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She sighed to herself as she walked through the gates of the foreign school.
'I really need some time to get back into this....' She thought to herself as she listened to all the Japanese that was spoken around her. She'd spent five years in America, where she'd spoken English all the time. Having to speak Japanese again would take some getting used to.
'At least I'll be good at English...' She moved up the stairs slowly, even as the bell rang, she was to wait for the teacher's cue to enter the classroom anyway.
When the cue came at last, she stood beside the teacher's desk, not even bothering to look any of the students in the eye. Who were they, but people she didn't know? She'd learned over time that making friends was a gradual process, her actions right now mattered little for the future.
"I'm looking forward to working with you." She said with a bow as she went to sit down at the back, right by the window. It was always surprising that these spots were the ones that were free, but then she figured it was probably because students who didn't pay attention had been moved from there. She received some more stares from her new classmates, but paid them no heed as she simply stared at the blackboard, attempting to pay attention.
As soon as the bell rang, she leaned back, only to practically fall off her seat when someone slammed their hands onto her desk.
"Shiromicchi!" She looked up at the blond haired boy she'd always known so well.
"Kise?" The boy nodded with a smile. She stood and hugged him tightly.
"How long's it been now?" He asked as he looked her up and down a few times.
"About seven years, I think?"
"Yeah, I haven't seen you since elementary school. How's everything been?" He pulled up a chair and sat at her desk. She sat as well and took a good look at him.
"I've been great. America was nice, but I missed Japan so much." She looked out the window. "There really is something about this place that's special." She looked back at him and smiled. "How about you?" He laughed nervously.
"Me? Not much really, I've been playing basketball and doing some modeling work, but that's pretty much it."
"Uwah, so you're a model now." She leaned back and grinned. "I shouldn't be as surprised as I am." He frowned.
"Why's that?"
"Well, you've gotten quite handsome since I last saw you." She smiled as a blush spread across his face. "But I'm glad you've finally settled down on something sports wise."
"You want to come watch after school?"
"Definitely, I can't wait."
When she got to the gym after class, she found that the place was filled to the brim with screaming girls. There was just one name on their lips too.
'I'd expected a few, but this...' She looked around. 'There must be a back entrance somewhere...' When she couldn't find one in her immediate surroundings, she decided to try and find a way in from outside. She nearly tripped over a small dog as she turned a corner and knelt down to pet it.
"Hey buddy, what're you doing here on your own?" The dog whined a little and nearly climbed onto her. She picked it up, much to its delight and smiled to herself. Never having had any pets made these moments all the more special.
"Number 2!" She looked up and found a whole group of people moving her way.
"There you are. Don't run off like that." A blue eyed boy said as he took the dog from her and walked away without another word.
"Sorry about him." A large fiery haired guy said. "And the dog." She received a mass apology from the group and quickly waved them away.
"That's alright, don't worry about it." She looked them up and down and realized they were in sports clothing. "Are you going to the basketball game, by any chance?" The group nodded.
"Mind if I tag along? I couldn't really find an entrance, so..." She laughed nervously. Of course, this made her look a lot like the fans that were screaming at the actual entrance, but it was worth a try.
"No problem."
She followed after them as they walked out onto the court to let everyone know they'd arrived.
"Yo, Kise." The fiery haired guy said excitedly. "You better prepare yourself."
"Right back at ya." Kise replied with equal enthusiasm. As they all left the court to head to the locker rooms, she was left behind. To her relief, Kise pretty much instantly walked up to her.
"What were you doing with them?" His tone was serious, which was unbefitting for him.
"I ran into them outside. I couldn't really find an entrance so I ended up following them." She explained, suddenly feeling uneasy. He looked at her as though he didn't quite believe her. Then his expression softened and he smiled.
"Thanks for coming, Shiromicchi."
"Of course, you better give it your all, okay?"
"Always."
The game had, much to her surprise, ended in a defeat and not a very small one either. There was a total point difference of 20 by the final buzzer. Seirin celebrated their victory, while Kaijō coped with their defeat. That coping seemed to be going relatively well for everyone but Kise, whose shoulders started shocking. He took one look at her -she could clearly see tears streaming down his face- before storming off the court.
After a while of searching, she still had yet to find Kise. Back in elementary school she knew all his hiding spots, but she hardly knew the new and changed Kise, so it was hard to predict where he'd go.
"Have you found him yet?" She turned to find the fiery haired guy behind her.
"No... How do you-"
"I've seen you walking by at least four times now."
"That explains it." She sighed. "Congratulations, by the way, that was an excellent game."
"Thanks, wait, don't you go to Kaijō?" It obviously seemed weird for a student of the losing school to be congratulating the winners so freely.
"I do, but I only just transferred so I don't quite have the mentality yet, I guess."
"Well, it's refreshing. Usually the other students give us nothing but glares. Especially the fans." They laughed.
"Yeah, hey, about Kise... It's not really his fault. He's always been good at pretty much every sport he tried, so he rarely ever lost. I think he never really learned to handle it properly because of that."
"I didn't really think much of it anyway. Everyone has their own way."
"I'm Shiromi, by the way."
"Kagami."
"Well then, Kagami, maybe I'll see you around."
After she'd spent another hour looking for him, she noticed that the sunlight was starting to fade.
"Dammit, Kise..." She turned another corner of the garden and sighed relieved when she saw him sitting by a tree, all huddled up like a little kid. She walked over and knelt down in front of him.
"Found you." He didn't respond. "Come on, Kise." She said as she poked him, still no response. "You're scaring me." He looked up. His eyes were red and his face stained with dried tears.
"I don't want you to see me like this." He murmured as he reburied his face in the fortress of his arms and legs.
"I've seen you like this countless times, once more really won't matter." She took his hand and squeezed it. "It was good to see you having fun like that. So what if you didn't win? Isn't that all the more reason to train harder, become better and try again?" She could make out a vague nod.
"I just wanted to impress you."
"You think I'm not impressed?" He looked up, shaking his head slightly. She leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek.
"You're wrong." The blush on his face made her chuckle. She stood up and held out her hand.
"Want to go get something to eat?"
"Sorry for worrying you." He said as they walked out through the school gates.
"It's good to be able to worry about you again. I kind of missed that." He halted and stared at her for a moment before taking her face into his hands and pressing his lips onto hers. She hungrily returned the kiss, unable to prevent herself from smiling into it. He separated and rested his forehead on hers.
"I'm glad you're back."
"Good to be back.