Sorry yes I know this chapter is late and I apologize. Thank you all for reviewing, the favorites and the follows. It really means a lot. Oh minor cuss word, hope none of you mind. Chapter 4 is here, enjoy reading!

"Run!" Yumi's loud voice rings as she's running alongside her young teammate.

"Yumi-chan, don't push her too hard." Akihito's voice drawls from behind her. Though he wasn't sweating nearly as much as any normal or rather, P.E student would from all the exercise. He was very joyful and did not care in the slightest just how much Yumi made him work.

She starts stomping at his words. "You…You run way too slow! We can't afford to let her talent or skills go to waste!"

Laughing outwardly at her outburst, he drops to the floor holding his stomach. "You," He wipes a tear from his eye, "You're way too much."

Her fist comes down to knock him on the head, which to her dismay makes him laugh even harder.

Haruko was confused by their actions. If they hated each other that much, why didn't she tell him to leave her alone? Did she not know how to or does she really not mean any of that? She lifts her arm to her forehead, wiping off the small amount of sweat. She hasn't had a run like this for a while and for some reason, it felt strangely…Satisfying? Finally reaching the end of the brown with painted white circles track, she slows down to a stop, waiting for her teammates. Her eyes drift down to her P.E uniform. Her light blue shorts stopped just above the knee while her white shirt fit her rather loosely. She did not like the short P.E clothes that the school girls seemed to wear in her class, she thought they were pretty revealing.

"Not that this is much better." Her voice is nothing but a mumble that no one pays attention to.

"4 laps in 20 minutes?" Yumi questions while looking at her timer with a raised brow. The black and gray timer wrapped around her neck and the strings end in the middle of her chest. "Not bad," This causes a small grin to appear on the taller girl's face, which the captain notices, "but could be better."

Haruko's smile deflates at the end of her sentence. She feels a sudden weight on her shoulder, turning her head to look at the cause of it; she finds that it's her vice-captain.

He smiles down at her, giving her shoulder a light squeeze.

"Don't sweat it," His eyes drift down to Yumi who was busy fiddling with the timer, "She's just trying to help you." He finishes, a smile adorning his face.

Soft but loud steps on the gravel plain pulls her attention away from him and her eyes drift to who's standing in front of her.

Yumi had her hand in her chin, eyeing every single part of Haruko's and Akihito's body. With the turn of her body, she begins running in place. "We have forty minutes left so I figured we can improve on your form a bit more," She turns her head to stare at the much taller girl.

My form? As if wanting to assure herself that what she heard was correct, she lifts her arms and stares at her long legs.

"That would take us about ten minutes. After that, we can race for twenty and finish off with a few minor exercises."

"You mean running?" He scratches his head as he's correcting her. At the sudden glare he was given, he stops his scratching, letting a soft smile overtake his features.

"No you can run." Walking up to him, she throws a punch but it is caught by his hand. His other hand that had been resting by his side, now rests on her head, pushing her farther away from himself. She only has a smile on her face while her eyes are closed. "Just run for forty minutes." With her arm still swinging, she lets out a few words. "Run and die."

Akihito laughs at her failing punches. "So mean." He comments jokily, with his hand still on her forehead.

Were they serious, no wonder everyone is taking this club as a joke. Looking down at her form, she found that she wasn't sweating. I wonder if I'm going to have to change back after today's practice. Honestly, if I don't smell of sweat or anything worse than that, than what's the point in changing clothes? They're still good to wear. Plus the amount of air drifting between the shorts feel surprisingly good in this spring heat.

"Who said you could take a rest?" Yumi's voice breaks the silence that Haruko had created by simply ignoring the bickering duo.

Lifting her eyes away from her blue shorts, her gaze focuses on the upperclassmen of hers. "My apologies Yamamoto-san."

The older teen grimaces at the words that had came from her mouth. "Seriously, what's with that tone of voice?"

Her question only earns her a pair of surprised eyes from the girl in question. What did she mean?

With an exasperated sigh, she jogs ahead of Haruko, slapping her on the back. "We're both girls playing for the same team, we're going to have to get used to each other eventually. Why not start right now, call me Yumi-senpai." A cheeky smile appears on her face at the end of her words.

Haruko feels a familiar heat overtake her cheeks, one she had only experienced once in her life. "Thank you," She turns her head the opposite way, hiding her light pink cheeks from the girl's vision, "Yumi-senpai." Her voice dips down from a mellow tone into that of a light whisper.

"That's not fair Yumi-chan," Akihito whines out playfully from behind them. "It took me forever just for me to get your name."

With a swift kick to the boy's shins, Yumi decides to answer him. "That's bullshit and you know it. Seriously you were such a pain-" She suddenly stops mid sentence as her eyes land on Haruko's watch, "We wasted precious 5 minutes because of you. You idiot!"

Her hands go up to the pony tail on her right side, angrily pulling at the blue hair tie. "You're staying for extra practice!"

"Sure sure," He merely waves her off, "As long as I get to walk you home after it. "

"Just run both of you!" At her words, they sprint away from their angry captain. It was as if she was a little bundle of anger.

The familiar sound of shoes against pavement catches Haruko's attention. She inclines her head for a few seconds, wondering where the kick of dirt came from. She spots Akihito, who spots her as well and gives her a simple peace sign. She turns away, only to slow down and wait for him to catch up.

Instead of jogging beside her, he speeds off ahead of her.

Didn't he want to talk with her or something?

"I didn't know you were so slow."

What? Did she hear him right?

"Really thought you would put on much more of a show Kobayama-chan." Its almost as if he's mocking her in that playful, cheery voice of his.

"Wa-Watamura-senpai!" She stutters out, almost forgetting his name for the 2nd time since she's met him.

"You don't even have permission to call me that."

Was this the same Watamura Akihito she had met early today?

"If you're that slow."

She flinched at his choice of words. Who was he? Multiple questions circulated her mind at an alarming pace, he did not sound like himself at all. She blinks her eyes five times, though they were still focused on the much farther away male.

Slow.

She's not slow at all.

She's anything but that.

As if she had completely turned into another person, she speeds off. Her body was suddenly full of energy. So much so that she felt as if she'd completely burn her own shoes off.

Akihito turns his head to the side, a smile threatening to appear on his face at the closed gap between the two club members. Maybe she'll actually be worth it? He speeds up, taking longer strands now that he knows she's actually trying to beat him.

"This'll be interesting."

"Hey isn't that the newbie?"

"Really where-wait who?"

"You know the one that supposedly joined the Track Club?"

"She stands no chance against him!"

"What's she thinking?"

Students from all grades gathered around the field, except for the basketball fans that were busy eyeing the regulars. The once plain green grass now had bystanders and wondering passersby standing atop it. The loud chatter had soon drawled the captain's attention away from her timer and to the noise accumulating behind her.

"What the?" Yumi stares at the large mass of people with wide eyes. She notices the pointed fingers of a few females and follows them only for her eyes to land on the field.

The one that she had gone through a hassle for just so she could reserve it for an hour. Her teal eyes spot the two members in the distance. They were barely turning the curve and at the pace that they were going at…

"I told them to only run, not race and make a sudden crowd appear out of nowhere!" She stomps her foot down, squeezing the timer in her hand with all the strength she could muster.

"Well at least they're getting their exercise for the day."

She freezes at the sudden voice beside her.

"Relax, you'll break it if you don't loosen your hold."

Taking a deep breath, she opens her palm, only to find that her timer was slightly cracked.

"See?"

"What are you doing here Nijimura-kun, don't you have your own team to take care of?" She asks him with a snarky tone.

He only sighs before taking a drink from his water bottle that she had not known he had. "Five minute break Yumi-chan," He knocks his knuckles on her head, "Think a little."

"Yeah yeah just don't show up unannounced and stop calling me that." She says with annoyance. Though, now that she gets a good look at him, she notices the blue and white basketball jersey. Why hadn't she noticed that sooner? She's known him since last year so it couldn't have been much as a surprise.

He runs a hand through his dark black hair, the complete opposite from the orange head beside him. "They're a few feet away."

Looking up, she found that he was right. The two racers who were previously much farther than they are now, are running straight towards her. Though their eyes were focused on the path or person, right in front of them, it seemed as if their captain was invisible. All they saw was the white chalk across the tan floor.

Nijimura as if he was already used to the whole ordeal, merely pulls Yumi aside. "You're going to get injured one day." He eyes the silent girl beside him who was busy analyzing the two racers. It seems she hadn't heard him.

"Go go Watamura-kun!"

"Watamura-Senpai!"

The cheers and shouts aimed towards her old friend left her wandering if anyone would be cheering for her new friend, Haruko. She noticed how hard she was actually trying and no one could miss the pounding of her steps or well, both of their steps.

"Go go go!"

"You can do it!"

"You've got this!"

Yumi and the whole crowd's breaths got caught in their throats as the two runners were literally one foot away from the finish line.

Silence seems to have taken over the crowd and even the captain herself as the two finally brought their last foot down.

Though it was really close that it could have been called a tie to anyone else, even the fan members, that didn't seem to be the case. Not in her eyes.

"The one who has won the race!" Yumi stops herself, letting even more suspense rise in the large crowd. Should she say it? Would it be better if she called it a tie? No one would know right?

The sudden hand on her right shoulder pulls her away from her thoughts. Looking up, she found that it was none other than Nijimura, who only gives her shoulder a squeeze.

"Watamura Akihito!"

Multiple cries and yells of joy were heard. Immediately Yumi felt her stomach drop. Why'd she even say that? Her eyes search the track for the two racers. She found them crouched down beside each other a few feet ahead of the finish line and it was Akihito who rose up first.

"That was a good race. Even if you couldn't beat me that doesn't-"

"That just means I have to work harder." Haruko finishes for him, lifting herself up in order to shake his outstretched hand.

Nijimura's eyes are on the two, watching as they converse. "You've picked someone interesting this time. We'll see how it goes."

Yumi watches him run back up the small hill towards the basketball gym. Strange as usual, wouldn't expect anything less. With a small smile on her face, she walks to the two.

"You two wasted the schedule and time I set up. Caused these people to appear," She waves her hands, motioning towards the crowd, "And almost had me break a new timer." She finishes, lifting up said object to prove her point.

Seeing as Akihito was going to object, she decides to continue. "But you've proved something today," She shifts her gaze to focus on Haruko whose face was covered with sweat. "You're not one to give up so easily. You really want to be a part of this club." With a smile and a confused face on the boy standing beside her, she tosses a key at Haruko who catches it with ease. "You've earned it, you can go to the locker rooms and change while this person stays to make up for all he's did." She finishes with a grin on her face.

Not wanting to be there when the two began to bicker, Haruko nods. "Thank you Yumi-senpai." She says without stuttering before picking up her things. She starts a quick jog towards the locker rooms, bag bouncing lightly on her side. Turns out she did sweat a lot; her clothes weren't as soaked as she thought they would be but it still felt disgusting. Finally reaching the door that led to the lockers, she tiredly inserts the key, not bothering to check if anyone else was inside.

Luckily, none of the girls from the other clubs are here yet. Who knows what they would say now that I've lost in front of practically the entire school. Throwing her shirt to the side, she switches her shorts for her uniform skirt and slides on her uniform top. Shoving the P.E clothes into her bag, she pulls her sweater out to wrap around her waist. Feeling that her ponytail was in complete disarray, she looks into the nearest mirror and ties it back up again.

"Now to go home." She stretches for a few seconds before making her way out the door, key in her pocket. That was the plan until she heard the familiar bounce and dribble of a ball that she plays with in one of her classes. "The girl's are back from practice?" She questions, walking into the gym.

"No, this is one of the empty gyms. No one uses it."

Haruko jumps at the sudden answer to her question. With her hands still in the air she turns to where the voice had come from. Standing there was Kuroko with a basketball in his palms. Bringing her hands down, she walks over to him.

"You're still practicing Kuroko-kun?"

He shakes his head at her question. "No I was just about to leave after making a shot."

With her mouth formed in that of an 'O' shape, she takes a seat on the old brown court floor. "Alright, I'll wait till you're done then. Try your best." He was finishing his practice right? Then he won't take that long to finish.

It seemed as if they had been inside the school or more precisely, the gym for what seemed like days. Kuroko who was trying his hardest to make a basket ended up lasting an hour before he finally stopped because it was getting late.

So here they are, walking out the school gates together again; same as yesterday. The sun was setting this time around. A loud silence followed them as they were walking.

Was his act serious? He likes basketball but can't even make a shot? A simple and easy one she adds. Her eyes shift to watch Kuroko who was walking on her left side. He doesn't seem the least bit bothered by it. Does he not care about being good at the sport at all or was he trying to make a joke out of it? He has no sense of humor though…

The main reason for all her thoughts and questions was staring at her even with a book in his hands. He noticed her hand on her chin and quickly guessed that was her pose when she was thinking about something. Since he was not one to start conversations, he decides to wait until she's ready to speak up.

"I raced Watamu-Akihito-senpai today."

He catches the stutter in her words or rather, a name.

"I lost of course." She finishes, letting a soft giggle escape her lips. "It's strange. I didn't feel any hate or sadness from it, it was actually pretty nice." Her eyes widen at her words. "I mean it was fun running not that it was nice losing. I don't like losing but it-the practice went well."

She doesn't remember what she was feeling at the time? Emotions are pretty hard to describe at times he concludes.

"Everyone was cheering for him though." She says, the shine that was in her eyes as she was talking about the topic had faded away. Replacing it was a slight dull color.

"That's not true Kobayama-san." He stares up at her, book in hand but eyes on something else. "I was cheering for you."

She raises a brow at his words. "But I didn't see you-" She stops mid-sentence rubbing her forehead at what she just said. "I mean, I didn't hear you."

"I do not speak loudly."

His words only make her rub her forehead harder. "Oh right, I almost forgot. Sorry Kuroko-kun."

He shakes his head at her apology, "its fine."

Now that she remembers, he did say he was invisible to all those around him. That means he had no one to talk too and had no reason to raise his voice at anything or anyone.

"See you tomorrow Kobayama-san." His soft voice brings her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw that they had reached her home and now it was Kuroko's turn to walk to his house.

With a soft nod, she waves him off. "Yeah sure, see you tomorrow Kuroko-kun." She watches him walk across the street, still reading the book in his hands. It was as if he was in his own little world. Well it's not as if it's an exaggeration really. The fact that he was there cheering for her was a complete surprise. Though Akihito had at least a hundred fans and friends there to support him, one is enough for me. Pulling her gum packet out from her pocket, she opens it. Inside there was only one green wrapper. With a small smile she pulls it out.

"Yeah, one is enough for me."

A/N

To be honest, I was really lazy and spent my time sleeping. Ah but anyways, sorry for any mistakes and/or errors you found. I'll be sure to fix them after I get some more sleep. I hope no characters were OOC and if they were, I apologize greatly. Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows!

Well, next chapter should be up in 1-2 days, I'll be sure of it! Ahaha, hope you all have a nice day and/or night!

Inspirational Song – Toluthin Antenna (Covered by JubyPhonic)

Originally Sung By – Kagamine Len

Thank you!

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