It had been three days since Sakuno had last set foot in her school. An injury to her head had kept her at home, but now that she was healed and ready to return, she found herself lacking the usual excitement and energy she usually had for school.

As she got ready for the day, she noticed that Ryoma, was not responding to her at all. Even at home, Ryoma avoided her. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was mad at her because of the incident with Ookami. With a heavy heart, she made her way to school, her steps heavy and her spirit deflated.

Upon entering her classroom, her best friend Tomoka greeted her with her usual high energy.

"Sakuno!"

"Good morning, Tomo-chan." She only manage a weak smile in return.

She saw Ryoma already seated at his desk, engrossed in his notes. Taking her seat beside him, she wanted to say good morning, but the silence between them seemed heavy and awkward.

Tomoka took a seat in front of Sakuno.

"Are you feeling okay now?" she asked.

"Yes Tomo-chan, I'm good now." Said Sakuno.

"If I see that Ookami again, I will surely gave him a good beat." Tomoka muttered.

"You know, Ookami already came to school since 3 days ago, when you took leave." Tomoka said.

"Really?" Sakuno shocked.

"Yeah, but he got transferred to another class. And he also stopped bleaching his hair." Tomoka said.

"I see.. that's great then."

Just then, someone appeared at the classroom door, looking for Sakuno.

"Ryuzaki, can I talk to you for a while?" Ookami asked.

Tomoka glare at him threateningly.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything bad to her." He said at Tomoka.

Sakuno stood up from her seat and went to Ookami. They both walked together to the rooftop.

"I'm sorry for your head, Ryuzaki."

"It's okay, Ookami-kun. I'm glad you coming back to school." She said.

"Yeah, my mom already found a proper job and I'm going to do my best at school too, so you don't have to worry about me anymore." Ookami said.

Sakuno couldn't help but smile at his sincerity.

"Goodluck, Ookami-kun."

"Thanks, Ryuzaki. I really appreciate what you have done for me."

"No problem at all, Ookami-kun."

"Well, I'm going now. See you later."

Sakuno just smiled looking at Heisuke.

When Sakuno went back to classroom, Tomoka wait her at the main door.

"Sakuno, what is he telling you? Was he confessing?" Tomoka said loudly, even Ryoma can heard.

Horio noticed Ryoma's unusual behavior as he snapped a pencil in his hands.

Horio sweat-dropped. "A- are you okay, Echizen?"

Ryoma ignored him and remained silent, his eyes fixed on his book.

Sakuno smiled sheepishly at Tomoka. "It's not like that, Tomo-chan. We just had a bit conversation."

Not long after that, Sakuno returned to her seat beside him, feeling a mix of emotions swirling inside her.

The teacher for the first lesson come in. Sakuno took out her textbook and notebook. She started to focus on the lessons.

As the day went on, Sakuno couldn't shake the feeling that Ryoma was avoiding her. She longed to bridge the gap between them but didn't know how. Meanwhile, Tomoka chattered on, oblivious to the tension in the air.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Sakuno gathered her things, same with Ryoma. But when Ryoma was about to stood up from his seat, Sakuno reaching out and grabbed the hem of his school jacket. Ryoma stopped and looked at her.

"Ryoma-kun."

Waiting for the other students left the class, they just stood silent. Her hand still grabbing the hem of his jacket. Tomoka who noticed that, decided to left the class too, giving both of them some space. The trio already went to the tennis court.

When the class empty, leaving both of them alone, Sakuno looked at him and started to speak up.

"Are you mad at me?"

Ryoma looked at her. "What do you think?"

"Ano..." Sakuno didn't know what to say.

"Seriously, you always think of other people first instead of thinking about yourself."

"I'm sorry..."

"Turn around."

"Eh?"

"Let me see your head."

"Ah ok." She turned around, showing her back to Ryoma.

Ryoma gently, touched her hair, feeling the softness of each strand as he slid them aside to reveal the wound on her scalp.

Sakuno blushed at the gentle touch of his fingers on her skin, feeling flutter in her heart.

"It still has a bit scar." He said.

"Y-yes, but it will gone later." Said Sakuno while still hiding her blushing.

"You're really a klutz."

"Mou- Ryoma-kun."

"Why run into the danger when you know something bad will happen?"

"I'm sorry."

"If you're sorry, promise me this won't happen again."

"H-hai.."

Silent.

"Ryoma-kun, don't be so nice to me, you're going to make me misunderstand." She mumbled, still blushing.

"What did you say?"

She looked at him. "N-nothing."

Sakuno looked away again. 'Why is his words become so gentle these days? Everytime he said something, I felt flutter in my stomach.' She thought and stood up from her seat. "W-well, Ryoma-kun, I think I should go now, see you tomorrow." She said, then run away from the class.

Ryoma shocked to see she sprinted. "What was that?