Sleeping Princess

 

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Mihara Yuko-san’s Perspective

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“Are you ready, Mihara-san?”

“Ehh…are you sure? I was never...any good at basketball...Nakagawa-san...”

 

 

During lunch, I held this basketball close to my breast while trembling. Nakagawa-senpai decided to spend a little time with me. She said that way we could slowly work on becoming better friends…just like I wanted to. Recently, I…broke down and expressed that I wanted her to talk with me more…like a selfish child. But instead of shunning me…Nakagawa-senpai embraced me. She chose basketball because it was one of the things we used to have in common. But wouldn't that mean that Nakagawa-san and I...don't have much else in common?

“Y-You were always better than me at basketball…I’m going to lose, Nakagawa-san.”

In our gym attire, our shoes squeaked across the gym floor. I couldn’t tell but it looked as if she enjoyed that sound. She would pump her small feet from left to right occasionally. Nakagawa-senpai had these small quirks that I’m sure she didn’t notice.

“Mihara-san…I haven’t played basketball in like two years, remember? Any skill I had is probably long gone by this point.”

She slumped her shoulders and shrugged. I couldn’t imagine how it felt for her…knowing that all that time of her life was gone. But it surprised me seeing them her that day in school a few months back. My mind raced back to that day she stepped into the school in normal wear. We met eyes with one another and it caused my body to freeze like I was suddenly thrown into the antarctic. 

She was a ghost from the past that I still didn't fully get over. I was happy but ever so scared that I didn’t know what to say to her. But here she was now right in front of me...focused solely on me. That’s when it hit me…what I’ve always wanted to tell her.

“B-But that doesn’t matter! You…were so cool…Nakagawa-san. I…I’ve always…w-wanted to be like…y-you.”

It was hard to get out and it caused my heart to throb horribly. Lately…getting my words out that came from my heart was a struggle more and more when I…spoke with Nakagawa-senpai. I…always try to think about all my words to not embarrass myself when I’m with her. Only recently did that become an awareness of mine.

“Here, you start. And don’t worry…this is just for fun, Mihara-san.”

She passed me the ball. With her shorter figure, she bounced around me for a moment. It was…cute watching her go around me like this. If I had to compare her to something…it would be a cat. And…I seriously liked cats.

“…O-Okay.”

So, I bounced the ball slowly. It banged against the floor causing an echo to rumble through the gymnasium. This was the extend of my abilities…Nakagawa-senpai beat this into me more than anything else…the proper way to dribble a ball.

“Alright, try to score.”

“T-Try to score? Against you, Nakagawa-san?”

“Yeah…that’s the aim of the game, right?”

She was snarky. Super snarky…and I always found that side of her fun. She would bully me but not like the other girls…her teasing made me so happy back then and she never meant anything bad by her words.

“Ah…is everything alright, Mihara-san?”

“Oh…ah…I was just…thinking about something, Nakagawa-san.”

“What were you thinking about?”

I closed my eyes…that’s when my lips curled as I reminisced…

“When…you were teaching me in basketball practice… I…I used to be so much shorter than you.”

“What happened?”

I giggled…

“You were...teaching me how to get around a defender...But you were so much taller than me…that it was difficult to learn.”

“Oh, what did you end up doing?”

My face heated up. Now I remembered the full story as I confessed to her apologetically.

“I…ended up tackling you to the floor when I attempted to cross you. All the girls on our team panicked and made sure that you weren’t hurt.”

...

...

I remembered back in the past, Madoka-senpai fell to the floor and I landed on her leg. Everyone was afraid she was hurt because we had our next upcoming game, and we needed to win. She was a high-scoring player so if she was hurt our team would certainly lose…

“Mihara-san! You can’t be so rough with Nakagawa-san!”

Our team captain scolded me as I lied on top of her legs. I was scared so I latched onto them.

“H-Hey, Aoi-san! Don’t yell at Mihara-san... Can’t you see she’s trying?”

“Huh?”

Madoka-senpai held out her hand and touched my head. That kind girl wrapped her arms around me and smiled dearly.

 

 

“Hey…you did good, Mihara-san.”

“Huh?”

Her warm fingers caressed my hair and it calmed me in this embarrassing situation. She was even defending me when I messed up so badly.

“You crossed me just like I told you…you just messed up on the comeback. So, don’t be afraid and have a little bit of confidence.”

She said this but the group circled us like ravens ready to feast on my body.

“Madoka-san is always protecting Mihara-san! She’s not even good at the game!”

“Enough guys! She’s trying, leave her alone.”

That’s when she put her arm around me. She kept the wolves from descending upon me…Nakagawa-senpai always kept me safe. How it wasn’t until she was gone that I noticed how much I took her for granted…

....

....

“Are you ready, Mihara-san?”

Here we were again…two years later in the same way. Nakagawa-senpai was doing her best to defend me from the goal. But this time I could clearly see the top of her head and that made me want to dance. Was that strange? After our chat…she was more at the forefront of my mind.

“Come at me!”

She cutely cried. It was astonishing how beautiful and talented she is. Nakagawa-senpai was always on a different level compared to the other girls in our school. Some of the guys talked about her looks and how cute she was...but many believed she had a boyfriend or was way out of their league. But something told me that…Nakagawa-san doesn’t realize how beautiful she is…does she?

“Mihara-san…are you coming?”

I felt my feet catch themselves as I ascended back into reality. I was spacing out thinking about Nakagawa-senpai. So, I bounced the ball in my hand to try and wake up. Doing this motion was natural because I’ve practiced all that time. Senpai...made sure I got better at it more than anything else. So, I pushed forwards. Nakagawa-senpai reached out as I went for the layup. The ball hit the rim and fell to the floor. I nearly hit the ring with my hand too. That’s when I realized how freakishly tall I’ve become and it threw me off-balance.

“Eh!”

I fell to the side and took a cushy pillow with me. As I held it tight I nuzzled my nose on her…stomach. It was soft, warm…just like how her tender legs were back then. I lied on top of her in this odd position. With her hands to the side and mine invading her hips, my mind went numb. I stared into her aquatic eyes. They reminded me of the sea as they calmed my heart. Her cheeks were bright red...and I'm sure I looked the same. 

 

 

“Are you okay, Mihara-san?!”

“A-A-are y-you okay, Nakagawa-senpai?!”

“Senpai?”

Nakagawa-san questioned for good reason. She didn’t know that I still called her Nakagawa-senpai in my head. She’ll always be…Nakagawa-senpai to me. But saying it aloud was far too embarrassing so instead, I cried out doing my best to make her forget about my slip-up.

"A-A-Are you hurt?!"

“I’m okay…Mihara-san...Ah, could you get off of me, please?”

My senpai's sweet breath wafted across my face. Any closer and we could have bumped our cheeks together by mistake.

“Oh, s-sorry!”

I lifted myself off of her. There we sat in the gym looking into each other’s eyes. She was still as beautiful as she was two years ago. Nakagawa-senpai actually...hasn't changed too much from back then and that made me so happy.

“You did well…but you messed up on your direction. Not like I could say much because I’m rusty too though.”

That’s when she reached out her hand and…pet me on the head.

“Good work…but let’s try it again, okay?”

Why was she…so good at making me feel…special? Was she like this with everyone? How I felt safe around her…like no matter what Nakagawa-senpai will protect me.

Now I stood up and reached out my hand. She took hold as I pulled her to me. That’s when I noticed how small she was compared to me…now.

Maybe…

Maybe…if I was…more confident…more…like Nakagawa-senpai…

Maybe one day I could protect her like she used to do with me…

“Are you ready to play a 1v1 now?”

“O-Oh…y-yes, let’s play.”

We played a short game together during our break time. Nakagawa-san blew me out of the water with her skills though. Although she wasn’t on the same level as before…our difference in skill was showing. But I didn’t care…

She was giving me attention…

How much…that made me like her all the more…

Like her?

....Yes, I do like Nakagawa-senpai…

And one day I’ll show her that picture I’ve been drawing in my spare time since we had that chat about my feelings...

...The one that makes my chest feel warm when I see it.