The air was filled with the sounds of panting, squeaking shoes, and the bounce of a volleyball against the floor. The girls' youth team had been practicing for several hours, as per usual. Since the first week in July, the team had convened once bi-weekly to practice. Practice always landed on Saturday, and the team always spent the entire day practicing - minus resting/meal times. It was a routine that Niko had easily fallen into.
The ball went up in the air, and Niko opened her mouth, calling it as she stepped forward to receive the heavy spike. Just as she did, another body came into her peripheral vision. Just a moment later, the person's body slammed into hers and sent her sprawling as they received the ball. Jaw clenching, the blonde stood up.
That was unfortunately the other routine Niko had gotten used to - not that she enjoyed it. Nao had maken it her duty to push Niko around on the court. Getting in the way of her receives, slamming into her and knocking her around, aiming her powerhouse spikes at her during practice - more often than not directly at her face. Not to mention, she'd started berating her off of the court as well.
It was always in secret, when none of the other girls or coaches were around. Unsurprising, as the first time Nao made a snide comment about Niko's personality and looks, she was met with reproachful stares and disdainful comments about her - from the rest of the team. After that, she chose to verbally attack the libero when there was no audience. Not to mention, Niko had quite a few nasty text messages from her.
She's say it was beginning to annoy her, but it was long past just beginning to. And it was encroaching upon the territory of not just annoying her, but truly pissing her off. She came to play volleyball, not to get pushed around and bullied for no damn reason.
As she stood up fully, the whistle blew - the coaches calling a timeout. "What the hell was that, Tanaka? Niko clearly called the ball - be more aware of your surroundings!" Coach Hisakawa barked out, watching the wing spiker with narrowed eyes. "Are you alright, Niko? Nothing bent or broken?"
A crooked grin formed on the girl's lips and she shook her head. "I'm fine, thanks Coach!" The snort of derision that Nao released went unheard by the coaches. However, when she put a sweet face on and looked over, she spoke up loudly.
"Sorry, coach! I was just so into the game, I forgot to pay attention to everyone else!" Niko could barely contain the snort of derision that tried to escape her. Even the other girls looked at Nao with frowns and dubious expressions on their faces.
"Alright, don't let it happen again." He said, watching Nao carefully. Once he received a nod of agreement, he blew the whistle and ended the timeout.
Nao didn't slam into Niko again after that. That's not to say she suddenly was all sunshines and rainbows, though. Every time she was near, Nao managed to 'accidentally' get in Niko's way, or her foot just 'happened' to be there when Niko went to move across the court. One more than one occasion, she nearly tripped the libero.
When practice was finally called to an end, Niko was the first off of the court and into the locker room. A shower would help cool her head off, she hoped. Lightning fast, she grabbed her bag of clothes and dashed to the showers. By the time the others were trickling in, she was already under the stream of water, washing off the sweat. Around her, several of the others turned on showers and began the same routine.
Less than ten minutes later, Niko wrapped a towel around her body and stepped out of the shower. With bag in hand, she walked back into the other half of the locker room to get dressed.
"Nice playing today, Niko. You really managed to wow everyone out there." The sound of Nao's sarcasm-filled voice broke her from her thoughts. One, then two deep breaths in, and Niko simply reached in her bag to grab her undergarments. "C'mon, no need to ignore me. Just congratulating you on a game well played."
Slipping her underwear on under the towel, Niko continued to ignore the other girl. When she pulled her towel off and set it aside, she made a point of not turning in Nao's direction. "Well, fine, if you want to be rude I can, too." A shock, really. Niko rolled her eyes. Obviously she'd played pretty badly today. Nao had made sure of that.
As she pulled her bra on, Nao came to stand in front of her, smirking. "Honestly, I don't know why you don't just quit already. You'd be doing the team a favor." Turning, Niko pulled her pants from her bag and slid them on. "Hey, so, I have a question. How disappointed do you think your soulmate is going to be when he realizes that under your clothes, you're actually pretty manly?"
Niko's fingers clenched around the hem of her pants as she yanked them up her legs. Pulling out a simple t-shirt from her bag, she slid that on next. "What a travesty, honestly. Boy-like body, and barely a scrap of genuine talent to make up for it. He's really getting the shit end of the deal, isn't he?" Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and an iron hand had reached in to grasp her lungs. She'd dealt with weeks of Nao berating her, and now the girl was moving on to her relationship?
Initially, Niko had brushed off the comments and even replied good-naturedly. She still did, for the most part. It wasn't the fact that she thought Nao's words were truthful. No, she knew that the girl was simply trying to push her buttons and being mean just to be mean. It was the fact that it was constant.
Closing her eyes, Niko chose to ignore the voice of the girl standing above her while she tied her shoes. Deep breath, deep breath, deep breath she told herself over and over again. Once she was fully dressed, she stood and grabbed her bag without a word to Nao. Instead, she turned and began walking to the door of the locker room.
"Oi, I was talking to you, idiot." A hand grabbed the back of her shoulder, and suddenly Niko was stumbling forward. Dropping her bag in the process, she caught herself on the lockers. One, two, Niko picked up her bag and straightened up, walking out of the locker room without a glance in Nao's direction. The wing spiker did not follow her out.
Goblin Queen
20:51
Raise your hand if your parents aren't home
Trashykawa
20:53
Mine r gon 4 th week
y?
Haji-Paji
20:53
Not it
Goblin Queen
20:54
If I bring cookies, can we have a movie night?
Haji-Paji
20:55
Not like you to request a movie night.
You ok?
Trashykawa
20:56
Wat he said
But ye, com ovr whnever
Goblin Queen
20:57
I'll explain when I get there
On my way
Trashkawa
20:59
Goatee btr not hav don anythn
Haji-Paji
21:00
Be there in five
It'd been during the train ride home that Niko decided that she needed a distraction. And possibly some advice from her best friends. She'd called Asahi, but she so desperately wanted to keep things upbeat and positive with him that she hadn't brought up the subject with him. It was silly, she admitted to herself, though.
Asahi was her comfort… but Hajime and Tōru had been there with her through absolutely everything. They'd been her safe zone for so long, it was habit to go back to them. It felt natural. She'd tell Asahi soon, though, she promised herself.
After telling her parents that she was going to have movie night with the boys, Niko grabbed the bag containing cookies she'd bought on her way home, extra clothes, and dashed out the door. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she made a mental note to check it when she got to Tōru's house.
"I'm home, trash!" Niko called out as she opened the front door of the Oikawa household. Grinning to herself as an indignant squawk sounded from the living, she laughed and kicked the door shut behind her lightly.
In the living room, Tōru and Hajime were already on the couch with their shoes off and feet propped up on the coffee table. Hajime held a remote in his hand, flipping through movies. The seat between them was unoccupied. "Ahh, good, you peasants have saved my seat for me. Thank you!" She laughed as she trotted over and sat down between them.
"So what do we want to watch?" Hajime asked, looking over at Niko with a raised brow. She pulled the bag off of the box of cookies and opened it, pointing it at Tōru first.
"Pick your poison, Tō." Host always got first dibs. It was a rule the trio had made back when they were in junior high. Although they didn't have as many movie nights now as they once had, the rule was never forgotten. Tōru's face lit up, and he sat up a bit to look into the box.
Meanwhile, Niko looked at Hajime and shrugged. "I dunno, whatever you want." At this, his eyes narrowed. Tōru managed to snag three cookies before Niko remembered he was still scrounging for more and yanked the box back. "Oi, trashykawa, don't touch all of the cookies with your grubby hands!"
"My hands are not grubby!" Said setter pouted, shoving a cookie into his mouth unceremoniously. Niko had to choke back a laugh at the image of him with a cookie haphazardly hanging from his mouth, glaring at her.
When the box was shifted towards Hajime, he was quick to grab two cookies and push the box back into Niko's lap. "Alright, since the goblin is being weird, I'll pick the movie. Horror it is." Immediately, Niko whipped around to stare at him wide-eyed.
"NO! Absolutely not!" She half-yelled, scrambling to grab the remote from his hand. "Give me the remote! I'm gonna pee my pants if we watch a horror film!"
"Like you did when we watched-"
"Shut up! No, no horrors. Action or comedy, pleeeeeaaaassseee!" Niko alternated between glaring at the grinning Tōru for trying to bring up the time they'd scared the piss out of her during movie night - quite literally - and staring at Hajime pleadingly.
There was a brief pause, then Hajime smirked. "Fine. Action." Niko nodded, releasing the remote that both of them had been gripping tightly. She picked out three cookies from the box, then closed the lid and set it on the coffee table. Settling back in her seat, she nibbled on the cookie slowly as Hajime found and started their movie.
The next two and a half hours were spent with the trio devouring the rest of the box of cookies, and watching the screen intently. The frequent - and unnecessary - commentary from Tōru was the only reason any of them spoke. He'd comment on some aspect, and Niko would jab his side and tell him to shut up, which would then start an avalanche of the two bickering until Hajime shut them both up.
Even so, by the time the credits were rolling, Niko had spent the time laughing more than she had in several days. Being around her best friends was definitely the best distraction she could've asked for. She didn't know what she'd do without the two of them in her life.
Which was why, once the movie cut off, she took a deep breath and came clean with them. "It's not about Asahi." Were the first words out of her mouth - a good choice, as Hajime immediately relaxed and sunk back into the couch. Tōru even let out a small sigh of relief before nudging her with his foot to continue.
There was no need for a lead-up into the conversation. Hajime and Tōru had known something was up the moment she requested movie night - and she was well aware of that. "This girl, Tanaka, in the youth championship is…" Niko paused, unsure of the best way to put it. A deep breath, then she nodded and chose complete honesty.
"She's been bullying me since the first day of the camp." Both males sat up straighter, leaning in towards her. Niko knew that if she glanced at either one, they'd be wearing matching scowls. "Name calling, interfering with my practice by tripping me or slamming into me, aiming every single spike at me - but at my ankles, or my shoulders, or even my face. Talking about my 'lack of talent', my 'terrible' personality. Commenting on my looks, on Asahi…"
It was there that Niko lost some of the steam she'd built up. Biting her lip, she chewed on it nervously as her eyes began burning with unshed tears. "It's not even- I don't care about her stupid remarks about my talent, I can even tolerate her being aggressive on the court." As she spoke, Hajime and Tōru slid closer to her and wrapped an arm around her lightly. "It's just- I know I don't have-"
Niko took in a shaky breath, still alternating between shaky breaths and blinking back the feeling of tears that threatened to spill. "I don't have a feminine figure - I don't- I'm not, like, attractive- I've barely got any- any fucking boobs, and- my skin isn't soft and I always have bruises." The longer she continued speaking, the more her eyes burned. Until finally, tears began to leak. "What if he hates it? What if he's disappointed by- by the me- by what's under my clothes?"
Just like that, the dam broke. This was where all of Niko's insecurities lay. She could deflect comments that pertained solely to her - the logical side of her never let those comments get under her skin. Before she'd met Asahi, even comments about her looks never bothered her. Now, though… it was uncharted territory. Murky waters.
She wanted to be the best soulmate for him, she wanted him to be completely happy, but what if when they got to the next steps in their relationship… he was upset that she wasn't the perfect girl? That's what guys wanted, right? Soft skin, supple body, bouncy breasts - not muscles, calluses, and hard lines. What if her body didn't…
"Niko." Hajime's voice broke through her quickly darkening thoughts and made her lift her head to look at him. By now, she was pressed against Hajime's side, with Tōru's arms firmly around her waist in a tight hug. "Look, I don't know Goatee, so I can't speak for him - but any guy would be lucky to have you. You're dedicated, hard working, talented- no, look at me."
He stopped, reaching forward to flick her chin when she looked away from him, unwilling or unable to accept his words as truth. Only once she was staring at him again did he continue. "And the fact is, everyone's bodies are different. Just because you don't look like the supermodels on television doesn't mean you aren't pretty. Goatee is lucky to have you - and if he ever makes you feel like you aren't good enough, he can answer to us."
"Yeah, you're super cute, Chibi-chan. Everyone knows that. It's why half the team is crushing on you." Tōru grinned, resting his chin on her shoulder. Even as she started to roll her eyes, he continued. "You broke poor Watari-kun's heart when you found your soulmate in Karasuno." That got a soft giggle out of the girl and she lightly jabbed him with her elbow.
"Shut up, you bum." Niko's lips curled up into an involuntary grin, and she reached up to wipe her tears. On her other side, Hajime rolled his eyes at Tōru's words, but the corners of his lips quirked up at the corners just barely.
"Have you told anyone else? Your coaches? Parents?" Instantly, Niko shook her head - earning a frown and sigh from Hajime. "You should. That girl - she's not going to go away just because you ignore her, which is probably what you've been doing up until now." When he raised a brow at her, all the libero did was shift her gaze away guiltily. The only downside to having best friends that knew you like the back of their hands, she supposed.
There was a beat of silence, then Tōru was talking. "She's ruining the team for you. Plus...A player like her will only bring the entire team down - if she'll do it to you, she'll probably do it to anyone else. You need to report her to your coaches, Chibi-chan." A rare moment of total seriousness from him… but Niko knew it was well-deserved.
"More than that…" When Tōru continued talking, she shifted to look up at him curiously. "You need to talk to Goatee." The words came out quickly, begrudgingly. Like even suggesting that left a bad taste in his mouth. A small laugh escaped Niko, which she quickly stifled with her hand.
Hajime chuckled, reaching over to whack the back of Tōru's head lightly. "Surprisingly enough, I agree with Shittykawa on this. You won't feel completely at ease until you talk to Goatee about it." His eyes narrowed as he watched Niko bite her lip again. "Don't even start about wanting to keep him happy. If he's even a half decent soulmate, he'll want you to completely honest with him so you can fix these insecurities."
Both boys fell silent, watching Niko as she contemplated what they'd said. Her eyes still burned - now due to the after effects of crying, and when she licked her lips she could taste the salt of her tears. No one spoke for several minutes, until the blonde finally opened her mouth. "Let me think about it. I don't- I don't want to bother him."
Hajime stiffened against her side, and Niko hurried to continue. "I know- I need to. I just… I want to think about what… what I'll say. And I," She paused, taking a deep breath in, "will tell him when the time's right…" It was her turn to look up with a surprisingly firm gaze at Hajime and then Tōru.
The pair of them paused, glancing at one another before sighing and nodding. It was as good as they would get with her for now. Once Niko made her mind up about something… they'd need more than just words to convince her to change it. "Can we watch another movie now?... Comedy, please?"
It didn't take any convincing for Hajime and Tōru to agree. Everyone dropped the subject for the time being, and the boys began focusing on simply making her have a blast that evening. Tōru took it upon himself to talk over nearly three-quarters of the film, ad-libbing scenes and replacing dialogue with bits of his own, er, creativity. Even Hajime joined in a couple times - though that was mostly to poke fun at the setter.
When the second movie ended, a third was started immediately, and Niko spent nearly the entire time laughing. By the end of the night, she swore she had stomach cramps from giggling too much. Flicking the television off, Tōru stood up and stretched. "Time for sleep~ Race you to the bathroom!"
He took off in a sprint, and Niko tore out of Hajime's loose grip and was after him in a heartbeat. "NO, you take forever in there! Let me in first! I'll be quick, I promise!" She yelled after him - futile efforts as they were. He simply cackled and began taking the stairs two at a time. On the ground floor, Hajime looked over at the stairs and sighed.
"Idiots." He said to himself as he got up, grabbing the trash from the cookies and drinks they'd acquired midway through the night to throw away. After depositing them in the kitchen trash bin, he walked down the hall into the bathroom. "They always forget there's two bathrooms in here."
Upstairs, Niko had tackled Tōru at the top of the stairs and had basically used him as a springboard to get in front of him. "Host gets the bathroom, they're the rules!" Tōru called out desperately behind her as he scrambled to stand. His response? An evil grin and wink shot back at him - right before she slammed the door in his face and locked it.
The trio ended up in Tōru's bedroom just after four in the morning, with Niko collapsing into a shapeless pile onto an air mattress the setter had blown up prior to her arrival. Ages ago, it'd taken some convincing to get their parents to let them have sleepovers with all of them in the same bedroom, but by now it was tradition. Tōru and Hajime shared the bed, and Niko got the air mattress. At Hajime's house, she used the guest bedroom, and at her house the boys slept on a spare mattress that her family had kept specifically for these movie nights.
Just as suddenly as she'd collapsed onto the bed, Niko bolted up. "AH! I forgot to check my texts!" She leapt up, scrambling to grab her phone from Tōru's desk, where it was attached to a charger. Hajime looked over at her and rolled his eyes as he sat on the edge of the alien-sheet-covered bed. "Nooooo, ah, I'm so terrible. Hold on- wait no, he's asleep by now probably. Damnit."
Niko's lower lip jutted out in a pout as she stared at her open messages, disappointment coursing through her. She was usually so fast to reply, and he'd definitely noticed… and had worried.
Asahi
21:04
Hi. How're you?
Hope you had a good day :)
22:59
Are you alright?
1:06
Goodnight, Niko 3 seems like you were busy, so hopefully you had a good night :)
Sleep well
Tōru chose then to come over and read over her shoulder. "Tell him you were with the most important men in your life." He reached over her shoulder, grabbing for her phone. Niko pulled it off the charger and darted out from in front of him before he could lay a finger on the precious device.
"Absolutely not, you demon." Niko glared at him, before looking down and rapidly typing out a series of short texts to her soulmate.
Niko
4:16
I AM SO SORRY!
Oh my gosh, I'm so, so sorry :(
I was having movie night with Tōru and Hajime
and I totally forgot to text you back earlier
my phone's been on silent and omg I'm so sorry!
I had a good night, though, thank you!
I hope you did too 3 Sweet dreams
will definitely talk more in the morning! 3 I'm sorry again :(
Sitting on Tōru's bed to Hajime, she whined and fell backwards. "I am a moron. I totally forgot to text him earlier…"
"He'll live. You didn't need to apologize that much. It was only a few hours, hobgoblin." Hajime kicked her lightly as he shifted to lay down. "Now get in your own bed." The next kick was harsher, and sent the girl sliding off of the bed with a thump.
"Ow, you ass! Just for that, I'm not cooking breakfast tomorrow." Getting up, she stuck her tongue out at the ace, who simply flipped her off before rolling over to face the wall. Locking her phone, she plugged it back into the charger. "Touch it and you'll die, Oinkykawa." Niko pointed at him, glaring menacingly until said setter raised his arms innocently and slunk to his bed.
"Night, hoes." Niko chirped as she settled in under the covers on her air mattress. She received two half-hearted, grumbled replies before everyone fell into silence. Eventually, the trio drifted to sleep.
The next morning, Niko and Hajime rose from their slumbers nearly simultaneously. Sitting up and yawning, both of them took a few minutes to wake up before looking at one another. "Jog?" Niko asked.
Hajime nodded, shoving Tōru's legs out of the way so he could get off of the bed. Despite this, their friend remained dead asleep - causing both to snicker. "Meet you downstairs in twenty." Niko yawned, getting up to stretch before grabbing her bag of clothes, phone, and toothbrush. Hajime simply waved a hand at her as he grabbed his own bag and walked out of the room.
After they both showered, dressed, and brushed their teeth, they left the house together. They began at a fairly light pace, before gradually increasing their speed. After five laps around the neighborhood, Niko was leading the way home. "C'mon old man, can't keep up?" She turned around, jogging backwards as she grinned at Hajime.
"I'll drop your food." The simple threat was more than enough to shut her up. Laughing, Niko turned and began jogging back to Tōru's house.
"OI! ALIEN BOY!" Niko yelled at the top of her lungs the moment she opened the door. "WE'RE BACK WITH FOOD!"
"I knew you guys loved me." Tōru came out of the kitchen, smiling widely as he approached Niko.
"You have to get it from Hajime if you want to eat it, though."
"What?! No, that's not fair!"
Niko simply cackled in response.
A/N: A small step forward in the progress of Niko's honesty about her insecurities, I'd say! The next few chapters will be a little bit of a whirlwind, so I hope everyone is safely buckled in :p As always, thank you all to everyone who continues to support me! You all are terrific, and are the reasons I continue to write :)
pansyandy - Thank you so much! I'm so sorry you had to wait so long. Don't worry - that will happen... veeeerrryyyy soon. [coughnextchaptercough] But shhh, it's a secret ;) Again, thank you! Things have definitely smoothed out for me :)
eunoiapaint - Awww, thank you! I'm so happy you're enjoying it!
ktbelle1313 - Oh my gosh, thank you! I appreciate your kind words! Asahi is absolutely one of my favorites :) I plan to - so I truly, and deeply, appreciate your support! :D