Candy: hohoho

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Chapter one: That perfect shop.

Every Sunday was fishing day, according to Sendoh. But on that particular day, he didn't catch anything. Plus, the temperature was really hot. So, he decided to go home early.

"Maybe this is a bad sign of the day." He said as he stood up and picked the pail up.

He walked to their home but he didn't stay there for long. He placed the pail beside their sliding door and again walked out of their gate.

The door was opened by his mother. She was shorter than Akira. Her curly hair was short and dark. She doesn't really look like a mother. If only it wasn't for her apron and whenever Akira calls her 'Mom', no one would have guessed that she was already married.

Sendoh usually walk to his way to the gym. If it's not because he's gong to practice, it's because he's going to watch their team practice. Or… maybe it's just as simple as him going to school.

Unusually, on hid way to Ryonan High, a crowd was peeking on the newly bought space. All he heard about that place is that it has been sold for a week now. But the crowd was really catchy.

I don't have time for this. He thought.

He continued walking. But just as he was about to pass by the crowd, his head turned to them and saw flowers everywhere. They were in pots, wrapped, or if not, the flowers were hung for decoration.

A flower shop? He told his self and decided to go in, thinking he could get something for his mother, since she was always doing things that he should have done.

"Good morning, sir." Said a young girl about his age, said.

The girl was only by the height of Akira's shoulders. Her hair was shoulder-length and it was jet black. Head slightly raised up to look at Akira with her dark brown, almond-shaped eyes.

"Ah… good morning." He said and stared at the smiling lady. What am I supposed to do? Ask for her assistance? Or is she just saying good morning?

The girl felt awkward, smiling at the young man, after a few seconds, who was doing nothing inside the shop. He was looking down at her, but he wasn't smiling or anything, though he looked troubled.

"Um.. Do you need something? A flower for your girlfriend, perhaps?" The girl said, thinking that he must've been thinking about her girlfriend.

The girl finally caught his attention and now, he knew he was looking at her. And the question finally registered to his mind.

"No. It's not for my girlfriend. I'm thinking if I should bring my mother flowers. But, I have no idea what to give her." He confessed, giving her a small, embarrassed smile and his left hand scratching the back of his head.

"Oh. Then come with me. Why didn't you tell me in the first place?" The girl replied.

"Sorry..."

"N-no, it's okay!" The girl said, embarrassed.

They walked together to an aisle and looked for some bouquet of flowers. Sendoh was randomly browsing the racks when a light violet flower with a touch of darker violet caught his attention and immediately asked about the flower.

"Which…. One.. That flower is… yes. It's for sale." She said with a faint smile.

Sendoh saw her faint smile and immediately thought he must've said something. But when he analyzed things again for a while, there wasn't anything he could have possibly said.

"Um… let's wrap this up!" The girl said out of the blue.

"Okay." Sendoh said and immediately forgot about the faint smile.

Sendoh followed her to the counter and waited for her to start wrapping. She wasn't wrapping it. But she's only looking at it and her faced looked like she was painful. But then, she started to wrap the light yellow paper around the stems of the flower and tied it with a yellow lace, making a ribbon.

"Here" The girl said as she handed the bouquet to Sendoh.

"So, how much is this?" He asked, about to slide his hand to his pocket where his wallet was hidden.

"No, no. It's okay. You can keep it. Please come again!" She said with a higher tone in her voice and ran away from the counter.

Sendoh watched her run away from the counter and from him with a puzzled face. He didn't know whether to go after her and give the flower back but it may look rude. But, in the end, he decided to run for her, anyway.

He ran to where the girl was standing, just by the entrance, waiting for new costumers to come by their flower shop. She knew he was there, but she didn't look back.

"H-Hey, I can't accept this, you know. How much is this, anyway?" Sendoh asked.

The girl looked back at him and raised her head a little bit and she saw Sendoh's puzzled face.

"N-No! It's okay!" She said, looking away from Sendoh, and then looked down.

Sendoh turned to his back and tried to look for what he was looking. At first, he just saw many people, many different faces, faces he wasn't familiar with. But when he looked a little bit on his left, he saw Maki walking to their direction.

"Oh, Sendoh!" Maki said and raised his left hand up, saying hello.

The girl heard that voice. And instantly, she positioned herself inline with Sendoh's huge body. When Maki reached Sendoh's space, he didn't even see her, because she was in line with Sendoh. Whether she voluntarily did that or not, Sendoh wasn't sure.

"Hi." Sendoh greeted back, thinking if the girl was still behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Maki asked.

"Well, I'm here to find a present for my mom. How about you? Aren't you a little bit far away from here?"

"Our family friend has invited us here. They are the owners of this flower shop. I'm looking for a friend of mine, but I have to go now. My team, they're practicing." Maki explained.

"Oh… Okay then. Goodbye!" Sendoh said with his usual smile.

Maki smiled back at Sendoh and walked past the tall Ryonan Basketball player, not even noticing the girl wearing the yellow apron.

Making sure that Maki was not looking anymore; Sendoh looked behind him and saw the girl was still there, her back also facing him.

"What happened there?" Sendoh asked.

The girl was startled and faced him again.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Sendoh was now REALLY confused. He didn't know if she was weird or if she was hiding to someone or if she was… was she hiding?

"Were you hiding?" Sendoh asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"H-Hiding? W-Why would I-I d-do that?"

Out of nowhere, a silly little idea came across Sendoh's mind.

"Were you hiding from Maki!" Sendoh immediately said, not wanting the idea to escape his mind so he immediately asked her with a little higher tone of voice than the usual.

The girl blushed and took a step forward, raised her hand by the level of her chest with a closed fist, and let her short black hair cover her blushing cheeks.

"I-I am not!" She protested.

"Sorry, I was just asking…" Sendoh said, now his voice was more like a whisper, like a child who was proven guilty.

"O-Oh, sorry, Sendoh….!" And she placed her white hands, her fingers being longer than the normal, on her pink lips.

Sendoh blinked his eyes and looked at the girl who he didn't know but just screamed her name a little bit loud.

"You know me?" He said with disbelief.

"I… yes, I know you. You're my brother's favorite player, you know. And I know you because of Maki…" She said, not making any eye contact with Sendoh. Her long fingers playing with the ribbon of her apron.

"Oh… Huh?" Sendoh said, speechless.

"So, you know… you can have that flower for free…" she said with a soft voice. "B-But if you tell anyone, I'll kill you!" She followed with a really tough voice.

"No, I won't. Thanks again." Sendoh said and walked out of the store, smiling at the girl who was still looking down, now blushing.

It's been three minutes since he's started walking to their gym, just as when he realized something.

I forgot to ask her name. He told his self. But after a few seconds, he shrugged and continued walking. I'm not gonna see her again, anyway.

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Candy: Thanks for reading my story! This made a little adjustment. But I hope you'll like it! Thanks again!