Author's Note: Hello readers, welcome to this bittersweet Takuran/Rantaku fic! Shindou x Kirino has always been one of my ultimate favourite ships, so obviously I just had to write something for them. Hopefully it turns out good :)

I know I already have a fic ongoing at the moment, and I do plan to continue working on it and to finish it. But to be completely honest, Shindou and Kirino have been on my mind for such a long time now, and I thought it was an occasion for me to write about them. So I hope you enjoy the first chapter of 'Beside You', and happy reading ;)

"Alright everyone, give it your all in these last ten minutes!" Endou exclaimed loudly with a smile, his team cheering as after school practice was finally coming to an end. It was a beautiful sunny day after all—many of them were looking forward to go out with friends and enjoy the sunlight. Soccer was fun and all, just a little less when it came to practicing under the scorching heat of the summer sun. It seemed the only one who wasn't too bothered by it was Tenma—nothing could ever stop their captain from playing soccer, after all. However this year's summer seemed to be incredibly tough, and the managers couldn't help but worry—especially Akane—for the boys' health. Being under the sun for so long could only be bad for them; it was a miracle no one had suffered a heat stroke or even a sunburn yet. That luck was certainly not going to last long, though.

After everyone had finished running countless laps around the field, Kirino had distanced himself from his teammates to catch his breath. Everyone had begun forming groups to train together, but he stood aside. The defender's body felt abnormally heavy, and his chest tightened each time he inhaled. This was bad; he was at his limit. Perhaps skipping food this whole day was indeed a terrible idea.

"Kirino? Are you okay?" Blue met brown as Kirino's eyes flickered towards the direction of the familiar, worried voice. It was none other than Shindou, and a sigh escaped the pinkette's lips as the timing couldn't be any worse. Currently, the two had been in an awkward situation where they haven't argued, but they were clearly separated by something. Besides, Kirino didn't really want Shindou to see him in this state right now. "Y-Yeah... I'm fine, don't worry." The defender forced a weak smile, wiping away the beads of sweat forming on his forehead with the back of his hand. Shindou noticed how his legs trembled from exhaustion, and he could only frown at the recklessness of his best friend.

It all began when Kirino abruptly stopped walking home with him after school. Not only was that decision peculiar, but there was no explanation behind it. The brunet couldn't recall offending or acting wrongly towards him, which made it all the more confusing. But he accepted his choice, although it hurt him to. Then, things only got worse when Kirino started avoiding him whenever he had the chance; and that was the last straw. But when Shindou faced his best friend about his strange behaviour, the conversation was shorter than expected—it ended with Kirino making typical excuses accompanied with apologies. The problem was definitely not solved, and at this point Shindou was certain his best friend was hiding something from him.

"Um, I'm going to grab a drink…" The silence was broken by the pinkette's hoarse voice, his throat sore from its dryness. "Sure. Don't push yourself too hard, alright?" Both smiled briefly at each other before Kirino walked away towards the bench where the three managers sat. Shindou watched the pinkette's back as he walked away, a bitter sensation forming in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, so wrong. It hurt the brunet that Kirino wouldn't tell him what was on his mind—normally, they would always share their problems, worries and thoughts together. Ever since they were young, the pinkette had a talent in comforting Shindou, but when it came to comfort Kirino, Shindou would always struggle. It never stopped making the brunet feel so guilty to be unable to relieve his best friend from his sadness, but today will be different.

"Shindou-san, over here!"

"Oh, I'm coming!"

Shindou glanced one last time towards Kirino before running to join Tenma and his other teammates. The brunet clenched his teeth; this time he won't let Kirino run away anymore. It was stupid of him for not handling this situation more seriously beforehand—The one who has to apologize is him, really.

But as Kirino and Shindou believed everyone ignored their inner turmoil, someone had watched their conversation from afar with a sly grin. It had been a while since he began observing them now, and perhaps today he was finally going to take action.

"Great work everyone!"

As Endou congratulated his team on another day of hard work, soccer practice finally came to an end. The sun continued shining just as harshly, and the occasional breeze brought a short relief to many. Everyone had worked together to clean up the field from the equipments, and cheerfully refreshed themselves with water and towels. Hamano laughed as Tenma was already all over Tsurugi, begging him to hang out with him along with Shinsuke this afternoon. The forward's cheeks were gradually reddening each time Tenma insisted, and eventually accepted to shut the brunet up. The two had become really close, and according to Midori's conspiracy, they were secretly going out. But that assumption was never confirmed to be true, although some of them believe it. Shindou watched them at a distance, smiling at Tenma cheering happily as he placed his small towel around his neck. His bronze irises however, were really searching for a certain pinkette who seemed to be nowhere to be found. Perhaps the defender was avoiding him again, but Shindou wasn't going to let him do that anymore.

"Oh, Shindou! Kirino wasn't feeling well, so Kariya brought him to the infirmary. Could you go check on him after changing?"

Endou informed the brunet, tapping his shoulder kindly. "Of course, thanks for telling me." Shindou thanked his Coach before a terrible feeling washed over him. He didn't even notice Kirino leaving—with Kariya, too. At first, that blunet seemed to only cause trouble for his best friend, but he mysteriously calmed down from his pranks rather quickly. Shindou bit his lower lip anxiously—what if Kariya was trying to replace him as Kirino's closest friend? No, he shouldn't think that. Kariya wouldn't do something as such, and Kirino would never leave him behind like this. That was an unreasonable thought, and Shindou almost felt shameful for even thinking about it.

The brunet continued walking among his friends, but his footsteps slowed down as a weird gut-feeling told him something wasn't right. Back then, he could tell from just one glance the defender wasn't alright. Kirino could really be injured at the moment, for all he knew. The more Shindou thought about his friend being in pain, the more he wanted to see him. The ex-captain was a pinch too paranoid every now and then, but perhaps he wasn't exaggerating this time. As the team made their way towards the changing rooms, the brunet took his decision and began walking the opposite direction. He can always change into his uniform later, Kirino is his priority right now.

"Shindou-sama?" Akane whispered to herself, her violet orbs following Shindou as he walked the other way. Perhaps he was going to check on Kirino, and secretly, she wished she could go with him. The poor defender was in such a miserable state—Akane was afraid he would faint right here and there when he approached her. Luckily, she managed to convince him along with Aoi, Midori and Endou to bring him at the infirmary. But in the end, it was actually Kariya who kindly took him there. The blunet had heard their conversation, and offered to help which Endou and the managers accepted. Although, Akane hoped she could have come along, but she wasn't brave enough to even ask. Well, Kariya had always intimidated her a little, even now when he has stopped his pranks and grew more mature. There was just something she sensed in him that made her feel more bashful than usual, almost uncomfortable.

She hoped it was just her mind over-thinking.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading~ Hope you enjoyed the first chapter ;3

Cover image found on Pixiv, the creator's Pixiv member id is id=3531688. They are also going as 826. (I'd really like to put a link to their pixiv directly but I can't T-T)