𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥 || 𝕂𝕪𝕠 𝕊𝕠𝕙𝕞𝕒

I...Don't See How We Could

That would be Yuki's legs.

As she and Tohru got close to Yuki, Hiyori's sixth sense activated; she felt the glares on their backs, just like she did every day whenever they got close to him. But Tohru was peacefully oblivious. Her focus was only on Yuki. 

"Sohma," She called. "You, um, you didn't eat very much breakfast this morning. Maybe you shouldn't run."

Yuki stood up. "No, it's fine. I'll make it through somehow. Besides..." When he turned, they followed his gaze. Kneeling on the ground was Kyo, hissing with an aura even more blazing than last night. "If I don't compete, I'll never hear the end of it." 

Hiyori sweatdropped. "Y-Yeah..." Glancing down, she noticed an unreliable-looking knot in Yuki's shoelaces. "Hey, you can't run with your laces tied like that. They'll come undone while you're running."

He glanced down at his shoes with a sheepish smile. "Oh..." He sat back down against the tree. "I'm not the best at tying these, either. I guess it's another thing that I need to work on."

She smiled. "Well, you don't wear sneakers often, so it's okay." Kneeling in front of him, she untied her own lace. "Here, just watch what I do, okay?

As she tied up the laces, she made sure to do it slowly so Yuki could copy her actions. When they finished, both their shoelaces were tied in secure knots. Hiyori watched as Yuki proceeded to do the same thing with his other shoe.

"Wow, you're a fast learner, Yuki! It took me weeks to finally get it for myself."

He returned her smile. "Well, you are a good teacher."

Yuki extended a hand to help her up. But the moment she took it, she felt sharp glares on her back that had her flinching visibly. Yuki didn't miss that.

"Is something wrong?"

Chuckling awkwardly, Hiyori scratched the back of her neck. "Nope! It's just...a little chilly out here, that's all."

"That's true." He glanced around. "By the way, I don't think I've seen Uotani today."

Tohru giggled. "I think Uo-chan's skipping. Hana-chan, should be here somewhere -- "

Before she could finish, Kinoshita appeared to link one arm with hers. "Hey, Honda, Kato, the two of you are looking awfully buddy-buddy with Yuki over here!"

The next thing Hiyori knew, Iwata hit her in the head. Swirls filled her eyes as Iwata grabbed her arm with a passive-aggressive glare. "The girls' race is about to start! Better get moving!"

Hiyori felt the throbbing bump on her head as Iwata and Kinoshita dragged them away from Yuki. The fanclub girls cackled and cheered maniacally.

"Let's go! We wouldn't want to miss out, now would we?!"

Once they were free, Tohru and Hiyori stumbled over to Hana. As Tohru swayed where she stood, Hiyori staggered toward their dark-haired friend. She might have fallen had Hana not caught her by the shoulders.

"Hey, what happened to your head, Hiyori?"

"Uh..." Hiyori smiled awkwardly in her daze. "Honestly, I'm not too sure...But I'm fine."

"Okay." Hana nodded. "If you say so..."

And though she was still dizzy, Hiyori noticed Kinoshita and Iwata shrieking and trembling behind her. "Does the air seem weird to you all of a sudden?!"

"Hiyori, Hana-chan!" Having regained her balance, Tohru smiled in determination. "Let's go and run our best, in honor of Uo-chan!"

Hiyori grinned. "Right!"