Chapter 4:
Kei seemed stunned as the unexpected words came out of Mizuki's mouth. She immediately recognized Kei's shocked expression and felt herself blush deeply out of embarrassment. Maybe she shouldn't have said that. Judging from Kei's facial expressions, she definitely should not have said that.
"Never mind!" Mizuki shouted promptly, trying to hide her reddened face.
Kei shook his head and began walking forward without responding to her statement. She felt hurt in a way, but she shouldn't expect him to want her in his life. She did force him to become friends as kids, but now that they were older, things could change.
The two walked in silence as the sunset slowly. As soon as they reached Mizuki's house, Kei nodded goodbye to her without saying another word. She wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Mizuki closed her front door which left Kei to walk home alone.
Kei couldn't get the words that she said out of his mind. He wasn't able to say anything because he didn't want to say the wrong thing. Kei reached his house and slowly opened the door. His mother greeted him and surprisingly, his brother was there too.
"Oh," Kei looked at his brother, who was grinning from ear to ear, "Hey."
"Kei! Aren't you happy to see your older brother home?" He gave a thumbs up.
"No." Kei sighed as he took his shoes off.
Akiteru, his brother, looked offended by his younger brother's indifference about him being home after months of working hard in Tokyo.
He cleared his throat and smiled, "I ran into someone familiar today."
Kei became a little curious but not enough to have a full conversation with his very annoying brother.
"I'm going up to my room." He stated calmly as he headed towards the stairs.
"It was Toma-san!" Akiteru grinned, "Your friend's mother!"
Kei froze in his tracks and glared at his brother. Akiteru gulped, and continued, "Anyway, she was grocery shopping and she recognized me! She called me handsome!"
Kei rolled his eyes and adjusted his glasses, "Clearly, she was only being nice."
Akiteru faked offense and pouted, "I can't believe you, Kei!" Kei smirked and before he could go up the stairs, his brother continued to pester him.
"Hey, remember when Mizuki-chan gave you that goodbye letter and for the next six months, you were all mopey and wouldn't leave your room?" Akiteru smiled deviously, "Now that she's back, I wonder if you're-"
Before Kei's brother could finish his sentence, he threw his schoolbag at his brother which made him go in defense mode. "Ouch!"
"I'm going up to my room," Kei repeated once more, his cold, piercing eyes subtly telling his brother to not bother him.
As soon as Kei reached his room, he took a deep breath and plopped onto his bed face first. He closed his eyes and took a few minutes to recollect his thoughts.
"What should I call you then? Tsukki?"
"Falling in love."
"All I know is that in my future, you're in it."
Kei frowned as he sat upon his bed, wondering if he should text Mizuki something. Anything.
Suddenly, Kei remembered where he had hidden the letter she gave him. He quickly stood up and headed towards his desk. It was cluttered with notebooks, pens, and loose papers that needed to be cleaned or thrown away. There was also a drawer that contained a green, locked box that had her letter and gifts that she had given him when they were kids. He hadn't opened that box since Mizuki left for Brazil. Kei tried to open the lock with sheer strength because he couldn't remember where he had put the key for it. He finally gave up and decided to go downstairs to get a hammer to break open the box. He grabbed the hammer from his father's toolbox as Akiteru suspiciously eyed him.
Kei jogged upstairs and placed the locked box on the floor. He hit the lock as hard as he could and after three tries, it successfully broke. Kei caught himself smiling before placing the hammer down on the floor. He slowly opened the box which revealed a folded letter, a volleyball keychain, a polaroid photo of the two of them, a small bouncy ball, and a dinosaur-themed stationery set. His first instinct was to grab the photo of the two of them.
The photo was taken in front of Kei's house, right after the two got back from a school festival. Kei was frowning and his arms were crossed whereas Mizuki smiled brightly and proudly. The two competed on who could run faster and Mizuki won by a landslide. He also remembered who took the photo. It was Mizuki's father.
Kei placed the photo back in the box and picked up the folded letter. He took a deep breath before opening it. The first thing he noticed was a T-Rex sticker on top of the letter. Typical.
Hi Kei,
It's me, Mizuki (duh)! I wanted to say this out loud but I know you'll make fun of me, so I decided to write a letter instead. I got the idea from my dad! Anyway, I know that you think I'm annoying but I hope you know that you're my bestest friend in the whole wide world!!! Nothing is going to change that, even if I'm a million miles away!!! I got you this dino keychain so that you never, ever forget me! I hope you like it! When I visit Japan, I'm going to go to your house first, I promise!
Bye!!!!
Kei couldn't help but laugh at her letter. He had almost forgotten how bold and unrealistic she was. He folded the letter once more and carefully placed it in the box. He took the polaroid out and positioned it on top of his desk, next to his family photo.
Kei still couldn't believe that Mizuki was attending the same high school as him. Her appearance was very different but her personality was still the same. She had long, wavy, auburn hair that seemed to shine radiantly whenever she stood in the sun and warm, hazel eyes that hid sorrow yet expressed desire and optimism. Mizuki was also taller and her body proportions have... developed, as well. Kei cleared his throat nervously, as he laid down on his bed. She seemed to have grown up... nicely.
On the other hand, Mizuki's charming smile had changed, and he didn't like that. Mizuki's smiles were no longer sunny and genuine. Kei noticed that it seemed forced at times. It was probably due to her father's passing but still, he couldn't help but wonder if she was facing other problems that he wasn't aware of either.
Kei pulled out his phone and wondered if he should text Mizuki. Maybe he should call her. After a few hours of contemplating what to say, Kei had fallen asleep and his phone died in the process.
~
Mizuki didn't sleep at all. Kei didn't say a word the whole walk home and she wondered if he was going to start avoiding her. Maybe she should have texted him but it might bother him which may cause him to hate her even more. Fortunately for her, she got a ride with her friends to school the next morning.
"So, what happened?" Rina squealed happily, "Did you confess your love to him last night?"
"No," Mizuki sighed, "You're crazy." She was disappointed at Kei for not saying anything the night before but what did she expect?
"Then what happened? Fill us in!" She insisted.
"I told him that I wanted him to be in my life, and he didn't say anything." Mizuki admitted, her face turning a deep shade of red.
"You what?" Mina replied, her eyes widening.
"As friends, of course. I want him to be in my life." She murmured quietly, avoiding her friends' gazes.
"And he didn't say anything?" Rina huffed as she shook her head, "Forget about him then!"
Rina held Mizuki's hand with a concerning, determined expression from her face.
"You don't need him! I'll help you find a boyfriend!" She smiled mischievously, "There's this guy in our year that girls can't stop talking about!"
"Who?" Mina raised an eyebrow.
"His name is Kageyama Tobio. He's in class 3, and apparently, he's very cute and mysterious!" Rina grinned, "I can help you get to know him!"
"Even if I was interested, which I'm not," Mizuki shook her head, "How?"
"My friend, Hinata Shoyo, told me they're in the same volleyball club," Rina stated confidently, "Although it seems like he hates him, I think Hinata actually idolizes him. Don't tell him I said that though."
Rina made friends really easily due to her pretty appearance and outgoing personality. However, she doesn't seem to get along with people who are not as passionate and lively as her.
"Since we're stopping by after school to visit the girl's volleyball club, why don't we swing by the boy's volleyball club first?" Rina clapped excitedly, "I'm curious to see if Karasuno's boys can make it to nationals."
Mizuki was nervous as Kei was also part of the boy's volleyball club, but she pushed back those thoughts and focused on what Rina was saying.
"You're not curious to see if the girl's volleyball club can make it to nationals?" Mina crossed her arms disappointingly. Rina shrugged as she clutched onto her pink school bag.
"They'd only make it if we were on the team," She casually declared, "I've seen how they play."
"When?" Mizuki asked out of curiosity.
"Two days ago," Rina yawned as she gazed out the car window, "I was thinking of joining the track team but I found myself investigating the girl's volleyball club instead."
Mizuki bit her lip and felt instantly guilty. She knew that her friends wanted to play volleyball and because she didn't want to, her friends refrained from joining too. Rina was a cunning libero and Mina was a perceptive setter during their junior high days. Mizuki was a powerful wing spiker that left opponents shocked and weak in the knees. The three of them had the necessary skills and teamwork that made their attacks devastating.
"Ah, I'm sorry," Rina panicked, noticing Mizuki's expressions, "I was just... um... inquiring about all the sports clubs in Karasuno!"
"No, it's okay..." Mizuki laughed softly, "You guys should join the volleyball club. I know you want to play."
She held Mina and Rina's hand before continuing to speak, "Don't worry about me."
Rina shook her head, "We're a team. If you're not on that team, neither are we."
"This is one of those rare occasions where I agree with my sister but she's right," Mina adjusted her glasses and smiled softly at Mizuki, "We're a team."
Mizuki felt herself tear up and she immediately hugged her friends. She was so lucky to have them. Even if she wasn't close friends with Kei anymore, she had her best friends and she was looking forward to making new friends as well.
"Don't make me cry," Rina sniffled, fighting back the tears that were forming on her eyes, "I'm not wearing waterproof makeup. I want to look good for the boy's volleyball club."
The three of them laughed as they approached the school. Mizuki mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen after school. Nothing was going to change by visiting the boys and girls' volleyball club. At least, she hoped nothing was going to change.
She was wrong.