Hikoichi looked at the pink envelope in his hand and then at Hisae's smiling face. He frowned. "Are you sure this is for me?"
"Of course it is, silly." Hisae laughed aloud. "There's your name written on it, see?" She pointed at the neat kanji characters of Hikoichi's name written on the back of the envelope.
"Who's it from?" He asked, looking at the envelope in disbelief.
She shrugged carelessly. "Don't know. Someone just asked me to give this to you and I wasn't able to ask who since she left so suddenly. Must be from a secret admirer." She said then nudged his arm.
Hikoichi stared at her. "You're insane, Hisae-san." He said.
"And will you lose the 'Hisae-san' part? We're both freshmen, ok?" She said. "Now you've got a few minutes before practice so better be ready. Maybe you can read that letter for inspiration." She added happily before leaving.
Hikoichi stared after her in shock then opened the letter he was holding. Who in the world would send him a love letter? Whoever this girl was, she must be either crazy or was playing a nasty practical joke on him. Unberibaburya. He thought, his face turning scarlet as he read the letter.
"Well, what do you know? A love letter!" Koshino said as he peered over Hikoichi's shoulders when he passed by. "Who's it from?"
Hikoichi blushed even harder and hid the letter. Of all people, why does it have to be Koshino-san!
"I have no idea." Hikoichi answered. "Hisae-san just gave it to me earlier."
He clapped Hikoichi on the back. "A secret admirer, huh? Nice." He said. "Does that mean you're going to be more inspired in practice?"
Hikoichi stared at him in aghast.
Koshino laughed and then swung an arm around the younger player's shoulders. "C'mon, we better start warming up or sensei would be mad again."
Hikoichi agreed with him.
Hisae bit her tongue to keep from laughing as she went to the manager's table located a few distances from the court. How she wanted to laugh at Hikoichi's expression earlier but controlled herself before he might misunderstand her, or she might give herself away. She smiled widely thinking on how Misao would react when she tells her friend that Hikoichi was surprised about the letter.
"Care to share that smile with me?"
Hisae looked up and saw Captain Sendoh smiling down at her. She turned to her watch. "Hmm…you're two minutes late, Sendoh-san."
"C'mon, I'm not late." Sendoh protested.
She brought out a small blue booklet that was clamped on the clipboard and began to read. "Well, based on the revised team handbook, page 5, section 2, and paragraph 3: Players who come in less than 30 minutes shall be considered tardy. However, there would be a grace period for the player before considering him late. This grace period would depend on the rank or position he's playing on. Grace period for non-ace players and bench warmers is 15 minutes while ace players and captains are 5 minutes." She then closed the booklet and stared at him.
"NANI!" Sendoh looked at her incredulously. Can't this girl see anything else except my attendance record? He thought, annoyed.
"In my watch, it's almost 15 minutes past practice time. So that means you're late." She said and added haughtily. "When I'm here and you're not, I consider that being tardy on your part."
And now Hisae had the audacity to tell him that she's earlier than he is? IS that even included in the handbook she revised? The nerve of that girl! Sendoh thought, and now he was getting more annoyed. "Ok, if you say so."
Sighing, he went to join his teammates. I'll show her! He thought, his blue eyes glinting with determination.
Hikoichi was once again boggle-eyed as he read the letter he had received from their manager. It was the third day since he had begun receiving letters from this certain admirer of his. He had tried asking around about her identity but no one can answer him.
He had also tried asking Hisae since she was always the one giving him the letters but all he got was a laugh and a light slap from her clipboard. "C'mon, aren't you happy that you got a secret admirer?" She had asked.
"I am, but…" Hikoichi began then stopped himself. Would it be too obvious? Would she think he's asking a favor from her? It might look like he would be begging if he told her everything. Hikoichi may be naïve but he is not desperate.
Hisae frowned. "What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing, uh, forget what I said."
Hisae's frown deepened. "You ok?" She asked. "You look sick."
Hikoichi gave her an overly bright smile. "I'm alright." He said, wanting to drop the subject entirely.
She frowned but decided to let it go. She shrugged. "Ok. So, why don't you join with your teammates? I think Hiroaki-kun is planning a 3-on-3 match with the…!"
The sliding doors opened nosily revealing a tired-looking Sendoh. The team stopped their practicing and stared at their captain who was now trying to catch his breath. Sendoh smiled at them apologetically. "Sorry I'm late." He said in between breaths.
They acknowledge his apology, with some shrugging and the others nodded. Koshino rolled his eyes and muttered something about fame and schedule adherence being a bad combination.
Hisae sighed then added loudly. "Good afternoon, Sendoh-san." She said stiffly. "You're 45 minutes late. You know what that means?"
Sendoh frowned.
Hisae shrugged as if expecting that answer from him. She brought out the little blue booklet and flipped on several pages. "Page 7, section 4, paragraph 5 says: players who are tardy for more than 30 minutes shall be considered absent for the entire practice. But there will be a grace period before considering a player absent. Non-ace players and bench warmers: 20 minutes. Ace players and captains: 10 minutes." She closed the booklet with a loud thunk. "It's already 3:45, which means you're not only late but you're already considered absent." ioHi. nnnnnnhhyyyyyyfsdjfdiogfhofiddd
The entire gym was silent. It was better for the rest of the players to remain quiet when Hisae was reading parts of their revised manual. When she first began her readings, one of the players had questioned her about it.
"Isn't that a little too harsh for Sendoh-san to have less minutes of grace period?" Kato asked. "Just because he's the captain?"
"Exactly, because he is the captain of this team." She said austerely.
That shut him up and no one asked any more questions about the handbook except when necessary. Coach Taoka hid a smile. He had to admit that Hisae was stricter than he was, which shocked him at first but got used to her comments ranging from the moment she remarked on how Sendoh should have been kicked out of the club due to his tardiness (ace player or not) to her reading sessions from the revised team handbook.
Now coach Taoka shrugged and glanced at Sendoh who now looked genuinely baffled. But the baffled expression was replaced with a slight smile on his face. "Sumimasen, Hisae." He said simply. "I'll do my best to come early tomorrow."
Hisae sighed. No wonder Taoka-sensei got sick of scolding him. He's so nonchalant about it that it's useless. She thought. He rarely provides explanation as to why he is always late and if ever he does so, each explanation sounded trivial, vague and a bit evasive at best. Sendoh was hiding something and she hoped that she would be able to find it out eventually. "I'll believe you when I actually see you before I even get here in the gym." She said.
Koshino choked back a laugh while Taka and the rest of the players (especially Taka and Hikoichi) stared at their manager with wide eyes.
Sendoh took this calmly. "Ok." He said, shrugging. But there was a hard glint in his blue eyes.
Then next day was a flurry of activity in the gym as players arrived either by small groups or by themselves. Some were carrying the basketball bins while a few were doing their warm-up exercises. Koshino was standing beside the gym door, dribbling the ball and catching it with his both hands. He caught the ball when the sliding doors opened. He did not need to look who it was because he already knew.
"You sure are lousy in keeping promises." Koshino said dryly, as Sendoh ran inside the gym.
"What are you talking about?" Sendoh stared at him. He was still catching his breath and had no idea what his friend meant.
"Over there, buddy." Koshino said and jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. Sendoh followed his teammate's direction and saw that Hisae was already there, talking with Uekusa and Sugadaira. "Yeah, so? I'm not late today." He said.
"In her eyes, you are, because she was already here about two minutes ago." Koshino said, smiling. "Remember what she said yesterday?"
Sendoh winced. He did not like what the manageress had remarked yesterday and neither does he like being reminded of it by somebody else, least of all the vice-captain. "Fine." He said. "I'm already here, so that doesn't matter anymore right?"
Koshino shrugged but the smile was still plastered on his face. "Whatever you say, oh pal o' mine." Because it does matters to you. He added silently.
It did not take long before the entire team noticed what was happening. At first they were relieved that the captain is now arriving early in practices. Even coach Taoka was so glad that his ace player had stopped coming in late that he commended Sendoh about it. But when some players saw the way Sendoh was looking at Hisae in consternation, they observed that there was a race between the two; a race on which one of them arrives the earliest in the gym.
The team now became the official watchers between Sendoh and Hisae. It has also become their duty to take down and compare notes about the so-called 'race' and the same time, a source of debate and speculation amongst the team members.
Taka approached his fellow freshmen player who was practicing his basics in shooting. "Hey, Kato-kun, are you sure that it's already 4-5?"
"Hmm, I think so. Does yesterday count?" Kato asked dribbling the ball.
"It does, based on my notes here." Another freshman player named Fujiwara said while reading on a notepad.
"Really? But that's not what Aida said."
"Well!"
When Hikoichi arrived the three freshmen players approached him, asking the same question. "Yo-checku-ya." He said as he flipped his trusty notebook. "I think not, it doesn't say here. Did they come together?"
"Nope, based on my notes, Hisae-san's forty-five seconds earlier than Sendoh-san yesterday." Fujiwara said.
"Does the seconds also count?" Taka was now frowning. Kato looked downright baffled.
"Of course it does." Fujiwara answered.
"You've got to be kidding." Hikoichi said. "That's not in my notes!"
"Gee, too bad." Fujiwara said. "Looks like you're losing your touch, Aida."
"What did you just say!" Hikoichi glared at his teammate.
The sophomores, who had just arrived, saw the intense argument among the freshmen. "Oi, what's going on?" Koshino asked. "You all look like you're going to start a riot. You know the rules…" He eyed them sternly.
Hikoichi pointed at Fujiwara. "Fujiwara insists it's 4-5." He said.
"Wrong." Koshino said. "It's 5-6."
"WHAT!" The four freshmen players exclaimed.
Uekusa nodded. "True. You guys forgot the other day when Hisae arrived four minutes earlier than Sendoh."
"You sure about that?" Taka asked.
"Certain." Sugadaira said waving a blue notebook.
Hikoichi flipped his notebook open. "How come it isn't here in my notebook?" He asked.
"Maybe you forgot to write it down." Taka said timidly.
"I resent that! I never leave anything out!" Hikoichi snapped.
They peered over his shoulder. "You keep tabs on them as well?" Ueda asked.
"Of course!" Hikoichi said proudly. "See?" He showed them his notes.
"Damn, they're this close to a tie." Fukuda said making a small space with his thumb and forefinger.
"Neck and neck." Ueda agreed.
"And look here. Hisae-san's five minutes earlier than Sendoh-san last Friday!" Taka said, pointing to the middle part of the page.
"That's the longest time so far." Koshino said.
"Yeah and here's 30 seconds as the shortest." Kato said pointing to an entry in Hikoichi's notes.
"Right." Sugadaira said as he flipped his notebook open. "I need to update my information here."
Another voice joined in that made their hairs stand on one end. "Just what you think you're all doing!"
They all turned and saw coach Taoka glaring at them. "C-Coach!"
"Did I call in a break! Get back to practice!" Taoka bellowed. "You didn't join the basketball club to bum around!"
"Hai, sensei." The players said meekly and dispersed into separate directions.
"And one more thing!" Taoka boomed.
They faced him with uneasy expressions on their faces, knowing that punishment from the always irate coach is at hand.
"It's 6-7! I'm sure of it!" Taoka said waving his own notebook, a brown soft leather-bound one.
"Gyieeh!" The entire Ryonan team body faulted at what their coach had just said.
Yes, even coach Taoka has joined in the fun.
As Sendoh entered the gym one afternoon, he passed by a long bench and saw a pink envelope on top of it. He picked the envelope and saw that there is no name written behind it. "Hmm," He said as he tore the envelope open. He began to read the letter.
To my beloved Superman,
When you first introduced yourself to me, I remembered that French phrase most people would say or read in books: coup de foudre or clap of thunder. In a simper term, it means love at first sight. Instant attraction. A love so intense nothing else mattered. Meeting you left me at a loss of everything else except on the way I feel about you.
I love everything about you from your smile to your devotion to basketball, your determination and hard work draws me much closer to you. You have a sweet and kind nature that astounded me, something I don't find in most boys. It did not hurt that you are cute, too. J You are confident, which makes me want to root for you and your team all the way to the national championships.
I wish I could tell you this personally and not through a letter, but how can I? I envy the other girls talking to you, since they don't have to feel so nervous whenever you're with them. All I have to do is approach you and say a few witty words and voila! We have a conversation, but that's easier said than done. One 'hello' from you turns me into a block of ice and my tongue gets stuck in my throat.
So instead of making a fool of myself, I act as if I do not care, but I do. I see you, but I try not to acknowledge that. Nevertheless, that was even harder than I realized because it is not what I really feel. I am bursting with emotions whenever you are around.
Love,
Hawk Girl
When Sendoh finished reading, his eyes were as wide as saucers. Getting love letters from star-struck admirers was nothing new to him, since he began receiving such letters when he was only 11 years old. Years had passed and he still gets them, only this time by the truckloads.
However, what shocked him was the sincerity in the words. Most girls had the tendency to exaggerate their feelings towards him to the point of becoming racy that sometimes it embarrasses him. This one is speaking (or writing) from her heart, not from her hormones.
Who was it from? The only thing he knew about the sender was her codename, which was nothing new in love letters, especially when the writer is too shy to express herself.
He was still pondering on who sent the letter when Koshino arrived. "Well, what do you know, you're already here." He said. "But Hisae arrived three minutes ago." He added cheerfully.
Sendoh ignored his friend, too immersed in his thoughts about the letter. "Oh." He said absently.
Koshino saw his expression and peered over his shoulder. "Hey, it's been awhile since you've got letters from your fans. Shall we have a look-see?" He then snatched the letter from him.
"Get that back, Koshino!" Sendoh shouted, trying to snatch the letter from him.
Koshino moved the letter out his reach and read it. "Not bad." He said as he scanned the contents of the letter. "First time I read something this earnest. Any idea who's it from? Because the last time you got one was…"
"No idea." Sendoh cut him off, remembering that particular letter that got him so embarrassed he ended up throwing it away.
Koshino shrugged. "Figures, you have hordes of fans, it isn't easy knowing who it was from."
"That is so reassuring." Sendoh said dryly.
"Hisae, can I talk to you for a moment please?"
Hisae turned and met a pair of serious blue eyes. "Sure, Sendoh-san." She said. She felt uneasy with the way the captain was looking at her. "Here?"
Sendoh shifted his weight restlessly. There is no way they're going to talk about something this personal while the freshman rookie watches them with interest, just like what they're doing right now. "How about over there?" He indicated the far side of the gym.
"No prob." Hisae said, shrugging. She turned to Taka. "You're doing great there, Taka. Just keep it up." She gestured for Hikoichi. "Take over will you? I'll be back after a few minutes."
"Ok, Hisae-san." Hikoichi said, puzzled on why they're going to the far side of the gym. He turned to Taka who had just shrugged.
The two of them went to the other side of the gym where there is no one to bother them. Hisae leaned against the wall and looked at the captain expectantly. Though she looked calm, her mind was in chaos. What does Sendoh-san want from me? She wondered. Trying to talk to her at a remote area of the gym is beyond her comprehension. Did she do something wrong?
"What's going on?" Hisae asked, not liking the uncomfortable silence between them. "Is this about the team?"
"No." It came out short and curt.
Now this is a surprise. They rarely talk to each other except when it comes to team stats and training the players. Now she wondered what they could possibly talk about that had nothing to do with basketball.
"Oh. Ok." Hisae said. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Damn, why did it have to be this way? Sendoh thought, feeling bad. He recalled how he ended up approaching her.
"Why are you going to ask Hisae?" Koshino had asked.
"Maybe she knows who this is from." Sendoh answered.
His friend raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because I don't think she strikes me as someone who acts as a go-between with your fans."
Sendoh ignored him. He knew he was not being honest with himself. He had entertained that possibility in his mind but dismissed it to be unlikely. If he even hinted to Koshino about it…
Maybe it wasn't from her. He thought to himself.
But what if it was from her? A voice inside his mind asked nastily. What are you going to do?
Would it be possible that behind her sarcasm is a girl very much in-love with him?
If it was from HisaeisaHisae, unfortunately, she will get hurt. If he turns her down, she will be heartbroken and a very angry Koshino would beat him up. If he leads her on, both of them would get hurt and a very angry Koshino would still beat him up.
Sendoh was definitely in a crisis.
"Uh, Sendoh-san, are you alright?" Hisae's voice cut him through his reverie.
He nodded then cleared his throat loudly. "The reason I wanted to talk to you was…well, I know we didn't exactly start at the right foot and when we manage to get along, we're not exactly friends either."
"Um, I guess so." Hisae said nervously.
Sendoh took a deep breath. Ok, she is taking this well. He thought. "But I didn't expect that you'd feel something for me despite the fact that you and I are always at odds."
"We are?" Hisae was now frowning slightly.
Uh-oh. "I mean it's nice to know that you like me." He said. He was not able to speak out the word love since that is too heavy a word.
"I-I do?" Hisae said, her frown deepening.
She sure has a severe case of memory loss. Sendoh thought. He fished out the letter from his jogging pants pocket. "But I have to turn you down." He said sadly. "I am really sorry about this."
Hisae stared at him then at the letter. Her eyes widened. "Aha, there it is!" She said, snatching the letter from Sendoh. "I've been looking all over for that! I thought I'd lost it!"
Now it was Sendoh's turn to look bewildered. "Lost what?"
"This one." She said, waving the letter in the air. "I placed it on the bench when I got here and then a few minutes later, it's gone! I was in hysterics when I saw it gone! But I thought, hey someone must've taken it." She then frowned at him. "Why didn't you tell me that you have it with you!"
"What?" His head was spinning. What is going on now?
"This letter," she waved the letter once again. "Contains Misao's heart and soul, if this did not reach Hikoichi, everything is doomed. How could you hide this from me!"
Misao? Hikoichi? Since when did these two appear in the picture? Sendoh thought, his mind is still in a whirl.
"Obviously, you've read it." Hisae said seeing, the torn envelope flap. She sighed. "So much for respecting other people's privacy."
Sendoh stared at her in aghast. Here he was, trying to be as nice as possible in rejecting her and she's talking about violation of privacy! "Other people's privacy!" He snapped. "What are you talking about!"
"This letter is for Hikoichi." Hisae said slowly as if trying to reason to an extremely stupid person.
"Hikoichi?"
"Hai, Sendoh-san. Why would you think…?" Then her face brightened in comprehension. "Oho, so you thought this letter is for you right?"
Sendoh felt uneasy. He felt like a four-year-old boy again caught in the act of doing something bad by his mother. He did not say anything; he refused to say anything.
"Aye, fame sure has gotten into your head." Hisae said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Has it ever occurred to you that you're not the only one in the team the girls are crazy about?"
Sendoh glared at her. "You make me sound like an egomaniac." He said bitingly.
"You mean you're not?" Hisae countered. "Then how do you explain reading Hikoichi's letter?"
"How would I know it's his letter! There was no name on the envelope." Sendoh reasoned out angrily.
"But that doesn't mean it's yours." Hisae snapped. Then she looked at him closely. "And you thought that this letter came from me didn't you? Didn't you?" She added, smiling slyly at him and nudging him playfully.
Sendoh's scowl deepened when Hisae burst into loud peals of laughter. "You're so sweet to think like that!" She said cheerfully. "But writing you a love letter is the last thing I'd do."
Sendoh felt like a complete fool. Here he thought he was turning Hisae down, but instead he managed to interfere in a matchmaking mission. Why didn't he realize it before? He had observed the redhead girl's actions towards their guard in training even before Hisae became the manager. On how Misao would turn red whenever Hikoichi waved at her or the way her voice shook when she says hello to him or the times where she is at the gym watching them, her eyes glued only to Hikoichi.
Now everything made sense.
Hisae would never write a wordy and sappy love letter. How could he think that she could? What possessed him that she could do so anyway!
In his annoyance, he snatched the letter from her.
"Hey, what do you think you're going to do with that!" Hisae asked as she tried to grab the letter back from him.
But Sendoh held it out of he reach and stalked towards Hikoichi.
Hisae stared after him, her hazel eyes as wide as saucers. Oh no! She thought. She instantly ran after him, hoping that the captain will not make things worse than they already are.
"Hikoichi." Sendoh said in an authoritative voice.
The freshman player jumped at the sharpness of the captain's tone and he immediately ran to him. "Hai, Sendoh-san!" He said, sounding like a military cadet being yelled at by a drill sergeant.
"You have a letter." Sendoh said simply, handing out the now worn envelope.
Hikoichi took the envelope, eyeing the captain uneasily. "It's already been opened."
Hisae threw a withering look towards Sendoh. "Well, someone decided to play customs officer and screened your letter for any avian flu virus." She said crisply. Sendoh shot her a murderous look.
Hikoichi was so dazed that he had received another letter from his secret admirer that he did not notice the captain and the manager glaring at each other. However, Taka did and he wanted to run for his life. He hugged the ball close to him, thinking that a piece of rubber could protect him from anything.
When Hikoichi was finished reading, his face was beet red. "It's the same person who had written to me a few days ago. Do you know who she is, Sendoh-san?" He asked.
Sendoh did not answer, but to Hisae's horror, he threw an arm around the younger player's shoulders and led him towards Misao who was standing by the doorway, watching them. She once again ran behind them. What is Sendoh-san planning to do now! She thought, panicking.
By that time, the three of them reached Misao; the redhead was puzzled on why they are approaching her in the middle of the practice but she greeted them happily anyway. "Hiya!"
"Hey, Misao-chan." Sendoh said, giving her a friendly smile. "How's it going?"
"Fine, Sendoh-kun." Misao said, looking down to the floor upon seeing Hikoichi.
"Hi, Kamiya-san." Hikoichi said, wondering why the redhead is not looking at him.
Sendoh just nodded and placed a hand on Misao's shoulder. "Great. Maybe you can help Hikoichi here." He began. He continued despite the redhead's blank look. "You see, he's getting letters from a girl who's obviously in-love with him. But he has no idea who she is."
Misao blanched and sent Hisae a beseeching look. The Ryonan manager was as shocked as she was and was frantically gesturing behind Sendoh. When he turned to look at her, she suddenly stopped and clasped her hands behind her, the tip of her right foot drawing circles on the floor. Sendoh's eyes were bearing down into Hisae's hazel ones, and she met his penetrating blue gaze unflinchingly despite feeling that she's going to melt.
Sendoh turned back to Misao who was trembling nervously. "So, Misao-chan, any ideas?" He asked.
Wide brown eyes only answered him.
"Daijobu desu ka, Kamiya-san?" Hikoichi asked upon seeing the redhead's pallor. "You look sick."
"Why don't you take her outside?" Sendoh interjected. "She could use some fresh air."
Hikoichi hesitated, but obeyed the captain eventually. He ushered the redhead outside the gym who looked more nervous than ever. Hisae was about to follow them when Sendoh blocked her way. She scowled at him. "Just what do you think you're doing!" She snapped. "Blow her cover!"
"I'm just doing her a favor!" Sendoh snapped back.
"Favor! You might as well humiliate her! Can't you see how scared stiff she was! What if Hikoichi doesn't feel the same way as she does!"
"And if you're wrong, then what!" Sendoh felt drained of all his anger. He sighed and continued in a much gentler tone. "You've done all you can, Hisae. The ball's in their court now."
Hisae sighed, her anger leaving her as well. "Good point." She said. "It's just that I'm so worried about Misao-chan."
Sendoh rested a hand on her shoulder. "Well so am I, but things have a way of working out without anyone's help."
She can feel the warmth from his hand on her shoulder. Her first thought was to brush it aside, but she decided not to. It felt nice. "Right." She said.
"Ahem, excuse me lovebirds, yoo-hoo!" Koshino's dry voice snapped them back to reality. They simultaneously turned their heads towards him. The vice-captain along with Fukuda and coach Taoka were watching them with different expressions on their faces. Koshino looked amused while Fukuda has a mystified look on his face. Coach Taoka looked torn between scolding and teasing them.
Both Sendoh and Hisae glared at Koshino who laughed maniacally. He would have continued laughing but was cut off when the coach slapped him on the head. "Urusei!" He yelled at the co-captain rubbing his head in pain. He then turned to the pair. "As for you two, if you're through with your lover's quarrel you can come here and join the rest of the team in practicing!"
"Uh right." Hisae muttered suddenly avoiding Sendoh's eyes.
"Hai." Sendoh said who was also making an effort not to look at Hisae.
They parted ways, with Sendoh going to Fukuda's group and with Hisae going to Taka who was still doing his basics in dribbling.
"Are you alright now, Kamiya-san?" Hikoichi asked.
Misao nodded, leaning against the post of one of the wire fences. Actually, I'm not alright. Maybe if you would go away I'll be fine. She thought. Then again, having him around makes her heart soar, even if she's shaking like a leaf. It was bad enough she would feel so tense when he greets her now that they are the only ones here outside the gym this was much worse.
Misao wanted to kill Sendoh for nearly blowing her cover. In addition, how could Hisae tell him about the letters? No one was supposed to know except for her and Ayano, but now the captain knows all about it as well. She felt betrayed.
Right now she wanted to give the two a head butt each. That is if she is tall enough to do that. Maybe she can ask her cousin Hana to do that for her.
"Kamiya-san?"
She looked up and met a pair of kind brown eyes that always takes her breath away. "Yes?" She said breathlessly.
"Uh, maybe Sendoh-san was right about you helping me in the letter." Hikoichi said nervously. "Do you know who wrote it?"
"Why do you ask?" She asked as casually as she can.
Hikoichi now looked ill at ease. He took a deep breath. "It's nice to receive love letters from someone, but I can't lie to myself and to her."
Misao frowned. What is he getting at? She wondered as her stomach was in a tight knot because of nervousness.
"I don't want to do this, but I have to turn her down." Hikoichi said then continued hurriedly. "Because I love someone else."
Misao's world came crashing down on her. This is what she was dreading to happen! She should not have listened to Hisae and Ayano who insisted with this crazy idea of writing a letter to Hikoichi about her feelings towards him. Who would have thought that taking chances would be this painful?
"You do. So who's she?" Misao asked casually even if she felt her heart breaking into a million tiny pieces.
"Uh, well..." Hikoichi turned away and gazed into the sea instead. "Um, well…."
"C'mon, you can tell me." Misao prodded further even if it hurts.
Hikoichi stared at her. "It's not that simple, Kamiya-san." He said.
Misao laughed, hoping that it did not sound brittle to his ears. "C'mon, how complicated could it be?"
Hikoichi felt more nervous than ever. How would she take it? If he weren't pushed in a tight corner, he would not have this problem. Would it be possible to tell her without breaking his heart in the process?
Taking another deep breath, Hikoichi decided to take a hold of his fears and uncertainties and just do it. Isn't that what Koshino told him? "You."
Misao blinked at him. "Nani?" She asked.
Bad idea. Hikoichi thought. However, he already said it and he cannot back down now. "You. I love you."
Misao blinked at him once again and Hikoichi wondered if he was getting his rejection or what he had just said did not make sense to her. "This isn't exactly new to you since a lot of guys practically declare their love for you but...!"
"But if it comes from someone I'm in-love with, it's something new." Misao cut him off.
"Someone you love?" Hikoichi stared at her blankly.
Misao wanted to laugh at Hikoichi's blank expression, but refrained from doing so. He might misunderstand her and that would be bad. Somehow, her friends were right. It was time to be honest. "Yes, meaning you." She said.
"You love me?" He said incredulously.
She smiled. "Why is it hard to believe?"
He blushed furiously. "Coming from such a beautiful girl like you, it's a shock!" He said. "You love me?" He repeated.
Misao nodded. "I, er, wouldn't send you a letter if I don't." She admitted, looking down the ground. She did not want him to see her flushed face.
Hikoichi stared at her in amazement. "You mean you're the one who sent those letters to me?" He asked, baffled that this delicate beauty is secretly in-love with him. "But I thought they're from someone else, I even thought they're from Hisae-san. Why me? You can have any guy you want and most of them are better-looking than I am."
"Because you are the one I'm in-love with. I love your lively and cheerful personality, your determination to be one of the starting members of the team. Not to mention that you're the only guy I met who didn't approach me to ask for my vital statistics." Misao said.
"You sure?"
Misao got annoyed and stamped her foot. "Why do you doubt me anyway?"
Hikoichi lowered his head. "I just can't believe it, that's all. Here I thought I don't stand a chance against half of the Ryonan male population as my rivals. But now…" He trailed off, not sure on how to continue.
"I prefer you over all of them." Misao repeated and this time with much more conviction.
Hikoichi smiled and held out his hand to her. "I didn't have the guts to ask for your vital statistics then." He joked. Misao laughed. "I know. But I would still love you even if you did." With that, she jumped into his arms, surprising both of them. With their faces close together, he did what comes naturally to people holding the person they love close to them. He kissed her.
Who would have thought that taking chances would be this wonderful? Misao thought as she responded to his kiss eagerly. After their kiss, she looked at him.
"What made you think that those letters came from Hisae?"
Author's note: This chapter is for Hikoichi fans. I like the Ryonan researcher. He is very much adorable and funny in his own way. He deserves a girl as energetic as he is.In addition, standard disclaimers apply once again.
Reviews are always welcome!