WildFire

32

 "Hey–hey!"

Why did Kunimi have such long legs? Why did he walk so stupidly fast? Why could you still not catch up to him despite running at top speed?

You had ditched the other volleyball players back at the gym when you saw Kunimi leave, assuming that he was trying to shut you out by enclosing himself in the school bus where they had come to Karasuno with.

You, obviously, had run after him, determined not to let history repeat itself. You weren't sure if you could come back if it happened again. You weren't sure if you would have another three or so years to pity yourself before you could earn back his trust.

You had to apologize about what you did. You weren't sure what you had exactly done to offend Kunimi, but it had hurt him, and you couldn't wait to say sorry, you had to right now.

"'Kira-chan! You better slow your stupid otter face and giraffe legs down right now!" it sounded ridiculous, even and especially to you, but you really found no other choice because Kunimi was flat out ignoring you and speeding his pace. "Kunimi Akira–you dimwit! What are you doing!?"

You weren't going to turn away though. That moment in the gym had seemed so familiar. It was after that volleyball match with his elementary class–and he had turned away from you. You had stayed ignorant for too long that time, and it hadn't turned out well.

You weren't letting it happen this time as well.

"What?" Kunimi finally turned around–looking very much irritated–as your hand connected with his shoulder, using him to support your gasping weight. "[Name]?"

"Are you going to tell me?" you asked in between panting breaths.

"Tell you what?" Kunimi feigned ignorance–though you noticed the way his shoulders stiffened. This had been a sign you ignored right before your last argument.

Again. Avoiding the elephant in the room just like last time.

It'll be different this time, you promised yourself, repeating it like a mantra in your head to gain confidence before speaking out loud again.

"Are you annoyed you almost got beaten by a nobody team–by Kageyama?" you asked, trying to piece together the puzzle pieces, even though it still made no sense to you what you were trying to make.

"No, why would I care about that tyrant?" he snapped unpleasantly–seeming to mean his insult–his face a mask of disgust. "I was just surprised you were there at the match as well. For Karasuno."

"Well nice job acknowledging me," you said sarcastically—bitterly.

Kunimi frowned down at you, narrowing his eyes to angry slits, "wouldn't you prefer to be with your other friends? Kageyama seems to be nice to you. The energetic one also seems especially close–Hinata? You seemed to have plenty of admirers."

Confusion clouded your mind. He was jealous of you for having friends? Has the universe flipped upside down or something? Despite you being in the girl's volleyball team now, Kunimi was always the one with more friends because of course, he was part of Oikawa's team.

"I told them I needed to go," you informed. "Because someone would not bother even saying hi, despite being one's best friend."

"Well you can go back."

The statement made you freeze in your tracks.

Go back?

Like hell you were going to go back after finally getting him back again. Tears pricked your eyes, stinging your face and your pride. And as much as a small part of you felt the humiliation, the other part didn't care. That didn't matter. The tears could fall, your ego could shatter into tiny pieces, as long as you didn't lose him.

"If unfair," you muttered angrily before you could stop yourself, kicking a small rock with such force it went skittering all the way across the pavement to the Karasuno front gates.

Kunimi frowned at you, "what did you say?"

"It's so unfair!" you yelled, your voice cracking just a bit. You approached him, possessed by a sudden anger, and started hitting his chest once gently, then again with more force. "Again and again, I'm forced to chase you, but you're always so far away. Why do you duck away every time? Why do you keep pushing me away?"

"Why do you chase me?" Kunimi asked sharply, studying your teary eyes.

"You were my only friend," you looked down at your shoes, which were dusty and not very well taken care of. "My best friend. Of course I'd chase after you–no matter how many times you try to push me away."

"What about that time where you left me for three years?" Kunimi accused, glaring at you with hurt. "Did you not leave me then?"

He was right.

"But I came back," you protested with exasperation, wiping a tear from your eye and willing the others to not fall down your face. "I came back because of you–don't you know that?"

"I didn't ask you to!" Kunimi exploded, clenching his fists tightly. "I didn't ask you to chase me, okay? You–you–you're so annoying!"

"I'm annoying?"

The tears slipped down your face–making your eyes sting. But you opened them anyway to grab Kunimi by the collar, pulling him closer to you. "Kunimi, do you hate me?" you whispered, scared, your voice quivering. At his shake of the head, you pulled him closer again, harder, "then can you tell me what I did wrong?"

You couldn't see his face properly through the blur of tears.

"What did I do wrong, Kunimi?"

"You didn't!" Kunimi shouted, making you flinch. He seemed to be trembling as you released your grip on his collar. "You never did anything wrong–it was always me! I'm the one at fault!"

"Then...then why?" your voice was small.

It didn't make sense anymore. Why would he avoid you if he had done something wrong? You had to have done something wrong that had made him avoid you–why would he ever avoid you because of himself?

"I–I," Kunimi stumbled back, his face burning a shade of crimson and pink you had never glimpsed before. He looked away from you, using his hands to cover his mouth.

The last part came out as a whisper–one almost inaudible, and you wouldn't have heard it. But consciously or not, your ears were straining to hear those three words.

"Listen [Name], please," Kunimi now sounded desperate. "I'm sorry."

"You don't want to tell me," you guessed, confirming your thoughts when he nodded shamefully. You tilted his head at him, hoping your crossed arms offered some sort of intimidation. "Will you still avoid me?"

When he shook his head, you smiled brightly, "then I'll wait–just like you promised to do for me with my secret."

Kunimi paused, then smiled in return–the tiniest of one. It was small, but it was also so genuine, you wanted to cry again. "Don't worry," he assured, wiping a tear from your face gently with his thumb. "I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"Yep!" you chirped, though your voice was a little hoarse from yelling earlier. Then, somehow overcoming your embarrassment, you wrapped your arms around the taller boy, and gently kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."