"Ne, Sanada-kun!" a girl called. "If snow melts, what do you think it'll be?"

A small smile was curved on Sanada's lips. His girlfiend was such a weird girl.

Mata Hajimeyou…
~ l e t ' s   s t a r t   a g a i n . . . ~

Sanada's eyes opened in fear. He blinked his eyes three times before sitting up. He shook his head slowly as he felt tears began to fill his eyes. Yes, even Sanada Genichirou could cry when he remembered what had happened a year earlier. He buried his face with his arms.

    "Yoko…"

---

    "Ohayou, Genichirou," Yanagi greeted his teammate as he put his bag on his seat. Sanada only lowered his head a little and stood up. He walked slowly outside the class. "Where are you going? The bell will ring in four minutes and thirty-nine seconds."

    "Bathroom," he answered rather idly without looking back.

Yanagi watched Sanada as he went out of his sight. Something was unusual about him, and Yanagi knew exactly why.

    "It's almost that day, isn't it, Genichirou…"

He sighed.

---

    "Ippon!"

helped her opponent standing up before she bowed and said, "Arigatou gozaimashita!"

    "Hee… Buchou's still undefeated, ne!"

    "Sugee…"

    "I thought at least Yuuya-kun can beat her…"

closed her eyes as she rubbed her face and neck with her blue towel. It was usual to hear those kind of things after she had a match.

    "You're still strong, Buchou."

She turned her eyes and found her opponent just now, Yuuya Hatori. "You are too, Yuuya-fukubuchou." The boy shook his head.

    "I'm no match for you."

sighed. Why again was everyone complimenting her with those same words? She was—well—bored.

    "It was awful."

But bored of compliments certainly did not mean hating them. At least for .

That was why she still remembered those words. They had successfully, and meanly, broke her pride to pieces.

    "It was a really awful match. You were lucky your opponent wasn't really strong, otherwise you'd definitely lose this match."

    "Buchou?" Yuuya waved his hands in front of 's face. She blinked her eyes as her thoughts were brought back to reality.

    "Hai?"

    "There's going to be a captain meeting tomorrow, do you want to come or should I—"

    "That's okay, I'll go," she said stiffly. She turned her head to the other members. "Practice dismissed. You all can go now."

Rikkaidai Fuzoku's judo club was a little short on girl members. It was for that reason the girls and boys were now in one club.

was the captain of judo club, and no one had ever doubted her for that position. If someone ever said, "How can a girl be the captain over the boys?!", that meant that person had never seen 's match. She was unbeatable. She always be at least a runner up in every judo competition she joined. Everyone—including herself—was really satisfied by her matches.

That was why she could not forget those words that boy ever said to her!

    "Your match was awful."

If it wasn't for her sempai holding her that time, she would beat up that guy without mercy. For sure. Who did he think he was that he could say such things to ?

    "If only you took a step back from the beginning, you wouldn't be that troubled."

Well, easy for him to say! He'd know how hard it was when he was actually doing it.

And not to mention, every time he met her at school, he always narrowed her eyes and said, "You look terribly bad today". Well, she did not really care about how she looked, but she really hated his words after that. "And not to mention, you're still awful when you're having a match."

    'That's why...' said to herself. 'I have to get stronger and show him who I really am!'

---

sighed as she took her backpack and walked outside the class. Now, why was she chosen to be buchou again? Yes, probably she was the strongest person in the club, but that did not mean she had to be the captain, right? She hated attending meetings, especially because—

    "I hope you've gotten better, -san."

—She had to meet him there.

    "Oh, of course I have, Sanada-san," she replied as coldly as ever.

Why should the tennis club captain be in the hospital? She missed Yukimura's friendly attitude to her.

    "I've seen you practice a couple of times. You haven't changed," he said stiffly as he took a seat labeled 'Boys' Tennis Club Captain'.

Really, what an arrogant boy! 's face reddened in anger. "Maybe you were not really watching. There are people in this world who can't notice someone's improvement." She sat down on the 'Judo Club Captain' seat which was, coincidentally, beside the tennis club's.

    "I'm sorry -san, I'm pretty sure I was."

That was it!

    "How dare you!!" she cried wrathfully, hitting the desk with both of her bare hands. "For your information, Sanada-san, I have been practicing harder and I have changed!"

    "A... Ano... -san..." the student council president sweat dropped. "We're... Starting now..."

    "Hmph," she looked away from Sanada. "I'm sorry, kaichou. Please start."

    "Yoshimura-fukukaichou..." the president said to the girl beside him. "Please remind me to separate those two next time..." The fukukaichou nodded in definite agreement.

---

    "Now, Sanada-fukubuchou..." Kirihara called. The regulars were all at the clubroom, just after the after-school practice finished. "Tell me why you aren't going out with again...?" Sanada's eyes twitched.

    "What do you mean by that, Kirihara?"

    "I mean..." he jumped off the chair he was sitting on, grinning. "She obviously has the hots for you!"

Sanada raised an eyebrow. "Kirihara, she hates me."

    "Yeah?" the sophomore asked as his grin widened, and his eyes turned teasingly sparkly. "But she always thinks of you! I mean, whenever I see her practicing, she always had those never-giving-up-to-Sanada eyes!"

    "See? She only thinks of me that way, nothing more," the black-capped boy responded coldly as he packed his stuff in his tennis bag.

Kirihara frowned. "If you say it that way..."

    "Ne, Sanada," Niou called. "...Don't you like her?"

That last sentence which had slipped out of Niou's mouth successfully made the whole room fall unusually silent for a quarter of minute.

    "Nonsense." Sanada muttered, breaking the quietness.

    "Eeh? Why not?" Marui queried as he popped his green-apple-flavored bubble gum. "She's nice to me. Sometimes, she even shares her lunch with me!"

    "Well," Sanada took a deep breath. "She's arrogant, hot-headed, and she's—"

    "—Not like Yoko," Yanagi cut. "—Is what you're going to say."

    "Mou, Sanada, you're still thinking about her?" Marui narrowed his purple eyes. The tennis club fukubuchou remained silent.

    "Face it, Sanada." Jackal uttered. "No one will be like her."

    "Then I shall like no one else beside her."

Period.

---

Sanada's eyes, again, opened in fear. It was 2:10 in the morning. He had been having the same nightmare for the past three days.

He still remembered that day like it was only yesterday. The cheerful voice of Yoko calling his name, that endearing smile on her lips and... The sound of that sudden brake, the siren that kept ringing...

The pain was still there at Sanada's heart. He kept blaming himself for all that happened that day. If only she did not have a date with him... If only he did not come too early...

    "I'm sorry Yoko..."

He closed his eyes slowly.

    "Don't worry, I'll always be yours..."

---

    "!" Marui waved to his classmate as she entered the class.

    "Aa, ohayou Marui-kun," she greeted with a smile.

Marui grinned. "Yanagi, she's here~"

    "Eh?" she blinked.

    "Ohayou, -san," Yanagi suddenly appeared behind her, which almost made her heart jumped from her throat.

    "Yanagi-kun!" she turned her head in surprise.

    "Actually, -san," the data boy spoke up. "I want to ask you something. About Genichirou."

    "If you say 'Genichirou', you mean..." her eyes narrowed. "Sanada?"

    "Yes, exactly."

She looked away quickly. "I have nothing to do with him."

Ignoring her last sentence, Yanagi went on, "Do you notice Genichirou's weird behavior these days?"

He peered at Yanagi. "Weird?"

    "Yeah~!" Marui nodded. "He's more quiet than usual! Not to mention he often looks elsewhere and daydreams a lot!"

    "Daydream? Sanada?" she asked in disbelief. She always thought 'Sanada' and 'daydreaming' were in two separate worlds.

    "Yes. And we are very, very concerned about it. So I came here to ask you a favor."

    "What is it?"

    "I hope you can help her, -san," Yanagi stated. "Because he seems to really like you."

's eyes gazed at Yanagi, then Marui, then Yanagi again. "That is ridiculous. If it's a joke, it's really not funny, Yanagi-kun."

    "I'm serious, -san."

She shook her head.

    "But !" Marui voiced. "You're the only person outside the tennis club who he ever commented."

    "That just shows how bad I am in his eyes."

    "That just shows how precious you are for him, -san."

Marui smiled as he noticed a barely perceptible blush on her cheeks.

    "It's not possible..."

    "Oh, it is, -san," Yanagi nodded. "And we would really appreciate you if you can make him recover from what had happened that day."

She stared questioningly at the brown-head. "'That day'...?"

    "Yeah," Marui spoke up. "Last year, Sanada's girlfriend died of car accident when she was going to have a date with him."

Her eyes widened. "Oh..."

    "He kept blaming himself for what had happened. And I believe that was why he changed, too," Yanagi pronounced. "He became quieter and stricter. And since that day too, he started hiding his true feelings."

    "I see..." frowned guiltily. She did not know Sanada had such terrible past.

    "So, ~" Marui tapped her shoulder, grinning. "Let's say whatever he says to you is reversed from what he really wants to say, then 'You look terribly bad' means..."

looked aside, blushing furiously.

---

    "Genichirou," Yanagi called his classmate.

    "Yes?"

    "Tomorrow's the day, isn't it?"

Sanada frowned. "It's nothing concerned with you."

Yanagi sighed. "Genichirou, when do you plan to stop acting like this? It's already made everyone around you worry."

    "I don't—"

    "And don't you feel sorry for -san?" he asked with a calm voice yet sharp.

    "What does this have to do with -san?"

    "Genichirou, you know you like her. And she does, too. Why do you keep pretending like you don't?"

    "Because I—" Sanada looked aside. "—Don't want Yoko to be hurt anymore..."

    "Do you think she will be happy seeing you like this?"

Sanada turned his head, surprised by Yanagi's sudden high-toned voice.

    "I think not, Genichirou," he continued. "What she really wishes for is for you to be happy, not like this."

Sanada blinked. "How do you know?"

    "I was one of her best friends. And my data is 100% accurate." he smiled and tapped Sanada's shoulder before walking away and said, "Why don't you give -san a chance?"

---

    "Sanada-san?"

blinked her eyes in confuse when she found Sanada standing in front of her class's door after school.

    "You're blocking my way out," she tried to sound cold as usual, but failed miserably. "What are you doing here? Don't you have any practice?"

    "-san," he called, ignoring her words. "If snow melts, what do you think it will be?"

stared questioningly at the boy. "What kind of question is that?! Of course it'll be spring—" she blinked, then shook her head embarrassedly. "Ah! Don't laugh! It's NOT funny! I always think of that, I don't know why!! And I—I didn't really mean that, I know the answer should be—ara?"

She stopped talking when she saw a rare expression on Sanada's face.

A smile was curved on his lips.
 

Note:
"If snow melts, it would be spring!" was quoted from the anime Fruits Basket
Mata Hajimeyou... is c/w for Yuumu Hamaguchi's Sakura single