Wordless

Lala J. Thorpe

This is a fanfiction of a football-based anime called “Days”. Mizuki Hisahito is the captain of Seiseki High. The names of his teammates exist in anime. Ooshiba Kiichi does have an elder sister but it hasn’t been known yet, so I decided to make it up. The fact that she has a crush on Mizuki is also canon.

 

“Let’s start today’s practice with 100 laps of shuttle-run.”

“Yeah!”

*whizz*

The sound of cleats hitting the turf reverberated the whole pitch, as well as the panting of first-year students who were just taken under the wing of football club in Seiseki High School. There was someone who was in charge of blowing the whistle to indicate pace-changing, standing right behind the touchline, wearing a sleeveless navy-blue tee and black tracksuit bottoms of Seiseki. His left hand was inserted in the pocket whilst silently listening to exhausted breathing of his juniors. There he was, Mizuki Hisahito-kun, my fellow second-year student and the captain of Seiseki football team. His expression was always stern and stoic. His jet-black hair emblazoned his tanned-skin and extremely athletic physique due to his rigorous training. Three friends of his were also standing behind him watching their kohais. The tall one with brown-spiky hair  was Inohara Susumu. The smallest one among them was Haibara Jirou. I didn’t know them well but the silver-haired guy was quite popular among girls of my year and also first-year ones. Usui Yuuta.

“Riko, what are you doing here?”

I nearly jumped from hearing someone asking me.  I looked back to see my two classmates were walking towards me.

“Oh! Gosh…Akane, Izumi, you startled me.” I turned back to the pitch whilst gripping the wire-fence. “I’m checking my little brother. Look, there he is. The tallest one with brown hair.”

“Whoaaa…he’s so huge! No wonder you beat the height of most girls here. It’s in your blood,” Akane complimented.

“Kyaaa! Usui-kun is here. Choo kakkoi.” I could see the excessive blush adorning Izumi’s (already) rosy cheeks. She had been having a crush on that vice-captain since the beginning of first term where he was put in the class next to ours. It seemed that Usui overheard his name was being mentioned. He turned his head towards us and casually waving (probably) at Izumi. A faint smile was shown on his fair-skinned face. Izumi melted to the ground.

“Hey, Izumi, you’re okay?” I shook her shoulder slightly trying to sober her.

“Let her be, Riko. She’s always like that,” Akane spoke. “Wait. Could it be that…you’re here to stalk your long-term crush Mizuki-kun?”

“Huh? What? Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh??? Of…of course not!” I turned away from Akane.

But she quickly jumped in front of me. “Ne, Riko, your face can’t hide it, can it? Hora! You’re blushing so bad!”

“Shush, Akane! He’s gonna hear us!” I covered her babbling mouth with my hand and dragged her a little far from the fence. Akane giggled under her breath while Izumi was still sitting upon the grass behind the fence fangirling over Usui.

Two hours later, the practice finished. Akane and Izumi had gone home an hour ago. I stood near the exit waiting for my brother to come out. He was still lying starfishequely on the ground heaving his chest from exhaustion. Several students dragged their feet out from the pitch wearily, readying themselves to confront their captain for the last speech.

“Thank you for today. We will see you again on Sunday at 9 o’clock. Those who are late will be running ten times from the outer fence. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir!”

The chatter and laugh of first graders were overheard through the whole field. Some of them were complaining about how harsh today’s practice was but quickly shut it as they noticed the death glare from their upperclassmen. Mizuki was having a talk with Usui and others, momentarily glancing at my brother who was quarrelling with his friend.

“Ooshiba! Kimishita! Kaeru!” A hoarse voice of Inohara startled both of them. Mizuki scoffed and turned away to exit the training ground. I looked at the ground to avoid his cold expression which might freeze me to death. My cheeks were burning from ear to ear. I could sense his steps approached. Just when he was about to set his feet outside the fence, he stopped. Right before me.

“Riko ka?” His raw deep voice roused me.

“Ha…hai.”

“Nani wo shite iru?”

“I’m…I’m waiting for my brother to come home with,” I replied without lifting my head on my full height. I was as tall as he was. Even though I did conceal my excessive blush from him, I somehow knew he would notice.

“Your brother? Ooshiba Kiichi ka?”

“Y…yes.”

“Mizuki, hayaku!” Haibara shouted at him to keep up with them.

“Hmph. Sou ka? Ja, Riko.”

I nodded. “Ja.” And he continued walking.

“Hey, hey, is that your girlfriend? You got a girlfriend now?” Haibara teased him poking his waist.

“Uruse.”

Yeah, we were always like that. He was never good with words and I was never able to look at his face for more than ten seconds. That’s our way of communicating.

Flashback to previous year.

We were in the same class in first year. Mizuki was the kind of loser, a total fool, who never for one second excelled both academically and non-academically although he could be considered as a good-looking guy by the girls in my class. The teachers scolded him a lot and so did my classmates. Knowing that he joined the football team as a complete beginner brought another nightmare to him coming from upperclassmen’s blabbering mouth. I initially didn’t give a damn about his existence as he chose to keep silent during and after school.

However, this feeling grew when I was put in the same group with him in a physics class. He sucked so badly so I was obliged to assist him comprehending the materials from my notes, while the any personnel wouldn’t lend their hand to him. Yappari, he’s a slow learner as well.

“Riko, I need to learn more about chapter 4. Do you have some time after I finish practicing?” he asked me after the bell rang.

“Uhmm…I think I do.” I replied hesitantly.

“I’m…I’m sorry for troubling you.  It’s okay if you go home first. I’ll come to your place when I finish.” Kami-sama, why did a cold Mizuki even stutter? He quickly moved away from me when I hadn’t even answered him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll wait for you here.”

He stopped his pace. “What?”

My afternoon was spent outside the training ground with Meiko who was also waiting for his boyfriend, Inohara. Two-hour practice was not enough for Mizuki alone. He stayed an hour later to improve himself without any acknowledgement from the upperclassmen. I patiently waited for him to come out. Man, he was being tortured and ridiculed badly. But there he was. Pushing himself to his limit to get rid of the mockery he always acquired. Since then, I knew that I’d fallen for him. And it’s far too deep.

I was becoming close to him day by day. My heartbeat began to thump quicker than usual when I was with him. But our relationship was merely a study partner and he didn’t seem to care about further one either.

One day when the dusk fell after his training session and he decided to walk me home, I shrugged it off.

“Mizuki-kun…”

“Nan da?”

“Ano…it might be weird to say but…I think I kinda…like you.” A hot tingling sensation was creeping up my cheeks as I put an end to that silly sentence. Seconds passed by and I didn’t dare to look up to his face. We kept walking. For a moment, I attempted to peek through the corner of my eyes. Damn, this was awkward. His expression was still as stoical as ever. There was no indication of a movement from his mouth. We walked until nearly 50 metres from my house when he suddenly stopped. He sighed before speaking to me.

“This is it.”

I nodded idly. “Thank you, Mizuki-kun.”

Grab!

He swiftly pulled me into his embrace singlehandedly. Without saying any words I just stayed there closing my eyes, cherishing his sweaty scent coming from his shirt. I was assuming that he might have a mutual feeling toward me. A slight happiness hit me when he abruptly pulled away.

“Sumanakatta, Riko. I can’t.”

What?

Mizuki walked away leaving me flabbergasted. A tiny stab struck my chest as well as a single tear rolled down my cheek. What is it all about, Mizuki-kun? I wiped the tear quickly and ran home heaving my chest up and down. By the time I got into the house, my brother Kiichi already noticed my state, babbling Onee-san this, Onee-san that. Chikusso…!

….

Mizuki’s POV

Sumanakatta, Riko. I can’t.

I recalled the simple but stabbing words I uttered to that Ooshiba girl nearly a year ago. It was the best way I could ever tell her. How could a well-off brainy lady like her fall for a knucklehead jerk like me? All I had done was putting her into troubles for aiding me understanding any nonsense from school. I kept telling myself that she’s out of my league, that she deserved someone much better than a total nimrod like me.

I looked over my shoulder to check her one last time. She was having a talk with her brother while walking away from the field. That shoulder-length hair and black-framed glasses of hers never abandoned the beauty she always showed.

I remembered when I got stunned before her whilst she was explaining the materials to me. Her sweet voice and the hair put behind her ear almost made me choke from amazement.

It wasn’t enough.

When she said that she would wait for me until I finished my practice, I thought she only tried to keep the conversation up. But she proved me wrong. Seeing her sitting beside the training ground with Inohara’s girlfriend had brought my burning spirit back. Luckily, I could still keep up with the adrenaline of extreme thumping inside my chest just by exchanging slight stare with her. Seiseki’s training really was harsh and hazardous to my health. But as long as her smile happened to be its painkiller, I’d be still fine.

“Mizuki-kun, ohayou!”

“Can you understand my explanation, Mizuki-kun?”

“How about coming to cafeteria with me?”

“Mizuki-kun, please do the exercise 7.”

“Ja ne, Mizuki-kun!”

Kami-sama! Why did her voice keep ringing in my head?! I shook my head violently trying to get rid of it but failed miserably.

“Argh!” A short squeal escaped my mouth.

“Huh? Mizuki, daijoubu?” Usui enquired.

I let out a long sigh to steady my mind. “Aa. Warui.”

Forgive me, Riko. Forgive me for not being able to express my feelings to you properly. We had grown apart since I released you from my hug that evening. No words could describe how sorry I was for ditching you. I knew I liked you earlier than you did. You weren’t supposed to be in love with a fool like me. I wasn’t ready to accept your feeling. You were far too good to be true. However, my dreams awaited me. I had to work harder to achieve them at that moment to get away from the badmouthing and mockery thrown by the senpais. I was nearly there, Riko. If you happened to still wait for me or not, it’s all up to you. Because you deserved somebody much better than I was.

“You’ve been working so hard. Don’t worry. I’m sure she will still be there. And don’t just keep being wordless like you always are,” Usui, my best friend and the best advisor I could ever ask, whispered whilst putting his arm around my shoulder.

I nodded at him. “Doumo, Usui.”

 ***