Six miracles: Crossed paths

Chapter 5 || Kaijo High

Kaijo High

"Nae... Nii-san, remind me why I am here," said Itsuki, fiddling with the buttons on his camera.

"You owe me," reminded Kasamatsu.

"Is it..."

Itsuki's cousin, Kasamatsu, was the captain of the basketball club. A week ago, Itsuki had been sent on a holy errand to buy groceries. He ran into a friend on the way, and was challenged to a game of pachinko which led to him losing all his money. Kasamatsu had helped him out by lending some of his own, but this had come with a conditional clause. Now, Itsuki was stuck at the basketball desk for an hour when the only thing he wanted to do was drift around and collect pictures for his album.

Itsuki focused his camera idly on the pitcher of water on his desk and took a snap. This place had zero opportunities for a good shot. Itsuki had dazzled the guys at the photography desk with his pictures. Judging from their reaction, he was probably a huge potential asset to the club. Unfortunately, instead of basking in the glow of their admiration, he was stuck with a bunch of stupid forms at this desk.

Someone with dark hair walked up to the desk. "Yeah... Basketball club... Sign up here," drawled Itsuki, suppressing a yawn. He received a loud thwack from Kasamatsu.

"Look sharp! Everyone might think we're all idiots here."

"You are," said Itsuki.

"You—" said Kasamatsu, almost choking on his saliva.

"Someone's trying to sign up," pointed out Itsuki.

Kasamatsu give Itsuki his best death stare and went to oversee the registration. Itsuki sighed. This was definitely not the way that a freshman wanted to spend his first club-registration day. Itsuki did appreciate basketball as a sport, but he saw no reason for permanent involvement. One of the manga club's members paraded past. Itsuki quickly took a picture and studied it. After his one-hour duty was over, he would definitely stop by the manga club and ask for a couple of shots.

"Excuse me!" said a high-pitched voice, making Itsuki start in his chair. He looked up from his camera and saw a blonde guy staring at him. "I'd like to join the club," said the blonde, enthusiastically.

Itsuki scratched his head. "This is the basketball club. Are you sure that you are at the right desk?"

"Yeah," said the blonde, giving him an energetic thumbs-up.

"Your death, I suppose," murmured Itsuki, handing him a form.

The blonde guy took the form, and simultaneously saw the camera on the desk. "Eh... Are you into photography?" he demanded.

"Yeah," said Itsuki, who perked up when his hobby was mentioned.

"That's so cool. I'm a model," said the blonde, puffing up with pride.

"Really?" said Itsuki, studying him critically. He did seem to be telling the truth. The blonde seemed slightly paler than most people and had delicate features, but there seemed to be an undercurrent to all that. He held himself stiffly and something prompted Itsuki to assume that he hadn't lost his way and ended up at a different club afterall.

"That's awesome, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said Itsuki, with a sigh.

A shout cut through the air. "Ryouta, you idiot!"

The blonde winced. "I'm not Ryouta... You know, no one would address me like that—"

"I never said you were," pointed out Itsuki.