Yamaguchi couldn't believe what actually happened. He nearly forgot how to breathe as reality kept washing over him like a flood. Her violet eyes were wide in shock and her cheeks were tainted red. He could feel her heartbeat synching with his own and it embarrassed him even more.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap..." his mind was racing and he didn't know what to do next.

"It's... sweet..." Ayame thought, though that only made her blush harder "W-W-What am I thinking?!"

Caught in the moment, he tilted his head and kissed her properly with half lidded eyes. Okay, he knew that what he's doing is supposed to be the opposite what any person would do in this situation, but it felt like his instinct and his feelings for her urged him to kiss her. And secretly, he loved how sweet it is.

Gosh, her lips are so soft, so full of innocence and sweetness. He always thought that her lips were really cute because of her natural pretty shade and he secretly wondered if they are soft. But, he always cut off his thoughts at that. It sounded so wrong to him, thinking that he could kiss her to satisfy his curiosity. Plus, the thought of the captain and her mother knowing his thoughts scared the heck out of him.

But, for Pete's sake, he actually used the accidental kiss as a chance to kiss her. He knew very well that once the captain and the mother knew what happened, he's going to kiss the earth goodbye. But for now, he didn't actually care. He's in love on how soft and sweet she is.

Ayame, on the other hand, was confused. The moment his lips touched hers, electricity traveled down her body and her face turned even redder when he tilted his head and kissed her. She didn't know what to do. One part in her mind told her to quickly pull back and distance herself. The other one whispered to respond...but how? She was surprised by the situation of course, but deep down, it just felt right to her.

Why? She didn't know. But, she was surprised how it tasted so sweet, much sweeter than the chocolates and cakes she tasted in her life... and she secretly loved it as well. Her body felt like it's going to melt as he kissed her in a soft and gentle manner. Everything is a stranger to her. The kiss, the crazy beatings of her heart, the butterflies in her stomach and her emotions. Strange, but she oddly loved it.

"I-Is this how others felt when they kiss someone?" she thought. She didn't know anything about kisses and such but her instinct responded to the kiss. He was surprised by her response but he kept kissing her softly, his hand caressing her brown hair. They almost forgot their aim to find a way to leave the room as her hand instinctively touched his freckled cheek.

"Is...this...a dream?" he wondered "I wonder if this is some sort of message...huh? Message?"

Yamaguchi suddenly sat up as an idea sparked in his mind, which resulted for their kiss to be broken. The two first years realized what they just did and look away in embarrassment. She sat slightly farther from him, her brown bangs covering her red face.

"I-I'm sorry..." she apologized, though the scene kept replaying in her mind causing for her face to heat up even more.

"A-Ah, no... I-I-I s-started it...sort of..."'he rubbed his nape as he resisted the urge to crawl inside a hole to hide his embarrassment "A-Anyway, I have an idea that can get us out"

"Really?" her embarrassment was now gone as she heard him say he has an idea to escape. For the time being, anyway "What is it?"

"If I remember correctly, there were some old papers in one of the cabinets, right?" he looked at the shelves and cabinets "We could use one of them to write a message and slip it under the door. I'm not 100% sure that someone might notice-"

"It's better than nothing, Tadashi-kun" she stood up "The possibility is small but it's not zero. It might work"

He nodded and the two quickly scrambled around and looked for any usable papers they can write on. However, while searching, their kiss kept bugging in their minds, especially the freckled teen. Yamaguchi tried to push it in the corner of his mind but he can't, since he was the one that started kissing her. He shook his head when he heard Ayame's voice.

"Found one!"

She took it and went to his side and showed it to him.

"Did you find any pen?" he asked.

"Nope. But I have a pen here" she fished out a pen in her pocket and twirled it on her fingers "I always carry this around"

"Nice one, Ayame!"

She made a victory sign "Thanks! I really hope someone will get us out with this"

To whoever read this letter,

This is not a prank. We're trapped here inside the storage room and we need your help to get us out. Please help us. This is NOT a joke.

-Ayame

She made sure it's readable and noticeable and slipped the paper under the door, hoping that someone might notice.

"Let's hope it will work" she said. The two of them sat and waited patiently in front of the door for their savior to come. While waiting, Ayame touched her lips as she remembered the kiss. She secretly liked it, even though her first kiss is now gone, but she didn't regret it. In fact, she's grateful. But, she can't explain why.

"Looks like the cherry stem trick was right..." she thought, remembering what the libero once said "That kiss...it felt...right..."

"Ayame? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly "Your face...it's red"

"Eh?" she touched her cheeks "Oh, I...I just remembered something..."

"...I see..." he looked straight ahead, trying to act calm; though he's freaking out on the inside "Uwaa... that kiss is really freaking me out... I hope she didn't hate me for that...no, it's actually better if she hated me... I just took her first kiss, damn it... What was I thinking?!"

"A-Ano...Tadashi-kun, about earlier-"

The lights suddenly blacked out. He stood in alarm as he could see nothing but darkness. He wasn't particularly scared by the dark but it's making him uncomfortable and slightly anxious. But as for the girl...

"H-Help me..."

Her weak cries reached his ears and he felt her tiny body shaking next to him. He sat in front of her, though it took a while since it is dark, and touched her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Ayame?" he gave her a weak shake. It's just like that time, the day he first saw Ayame shaking like crazy. Her shaky and terrified voice sent stabbing pains in his heart and he wanted it to stop.

"It's so dark... I can't see a thing... I-I d-don't like it..." her breathings were heavy and raspy, filled with fear and panic while hugging herself. She didn't notice the teen in front of her nor his touch and voice because she's trembling badly as the darkness blinded her.

"Hey, girls, what do you think if we lock her up here?" a female smirked and opened the door of a small basement like room "Seems fitting for someone like her, don't you think?"

"Definitely. Since criminals are imprisoned after all" another one agreed. Two more girls held the violet eyed girl by both arms and laughed.

"Ne, Mizuki-san, we will be locking you here, okay~?" she said in a sickening sweet voice. They dragged her inside the room and shut the door. Ayame quickly stood up and kept banging and pushing the door but she was locked up and the girls left her while laughing.

"Please!! Let me out!! Someone!! Please help me!! I-I don't want to be locked up in here!!" she screamed while banging the door. She felt a chill run down his spine and she thought she saw two men, covered in blood and crawling to her. Her eyes widened in fear and she screamed and cried uncontrollably.

"SOMEBODY, HELP ME!!"

"AYAME!!"

She opened her eyes and felt a pair of arms embrace her. Yamaguchi's face was on her shoulder and he was hugging her tightly.

"Calm down. I'm here...I'm here..." he said next to her ear "You're not alone...I'm here for you..."

To her surprise, she stopped shaking and her breathing slowly calmed down. The embrace sent warmth to her body and she was soon relaxing and leaning on his chest. Her crying ceased as she listened to his heartbeat.

"Don't worry...I'm here..." he whispered "You're not alone, Ayame... there's no need to be afraid anymore..."

"Y-Yes..." she sniffled as the warmth and their position sent a blush on her cheeks "T-Thank...you...Tadashi-kun..."

What she didn't know is that the freckled teen is steaming from what he did and he's really grateful that it is dark and she can't see it. Of course it is one hell of an embarrassment for him to hug the girl he likes but, he didn't mind it anymore. The situation right now means that she needs someone to help her from her fear and he's doing it for her sake.

"Have you calmed down now?" he asked.

She nodded and leaned closer to his chest "Hai..."

"Are you...still afraid?"

She stiffened and she gripped his shirt tightly "A-A little...please...don't leave me..."

"I won't..." his embrace on her tightened and his other hand stroked her hair "I won't leave you...I'm not leaving you alone..."

"Thank you..." she snuggled closer "It is cold here but...you...you're so warm..."

He blushed and smiled a little "Is that so? Hold on. I'll find you a blanket or something you can cover yourself"

She shook her head "It's okay. There's no need to. You're warm enough, Tadashi-kun. And besides, it's hard for you to find a blanket in this dark room"

"O-Oh, you're right... H-How about this, then?" he shuffled and leaned on the wall while the violet eyed girl sat in front of him, his embrace around her and her head leaning on his chest "M-Much better?"

"Yes..." she closed her eyes "You want to know why I'm afraid, right?"

He flinched in alarm "She read my mind..."

"How...?"

"It's always like that. I could tell you wanted to learn more about me but, you never ask. That's why, at least, to repay your kindness, I will tell you the reason" she took a deep breath and sighed "You see, when I was in junior high, I...I was locked up...in...a dark room..."

"What?!" his blood turned cold at the horrible thought.

She nodded and gripped his shirt as she recalled what happened "Y-Yes...it's true...I was locked up and...I was scared...everything was dark... I feel like I was swallowed by the darkness forever..."

"Why...?"

"Because they knew...about...what I did..." she whispered "I made a mistake...I told my friend about it...and...she betrayed me..."

"That's...unforgivable..." he clenched his fist in anger.

"At first...it was just a simple bullying but..." her body shook and tears started falling slowly "I-It got worse... everyone started h-hating me... even...her... That time was the worst... t-they... trapped me in that dark room for one night...but it felt like forever to me...I-"

"Stop talking..." he embraced her tighter, his hand on her head "Don't force yourself to say everything...I get it..."

She was touched at his kindness and buried her face on his chest "Thank you..."

"But...your mother knew what happened, right?"

"Y-Yes... when she heard that I was imprisoned in that room, she saved me. She was angry that I didn't tell her that I was being bullied but...she was crying..." she said "That's why, I don't want to make her feel worried about me anymore...I...want to change... to be strong..."

"Me, too..." he said "I want to become strong. To fight on my own and stand on my own"

"And to protect you..."

"Then, we're the same" she touched his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. Yamaguchi blushed at the softness and the size of her hands next to his "Ne, Tadashi-kun, let's grow strong together. So we could show them, we can do it"

"Your hands... they're shaking...so small and fragile...but... you're also strong..."

"Yes. Let's do it. But before that..." he looked around "Let's wait until we're out of here"

"Eh?" she blinked as she processed the events that happened "Oh, yeah, we're still stuck"

"Let's wait, then" he said "Ano...is the darkness still scaring you?"

"No, after I told you about it, I feel a lot better. Right now, I'm not that scared anymore" she explained "Because, with your arms around me, I feel a lot safer..."

"I-I see...that's good, then"

They were silent for a few minutes until she asked him again "Ne, why did you...kiss me earlier?"

"E-Eh?!" His face started to turn crimson red and he was once again thankful for the darkness.

"Mom once told me that you kiss someone who is special to you. First kisses are very important since you could only give them to the person who is special to you. Can you tell me why?"

"A-Ah... I-I just remembered...I haven't apologized about that... I'm sorry if...I k-kissed you... and stole your first kiss..." he looked down apologetically.

"I totally forgot about that..." he mentally cringed.

"P-Please don't apologize!" she stammered "A-Actually...I don't mind it at all..."

"But I just took your first kiss! Me! Of all people-"

"Tadashi-kun" she cut him off "Don't say that. I don't really mind my first kiss being taken by you. Etto...I don't understand it myself either but I was grateful for it"

He blushed and looked away "I...I kissed you...because you...you're special to me..."

For some reason, she started to turn nervous "I-In what way?"

He sighed "You know, your cluelessness is really something..."

"It's pointless to try hiding it... especially that I took her first kiss..." he gulped nervously "You're special to me. More than as a friend...not as a family either... I know that it's wrong that I kissed you but... If I'm being honest, I was glad that I did it... For a long time, Ayame...I..."

It's only three words yet, it seemed so hard to say it. He wanted to tell her, the words he wanted to tell but a small lump in his throat seemed to be blocking his true feelings. Maybe the rejection is scaring him? Probably. But, he didn't want to become a coward for the rest of his life.

"I like you..."

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"AAAAAAAH!!! CRAP!!! I SAID IT!!" he internally panicked and messed his hair while blushing like crazy. His heart felt like it's going to burst any minute from embarrassment and nervousness. Oh how he badly wanted to crawl in a hole and hide.

Ayame's eyes widened and her heart started to thump loudly. Those three words were enough to make her feel embarrassed and for electricity to travel down her spine. The question is, can she return back his feelings for her?

"N-Ne, Tadashi-kun...I..."

"Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!" he was tightly closing his eyes as he prepared his self for the rejection.

"I...still don't know about liking someone...but..." she placed her hand on her chest "I...I'm not going to reject you"

His eyes shot open "Eh?"

"Suga-san told me that you don't know if you like someone, you feel it. At first, I don't know what he meant about those words or it didn't made sense to me but..."

The door made a creaking sound and their attention was shifted to the person who came to their aid. He stared at the two of them, as if trying to comprehend how and why these two are inside the storage room. However, the sight of Ayame sitting between Yamaguchi's legs and his arms around her made the pudding haired teen glance away awkwardly.

"I saw this outside..." he lifted his hand and showed them the letter "Uh...are you guys okay?"