Imperfect Romance

Burning Up

It's been three weeks since Miyuki and Ai had their batting cage non-date that Sunday and they have actually been in constant contact after that day. They mainly just texted since they were both very busy with their responsibilities(Miyuki more so than Ai) but sometimes they hung out during Miyuki's days off which were usually on Sundays. However, on rare occasions Miyuki drops by her house on weekdays after practice claiming that he needed space from his teammates. Ai did end up cooking for Miyuki to show off her skills which he weirdly complimented her on, but still maintaining that he was a better cook than her. Unfortunately, Ai couldn't bring herself up to disagree with him.

Miyuki was now certain that no one knew Ai as well as he did. Since she mostly kept to herself that wasn't really an admirable feat but it felt like one to him nonetheless. He learned that Ai is highly intelligent, focused on her studies, she actually jogs every morning, loves the sciences and loves to collect magazines of the subject as well, she is currently thinking about a project idea for some science fair, she wants to become a doctor in the future, she is almost always alone at home (which puzzles him), she has a high sense of responsibility since she takes her duties very seriously, but that she can be quite vain when she wants to be. She really takes care of her appearance and has noticed that sometimes she looks at her hair a little bit too much in his opinion. He knows that she paints her nails every week and that for some weird reason that's very important for her, what's even weirder is the fact that before every monday he tries to guess what color her nails are going to be (this week is a pale pink). He has also noticed that the few times he has been at her house there are always some shopping bags lying around the house. Miyuki thinks that this is particularly funny since he is now certain that Ai doesn't have any friends, and therefore doesn't need all of those clothes since she doesn't have anywhere to go or an active social life. Although this has caused him to tease her and call her a "princess" he doesn't really mind all of these factors because he knows that Ai is far from being a shallow person.

Miyuki has also learned that despite having some differences he and Ai were actually more alike than they were different. He learned that they both have lost their mothers, like to cook, they both have a sweet tooth, have a jaded viewpoint towards life, have mastered the art of fake smiling, like to keep to themselves, don't have any friends, like cheesy horror movies because they think they are funny, and they both proudly claim to be an 'Edokko'. They had simple differences such as her loving chocolate cake (it was her favorite) while he hated chocolate cake. She knew about fashion and was quite stylish, while Miyuki could barely dress. Even though Miyuki was the better cook, Ai was the better baker (something that Miyuki begrudgingly had to admit). Overall, they get along very well to the point that it might surprise people who know them due to their key major differences. Miyuki is known for being blunt, for his constant teasing, and overall nasty personality. While on the other hand, Ai is known for being well-mannered, kind, helpful, and soft-spoken which has lead her to be liked by her peers unlike Miyuki.

Which brings another difference between the two. He is socially inept since he can't interact with other people without resorting to teasing, while she simply is not. She is always polite with everyone she interacts with and always flashes her award winning smile to ensure people melt at her feet and keep them away from the real her. He think it's funny how much people like her when in many ways she was just like him. She just knows how to hide it better or just hides it unlike him. He doesn't know the meaning of the word 'tact' while she does, which is why because they both can say the same thing, but people wouldn't get offended when she says it, because she will say it in a 'nice way'. It's not like Miyuki would disagree with any of those adjectives. Hardly. But at the end of the day even if she was kind and helpful and all of those other things, she was still putting up an act with her soft-spoken respectful tone, and only he gets to see the real her.