Work Text:
I
High school wasn’t as bad as Miku thought. In fact, she thinks she’s doing pretty well. For starters, she actually made a friend on the first day of school. Kawata Hina was the girl’s name, they were assigned to be seatmates and naturally Miku introduced herself to the girl. Thankfully, they hit it off pretty well and now they’re basically soul friends (a term dubbed by Hina that Miku thinks is dumb but she lets it slide because of how adorable Hina looks when she says it).
“Remind me why you joined the photography club with me again?” Miku asks as the two of them walk along the school corridor, cameras in their hands.
“Because that's what soul friends do! We stick to each other.” Hina grinned at Miku.
Miku is sure that Hina has zero interest in photography and only joined the club because she’s the type that wants to go wherever her friends go.
Unlike her dear friend, Miku always had an interest in photography, ever since she received a camera on her 13th birthday from her older brother, who happens to be a professional photographer. She remembers how her brother taught her to use it and from then on, she became obsessed with taking photos.
She had set her mind on joining a photography club, even going so far as to be willing to make one if it didn't exist. She was thankful to find out that her new high school had a photography club, which also happens to have all the equipment she could imagine inside their club room and she thanks the heavens for that.
Surprisingly (or maybe not), both of them were accepted into the club and now they’re doing their first activities as members of the club.
She remembers how their club president, Kato Shiho, shoved a camera into their hands, “From now on this is your assigned camera! Everyone has their own camera so feel free to take whatever you think tickles your artistic senses.” she said before sending them off on their way. (Not before giving Hina a pat on the head, of course)
To her dismay, Hina just follows Miku around without actually taking any photos.
"Don't you have anything you want to take?" Miku questions.
"Nothing really tickles my artistic senses here..." Hina pouts as she proceeds to plop on the floor in a dramatic fashion while letting out a loud sigh, as if she was trying to prove her point, while Miku tries to not roll her eyes at her.
"How about you take a break? I'm just going to the area near our classroom to see if there's anything interesting." Miku suggests.
Hina's eyes lights up as she nods her head and happily skips in the opposite direction, probably back to the club room.
She can't help but wonder what goes on in the Kawada World (Hina's brain, basically).
Miku starts walking to her classroom. She still was not used to the layout of the school and she didn't want to risk getting lost and needing Hina to come and save her (who will probably get lost trying to find Miku instead).
To her surprise, there's someone inside the classroom when Miku arrives. The girl was engrossed in reading her book, which Miku assumes is some novel, judging from the cover. She tries to recall the girl's name, Konoka? Kosaka? Ah right, Kosaka Nao. Her classmate that came all the way from Osaka to Saitama (Miku thinks it's a downgrade but she won't judge). Watching the girl engrossed in her book, she couldn't help but admire how cute the girl looked from afar.
Miku suddenly remembers the president's words earlier, feel free to take whatever you think tickles your artistic senses.
She slowly walks closer, being careful not to make any noise so as to not disturb the girl who is currently reading her book. Moving the camera to her face, Miku lets out a little gasp as she gets to properly see the face of the girl reading the book.
I can't believe someone cuter than Hina actually exists...
Miku feels her cheeks starting to burn. Unsure if it was because of the heat or the clueless subject, she presses the shutter.
click
The photo was the most perfect photo Miku has ever seen. The way her doe eyes were so focused on the book. The way her nose was scrunched. The way her lips were pouted. Everything about the girl photo was perfect.
As she observed every detail of her classmate's face on the photo, she feels her artistic senses tingle, alongside the tug of her heartstrings.
And that was the day Kosaka Nao became Kanemura Miku's muse.
II
Beep!
The match resumed after a timeout called by the opposing team. Miku immediately straightens her back, getting ready for the moment to take the perfect shot.
She was at the finals of the Inter-High National Volleyball competition. The pressure was on for her school, Hinata High, who were the current champions. They were up against Keyaki High, who just narrowly missed out on being champions last year and were out for revenge.
She knew how important this match was for the volleyball club as she had personally seen their hard work leading up to this competition.
All those extra hours of practice after class and the amount of pain relief patches the members had the day after was an indication of how much they needed to win this. How Miku witnessed all of this is thanks to how Shiho and Ayaka would always drag her (using the photography club as an excuse) to watch document the volleyball club's practices. Miku has always wondered why but she thinks it has something to do with the platonic relationship of both club's leaders.
They were currently at the fifth set. Miku looks at the scoreboard, 13 - 13. Hinata High needed to score two more points to win the game and retain their position of champion.
Beside her, she could see the anxious faces of her president and vice-president: Kato Shiho and Takamoto Ayaka respectively. They seemed more engrossed in the match than actually doing their job of taking photos.
Not like she was any better than them.
Miku's eyes couldn't help but fall on Kosaka Nao, aka her crush muse. After she was assigned to take photos of the volleyball club during their practice sessions, she remembered how shocked she was when she saw Nao there too. The shock was soon replaced by happiness when she realized that she could take more photos of Nao to add to her collection.
She learned from Hina that Nao was a really talented player back when she was in middle school. Apparently, she led her middle school to their first-ever championship title and also won the MVP award for "Best Setter" at the same time.
(Whether or not she was telling the truth, Miku doesn't know. However, she also vaguely recalls her president mention how Sasaki Kumi, the captain of the volleyball team and her girlfriend, was over the moon that the Kosaka Nao had joined their volleyball club. That must mean something.)
Nao immediately became a household name after joining the club. During last year's competition, their starting setter got injured during the last set of the finals which led to Nao being brought on as a last-minute substitute. Her addition helped the team catch up from behind and they won the last set, clinching their first-ever championship title.
Currently in her second year, she was assigned as the starting setter in the lineup for this competition. She's also practically guaranteed to win the "Best Setter" award if Hinata High wins this match due to her impressive performance leading up to the finals.
The loud beep of the whistle brings Miku's attention back to the match. Looking at the scoreboard, she realizes that Hinata High had just scored. They were now at match point. She sees Ayaka shoving her camera to Shiho's face, bragging to her about how perfect Kyoko, the vice-captain of the team, looked in the photo as she spiked the ball to score the point.
"This is so going to be the front cover of the school paper tomorrow!" she exclaims gleefully.
"No, my photo of Kumi's amazing block is going to be the front cover!" Shiho retorts.
Before the two of them could start bickering, the whistle blows and all three of them turn their attention back to the match, eyes glued to the court and hands on their cameras.
It's a nerve-racking moment.
Miku watches through the viewfinder as Kumi blocks the spike from the opposing team. She steadies her breath as she sees the ball approach Nao. The outside hitter, Kyoko, prepares to launch another spike with the assist of her junior. As Kyoko's feet leave the ground, Keyaki's blockers respond; however, instead of setting the ball to the vice-captain, Hinata's young setter slowly tipped the ball towards the other side of the net.
click
The photography club apprentice presses the shutter as soon as the ball left Nao's fingertips – capturing a stunning moment of her muse and their school's winning point.
Miku watches as the entire venue fills with screams. She sees her two seniors almost bawling their eyes out beside her. Examining the masterpiece that she had just taken, "I think this is the perfect front cover photo." she says under her breath. Unbeknownst to Miku, Shiho's overly sensitive ears managed to catch what she said.
The following day, Miku is shocked to see Nao's face all over the front cover of the school paper as everyone celebrated their back-to-back title.
"Is this you?" Miku asks her best friend, who was seated beside her, as she shows the front cover.
"That's Nao,"
"I mean, did you choose this on purpose?"
Despite having zero photography skills, Hina had surprisingly found her calling in photo editing (with their president and vice-president constantly doting over her, Miku almost thought the favouritism kept Hina in the club). She also had a knack for picking out good photos. Thus, she was assigned by the president to be the editor of the school paper.
"I would say yes but actually, the president asked me to use it. Also, Taken by Kanemura Miku looks so good in fine print. I hope Nao finally realizes you exist so I don't have to hear you talking about her anymore."
Miku stares at her photo again as Hina's voice slowly faded to the background. Her thumb rubbing against the ink which bears her name. Though it might only be wishful thinking, deep down in her heart she wishes that Nao would read the school paper and see the fine print below the photo.
And that was the day Kanemura Miku hoped that Kosaka Nao would notice her.
III
It only took a couple of weeks for the hype of the Inter-High to die down; but this didn't stop the outgoing president and vice-president to continue taking Miku with them whenever the volleyball club conducts their practice.
"Kyoko is such a good spiker. I wonder why she wasn't appointed captain," Ayaka says as she watches the vice-captain practice her spikes.
"What?" the president's tone becomes hostile as she slowly turns her head towards her second-in-command.
"I mean, Kumi is a decent player but Kyoko is OBVIOUSLY the ace."
"Kumi might not be outstanding for you – emphasis on FOR YOU – but I think if Kyoko was captain, the team would be in shambles."
"What are you implying?" Ayaka balled her fists on her side while taking a step towards Shiho.
"I'm saying she can't lead because she clearly has no emotional intelligence unlike Kumi," Shiho says before butting heads with Ayaka.
Before a civil war ensues between the two, Kumi and Kyoko calls out their names while walking towards them. Suddenly, Shiho and Ayaka's faces turned from ready-to-kill to bright-and-lovely.
"And what were you two doing just now?" Kyoko asks as she reaches for her water bottle.
"Nothing. Just telling Shiho how good you are," Ayaka says while reaching for Kyoko's arm to link with. Before Ayaka could wrap her arm on Kyoko's, the spiker evaded it, "I'm sweaty," her deep voice making her sound a little intimidating.
"I don't mind," Ayaka then proceeds to hug Kyoko's small frame from the side. The vice-captain's expression turned dark and it may seem like she hates it but her close friends know that the redness of her ears are a giveaway of her true feelings.
"Are you two–"
"NO!"
Before Miku could finish her question, Kyoko immediately answers it.
"That's fishy," Shiho says.
"I thought I was the defensive player but now I'm having second thoughts," Kumi adds fuel to the fire.
"As if the TWO OF YOU are any different," Kyoko looks like she's about to explode.
Instead of letting it get to them, Kumi and Shiho decide to further push Kyoko to her limits.
"We're about to graduate anyway, why not ask Ayaka out?" Kumi bluntly asks.
Kyoko's eyes grew wide and before she could even reply, Ayaka spoke, "High school is so boring. I really thought I'd find a boyfriend here."
All heads turn to her at her statement.
"Ayaka... We're in an all-girls' school," Kyoko says, her back now slouched and shoulders dropping.
"Oh, right," Ayaka mumbles after realizing, "But scratch that about seeing hot guys every day. At least, I got to meet you, Kyoko."
Kyoko's ears turned to an even brighter shade of red unimaginable.
"Are we going to get another couple from the photography and volleyball club?" Kumi gasps and wriggles her eyebrows at them.
"We are obviously still the superior one here." Shiho says as she links her arm with the volleyball captain.
"Gross." Kyoko rolls her eyes at them and pretends to gag.
Miku smiles as she watches her seniors playfully joke around with one another. She'll definitely miss this when they step down from club activities next month.
She glances at the volleyball court, looking at the members that were currently taking a break. Her eyes stop when she spots a familiar figure and Miku couldn't help but smile.
Her smile drops as the figure moves, revealing another person behind that was hidden earlier. The girl wearing the volleyball jersey proceeds to laugh and hit the arm of the girl wearing the basketball jersey.
Miku felt her chest tighten without knowing why (it's jealousy). She observes the other girl who is holding a basketball under her arm. Her slightly buff build contrasts Nao's slim physique.
The girl in question is Watanabe Miho. The only person who could approach Nao casually. The only one Miku sees Nao spend most of her time with. Miku thinks Miho is the serious type – with how she barely smiles – except when she accidentally overheard her performing burikko acts in front of Nao. Miku never really thought much about it because she swears Nao looked so distasteful towards it. Miho also happens to be the point guard of the basketball club who everyone dubs as the next ace and will mostly likely be the new captain.
"Oh! Miku, you're classmates with Nao right?" Miku turns her eyes away from the duo and shifts her attention to Kumi who had asked the question.
"Um... yeah, but we're not close to each other."
"I was wondering since Nao doesn't really talk much about herself, the only person I've heard her ever mention is Miho."
Kumi turns to look at the duo sitting on the court, talking to each other and Miku follows.
"They seem to be very good friends..." Miku whispers under her breath.
The volleyball captain shares a knowing glance with the photography club president. Without any words, Shiho pats the back of her junior and Miku watched how the two club presidents swing their intertwined hands while walking away towards the direction of the water cooler.
"Look at them," Ayaka coos dreamily as she watches the couple, "Kyoko, why don't you do that with me too?"
"Do what?" Kyoko stutters, acting like she has no idea.
"This."
Ayaka's fingers perfectly fill the gaps between Kyoko's. The spiker tightens her grip, "I never thought you wanted to–"
"I've always wanted to hold your hand."
Miku closes her eyes, pretending not to see what was going on in front of her.
(but she hopes to experience something like that soon)
--------------------
Miku shakes her head with a smile plastered on her face as she recalls what happened a month back. She lets out a sigh before standing up to stretch. She's been busy with club work ever since she was appointed as club president just a week ago.
Suddenly, she hears a knock at the door and before she could open it, Hina appears.
Even before she could mutter a word, her best friend turns her and pushes her by the shoulders until they reach the window. The photography club's room is in a perfect spot overlooking the court where the volleyball club practice (and Miku knows the former president had something to do with it).
"Look, your girl became the captain," Hina teasingly says and Miku made sure to correct her that Nao is not (but she wishes) her 'girl'.
As the two of them watch the volleyball team from their window, they see Miho approach Nao from the other end of the court, where the basketball club was, with a wide grin. As soon as Miho stopped in front of Nao, the latter hit her arm and they started talking and laughing.
Miku turns to her heels to pretend continue what she was doing before Hina barged in.
"Someone's jealous~" Hina sings and Miku turns her head towards her best friend.
"I am not?" Miku raises an eyebrow and Hina squints her eyes.
"I didn't say it was you though."
"I-"
"Yup, you're jealous." Hina giggles as Miku puffs her cheeks in annoyance.
"If it offers you any comfort, I am 90% sure that Watanabe Miho likes guys."
"Where on earth did you hear that from?" Miku raises an eyebrow at Hina.
"Just a hunch." Hina lazily throws a peace sign at Miku who rolls her eyes and focuses her attention back to the computer.
knock knock knock
Miku looks up from her computer to look at Hina, who is now seated in front of her.
"Come in," Hina says without moving from her position. Soon after, the door opens revealing a tall girl with long, black hair who looks lost.
"Can we help you?" Miku asks, turning her swivel chair to face the guest.
"Is this the photography club?" she asks back, her hands clasped together in front of her.
"Yup. Are you applying?" Hina jumps up from her seat after seeing the new girl nod.
"Sit here," Hina said as she pulls out the chair, positioning it to face Miku. The girl obliged and Miku started speaking, "I'm Kanemura Miku, the current president of the photography club. I'll just ask a few questions and that's it," she introduces with a smile.
Miku clears her throat, "So, tell me about yourself."
The applicant hummed before answering, "I'm a first-year transfer student from Tokyo, Kamimura Hinano."
Silence ensued as the two veterans of the club wait for her to continue. When Hinano kept blinking at Miku, she thought it was some sort of morse code; but it didn't really make any sense.
Instead of wasting more time, Miku continued, "Is that all?"
"Does having a catchphrase count?"
"You have your own catchphrase?"
"Yea, wanna see?"
The two girls watch as the first-year student proceeded to perform her catchphrase in front of them.
"Wherever whenever always a curveball! Hinanonano!" she says, before ending it with a pose.
"What a cutie! We have to accept her into the club now," Hina looks at Miku with her puppy eyes and a pout on her lips.
Miku darts her eyes between a pouting Hina and a clueless Hinano, before standing up to get an unused camera from the shelf and passing it to the first-year student.
“From now on this is your assigned camera! Everyone has their own camera so feel free to take whatever you think tickles your artistic senses.”
"That's very original of you, Miku." Hina scoffs as she remembers a certain someone that said the same exact sentence to them last year.
"Hina will tag along so you won't get lost." Miku says while she sincerely hopes that Hina remembers the layout of the school after being a student for more than a year.
Hina just sighs before dragging her feet out of the room, gesturing Hinano to follow her. Hinano just stands there however, staring at the camera and whispering to herself. Before Miku could question what the first-year was doing, the girl starts skipping weirdly towards Hina and they both exit the room.
"Finally, some peace and quiet," Miku says as she sits back down on her swivel chair, "Time to start doing the schedules for the members."
--------------------
Miku couldn't help but feel out of place as she watched the basketball club practice. She has grown accustomed to seeing spikes and serves while watching the volleyball club that she never really got the hang of seeing shots and dunks from the basketball club instead.
She remembers Hina's shocked face when she announced that Hina and the newcomer Hinano were assigned to the volleyball club while Miku would be taking photos of the basketball club instead.
"Oh my god. Do you have a crush on Watanabe Miho now? Going for the best friend instead?"
"What? Of course not, what kind of question is that?" Miku pretends she didn't hear how Hina indirectly implied that she had a crush on Nao.
"Then why aren't you assigning yourself to the volleyball club alongside the newcomer?" Hina points an accusing finger at Miku, "You know I can't take photos! My job is to edit photos, not take them."
"You're a member of the photography club, of course you have to learn how to take photos!" Miku sighs, "Besides, I can't just keep taking photos of the volleyball club forever right?"
In an attempt to look scary, Hina narrowed her eyes at Miku (she looked cute instead), "I'll let it slide for now but just you wait! I'll find out the truth behind this." she says.
That was how Miku found herself taking photos for the basketball club. In her defense, she really did want to try taking photos of other clubs instead of just the volleyball club. Especially since she's the president of the club now, she wanted to be more versatile as a photographer.
However, the actual main reason was because Miku didn't want to deal with the social pressure of having to talk to Nao, the new captain of the volleyball club. If she were to continue taking photos of the volleyball club, she would have to liaise with Nao to work out the schedules of the respective clubs.
Miku didn't want to potentially make a fool out of herself and ruin Nao's first impression of her.
Thus, she settled for the next best thing which was the basketball club. Their practice was held right beside the volleyball club which meant that Miku could still look at them practice, and maybe snap a few photos of Nao.
Just like right now. She stealthily positions her camera towards Nao's direction – even though the subject has her back facing Miku.
click
Miku convinces herself that this is practice for taking long distance shots.
As she reviews the photos that she took today (including that one photo she took of Nao), Miku sees Miho approaching from her peripheral vision. She wouldn't say that she has gotten any closer to Miho; all of their text messages are club-related, but her impression of Miho has gotten better. Miku could tell that Miho is very passionate about basketball and puts a lot of effort into it, something she admires about the girl.
Miho sits down beside Miku and takes a drink from her water bottle.
"Good work today, thank you for taking photos of the basketball club."
"No need to thank me. It's just like how you do your job well as captain because you love what you're doing." Miho looked shocked for a moment before breaking out into a smile.
"I didn't have the chance to tell you this but I really love the photos you take, especially that photo of Nao during the Inter-High." Miho says.
Miku stops what she was doing and turns to face Miho.
"How did you know about that?"
"You know your name was written below the photo right? Nao and I were reading the school paper when we saw it. She seemed really happy when she saw the photo."
Miku stays silent as she tries to process what she just heard.
"She always wondered why you didn't talk to her at all when you were taking photos for the volleyball club. I mean, Nao isn't good with people; but, if you approach her first, she'll definitely like it." Miho continued.
"But I told her that your personality might be like hers that's why you're always with Hina. Pretty much like how Nao basically latches on to me," Miho moves closer to Miku, "Please don't tell her that I told you that she wants to be friends with you. She's too shy to admit it," Miho whispers and Miku think she's officially gone insane.
Later that night, she finds herself screaming into her pillow – unable to fully wrap her head around the fact that her crush muse knew about her entire existence.
And that was the day Kanemura Miku knew that Kosaka Nao was interested in her (platonically).
IV
Miku watches as the volleyball club begins their practice.
No, she did not reassign herself back to the volleyball club after hearing what Miho told her (that would be rude of her to do that).
The newbie, Hinano had called in sick earlier, which means that Miku had to replace her for today.
Beside her, she can hear Hina talking about how Hinano actually became friends with Nao (Miku can't believe she lost to a first-year).
"I heard they even went to the planetarium together! Nao really treats Hinano like her younger sister and can't stop spoiling her."
"You're telling me this because?"
"So that you can step up your game! It's been more than a year and you still haven't even talked to her! A first-year student managed to be friends with Nao and all you do is take photos of her secretly."
"Hey!" Miku felt personally attacked from that statement (even though it's true).
She wonders if Hinano's absence would cause Nao to approach her and ask about it.
"With how close they are, I'm 100% sure Hinano has messaged Nao to tell her that she's sick," Hina says nonchalantly; and, Miku is amazed at how much Hina knows her to the point of being able to read what was on her mind.
"You're dumb but you sure are obsessed with percentages."
"That's how I make up for it."
Before Miku could even respond, time seemed to stop as a speeding object hits the top of her head.
Her vision turns blurry as she faintly sees a figure, who she assumes is Hina, crouched over her, shaking her shoulders.
When she finally regained her vision, a certain star athlete is crouched down in front of her beside Hina.
Miku only realizes that the certain star athlete is Nao when said girl touches her face, apologizing profusely and asking if she was alright.
Her brain short-circuits and her vision slowly turns black.
Hina's jaw drops as she tries to understand how Miku's body was able to withstand the impact of the ball but became weak under Nao's touch.
--------------------
At the school clinic, Hina watches as Miku starts to stir and slowly flutters her eyes open.
"Thank goodness you're finally awake!" she says as she approaches Miku.
"What just happened?" Miku asked, clearly still out of it.
"I don't know, how about you tell me what happened?"
"If I knew what happened I wouldn't be asking you this question!"
"Nao." Hina says as she brings her chair closer to Miku.
That's when it hits Miku and her face immediately turns red as she remembers what happened.
"I can't believe you fainted just because Nao touched your face! Who even does that?"
"Shut up! What if someone hears that," Miku tries to shush Hina as she looks around to see if anyone heard that, thankfully it was only the two of them inside the clinic, "Also, I fainted because I got hit by a volleyball, not because of her."
"Please, did you even see your face when Nao was in front of you?" Hina recalls how the color drained out of Miku's face before turning bright red upon realizing that Nao was in front of her.
Their conversation was cut short as the door opened revealing a huffing Kosaka Nao with disheveled hair and hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.
Miku turns to look at Hina and whispers, "Am I dreaming or is Kosaka Nao here?"
"Yup, you're dreaming," Hina sarcastically says as she crossed her arms across her chest while leaning back on her chair.
Nao slowly approaches the two, still trying to catch her breath (Miku slowly losing hers instead).
"How are you? I couldn't stop thinking about you during practice so I rushed here as soon as we finished," Nao says as she made her way towards Miku's bed.
Miku heard everything she said but her mind only processed the part where Nao said she couldn't stop thinking about her.
Since Miku wasn't answering, Nao turned to Hina, "Is she okay?"
"Physically, yes. Mentally, kind of. Emotionally," Hina looks at her friend, "On the edge."
"What?"
Miku glares at Hina, giving her a silent warning before turning to Nao with a smile.
"I'm okay. You didn't have to rush here. Miho must be waiting for you, I heard from her that the both of you go home together."
"No, it's fine. She had some errands to do anyway," Nao chuckled and it sounded like a beautiful melody in Miku's ears, "I was feeling guilty since I hit you so hard that you fainted," Nao's smile drops and Miku feels worse.
"She didn't faint because of the ball, though," Hina remarks to herself, which Miku catches so she sends a glare (again) towards her best friend's direction.
"Hmm," Nao hums, "How about I make it up to you? Are you free tomorrow?"
Miku almost snaps her neck upon hearing the invitation. On the other hand, Hina prays that Miku doesn't screw up this chance of a lifetime.
"I'll check my sched–"
"She's free," Hina interjects.
"If you want, you could give me your number and we could set a date later," Nao says while handing over her phone.
Miku reaches for the phone but before she could grab it, Hina snatched the phone and began inputting Miku's number into the phone.
"There you go! Also her favourite food is sushi," Hina grins at Nao, "And her favourite restaurant happens to be the one right across our school."
"I'll keep that in mind," Nao laughs, "Talk to you later then!" she gives a little wave before walking out of the room.
The moment Nao steps out of the room, a giggle escapes her mouth as she looks at the contact name that Hina had wrote.
miku ♡
"I like it," Nao smiles.
--------------------
Staying true to her word, Nao had brought Miku to the restaurant that Hina had mentioned was the latter's favourite for their date meetup.
She's currently sitting in front of Nao as she listens to the girl talk about her favourite anime series.
"That's why I decided to join the volleyball club in middle school."
"Because of Haikyuu?"
"Yea," Nao lets out a small giggle, "Is that weird?"
"N-no! I was just surprised that's all," Miku stutters, "I thought you did volleyball since you were young because you're so good at it."
Nao's cheeks turn red after hearing Miku's words.
"What about you? When did you get into photography?" Nao asks, changing the subject.
"It's nothing like yours, my older brother got me a camera for my birthday and taught me how to use it. I guess that was when I got into photography." Miku says.
"I love your photos! Especially the one you took for the Inter-High," Nao says, "I hope that didn't sound too vain."
"That shot became cover-worthy because you looked so good in it. I mean, you were so cool and your fine play led the school to victory."
Nao turns her head away, avoiding eye contact with Miku out of embarrassment.
Miku suddenly remembers something that she had always wondered about Nao.
"I have something that I have always wanted to ask you."
"What is it?" Nao slightly tilts her head, waiting for Miku to continue.
"Your hometown is Osaka right? What made you decide to come to Saitama?"
Nao was taken aback by the question but quickly regains her composure.
"Promise me you won't think it's silly."
"I won't, now tell me." Miku scoots her chair closer.
"During my last year of middle school, I went to watch the finals of the Inter-High. It was Hinata against Nogizaka and Kumi-san had left a deep impression on me. Her blocks were really good despite being a first-year, so it was unfortunate that they lost to Nogizaka in the end. The look of devastation on her face was what motivated me to join this school." Nao explains.
"Wow... you must really admire her."
"Yup, Kumi-san is my role model and I aspire to be like her one day," Nao then lowers her voice, "By the way, you're the first person I told about this, not even Miho knows."
Miku can't help but feel special, after knowing something that even Miho - the best friend - doesn't know.
--------------------
Hues of red and orange began filling the sky as the duo slowly walked to the train station accompanied by a comfortable silence. Nao suddenly stops in her tracks and Miku does the same.
"Look, the sun is setting," Nao points at the sky, "I've always wanted to watch it."
Miku watches as Nao takes a step forward to get a better view of the scenery; the volleyball player's eyes glowing with innocence and wonder.
Slowly, the photographer took her phone out and snapped a photo of the sunset Nao's silhouette with its edges illuminated by the sun's rays.
click
"It's beautiful," Miku thinks as she looks at the photo. First, she marvels at how the colors complement each other. Afterwards her focus shifts to the subject: Nao herself. She wonders if there will come a day where she doesn't have to resort to secretly taking photos of her.
"What are you looking at?"
Miku looks up to see Nao staring at her, she hurriedly pockets her phone and smiles at Nao.
"Oh, it's nothing. Hina just sent a funny photo of herself."
"That's cute," Nao chuckles, "I'm done looking at the sunset, let's continue on our way?"
"Okay."
And that was the day Kanemura Miku and Kosaka Nao became friends.
V
Time flies and in a blink of an eye, it's graduation day.
It felt like only yesterday when Miku had first seen Nao at the classroom on her first day as a photography club member.
Three years have passed yet Miku still vividly remembers the day she laid her eyes on Nao through the viewfinder of her camera.
Even though Nao's face has gotten more mature (and prettier) throughout their high school life, the child-like innocence that she had – which made Miku fall for her – didn't change at all.
"Over here, loser!" Miku hears a familiar voice call her so she turns around; only to find Hina waving her hand at her.
"Who are you calling a loser?" she approaches Hina.
"You. Anyways... did you hear the news about Nao?" Hina said, suddenly sounding serious.
"What about her?" Miku was clueless.
"I heard from Hinano that Nao got a sports scholarship to study overseas in America."
Miku stares at Hina, trying to process what her best friend just said.
Ever since that day Nao and Miku became closer but the latter still, of course, hasn't reached Miho's level. Although they do talk from time to time, it's not like Miku was one of the people that Nao would think of discussing her college endeavours with.
It's just that she thought that they could at least be kind of near to each other and maybe meet once a while to catch up on what has been going on with their lives.
"Oh... good for her? I mean she's really good at volleyball so it's not surprising that she'll get a sports scholarship." Miku tries not to sound like she'll break down any moment.
Hina lets out an exasperated sigh after seeing how dense Miku is.
"Are you just going to let her go like that? Listen up, one day, you'll look back at today and think about how much you want to slap yourself because you have been a coward for the past three years – settling for all those stolen shots of her that you took. After that, you'll succumb to the sadness that comes with not having her by your side because your high school self was not brave enough to go and talk to her before she leaves."
Silence ensues between the duo before Hina sees Miku rushing towards where Nao is.
Hina thinks she deserves an award for being such an amazing actress.
"Good job Hina, now let's hope she doesn't screw this up." she thinks to herself.
--------------------
Miku is panting for breath when she finally reaches Nao who is currently talking to Miho at a secluded corner of the school hall.
The old her would have normally waited for them to finish talking but something about Hina's words ignited a spark in Miku's heart.
"Nao, can we talk?" she says after taking a deep breath.
"Oh. Right now?"
"Right now."
Miho thinks she knows what's going to happen.
"I'll just go and check on my fellow basketball club members," Miho excuses herself, giving Miku a knowing smile as she leaves.
Now that it's only the two of them, Miku could feel her heart pounding as she takes a step closer, eyes locking with Nao's.
"Happy graduation Nao."
"Thank you, happy graduation to you too." Nao replied, looking happy for some reason. (It's because of Miku)
"I'm glad I got to know you, even though it was all thanks to that volleyball."
"I'm still sorry over that incident," Nao sheepishly replies, "Anyways, did something happen? You seemed like you were in a rush to find me."
"Nothing happened (yet). But I have something I want to tell you."
Miku mustered up all the courage that she had. It's now or never.
"I know it might be too late to say this but I really like you, ever since freshman year," Miku confesses, "I don't want us to lose contact. I hope that even though you'll be studying overseas, we can still keep in touch."
The next few seconds feel like an eternity as Miku waits with bated breath for Nao's response (which would probably be rejection).
It's not what she expected, however.
"Overseas?"
Miku panics after seeing Nao's confused expression. Did she make a mistake?
"Who said that I was studying overseas?"
Oh.
"But Hina said..." Realization hits Miku. That brat. She's going to get it from me later.
"Wait, did you really get a sports scholarship though?"
"Yup," Nao smiles, "Looks like your informant added some extra info there," she giggles.
"So you're not going overseas for college?"
"Only if you consider Osaka as overseas."
"I heard from Hina that you were going to study overseas so I..." Miku trails off, covering her face with her hands. At this very moment, she wishes that the ground would open up and swallow her to save her from dying of embarrassment.
Warm hands wrap around Miku's as Nao gently removed her hands from her face.
"If it offers you any consolation, I like you too." Nao replies in a hushed tone.
Miku freezes, thinking that her ears were playing tricks on her.
"Ever since I found out you took that photo of me at Inter-High, I couldn't help but notice you whenever I saw you," Nao continues, "However due to my shyness, I couldn't approach you until that day I accidentally hit you with a volleyball."
Nao then wraps her arms around Miku's waist, "I have a favour to ask of you. Can you grant this wish of mine?" she whispers as she snuggles into her embrace.
Miku nods her head, not trusting her mouth to form a coherent reply for her. Nao pulls away and Miku immediately feels the warmth dissipate.
"Let's take a photo together, you always took photos of me but we don't have any pictures together..." Nao blushes as she pulls out her phone.
She hands the phone to Miku who's the more experienced photographer between the two of them.
The corners of Miku's lips tug to a smile. Raising her left arm up to capture both of their faces in the frame, they strike a peace sign while grinning from ear to ear.
click
Usually it would be Miku looking at the photo by herself but this time it's different.
She feels Nao's fingers slip into her palm before gently squeezing her hand. Miku then slowly returned the favor by tightening her grip to squeeze Nao's hand back.
Time seems to stop as they stare at each other, "I could get used to this," Miku thinks.
And that was the day Kanemura Miku and Kosaka Nao finally got together. (Thanks to Hina)