Reckless Muse

Ch. 3: Rainy Meeting (Part 1)

"Um, hello?" The question startled Sakura and she jerked her head upwards, her eyes wide. She turned to her left to find a drenched Kuramochi standing in the entrance of the dugout, the water from the roof still dripping on him.

"What are-? Don't stand there, come in!" She yelled, equal parts startled and concerned to find him there. She jumped up from her seat on the bench, scattering her supplies, and grabbed his arm, forcing him under the cover of the dugout roof. He was abnormally silent and compliant as she guided him over to take a seat. She stepped back and looked over his downcast face. His clothes were soaked through and rain beaded on his hair before marking a path down his cheeks. His eyes were dark and cloudy, a stark contrast to the joy and energy Sakura had unconsciously become accustomed to seeing. She pursed her lips together, unsure what to do.

"So, um, what are you doing out here?" she ventured, hoping for a response.

Kuramochi shifted his eyes from the ground to her and she sucked in a breath. Concern and, much to her unease, fear swam in his eyes as he looked her over once before attempting a half-hearted smirk. "At least I live in the dorms. What about you?"

Sakura sighed. "I was..." Her voice trailed of as she brought her hand up to rub the back of her neck. She glanced at his form from the corner of her eye. She hadn't know him long and would say they just became friends recently, but her gut told her that she needed to help him. She took a deep breath and swallowed nervously. "I wanted to take a reference picture of the field for a drawing."

Kuramochi's eyes widened at her statement and Sakura felt herself blush under his scrutinizing gaze. She diverted her eyes, waiting for the tough-guy, cackling shortstop to make fun of her for being out in the rain for a picture.

"You draw?" His voice came out smoothly and betrayed his interest at this new piece of information. Sakura nodded, feeling her face heat up even more. "Can I see a drawing?" She glanced at him quickly. His eyes were energetic again, although it was dulled, and she decided to go for broke.

"Yeah, ah, my sketchbook is right next to you actu-" Sakura's voice cut off as she realized, much to her horror, what picture was currently showing amongst the pages. It was took late; Kuramochi had carefully picked up the notebook.

His eyes scanned over the paper he held tentatively, careful not to get it wet. Sakura held her breath as his gaze scanned up and down the paper. The rain droned on steadily and just as she was about to make a break through the downpour to get away, he spoke.

"This is incredible."

His voice was just barely a whisper and Sakura almost missed it entirely. His lip hung down slightly as he looked it over again and again. "Is this me?" he asked quietly, finally breaking from the page and turning his intense and wide-eyed stare onto the artist.

She nodded, briefly wondering how much more it would take to faint from panic. "When I watched your practice, before I tutored you, I thought it looked cool how you looked talking to your field partner," she explained, mumbling most of the words. Kuramochi didn't look away and she wondered if he had even heard her. "I'm sorry, I know you probably think it's weird that I drew you without your permission." She bowed quickly and fidgeted with her hands.

"Oh no no no! I'm not upset at all," Kuramochi said hastily, waving his hand in front of him. "It's just... This is incredible. You're an amazing artist." As he spoke, it finally registered to him how red Sakura was. He blushed himself and looked to the ground, then back at the picture. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be weird or anything. I just really am impressed."

"Thank you," Sakura whispered. "I appreciate the praise." She looked at him as he blushed. "Honestly, I was expecting you to mock me about this."

"What?! Why?!" he exclaimed, panicked.

"I mean, you just don't strike me as the sort of guy to like art is all," Sakura said quickly, trying to avoid a misunderstanding.

He chuckled lightly. "I guess. Well, don't tell anyone, but I actually really like art," he said, blushing harder. Sakura just nodded and silence fell around them. The rain fell steadily and Sakura decided to take a seat beside Kuramochi, leaving just a little room between them as she took her notebook from him. He handed it over willingly.

She flipped through a few pages silently, careful not to show them to the boy who sat beside her. His face was excited but he made no move to look over her shoulder at the pictures she was hiding. Sakura mentally gave him props for respecting her privacy with her drawings; most people she told insisted on seeing all of them and the fact that he didn't press made her relax slightly. Finally she settled on a quick sketch she had done in class one day.

"This is of a tree in the school's courtyard," she said, turning the book towards him. Kuramochi leaned slightly forwards, taking in the quick pencil sketch. "It's a comfy place to sit, so I wanted to draw it to remember for later.

He nodded slightly, eyes tracing over the details and Sakura became nervous. His gaze was so intense, she felt like he could see every individual line, and thus, every individual flaw in her sketch. However, the only thing he said was, "Wow. That's awesome."

Sakura brough her book back to her chest and he leaned back from her. Sakura decided to see if her bait had worked. She turned to him and gave him a small smirk. "If you want to see more drawings, then tell me why you're out here drenched."

Kuramochi's face instantly fell and Sakura felt a stab in her gut. He turned away from her and was silent, making her worry. Just as she opened her mouth to apologize, he spoke. "Promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"I promise."

He gritted his teeth, unsure what Sakura would think of him after he told her why he had ended up there. He had debated lying to her, there was no way she would ever find out, but his consciousness was screaming at him not to. Sakura, despite how typical she first seemed, was nicer than he expected. She didn't immediately judge him based on his looks. Yes, she had teased him the last few days and had commented that he was too energetic, but none of her comments were meant as insults. They were lighthearted jabs or personal opinions that she did not impose on him. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't blame him for this?