A Thousand Cranes for a Wish (USHIJIMA X OC)

Art and Volleyball

Umeko entered a building just a little away from the school gym. From outside it seemed like a dingy storeroom that was connected to the side of the main building but upon closer inspection it was a club room. The small metal plaque beside the door was covered in years of grime and dirt which made it almost impossible to read. Almost. She moved the sign to the side and revealed a hidden key. Umeko unlocked the door and put the key back in its place before entering the room.

The first thing to note about the room was that it was incredibly clean. A stark contrast to the grunge outside. The floor was auburn polished wood, free of dust and clutter. Umeko didn't bother to turn on the lights since the single large window lit the room a fair amount already. The walls were cream, not like the kind you pour in coffee but the hue of beach sand during the late afternoon. The room was very homey and gave off a warm aura that allowed a person to relax. There was a large rectangular table in the center with four plush chairs tucked in around it. In the left corner was a smaller circular table closer to the floor placed between one green and one red beanbag chair. On the circular table there was a multitude of origami creations arranged lovingly on display and a framed group photo of three people sitting in the center.

Umeko walked to the left and to the five wooden cubbies on the wall. Three out of the five were labeled with names.

The cubby labeled 'Sakuma Mamoru' contained athletic tape, a hat, and a fair number of snacks.

The next cubby belonged to 'Hashimoto Yuki'. It held a pair of glasses, a single pencil and a single blue pen.

Umeko went to her cubby labeled with her name. She reshuffled the contents and managed to fit her sketchbook and pencils inside.

The largest cubby was filled with stacks and stacks of origami paper of different sizes and colors.

The last unnamed cubby however, was empty.

Umeko took a small stack of paper and placed it on her spot at the table. She sat down, lowered the volume of her music a little bit then began to fold. Time continued to pass as she remained in her own little world. Umeko had spent most of that time trying to complete an origami crane only to end up making other animals instead. It happened so frequently that she could have sworn that it was a curse. Who tries to make a paper crane only to have it turn into something else instead?

Umeko heard the door open but didn't look up. She just kept creasing and folding the paper. If she looked away and lost concentration for even a second, she feared the paper would turn into something else entirely.

The unknown person took their place opposite her and folded two slightly misshapen cranes, on both cranes the right wing was wrinkled from holding too tightly. The folds were a little clumsy but at least the result was the correct animal. "Did you win?" Umeko didn't stop folding nor did she look up as she asked her question.

The person stood up and replied with one word before they moved to exit the room. "Yes."

Umeko almost didn't hear the answer through her music. It was a little hard to correctly pinpoint the voice as it would get lost somewhere in the lyrics. The interaction with the mystery person was a strange routine. Umeko had no idea who the person was because she never bothered to look up from her work and judging by the one liners the mystery person used, they didn't care too much for conversation.

- ----ONE HOUR LATER-----

It had been a little over an hour by the time Umeko had decided to return back to her dorm. The sun was waning and made the room too dark to fold. She had only successfully managed to make three paper cranes in that hour.