Because there was no other thing Yachi could land her eyes on, for some reason, this had been her routine every morning.

The old bus' engine hummed loudly as it drove along the narrow road surrounded by a large and yellow paddy field―it was time for the harvesters to harvest them. The bus' hum was so loud and whenever it passes a speed bump, it jerks so harshly.

And sitting inside the old bus was Hitoka Yachi―all alone, excluding the driver. Her only destination was her school, which was quite far from her house. That was the reason why she took the bus. With nothing interesting to busy herself with, her golden orbs kept on looking outside, appreciating mother nature.

When a bus stop came into view, her eyes immediately peered at an orange-haired lad who was too short to be a high schooler―then again, she noted that he was wearing the same uniform as her, albeit it was the boys' uniform. A wide and rapturous smile was carved upon the carrothead's countenance as he hopped up and down, as if he was thrilled because of something.

The intercom blared about the next stop and on cue, the old bus stopped in front of the bus stop. Yachi jerked forward slightly, not taking her eyes off the male.

Him again... she thought.

The carrothead went in running, bringing his bag along with him. He didn't even look at her in the eye―quickly taking a seat four rows in front of her. In the old, empty bus that seemed to be almost broken, Yachi's companion to school was him only.

The intercom blared, "Departing."

All she knew was that he enrolls in the same school as her. That was all she knew, but... she couldn't shrug the fact that she was intrigued.

A small yawn escaped Yachi's lips and she covered her mouth immediately. Her blond hair was a mess―disheveled and uncombed, also tousles here and there. She woke up late―she'd studied until late at night, since there's a biology test coming up today. She'll just comb her hair at school...

Her eyes peered outside again, and noted that the bus stop where that carrothead is everyday was close. A few minutes after, the bus stop came into view, and the intercom blared, "Next stop..."

Something tugged the inside of Yachi's chest when she noticed that something was odd. The blond squinted her eyes, and it felt like someone had thrown a rock at the back of her head. Her eyes shot wide open upon realizing that he was not there.

The bus didn't even bother to stop at the bus stop. Yachi didn't really know him, but she'd realized that, without him, the bus felt really empty. But it couldn't be helped, now, could it? Melancholy filled Yachi as she slumped back against the seat.

But that melancholy vanished into thin air completely when her eyes caught the sight of a familiar carrothead sprinting toward the old bus, seemingly to be holding his bag tightly. And for some reason unknown, Yachi herself had began to panic, making her standing up and subconsciously pressed the stop button that made the driver step on the brake abruptly. That had made her lost her balance and she fell to the side, her shoulder hitting the rigid seat in front of hers. Her shoulder and her knees hurt, but she knew she needed to apologize to the driver.

As she strode toward the driver, Yachi glanced through the window―good thing that the carrothead was almost there. She'd went to the driver and bowed down, apologizing that she'd pressed the button when the carrothead made his grand entrance, holding the pillars on each side of the bus' door. He said, "Sorry!" as his head fell.

Yachi stared at him in bewilderment, her gaze silently following him until he sat down at his usual seat. The driver had tapped her shoulder and said, "Miss, please sit down." And that was when she went back to her seat. When Yachi had passed the carrothead, he'd shot her a gleeful grin, and spoke, "Thank you!"

Yachi felt her cheeks turning into a shade of red before she looked away, muttering a soft "you're welcome," and hastily went back to her seat. Sitting down, she immediately looked at the window, noticing that the bus had started to move again as she stared at her much more noticeable reflection because of her pink cheeks.

Hitoka Yachi felt sick today. Having to suffer cold first thing in the morning―how unlucky of her. Her mother wanted her to stay home, but there was a chemistry test today, and she didn't want to miss it.

The owner of those golden locks put her head against the window weakly, feeling the vibration of the old bus as it followed the usual path toward the school. Though Yachi's head almost could not comprehend anything, she knew that it was almost at the usual bus stop where he usually stands.

But her eyes were getting heavier by the second, and before she could see the bus stop, her eyelids shut close tightly, forcing her to go unconscious.

.

.

.

"Next Stop, Karasuno..."

.

.

.

Slowly, Yachi's eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of golden orbs. They still felt heavy, but it was enough for her to see that she'd arrived. Looking around, she scanned her surrounding, and her eyes finally landed on a certain carrothead, sitting on a seat a few rows ahead of her.

Again...

Yachi put her hands on the seat in front of her to support her and she stood up. Her feet felt so weak and numb, as if they weren't there to support her. She was cold―trembling. Slowly and carefully, she made her way toward the entrance of the bus.

But she fell to her knees, for she felt her legs getting more and more numb by the second. She could hear her heart beating frantically, as if thinking, what should I do? What should I do?!

With her hands still on the seat, she tried to support herself and stand up, but her attempt was in vain. Again, she fell. Gritting her teeth, she whispered something inaudible even for herself.

Then suddenly, Yachi felt a shadow looming over her, and her head snapped up. Her sight was blurry, but she could make out the unique orange-colored hair of his. She could hear him say something―something like, "Are you okay?"

She tried to answer by moving her mouth, but Yachi's consciousness had shut down completely, making it impossible for her to answer him

.

.

.

.

Shouyou stared at the pale girl in his arms, unsure of what to do. She looked so sick, that Shouyou couldn't help but to go to her, concern painted all over his features. He'd always wanted to talk to her, seeing as she was his only companion in that bus.

And he didn't know when, but he'd taken an interest toward her. Swallowing his own saliva, the carrothead was sure he was ought to bring her to the infirmary.

With that goal in mind, Shouyou put her small body on his back―carrying her carefully. He left the bus, and immediately went to the school's infirmary. He received a lot of confused stares and whispers from other students, and even Kageyama had stopped him, asking him who was that. Shouyou had replied with a loud, "None of your business!" that resounded around the hallway.

Slamming the infirmary door open, Shouyou had startled the nurse inside, but he didn't care. Almost immediately, he'd put the sick girl―he didn't even know her name―on one of the infirmary's bed, and faced the nurse with a determined look. "P-Please take care of her!"

The nurse had shot him a bewildered look, but then she smiled kindly as she tilted her head to the side slightly. "Of course," she said as she turned to the sick girl on bed. "...She seems to suffer from cold. She needs to rest here for a few moment until she is better."

Shouyou only gave her nods, and the nurse stared at him, smiling sweetly. "And who are you to her? Are you, perhaps, her boyfriend?"

Red hues began to sprout from within his countenance, and Shouyou flailed his arms around frantically. "N-No! I-I'm in the same bus as her, th-that's it!"

The nurse had her mouth covered with her palm, as if she was laughing at him. She'd muttered something along the line of "Ahh, youth's love."

That only made him more embarrassed. Bowing down, Shouyou said again, "P-Please take care of her!" Before he turned on his heels and left the infirmary in quite a hurry, and again, making him receive lots of questioning looks from the other students.

Running toward his class, Shouyou had realized something― "I still don't know her name!"