Chapter 1: Rejection

She actually did it.

Kyoko Sunadori was able to conquer her awkwardness that she's had for who knows how long, and ask the captain of the cycling team if she could join. And that's quite an accomplishment, as she asked confidently, with no stuttering or weird, unnecessary comments added. Even though she was labeled as this cold, smart ice queen type of personality in middle school, she was still pretty awkward. Heck, she still made weird ass comments towards Hayato, which made him question what kind of 7th grader genius she was. Like, who would randomly say, "I'm sorry that I had to take a shit like a normal human being before coming over!" and not realize what they had just said was weird in any way until like, five minutes after the situation happened?

Oh jeez, it's kicking in.

Now that she's thinking about those days of middle school, which really wasn't too long ago, it's making her pretty nervous. And because she's nervous she's gonna act really awkward and probably run away crying, not because they may reject her, but because she can't really take the pressure.

And that's not gonna roll well with her first year in high school.

Kyoko's confident smirk had dropped at these running thoughts in her head, and instead had settled to an obviously nervous but still trying to stay cool smile.

Hopefully, the cool upperclassman wouldn't notice.

"I'm sorry, I'm glad you want to join the cycling club. However, it is a males only club." He apologized kindly, giving her a sad smile.

Kyoko's eyes began to sparkle at the sight of that.

This upperclassman isn't that intimidating. In fact, he was really kind and he didn't say it in a rude way. And he even said that he's glad that she would love to join! So he would totally let her join if it was a unisex club, she assumed. She hoped.

Maybe this isn't so bad, after all. He's really cool and kind.

"Aww, that's too bad. Thanks, though!" Kyoko shakily replied, as she is still trying to shake off the nerves from her near mental breakdown. Over nothing. Just a simple middle school memory.

The fact that she really couldn't join the cycling club began to sink in.

The feeling of rejection was pretty heavy. It was heavier than that time in 4th grade. There was this boy she would play basketball with everyday, and at the time, she thought he was pretty cute and cool, especially since he was in the 6th grade. So, like the naive, hopeful girl she was, she confessed to him.

Guess what?

Not surprisingly, he laughed at her and said he would never date a little girl like her.

At her age, it was pretty heart wrenching for her prince, the boy of her dreams, to reject her.

That was way back in 4th grade though. This feeling of rejection was a lot heavier, heavier than anything else she's ever felt before.

Cycling was what saved her from her boring middle school life.

It was the thing she actually enjoyed. Obviously, getting bad grades is something she hates, as well as being unfit. That's why she studies so hard and why she exercises all the time. However, that life was just so boring. Sleeping during class because she stayed up too late studying then reading or playing video games, acing (or at least, try to ace) her tests and assignments, then staying after school to exercise or play in the usual basketball game.

Boring.

Repetitive.

Annoying, overall.

And her friends have asked her, why did cycling work out? It's a sport just like basketball, so shouldn't basketball have been her escape from studies?

Well, long story short, the basketball team was full of assholes and whiny, unmotivated brats. The cycling team wasn't. People can do a lot to impact something you may or may not enjoy.

Before Kyoko could even think about a well thought out reply, a desperate question had escaped her lips.

"Uhh, is it possible to become like, a manager though?"

And just like that, she felt as if the hallway had gone completely silent.

It really hasn't, though. The level of volume in the hallways was the same as always. There wasn't really tension in the air, even when she met up with the captain and asked him that question. But because she has asked that question, without even knowing what came over her, it certainly did feel like there was a lot of tension in the air.

"Yes, you can. There may be other candidates for the manager position, but there's nothing wrong with having two managers." He answered her, after thinking for a moment.

The tension that she had imagined dropped, and she was overcome with extreme happiness. The hope of being at least a part of the cycling club, someone important too, was just something she was elated about. It's honestly a feeling she didn't really want to bother explaining to someone, because it's just something you really feel.

Kyoko had almost started to laugh, thinking about how much emotion she has went through in a span of what, five minutes?

Emotions are definitely weird. She literally just went through confidence, anxiety, hopefulness, heartbreak, and joy. Yes, those are emotions we all experience on a daily basis, but that was just in those five minutes.

"Thank you so much!" This was all Kyoko could muster, without squealing in excitement over this opportunity. She didn't even care if she would get rejected again, she was thinking about what she could bring to the team so they would want her. Because if they want her, that means they won't reject her, right?

Not knowing what else to do at this moment, she decided to check her phone for notifications. Plus, maybe it would sort of calm her down from this excitement?

As her eyes landed on the time, she let out a low groan.

She was so gonna be late.

Her eyes then landed on the notifications, and seeing them made that little mini Kyoko in her head faint.

Three missed calls from mom.

She was so gonna die today.

"Uh, I'm really thankful for this opportunity! I really gotta go though, so I guess I'll just see you later then?" Kyoko laughed nervously. She was obviously panicking about this; her volume just went up a notch, and her voice heightened in pitch. Well, since she's gonna die anyways, there's no time to waste.

She turned around and began to run away, mentally cursing at the fact that today was the day she had to be home at a certain time.

"Wait, at least give me your name and junior high!" The kind upperclassman shouted to her. He was definitely interested in having a new manager, but without knowing her name and middle school, he wouldn't know anything about her. "I'm Kinjou Shingo, captain!"

Just the name made her stop in her tracks, causing her to stumble a bit due to the speed she was running at. She knew he looked familiar! She really admired him back when she watched high schools compete, so it's really weird how the name didn't just pop in her head as she saw the familiar face. It was definitely the lack of shades.

Knowing that she didn't exactly have the time, she quickly snapped around and made eye contact with him. With a small smile, she answered, "Sunadori Kyoko, Minoshi Junior High! You may or may not have heard of us, we were kind of the underdogs."

With that, she hurriedly ran off so her mom hopefully won't kill her. She's got killer cycling skills anyways, so even with her sore legs, she'd be able to make it to her house on time or a few minutes late.

Kyoko's smile widened as she thought back to her small talk with the captain, the one and only Kinjou Shingo, which literally happened just a minute or two ago.

She was a little proud of herself.

Her entrance and her exit was pretty cool.

And she didn't make a fool out of herself, thank God.

Meanwhile, Kinjou was left behind to think about that girl that just left him with a name and her middle school. He didn't even have the time to hand her a club form.

More importantly, he didn't know anything about a Minoshi Junior High, and if what she claimed was true, then it was quite surprising that he hasn't heard of that junior high before.

With a sigh, he decided to quell his curiosity for now and save it for later, or else he'd be late too. He picked up his pace and walked to the cycling club room, where he saw a girl with long brown hair waiting outside of the club room.

"Excuse me, did you need something?" He asked politely, causing the girl to turn around to face him.

"Ah, yes! I'm Kanzaki Tooji's younger sister Miki. I'd like to become the manager for the cycling club." She easily introduced herself, smiling brightly at the end.

"Ah yes, Kanzaki-san was a great captain. I'll introduce you to everyone else inside." Kinjou motioned for Miki to follow behind him, as he opened the door to the clubroom.

"Ah Kinjou, there you are. Who's that?" Makishima questioned, nodding his head towards the the girl behind him.

"She wants to become a manager. She's Kanzaki-san's little sister." Kinjou stated. Everyone seemed to perk up at the name of their previous captain when they were first years.

"Kanzaki-san has always been great help to us, he always brought over bicycle parts." Tadokoro smiled as he thought about his first year captain, who has continued to supply the Sohoku team with much needed bicycle parts after his graduation.

"It's no problem, we do own a cycle shop." Miki replied, clearly proud of the work that her family does for the Sohoku team.

"There is another first year that wishes to be the manager as well, but she had to leave early." Kinjou quickly added. The rest of the team, Miki included, stared at him in shock at the thought of having not one, but two managers for the team.

"Huh, so we'll have two managers?" Makishima commented, holding up 2 fingers as he processed the information. "One manager with knowledge in cycling was kind of rare, but two in one year? We're pretty lucky."

"That's right. She's actually a competitive cyclist like us, so her original intention was to join the team." Kinjou further explained, thinking back to his encounter with Kyoko. Her entire demeanor and general vibe did scream "cyclist" out to him, and with the information she gave him about her junior high, it was a shame that she couldn't practice with them.

"Interesting."

"Kinjou-senpai, what's her name and what does she look like? I can try to meet her tomorrow!" Miki excitedly interrupted, taking out her cellphone to text the information to herself.

"Her name is Sunadori Kyoko, from Minoshi Junior High. I believe she has long black hair and yellow hairclips... How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I know all of the Sohoku third years! My brother told me all about you." Miki explained, and proceeded to announce the names, positions, and other important information. It was as if Miki had written down their information in a notebook and proceeded to read off of it like a presentation for school. That performance itself would have definitely earned her a perfect score. Once Miki said goodbye and left, the cycling team was left to think about the manager situation themselves.

"That's one crazy girl, sho." Kinjou smiled and nodded. Because she was Kanzaki's little sister and because she said all of that to them, he knew that they were going to be in good hands. Along with the experienced cyclist, the two could become an amazing team.

"Well, now we have two managers and a promising first year." Kinjou said, knowing he had to say what was on everyone's mind. "I still wish that we had another promising first year..."

A/N: Hey everyone! This is the author, obviously. You know me as BulletproofQueen, but you can just call me Vega! I'm sorry for taking a really long time to update, haha. I hope I continue this story well, and I hope you all enjoy it! ^^

Anyways, it's currently 4AM and I'm pretty tired, so I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors! I will edit it when I can.