CHAPTER 36

         Wannabe was gone.

         More specifically, he'd gone on a field trip.

         Considering he was always around, I tended to forget he was a year older than us, meaning he'd received different opportunities than we could being second years. And in this case—the chance to attend the annual Okinawa trip along with the rest of his third year peers.

          He would be gone for only three days, and left us with a strict earful about the rules and safety concerning the club. The guy was seriously tearing up like a father about to part with his children for years, too. Either way, fast forwarded to now, day one of his absence and it was already shaping up to be pretty darn amazing.

          "Chocolate?" Kouichi offered me as soon as I walked through the clubroom doors first thing in the morning.

          I brightened at once. "Really?" A wide smile crossed my face when he handed me a wrapped piece of chocolate. "Thanks."

          "If you're that excited over a piece, come check this out," Hiro called me over.

           I shifted my gaze from Kouichi. I aimed it in his direction only to be stunned into silence. My jaw plummeted, eyes bulging from their sockets.

          "Th-the hell?"

          Yuji approached the main table propped in the centre of the room, lifting up a handful of lollipops as he did. "It was like this when we walked in."

          My eyes guided themselves around the room. From the floor to the couches and even covering the tops of counters was an endless supply of sweets. Gummy bears, sweet snacks, various chocolate bars and candy canes—even red velvet cupcakes. I had to rub my eyes to make reassure myself it wasn't a dream and after being assured that it wasn't, I raced up to the first haul in my path.

          "Wait," Hiro hissed to me. "Don't just eat it all. We don't know where it came from—"

           "It's so good!" I cried the same time Yuji did.

           Broad grins shaped our mouths as we spared each other a glance, a shared twinkle in our eyes. I munched on the milk chocolate piece Kouichi had given me, savouring the rich taste. I heaved a satisfactory sigh.

          "Are we dreaming?" I had to demand as I went for the candy canes.

          "We must be," Yuji agreed, cheeks filled to the brim with jellybeans. "I've never had such a great morning."

          "Hey!" Hiro yelled, swiping the candies right out of our hands. "Literally right after I tell you guys!" He gritted his teeth as he set them down as far as he could from us. "We don't know where this all came from so we can't trust it—"

          "Aww," I drawled, pouting.

          "Let us eat," agreed Yuji.

          We both nodded and held up our fists.

          "Let us eat! Let us eat! Let us eat!"

      Hiro's eyebrow twitched. "How old are you two?"

          "It should be fine, Hiro-san," Kouichi cut in. He pushed his glasses to a higher position on his nose as he eyed various wrapped candies. "They're all wrapped, and none of them are nowhere close to expiring."

          "Kouichi!" I cheered, diving for the biscuits as Yuji went for the gummy bears.

         "Our only companion!" Yuji hailed.

         "Even still, you guys shouldn't have readily ate anything before we could check," Kouichi heartily scolded. "It's dangerous."

          "Yes, Mother," we called out.

         From his distance, Hiro's lips curled downwards in distaste. "Why do I even bother with them?"

          Kouichi chuckled. Gazing down at the chocolate bar in his hand, bewilderment crossed his features. "This is extremely odd though. Who would come here just to fill this room with treats...?"

           "God?" I suggested.

           Yuji bobbed his head. "God is rewarding us."

          "The question is which student," Hiro sighed, not even bothering to address our statements.

          "Isn't Kazuya-san usually the only one who comes to the clubroom every morning?" Kouichi pointed out.

          "He doesn't like the idea of somebody coming to request in the morning only for us not to be here," Hiro responded. "But since he's on his trip he's asked us to come early instead."

          I chewed on a gummy worm, muffling, "Are you guys trying to say Wannabe knows something about this?"

          "He might," Kouichi replied. "We should ask him when he returns just in case."

          Yuji halted his eating to frown. "The heck? I won't forgive Kazu. He's been keeping all these sweets to himself?"

         The idea spurned my own sense of anger. "And he dares to call himself the Club President?"

          "As if you guys would've done anything different," Hiro sighed.

          "Excuse me!"

          Everyone in the room froze up. Whose voice...

          All gazes swivelled towards the doorway where a rather built looking boy stood. He was dressed in a blue jersey and carried a basketball in his fingers. The male was nowhere quiet in the least as he summoned his boisterous voice again.

           "Is this the Humanity Club?"

———————————————————

           "My time to shine has come!"

           "Now, now. Down girl," Hiro breathed. He grabbed my outstretched arms that I'd thrown into the air and pushed them back down to my sides.

           I sent him a dirty look only to be given a offhanded shrug. Ahead of us on the floor was a row of boys—our high school's basketball team and Yuji standing tall in front of them.

          "They only want Yuji's help," Hiro reminded Kouichi and I, folding his arms across his chest.

          "I can't believe it!" cried a boy.

          "It's really that Sato Yuji," another agreed.

          "...Is that a candy cane in his mouth?"

         Murmurs originated from the entire basketball team and through it all, Yuji couldn't have appeared any more disinterested as he sucked on mint cane from the clubroom.    

          "Yuji was the ace player and captain back on his middle school team," Hiro enlightened the both of us. "Hard to believe since he's such a lazy fatass. Well, even back then he was one, too, but..."

          "No way," I gasped.

      "He doesn't appear like the athletic type," Kouichi mumbled.

          I bobbed my head vehemently. "He's been keeping such a secret from me?" I spun to face Hiro. "So?"

       "So?" he echoed.

           "What kind of player is he?" I demanded. "Akashi, Midorima, Aomine, Kise, Murasakibara? Or is he a Kuroko or Kagami? A side character?"

          Hiro's confusion grew. "What are you on about?"

          My lips pushed out into a purse and I jutted my chin in the other direction. How did he not get it? We hadn't received a request in months and when we finally got an interesting sounding one it only had to affect Yuji? And here I'd wanted to flaunt the moves I'd kept handy from watching the Generation of Miracles.

          "Yuji-san!" the male who'd come to our room, Kiyohara Natsuo, had a goofy grin slapped across his face as he thrusted forth the basketball in his hands. "We have our first game coming up, and our main coach is on a temporary leave. Please help us train to become better basketball players!"

"We beg of you!" the rest of them cried in unison, all dropping into a polite bow.

          Yuji played with the candy cane in his mouth, hands already stuffed in his pockets. His countenance shifted to utter discontent as he averted his gaze. "No way."

          Hiro's body stiffened at once. "Yuji!" he snapped, snagging his arm and tugging the guy back. "Idiot!" he hissed, quieter this time.

          Yuji pouted like a child. "I can understand your frustration but I already gave up basketball. Why should I try at something something I've lost passion for?

         "Because we're the Humanity Club," Hiro seethed. "We're supposed to be helping people out remember?"

         Yuji wasn't impressed at his reasoning. "Then why don't you do it?"

         "You're the best at basketball here! And they asked for your—" Hiro stopped to face-palm. "Jeez, our club's barely standing as it is; we're better off doing as many favours as we can so we can somehow get that to change."

          "Besides, if Kazuya-san was here he'd agree to this kind of request in a heartbeat," Kouichi added.

          Yuji ran his fingers through his shaggy hair, pursing his lips. "You say 'we' but at the end of the day this'll be something I'll have to do alone."

          "Why the hell are you so lazy?" Hiro demanded. "What will it take for you to do it?"

          Yuji hummed, perking up a bit. "Treat me to lunch."

           Hiro narrowed his eyes into a glare. "You're seriously... Fine. Lunch is on me today."

          Yuji grinned like an idiot. "Then, I guess I can put in a bit of effort."

With that, Yuji went off to guide the team, ordering them to do some basic drills. I watched this all unfold, frowning from displeasure.

           "Why does he have to be bribed to agree something like to this?"

           "As if you should be talking," Hiro reprimanded. "We have to bribe you all the time."

"Because those are boring requests," I pointed out. "But if it's something like this..."

"Can you play basketball, Hoshino-san?" Kouichi inquired.

I stood proud, sticking out my chest. "Of course I can."

"Don't trust her." Hiro deadpanned. "She's said that about volleyball once then flopped like a fish."

I tsked at him, wagging a finger as I did. "Naive, naive, Hiro."

He knitted his brows together.

I went on, "The difference between volleyball and basketball is that I've actually played basketball before."

"So?" he said. "That doesn't mean you're any good at it."

I smirked at the challenge. "Oh I'd beg to differ."

"Miyu-nee?"

Puzzled, I took a halt and pivoted on my foot to see who had called me. It was another member of the basketball team—a late comer by the looks of it. Regardless, I had to crane my neck up to meet his face.

It was the kind of looks that was enough to stop you in your tracks. He had strong arched eyebrows and thick eyelashes. The right side of his face was shielded by his blond bangs, though his exposed left iris was a deep blue that melted into a smooth violet.

More bafflement stirred inside of me as I stared at this basketball player. I tapered my eyelids. He did look somewhat familiar, but...

"You know me?" I finally asked.

The boy's eyes shrunk back, as if he couldn't believe his ears. "Huh?"

"You're kidding, right, Hoshino?" Hiro demanded from my side.

Okay, this was starting to make me feel guilty. My head cocked to the side. "Sorry," I apologized. "What was your name again?"

The blond folded his arms across his chest, newfound incredulity shaping his frown. "I don't see you for a year and you already forget about me? You're a terrible person."

Hiro shut his eyes. "It's Tatsuya," he said. "Kazuya's little brother."

My heartbeat screeched on its brakes so hard that I recoiled.

"T-Tatsuya?" I exclaimed, my eyes stretching to the point of saucers. My head whipped back to the masculine-looking blond before me, utterly gawking. "That miniature and adorable Tastuya? Kagamine Len look-alike Tatsuya?"

"It has been a year," Tatsuya reasoned.

But his existing frown really was identical to that crafty devil I'd known as Wannabe's little brother. And his hair style hadn't changed much either. Even still, he used to be so tiny and cute! And now he was way taller than Hiro and even had a deeper voice and defined cheekbones—and was that a jawline? He'd went and grown into a splitting image of Wannabe himself! How did he expect me to buy this all so suddenly?

"What the hell did puberty do to you?" I demanded, my heartbeat picking up loudly in my ears. "Let alone a bus, it's like a plane crashed into you—"

"Hey, you're late," Yuji's voice interrupted. I whipped my head away from the boys currently running laps towards him on the sidelines. The way he stood tall, hands at his sides with a basketball positioned under his armpit really gave off a coach impression. The only thing he was missing was a whistle. "Get running."

"Yuji," I hissed, snagging him by the sleeve and drawing him toward me. "Do you believe this is Tatsuya? That tiny and adorable munchkin?"

Yuji raked him over with indifference. "Yeah, it's definitely Kazu Jr."

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that," Tatsuya snapped, jerking his arm away from me in annoyance. He swerved to look me in the eye. "And you! I'm not a kid so stop treating me like one! You do realize I'm fifteen don't you? I'm a full-fledged high school student!"

My mouth slowly plummeted to the ground.

"He is only a year younger than us," Yuji said what my ravished mind was having a riot trying to come to terms with. "Don't tell me you didn't know that?"

I bit my lower lip, swallowing hard. Obviously I didn't! I mean, this cunning kid that tried to make my life a living hell and I were only apart a year in age? And in just a time span of a year he'd grown this much? He was taller than me now, dammit!

Well, at least he didn't have any facial hair (his skin was glabrous enough to be jealous over) so that wasn't an issue I had to worry over. Still... As I continued to wrap my head around the very fact, the only thing that had snagged me away from it was the jersey he was wearing.

"Don't tell me you're apart of the basketball team, too?" I pressed.

"I am." Tatsuya jutted his chin. "So?"

I was once again gawping.

"Stop that," he ordered.

"What do you mean 'so?'" I shouted without a regard to stifle my surprise. "You're the slowest runner I know! How the hell did you make the team?"

This time Tatsuya wasn't forgiving. He shot me a cold glare. "Obviously because I'm a talented basketball player."

"In what world is that possible?" I demanded. "You were as slow as a tortoise! And you even complained how much you disliked team sports. This doesn't add up!"

A blush brushed across his cheek. "That was the me of the past okay? Do you have an issue with that?" Tatsuya grounded his teeth, bending forward with a puppy-like growl. "Who invited you people here anyway? Kazu-nii's on a trip you know."

I retreated, propping my hands by my sides.

"We've asked Yuji-san to train us," Natsuo stepped in, breathing heavily. The rest of the team had finally finished their laps and were already quite sweaty as they attempted to catch their breaths. "Yuji-san's team won back-to-back championships in middle school and silver in his third year," he went on, dabbing at his face with a towel hung around his neck. "If we want to make the play-offs I thought we should him ask for some pointers. Our supervisor now that Hanamura-sensei is gone hasn't played basketball in his life, so we could really use the help."

Tatsuya's gaze shifted to Yuji who immediately grinned at their eye contact. Tatsuya blanched like a sheet of paper.

"This guy?"

Yuji bobbed his head. "This guy."

Tatsuya darted his eyes. "In what world is this guy talented at sports...?"

"I can ask you the same thing," I interjected. Tatsuya instantly glowered but I didn't deflate. "I want some proof. Show me what you've got, Wannabe Jr."

Tatsuya furrowed his eyebrows, menace radiating from his look. He really stopped hiding behind that innocent facade; he was letting everyone see his true colours without a care. "Do you want to bring it on—"

"Now, now," Yuji said, moving in between us. "Instead of yelling at one another, considering we're in the gym why don't we settle this with a little match?"

I cocked a brow. "Match?"

Yuji smirked. "A one-on-one match, of course. Between you and Kazu Jr."

He held up the basketball, spinning it on his finger as he met both of our eyes. He paused to bend his knees, holding the basketball firmly in his hands. Then without a moment's hesitation, he hopped, releasing the ball from his tips of his fingers. The ball soared through the air and almost effortlessly dived straight through the net. It hit the ground hard, causing awe to sift within us all. He made a half court shot so easily...

          "First one to three shots wins," Yuji finished.

         The entire basketball team had exploded into a series of cheers and raucous laughs. Tatsuya was the only one who didn't appear too impressed, but without a care, Yuji's attention flickered to me.

          Spotting my speechless awe, he sent me a discreet wink. I clamped my ajar mouth together at once, feeling immense heat soak into my cheeks. His smile only managed to soften as a result.

          "So you have a soft spot for guys who play basketball, Miyuki?"

          I averted my eyes, unsure of why I'd become so sheepish in the first place. Though, no matter how I tried couldn't stop the reaction. "Not really a 'soft spot'... but I do enjoy basketball," I murmured.

Yuji's smile spread far back as he laughed. I dodged his eyes, my skin crawling with goosebumps. What was so funny?

That was answered when Yuji reached out his hand and gave me a short muss of the hair. I closed an eyelid, uncomfortable, until he leaned forward and met my eyes, a kind smile in play now. "Then I'm glad I decided to play."

"Isn't that the past?" I asked when he finally retreated. "You don't play anymore."

Yuji chuckled, sliding his hands into his pockets. "But if it'll make you like me a little more I may have to give it another shot."

"But you're in the Humanity Club. You don't have time to join a team." I narrowed my eyes at him when it hit me. "Wait, don't tell me you plan to..."

"It amazes me that you can get something like that out of that," Yuji responded, and beamed. "Don't worry, I have no intentions of quitting. Still, you treasure the Humanity Club now don't you? How cute."

I opened my mouth to refute but nothing but a voice crack managed to surface. I clamped my mouth and dodged his eyes. Ugh, this dude. I reached to undo the button of my sleeve, rolling it up to my elbow before reaching for my tie to loosen it a bit.

"Oh my," Kouichi mumbled. "Is she taking off her shirt?"

It was then I realized everyone in the room—all boys—had fallen silent. They aimed their attention onto me like a hawk when Kouichi had said that, allowing heat to cross my cheeks as quickly as wildfire would. I let my hands fall to my sides.

"The hell, Kouichi!" I aimed a scowl his way and found that Hiro had awkwardly focused his eyes elsewhere. I extended out my finger to Tatsuya who flinched as a result. "It's because we're settling this and I don't have my gym uniform on me. Come and show your Miyu-nee just how talented you've become!"

I'd realized a second later that even Tatsuya had become flustered because of my earlier reactions, making it difficult for him to find his voice. I awkwardly ducked my head and went speed-walking to pick up the basketball. Jeez, boys were such boys.

It didn't take long to gather what was necessary to start the game, and Yuji to order the rest of the team to do some warm-ups half court while Tatsuya and my game would take place on the other half. Standing before Tatsuya now nothing nonchalant was radiating from his features. He was serious. Pushing back a lump in my throat, I eased out my nerves and returned a smirk. Tatsuya only glared as a result.

"Miyuki starts." Yuji tossed the ball into my hands. "First one to three baskets wins and rules of an ordinary half court game applies. Meaning, if your opponent touches the ball, you have to clear it before you can shoot it." He gave us a steady look before saying, "Go knock yourselves out."

I moved into action at once. Tatsuya held out his arms to defend me but before he could get far with that I pivoted on my foot, exchanged the ball between my fingers and circled around him. I dashed straight for the net and performed a proper layup, making it an easy basket.

I heaved a breath as I spun around to face Tatsuya who stood still in utter disbelief. Hiro wasn't in a better state, gawping with his eyes wide, and even Kouichi had gained some sparkles due to awe. Yuji wore an impressed smile, one which I couldn't help but feel flattered to see.

"She's pretty good," the rest of the basketball team murmured.

"Yeah..."

"Yoshiko, right?"

"Hoshino," I corrected, placing my hand at my hip. My hair swished as I did, falling nearly onto my shoulders. "Hoshino Miyuki," I said, using the hair tie on my wrist to tie it up in a high ponytail. "You boys might want to ingrain the name into your memory."

The whispers had lulled to a halt, the series of basketball players gaining lovestruck dazes.

"We'll never forget you, Hoshino-san!" they shouted simultaneously.

"Yeah right!" Tatsuya spat, glowering daggers into me. He swiped the ball in my arm, taking it as his own as he continued to growl. "I was going easy on you."

Quite amused, I craned my neck up so we were eye level again. "I can say the same thing, Munchkin," I responded, a smirk curving my lips. "How about we both get serious then?"

I heard Yuji chuckle from behind me, Hiro telling the boys to stop gawking (I wasn't sure what at) and Kouichi still hadn't moved an inch from where he was. Nonetheless, our match resumed.

Tatsuya, contrary to my belief, wasn't that terrible of a player. He'd managed to steal the ball from me once or twice, and kept a pretty strong defence as well. His speed and stamina had definitely increased—he could no longer classify as the tortoise I remember—making it pivotal for me to move as fast as I could to get some shots on net. Despite the rules being pretty standard it was a lot of back and forth.

Nonetheless, at the end of the day, Tatsuya was Tatsuya. He didn't have a chance of hailing supreme to my superior mind and experience. And by 'experience' I meant Kuroko no Basket, of course. And maybe a couple one-on-one matches against Kyo our entire lives.

I inhaled deep breaths after the basketball ricocheted against the glossy floorboards, Tatsuya hunched over in a more pathetic state than I was. Sweat clung to my forehead, wisps of my hair most likely nothing more than a ravaged tornado site.

Yuji approached us, throwing Tatsuya a water bottle.

As I heaved as well, I paid heed as Tatsuya's teammates bombarded him to help him up. Despite his mortification of his loss, he still relented, going on to squabble with them.

Yuji had stepped up to me while my focus was still diverted. He extended out a water bottle for me, which I gladly received.

        "I didn't realize you could play like that," he said as I spun open the cap and gulped down a good amount.

       I retreated the bottle from my mouth, producing a breathless laugh. "I guess there's still a lot you don't know about me."

        Yuji cracked a tiny smile. "That sucks," he said, "but at least I know I can rely on you to help me train these guys."

"No thanks."

Startled, Yuji craned his neck toward me. "Why the sudden change of heart? Hiro told me you wanted to help."

I took another swig of water which delayed my response. "Well, now that I've proved myself, I don't think there's any point." I twisted back on the cap, my lips peeling back into a large grin. "Besides, it'll be way too much work. Have fun with this request yourself."

Seeing the disbelief wrapped around his countenance, I could only break out into a fit of laughter. Clicking his tongue, Yuji grabbed me by the shoulder and ruffled my already dishevelled hair. "I knew something was fishy when Hiro told me you actually wanted to do something for the club."

I laughed even harder. "Hey, have some faith in me. But I guess that was a little too hard to believe, huh? Sorry."

"Hoshino-san, you were amazing!" Kouichi cried

I pinned my gaze behind me to where Kouichi had come bounding up to us, a wide grin on his face.

"I'm always taken off guard!" he cried, like my own little fan. "You're so awesome all the time! And you made those three baskets so easily! I'm always in such awe, being at your side."

I sheepishly tittered, scratching the back of my head. "That kind of flattery won't get you anywhere."

"So you actually practiced this sport ahead of time?" Hiro said. I hadn't even realized he'd joined us.

"Yup," I replied. I popped my face closer to his, beaming from ear to ear. "I surprised you, right? I was really good, right?"

Hiro shied away, evidently timid. To my surprise though, he still returned my gaze. "You were decent."

My eyebrows elevated on my forehead.

"Wow..." I mumbled. "Hiro actually complimented me."

A bright blush rushed to his cheeks. "Why do you always react like that whenever I try to be sincere?"

I produced a hearty laugh, taking another quick sip of water. I shifted my gaze ahead, towards the other basketball students. Some sent both Yuji and I smiles and waves as they notified us they were going to head to the locker rooms to get ready for class, while the rest still were nonchalantly talking with Tatsuya. And the boy himself had a genuine smile as he socialized right back.

I could feel my mouth drop in newfound awe.

"Tatsuya... really has changed, hasn't he?" I said.

"Is he really Kazuya-san's little brother?" Kouichi inquired.

Hiro folded his arms across his chest as we all fixed our focus in his direction. "It's still hard to digest. But he's looking more and more like him everyday."

Yuji unhanded me to add, "He's come a long way. Then again... haven't we all?"

"Well, a few days ago he came to my office and told me he's been getting bullied. He said that the others get fed up with his lack of facial expressions and how cute he is despite that. He's as popular as his brother I tell you."

"And?" I questioned bluntly and she sighed.

"The boy's like you."

My gaze travelled down to his neck where a chain hung. I knew it. He still wore that ring. And on that chain so he wouldn't lose it this time.

I broke out into a tiny smile.

Maybe Tatsuya had found a goal he wanted to reach, or a passion to withhold. Not only had he changed appearance-wise, but nearly everything about him had become unrecognizable.

But nothing about what Yuji said was wrong.

Time continued to move forward. Whether we liked it or not. Whether we could keep up with it or not.

And I had no other choice but to latch on as much as I could. Enjoy myself to the fullest before it was too late.

That day's essay topic couldn't help but drift to mind as I gave my surroundings a discreet glance.

'Your View on High School Life,' huh?

My viewpoint's really changed a lot since then, hasn't it?