"A-Ah, that hurts!"

"Well, maybe if you stopped moving, it wouldn't."

You and Riko sat on the school rooftop after classes were over. The sun set all around them, illuminating their scenery in a hue of red and orange. Wind swept across the skies, bringing the fallen leaves scattering across their feet. Though in most cases the view would be beautiful, Riko's eyes were distracted with other things.

You had texted Riko to meet her at the end of the day where they always practiced, stating it was a complicated situation but she needed her to bring a first aid kit. Of course, that was followed by multiple texts from Riko that were all left on read.

After class, Riko was sure to run to the roof, not even waving the rest of her friends goodbye. When she arrived, all she saw was a tiny You, huddled in the shaded corner of the roof with scratches and bruises littered across her skin. You only looked up with a half witted smile as Riko huffed out loud.

You had the habit lately of getting into fights. As much as Riko tried to probe, You always changed the subject. However, this was the third day in a row, and Riko was tired of beating around the bush.

The young girls hadn't said anything to one another, just going onto what seemed to be a routine these days. Patching up a broken sailor with the hopes she'd stay that way for longer than a day.

As Riko put down the alcohol swab used to clean You's cheek, she stared at the girl in silence with frustration written across her face. You only took a glance before avoiding her eyes,

"You, you already know what I'm going to ask."

You touched her stinging cheek,

"And you already know what I'm going to reply with, Riko."

Riko tossed aside the swab as she grabbed a band-aid. She couldn't force the answer out of her, but it would be nice to know if she could help in any way. Unwrapping the band-aid, the red-haired girl stuck it onto You, a little forcefully, as she asked once more,

"Well if you don't tell me who's doing this, will you at least tell me the reason why you're fighting? If it's over who's the best captain in all of Japan just know I will literally never let you live that down."

Though she was smiling at the end of her sentence, Riko wanted some type of reaction, anything to get her sailor at least looking in the general direction she was in. You only looked down, playing with the hem of her skirt,

"There's no reason, we're just being rough at swimming practice, that's all."

Dropping the fake smile, Riko could see right through You's lies. You didn't have swimming practice each day, but she sure did have these altercations. She wasn't about to give up trying though,

"What about the days you aren't at swimming practice? How do you explain that?"

You shrugged, trying her best to not be cornered in her lies,

"I, uh, I wrestle with Kanan. Yeah, you know we love to test our strength."

As much as she wanted to, Riko couldn't even be upset with You. She knew what the truth was, It was a matter of getting You to admit it to her.

It had been a constant thing to be talked about, since she was the new girl at school. Sure she had joined the Aqours and gotten to know the school more, but her name still stayed a hot topic amongst classmates. Riko was easily one to ignore it, as she was what she was taught to do at a young age to not cause altercations. You, however, was one to solve a problem right then and there.

Riko pushed aside her first aid kit. She scooted next to You, leaning her back against the wall her sailor rested against. They didn't say anything as Riko got situated, only hearing the soft ruffle of clothes along with shoes scratching at the concrete.

As the red-haired girl finally relaxed, she leaned her head against You's shoulder, taking a breath, as they watched the sun's orange hue slowly fade from the sky.

"I know what they're saying about me, You. You don't have to defend me, I can handle this stuff on my own."

You plopped her head onto Riko's. She was finally caught. Sighing out, You replied back,

"I know. I just, I don't like to hear them."

Riko looked down at their barely touching shoes. While it was nice to be protected, Riko would rather for You to not put herself in danger. The idea of being the reason for You's constant ache just caused her more pain than the rumors themselves. And though Riko could say her thoughts, You wouldn't stop until everyone in school feared even thinking badly about the red-haired girl.

Tapping their shoes against one another, Riko thought of something to brighten the silent atmosphere, as well as a way to keep an eye on You,

"Hey, wanna go get some ice cream? It's been a while since we've done that."

You thought for a moment. They hadn't really gotten to hang out with one another recently, if their patching up sessions didn't count. It seemed like a good idea, though relaxing seemed like an even better one.

With Riko's fingers tapping at You's leg for a quicker response, You brought the red-haired girl's fingers to her lap, playing with them,

"Would it be okay if we sat here for just a little bit longer?"

Riko closed her fingers over You's as the young sailor felt every crease of her palm. Feeling the warmth spread across her cheeks, Riko hummed in agreeance.

Numazu's sunsets were unbeatable by far in Riko's eyes, but spending them by someone she secretly held dear in her heart made them all the better.

A/N: Hello, I'm back after nearly 15 days of no update on here. Other things kept me busy but now I am all focused once more. Also, I've never recommended it before, but why not? If you have a prompt you want YouRiko in, you can send it to me and I can write it out if it's detailed enough or just like really cute lol. You can comment it, DM me on Twitter ( Lydinya) or send an anon message on Tumblr (Addiicted-to-youu). If not, I'm down to take this entire story to 50k myself (｡•̀ᴗ-)و ̑̑✧ anyways, thanks for reading ! Yousoro and out (๑◡╹)ゞ