"Yuuichi-senpai !"
She rushed down the stairs, jumping to the last two steps, winning a few angry looks from the various people waiting for their turns. Not even a single look in their direction.
"Yuu-i-chi-sen-pai ! Ah, where else did he put himself in ?" She grumbled as she walked out the front door.
She stopped at the edge of the steps, her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed.
"He's not even in the hospital park..."
The young lady pouted, at once irritated and disappointed. And while she was planning to go back to take her bag - who had stayed in his room - this coveted voice popped up behind her.
"Yuuka, I'm here".
She turned, and with a big smile she found the guilty one of all her anxiety... and of her joy.
"Tsurugi Yuuichi ! I don't want you disappear any more !" The teenager suddenly exclaimed, her finger on Yuuichi's forehead, both grimacing and grinning at her exaggerated reaction.
"Sorry, Yuuka. I didn't tell you, but I had exams to do".
"Really ?"
" Yes".
"Didn't you try to escape ?"
"To escape ?"
"Hum... I'm keeping an eye on you, Tsurugi Yuuichi", Yuuka whispered, stepping back, staring at him as if he had just been assigned as the number one culprit of a committed crime.
He blinked, before chuckling in spite of himself. Yuuka's cheeks flushed. She watched the young man laugh heartily, this vision warming her own.
"I will not forget that", Yuuichi replied, wiping tears of laughter from the corner of his eyes, smiling at the high school girl who had not moved a bit for two good minutes.
Yuuka blinked at her turn, then finally sighed, turning back to him, arms folded against her chest, still as red as a tomato.
"You'd better".
Yuuichi smiled tenderly.
"Would you like to accompany me to the hospital park ? It's been a long time since we walked together", the young man suddenly said, slowly advancing with his wheelchair, being careful not to get too close to the steps of the stairs, for fear of falling.
" Yes... Yes of course !" Yuuka said happily. She had obviously never told him, but Yuuka loved to walk with him, and talk about everything and nothing. Sometimes it was really disturbing when she thought how well she felt in his company...
And by seeing his smile, he seemed just as happy as she was. Yuuka smiled in spite of herself, and sighed.
"Come on, my dear patient. A great health walk, and you'll soon be on your feet !"
"Why do you say something like that ?" Yuuichi asked, amused by this unexpected sentence.
"I always dreamed of saying something like this, to be honest".
She took control of his wheelchair, and went down the slope as Yuuichi scoffed again.
"I don't know what you have today to laugh like that, but I feel like it's going to end badly", she mumbled, falsely annoyed.
"You always put me in such a good mood, Yuuka".
Yuuka thought her legs would abandon her in the middle of the road. Her heart pounding hard against her chest, she tightened her grip on the wheelchair, swallowing discreetly.
"Oh you..."
**
"You must not worry about her".
"Kidou is right".
"You don't know Yuuka".
His fingers tapping the Rai Rai Ken's table, he barely thanked Tobitaka when he brought his Ramen dish to their table, where him and his two best friends had patiently awaited their orders.
"What is worrying you, Gouenji-san ?" The waiter asked, who sat right behind him, drying the sweat on his forehead with the towel around his neck.
"It's Yuuka-chan, his little sister", Endou replied in his place. He was wiggling on the spot, separating the chopsticks and finally eating the delicious dish made by his friend.
"Your little sister ?"
"Gouenji worries where she goes every day", Kidou said in his turn with a grimace, the soft heat stirring the glass of his green glasses. He took his "special glasses kit" that Haruna had given him on his birthday. "In case of extreme emergency !" Had been her words.
"My father isn't paying attention to what she is doing. He's too busy with his job", the blond muttered.
"You know, considering your personality, I'm sure your sister would not go to a bad place or something like that".
"My sister and I are surprisingly different".
"By the way".
Endou swallowed the pasta, his mouth making a small 'blurp', Kidou staring at him with a perplexed air, cleansing the liquid with his hand on his black jacket, now soiled.
"Your sister is dragging out a lot with Tsurugi".
"Tsurugi ?"
"A player of Raimon," Kidou replied again to the cook's questioning look, rubbing the enormous stain with a handkerchief that he had borrowed from Gouenji without the latter noticing.
"And I think she also accompanies him to the hospital, to visit his big brother".
Raimon's coach literally devouring his dish, he didn't notice his best friend's totally incredulous look. It was only when he raised his head from his plate that he saw his expression.
"What ?"
"Tsurugi Yuuichi ? Kyousuke's brother ?"
"Yeah, I think so. Why ?"
He stood there for a moment, before finally chuckling, attracting the others' curious glances. His anxiety had now drifted away.
"So all those things were for him... Yuuka".
**
"I love this place".
"Hum, me too".
The sound of the foliage traversed by the lukewarm wind was one of those natural songs which she loved the most. And the heat of the sun high in the sky warmed her gently. It was a beautiful spring day, his favorite season.
"It's cool that the hospital has such a relaxing place for the patients", the girl commented, sitting cross-legged, smiling at a small bird singing over her.
"Yes. Fortunately, I can go out".
"You're lucky to be able to come here every day".
"Even if I love this place, believe me that I would rather be elsewhere".
Yuuka, who suddenly felt sad, didn't respond to Yuuichi's bittersweet words, staring at children playing football not far from him. His eyes were veiled and the young man remained silent, as if he was lost in his distant memories. She felt this enormous sadness that he was holding, even if the latter wanted to hide it deep within himself, where no one would dare to enter. But Yuuka knew him too well now.
Yuuichi, his arms resting on his knees, didn't notice Yuuka's big eyes when she had realized her stupidity.
"Yuuichi-senpai".
"I've already told you to call me Yuuichi", the young man gently replied with a smile.
"It's not polite".
"But if I give you my permission, there is no harm... right ?"
"Oh you..."
Red by his remark, she began frantically searching in her handbag, sometimes bringing a pink wick behind her ear. Yuuichi was observing her, apparently curious about what she was doing. She smiled when she finally found her "little gifts".
"Don't look".
"Why ?"
"Close your eyes, and I forbid you to look until I tell you !" She ordered, hiding her surprise behind her back.
The other shrugged, and executed her request. Kinda proud to have a semblance of authority, Yuuka stood up, put them gently between his arms, and sat down quickly.
"You can open your eyes !"
And as if the young man was expecting the worst, he opened one eye. Then the other. And his change of expression was blatant. He shifted from perplexity to an illuminated face, a smile stretching his lips. He blinked, really amazed at what Yuuka had just offered him.
"You have..."
"My brother knows how much you are fan of him, and considering that you follow the football news, he gladly accepted to dedicate these magazines".
"There's even the next week's edition !" He exclaimed, leafing through the magazine with sparkling eyes, already devouring the pages devoted to his unique passion.
"Yes I know ! He managed to get a copy for you".
"I cannot believe it".
His eyes moved from the magazines to Yuuka's personal gift. And the smile that formed before her melted her heart, her heartbeat accelerating before this angel's face deformed by a joy too huge for simple fruits bought in the supermarket on the corner of her apartment.
"Blueberries".
He turned to her, tears of joy pearling in the corner of his eyes.
"My favorite fruits".
It was exaggerated. He was crying... for simple fruits... But Yuuka couldn't complain. She had just saw this expression, that tenderness, that angelic and sweet smile, and those sparkling eyes that had made her fall in love with him. And their first encounter was back in her mind. She remembered this surprise, this shock, this... love at the first sight she had when she had laid her eyes on him. And it was the most pleasant thing to feel. Yuuka knew why she had fallen under his charm. For all that. For all the things she loved the most in this world since this day.
"Thank you".
"It's just- just a little something to please you", Yuuka stammered, scratching her head, embarrassed.
Yuuichi took a small blue ball, and his mouth caught the fruit. And as usual, he stuffed a dozen at a time. His fingers tinged with its blue color as he ate one by one the blueberries his friend had just offered.
For her part, she had the impression of dying on the spot. The warmth was filling her whole body, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, her lips trembling, and her heart beating so hard in her rib cage. And Yuuichi gave her the decisive blow.
"I'm so happy I met you, Yuuka. Yeah... I'm really happy".
**
"You're finally back".
Yuuka stopped in front of his big brother, his arms folded against his chest, frowning, apparently annoyed by such a delay from her.
"Are not you going to lecture me ?" She sighed as she toof off her shoes to put on her rabbit slippers, the wall supporting her.
"No, but you could have warned me anyway".
"To warn you of what ?"
"That you were going to take so much time in this famous place".
"You really have a problem", the girl railed after a brief moment of silence, going to her bedroom, checking if Fuku-san was not in the kitchen.
Gouenji remained motionless, seeing his sister disappear into her room and hearing her door closing. A smile crept over hisface.
"Adolescents today..."
Yuuka swung her things in the corner of her room after closing the door behind her. Her slippers followed the same fate, and joined her handbag as the landlord jumped on her own bed, bouncing underneath her.
She rummaged for a long minute in the drawers of her bedside table, before finally finding her little treasure. She armed herself with a pen, and began to lay down on paper the words which had fired her mind, and burned her lips ardently from that moment which had become unforgettable. Every hour, every minute, even every second of that moment, was described in her diary. The words followed one another, jostled each other, filled the page little by little. Then one. Then two. Yuuka wanted to relive all that. She wanted to feel those sensations, those feelings of fainting at any moment by that heart beating and beating unceasingly, her eyes litterally feasting on that smile, those eyes, that soft, melodious voice which became her favorite sound. Everything about him attracted, obsessed her. And after so many times to have thought about it, Yuuka had finally found the answer to this question she had asked herself endlessly.
Her pen was exhausted, but she had time to write these last words which were still echoing in her head, and in which they didn't want to leave.
A smile on her lips, ready to explode with joy, Yuuka wrote them with a trembling hand of happiness.
"I'm happy, too... Yuuichi".
**