notes for those of you that may be wondering what this is, i'm really sorry but i don't really know. i do not have an explanation to offer. i do not have an explanation, period. what are you doing, doro?! you may be asking. the answer is I DO NOT KNOW. i wish i did, though; it would make my life so much easier. sigh.
warning multichap. try not to expect anything, because if you don't expect anything and you get something, it's double the surprise!
what you can't say;
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As soon as Marui's spot as a regular on the tennis team was confirmed in middle school, he knew that there wouldn't be many chances to make his own choices. This was especially if he was planning to stick with tennis through high school, too. Everything from how often he practiced to how often he went out with friends would be regulated. For the most part, he didn't mind—but that was because he didn't think about it all that much. He could still watch his weight and have a few slices of cake every now and then. Meetings with friends could be arranged and rearranged once the tennis season was over. It didn't matter too much to Marui; he wasn't the only one suffering, and it wasn't like he had too many friends outside the tennis club to begin with.
But the one thing that started to bug him once he hit high school, was the lack of control over his appearance, his habits. Tennis players, it seemed, were not simply just tennis players. In high school, Rikkai Dai's entire impression revolved around their athletic prowess. Everything began to matter. Professionalism was ironed into their cores. In Marui's first year of high school, their captain buried this into their minds; it was a new mold to fit, and even Sanada struggled to fit it.
Marui's appearance did not mean much to him; he was not a messy person, and generally, he was used to authority. But when Marui's grip on his personal self-image was strained, to him, this mattered the most.
At the end of their first year of high school, he enlists Jackal's help in purchasing a new stick of gum.
"Buchou is not going to like this," Jackal warns him.
"Who cares," Marui scoffs, stepping into the candy aisle. "He's leaving for university in a week. Yukimura's taking over next year, and I never needed his permission for anything."
"He just doesn't like it when you start relying on good luck charms." Jackal holds a roll of gum out to him, but snatches it away when Marui makes to grab it. "He thinks you're holding back your true potential."
"Oh, and he knows everything about me, does he. Tomorrow I'm going to go up to him and ask him what my blood type is. If he gets it right, I'll give him my gum wad as a graduation present."
"Yukimura thinks that too, you know."
Marui frowns.
"He's just nicer about it."
"What, so you're saying you actually prefer buchou over Yukimura?"
"No, I'm saying that I think both of their intentions are beneficial for your development. Yukimura, however, doesn't have a stick stuck up his ass."
Marui ignores him, takes the gum Jackal is holding, and pops a piece into his mouth.
"You need to pay for that," Jackal hisses, staring nervously at the security camera.
"I don't have money on me. Pay for me, would you?"
"You're such a pain." Marui flashes a grin at Jackal, who glares at him and makes his way past him and towards the cashier. Marui looks around—there is a small mirror at the end of the aisle. He ambles over to peer curiously into it and almost crashes into someone rounding the corner.
"Sorry," he begins, and then pauses because this person is wearing the same high school uniform as him. "Oh." Upon closer inspection, this person is of the female counterpart of the human species. "Oh," he says again.
She blinks. "Oh," she repeats. Her gaze goes from the packet of gum he is holding in his hand to the gum he is chewing in his mouth. "…Did you pay for that?"
"Negative." He points at Jackal, who is making his way back from the counter. Jackal's eyes widen a little in recognition and he waves in greeting.
"Yo."
Nameless girl waves back, and they start a casual conversation. Not interested in their exchange, Marui turns back around to the mirror he'd been eyeing and blows a bubble, staring at his own reflection. He raises an eyebrow. Raises the other. Pops the bubble. Flicks his hair, because please, every genius knows how to flip their hair.
Jackal and Nameless stop their conversation to stare at Marui in his moment of narcissism.
"Who are you trying to look like?"
Marui turns his head to look at Nameless. Her eyes are wide and she looks genuinely curious. Marui leans back from the mirror and grins. "Myself."
Nameless crosses her arms and grins back. "Cool."
Jackal watches the exchange and smiles to himself, feeling infinitely pleased and infinitely proud.
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