*A week later*

Well prepared now all she needed was a chance to strike and she had the perfect ammunition. Walking in the hallway she saw Teyo walking towards her. Face forward stoic expression, dark sapphire eyes he was her prey and this was the first of many traps she had planned for him. Kira waited for him to recognize her passing him through the throng of students but he didn’t. No matter what she thought “Ogre-san” she said in an adorable voice that stopped him in his tracks. He quickly tried to find the voice of the person who said that. His face is harder than she’s seen before. Until he looked at her and softened only slightly. Kira skipped up to him without a care in the world and asked if he could study with her this evening. “I have sports until 7pm” he said which took her aback. Sports? What does that even mean?

“That’s quite late,” Kira replied. “Where can I meet you?” This time she was expecting it but was still shocked at how all the conversation around them just immediately died so people could hear his voice.

“soccer stadium,” he replied. Nodding he took that little journal out of his breast pocket again as he turned away to their next class. “Jerk didn’t even let me sink my fangs in” Kira muttered under her breath. Oh well I will have all night to do that smile. I felt the corner of her mouth turn up slightly for the repayment knowing she was going to give him tonight. The rest of the day passed with excitement. Growing bored and wanting to enjoy the beautiful day Kira decided to head to the stadium early and casually hide out in the bleachers.

The stadium was an overbearing name for a track and field complex with soccer lines painted in the middle to dual purpose. This highschool although affluent and prestigious, never really had any legitimate sporting culture. She walked up the snaking ramp to the seats on the home side of the stadium. It was eerily quiet. He clearly said 7 and Kira should have had a half hour before he was supposed to finish practice. When she finally got to the seating area she noticed only 3 people on the field. 2 coaches standing arms crossed on the track and Teyo running shirtless back and forth across the field.

“How long are you going to keep running Ogre?” The coach with the whistled yell.

Turning his head and clearly noticing Kira in the stands Teyo loudly and firmly although through controlled heavy breathing “Until you tell me to stop Coach”

“Great answer” the man with the whistle barked back with a laugh “4 more” he then turns to his assistant coach and says “That one has a chip on his shoulder like I’ve never seen”

“Ehhh I don’t know what coach. Literally all he’s done is exactly what you say. He’s not obstinate and he’s taking these punishments without complaint” the assistant coach responded

“You may have a point. It’s a principal thing. The athletic director shouldn’t mettle with our roster spots. Still though I don’t think anyone else on this team can run like that. He should stick to track and field and leave the skill sports to the skilled players. Make sure he finishes those sprints. I’m going to head home. Keeping that brat here after practice every day is making my wife uneasy.”

Kira was listening to the conversation frozen at the bottom level of the bleachers. Eyes wide she had several realizations. The coaches called him Ogre and are punishing him? But most of all he was shirtless covered in sweat. Where was the body that was stretching out his school uniform? Lean and covered in sweat she began to openly ogle Ogre. She took a deep breath and remembered the game plan. She was the one going to knock him off guard this time. She looked at the questions she prepared to do just that. Rehearsing them one more time in her head as if answers for a test.

4 laps later Teyo began to Jog toward the sideline to get his bag and shirt.

Bowing respectfully to his assistant head coach “Thank you for the practice coach” he said to the other man as he was walking away shaking his head in disbelief. Slightly flustered now, he did not want Kira to see him shirtless. But no use crying over spilled milk. Teyo knew it was his turn to ask a question and he also knew it was probably going to be the last one of their game. Although he had been running for over an hour post practice he still felt good enough to do something reckless to impress a girl. Although he tried not to act like it he was still a teenage boy. He wasn’t risking injury. Not really anyway.

Conflicting emotions whirl inside Teyo’s head. He was quite smitten with Kira much more than he should have been after only one brief conversation. He got the feeling that she wanted to dissect him to find out what made him tick more so than get to know him as an individual, like he did her. The girl was simply fascinating, as straight forward and genuine as he wants himself to be. He knew he needed additional help learning this country’s history. Every student here had a 10 year head start on classes about it. As long as I don’t crack my mask I should be able to handle this. Even if it crashes and burns, time would have to heal my heart eventually. He made a point to roll up his sleeve for poetic irony.

Kira looked on in a mixture of bewilderment and amusement as Teyo didn’t head toward the gate with the serpentine ramp system to come to the bleachers; instead he walked straight at her several fences separating them. Then he just jumped. From fence top to fence top like an anime character. Within a few moments he just ninja’s his way up to her level in the bleachers and began walking the short distance between them.

No he’s not going to throw me off that easily. Just jumping around all cool like and taking away the minute or two she thought she had left to face him.

Oh my Kira thought as he came closer he seemed taller, and slimmer than she expected. Nope, focus she forced herself to think. First questions right let the games begin she thought as she was surely smirking.

“So” Kira said before getting interrupted by the sign of Teyo holding up with one finger for silence.

“Why did you call me Ogre-san?” he said matter of factly. Not expecting a question yet but still ready and prepared “To irritate you and get your attention” Kira responded holding back a smug grin. Ha! She thought Teyo allowed her to use his own question to start her offensive.

Teyo bowed his head in the most formal and proper display of official custom she’d seen out of any foreigner “Ah, Thank you for agreeing to tutor me. Goodbye”. He then just stood up straight and began to walk past her taking the normal way down. Eyes forward stoic expression ever-present as always.

Kira blinked at the word Goodbye. Oh Hell no. Her fury rose so fast she couldn’t contain it. “What the hell do you mean goodbye!” She snapped while grabbing his arm. So hard were his muscles and so sweaty was his arm that grip just slipped without any effort needing to be expended from Tayo.

Peaking back at her with the same dismissive glance he first gave Rin and Lunara. “Farewell” he said and continued to walk on.

This asshole got me again. Kira screamed inside her mind. “Stop!” she snapped running past him to get in his way. Arms spread to bar his way.

“Please move” he said in his deep terse voice.

“Not without answers asshole” She replied checking to make sure the assistant coach had already left. Which he did, thank goodness.

He took the name calling without so much as a flinch. “I am not a toy to be played with,” he said coldly, peering over the rows of fences clearly to see if he can jump down them the way he came up.

“No one is playing with you! I came here to tutor you and that’s exactly what I’m going to do whether you like it or not” She barked, finding an assertiveness that didn’t usually exist within her.

“You called me Ogre-san as if that were my real name. That was a cruelty I didn’t get from my first impression. Move or be moved” He said, leveling a cold glare directly in her eyes.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“No! That was me being playful!” Kira said defensively, keeping her arms out barring his way. “I have my questions, let us just do what we were planning on doing and study. You have the number 1 student in our class right here offering her help. What can beat that?” She pleaded tears starting to well up knowing she made a huge misstep by calling him Ogre-san. She knew it was petty but when even his coaches were calling him Ogre. She only now realized that most likely Kira and her two friends in the lunch room that day were the only ones who knew his real name. And she violently threw that back in his face. And did so with a smile and a cheery disposition.

Teyo paused for a second to consider. With surprising tenderness he picked up Kira from under her outstretched arms and spun her only to gently put her on the opposite side of him, opening his way down the ramp. He then turned to leave the stadium again. “I think solitude would be preferable, Good night beautiful” he gently said without turning around or stopping his slow and steady gait.

One last plea came from Kira. Why did she feel so desperate? “I’m here at night because of you the least you can do is walk me home” Knowing if he didn’t turn around now she could probably never face him again. Unable to hold back tears of frustration and guilt she balls her fists and shakes as she tries to minimize the flow.

Teyo stopped. “Apologies for forgetting my manners. Allow me to escort you.. Please stop crying, it might get me arrested.” He said with that stoic face and piercing stare.

Kira took a deep breath hoping a snot bubble didn’t come out. Giggled once at the ridiculous reason for his request to stop crying because there was so much truth to that joke it may very well not be.

“Thank you” Kira said afterwards “and please allow me to formally and sincerely apologize for my behavior. It was evil of me to call you Ogre-san despite being one of the few people who know your real name Teyo. I pray you can forgive me for my careless error in judgment”

He responded in a way he did several times before. By pulling out a little notebook from his pocket and jotting something down. What was that about? This wasn’t a battle of wits and wills. It was a war. She lost the first battle and this one she was hoping she could turn into a draw. She approached him.

“Lead the way sunshine” he said flatly, tucking the notebook back into his pocket.

“Can we still play our question game?” still trying to salvage the effort she put into her preparations for it.

After a brief pause he simply said “yes”

“Do you live in the student district?” Teyo followed after a brief pause.

“Yes,” Said Kira. “I live right next to the playground.”

“Might be fate, That's where I do most of my studying,” said Teyo with a quizzical look on his face.

“Do you live in that district as well?” Kira asked, trying to ease back into a comfort zone before returning back to her list of prepared questions.. Assuming she still wanted to, that is.

“Yes, I live around the corner of the park with my mother” He said, still keeping his guard up as if to challenge further questions on the matter.

“Oh” she replied “I didn’t think they had 2 bedroom apartments in this district”

“They don’t” He responded with an even tone.

Ok Kira thought we found a soft spot. But emotions might be too raw after the previous engagement so let's go back to easing in. Deciding to let sleeping dogs lay, she asked “Why do you do your studying in the park when you live right around the corner?” Noticing Teyo take a deep breath realizing she may have inadvertently side stepped around his comfort zone.

“Because my mother works very hard and although she refuses to admit it. If I get home before her she feels like she's abandoning me. If I get home 5 minutes before her, she emotionally feels like I've been home for hours. So much so, she cried the last time I had dinner waiting for her.” His expression became very distant and Kira knew this was a sore spot. But let the silence hang. She's never met someone so transparent. Is that because he is like this or because the rules of the game enforced honesty. She kept her eyes on the pavement letting her thoughts race. How does someone even respond to that? Her attention snapped back into focus when she felt a soft pressure on the top of her head.

“Thank you for allowing me to recover, your tact is appreciated” And then he smiled a brilliant smile with eyes as light and as blue as a cloudless sky. And then gave her 3 or 4 more head pats.

“This next one is my building,” said Kira as she began to play with her hair. “Would you like to come up and study until you have to go home? It's far too cold out to be on the playground”

“There's a picnic table in the corner that blocks out most of the wind. I don’t think that would be appropriate” he said, not letting his curiosity get the best of him.

“Then it's settled, I’ll be down in 5 minutes with a blanket and some tea” responded Kira. The shocked look on his face made this whole night worth it. 5 minutes later with 2 cups of tea and a blanket he refused to share. They were next to each other on the picnic table directly beneath her window both studying aggressively. They fit, thought Kira diving into her school work while directing Teyo from historical figure to historical event. He’s writing with his left hand and her with her right so all their books didn’t have to share any space. No bumping elbows but even that sounded nice. They continued studying for 2 hours outside of Kira’s window. Trading the occasional question.

Impressed with his quick understanding and focus on his work she finally decided to go to the list she prepared trying to hit him out of the blue with a sneak attack. “What's the most romantic thing you’ve ever done?” Kira asked, anticipating a reaction that would also hopefully turn this battle into a draw. Instead of turning or speaking Teyo put his right hand on top of her left. Kira’s eyes shot to the intimate gesture. It's a trap! As Kira jerked her head and widened her eyes at the surprising hand holding she didn’t realize Teyo was leaning in for the kill.

“I’m falling for you” his gravelly voice whispered quickly followed up by a very gentle bite of the bottom of her ear lobe. Her body instinctively raised her shoulder to cover up what just happened. Her heart began to beat so hard in her ears she could no longer hear the wind pushing the swings or rustling the trees. She could feel her face flush so she tried to cover it with one of her hands, preferring to let the other one hold Teyo’s. That was far and away the single hottest experience she ever had.

Teyo was surprised at himself for having the gall to do what he just did. Although he knew there was a non zero chance of completely blowing this relationship sky high. It just felt so right. To Teyo fear was the strongest emotion in the human repertoire and he felt that was an injustice. Fear most often controlled other emotions and more importantly often caused the expression of those feelings to take a back seat for fear of the consequences. A good social defense mechanism but that was a conversation he looked forward to having this beautiful soul next to him at a later date. With his heart fluttering and beating faster than when he was running Teyo couldn’t help but smile and he felt his blood rush to his face. He would return the kindness she showed him in letting the silence reign to regain her composure. He couldn't stop himself from smiling. And in this flurry of internal activity between the two. Kira never pulled her hand away. And Teyo refused to be the one to.

His emotions briefly came down to earth as the impulse to ask her out was quickly swallowed up by rationality. In 1 to 2 years he hoped he could be the kind of boyfriend she could walk proudly hand in hand with. But right now he was the Ogre and he would not allow himself to introduce that negativity in her life. Noticing his kitchen light turn the universal signal mom was home he knew their time this wonderful evening was coming to a close. He waited patiently for Kira to finally take her hands down. Still aggressively blushing, her eyes widened as they met his.

“Silver,” she muttered quickly. Teyo took a deep breath and prepared himself to end this magical night. How could this one hurt him so badly and still make him fall for her in the same night. The dichotomy didn’t make sense and he would have to internalize a lot to sort out this powerful web of feelings he had for this woman. Good lord how she made his heart flutter with no effort.

“Thank you for a wonderful night” said Teyo with a crooked smile he still couldn’t contain. “If you’d ever like to do this again just poke your head out of your window to see if I'm here.”

With that Kira came back from being lost in space. “That's it?” she almost shouted incredulously. “I won’t accept this, you made my heart race so fast I almost fainted!”

“Oh I felt that too,” Teyo said, still unable to keep himself from smiling. “I’m surprised I haven’t begun to levitate with the way I feel right now. I do hope that counts as an answer.”

“Have you done that with someone else?” Kira asked, hiding her face behind her hand as she looked away.

So cute thought Teyo as he said “I held your hand so show you how far i’ve ever been willing to go.” Teyo began to fidget just a little bit “I did the other things to beat that by a country mile. Nibbling your ear was pure impulse.”

Kira's eyes snapped up to meet his. “Well I want more of that. All of it in fact!” she said louder and more assertive then she had any such romantic request before.

Teyo roared with one loud chuckle. “You are simply amazing” he said through rosy cheeks and shimmering pale silver eyes. “I would very much like your phone number, I’ll text you every time I'm here”

“Deal and it's my turn to ask a question, What is going on with your eyes?” said Kira, beginning to close her books. And putting her phone number into Teyo’s phone.

“They change color depending on how I feel. I got them from my father” he said as the light behind his eyes began to fade and a light blue started to bleed into the color. “I truly thank you for your help with my schoolwork and spending time with me.”

“It was my pleasure” Kira responded gently, rubbing the ear that got whispered into. “And I think it's only fair for you to know I am falling as well. So you better catch me!”

With phone numbers exchanged the two bid each other good night.