a small gap in the middle | Akaashi Keiji x Original Character

ページ17: 傷跡とパッチ

- Page 17: A Scar and a Patch -

"Thank you! Please come again!"

A mellow-sounding tune plays as the automatic doors of a convenience store open, revealing a tall, black-headed male and a slightly tired honey blonde-haired girl. A plastic bag full of warm drinks is carried by the former while a bag of biscuits and candies are carried by the latter.

"Here," Keiji opens up a can of warm jasmine tea and gives it to his friend who's walking slowly a few centimeters behind him. "You look really tired."

Yuuki looks up with a small smile, happily accepting the drink with both of her hands. The heat that's radiating from the aluminum can quickly spreads from her palms to her exhausted body. "Thank you, Keiji-senpai. I kind of needed this."

She brings the opening of the can to her lips, sniffing the aromatic tea for a moment before slowly drinking up the contents. She halts momentarily from her walk as she takes her time to alleviate a little bit of the exhaustion she's feeling in her whole body. Despite performing very well in today's sports day, the honey blonde-haired girl is pretty much a non-athletic person and is not used to such tiredness.

"How do you feel?" The black-headed senior asks, turning to fully face his underclassman.

Yuuki lets out a relieved sigh after drinking half of the liquid, the same smile never left her lips. "I feel all right now. Thank you for looking out for me."

"You're welcome," Keiji replies, only for his face to fall into one of anxiousness.

Yuuki's amber orbs widen in surprise when her senior made such an expression. It wasn't the usual look in his eyes and it bothered her a lot. She was used to seeing him make a stoic expression but this was different. Why was he making that kind of face?

"Senpai?" She approaches him by taking a few small steps forward. "Are you all right?"

Keiji, honestly, doesn't know what to feel. The events from earlier had already passed and his friend is fine despite having a volleyball hit her on the face. He couldn't seem to describe his feelings properly because it was being laced with something else aside from worry. Maybe he just doesn't want to see that scene ever again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'm still shocked with what happened today," he replies, lifting his right hand to scratch the back of his neck. "It could have been serious if we weren't careful."

"Senpai, I'm okay now," Yuuki assures as she nods her head. "It was an accident. I'll also be cautious whenever we have volleyball for physical education class from now on."

"Getting hit by a volleyball on the face isn't a normal occurrence for those who aren't experienced in the sport. I'm sure you felt it all the way to the back of your head."

"Yeah, I did," she giggles while scratching her right cheek, recalling the moment the volleyball flew straight at her before stumbling on the gymnasium floor. "I have to admit that it really did hurt."

He releases a small sigh, releasing the pent-up stress that welled in his heart. She's all right, that much is true, but there's no certainty that it won't happen again. It looks like he just has to keep an open eye for her.

Then, Keiji's gunmetal blue orbs divert to the small wound that is on the bridge of Yuuki's nose. It wasn't too visible but if one stands close to her, it's obvious. It can leave a permanent scar if not treated properly. It boggles him that his underclassman failed to put a band-aid on it yet.

"Yuuki-san."

"Yes?"

As she lifts her head to meet her senior's kind face once again, she instantly freezes in her place when a pair of hands lightly cup her soft cheeks. In that one special moment, Keiji's usually dark orbs became vivid under the illuminating light of the setting sun as his face stands inches away from hers. His mature facial features weren't too apparent as before and Yuuki can see more of the kindness by the way his eyes and lips curve upward. Her mouth gapes open in awe with a slightly pink face that, any second, could melt her in place.