STRAY FOX [Kita Shinsuke x Reader]

Chapter 11 - Replaced

After a long afternoon of practice, the Inarizaki High School Boys Volleyball Club finally called it a day. The loud squeaking of shoes against the wooden court, the thunderous smacking of volleyball and the roaring voices of the members were all replaced with gentle noises of the boys cleaning up the gymnasium.
 
"Hmm... You know," Atsumu suddenly started as he and his twin were taking down the net, "I haven't seen L/n-san these days."
 
"Now that I think about it, the last time I saw her was during the school cultural festival. She stopped by just before we cleaned up the food stall and closed our booth. She even bought two okonomiyakis,” Osamu said.
 
“Two? Just for a single person?” Suna asked while he was mopping the floor near the net post.
 
Osamu shook his head. “L/n-san said it was for her and Cap’n. She was meeting him at the rooftop, apparently,” he revealed.
 
Suna hummed. “A rendezvous with the captain, huh?”
 
“At the rooftop, too,” Atsumu added.
 
“Think they’re secretly dating?”
 
“Maybe. I mean, the captain isn’t the type to show his feelings, right?”
 
“I guess he’s not a robot, afterall.”
 
“Of course, I’m not. I’m a human being just like the three of you,” their gossip was interrupted by Kita’s sudden appearance and the three were now sweating despite the cold winter season of December.
 
“C-Cap’n!” Atsumu stuttered upon seeing him. “We were just wondering why L/n-san hasn’t been here with us lately.”
 
“Oh. She hurt her ankle and is taking a rest for a while,” the captain answered.
 
“What?! How come we didn’t know anything about that?!” Atsumu reacted.
 
“How did that happen?” Osamu wondered.
 
Kita had to answer the middle blocker’s question but just as he was about to, memories of what happened that day flowed into his mind– how F/n trusted him enough to show her vulnerable side, how he had the urge to hold her in his arms and how he wanted to make her–
 
“Anyway, we should go and visit her,” Suna’s words halted Kita’s thoughts. “It’s the least we could do for L/n-san.”
 
The twins agreed with him and who was Kita to stop them from doing that?
 
After cleaning and locking up the gym, the four boys finally made their way and left the school campus. Ojiro wanted to join with them, however he had an errand to run so he declined. With that, Atsumu, Osamu and Suna were escorted by Kita to visit F/n.
 
The three were whispering about how the captain knew the way to F/n’s house and how it was on the same direction as Kita’s. It wasn’t long until they have reached their destination and were standing in front of the Kita household.
 
“Ah… Isn’t this your house, Cap’n?” Osamu asked.
 
“Yes, it is,” he answered as he opened the door. “Aren’t you going in?”
 
“Yeah, but…” Suna quietly responded.
 
“Aren’t we supposed to visit L/n-san?” Atsumu asked.
 
Kita nodded. “She’s inside the house,” he told them and the three were exchanging looks, wondering why F/n was inside Kita’s house. As if he had read their minds, the captain added, “F/n-san lives with us.”
 
It was then that they were stopped for a second like a computer lagging before being bombarded with multiple pop ups as the three of them shouted in shock.
 
“Oh my! How energetic you boys are,” Granny remarked as she saw her grandson’s teammates standing on the door way.
 
“I’m home, Granny,” Kita said.
 
“Welcome home, Shin-chan,” the old woman warmly replied with a smile. “I didn’t know that your friends are coming over.”
 
The captain shook his head. “They’re not here for me, Granny.”
 
“Oh, I see,” the old woman said as she finally learned whose visitors Atsumu, Osamu and Suna were. “Well then, please come in our humble home,” she gestured to them and smiled like a lovely hostess she was.
 
“Pardon the intrusion,” the three said in unison.
 
Upon heading inside the house, they saw F/n on the kitchen while she was chopping on some spices.
 
“Oh. Welcome home, Shin-chan,” for the second time today, Kita heard those words but it was bubbly compared to earlier.
 
“I’m home, F/n-san,” he responded out of courtesy yet he couldn’t help but think about how natural it felt.
 
“Wait, he called her by the first name, right? It wasn’t like that before,” Atsumu whispered as they huddled like gossiping neighbors.
 
“Yeah. He also called her like that earlier,” Osamu responded.
 
“Good. I thought I heard it wrong the first time,” Suna told them.
 
“Think they’ve levelled up their relationship?”
 
“Maybe. I mean, the captain is finally on first name basis with her now.”
 
“I guess that’s a given now that they’re actually living in the same house.”
 
“Of course! Afterall, I’m Shin-chan’s wife,” their chitchat was interrupted when F/n chimed in with a widespread grin.
 
“What?” the three snapped their heads towards her as soon as they heard that certain word, and then to their captain.
 
“She’s not my wife,” Kita told them.
 
“At least, not yet,” F/n responded.
 
“Okay, wait a second,” Osamu caught their attention and looked at F/n. “You said you don’t live here, L/n-san.”
 
She enthusiastically nodded. “That’s true, Osamu-kun, but ever since your captain took me, I started living here.”
 
“Cap’n took you?” they asked before turning their heads to Kita.
 
“When she hurt her ankle, I decided to ask Granny to let F/n-san live with us since she’s living alone and Granny said yes,” he told them.
 
“Well, if you asked me to marry you, then I definitely would’ve said yes, Shin-chan,” F/n’s admittance made them look at her and saw her signature grin.
 
The boys were caught off guard, especially Kita whose face was tinted with subtle pink.
 
“Anyway, they’ve come here to visit you,” the captain told her. “You should go to the living room with them and leave this to me.”
 
“But I’m nearly done,” she retorted.
 
“I know,” he simply responded and F/n knew that she couldn’t make him change his mind.
 
“Alright, alright. Your words are mine to follow, captain,” she threw one last teasing remark with a wink before cleaning her hands and went to the living room with Suna and the twins.
 
Settling in the living room, Atsumu shared, “Seriously, L/n-san! I was shocked when we arrived here. I was like, ‘Why are we in front of Cap’n’s house? Does he suddenly need to take a dump or something?’”
 
F/n chuckled. “Did you guys really think of Shin-chan like that?”
 
“Nah, not really,” Osamu responded. “He’s a robot type of guy and suddenly arriving in front of his house while we were supposedly going to your house made me think that he somehow malfunctioned or something.”
 
It made them laugh.
 
“It truly is unexpected that the captain and L/n-san are living together,” Suna said.
 
“Well… I didn’t expect this to happen either,” she told them. “When I hurt my ankle, Shin-chan was really kind to help me and before I even knew it, he asked Granny to let me stay here. Of course being such a sweet woman herself, Granny welcomed me with a warm smile,” she added as F/n couldn’t help but also smile while reminiscing that night.
 
“Cap’n really has a great family, huh,” Atsumu remarked.
 
“Well, he’s unlike a certain family member of mine who’s a habitual liar,” Osamu said while glancing at his twin.
 
“Whadd’ya say, ‘Samu? I didn’t hear ya,” Atsumu reacted with a vein popping on his forehead.
 
“Ya didn’t hear me? Ya must be goin’ deaf, then!” Osamu retorted and he clearly succeeded on annoying the setter more.
 
“And there goes their usual banter,” Suna sighed as he grabbed his phone out and took a single photo of the twins bickering. He let F/n saw the captured moment on his phone, making her chuckle. “So, I take it that you’ll be staying here for the rest of your life since you’re so eager to become the captain’s wife, L/n-san,” the middle blocker said with a bit of a tease as he kept his phone back to his pocket.
 
Once again, the girl chuckled but this time there was something different about it. It was just slightly off so Suna didn’t paid much attention to it.
 
Minutes passed by and before they even knew it, it was already dinner time. Granny insisted on having the boys eat with them. Defeated by her lovely charms, they gladly accepted her offer and enjoyed the meal with them. After a few more chats in the living room, the boys finally bid farewell and went on their way.
 
As the night went deeper, Kita could faintly hear the sounds of insects nearby. It served as his background music while studying on the kotatsu of the now silent living room.
 
Ever since F/n started living with them, the captain let her sleep on his bedroom while he stayed on the living room to sleep there. Of course, the girl refused his offer at first but he wasn’t taking no for an answer. He’d only go to his room to change clothes, and to grab his study materials and futon.
 
Before he even knew it, the faint sounds of the insects were replaced by the gentle sounds of rain falling down from the night sky. It was soothing to his ears and it relaxed him throughout his study session.
 
Kita wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he was finally done. He stretched his arms upwards to let himself loose and released a sigh. On the corner of his eye, he noticed a small tray with a cup being put gently on the table and pushed towards him slowly.
 
“It’s chamomile tea. I hope you’ll like it,” F/n told him as she gave him a warm smile.
 
The captain stared at her for a second longer than he intended. He didn’t expect her to be still awake this late at night, let alone give him a cup of tea.
 
“Thank you, F/n-san,” he responded. “Please sit down and wait for me here,” he told her as he stood up.
 
Before F/n could even ask where he was going, he already left the living room. Because of this, she had no choice but to do what he asked of him. As she waited, she looked over Kita’s notes and couldn’t help but smile at how diligent he truly was. Ever so carefully, she arranged his study materials and set them aside just as the captain returned to the living room with a cup in his hands.
 
“It’s also chamomile tea but I added a bit of honey in it,” he said as he put the cup in front of her before sitting across her.
 
“You made this for me?” she asked and he simply nodded. Her face suddenly lit up as she said, “Thank you, Shin-chan! That’s very kind of you.”
 
He shook his head. “I wanted you to drink tea with me.”
 
“Oh,” she was somehow caught off guard and she felt her cheeks starting to blush.
 
Kita, on the other hand, grabbed the chamomile tea that F/n made and took a sip. The girl also did the same, taking a sip on the tea that the captain made for her.
 
“It’s delicious,” he truthfully told her.
 
“Not as delicious as the one you made,” she responded to him.
 
No further exchange of words happened and the only thing they can hear was the sound of the falling rain outside. Still, the two of them took their time, slowly sipping on their respective drinks as they basked in the comfortable silence between them.
 
For Kita, being with F/n like this was something natural. He wasn’t entirely sure why. All he knew was that it didn’t felt forced and that he liked being in this moment with her.
 
Several minutes later, F/n finally decided to break the silence by saying, “I know I haven’t properly showed my gratitude towards you– for helping me, for letting me stay here, for letting me sleep in your room… Thank you, Shin-chan. I really appreciate all of this.”
 
The captain couldn’t help but gave her a small smile, a wordless ‘you’re welcome’. “Does your ankle still hurt?” he asked.
 
“I can walk now without limping but I can still feel it pang from time to time,” she admitted. “Although I said that, I know I’ll be fine no time.”
 
“That’s good to hear, F/n-san.”
 
With a faint smile, she said, “I’m sorry for bothering you and Granny.”
 
“Please, don’t say that,” his voice was firm. “You’re not a bother.”
 
“Don’t worry. When I’m all healed up, I’ll be heading back to the foothills,” she continued.
 
Her e/c eyes looked sad as she said those words and Kita couldn’t help but feel like something pricked him. Why would she rather go back there where she would be left alone in the woods? Did she even have a place to spend the night there? The small old shrine? There were questions inside his head and they were all unanswered, but at that time, it didn’t deter him from conveying what he wanted to say.
 
“Stay,” he told her as his hand held hers, his intention was clear upon his touch.
 
F/n didn’t expect the captain’s actions that it made her flinch upon contact, however, Kita’s calloused hand had no plans of letting her hand go just yet. It made her free hand squeezed against the hem of her shirt as her gaze avoided his.
 
“I really shouldn’t overstay,” her voice was quiet.
 
“You won’t be,” he responded. “You can stay here for as long as you want.”
 
“That’s what Granny said but what about you, Shin-chan?” she said as she finally looked back at him. “How long do you want me to stay?” she asked as her eyes were pleading to answer her in all honesty.
 
Kita was stunned at her question. How long did he wanted F/n to stay? For a few more weeks? Months? Years?
 
While he was still unable to come up with an answer, the girl told him, “You have no idea how much you made happy when you suddenly asked Granny to let me stay with you guys. Believe me, I’m really grateful for your warm hospitality but I know I shouldn’t take advantage of it.”
 
“For the rest of your life,” those words slipped out of Kita’s mouth quietly but F/n heard it clearly, making her eyes widened at his surprising answer. “I just– I don’t want you to be alone anymore, F/n-san. That’s why… I want you to stay with me,” he told her as his grip tightened a bit on her hand, not knowing the reason why he was feeling bashful when he was just being honest to her.
 
F/n definitely did not saw this coming. Kita was blushing as he continued holding her hand and she’d be lying if she said that he didn’t looked so cute right now. More importantly, his words struck her like lightning, sending tingling sensations all over her as the beating of heart went faster along with the rhythm of the falling rain outside.
 
With rosy cheeks, the girl shifted her hand to interlace her fingers with his. “Then, I’ll stay with you,” she softly told him before giving him the sweetest smile that he’d ever seen.
 
Her confirmation made him so happy. F/n could see it on the way he smiled back at her. It was the first time that she saw Kita like this. It was like his usual reserved and logical self was replaced with an expressive one. That being said, she didn't really mind whichever side Kita was showing to her. It still didn't change the way she felt towards him.

She wanted to be with the captain. She wanted to keep on staying by his side, to keep on having these silent yet intimate moments with him, to feel his warmth...

But how long will she keep on being selfish?

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Yo!

Sorry for updating late... again... Projects kept on coming one after another and I just finished all of them. Believe or not, I practically drowned in them but thankfully I survived!

Anyway, I just wanna say thank you because you guys are still here to read, vote and leave comments despite my irregular updates. I really appreciate all of it and hopefully I was able to deliver this chapter well.
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