"Did you pack everything?" Mayuhina's mother, Kaede, asked as she held her bag. Mayuhina's brother, Ayato, grabbed the luggage while Mayuhina herself carried her backpack. Mayuhina nodded while smiling.
"The community outreach program was a success so I'm ready to go live in Tokyo now!" Mayuhina gave a wide grin before her brother pinches her ears. Yelping in pain, Mayuhina slaps her brother's hands away. "Don't pinch my ear!" she yelled before scoffing in annoyance. Ayato grinned teasingly before asking, "What about your friends? Did you say bye to them?"
Mayuhina gulped at her brother's question and forced a smile. "The teacher would say it to my classmate but my friends... I'll see them in Tokyo." She informed while smiling softly.
"Why would you see them in Tokyo?" Kaede questioned while watching the truck that's carrying her family's belongings. The single mother then gives a small smile before looking at her daughter, expecting an answer from her.
"Well, my friends are competing for winter's cup because they won again here in Miyagi. They're going to Tokyo to fight the other schools from other parts of Japan." Mayuhina said excitedly. "Let's go, I won't be able to watch them if we stay here. Come on!" Mayuhina started walking ahead of her family. She hummed lightly but deep down, she feels nervous, not about moving away but about her answer to Tsukishima's confession.
The family of three then entered the car that will drive them to Tokyo. Mayuhina gives one last glance to her house before waving bye at it. She then leans on the soft chair and closes her eyes. As she sighed, a memory resurfaced.
Inside an elementary school, a play was about to begin and behind the stage, Mayuhina crouched down and shivered in fear. The sound of the crowd was enough to make her knees waver as she dropped to the ground, giving in to her nervousness. Why did she accept her classmates' request to make her Belle from Beauty and the Beast?
"Ah... that's right... I'm scared of saying no, that's why I simply said yes... I'm such a coward." Mayuhina thought. Her eyes became blurry as she sniffed quietly. Why can't she say no? What's up with her?
"Stand up. The teachers are searching for you." A young male's voice resounded and when Mayuhina looks up with tears in her eyes, she sees a blonde hair and seemingly condescending eyes. Backing away and staring at the young boy with fear, the female brunette sniffed before shaking her head stubbornly. "Tell them that I don't want to perform anymore. Make them find another Belle." She replied before burying her face in her palm.
"You're the only Belle here. Stand up and go." The young boy retorted before crossing his arms. When Mayuhina doesn't move an inch, he huffs. "Why did you even take this role? Belle isn't a coward so you shouldn't be acting as her. You're spineless so if you want to quit, at least tell the teachers yourself." He spoke in an arrogant way while scrutinizing the young girl. How can a coward accept the role of someone brave?
The young blonde then sighs before saying "It's more embarrassing if you leave now." After saying that, the young boy leaves the young female alone.
Mayuhina stared at the boy who talked to her and observed him carefully. Processing the words that was sent to her, Mayuhina sniffs again and stands up, staggering as she did. Recalling the boy's last statement, she was somehow comforted by the sudden criticism and scrutiny that she received. Taking a deep breath, Mayuhina exhaled and slapped herself.
With the newfound confidence, Mayuhina went to the teachers and got herself fixed. Despite her hands shaking, she kept standing as she walked to the stage with pretend confidence. "If you're not brave, then act as one." She reminded herself while keeping her act together.
Each step in the stage, each word she uttered, and each pause she made, Mayuhina quivered with nervousness yet she kept herself from shaking hard and showing her fear to the audience. She's Belle for the day and that's who she'll be. Belle is brave and she is not like Mayuhina so if Mayuhina had to act like Belle to regain confidence, she'll do it. Just like what the others say, fake it till you make it. With one deep breath, Mayuhina faced the stage and stood with a bright smile.
As she gazed at the audience, Mayuhina had one thing in her mind before starting the play.
"I'll thank that boy later."
"What?!" Mayuhina exclaimed. She glances at her wristwatch and clicks her tongue when she sees the time. It was three-thirty in the evening and Karasuno's match started at 3'o clock. Mayuhina's late and she needs to go now.
"There was an accident. We can't do anything about it." Mayuhina's mother replied before looking at her phone. Mayuhina groaned and crossed her arms. Should she do it like a drama where she exits the car and runs to her lover's location when she could've just rode a taxi? Smiling at her idea, the brunette stretches her arms before opening the door. She exits the car and observes the traffic before realizing that she can actually run to the place where Karasuno's first match is occurring.
"Mikoto? What are you doing?" Her brother questioned her. Mayuhina simply smiles at her brother before winking at him. Putting her right leg backwards, she starts rushing to her designated place. She went to the sidewalk and ran there to make sure that she's safe. Her breathe became irregular as her running began to make her sweat.
As she ran, she recalled what she told her seatmate. "I have to give an answer right now." She mused before huffing in exhaustion. "I really think of him as a friend, that's it." She told herself before avoiding an oncoming cyclist.
The run to the area where Mayuhina wanted to go took her twenty-five minutes before she finally arrives. She scanned the area and sighs when she sees that the match ended. Frowning at her unfortunate situation, she approaches the court to see who won. As she got near, Mayuhina hears a familiar cheer and just by that, she smiles. She then narrows her eyes to search for a certain tall blonde.
Meanwhile, Tsukishima drank from his water bottle before placing it down the bench. He watched his teammates celebrate their win as a small smile was plastered on his face. He then recalls his seatmate so he inspects the audience only to frown when he doesn't see a familiar brunette. Tsukishima then sighs before turning around. As he did, he catches a glimpse of a girl looking lost with her eyes narrowed as if she was searching for someone.
Smiling mischievously, Tsukishima takes a step forward but stops when his mind suddenly recollects a memory from before. Gazing at Mayuhina, the tall blonde furrowed his eyebrows. He then scoffs when he sees Mayuhina stare back at him with her mouth tugging upwards as she recognized the blonde in front of her.
"So that's why I forgot about her." Tsukishima thought to himself.
"Mikoto, we're going to Tokyo."
Mayuhina scowled at her mother's words as she crossed her arms childishly. "Why do we have to go? I made lots of friends here, mom! Taki, Ayano, Kaoru, and..." Mayuhina pauses on her list of friends as she remembers one person who treated her coldly and even avoided her when she attempted to give him a chocolate. "There's also Tsukishima but he's..." Mayuhina turned red as she looked at her mother. "Mom, let's not go, okay?" she smiled in a cute manner to convince her mother but when her mother shakes her head and starts packing, Mayuhina's smile disappears.
"I have to leave... how would I say bye to Tsukishima then?" Mayuhina thought out loud as a sad frown painted her face.
Looming near the tall blonde, Mayuhina showed two thumbs up as she grinned brightly. "Woah! You won! That's so cool!" she jumped up in enthusiasm but stops when she sees her seatmate's face. Blinking once, Mayuhina asks "Is there something wrong?"
Tsukishima sighs and looks away before turning around and walking away. Mayuhina blinked again and decides to trail behind the tall male. She kept quiet and simply followed Tsukishima as she tried to analyze what mistake she did to make her blonde seatmate act like this again. Unaware of her surrounding, Mayuhina was brought to a secluded place. When the brunette realizes where she is, she stares at her seatmate before opening her mouth to speak.
"Why are we here?" she questioned.
"Why did you leave without saying anything?" Tsukishima responded with a question. This catches Mayuhina off-guard as she looks away to avoid seeing her seatmate's expression. "You remember now, huh?" she mused while smiling awkwardly.
"Yeah, I remember. That's why I'm asking you, why did you leave without saying anything?"
The female brunette kept quiet. When she was ten, Mayuhina had to go to Tokyo with her family because of her mother's job. While saying goodbye to her friends were a piece of cake, there was one boy who made her heart ache made her not want to leave. Because she doesn't want to say goodbye, Mayuhina simply left without saying anything so she wouldn't feel anything painful. Unaware of her own feelings when she was ten, Mayuhina simply thought that it was because she was close to the boy but now that she's looking back, the female brunette knew why it pained her.
"I definitely liked you before." Mayuhina thought out loud earning her a look of confusion from Tsukishima. Staring up at the male, she smiles sadly. "I'm sorry for leaving without notifying you. It pained me to know that I'll leave you so I didn't bother saying goodbye. I thought it would be easy that way but... I regret doing it now." She informed while her hands were behind her. "Did it hurt you when I left?" she asked with a small smile playing on her lips.
"I hated it so much that I forced myself to forget it." Tsukishima replied sourly as he glared at the female. Mayuhina gives out a light-hearted chuckle before looking down in shame. Her smile was still on her face but rather than looking bright, it seemed dull.
"I'm sorry for leaving you before." Mayuhina apologized. "And I'm sorry for leaving now." She added.
The unexpected information made Tsukishima stop frowning. His expression turned into a shocked look before he furrows his eyebrows, demanding an explanation. The brunette laughs at his face and explains it.
"I'll permanently live here in Tokyo from now on so... I came here to tell you this." Mayuhina said. Taking a deep breath, she starts speaking.
"Firstly, when you go back to our classroom, don't be surprised if I'm not there. I won't attend Karasuno anymore and that means, no one will try and rile you up anymore. Second, I'm not going back to Miyagi so feel free to forget me once again. Third, I'm sorry, Tsukishima... I'm rejecting you."
With a smile on her face, Mayuhina tried to keep calm. It's certain that she felt guilty for rejecting the blonde but that isn't enough reason to make her accept his confession. She can't simply like someone back just because she feels bad for them. That isn't love, that's more like a charity case. Looking at Tsukishima, her smile drops when she sees an unexpected look of sadness from the male. Witnessing the tall blonde show an emotion she didn't know he possessed, Mayuhina gulps and blink. When she opens her eyes again, she finds her vision starting to blur. Tsukishima smiles at her, failing to look condescending at the moment.
"Why are you tearing up? Are you the one who got rejected?" Tsukishima questioned and once Mayuhina hears his voice, she starts bawling her eyes out.
"Shut up! I feel bad! The reason why I'm rejecting you isn't because I'm moving but because I really can't force myself to like you back! Knowing that, I feel guilty for making you open up to me!" The brunette cried as she explained her side of the story. Tsukishima laughs at her without sounding like he's mocking her. He sighs and steps closer to his seatmate before pulling her into a hug. The two stayed like that for a while until Tsukishima opens his mouth to say something only to close it again. He gulps and tries to stop himself from being in the same state as the female brunette so he wouldn't look like he cares too much.
While Tsukishima acted tough, Mayuhina was sobbing her heart out.
Tsukishima knew that he'll have a hard time finding another person who can accept his condescending remarks with a grin before responding with an offensive remark of their own. Since he was a cold, quiet, rude, and arrogant person, he knew that he won't have anyone who can truly adore him and somehow, the thought made him... sad.
"Tsukishima... I have to leave."
As soon as the blonde hears this, he tightens his hold on Mayuhina and sighs desolately. Soon, he'll have to let go of her.
Back in Karasuno, Tsukishima told Yamaguchi to go home first because he had something to look at. The tall blonde then headed to his classroom by himself.
When he was in front of the classroom, he opens the door and he was faced by the dim room where the only source of light is from the moon in the sky. The chairs were properly aligned, the board had no writings on it, and the floor was swept and mopped nicely. Overall, the classroom looked clean.
Heading to his seat, Tsukishima caught a glimpse of a blue envelope. Taking the envelope and scanning it, he sees his name on it so he opens it without hesitation as he turned around and sat on his table. He unfolds the envelope and sees an old picture inside.
A young brown-haired girl grinned cheerfully while her arms was hanging over a young blonde boy's shoulders. The young brunette girl showed a peace sign whereas the young blonde looked irritated and even tried to push the female away. Tsukishima smiles at it and turns the picture around then sees a letter written on it. Reading the words carefully, the male blonde figured that his seatmate was the one who wrote it.
Behind the picture, the letter that was written was: A lucky picture that brother captured. Me and my first love.
Tsukishima gaped at the image in his hands before looking at it again. He gritted his teeth and places the picture on his desk before grabbing the blue envelope. He hangs it low and sees a small paper flutter down towards his desk. Wasting no time, Tsukishima yanks it and reads the words written on it. It read:
I'm sorry for losing my feelings for you. You're six years too late.
Slamming the paper on his desk, Tsukishima huffs in irritation. He looks up at the ceiling and after a few seconds, he glances down at the empty table to his right. Seeing it vacant, the blonde male removes his glasses and places it on his desk.
Inside the dim classroom, a blonde male sat on his table with his hands buried on his face. A single envelope, a picture, a small piece of paper, and glasses were resting on his desk. The silence surrounded the room and the blonde male inside was feeling a complicated string of emotions that he shouldn't have felt in the first place. Yearning for someone, wanting to go back in time to make something happen, hating on someone, hating on himself, those were the few emotions that he felt. With how complicated the situation is, someone was bound to cry.
Then suddenly, a small sob was heard.
A/N:
And I'm sorry. I really am.
You see, I wrote this because I know and experienced that high school romance that you thought would end properly but in actuality, it wouldn't work out. So in this story, I hope you understand this ending. Sorry for disappointing you...
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed riling Tsukki up! See you soon!