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Post by Yosuke/Kou on Oct 20, 2011 16:35:21 GMT -5
"Yeah, I love it." Kou said smiling as he watched Yukiko. He was rather pleased she hadn't accidentally smacked herself in the face with the ball. He had seen plenty of people do that before while still learning to play and picking up the basics.
Kou watched Yukiko slowly dribbling the ball, she seemed to be picking it up pretty quickly, and having fun, if how much she had been smiling today was any indication anyway.
Once Yukiko stopped next to him Kou smiled along with her and patted her on the back. "You certainly did. Picked it up like a pro." He said with a laugh. "You'll be as good as me in no time."
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Post by Naoto//Yukiko on Oct 20, 2011 19:08:14 GMT -5
Cheeks flushing, Yukiko's gaze fell to the basketball in her arms. Her lips moved silently for a moment as she tried to find something to say, much too flustered at the sudden rush of praise. It wasn't that she was unused to being complimented, in fact, they were something she received all the time. Yet for some reason, hearing it from Kou and seeing the warm smile he offered made something in her chest flutter and her determination soared.
"I-I'm not anywhere near that good," she muttered quietly, holding the ball out for the male to take again. Her fingers had started to twitch nervously, almost causing the raven to drop it. "I'm still only a beginner. Chie is much better at learning things like this than I am."
Smiling, she clasped her hands behind her back to control the nervous tremble before she looked up, head quirked to the side. "What's next?" Yukiko asked, "We're learning more than dribbling today, right?" |
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Post by Yosuke/Kou on Oct 20, 2011 20:43:20 GMT -5
"Oh, come on, you're a very smart girl. I'm sure you could pick it up in no time." Kou said with a smile while turning the ball over in his hands, noting Yukiko getting flustered suddenly, while thinking of what to do next; deciding to himself it was best not to press her on why she was getting flustered, as he figured that would just make it worse.
"Hmm, shooting seems like a fairly good one to do next. We wanna stick to fairly simple stuff at first, right? No need to throw you in at the deep end straight away." And with that the captain got into position in front of the hoop and began explaining the basics of shooting whilst demonstrating as well.
Once Kou had finished demonstrating he turned to Yukiko and held the ball out to her. "You wanna give it a try now, now that you've finished trembling a little?" He said with a playful smile, deciding to tease her just a little about it.
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Post by Naoto//Yukiko on Oct 21, 2011 1:57:32 GMT -5
"T-trembling?" Yukiko repeated, eyes widening briefly before she grabbed the ball with a huff. "I wasn't trembling at all, Ichijo-san. I was just..." she paused, "...excited. I was shaking with excitement."
Turning away from the dark-haired male, the inn-keeper looked up at the net. For a moment, she contemplated what to do. When Kou had done it, he made it look so easy... but as she raised the ball, she found herself frowning. Her hands, while she didn't realise it, were positioned completely wrong, thus making the holding of the ball awkward. Her wrists felt stiff and the way in which she bent them were awkward, but the raven paid it no mind. With a small nod, she pushed against the ball, watching as it soared slowly through the air for a few feet in a small arc before it plopped down on the ground and rolled away.
For a moment, Yukiko could only stare at the ball as she felt her cheeks begin to heat up. Clearing her throat, she rushed forward and picked it up, and returned to her previous spot. She tried again, only to have the process repeat itself the next two times. By the forth attempt, it was clear the raven was getting frustrated... and just not getting it. |
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Post by Yosuke/Kou on Oct 21, 2011 2:19:45 GMT -5
"Of course you were." Kou said chuckling slightly in response to Yukiko getting defensive, finding it quite amusing at how flustered she got over it.
Kou watched Yukiko shooting and immediately noted her awkward positioning; he was unsurprised to see her miss the shot shortly after. He watched with slight amusement at how she was getting frustrated and slightly embarrassed by the looks of it since her cheeks suddenly got a lot redder.
Kou chuckled and grabbed the ball off the ground after the last attempt and returned to Yukiko. "No, no, you're holding the ball wrong, like this." He said demonstrating how to hold the ball again before pushing the ball in Yukiko's hands and grabbing her arms before helping to get her into the proper positioning. "See? Like that. Isn't that a less awkward way to hold it?" He said smiling encouragingly at the girl.
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Post by Naoto//Yukiko on Oct 21, 2011 3:12:05 GMT -5
Of all the things Kou could have done, helping her had been the last Yukiko expected. She had expected him to laugh, perhaps even tease her, she wouldn't have been surprised had he given up on the lessons completely and suggest they do something else. It was a cruel assumption, especially given how much of a gentleman the captain had been before. He really just wasn't the cruel type of person, and perhaps it was that which baffled Yukiko the most. Next to Souji, Kou was likely the most polite and considerate male she'd ever met--and the first to attempt to get on her good side just to try for a date.
Perhaps that was one of the things that had perplexed her the most in the beginning. Souji was a transfer student, so it was understandable why he had asked. But as she'd come accustomed to the idea that majority of the boys she had met wanted a date (not that she was proud of this; had anyone asked, she would have quietly smiled and said that she wasn't the type to attract males) just to say they'd beaten the "Amagi Challange," this was a nice change of pace.
How he had decided to help her, however, completely threw the raven off.
If it was possible for Yukiko's face to get any redder, it was the moment Kou's hands touched her's to adjust her throwing position. Her entire body grew tense as she felt his chest against her back, and for a moment, she forgot to breathe. Her pulse quickened as her mind tried to catch up with what was happening, and she suddenly felt faint. Her stomach was doing flips as butterflies zoomed throughout her chest and something lodged itself in her throat.
Why? she thought as she swallowed, forcing the lump down and inhaling sharply. Why does this feeling always appear when he gets close?
Giving her wrists a sharp flick, Yukiko watched as she ball soared much further than it had before, landing on the rim where it circled several times. She watched in awe as the circular movements slowed just before the ball finally fell through, bouncing off the ground with several loud 'whumps,' then rolled into the grass.
"I... I did it," she mumbled, sounding baffled. "It... went in." She kept her arms awkwardly in the air, fearing that the small voice in the back of her mind telling her that if she did, Kou would pull away, would be right. |
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Post by Yosuke/Kou on Oct 21, 2011 3:37:57 GMT -5
"That it did." Kou said with a chuckle. "Just like a pro." And once he said that something dawned on the captain. He had yet to let go of Yukiko for some reason, despite there obviously being little need for him to still be holding her anymore now that she had thrown the ball.
Why haven't I let go yet? Kou thought to himself as he realised he couldn't let go now, despite his mind telling him he should have. He didn't want to suddenly.
Suddenly Kou's mind flashed back to what Daisuke said yesterday, about if Kou had some ulterior motive for the tutoring sessions. Could that really have been the reason for these sudden feelings? Surely not, he would have known if that was the case, right?
Kou cleared his throat and let go before stepping back a bit, suddenly feeling awkward, which was a rare feeling for the captain to say the least. "T-that was really good. You learn fast." He said with a slight stutter as he began rubbing the back of his head.
What was that all about? Do I have feelings for her now or something? Kou thought to himself as a faint blush appeared on his face. The idea seemed completely ridiculous, of course. Surely he would have known if that was the case; he must have just been getting paranoid after what Daisuke had said to him. Yeah, that's it. I'm just being paranoid. I would have known if it was something else.
Though, a faint voice at the back of Kou's mind kept telling him that he was in denial. But he didn't want to admit that. He had never seen himself as much of a "Lady's man" after all, what lady would want to go out with him anyway? He was hardly the most handsome or intelligent person around, why would someone be interested in him over, say, Daisuke, or Souji? It was just crazy talk to him.
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Post by Naoto//Yukiko on Oct 21, 2011 16:45:13 GMT -5
When Kou stepped away, Yukiko couldn't stop the overwhelming feeling of sorrow that settled over her. Her hands felt suddenly felt colder, and they lingered in the air for a moment before she slowly lowered them and stared at her palm as if it had just betrayed her somehow. Her eyebrows knit together in a faint frustration as she tried to understand what just happened, but the feeling was quickly shoved away. The raven didn't want her companion to get concerned, that would lead to questions she wasn't sure she had the answers to.
"It's much harder than it look," she commented as she went to retrieve the ball, hugging it to her chest for the second time that day. Her back remained facing the other as the young woman stared at the ground, trying to calm the quickened pace of her pulse. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like this, if she ever had.
It just didn't make sense.
Everything had been fine that morning; she'd preformed her duties at the inn without trouble, and even when they had been looking through the storage room all had been well. Thinking about it, she'd never had this problem. It hadn't been until Kou had actually touched her that it suddenly flared.
...Allergic? Yukiko mused briefly, shaking her head when she realised how ridiculous it sounded. If that were the case, she would have noticed symptoms sooner when they'd first met. Besides, it wasn't possible to be allergic to someone... was it?
"Is there anything else for today?" |
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Post by Yosuke/Kou on Oct 21, 2011 23:43:05 GMT -5
Kou was suddenly jolted from his train of thought when Yukiko asked him if there was anything else. However, he was now not sure himself. The incident from a few seconds ago seemed to be having an impact as suddenly the captain could barely think straight, let alone decide what lessons to be teaching someone.
"Oh, um, yeah, but how about we take a break first?" Kou said rubbing the back of his head again, this was apparently becoming something of a nervous twitch at this stage. And of course suggesting a break was ridiculous, they had only just started, he simply couldn't think of anything else to say and needed to collect this thoughts; which was proving surprisingly difficult for some reason.
Kou was running many, many different reasons through his head through why he suddenly felt this way. Was he sick? That couldn't be it, he felt fine before. Allergies? No, that didn't make any sense either. Only one thing did make sense logically, that he had feelings for Yukiko. But surely that wasn't it. Wouldn't he have noticed sooner if that was the case? One doesn't simply get feelings from nowhere.
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Post by Naoto//Yukiko on Oct 22, 2011 0:51:47 GMT -5
A break...? Yukiko blinked in surprise, but kept her protests to herself. It seemed way to soon to be taking a break already, but the look on Kou's face was concerning. Something was definitely bothering him, and that made the raven worry. What if she had somehow offended him without realising it? Perhaps he was frustrated because she wasn't taking to this sport as quickly as he had... But that didn't make sense at all. Kou was such a gentleman, he wouldn't get angry at someone over something as simple as that.
"Are you alright?" she asked softly, moving back over to the captain. "Did I upset you?" It didn't seem likely, after all, what could she have done? Very little had happened since they came outside, and she didn't remember striking him when she was handling the ball.
"I'm sorry..." Bowing her head apologetically, the inn-keeper dropped her gaze to the ground. It bothered her when anyone was angry with her, but this time it was almost painful to imagine. If anything could be done to fix the situation, she would do it. |
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Post by Yosuke/Kou on Oct 22, 2011 2:27:54 GMT -5
Kou snapped from his own little world back to the real world once Yukiko suddenly apologised to him. "Oh, no, nothing's wrong. Really, it's ok. Sorry for worrying you." He said smiling encouragingly again, it was apparent to him now he had not done a good job of hiding his thoughts and had worried Yukiko. "I think I might just be coming down with a cold or something is all."
He was lying, of course, and not really making a good job of it either, but he didn't want to worry Yukiko over anything. The very thought of doing so suddenly made him sick to his stomach for some reason.
"But you haven't done anything to be sorry for, honestly." He said smiling, trying to comfort the girl in some small way at least.
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Post by Naoto//Yukiko on Oct 22, 2011 2:48:23 GMT -5
While she could not claim to be an expert on the human mind, Yukiko was far from a fool. She'd prided herself on slowly but surely learning how to watch her friends and detect lies. It hurt slightly to know that, for whatever reason, Kou was being untruthful, but there was something in his tone that kept her from getting upset. They'd both suddenly started acting different since the incident of a few minutes ago, and she wanted to know why.
"If something is bothering you, you can tell me. I know I'm not the best person to go to for personal help, but..." As she paused, the raven's cheeks flushed slightly and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unsure of how to continue. Her pulse was starting to speed up again, yet she couldn't help pushing forward. "You can tell me anything... No matter what it is, I want to help."
Cheeks flushing, Yukiko slowly moved forward, reaching out before taking one of Kou's hands lightly in her own. The grip was loose enough that the captain could pull away, but firm enough to show she was serious. |
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Post by Yosuke/Kou on Oct 22, 2011 3:05:50 GMT -5
Kou was not really surprised Yukiko had seen through him. She was a smart person and he was not exactly the best at lying, he may as well have just been upfront to begin with in hindsight.
When Yukiko took his hand Kou automatically squeezed lightly back. "Well, um... I'm not really sure what's wrong..." He said rubbing the back of his head yet again with his other hand. "I, um... Think that I might... Like you..." He said very awkwardly while flushing a bright red.
The idea still seemed crazy to him. How had he not noticed before? Why just now was he feeling this way? It made no logical sense to him at all. But, what else could it possibly be? All the other options he ran through his head made even less sense logically. And now he was starting to sound like Naoto as well.
"I, um, don't really know what else it could be... I'm sorry, I'm sure I've made you very uncomfortable now..." The captain said looking down at the ground, his shoes now suddenly becoming the most fascinating thing in the world.
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Post by Naoto//Yukiko on Oct 22, 2011 3:42:49 GMT -5
"You... like me?" Yukiko repeated slowly, the statement baffling her. It seemed an obvious statement to make, given the fact that they were friends. Wasn't some form of affection required in order for people to be friends? Curiosity poked at her mind as she tried to figure out why it was so important to point this fact out now. It seemed completely off topic.
"But what does--"
And then it hit her.
"O-oh..." she murmured, feeling a sudden rush of heat forming in her cheeks. The hand gripping her's was sending shots of electricity up and down her arm, creating a tingling, but not at all painful sensation that eventually spread throughout her body.
At first, she was speechless, and for a good five minutes, she couldn't speak. She had never imagined herself actually stopping to think about a confession she'd received. So many of the boys who had come to her before were only out to prove they could beat the "Amagi Challenge," while others wanted her for her fame or looks. There had never been a time where, after hearing another say it, that she thought they were being genuine... Yet now, looking at Kou, there was no doubt in her mind that he was being completely honest with her.
It was that which baffled her the most. She wasn't used to it, and the fact that she couldn't push this one away like the others left her confused.
"U-um," the raven started uneasily, trying to find the right words. It was a reflex to turn those who tried to date her down, but this time... she truly didn't want to. Her cheeks burned more as she looked down at their joined hands, and felt her chest flutter happily. "I..." she paused again, tightening her grip on his hand. "Ichijo--um, no. That isn't right. K-Kou-san, I... I think that I..." |
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Post by Yosuke/Kou on Oct 22, 2011 18:30:04 GMT -5
Kou stood there awkwardly looking down at his clearly fascinating shoes for the five minutes of silence, not really wanting to say anything more. It was apparent that he had made Yukiko uncomfortable with his confession and towards the end he was beginning to think maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut.
Though, part of him also felt relieved that he had, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He supposed that was a natural feeling to have in this kind of situation. Even if she didn't return the sentiments at least he felt relieved to have gotten it off his chest.
Once Yukiko began speaking the captain looked up at her with a strange mix of anxiety and relief. He was anxious to hear what Yukiko would say next, but he was also relieved that the silence that felt like it had lasted for an eternity had finally ended.
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