English is not my first language. Please bear with grammatical errors.
Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD.
Season of Farewell
Chapter 5: Sport Festival II
Back into his gym clothes, Athrun was standing in the crowd and waiting for a game he took part in to start once more. But this time, he wasn't searching for his girlfriend. He had already found her, but was feeling hesitant to approach her. Cagalli appeared to be in a serious discussion with a junior with raven hair, Shinn Asuka. They both belonged to the White Team and were probably talking about the current position of their team which had dropped to the second after the 100 Meters Hurdles.
The blonde and the raven-head had actually met through Athrun. And their relationship had hardly gotten off to a promising start.
Athrun's father had an appreciation of martial arts, or any fighting skills—probably because he was a police officer and practiced a couple of martial arts himself—and believed his son should be familiar with at least one of them. He had put Athrun into a karate class when he was four. Although he had once changed dojos due to moving, Athrun still took a lesson on Saturdays. As with most sports, he was good at karate, and liked it enough.
It was through the karate lesson that he had met Shinn and Lunamaria in middle school. They took a lesson at the same dojo as he did. Mayu, Shinn's sister who was four years younger than Shinn, was also a member of the dojo. Although they didn't share a lesson since Athrun was much more experienced than she was, they usually had lessons at the same time and Athrun often looked after her, becoming her training partner and helping her perform the forms correctly when she wanted to train more after a lesson. He didn't mind helping people and was used to taking care of his juniors. Also, the younger girl always showed him her appreciation and affection, along with her enthusiasm for karate, and he had become fond of her.
Once she had learned about his karate lesson, Cagalli constantly showed up at the competitions he took a part in, though he suspected it was more out of curiosity and love for sports than out of friendship or love for him. Not that he didn't appreciate her presence and support, especially since she had made time despite being busy with volleyball practice before this summer.
She had been at the competition in which Mayu got injured early during the summer break of his freshman year in high school. Mayu had tried to do the jumping back spin kick, which she had not been taught yet, during a match and failed; falling down to the ground, she had twisted her wrist. Already done with his own matches, he had been watching his friends' matches with Cagalli and they had hurried to see whether Mayu was all right.
Receiving first aid, Mayu had ruefully told him that she had wanted to do the form because she loved watching him perform it. He had been touched that she wanted to do like him, concerned about her injury, and feeling somewhat guilty that she had gotten herself injured because of him.
He had not been the only one to find him at fault. Shinn, who had already been upset about his sister's injury, had accused Athrun of being a bad influence on Mayu. His sister had told him that it wasn't Athrun's fault, trying to pacify him. The red-eyed boy had not listened and continued that if Athrun wanted to show off, he should be at least responsible and teach his juniors the right way to copy him so no one would hurt themselves.
Athrun had not tried to argue back, partly because he felt responsible for Mayu's injury and partly because he didn't want to upset the younger boy even more, which could get both of them into a serious trouble.
Cagalli had not shared his sentiments, however. She had shoved away Shinn, who was grabbing Athrun by the collar, and told him to stop taking out his anger on Athrun. Surprised and not comfortable hiding behind her, Athrun had tried to talk her into staying away. But she had insisted on defending him: "You shouldn't be made to feel bad about what isn't your fault, especially when it happened to someone you clearly care about. You aren't the kind of person who neglects taking necessary precautions and risks the safety of your juniors. So it can't be your fault. He's stupid not to see that."
Unsurprisingly, her calling Shinn stupid had made the younger boy even angrier; Cagalli had not been budging a centimeter. Athrun suspected they would have engaged in a fist fight without adult intervention. Both were rather quick with their fists. Much to his relief, an instructor who usually taught Shinn had sternly told both of them to back off and calm down, grabbing their shoulders. They had reluctantly stepped away from each other. Shinn's parents had promptly dragged the boy away to take Mayu to the hospital, scolding Shinn and apologizing for his behavior.
Athrun had dragged Cagalli away as well, after apologizing to his instructors and other children for causing a scene. She had still been seething, and he had explained that Shinn was quite protective of his sister and had been upset about the accident. His attempt to pacify her had not been successful.
Her reply had been, "I know he was upset about his sister. I get that. I sure would. Still, it was so unfair!" She had looked as if she was the one who had gotten unfairly accused.
It was one of her virtues that she seemed to feel as strong happiness and anger for other people as for herself. It sometimes bemused him, but still, caused admiration and affection in him.
Plus, trying to distract and pacify her had been a good distraction for himself that day. He had not had to fret over Mayu's injury while he was with Cagalli. After parting with her, however, it had started to weigh upon him. The only solace had been an e-mail from an instructor saying that Mayu's injury had not been serious and that she should recover soon. He had felt quite relieved at reading it, but still had not been able to overcome the sense of guilt.
Several days later, he had gotten a call from Lacus. During her work as an idol, she had met the representative of an organization dedicated to saving fireflies and the environment the insects could live in, and been invited to one of the places the organization was protecting to watch a flight of fireflies dancing in the darkness. Lacus had sounded eager to see the romantic sight and invited Athrun to come with her.
He had been reluctant. He didn't care for romantic scenes or the insects, except the mechanism of how they glowed perhaps. Also, going to such a "romantic" place alone with Lacus had not seemed like a good idea. He had been about to turn down her invitation when an idea occurred to him.
It had actually been a memory. Several weeks ago, before school had ended, he had overheard a conversation between Cagalli, Nicol, and Miriallia during lunchtime. The three had been appreciating a photo of fireflies at night on a photography magazine, saying the scene looked cool. None of the three had seen such a scene for real and they had briefly talked about what it would feel like to watch many glowing insects flying around them.
With Lacus's permission, which had sounded more like an encouragement, he had told his friends about the trip and the Hibiki twins, Nicol, and Miriallia, had come. It had been the first time the twins, and Miriallia, had met Lacus.
A little more than a week after the karate competition, they had gone to firefly watching. Lacus's chauffeur had rented a large car and given them a ride. They had reached the riverside after a few hours and scattered around to admire fireflies starting to appear here and there.
Cagalli had asked him to come with her. At first, he had thought she just didn't like to be alone and wanted some company. But she had seemed to have a hidden agenda. They had walked toward a lamppost on the road instead of the fireflies.
Once out of earshot of the others, she had turned to him and asked, "Have you had any news on that girl who got injured in the competition? Her injury wasn't serious, was it?"
He had been caught off guard. "No, it wasn't. I got an e-mail from my instructor and he'd heard from Mayu's parents that she was all right."
She had smiled. "That's good." She had paused to study his face which must be barely visible thanks to the light from the lamppost. "But the accident is still bothering you, right? Kira said you seemed down recently." It had been the first time for them to see each other after the competition, but he had seen her brother a few times.
He had hesitated to answer. He had felt a little guilty that he was still feeling bad about Mayu's injury after Cagalli had defended him so passionately. And he certainly had not wanted to tell her he felt so bad that he had even canceled his last karate lesson three days ago since he couldn't bring himself to face either Mayu or Shinn just yet.
However, she had appeared certain she was right, and seemed to have no intention of letting him off the hook easily. And he had not felt too uncomfortable with her to at least admit to feeling down.
So he had let out a sigh, then said, "Yeah, I'm still troubled a little...sorry." In retrospect, a part of him might have expected her to help him deal with the matter by offering her viewpoint which was likely to be quite different from his own. It had happened before.
She had looked confused. "Why do you say sorry?"
"You stood up to Shinn for me, and I'm grateful for that. But...I'm still feeling like this after what you did."
She had knitted her eyebrows, seemingly trying to figure him out, and, after a little while, asked, "You feel sorry because I said to that boy he shouldn't make you feel bad?"
He had nodded his head.
"But you don't have to. I said you shouldn't be made to feel bad. I didn't say you shouldn't feel bad. It's hard not to when someone important to you gets injured, yeah?" She had taken a thoughtful pause. "I don't think you should feel bad alone, though. It'd just make your head become a hamster."
He had stared at her for a moment, wondering whether he had heard her correctly. "Hamster?"
She had nodded. "When you think alone, your head is circling around like a hamster on a wheel, isn't it?"
"Um, maybe..."
"So you better talk to someone. If you don't feel like talking to me, I can grab Kira," she had offered. Her eagerness to fulfill his need had been clear on her face; she had looked like she was about to run up to her brother to drag him toward Athrun.
"It's okay. You don't have to go and get him," he had hurriedly said, and grabbed her arm just in case. He had not quite made it his habit yet then, but he did it often for she made him suspect that she might vanish while his eyes and attention were somewhere else even if it was only a second.
She had tilted her head. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am." He had given her a firm nod, then turned his eyes away, preparing himself to talk, with his hand still on her arm.
What she had said had seemed to make sense though a part of him was still baffled by her weird allegory. Actually, the confusion, and amusement, had probably made it easier for him to discuss his feelings with her.
"I can't help but think I could've—and should've—done something to prevent it," he had slowly started. He wasn't exactly used to sharing his feelings, and it had felt weird, though somehow not as uncomfortable as it should. "I was aware Mayu was fascinated with the form. Maybe I should've told her more sternly how dangerous it was to try a form you hadn't practiced. Then she might've not been so reckless."
"It might've helped," she had agreed. "But it might've not. Sometimes, you can't really learn how dangerous something is until you experience it." A pause. "I think I would've done it anyway if I were her, even if someone had warned me sternly. Besides, being told not to do something can make you want to do it more."
He had looked at her with mild disbelief. "Does it?"
He had always been a good child, obediently listening to adults and following rules. Although he had known that not all children were like him, he had not really imagined such a situation she was describing.
"Yeah. A warning makes it more appealing. Exciting. It gives it a sense of adventure, I think."
"I see..." he had said though he was still incredulous.
"Well, that girl, Mayu, must've learned the danger of the form, and luckily without serious injuries. The accident may have been an important lesson to her if we look at the bright side," she had pointed out.
He had blinked several times. He had not thought about the situation that way.
"So she'll probably take your warning more seriously now," she had finished.
"I hope so. I hope she won't try the form again in a near future."
She had put on a thoughtful look. "I don't think completely forbidding her to practice the form is a good idea. Told you such an attitude may make the form more appealing."
He had knitted his eyebrows. Mayu wasn't a rebellious child; her brother was more like one. But then, she had already tried a form she wasn't supposed to, breaking the rules. He had not been able to feel certain she wouldn't do that again. And she might injure herself more seriously next time.
Feeling a finger lightly pushing his forehead, he had turned his attention back to his companion.
"You don't have to get so gloomy," Cagalli had said, seemingly trying to smooth the crease between his eyebrows. "She must know how dangerous practicing the form without supervision can be. So she'll probably agree to practice it only when you or an instructor is watching over her," she had suggested. "You can help her become able to properly perform the form. It will make her happy, and this way, she is less likely to get another injury. You can also teach her a better way to avoid injuries if there is one. It makes you feel better, doesn't it?"
She had smiled at him and he had slowly nodded, looking back at her with appreciation. "I think that's a good idea. Thank you," he had said sincerely.
Her attitude to try to look at the bright side instead of the negative side, look at the future instead of dwelling on the past, always impressed him.
Her smile had turned satisfied. "No problem. This was kind of my expertise, actually."
He had looked at her with a blank face, but then, nodded with understanding. "Ah, I see. You must've been a...unruly child." He had avoided saying "troublesome child," but she had still made a face.
"I was brave and loved adventures," she had insisted.
"I can imagine that," he had said with a smile. She had still been like that to an extent. In fact, she still was. "I can also imagine you getting injured a lot," he had teased.
She had probably done a similar thing to what Mayu had done many times, or something more dangerous. Come to think of it, he had heard a few stories from Kira or herself. He had felt strong sympathy for her mother who must have been constantly worried.
"Not big ones," she had said defensively. "I have pretty good luck."
He had not thought it was safe to rely too much on your luck, but before he said so, she had pulled his arm, probably sensing the lecture coming.
"Let's go watch fireflies."
"Oh...right." He had almost forgotten why they were there.
As they walked back toward the others and the fireflies, he had felt a lot better than he had five minutes ago. A member of the organization had lent them penlights to lure the insects. She had eagerly tried, but no fireflies had come to her. He had also gotten his penlight to blink as instructed, and after some time, succeeded in luring a firefly into stopping at his hand, probably because he was standing still while she was constantly on the move. He had softly called to her, and they had watched the insect with bated breath for a while until it left.
They had spent some more time watching fireflies and trying to lure them again. And as they were leaving, Cagalli had thanked him and Lacus for the invitation with a wide smile.
The next Saturday, he had gone to the karate lesson, fully prepared to talk to Mayu and Shinn. The siblings had come a little after him, and the moment her eyes fell on him, Mayu had run up to him, pulling her brother with her fine hand. She had shouted she was sorry even before she reached Athrun; she had apologized both for not following the teaching and for her brother's behavior. She had then nudged Shinn with her elbow, who also muttered "Sorry." He had not been looking at Athrun, but had sounded he meant it.
It had seemed that Mayu had become shocked and worried when Athrun had not shown up in the next lesson after the competition. She had wanted to give him a call and asked instructors for his phone number, but they had told her to wait, to give him some time. She had explained that she was going to call him if he had not shown up that week as well.
Athrun had apologized for making her worry, scolded her for breaking the rules, then suggested the idea Cagalli had given him. Mayu had been happy with his suggestion. Instructors had also agreed to it, though they told her to wait for a month after her hand was healed as her punishment for breaking the rules. Although she had made a pout, she had obediently accepted the condition. She didn't try to talk back to her instructors often like her brother, and probably had felt quite bad about the accident and the aftermath.
After the lesson, he had texted Cagalli to tell her that things had gone well and thank her again. Her reply had clearly shown that she was happy for him, which brought a warm feeling—
"They've become so friendly, haven't they? It still amazes me sometimes."
Athrun blinked at the voice, then looked to the right. Lunamaria, who was his teammate and also a participant of the Team Relay, was standing next to him, her eyes on Cagalli and Shinn as well. The redhead had been at the competition where Mayu had gotten injured to witness the fight between Cagalli and Shinn.
Shinn had never apologized to Cagalli for the fight. She had shown up in a karate competition several times after that, but as far as Athrun knew, they had never talked. From what Athrun had observed, it had been mostly because of Shinn. Cagalli had not minded interacting with Shinn after hearing about his apologizing to Athrun even though she didn't actively seek the raven-head out to build a friendly relationship with him.
On the other hand, Shinn had seemed to be having a harder time getting over his fight with her and persistently avoided her. It had not helped their situation that Shinn had been senior in middle school at that time and, not long after the fight, started participating in less karate lessons and competitions due to preparation for high school entrance exams.
The odd friendship between the blonde and the raven-head had started a little after Shinn had entered their high school. Both of them had become members of the School Festival Planning Committee and begun talking to each other though their relationship remained somewhat tense for some time. And then, they had somehow found out that they were both fans of the same baseball team, which dramatically changed their attitudes toward each other.
According to them, all fans of the White Lions were friends, even family, which Athrun didn't quite understand. Although he liked watching sports games, he wasn't a fan of any specific team. He had not understood it either when Cagalli and Shinn had found out that their favorite teams in soccer were arch-rivals and started glaring at each other, which he happened to witness. The two had argued which soccer team would win first place in the league that year, and been nearly grabbing each other's throat when Athrun intervened to drag her away.
Thus, Cagalli and Shinn's relationship had become as it was now: almost best friends while talking about baseball, almost enemies when it came to soccer, and friends at other times.
"Then again, their personalities seem similar. So, like will to like, after all, yeah?" Lunamaria looked up at him, apparently expecting him to agree with her.
He gave her a nod. "I suppose so."
"Don't you go and talk to them?" She pointed a finger in their direction.
He put on a vague smile. "They may be discussing a strategy for the relay or something like that they don't want us to hear. I don't want to interrupt them."
He turned his eyes back to the said two. Shinn was grinning now and Cagalli patted his head as if praising him. He swatted the hand away, making a face, but didn't seem angry.
At the sight, Athrun's stomach tightened with something like...irritation and jealousy perhaps. Though he tried hard not to show it on his face for Lunamaria was looking at him. In addition to his general reluctance to reveal his feelings to other people, he wasn't really close to her. Although they were friendly enough, he had not talked much with her in school until they had become classmates this year.
So he kept his eyes on Cagalli and Shinn, who were still friendlily touching each other. Their closeness was the real reason why Athrun had been hesitant to join them. It wasn't like they were acting any differently from their usual way. Neither of them was the type to avoid physical contacts, especially with friends; in fact, they were rather eager. And it had not really bothered Athrun before since he knew there was nothing more than friendship at both ends.
Now, however, he felt uncomfortable with their exchange, probably because it somewhat reminded him of her exchange with Ahmed he had witnessed earlier. He didn't feel like seeing their friendly gestures at a close distance, but couldn't turn his back to them either. Thus, he had ended up watching them from afar.
"Big Sister! Athrun-senpai!"
At the voice, he dragged his eyes away from Cagalli and Shinn, half glad about the distraction.
"Hey, Meyrin. What are you doing here?" Lunamaria asked, turning to her sister.
"I came to wish you good luck," Meyrin said with pink cheeks before turning her face to him. "You, too, Athrun-senpai. I'll cheer you on. You both, I mean."
He blinked, then nodded, noticing the color of Meyrin's head band. "Ah, you are in the Red Team, too. Thanks." He gave a polite smile to the younger redhead who gave back a vague smile.
"Yeah, we need good luck," Lunamaria chimed in. "We have to at least get back to the second place."
After the 100 Meters Hurdles, the Red Team had dropped a place and was now in the third place again. They needed fourteen points to catch up with the White Team, and twenty points to the Blue Team which had risen to the top position.
"We just need to win first place in this," he said. "Then we will also reach the top in the overall score."
The sisters looked at him, then at each other, as if he had said something weird. Lunamaria opened her mouth.
"Yeah, that's true, but—"
Her words were interrupted by a voice from the PA system telling the participants of the Team Relay to get in lines. The student staff and teachers must have finished cleaning up the ground after the 100 Meters Hurdles.
"Oh, I'm going then." Meyrin waved a hand at them, retreating into the crowd.
"Bye, Athrun. Go Red!" Also waving a hand, Lunamaria hurried to the lines of the first, third, and fifth runners. She was the first runner of the Red Team.
He was already at a place where the second, fourth, and final runners were supposed to wait. The other runners came and they formed lines. He was the anchor of the Red Team, and Shinn, who just came to stand behind Athrun with the anchor of the Yellow Team between them, was the anchor of the White Team. Cagalli, being the fifth runner, belonged to the other group.
The ruby eyes suddenly turned in his direction, and they both blinked as their gazes clashed. After a moment, Shinn curtly gave a half-nod, half-bow, which was his usual way of greeting Athrun. Athrun nodded back.
They soon entered the field and the two groups went to the opposite sides of the field. Each runner ran halfway around the track. While the second runners walked out on the lanes on Athrun's side of the field, the first runners drew lots to decide which lane they took on Cagalli's side. Lunamaria seemed to have gotten the fourth lane, the most outside lane.
All the first runners lined up along the start line. A teacher pointed her starting pistol toward the sky, the four runners got on their mark, and the relay started with a gunshot.
The Yellow Team runner, who had gotten the inside lane, broke out. But his speed dropped quite a lot as he started to turn a corner. The White Team runner who had gotten the second lane passed by him to gain the top position. Lunamaria followed and gained the second position, the Yellow Team runner close behind her. She maintained her position and closed the distance between the White Team runner and herself, but couldn't catch up with him.
Passing the red baton to the second runner, she circled back inside the field and came toward Athrun who was sitting on the ground, waiting for his turn.
"I did...my best," she said, panting. "I'll leave...the rest...to you."
He nodded. "I got this."
She nodded back and flopped down on the ground.
"You'd better walk around a little more before sitting down," he pointed out.
"I know...but I just want to rest."
He shrugged and turned his attention back to the race. The third runners were already running. The Red Team runner and the White Team runner were competing for the top position; a dozen meters behind them, the Blue Team runner and the Yellow Team runner were competing for the third position. As the batons were transferred to the fourth runners, the Red Team succeeded in gaining the edge over the White Team. The fourth runner of the Blue Team was fast; he left behind the Yellow Team runner and closed in on the White Team runner.
As Cagalli received the white baton, the White Team and the Blue Team were tying with each other for the second place, the Red Team runner a few meters ahead of them. She and the Blue Team runner started turning the curve and she succeeded in getting a little ahead.
She retained the lead, now in sole possession of second place, and sped up, fiercely pursuing the Red Team runner, a junior called Vino. It was as if she was a predator that set her eyes on a prey. Athrun could almost see a raging fire around her, which he knew was burning brightly inside her and in her eyes though it was too far for him to see her eyes.
"Come on, Hibiki, come on," Shinn muttered next to Athrun, almost glaring at the two runners. All four anchors were on the line, anxiously waiting for their batons.
Judging from his face, Cagalli was putting a good amount of pressure on Vino who kept glancing behind him, which he shouldn't for it actually slowed him down a little. He still managed to maintain the top position, though barely, and stretched his left arm toward Athrun to pass the baton. Athrun casually started running, his right hand stretched backward, his face looking forward.
But then, a panicked sound came from behind, seemingly from Vino, as something grazed his fingers of the right hand. Athrun looked back in surprise. Vino had apparently let go of the baton too soon, and was frantically picking it up from the ground. Athrun slowed down so that Vino could catch up with him before he left the zone for passing batons, and this time, the red baton was safely transferred into Athrun's hand.
The accident had cost the Red Team their lead and Shinn, who apparently had received the white baton from Cagalli while Athrun was distracted, succeeded in stealing the inside lane. And the Blue Team anchor was almost catching up with Athrun.
Gripping his baton, Athrun sped up to leave the Blue Team anchor behind, and got as close behind Shinn as he could. He didn't try to outrun the raven-head while they turned the curve. He maintained his speed, then accelerated as they hit the straightaway before the goal and he took the lane next to Shinn's. His feet kicked the ground with all their might.
His eyes were on the white tape above the goal line. Everything else, even Shinn, disappeared from his awareness. Nothing existed in the world besides him and the goal, the victory. All he could hear was his own breathing. All he could feel was his heartbeat and the baton in his fist. And yet, it felt as if all of his senses had sharpened, every cell of his body energized and at its best, better than they had ever been, breaking through the limits. It felt as if he was flying instead of running, having evolved from one species to the next.
After what felt like just a second, a blink of an eye, his chest touched the tape. A feeling of triumph surged through him. As if the bubble that had enveloped him burst, images and sounds rushed back to him as he dropped the pace. People were cheering loudly, some members of the Red Team jumping or waving their arms in a frenzy.
He walked into the infield to keep out of the rest of the runners' ways and headed toward the other runners. Another Red Team runner came to praise him with an excited face, and Athrun gave a nod, short of breath. One of the students in charge of the relay also came to confirm he had won first place. Athrun nodded again, still trying to catch his breath.
"Shit!"
He turned around to find Shinn ripping his head band off and throwing it to the ground. "I almost got you," Shinn insisted, whirling around to Athrun, his breathing also hard. "If we'd had a couple more meters, I would've surely won."
"But you didn't," Athrun said dryly. "In reality, you lost to me." He normally didn't say something provoking like this, but he couldn't help saying it now.
Shinn looked surprised, then his face turned angry and his mouth opened. But before the raven-head uttered a word, Cagalli called out, running across the field.
"Shinn! Athrun!" She reached them. "It was such a tight race. I completely forgot to breathe," she commented with excitement, and turned to Shinn. "You must be frustrated. It was so close." She patted Shinn's shoulder consolingly.
"I would've kicked his ass if we'd kept running a bit longer," Shinn insisted again, glaring at Athrun.
"Yeah, it looked like you were catching up with him little by little," Cagalli said in an agreeing tone with more pats on Shinn, which rubbed Athrun the wrong way. His lips pressed into a tight line. He told himself she was just trying to appease Shinn, but couldn't get rid of the smoldering heat inside his chest.
Cagalli turned to him and he quickly schooled his features. "So your team won," she said with a small pout, but then, continued with genuine admiration, "Well, you ran fantastically. I was in awe even though you were our enemy. You deserve the victory. Congratulations."
Shinn snorted, but Athrun smiled, feeling better. "Thank you. You did well, too."
She nodded appreciatively, then her face turned challenging. "This isn't over, though. We lost a battle, but will win the war." She pointed a finger at his chest in a combative way before circling an arm around Shinn's neck to pull the raven-head close.
"How many more games are you going to take part in? You should win in all of them so we can beat the Red Team," she said in a conspiratorial tone though she didn't lower her voice.
"What about you? You can't put all the responsibility on my shoulders," Shinn complained.
"I know. But I don't have any games left. This was the last game I was in," she replied with frustration.
Athrun averted his face, not wanting to keep watching how close Cagalli's and Shinn's faces were. Thankfully, one of the student staff called out to the participants to gather and stand in lines so that they could leave the field.
"Let's go," Athrun said to the other two and pulled Cagalli's arm, maybe a little too forcefully.
As their group joined the other group on the other side of the field, Vino came to Athrun. The junior looked like he wanted to hug Athrun and run away from him as fast as he could at the same time.
"I'm really, really sorry, Zala-senpai!" Vino shouted with a quick bow. "I don't remember how it happened. The baton kinda just slipped and I tried to grab it, but it escaped my hand and—"
Taken aback by the loud apology, Athrun raised a hand in a placating manner. Vino closed his mouth and Athrun stepped back a little to collect himself, then cleared his throat.
"I think you should've been more careful, but we won in the end. So, just make sure you won't make the same mistake when you participate in another relay."
Vino's face broke into a relieved smile before he straightened up. "Yes, I promise! And thank you for taking down Shinn!"
"Hey, I'm here," the raven-head protested from the next line. "Some friend you are."
With a grin, Vino lightly punched Shinn's shoulder. "You're the one who said we should be serious about races no matter who we're competing against."
Standing behind Shinn, Cagalli nodded. "That's a good mindset. We shouldn't let anything get in the way of competition."
She turned expectant eyes to Athrun. He just gave her a vague smile. He would have agreed with her a few months ago, but now, a part of him wished she wasn't so competitive—wished she didn't have so many things to care about other than their relationship. He rather wanted her to pay more attention to their relationship—to him—but one thing after another came up, taking her away from him.
Her face turned puzzled. But before she said anything, the lines started moving and he made a show of looking forward, away from her. As he expected, her confusion seemed to pass. She looked just usual and didn't try to question him when they parted ways, heading for their own tents. Though he wasn't entirely sure it was a good thing.
Entering a classroom where guys in his class and one other class changed clothes, Athrun released a tired breath. All the piles of clothes that had covered the desks several hours ago were gone except for one. Walking toward his school uniform, he half-consciously straightened disordered desks and chairs.
The building, not just this room, was quiet. The sport festival had ended nearly an hour ago. Small equipments had been brought back to the storehouses and litter was picked up off the ground and the floor. The tents, the platforms, and the signboards were left to be taken apart the day after tomorrow since tomorrow, Monday, would be a day off to make up for today. Most of the students and guests had already left, including his classmates.
He could have followed them when the clean-up tasks assigned to his class were over about thirty minutes ago. But Yzak, who was a former president of the student council, had asked—or more like ordered—him to stay and help the planning committee members and the student council members who had more tasks than other students. Athrun didn't mind lending a hand and had accepted the request, though he would have appreciated it if Yzak had asked nicely.
Then again, it was Yzak he was talking about. He couldn't recall a time when the silver-head had shown him any politeness or consideration. It wasn't like Yzak wasn't capable. He just chose not to when it came to Athrun, it seemed.
Buttoning up his shirt, Athrun shook his head a little, then pushed the thought of the silver-head out of his mind. It would be just a waste of time to stew over Yzak's attitude. He quickly finished dressing himself and got ready to go home. Before picking up his bags, he checked his phone and found several new texts.
One of them was from Cagalli: Still in school? What do you say to grabbing snacks at the mall? It had come five minutes ago and she was probably still around.
He sent a reply: If you are still up for it, I'll meet you at the front gate. He considered adding, Is anyone else coming? but decided against it for it would be too obvious. If someone he didn't want to spend time with came along, he could just make up an excuse and leave early.
He pocketed his phone and left the room to head toward the front gate, thinking he would wait for Cagalli there for a little while. But soon, a familiar voice called his name. His girlfriend was trotting down the corridor toward him from the direction he was heading. He sped up though he didn't run in school buildings like she was doing.
"I got you." Cagalli stopped in front of him and smiled.
"You didn't have to come all the way here." She must have changed her clothes in one of the rooms reserved for the planning committee members; the rooms were closer to the front gate.
"I was already coming to check the room for you when I got your reply," she explained as they resumed walking. "So, ready for snacks, hmm? You forgot to stop by at Mr. Tiger's kebab stand, didn't you? And I heard you'd even stayed to help around."
"It was more like Yzak made me," he said, scowling a little. "And no, I didn't eat a kebab."
Some time before the end of the festival, she had come to him to suggest having a snack together. But she had mentioned that Shinn would be at the food stand along with some of their teammates, and Athrun had turned down the invitation, saying he wasn't hungry yet. As she left, she had said he should spare some time to grab a kebab later, which he didn't comply with.
She chuckled. "Yzak is probably more grumpy than usual since his team finished in last place." She then let out a sigh. "I'm down as well. I really wanted to win this year." She patted his arm consolingly. "You must be disappointed a lot, too. You thought your team was going to win after the Team Relay, right?"
In the end, the winner of the sport festival this year had been the Blue Team, to which Kira, Miriallia, and Nicol belonged. The Red Team had gotten second place with only two points behind, the White Team the third place with ten points lower than the Red Team. Yzak's Yellow Team had gotten thirty-two points less than the White Team.
Athrun lifted a shoulder. "I suppose you were right after all. Having a head start helps."
"Yeah. The Blue Team got as good a start as my team," she agreed. "And they scored more steadily than we did. We did pretty well in the morning games, but not so well in the afternoon ones while the Blue Team did well enough throughout the games. We probably put too much energy into the earlier games. We got the lead thanks to it, but couldn't protect it." She gave him a side-long glance. "Not to mention we lost to you in the Team Relay and lost the chance to get twenty-five more points."
He raised an eyebrow. "You've reflected on the result a lot, I see."
"Of course. We need to know how we lost so that we can win next time. So my teammates and I had a lot of discussion while cleaning up." Then her shoulders sagged a little. "Well, not that I have a next time. But I hope it will help my juniors."
"I'm sure it will." He patted her back in a comforting manner.
She gave him an appreciative smile before hopping down a few stairs to the landing between the third floor and the second floor, then turned around and looked up at him. "Now it's your turn to cry over the loss. Don't be shy," she teasingly said.
Climbing down the stairs, he deadpanned, "Thanks for your consideration, but I don't think it's necessary. And look behind." She was walking half-backward, half-sideways toward the next set of stairs.
She glanced over her shoulder to make sure there was still some space between herself and the stairs. "Are you sure? It's probably good—" At a short sound, her eyes dropped to her skirt pocket, from which she took out her phone. "—for you if you learn how to rant. You keep everything inside you."
While she was talking, her eyes were on the phone screen and her finger was tapping it. Then, her face brightened up, looking as if she was quite happy to see whatever was on the screen.
"What is it?" he asked, standing in front of her.
She looked up. "Huh?"
"Your phone. Did someone send you a text?"
She hesitated, pressing her phone against her chest as if she didn't want him to see it—as if she didn't want to share her happiness with him. A burning feeling deep in his stomach started to crawl up inside him.
"It must be something good, judging from your face," he said as calmly as possible.
She glanced at her phone screen with a weighing look, then turned it toward him. "Miri sent me some photos the photo club members took. They are going through their photos right now," she said.
He blinked several times before finally comprehending what he was looking at. It was a photograph of him standing in yukata, his profile appearing somewhat serious. He looked like he was searching for something—or someone—through the crowd.
"You looked really good in that yukata and I wanted a photo. I actually meant to take a picture of us after the dance, but I forgot. So I asked Miri to send me one if anyone took your picture," she explained, her cheeks coloring.
"I didn't think you liked the yukata that much. It wasn't anything special," he commented, somehow feeling at a loss.
The yukata was a simple black one with no patterns on it; his sash was slightly fancier, dark blue with white horizontal lines, but still simple. He had just gotten the first yukata he had found that was plain and fit him.
"It really suits you," she said, nodding for emphasis. "It's so dark it brings out your eyes. And it's so simple it makes it clearer how beautiful your face is. And you have a good posture which makes you look even better, though it's not just when you're in yukata."
"I...don't think I like being called beautiful," he replied, his cheeks growing warmer.
She shrugged. "Then handsome. Either way, it was a good choice."
"...Thanks." He was feeling stupid now, but not bad. He felt rather light. "I hope someone took a photo of you in your yukata, too." He very much liked to keep the image of her in that sunflower yukata outside of his head as well as inside.
"Actually, Miri sent this too." The photo she showed him was of him and her dancing together, smiling at each other. "I can send you a copy."
"I'd like that." He pulled out his phone and saved the photo on it before sending it forward to his e-mail account so that he could have it on his computer when he arrived home.
"You look better now." He looked up, sending a puzzled look to her who was studying him. "You were acting a bit weird today. Are you relieved the sport festival was over and successful?"
"Ah...yeah." He averted his eyes, somewhat embarrassed and guilty. At the same time, the tight coil inside him loosened a little.
Her hand comfortingly stroked his head. "You must be tired, too, from working so hard."
He gave a shrug. "It's not like I've worked harder than you and the others."
"Yeah, but it's our job for us the committee members to work for the sport festival, and we didn't have much else to do. You, on the other hand, had other tasks as a class president in addition to helping us."
Her voice was gentle, filled with honest gratitude. His body relaxed further as he listened. Although he had not been working hard so that he would get praises, it felt good that someone had noticed his work and appreciated it, especially when it was her.
She stepped back to make a deep bow. "I thank you on behalf of the Sport Festival Planning Committee for your hard work," she said with grand gestures before straightening up and giving him a playful grin, which he met with an amused smile.
"It was my pleasure to work for you," he said in a pompous voice with a bow, mimicking her.
As he straightened up, they both started laughing. They were still chuckling as they resumed descending after a little while.
"Laughing makes me hungry." She caressed her stomach. "I wonder what I should get at the mall. Since I ate a kebab earlier, I'm thinking something a bit different."
He thought a little. "We aren't meeting anyone, are we?"
"No, everyone had something to do." She pulled a face. "Kira said he had some 'appointment' with his friends in that online game he's obsessed with."
"Are you going to have your dinner at the mall? Or are you going home for dinner?"
"My mom's at home tonight and she is going to cook dinner. So, I should be at home by seven-thirty. And I can't eat something heavy, so ice cream may be the best choice. Oh." She suddenly looked up at him. "I almost forgot to ask. How about you come to my house for dinner? You don't have any plans, do you?"
He carefully worded his reply. "I don't know. I'm a bit tired. Speaking of which, your mother may be too tired to cook for guests, don't you think?"
She waved her hand in a dismissive way. "It's okay. I already asked her and she said one more mouth to feed wouldn't matter. She cooked a lot of food this morning and left some of them at home. So, she doesn't have to cook much for dinner even if there are four of us. Besides"—her face turned a little serious—"you should come because you're tired. You need to eat well as much as you need to rest so that you can recover fast. But if I let you go home without coming to my house, I bet you'd just eat some energy bars. You know it's not good for your body."
Relived to know that he would be the only guest at the dinner from her words, he said, "Well, you make a good argument."
She grinned. "I do, don't I? Come on, you can finally eat my mom's cabbage rolls with sausage. Aren't you interested in them at all?"
He smiled. "Okay, I'll come." Being able to spend a longer time with her, and have a good meal, was appealing indeed, especially now that his mood had improved significantly.
She brightened up. "I'm going to text my mom now. So, you can't change your mind later," she told him and happily started typing into her phone.
He waited until she sent the text and slid her phone back into her skirt pocket. Then, he darted his eyes around before calling out to her.
"Cagalli."
"Hmm?"
The moment they landed on the first floor, his arm snaked around her shoulders to pull her close, and he pecked her lips. As he straightened, she stared at him as if she wasn't sure what had just happened. Then she jumped away from him.
"Where do you think we are?!" she scolded him, looking around.
"Relax. I made sure no one was watching."
He didn't like someone seeing their kiss any more than she did, probably more so than she, actually. It wasn't just because of embarrassment. He didn't want anyone to see how she was when they kissed: the way she looked and the way she acted. No one else had the right to see it. It was his, and his alone.
"Still, you could've warned me," she complained with a pout, which just made him want to kiss her again.
Resisting the temptation, he began walking down the corridor, motioning her to follow. She fell in line with him, but made a show of covering her mouth with her hand.
Making a face, he asked, "Do you have anything specific you want to do at the mall? Or is it okay to go somewhere else?"
"It's fine as long as I can get some snacks, preferably ice cream. Where do you want to go?"
"How about karaoke?"
They had only a couple of hours, not enough to go to his house, but there were some karaoke facilities around the shopping mall at the bottom of the hill.
At his suggestion, her blush returned.
He usually avoided going to karaoke. He neither was good at singing nor liked it. But going there with only Cagalli was an exception. They could have a little more privacy in karaoke rooms and so, could make out more freely. The only time he proposed going there was when he wanted to have some intimate time with her—though they wouldn't go much far since the rooms weren't that private, just kissing and hugging—and she knew it.
Plus, he didn't mind listening to Cagalli sing, and unlike some people including some of his friends, she wouldn't try to make him sing or make fun of him for his dislike of singing.
A little after they had become friends, she had suggested going to karaoke together. He had been eager to go out with her, but had not liked the place. He had also been a little hesitant to reveal his dislike to her since his friends—mostly Dearka; Yzak sometimes did, but not often, probably because the silver-head was nearly as eager to sing as Athrun—teased him about it. He had also expected her to change her mind and ask other friends of hers to go out with her instead, which would disappoint him. Still, his reluctance to sing in front of people had won in the end and he had told her he didn't like karaoke.
Her response had been a casual nod and, "Okay. Do you have any place you want to go to?"
He had blinked before tentatively asking, "Are you all right with not going to karaoke? If you want, you can go with others. You don't have to give up your plan because of me."
She had looked at him like she didn't understand him. "But we are talking about our going out. And if we go somewhere one of us doesn't like, we can't have fun, yeah?" She had given him an expectant look. "So, what do you like to do?"
He had looked at her a little uncertainly for a moment, adjusting himself to the fact that his expectation had failed, then quickly searched his mind for an answer that would hopefully satisfy both of them. Thankfully, an online article he had read several weeks ago had come to his mind: one about an amusement facility where they could experience virtual reality including some adventures she might like. Listening to his explanation, she had shown interest.
They had visited the place the next weekend—with Kira who had known about the place and, hearing about their plan to go there, insisted on tagging along—and had had quite a good time.
Smiling at the memory, he prodded for the answer. "So, what do you say?"
Her cheeks still red, she smiled. "Well, come to think of it, I have a couple of songs I want to sing."
He smiled back. "Karaoke then."
"Yeah. I want to go to that karaoke facility having coffee jelly with vanilla ice cream on the menu."
Their hands joined as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He was warm and excited, and felt like everything was all right. At this moment, at least, it was true. And he was intent on not thinking farther than the rest of today.
Thank you for reading. See you next week!
*posted 02/10/19*
*revised 08/14/20*
*edited 02/09/21*