Reliability

By: Aviantei

16—Gymnasium III

The breeze catches in our sails, sends the clouds coasting through the skies

"Me-chan, holy crap, I'm so glad to see you!"

Megumi didn't even have the time to put down her pencil before Choukou crashed into her in a flying hug, sending Megumi's chair sliding away from her desk and almost into the next row over. The school day had been finished long enough for the students on cleaning duty to have already finished up, and they'd left the windows open so the fresh breeze could make it inside. As if suctioned to Megumi's shoulders, Choukou hugged so tightly it seemed like she'd never let go.

"Hey, Choukou, if you don't give her some space, you're gonna freak her out," Kenta's voice said as he made his way into the classroom in a far less bombastic way than his cousin had.

"It's okay, Yoshida-san. I don't mind," Megumi said, smiling as she returned Choukou's hug. While it had been sudden, the contact was nice and warm, a previously distant comfort that felt right. "I missed you, too, Choukou-san."

"I was so, so worried when you didn't answer my messages," Choukou said, her voice muffled in Megumi's shoulder. Her voice sounded a bit watery, too. "We stopped by, but you didn't answer anything, either. Oh no, I hope we didn't scare you."

Megumi shook her head, raising her arms so Choukou could stand again, instead of half kneeling on the classroom floor. "You guys were fine. I just…wasn't in the right state of mind to answer you." It was fortunate that no one else had chosen to use the classroom to hang out in, but that also seemed uncharacteristic for Rakuzan. Considering that Megumi tended not to loiter herself, she wouldn't know. "Shouldn't you two be at your clubs?"

Choukou puffed up her cheeks in an overaffected pout as she backed up to grab the seat from the next desk over to sit in. "Friends are way more important that clubs, Me-chan."

Kenta had made his way over to them, and he stood at Choukou's side, looking like a very awkward and lanky knight. "We figured we'd check in, since you went ahead and messaged us," he said. "We're just glad to see that you're feeling better."

Megumi nodded again, glad for the lack of prying questions. She wouldn't know what kind of answers she would give if they had asked. "The Inter-High tournament just ended up being too much for me," she said, settling for the same story she'd story Yamada-sensei. Akashi hadn't said to keep what had happened a secret, but she didn't feel like explaining it, anyways. "I pushed too hard and shut down for a bit. Sorry to—" She bit off the apology and chose a different set of words. "Thank you for caring and coming to check on me."

"Of course!" Choukou puffed out her chest in pride, even as Kenta discreetly rolled his eyes. "Whenever you need help, Me-chan, just say the word. The Super Yoshida Cousins are here to help!"

"I don't recall signing up to be part of your fantasy superhero team."

Kenta's protests were cut off by a gentle kick in the shins, courtesy of Choukou.

Megumi giggled a bit as Kenta scowled, just glad to be back in a friendly presence again. Akashi may have seemed satisfied by their resolution on the rooftop, but he still seemed so distant, even though his desk was right in front of hers. "I really don't want to take up too much of your time, though," Megumi said. "No need to miss club activities on my part."

Choukou let out a little disappointed whine, but she didn't protest. "Kay, kay, Me-chan." She hopped up, and Kenta went about putting her borrowed chair back in place, as if anticipating that his cousin wouldn't bother. "I'd ask if you wanna hang out, but…" Her eyes trailed down to the notebooks on Megumi's desk. "Ugh, that's even more work than we had this week. What's with you Class A kids?"

"Well, it's what I get for missing class so many days." As a scholarship student, she couldn't really complain about needing to be responsible for her schoolwork. "I'll probably be busy for the rest of the week, though. Maybe if I feel up to it, we can meet on Sunday and study for exams?" Those were approaching fast on the horizon; given the time that she'd missed, Megumi would need to be on top of her game not to screw up her chances with a bungled test score.

Choukou had started groaning at the idea of studying more, but Kenta nodded his approval. "I can help you go over material based on what I remember from last year, Kaizuto-san," he said before clasping a hand onto Choukou's shoulder. "Besides, this one will likely need all the help she can get. It's an older cousin's duty, you see."

"Jerk," Choukou said under her breath.

Megumi felt her smile grow a little bit wider, and she gave Choukou the best apologetic glance that she could. "I'll let you guys know when I'm free, then." It was going to be a busy stretch of days, but she'd be able to manage if she focused enough. If nothing else, the buckling down with her textbooks would make it easier to have the social energy for having company over. "You're both welcome over to my place, of course."

That seemed to brighten Choukou's spirits. "Alright! Me-chan's place is super cozy."

"You do know you're going there to study, right?" Kenta asked, then dodged out of the way of Choukou's next half-hearted swipe. "I'll take that as my cue to head out. Good luck with your makeup work, Kaizuto-san!" He tossed a wave before making a dash for the classroom door, and Choukou was after him in a flash.

"You know you can't beat me in a race, Kenta!"

Their hectic footsteps echoed down the hall, and Megumi breathed out another chuckle to herself as she moved to sit properly in her desk again. The past handful of minutes hadn't gotten any of her science work done, but they were still enough to give her a burst of energy. Feeling lighter, Megumi picked up her pencil again and stared the problems down.

Let's get back to it, then.

The announcement that the school would be closing soon was the only thing that broke Megumi from her intense showdown with her makeup work. She hadn't even registered the sunset forming outside, she'd been so focused on what she was doing. Blinking back to reality, Megumi took a moment to stretch in her seat, feeling her shoulders protest the strain of moving in the opposite direction to her previously hunched over position.

I still had a bunch of leftovers from lunch, so I at least had something to eat. She eyed the two stacks of assignments she'd temporarily set up on Akashi's desk in front of her. Yikes. I got a lot done, but there's still a lot leftover. No time to rest tonight. She sighed and started gathering up her things, keeping out the completed assignments so she could drop them off in the teachers' office before she left. Her back also stung as she stood up. Maybe I should do some of the stretches the boys do at club? Or Choukou should know some, since she used to be on the track team.

She shook the thought off before it could end up on her mental inventory. Her to-do list was long enough as it was for the time being.

Making sure she'd shut the windows and tidied up her space (triple checking that she hadn't left something behind on Akashi's desk to avoid him asking awkward questions the next day), Megumi closed the classroom doors and made her way down the stairwell by herself.

The teachers' office wasn't far from Yamada-sensei's room, and Megumi gently knocked on the door before entering. The sunset cast an orange glow over the room, and most of the instructors seemed to have already left for the day, which helped ease her nerves. She quickly skimmed over nameplates to find her homeroom teacher's desk and placed the bundle of work down, along with a quick note she'd written to indicate that it was hers, just in case.

Nodding to herself once, Megumi turned on her heel to leave and almost jumped out of her skin at the sight of someone else she hadn't recognized before. "I'm sorry," she said on reflex, even though she wasn't anywhere close to running into them. Once she got a better look, she recognized Shirogane, and that sent her into a full-out bow. "Coach! I'm sorry for my absence this week!"

"Ah, Kaizuto-san." Megumi peeked up through her bangs to gauge his expression—as serious as ever, but not particularly upset—and deemed it safe enough to stand up straight. "You don't need to worry about that matter. Yamada-san and Akashi already came and discussed things with me."

Megumi had expected to hear one name in that sentence—not two. "Cap—Akashi-kun did?" She stopped herself just short of adding, What did he say?

Shirogane looked faintly amused at her shift in referral, but he didn't call her out on it. "Yes, he did." After a few moments of painful silence, he continued, "Akashi told me that he'd already discussed your absence with you and that the matter was settled. Since I don't have any objections to my team handling issues on their own, I don't have anything to add. Unless you have something else you'd want to discuss with me?"

Does he know something happened? Akashi-kun wouldn't risk his position by saying what happened at the Inter-High, but… Though Megumi had pleaded for him not to share the secret about her siblings, he hadn't agreed or disagreed. Was Shirogane looking at her knowingly, or was that just her paranoia acting up again? Clinging to the handle of her bag behind her back for dear life, Megumi shook her head. "No, nothing else." Considering that she'd gotten an apology from Akashi, she didn't see the point in bringing it up. "Though…thank you for your patience with me, Coach. I know I must've caused some trouble by being absent."

"We've functioned as a club without your presence before, Kaizuto-san. Though it certainly is a help to have extra hands around." Shirogane's gaze fell to the stack of assignments Megumi had left on her homeroom teacher's desk. "I assume you'll be in good shape to handle your exams next week."

"Y-yes, absolutely!" She hated that her stutter made her sound less confident, but worrying about what had already come out of her mouth wouldn't do any good. "I'll make sure I can be present for club tomorrow. Is there anything I need to catch up on beforehand?"

Shirogane shook his head. "We're mostly working to stay in shape after Inter-High. Being in first place doesn't give us room to slack off." What a very Rakuzan thing to say. It sent a fresh pang of guilt through Megumi's chest for her absence. "For now, though, everyone's priority is to stay in shape and keep their minds sharp for testing. After that, we'll work on finalizing our summer schedule and ensuring that there aren't any logistical problems for our training camp. I'll have you and Higuchi handle that."

The camp had been on the schedule, so Megumi at least was prepared for that—even if she didn't know what all her responsibilities would be in that case. Higuchi-senpai can help with that, assuming he isn't upset over me disappearing. Funny how every time she survived one apology, another seemed to crop up. "Leave it to us, Coach."

"Naturally." Shirogane looked to his wristwatch. "It won't do us any good to stay here when they're trying to close up. You should head out for the evening, Kaizuto-san. We'll discuss anything else that needs said in club tomorrow."

"Right." She considered thanking him again but decided it would be a bit excessive. Even so, she dipped into a short bow. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Kaizuto, do you even have any idea of much of a disaster you've avoided?" Higuchi asked as the two managers worked on gathering up the laundry of sweat-filled towels. It was a wonder the team members had any liquid left in their bodies with how much they'd practiced. "These past few days are the most pissed I've seen Akashi, and he's not normally bright and chipper. What sort of black magic did you pull off to get him to calm down after skipping out?"

Oh, you know, I just had a hardcore meltdown and told him he reminded me of my abusive older siblings. As one does. Her cowardice and common sense back in full force, Megumi didn't even let the words out. Instead she tightened the drawstring on her stuffed full laundry bag and said, "We talked about what happened. He…understood."

"Akashi understood?" Higuchi shot her an incredulous look, but she only nodded. Though practice had finished, there was still the chatter of the team and the occasional squeak of sneakers on the gym floor as the second and third-string members worked on mopping up after themselves. Even so, Higuchi lowered his voice to a whisper. "Does he know about your…?"

He couldn't seem to think of a good way to discretely mention her disorder, and Megumi much preferred him not trying to come up with something clever. "Not the exact details, but he knows that I didn't bail out on the team for the heck of it." It was funny, how Akashi knew things the others didn't, yet he still didn't have the full picture. "He didn't try to get me kicked off the team, so I'll count it as a victory."

Higuchi breathed out something that sounded vaguely like witchcraft, but he regained his composure, tightening the drawstring on his own laundry bag and hefting it over his shoulder. "Well, if you're satisfied, I won't push it, Kaizuto. Though that friend of yours? The Yoshida girl? She's scary when she gets worked up. She scolded me for not taking better care of you when you didn't show up to school."

Choukou had left that detail out of her pile of frantic texts. Megumi could only offer an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that." She and Higuchi hefted their laundry bags onto the waiting cart to the side of the gym, which already had a hefty load. "After this, we're going to take care of finishing up preparation for the training camp, right? I didn't mean to go missing at such an important time, but I'll help in whatever way I can to wrap things up smoothly."

"Are you sure about that?" Higuchi asked before he caught a glimpse of Megumi's disapproving look. "Sorry, I figured what happened must've been rough for you, so I don't want you to push yourself too hard. But I'm sort of overstepping again, aren't I?"

Megumi nodded as she kept pace next to Higuchi, holding the side of the cart steady as he pushed it towards the exit of the gym. "This is one of those situations where I'd feel a lot worse if I couldn't contribute, so let me help, Senpai." She was appreciative of the support, but there was a difference between being considerate and thinking she was too fragile to even do something simple. "What needs to be taken care of by when?"

Higuchi only seemed to hesitate for a second before he caught himself and switched into his full-on manager mode. "Coach is entrusting us with making sure everyone's permission slips are in. No one's been late from what I can tell, but if we can organize things and confirm that everything's in order, that'll make the process easier. I was planning on taking care of them over the weekend, but if it's the two of us, we can handle everything this afternoon, and that'll open up some extra time to study for exams…"

"That shouldn't be too difficult to handle for us, then." Knowing Shirogane, he would have at least kept things organized, and Higuchi would already have a system in mind. Megumi would just need to join in and take care of what was asked of her. "If you want, Senpai, I can handle dropping these off."

"Don't worry, I've got this." When Megumi gave him another incredulous stare, Higuchi gave a small smile. "It's not that I don't think you can't take care of it, Kaizuto-san. But this probably the only quiet time I have all day. Why don't you go doublecheck that the gyms look good and everyone's clearing out without issue, and I'll meet you outside when we're wrapped up."

"I see, leaving me with the dirty work," she said dryly. Thankfully, Higuchi recognized it as the joke it was, even if he looked faintly surprised that she'd made one. "Understood, though. I'll wrap things up on this end."

She gave him a short wave and split off as he completed the laundry run. The third-string gym looked sparkling and spotless, and she gave a quick warning call into the boys' locker room to remind them not to dawdle too long (the task made easier since she couldn't actually see any of their faces as she did it). Then she moved on to repeat the process for the rest of the club. A faint sheen of sweat on her skin from the building summer heat outside between buildings, Megumi was about to retreat to the girls' locker room when a group came out of the boys' room next door, talking amongst themselves.

It would have been easy to slip away (and she certainly wanted to) were it not for the fact that Akashi was leading the pack. Though he was back to his school uniform, he looked no less intense, and the same held true for the rest of the Uncrowned Generals behind him. Megumi was about to dip her head in acknowledgement before vacating the premises, but Akashi's look stopped her short.

"Excellent timing, Megumi," he said, his voice sounding somehow—lighter than usual. "We were just discussing what to do about next week since we won't be holding club during exam periods." She nodded slowly; Rakuzan may have gone out of its way to accommodate its extracurricular activities, but that didn't mean it neglected academics in the process. "Naturally, studying is important, but Reo suggested we do something to celebrate the end of the trimester."

Megumi's eyes flicked up to Mibuchi, only able to bear looking for a few seconds before falling back to Akashi. He was scary, yes, but it was a scary she could handle. "Sounds like a good time," she said, mostly out of reflex.

"It would be too much effort to bring the whole club, so this will be a smaller affair. We'll be going out to dinner together." Unsure of what it mattered to her, Megumi looked at Akashi a bit longer, as if that would give her some clue or permission to leave before things stretched out too awkwardly. Akashi seemed to realize what she was waiting on and offered an explanation: "You'll be coming with us, so keep your schedule open."

Megumi only managed to say, "Yes, Cap—" before the implication of his words reached her in full.

I'm sorry, what?

[Author's Notes]

Heyo and welcome to 2020 folks! What better way to celebrate than to dive in and have a new chapter up and in the world?

Thanks to Mad-Hatter246, ParaDoxa Vulpine, Cherylicious5, Sapphiresushi, Okamishiru, AMUTOforever305, KismetKAZE, Soumaly, ap.30, booklover2098, LittleMissHatty, Addicted-to-GazettE, AliceRuiLin, and DragonordsRise for the favorites, follows, and reviews! Your support blows me every time, and I'm hoping that the chapter is more than worthy of that!

This chapter is mostly Megumi getting back into the swing of things as well as moving into the next little mini set. Yes, Megumi, you're going out to eat with the first-stringers. No, you can't escape.

Alright! I hope that everyone's pumped up to delve into the new year! I'm mostly excited over there to have some more writing time and keep my fics moving along, and that naturally includes this fic. Since this update came out as part of my fanfic anniversary/holiday celebration, chapter seventeen will follow the usual update schedule and come out in a few weeks! Please look forward to it!

-Avi

[01.02.2020]