Kaoru stared at the paper in her hands with unnerving stillness. A single letter grade written in the top right in red - 'B' - never before had she gotten anything less than an 'A.'
Her mind was reeling, how could this happen? Where did she go wrong? Sure the last few weeks had been exhausting, between school and helping the baseball team, she hadn't been sleeping much.
But was that enough to tank her GPA? Realistically no, not even close, but Kaoru's mind was too far gone. Swirling with thoughts of failing out of high school, being kicked out of the family, and eventually living in the mountains alone, jobless.
The final bell rang signaling the end of the school day, Kaoru sat unmoving, her hands still clutching the returned test, crumpling the paper slightly.
"Kaoru? Are you even listening?" she heard Kuramochi say, looking up, she saw the color drain from his face as his mouth moved but no sound came out. Kaoru moved her hand to cover her eyes, she hadn't even realized she was crying.
"I'm sorry! I have to go!" Kaoru said as she stood up quickly, the chair screeching across the floor. Grabbing her bag, she ran out of the classroom before anyone could say anything.
Kuramochi was still in shock when Miyuki spoke up, "What was that about?" Kuramochi could only shake his head, he had never seen a girl cry in person, much less his friend.
Noticing the crumpled paper on the desk, he grabbed it, immediately noticing the little red letter at the top corner. "Probably this," he said dismissively.
Kuramochi wasn't bad at school, but he didn't really try either. And he would never understand Kaoru's obsession with academic excellence. She always said it was because of sexism in sports.
"Women get less opportunities to play sports in college unless they're academically gifted! Coaches never ask about your GPA because you're a boy," she had said.
Miyuki looked at the paper in his hand, which was an uncharacteristically low grade for Kaoru, though it was certainly still a good grade. Scanning the paper, he looked for the problem she had missed.
Eyes widening in surprise, she had done the work correctly, but the answer was wrong. Looking at the problem below that was also marked incorrect, Miyuki realized Kaoru had simply written the right answers in the wrong spots.
"Shame on Eita-sensei for grading this harshly," Miyuki muttered. It was a Wednesday so he would see her at tutoring later, folding the paper into his pocket, he made a mental note to talk with her.
After learning that he had a crush on the blonde haired girl, Miyuki found it easier to be around her. The two talked with each other more freely now, he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he thought she might be developing feelings for him too.
"Heya, have you two seen Kao-chan?" called out a voice from the doorway. Looking up, the two boys saw Chiyo standing there, wearing a sports jacket from a different school over her uniform.
"She just ran out of here, is that Kaoru's brother's school?" asked Kuramochi, it had never crossed his mind to ask more about her brother. He knew he was ranked in the top 5 of spikers in the nation, but he didn't care much about other sports.
Chiyo played with the ends of the sleeves with a faux bashfulness, "yes, we met last weekend on a date!" she squealed. Hands on both cheeks she tried to calm her blush, "and it's a big game for him today so Kaoru and I are going!"
Miyuki looked confused at Kuramochi's nodding in understanding. Was he missing something? "We have tutoring tonight, how is she going to be in two places?" he asked hesitantly.
Kuramochi let out a laugh, "hyaha, Miyuki you must be disappointed to miss out on seeing Kaoru tonight! She told us Monday she wouldn't be tutoring today," he said with a grin.
Chiyo quickly donned a smirk, "aw are you jealous she is going to see Akaashi-kun play today? Maybe he will sweep her off her feet."
Miyuki reeled at her comment, he hadn't thought that far ahead yet. Maintaining his cool composure he shrugged, "I have no reason to be jealous," he paused, "because I always win."
And with that, he walked out of the classroom. Miyuki isn't known for being open or vulnerable, and he doesn't like to look deeply into his own feelings or motivations.
Despite that, he did allow himself to think about any possible green feelings he may have, and came up with none. He felt secure in his growing friendship with the blonde girl and with that came a confidence that he could win her heart.
Placing his hands in his pockets, Miyuki felt the folded piece of paper and remembered he had wanted to talk with her tonight. He may not get a chance after practice if she was leaving for a game.
Kaoru washed her face of the tears that had spilled earlier. She hadn't meant to become emotional, she was just so tired, and it felt overwhelming to fail at something she knew so well.
Changing out of her uniform, she put on some jeans and a white t-shirt before moving to grab her notebook and pack things up for her trip to her brother's school.
Technically, it was only a scrimmage, but it was against Nekoma, a rival as well as host to some of her brother's best friends. She was looking forward to a night off, Chiyo was excited that the softball team had a break today so she could go too.
A knock at her dorm door had Kaoru jumping in surprise, opening the door, she was met with a uniform clad Miyuki, his hat resting sideways on his head.
Smiling in surprise, she could see a few of her teammates walking towards the gym, eyeing this with curiosity. Between the time of 3:00-5:00 boys or girls could go to one another's dorms, but they weren't allowed to actually enter the rooms.
"Miyuki, what are you doing here?" she asked with a happy lilt to her voice. The bespectacled boy laughed at the surprise on her face, smirking confidently back at her. He replied, "I wanted to talk with you since you're leaving tonight."
Kaoru fought the squeal that almost escaped her lips, 'he has no idea what that does to my heart,' she thought as she nodded in response. Following him out of her room and towards the fields.
They walked in a comfortable silence before reaching a bench by the secondary fields. Sitting down, Miyuki fidgeted uncharacteristically beside Kaoru, 'is he nervous?' she thought.
"I just wanted to check in with you, I know you were upset after class," Miyuki began slowly. "I saw your test, your answers weren't wrong, just on the wrong problem, so is everything okay?"
Kaoru was at a loss for words, Miyuki was usually an ass, finding any way to tease those around him, including her. But here he was, taking time out of his day before practice to check in.
"Oh.. Yeah I'm okay," she said with a small smile, "I've just been so busy lately and I'm not sleeping well," she added truthfully.
Miyuki nodded, the breeze rustling the trees above them peacefully. "Has your shoulder been bothering you?" he questioned, holding his breath.
Looking at him, Kaoru's eyes glimmered slightly as she blinked rapidly, refusing to cry. "Yeah, that's one of the reasons I can't sleep," she replied. Miyuki looked at her, urging her to continue.
"Everything has just changed so rapidly, I lost the sport that gave my life meaning," she said softly, "I was really lonely for a few months there and then suddenly I'm surrounded by baseball players," she added with a laugh.
A smile made its way to her lips, "and it's been a lot of change very quickly, I mean, my arm is barely functioning and yet here I am unable to sleep because the doctor cleared me to hit," Kaoru said.
"I'm so happy!" she said, and Miyuki nodded, matching her enthusiasm, "but I won't ever be able to play, even as a designated hitter, so I guess I just need a breather because everything is overwhelming me,"
Miyuki nodded, his heart thudding in his chest. He knew he had a shitty personality, but he had been able to get her to open up. It was him that had Kaoru sitting here expressing all of her worries and thoughts.
It was enough to almost make him smile, almost. Taking a deep breath, Miyuki responded, "Well, it's a good thing that you get to go watch your brother tonight."
"If you need a break from things, just let me know, we can always go to the batting cages and work on your swing without any pressure or something," he added at the end, feeling color rising to his cheeks.
Kaoru smiled brightly back at him, "Yes! That would be so fun, thank you Miyuki!"
"Kazuya," he responded softly, Kaoru gave him a questioning gaze in return.
"Call me Kazuya," he repeated, a genuine smile on his face. Kaoru's eyes widened, a blush rushing to her cheeks and the tips of her ears. 'Miyuki Kazuya might be the most gorgeous man on earth!' she thought.
Kaoru returned his smile, "Okay! Kazuya," she said, the blush still prominent on her cheeks. Miyuki felt blinded by her smile, his heart thudding in his chest, but his body felt calm.
The transition to whatever stage of friendship they were at now felt natural. Kaoru glanced at her watch, "Kazuya! You have practice in like 15 minutes!" she called out, a concerned look on her face.
Miyuki swore he could die a happy man at the way his first name sounded coming from her, but was grounded to reality when he registered what it was she had said.
He cursed, standing up quickly, he began running off towards the field before stopping and walking back towards Kaoru. A cheeky grin on his face, outstretching an arm, he placed his ball cap on her head.
"Wear that to your brother's game tonight," he said with a grin, a dusting of color on his cheeks. Before Kaoru could respond Miyuki was off, waving over his shoulder as he ran to the baseball field.
Arriving back at her dorm, Kaoru was still smiling like a fool. "There you are! I was worried we were going to leave late since I couldn't find you!" Chiyo said with a stern look.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the baseball hat resting on Kaoru's head, "Oho, is that Miyuki's?" Chiyo said with a grin.
"Yes! Chiyo-chan you have no idea how nice he was to me. I thought my heart was going to explode," Kaoru replied with a squeal.
Jumping up and down with joy, the two girls giggled in excitement. "We have to get to the train if we're making it on time! But I want to hear every single detail!" Chiyo said with excitement.
Kaoru nodded, grabbing her stuff and heading out the door with her best friend in tow. Today had to be one of the best days she's had since the injury - maybe even before then.
Any stress or discomfort was gone as Kaoru felt confident and relaxed in this stage of a clearly progressing friendship.
'I'll have to go cheer them on at their next game,' Kaoru thought, her mind occupied by a brunette catcher with amber eyes.