Chapter 4:
Kagome couldn't quite understand how she got into this situation. She had taken her time to walk to her new school, admiring the sakura trees as she allowed her mind to wander. Upon reaching the school, she had been surprised to find that she still had at least an hour to kill before classes started, so she decided to look around the school again. Having located her room and feeling confident that she would be able to remember the necessary paths, she explored the grounds, feeling a bit nostalgic upon seeing the wide open field.
Wandering a bit more, she had arrived at what seemed to be the tracks. What had confused her, however, was the number of boxes and rails scattered over it. She came closer, spotting a guy working his way around the boxes. Thinking that he was cleaning up, she left her briefcase on the ground before offering to help the guy.
She had just reached the guy, who had not yet noticed her, and was about to call him out when he broke into a run, leaping over one of the boxes. She ran after him, having noticed the falter in his form, and managed to save them both from a painful collision with the ground.
Which brought her to now.
The guy, who had grabbed her hands in a move that reminded her of the ookami youkai Kouga, introduced himself as Kadowaki Ayumu. His glasses that had miraculously stayed in his face was slightly askew, and his green eyes shone with his enthusiasm as he blabbered on. He was talking too fast for her to completely understand, and he still hadn't released her hands.
"Oi! Ayumu! What are you doing?"
In unison, the two turned towards the voice, which belonged to a blonde with light blue eyes, bangs tied to keep them out of his face. He was followed by a brunette wearing a headband and a guy with long silver hair tied into a ponytail. Kagome felt her breath hitch at the sight, but no, the guy was fully human by his aura.
"Hozumi!" cried out Ayumu, and Kagome discretely tugged at her hands, but only resulted in her having to lean even further back as his attention went back to her at the action.
Kagome frowned, and had opened her mouth to reprimand him when she heard her name called out.
"Kagome-nee!"
And there was Takeru, who was running in their direction, and looked as unsurprised as ever. Behind him was a guy with light brown hair, hair up into a ponytail, followed by a girl with her hair in low pigtails. The guy holding her hands parroted, "Kagome-nee?" and the one called Hozumi crowded in her personal space.
"Eh?! You're Takeru's cousin?!"
Before Kagome could resort to drastic measures (like kicking him where it hurts), the brunette pulled him back with the collar of his jacket, the silver-haired guy frowning at Ayumu, who let go of her hands at the silent order.
Takeru barged right in the circle, separating her from the others, as the teens behind him reached the group.
"Mou, no need to be so defensive Takeru!" said the boy running next to Takeru. The girl beside him stepped forward, saying, "Everyone, we should at least give her some space first okay? We should introduce ourselves properly."
Thankful that the boys seemed to listen, Kagome stepped beside Takeru, who had relaxed out of his defensive stance. She smiled, bowing her head and said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Higurashi Kagome, Takeru's cousin from his mother's side. Thank you for taking care of him."
The girl bowed back, a gentle smile on her face. "I'm Sakurai Nana, and these are the Stride members."
"Yagami Riku."
"Kohinata Hozumi."
"Hasekura Heath."
"Kadowaki Ayumu."
"Kyosuke Kuga."
Kagome blinked at that, slightly amused that the Sesshoumaru look-alike had a name that was nearly similar to Kouga's. Having been introduced, Takeru went straight into the matter.
"What were you doing, Ayumu-senpai?" The other club members directed accusing stares at the green-haired boy, who frantically tried to defend himself.
"No! It's not what you think! Let me explain!"
Hozumi placed an arm around his shoulders, teasingly adding to Takeru's ire. "Oho? We find you holding her hands tightly, leaning over her, and staring at her with intense eyes. What else could it possibly be?"
Heath rolled his eyes. "Let him explain."
Sensing an ally, Ayumu hid behind Heath, recovering his poise and adjusting his glasses, before finally explaining.
"I was doing some parkour training on my own," he waved a hand towards the mess on the field. "I was trying to practice jumping over the obstacles, but it seems that I had miscalculated."
He paused, frowning at the remembrance of his mistake before regaining his enthusiasm from before. "And then this angel came in!" Obediently, the club members looked into the direction that he was pointing at, which is to say, Kagome.
"She leapt over the box, grabbed my arm and steadied me upright, before flipping through the air and ending up standing!"
As he spoke, he had moved forward again, only to be stopped by Takeru. Undeterred, he knelt on one knee, and cried out dramatically, "I have found my sensei!"
"Hah?"
It was good to know that Kagome wasn't the only one confused. Classes hadn't even started yet and Kagome was already tired.