CHAPTER 2 : MEETING

I flipped a scrap of paper on my desk repeatedly. I gazed at the front side of the paper and flipped it over and over. I leaked out a deep sigh and leaned my back against the chair. It's been almost seventeen times I flipped that paper over. I folded it and slipped it to my book. I'll look at it again when I feel like it. I glanced at the clock, stood up and decided to go out of the classroom for a short walk.

The corridors are kind of quiet even though its lunch breaks. Probably because most of the students chose to eat their lunch outside. I turned my gaze to the window. As always, the wide, blue sky is always there. It's weird—they are so far away yet for a moment I could feel that they're so close. But at the same time, while I felt that they're close, I still couldn't reach it.

With my eyes glued to the ground, I slowly retrace my steps. It's useless, I silently whispered to myself. It's not about how far, it's not about distance. Do you really want to reach it or not? I was so absorbed by my own minds when suddenly I feel a huge impact on my shoulder when I bumped at someone unintentionally. I almost couldn't stay balanced when a big hands held grabbed me in the arm, prevented me from falling.

I looked up and I saw someone held me closely. Intimidating looking eyes gazed at me without expression. I feel so small when compared to him. He's tan and very tall, with big and strong hands. He's somewhat scary but somehow I don't know why—I'm not scared at all. "You okay?" His deep voice made me realized from watching him. I nodded silently and he slowly let go of my arm. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head. I got a feeling that, the one who is not paying attention is me. So, it's my fault that I bumped at him. I'm at fault, and he shouldn't be the one who apologize. "No, I'm sorry. I'm at fault. I didn't pay attention."

He showed a faint smile before he walked past me. I was about to take another step forward when his voice rose again. "Mizugi Aoi?" I turned and I saw him stood right in front of me with a student ID on his hand. "You dropped your student ID." He said.

"Eh, really? Thank you." I reached his hand and took my student ID card. As expected, he's tall. I'm at the same height as his chest so I have to lift my head up to see his face. He must be an upperclassman. "I'm sorry, thank you, senpai."

"Senpai? Aren't you on first grade?" He asked, and looking confused, I nodded. "Then you shouldn't use any honorific. I'm on a first grade, too."

"Eeeh? Really?" Realized that I just said something so impolite, I closed my own mouth with my hands. I thought he's going to scold me, but without expecting it, he suddenly laughed. I was astonished for a moment. He doesn't look scary or intimidating at all when he laughed like that. "Ah, I'm Mizugi Aoi. What's your name?"

"Shiba Katsumi." He answered, smiled faintly. "I'll see you later, Mizugi." I nodded silently, watching his back slowly fade away. I stared at my student ID card that he picked earlier. He's scary, intimidating—but there's something about him that's not that scary or intimidating. Meeting him isn't like when I first met Saeki. I don't feel nostalgic at all, but there's something more than just a nostalgic feeling.

I looked out at the window with mixed feelings. I raised my right hand to my upperleft arm and gripped my cloth. I couldn't pinpoint what feeling is that. I don't even know what I'm feeling right know. What is it called when your heart beating faster than normal and you feel your cheeks hot?

I wonder what that is.

"Aooooooooi! Where were you? Aren't we supposed to eat lunch together today?" Haruhi poked my back when I got back to class, the same time the bell rang. I just laughed, apologized and sat back on my chair. I still couldn't get my eyes off my student ID card. I still remember how Shiba-kun smiled. It's just a faint smile, but I couldn't see any fakeness inside that slight smile.

That's odd.

The rest of the class passed quickly. I stood up and grabbed my bag then walked out of the classroom. To go home, this time. I walked past the baseball field when I saw someone I know standing outside the field, gripping the fence with his fingers while watching the team playing closely. I was frozen for a moment when I saw that. The looks in his eyes was somewhat different. It seems lonely.

I drew closer silently and stood right beside him. He doesn't look like he's noticing me but I just stood there, turned my gaze to the field. "Are you interested in joining?" I asked. He startled a bit, and then turned his eyes to me, but I didn't look back at him and he turned his eyes back at the field.

He leaked out a deep sigh. "It's not like I want to join or anything." He answered. "I'm just watching them play."

"Do you like baseball?" I asked slowly, now lifted up my head to look at his face. He kept his mouth close and didn't answer. "Do you know that there's another side of the sky we don't know about?"

"…The sky?" He answered with his deep voice this time, and I nodded with smile.

"There's another part of the sky that you just couldn't reach no matter how bad you want to reach it. But there's another that you can reach, but at the same time, you are afraid to reach it. No matter how hard you try to deny that kind of feeling, it's just won't disappear. You are afraid, yet—you couldn't bring yourself to let go. It's complicated."

"It's complicated." He responded, again with a faint smile.

"And, it's just my feeling. It feels like, you were watching the sky you are afraid to reach when you looked at the field earlier."

He was silent for a moment, and so do I. We were watching the batter hit the ball and ran safely to the first base without saying a word even though the player shouting with a little laughter sometimes. "I don't know," he finally spoke a word. "Those kinds of sky exist."

"Because they look the same?" I asked.

He shook his head and lifted it up facing the sky. "No—I think it's because I'm watching a different sky right know." He narrowed his eyes a little and I could see the intense loneliness and helplessness in there. "I'm watching the latter sky you told me about. Even though I used to watch the first one—I don't know since when the sky I'm seeing changed."

"I don't know either." I smiled wryly. "All I know now is that when I lifted up my head and looked up at the sky, the scenery just changed. I don't feel the same feeling I used to feel. And that's complicated because I don't know since when, or the reason why. It's frustrating sometimes."

"Are you going home now?" Shiba looked at me and I nodded as an answer. He glanced at his wristwatch. "It's a little late, I'll walk you home."

"No, it's okay. My house is nearby so—"

"It's not okay. I'll walk you home." Shiba smiled faintly and walked in front of me. I followed him, so instead of walking side-by-side, he led the way while I walked behind him trying to keep up with his long step. We walked down the slope, and I turned my eyes a bit to the left. The sea is sparkling, reflected the sunset. The sky was covered with scarlet and orange when I looked up. It was beautiful.

I stared at Shiba-kun's wide back when he suddenly stopped and turned his back. "Do you know why the sea is blue?" he asked. I shook my hand and stood beside him. "It's because the sea is reflecting the sky's color. Isn't that just like your name?"

"My name?" I answered in confusion. He showed me a smile. A different smile than the faint smile he usually show and warm-looking eyes. My heart skips a beat when I heard his voice once again.

"Mizugi Aoi—Water and blue. It's as if you're the one who connect the sea and the sky together. It's as if you're the one who brought them together. It's as if, you are the reason why they are here. Isn't it awesome?"

"I never thought that…" I chuckled. "But that's pretty cool."

"It's awesome." He said, still with the same smile he showed me. The sun showered him with an orange and scarlet color. He looks like the sea, sparkling because of the reflected sunlight. We continued to walk home, but this time, we walked side-by-side. There's something that's different. My heart beats faster than the first time I met him and I couldn't look at his face. I touched my hot cheeks silently as we walked home without anymore sound other than our own steps sound.

Maybe I caught cold.