nods: Hai! Now then, let's get on to the next part of the story!!
Maia rubs hands evilly: Ooh, this is going to be SO good…