AN: Hee… Time for some more obstacles to get in Joshua's way! Specifically, a boy named Akihiko Miyazaki (宮崎 明彦, Shrine Cape Bright Prince) A.K.A . Alexander or Shine (his nickname)
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: You should know this. I'm not putting another one since I've made it very clear already… Plus, I keep forgetting…
Chapter 6: Bull's-Eye
The next few days, I avoided Joshua. I didn't want to awaken whatever was stirring inside of me, not a chance! However, this avoiding thing had made me glum and I knew it. Before long, I was snapping at friends, skipping class, skipping club and leaving abruptly on group meetings. The change in me was great and I knew it. But I also knew, somehow, that if I remembered whatever Joshua wanted me to remember, I would completely be someone else. The changes would be even more drastic than they were now. I even asked Kayleigh to help keep Joshua away from me. Even though the brunette seemed worried and concerned, she agreed without questioning me.
Joshua was always trying to approach me. That kid was stubborn, but I was more stubborn. No matter how much he tired, I managed to keep away from him and keep him away from me. I thought he would give up after a while, but he persisted.
Then, something that was sure to keep us apart came.
We were halfway into the trimester and it was a glorious May morning. The sky was a clear blue and barely any clouds drifted through the sky. The ones that did took their time, floating lazily. The sun was bright and the Cherry Trees stood tall. I couldn't help but feel down though. The good weather was nowhere near enough to lift my spirits. Why? Today we had an archery competition and I was warned for skipping club so I had to come unless I wanted to get kicked out and I didn't, but today's archery competition meant that we'd be staying longer than usual.
Sulking, I knew Kayleigh was giving me a worried look. I hated worrying her, but I couldn't seem to cheer up no matter what. It was as if whatever was stirring inside me was punishing me for not letting myself remember.
The bell rang and the teacher came in. We stood up in respect and waited for the teacher to put his stuff down before sitting. I felt three set of eyes watching me for moment. One pair belonged to Kayleigh, of course. The teacher had given me worried stare at that same time, too. Thanks for being such a caring teacher, Mr. Kanagawa. The third and final pair of eyes belonged to none other than Joshua himself. I couldn't tell what kind of look he was giving me since I looked away the moment we made eye contact. Surprisingly, Mr. Kanagawa announced that a transfer student would be joining us today. Students joining in the middle of the trimester were rare.
Puzzled, I watched as our teacher beckoned for the unseen student outside the door to come in. Now this was shocking. My jaw hung open and my eyes widened as I saw the person walk in. He was quite tall, around a head taller than myself, very mature-looking and had shoulder length blonde, almost gold, hair with darker streaks dyed in, a few clips securing the right side of his fringe while the left spread messily over his forehead and left eye. Some of his hair was loosely tied into a short, high ponytail while a few stray strands hung around his neck. His gold-hazel eyes were clouded and cold and no emotion showed on his face whatsoever. Many of the girls began muttering excitedly.
"Akihiko?!" I had stood up from my seat and burst out the name before I realized it. I was under a lot of stress and this was shocking enough for me to have made a rash move. Furthermore, I had called him by his first name. And in Japanese, too. Gah! What was I…? Luckily, my face was too filled with surprise to show my embarrassment so I got over that and continued being shocked, acting as if no one else was here.
The boy who had walked in smiled at my surprise. "Good morning, Serena. How are you?" he merely replied in fluent English, eyes softening, "Long time no see, huh?"
"Y-yeah… Long time no see… I'm good… I guess…" I replied stupidly, being lulled into using English as well. Akihiko gave a soft laugh and the teacher looked between us.
"I guess you two are already aquatinted…" Mr. Kanagawa began, clearing his throat. I jumped back to reality and sat down, not exactly embarrassed, but impatient. I haven't seen Akihiko in years! The teacher continued. "Anyways, would you like to introduce yourself, Miyazaki?"
"Gladly," Akihiko switched back to Japanese as he continued, "Sorry for our interruption, sensei(1)…"
"It's fine, it's fine…" The good-natured teacher dismissed this and waved at Akihiko to continue.
"Hajimemashite(2), my name is Akihiko Miyazaki, but you are free to call me Alex," Alex smiled pleasantly at the seated students, his expression much kinder and softer than when he had first gotten in here. This caused the girls to break out into another bout of excited muttering. "I transferred here from France. Yorosiko, minna(3)."
"Alright then, Miyazaki, you can go sit next to Ms. Clarks and, seeing as you two already know each other, I'll let Ms. Clarks show you around the school, alright?"
I grinned. "Yes, sensei!" Watching Alex make his way other and take the seat next to me, I couldn't help but beam at him. The boy beamed back. Then, I caught Joshua giving Alex an odd look. One halfway between confusion and annoyance, I guessed, but it disappeared quickly, causing me to wonder if I had imagined it or not. Oh well… It didn't matter since Alex was here.
I haven't seen him since middle school! An odd feeling that told me Alex was out of place struck me for a moment and I gave the tiniest of frowns. This feeling was the same feeling I had whenever I was with Joshua, just stronger and much more noticeable.
Alex, me and him met when I was only five years old, we have a history between us. He was the 'big brother next doors' to me and Kayleigh and I was happy to see her delight at Alex being here. It was such a coincidence! This cheered me up dearly, as you can see, until school ended, that was.
Having Alex here somehow kept Joshua away, and, to my delight, he had already joined the archery club. So, afterschool, I waved good bye to Neku, Shiki, Eri and Kayleigh and headed over to archery club with Alex. Strangely, Joshua was nowhere to be seen. Once we slid open the door to the archery center - or whatever you call it – we realized that Joshua had already gotten there, but he didn't even spare us a glance. A little pissed, I went to the girl's changing rooms to get changed while Alex went to the boy's.
After changing into that kimono-like thingy used in Japanese archery (I was told it was called Kyudo, but it gets confusing when I use Kyudo jargon), I put on my three-fingered gloves and got my yumi (bow) before sitting with the other girls to watch the competition between the boys. There weren't many girls, only around ten or so, but there were a lot of fangirls milling around to watch. It seems that Alex and Joshua already had little fanclubs made for them who were screaming with approval at seeing them in those kimono-like thingies. I rolled my eyes. This was annoying. All this screaming and yelling was starting to give me a headache. It did suit them though… Urg. What am I thinking!
However, I had to admit, that the boys were good, especially Joshua and Alex. I knew Alex was good since he practices all the time, but I didn't expect Joshua to be this good. Almost ever arrow landed in the center regardless of the wind. Their postures were perfect and so were the timings of their shots. This was an elimination battle so, in the end only those two remained. Most of us couldn't tear our eyes away. A certain aura around those two had our eyes glued to them.
"Wow! Another bull's eye! Who are those kids?!"
"Whao… They're so good!"
"They've probably gone past Zaiteki (1) already…"
"As expected of Miyazaki-kun and Kiryu-kun!"
Then, I saw Alex turn to Joshua and mutter something, causing the silverette to frown. Alex chuckled and said something that made Joshua smirk and nod. The two boys shot glances back at me one after the other. Uh… what? I blinked, raising an eyebrow in confusion, but the two had already went back to their game. And so the competition continued until the guy in teacher decided that enough was enough and ordered the two to stop.
Well, that was about it for today. I was quite disappointed because the girls didn't have any time to compete, but I didn't complain. At least now my headache should die down. I got my stuff and prepared to go home.
"Serena! Let's go home together!"
Alex had come over with a smile. I blinked at him for a moment before smiling back.
"Sure. I'll go get Kayleigh…"
"That won't be necessary. Let's go. I have somewhere I want to take you to," Alex told me, grabbing my hand and beaming before pulling me towards the school gates.
I didn't see my ride there so I supposed that Alex had already told my mom that he was going to take me wherever he's going to take me. Joshua had already flown out of my mind by then. Being pulled along, I didn't utter a single complaint. This is Alex we're talking about, he's always like this around me, as if I'm the only one he can open up to. I still remember the time he and Kayleigh fought over whose house I was going to afterschool. At the time, I thought it was awfully childish, but now I think that it was kind of sweet. It was the first time he had acted like a child in front of me after all. Before that, he had always acted like an older brother. After that, he had a 180 degrees flip. He showed his true colors as an immature kid, not that I cared anyways.
We ended up in front of an ice-cream shop, a GIANT ice-cream shop. I knew I probably looked really weird, but I couldn't help it. Ice-cream was my weakness! My eyes wide, I was sure there were stars sparkling inside them and my mouth was definitely agape as I marvelled at all the different flavours of ice-cream there. Alex was smiling at me when I looked at him with grateful eyes and then he opened the door for me to go in.
Sitting down at a table, I ordered a giant sundae while Alex got a banana split. Dang. I should have ordered the banana split. I glared at the banana split as if it had offended me, and Alex, who was about to take a bite, saw my expression and smiled. He put his spoon in front of me. I blinked at him.
"You want some?" he asked and received an eager nod in reply. He chuckled at my childishness, though I'm sure he's more childish than I am. "Say 'ah'…"
Momentarily glaring at him for treating me like a baby, I hesitated before doing as told. The banana split was so yummy, I accidentally finished half of it with Alex spoon feeding me.
"Oops…" I muttered, looking apologetic for eating his dessert, but he just grinned. "Here, have some of my sundae…"
"It's fine, Serena," he declined the offer, shaking his head and grinning some more. I raised an eyebrow at him. He had… changed. Usually, he wouldn't hesitate to gobble up my ice-cream, but here we were, him acting like the older person, which he was… but still! We sat in an awkward silence for a moment before Alex began talking again. "Hey, Serena."
"Hmm?" I looked up as I dug up a spoonful of my sundae, surprised at the serious expression on his face.
For a moment, Alex didn't talk, just stared at me. So, I did the natural thing: stare back. "Serena," he began again, "I like you. Can you go out with me?"
The spoon stopped halfway between my mouth and the sundae. "Eh?"
(1) Zaiteki is the highest level of Kyudo
(2) Yoroshiko, minna means 'Please take care of me, everyone' in a literal sense. Used when first meeting
(3) 'Nice to meet you', 'First time meeting you' Along those lines