love and friendship story | t. kyousuke

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edited version (04/07/2018)

" My Thanks—Part 1"

It was like usual. Raimon soccer club has practice every after school. As one of the manager in the soccer club, (f/n) stayed on the side watching the team practice as she prepared their drinks along with the other manager. The team was having a practice match. Raimon members were divided into two teams, the senior versus junior.

(f/n), Akane, and Midori organized the bottles and towels neatly on the bench. While, Aoi watched the practice next to Advisor Haruna to keep track of the match progress. After the three finished, they approached Aoi and watched the practice as well. "Whoa. Is it me or they are really getting so much better these days? They have improved their techniques very well!" Midori praised in awe as her eyes keep darting here and there following the ball. "Yeah..." (f/n) nodded. (f/n) remembered that she helped them practice their hissatsu techniques a lot these past few days. She often practices together with Tsurugi, Tenma, Shindou, and Shinsuke. Sometimes, they even invited her to play soccer together. Her thoughts was distracted as Couch Endou blew the whistle, telling them that he match is over. "Okay. That's it for today!"

Everyone took their bottles and drank the water in hurry. They must have been feeling so thirsty and tired. A few of the members lied down on the grass, trying to relax themselves. (f/n) sat on the bench as she answered a few small talks with the members, laughing along and even responded to their jokes. While at it, a certain navy haired guy sat beside (f/n). Realizing there is someone presence beside her, (f/n) froze and glanced at him. Tsurugi took more gulp from the bottle and then closed it after. The girl couldn't get any words out of her mouth, as if anything she wants to say got stuck on her throat. She sat awkwardly as she tries to took a deep breath, calming down her noisy heart that has been beating so fast since he sat next to her. She ended up clearing her throat, which resulted the attention from Tsurugi.

"Are you having a sorethroat?" he asked. (f/n) shook her head quite vigorously. "...No." Tsurugi tilted his head to see (f/n)'s expression. "Then, have something to say?"

(f/n) turned to him, somehow irritated. "Nothing. I have nothing to say to you. Period." (f/n) tried to keep her cool and kept her eyes on Tsurugi. There was a few moment of silence and then he ruffled your hair. "You actually said something, you know. You said, 'Nothing' earlier. That counts as saying something, right?" he teased. (f/n) moved away so that he couldn' t kept messing her hair. "Whaaatever~" (f/n) sang the word and walked away. As she walked away, she realizes that the sky had turned rather dark. She checked her wristwatch and gasped. "It's this late already?!"

Aoi turned to (f/n) with a worried look. "You should go home now, (f/n). I heard the route you usually take is kind of dangerous these days. My mom said there have been a few cases of stealing and kidnapping attempts..."

(f/n) shivered but she nodded anyway. "Really? I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Aoi. I'll go home now..." (f/n) said goodbye to the others and took her bag at the club room. She hurriedly made her way home. To put her own mind at ease, she plugged one of her earphone on her right ear and played her favorite song. She then walked and walked as she tells herself that she will be alright. But, it seems that all of that—her peace, her positive suggestion-- will be gone soon. Realizing that someone has been following her, she pressed a button on her earphone, turning the music off. She started to listen to the step carefully.

'There really is someone!' (f/n) screamed internally. Oh, how she just wanted to fly right at that moment. Unconsciously, due to her panicking, she started walking faster. She hoped that the person behind her won't try to keep on the same pace as her. But she was wrong. Someone is really following her. (f/n) took a deep breath. She was trying to make a decision in a split second. Her mind was debating whether she turned back to face the person and ask or run as fast as she can. In a few second, she will walk in a rather narrow alleyway. If the person really is someone bad, that place will be a perfect place to do their crime.