Author's note: Here's chapter 6! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own PoT.
It's the same old feeling back again
It's the one that they had way back when
They were too young to know
When love is real...
Time passed by quickly, Mai got used to seeing Kenya everyday; there are times when they would talk, however, there are times when she feels awkward being with Kenya because Chiyo is there also. It's not like she can easily forget her feelings for the man that she loved for years, right? She became close friends with Shiraishi and they would hangout often but somehow, her feelings for him would remain as friends and won't go deeper than that. Shiraishi is very kind, though; she knows that he would find a perfect girl for him and as for her, she'll have to learn to move on before even liking someone else.
The female let out a sigh; it's that day of February, where the air is filled with excitement and love. Mai lightly scratched her nose with her index finger for she could smell that sweet scent of chocolates everywhere she goes. As she headed towards the gates of Shitenhouji, she quickly saw Shiraishi – they don't have morning practice today so he's pretty late. Waving a hand at him, she approached him with a smile.
"Good morning, Shiraishi-kun." She greeted.
"Good morning, Sayuki-san." The male greeted back, smiling.
"Oh, before I forget. Here. Happy Valentine's day." Mai's smile widened as she handed a small box of chocolate to Shiraishi.
"Thanks. You're the first one to give me chocolate, ah ecstasy~" He replied, grinning.
"And I'm sure you'll get more from your fangirls later." At her reply, Shiraishi chuckled lightly and they both headed inside the classroom. The girls quickly dashed to the male and shoved their chocolates to him; Mai could see Shiraishi's 'Help me' look but decided to act like she didn't see it to tease him. Mai let herself get seated as she looked inside her bag; seeing there are still nine boxes of chocolates in her bag for the rest of the tennis regulars and Chiyo. Her eyes continued scanning the contents of her bag when she saw that one of the chocolate boxes inside is completely different. She actually wrapped all of the chocolates in a blue wrapper, but somehow, this one has red wrapper and hearts design.
Oh right, she now remembers that every Valentine's day, she would make that one most different chocolate for the most special person; she recalls that she used to give it to Kenya when they were kids. Their situation now is completely different though, they aren't kids anymore and they act like they never knew each other so giving it to him would be kind of strange. It's not like he knows that it's special though. Such thoughts started lingering through Mai's head and didn't notice that Chiyo was already waving a box of chocolate in front of her.
"Hap-py Va-len-tines daaay, Mai-chaaan~" Chiyo sang and hugged her friend, giving her the box.
Surprised, Mai blinked but giggled slightly. "Thanks, here." Mai handed Chiyo a chocolate wrapped in blue box; thinking that in the end, she can't really just give it someone else because deep inside, for her, Kenya is still her best friend. Mai watched her friend jumped around in joy as she received her first chocolate. She can't help but get jealous, envious and mad at her for… if only she's not there, she would have been in her place right now – as Kenya's girlfriend, but then again, it was her fault in the first place. It was there, his feelings was already there right in front of her but she didn't take it because she was a coward; she escaped and now regretting when everything's too late.
Her cerulean orbs observed Kenya as he headed inside the classroom, yawning. She can't help but think of how cute he is doing that then quickly hid her flustered face for thinking such things. Kenya sat down beside her and started staring blankly in space, drowsiness hidden through his alluring dark-blue eyes. Mai felt her hand tremble as she reached for her bag, wondering if she should give it to him now or just later. Wait, is it really that hard giving a friendship chocolate? She gulped and just focused looking in front when the teacher came in.
"Maybe later." She thought.
Lunch break arrived and finally, they were alone; well some of the students are still inside but Shiraishi left for a bit to buy some food while Chiyo hasn't arrived yet. She thought that it would be the best time to give it to the male so she stood up in front of him, hiding the chocolate behind her. Blinking, Kenya stared at her with a curious expression.
"Is… there something wrong?" He asked, looking around to see if there's something wrong and why she had that fierce, but flustered look on her face.
Mai felt her cheeks heat up even more and revealed a red box in front of him, looking away. "H-Here. Happy Valentine's day." She stated while trying her best not to stutter. Kenya's eyes widened slightly as he scanned the chocolate in front of him, his eyes then went back to normal – impassive one. He closed his eyes and stuck his hands inside his pockets, walking away without taking the chocolate.
"Sorry, but I don't eat sweets." He said and went out of the classroom.
Mai's lips fell agape at his reply; she clearly remembers that Kenya ate the sweets that she used to give him. Maybe he doesn't eat sweets anymore because he's an athlete? Mai couldn't help but feel sad at his response. He could have accepted it, but at least he was honest. The female groaned slightly as she took the chocolate and placed it back inside her bag before walking out of the classroom as well. She let out a heavy sigh as she headed towards to the rooftop but then her steps came to a halt when she was about to turn to the hallway.
"Ken-kun, here. Happy Valentine's day!" She heard the female exclaim. It must be Chiyo giving a chocolate to Kenya.
Mai's eyes widened slightly. Wait! He doesn't eat chocolates! Mai thought as she was about to step up and stop Chiyo but then Kenya accepted the chocolate and even ate one.
"Hn, it's delicious." Kenya said which just broke Mai's heart to pieces.
How come he accepted her chocolate and not hers? He said he doesn't eat sweets yet he ate one right on the spot when Chiyo gave it. Mai bit her lower lip and ran to the restroom, suppressing the tears that are on verge the of falling.
"Why is he being like this…" She muttered against her breath as her voice started to break, gritting her teeth.
Mai was completely at daze throughout the whole lesson and didn't even notice that the class has ended already. Chiyo poked a finger at Mai's shoulder which made her twitch a bit.
"What's wrong?" Chiyo asked worriedly.
"N-Nothing. I just don't feel too well, I guess." She replied weakly and looked down, having a hard time to hide her feelings.
"I have student council meeting today so I can't go home with you. Since you don't feel well, I'll have Ken-kun accompany you home, okay?" Chiyo said as she quickly turned to Kenya, explaining the situation and just nodded. Mai didn't even hear what she said anymore and just got up from her seat.
"Ah, Kenya, I can't go home with you today. We have a meeting at the committee. I'll have to hurry now, bye!" Shiraishi waved goodbye at them as well as Chiyo, leaving Kenya and Mai alone.
"So… let's go?" Kenya asked, staring at her.
Blinking a few times, she looked at him. "Let's go where…?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Home." Kenya grinned but it soon faded away when the female just gave him a curious look. "Chiyo said you don't feel well so I'll have to walk you home."
"Oh. It's okay, I'm fine now." Mai responded as she picked up her bag.
"Nah, our houses are probably at the same way anyway so it's okay. " Kenya did the same and went out of the classroom together.
As they walked together, silence filled the air; none of them uttered a word. Mai kept looking down as she walked while Kenya kept taking glances at her, wondering if she's really okay because the color in her face is kind of starting to drain.
"You sure you okay? Want to rest for a bit?" He asked.
"Why…?" Mai responded, her voice barely above whisper.
"Why? What?" Kenya asked, confused.
Mai's steps came to a halt as she looked at him, he could see the tears forming at the side of her eyes. She balled her fists and gritted her teeth; making Kenya worry a bit because she seemed really… mad. He didn't speak though, he waited for her to do so for she looks like she was about to say something.
"Why did you accept her chocolates and not mine?" She asked, finally calming down.
"What? What do you mean?" Kenya asked, getting confused even more.
"You accepted Chiyo's chocolates but you didn't accept mine." Mai proceeded, feeling her tears well up once again.
Surprised at what she said, Kenya blinked a few times before looking up at the sky to think of a reason, before his lips fell agape to speak. He looked into her eyes, sticking his hands inside his pockets.
"Well, she's my girlfriend and my girlfriend gave me chocolate so of course, I'll accept it." He stated simply and straightforwardly.
Mai's eyes widened slightly at his reply; of course, why didn't she think of that? Chiyo is his girlfriend so there's no way he could refuse but still, he could have just accepted her chocolates. Mai bit her lower lip and ran away, her tears starting to roll down her cheeks. She didn't look back once again, she was once again afraid to see his expression but it was different this time, she was afraid to see his impassive expression – the uncaring expression of his and that clearly states that she doesn't matter to him at all.
The female just continued running, not knowing where to go herself. Her eyes then caught a playground and went there, sitting at the swing so she could calm down. She let out a sigh and wiped her tears; feeling embarrassed at the words she said to him; she probably won't be able to face him for a while.
It was already dark as she continued to sit there, staring blankly in space when an old drunk man approached her.
"Hey, young miss. Wanna have fun?" The man asked, stumbling.
"No." Mai replied without budging nor looking at the man.
"Come ooon~" The man pestered her and grabbed her wrist, forcing her to come with him. Mai struggled when she heard someone spoke.
"Oi, she said no so can you just let her go." She looked up to see who it was and her eyes widened slightly, it was Kenya. The old man hissed and quickly ran away. Mai stood up too and looked away, frowning.
"Chiyo said that you still haven't gone home and your parents are worried. It's already 9 pm. Chiyo calle—"
"Shut up." Mai interrupted him and looked down, clenching her fists. "Chiyo, Chiyo. That's all I hear from you. For once, can't you care about me without hearing her name?" She blurted out, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"What's wrong with you?" Kenya asked, frowning.
"You want to know what's wrong? It's because of you! Because I love you!" She exclaimed, beads of tears continued rolling down her smooth cheeks.
Kenya's jaw dropped slightly at her sudden confession; he felt his body freeze for a moment but clenched his fists, gaining his courage to speak up. He looked down, his bangs covering his dark-blue orbs.
"Why? Why now? You were supposed to say that 2 years ago yet why are you saying that only now?" Kenya said with his cold voice, both of them not looking at each other.
Mai felt daggers stabbed her chest at this pain, remembering how right he was. She knew that it was her fault but still, he could have treated her the differently, right? She cried and looked up to see his face, but to her surprise, she couldn't see it. Kenya was looking down, his brown locks hiding his eyes. She wanted to see it. She wanted to touch his cheeks and make him look into her eyes; if she was brave enough in the past, would she see this expression of his? Would she walk towards to him and hug him to ease his pain? Too bad she didn't, someone else did it. Chiyo did it.
"Sorry… but I love her." There, he said it – the last straw to finally break her.
Mai just nodded and bit her lower lip, running past him as she cried. Kenya continued looking down before letting one heavy sigh, letting his legs give away as he slowly sat down on the ground. Things would have worked out between them if she said those words long ago… but she didn't, it's too late now.