The mild Autumn sun broke through the curtains of her bedroom bathing every corner of the room in a homey and gentle light. Gradually, the sunlight reached her face, waking her up from her light slumber. Eyes fluttered open, and she instantly smiled upon seeing it was finally morning. Aya had woken up a couple of times throughout the night due to the excitement she was feeling for the following day and every time she did so, her mind filled over and over with possible date scenarios and, consequently she had a hard time falling back asleep. However, thankfully she managed to get enough sleep.
Megumi kindly helped her putting together a couple of outfits and while Aya knew nothing about the date itself, she somehow assumed it wouldn't be anywhere she needed to dress up fancy for, hence, she ended up opting for pastel yellow high rise cotton shorts, white tee tucked in and over her shoulders, a lilac jumper in case it got chilly later, plus a pair of her favourite type of shoes to wear —baby blue converse with a few flowers embroidered on each side by herself. As for her hair, she simply let it down. She then took a closer look at her reflection on her full body mirror to check everything was in order, yet she whined to herself at noticing the darker shade around her eyes —lack of sleep due to her wild imagination. She couldn't show up like that to her first date ever, could she? Aya didn't own any makeup herself because she didn't know how to use it nor deemed it useful to have, but now? She wished she had. There was only one solution to it.
"Mum?"
"Aya, darling, are you already up?" Her mother asked, surprised, opening the door of her bedroom. "Happy birthday, my brilliant girl." She pulled her into a tight hug. "I wanted to wait until you were up to wish you a happy birthday. I can't believe my sweet child is already seventeen."
"Thanks mum." She returned the hug, smiling wide. "I told you I had plans today, didn't I? That's why I'm up early. I—need help."
"What is it?"
"The—the bags in my eyes. I look like a panda…" she said, lowering her eyes in embarrassment.
Midori didn't need any further explanation as to why Aya came to her for help because it was pretty easy to guess why. Giving her daughter one last hug, she guided her to sit at her dressing table, she afterwards she took a couple of make-up products out of the neatly organised drawers.
"I thought I'd never see the day you'd be interested in these things."
"Mum…"
"It's because of that boy, isn't it?" She chuckled. "You are already pretty the way you are, Aya. He will be able to see that if he truly likes you. We women don't need to try so hard."
Far from taking her mum's words as discouraging, Aya knew why her mum spoke like that —because of her father. Her mother tried really hard and yet, she wasn't valued enough and was swapped for a much younger woman. Aya couldn't quite understand the dynamics of a marriage, nor the nuances of an adult relationship, but she could tell it hit her mother pretty deeply. She had always been a very elegant lady, however, once her father abandoned them, she stopped wearing perfectly done makeup or elaborate hairdos and it was only recently that her mother became her old self, a happier and freer her. She was doing those things for herself and Aya couldn't be happier for her mum.
"But it is your first date ever, so we don't want that, do we?"
With ease and exceptional skills, Midori applied some concealer around her eyes —only the necessary to cover those eye bags— then some rouge to her cheeks and just a tad bit of nude lipstick on her lips using her index finger.
"You don't need a lot of makeup yet, so this will suffice don't you think?"
"Thanks mum."
As her mother said, it wasn't heavy makeup and only a bit of blush and a light colour on her lips, but Aya liked how she looked. Perhaps she should start using makeup more often.
"Where are you going?"
Aya laughed in response. "You know as much as I do. I guess it is a surprise. Can I bring him over later for dinner when we are back?"
"Of course. I'd love to meet him. And leave your brother to me. Now finish getting ready while I go downstairs to prepare breakfast."
After that talk, Midori realized she didn't have to be worried about her daughter more than it was needed. She had a wonderful group of friends, she sounded happy about school and seemed to have found something she wanted to do in the future, plus she liked a boy who seemed like he was genuine and sincere. When they moved from Sendai to Kanagawa, she was worried Aya wouldn't be able to find her place nor make any friends, but she was pleasantly surprised and glad she managed. Midori was relieved to see it was the kind of change Aya so desperately needed, and never voiced out.
As stated, the woman went downstairs to prepare breakfast while she could hear both Aya and Kyô upstrais already bickering in the early morning, even on her birthday.
"Does mum know you are going on a date?"
"Of course she does, you doofus. And leave me alone!"
"You are just seventeen, sis! You can't date. You are too baby."
"You are just five years older than I am. I'm not a baby! Mum!"
Both siblings walked into the kitchen, still bickering as they sat at the table in order to have breakfast. Aya simply rolled her eyes at her brother's comments before mouthing a silent itadakimasu and started to have her breakfast and given she was a bit late, she tried to finish it as soon as possible. And once finished she went to brush her teeth, checking her outfit one last time before going out of the house after saying bye to her family.
As soon as she walked out of her house, there he was. Standing at the opposite side of the street, back leaning against the wall while he had his hands on his pockets. His eyes seemed to be partially closed, hence, she simply stared at him for a few minutes, taking in his whole appearance.
With that height of his, he looked good pretty much in anything —from the school uniform to his basketball attire, which was a personal favourite of hers—, but Aya wasn't used to seeing him in regular clothes quite yet, it felt like seeing a rare animal of some sorts. However, he indeed looked very handsome in jeans, cobalt blue zip-up hoodie and a pair of white converse along with his signature hairstyle.
"Morning, Aya."
The male greeting her made her snap out of her reverie as she realised she had been staring at his figure for far too long.
"Morning!" She greeted him enthusiastically, walking closer to him. "I hope I didn't make you wait too much"
"Not at all." He replied, straightening his back as he looked at her from head to toe, smiling.
Just like Aya, Sendoh wasn't used to seeing her in regular clothes either and while he thought she looked extremely cute in school uniform and her signature braids falling down each shoulder, he liked seeing her in different clothes and he hoped he'd get to see many more outfits.
"Do— do I have anything weird on my face?" She asked bashfully after noticing his stares.
He laughed and shook his head. "You look cute is all. I rarely see you with your hair down at school."
Did he notice?
Aya often braided her long hair because she couldn't stand loose hair, so as he noted, she rarely ever let it down at school and unknowingly, she started trying different hairstyles she saw in fashion magazines such as Seventeen —kindly borrowed from Megumi— in hopes the boy would notice. However, what surprised her the most was that he only seemed to notice when she let her hair down as opposed to the elaborate hairdos she did every morning before going to school.
"Well, I thought it would be a good thing to have my hair down for once."
"It looks good on you. I mean, every hairstyle looks good, but this is very cute," said he, staring at her from above as he took a strand of her hair delicately, just like he did that one time. "Happy birthday, by the way. Don't think I have forgotten about it."
"I don't think you have, because I did not know you knew about it." She laughed. "It was Kaori, wasn't she?"
"Mitchell-san? Ah… I think it was a little birdie," he added with an amused grin. "I'm not so sure."
"Silly." Aya playfully nudged his side. "May I ask what is the plan for today?"
"You may, but the full plan shall remain a surprise. Since it is sunny and still considerably warm today, I'm taking you to Enoshima."
Having said that, he outstretched his hand and gestured to it with his eyes. And while Aya flushed at such a simple gesture, she gladly reached for his hand, grabbing it. He usually didn't ask and she wouldn't have been surprised if he had just taken her hand, but Aya was glad he made sure she was okay with it. And so, walking hand in hand, they began their journey to the train station in silence, save for the sporadic questions regarding what they did the previous day. Aya told him about her girl date with Kaori and Megumi, whereas he spent the day with his sister.
"The legendary older sister." She chuckled. "May I just say she sounds totally amazing? I've always wanted an older sister, but I got stuck with my dumb older brother instead."
"She really is." He chimed in. "You should come over and meet her sometime soon."
In fact, he had been planning for the two of them to meet as soon as possible. Now that he knew for sure his feelings were reciprocated, his confidence levels were over the roof and often referred to Aya as the girl of his dreams and life, despite not being official nor anything of that sort. At least, yet. And Kanae always laughed at him for gushing about her like that, whereas Hiroaki sent him judging looks while sighing to himself in disbelief whenever he mentioned it to his best friend.
"Speaking of, would you like to stay over for dinner later?" She asked him, as they were sitting down, already inside the train. "My mom will be cooking my favourite meal and there will be cake as well."
He immediately smiled at the question. "I would love to."
He would be more than thrilled to have dinner at her home with her family any day of the week. He was sure it would be completely different from how his family dined — formal and stiff— and while Nitta-san's food was delicious, nothing came close to a mother's homemade food and he hadn't had one in years. In fact, he even doubted he'd ever had one. After the short exchange, they fell silent once again and, while still holding hands, they simply stared at the change of scenery before them. As he previously said, the train ride from their local train station to Enoshima was fairly short, hence, it was still rather early once they arrived, meaning they really had the whole day ahead of them for themselves. Whatever the day had in store for them, she just felt happy being able to spend the day with him —both of them fully acknowledging it was indeed a romantic date unlike the cinema day.
The sun was at peak high, with its rays subtly grazing the blueness of the sea, glistening as if small jewels covered the surface. The way to Enoshima was, as well, done in silence, save for Aya's excited gasps and whispered words in awe while looking around as they were gradually reaching the island. She was raised by the sea, but the sea scenery in Sendai was completely different from the one in Kanagawa, and it never failed to amaze her. Even the blue of the sea was of a different shade in the south.
Enoshima was a very small island, but it had so much to offer. The boy himself often came to the island, because it was a great fishing spot, thus, he knew all the good spots, and he hoped Aya would enjoy the place as much as he did. He also brought his camera along, so hopefully he could take good photographs of the scenery, Aya and also, the two of them together—he was most hopeful for that.
"May I ask where we are headed first, Sendoh-san?" She said in playful jesting.
He laughed. "What is with that all of sudden?"
"Then… Sendoh-senpai?"
"You have never called me senpai." He gently pointed out.
"I know and that is why I wondered if I should start addressing you more respectfully." She pursed her lips in an attempt not to let her laugh out.
"I think the name you are looking for is Akira."
She could feel the heat already building in her cheeks, and peeking at him out of the corner of her eye, she could spot a very satisfied smile across his lips. Aya had undoubtedly noticed the shift in the way he addressed her throughout the months. Shibazeki-san quickly changed to Shibazeki-chan, which slowly evolved into Aya-chan and soon enough, she became just Aya in his eyes.
"I think the name I'm looking for is senpai. You are my senpai after all."
He continued laughing. "You have never ever called me senpai. Not even when we first met—"
"Hold on—" She trailed off before gasping dramatically. "But I did!" She laughed. "Once at least. When you walked me home after I watched you train."
"That rings a bell, but still. I call you by your first name and you could do the same. I'm just saying that. You call Hikoichi by his first name."
"Hikoichi is Hikoichi and well, that's because you want to! I didn't ask, did I? "
"No, but I like being one of the few ones besides Mitchell-san who calls you Aya."
"You have never addressed me so formally either. But you do so with Kaori and Megumi."
"That's because they are your friends and I ought to show them some respect."
After all, she failed at holding her laughter back and bursted out into a fit of giggles at another one of his silly quips.
"You are truly impossible." She paused. "Akira."
He really wasn't prepared for the way his heart pounded in his chest after hearing his name leave her lips with such tenderness. He always felt butterflies whenever he was with Aya, but such a simple detail truly filled him with happiness. And he wanted to show it to her. So, he dropped her hand for a moment in order to pull her closer to his body by wrapping his arm around her shoulder, and with some difficulty due to their height difference, he planted a kiss atop of her head.
"I think I might have heard that once or twice," he said.
As for Aya, she was sure the redness of her cheeks wouldn't be leaving any time soon and only would deepen more and more as the day went by, especially with him being so affectionate towards her. Her heart had been beating real fast ever since she opened the door of her house and saw him waiting for her and just like her cheeks, it would stay like that for the rest of the day. After the brief kiss on her hair, he let go of her shoulders to hold her hand again, and Aya responded to that gesture by intertwining her fingers with his —her own way of letting him know she was happy.
Being it already October, the island wasn't as packed as it usually was with tourists, therefore, taking a stroll around the street was pleasant enough. While she wasn't too keen on shopping itself, Aya wound up stopping by pretty much every small shop she saw or vendors they stumbled upon in the streets. And at every stop she made, she showed him excitedly items she was interested in, and he couldn't help but take a photo of her every time, holding each of those items. Aya, at first, felt shy but it was easy to feel at ease around him and that day, she was sure, would be a day to remember in the future for both of them.
They also stopped at a small local restaurant for lunch, albeit neither of them was feeling very hungry from eating all the delicious street food they saw while strolling the streets, thus, they ended up sharing a set meal.
"What would you say is your favourite meal in the whole world?"
"Anything with fish in it. Whenever I fish something nice, I often go to Uozumi-san's family restaurant and eat it there. And yours?"
"Tempura "
Aya knew he was very unpunctual, oblivious and clueless, a bit of a dork sometimes, but he also was caring, kind and selfless while he knew she was sweet, thoughtful and caring, albeit too much of a worrywart, tad insecure, sometimes reserved and strict with rules from time to time. They also knew about the other's family problems such as his with his father and hers with her own to a certain degree. In summary, they knew the serious stuff, but they didn't know the very basic things such as their favourite meal, season, colour, hobbies —besides what they already knew— or music, therefore, during lunch and the later stroll to the nearby shrine and the beach, they asked each other all sorts of things, learning everything about the other.
"We need to hurry up or we won't get to see the wonderful sunset!"
After a long walk along the beach, he, without doubt, lost track of time and was now rushing her to the nearby caves, where they could watch the sunset as he had originally planned, and hopefully he would be able to give her his gift, which he had been carrying in his pocket the whole day.
"Had I known your plans beforehand, I would have made sure we got to the caves with plenty of time on our hands!"
Almost out of air after the sudden running, Aya plopped down on one of the rocks while he did the same and sat next to her.
"It wouldn't have been a surprise otherwise and look, just on time."
The vibrant yet soothing streaks of colour had filled the canvas of the sky. The setting sun's radiant face was mirrored by the shimmering clear blue waves of the sea which was framed by sloping land on either side, both of which flourished with a palette of different bright shades of green, orange and purple.
"It has been a fantastic day today, Akira. Thanks for planning it out."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. That was my only concern in mind today, you know. But day is not over yet."
Having said that, he managed to get a small cotton bag with a ribbon tied around it out of his pocket and placed it on her hands.
"Happy birthday, Aya."
"Eh? You didn't need to get me anything. Today has been more than enough."
"Of course I had to." He nodded. "I hope you like it."
He looked at her, expectantly and nervous, as she was untying the ribbon around the bag and proceeded to open it to take a peek inside before taking its content out. And that moment felt like an eternity to him. He had a really hard time deciding on what to buy for her because nothing seemed good enough or he doubted she would like it, however, the long day of shopping together with Kanae felt worth it as soon as he saw the bright smile gracing her lips as she held up the beautiful necklace to have a closer look, gleaming before her eyes.
A silver crescent moon with a tiny blue stone attached to the top part.
"It is absolutely beautiful, Akira. Thank you!" She beamed at him, while giving his hand a squeeze. "Why a moon, though?"
She had a hunch why he chose a moon, yet she wanted to hear it in his own words.
"Because of your name and that night by the beach. Every time I look at the moon and the starry sky, I'm instantly reminded of you. I think I came to understand and embrace my feelings for you at that moment." Pause. "I was always kind of aware I liked you more than a friend, but that precise moment was when I finally realised I was in love with you."
The boy himself couldn't even bring himself to fully look at her and only glanced at her from time to time because of how embarrassed he was feeling. Not because he was at long last properly confessing to her, but because pouring his heart out like that was never an easy task for him, and despite knowing she felt the same, still a tiny part of him feared she would reject him.
"What I mean is—" He heaved a deep sigh, squeezing her hand back tightly. "I'm so in love with you, Aya. Sometimes I don't even know what to do with all of these feelings I have for you. I really believed I lost you forever when that happened, but today restored my hope in fixing things with you. That perhaps, not all is lost because you know? I don't want to let you go."
Aya could feel her heart beating as fast as a hummingbird's wings, breath hitching in her throat as her mouth went suddenly dry. His confession wasn't unexpected in any way, but hearing the word love and how intensely he was speaking of his feelings for her made her experience a rapid wave of overflowing happiness, yet she remained quiet, feeling more heat even reach her ears for a brief moment as she tried to collect her thoughts in order to give him a response.
"That night was when I also realised I was in love with you." She whispered. "And while many things happened between us, I can't seem to be able to stop my feelings for you, as they just keep growing deeper. Ever since the first time I saw you, my eyes have always been following you. I wasn't aware of it back then, but you have always been the only one for me. And please don't let me go, because I definitely don't want to let you go either."
He'd experienced several varying degrees of happiness before, but the joy that came from hearing the confession from the girl he was in love with and how she had the same love —not like, but love— feelings towards him was unmatching. Nothing he's ever felt before could come closer to it. He felt pure bliss. In fact, he felt his heart was going to jump right out his chest.
Unlike when he was pouring his heart out, he now had his eyes intently set on her, admiring each of her features and how her eyes lightened up along her smile while he wasn't letting go of her hand and soon after, instinctively, his head moved down until he was more or less to her eyes' level, allowing himself to lean closer to her lips, stopping.
"Can I?"
It was merely a whisper, but the way her pupils dilated in anticipation before her eyes slowly closed, as well as her lips ever so slightly parted, were enough for him to take that as a yes. He finally closed the gap between them and brushed her lips briefly before pressing his lips to hers fully, which she gladly reciprocated by pecking his lips back.
He then cupped both of her cheeks after planting another kiss, both of their eyes fluttering open as they now looked at each other, unable to contain their happiness.
"I hope you know I'm not going to let go of you ever and that unfortunately, you are now stuck with me."
"Someone has to keep you in line and I'm afraid that can only be me."
Laughing in unison, a few more kisses and even more loving words later, they both decided to start heading back home as the night sky was starting to take over. Unlike the journey in the morning, neither of them was silent and Aya in particular was the one babbling while he was simply listening, gazing at her fondly.
"Should we walk together to school tomorrow morning?"
"I'm the first one to arrive in the morning."
"I know, I know." He laughed. "But I really want to walk together to school like any other couple, you know."
She instantly flushed at the mention of the word. They didn't really discuss what they were, but considering the moment they shared at the caves earlier on, it was safe to say they were indeed a couple. And that he was her boyfriend.
"I think we should keep it to ourselves at school though."
He obviously knew what she meant —Kasumi. He was sure it would cause quite a ruckus if he was suddenly seen with Aya in a more affectionate manner than he ever was with Kasumi. He would probably be called a player and Aya would likely be called something far worse and he wanted to protect her from that.
"Can I at least walk you home after practice?"
She had always found it almost impossible to say no to him, so as it happened most of the time, she gave in and smiled at him in response. If they couldn't interact much at school, she would take any opportunity she could to spend time with him. And the less people knew about it the better. She would obviously tell Kaori and Megumi and she was sure he would tell Koshino-kun, so as far as only the three of them knew, it would be okay until they figured out a way to deal with Kasumi.
By the time they made it back to her house, it was dinner time already, although Aya was confused by the lack of light on the windows and once she opened the door.
"I wonder if mum and Kyo have gone out… the lights are off." She noted as she was taking her shoes off, while he was doing the same.
"Perhaps they forgot something and had to go out?"
"Weird."
She first turned on the lights in the entrance and the kitchen before walking to the living room to do the same, the male following her.
"Happy birthday, Aya-chan!"
Several loud voices resonated through the walls of the living room as soon as the lights went suddenly on, revealing very familiar faces there. Her mother, brother, Kaori plus her father, Megumi and a few members of the basketball team such as the third years and obviously, Hikoichi.
"Eh?" Visibly surprised by everyone gathered in the living room of her house, her first reaction was to tear up in joy as she first approached her mum to hug her, then her brother, and then Kaori and Megumi.
"I didn't know anything about it!" She laughed. "Did you plan it together?"
"It wouldn't have been a surprise would it now?" Kaori replied. "It was the two of us, along with Hikoichi and your mom planning it."
However, besides Aya, Sendoh was the one who was actually very shocked because he knew nothing about this surprise, hence, he walked up to Hiroaki and Hikoichi.
"All of you knew while I didn't. You guys kept me in the dark about this." He protested.
"To be fair, you can't really keep a secret and we didn't want to ruin your big plans for today."
"I wanted to tell you, Sendoh-senpai! But Koshino-senpai told me not to!"He whined. "Eh?" Confusion on his face. "Which plans?"
"Lover boy's plan here to confess to Shibazeki."
"Sendoh-senpai, is that true?!" Hikoichi exclaimed, unavoidably dragging everyone else's attention. "Congrats on your relationship, senpai!"
Both of Aya's and Sendoh's faces went from pale white to deep red as Hikoichi congratulated him first by shaking his hands in a fervid way, and then her while he was tearing up. After such news, the boys gathered around their captain right away, joined by Kyô, who just wanted to warn him regarding his little sister, whereas Kaori and Megumi approached Aya instead to congratulate her. And soon, more chaotic shenanigans ensued as the boys were being nosy about it and asking their captain endless questions as well as teasing remarks about how it was about time they started dating because it was pretty obvious to everyone in the team, except for the two of them. All things considered, however, it turned out to be a wonderful birthday party. A tad bit chaotic, for the boys were just being very loud, but everyone and, especially the birthday girl, had a blast, so that sounded like a perfect party in her books.
At least a few weeks had passed since Aya's birthday and keeping their relationship a secret at school proved to be a real task. It was already bad enough that the whole basketball team knew about it resulting in the boys teasing them at every given opportunity. The news even reached the coach and while he obviously had nothing against it, he still kept an eye on both of them, so Sendoh wouldn't be distracted during practice, although he hadn't been skipping many practices as of lately, so the man was pretty content with that. And just as promised, he walked her back home after practice, except for the days there was no practice and she walked back home with Kaori.
"No walking back with the boyfriend today?"
"Not today. I'm walking with you whenever there's no practice because that's our tradition, Kao-chan." She smiled.
"Anything about the crazy psycho?"
"She's been awfully quiet, but Akira has been trying to deal with that. Other than that, he makes sure she's not creeping around when practice is finished since the badminton team has a similar schedule." She trailed off. "And you? Anything on that front?"
Kaori immediately picked up on what Aya meant by that front, so she simply shook her head in regards to her question.
Kaori had told Aya about that time she and her father argued and Rukawa happened to be in the living room, overhearing everything they said and ever since that time, the boy hasn't stopped by the house nor stayed over for dinner and her father barely mentioned him or his work in general unlike he used to do before. After the argument, she had a heart to heart talk with her father about it, where she was able to open up to him about those feelings she had been keeping to herself so as to not worry her father. How left out she had been feeling since she turned around twelve and how she felt basketball and his job —especially those protégés he took under his wing— were a priority in his life and not her.
"I thought you didn't need me anymore, pumpkin. You are growing up so fast and I can barely keep up with you."
"I know it is a complicated stage of your life and mom is not here to help you, but please know you can tell anything to your old man here."
To be fair, Kaori didn't give him an easy time either when she was fourteen and fifteen years old. Wanting to get his attention, she started behaving badly in school, talking back to him and in summary, rebelling against him in hopes he would realise she needed her father during that difficult period of her teenage years. Moving to Japan somehow attenuated that behaviour, but neither of them had properly talked about those issues until she ended up exploding the other day.
" I should apologise to Rukawa, you reckon? Not that I fancy the idea, but I sort of put him in an awkward position that time."
"It would be a good idea. He must be thinking you blamed it all on him."
In a way, she kind of blamed him, but in any case, it wasn't nice of her.
"You can still catch him if you head to Shohoku now."
Kaori didn't know any details about the boy, hence, the only option was to go to Shohoku herself to apologize. Waving goodbye to Aya, she turned back and headed to the train station instead. Kaori had no idea where the high school was, but Aya kindly gave her very precise directions before they parted ways and fortunately for the female, it was only a few stops away from their local train station, so hopefully she would be just on time to catch him by the end of his practice.
Despite having a bad sense of direction, Kaori was able to reach Shohoku safely, albeit she had to ask one of the students where the gym was.
"A Ryonan spy!" The wild redheaded monkey exclaimed as soon as he spotted her by the doors. "Came here to spy on this genius?! Hahahaha. Tell your captain I will beat him next time!"
Kaori greeted everyone politely first, completely ignoring Sakuragi's nonsense and looked around for the black-haired guy, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Kaori-chan?" Haruko approached her, followed by Ayako. "Long time no see. Are you looking for anyone in particular?"
"Long time no see." She smiled at both girls. "I was— looking for Rukawa. Did he leave already?"
"Eh? Rukawa?" Ayako asked. "I think he must be grabbing his stuff. Do you know each other?"
"Well, yeah. Sort of. He has been training with my father every now and then." She shrugged.
"That sly fox! He had to get that cool American dude's help in order to surpass this genius!" Sakuragi laughed boastfully.
"Shut up Hanamichi!"Miyagi intervened and whacked Sakuragi to make him shut up.
And soon enough, both Sakuragi and Miyagi engaged in your typical Shohoku's fight that happened every so often, surprising no one in the gym. Ayako sighed while rolling her eyes whereas Haruko seemed to be panicking and tried to stop what seemed a friendly fight.
"Mitchell-san?"
Kaori's attention was dragged away from the hilarious scene between Shohoku's captain and Sakuragi and set on Rukawa instead, who was already on his way out of the gymnasium.
"I hope to see you girls soon. We should all go out sometime. I'll ask Aya." Kaori bid farewell to both Ayako and Haruko before approaching Rukawa, who was surprised to see the female there.
In a very Rukawa manner, he gave her a brief look and headed out of the gym towards the bike racks, and Kaori could only take it as an invitation for her to follow him. Once he got his bike, the two of them set off with no fixed destination. Kaori could always take the train back home and that was more than okay with her.
A moment of uncomfortable silence settled in as they were walking aimlessly. Kaori, meanwhile, was deep within her mind, contemplating what to say next and how she would tackle the conversation at hand. She was just there to apologise, so it shouldn't be that hard.
To her surprise, it was him breaking the silence.
"How's Jarrett-san?"
"He is fine. Busy with the boys. The usual."
"I see. Please send him my regards," he said.
"Why don't you do that yourself?"
"I don't want to impose."
Just like Aya had said and, Kaori herself had guessed by the way he stopped coming over, he felt awkward about the whole situation and thought he was the reason behind the argument she had with her father.
"Look— I wanted to apologize."
"What for?"
"For what happened the other day at my house. I didn't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation."
"It's fine. Don't mind it."
"But—"
"All good."
His nonchalance is even worse than the other moron, she thought.
"Will you just accept my apologies! You are so annoying."
"I never said I didn't accept them. Just said that it's fine." He shrugged his shoulders. "I actually wanted to apologise too."
"Huh?"
"For showing up unannounced and imposing. But I've been busy."
"Busy with?"
He really didn't seem the type to have a packed schedule, so she really wondered what he meant by busy. Although she appreciated his apologies. In response to her question, the boy just gestured to his gym bag, which she assumed meant he was busy with basketball.
"Of course. That type of busy."
"What type of busy you thought I meant?"
"I don't know. Busy with stuff. School, friends, a girlfriend."
"I don't have time for that. Basketball is the only thing in my life."
Kaori had met too many athletes in her seventeen years of life —far more than she would like—, but she had never seen anyone so intensely focused on the sport as Rukawa was. And as confirmed by his words, basketball was, in fact, the only thing in his mind and life, and was devoted to working towards that. However, the way he phrased it sounded so lonely that Kaori felt bad for blaming the whole thing on him and she could kind of understand why her father was so adamant to have him around. Kaori knew nothing about him and perhaps he lived on his own, or perhaps his parents were busy, and probably that's why he always seemed so aloof.
"Will you drop by to say hi or have dinner? My father's energy hasn't been the same and as annoying as he can be sometimes, he likes having you around."
"It is fine." He repeated. "I'm no lost puppy."
He remembered the things she said. Kaori didn't take him as a person, who would remember as he seemed too far in his own world, so he didn't pay much attention to anything besides basketball, but he actually did.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. Well, I kind of meant it, but I was just furious, so don't mind it."
"Oh my god! You really are an annoying moron sometimes. I know you are no stray dog that needs sheltering. That's why I am apologizing. For saying those things, despite meaning some of them."
"Sorry for meddling between you and your father."
"It is alright. We sorted things out, so please, will you come sometime?"
"As long as you are okay with it."
"I am." She nodded. "So, are we good?"
"Yeah."
Silence fell around them once again as they were strolling aimlessly. Rukawa, as always, was in his own world taking mental notes of the things he wanted to ask Jarret next time he saw him now that his daughter was fine with him coming over, but next time he would make sure to ring the man beforehand, as he didn't want to cause any trouble between father and daughter again.
"Where are we heading to?" Kaori asked, once she noticed she did not recognize the streets at all.
He pointed to a park ahead not very far from where they were standing.
"I don't know about you, but there."
"I was following you! I thought we were on our way towards the station."
"Why would you think that? That's stupid. It's in the opposite direction."
"Why would you think I was heading to the park with you?"
"To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to it." He shrugged it off.
"You are such an ass."
"It is late and trains stop by less frequently. I'll take you back to the station later on my bike."
"Later? What do you mean by later?"
"Once I'm finished with my solo practice."
"Huh? Are you planning to keep me here while you train?"
"Not really. Do as you wish. Just letting you know is all."
He was getting on her nerves, but much to her dismay, he made a very valid point and Kaori had to carefully weigh her options. Given her awful sense of direction, she'd likely get lost trying to make it back to the train station and if she ever managed to make it there, it was a bit late for a high school girl to be wandering around alone, so ultimately she only had one option: accept his suggestion and wait until he finished.
"Fine. I'll wait."
Giving her a nod, he parked his bike and grabbed his ball from its bag while Kaori sat down in a nearby bench, hoping this torture passed by soon enough. She even tried to get some homework done, but she kept on getting distracted by the loud thumps of the ball hitting the ground, therefore, Kaori put her book back into her school bag and stood up to go stand by the metallic fence to watch him. She wasn't particularly thrilled by the idea, but she figured it was a better way to pass the time than be on the bench just staring at nothing. She was astonished to see he still had the stamina left to practise by himself when he should be tired after training with his team, however, he was showing no clear signs of physical exhaustion, so he kept on going.
For some odd reason, Kaori found herself following him with her eyes. The intensity with which he was training was captivating, and the girl could tell he truly meant what he said earlier. He lived and breathed basketball.
"How is Sendoh's injury?" Rukawa asked once he was finished with his practice.
"Fine, I guess. I don't talk to him on a daily basis."
He then gave her a confused expression, head tilted slightly to one side.
"That moron just wanted advice that day since he is now dating my best friend, so we are not that close."
"Glad to hear that." Rukawa just nodded at her while he was gathering his stuff.
"Will you now take me to the train station?"
As it was usual, he sort of ignored her question and began walking towards a nearby house whilst Kaori was protesting.
"You said you would take me to the train station after you finished! Where exactly are we now?"
He just pointed to the nameplate on the outside wall of the house. "Rukawa"
"Your house?"
"You are hungry, aren't you? Could hear your growls since we left the school."
Kaori flushed in embarrassment at his casual comment right away, but as much as she wanted to disagree with him, he was right. She usually had dinner earlier and her stomach had, in fact, been rumbling since they left Shohoku, hence, just like before, she didn't have much of a choice since she prolly wouldn't get home until much later.
"I'll have to ring my dad to let him know where I am. He must be worried."
With yet another nod, the boy walked up to the front door of his house and unlocked the door, walking in first while Kaori followed behind. The first thing she noticed were the lights off in the house once they entered. Maybe his parents worked late, that's why nobody was home yet. Other than that, it was a typical Japanese house, very much similar to hers, although slightly bigger. The modern kitchen was in the first room to the left and on the right was the living room plus the dining area, both decorated in a very stylish and modern style.
"I'll prepare something quick. The telephone is in the living room." He informed her before disappearing into the kitchen.
Kaori was pretty shocked to learn he actually knew how to cook, albeit that little bit of information only fueled her theory of his parents not being around often —or perhaps she was just being too dramatic and he simply liked cooking— As told by him, Kaori managed to find the telephone and dialled her house's number.
"Hi, dad."
"Pumpkin?! Where are you? Are you alright? I've been dead worried about you. You should have been home a couple of hours ago."
"I'm alright, dad. I'm just at Rukawa's having dinner."
"Rukawa? What are you—" Jarrett paused before exclaiming. " OH MY GOD, PUMPKIN. Are you two—?! I knew it. Call it a father's sixth sense, but I could sense the sparks from miles away."
"Dad, that is definitely NOT—"
"No wonder you seemed to hate him so much. There's such a fine line between hate and love."
"Seriously… "
"Be good, huh? I am too young to be a pops—"
"BYE."
Kaori immediately hung up, completely flustered from listening to her father's incredibly absurd fantasies. It wasn't the first time she had heard that kind of thing from her father and every time, those fantasies were getting more and more out of hand. Sometimes she believed he acted more like a teenager instead of a responsible and reliable father.
"Can I help you with anything?" She asked from the doorframe, watching him skillfully moving around the kitchen.
"No need. I'm almost finished."
She didn't realise she had spent so much time listening to her father's rambling until she noticed he, in fact, had already cooked fried rice and miso soup on the side. He didn't need any help with the cooking, but Kaori made sure to help him set the table. It is the least she could do given he did all the cooking, although he should have been walking her to the station instead, but alas.
"Itadakimasu."
Both of them whispered under their breaths before they started to eat in silence. Kaori, on one hand, was astonished at how good the fried rice was. It tasted so delicious she was happily savouring each grain.
"This tastes amazing. And the miso soup too."
"Thank you. My grandmother taught me."
"Your nan?"
"Yeah. Lived with her for a couple of years."
"What about your parents?"
As soon as she posed that question, she could notice the slight change of expression on his face.
"I didn't mean to pry. Sorry—"
"They are busy with work. Travelling most of the time."
Many things made sense now to Kaori. She was not surprised he came across unapproachable and distant most of the time. Sure, he seemed to get along just fine with his teammates —as she could note back then in summer— or to some odd degree, he seemed to get along with Sendoh too, although if his parents were absent most of the time, she wasn't surprised he acted the way he acted or why he was fixated on one thing in particular. Those were mere conjectures about it, so Kaori couldn't tell for sure, but she had a gut feeling it was something along those lines. However, she didn't ask further. He was reserved and Kaori wanted to respect that.
Simply smiling at him, she changed subjects to something she was certain he would like and something they coincidentally had in common —music. Over the course of dinner, they both discussed their favourite artists and gave each other recommendations based on the genres they most liked. And as much as Kaori disliked it, her opinion on the boy was slowly changing towards a more positive one.
"Thank you for the food. It was really delicious."
Dinner finished on a safe note and Kaori later helped him to do the dishes. And finally, it was time for her to return home. As if it was becoming a sort of pattern between the two of them, Rukawa wordlessly beckoned to Kaori, although before they could make it out of the house, he tossed her his Shohoku team jacket.
"It's chilly out there."
Startled by the sudden gesture, Kaori managed to catch the jacket with the tip of her fingers before it fell on the floor. She looked dubious, but complied and put it on before following him out to his parked bike. As the bicycle didn't have a back carrier, the female had to stand on the rear pegs, hesitantly placing her hands on his shoulders for better support. He wasn't a very fast rider, so the ride was agreeable enough for Kaori, and that also meant she could enjoy the night view of the beach as they rode past it on their way to the train station.
"Come and have dinner soon, okay? Or lunch. Anytime is fine."
"I'll ask Jarrett-san beforehand."
"He will be thrilled to have you around."
"Your father… is cool," he said. "See you around, Kaori-san."
"See ya around."
And for the first time, Kaori felt herself smiling as she observed his figure becoming smaller and smaller until his silhouette faded into the distance.
"Ah… that can't be any good now, can it?" She thought to herself, shaking her head, and sighing.