Close Encounters {Ayando one-shot}

Close Encounters

"Great work guys" Budo muttered, cheerfully. And with that, the Martial Arts Club practice was officially over for the day. As leader and founder of the club, he would have to stay until everyone was gone which luckily didn't take much time, seeing as everyone was tired of the long practice. He loved his club but more than that, he loved his classmates that practiced with him every day, he loved their determination to become better and most of all he loved to spend time with his friends.

"You were tough with us today Budo!" said mockingly the girl right next to him, Mina Rai. Budo replied with a smile... It was nothing they couldn't handle really, and he was well aware that she knew it too. "So, say coach... Do you want to head out? I mean, it's the least you can do after all the pain you made us undergo?" she said, partly giggling, to which Budo couldn't understand if she was indeed being honest and did want to go out or if she was just mocking him. Before he had time to answer, Sho Kunin, another member of the club approached. "Hey I wanna go there too!" he yelled much to Mina's embarrassment. "No one invited you!" she yelled. Before anyone had time to say anything else, Budo, still holding his arms crossed across his chest cut them off. "C'mon, don't fight guys... Unfortunately, I can't today. I have some studying to catch up on." He said with a sweet honest smile on his face. The girl looked unimpressed "Again? You always have something super boring to do!" Budo let a small chuckle escape his lips. "Well, you gotta do what you gotta do..." He glanced at Sho. "So, why don't you go together? But don't party too hard, there still is practice tomorrow!" And if there was something they knew about the coach was that he was always serious about the club.

After most kids had left, so did Sho and Mina, accompanied by some other members of the club. They were going to a karaoke, Budo heard. After saying goodbye to everyone, Budo headed to the changing room to switch to his uniform, readying himself to head home. He was just about to leave through the main entrance of the building when he noticed the small figure standing by the school's entrance gate. Had it been anyone else Budo probably wouldn't have been able to recognize the silhouette from that distance... But it wasn't just anyone. It was Ayano. Small determined Ayano.

He had never been good with names and for that reason he did not know the girl he got matched with on that particular PE class. They were practicing Judo. Needless to say no one really wanted to do it with Budo, fearing they would get knocked out as soon as they started fighting. So he got paired with the only other person in class who got left out. Masuta was friendly but maybe because he was never alone he never had a chance to notice her before... He heard from people around him that she was kind of weird, a loner... But he still couldn't remember her name. Much to his surprise, she didn't look scared to be paired with him... She wasn't afraid to fight the one guy that had been learning martial arts since he was four years old.

As soon as the professor started the combat, she jumped on him, full speed, full force, catching him completely off guard. Within a minute he was on the ground in shock, completely speechless... A loud gasp was heard across the room. No one could believe someone had actually managed to get Budo on the ground. He looked in her eyes... They were glowing, almost like they were burning. He had never seen as much determination before.

It all happened in Elementary School and he had never been able to forget it. After class that day, he asked his friends about her. Her name was Ayano Aishi, the weirdo. As bad as he was with names, he would never forget her from that day forward. Nor did he ever ignore her from there on...

Unconsciously or not, he started to admire her from a distance. He started realizing she always wore her hair in that cute ponytail on the top of her head. He started noticing how she wouldn't talk to anyone, how she had lunch by herself every day and how her eyes seemed empty while doing it... Completely different from when she had knocked him down. One time he tried approaching her, asked her if she wanted to have lunch with him and his friends... She didn't answer. It was like he had said nothing at all.

Seasons changed as time went by but his interest for her remained unaffected. Sometimes, for no reason, on Valentine's day he would try to be on the same space as her. Budo was unquestionably popular so he would receive lots of chocolates... Never from her. No one seemed to receive chocolates from her anyway. What a weird girl, he thought.

Then, one day in class he noticed... Her eyes were filled with the same fervor as he once had seen. He felt a weird feeling in his stomach. Like an electric discharge had just passed through his body. And then, he noticed something else... She was staring directly at his friend, Taro. Taro Yamada, a boy that he met once he entered High School. He was a decent person, very kind to all around him and also very popular with the girls for no apparent reason. He felt a weird sensation, but not the same weird warm electric feeling from before... This feeling was much more throbbing. He felt jealous.

Once he had seen it could never be unseen. He started noticing more and more, how Ayano would always stare at him with the same passion and how he wouldn't even notice. He couldn't do anything about it. He thought about telling Taro, but why would he?

One day, upon arriving to school he crossed her on the hallway. She looked weird, distressed and it didn't took him much time to figure out why. Her senpai was in the hallway. He stood there watching as Ayano crossed Taro. The strong girl that once had thrown him down with such willpower was now trembling. Taro looked at her in disgust.

"That girl is kinda weird..."

Budo noticed how she fastened the pace... She had clearly heard him. Budo felt enraged after that. He approached Taro abruptly, much to everyone's surprise. "Taro, can you please accompany me outside?" He asked as politely as he could. His classmate followed. Once outside, Budo went straight to the point. "Why were you so rude back there... That girl, her name is Ayano... You didn't have to treat her that way."

Taro seemed surprised with the subject. He coughed in discomfort. "You heard that?" to which Budo nodded. "Wow, now I'm embarrassed... I didn't think I had said that out loud..." Budo nodded once more, crossing his arms across his chest. There didn't seem to be any cruel intentions on his tone... Maybe he really had let that slip. "Well next time be more careful ok..?" He was approaching the door when Taro inquired from behind him. "Are you friends with her?" Budo thought of a good way to answer that without compromising him or Ayano. "I wish! Maybe if I were she would join the Martial Arts Club!" leaving Taro confused with that response, he left.

Those were all things he could not forget about her. And now she was there, alone... Waiting. It was like a sign from destiny, he thought. He could just approach her and talk to her... If only it was that easy. But it can be! , he thought to himself. And clenching his fists, breathing in all the courage he needed, he approached her. "Hey Aishi-san-" he said, stepping (almost running) towards her until he was so close to her he could clearly see what she was gazing at. He should have guessed. Taro was leaving with Osana, one of his friends and Ayano watched as they left. She was surprised when she heard his voice calling her name. She turned around to face him, empty eyes like she always had for anyone else than Taro. He looked at her stressed, trying to figure out what to say, but the words seemed to escape him. Once he could figure what to say, it wasn't too bad.

"Consider joining the Martial Arts club... There hasn't ever been anyone able to kick my ass like you did. I think you would have fun." Holding his bag in his hands, staring deeply into her empty eyes, not knowing if she was hearing him at all like always, he was about to turn around. But he stopped himself. "Hey... Take care on your way home!" And then he turned around... Maybe he had just done a fool out of himself with that last bit. He closed his fists in frustration.

"You too..." He heard... A voice completely deprived of emotion... But it was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard, he thought. And it was on that moment that he realized he was falling for this girl.