Closely. [Kawanishi Taichi]

two.

The little creature purred under your touch as you silently stroked its fluffy fur. Whilst doing so, you giggled as you watched its other brothers and sisters also seeking for your attention. Without hesitation, you let both your hands showered the kittens with affection; chuckling every once in a while when they lightly bit and nibbled your fingers. You were apparently taking a walk around the school in search of something to be sketched; as that was your club activity for the day, and that was simply how you ended up with a box of kittens.

".. so cute!" You squealed to yourself as you kept playing with the fluffy kittens. Resisting cute things has always been something that you are bad at. Perhaps they had gotten bored of exploring your ten fingers, so they started to paw at each other; playing with their tails. Slowly, you took out your phone and snapped a couple of pictures of the adorable beings, sighing in content.

It was only then that it hit you that you had actually found something you could sketch. Without wasting a single second, you fished out your sketchbook from your bag and started to draw fine lines. A few minutes after, you heard light footsteps heading to your current place. Catching sight of a pair of shoes across you, you lifted your gaze.

It was the boy at the entrance, Akari's classmate; Kawanishi Taichi. In his hands, he held a carton of milk, obviously from the vending machine. For quite some time, the both of you blinked owlishly at each other. You were the one to break the gaze, as soon as you felt blood rushing to the tip of your ears.

You were panicked, and it was rather obvious since your hands were shaking. "I'm sorry," you apologized to the boy. Seeing that you were packing your things, Kawanishi was quick to gear up his brain and come up with words.

"It's nothing, (Y/N)-san. I'm only here to feed these little kids," he said, shaking the carton of milk right in front of you to prove that he was saying the absolute truth. He glanced at you when he received no reply to see that you were in reluctance of rather to stay or to leave. Plus, he also noticed the slightest tint of pink at your ears, but he kept his lips sealed.

"You.. can stay.. And play with them," he said, kneeling down to the box. Although he was not looking at you, you nodded to yourself, determined to finish your task. Even so, you could not restrain yourself from looking at Kawanishi feeding the little kittens. He looked rather gentle with his eyes gleaming in affection, unlike the other day when you saw him on the court.

"They're cute, aren't they?" He asked you while he let the kittens played with his fingers. You nodded sharply to his question as you continued to watch him and the kittens. One of the kittens, which was grey and had white socks, climbed onto Kawanishi's sleeve, somehow able to crawl up to his arm. "No," he said to the little guy, gently taking it off his sleeve and putting it down to where it belonged. Unfortunately, it could not understand, and started to latch onto him once again.

The kitten was utterly persistent, and he had finally gave in. Kawanishi held it in his palm and stroked its head, making the small guy purr. Out of sudden, he heard a click, and he turned his head to you.

You had unconsciously snapped a photo of him.

Kawanishi lightly chuckled when he saw your ears turned into a shade of light pink. Although he insisted that it was alright, you kept on muttering apologies, claiming that you were too caught up in the moment.

Light sniffles and a few sneezes came from the boy who sat at the other side of the box. The kittens were all finally tucked into their naps. Kawanishi grunted in annoyance upon the fact that he had to bear with his runny nose; it was his fault anyways, he had played with the kittens despite being allergic to them. Yet again, who would have been able to resist? Whatever it is, the answer certainly is not him.

At another side of the box, you were silently finishing your sketching. You were quite relaxed at the moment because neither you nor Kawanishi had anything in mind. Touching up the finishing details, you sighed in content, quite proud of your work. "Kawanishi-san," you called out while turning your head to look at the boy; only to see that he was already having his eyes on you. A gush of blood made its way to the tips of ears again, but not that obvious.

"Um, thank you." Kawanishi shook his head, saying that it was absolutely fine. "Can I see it?" He asked, with a gentle smile on his face. You hesitated a bit before finally handing him your sketchbook. He flipped through the pages, his eyes scanned each one of your artwork until he reached the page where you drew the six little kittens. His lips unconsciously stretched wider as he stared at your fine work in awe.

"It's as beautiful as always."

"Hm?" You blinked at him, tilting your head to a side. Kawanishi's smile slightly faltered, not that you noticed; "It's really beautiful," he complimented, making you stretched a smile of your own. "I drew you, too, Kawanishi-san!" You beamed and pointed out to your sketchbook, indicating him to flip to the next page.

His smile grew once again.

You walked side by side, heading to the dormitories. Kawanishi still had a runny nose, but not as worse as earlier. Both of you walked in silence, not really bothering about striking up a conversation. At the corner of his eyes, he stared at your form; how your hair blew slightly from the soft breeze, how your cheeks flushed the lightest shade of pink. He broke his stare and shook his head.

"Kawanishi-san."

"You remind me of someone," he turned to fully look at you, taking in your words into every inch of his soul. You seemed calm and composed, unlike the other day. "I wonder," he thought to himself, resuming his walk.

"Ooooi, Taichi! (Y/N)-chan!" In front of you stood your red-headed senior, waving his long arms in the air. By his side stood Akari, Ushijima, and your own classmate, Shirabu. You and Kawanishi both waved your hands in sync, walking up faster towards your friends. "Ah, I've been searching for you," Akari said as she playfully ruffled your hair. Shirabu muffled a giggle upon seeing the tips of your ears once again turning pink.

"You played with those kitty cats again, Taichi?!" Kawanishi rubbed the back of his neck as he was lectured by Tendou. You smiled to yourself, entertained. Tendou can be such a mom at times. Akari followed your gaze and settled with the two boys; one with a red nose, and one with a red head. "So, you were with Kawanishi-kun, huh," she assumed, to which you nodded in slight reluctance. You did not want her to think of it as something else. Yet, it seemed that you had nothing to worry about as she only grinned.

"I'm glad to see that you're being friends!" She stated in glee. You softly smiled; you, too were glad to befriend the quiet boy. He may be a bit quiet and expressionless, but it seems that he does show hints of emotions at times. Akari then turned to her boyfriend, telling him that the both of you would be heading to your dorm. Ushijima nodded, the look in his eyes soften a millimeter as he wished her goodnight.

"Bye-bye, (Y/N)-chan~! Sleep well!~" Tendou sang, once again waving his arm. You waved back at him, and just before you left, your eyes met with Kawanishi's. Slowly, you stretched a smile for him and waved at him just as well. Perhaps it was allergy coming up again, but he doubt the heat that came to his cheeks were even related to his runny nose. Even so, your friend was quick to catch the sight of his lingering smile and the look in his eyes as you both walked away.

Seeing the Kawanshi Taichi who probably only smiled once a year, smiling with ease certainly perked up her interest.

Maybe she was not hallucinating at all.