Chapter 6
Echizen heard every little sound that happened behind him. The dusters hitting the boards, the cloths wiping the tables, the soft footsteps and the quiet breathing. It had been exactly two weeks and two days since Sakuno had yelled at him at the courts. They had avoided each other ever since then. He wanted to see her, to talk to her, but he felt he just couldn't find the right things to say, now that she hated his guts.
It had frustrated him and pained him. It didn't hurt because she yelled at him, it hurt because she hated him. He had been stupid enough to make her cry. He couldn't stop cursing himself since that day. They had successfully not talked to each other nor been in the same room alone until today. For some reason they had cleaning duties in the class today, and there was no escaping that.
He was busy wiping the desks at the back of the room, while she cleaned the boards. Echizen turned so he could watch her. Her plaited hair swung as she stood on her toes to wipe the board.
I've never felt this way before. It hurts to be hated, but it's worse to be forgotten. I don't want her to forget me, ever.
He buried himself into his work. If anyone saw him, they would have thought he thoroughly enjoyed scrubbing the desks by the way he was doing it. He heard her delicate footsteps move down to the front desks.
I want to talk to her. Damnit! What would she do? I want to hear her voice talk to me. I want her to look at me like she used to. Just when I come to my senses it all had to change! He continued to scrub away angrily until he heard the table shift and short raggard breathing. He turned fast to see her trying to balance while swaying with her hand to her forehead.
He threw his rag on the floor and practically slid over to her, catching hold of her waist before she keeled over.
He froze with her in his arms. He didn't mean to do that. He didn't mean for that to happen but somehow they had connected, and now that he had his arms around her tiny waist, her back up against his chest, and the sweet smell of her hair just at his nose, he didn't want to let go.
Endless minutes passed and they remained still in that position.
"Da-daijoubu?" he finally asked.
"H-hai. Arigato, Echizen-kun." He eased her down onto a chair. "Ano…"
"Wait here." He said and walked out of the class, leaving her confused. He returned a few minutes later with a cup of water he retrieved from the infirmary. He handed it to her and she took it with trembling hands.
He watched as she put her delicate lips against the cup and drank slowly. He shoved his hands in his pockets, scratched his head, shifted around, did everything to distract himself from gazing at her. Finally he just went to the back of the room and began cleaning again.
He heard her shuffling and decided to sneak a quiet look which he didn't carry out too well. As soon as he saw her standing up and grabbing her rag, he yelled out at her.
"OI!" she dropped her rag and turned to him.
"Na-nani?" she asked, obviously scared of his actions, for he changed much too quickly.
"Just…sit. I'll do it." He said in a quieter, lazier voice.
What's with him? One minute he's nice, the next he's shouting, and then…
He ran his hand through his hair and sighed with a smile at her shy manner. Her eyes large and blinking, her tongue ran over to moisten her dry lips.
At that very moment, when he looked relaxed for once, his hair ruffly, a smile on his handsome face, Sakuno felt her heart pitter-patter. Her cheeks grew warm as she blushed at her sudden thoughts. He began to advance towards her slowly with that lazy smile playing on his lips.
Why is my heart pounding so hard? It's not like I like him or anything.
He stood a short distance from her and they both gazed at each other for a few seconds. Then he reached out and pulled on her arm as if to pull her towards him, only when she was directly in front of him, he leaned down and said again.
"Just sit." Then he let go of her arm and brushed past her to pick up her rag that lay on the floor.
As he moved past her she felt the soft breeze that he created . It ruffled her hair and cooled her cheeks. As he stepped past her, she turned to gaze at him, her nose almost touching the sleeve of his white shirt. She saw his strong jaw line that usually held an unsmiling face, and dark eyes that usually sneered at people.
She felt a surge of motion, a strange sensation running through her body. For a moment she had a deja-vu. What just happened reminded her of something similar happening somewhere in the past.
"Ryoma-kun"
"A-ano, ganbatte Ryoma-kun."
"Ryoma-kun. Ryoma-kun. Ryoma-kun." Tiny short filaments flashed through her mind. She saw a flash of herself, she saw someone's back. A boy, a boy who was wearing a white cap and had a racket casually hung over his shoulder.
"Ryo—ma…kun." Her lips formed those words without her knowing. Who was he? I feel that he's someone significant, but who, and why?
She sat down and watched Echizen work. She grew tired and lay her head on the table and soon drifted off.