Chapter 2: Running Girl

When the bell announced the end of the lessons, Yachi turned to the side. Taking a deep breath to build up courage – after all, she was talking to this really tall stranger – she asked: "Sadai-San? Do you want to take the school tour now? Or do you have to be somewhere? Maybe you have to go home?"

The new girl shook her head no. „Please Hitoka-San, call me Yona. Sadai-San sounds like my mother is next to me…"

Yachi blushed again and smiled. "Then you have to call me Yachi!"

"I will, thank you, Yachi-chan! Now would be fine for the tour. But only if you don't have to be at a club…"

Yachi glanced at her watch. "I have to be at the gym in 30 minutes. But I can show you around and end the tour at the gym, then I won't be late and you will get the tour. Let's go!"

Together they left the classroom and Yachi started pointing out directions to the teacher's rooms, the toilets, and other useful rooms in school. The new girl was quiet but attentive. She didn't ask silly questions, only important ones. Yachi started to like her new classmate.

But one thing irritated her: She felt watched. Not by Yona, but she could still feel Hinatas excited aura everywhere they were going. She ignored it inside the building, but on the way over to the sportsgrounds, the feeling of being watched multiplied. Yachi tried her best to ignore it further on, engaging in a conversation with Yona about their teachers and classmates.

"Yachi-chan, which sport do you do?", Yona wondered.

"M-m-me? Sports? No, I'm just a manager. I'd die if a ball would fly directly towards me on court!" Yachi laughed quietly, thinking of Hinata catching the ball with his face. Yes, she would die. For sure.

Yona tilted her head to the side. "A manager? Of which team?"

Yachi smiled proudly. "Right now, I'm only second manager of the team. Kiyoko-San, a third year, is the first manager. But she'll leave the team at the end of the year, then I'll be the manager… of the boy's volleyball team!"

Suddenly, it felt like the temperature dropped a few degrees. The face of the new girl darkened, it hardened, suddenly, the little smile she had on her lips vanished.

"Yo-Yona-chan?" Yachi took a step backwards.

Then, as sudden as it happened, the dark expression vanished from the girl's face. "Sorry!", she bowed. "Can we walk on? I need to get home soon; my brother will wonder where I am."

Yachi nodded. "Of course! We are almost finished." With that, she pointed to the gyms in front of them. "So, we are lucky to have two gyms and several sports courts. The tennis courts are to your left,…"

"Thank you, Yachi", Yona interrupted her. "I know I am being unpolite, but I'm not interested in any sports."

"WHAAAAAAAT?" A loud scream echoed through the schoolground. "Not interested? How can running girl not be interested in sports when she runs on a daily basis?" With a screeching of his shoes, Hinata came to a stop in front of them. The girls staggered a few steps back.

"Hinata!"; Yachi yelled. "I knew you were following us! Why? You have to get ready for training!"

The orange haired boy pointed to his track suit. "But I am ready, Yachi! Look, I've already changed. Kageyama, too!"

"Kageyama too?", asked the manager faintly. She raised her hand and put it in front of her eyes. Maybe they would vanish if she couldn't see them…?

"Yes, I've changed, too!", yelled Kageyama. He walked towards them.

Yachi sighed. Nope, they wouldn't vanish. Instead…

"I'm Hinata Shoyo, and I'm in your class, running girl!" Hinata jumped up and down in front of the girls.

"Running… girl?", asked Yona.

The boy nodded fervently. "Yes, yes, yes! You are the running girl!"

Suddenly, it clicked in the girl's head. "Oh, you are the boy on the bike! Are you riding your bike to school every morning? Why would you do that?" She stared at him bewildered.

"Because I train my legs that way!"; Hinata explained proudly. "I need to get stronger to jump higher and to become the best of Japan. Like the little giant. And I want to jump higher than Kageyama. He is setter. I am wing spiker."

The girl hid her smile at that. She needed to look down because of his height. And he wanted to become best of Japan? Funny little guy. On the other hand… His body looked like it was used to hard training. Maybe he was one of those surprises on court. She'd love to see him in a game… but no. Not now. Not during the next weeks.

She glanced at her hand.

Maybe never.

Kageyama caught the glance and furrowed his brows. "Are you not interested in sports because of your hand?"

Hinata shook his head no: "But you don't need your hand to run, so you can teach me how to run faster."

Yona took a step back. Was this little guy always like this? Casting a glance to the side, she saw Yachi shaking her head. "Hinata, Kageyama, it's none of your business…"

Raising her hand, Yona stopped Yachi and addressed the boys. "I won't be able to run for quite a while, starting next week. Also, I won't be able to attend any sports classes or clubs. No sports for me, end of topic. Thank you for your approval of my morning runs, though." She added when she saw the sad and pitiful face of Hinata.

But suddenly, the sad face vanished. Instead, there was only happiness and joy. "Well, I can still show you the gym and you can come and watch me run and jump!"

What the…?! Yona was stunned. This guy radiated happiness although he was turned down only seconds ago? Her brother had given her a warning of the Japanese way of things. But this…? She really needed to get used to the Japanese culture again…

Thinking of her brother, she really needed to get going.

"Thank you, Yachi-chan, for showing me around! It will be a big help to know the school like this!" Yona bowed.

"You are welcome!" Yachi bowed in return. "Do you want to exchange numbers? If you have any questions, you can just message me!"

The new girl smiled and took out her phone. Yachi typed her number into the mobile, then Yona send her quick message to give her number as well. During the exchange, the walked further towards the gym so that Yachi – and Hinata and Kageyama- wouldn't be late to the training.

"Thank you, again! And… is it okay to ask another favour? Even if we know each other just for a short amount of time?"

Yachi nodded yes. "Of course! What do you need? Directions to your home? A rundown of the things we had in lessons already?"

Yona smiled and put away her phone. "Well, that would be useful, too. But... I won't be able to attend school next week. Could I borrow your notes from class when I get back? Please?"

They had reached the entrance of the gym and Yachi turned to her new classmate – maybe her new friend? Who knew? "Of course! Do the teachers know of your absence?"

The new girl nodded yes. She had stopped several steps away from the entrance. "Yes, it's all been taken care of. I hope to be back sooner than this whole week, but apparently, my brother won't let me."

The door to the gym right behind Yachi opened. "Ah, there you are!"

A man in his thirties was standing behind Yachi now. He had blond, spiky hair and was wearing a tracksuit. "I already wondered. Normally, you are the first to be in the gym, Hinata, Kageyama. Get in, start your warmup!"

"Of course!" The two first years ran into the gym and were greeted with a chorus of voices, all scolding them for almost being late.

"Hullo? Hitoka-chan, are you bringing a guest to watch the training?"; the man asked.
Yona shook her head now, taking several steps back. In no way she would enter the gym. Not now. Not ever. Until…

"No. Sorry. I… I... I have to go!" When she took another step back, she bumped into someone.

Apologizing, she turned around, looking in the face of a boy who was as tall as she was. He had black hair, a friendly face – with a big bruise on his cheek.
"Sorry! I am sorry! And I have to go!" With that, Yona fled the campus.

Sawamura Daichi stood motionless and watched her run away. Who was this girl? Why was she running? He had never seen her… But he wanted to see her again.


Hello again and thank you to everyone who is reading. A special thanks goes out to the reader leaving a review!
So, someone made a short appearance in this chapter. I promise that you'll read more of him soon, but next chapter, we'll get to know more about Yona.

See you next week!

Kate