As morning came and Tetsuo went through his classes as usual, his mind ran on Tomoe, so he ended up daydreaming. "Tetsuo, are you doing okay?" asked Hayami Sensei. "Tetsuo, are you hearing me?" "Oh, yes, I'm doing just fine, I just dozed off a bit," said Tetsuo. "Okay, if you say so, be sure that you're getting enough sleep." "Yes, I'm sleeping well." Sachiko, who was concerned about Tetsuo, stared at him with a worried look.
As soon as the bell rang, Tetsuo got up and quickly made his way to the door. "Come on, dude, again with this crap? Where are you even running off to every day?" said Noboru, annoyed. "Aren't I free to go wherever I want, whenever I'm on my break? Why do I have to sit and eat lunch with you?" asked Tetsuo bluntly. "Well, it's because we are a team, goddammit. We have to strengthen our bond to better improve our teamwork," said Noboru.
"Stop it, Noboru, he does have a point. If it's his choice, there's nothing you can do about it, and plus, sticking around someone like you is a total pain," said Makoto as he ate his lunch. "What did you say? I'm going to kick your ass," said Noboru angrily. "Can you take your nonsense elsewhere? Can't you see that I'm eating?" said Makoto. "Honestly, I swear that obnoxious punk picks a fight with everyone. One day, someone is going to teach him a lesson," said Naomi as she sighed. "Um, Naomi, is it just me or is Tetsuo acting a bit strange today?" asked Sachiko. "Not in particular, but you do seem to be worried about him. Could it be that you like Tetsuo?" asked Naomi teasingly. "That's not it, he just seems more distant than usual, that's all," said Sachiko.
Tetsuo quickly made his way to the literature clubroom to check up on Tomoe. However, after opening the door, he realized that it was vacant and all of the books that were present on the shelves had disappeared. "I thought as much," he said as he made his way to Class 2-O, where Tomoe was. After entering the class, the students looked at him in a weird manner and started whispering. "Poor kid, if only he knew that she had a leash around his neck," said a boy.
"To think she got her paws on a member of the basketball team, and the famous shooting guard Tetsuo Kawaguchi at that. She really is crazy," said a girl. Tetsuo looked around trying to find Tomoe; however, he ended up spotting Liam, who was talking to one of his classmates.
"Your skin is so smooth, what did you use on it to make it so beautiful?" said Liam as he rubbed a girl in his class's skin, who was grossed out by the contact. "Stay away from me, creep!" she shouted as she slapped him in the face. "Cut Liam some slack, Ume. He's only being nice, and where he came from, that wasn't a boundary," said another girl.
"I don't care, it still feels weird," said Ume. "Oh, come on, share your secrets," said Liam as he towered above the girl and smiled, causing her to stagger backward in fear. "Hey, Liam," said Tetsuo. "Oh, Tetsuo, what's up? What are you doing here?" asked Liam.
"I was just looking for a girl by the name Tomoe Yukimura. Do you happen to know if she came to school today?" asked Tetsuo. "Actually, yes, I did see her in class today. She's busy arranging all her books in the library currently," said Liam.
"So she's at the library, thanks, I'm going to check on her," said Tetsuo. As he was about to leave, Hayato said, "I didn't know that you knew Tomoe." Tetsuo then stopped and turned around. "Do you know her personally, Hayato?" asked Tetsuo. "Well, to be honest, I never spoke with her that much, so I can't say I know her. And also, due to me getting injured not so long ago, I missed out a lot. Oh, and her older brother was also on the basketball team and played small forward. His name was Hiroki Yukimura; he was in a class of his own," said Hayato.
"I see, thanks for telling me that," said Tetsuo as he left. As soon as he reached the library, he looked around for a while until he spotted Tomoe in a corner by herself, reading a book. What he also noticed was the looks the other students were giving her and the whispers. "Tomoe..." said Tetsuo in a low tone.
"Oh, it's you, Tetsuo," said Tomoe as she avoided eye contact.
"Why is the club vacant? I thought you wanted to revive it." "Well, you see, I voluntarily disbanded the club because there was no point in it either way since no one would join. So my books are all here and placed on these specific shelves so I can come here whenever I please to read in silence."
"That's what I thought. However, the stares I'm getting from those students make me feel really uncomfortable," said Tomoe as she hid her face with her book.
"Then if that's the case and you don't feel comfortable here, why don't you come over to the basketball court to read books to pass the time during either lunch or after school? You can also watch us play too. I can't guarantee that all of them are not going to disturb you or make you feel uncomfortable, but they are all good people at heart, so you'll get along with them just fine. Plus, it's better than being here where they are constantly staring and mumbling your name," said Tetsuo.
"You're right. Since you say that they're good people, I'll come there after school every day to read then," said Tomoe as she smiled. After classes ended, the first years readied themselves to go to training. "Finally! I thought it would never end. Time to go shoot some hoops!" Noboru said as he stretched.
"Yes, I'm looking forward to training today as well," said Shino with a gentle smile.
"That Nanaho really is driving me insane. At this rate, I'll have to skip out on classes to sleep and recover from training," said Makoto as he yawned. "You should follow my lead to be smart, you lazy punk. I stayed awake through the whole class. You should take your education more seriously," said Noboru. "Says the same dude who can't remember a simple formula, let alone solve an equation," responded Makoto.
"I dare you to say that again," said Noboru angrily. "He does have a point though, Noboru. There's no need to get so upset," said Shino, trying to calm Noboru down. "What!? Shut up, amateur! I wasn't talking to you," he said coldly.
"Hey, I thought that you stopped calling me that. Wait, I almost forgot, are you coming, Tetsuo? Oh, he's already gone. Is he that eager to get to training?" said Noboru. "Or maybe he just wants to get away from the noise you've been making all morning," said Makoto. "Don't let me kill you," said Noboru.
Tomoe felt really uncomfortable in class after school as the students whispered and looked at her with disgusted faces. After placing her head on the desk to avoid the stares, Tetsuo came for her, took her hands, and brought her to the court.
"Tomoe, don't ever let what they say get to you. We both know that it's not true, okay?" said Tetsuo. "Yes, I know, I'll try my best to stay strong."
"Alright, great, everyone is here," said Nanaho. "Wait, Tetsuo isn't here. Did any of you, by chance, see him after school today?" asked Yukio.
"Well, he left class before us, I thought he would be here," said Noboru. "I guess we'll just have to start training without him. Oh, look, there he is, and he's with Yukimura..." said Hayato, surprised.
"You can go ahead and sit on that bench, okay?" said Tetsuo, and Tomoe replied with "Thank you," as she sat. "Where the hell have you been, Tetsuo? We've been waiting for ten minutes now, and why were you with that beautiful girl just now?" asked Noboru.
"That girl is Tomoe Yukimura, Hiroki's younger sister," said Nanaho. "Yes, I figured that a couple of you would know her. Then you know the rumors that are floating around as well?" asked Tetsuo.
"Of course, it's one of the hottest topics among the second and third years. However, those rumors were made up to make her look like an evil person," said Nanaho.
"I'm confused. What the hell are you guys talking about?" asked Noboru. "Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong," said Nanaho as she glared at him. "She'll be staying here after school to read her book, so she won't be any distraction," said Tetsuo.
"That's okay, she's welcome to stay here after school anytime she wishes," said Nanaho with a smile.
"Wow, she's really cute now that I got a good look at her," said Liam as he touched her cheek. "Umm..." she said as she trembled and froze in place after recalling her past experience. "Liam, I don't think you should do that," said Tetsuo.
"Oh, I'm sorry about that," Liam said with a gentle smile. "He may be a foreigner and doesn't understand our customs, but damn, at least give her some personal space, man," said Noboru to himself.