High School Crushes are for Wimps

Misao bounced the ball for the umpteenth time as she poised herself to shoot from the three-pointer line on the court. Her blue eyes narrowed as she aimed the basketball for the square on the board so it might rebound and drop through the actual hoop.

"Have you ever thought of trying out for the girls basketball team Makimachi?" Misao turned to hear her sensei's voice, made a face and then proceeded to throw the ball at the board. A flicker of victory flashed in her eyes as it finally went through the hoop.

"Why would I do something like that? I'm not Miss Social Butterfly you know." Her voice was dry, almost edged with anger as her teacher was interrupting her private time to herself. She glanced behind him to watch three other girls in her grade run up to him yelling his name.

"I hope Sanosuke's words didn't upset you sensei, he's just a complete idiot at heart so he cannot help but voice his opinions without thinking first." Kenshin chuckled lightly trying to wave off the girls concern for him, but a voice edged with venom broke in first.

"You know how you keep asking me why I don't associate with others Himura-sensei, well now you have your answer right in front of you. Its people like them that are so picky that they can't even take the bad aspects about their friends with the good…and I hate people like that." Misao walked off after voicing that and moved down to the other end of the court to shoot some hoops.

"She's so strange…" Yume muttered to Tomoe and Megumi, but her eyes grew wide when Kenshin responded, he having heard her whisper clearly.

"She is merely strange because she is different from you…that is all." He walked off after that as he headed back inside the building and towards the teacher's lounge. He stood at the door turning around to look back at Misao and his eyes frowned in sadness. He had tried helping her open up so many times…even if it was just to him, but it always fell short of its mark. She had always come back with snide remarks about how teachers should just educate and mind their own damn business. It was that answer all the time…and although Kenshin gave up on the asking front, he still looked out for the teenager. Misao was very bright…brighter then most of her fellow students thought anyway. Not many knew, but Misao was merely 15 and in grade 11. She wasn't 16 until the middle of the year. She had passed junior high with flying colours, missing out on grade 9 and went straight into grade 10 at this high school. According to Misao's grades in the computer she could be finishing grade 12 right about now but somewhere inside her she just wanted to get through school like everyone else.

Kenshin had known and looked out for Misao ever since she was a little girl. Her parents were dead and her adoptive grandfather who lived in Osaka never came to see her. Misao was…and always seemed to be alone. She wouldn't have recalled the times she had stayed under his care when she was four years old, but Kenshin remembered them as though they had been yesterday. Around that age was when her attitude had begun to change. Kenshin shook his head and stepped inside. His faith in himself at trying to reach the ever-icy Makimachi Misao was slowly decreasing.

It was funny that Misao never seemed to think as to why she got to stay in a small unit by herself…or the fact that her all her bills, plus her tuition for school were actually never sent to her. In fact Kenshin had practically become her guardian without her even knowing it. All she knew was that her adoptive grandfather was taking care of her bills when it was Kenshin's doing all along. He had his reasons after all…

* * * *

"Hey Shinomori-kun, where you going?" Sano spoke as he watched Aoshi silently get up just as Megumi, Yume and Tomoe came back to spend the small amount of lunch left with the guys.

"For a walk…" Aoshi responded and headed off towards the basketball courts.

"Hey wait!" Sano spoke while sitting up properly, his hand out as though wanting to stop Aoshi from meeting his death with Misao.

"Let him go Sano-kun, he'll find out just how icy the ice queen can be." Enishi retorted back and stole the biscuit his sister had in her hand at that moment. Her dark eyes had narrowed at him, but she never voiced any anger towards him and instead took out another one and shoved it into her mouth before he could steal it.

* * * *

Aoshi stood at the sideline of the court, his eyes following Misao's footsteps as she moved around this half of the court while her left hand held half her sandwich. He observed as she threw the basketball at the hoop and it rebounded off and headed in Aoshi's direction, his hand coming out of his pocket as he caught the ball silently.

"What do you want?" Misao spoke as she finally noticed someone was watching her. Everytime she was alone she usually got so engrossed in whatever she was doing that she'd forget about everything else.

"Watching you shoot hoops." Aoshi replied and all he got was a death glare from Misao, which would have scared any other student out of their wits, but not him.

"And what would you know of basketball?" Misao retorted back as she finished the last bite of her sandwich off and then placed her hands on her hips. Her eyes grew slightly wide as Aoshi bounced the ball once and then shot it at the hoop, it falling straight through without even hitting the board or the ring for that matter.

"A lot more then you it seems. I used to play a fair bit when I was in junior high. Oh, a couple of tips to remember when playing, is not to play in constricting clothing like school uniforms. Always remember to wear sneakers and start shooting hoops up close and move back to the three-pointer line gradually when you get confident enough that you can actually shoot from there. Ja ne…" Aoshi waved over his shoulder at Misao, she not moving to grab the ball and instead kept gazing at his retreating form. Her eyes narrowed threateningly and her hands fisted. No one ever told her what to do!

* * * *

(Physical Education Lesson)

The girls were sitting on the lawn, dressed in their sports gear and listening to what they would be playing today. It was softball, which got many girls sighing in relief since it wasn't too much high powered running and some whining as it was too warm to be playing sport since they'd get all sweaty. Misao sat off on her own, the blue baruma she wore wasn't protecting her butt from the itchy grass very well and so she stood up, hands crossed over her grey tank top shirt. She waited for their PE Teacher to name who was on what team and then waited to see if the side she was on would bat or field first. They were fielding.

"Ma-Makimachi you can be pitcher." A girl spoke while chucking her the ball and racing off to right outfield. Misao glanced down at the softball then headed into the middle to do the pitching. Her face was blank, but you couldn't say that for the batter. She was literally shaking at being in the target range of the Ice Queen!

"Oh this'll be interesting." Sano spoke from the soccer field noticing just who the pitcher was in the girls' team. Enishi, Soujiro and Aoshi turned to where Sano was pointing and noticed the long braid instantly.

"Can you see the batter literally shaking in fear? We told you not to provoke her Shinomori-kun, what did you say anyway?" Sano voiced once more as he watched Misao let rip her first throw and observed as the girl batting screamed and fell on her backside in the dirt.

"Nothing…I don't think…" Aoshi voiced as he tied up his shoelaces on his sneakers. He wore the blue school shorts and a baggy grey top, which matched the girls even though they were in skimpy baruma and grey tank tops. The guys observed Aoshi as he seemed deep in thought trying to think what he could have said that would have upset the 'ice queen' as she was so faithfully called by every student.

"Maybe…" He voiced quietly and then took off in a run heading for the softball field.

"Shinomori you get back here!" His gym teacher yelled but he paid no attention. It just had to be his little talk about how she stunk at basketball during lunch. Sure he didn't actually voice she stunk, but the 'ice queen' being the way she was would have read it that way indeed. He had to figure out a way to calm her down lest she take the poor girls head off with the ball.

"Shinomori what do you think your doing over here?" The female teacher spoke with her hands on her hips but watched as he made his way to the batter, his hand placed on the bat stopping her shaking hands from lifting it to balance near her right shoulder.

"You shouldn't play if you are scared." Aoshi spoke and was about to stand up to his fall height and voice to Misao that enough was enough, but it was all a little too late. She had already turned around to face the batter and pitched the ball at high speed, not noticing that someone, namely Aoshi was in the way.

"SHINOMORI-KUN LOOK OUT!" The girl on first base yelled and Aoshi had no time as the ball came flying towards his face.

* * * *

"Shinomori-kun, are you alright?" Aoshi opened his eyes to notice both gym teachers were looking down at him, as were a few of the girls. The one that had been the batter moved closer and held out a few fingers in front of his face.

"How many fingers do you see Shinomori-kun?" She voiced softly and watched as he shoved her hand away while mumbling three and sat up.

"Sagara, you help Shinomori to the nurse's office at once and Makimachi I want you to run ahead and tell her to get a cloth and an icepack ready for Shinomori's arrival." Aoshi turned to look at Misao to see she was staring down at the softball she was holding…a smear of his blood staining the off-white coloured ball.

"MAKIMACHI MOVE IT!" The male gym teacher voiced louder which got Misao into running mode as she dropped the ball silently to the ground. Aoshi and Sano were following at a much slower pace.

"Shit Shinomori-kun that must of hurt! Your gunna have one huge bloody bruise that's for sure!"

"No, it's perfectly fine, that's why my head feels like its ready to explode. It will be a black eye Sano, not a simple bruise by the way." Aoshi retorted back, which got a chuckle from Sano at his sarcastic remark and correction of his statement.

* * * *

The rest of the PE Lesson flew by as Aoshi took up the two-seater couch in the nurse's office. His head was resting back on a cushion and his feet propped up on the couch, with his knees bent in the air. His sneakers were next to his backpack on the floor near the couch. Aoshi's eyes were closed his right one actually covered with an icepack. His linked hands rested on his stomach moving up and down with his quiet even breaths.

"How are you feeling now Shinomori?" Nurse Okon spoke and Aoshi opened his left eye to look up at her hazily.

"I think I'm okay, but my head is still throbbing." He spoke truthfully and she granted him the next period off and gave him some pain relief tablets to take right away.

"You'll have a nasty black eye for the rest of the week I would imagine, but the small cut you received near your right eye will heal in a day or two. Rest here for the afternoon and I'll send word to your teacher that you won't be at your last lesson for the day. Who is your teacher by the way?" Nurse Okon spoke and Aoshi turned on his left side, without the icepack falling from his right eye and answered before closing his eye once again.

"Himura-sensei…"

* * * *

Aoshi jolted from his small sleep when he heard the office door close and he sat up, the ice pack warm as it had done all it could for his puffy and now black eye. Aoshi watched Nurse Okon come out of her private office and into the waiting room where he had fallen asleep on the couch.

"Oh you are awake, you must have just missed Makimachi." She spoke as she looked at the door.

"Makimachi was here?" Aoshi replied while placing his fingers near his eye to test out how tender his skin was.

"School has finished Shinomori so you may go home now. I suggest you find Himura-sensei to see what work you have to do and then go home, rest up and take these twice a day. I suggest about an hour before you go to bed and an hour before you come to school. That way during the school hours and your sleeping hours the pain should be minimal." Aoshi nodded at her instructions and placed the tablets into his bag. He zipped it up, placed his sneakers back on and finally stood up while handing the warm icepack back to her.

"Arigatoo Nurse Okon." Aoshi bowed slightly, his face wincing when he tried opening his right eye fully, but decided it was best not to force it to open properly.

"Oh Shinomori, I was told to give this to you when you woke up. I think Makimachi is a little too shy to give it to you herself." Aoshi took the small folded slip of paper from Okon's fingers and exited the nurse's office. He flipped it open to read only one word:

Gomen…

So there was a guilty/soft side to the ice queen after all…and by some sheer luck…not to mention a black eye as witness to his victory, Aoshi had gotten through apart of the thick ice protecting Makimachi Misao from everyone.

* * * *

To be continued…

* * * *