Hues
Feelin' red, when you spend all your time with your friends and not me instead
Feelin' black, when I think about all of the things that I feel I lack

What was that all about – I wonder…

I couldn't stop thinking about it, even when going to Tartarus, or when I'm in my class…

"Taichou..!"

I can't stop thinking how warm she was when I caught her after jumping down from the horizontal bar…

"Taichou!"

I blinked a few times and lowered my fist right after delivering a frustrated jab to the punching bag and turned to one of the club members who called me.

"Finally..! I was beginning to think you were deaf, you know?"

"Sorry." I muttered, choosing to lower my head. "I just had a lot in my mind…"

More like had someone in my mind.

How can I think about Arisato's warmth like it's such a big deal? I mean, she's a living human being, she's supposed to be warm!

"Aren't you going to take a break and grab lunch, taichou? There's only less than thirty minutes left!"

That had definitely captured my attention. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, so get going taichou..!"

I frowned and rushed to take a quick shower, afterwards, instantly changed back into my uniform and ran out of the club room with my hair still damp. I double checked the time and cursed as I realized that I have less than ten minutes left, and during that time, I had bumped into someone. My arm automatically shot out to grab the smaller figure's wrist, preventing the person from falling.

"Sorry about- Arisato?"

Bright red eyes blinked at me as I slowly let her go when she finally stood on her own.

Why oh why did I have to bump into her? It's bad enough that she's been occupying my head for the pass few days!

"Oh, senpai." She bowed down to me slightly to show respect to an upperclassman – typical Arisato. "Were you in a rush?"

I grimaced once I had remembered my other predicament. I won't have any more time left to grab a bite to eat, so with a defeated sigh, I'll just have to go to that Beef Bowl Shop after school.

"Judging from your damp hair, I think you just came out from the showers." She grinned at me as I turned to look back at her. "Got too engrossed in your training, huh senpai?"

"Yeah, there's no club meeting after school today, so I figured I'd make up for it during lunch."

She laughed slightly and shook her head, and I couldn't help but smile back. Perhaps the reason why I dwelled so much at her warmth is because she's not like any other girl, which is why I'm comfortable being around her. That's it.

…At least, I hope that's it.

"You're addicted senpai." She said while clasping her hands behind her back. "You're stomach's going to complain a lot for the remainder of school."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed heavily. And to think that I lectured Arisato about how strength is everything and that she should eat more.

"I shouldn't be keeping what's left of your lunch hour…"

"It's okay." I waved a hand dismissively at her. It wasn't like I'd be able to eat anyway given the few minutes left. "Say, are you free this afternoon?"

The words just flew out of my mouth before I even had a chance to stop myself…

Well, having good company like Arisato's is a lot better than eating alone. Besides, I haven't seen much of Shinji, and I doubt Mitsuru would even agree to eat at such a place. And like hell I'd ask Iori, or even Takeba. It seemed weird to spend time with them, but with our fearless leader, it was pretty comfortable.

"So far." She chirped. "Want me to accompany you somewhere?"

"If you could." I nodded once. "I promise to take you to a great place!"

"Looking forward to it then, senpai."

We bid our goodbyes after that, her heading upstairs to where her classroom was while I went to mine. I could hear whispers from the students around me on my way, but I ignored them, even if I heard my name a couple of times. However, I ended up stopping in my tracks when I heard them mention Arisato's.

Instantly, I turned my head slightly to the group of girls who had uttered her name, but they were too far from my reach by now, and since the bell would ring in a few seconds, I just let it go and went back to my classroom.

As what Arisato had said, my stomach growled the whole afternoon, but I was thankful that it wasn't loud enough to catch anyone's attention and the teacher proceeded with his lecture - going on about the law of gravity.

…Just a few more minutes – I can do this. I have to endure it.

"Psst, Akihiko..!"

I glanced at my seatmate, wondering what the grin on his face was all about, at the same time, thankful for the distraction.

"The others and I are going on a group date, want to come?"

I quirked a brow; why would he even bother to ask?

"You know my answer…"

"Oh come one!" He nudged me. "It's with the Tennis club members."

"And that interests me… why?"

He gaped at me, almost in disbelief. "Aren't you acquainted with the junior transfer student? That Arisato girl from class F..?"

That got me to sit up straight, recalling that she had told Takeba that she joined the Tennis club. "Is she going..?"

"Oh-ho, now I caught your interest, huh?"

I managed to force back the redness of my face. "No, she won't be joining the group date." I said, turning back to the teacher.

"Eh? How sure are you?"

"Very. Besides, she already has plans," I paused and looked back at him. "With me." I emphasized, wanting him to get the idea and not try to convince me any longer.

If Arisato was joining the group date, she would have already said so a while ago, but she said she was free, and she was the one who asked if I wanted company. From the short time I've known her, she doesn't break her word.

"When did that happen?"

"I just bumped into her a while ago."

The look on his face was one I could not comprehend, but I just shrugged it off and chose to listen to the lecture, hoping that it may distract me from not only my hunger but also from my mind going back to Arisato's warmth.

By the time the bell signaled the end of school, I was so relieved that I did not bother to say goodbye to my seatmate or any of my classmates. I just simply got my things and rushed out of the room in order to wait for Arisato at the usual spot. When I got there, I wasn't surprised to see a group of girls talking.

Not wanting to deal with them, I sent Arisato a quick message to meet me at the Strip Mall instead, and when I got an 'okay' from her, I went there, successfully escaping from my unwanted fans without detection.

It didn't take long for me to arrive, nor did I have to wait some more for Arisato to show up. She was panting by the time she got to my side, and I had assumed she rushed over to meet me.

"You should drink some water…" I ended up handing her my sports bottle, and she gratefully took it and drank some of the contents. Once satisfied, she thanked me and handed it back, and I shrugged and led her to the Beef Bowl Shop.

"Why the rush, Arisato?"

She laughed when I asked, but answered none the less. "You're starving, right?"

I gave a light shrug, feeling a bit embarrassed when my stomach growled upon picking up the scent of the meat when we arrived at the restaurant. I eagerly turned to Arisato who stared at the place and then at me.

"…What's with that face?" I almost stammered, wondering why she didn't seem too thrilled. At least she didn't look disappointed either – almost like she had sort of expected it. "Honestly, the beef bowl is really great here. The servings are big, and the sauce they use on the meat is just-" I got cut off by an annoyingly loud scream.

"Akihiko-senpai! Eeeee!"

Arisato and I averted our heads to where the source came from, and much to my displeasure, two girls had instantly rushed up to me and began to violate my much needed personal space.

Ch. So much for evading them…

"Senpai, what're you doing here?"

Are they this stupid? I'm standing in front of a Beef Bowl Shop, what else could I be doing here?

"Oh, I know! You're here for the beef bowls, right?"

Bingo. I guess her friend's not an airhead.

"It's, like, so funny that you're always eating here!"

I take back what I said – they're all airheads. "What's funny about that?"

"It means that you're totally cool!"

What? I raised a brow at that, and I could tell Arisato was just as bewildered as I am. "Look, can you get out of the way, please? We can't get in." I normally choose my words carefully in order to not sound rude, but they got on my nerves, and I was starving, damn it.

"Hey, hey, you don't have a girlfriend, right?"

"A… girlfriend?" Now why would they ask about that? I think they stalk me long enough to know about those things.

"We're, like, totally looking for guys to be with right now."

What's with the word 'like'? They seem to use it a lot, and why are they looking at Arisato in such a way? She didn't even do anything to them!

"Just let us through, please." I was beginning to sound desperate to get away from them. It's not only irritating to have them around, but they're also being too hostile to Arisato. I may not know her that well but I can tell she isn't one to pick fights with others. In fact, she's friendly…

…Too friendly actually, now that I think about it.

"If you want to talk to me," I added while looking at the two unwanted people. "Let's find some other time to do it." I didn't really like to keep someone waiting, that being Arisato too. "Let's go Arisato." I told her, and I was not blind to how the two girls had glared at her as if they wanted to burn her alive.

"Let's go senpai." She told me with a smile, much to my relief.

"Yeah, I'm starving." I actually feared that she would end up inviting them to join us, and that wasn't cool – not at all.

We pushed our way pass the two and found a seat near the counter. Since I was hungry, I got an extra large and this time, I asked Arisato what she wanted. She might end up forcing herself again if I ordered for her, and I didn't want that.

After some small talk about club activities and other sports that we took an interest in, we stepped out of the restaurant. I was glad that the two from earlier were nowhere to be seen.

"See? Wasn't that delicious?" I asked her, and she just smiled and gave a nod while stretching her arms, afterwards, looked around the area. "What's the matter?"

"Those girls are gone."

"Huh?" I blinked, before realizing that she meant the other two. "Oh, seems so." Out of reflex, my eyes narrowed. "People like them are nothing but trouble." I muttered. "They would have kept us from getting our food."

As I mused over what had happened, I heard a giggle escape from the underclassman next to me.

"What?"

"You were really hungry, weren't you senpai?"

I flushed and turned away. "Y-yeah…" and then a thought came to me. "Oh… I get it."

"Get what?"

"Do you think those girls wanted to have beef bowls too?"

The grin on her lips didn't assure me.

"Not in the way you think."

What was that supposed to mean?

I lowered my gaze to the floor, wondering what she meant. "I wonder what they wanted…"

Somehow, I kind of feel like I'm missing something, but I just don't know what. If they didn't want beef bowls, then what did they want? I do recall one of them saying they were looking for guys to be with, but why tell me that? I'm obviously not interested.

"So… what's your type?"

I snapped from my thoughts and looked towards Arisato, seeing her hands clasped behind her back while giving me an innocent look with a smile to boot.

"Uh… my favorite type of beef bowl?"

The way her mouth fell agape, and the way she suddenly covered it with one hand in an attempt to hide her laughter made me blush.

"O-Oh… you're talking about girls." She nodded furiously while trying in vain to hold back her laughter, and I feel all the more embarrassed. "Um… what type of girls do I like…" I recalled about a certain someone telling me what should be said when asked this type of question, and a wry smile appeared on my lips as I turned to Arisato who was now waiting for my answer, and that automatically made me back out. "I don't want to deal with this kind of thing…"

"Why is that, senpai?"

"…I'm…" I looked down and clenched my fists. "I'm not strong enough to carry this entire burden…"

It was hard for me whenever I think about how I failed to protect my sister. Even up to this point, I just can't let it go, can't help but feel how I'm still weak…

"Senpai, you're not weak."

Surprised, I looked at her to make sure I wasn't hearing things, and again, I saw her smiling.

"I've seen how you fight, I've seen you take down so many Shadows with just your fists like they were nothing."

I held in my breath when her hands suddenly grabbed my gloved ones, and I watched as she gazed at them, her right thumb running over my fingers, making my whole body rigid from the touch.

"You're strong, senpai…" when she said that, I barely heard it, but I did. "And that's why I feel safe whenever you're with me…"

"The type I like…" I suddenly spoke while keeping my eyes on her even when she had raised her head to look at me. "The type…" I grew more and more anxious. "The type I like is…" my cheeks grew hot as she kept staring at me in an expectant way – her eyes looking so glossy and...

Shit.

I immediately took a step back and turned somewhere else, refusing to meet her gaze or speak of my answer in a straight face.

"N-Never mind..!" I exclaimed all of a sudden. "I… I'd been told that whenever a girl asks that, the right answer is always "girls like you" – but… Agh! I can't bring myself to say it!"

What's more is… when she held my hands and kept a close distance, I just felt like I should say it.

"Damn… damn that Iori..!"

I heard a giggle, and soon, it turned into laughter.

"I-It's not funny..!" If possible, my face turned a darker shade of red.

Arisato laughed at me all the way back to the dorm, and I was certain my face didn't turn back to its normal color even as we reached the front steps.

"Come on… stop laughing…"

"Sorry senpai…" she chuckled and then breathed in. "Okay, sorry."

I nodded once, though I didn't look at her.

"Senpai..?"

And I frowned. "Hey, Arisato…"

"Yep?"

"Do you… well…" I stopped myself and shook my head. "Never mind, it's nothing important."

"When you say it like that senpai," she crossed her arms, and I could tell she was in her leader mode. "I know it's important."

"It's not, really, I swear." I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly. "But if you insist, I was just wondering if you could call me Akihiko, you know? I don't think you calling me by my last name has any more significance… rather, we're in the same team anyway, so…"

Her smile, if possible, grew even wider. "Then call me Minako, and I'll call you Akihiko-senpai."

Somewhere in the back of my head, I knew that it was because I didn't like how she addressed her friends or other guys by their first names, even if she barely knew them compared to the way she knew me.

"Coming, Aki-hi-ko-senpai? Or are you perhaps hit by a bufu spell?"

Her hands grabbed my right one, and she pulled me up the steps while smiling.

And to be frank, I feel a little… left out when others call her 'Minako', not to mention that Iori even has a nickname for her, even if it's the same with Takeba, it still makes me feel…

"Yo! S'up Mina-tan?"

…uneasy.

A/N: *Taichou - Captain