Disclaimer: I do not own Hungry Heart.

Author's Notes: I didn't expect this chapter to turn out the way it did. Honestly, it was a lot lengthier than how I initially planned it to be. In this chapter, I decided to zone in a bit on Kyousuke's insecurities. Let's face it, Miki has seen his vulnerable side tons of times in the series. Also, Kyousuke is such a softie deep down.

Comments and reviews are welcome!

Round 6: Everybody Talks

Well, she was the class representative and he was just among the notorious classmates she had to constantly keep an eye on. Always tardy, barely passed his exams, hardly attended classes, and was frequently caught sleeping during lectures—these were the words that best described Kyousuke as a high school student.

Meanwhile, Miki's academic excellence and optimistic attitude toward school activities, soccer, and life, in general, are a stark contrast. It didn't help that she became his designated tutor.

Kyousuke felt it annoying and exasperating, to say the least, to have people compare his lackluster performance at school with that of hers. Obviously, he didn't think of her as a rival or any of that sort. The comparison made him insecure simply because the more people poked fun at his weaknesses, the more it seemed to create an invisible wall between him and Miki.

Call it dramatic, but the orange-haired forward of Akanegaoka secretly dreaded the reality that Miki might just be way out of his league.

He glanced at the clock, pencil wedged in between his nose and his philtrum. Ten minutes. It had only been ten minutes. Man, how he despised studying. He hated it more than anything. On the other hand, his tutoring sessions with Miki were also among the only instances where he could spend a lengthy amount of 'private time' with her.

Kyousuke scuffed his hair and swallowed hard. Suddenly, the air around him felt so stiff and suffocating. Miki, the ever-observant busybody, instantly noticed the uneasiness and tension in Kyousuke's behavior.

She cleared her throat then leaned towards him, "Is it this set of equations?" Miki points her finger at the section of her notes bearing mathematical equations for solid figures. Kyousuke looked down at her neat and organized notes. Normally, she would be visibly irritated whenever he showed his nonchalance over their lessons or his failing grades. Yet, there were also these unexpected occasions where Miki would be understanding and patient with him.

If only she knew the truth. He couldn't care less about these stupid equations. As if mastering Math helped improve his soccer, he thought.

"Ah, no, I get it alright?" he abruptly grabbed Miki's notes and turned his back to her.

Although surprised at first, Miki smiled and chuckled shortly after. "It's no use pretending. Some of the brightest students in our class found it challenging to solve each one of them, too."

Kyousuke knew deep down she truly meant well, yet he couldn't help but flinch after she mentioned the words 'brightest students.' Clearly, that would mean Miki thought of him as the total opposite. He sighed. "Do you really think I'm that dumb?"

"O-of course not!" Miki retorted, utterly surprised and caught off-guard by how upset Kyousuke was. She suddenly felt guilty and mentally reprimanded herself for not being more careful with her choice of words.

A moment of uneasy, deafening silence enveloped the two. Miki furrowed her brows and tried to rack her brain for the best way to correct Kyousuke's false assumption.

After what felt like an eternity of baffled and awkward eye contact, Kyousuke finally broke the silence. "Yeah, I know, I'm not the smartest. I have the worst class attendance record, and soccer is probably the only thing I'm good at."

Letting his guard down and unveiling his inhibitions was so out of his character. Somehow, his vulnerable moments were always triggered by…her.

"No—" she tried to interject, but Kyousuke went on. "I'm not like my brother Seisuke. I'm what you'd call the total opposite of a genius. I give you nothing but headache after headache, I'm—"

He was finally cut off when she placed her hand over his mouth.

"Hey, No. 9! What's with all these self-defeating thoughts!?"

Kyousuke blinked. He tried not to get too distracted by how the softness of her palm felt against his lips.

"Is that how you think of me? Do you really believe that I would look down on you?"

He blinked once again before he diverted his eyes and muttered distressfully, "You don't ever get tired doing all this for me?"

Once again, Miki was taken aback. She felt a twinge in her heart. Before she could speak, Kyousuke turned to face her.

He stared straight into her eyes, "There are better things you could do…better ways to spend your time."

It pained her so much to see him so open and helpless. She could clearly see the strong hints of dejection and sadness reflected in his eyes. It was almost as if he was crying inside.

The tension that had built up between them was already too much for Miki to handle.

She sighed deeply and audibly.

"Well, duh," Miki pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'm not tutoring you because I pity you. I do it because I don't want you to fall behind in achieving your goal. You want to play against your brother, right?"

Now she was back to her usual bold and tenacious disposition, with her finger pointing squarely at Kyousuke's chest.

He could feel the friction building from his fingers up to his chest and throat, but he tried shrugging it off. "It's not even your dream, so why bother?" he snorted.

…..

….

…

"You're an inspiration."

Kyousuke jumped a little from where he sat, "What?"

Realizing what she had said, Miki jumped back a little too. She fumbled and fixed her gaze on the floor. The typically outspoken captain of the women's soccer team was too nervous to look Kyousuke in the eye.

"T-to the team, of course! And if you don't pass your subjects, do you think the school o-or coach Murakami would let you play?" Miki shook her hands nervously, trying to cover the blush spreading across her cheeks.

Kyousuke just sat and kept staring at her, his mouth agape.

'Dammit, No. 9.' She inwardly cursed.

Seeing as how Kyousuke was still processing what she had just said, she knew she had no choice but to keep going. "W-who's gonna give that much-needed speech of encouragement whenever the team needs it? Who'll push the team to victory? You're a forward, for crying out loud!"

'Seriously? Say something!' Miki was running out of ways to cover up her true feelings from surfacing.

"If anything, you're an idiot for having this kind of victim mentality out of the blue!"

Her throat tightened and her voice grew coarse. She thought, if he still wouldn't say anything, there is a high probability that she might suffer from cardiac arrest.

"I'm just doing what I can to…support…you" the last part was almost inaudible.

Miki clutched her hand over her chest. Her eyes were downcast as she turned her head away from him. There was a mix of confusion, bewilderment, and melancholy pounding inside her.

'Why's he looking like an idiot—just gawking at me like that!'

Miki considered slapping the stunned orange-head back to his senses.

Little did Miki know, Kyousuke was trying to suppress the sudden urge to pull her into a hug and apologize. She was right. Well, she always is, much to his annoyance.

How stupid it was for him to allow himself to dwell in a sea of self-pitiful thoughts. Who could blame him, though? Everywhere they went, people couldn't help but comment on their differences. Or rather, friends and colleagues would knowingly imply that he was lucky he scored a 10 like Miki. Beauty and brains all wrapped into one.

'Pffft. Scored? It's not like she's…."

He watched her intently while she visibly talked her way past the nerves that clouded her.

Before he knew it, he had already pulled her to him. Kyousuke gently tugged her by the arm, then cradled her head on his broad shoulder. He nestled his nose in between her soft and silky emerald locks.

Kyousuke breathed in her soothing floral scent before whispering, "I'm sorry."

Miki was at a loss for words. One moment she was giving it her best to reassure him he wasn't as much of a failure as he thought he was. The next thing she knew, the physical distance that stood between them had already diminished to zero.

His shoulder and his chest were broad, firm, and warm. His shirt smelled fresh and crisp. Oh, how wonderful it would be to stay enveloped in his arms and his warmth all afternoon…

"I shouldn't have thought that way in the first place."

"Kyousuke…" she bewilderingly muttered.

His fingers found their way into her soft tresses. He strokes her hair gently and in doing so realizes just how Miki delicate and fragile was despite her tough exterior.

"It's not like you to wallow in self-pity, No. 9!" Miki exclaimed with her voice muffled by Kyousuke's firm embrace.

Just as the two were lost in their fairytale-like moment, they heard a few forced coughs in the background.

The two immediately broke apart before scanning their surroundings.

"Oi, don't you two know self-control!?" berated an evidently irritated Esaka.

They had been sharing the dining hall with Kyousuke's teammates, Karin, and Dr. Kaori all along!

Dr. Kaori giggled, unable to hide the fondness she felt for the lovebirds, "My, my, it's getting harder and harder for those two to hold back."

Karin, who had already taken a gazillion shots of Kyousuke and Miki's romantic scene with her trusty mini camera chimed in, "I keep telling them there's no reason to keep it in. In fact, they should be officially dating by now."

Miki awkwardly shuffled away and pretended to tidy up her vest and skirt in the process.

"Kyousuke-kun! Miki's right, don't be so hopeless!" yelled Karin from behind. "You may be ranked at the bottom in our class, but in Miki-chan's heart, you're no.1!"

"Gah—!" Kyousuke choked on his saliva. Karin's unsolicited remark pierced a bull's eye in his heart.

But Miki was even more flustered, "Mou, Karin! That's n-nonsense!"

Soon the entire room roared teasingly at both of them.

All Miki and Kyousuke could do were look around and try their best to shush their peers and quiet everyone down. As they did, they inevitably met each other's gaze once more. For a brief moment, they were once again speechless. Well, that was until Miki giggled sweetly.

"Oi, what are you laughing at—"

She cut him off by playfully poking his nose.

"Serves you right, No. 9! Who knew you could be quite the crybaby too!"

Kyousuke protested and lunged at her, while Miki began to scamper away mischievously.

Maybe there was no comparison all along. Maybe, just maybe, Karin was right.