Here Comes The Blossoms!

Madoka spent the next morning absolutely tired.

She marched into class just before it started and plopped down face-first onto her desk, trying to get in a 10-minute nap before...English...no, Math, actually started.

Natsu, Sena, Tora and Mira were already there, chatting up a storm when Madoka collapsed at her desk.

"Good morning, Ishikawa-san!"

Natsu said cheerfully. Madoka could only return with a weak 'morning...'.

"You look really tired, did you not sleep well last night?" Sena leaned down to ask, poking Madoka's hair buns with her fingers as she did.

The sleepy girl muttered back.

"Nope..."

And explained nothing more. The reason was simply because...it was too embarrassing to say that she lost sleep from excitement about going to school next day like she was a primary school girl about to go on a field trip. And it was even MORE embarrassing that because of that, she stayed up until 4 in the morning to watch Arsenal play Fulham.

So yeah.

Not telling!

"You know, if you stay up late, your skin might end up dry and cracked!" Tora said, with the serious tone of telling a ghost story and Mira only added in with an agreeing 'mm'.

But seeing that Madoka was in no state to keep a conversation going, the other girls just went back to their own chat.

Around 15 minutes after, the math teacher entered.

Madoka spent that entire class in a daze, just drifting behind sleep and wakefulness, her gaze jumping from board to notebook to Natsu next to her to the football field far from sight and back to the board again.

At one point, the teacher even called on her because she was close to fading out of reality.

"Ishikawa-san?"

Madoka stood up on pure autopilot instinct alone.

"Can you give the class your answer to this question?"

A={1,2,3,4}, B={3,4,5,6}

What is A∩B?

Madoka stopped for a moment, squinting her bleary eyes before giving her answer

"...{3, 4}, sir."

Sena snorted, and she tried her best to hide her laughter by slapping Tora on the back because Tora was trying her hardest not to break out laughing too.

The teacher, however, was less amused. He sighed loudly.

"The answer is correct. However, please pay attention in class. If you are really tired, you can go to the nurse's office."

She nodded slowly, not truly hearing everything.

"Yes...I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again."

It would.

As she sat back down, Madoka saw Natsu giving her a wide goofy grin.

"That was really impressive!"

Madoka just wanted to go to sleep, but she gave Natsu a small smile as well.

After a hellish morning, with Math (which Madoka survived), English (which she was fluent in so it wasn't much work anyways), Japanese (thankfully easy for their first class) and Worlds History (yikes), lunch had finally arrived.

Excusing herself from Natsu's invitation for lunch for a bit while she went and wash her hands and face at the bathroom, Madoka dragged herself out of class, trying to get her body moving to stave off the sleepiness for the rest of the day.

Because football was coming.

At least after another 3 hours.

While walking through the hall, Madoka, in her daze, accidentally turned the corner without looking and bumped into someone, sending papers flying into the air.

And instantly, ever cell and neuron in her body immediately flared alive. Everyone in the hall looked their way and stopped their own conversations for a split second.

"I-I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, I was sleepy...wait no that sounds like an excuse...umm...let me help you."

She scrambled on the ground, grabbing papers upon papers while keeping her head down from shame. But then...a gentle, airy giggle reached her ears.

"Don't worry about it, just watch where you are going next time."

Finally, Madoka dared to raise her head. In front of her was a drop-dead beautiful girl with long silky black hair worn in a ponytail and piercing rose red eyes gazing back at her.

...Hold on.

"Y-you're...the student council president!"

"Oh my, it seemed like my reputation has preceded me."

She laughed - even her laugh sounded expensive. After sorting through all of the fallen papers, she turned to Madoka with an inquisitive look.

"Your name doesn't happen to be Madoka Ishikawa, right?"

"H-How did you know...?"

"I'll take that as a yes then. Chizuru told me a lot about you...let's see...'spunky', 'go-getter', 'super awkward'...I think she got most of it right." The girl tucked her hair strands behind her ear. "Oh, my name is Tsubaki Yamamoto."

Yamamoto?

"D-do you mean...the Yamamoto that owned that really big traditional estate in town?"

The one Madoka saw when she was moving in?!

"Yes, that would be correct. But here, please, think of me as your trusty senior and student council president. Although...I suppose starting from today, I would also be your senior in the football club."

"Eh?"

"I am part of Hanamura Blossoms, and its vice-captain. It's a pleasure to meet you." she replied, though after seeing Madoka's gaping mouth and stunned expression "...did you perhaps expect I would be in the kyudo club? Or maybe calligraphy?"

"NO!" Madoka said a bit too fast "I-I mean, yes...a little bit? It's just...Yamamoto-senpai doesn't seem to be..."

Tsubaki smiled gently. "Don't worry, I get that a lot. Oh, would you look at the time...I suppose I would be seeing you after school today then, Ishikawa-san?"

"A-ah...yes, definitely!"

With one last wave, Tsubaki left carrying the stack of papers while Madoka stood stunned in the hallway as students around her kept moving. She had to have stood for 15 seconds before snapping out of it.

"Oh right, lunch!"

The rest of the school day sped by in a blur. Home Economics was just talking about safety...and P.E...well, it was mostly just running track-and-field.

The MOMENT class ended and everyone changed back to their school clothes, Madoka was gone like the wind. She snatched her backpack and ran out of the classroom, sparing only a little wave for Natsu and Sena/Tora/Mira.

She ran down to the school grounds, out the back and into the tree line again, down the well worn path that she had ran through the day before. And out the other side, the field...

"Hah...hah...it's still here...!"

It was still the same field as before. It truly existed, Madoka didn't just dream up of it!

But from the looks of things, no one was here yet...no Chizuru and no Tsubaki yet. Madoka took a glance at the clubroom (shack)...and as curiosity overwhelmed her, she thought to herself.

'Chizuru-senpai probably won't mind me checking out the clubroom, right?'

Tentatively, Madoka tried to pull open the door and...

It was unlocked? Maybe Chizuru-senpai forgot to close it yesterday...?

Madoka peeked her head in. It was dark inside, as expected...there were shelves filled with things like bibs, cones, old balls...but there was also mattresses, a beanbag, stickers everywhere, a white board filled with goofy drawings with cute round color magnets stuck to them and so much more...

"Wow..."

There was something reverent in Madoka's tone as she said that, as if this dingy room contained the secret to football or something like that. But before she could explore any further...

"Mmm...urgh..."

Something groaned next to her, by the doorway. Madoka was STIFF.

She turned her head so slowly that you could probably hear her joints click.

Next to Madoka...was a human-shape...thing. It had a tall, lanky body that extended into the darkness of the room with long wild hair that covered its face...and beneath that were two peering golden eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness.

"You..."

It spoke, the voice was low and rumbling.

Madoka Ishikawa...

Screamed.

It wasn't a cute yelp, a shocked cry...no, she screamed for her lives as she jumped out of the room, falling flat on her butt while scrambling back. And coincidentally, it just so happened that Madoka landed nicely...

Right in front of Chizuru and Tsubaki.

"Ishikawa?"

"Ishikawa-san?"

They spoke in unison at the sight of the frightened girl who hugged Chizuru's legs - something she would have never done normally unprompted.

"T-there is a ghost in the clubroom! L-long hair, lanky...g-golden eyes."

"Golden eyes huh..." Chizuru, however, looked much less frightened than Madoka and just looked at Tsubaki "...I think I know what's going on."

She entered the room and flicked on the light switch by the doorway and instantly, the room lit up...followed by hissing and scrambling of something...or rather, someone.

"Tokigetsu, you scared the newbie."

The ghost - or Tokigetsu, as Chizuru called her - was actually NOT a ghost. She was a very tall girl, with a lean but built frame of an athlete...her eyes were piercing and half-lidded just like Chizuru's eyes...but filled with more sarcasm and cynicism than warmth.

"I can tell. She had a good pair of lungs on her."

She unhurriedly gathered her long purple hair into one big bun on the top of her head. Meanwhile, Tsubaki was trying to console Madoka.

"It's fine, Ishikawa-san...that's just Tokigetsu-san...Shion Tokigetsu, she is 16, a second year." Tsubaki started slowly "She is also our keeper, for Hanamura Blossoms."

"K-keeper?"

"Only when I'm bothered." Shion replied bluntly but Chizuru looked undeterred by how 'cold' Shion was acting.

"Only when she is bothered. Why are you here so early anyways, didn't you have last period or something?"

The tall girl shrugged "Last period was Math I, I already learnt everything, no point in sticking around."

"Your attendance matters, Tokigetsu-san." Tsubaki chided her like she was her mom.

Madoka, in all of this, was confused. Chizuru was nice, Tsubaki was super nice...but Shion was...well, it was too early to say she was 'mean', but she was different.

Chizuru continued without stopping a beat.

"Alright, vacate the room now, we need to give Ishikawa privacy to change."

"H-huh?"

"Your team jersey, remember? You're seriously going to wear your school uniform for football?" Chizuru pulled out of her backpack...a brand new cherry blossom pink jersey with the number 10 on its back. "Luckily we still had some laying around. Put it on kid."

Madoka received the jersey with both hands like it was some cloth of worship or something.

"Can I really..."

Tsubaki reassured her. "Of course you can, you are one of us now..."

"Yup, put that on and head out to warm up first, the others should arrive soon. Tokigetsu, come on now."

Shion groaned but stood up and followed Chizuru outside. Tsubaki herself began to make her way out too, but not before giving Madoka a few final words.

"I know it's a bit much right now...but you'll get used to it soon, I promise. Change up, and we'll be waiting outside, okay?"

Madoka nodded, still glued to the shirt in her hands. It was just a jersey...it was just a shirt, it was a shirt that you could honestly find and buy anywhere. Custom-making it was not even hard...

And Madoka was sure they didn't just make a custom one just for her either.

And yet despite all of that...

This was different.

Because it was hers.

So without a moment of hesitation, she put on her new Hanamura Blossoms uniform.