Unrequited

Chapter 1

Today is a cool and breezy Monday morning, with a sky so clear, you could see the faint outline of the moon still lingering above the horizon. As the crowd of students make their way through the gates of their high school, one boy in particular, with messy black hair and a smile as radiant as the sun itself, follows closely behind his crush.

His name is Yuuji Amano, and he's been asking this same girl out every single day for the past four years, only to be rejected every single time. That's 1,460 rejections, if you're wondering.

"Wait, Kumiko-chan, wait up!"

"No! Leave me alone, you creep! I told you a million times, I'm not going to date you, EVER!" His speed-walking beloved goes by the name of Kumiko Aihara, and is the very embodiment of grace.

With her sparkling brown eyes that could captivate anyone, a slim frame accentuated by long, fluffy chestnut hair with curtain bangs, and a face so adorable she could pass off as a model, Kumiko is without a doubt every high school boy's wet dream come true.

But here's the catch: Kumiko is a total bitch.

Well, to Yuuji at least. To everyone else around her, she's the perfect honor student: polite, kind, and always willing to lend a helping hand to whoever might need it. But to Yuuji? All it takes is one look from him for her face to twist into a look of absolute disgust.

"But why not?! I don't get it!" Ignoring the incredulous stares of onlookers, Yuuji catches up and grabs Kumiko by the arm, forcing her to stop. "Come on! Just give me a chance! I promise I'll make you the happiest girl in the world!"

Kumiko's only response is to whirl around, her face flushed bright red, and to shout out, "Get the hell off me, you filthy, ugly, good-for-nothing piece of trash! You make me sick just being near me! I'd rather stuff my face with dog crap than go out with you!" before tearing her arm free and storming off.

Yuuji, like always, just laughs it off and runs after her. "Haha! Oh come on, that's no way to talk to your future husband, now is it!?"

Near the school building, where Kumiko is about to pass by, there's a group of ten boys practicing their morning soccer routine on the field. As Yuuji catches up to her again, one of those boys happens to kick the soccer ball too hard by accident, causing it to ricochet off the goalpost and fly straight towards the arguing couple.

"Hey! Watch out!"

Time seems to slow down as Yuuji sees the ball coming right for Kumiko's head. In that split second, his brain goes into overdrive, running through all the possible scenarios that could play out. If he caught the ball and saved her, she'd surely see him in a new light and finally let him take her virginity. But then again, if he's not fast enough, she could get seriously hurt, even end up in the hospital or worse. And if that happened, there's no way she'd ever let him take her virginity.

Or even be able to let him take her virginity...

In the end, Yuuji decides to go for it, to take the chance of a lifetime. He lunges forward, arms out to shove Kumiko out of the way, but just as his hands manage to push against her shoulders, the soccer ball grazes the tip of his nose... before slamming into a nearby tree with a loud thud.

For a moment, Yuuji stands there frozen in place, stunned by the fact that the ball miraculously flew between their heads, as Kumiko turns around to see what all the fuss is about.

"Wh-Wha...?!" She looks back and forth between Yuuji and the ball for a few seconds, mouth agape, then suddenly approaches him with a...concerned look? "A-Amano-kun, are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, uh...y-yeah, I'm fine! No biggie!" Still grinning like the moron he is, Yuuji takes Kumiko's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "Are you alright, though? That was a close one."