Of course Coach Ukai hadn't been too pleased about Suga's scalded palms, giving him an ear full about how he needed to take better care of himself and to start paying attention to what he was doing via phone call. There were worse things in the world than having his coach angry with him though. Besides, it's not like Ukai was actually mad. It was clear that Suga wasn't needed around much. He was only good for when the team needed to run spike drills or when they played a quick practice game. He could probably be considered more of a glorified babysitter than a volleyball player. He just wasn't needed, and he had accepted that long ago. At first it had been hard when Kageyama had replaced him. It wasn't fair. Suga knew all of his teammates better than some fresh-faced first year ever would, but that didn't matter. Kageyama's raw talent and game sense vastly outweighed what little Suga had going for him. The third year couldn't find it in himself to be mad at Kageyama though. The kid was gifted, it wasn't his fault that his upperclassman was a shoddy at the craft. Why get upset over damaged goods?

Luckily, morning practice passed fairly quickly. Suga stood up to help his team clean up but stopped abruptly as soon as Daichi shot him a warning glare. Getting the message loud and clear, he sat back down on the bench, grumbling slightly. He hated sitting around while the rest of his teammates carried his slack. He already felt useless enough. Sighing, he leaned his head against the wall behind him and slid his eyes closed. He had some major decision making to do. The way he saw it, he had two options.

Quit the volleyball team.

Pros would be that the team probably wouldn't notice that he even left, he'd be out of the way of his teammates, he could focus more on schoolwork (not that he really needed to. His grades were well above average, but it could never hurt to put a few more hours into studying.), he could think about his university options more seriously, he would be protecting himself from anyone discovering his dirty little secret (he couldn't have burnt hands forever), and he didn't see volleyball being a part of his future after high school, so why not stop now and get used to it earlier? It was a pretty good list.

Now time for cons. The only real one Suga could think of was losing his friends. The team was like a second family to him, and with his folks always on business trips, Suga had no idea how'd he cope with the loneliness without them. As much as Suga hated to admit it, he needed his team even if they didn't need him. Sure he had a few acquaintances outside of volleyball, but they didn't know the real Koushi Sugawara like his team did. They didn't know that he sneezed every time he stepped into the sunlight (even after hours of research, neither Daichi, Asahi, nor Suga could find a solid explanation for the phenomena). They didn't know that his right foot cracked a little bit with every step he took. They had no idea that he got lightheaded from laughing. Or that his favorite animals were ferrets, or that he was afraid of the ocean, or that he talks to himself much more often than any normal person does, or even that he was actually a pretty good singer. They knew nothing. They knew polite Sugawara who would never hurt a fly. The one who never cursed in his life. The one who was perfect. The Sugawara his parents molded him to be. He couldn't lose the only people who could really see him.

Get a grasp over his powers and get better at volleyball so he wasn't dead weight.

While there weren't as many pros as there were in potion one, these held more of an impact. If he went with option two he wouldn't have to treat himself like a porcelain doll, he could feel better about himself, and he would feel safer.

Cons would be that he had no idea how his powers worked (what if he shattered and couldn't put himself back together again, or what if he somehow shattered his entire body and died? Risky.), he had a bigger chance of being discovered if he actively played around with his powers rather than flat out ignored them, he didn't even know if he could ever play volleyball again, getting better takes a while and he didn't have much time, being a third year and all.

Suga was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Neither option was ideal. Of course he had to be a mutant. What had he done in a pervious life that would screw him over so badly? It wasn't fair. Nothing was fair. He felt guilty for complaining. Suga had a pretty good life. He was fairly wealthy as both of his parents were successful lawyers, he was able bodied, he had good friends, he had a roof over his head and food to eat. There were people who had it way worse than he did. He was just being a crybaby. He had to get over himself.

"Suga? You ok?" Daichi. He finished with the net already. How long had Suga been thinking.

He opened his eyes and pushed his head and back off the wall, sitting up straighter on the bench. Daichi stood in front of him with his hands on his hips, slightly sweaty from the morning activities. Suga couldn't help but to notice how his white t-shirt clung to his body with perspiration. "I'm fine. Just thinking." He stood up to walk to the club room with the tanner male.

"About what?"

Suga couldn't tell him what he was really thinking about. Not even about the volleyball stuff. If Daichi knew he even entertained the idea of quitting the team, he would be extremely upset. He couldn't ruin Daichi's day. "School mostly."

"Hm, I had no idea school could make you so constipated."

"Daichi!" Suga screeched as he jabbed his elbow into the taller male's side. "Don't be so vulgar!"

Daichi barked that laugh that made Suga's keens feel weak and his heart flutter in his chest. "Alright. Conflicted. You looked conflicted." His smile faded as he eyed Suga suspiciously.

"I wasn't conflicted."

Daichi sighed, annoyance seeping through the breath. "Your face said otherwise."

"I was just thinking about all the work I have to do. It's a lot you know. Kinda hard to keep up with it all sometimes." Suga chuckled weakly. It wasn't a lie. Between his advanced placement classes, his chores, and volleyball, he had a lot on his plate.

Daichi pushed open the club room door. "You sure that's it?" he questioned as he opened his bag on the self and peeled off his t-shirt to put his button up on. Suga adverted his eyes as his cheeks burned slightly, giving his friend privacy to change as he sat on a discarded chair.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes Daichi. That's all. You can't honestly tell me that you aren't at least a little bit stressed about your classes."

"Sure I am." Daichi was pulling on his dress pants, hopping slightly to avoid toppling over into the shelves. "But we both know that you stress a little too much."

That was true. It wasn't uncommon for Suga to overly stress to the point that he made himself physically sick. "That's fair I guess."

At this point, Daichi was fully dressed. He grabbed his bag as Suga stood up and walked to the club room exit. The two friends strolled in silence to the school's main building. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, which is one of the things Suga liked about the dynamic between themselves. They didn't need to talk to enjoy one another's presence. Just being together was enough for them.

Before they entered the building, Daichi turned to Suga, causing him to halt abruptly to keep from slamming into his friend's chest. Suga opened his mouth to scold him but Daichi beat him to it. "You'd tell me if anything was wrong, right?" Daichi's brown eyes seeped with concern, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. If Suga didn't know any better he'd say that he looked almost afraid. Suga's words evaded him. He opened his mouth to answer, but the syllables were trapped in his throat. Daichi wasn't one to show weakness. Sure he felt more comfortable displaying his soft side around Suga, but he tended to keep a tight reign on his emotions. Seeing the taller male so expressive sent chills down Suga's spine. He did that. Daichi was feeling that way because of the way Suga was acting. It was his fault. "You can come to me with anything. I won't laugh or judge you. You know that."

"I-I know. Thanks, Daichi." The gray haired teenager put on a fake soft smile. "I'm really ok though. Nothing I can't handle myself." He side stepped Daichi and held the door open for his teammate, being careful of his injured hands.

"I'm worried about you."

Suga sighed. "I know. You don't need to."

A slight pause. "I think I do." The words were uttered so quietly Suga wasn't sure he heard them correctly at first. Before he had a chance to reassure Daichi, he was interrupted. "We'll talk more at lunch, ok? You, me, and Asahi. He's worried about you too."

Suga nodded and bid Daichi a farewell as they went their separate ways. He felt bad for worrying his friends. He wanted to tell them what was wrong but doing that was a death sentence. Of course Daichi and Asahi weren't ones to discriminate against anyone, but mutants were a whole different subject. There was being different and then there was being a mutant. The two weren't even in the same ballpark. One was self-expression, the other was dangerous. It was better to just keep his mouth shut. Telling them wasn't worth the risks that accompanied it. Besides even if they knew and accepted him, which was a fat chance on its own, he could be putting them in danger. Who knows what kind of trouble that knowledge would get them into. It wasn't totally uncommon that people were interrogated for information on mutants. Withholding any information could land you in jail for a good two years. No way would Suga pass that burden onto his friends. They less they knew the better.

His guilt was abruptly replaced with panic when Suga saw the state of the hallway. There were students everywhere. He vaguely remembered an announcement concerning repairs to another wing in the school. The crowd was most likely due to the relocated classes. Unfortunately, Suga's classroom was on the other side of the mob, and the only way to get to it on time was to wade through the masses. He swallowed thickly, trying to maintain an appearance of nonchalance while visions of the worst case scenario played in his head. What if a student elbowed him and he shattered, or someone stepped on his foot, or he was pushed, or he tripped. There were too many witnesses. They'd all know. He'd be caught, no question. He could just go to class late. It wasn't optimal, but it was a huge step up from being shipped to some facility. But if he received another tardy, his parent's would be notified. The following lecture wouldn't be pretty, and the punishment would be harsh. Besides, the hallway cleared a little bit. He could probably make it.

Taking a deep breath, he started towards the mob, praying to whatever god was out there that nothing would happen. That all of his limbs would stay intact and that no body would know what he really was. Suga's heart pounded in his ribcage, and he was sure that his chest would shatter due to the sheer force of the palpitations. He hugged his arms close to his torso as he waded through the body of disgruntled students. He needed to relax. He could do this. Nothing was going to happen if he remained calm, right? That's how these things worked in superhero movies. The key to control was to stay calm. Hollywood never lied to him before. Well, it definitely had, but Suga decided it was best to classify those instances as stretching the truth for the time being.

His heart rate spiked as a stray elbow darted in his direction. It stopped just before it could land a blow. It would probably serve him well to hurry up and get out of the sea of bodies as soon as he could. Suga increased his speed, dodging a few stray hands along the way. He was almost in the clear. He could do it. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.

Another body slammed into his backpack, sending him sprawling forwards. His life was over.

He braced himself for impact, except it never came. Small hands grabbed onto his jacket, righting him back into a standing position.

"Suga!"

Sugawara opened his eyes to look down at Hinata, who was still clutching his school uniform jacket. His heartbeat painfully in his chest and he could feel his pulse in his head. Panic seized his lungs, preventing him from answering his underclassman properly. He tried to put on a smile, but none of his muscles seemed to be responding to him at the moment.

"That was a close one! Good thing I was here to help you out!" Hinata's smile faded a bit after Suga still didn't give him any sort of response. "Suga?" He waved a hand in front of the gray haired male's face.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of his daze forcefully. He had to get a grip. He had to get out of this hallway. "Sorry, my brain was just catching up! Thanks for that save! I'm pretty sure your reflexes have gotten faster."

"You think so!" The underclassman's face lit back up, all pervious hints of concern and confusion lost in the wind. "I mean I've been trying to get faster-"

The rest of Hinata's words fell upon deaf ears. The hallway was much smaller than Suga has previously interpreted it. The other students were too close, and while they were gradually filing into their classrooms, it was still too much of a gamble for Suga to be around so many people at once. He had to get to his classroom, where it was less crowded. Where there was less of a chance of him being outed.

"WOOSH! Ya know?"

"Of course. I'm sorry but I really should be getting to class now, and you should too." He playfully scolded the younger male. "I'll see you at practice later, ok?"

"Ok, see you later!" With a blinding smile and a quick wave, Hinata bounded off to wherever his class was, leaving Suga alone. Suga dropped his own smile and sped off to his class, making sure to give the stragglers much more room to walk than any normal person would.

He only allowed himself to breathe again when he was settled safely in his seat, his bag at his feet and his notebook out on his desk. He just had to get through his half of the day. It really wouldn't be a problem. All he had to do was sit in his seat, not cause a scene, and pay attention. The biggest issue would be taking notes. His hands pulsed in pain at the idea. Maybe he would just listen to today's lectures. Writing could wait until tonight. Of course it would still hurt the same amount, but at least he would be able to suffer in silence and in isolation. Just the way he liked it.

The only thing Suga really had to worry about was the hallway and lunch with Daichi and Asahi. Hopefully they would all just uphold normal conversation. Of course they wouldn't outright force him to say anything, but it would take a lot for them to just drop it. Suga prayed for a regular lunch, but whoever was up there was blatantly ignoring him today.