Chapter 6

Kaori sighed as she handed the bag to her mother. Her parents were putting on their shoes, getting ready to leave for the wedding in Osaka. Kaori's mother had been fretting around the house all day, worried that she'd forgotten something or left something unattended to.

"You'll be careful in the kitchen, won't you?" she asked Kaori nervously. "You won't leave the stove on and go upstairs to study? You'll lock the door at night? Keep your cell phone with you all the time, if you don't pick up the call then I'll get worried-"

"Hai, hai," Kaori grumbled, shoving the small suitcase into her mother's hand. Her father had already gone outside to start the car. "Look, Otousan is already in the car. You're making him late, you need to go now. Have fun."

Kaori's mother hesitated on the doorstep. "I still don't feel good about this. Maybe you should go stay with Kisumi and Hayato after all…"

"Okaasan, you're not serious? I'll end up having to take care of them and they won't let me study. Besides, I'm fine. Is this how you're going to behave when I leave for college in Tokyo?" Kaori demanded, giving her mother a gentle push. "Please, go! I have an exam on Monday, I have a lot of studying to do!"

After a lot of prodding and convincing, Kaori's mother finally consented to leave. She waved quickly as their car disappeared and then closed the door, turning back to an empty house. Kaori breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she would finally get some studying done tonight. She trudged upstairs and opened her books, getting ready for a full day with her academics when her phone started to ring.

"Moshi moshi," Kaori muttered irritably into the phone.

"Moshi moshi," a low voice replied. Kaori felt her heart leap when she realized it was Sousuke. She smiled and held the phone to her ear more carefully. "Are you busy studying?" he asked quietly. "I hope I didn't disturb you."

"N-no, I wasn't studying," Kaori said a little too quickly.

Sousuke chuckled. "Shouldn't you be studying?"

"Baka. First you scold me for working too hard and now you tell me to study. Make up your mind so I can satisfy you," Kaori replied. She twirled her pencil around in her hands nervously. She and Sousuke hadn't spoken much since they'd kiss at Samezuka the other day. Part of her was feeling extremely self-conscious; she wasn't sure how to act around him anymore. "Don't you have swim practice today? Prefecturals are coming soon."

"Hai, I know," Sousuke replied, amused. "I just had breakfast. No swimming right after you eat, remember? I thought your parents were supposed to leave for Osaka today."

"They just left. I literally had to shove my mother out of the door, she was so unwilling to leave me alone at home. I worry about how she's going to handle it when I leave for college," Kaori replied lightly. "Your parents won't have a problem, right- they're used to it since you go to boarding schools anyway."

"Hmm." Sousuke muttered. There was a short pause. "So, you're probably going to study all day."

Kaori nodded. She noticed a slight change in his tone and bit her lip. Why was he saying it that way? Did he want to spend time with her? Kaori flushed at the thought. "That's what I was planning to do," she replied. "Unless… you have a different idea?"

"If you have time, I want to take you out for dinner."

Kaori smiled. She glanced at the pile of books on her desk and then took a deep breath. There was no way she was going to turn down dinner with Sousuke. Besides, how long could it possibly take? She would have to eat dinner either way… "Kuso," she cursed, suddenly remembering. "I can't tonight. Kisumi-kun has a basketball game so he asked me to babysit his brother."

Sousuke blinked. "Kisumi, huh? That's a name I haven't heard in a while. How's he doing?"

"As infuriating as always," Kaori mumbled.

"You must be joking. You used to follow him around like a puppy's tail when we were kids. You didn't stop until he went to a different middle school," Sousuke pointed out with a smile. He wasn't complaining, though. Had it not been for Kisumi, he would never have met Kaori. "But I didn't know Kisumi had a brother."

"Hayato," Kaori confirmed with a nod. "He's the most adorable little boy you will ever meet. He's really quiet and well-behaved and he adores Kisumi."

Sousuke chuckled. "Now, where have I seen those qualities before…?"

"Baka, shut up. But we can have dinner some other time, right? Or how about lunch tomorrow? I can bring food over to your school again!" Kaori suggested eagerly.

"No," Sousuke replied bluntly.

"What? Why?" she pouted.

"Because I don't like sharing your attention with the other stupid idiots on the swim team," Sousuke muttered. "And I actually can't tomorrow afternoon. There's a special training session, we uh, have to determine who competes in which events at prefecturals. Gomen."

"Oh," Kaori mumbled.

Sousuke noticed the disappointment in her tone. "What's wrong?"

"I guess I never realized how hard it would be to find time for us to meet. I mean, we're both so busy. Between school and your swimming and my cram school classes… are you sure it isn't going to be too hard? It won't be easy to fit each other into our schedules and Samezuka is so far from my school."

"…Kaori, if you really want to see me, then I'll blow off practice."

"See, I don't want that!" Kaori cried. "You shouldn't have to compromise on swimming just to see me. You need to stay in shape, otherwise how will you go to your college in Tokyo next year? And I have to prepare for my entrance exams in a few months. I never planned for you to come back here and distract me!" she said with as nervous laugh.

Sousuke was silent for a moment. "Do you really think I'm distracting you?" he asked quietly.

Kaori's eyes widened. Had she hurt his feelings? "What? No, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought…"

"Your entrance exams come first. Go study, Kaori," Sousuke told her quietly. Kaori opened her mouth to protest, but he had already hung up. She sighed and looked down at her phone, upset. What had she been thinking? Why did she say that to him?

Damn it.

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"Why is everything red?"

Kisumi, Sousuke and Rin were walking past the stores on their way home from the park. The stores were all decorated in pink and red shades, with hearts and romantic decorations everywhere. Rin was looking around somewhat excitedly, while Sousuke rolled his eyes.

"It's Valentine's Day tomorrow," he explained simply, pointing to a sign in one of the stores. The date was clearly displayed, along with details of a sale on chocolates and flowers. Kisumi grinned and stopped near the window, admiring a huge box of chocolates.

Rin turned and looked at his friends sheepishly. "Do you think anyone will give us chocolates tomorrow?"

"Kisumi will get plenty," Sousuke muttered. The slim, pink-haired boy was the most popular with the girls in their school. Even though they were only in their last year of elementary school, almost all the girls in their class had a crush on Kisumi. It was probably because he was so friendly and nice to them all the time. "He talks to a lot of girls. More than you and I do, at least."

Rin nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. Kisumi-kun will get a lot of chocolates. Do you think we will? My sister will probably make chocolates for me, but that's not the same, is it?"

Sousuke shrugged. "I don't know. Does it matter? If you want chocolates, you can just buy them. They're on sale anyway."

"It's not the same! It would be nice to get them as a gift!"

"I don't really care." Sousuke hitched his backpack up on his back and tugged on Kisumi's sleeve to pull him away from the display window and force him to keep walking. The three boys continued down the street. Sousuke glanced at Rin, who was looking thoughtful. He raised an eyebrow. "What are you thinking so hard about, Rin?"

Rin turned and grinned at Sousuke. "I bet I'll get more chocolates than you!"

Sousuke's eyes widened. "Eh?"

"We'll make it a competition! Whoever gets less chocolates by the end of the day tomorrow, has to do the other's homework for a week! What do you say, Sousuke? Are you going to turn down a challenge?"

Sousuke's eyes flashed. "Never!"

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Kaori took a deep breath as she stood near the entrance to the classroom, watching Rin and Sousuke talking near the window. Her hands were shaking a little. She silently approached the two boys but neither of them noticed her. Rin seemed to be showing Sousuke something.

"See?" Rin asked with a grin. He held up two small boxes. "I got two so far and you've got none. This one Gou-chan gave me this morning, and the other one was given to me by Hikari-san, the girl who sits beside me in class. You're losing, Sousuke! Get ready to do my homework!"

Sousuke frowned. "The one from your sister doesn't count. It's not my fault I don't have a sister."

Rin rolled his eyes. "Fine. I won't count that one. I still have one more than you!"

Kaori approached the two boys, her cheeks a little red. They both continued their conversation, barely noticing her. Sousuke was the first to see the small girl waiting quietly behind them, a light tinge on her cheeks. He smiled, noticing that she looked nervous. "Kaori-chan! What are you doing in our class?" Sousuke asked kindly.

Rin whirled around to look at her, and then noticed the chocolate in her trembling hands. He grinned triumphantly and laughed at Sousuke. "Ha! Kaori-chan got me chocolate too! There's no way you can recover after this, Sousuke!"

"T-they're for both of you," Kaori explained. She quickly handed Rin one box, and then gave the other one to Sousuke. She was avoiding both of their gazes. "I-I made them myself. Okaasan was teaching me how to do it the other day and I had some left over after making it for Kisumi-kun."

Sousuke flushed a little bit as he took the chocolate from Kaori. Even though she'd given it to Rin and her cousin as well, he still felt a little embarrassed that Kaori had thought of him on Valentine's Day. Before he could say anything, Rin had already broken open the box and taken a good-sized bite from his. "Sugoi! Kaori-chan, this is amazing!" Rin replied with a big grin. "Thanks!"

Kaori flushed. "I-I'm glad you liked it." She looked up and risked a glance at Sousuke.

"Arigatou, Kaori-chan," Sousuke replied with a smile.

"Y-you're welcome," Kaori replied. Then she bit her lip and hurried out of the class, her pink ponytails swinging behind her as the bell rang for the next class.

At the end of the day, Sousuke followed Rin out of their classroom. He'd still only received the one chocolate from Kaori, while Rin had three now. Sousuke held the small chocolate box in his hand, hesitating to open it. Rin was already munching on his. He turned and looked at Sousuke, chocolate staining the corner of his grinning mouth. "I won the competition!" he declared.

"Hai, hai," Sousuke muttered. As they walked out of the school building, he slowly opened the box which Kaori had given him and peeked inside. Eyes widening, he glanced at his friend. "Rin… the chocolate which Kaori gave you. What shape was it in?"

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?" he glanced at the lump of chocolate he was munching on. It was no longer in any recognizable shape. "Oh it was in a raindrop shape. She probably meant it to signify water. You know, since we swim a lot. Why, did she give you something different?"

Sousuke glanced down at the small heart-shaped chocolate lying in his box and then quickly closed it. His heartbeat was thudding. "No, mine is the same. Do you think Kaori really thought it through or did she make random shapes based on whatever she had?"

"Kaori seems like the kind of person to really think it through. She was so nervous while giving it to us."

Sousuke grinned. Even though he'd lost the competition, it still felt like he'd won.

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Kaori had tried calling Sousuke back that day, but he hadn't answered. He'd ignored her calls twice and on the third try, he simply sent her a text message.

Sousuke: Kaori, stop calling. You should be studying. You have a test on Monday.

Kaori frowned as she glanced down at the text. Why was he acting like this? He was the one who had asked her out to dinner and wanted to spend time. Now he wouldn't even take her calls? Frowning, she texted him back quickly.

Kaori: I can't study when you're mad at me.

Sousuke: I'm not mad.

Kaori: Really? Tell me the truth.

Sousuke: I promise. I'm not mad. I have swim practice now. Go study. I love you.

Kaori flushed slightly at the last message. He hadn't said that since middle school. Relieved, she lifted her pen and opened her books, ready to start studying again. Then she paused for a moment and snatched up her phone, quickly texting him back.

Kaori: I love you too. 3

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Kaori groaned as she heard her phone ring again. It was Sunday afternoon and her head was aching. She'd been studying all day, determined to ace her mock exam on Monday. Except her mother kept calling to make sure she was okay and that she'd eaten. Kaori sighed as she picked up the phone. She had to have the clingiest parents ever.

"I told you, I already ate lunch! I made rice, I didn't leave the stove on and the house hasn't burned down yet. I know how to cook just fine!" Kaori cried into the phone, exasperated. She was surprised when she heard a slightly amused male voice on the other end of the line.

"That's… good to know, I suppose," the male voice replied with a chuckle.

Kaori flushed. "Who-who's this?"

"Moshi mosh, Kaori-chan. It's Rin."

"Oh. Gomen, Rin-kun. I thought you were my mother," Kaori mumbled. She was relieved that it was just Rin and not somebody who would make more fun of her. Kisumi would never have let her forget it. "Uh, what can I do for you?" she asked quickly.

"Sousuke borrowed my blue goggles the other day. I need them now for practice, but I can't find them anywhere in the dorm room. My other pair are with Nitori- damn it, why does everyone borrow my goggles?" Rin grumbled. Kaori could hear him moving things around in the room. "Well? Where are they?"

"How am I supposed to know? I've never seen your goggles."

"I know, baka. Give the phone to Sousuke. He's not answering his," Rin replied with a sigh.

Kaori blinked. "Sousuke's not with me."

"He isn't? He left for a lunch date with you over an hour ago. He should have reached by now, shouldn't he?" Rin asked.

Kaori frowned. "What? He told me that you had a special training session today. Something about picking events for prefecturals. That's why he couldn't make lunch." Kaori replied. She frowned. "Are you sure he's not answering his phone? Did you try properly?"

"Of course, I called him thrice," Rin replied, suddenly sounding concerned. "And that training session was last week. I don't know why he would tell you that it was today. Damn it, where it he, then?"

"… I have no clue. Rin, did he lie?" Kaori asked slowly.

Rin hesitated. "I don't know. Let's not jump to conclusions. Call me if he turns up, okay?"

Kaori nodded, worried.

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A/N – Thanks so much to all who read! I'm glad you like it! Do leave more reviews, they really keep me motivated to write.

I have two plot points in mind for this story and I can't make up my mind. So maybe you guys can choose. It all centers on when Kaori finds out about Sousuke's injury. This could be either before, or after her entrance exam. So what do you think? Should Kaori find out before her entrance exam, or after?

Also want to know if I should keep doing more flashbacks or if they're getting boring now.