Man, if there's something I don't like about boys, it's the smell. The bombardment I got when I walked into the changing room was almost unbearable. I make an excuse to go change in the toilet cubicle and join the other guys on the field. I look up and see that a number of girls are peeking out their classrooms, some call to the boys they fancy. I like it. A further boost of confidence rises in me, hoping that maybe Sayaka is watching me. Was she even into the athletic type? I guess I'm about to find out.

The whistle blows and I strike off the first kick. Playing this older, I come to see that some of these guys are heavy on putting their weight into each tackle and kick. I almost feel intimidated by it. Almost. For once, I feel I can be myself a bit more. Kyousuke's on my team, however I notice he tends to fall back a bit. He isn't as bold or as fast and he seems breathless a lot of the time. I run over to him.

"You need any help?".

He pants, smiling at me "Nah, I'm okay. Just not used to this is all. My leg's still not that great since I came back from the hospital".

"If you get tired, pass to me".

"Thanks, Sakura-kun".

From then on, I'm like lightening. The other team can't keep up with me and I hear some of the girls calling me (I'm clearly not known well yet, and they called me 'Redhead') and I kinda smirk, seeing that I am most definitely getting the attention of the girls in the class. If one of them were Sayaka remains to be seen. At the end, the whistle blows and the cheering comes about as an enthusiastic roar of praise. The boys keep patting my back, saying good job. I'm beaming. I looked up to see if perhaps the blue haired gal is watching me. No sign of her.

"Man, Sakura-kun's got some speed".

"Did you see how many he whacked into the net! I need to work out".

I feel like a peacock showing it's feathers. A wide smile has been printed on my face all morning after that. Afterwards, meeting back in the homeroom for math, I sit beside Sayaka and see she's looking down. I send her a note.

You okay?

She writes back.

Kyousuke didn't look so good out there today.

I'll keep an eye on him for ya.

Thank you.

You care about him alot don't you?

He was a childhood friend of mine.

I see. He's lucky to have a friend as caring as you.

She doesn't respond, but offers me a soft smile that makes my stomach feel like a cookie crumbling. Why does she have such an affect on me? It's still puzzling.

At lunch, I'm making my way back to the roof, until I see Sayaka over at the bench. I want to join her, but then I see a friend of hers emerge from close by and I just decide to listen in on them instead.

"Madoka, come sit here".

"I'm starving" sighs the friend, in relief as she was about to fill her belly. "How's the new boy who sits next to you? He doesn't bother you, does he?".

She's talking about me? Yes!

"He's nice. He said he'd look out for Kyousuke for me. Nah, he doesn't bother me or anything".

Good, I've made a decent impression this time.

"I still can't shake the feeling I know him from somewhere".

Oh, boy. This again.

"Oh? Where do you think?" cooes the friend, snacking on her lunch.

"There was this one night, where I met this weird girl and her cat under a bridge in the park. She smelt like rotten eggs and was kinda shy".

Well, hopefully I don't smell like that anymore.

"Her name was Kyouko, kinda tomboyish. I tried to meet up with her at the same place for the first week, but I never saw sight of her. I always went at the same time I was there last time, but I never saw her again".

SERIOUSLY? I WAS JUST TOO EARLY? SON OF A-

"It's a shame. Besides the smell and her headstrong, aggressive attitude, she seemed nice and I wanted to be friends with her".

Sayaka...

Dammit. Why does all of this have to be so hard? Why couldn't I have just come here as a girl, then it'd all play out fine? I'm such an idiot. Dammit, Kyubey!

"Don't worry, Sayaka. I'm sure she's looking for you too. She'll be around".

I am.

"You sure have picked up popularity around here fast, Sakura-kun" whispers Kyousuke, amused by the girls giggling and waving to me from some of the rooms.

"I don't really care how popular I am. I'm just here to get things done. Just another day for me" I murmur. I'm lying kind of. I do like the adoration and attention. I just wish it was coming from someone else.

"See any girls you like yet?".

My eyes widen. "Cripes, Kyousuke, you don't beat around the bush do you?" I squeak, surprised.

He laughs in response. "I was curious. Sorry man. If there isn't anyo-".

"Sayaka-Miki" I project daringly, boldly and he tenses noticeably. I look up at him and see he's rather taken aback. It's hard to tell if he's scared because he has competition or if he's about to launch a fist at me. I'm ready for anything.

"H-Hey man, that's cool. Sayaka was one of my friends when I was younger".

"I heard from her, yeah. She talks about you a lot"

"S-She does?" he ponders aloud, bewildered.

"Yeah".

"Look, Sakura-kun, she's all yours okay. I'm more... focused on my studies, so I ain't really got time for stuff like that. Good luck to ya" he assures me and walks off.

Well at least that's under wraps. Sucks to be Sayaka though. I wonder if I should tell her?

Finally the first day is over. I'm exhausted. Kyousuke invited me over to play some games and show me his violin, but I declined his invitation, said I was busy. I don't really wanna get to friendly with this guy.

"Kyoutarou-san!".

My god that voice is music to my ears. I turn and see it's indeed Sayaka running over to me.

"H-Hey Miki-san".

We're actually talking now. It's not just those stupid notes any more. My heart is soaring.

"Call me Sayaka".

"Sure,... Sayaka. Um... how you doin'?".

"I'm good. I'm sorry I'm always talking to you about Kyousuke, he just seems like a good friend of yours right now".

"Yeah well, he is. I can confide in him, trust him".

"So...?"

"Did he mention you? Is that what you're getting at?" I grumble. God, she's so transparent.

She blushes and chuckles lightly "Um, yeah".

"H-He did and I asked him how he felt about you and he just sees you as a friend".

She's clearly disappointed and I sigh sadly.

"I'm sorry, Sayaka".

"It's okay. He's practically in a world of his own now, with his career".

"Career?".

"Yeah, he plays the violin".

"Nice" I say, feigning interest.

"He's amazing at it, you know. I've seen him play Ave-Maria and-".

"Uh-huh".

She observes my reaction and blushes again. "I'm sorry, I'm doing it again".

"Forget about it, man. I know what it feels like... non-reciprocated feelings".

Her head tilts up at me, surprised. Her eyes seem to shimmer with fascination and trust. I'm finding it hard to speak now. That gushy feeling is rising from my gut, into my chest. It's engulfing me.

"You do?".

"Yeah, it sucks. You get this sense of hopelessness and desperation. You try not to believe it, but when reality sets in, it's cold and hard. And the rejection, sometimes it makes you desire the person more. But, it'll fade. If it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be".

"Kyoutarou-san...".

Ah, geez. I can feel her gaze... it's holding me in it. Her deep blue eyes, I can't help but return the gaze. I feel my cheeks burn and hers does too. We look away from each other. My heart is pounding. Maybe Kyubey was right. Am I gay? Am I in love with her? Surely girls aren't normally supposed to think of each other like this.

"Thanks... what you said actually helps me a bit".

"No problem, Sayaka".

We reach the gates and even the tips of my ears are scorching.

"Kyoutarou-san, if you'd like, you can eat with me and my friends tomorrow. They'd like to meet you".

"Yeah? That'd be great".

"Okay. Cya tommorrow, Sayaka".

"Bye Kyoutarou-san".

We walk our separate ways and in my head I'm celebrating. I'm also starving. I wonder what Kyubey has got us for dinner?

End of Part Four