Courage (勇気)
"Immediate Closeness"
"When life gives you a hundred reeasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile."— Anonymous
"If you have the right mental attitude, nothing can stop you from achieving your goals."— Felicity Luckey
If there is one word for me to describe Karasuno, was that it's pretty "normal". Compared to other schools, Karasuno seems to be the type of school that doesn't have that much drama going on. Well, knowing me I would have complained nonstop. There's nothing I can do anyways, and it's surprisingly relaxing, even for me.
Makoto briefly glanced around the classroom. Everyone was either having lunch or chatting merrily with others. She focused her attention back to her notebook then continued writing her thoughts out.
It's been two weeks since I've moved here in Miyagi, everything surprisingly looked almost the same as to when I used to live here!
Today is the second day of school yet I'm still pretty jittery, especially what happened yesterday. You know whenever it's the first day of school, we have to introduce ourselves in front of the class, right? Well, everything was going on smoothly until it was my turn. It was nerve wrecking, I hate to admit.
Makoto stopped writing for a moment as she thought about yesterday's events. When it was her turn, nobody ceased to stop from staring at her. After finishing her introduction with her smile, most of the guys' faces were beet in red along with some of the girls too.
Honestly, everyone looked at me as if I was some kind of super famous international model paying a visit or something! It's probably because of my eye color since there is no such thing as people with purple eyes, or so they thought.
Well, despite with all that mishap, I still made a friend at the end of the day.
"What're you doing, Sakime-chan?" Sitting next to her was a really tall girl (about 5'8") with auburn hair tied in a messy bun and sharp sapphire blue eyes.
Makoto looked up from her notebook to her seatmate who is looking at her curiously. She gave her friend a cheeky grin in reply. "What else do you think am I doing, Suzu-chan?"
Hanako Suzumiya pouted at her new found friend's sarcastic response. "I'm asking what you're writing, Cheekyass!"
Makoto chuckled at Hanako's reaction. She knew that Hanako, like her, is very short-tempered and sometimes explodes in the most petty way.
"It's a journal. I told my mom that she's going to read it whenever I visit her in Yamagata."
Hanako's eyes sparked in interest as she leaned closer to see the contents of the notebook. "So... It's like a written report of your everyday adventures for your mom or something?"
"Well~ I had to leave some things out, now wouldn't I~?" The purple-eyed girl replied in a sing song voice with a mischievous grin.
Hanako felt a smirk creeping across her face at the reply. She nudged Makoto's side with her elbow and winked at her at the same time. "Ohohoho~ you sneaky little rascal! Who would have thought that you can be this secretive?"
Makoto closed her notebook shut and shove it inside her bag along with the pen she used. She went up from her seat and stood face to face with Hanako despite the latter being half a head taller than she is.
She shushed Hanako's lips with her index finger with a grin. "Every woman has a secret after all~" Cooed the ravenette.
Hanako scoffed at that, turning away with a slight scowl on her face. "Woman? Do we even belong in that category?"
Makoto slightly stepped away and set herself in a playful thinking position, tapping her head with her finger.
Hanako frowned, obviously not amused at her friend's antics.
"Hmm..." Makoto fummed a bit and looked at Hanako in the eye seriously.
"W-what?" Obviously bothered by the eye to eye contact that Makoto kun was giving her, Hanako gulped the lump that she had unconsciously formed in her throat.
"Why would I be included?" Asked the ravenette.
Confusion.
"What?"
"Shouldn't you be the only one who is exempted from that category?" A forbidden question was asked.
Rage.
"The hell?"
Oops. Perhaps the ravenette should have been careful with what she says.
"W-wait, Suzu-chan! That was just a j—!"
Hanako cut her of this time as she was already cracking her knuckles.
"Don't you DARE exempt me from that category! Like you're one to talk!"
Makoto winced again as she rubbed her right arm to ease the pain of the punch that she'd just received from the fumming auburn haired girl next to her.
The duo were currently waking towards the Sakanoshita store to buy yakisoba bread.
"Ah... Shiiit!"
Hanako glanced at the pained idiot walking beside her, wincing the hell of her life from the light punch she got. "Oi."
The ravenette grunted before replying. "What?"
"That punch wasn't heavy at all, how are you so pained?" The auburn haired girl asked incredulously.
Makoto turned away with a scoff and replied, "There's a difference between 'punching' and being 'punched'."
"And that means..?" Hanako trailed off.
"I'm not used to it."
"Pfft." A muffled laugh squeaked its way out of Hanako's mouth despite being covered by both of her hands.
Makoto sighed irritatedly, obviously loosing her temper at every muffled laugh she heard. "The hell's so funny, Cheshire?"
Her previously laughing companion sobbered up a bitand wiped the formed tears of her eyes off. Another chuckle escaping her mouth, the saphire eyed girl replied, "I thought that you're a Volleyball player! Aren't you supposed to be inflicted to pain or something? Don't tell you mellowed out already?"
Crossing her arms, Makoto replied with a frown. "That was a ball, not a fist of a gorilla!"
"You're just a fragile little girl~"
"Am not... THE HELL YA' CALLIN' LITTLE?!"
"Oh. We're here." Hanako said as they stopped in front of a somewhat small store. There was a sign Sakanoshita written above the entrance, so it must the place where they're buying lunch at.
Makoto turned to Hanako who was slightly drooling, probably thinking about what to eat again.
Gross... Like I'm one to talk, I'm probably worse than she is...
"Sakime-chan, let's go already! I'm hungry~" Whined the taller of the two.
Am I forgetting about something..?
"Suzu-chan, wait." Makoto called out for the auburn haired girl who was already approaching the store's clerk.
Hanako tilted her head at the side in confusion and blinked a few times. "What is it, Sakime-chan?"
"Don't ever think about getting away after calling me little..." Makoto placed her hand on Hanako's shoulder and pulled out an intimidating expression.
Hanako's face lost all of its color at the sight of Makoto's frightening expresssion. Even the store's clerk was slowly hiding his face in the magazine he was reading.
"Fuck..."
"Mmmm~! The yakisoba breads here are more delicious than the ones in Yamagata!" Makoto moaned in delight as she devoured the said yakisoba bread in her hands.
"..."
Hanako stared at Makoto blankly, speechless at the sight of her eating. Ever since Makoto started eating, Hanako somewhat forgotten hers, held in her right hand half-eaten.
Honestly, who wouldn't be surprised as her? Sitting next to her was Makoto delightedy eating her lunches. Apparently, Makoto had bought five yakisoba breads, three pork buns, and a large carton of fresh milk.
Finishing the third yakisoba bread, Makoto grabbed another one from her desk for her to devour once again.
How can such a small body handle so much food without problems? Does she digest the food the moment she finishes? Where does all these nutrients go?
Questions started to flood Hanako's mind though in reality she was actually staring at Makoto's (undeniably pretty, as she hated to admit) pretty face. With the last question echoing through her head, her eyes seem to gain life of its own. One moment she was staring at the ravenette's face, the next she knew was her eyes were starting to dart downward, and downward, and downward.
The moment her eyes landed on something fairly recognizable, Hanako turned away with a scowl. Not only was she annoyed, there was also a hint of jealousy flashing through her sapphire eyes.
Finishing the fifth yakisoba bread, Makoto then proceeded to eat the pork buns. Hanako's eye twitched at this. Quickly finishing her nearly forgotten yakisoba bread, she immediately drank her apple juice somewhat furiously.
Gulping down the last sip of juice, Hanako inwardly scowled as she threw her trashes away. She sat back down to her seat and supported her head with her palm. She blankly stared at Makoto who already finished her pork buns.
I just took my eyes off her for a second and she's already done... That was fast.
Sighing deeply, Hanako waited for Makoto to finish drinking the huge carton of milk.
She drinks a lot of milk yet she's pretty much shorter than most girls around our age... I think it's obvious where those nutrients go now.
Hanako felt her eyes landing on a certain area again. She quickly turned away of course, but not without a scowl on her face.
Why the hell I care about such trivial things, anyway? It's all in the genes after all...
Hanako glanced at the area one last time.
Damn... They remind me of those bowl sized gelatin... Why do I feel so infuriated right now?
Noticing that Makoto gulped down the last of the milk carton's contents, Hanako sighed in relief.
"Oi."
"Hmm?" Confused, Makoto turned to her cluelessly.
Hanako gave her an incredulous look before poiting at the about to be disposed wrappings. "Is your stomach a black hole or something? How can you eat that much?"
"That much, you say? It's the usual amount of food I eat everyday." Makoto stated in a matter of factly.
Hanako quirked an eyebrow at the process. "Did you ever get a stomach ache after eating that much?"
The gluttonous ravenette shook her head in response. "No, I don't."
"Eh... Athletes have it easy..." Mused the auburn haired girl as she leaned at the back of her chair.
Leaning her face to her right palm, Makoto glanced at the vacant seat on her left. "Say..." She started.
"Hmm?" That seemed to catch Hanako's attention once again.
Makoto gestured to the vacant seat next to her. "Where's the kid sitting beside me? Haven't seen him since yesterday."
Hanako sighed deeply then replied, "Apparently, he got a week of house arrest after having a fight with the Vice Principal."
"He had a fight with the Vice Principal?" Makoto asked in disbelief, wide-eyed at his new piece of information.
The auburn haired girl nodded in reply. "Not only was he suspended, he was also pulled out from the advanced classes and got banned from club activities for a whole month!"
Holding her hands up as she shook her head in denial, Makoto decided to let this new information sink in her mind before replying. "One week of house arrest makes sense but banning him from club activities AND pulling him out of an advanced class?! Isn't that too unfair for him?"
"Oh. About the fact that he got pulled out from an advanced class as a punishment, that was just an exaggeration but it did happened. Apparently, I heard that he's struggling one of the subjects or two... But I agree that banning him from club activities is a bit too much..." Hanako trailed off with a thoughtful look.
This time, Makoto leaned in her left paml, and quirked an eyebrowto her auburn-haired companion. "Say, were you classmates with this guy?"
"Pfft... What?" Hanako supressed a laugh and faced the purple eyed girl.
"Sakime, just how smart do you think was I?" Not waiting for a reply the sapphire eyed girl crossed her arms and let out a small chuckle.
"I can't be classmates with that guy, I'm too dumb to be in one of those advanced classes!"
Makoto blinked a few times then asked, almost accusingly, and pointed at her companin. "Then how did you know so much?!"
The taller of the two just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Rumors. They were on fire last year."
"Ehh... Is that so?" Pouting a bit, Makoto blew the longer tuff of hair falling across her nose away.
Quirking an eyebrow, Hanako curiously asked, "Why so crestfallen, purple eyes?"
Still pouting, Makoto replied almost gibberishly, "It's kind of a bummer, actually."
"Eh? How so?"
Makoto scratched the back of her head in the most sheepish way as possible, as if it was actually possible.
"Well... He just seems to be the type of guy that I would definitely LOVE to be friends with," she explained.
This response raised one of Hanako's eyebrows. "Are you sure? I heard that he's a troublemaker and quite obnoxious as well."
"Better."
Why are the blazers shorter than the vests? Shouldn't it be the other way around?
That was actually the first impression that Makoto had on the female uniforms of Karasuno.
After her first day of school, Makoto refused to wear the vest and blazer again. So instead of the common get up, she wore a sweatshirt instead. It black in color and even has the NIKE in front along with the check.
Makoto liked the modification better, it's more comfortable than the balzer & vest combination.
" Arashi demo kizutsukanai... Takai basho kara janai to... Miru koto dekinai sekai... Issho ni mitakunai? " With headphones on, Makoto softly sang Wings by the British girl group Mega Mix as she went her way home.
Her aunt's house is fairly close to school, about a 15 minute walk and 4 minute run. After her talk with Hanako during lunch break, she can't help herself but to think about this troublemaking student that was apparently house arrested from school for a whole week.
Feeling a bit restless, Makoto shook her thoughts away and decided to focus on her way instead.
A few seconds had passed, and oh the stressful Makoto was not feeling any better.
Some Garigari-kun popsicles will help me cool my head down for a bit...
Looking around for a moment, a smile made its way to Makoto's face at the sight of no one nearby.
Perhaps a small detour wouldn't hurt anyway... Of course! I shall inform Sayuri-san with the change of plans!
Whipping out her smartphone, the ravenette typed almost determinedly by the face she's making.
To: Auntie Sayuri
Sayuri-san! The usual time to get back will be delayed because of hunger strike. I'm craving for Garigari-kun's popsicles as of this moment. Be back around five.
¡Nos vemos más tarde!
¡Te quiero, tía!
Grinning once again, Makoto shove her ohine back to her skirt pocket. She also took her headphones off and hung it around her neck.
With one turn taken, she immediately took sight of the familiar store near Sakanoshita.
"Garigari-kun"
Makoto, again, immediately entered the store, not taking notice of the silhouette next to her. Her nose was greeted by the familiar scent of mixed flavours surrounding the warm room. Taking a seat by the counter, it's obvious that Makoto already knew what she wanted.
"One soda flavoured popsicle please!" Makoto ordered cheerful along with another voice, it belongs to a male though.
The ravenette turned to her left and saw a stranger looking at her in a way that she does to him. Makoto stared at him and the stranger stared back, so she took this time as an opportunity to inspect him while waiting for her popsicle.
The stranger looked about the same age as she does, no doubt. She noticed that his eyes, an all too familiar looking eyes, almost have the same shape as hers, except for the coffee brown colour and shorter lashes. They were indeed captivating enough that she found herself staring into them deeper. But his eyes weren't his most prominent feature, it was his hair. Like hers, the guy also has bicoloured hair. But instead having natural raven black and dyed light purple like hers, his was a natural dark brown with dyed dirty blonde and is spiked upwards to make himself look taller.
Ohohoho? He has great taste too! Look at his handsome face staring at me while still managing to keep a serious look. Look at him rocking that outfit out! This guy got SWAG!
Makoto thought as she inspected the stranger's clothing. Long sleeved black shirt with a "One time, one meeting" calligrahy written in white ink under an opened short-sleeved black and white checkered polo, black jeans, and white sneakers. But if his hair wasn't spiked upwards, he would've rocked a gray beanie to finish the look.
But those aren't what sets Makoto off, in was in fact something that not even the ravenette can point out. Reluctantly, she called out to the good-looking stranger next to her. "Oi, dude with the spiky hair."
The stranger turned to her at the mention of his hairstyle and it seems that he's trying not to look nervous. "Uh... Yes?"
Trying to keep a straight face, she asked, "How tall exactly are you?"
"Ha?" The guy looked at her with wide eyes, he quickly avoided her gaze. "159.3 centimeters..."
"Hmm..." The ravenette fummed with a deeply thoughtful look. "159.3 centimeters... That's... No way!" She snapped her eyes open and turned to him with her mouth agaped.
"W-what?" The guy stuttered, uncomfortable as he averted his eyes away from hers.
Makoto leaned closer to him in excitement. "You're the same as I am!"
The bicolour haired guy quickly turned to her with a slight look of relief. "Really? You're not even a millimeter taller than I do?!"
Makoto shook her head cheerfully. "Nope! Not at all! Though my mom is like 20 centimeters taller than I am..."
"Ooh! Same goes for me! People thought that I was adopted or something since my parents are HUGE!" The guy exaggerated the word 'huge' by spreading his arms out wide.
"You should've seen my dad! He's like two METERS tall!" Makoto chirped with a hint of jealousy.
Placing his hand on her shoulder, the guy playfully comforted her. "I know how you feel, my friend."
The two looked at each other for a few seconds then burst out in laughter from their silliness.
"Here are your popsicles, you kids..." The worker gave them their respective frozen treats. They both payed money almost simultaneously again.
"Thank you!"
The two exited the shop and went to the same direction.
"No way! You also like the soda flavour?!" The guy exclaimed, almost like a kid.
Makoto took a huge bite happily then replied, "Of course! Soda flavour is the BEST! It's sweet and helps me to get things out of my mind!"
The guy laughed whole-heartedly then flashed her a roguish grin. "I know right?! It's one of the greatest stress reliever!"
Makoto slightly giggled in response.
I feel like I'm forgetting something again... Oh!
"Oh right!" The ravenette exclaimed, making the guy to look at her in confusion.
She brought out her fist for him to bump. "The name's Makoto. Makoto Murasakime! Let's be friends from now on!"
"Like wise, Miss Purple-eyes!" The guy grinned then bumped her fist with his own.
"The name's Yuu. Yuu Nishinoya!"
Author's Note: And finally done!
It's like 00:00 in the morning here already, so I better get some sleep.
So what do you guys think of the first ever chapter? Tell me your thoughts right away!
PS: Makoto's surname "Murasakime" literally means "Purple Eyes"
紫-Murasaki-purple
目-me-eyes
See you guys in the next chapter!
~松原文子ちゃん
