MINAKO
"Promise you'll call me every week? And you know you can come home whenever you need to? Or if you need anything we can–"
"–Honey, Minako will be fine." Minako's father cut off her mother's nervous rumblings, wrapping a soothing arm around her waist.
The older woman relaxed into his touch for a moment before turning and engulfing Minako in a monstrous hug, her eyes wet with tears.
Minako's father dropped a kiss to the tops of both their heads. He was beaming with pride, his eyes also threatening to tear up.
Minako feigned a dramatic sigh. "Parents' weekend is barely a month away, I'm not going to die." The tears welling up in her own eyes betrayed her. "I promise I'll call you every week."
The family stayed like that for a while, a mess of tears and promises to be safe, surrounded by mountains of Minako's personal belongings in boxes.
Although Minako had obsessively been planning the room's layout since she got the official documents with her floor plan from the university, she was a little worried there wasn't enough space in the 10 by 11 ft. room for all everything she had packed.
It was miracle enough that everything had fit into two cars.
She hadn't been able to see through her back window the entire drive, but she'd made it.
She'd been assigned to Serenity Suites, one of the newer dormitories on campus. Luckily for her, the dorms were suite style, meaning she'd get her own room, but she would have to share a common space and two bathrooms with three other girls.
The university provided the common space with two relatively small couches and the kitchen had the basic appliances.
As far as first-year accommodations went, she was just happy she didn't have to risk falling asleep to the sound of someone snoring five feet away from her.
The only potential downside was that whereas most of the normal dormitories came furnished with beds, dressers, and desks, Minako had to furnish her entire room herself.
Minako had been overjoyed at the chance to decorate her own space. She was also secretly relieved she didn't have to sleep on a shitty university mattress.
Before the start of the semester, Minako had been in contact with her future suitemates. One of them, a bookish looking girl named Ami Mizuno, had messaged her on Instagram and helped her create a group chat with their other roommate, Makoto Kino.
None of them had been able to find any contact information or social media for their fourth resident other than her name, Rei Hino.
Since Minako was on the volleyball team, she was moving in significantly earlier than the other two. As far as Minako was aware, she'd have the suite to herself for a few weeks before the others arrived.
While she was excited to finally be branching out on her own, the idea of being completely alone for that amount of time made her nervous. Sure, she had met some of her new teammates and heard of others from tournaments when she was younger, but she was a social creature.
Minako couldn't remember the last time she truly ate a meal alone. She supposed she'd be sticking to the athlete dining hall for the first few weeks.
Makoto was the one who had arranged to bring a majority of their kitchen supplies anyways.
"Are you sure you don't need help with…all of this" Minako's father raised an eyebrow skeptically at the boxes piled around them.
Minako giggled and shook her head. "I'll be fine, Dad, official practices don't start for another two days. It's mostly just meetings and team social events. Besides, what else am I going to do for the next three weeks?"
Her parents were by no means strict, but Minako really didn't need them discovering the entire box of alcohol that she'd stashed in her own vehicle and taken care to hide amongst the stacks of actual room decor. She didn't need them fearing the worst before she was even officially moved in.
"Alright sweetie, call us if you need anything and send us pictures of your room once you're all set up." Her mother smoothed an invisible wrinkle out of the collar of Minako's shirt and hugged her once more. "We'll see you soon."
The Aino family began slowly picking their way through boxes and towards the door. As they reached the common room, Minako heard someone fumbling at the lock on the door. She hadn't expected anyone else to come through the door, let alone the burly man who did finally figure out the electronic lock.
His head was just a mop of messy curls, tucked haphazardly beneath a greasy looking bandana. His eyes widened and he nearly dropped the boxes he was carrying when he saw Minako's family standing in the foyer.
"Yuuichirou, move." A sharp command behind him snapped the man out of his confusion and he quickly stepped to the side.
Minako had thought the man was passably cute, but the woman behind him was stunning. Long, raven hair, eyes the color of amethyst, and an elegance about her that Minako associated with old-time Hollywood stars.
If she was surprised by their presence, the woman gave no indication, merely tilting her head in acknowledgement toward Minako and her family and setting the boxes down. Locking eyes with Minako, she crossed the distance between them and held out a hand. "Rei Hino."
"Oh…um…hi I'm Minako. Minako Aino." Minako blushed, she wasn't usually this clumsy with her introductions, but the confidence she was used to feeling had suddenly abandoned her without remorse. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name." She tried to smile, but it came out as more of an awkward grimace.
Rei nodded and her face remained neutral.
Lost for words, Minako shot a panicked look at her parents who immediately stepped forward to introduce themselves, Minako's mother fawning over how beautiful Rei's hair was.
Rei shook each of their hands, but didn't offer any words in return other than, "Pleasure to meet you both."
Unlike Minako, however, her parents were undeterred by Rei's less than enthusiastic introduction. "Do you need any help moving your things in?" Minako's father gestured to Yuuichirou who was still standing awkwardly behind Rei. "Or do you and your boy–"
"–My friend and I can handle it." Rei's tone was suddenly icy, the word 'friend' sounding like gravel as she said it.
Minako felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment at her father's assumption.
He smiled sheepishly as Rei turned toward the exit.
She seemed to think that would be the end of things, but Minako knew better. Knew her mother better.
Keiko Aino's motherly instincts were impossible to combat.
"Oh please," Keiko breezed through the door after her, "more hands are always better."
Rei frowned and looked between each of the family members.
Both Minako and her dad shrugged as if this was the most inevitable conclusion.
"She's not going to leave until you let her help you, so you might as well tell us where you're parked." Minako sidled up to Rei and rolled her eyes at her mother's antics.
The girl's eyebrows drew together for a moment before she jerked her head towards the stairs.
"Truck's out front."