At the Finish Line [Haiji Kiyose] - Run With the Wind

six - "seems intense"

School bag over her shoulder and books clutched in her arms, Chiyo waves goodbye to her friends, walking out of the school building and skipping past the tennis courts.

Holding her skirt down as she scans the field, she spots him and her pace quickens. "Haiji!"

Slowing down to allow the short distance runner to pass her on the track, she runs over to the centre grass area. She smiles and waves a hand.

"Afternoon, Kiyose-Sensei."

Haiji's father adjusts his cap, nodding to her. "Hello, Chiyo. Here to see Haiji?"

"If that's okay?" She asks.

He crosses his arms. "He can spare a few minutes, but make it quick Miss Yoshida."

Nodding, Chiyo wraps her arm tighter around her books as she walks over to Haiji, stretching his legs with another track team member pushing his back.

"Haiji!" She greets him. "Can I have a word?"

He looks up from the grass, wincing as he stretches further. "Hey, Chiyo. What's up?"

She crouches down, smiling briefly to the other team member. "I wanted to ask what you're doing after school today?"

Pursing his lips, he shakes his head. "Nothing, I don't think. Why? Did you want to do something?"

"Well, you know that girl, Kaori?" She asks. "She wants to hang out with you. I wasn't sure if you were interested and I told her that, so she asked me to ask you. So, here I am, asking you if you want to hang out with her."

The team member releases the stretch and Haiji huffs, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Kaori? Isn't she in my Biology class?"

Chiyo shrugs. "I don't know, maybe. The point is, do you want me to kindly turn her down for you?"

"I guess so." Haiji scratches his head. "I'm not even sure who she is."

Grinning, Chiyo pats his back. "I thought you'd say that!"

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She laughs, shaking her head. "I completely forgot about Mr Suzuki!"

"Well, apart from that one time, he was a pretty unforgettable teacher." Haiji shrugs.

"You honestly made my time back in Japan the best." Chiyo tells him. "Without you at school, I don't think I would've made any other friends."

Haiji grins. "You made it easy to be your friend. It's just a shame you had to go back to France."

Nodding, Chiyo sighs. "I wish I could've stayed. I missed Lille, but I still missed everyone in Shimane. Anyway, I got away from my dad for a while after he became the Mayor. Took some of the pressure off."

The two continue further down the market stalls, vendors selling jewellery, meat and seafood, books, t-shirts and confectionary.

"So, are you running again?" Chiyo asks. "Your knee got better I take it?"

Haiji nods. "I wasn't running for a while after my injury, but since the start of this year I've been training harder."

"Training for anything in particular?"

"The Hakone Ekiden." He tells her.

She raises an eyebrow. "What's that? A race?"

He laughs. "I wasn't sure if you'd know it. It's a relay race between Tokyo and Hakone, roughly 100km there and back. A team of ten competes and take a section each, running over two days up to the mountain and back down to the city."

"Wow." She chuckles. "That seems intense."

"It's not easy, but the guys are training hard." Haiji says.

Chiyo grins. "Wait, so all your housemates are training too? That's what you guys were doing going for a run at 7 am. That makes sense now."

He laughs, stopping at a stall to look at a t-shirt. "It's a 6 am run during the week. I let them have an extra hour on the weekend."

She smirks. "I'm guessing you're pretty ruthless when it comes to training. You must get that from your dad."

"I must do."

"Speaking of, how are your parents?" She asks. "I haven't been back to Shimane for a while, I chose to spend my break in Lille."

He shrugs, continuing down the row of stalls. "I think they're okay. Dad is still working at the high school and Mum seems happy. Do I dare ask about your parents?"

She huffs. "Not yet. I'm still mad about it, but I'll get over it."

Haiji sends her a weak smile. "You didn't have it easy back then. I can imagine not much has changed and he still expects a lot from you."

"You've got that right." Chiyo sighs. "His expectations make me not want to do it. I'd be motivated if he didn't care. But, my sister is on my side."

"She always has been, hasn't she?" Haiji laughs. "What about your Mum?"

Chiyo rolls her eyes. "That's not good at the moment. When he put his foot down, she agreed with him and wants me home so they can check I'm doing the work. They want me to get my degree so I can do his work. I can't think of anything worse."

Haiji laughs. "Well, who wants to be exactly like their parents anyway?"

Eyes widening slightly, Chiyo nods. "Exactly."

"What was it you said you wanted to get while you're here?" He questions.

"It was supposed to be a surprise, but some drinks for you and the others." She waves her hands. "But now I know you're all training, maybe that's not such a good idea."

He grins. "Not at all. We like to drink together, mostly on a weekend and when we have something to celebrate. That sounds great, but don't worry too much, I'm sure we have some drinks already."

"This is my treat." She says, walking over to a drinks vendor with a sign reading '20+ only, ID required'.

Chiyo turns to Haiji, leaning into his ear and whispering. "I'm guessing the first and second years drink alcohol?"

Laughing, Haiji nods and she sends him a thumbs up.

"I won't be long." She waves a hand as she disappears inside the shop.

He places a hand over his ear, grinning to himself as he feels the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He clears his throat, checking the time on his watch.

Glancing down at Nira sat at his feet, her tongue hanging out her mouth and her head tilted, Haiji shakes his head.

"Don't look at me like that."

Crossing his arms, Haiji waits for a few minutes, when Chiyo walks out of the stall, thanking the vendor. With the bag in hand, she smiles at him and nods ahead.

"Shall we head back?"

He agrees and they start to walk in the direction they came from, Nira following close.

Chiyo grins, motioning to the bag. "I got some nice sake for us all to share."

Haiji raises his eyebrows. "Wow! I'm sure that'll be appreciated, but you really didn't need to do all of this."

"Well, there's a saying in French, 'La vie est troup courte pour boire du mauvais vin'." She smirks. "It translates to, 'life is too short to drink bad wine'. And I take that very seriously."

The two share a smile, laughing lightly at her comment, when Haiji turns to her.

"Chiyo, it's been really nice seeing you again." Haiji says to her. "I don't want you to feel weird. If you want to leave Kansei, I can't stop you. But I think you should stay this weekend and maybe your perspective will have changed by Monday."

She laughs. "You really are relentless, Haiji... Let's have a fun night and, who knows, maybe I'll feel differently about everything."

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