Hidden Beauty

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Basket Forty-Four: An Intervention (of sorts…)

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"I can't believe it's over..." Kuroi sighed, falling onto her bed, hands cushioning her head as she stared at the ceiling. Just thinking about the match made her want to cry all over again, but the tears wouldn't come. "Tch, acting all tough when really you're a sad little sempai." She muttered, unable to help the small smile that appeared on her face at the thought of Kasamatsu. 'I wonder how my mom would react if she ever found out about Kasa-'

"Kuroi!"

"Gah-!"

"Did you have fun on that field trip?"

"U- Uhh, yeah... Tons." 'That's right; I nearly forgot I lied about going to see the game...' Kuroi cleared her throat, pushing herself into a sitting position. "It was interesting." She spoke loud enough so that her mother could hear her through the door.

"Okay, dinner will be ready soon." Kayate supplied, turning to head back down to the kitchen in order to set the table.

Kuroi nodded absentmindedly, "'Kay." She answered, unsure if her mom heard her or not.

OoOoO

A week had passed and Kuroi was currently pushing her way past the crowd of people, eager to get out of the train which she always took to get to school. "Excuse me," She said as she slipped past in between two people, finally managing to get off the ever-busy train. The doors closed a second later and Kuroi breathed a sigh of relief. "Made it." She whispered, turning on her heels.

She swung her school bag idly as she walked out from the train station, eyes squinting at the bright morning light. Kuroi reached her hand up, shielding the sun from her eyes with her hand as she stared at the paved sidewalk in front of her. 'Life is boring. But then again, my life isn't really all that boring. After all, it's not every day that some highschool girl becomes a crossdresser.' She thought, lowering her gaze to the concrete. Kuroi walked past fellow students, ignoring their morning chatter, and settled for staying silent.

She passed through the gate, eyes roaming across the expensive-looking school which she belonged to and made her way to class, smiling at familiar faces as she passed by quickly, not staying to talk or simply say 'hello'.

She knew she got a few stares, and knew that some of the team members wanted to talk to her, but she refused to, not wanting to hurt herself even more.

Kuroi arrived in class and sat in her seat, releasing a sigh. She didn't look to the side, knowing Mikurei was already beginning her stare down on her. The quiet girl didn't say anything, but Kuroi knew she wanted to.

She wouldn't be surprised if Mikurei suddenly went out of character and smacked her or something for her ignoring and behavior. It would actually be kind of funny, and Kuroi knew that she couldn't get mad if that ever happened. She'd probably just find it endearing and cute.

The thought brought a smile to her face as she took out her pen, twirling it absentmindedly as class came to a start.

During class, she began to doodle on her note page, eventually blocking out the teacher so that his voice became nearly a whisper in her ears. She brushed a few strands of black hair behind her ear, suddenly becoming aware that her hair was beginning to grow back, slowly. 'Maybe I should just grow it out... Or, I dunno. Maybe mom'll transfer me again, so the stupid school wouldn't have to know of my being an actual girl...' The thought of having to leave made her sink in her seat, feeling her emotions swirl uncertainly inside the pit of her stomach.

After a few more minutes on dwelling on the subject, she raised her hand, putting a hand against her stomach. "S- Sensei, I think I'm gonna be sick..." Kuroi muttered out, making sure to lower the pitch of her voice.

The teacher pushed his glasses so he could actually see out of them and gave her a blank stare before what she said finally registered in his mind. "Oh, right. Uh, yes, take the hall pass and go take care of... your business, Yasuhiro-kun."

Kuroi nodded, standing and taking the pass from the teacher as she quickly made her way out of the room, ignoring the chorus of 'eww's'coming from the students.

'What? Are we still in kindergarten?' She snorted, stepping into the boy's washroom that was only a couple classrooms away from her homeroom. She kept her gaze low to the ground, not paying any attention to her surroundings. Although she could hear a guy doing his business in one of those man toilets, she still didn't want to see anything gross like that. Kuroi went into the stall and closed and locked the door behind her. She sat on the toilet, pants still on, and sighed again.

The black haired girl rested her chin in her palms, fighting back a yawn as she just stared at her shoes. She closed her eyes a leaned back, putting a hand against her stomach again when she felt that queasy feeling wash over her.

A couple minutes passed and the feeling of needing to puke went away. She stood up and slides the lock off of the door and automatically turned to flush the toilet.

'The hell...' She realized what she had done, flushing the toilet even though she didn't even use it. 'Must be a habit. Or it's just natural.' She shrugged and turned back around to open the door. Still unaware to her surroundings, she walked out but as soon as she turned around to go wash her hands - another (good) habit and natural response - she walked straight into some guy's chest. Kuroi nearly lost her balance but arms managed to straighten her out before she could make a fool out of herself. "Sor-.. Kise?" Kuroi blinked, realizing that blond hair from anywhere.

"So, it really was you, Yasuhirocchi!" The model grinned, taking a couple steps back to lean against the sink.

"What are you talking about?" Kuroi wouldn't admit it, but that was slightly freaking her out.

"Er, I just meant I saw you when you walked by my classroom."

"But, your class is practically on the other side of the school..."

"Oh, we had to switch for some weird reason... Something about frogs..."

"Ah."

A silence followed their small talk, and Kuroi was about to speak up and say something, but was interrupted by Kise who also tried to speak. "S- Sorry. You can go." Kuroi said, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. 'Yup. Just casually talking to a boy while in the boy's bathroom. This is so totally normal.' She found herself thinking, taking amusement in her own thoughts. She paused, remembering that Kise was there and looked back to him, giving him her full undivided attention.

She only realized then that his lips were moving, and while she began to process that he was talking, she couldn't make any sense of it. "Sorry, what?" She asked sheepishly, chuckling awkwardly at the pout he gave her.

"I said that you should get more sleep!"

"Huh?"

"You have major bags under your eyes, Yasuhirocchi." He walked towards her, pointing to her reflection in the mirror. "See?" He stressed, poking her cheek lightly.

Kuroi swatted his hand away and stared at her reflection. "All I see is a girl who dresses like a boy to get things she wants and lies to her parents and-"
"Yasuhirocchi..." Kise muttered, shoulders drooping as he gave her a hopeless and lost look. Kuroi rolled her eyes and looked properly at the bags which were indeed under her eyes. "I look old." She commented, flinching when Kise teasingly punched her arm with a smile on his face.

"Well, aren't you forward." Kuroi smirked, punching him lightly on the arm as he just did to her. Only with a little more added force.

Kise cringed and rubbed his arm, huffing. "Anyway, aside from those horrendous bags, I just wanted to ask if you could-"

"No."

"But-!"

"No!"

"Yasu-"

"Kise!" Kuroi snapped, glaring at the taller boy. She turned on her heel and marched towards the door, about to leave. Kise grabbed ahold of her sleeve and pulled her backwards, putting his hand against the door as he frowned at her.

"Let me finish!" He blurted out before letting her arm go. Kuroi sighed and fixed her ruffled blazer before crossing her arms at Kise.

"I was only going to ask if you wanted to come over today..." He spoke quietly, eyes glued to the shiny floor.

Kuroi felt a twinge of guilt flood through her veins as she stared at the almost-hurt look on his face. "... Why?" She asked, feeling suspicious.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Kise pouted, reverting back to his old self. "Can't we just hang out sometimes?"

"No..." She ignored his crest-fallen look, closing her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "But I guess once in a while is okay..." She answered, looking anywhere but his beaming expression.

"Okay! I'll meet you by the gates after school!" He said, moving his hand from the door so he could literally push her out.

"Hey- Wait! Kise!"

"Hm?"

"W-... What about your practice...?"

"Not now, Yasuhirocchi! I gotta pee!" He rushed, pushing her further out of the bathroom only to slam the door in her face. Kuroi stood there, before groaning quietly.

"Fine. Ignore my question..." She muttered, turning to head back to class, pulling the hall pass out of her pocket in order to give it back to the teacher.

OoOoO

The bell rang, school was over and students were either getting ready to head home or head to their after-school club activities. Kuroi was doing neither.

She made her way to the gates silently, barely managing to stifle a yawn as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She stood and waited for about five minutes until Kise came jogging up, still in his uniform with his bag by his side. "Are you going to answer my question?" She asked, wondering if he still knew what she was referring to.

As expected, Kise gave her a blank look before directing his eyes to his cell phone. "What question?" He asked after a moment, unable to piece together the recent events.

Kuroi shook her head, smiling in amusement. 'Typical.' She thought, clearing her throat. "The one I asked before you rudely slammed a door in my face."

Kise appeared to go into deep thought, before his face lit up. "Oh! Oh... Sorry about that, Yasuhirocchi. But I won't make the same mistakes twice."

"What?"

"I mean peeing in front of you." He laughed, but yelped in pain when she lightly smacked him upside the head. "And, to answer your question... I'm sorry, again."

"Now what?" Kuroi groaned out, smacking her forehead in minor annoyance.

"Because, Yasuhirocchi. This is an intervention."

"Huh?" She blinked stupidly. "A what-what?" Just then, Mikurei popped out from a bush, holding a sign. Kuroi read the sign and twitched. "'Yasuhiro Kuroi's Intervention'? I don't drink. Or smoke. So you guys have nothing to worry about." Of course, Kuroi had a feeling of what they were referring to, so she chose to slowly back away. Just as she thought she had enough space in between them to book it, she bumped into someone fairly tall and tensed. She turned and gaped. "Kobori-sempai! - Why!?"

"Sorry, Yasuhiro..." Kobori bowed his head, grabbing her shoulders gently, but strong enough, so that she couldn't make a break for it.

"Don't worry, there are only a few things we need to... discuss... with you, our precious little kouhai." Moriyama smiled, making Kuroi twitch.

She frowned and looked at her feet, glaring at them. "I don't like how you said 'discuss', Moriyama-sempai..." She trailed off, noticing more people approach them. She noticed some of the first years, more of the second and third years, including Kasamatsu, Nakamura, Hayakawa, Jiro, Hideki, Akio, Keisuke, Ishio, Eiichi, Hotaka, Genji, and even Kira was there. Although she looked like she didn't want to be. Kuroi couldn't really blame the older blond haired girl, as she also didn't want to be here.

"Come on, guys... Can't we do this some other time...?" She knew it was hopeless and helpless, but at least it was worth a shot.

They all shook their heads and Kuroi sighed for the umpteenth time that day. 'If I had known I'd be mobbed by all my friends today I wouldn't have come to school.' She thought over all the possibilities of them wanting to talk to her, but there was only one that she could focus on. 'This is going to be a long talk...'

OoOoO

Thankfully, or not, there was some truth in Kise's lie. They all still went to his house but it definately wasn't to 'spend time together and have fun'.

Yet, here they all were, seated in Kise's big mansion-sized living room. They all had something to drink, thanks to Kobori being the kind sempai he was.

"So, who's gonna start?" Hideki spoke out after everyone took sips of their drink. He glanced down at his sports drink, tilting it and watching the bubble of air float to the opposite side.

After no one spoke up, Jiro raised his hand, smirking. "Kuroi, can I just say: You're mean."

"Thanks." Kuroi replied flatly. "But I don't recall it being my job to hold your hand or anything of the sort..."

"And I think that you shouldn't be over-reacting. Especially when you're on your period." Jiro added in quickly.

Kuroi glared at him, crossing her arms. "I'm not on my period, perv." She thought about going over to smack him, but Kasamatsu, who happened to be sitting near him, did the job for her. "Thanks." She added, giving a nod as she smirked victoriously at Jiro who rubbed his head with a pout. "All I meant by you being mean was that you don't have to ignore everyone!" He stuck his tongue out childishly, taking a sip of his iced tea.

"I don't... ignore. I... acknowledge."

"But still!" Jiro whined. "Some of us need more attention than just a small depressing smile! Isn't that right, Hideki!?"

Hideki nodded, until he realized that the dark brown haired boy was referring him. He only glared back at Jiro who grinned back at him as innocently as he could.

"I'm just saying, you should at least talk to us, not avoid us like the plague. I mean, aren't you and sempai doing th- OW!" Jiro shut up, checking if he had blood on the back of his head from being kicked by Kasamatsu, who blushed furiously.

"We- uh, n-..." Kasamatsu fell silent, not wanting to say much more in case he only further embarrassed himself.

"It would be nice to spend more time with you, Yasuhirocchi! We all miss you since you don't-... can't come to practice anymore."

"... That's not my fault. If it was my choice, I'd be there morning, noon, and night. You know that."

"Yeah..." Kise nodded solemnly, going quiet as he sadly stared at his drink.

"All we're saying is that we'd still like to be around you and hang out with you, despite not seeing you at practice." Kasamatsu spoke finally, summarizing their discussion.

"No! Sempai just wants Yasuhirocchi all to himse- itai!" Kise got hit by a flying pillow, compliments of Kasamatsu, who was too far to actually punch or kick or elbow him. "Just sayin'..." He mumbled, smiling lightly as the others laughed. Whether they agreed with him or was laughing at his pain, he still grinned, despite the dull ache from the (surprisingly hard) pillow.

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Aaaaand she finally updates! *smacked by a dozen people of your choice* Lol. Sorry about taking forever. TuT I've been busy with job searching and moving and finally getting settled in. At least some of it paid off, because I have an interview tomorrow :D Wish me luck~ (Partly jk'ing)

BUT, I DON-.. I don't know what Kuroi's fate should be~ I had this awesome idea from the beginning, but I'm starting to have doubts in it, thinking of other ideas and things... Ah well, I guess I'll let my fingers decide with whatever they type.

Kuroi: Don't be stupid! *Slaps*

Oww.. ; u;

Kuroi: Don't be a baby. I'll decide my own fate! I won't be controlled forever, you know!

I'm sorry..!

Kise: That isn't a good thing to say, Yasuhirocchi! What if she makes you do something embarrassing!... LE GASP! OR WORSE-! What if she makes me do something embarrassing!?

Kuroi: You are embarrassing... *mumble mumble*

Kise: ... Eh? o.o

... Uhh, yeah. Anyway, I think I may have been half-asleep while writing this... So tired... -u-' It's past my bedtime. Not that I have one. Jk. xD See you all next chapter~!

~WinterAssassin~