Chapter 3

Four days later, Sakuno was recovering slowly, she had settled in and had been re-aquainted with everyone.  All week her friends tried their best to help her remember things.  She too tried her best, but she still stuck beside Kaidoh whenever she could.

He didn't particularly enjoy it, but didn't do much to keep her away.  And because she was with Kaidoh all the time at tennis practise, Echizen couldn't find a moment to talk to her.  He only watched her from a distance.

Sakuno hung around at the front gates after school, waiting for her grandmother to finish work so they could head home together.  She sat on a brick wall and swung her legs back and forth, humming. 

She saw someone coming her way.  Her eyes brightened.  Kaoru-nii!  But isn't he in training right now?  She didn't care, she jumped down and ran up to him.

"Kaoru-nii." She said breathing slightly hard.

"Eh..Ah.." the black haired boy was caught off guard.

She moved her face up close to his.  "Kaoru-nii janakute…" she murmured.

"Kaoru is my brother.  I'm Kazue." He replied.

"You do look a lot like him, except….just not as scary." She finally said.  Kazue laughed at her honesty.

"Gomen, Kazue-kun." She bowed.

"Sakuno!"

"Hai, obaa-chan.  Mata ne, Kazue-kun." She gave a quick wave and ran off in the other direction.

"Matte." But she was already gone.

"Oi, Kazue, what are you doing here?" Kaidoh stood behind his brother and asked.

"Uh, nii-san.  I just met this girl, she thought I was you.  She went home with her grandmother just now."

"Ksshhh."

"Who is she? She's really cute, nii-san.  I know she's not your girlfriend because she called you Kaoru-nii.  Hehh, since when did you allow such a thing?  Tell me who is she!" Kazue nagged his brother.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?!" Kaidoh growled.

"I will then." Kazue vowed.

** The next afternoon **

Kazue stood in front of Seishun Gakuen waiting for Sakuno to make her appearance.  And as he hoped, she came out alone.

"Yo." He waved.

"Konnichi wa, Kazue kun. " she walked up to him.

"You…going home?" he asked.  She nodded.  "Where's your grandmother?"

"She said I can go ahead. Naze ka?"

"……………..I'll walk you home!" he blurted out.  Her eyes softened.

"Arigato." She said softly.

"Y-you're not scared?...I mean I am a stranger to you… and I guess I don't even know your name." he said embarrassingly.

"Oh, Ryuzaki Sakuno tou moshimasu.  I think I will be ok, because you're Kaoru-nii's brother.  He's a nice person, so you would be too, right?" she said cheerfully.

Kazue looked at this little beauty.  How carefree and innocent she is.  Her trust in people is so great.  I think I'm falling for her.

** Morning after the walk**

"Why is it that Kazue kun, goes to a different school?" she questioned Kaidoh the following morning.

"It was what he wanted."

"Kaoru-nii no ototo wa hontou ni yasashii na hito desu ne." Sakuno said.  He was seated on the ground stretching before his warm up match.

"Cheh." He muttered.

"Kaoru-nii wa onaji desu." She added.  Kaidoh's cheeks reddened at the unexpected compliment.

"Ja." He said.  He grabbed his racket when it was his turn to warm up.

She sat there and watched his match.

She's alone.  Finally.  I'll go talk to her.

"Yo, Sakuno." Echizen said setting his racket down and sat down beside her.

"Echizen-kun." She said.  She had learnt his name through the team mates calling each others name during practise.  She never used it unless they were in an argument, which had become quite frequent in the past few days.

"How are you…?" he asked hesitantly, choosing his words in case he angered her.

It's strange, I never used to want to talk to her, and now that she doesn't want to talk to me, I have this urge to carry a conversation.  Her fiery personality is catching me, even though I did fall for her soft and gentle ways.  Everytime she gets angry, it intrigues me more.

"I'm better." She said answering to his referral of her injuries.

"Have you remembered much?" he asked hoping that she would at least remember him.

"Mmmm…Not much" she stretched her shoulders.

"Sou…" she detected a hint of sadness in his voice, but couldn't be sure about it.

"What were you talking about with Kaidoh-senpai?  If it's not too personal.  You get along with him well."

"Kaoru-nii?  Mm..I don't know about getting along with him, because he doesn't really talk."

"He's like that.  You're the only person that can talk to him like that, and be around him everyday." Echizen said bluntly.

She smiled.  It felt nice to carry a conversation with this boy who sat behind her in class without arguing.  She felt a warm tingle in her stomach. 

Maybe he's not such a bad person.

"We were, well I was talking about Kaoru-nii's brother."

"Brother?" He has one?

"Hai.  I was telling him how nice, Kazue kun was." She said not aware that she had triggered something.

"H-how do you know he's nice."

"He walked me home yesterday.  He's a very sweet person.  He looks a lot like Kaoru-nii, just not as vicious." She giggled.

"He walked you home did he?!" a fiery look came over Echizen.  She stopped giggling and looked at him.

"Te-me.!" He growled.  She looked shocked for a few moments.

"Neh!  Why do you have to call him that?!  You don't even know him, don't judge people like that!" she stood up and glared at him.

"Well neither do you!  How could you let a stranger accompany you like that!  You're a girl!" he stood up and they stood face to face.

"You are so old-fashioned!  Are you saying that a girl can't befriend anyone, just because she's female?!  That's so sexist!" her voice grew louder.

God! It wasn't what he meant at all! All he meant that it was dangerous for her to go off with a stranger, because she was so trusting, so gentle, so beautiful.  What would he do if something happened to her?

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then what did you mean huh? Since I've met you, all you do is sit quietly and glare at people.  'Mada mada dane' is all you ever say!  Just because you're good at tennis doesn't put you can look down on people like that!  You provoke people unnecessarily, and call people names when you don't even know them!" she yelled at him, her face flushed.  Everyone had stopped what they were doing and stared at the two first year students.

"Why can't you just be nice and honest for a change! Why can't you just say why certain things or people annoy you, why do you call them things that are insulting? If you're angry, sad or jealous just say so!"  she couldn't stop once she was on her tirade.

"To hell with being jealous!  What's there to be jealous about? You can go see him all you like. It doesn't look like you care much for your lost memories do you?!" he fired back.  She grew unexpectedly quiet.

"I do care.  Do you know what it's like to lose your memories?  Memories are all you have to know that you've lived a life!  I can't remember anyone or anything, do think it's fun living day by day with a blank space in your mind?  If I can't remember it for the time-being, why can't I make new ones to rebuild and find old memories in those new ones?!"

It was his turn to go quiet.

"Why won't you allow it…Why won't you?" she whispered tears slipping off her chin, before she turned and ran away.

He stared at the spot she had stood at before. 

How had it come to this.  All I wanted was to show that I cared for her. Did she have to yell like that? Why can't she see? What do I have to do?

He picked up his racket and walked with anger and frustration out of the courts.

"Nyah…she really told him off."  Kikumaru said to himself.

"Eiji, let's continue." Oishi said.

"But..o-chibi must be feeling sad." Kikumaru said sadly.

"I've never seen her like that before, he must've really done it this time. Baka-yarou." Momo said.

"Kshhhhh." Yarou…he made her cry.

Unexpectedly Kaidoh had become rather fond of the little girl who had become attached to him.  He even knew where she went when she was sad or upset, and planned to go by there later.

"Let's all have a nice drink of Inui's deluxe penal tea to brighten up the mood." Inui suggested.  Everyone glared at him.

"Don't even pull one like that on us!!" Kikumaru yelled.