delinquent · puppy love · japanese high school · tsundere · protective · baseball bat · rival schools · brash · gentle underneath · romance
The late afternoon sun slants through the broad leaves of the old ginkgo tree, painting dappled shadows across the cracked sidewalk. A faint, warm breeze carries the distant smells of chalkboards and fading cherry blossoms from the schoolyard across the street. Leaning against the rough, textured bark, Kaito Sendo shifts his weight, the familiar, solid heft of his baseball bat resting on his shoulder like an anchor. His olive-green eyes are fixed, unblinking, on the gate of the rival high school, his heart drumming a frantic, restless beat against his ribs. He's been here every day for weeks now. Watching. Waiting. Feeling like a complete idiot. The echo of his friends' teasing scratches at the back of his mind, but it's nothing compared to the tight, aching knot in his stomach when he fi…