CHAPTER SIX: UNCOMFORTABLE
"What do do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it."
"Practice match?"
Rin leaned her cheek further into her palm, a loud yawn falling from her lips as she vaguely listened. The boys were having their first practice match tomorrow. Rin's training with the boys had been successful the past week and a half, the boys told her that she was a better teacher than what she gave herself credit for. Her relationship with Kuroo and Kenma was building towards a stable and solid friendship, even Yamamoto and Yaku approached her more easily. (Yamamoto flushing and screaming a bit more than everyone liked.) She was civil with the rest of the players, but managed to keep most of them at arm's length. Especially Saruhiko, who seemed to have an ever-growing attitude. She heard him on more than on occasion yelling at Kenma to hurry up with cleaning - to which she would always just go help the first year boy with what he was doing. She also noticed his subtle glares towards Kuroo, and even Yaku when she spoke with the teams libero. Rin managed to avoid him well, mainly sticking with Kuroo and Kenma. Or even with her grandfather.
Her brother would be visiting next week, and Rin grew more and more excited each day she received a text. She embarrassed herself during lunch with Kenma and Kuroo the other day. Daisuke had sent her a picture of himself with his plane ticket squished against his cheek, Rin had yelped out in excitement and her face immediately flushed - Kuroo was more than amused.
Rin yawned again, rubbing at her eyes as the team did their usual huddle at the end of practice.
She was tired.
After the dream about her old team - and then talking with Kuroo about her parents - Rin had been avoiding sleep like the plague. It was the only thing that she was struggling with at this point, she was doing well in school and with the Volleyball team and even with Daisuke and her grandfather. But when it came time to fall asleep she was worried that she would dream of something she didn't want to. Now, when she finally did fall asleep out she usually dreamt of nothing. Still, after a week and a half, she was still worried about everything. Rin was never good at facing her problems. Dealing with problems out of anger? Maybe. But rationally dealing with her problems was always something she remained childish with. She would rather ignore the real problem at hand than deal with it. It was easier that way.
Sometimes.
"Are you still coming over today?"
Rin snapped her eyes open and blinked, "Huh?"
Kenma tugged at his hair softly, "You said you would dye my hair for me... Tora said I stand out, remember?"
Ah, she did. She was walking with Kenma when Yamamoto bumped into them, the first year yelled like no tomorrow about how Kenma should do something with his hair because he stood out. Kenma's face was anything but relaxed after that, and Rin had tried her best to calm both teens down. Ultimately, she grabbed Yamamoto by the back of his neck and forced him to bow and apologize before turning to Kenma and offering to cut his hair. Kenma, not really excited about cutting his hair, decided that bleaching it was what he wanted to do instead. So, Rin offered to go with him after school and dye it for him. It gave them time to hang out without Kuroo.
Rin smiled softly, ruffling her hair, "Mhm, we'll walk to yours when you're done changing."
Kenma nodded and left the gym to go change. Rin rubbed her eyes and pulled out her phone, unlocking it to see the messages she had from her brother.
- Dai-nii ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ [6:47pm] staying for 2 weeks instead of 1! just got approval from school & coach~
Rin smiled at the text and quickly replied, making sure to type in all caps so her brother knew how excited she was. Her grandfather had already set up the guest room in the house, and Rin had taken it upon herself to stock the room with basketball magazines and some of her own pictures. She had plucked a few from her wall and put them in her brother's room instead. She even stocked up the kitchen with some of her brothers favorite snacks, and the extra strong coffee he liked so much.
"Rin-chan~"
Rin stood up, locking her phone as she looked towards Kuroo and Kenma. The two were in the red sweats and jacket, their bags slung over their shoulders. Rin tugged at her own red jacket and lifted her bag lazily up and handed it to the taller teen. Kuroo had taken it upon himself to carry her bag after the day she was limping. Her knee's still ached, but not as bad as it did when it was rainy. The pain eased up, but would occasionally get really uncomfortable. She was against him carrying her bag at first, but after a couple lame tries of trying to hold her own bag she just gave up.
Rin walked in the middle of the two boys, pointing towards Kenma's game and quietly asking him what he was doing occasionally. Kuroo would only watch, her face usually scrunching in confusion when Kenma tried to explain. She wasn't very good at games in the first place, but Kenma wasn't exactly the best at explaining them either.
Usually Rin's house was the first stop, but since she was going to Kenma's she didn't bother to stop. Instead, she set her hands behind her head, her elbows in the air, as she strolled between the two. Her eyes were still looking down towards Kenma's game, easily entranced by the bright colors and flashy movements of his character.
"Where're you goin'?"
Rin looked up from Kenma's game and glanced at Kuroo, who had his head slightly tilted at her, "Oh, I'm going to Kenma's today."
"Hah?"
Rin nodded, "I promised to help him with something. Don't worry, you'll see by tomorrow."
"You guys are planning things without me?!" Kuroo whined dramatically, slumping his shoulders, Rin rolled her eyes, "Why can't I go?"
Rin shrugged, "Because."
"You don't even have a good reason," Kuroo huffed.
"I don't need one," Rin challenged, raising a single brow at him. He rolled his eyes in response, handing Rin her bag once they arrived in front of Kenma's house. She thanked him and waved bye as she followed Kenma up the steps of his house. He told her that his parents were home, and he was sure that his mother had some hair dye lying around.
Kenma's room was what she expected it to be, full of game posters, consoles and stacks of games themselves. It was fairly clean, only a few random pairs of shoes lying around, followed by a couple of shirts. He had a bathroom directly beside his room, so it was convenient for them. Rin was familiar with dying her hair, during middle school she had bleached random strands in her hair after she lost a bet with her father. The man laughed at her for a week before telling her she could dye her hair back to normal. It was that story that she told Kenma while she was dying his head, the setter cracking a small smile as she enthusiastically told him about it. She talked about Daisuke, and how he would be staying an extra week. She told them how she was excited for both Kenma and Kuroo to meet her brother - and how she was also nervous about it. Once they were done, and were letting the dye sit, Rin had made herself comfortable on the edge of Kenma's bed. He had seated himself in front of it, leaning his back against the bed while he played video games. Rin was lying on her stomach, her cheek resting on her forearm as she watched Kenma play. She would ask questions here and there but after a while the questions slowed, until they just stopped. Kenma was about to tell Rin that it was time to wash out the dye, but he had looked to her he noticed she was fast asleep.
The, now blond, smiled and shook his head as he went to go wash his the dye out. After everything was done, and the dye was out, he made his way back to his room and grabbed his phone. Kenma had snapped a picture of Rin, her hair was sprawled messily of her arms and her face was relaxed and a slight drool was forming in the corner of her mouth.
Kuroo was quick to call Kenma once the photo was sent.
Rin's eyes opened slowly and she blinked, hearing a loud ringing before it quickly stopped. Her vision blurred before adjusting, her eyes landing on Kenma. He was holding the phone out to her and she looked at him oddly. The boy sighed and brought the phone back to his line of vision as he pressed the 'speaker' button.
"Rin-chan~"
Rin groaned, slamming her face into the mattress. She was blushing now, embarrassed that she had fallen asleep.
"Kenma, you traitor."
"Rin-chan is so cute when she sleeps!"
Rin glared at the phone. Her whole face was on fire, and she could feel the tips of her ears burn, only adding to her embarrassment, "Kuroo, shut up."
"Don't lose."
"What kind of 'good luck' is that?"
Rin shrugged her shoulders, trying to hold in a snicker as Kuroo gave her a deadpanned look. The two were walking towards the gym, about to get ready for the practice game. The two had already changed, Kuroo into his Volleyball uniform and Rin into a tight white athletic shirt and the signature red Nekoma sweatpants, Kenma was dragged off a little earlier by Yamamoto - the teen still amazed at the new shiny blond.
"I'm sure you'll do fine," Rin shrugged, offering a small smile, "You guys are pretty good."
Kuroo scoffed, "Pretty good?"
The girl rolled her eyes, "You could be better."
Kuroo chuckled, pushing the doors to the gym open. The male walked in first, Rin following him behind.
Kuroo's eyes glanced around, looking at the other team for a moment. They all seemed to stop and stare at the door he had just walked through, their eyes focused on Rin. A few looked excited, and Kuroo overhead the word "cute" and "female manager" thrown around quickly. Curiously, the teen glanced over his shoulder. Rin seemed distracted by her phone, her lips pushed to the side as she replied to a text.
"Rin-hime!"
The girl jumped, her eyes snapping up glance at Yamamoto. The boy stood protectively in front of her, his back to her as he was slightly hunched over, hissing around her.
"Tora, what are you doing?"
Kuroo practically laughed at how unaware she was when it came to herself. She was so focused on hiding so many things about herself, she never noticed that people actually noticed the things she didn't hide. For example, Rin was pretty and it was no secret. Most of Volleyball players were tall, so Rin's height did add an extra bit of attractiveness to her.
She also made the most amusing faces when she was confused.
But, that was just what Kuroo noticed. He wasn't sure what the rest of the guys had to say about her.
"Protecting Nekoma's precious manager!" Yamamoto yelled as if it were obvious, still glaring at the other team - who now began to look away awkwardly. Rin sighed, grabbing Yamamoto by his ear and dragging him towards Nekoma's bench. The first year didn't seem bothered at all, in fact he seemed more pleased than anything. She pushed him towards the team huddle, Yasufumi was already speaking to the team about the match.
Rin dropped her bag by the bench and went to make sure the team's waters were full. After that, she walked to grab towels for the team from the sports supply closet.
Her phone vibrated in her sweats pocket and she hummed, pulling it to glance at the message - a smile tugging at her lips when she saw who it was from.
- Dai-nii ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ [4:23pm] bringing you gifts from america! i expect my favorite sister to make my favorite food upon my return! i demand curry rice or yakisoba!
Rin rolled her eyes and stuffed her phone back in her pocket before grabbing the stack of towels from the shelf. She turned, immediately bumping into someone. She gasped softly, automatically taking a single step back. Her food landed on something, causing her to loose her balance and tumble backwards. The towels flew from her hands and Rin flinched, waiting to hit the floor with an ungraceful thud. But before she felt her back sting with pain, someone grabbed onto her wrist and tugged her forward harshly. She yelped, her eyes darting up to her "savior".
"You should be more careful, Rin."
"Y-Yeah," Rin muttered, pulling away from the male, "Thank you."
Saruhiko grinned, "No problem, Rin. Let me help you pick up the towels."
"I got it," Rin rushed out, uncomfortable with being stuck in the supply closet with the 3rd year, "You can, uh, go ahead and go stretch."
"It's fine, I think I've stretched enough," Saruhiko smiled. His smile did nothing to soothe her nerves and uneasiness, if anything, it just made her even more uncomfortable.
Rin bit the inside of her cheek and quietly began to pick up the towels, folding them hastily and messily so she wouldn't have to be in the room for too long.
"I've been meaning to ask you something, Rin."
She really was uncomfortable with the way her named rolled off his tongue, it wasn't appealing in the slightest. She much preferred the boisterous yell of her name from Yamamoto, or the silky, overly sweet way Kuroo said her name. When Saruhiko said her name it felt unfamiliar, and it made her feel queasy.
"I guess so.." She was hesitant, her mouth was drying up and she was nervous. Saruhiko wasn't like Kuroo, he was pushy and he probably didn't even know his questions could be insensitive. It was why she was constantly avoiding him. Well, that and he was a little too close for her liking about 99% of the time. Like now, he was knelt so close to her that she could feel his breath tickling her face.
"You played for that All-Star Middle School Volleyball team, right? Okamiyasha?"
Rin's eyes widened and she reeled back, her mouth parting in surprise, "I -"
"Rin-hime!"
Yamamoto slid into the entrance, his chest puffed out and his face set with determination, "Kuroo-san needs you to help him stretch!"
"I - I - what?" Rin stumbled over her words.
"I'll grab the towels with Yamada-senpai," Yamamoto grinned, "Don't worry about them, Rin-hime!"
Rin quickly stood, rushing past the two and muttering a "thank you" to Yamamoto. She caught sight of the bed head immediately and rushed over, her face probably flushed from both anger and from being so uncomfortable. Kuroo blinked at her, before a slight frown tugged at his lips.
He immediately noticed the redness to her face, and even the deep red mark on her wrist. Her face was smushed together, her brows knitted together and her lips pursed into a thin line. It was dead obvious that something was wrong.
"You alright there, Rin?"
Rin nodded, turning her head away from him, "Just Saruhiko."
"Ah," Kuroo hummed, turning his back towards her and offering her his arms. She grabbed his wrists and pulled back softly, helping him stretch. Kuroo looked over his shoulder as he continued to speak, his eyes narrowed, "Just try to avoid him, Rin."
Rin pulled his arms back a little further, causing him to flinch, "I have been, stupid."
Kuroo rolled his eyes, "Jeez, Rin, don't take your anger out on little old me."
"I can snap your arms out of their sockets if I pull hard enough."
"Oi, oi," Kuroo whined softly. Rin tugged as his arms as she continued to help him stretch, her face was slowly going back to it's regular color. Kuroo peeked over his shoulder once more, his eyes darting to her wrist and then back up to her face. His voice was low so only she would be able to hear, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Rin nodded, dipping her chin into her chest in an attempt to hide her face, "I slipped, he caught my wrist and tugged me up pretty hard. I don't think it'll bruise."
"Is that why you're upset?"
Rin shook her head, remaining silent.
"Well, if you can't stick next to me or Kenma then stick next to Yamamoto."
Rin snorted, "Then no one will come near me."
"That's the point, stupid."
Rin tugged back his arms again, "Do I need to remind you that I can pull your arms out of their sockets?"
"Ow!"
{AUTHORS CORNER: Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows! I actually have question for you guys, I typically listen to the same songs while writing She Wolf, and I was wondering if anyone would listen if I made a playlist for this story on 8tracks? Lemme know! Also! I know I keep mentioning her old team and it's unclear, but it will be made clear soon-ish maybe we'll see. Point is, I will explain everything. But ayyy, Daisuke is going to be coming up very soon! I'm actually really excited for Daisuke's appearance. I hope you love him as much as I do. Thank you for reading!}
(HEAD CANON FOUR: Rin is familiar with basketball, but was never very good at it. Likewise, Daisuke is familiar with Volleyball, but was never good at it.)