Matsuzaki had a tired look on his face as he put away his phone.
"Aizawa's folks say they can't come till much later in the evening." Looking over from Aoki-sensei to Ichijou, "Your dad says he'll be here in the next hour," he added.
The girl said nothing, opting to continue staring at the ground.
The man shook his head, eyes idly surveying the scene around him. Desks all thrown around. Stationeries littered along the floor. A bag, Aizawa's from the looks of it, lay sprawled on the other side of the room, its mouth gaping open.
It was as he was contemplating how he would even begin to convey the situation to their parents, something caught his attention.
Some sort of murmur was picking up in the hallway. Aoki-sensei followed his gaze to see none other than Teruhashi Kokomi stepping in..
The girl carried an air of cautiousness as she took in the room, before she met their eyes. Matsuzaki had to do a double take. The girl had an uncharacteristically serious expression, even though it was filtered through the warm aura she always exuded.
She walked up to them, looking not quite a student before his eyes.
"Aoki-sensei. Matsuzaki-sensei." She gave them a polite bow of a greeting. Not knowing what else to do, Matsuzaki gave a small nod to acknowledge her.
"I apologize for letting myself in." The light intensity injected in her voice, it had a touch of ruefulness to it. "I know it's not my place to meddle," there was a certain determination in her bearing. "But I would regret it if I didn't speak up, knowing that I could have done something." It struck a certain chord of sincerity in its performance.
Teruhashi Kokomi was… many things. Obsessive. Meticulous. Calculating. Devious. Head-strong. Cunning. A busybody. A workaholic. But, first and foremost, she was an actress, a performer. It came to her as naturally as breathing. A natural finesse in modulating her voice, and filling her entire body with emotion, carrying through the intent behind each subtle movement. An infinite instrument upon an endless canvas.
It was said acting prowess that had allowed the girl to formerly turn around the otherwise disastrous Urashima Taro rendition her class had performed during the cultural festival a few years ago. Taking charge of an otherwise unsalvageable situation, and making something out of it – she was prideful like that, Teruhashi Kokomi.
She would spin her newest web.
"I appreciate the thought," Matsuzaki started, genuinely appreciative, "but..."
He trailed off.
It wasn't exactly a situation a teacher should entrust his students with. And then there was the question of whether there was anything she could even do for the situation.
Matsuzaki's hesitation was understandable. It was also something she had accounted for.
Kokomi's glance went to Ichijou. The girl stood limp next to Aoki-sensei, a blank expression on her face, her eyes glued to the floor.
Looking around for a moment, Kokomi daintily knelt down, emerging one moment with a single utensil in hand. A mechanical pencil. It had a light dent on it, as if it'd gotten stepped over at some point, and some of the stickers on it had peeled off, but it still looked usable.
"Ichijou-san, is this perchance yours?" She prodded gently.
The girl gave her a side-glance, before lightly shaking her head.
"I see." Kokomi said. Then, softening up her smile a touch, "Could you hold it for me for a moment?" she said, handing it over to the girl. Ichijou was hesitant, but reluctantly accepted when Kokomi continued to insist.
Ignoring the confused look on the girl's face, Kokomi took the opportunity to right up one of the nearby toppled desks and taking a moment to get its orientation set, she stretched out a palm, prompting Ichijou to hand her the pencil. Kokomi gently set it on the desk.
The whole thing looked so out of place, surrounded by the chaos all around it.
"Ne, Ichijou-san, won't you help me pick these up?" The girl said, pointing to the various articles sprawled on the ground. Books. Notebooks. Lightly crumpled and torn. Rulers. Eraser dust. Mechanical pencil lead.
Smiling, Kokomi leaned over to grab a notebook near her foot. It's body looked like it'd been folded like origami paper, pages sticking out all unruly. It gave the distinct impression of being skid over. Tenderly picking it off the floor, Kokomi took a moment to work it into shape. And like some magical sleight of hand, it almost looked pristine as it left her hand .
Catching Ichijou looking up at her, the bluenette nodded. Looking a little hesitant, the auburnette bent down and grabbed an eraser off the ground, placing it on the table. Kokomi beamed.
"I'll check up on those two. Could you please take care of things here?" She said, as she walked over to the back of the classroom.
Still a bit hesitant, Ichijou knelt to grab the things she could see off the floor. A notebook. A lead-box, its frame bent out of shape. Ruler, with a small crack running through it. Spotting a notebook next, she knelt to grab it, when she found another pair of hands beating her to it. She followed it up to the kneeling figure of Matsuzaki.
The man had his lips pressed together in an unreadable expression, but his eyes were calm.
"Here," he said simply, handing it over to her. Getting up, he limbered up for a second, before methodically picking up a desk toppled over and setting it up straight.
"It'll be easier to move around if you fix the tables first," he said, moving onto the next toppled over piece of furniture. Nodding, Ichijou followed his lead, a slightly lighter expression on her face.
Walking up to the two, she spotted the kneeling Yamashita look over to her, before looking back over to Aizawa. Aizawa's sniffles had faded out, but the girl had yet to pick herself off the floor.
Reaching into her skirt pocket, Kokomi pulled something out as she knelt besides the two.
Cough drop candies. One whose label read Honey flavored. One whose read Coffee Jelly flavored.
"Yamashita-san, which one would you like?" she said sweetly.
The girl looked from her hand back to the girl, and back to her hand, stupefied. It also had the intended effect of getting the girl to lose her initial wariness towards her.
The snow-haired girl was unsure how to respond, but when Kokomi made an insistent expression, "T-that one," she pointed tentatively. It was the Coffee-Jelly flavored one.
Handing it over, Kokomi took the other cough drop she had and presented it to the other girl.
"Aizawa-san, would you like a cough drop?" She said, applying that same delicate, tender intonation, as she offered the cough drop.
When the girl didn't respond, Kokomi retracted her hand. Putting the sweet back into her pocket, she pulled out a handkerchief, before gently bringing it up to the other girl's face. The girl seemed to stiffen as her hand came to her face, pulling away.
She finally looked up, an iron-hot glare on the incandescent reds of her eyes. A sniffle followed, a small trickle leaving her nose, which caused the girl to look away.
Undaunted, "Yamashita-san," Kokomi said, "Would you happen to have any clean handkerchiefs on hand?"
Nodding, the girl pulled out a handkerchief. "I'll wash and return it later, if it's fine?" Again, the other girl gave a shaky nod. Holding her own handkerchief in her other hand, Kokomi pressed, reaching to wipe the tears off the girl's face. The girl tried to shake her off again, but Kokomi was persistent.
In time, she got the girl to relent.
"Here," she said, as she was done applying Momoko's handkerchief on most of her face, offering the other handkerchief, the one that belonged to Kokomi. When the girl made no move to take it, Kokomi just let out a small sigh, an exasperated smile on her face, as she pressed the handkerchief against the girl's nose, persisting as the girl tried to push her off.
"I-I'll do it myself," she said finally, taking the proffered handkerchief. Looking a bit hesitant for a second, she eventually decided to blow her nose into it. Letting out a few more sniffles, the girl cleared her nose.
"I'll- I'll wash and return it later." The girl said when she was done, pocketing it. Kokomi just smiled.
"Want a cough drop?" she tried again, holding it out to her. This time, the girl took it. She had a peeved expression as she tore into it, but popped it into her mouth nonetheless. Looking over to Momoko, Kokomi gave an inquiring look.
"I'll... I'll have mine later."
Satisfied with her answer, Kokomi looked back over to Aizawa. The girl's face itself hadn't suffered any damage, although her hair looked all disheveled. Her shirt was popping out of her skirt, and her collars were unfolded. Getting up, Kokomi walked over to the back of the girl. She looked back in surprised caution, but eased when Kokomi gently put a hand to her shoulder.
"Will you let me try to fix your hair?" she said.
"..."
Taking her lack of a refusal as a yes, Kokomi began.
Slowly, she began to weave her fingers through the mess, untangling knots and smoothing down parts sticking out oddly, each movement filled with a patient, motherly touch. One she'd tamed it into a semblance of order, gently gathering the younger girl's hair in her hands, she pulled it together, softly twisting locks together, watching as they obediently curled around each other, resembling a sort of a rope. The girl gracefully wrapped its length around its base, spiraling it until it began to resemble a bun. Taking the tail end of the coil, she guided it underneath and around the bun, looping it through to secure itself.
"I'm sorry I can't do more. I don't have any hair ties on me right now."
Aizawa let out another involuntary sniffle.
Kokomi gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder as she got up. Up ahead, Aoki-sensei, Matsuzaki-sensei, Ichijou and a few other students, including Rifuta for some reason, had nearly finished setting all the tables in order.
They all looked over at her as she approached them. Giving them a smile, Kokomi took a second to examine the room, before deciding on one of the free desks near the middle of the room. Pulling back its chair, she gestured over at Ichijou.
The girl's constitution had improved but she still had a tight expression on her face. Noticing Kokomi beckoning for her, she furrowed her brows in confusion. "You... want me to take a seat?"
The girl nodded, before gesturing over at Matsuzaki-sensei and Aoki-sensei as well. Matsuzaki raised a brow, but complied, quickly followed by Aoki. Kokomi had their chairs turned to face the back of the class, with Matsuzaki sitting right across from Ichijou, and Aoki adjacent to Matsuzaki.
The rest of the students lingered in the background, with parts of the hallway crowd filtering in as well, intent on seeing how everything would play out. Looking back at the two girls at the back of the class, Kokomi beckoned Momoko over. The girl looked nervously over at the arrangement in the middle of the room, feeling particularly squeamish as Matsuzaki's glance came on her. The curious gazes from all the students gathered around the periphery of the room was equally excruciating. She even saw a few teachers in the crowd. However, moving her gaze over to Ichijou, seeing the strained expression on the girl's face, Momoko felt a bit more courageous. Glancing over at Aizawa for a second, she looked over at Kokomi to see the girl return her a reassuring smile.
Nervously, the girl shuffled over to the group, her gaze welded to the floor. Kokomi held a chair out for her on Ichijou's side, opposite to the hallway. Finally Kokomi walked back over to Aizawa. The girl had transitioned to a sitting position, her face a bit clearer now, and had been watching the ceremony with mild interest.
Walking over to the girl, Kokomi knelt down beside her. She took a second to just hold her gaze, before leaning in to whisper.
"I want to help – is what I want to say, but I realize you have no reason to trust me." It was delivered with the softness of a lullababy. "At the end of the day, this is not something where I can force an outcome on my own."
Pulling back a little, she eyed the expression on the girl's face, the guardedness, entwined with an underlying frustration. "However," Kokomi spoke again, getting the girl to give her her undivided attention. "I can promise you this much. Whatever your feelings might be, I'll do my utmost to help you see them through. In return, I want you to cooperate with me, with us." She pulled back again.
Standing up, she looked back at the group looking back over at her. "Matsuzaki-sensei," she said, "Whatever happens from here onward, would you please let me bear responsibility for it?"
The man had his arms crossed, and made a thoughtful frown at her words. "That's not how it works..," he said, only to look over at the murmur that broke out in the crowd. A few boo's sounded. A quick glare from Matsuzaki silenced them, but his expression eased.
"However, whatever you plan on doing, I can't imagine it being something half-hearted. " He closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly in contemplation, when he nodded to himself. Opening his eyes, he fixed a firm gaze on Kokomi. "Even as a teacher in a disciplinary role, it's not as if I have all the say in the matter. Senior faculty. The school board. The parents. The PTA. I have to answer to all of them if I'd do something like letting a student act on her own in such a serious situation... However," his voice softened, his gaze wandering over to Ichijou, then over to Aizawa, and finally over to Kokomi. "At the same time, I also want to believe in our students. If you really are going to say that you can help us out here..." He sighed. "I'll take responsibility if we get in trouble."
The hallway was stunned silent for a moment, before it erupted in cheers. Matsuzaki silenced them with another glare, before nodding over at Kokomi.
The girl beamed, looking back over at Aizawa, she offered her a hand. "Do we have a deal?"
Aizawa made a face. But at the same time, Kokomi's figure in front of her, with the evening light enveloping her, playing with the deep blues of her hair, glistening on her eyes, Aizawa might as well have been looking at mother Mary. Limply, she moved to take her hand. Gently, Kokomi pulled her up, giving her a second to steady herself.
"Are your legs alright?" Kokomi asked.
They weren't to be honest. Having her legs awkwardly under her for such a duration made them quite numb, but at this point, she was already beyond disgracing herself. She let herself lean on Kokomi when the girl offered. Together the two made over to the arrangement in the middle of the classroom.
Aizawa's eyes met Momoko's as she came up to them, quickly averting them.
Pulling a chair next to Aoki-sensei, Kokomi gestured for her to sit. The girl plopped down wordlessly. Finally Kokomi took a seat herself, adjacent to Momoko and directly across from Aizawa.
With everyone seated, she took a moment to take in everyone's face. Ichijou sat listlessly, but had her eyes on Kokomi. Momoko's expression was part curiosity, part nervousness as she met Kokomi's eyes. Aizawa wore a blank look, but met Kokomi's eyes earnestly. Aoki-sensei looked somewhat anxious, which was understandable since she'd been dragged into quite an odd situation, but seemed able to bear it. Matsuzaki-sensei looked stoic as ever, and just seemed interested in seeing things move ahead.
Taking one single deep breath, Kokomi started. "Does everybody here know how to play Telephone?" A strange question, admittedly, eliciting an expectedly puzzled initial reaction, following slow consecutive nods from everyone. It was a simple game that even elementary school students knew how to play. You whispered something over to the person next to you, who whispered it over to the person next to them and so on, until it reached all the way to the end of the chain, and you tried to see if the message went through the chain intact.
"I'll start." Kokomi said simply, before leaning over to Momoko, and whispering something over to her. The girl looked confused for a second, before slowly nodding, and whispering over to Ichijou. The girl looked equally as confused at the start, but then her expression changed. Looking back over to Kokomi, she slowly got up. Matsuzaki furrowed his brows in curiosity. For a second, she seemed to consider leaning down to whisper her part, but just shook her head. "I'll just say it," she said speaking quite audibly for the entire room to hear.
"Aoki-sensei, Matsuzaki-sensei, Momo." She bit her lip, looking from one to the other. "I.. I wasn't thinking straight. One moment I thought I was just joking around, the next, I just got so mad." She seemed to be struggling to find her words. "I don't know what I was trying to do." She grimaced, a deeply frustrated look on her face. "Aizawa.. what the hell?" She muttered, causing the other girl to grimace as well. Ichijou shook her head, looking over to Matsuzaki. "I'm not going to let you say it's all on me, but I realize I messed up a lot as well. So," her voice strained, "What I'm trying to say, I guess, is," she made a clumsy bow, "that I'm sorry. For all the trouble I made for everyone."
Someone clapped over from the audience, but it died down when Ichijou turned to glare.
"That's all I wanted to say." Ichijou said, as she slowly took back her seat. Matsuzaki watched her as she did. Then, closing his eyes for a moment, a contemplative furrow on his forehead, he opened them back again. "Is it my turn next?" he asked Kokomi.
"If that's alright with you?"
The man sighed.
"It's not as if I don't understand," he said, not even making an attempt to whisper, "I've gotten in plenty of fights myself as a kid. On plenty stupid things as well. But that's also why I know that fights are almost never productive. At the same time, I also realize it's unfair of teachers to ask students to be understanding towards each other, when teachers can't be understanding themselves. I can't promise you that this incident won't go on your record, but if it does, I'll be sure to mention that you took the initiative to reflect, and that I have full confidence nothing of the sort will ever happen again.. I can mention that, right?" He asked, to which Ichijou nodded, somewhat meekly. "Good," he nodded.
Matsuzaki done saying his part, a small silence reigned over the group, before Aoki-sensei seemed to realize it was her turn now. "Wait, are we still going?"
Kokomi just shrugged. "If it's alright with you?"
The woman scratched her neck. "What would you have me even say?" However, as she took a moment to think it over, a thought seemed to occur to the woman. Leaning over towards Aizawa, the girl recoiled a bit, but eventually let her come up to her.
"I know this technically goes against school rules," she whispered softly, "but, just for today, I'll overlook the cheat sheet." Shock crossed Aizawa's face, as she looked back at the woman. "I'll figure out a way to smooth that point over with Matsuzaki-sensei, so can you please cooperate with us?"
Aizawa had a strained look on her face as she looked away.
"How about round two then?" Kokomi said, prompting Ichijou to perk up. "Wait, why does only she not have to go?" Aizawa looked back, glaring. Kokomi had an exasperated smile. "She whispered it to me over telepathy," she said. "She says she wants me to wish everyone a happy Christmas from her side." Looking over to the crowd, "It's a bit early, but wish you all have a merry Christmas, everyone!" she waved, "from both me and Aizawa-san."
"I-I did not-" Aizawa spoke up, but it was drowned out by the sound of cheers. The crowd, they lapped it all up. "Wish you have a Merry Christmas too, Teruhashi-senpai!" "Merry Christmas Aizawa-chan!" "Merry Christmas everybody!"
It took a second for the crowd to settle down. Matsuzaki's glare certainly helped. Aizawa had a hint of red on her face, looking off, away from the crowd. Kokomi had an understanding smile, before she donned a more serious expression.
"I think we should get back to topic, now." She decided, getting a nod from Matsuzaki.
"Before we can begin to resolve anything, however, I think we need to set up the context first. Yamashita-san," she looked over to the girl, "Between Ichijou-san and Aizawa-san, who do you think was more in the wrong today?"
That certainly put the girl on the spot. Both Aizawa and Ichijou looked over in interest. Momoko shriveled under their expectant gazes.
"It's complicated?" Kokomi asked, to get a muted nod in response, the girl's gaze on the floor. Smiling, she gave the girl a gentle prod to get her to look up. She made a gesture, as if to say, You can whisper into my ear, if it's more comfortable that way.
Momoko looked over at Ichijou, a conflicted expression on her face, as if she were asking, 'how much should I tell her?'
Ichijou looked away, like she didn't want anything to have to do with the question. When Momoko looked over to Aizawa, the girl similarly averted her eyes.
Momoko could still feel the crowd's gaze behind her, weighing on her. Momoko had never been a crowd person, and standing in front of large groups of people made her always feel so queasy. And it was because of that, she could so appreciate the option Kokomi had provided her, to simply whisper into her ear.
And normally, she would have simply obliged her. That was the sort of girl Yamashita Momoko was.
But today… Today, Momoko was feeling just a tiny bit braver. Maybe it was her still processing the relief from Teruhashi-senpai stepping in to save the situation. Maybe it was the admiration the girl felt, seeing the older girl slowly, but surely, begin to turn things around. Maybe it was seeing Ichijou open up to Matsuzaki-sensei, the admiration Momoko felt witnessing Ichijou's courage to apologize. Whatever it was, Momoko was feeling just a bit brave today.
Nervously shaking her head, the girl looked over to the panel across from her. Aoki-sensei. Aizawa. She even managed to maintain eye contact with Matsuzaki sensei for a solid second. She then looked over the crowd, gulping slightly as she took in all the curious looks on all their faces, some more patient than others.
And then she looked over to Kokomi. The girl had such a soft and tender expression, so earnestly encouraging, even though Momoko had hardly exchanged words with the girl before today, she felt as though cradled in her mother's arms.
Giving one last look at Aizawa and Ichijou, she began.
"It… It started back in middle school-"
"Ne, Icihjou...san," the carminette said, as she picked up another ball, tossing it into the ball cart. "What do you think of Takebayashi-senpai?"
With practice done for the day, the other club members were on the other side of the room taking care of the net, while the two girls were in-charge of collecting the balls scattered around the room.
Ichijou let out a Hmm~ as she tossed a ball over her shoulder, "he's good at defending, but I think his offense is a little weak."
"No, not that." Aizawa scrunched her brows. "...I meant, what do you think of him as… as a person?"
"He's a pretty cool dude, I guess. Pretty hardworking and diligent." She shrugged.
"Eh..."
"Yo, Ichijou," Takebayashi called, "can you fill in for Ryoma again? He says his ankles are still a bit sore."
The girl was fixing her hair as she walked in. She made a shrugging sort of motion with her head, opening her mouth to reply-
"H-Hey," Aizawa cut in from beside her, "d-do you think I could give it a shot once?"
The boy looked over in mild surprise. He let out a Hmm~ as he considered it, "I don't know, Aya. I know you're good, but... Ichijou spikes harder than some of the guys. I can trust her to keep pace with us without getting hurt."
"W-What Bayashi, you scared of getting your ass kicked by me?"
The boy sighed. "If you want to join so badly..."
Ichijou watched with a look of mild concern. She wasn't sure if it was her place to speak, but she got a bad feeling...
"Tissues! Does anyone have tissues?"
"Someone call the teacher!"
"Hold your head back! It'll stop the bleeding!"
Takebayashi closed the door to the nurse's office behind him.
"How's she?" He looked up to see Ichijou leaning against the wall adjacent to the door.
"She'll be fine. She's tougher than she looks."
"..."
"Don't tell me you feel like it's your responsibility or something?" The boy said, settling on the wall next to her.
"...It might've only been a while since I joined, but I've played against her enough times to know what she's made of." She shook her head. "I had a feeling it might turn out like this. But I still let her play."
"C'mon, don't make it sound that bad. One broken nose isn't that big of deal though?.. Ou!"
She'd pinched him on the shoulder.
"For a guy, maybe. Girls are sensitive about stuff like that. Like, if it gets crooked or something. They'll worry about stuff like that."
He raised a brow. "You never seemed worried about stuff like that, though?"
He received another pinch, a lighter one this time.
"Now, what?" He sighed. "Well, I had the inkling that it might turn out like that as well. But I still let her play. She's too stubborn to learn otherwise."
"..."
"Wanna go grab some ice-cream?"
"Huh?" She looked at him like he'd just grown a second head.
"You looked like you could use some."
"..."
"C'mon. We'll get some for Aya too."
The girl considered it for a few seconds, before shrugging. Elsewhere…
One hand holding her phone like a pocket mirror, the other nursing her nose, on the other side of the door, one Aizawa Ayaka softly muttered to herself.
"I can hear you guys from here, you know..."
"Sorry Momo, can you head out on your own? I think I left behind my jacket." Waving the girl off, Ichijou jogged back over to the court.
Had she left it near the score-board? She tried to recall. It was as she was coming up to the entrance to the gym-
Thwack! The distinct sound of an open palm striking into synthetic leather. The faint whistle of the ball cutting through air. Followed by the thud as the ball crashed into the floor. Followed by a heavier thud of footfall. A heaving breath, a minute's lull, and it started all over.
Thwack!
Practice was supposed to be over for the day...
Ichijou tentatively reached for the door.
Was somebody on their own-
"WHY?!" The sudden cry got Ichijou to freeze. She recognized that voice.
"Why? Why do I keep losing to her? First in the court! And again-"
THWACK!
Another fierce spike bludgeoned the volleyball into the floor.
"Why?!"
Slowly retracting her hand, Ichijou settled next to the door, her gaze lingering on the horizon as she made out the successive impacts of synthetic leather with flesh and floor. Over and over again. Just on and on.
In time, she could only walk away.
Swheee!
"Another point to Higashi Kazeoka Gakuen!"
23 - 23.
"We might make it! We might just make it!" Number seven high-fived number four, Ichijou, who gave a strained smile. From her corner, Aizawa gave the girl a side glance.
It was rare to see the auburnette sweating so profusely. As much as it irked Aizawa, it was a matter of fact that Ichijou had been the sole reason the match had been able to draw out as long as it had.
Aizawa could feel her own senses starting to dull, and her heart pounded in her ear from all the exertion. But as if she could possibly let herself go down before Ichijou did.
"Serve!"
A ball careened over the net, intercepted by HK's number seven. She sent it over number one, who quickly set it up for number four, Ichijou, to spike. It went through like a cannonball, but the opposing team had started to get used to them at this point. It richochetted off a perfectly executed block. Dug, set and spiked back into their court in a powerful volley. Into Aizawa's side of the court no less.
The Carminette just barely managed to make it in time to block, but her fatigue seemed to be finally catching up to her. Unable to fully control its rebound, it flew out of the court. She barely made out the girl's figure as Ichijou dove in after it, and for a second, it looked as if she might make it-
SRRRRRASSSSH!
Aizawa could make out the exact moment that Ichijou's ankle seemed to give. The ball ricocheted as it landed, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop. As for Ichijou...
Her body rolled to a stop. The girl herself hadn't let out any more than a muted "Augh!" but it was immediately apparent something had gone wrong. On her face was a grimace. Aizawa couldn't tell if it was because of the pain, or the fact she realized what it meant for the game.
Whichever it was, the girl's ankle... it didn't look right.
A shrill whistle from the Referee cut through the room, murmurs in the audience falling quiet.
"Ich-"
"Ichijou!" called Bayashi, cutting ahead of the coach. The referee followed shortly, and medical staff thereafter.
The rest of the girl's flocked around the girl, including the girl's from the opposing team.
Aizawa was the last to move, her gaze wandering from face to face. Their looks of concern. Looks of sympathy. Grimaces. Coach had a strained expression. Aizawa's gaze wandered to the audience, the buzz, the curious concerned looks. And a blanket look of comprehension.
'Why the hell are you guys looking like the match's been forfeit already?' The thought bubbled in from a part of her. "Why the hell..."
She knew. She knew better than anyone. She knew her team-mates, longer, better than Ichijou than ever could have.
It was actually pretty crazy, if you thought about it. A bunch of no-namers going toe-to-toe with the quarter-finalists from last year for four full sets. For all she'd longed to stand on this stage, Aizawa could hardly take credit.
The medical team, finishing examining the injury, nodded over to the referee. Aizawa watched the expressions playing on everyone's faces. The blank, dead look on Ichijou's face. Takebayashi's face as he fretted over up and down. He'd never made that face when it was Aizawa who had been the one to get hurt.
...It really might as well have been forfeit, huh?
Aizawa watched the door open to see the coach step out. The woman wore a sympathetic look as she glanced over at Aizawa, before continuing on her way.
The hallway was dyed red, evening set quite long ago.
On the other side of the door, "Dad says he'll come pick me up in half an hour," Ichijou muttered, putting her phone away, and leaning back into the infirmary bed. Takebayashi sat across from her, chin resting on his hands.
"...We almost had it." Hand obscuring her eyes, the girl grumbled.
"You said that already." Ichijou frowned. The boy was quiet for a second.
"Are you blaming yourself?"
"Not really."
"Really? Cause I could have sworn that it was your fault we lost," he said, although his tone was joking.
The girl let out a soft growl.
"Look," he sighed, "No one's gonna hold it against you for getting injured. If anything, they should be grateful that you managed to bring them all the way-"
"It's not that."
A little taken aback at the uncharacteristic frustration in her voice, the boy fell silent, but gestured for her to go on. It showed on her face that she was trying to find the right words.
"I was being half-hearted… I think," she said. She opened her mouth again, as if to elaborate, but pursed her lips. When she said nothing-
"How strange of you to be so introspective," the boy said, to catch a pillow chucked straight at him.
"I'm being serious," she said, wearing a glare as she got upright.
"Same here," he said. Cocking his head, "I thought it was just the pressure getting to you, but were you, perchance.. actually trying to be more considerate towards everyone today?"
The girl had a conflicted expression on her face.
"You do hog the ball quite a bit usually, don't you?" He said, still wearing a smirk. "Dragging everyone into your own pace. Doing whatever you like, as long as you think it'll win everyone the game."
His words seem to make the girl shrivel up a little-
"But that's what I like about you."
The words caught her off-guard. Outside, Aizawa involuntarily let out a gasp.
Taking a second to shake off the blush creeping up on her, "D-don't word it in such a misleading way," Ichijou returned.
"Misleading? Whatever do you mean?"
She narrowed her eyes, to which the boy simply shook his head. "Feeling a bit more energetic now, are we?" he joked as he got up. Putting on his jacket, he lingered for a second. Maybe it was just the mood playing a trick on her, but Ichijou thought he looked almost expectant.
"Senpai...," she said, stopping him just as he'd looked ready to wave her bye. "Yeah?"
"...What do you think about me?"
This time, it was his turn to look caught off-guard. But his shock was soon replaced by his usual aloof smirk.
"In whatever sense?"
Ichijou just held a soft, steady glare.
"...Sorry, my bad," he said, scratching his head, "It's rare that you bring up things like that. Felt like I just had to tease you."
The girl sighed through her nostrils. "Nevermind-"
"To be honest," she looked up at his words, "I think you're pretty cool." He had a light tinge on his cheeks, his eyes wandering around the room. "A little boar-headed, but in a cute kind of way. It's fun watching you play, and it's even better when we're on the court together. Not to mention, you in Jersey's just sexy as hell," his usual mirth was there, but there was more than that. "Totally the type I'd like to date," he finished somewhat earnestly.
Aizawa's heart clenched. His words were slightly muffled through the door, but she heard them loud and clear. She bit down her lip to keep from making a sound.
As for Ichijou, even she couldn't entirely keep her cheeks from reddenning. Despite herself, she couldn't help that tiny part of her that soared at his admission.
But...
"Why? Why do I keep losing to her? First in the court! And again-"
Ichijou, for all her lacking sensibilities, wasn't dense. The memory made her squeeze her eyes shut.
Outside, Aizawa clenched her own fists. Her eyes were beginning to water. But for all her internal turmoil, she knew eavesdropping any longer would be bad. The girl willed herself to walk away.
"...I'm sorry."
The girl had taken one step, when Ichijou's words cut straight through her. "...I'm sorry but," Ichijou's voice was fraught, yet resolute, "I can't." She shook her head.
The ensuing silence was cold and deafening, only broken by an awkward chuckle from Takebayashi. "Way to get my hopes up with that line of questioning," he said, trying to play it off, but Ichijou saw the hurt in his eyes. Without another word, he made to leave.
"A-Aya?" The girl stepped past him, entering the room at the same time as he stepped out. Her bangs obscured her eyes, and before he could take any more of her expression, she'd closed the door behind her.
"A-Aizawa?"
Ichijou's own expression fell as the girl walked in.
The girl didn't immediately respond, simply electing to clench and unclench her fists. Ichijou could make out the tears running down her face.
"Why?" The carminette said at last, her breath hitching. "W-Why?" the girl said again, more audibly this time.
"..."
"WHY?!" she thundered. Even Ichijou couldn't help but flinch.
"You had it- You h-had it in the bag. W-Why, then..."
"..."
When Aizawa finally looked up, her eyes were bloodshot, erupting with emotion.
"You...!" She choked out. "Always like this with you," she snarled, "Acting all stoic and shit."
Picking up a pillow off the floor, the one that Ichijou had previously chucked at Takebayashi, "You think you're too good for him?!" she screamed, throwing it straight at her.
Ichijou simply took it.
She couldn't bring herself to look her in the eye. The next thing she knew, the girl had bolted out the door. Her footsteps vanished in a few moments, Ichijou slowly settling back onto the bed, looking up dazedly at the ceiling.
'What would you have me do?' She sighed.
"-speaking of which, did you guys hear?" water poured in soft gurgles as the girl turned the faucet, "The rumor going around about Ichijou?"
"K-Kana-chan and Aizawa-san were on the same volleyball team back in middle school." Momoko spoke softly, though there was a sort of rush in her voice, trying to get the words out as quickly as possible. "Kana-chan, s-she ended up quitting though." She looked nervously over at Aizawa. The girl sat hunched, looking down at the hands on her laps. Seeing that the girl wasn't making any attempts to stop her, Momoko thought it was fine for her to continue. "Kana-chan rejected a boy that Aizawa-san liked. T-There were some r-rumors spreading, a-and t-they said i-it was Aizawa-san who'd started it. T-They got into a f-fight-"
"I walked in," Ichijou picked up for her, noticing the discomfort in her voice, "just as she was getting rejected." She had a sardonic smile on her face, although the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "We got into a fight. I broke a wrist, and this idiot broke a femur." She shook her head. "Makes you laugh, doesn't it?" she said, but her eyes were completely void of mirth.
Aizawa, on the other hand, had her face erupting with emotion. Despite herself, she couldn't help but glance over at Kokomi. It was a sort of frustrated, but pleading look.
Matsuzaki had his usual stoic expression, but there was a hint of awkwardness to it. Hearing about teenage girls and their love troubles, for someone like Matsuzaki, wasn't really a normal thing.
Kokomi closed her eyes, a contemplative look on her face. She opened them the next moment, her eyes clear.
"Aizawa-san," she said, giving the girl her full attention, "do you hate Ichijou-san?" she asked.
"I...," Aizawa chewed on her lips. "I can't forgive her...!" The girl's eyes had started watering again, and Kokomi had the distinct feeling that if she didn't handle things carefully, the girl would bolt out the door any second.
"Ichijou-san... What about you?" Kokomi asked, looking over at the other girl. "Do you dislike Aizawa-san?"
The girl wore a frown. When she didn't say anything, Kokomi continued. "When she says that she can't forgive you, do you understand what she means by that?"
"Not at all," the girl said brusquely, looking away. Aizawa's head snapped up, fire in her eyes. Ichijou responded with a glare of her own.
"Unlike senpai here, I can't read minds." Ichijou said matter-of-factly. Aizawa had a conflicted grimace on her face, getting up. A firm grip from Kokomi kept her in place however.
"Aizawa-san... why is it that you can't forgive Ichijou-san?"
Kokomi could feel the intense gazes of everyone on the two of them. It would have been easier for the girl to open up in a more private setting, but she'd made her bed when she'd jumped Ichijou in the middle of the classroom. Now she'd have to lie in it.
The carminette had her face flushed with emotion. The scrutinizing looks from the spectators, the embarrassment of her situation, the frustration bubbling inside of her. Eyes watering, her gaze fell to the floor, but Kokomi wasn't having it. With a delicate motion of her hand, she brought the girl's gaze back on to her. Kokomi's eyes had a certain gentle firmness to them.
'Don't worry about the others. Just keep your eyes up here, okay?'
Kokomi didn't have telepathy, but she might as well have.
Sniffling, biting her lips, Aizawa spoke up.
"Ichijou... Ichijou has been better than me at the things that mattered." Aizawa's voice had softened considerably, a light tremor to it, but she was able to speak clearly. Kokomi evoked a shelter in the way she held the girl's gaze. "I... went from being the ace of the girl's volleyball team, to an afterthought." Small muted sniffles punctuated her words. "Even the senpai that I'd admired for the longest time, he ended up liking Ichijou."
Her voice carried a conflicted tone, as if it wasn't sure if it was delivering a confession, or an accusation.
"But that's not the real reason you dislike her, is it?" Kokomi said, lightly cocking her, as she pulled out a handkerchief, the one she'd borrowed from Momoko, applying it on the tears pooling at the edge of the girl's eyes.
Surprise crossed Aizawa's face, and the frustrated look that followed after seemed to indicate an answer in the affirmative.
"The reason I'm angry isn't that she has had everything I don't. Yes, it's frustrating," the girl gulped, her voice straining, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. "But I came to terms long ago. It's..." She grit her teeth, looking up, taking on Ichijou's gaze. "I just can't stand it! I can't stand how you can just squander it all away!"
Ichijou had a flabbergasted expression on her face.
"You!" Aizawa said, body shaking, finger pointing accusingly. "You've had it all! Everything I could have ever dreamt for." She punctuated her words with an involuntary sniffle, her body shuddering. "The athletic ability to take our team all the way to the finals. The looks to get everybody to fawn over you. Takebayashi-senpai's affections." She grit her teeth. "And what do you do with it all? You squander it all away! Treat it like it's some sort of inconvenience!" The softness in her voice had completely left her, replaced by a brash, loud desperation. "How dare you? How f*cking dare you? How dare you give up on Volleyball?! How dare you squander senpai's affections?! Not even giving him a reason! How dare you?!"
She took several heaving breaths as she was done, and Ichijou continued to look like a fish out of water with her mouth gaping open. The girl was completely taken off guard.
"W-with," Aizawa spoke up again, the fire fizzling out of her voice, "with everything that you've been handed! With all your f*cking gifts! All the things that I could never hope to have. The least you could do is shoulder it with some pride!"
She punctuated her words with an involuntary sniffle. "But worse," she said, voice soft and frail, gaze stuck to the floor. "Worst of all... D-despite everything." Sniffle "The thing," sniffle "The thing that I can't stand the most is that I can't bring myself to fully hate you!"
The girl let out several heaving breaths as she tried to catch her breath.
A dull silence reigned around her as she did. Kokomi had a deeply contemplative look on her face, eyes fixed on the girl. Both Aoki-sensei and Matsuzaki-sensei wore an expression that suggested they had no idea how to quite react to the girl's outpour of emotions.
Surprisingly, it was none other than Momoko who broke the silence.
"A-About... About Takebayashi-senpai. It's n-not what you think!-" the girl said, only to be stopped by a light elbow nudge from Ichijou.
"Stop it," the auburnette said, gritting her teeth. Momoko had a conflicted look.
Meanwhile, Kokomi had a delicate expression as she carefully applied a handkerchief to Aizawa's face. Finishing, she looked over at Ichijou.
Kokomi's brows creased gently. "That its better to be just resented. Is that what you truly believe? Ichijou-san?"
The girl looked a little taken aback at her line of questioning but, "There's no point in asking for forgiveness at this point," she fired back, glaring at Aizawa.
Kokomi shook her head "I don't believe that." Looking over to Aizawa, then over to Ichijou, to Momoko, then Matsuzaki-sensei, then Aoki-sensei, she took a moment to take a deep breath.
Her next words were a bit of a gamble, if she was being honest. For all her talents at reading people, Kokomi was no mind-reader. She generally had a very strong intuition, but it was also occasionally wrong. Especially nowadays, whenever it came to a certain someone...
Mentally shaking her head, she came to a decision. She'd take that gamble.
"Ichijou-san," she said, "can I ask you something?" The girl looked back blankly. "This... Takebayashi-senpai." She watched her face, the momentary tightness of her expression, and the way she averted her eyes. She looked over to Momoko, and saw the girl look away awkwardly.
"This is just a conjecture..." Kokomi then looked back over at Aizawa, trying to figure how she should phrase it. "But you actually liked him back too, didn't you, Ichijou-san?"
The moment she uttered those words, she could feel Aizawa's body stop shuddering. The girl followed Kokomi's eyes over to Ichijou.
"N-No." The auburnette said, hurriedly standing up. "W-What are you on about?"
"Y-Yeah," Aizawa seconded. "She- She went as far as to coldly reject him. W-what are you talking about?" There was denial in her voice, but at the same time, a hint of something else.
The mere possibility that...
"What I meant-"
"She turned him down for your sake." All three girls looked over at Momoko, who'd stood up as well. Gone was the timid expression she'd been wearing for the entirety of the exchange. In its place was just an exhausted sort of expression.
"Momo-!" Ichijou started, but reeled back at the expression she received back from the girl. Momoko wore a glare. Directing it at Ichijou for a good long second, she then glared over at Aizawa.
"You might not see her like that," her voice was still light, but held a certain new intensity, "but Kana-chan's also a girl. She might act tough, but even she'll get happy when someone confesses to her, or get sad when she needs to break someone's heart."
Momoko bit her lip, grimacing.
"She might not have liked Takebayashi-senpai for as long as you did, Aizawa-san but, as her best friend, I could tell that she returned his affections." The frustration in her voice continued to mount. "She knew that you liked Takebayashi-senpai. And she already felt guilty for stealing your position in the team.."
"I'm.." She made a very frustrated face. "I'm- I'm angry at you Aizawa-san. Always thinking about yourself. You didn't once consider Kana-chan's feelings…!"
It was now Aizawa's turn to look completely flabbergasted.
"T-there's n-no way..." She involuntarily took a step. She glanced over at Ichijou, hoping to find some sign that both Kokomi and Momoko were wrong.
Ichijou had a grimace on her face as she rubbed her eyes. If Aizawa didn't know any better, she'd think the girl was trying to not show her eyes watering.
"Why?" Aizawa's lip trembled. "Why didn't you say anything?!"
Ichijou grit her teeth. "What would you have me say, idiot?" she fired back. "That I took pity on you? That I felt bad about stealing your crush?" Her eyes were misty, clouding with effort of holding back tears.
"You said it yourself," she wore a sardonic smile. "I've everything you could ever want. Got the world handed to me on a silver platter or some shit, apparently." A deep crease ran over her eyes. "How pathetic would it be if I had to ask you to be considerate of me?"
The girl's breathing had gotten ragged.
"Would you rather that she hated you instead?" Ichijou looked up at Kokomi's soft, questioning gaze. Ichijou looked away, pursing her lips. The girl said nothing.
One moment of silence turned to two. Then four. Then eight. There was a sort of fragileness to the moment that no one particular individual was willing to break. Voluntarily at least.
Sniff
Kokomi looked back over at Aizawa, a knowing look on the blunette's face.
"W-what's up with that?" Aizawa let out a few more sniffs. "W-What the hell?" Nose scrunched. Lips trembling. Eyes fraught with emotion. It was like watching a dam give way.
"What the hell?!" She said, her shoulder shuddering with each word.
...All that envy. All that bottled-up frustration. All that bottled-up self-righteousness. With nowhere to go. It made a pathetic sort of impression. The underlying pointlessness of all her prior emotions.
Sniffles grew louder, more frequent, her face flushing red. "What the hell?" Tears rolled down her face, growing more numerous with each passing moment.
It was like a switch had been flicked. A final piece of a puzzle put into its place. Something breaking. Shattering beyond recovery.
Understanding. Realization. Embarrassment. A desperate frustration. A dawning, introspective horror. The temptation of denial. All sorts of emotions grappled for dominance on her face. Tears and snot trickled down relentlessly.
Bit by bit, the girl broke into a deeper and deeper sob.
"W-what" Hic. "What the hell?!" Hic.
The heel of one hand, followed in the heel of another, as she desperately tried to wipe her tears, to absolutely no avail. In a moment her sleeves were completely soaked.
Despite the absolute deluge of emotions, the girl somehow had enough sense to remember to get out her handkerchief.
"What the hell?!"
That much should do - the more analytical side of Kokomi thought. For all the awkward discomfort Aizawa had cultivated towards herself from the rest of the class, the pitiful spectacle made a stronger impression by far.
It applied partly to Ichijou too, but far more so for Aizawa. The girl had made an utter fool of herself.
And as awkward as things would still be for the girl going forward, Kokomi could already tell the class would be far kinder in accepting her back. From the faces she'd made out peering in, she could already tell the looks being directed at the girl were more concerned than wary.
That was merely the analytical side of Teruhashi Kokomi speaking, however. For all her smarts and cunning, Kokomi was a girl ruled by emotion.
Despite herself, and the professional detachment she generally aspired after, there was a very particular emotion threatening to envelope her.
"I-I like you Teruhashi-san! G-Go out with me!"
…
"Ne, Ko-chan..Why? " A Sniff. "Why is it always you?"
…
"Stay away from my sister! You've done enough already!"
…
Kokomi shook her head, dispelling the figure that had briefly replaced Aizawa's in her mind's eyes. Closing the distance, she enveloped Aizawa into a hug.
"I'm sorry."
"W-Why-" Aizawa softly croaked," Why the h-hell are you apologizing?"
The other girl was silent for a moment, when of a sudden.
Hmm~
Hmmm~ Hm~
It was tender and melodious. Like a bedtime lullaby. Like the affections of a doting older sister. Like being cradled by heaven.
Mmmmmm~ Mm~ Hmm~
Mmmmmm~ Mm~~~~
'Ne, Saiki-kun? Are you watching?' She thought to herself idly. 'Did you get to catch my cool side?'
Mmmmmm~ Mm~~~~~
"I'm sorry." Kokomi said, her voice soft and tender. "I really am."
Aizawa continued to sob into her arms.