Akihiko was restless. He paced back and forth, his eye on the ring where he would soon be beating the crap out of one of his teammates...and for what? He wasn't a fanatic about the sport! He only got into boxing because...

Because...

Now wasn't that strange? He couldn't remember.

But somehow, he felt strangely fulfilled when boxing. Not because he was boxing, but because there was something he had to do, and it felt like boxing was a step towards that something.

Whatever it was.

Ah, well. Focus. He'd been feeling off since after Winter Break. It was his senior year and if he didn't concentrate...

He didn't even remember what he'd told his homeroom teacher he wanted to do after high school. He'd passed his exams, so he supposed he had a couple of years to take it easy, think things through. He shouldn't be distracted thinking about it now.

The cheers and shrieks set his teeth on edge. He could hear some of the underclassmen- a couple of yearmates, too, for that matter- chanting his name. He shook his head with disgust as he glanced out at them.

There. Just past the girl with the buns...wasn't that one of the girls who lived in his dorm? He didn't really spend much time with any of them. Went on jogs in the evening, watched some TV in his room, hit the sandbag, played with his dog...the stray dog at the shrine, he shouldn't be claiming someone else's pet as his own...

Yeah, Minako was a serious chick, from everything he'd seen of his underclassman, though. Good grades, really popular, on student council and in several clubs and committees.

But what the hell was she doing here? There she was, the light reflecting from the hair things she wore with that brown ponytail. She was sitting quite calmly, her hands folded neatly in her lap. She had her earphones on, like she was trying to tune out everything going on around her.

She looked across at him with her intense eyes, and suddenly...he was both grateful she was there and angry at her for coming.

He entered the ring.

He tuned out everything. The crowd, his teammates, his infuriating underclassman...everything focused on the here, the now...

He couldn't embarrass himself with her watching.

It was over. He didn't remember any of the fight, but his teammates were cheering, the crowd was cheering, and he had somehow done it.

He turned and walked towards her. She stood and walked down the steps, both of them oblivious to anyone or anything else, until she stood before him. He had forgotten how tiny she was.

"I never wanted you to see me like this," He told her. His hands. What was he supposed to do with them? They felt stupid dangling like this.

"That's why I had to come," She said simply.

He remembered. He remembered everything.

There was so much to say. And nothing at all. They looked at each other for a long moment, unconscious of the stares, the sudden silence rippling outward from their little bubble.

"Let's get some ramen. On me." He said, and they walked out of the gym.

Together.