For her, it began with a stunt in inspiration. For him, his pool of talent started to feel like it was at the last drops. They were youth on the precipice of adulthood, and contending with the loss of innocence that came with the realization of their limitations. When confronted with the choice to either continue pursuing greatness or to face the reality of their lives, what decisions would each make?
/
Sunlight filtered through the windows of the art room landing on the blank canvas. Inoue Nao glared at the white board, half hoping that the harder she stared, the more likely inspiration would finally hit. After what seemed like forever, she finally gave up and collapsed into the chair behind her.
"This is hopeless," Nao sighed. How was she supposed to get into art school if she couldn't even put together a portfolio? For the past couple weeks, Nao had been going through her old art to find pieces to include in her application, but not much of them stuck out. That meant she had to paint something new, but it was easier said than done. Art block had been consuming the young third year and she struggled to find ways to cure herself of it.
Nao glanced around the room for ideas. There were mostly empty easels, except for one in the corner of the classroom occupied by another student. Looking between the student and his canvas, Nao guessed he was painting a self-portrait. Nao contemplated doing the same thing but ended up leaning back into her chair annoyed, concluding that a painting of herself would be too boring for her portfolio. She had plain black hair and grey eyes; nothing about her stuck out at all.
The girl was about to pack up for the day and leave when a thought came into her head.
Oh! She thought excitedly. Nao pulled out her phone and sent a text.
Ten minutes later, a tall boy walked into the room with an exhausted expression on his face. Nao waved to her friend and motioned him to come to her. The boy made his way to her area of the room and then plopped into the chair beside her.
"What did you call me here for? I can't stay too long."
"Why do you look so tired, Shiori? Classes ended only an hour ago."
"The volleyball club has practice right now. You made it sound like you had an emergency so I ran across campus from the gym to get here. But you're clearly okay so-" Shiori puts his hands on his thighs, getting ready to stand up. Nao, not willing to risk losing this opportunity, grabbed her friend's wrist to stop him from walking away. The light flush of pink that appeared on his cheeks before he ducked his head didn't escape her eyeview. Not wanting to think too much about the implications of this, Nao immediately let go of Shiori and moved her thoughts back to her art.
"Wait! It is an emergency! Sort of."
"Sort of?" Shiori looked at Nao exasperatedly. She had the decency to be sheepish.
"I need a model to paint." Nao finally explained, and when she looked at him suggestively, Shiori's eyes widened. Before he had time to protest, Nao pleaded. "It's important! This painting is for my portfolio which will make or break my application into art school. My entire future is in your hands, Shiori!"
"Hey! That's a bit dramatic, isn't it?" Shiori rolled his eyes but Nao could see that he looked pleased at the request. "Besides, why are you asking me?"
Nao examined him before answering. Shiori was very slender, and had an angular face. With hazel eyes and a sharp hairstyle, he had a unique look about him.
"You're super tall! And you're also the only guy I'm friends with. Of course I'd ask you."
Shiori laughed. "If you think I'm tall, you should see some of the guys on the team. Besides," he gave her a sneaky look. "What do I get out of this?"
Nao slapped his arm. "Why should you get something out of this? Shouldn't you do this for me because we're friends?"
Shiori pouted and rubbed the spot on his arm where she had hit him. "What? We're in our third year and getting ready to graduate. I don't have time to do free labor."
"You'd just be sitting in a chair!" Nao rubbed her temples, but conceded. "Fine. If you want, I can do something for you, in exchange."
Her friend grinned. "Well, why don't we keep it an open favor for now. You can owe me and pay me back later!"
"Ugh". Nao was disgusted with how proud her friend was while bargaining.
"But I can't do it now. I have to head back to help with practice. Let's set a time for another day." Shiori fixed the strap of his bag onto his shoulder and got up to leave. Nao didn't want to wait any longer to work on her painting, but figured she was lucky he agreed to it at all. Besides, maybe a break would help her regain some momentum later.
"Hold on, I'll leave with you." She knew she wouldn't make any progress if she just stayed in the art room. Quickly collecting her art supplies and shoving them into her book bag, Nao lightly skipped to catch up with her friend who had already made his way to the exit.
They started heading away from the art room and towards the gym. Now that the two friends were walking side by side, Nao became more aware of their height difference. Her mind replayed what Shiori had said moments ago.
How much taller could those players be? She thought doubtfully. Nao had known Shiori since middle school and he had always been too modest. When they entered Aoba Johsai, she was surprised when he applied to become the manager for the boy's volleyball club. 'Since when did he start caring about sports?' Nao had wondered when he first told her.
The whistling sound pulled Nao away from her thoughts. She could hear sneakers screeching against the floor and balls being hit back and forth. The two students stopped walking.
"Want to come and watch?" Shiori stood in front of the gym and motioned behind him invitingly.
Nao looked at the building disinterestedly then above it at the sky beginning to turn orange.
"It's getting late, I should head back home." She said as an excuse. "I walked this way because my bus stop is nearby."
"Too bad," Shiori replied with a smile. "You're missing out."
"Hah." Nao said without humor. "Watching sweaty boys toss a ball back and forth. Sounds fascinating."
Shiori laughed like he knew something she didn't, and they said their goodbyes before parting ways. The girl stopped herself from thinking anything of it, knowing he was probably just trying to tease her into coming so he would have company.
Nao reached her stop a few minutes later. Looking down at her watch, she realized there was some time until the next bus would arrive. 'That's fine,' She thought to herself. As she had done many times before, the girl sat down and pulled out her drawing pad and a pencil to practice sketching the scene in front of her. Her stop was right next to a small bridge, under which was a seemingly gentle stream. At a single glance, the water below seemed calm. But Nao had observed and drawn this river since she had started at Seijoh three years ago, and she knew the moving water would eventually merge with the Natori River and powerfully fill into the ocean.
"How pretty," Nao hummed appreciatively.
/
The whistle blew, announcing a short break for the players. It was good timing for Oikawa Toru, whose only recently healed knee was feeling the toll of the hour of exercises, and he started towards one of the nearby benches.
It was bad timing for Shiori, who was returning to the gym just as all the sound of running sneakers was beginning to dissipate and players were taking a moment to recollect their energy. All eyes in the room were immediately drawn to the noise of his entrance, and consequently for the volleyball team manager, the noticeable redness in his face didn't escape them.
"Ohhh?" Some of the boys began to crowd around Shiori who was failing to swat them away.
"Why are you blushing, team manager?"
"Are you getting worked up because of a girl?"
"Who's the girl, who's the girl?!"
"Himura, if we can't have a pretty girl as our manager, you should at least bring one to practice!"
Iwaizumi Hajime took advantage of the distraction to head towards the bent over body of Oikawa that was a few feet away.
The team captain saw him coming his way and shot out a grin. "Iwa! What's all this talk about girls? Is one going to be gracing us with her presence?"
Hajime was used to Oikawa's obnoxiousness and ignored his question. His eyes narrowed at his friend's hands which were currently rubbing his knee. When Oikawa realized where Hajime had been looking, he leaned back against the bench and wrapped his arms behind his head coolly. While Oikawa may have been able to fool anyone else into thinking that he was fine, Hajime had known the boy since they were children, and immediately saw through the deflection.
"Hey. Stop working so hard. You're injured, remember?" Hajime scolded in a tone only he could get away with.
Toru dropped his smile and began to pout. "You and Coach never let me forget." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Besides, the doctors say I'm fine now. It wasn't anything serious."
"They said you'll be fine, as long as you rest. That means not over-exerting yourself."
"I'm already taking a hiatus from the next round of practice matches." Oikawa looked down, and Hajime realized he was actually upset. In a flash, the expression disappeared from Oikawa's face and was replaced by another one of his signature grins. "I guess my temporary absence will keep my fan club at bay, at least," Oikawa said in a teasing concession.
Hajime punched his friend's shoulder, only hard enough for Oikawa to let out a cry ("Iwa!") and motioned for the two of them to join the rest of the group.
/
Himura Shiori was starting to feel grateful that Nao had declined his invitation to watch the practice. He had just managed to ward off the eager volleyball players, half-convincing them with the lie that he was only hot from rushing back and forth across campus (not a complete lie) and with the help of Coach Mizuguchi's reprimand for them to hydrate, when Iwaizumi and the loudest presence on the team arrived and renewed the excited chatter.
Oikawa threw an arm around the team manager's shoulder and used his other hand to mess up Shiori's hair. "Where have you been all this time, Himura? The team was falling apart with you gone."
Shiori patted his hair back down and ducked away from Oikawa's embrace. Shiori was never the type to get insecure about his own appearance, but it was sometimes unnerving to stand right next to and instinctively compare himself to Oikawa who had the hearts of almost all of Aoba Johsai's girls. The fair-haired boy grumbled at all of the attention.
"My friend had an emergency. But it was no big deal after all so I'm back now." Trying to run away from the subject, Shiori picked up a bundle of towels and started to hand them out.
"A friend? Is your friend a girl?~" Hanamaki, who was now resting on the ground, piped in. Shiori shot a glare in his direction.
"What do you know about girls, Makki?" Oikawa taunted and received a less than polite hand gesture in response.
A whistle blew. "Hanamaki! Two laps around the court!" The player got caught by Coach Mizuguchi. Hanamaki whined to himself before getting up and obeying.
"So, Himura," Oikawa was leaning closer to Shiori and wearing a sneaky grin. "Is it true? You have a girlfriend?"
Shiori sputtered, accidentally dropping some towels. "Huh? No!"
"But you like her?" Oikawa continued, enjoying poking fun at Shiori like he did all his teammates.
"Oi, Shittykawa. Stop teasing." Iwaizumi interrupted. Shiori sent a telepathic 'thank you' to the player. "It's Himura's first girlfriend. Of course he's shy." Iwaizumi finished.
Shiori's mouth dropped at Iwaizumi's betrayal and the rest of his face reddened again. Iwaizumi smiled nonchalantly and Oikawa was laughing in the background.
Another whistle blew, signaling that the resting players should return to practicing. At least now, timing worked in Shiori's favor. He used one of the remaining towels he was carrying to wipe the nervous sweat from his own forehead, and forced all uninvited thoughts of Nao to the back of his mind.
AN:
Thanks for reading so far!
In case you noticed, sometimes I switch off between the given name and the surname when referencing a character in the writing. Just to clarify in case of confusion, this is not done randomly, but based on whoever is the current POV. For example, for Nao and Shiori who are close friends, they call each other by their first names. Meanwhile, for Oikawa and Shiori who are friendly and on good terms but not as close outside of volleyball, they think of each other by surnames. (Oikawa and Iwaizumi are an exception to this, as even though they are close friends, they still call each other by last names in the manga/anime, so I'm gonna respect that in my writing).
Let me know your thoughts in the reviews :)