Ryousuke gasped when he felt something ice cold touch the back of his neck. The boy pulled his neck away from the source out of his body's natural reactions. He held his left hand to the place on his neck that was just frozen, and turned to see the culprit. Behind him stood a giggling Tatsune, holding an ice cold water bottle. Ryousuke glared at his girlfriend with a smirk on his lips. "You little brat.... You're looking for a punishment aren't you?" Ryousuke demanded as he reached out for the girl. He quickly tackled the girl in all her ticklish areas. Tatsune broke out into a fit of laughter from Ryousuke's attack.
"Hahaha! Stop it Ryou-san! Ah! I'm sorry!" Tatsune apologized. Ryousuke finally stopped and let Tatsune regain her composure.
"So, what's this for?" Ryousuke asked, pointing to the ice cold water bottle.
"I froze it overnight. Thought you might need it today," Tatsune told him, handing him the water bottle. "Good luck at practice today, Ryou-san."
"Thanks Tatsune-chan," Ryousuke took the water bottle from the golden eyed girl and headed towards the field again. Tatsune watched the second baseman's back as he left her.
"Tatsune-senpai?" someone called out from behind her. Tatsune turned around, and there stood Haruichi. Seeing the two brothers always makes Tatsune smile. She loves how similar they look, yet how different they are in personality.
"Hey, Haruichi," Tatsune greeted. "You're not going to practice yet?"
"I was just about to get there," Haruichi said. "Were you and Aniki having a conversation?"
"Oh, no, I was just giving him something," Tatsune replied. Haruichi tilted his head, slightly confused, but smiled anyways.
"Oh well, see you later senpai!" Haruichi shrugged and headed to the field after his brother. Tatsune turned around and headed towards the kitchen. Today is the start of the golden week training camp. With the hellish training menu, the baseball players will need a lot of refreshments and snacks. The managers are making onigiris in the kitchen, so the young Yuuki went to help prepare.
After a while, as the sun started to set, the managers brought out trays of onigiri and refreshments. "Do you have the curry ones?" Ryousuke asked Tatsune. The boy loved spicy food, and always asked the managers to spice up the onigiris.
"Yep, and the cheese!" Tatsune replied with a smile, handing the custom made onigiris. Takako started to make these custom onigiris two years ago, when the third years were first years. Since then, they always tried to satisfy the players needs.
"So, what happened afterwards?" Furuya asked the upperclassmen. Story time begins again.
"Well after a while the bullying kind of just dropped. And everything was kind of just normal....nothing special. It wasn't until after we lost to Inashiro that development started happening again between Ryou-san and Tatsune-chan," Kawakami answered.
"Yeah, you can't blame them, it was a busy season," Miyuki nodded.
"Yeah but it got real cute after that though," Kuramochi smirked.
"What happened?" Haruichi asked.
"Well...." Isashiki cleared his throat. "After our season was over...."
After the season was over, and Seidou unfortunately lost to Inashiro Industrial, all the players went into a mourning period. The third years had to retire and prepare for college entrance exams as the second and first years continue practice and aim for the Fall tournaments.
One day, the seniors sat in the cafeteria late at night, crying. Tatsune stood outside the cafeteria, looking down. Tears welled in her eyes. As a first year, she couldn't understand what the third years were going through emotionally, but all the players and upperclassmen on the team were very kind to her, and she hated seeing them down.
"Tatsune-chan?" Ryousuke walked up to her from the field, covered in sweat. He was just doing his daily batting practice. Tatsune pushed herself off of the wall, and wiped away the tears that were about to come out of the sockets. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Senpai how about you?" Tatsune asked. Ryousuke was bumped up to a regular for the Summer tournament, and this loss really hit him hard as a player as well.
"I'll be fine. I learned a lot. Plus, we have next year. Compared to the senpais, we don't deserve to mourn," Ryousuke said. The sound of the third years' sobs made his heart clench. The boy bit his bottom lip. "Wanna take a walk with me?" Tatsune nodded. Ryousuke dropped his bat off near his room, and took Tatsune around the campus for a late night stroll. It was mid-July, and the night breeze was refreshing, not at all chilly. "I haven't talked to you in a while," Ryousuke said. "How've you been?"
"Um...great. Everything's...fine," Tatsune shrugged, trying to think of words to describe her current state. Honestly she was pretty confused because everything seemed so peaceful, and the girls that used to give her trouble started to ignore her. Everything was going a little too smooth. "I just wished we stayed in the league a little longer."
"Hahaha, yeah. That'd be nice. Wish we made it to Koushien," Ryousuke kicked a stone on the pavement. "Have you ever watched a game at Koushien?"
"No," Tatsune sighed. "I've only watched them on T.V."
"Me too. Just imagining that stage sends chills down my spine. I really hope one day I'd be able to stand in the stadium, and see what kind of sky towers over Koushien," Ryousuke said looking up into the dark night sky.
"I'm sure it won't be much different from what you see everyday," Tatsune chuckled.
"You never know," Ryousuke said with a smirk. He turned to the girl, a smile lingering on his face, a sad one. Tatsune raised a brow in confusion. Ryousuke walked over to the girl who was trailing a few steps behind him. Even though he was the shortest boy amongst the second year baseball players, he still hovered over Tatsune. The boy pulled Tatsune into his arms, out of the blue, leaving Tatsune shocked and unable to react.
"K-Kominato-senpai?" Tatsune gasped.
"Just Ryousuke will do," Ryousuke said. "Sorry. I lied. I'm actually not okay. Just let me stay like this." He burried his face into her neck. There were really few people he could embrace like this. Everyone else towers over him. There's no way he's going to show his weak side to his other friends; they'll tease him to no end. Tatsune slowly wrapped her arms around Ryousuke, and patted his back. Of course he'd feel horrible. There are no sane person that would feel okay after such a devastating loss, especially when baseball meant the world to him.
"Ryou-Ryousuke....senpai," Tatsune called his first name. Boy does it sound weird rolling off her tongue, but Ryousuke liked it.
"Yeah," he muttered in reply.
"Tomorrow is a Sunday, and Coach Kataoka said for you all to take a break. You wanna.....go get some fresh air?" Tatsune offered. Whenever her brothers felt down, they'd always go into the city and do something fun.
"Hehe, are you inviting me out on a date?" Ryousuke asked with a laugh.
"N-N-No! I'm just...just offering to take you around Tokyo," Tatsune countered. "Onii-chan said you're from Kanagawa Prefecture, so I thought you might....not have toured around Tokyo." Ryousuke let go of Tatsune.
"That's a good idea. Then, I'll see you tomorrow in front of the school gates at 9 a.m," Ryousuke said.
"Y-Yeah. I'll bring Onii-chan, and Jun-san-"
"No, just us. It's a date," Ryousuke cut her off. He held out a pinky. "Promise?"
"O-Okay," Tatsune held out her pinky, joining it with Ryousuke's. A date, she thought. Before she could rethink her decision, Ryousuke turned around and headed back to the dorm. The girl just kind of stood there in the middle of night, contemplating on whether or not she made the right choice to go on a date with Kominato Ryousuke, the cute second baseman on her school's baseball team. Unbeknownst to her, though, Ryousuke was walking back to his dorm with his flushed a shade of red darker than his hair, and the color spread all the way to his ears. I can't believe I forced her on a date, he thought. Even the shameless Kominato has his flustered moments.
"I was not flustered," Ryousuke interrupted Isashiki.
"A-Aniki!" Haruichi gasped as his older brother suddenly appears from behind him. "You heard?!"
"Damn right I heard," Ryousuke replied. "And get it right when you guys tell a story. I'm shameless to the bottom of my soul, I didn't fluster."
"Wait hold on, how do you senpais know about such details in the first place?" Sawamura asked.
"Well," Yuuki turned to Ryousuke. "Maybe because someone was bragging about how he became the first to get a girlfriend among us."
"No shame," Ryousuke stuck his tongue out. "I think you all need to learn from my experience."
"Alright whatever, go make out with your girlfriend or something, I'm trying to tell a story here!" Isashiki said to Ryousuke. "As I was saying....."
So Ryousuke returned to his dorm, not flustered at all, and started planning out what he'd wear the next day.
"Ryou-san what are you rummaging around for?" the freshman rooming with him asked.
"Something nice," Ryousuke replied.
"Nice? Are you going somewhere?" the freshman asked.
"Yeah," Ryousuke said. "I have a date tomorrow."
"A-A-A-A-A DATE?!" The first year exclaimed. "Ryou-san who's the girl?"
"That's a secret. Keep it down buddy, you'll wake everyone up," Ryousuke flicked the first year on the forehead.
Tatsune went home with her brother. Afterwards she quickly rummaged through her own closet. Even though she's just taking him around Tokyo, she should still dress nice, right? I mean, he did say it was a date, Tatsune thought. Then the girl shook her head rapidly. No, no, no. It's not a date. He was just joking. We're just going to go into the city, and take a break from practice. Get a change of fresh air. That's all.
Tatsune took out a casual blue and white striped blouse and white puffy shorts. "This'll do," she decided before going to bed. The girl laid on her mattress, and held the sheets over her body. Excitement kept her from falling asleep as she thought about why Ryousuke would go on a date with her. Images of the boy flooded her mind, from his sly smirk to his determined look on the field. She recalled his every moment in the batter's box. He was always so cool. Tomorrow she'll be going on date with a guy like him.
The next morning, Tatsune woke up instantly at the sound of her alarm. She got dressed and washed up, and quickly did her hair. The girl looked in the mirror, at the acne scarred cheeks. She took medicine to get rid of her acne, but the scarring still hasn't faded yet, and they're pretty dark. "Should I cover these up?" she asked herself in the mirror. The girl looked down at the makeup sitting on her bathroom counter. It's not that the girl doesn't have makeup, Tatsune just doesn't prefer them because she had skin problems before, and feared that makeup would only make her skin worse. Now that her acne is all gone, she did consider using makeup once in a while.
"Tatsune what are you doing?" her mom asked from the doorway.
"Mom, I'm going out with a friend today in town. I was wondering if I should cover these up with some foundation," Tatsune pointed at her scars. Her mom's eyes softened. She hated the way Tatsune lacked confidence because of her skin, and it pained her heart when her daughter refused to take pictures like other girls. After her acne went away, Tatsune finally started to get a little bit happier, but these scars are still a bother to her.
"Don't use foundation, I have some tinted sunscreen, which is better for your skin," her mom said. "I'll go get it for you." Tatsune smiled. Her mother was always encouraging, but never fake. Her mom knew when to tell her she's beautiful, and when to give her makeup advice. Her mom came back with a bottle of tinted sunscreen, and handed it to the black haired girl. Tatsune thanked her mom, and applied some of the sunscreen on her face. The sunscreen worked like foundation, and covered up her scars mostly, leaving only barely noticeable dark spots. Tatsune filled in her brows lightly with a light brown brow pencil, and nodded at herself in the mirror. She put on her glasses and left the house.
"I'll be going then!" Tatsune shouted before closing the door.
"Have fun!" her mom called.
"Where is she going?" Yuuki came out of his room groggily and asked.
"Our little Tatsune is going on a date," his mom informed. Yuuki instantly woke up.
"With who? How do you know?"
"I don't know with who, and it's a mother's intuition."
Tatsune wore a pair of cute white sandals. They were flat and easy to walk in as well as fashionable. The girl carried a baby blue backpack the size of a small purse to hold her money and essentials. She looked cute and fashionable. The girl quickly made her way to Seidou, and Ryousuke was waiting for her at the front gate. The pink haired boy smiled at the girl when he saw her. The boy wore a white collared shirt, with the top two button unbuttoned, and a red thin vest over it. On the bottom, he wore shin length dark brown pants and some nice vans. It's a refreshing sight compared to his usual baseball uniform or school uniform.
"Hey Tatsune-chan, you look cute in that outfit. Did you pick it out on your own?" Ryousuke asked.
"T-Thanks, Ryou....Ryousuke-senpai," Tatsune blushed. "You look nice too."
"You think? I tried to find my best looking clothes, but most of what I brought from home are just sports clothes. I'm glad you like these," Ryousuke grinned. "Did it make your heart race?" Tatsune's face instantly flustered red.
"U-U-Um....uh...."
"Hahaha! I'm kidding!" Ryousuke laughed. He walked up to Tatsune and patted her on the head. "Come on, let's go." With a reluctant nod, Tatsune followed Ryousuke away from the school grounds. She had a weird feeling set in her stomach. It felt so awkward. She didn't know if Ryousuke was just naturally like this, or if he's trying to hint at something, but the way he speaks makes her heart beat at an irregular rhythm. It makes her uneasy.
Tatsune led Ryousuke into the depth of the city. Since Ryousuke has yet to visit some of the most famous landmarks, Tatsune took him to see the statue of Hachiko, the loyal dog, first. The statue is located in front of Shibuya Station. "That's the statue of Hachiko," Tatsune introduced when they got there. Ryousuke's brows raised in interest.
"It's smaller than I thought," Ryousuke said.
"What is?"
"The statue," Ryousuke answered.
"Really?" Tatsune perked. She looked at the statue with a brow raised. It looks normal to her. She wondered why Ryousuke would think it looks small. "Do you want to take a picture with it?"
"Hmm....why not?" Ryousuke smiled. He handed his phone to Tatsune, and walked to the statue to pose with it. He stuck his hands in his pockets and smirked at the camera. Tatsune took a few shots and gave him a thumbs up sign. The second year smiled and walked back to the girl. He looked at the picture and smiled. "Looks good!"
The two then went to Tokyo Tower. On the way, Ryousuke bought both of them a cone of ice cream. He got the rare habanero flavor, while Tatsune got a classic strawberry. "Wanna try some?" Ryousuke asked Tatsune.
"Is it really spicy?" Tatsune asked. She's never had spicy ice cream before.
"Nah, barely," Ryousuke assured. Tatsune hesitantly leaned in to have a taste, but with a single lick her tongue started to burn like it was on fire. The girl screamed in pain and tears were threatening to break out from the corner of her eyes. Ryousuke's eyes widened (if possible) in amusement. "Is it seriously that bad?"
"Ssssssss....yeah.......sssstthhh...hah...hahh....hot!" Tatsune panted. She quickly took a few bites out of her strawberry ice cream to ease the spiciness. Ryousuke just chuckled.
"You know technically that was also an indirect kiss," he said.
"T-T-That-...." Tatsune flustered. "S-Senpai..."
"Hahaha, it's okay. If it's Tatsune-chan, I don't mind," Ryousuke laughed. He took Tatsune's hand in his free one. "Come on, let's go on top of the tower!" He pulled Tatsune into the red tower, and they rode the elevator to the very top.
"S-Senpai....your...hand," Tatsune said in the elevator, which was strangely only filled with the two of them.
"Hmm? What about it?" Ryousuke asked, clearly with no intention of letting go. In fact, he tightened his grip on her hand.
"Ryousuke-senpai, please don't make this kind of joke with me," Tatsune said, seriousness in her tone. The girl retracted her hand from the pink headed boy's grip. "I'll get the wrong idea."
"What if that idea isn't wrong?"
"It must be. I mean.....nobody likes me that way. I'm so ugly, and boring..."
"Tatsune-chan," Ryousuke called, his voice cold and serious. Tatsune looked up into his eyes. "I don't want you to say that ever again. You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. And I mean it. You're beautiful from the inside out. Even though you might not be perfect, but these scars that you think are ugly, they're nothing but proof of your youth. If they bother you so much you can just hide them with makeup, but I think you're beautiful either way." Tatsune could feel her heart pounding at his words. No boy has ever complimented her like so.
"I-"
"I'm serious about you Tatsune. If I weren't I wouldn't have shamelessly told you to come on a date with me. Nor would I have said all of that to you," Ryousuke said. "I really like you. Ever since the first day I met you I've had an interest in you. And originally it was just because you were Yuuki's sister. But ever since I got to know more about you, the more I realize how kind you are, and how much you care about us. I found myself falling for you as the days passed. I know I may be a baseball focused idiot, and a sarcastic jerk that jokes around about everything, but I'm seriously in love with you. And I want you to consider it." Tatsune's eyes widened. She was just confessed to by an upperclassman from her club, and her brother's friend. It was her first time getting confessed to. She had no idea how to respond.
"I.....I don't know," Tatsune replied. "All this time, I thought you were joking with me, because I didn't think anyone would be seriously......you know...and I-......I don't know how I feel right now- I........."
"I don't mind, Tatsune," Ryousuke said with a soft smile. He took her hand in his again. This time he gave her a strong squeeze. "You can take your time. I'm not gonna go anywhere. I'll wait for your answer, though I have to say I'm quite confident in it." He flashed her his signature smirk.
"You always act as if you know everything," Tatsune smiled.
"Do you not like that?"
"I don't dislike it."
"Good, then you don't dislike me, because that's how I always act."
Tatsune chuckled. The door then opened, leading them to the observation floor. The high schoolers stepped out of the elevator, and into the observation floor. They walked towards the window and looked down at Tokyo, the capital of Japan. It was a beautiful sight. Tatsune could feel her heart beat fast, but the uneasiness was gone. Butterflies danced in her stomach as Ryousuke's warmth traveled up her hand and into her heart. She smiled.
"Ryousuke-senpai," she said.
"Hmm?"
"I think.....I have a reply, and you'll probably like it."
"Oh?"
"From now on, can I call you Ryou-san?"
"Then can I call you my girlfriend?" Ryousuke smirked as he looked into Tatsune's golden orbs. The girl smiled.
"I prefer you call me by my name, but you're more than welcome to introduce me as your girlfriend from now on," Tatsune replied. Ryousuke chuckled.
"I didn't know you had that sass in you Tatsune-chan," the boy said. "Well, pleased to meet you girlfriend."
"Please take care of me from now on, boyfriend."
"You guys seriously need a better hobby," Tatsune interrupted the story.
"Tatsune-chan!" Isashiki gasped.
"Did you guys seriously become boyfriend girlfriend at Tokyo Tower?" Haruichi asked.
"Did you guys kiss there?!" Sawamura asked.
"Did you guys eat more ice cream?" Furuya asked.
"Yes, no, and no," Tatsune answered. "And why do you care about whether or not we ate more ice cream? Now hurry up and throw away your trash and go back to training!"
"Okay, they got together, story ends here!" Miyuki clapped. "Yayyy!"
"W-Wait! You guys still haven't gotten to the first kiss!" Sawamura shouted.
"Huh? Of course we wouldn't know something like that, that's private," Miyuki said.
"Yeah, we only promised to tell the story up until how they got together. We're done!" Kuramochi said.
"WHATT?!!!" Sawamura screamed. "NOOO!!"
"Alright everyone get up! Time to continue practice!" the coach shouted.
"NOOOOO!" Sawamura screamed. Tatsune rolled her eyes as her friends got back to practice. The sun was already setting, painting the sky into shades of red, yellow, and purple. She looked up into the blood red sky with a helpless smile on her face. She looked back at the baseball team regulars, who were grinning and laughing as they teased the first years.
"Those guys..... They should really stop making up such nonsense stories," she muttered.