"How far will I have to run?" The tiny and seemingly frail body, but not frailer than her heart, laid on the sandy beach.
"As far as you can..." He followed suite and in a second he, too, was covered with sand. "Until your legs give away and then for sure...when you're fears catch up with you, you'll finally face them."
“Sometimes, it takes two scared individuals to do one brave thing; to fall in love.”
The sound of conversations around her was drilling in her head. She just wanted to have a quiet place to read her book but unfortunately, in the afternoons, the beach isn't a likely option.
"Oi! -sempai!" A loud, cheery voice rang throughout the beach. "Are you here to join us and have some fun?"
"Aa... Aoi-kun. I thought that your team was going into training?" The discreet girl asked.
"We finished this morning. So, want to join us?" Aoi Kentarou extended his hand but the girl shied away.
"I'm sorry Aoi-kun, I still have to finish this book." She gave him a smile.
After bidding goodbyes, she started walking slowly. She left the beach with a sigh.
"Crowded places are really too much for me. I'll probably come back later." She thought.
As she turned by a corner, she bumped into someone and fell on her feet.
"Ow..." She moaned.
"Ah! I'm very sorry. Here let me help you." A tall boy offered a hand but she couldn't see his face because of the bright sun. "?"
"Kou?" She independently stood up and stepped back a few times.
"?" Kurobane Harukaze suddenly appeared in the awkward scene. "Where are you going?" He said as he saw the girl backing away and made a full sprint out of the scene. "What was that about?" Bane just scratched his head.
"Punning is better than running." Amane let out a bad pun.
"That was lame!" Bane, once again, hit Dabide because of his nonsense pun.
Saeki sighed. "...Not again."
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
It was early spring of 3rd year middle school when Saeki Koujirou had the confidence to tell the girl he likes how he feels. Sadly, he didn't get a satisfying answer. Being denied would be better than being avoided. Was there something on his face when he confessed that would make one run away?
"And we were so close before. " That was the umpteenth time he sighed that week. "If only I hadn't...AH~!!!" He hit the tennis ball with a powerful smash.
"You seem to be in a firey mood today, Sae-chan. That's great!" Kentarou patted his vice-captain's back.
"I'm sorry, Kentarou. I'm leaving practice early." He walked to the bench and got his stuff.
"Okay..." Kentarou scratched his head. Saeki has been down for the past 3 months at certain times. Come to think of it, he was still pretty cheerful in the start of the year. After Saeki was out of sight, he called Bane.
"What is it Kentarou?" Bane went close to Kentarou. "You're so loud."
"What's up with Sae-chan lately?" He tried to lower his voice down but it still came out strong.
"Ssh... Lower your voice a bit." Kurobane led Kentarou out of the courts.
"So what is it?"
"He bumped into this afternoon when we were heading back to the beach." Kurobane cut short his story because he expected that their captain would know about Saeki and .
"Did they have a fight or something? I was pretty sure that they were close since gradeschool." Kentarou truly was one of the people with broken antennas.
"Haven't you heard captain?" Kurobane placed his palm on their captain's head and sighed. "It was early spring when Saeki confessed his love for but for some reason he got dumped. Much to his dismay, she even ran away."
"EH~!!!" Kentarou reacted loudly, but its not that he could lower his voice anyway. "That was- was too much!" They were grabbing the attention of the whole place.
"Don't be so loud captain..." Kurobane gestured his captain to lower his voice.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
"Now this is a paradise~!" smiled to the setting sun. The beach was her territory when its empty. The sound of the waves crashing on the bay rocks, the humming of the sea breeze and the sweet smell of the sea were lingering deep in her soul.
She pulled out her sketchpad from her bag along with her pencil and crayons. Whenever she was at the beach at dawn or dusk, she never forgets to bring her art materials. The view was too amazing to be missed out on.
As she starts to paint, a certain someone has appeared on her mind. She could hear his voice clearly, it's as if he's... beside her.
"Eh?! K-K-Kou!" She crawled back and was going to make a run for it but Saeki Koujirou just got himself a hostage. Her very expensive running shoes.
"How come you've been avoiding me for the past 3 months?" Saeki looked at her with intense eyes.
"I-I wasn't-"
"I'm no fool. You're clearly avoiding me." He suddenly got her pinned down the sand. "Is it because you don't like me? Even as a friend?"
"I-I'm not trying to make you look like a fool..." She avoided gazes with him for the fear of being read.
"Then at least give me a straight yes or a no. Don't keep me hanging in mid-air." He closed his eyes and opened them again but this time he showed eyes full of yearning. "I won't be able to manage the fall."
"Kou..." She gently carresed Saeki's face and he responded by touching her hand.
She gently smiled and...
"Got you! Ha!" She turned Saeki over and quickly made a get away.
Saeki covered his eyes with his hand. He was always weak against her touch and she knew it.
"I got read."
He smirked.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
stopped in front of their house. She was a former member of the track and field team so she runs pretty fast. She got up her room and locked it shut. She threw herself on the bed and sighed.
Why couldn't she be honest with herself? She liked Saeki Koujirou a lot but she couldn't bring herself into a relationship.
3 months ago...
"Eh? You're quitting the club this year?" Saeki Koujirou responded to the girl who just said that she was quitting the track and field club. "But you're so good! And you even broke school records that haven't been broken since we were first years. What a waste. I'm pretty sure if Syusuke was here, he'll stop you from quitting but then again I could stop you myself." He sighed.
She giggled first and stayed quiet.
"How come you're so quiet?" Saeki asked.
"Because you were so into talking I thought I might give you the spotlight for today. You rarely talk so energetically and so long." She smiled and Saeki felt an thump on his chest.
"I-I'm only like this because of you." Saeki blushed pink but it was hidden by the colors of the orange sky coming from outside the window.
"Oh come on! My life couldn't be that important." Her lips was about to curve into a smile but Saeki's lips interrupted them with a short gentle peck on the lips. "Wha-"
"Daisuki, . Will you go out with me?" Saeki's eyes were determined. She knew he has gathered all his courage to confess but she couldn't repay such love. Saeki's eyes had so much passion in them and couldn't take it.
The next thing she knew, she was already running down the hallway.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
'How can she disappear so fast?' Saeki thought as he patrolled the hallways in case showed up.
He could hear whispers and loud arguments but he didn't really pay attention to them. Reeling himself to the window, he sighed deeply. Why is it that even if he's in the same class as , he still doesn't notice where she disappears to? Whenever the lunch bell rings, the girls would swarm-up around his table and before he could even take a glance of her, she's already gone.
"Yo, Saeki." Kurobane patted Saeki's back.
"Bane..." He replied without energy.
"You're still being ignored, huh?" Saeki lowered his head and sighed again. "That would evidently be a 'yes'."
"Was I aggresive?" Saeki asked.
"From my point of view, nope." Bane paused for a moment. "That kind of stuff isn't even considered as agressive." (Ah~ Men truly are insensitive)
"Then, what's making her so scared of me that she even runs away when I get close to her in a 1 meter radius?" He sighed again and caught his jaw with his palm. As if luck was on his side, he saw his angel sitting under a tree on a bench.
"Ah, Bane. I've got something to do. Chat with you later~!" Saeki jogged down the stairs as fast as he could.
Kurobane looked out the window and spotted Saeki going out of the building. "Wah~! So fast." He smirked. "Good luck, pal."
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
"Oh, she's asleep."
Seeing that the girl was asleep, he tried his best to get near her without waking her up. He cuddled close on the bench, making sure of the right position to support her. With a slow shifting, Saeki leaned her body against his.
"Holding her like this...makes me want to forgive her for ignoring me." Saeki thought that he could go on like that forever but it seems that the goddess of luck wasn't on his side this time as he felt movement by his side. His angel has just woken up.
"Had a nice dream?" Saeki Koujirou greeted his angel with a sweet voice.
"Mmmn...no." still have not yet realized anything yet mumbled forth.
"What did you dream about?"
"A cliff... I was falling from a cliff." She rubbed her eyes. "No one was down below to catch me." She finally yawned and stretched her arms. As if realizing that she had company, she distanced herself by impulse.
"Hey~!" Saeki smiled sweetly and realizing their closeness, attempted to run away again. Saeki, however, have seen through her and he immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace. "I'm not letting you get away until you have a very good explanation of your attitude."
"You wouldn't understand..." She said in a discreet voice.
"I would if you'll explain it to me." He countered.
"What's the point of doing this?"
Saeki pulled out his phone with his right hand while still keeping trapped. He dialed.
"I can see you." Kurobane Harukaze's voice was heard on the other line. "Why'd you call?"
"'s sick. Tell the teacher I'm taking her home. And if it's not much of a bother, could you get our bags?" Saeki dropped the phone immediately.
"Are you crazy!" tried to get out of his embrace but failed to no avail. "I'm not sick!"
"Hell yeah, I'm crazy! Because you're the one driving me." Saeki had those passionate eyes again. It was suffocating her. "Sorry, I'm being agressive."
Saeki stood up and intertwined his fingers with hers. He held her hand gently.
Never before have held hands with anyone. It was warm and kind of embarassing but as of now, she couldn't deny this hand.
Kurobane walked out of the school building carrying two bags. "Finally being agressive eh." Bane smirked and handed over their bags. "Here and Saeki, ...", Bane patted both their shoulders. "Fix this already. The whole team's watching over you." Saeki and both blushed when they saw the Rokkaku regulars (including Aoi Kentarou who was being held down because of his voice and Itsuki who keeps asking questions) waving at them from the school entrance. "Go on. I'll take it from here."
Saeki started walking towards the school gate dragging along.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
"We're currently cutting classes you know." pointed out the obvious but Saeki remained quiet in their seat. She sighed. They were sitting there for at least an hour.
"Kou is still holding my hand." couldn't remember holding neither her real mother nor her father's hand. They were always fighting and she was tired of it. In the end, both her parents separated and she ended up in her father's custody while her younger sister, in her mother's care. All of them ended up being hurt. "They just wasted both time and effort." She frowned this time, remembering how painful it was to be in a broken family.
"..."
"Hm?"
"Do you hate me?" could feel Saeki's hand tighten a bit.
"I don't."
"Then do you like me?" Saeki dropped the question fast.
"I-I do."
"As what?" Yet another bombshell question from Saeki.
no longer answered. She can't say that she likes him the same.
"Don't be like that. We can't settle this matter if we would just ignore each other." Saeki finally lets go of her hand and he leaned back to the bench, tilting his head as well. "It's not fair if you know how I feel and yours is not clear. I'm not saying that you should pick me but at least give me some idea of how you feel." He sighed and continued. "And please don't deprive me of being with you. I'm at my limit."
"I-I like you the same." said in a low voice but Saeki still heard it. Before Saeki could even face her, she was already running out of the park. "It wouldn't work out!" shouted.
"That girl!", Saeki smirked as he quickly got up and followed . He was glad. She liked him back. But the remaining question was why was she running away?
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
"How can she disappear so fast?" After running out of the park, Saeki quickly lost sight of . She's too clever for me to find alone.
He almost gave up after seeing the sun was setting.
"The sun is setting. She could possibly be ho-" Saeki just remembered a place where she likes to go to. "That way!" he ran as fast as he could to the direction of the sunset.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_
tucked her head between her knees. How she loves the feel of the sand on her feet and the sound of the waves. "The beach is my sanctuary." She thought.
"Mitsuketa." She heard a very familiar masculine voice beside her.
"Go away." She tried to be cold but the words came out childish.
"I won't." Saeki quickly replied. "What? You'll run away again?"
said no more. She knew that there was no point in arguing. After a few minutes of silence, she decided to break it.
"My real mom and dad used to fight." She raised her head to her knees. "I couldn't even remember a single memory of a happy family." She continued as she drew circles on the sand. Saeki listened intently.
"My real mom became a housewife after they got married. Aside from mother's limit as one, father also womanized. After 7 years of marriage, they divorced. They couldn't take each other anymore." She paused for a while. "My younger sister and I got separated. By that time, I was only six and she was five.", she paused again. "They should've logically analyzed their position as parents or they shouldn't have commited in a relationship at all."
Saeki waited a few seconds before he reacted. "You can't blame them for loving each other and ended up getting married. They just didn't know how to maintain their relationship longer."
"So generally love fades and chances in a relationship will most likely be in the category of failure. Then why commit yourself in a relationship when you know, that in the end, you'll end up being all by yourself anyway?" She asked.
"Everybody seeks something in a relationship. It's not that when a relationship fails then it means that it's a waste of time. The chance of finding eternity in someone always lies deep in a person. So, everybody has to give a chance for other people to get closer and see for themselves where their happiness truly lies." Saeki replied.
"Trying means getting hurt." She countered.
"Getting hurt immunes you to pain." Saeki sighed. "Discretion is not gold, . Practicality has its place in relationships but by avoiding every chance of love because you're cautious of emotional wounds is definitely going to entrap you in a world of loneliness."
There was a long silence again between the two of them.
"Did you know why I quit the club, Kou?"
"No. Why?"
"I always felt empty when I run. I always asked myself the same question over and over again." She paused for a while, then sighed.
"What is it? You'd like me to give you my idea?" He patted her head.
"How far will I still have to run?" The tiny and seemingly frail body, but not frailer than her heart, laid on the sandy beach.
"As far as you can..." He followed suite and in a second he, too, was covered with sand. "Until your legs give away and then for sure... when you're fears catch up with you, you'll finally face them."
"You know what?" She asked the boy who just held her hand. "I think my legs just got busted from running."
"Ah."
"What'd you say?" She asked as she got up.
"Let's take the fall together." He also got up and kissed her cheek.
"Sure."
From afar, the Rokkaku regulars are eating popcorn.
"Hey, that was pretty nice." Ryou stroked his chin.
"Why are they close to each other huh? Why? Why?" Itsuki asked his billionth question for the day.
"Ah~! How sweet." Aoi Kentarou said in his minimized voice.
"Finally. They've resolved it. Amane, you've got that shot?" Kurobane asked his doubles partner for the super zooming camera.
"A camera shot is safer than a gunshot." Amane giggled with his horrible pun.
"Quit it! Lame as ever." Bane hit Amane once again.