Hidden Beauty

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Basket Sixteen: The Stay {Part One}

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"-Cchi!"

"Yasuhirocchi!" Kuro's head bobbed before her eyes snapped open. She looked around, before resting her gaze on Kise. "Wha-..." She stretched, yawning.

"We're here!" He said, nodding out the window.

"Oh... Oh." Kuro managed to collect her thoughts, remembering just where she was. 'I guess I was having a dream that wasn't really a dream... of me wanting it to be a dream?' She made a face, trying to organize her thoughts.

"Uhh, hi. What time is it?" She asked after a moment, reaching forward to touch her toes.
"It's almost eight!" Kise said, holding up his red cellphone.

"Great..." Kuro yawned, rubbing her eyes. She stood up, and shuffled off the bus, behind Kise. Kasamatsu was the first one out, and was (yet again) making sure that everyone was there.

'It's not like we can get lost on a bus.' Kuro thought, glaring at the ground. She didn't know why, but she felt like she was in a mood. This didn't make sense, since that part of the month had passed during the week...

Either way, she felt grouchy.

Kuro yawned again, looking at everyone's faces. The strange butler-looking guy took all their bags out, and bowed respectively at Kise before disappearing back on the bus.

She quickly grabbed her duffel bag and waited for everyone to collect their things before Kasamatsu showed them the way. He never told them where they would be staying, but at least Kuro knew that they weren't camping out in the cold.

Kasamatsu motioned for everyone to follow him, as he entered a small town that looked half deserted. The air surrounding them made Kuro shudder a bit, wondering if this was secretly a murder town or something. She sped up her pace, walking beside the Captain.

"So, where are we staying at?" She asked quietly, her purple eyes scanning the area for any possibly danger.

"Just up that hill, there's a nice hotel called the Akai Sora."

"Red Sky!? Doesn't that sound a bit... creepy? It's even at the top of a hi-" Kuro cut herself off, her gaze following the path that led to the top of this hill. "It's not even a hill!" Kuro groaned, staring at the supposed hill, which was actually a mountain. She was sure of it.

"Who cares how high it is, I'll hit you!" Kasamatsu's threat rang in her ears, as he kicked her side, nearly sending her tumbling backwards. Luckily, she regained her balance, and took a couple steps away from him, silently raging. "You already did hit me..." She muttered, suddenly feeling like Kise.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sempai!" Kuro put on a rather fake looking smile, and just fell in step with Kise, who looked like he was sleep walking. She stared at him, before elbowing him.

Kise made a weird noise, and looked around tiredly. "Wha-... Oh! We're almost there." He grinned.

"Yup." Kuro sighed, kicking at a small rock. She studied the various stores and houses they passed, curious but also alert as they made their way up the mountain.

"Have you ever been here before?" Kise asked, double-taking when he thought he saw a person.

Kuro shook her head, "Nope. You?"

"Yeah, when I was younger. My mom is actually friends with the owner of Akai Sora. So, she brought me along whenever she visited. I like the hot springs and the basketball courts!"

"Cool, baske- hot springs!?" Kuro thought she was about to pass out. Kise nodded furiously. "Yeah! The hot springs is the best part! Well, next to the basketball courts. But it's really relaxing after practice!" Kise sparkled, just by thinking about it. "We should go, Yasuhirocchi!" His grin only widened.

"I- I think I'm gonna faint-" Kuro groaned out, stopping to take a couple deep breaths.

"Ehhh! Don't die on me, Yasuhirocchi!" Kise cried, shaking her by the shoulders, which only made her dizzy. It didn't help her situation at all.

"I'll b- be okay..." Kuro wheezed, watching the world come back into focus as Kise stopped shaking her. She grabbed her head, and cleared her racing thoughts.

"Alright..." Kise didn't sound so convinced, and kept a firm eye on her as they finally made it to the top.

Lo and behold, a fancy-looking hotel was just fifty feet away, almost hidden by a garden full of beautiful flowers. It even had a large fountain in the middle of it.

It was almost something that Kuro had not expected. To go with the creepy looking town, she had pictured a run-down decaying hotel, filled with dead flowers and random blood stains on the outside walls, maybe even a few zombies.

Kise smiled at her surprised look, and dragged her through the garden and inside with everybody else.

"Ryouta-chan!" Kuro snapped out of her stupor, and blinked at a lady who ran up, enveloping Kise in her arms. Kuro almost felt bad for Kise the way his head ended up in the older women's cleavage. Almost.

Instead, she snickered, and turned away to inspect the wonderfully decorated interior. Everyone was in awe, even Kasamatsu looked impressed.

The women ended her cooing and eventually gave them all a short tour of the place, showing them where the bathrooms were located, the main eating hall, the gym, an entertainment room, and the outside, where a basketball court, baseball diamond, soccer field, and swimming pool was located. Attached to the other side of the building, was a smaller one, where the hot springs was located. There were a boys and girls one, and finally a mixed one, which Kuro felt faint at, just by looking at it.

Afterwards, Kasamatsu had gathered them all back in the lobby, a paper in his hands. "This paper has all of your names on it. Along with who your roommates will be for this stay. The coach had picked them himself, so you aren't allowed to switch. There are four people to a room." He said, turning the paper to look at it.

"Room 201; Nakamura, Hayakawa, Akihiro, and Hideo. Room 202; Yasuhiro, Kise, Hotaka, and me. Room 203-"

Kuro made a choked noise, twitching. 'You can't be serious... I have to stay in a room with both of them!? Plus some random guy I never knew existed?!' Kuro sighed, frowning at her horrible luck. She felt bad about that last part, but didn't really give a crap about the guy in the end.

After Kasamatsu finished reading the rooming arrangements, he sent everyone to put their bags in the room, and told them all to meet in the gym by 9:30.

Kuro had no choice but the follow Kasamatsu along with Kise and Hotaka to the second floor, to room 202. She entered the room after Kasamatsu, arching her eyebrows at the interior. It had a small lounge/living room area when you first walk in, and then a small kitchen room located on the left, with a circular dining table, and a hallway which had a door on each side, and a door at the end.

"Alright, I believe the door at the end leads into the bathroom, and there are two to a room. So pick whatever." Kasamatsu said, sounding disinterested as he placed his bag on the ground to stretch.

"I call rooming with Yasuhirocchi!"

"Eh! B- But, can't we decide by rock-paper-scissors!?" Kuro stuttered, waving her hands around. She'd rather share a room with Hotaka, because there would be less a chance of Kasamatsu or Kise finding out.

"Yeah, rock-paper-scissors sounds good!" Hotaka said, walking up.

'He probably just didn't want to get stuck with the Captain.' Kuro thought as she put her fist up, waiting for Hotaka, Kise, and Kasamatsu to do the same. Hotaka followed closely after her, and nudged for Kise to do the same.

Kise pouted, and slowly put his fist in the middle. The three looked at Kasamatsu, who was staring at them as if they were children. He gave a heavy sigh, and joined them.

"Rock-paper-scissors-!"

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After the rock-paper-scissors match, Kise was standing in the room on the right, grinning widely, with Kuro sulking on the bed closest to the window, which over-looked the sports fields in the back. 'Not fair...' She whined inwardly, face buried in her hands. She glanced at the clock, pausing momentarily to glare at Kise's victorious look, and sighed. It was almost 9:30. They had to go down to the gym.

"We should get going now, Kise." Kuro said, standing up slowly. After her loss of RPS, her mood had decreased from rage to sadness.

Kise nodded, and lead the way out of their room, smiling innocently at Hotaka who looked as sad as Kuro did. Hotaka only sneered at Kise, and trudged out into the hallway.

At least he still had fight in him.

Kuro, Kise, Kasamatsu, and Hotaka were the second ones there, room 205 (Moriyama, and some other second years who Kuro didn't know) had beaten them.

Kuro's mood went up a bit, as she studied all the equipment inside the gym. Treadmills, stair steppers, those bike-things that Kuro had-no-idea-as-to-what-they-were-called, exercise balls, weights, and a few other machines Kuro never knew existed- were inside the gym. Large mirrors covered up almost all the walls, except for the wall where the door was located on. Instead it had pictures and other things littering the wall, along with a TV and stereo which were also probably used for working out.

Everyone else began to shuffle in, making noises of awe and such as the inspected all the expensive machines and equipment.

"Alright, for the next two hours, we will be using these machines to exercise! After that, you'll be excused till lunch, which is at 12:00! So you'll have half an hour to shower or do whatever." Kasamatsu bellowed, motioning for everyone to begin.

Kuro wordlessly walked up to a blue mat, and began to stretch before she went on any of the machines.

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After a tiring two hours, Kuro wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and shuffled out of the gym and walked upstairs to her room. Some of them had stayed behind, and some probably went off to explore or take showers to rid of the smelliness, which was exactly what Kuro wanted to do.

She left before Kise, Kasamatsu, and Hotaka had, so she'll get to use to bathroom first, which was good, because she can't possibly use the shower rooms for obvious reasons.

Kuro quietly entered her shared room with Kise, grabbing a change of clothes, and went back into the hall and into the bathroom to take her shower, making sure to lock the door behind her.

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After her shower, Kuro was now back downstairs, in the large dining hall. She didn't know if it could actually be called a dining hall, since it looked like an average cafeteria, but slightly more expensive looking and with better food.

Either way, here she was, sitting at a table with nine other guys. Kise, Kasamatsu, and Hotaka among the horde of hungry teenagers. She poked at her food, realizing that she wasn't all that hungry. Kuro ate anyways, knowing she wouldn't feel any better later on if she didn't eat anything now that she had the chance to.

Kuro finished what she could, and took her tray to the front where they were told to leave the dirty dishes, and went back upstairs to their room. She sat down and turned the TV on, deciding to watch a random horror movie until it was time to meet up with everyone.

She still had forty minutes tell they all left to go for a jog around town. Kuro was kind of freaked out for the jog, because the town was still scary looking to her. So had to be on guard incase anything-

BANG.

The door swung open, a loud bang resounding off the wall. Kuro yelped and fell off the couch, arms flailing. She ended up smacking her head on the wooden coffee table, then landing on her arm.

"Waah! Yasuhirocchi! Are you okay?" Kise gaped, running up to her aid. Kuro groaned, rolling off of her arm as she used her free hand to rub at her head.

She inspected her fingers, paling at the little bit of blood that stained her tips of her fingers. 'So that's why it hurt...' She thought slowly, blank look on her face.

"You- you're bleeding!" Kise gasped, grabbing her hand which was stained red on her fingertips. "Seempai, help me!" Kise wailed, carefully pulling Kuro up off the ground.

Kuro blinked, and watched as Kasamatsu rushed inside, followed by Hotaka. "What happened!?" Kasamatsu demanded, noticing the blood on Kuro's fingers.

"I think I scared him... and he kind of fell off the couch and bashed his head on the coffee table." Kise explained, hands still clutching Kuro's shoulders.

"I- I'm good. The scary movie... then yeah, Kise scared me..." Kuro chuckled, hand drifting back to her wound. She checked again for more blood, but there wasn't a lot at least.

"Okay, maybe we should check for a concussion." Kasamatsu nodded, going into his and Hotaka's room where a flashlight was located. He came back a moment later, with a white flashlight in his hands. He crouched in front of Kuro, and held it up to her eyes.

"Good, your pupils are reacting. Hmm, do you feel tired or like you're going to be sick?"

Kuro shook her head, leaning back on the couch. "I feel fine, sempai." She smiled. "I think I just scratched my head a bit... Or something." Kuro shrugged, watching Kasamatsu put the flashlight down.

"... Do you know your name?"

"... Yasuhiro Kuro."

"My name?"

"Kasamatsu Yukio."

"Alright... But just to be sure, you're going to stay here and rest! Or I'll hit you." Kasamatsu added, glaring as he crossed his arms.

Kuro nodded, rubbing her head to ease the pain away. "I think the bleeding stopped..." She mumbled, checking her fingers again. It was all dried blood by now, which was good.

Kasamatsu nodded as he stood up. "I'll get you some ice." The captain walked into the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later with a baggy full of ice cubes.

"Thanks." Kuro nodded, taking the bag and putting it to her head. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry..." She added a second later.

"It's fine. Just get better." Kasamatsu let a rare smile show, patting her shoulder. "I'm still debating if one of us should stay here with you..." Kasamatsu narrowed his eyes, smile disappearing from his face as if it was never there in the first place.

Kuro shook her head, "No, really. I'm fine, sempai!" Kuro gave the older boy a reassuring smile, motioning for them to leave for their jog around town.

Kasamatsu sighed, clearly not convinced. "Fine, but I'm still responsible for you. So if you're going to die, do it when we return. Or-"
"Or you'll hit me? Got it." Kuro laughed lightly, giving her sempai a thumbs up.

"Uwaah- Yasuhirocchi has a death wish!" Kise laughed, poking Kuro's cheek. "We'll see you later, Yasuhirocchi!" Kise called as he went into their room. He came out a minute later, changed into shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt.

Kasamatsu was already changed, and let Hotaka change before the three took off. "We'll be back at 3:30." Kasamatsu said, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Kuro stared at the door for a few moments, before turning back to the TV. "It's your entire fault." She huffed, turning the horror movie off.

"I have two hours and a half to kill... What should I do?" She asked out loud, staring at the ceiling in deep thought.

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Kuro had eventually ended up in her room, staring out the window, until she fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was 3:17. She yawned and stretched, remembering that Kise and the others wouldn't return until 3:30. Sitting up slowly, Kuro also remembered the dried blood, and felt rather gross.

She decided to take a bath, and got up and entered the bathroom after checking the living room area.

Kuro sleepily filled the tub with warm water, and stripped her clothes off. She stared at the bandages, wondering if she should change them after. Making up her mind, she eased herself inside the tub. She sighed contently, and lay against the back, closing her eyes.

After her wondrous bath, she put her clothes back on after drying off and quickly went into her room, towel hanging loosely from around her neck. Kuro dug through her bag without bothering to check what time it was, and threw her towel on her bed. She smiled when she found new bandages. Kuro left her room and went back into the bathroom, closing the door behind her, and pulled her shirt up enough so she could begin to wrap the fresh ones around her chest.

So entranced with the wrapping (it had to be nice and neat, so no one suspected anything) that she didn't hear the front door open, or the footsteps that were so soft in the hallway, or the small creak of protest the bathroom door gave when someone entered.

No, it was the sharp gasp that caused her to turn around, eyes wide with worry and shock, on who it was who opened the door on her...

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Nuuu, poor Kuro!

Oh, I actually had something I need to ask all of you who read this (horrid) story!

I can't decide who should be the one finding out about Kuro's secret- Should it be Kise or Kasamatsu!? Because I know some of you like the Kise/Kuro interactions, and some like the Kasamatsu/Kuro moments- So I need some help deciding who should find out first!

If you could go onto my page and vote in my poll, that'd be awesome! Thank you~!

(And Yey! Longest chapter yet!)

~Love me or Hate me~