Chapter 5

Sousuke Yamazaki finished the last powerful stroke of his lap, his hand hitting the wall. He groaned as he stood up. His shoulder was still aching; but he'd managed today's laps without any sharp pain, which was certainly an achievement for him. He reached up to clutch his shoulder and glanced at Rin, who was standing at the edge of a pool with a stopwatch in his hands.

"Well?" Sousuke grunted as he hauled himself out of the pool.

Rin glanced at the stopwatch. "35.6 seconds," he replied with a frown. "That's five seconds over your average, Sousuke. You need to pick up a little."

"I know," Sousuke mumbled through gritted teeth. He sauntered over to the bench nearby and picked up his towel, wiping his face with it before throwing it over his shoulders. Rin followed him, about to speak, when they saw Nitori running towards them looking a little frantic.

Rin frowned. "Nitori, baka. Don't run around the pool."

"Gomen, Rin-senpai!" Nitori apologized breathlessly. "But-but there's a girl out in the lobby! She says that she's Sousuke-senpai's girlfriend! Everyone's gathering around her, you have to come right now!" he insisted. Rin and Sousuke glanced at each other, bewildered as Nitori began to hurry out of the pool area. They followed him, confused.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Sousuke," Rin said quietly, with a smile.

Sousuke sighed, rubbing the towel over his wet hair. "It's probably just Kaori," he mumbled. He suddenly remembered that at her cultural festival last week, she'd asked him if she could come over to Samezuka. She'd also been curiously inquisitive whenever they texted each other, asking about his practice times and when he had a lunch break. Why hadn't he seen this coming?

As they entered the lobby, they saw at least five or six boys gathered in a group. Sure enough, at the center was a smiling Kaori. Her light pink hair was loose about her shoulders and she was wearing a short, flowy skirt that showed off her legs. The boys were all staring at her, open-mouthed.

"Wow, Kaori-senpai, I really like your glasses! They're so cool!" one guy complimented with a grin. Although Sousuke could clearly see that his gaze was on something far below her glasses. Kaori, however, didn't seem to notice. She smiled politely at him.

"Oh- Arigatou, that's so sweet of you!"

"Kaori-san, how long have you and Sousuke-kun been together?" another boy asked eagerly. "I can't believe Sousuke-kun has such a pretty girlfriend!" they were all crowded around her, and Kaori seemed to be a little uncomfortable. Before she could answer the question, however, she was cut off by Mikoshiba Momotarou, who had just joined the group.

"Kaori-senpai! I didn't know that you and Sousuke-kun were dating!" Momotarou cried, looking a little disappointed. "Is Gou-san with you?"

"Uh- gomen, Momotarou-kun, Gou isn't with me. I actually came because I wanted to have lunch with Sousuke-kun," she explained, holding up a small bag that she was carrying. She looked around at all the boys who were still staring at her and chattering excitedly. "Do any of you happen to know where he is…?"

Nobody responded to her question. "Sugoi! You made lunch for Sousuke-kun! Wow, Kaori-san, you're such a good girlfriend!" the boys all nodded and agreed, beginning to whine about how they wished they had a pretty girlfriend who would make lunch and bring it to them at school. Sousuke clenched his fists. He'd had enough and he walked over to break up the group.

Frowning, he pushed his way past a few of the boys. "What's going on here?" Sousuke asked dangerously.

"Sousuke-kun, we were just talking to your girlfriend-"

"Why didn't you tell us that you had such a pretty girlfriend, Sousuke-senpai? Were you hiding her from us?"

"Oi!" Rin yelled loudly, breaking off the excited chatter of the boys that had gathered around the group. He gave them all a stern look. "What is everyone doing out here? Practice isn't over yet! Get back in there and start swimming unless you want to get kicked off the team right before prefecturals! That goes for you too, Mikoshiba!" The words of the captain had a sudden effect; the boys all grumbled and started to hurry back to the pool area. Kaori visibly breathed a sigh of relief; she'd been feeling suffocated.

Sousuke was looking down at her with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" He was frowning, but his blue-green eyes looked amused.

Kaori flushed slightly. "I just wanted to embarrass you. I guess I didn't expect them to be so overbearing."

Rin looked amused too. He glanced between Sousuke and Kaori with a small smile on his lips. Both of them flushed as their friend scrutinized them. "So," Rin began, looking at Sousuke slyly. "Are congratulations in order?"

Sousuke flushed red and began to mumble something, but Kaori smiled and grabbed onto his arm. It was wet; but she ignored this as she clung onto him, pressing herself against his side. "What do you mean, Rin?" she asked innocently, blinking. "Didn't Sousuke-kun tell you that we were dating? Sousuke! Why wouldn't you say anything to Rin?"

Sousuke sighed as he tried to shake Kaori off weakly. "We're not exactly dating-"

"Sousuke-kun! Don't lie! Didn't you confess to me before you left for Tokyo? And didn't I promise that I would wait for you to come back?" Kaori demanded. Rin was looking more and more amused. Kaori looked up at Sousuke with big eyes. "You-re not… you're not embarrassed of me, are you, Sousuke-kun?" she asked, with a sad pout.

Rin laughed. "You two are perfect for each other. Anyway, go have your date. Don't take too long, Sousuke, we have to finish practice."

Sousuke grunted, as Rin left. Once he was gone, he turned and looked down at Kaori, who was still clinging onto his bare arm. She was looking up at him as she batted her eyelashes innocently. Sousuke resisted the urge to grab her and kiss her pouting lips. Instead, he gave her a frown. "Are you happy now? Everyone at my school believes we're dating too. You got your revenge."

"Hai, I'm happy," Kaori replied with a more genuine smile. "But I really did bring lunch. Do you have some time to come outside and eat? I cooked this morning since I didn't have cram school today. You're not going to let it go to waste, are you?"

"I have time," Sousuke muttered, before looking down at Kaori with a teasing smile. "Will you let me dry off and put on a shirt?" Kaori flushed and released his arm as she suddenly realized her proximity to his bare chest. She stared at his muscles with wide eyes, while Sousuke chuckled. He'd missed how adorable she was. He reached down and ran his fingers through Kaori's loose pink strands. "Go find a place to sit outside, I'll be there in a minute."

Kaori nodded mutely, watching as his broad and chiseled back disappeared in the direction of the locker rooms.

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"I don't know how your diet works," Kaori explained as she began to take neatly-packed boxes of food out of her bag. Sousuke watched in amusement when he realized how much food she had made. She began to set them down on the grass. They were sitting under a tree. "So I brought meat, vegetables, rice and soup. That's okay, right? If there's anything you can't eat, just leave it."

"It's fine," Sousuke replied, taking the chopsticks she offered him. "Wow. You really made all this? It must have taken you a long time. I didn't even know you could cook."

"Hey, I have many talents," Kaori replied, as she began to open the boxes. Tempting aromas began to emerge from them, and Sousuke hurried to help her open the food. His stomach was grumbling after practicing so hard all morning. He dug into the meal and let out a satisfied groan. Kaori smiled as she watched him eat eagerly.

"Well, I suppose one good thing came out of you showing up here unexpectedly," Sousuke replied, swallowing the food happily. It felt amazing to have home-cooked food after spending so long eating in Samezuka's cafeteria. He looked up at Kaori and saw that she was watching him quietly with a smile. "Next time, tell me in advance before you turn up. You can't just walk into an all-boys school looking like that."

"Looking like what?" Kaori asked, teasingly.

"Like… that," Sousuke finished, with a frown. Kaori was sitting leaning against the base of the tree trunk, and he could see her long legs stretched out in front of her under the skirt. Her hair was fluttering into her face because of the wind. "Anyway, it doesn't matter what you look like. Those boys are desperate enough to hound any girl that steps onto campus. You've seen Mikoshiba."

"I have. He's pretty determined. It's cute."

Sousuke raised an eyebrow. "So that's your type, huh?"

"You know what my type is," Kaori mumbled. She looked down at the box of food in her hand, playing with the chopsticks nervously. Sousuke was looking at her in surprise, but she avoided his gaze. Kaori had hoped to tease him, but today had only ended up making her more flustered. She felt herself blush as Sousuke watched her with his gentle, blue eyes.

"So," he said after a short silence. "No cram school today?"

"I have class in the evening," Kaori replied with a sigh. She poked at her food absent-mindedly. "We'll get our test scores back today. I'm a little nervous. I didn't study properly with all the cultural festival work so I think my rank in class might have gone down. I'll have to work hard this week to catch up and get my score average back to normal."

"What did I tell you about working too hard?" Sousuke asked quietly.

Kaori smiled lightly. "Well, I have to work hard. You've already gotten scouted to a university in Tokyo. I'm not going to let you leave me behind when you go off to university! The entrance exams are in just a few months, so I don't have a lot of time. I have to put in effort, if only to catch up with you."

Sousuke frowned. "You don't need to compete with me."

"Maybe not. But we promised we'd be together once we achieved our dreams," Kaori replied. A light blush was creeping across her face and she forced herself to look up into Sousuke's blue-green eyes. They were watching her calmly. "So I can't be with you unless I achieve my dream, can I?" she said hurriedly.

"Is that how it is?" Sousuke asked quietly. He put his box of food down on the grass and shifted so that he could out a hand on her flushing cheek. He gently stroked his thumb over her face, feeling each soft inch of skin. He could almost hear their hearts thudding. "Why is that necessary? You and I are here, right now. Why do we have to wait for something that won't happen until the future?"

Kaori blinked at him. "Are you-saying-do you want to…?"

"Maybe."

Kaori stared at him. What kind of an answer was that? Although to be honest, her question was equally vague. For a moment, she wasn't even sure what they were talking about. She could only feel Sousuke's hands gently stroking her cheeks. His thumb brushed lightly over her lower lip, and Kaori's breath hitched. She couldn't take it. If he kept teasing her like this, her brain was going to explode. She froze a little, but before either of them could move, a voice yelled out.

"Hey! Look! Sousuke-senpai and his girlfriend are making out under the tree!" a voice jeered happily. Most of the boys from swim practice were just coming out of the swimming pool building for their lunch, and they had spotted Sousuke and Kaori under the tree.

"Kuso," Sousuke cursed, leaning away from Kaori with a slight flush on his cheeks. He turned and glared at the group of laughing boys, who quietened down a little bit when they noticed their huge teammate glaring daggers at them. Sousuke opened his mouth to yell at them. Before he could, he felt a soft, gentle pressure on his cheek.

Eyes widening, Sousuke turned to look at Kaori in surprise. She was just leaning away from him, looking extremely embarrassed. "Did you just kiss me?" he asked quietly. He could still feel the gentle imprint of her lips on his cheek. Kaori nodded, blushing.

"I was just putting on a show," she replied cheekily.

Sousuke stared at her. At the way her soft pink hair was framing her face and her big eyes were looking at him through her thick glasses. He clenched his fist slightly, lifting one hand and placing it on the back of her head, his fingers sliding through her hair. "Baka," he muttered. "If you're going to put on a show, do it properly." He used his grip on her head to pull her closer, and pressed his lips to hers.

Kaori froze as Sousuke kissed her. His fingers were tangled in her hair and his lips gently caressed hers, pressing her against the tree trunk. Kaori could feel his body heat. Sousuke leaned over her and softly kissed her lower lip, his teeth grazing it gently. Kaori's head was spinning. She lifted her own arms and wrapped them around Sousuke's neck, pulling him closer. The kiss became harder, faster. She could feel years of pent-up emotions and hidden feelings surfacing.

Kaori let out a soft whimper as Sousuke bit her lower lip, taking it between his teeth. He pulled away for a moment. Her hands were still wrapped around his neck, fingers grasping at his skin. Blue-green eyes watched her, full of emotion. "I've missed you," he whispered against her skin. Sousuke leaned forward and kissed her swollen lips again. "Let's not wait for Tokyo. Let's be together now."

"O-okay," Kaori breathed out softly.

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A/N – Thanks for your review, LilShorty0594! I'm glad you like them! I hadn't actually intended for Sousuke to be a tease; but it came out that way somehow.

Thanks for reading! De leave a review!