❚•TITLE•❚
『• friends? •』
AUTHOR'S POV
Ushijima Wakatoshi and L/n Y/n.
The gap between you isn't wide, nor is it long. And yet, only the extreme would force one of you to cross.
INCOMING CALL . . . . Semi
[ACCEPT] DECLINE
F: What do you want, Semi?
S: Don't tell me you're still practicing.
F: The coach said I could stay after if I wanted.
S: You're overworking yourself.
F: I'm fine. You're worrying too much.
S: I'm heading to the gym. You better have put away the equipment by then.
F: But I need more practice.
S: What you need is rest. Put the equipment away. Better yet, leave it.
"I'll take care of it while I'm here."
CALL ENDED 📳 [📴]
You tossed your phone in your bag. "You worry too much about me."
Semi sighed, taking down the net. "I don't worry enough."
He helped you tidy things up and pushed you to the showers. You were done in a flash, walking back to the dorms in Semi's company. After scolding you for the umpteenth time, you went to your room. Your roommate was already fast asleep. You checked your phone for messages before passing out in your dream world.
Your blank dream world.
The next morning, you robotically woke up as soon as the clock struck 5 AM. You slipped on your running clothes, and shoes and were out of the dorm. You started your run.
1 lap
2 laps
And now you were on your third. Halfway there, you met your rival. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"Ushijima."
"L/n."
A nod and you were both back into it. After years of forced cooperation, there was a sense of respect between you. You hardly spent time together, let alone talk, but you would always acknowledge each other's presence. It was the way things worked for you. But something this morning was different.
"How long have you been running for?"
"Huh?" You stopped being caught off guard by his question. You were surprised he was talking to you.
"You're exhausted," he said.
"I'm not," you replied, restarting your jog. He didn't say another word. Things went back to their comfortable silence. Nothing to worry about.
TIME SKIP
"Amazing form as usual. You can take a break, Y/n."
"Hai, Taichō."
You sat on the bench, drained and sweating. You looked blankly at the floor trying to stop the spinning in your head. When it didn't, you downed some water in hopes it would help.
"F/n heads up!"
It didn't.
Your reflexes kicked it just in time to receive the ball square in your face. You clutched your head, now even dizzier than before. You heard your teammates around you but everything was muffled. Your head loosely hung from your neck, dots crowding your vision and soon, you passed out.
After your run that morning and your exertion during practice, your head was too overrun with fatigue to handle any more stress. And that volleyball happened to stress the crap out of your brain.
TIME SKIP
"SemiSemi, she's waking up!"
"Don't be loud."
Your eyes fluttered open at the bickering, hoping they would both shut up. You hardly had the energy to sit, let alone raise your voice.
"I apologize."
You looked to the other side and there he was. Ushijima Wakatoshi in the flesh.
"Why is he talking to me?" you thought. His brows tilted up and his eyes were soft. He was sincere.
"It's fine," you replied, knowing your blackout had been mostly your fault. With a nod, he left, unfortunately leaving behind the noisemakers of his brigade. You weakly poked Semi on the arm.
"When can I resume training?" you asked.
"It's up to you," he replied. "Your coach allowed you to skip if you're feeling unwell."
"And the nurse?"
"She'll decide that when she examines you."
"How long was I out? Did I miss practices? What day is it?"
"Slow down for a moment," he said with a scowl. "You were out for a day. You missed yesterday's morning practice. It's Wednesday."
"If I plan this well, I should be able to make up for the missed practice. I can run double the time tomorrow. I just need to wake up earlier—"
"Do you hear yourself?" Semi asked. "You're going to break Y/n."
"This is how I work, Semi," you replied. "Can I leave?"
Semi sighed, walking out of the room. Tendō followed. "Take care, doll."
"That's a new one."
The nurse checked you and cleared you to leave. You were quick on your feet to return to your dorm. You got changed and went for a run. You clicked your tongue when you realized your pace was slower than usual. You leaned against the school gates to catch your breath.
"I need to train harder."
"You don't."
Your head swivelled at the sound, shocked and confused.
"Ushijima? What are you doing here?"
He was still dressed in full uniform so it had to be somewhere in the afternoon. When you looked through the window, the halls were empty. Classes were still ongoing.
"Why did you leave class? You never leave class."
"Semi asked me to look for you when you didn't show up to class."
"He doesn't need to worry about me. I'm fine."
"Y/n, why do you train so hard?"
"Exhaustion is my indicator of hard work."
Ushijima remained silent and turned on his heel.
"Exhaustion is also an indicator of burnout. Don't work to the point of breaking down," he said, walking back inside.
You frowned. You knew what he meant. You knew all too well, but someone about hearing it from him bothered you even more. You ignored his message and went back out for another lap. Your pace had slowed to a lagging crawl. By the time you returned to your dorm, you felt light. You barely had it in you to shower and change afterwards. You sat at your bedside, trying to recollect your energy. For a moment, things were looking up.
Up on your feet, the world came tumbling down with dizzying speed. You had dropped to the ground unconscious. Semi who was still waiting for you started panicking. He sent you message after message only to receive no answer.
"That girl better not have passed out outside," he thought.
When school ended, he asked Wakatoshi where you had gone. The captain replied he didn't know. Semi in anger, lashed out at him.
"Ushijima, I told you to bring her back!"
"You told me to find her."
"That's beside the point!" Semi was drowning in worry. "Wakatoshi, she hasn't eaten anything since she woke up. She could have passed out running by now."
Ushijima remained un-emotive. Semi's expression darkened.
"I don't care if you're my friend. If she's hurt because of this, we're going to be on different speaking terms."
The captain let his setter pass him. He remained calm, ignoring the whispers among the students. He walked to his locker, still not showing any remorse. But truth be told, he felt bad.
Really bad.
He had this weird sense of dread rethinking Semi's words. What if something had happened to you?
He stuffed things in his locker and jogged outside. He went through your shared path and found you nowhere. He was relieved you weren't sprawled in the streets. But it didn't fully ease his worry. He returned to school in his now sweaty uniform. He went to the dorms hoping to find you in your room. He asked around and eventually found your door.
He knocked on the door and received no answer. As his hand rose to knock again, the girl next door told him some important news.
"L/n-san was sent to the hospital. Her roommate found her unconscious."
Ushijima felt his stomach sink. He asked her for the location before heading off. He contacted Semi on the way who was ready to chew him out for the incident.
TIME SKIP
You woke up in a white room. A place you were too familiar with. You already knew why you were here. You already knew you were hooked to an IV. You already knew which doctor was going to barge in to scold you.
"What a shit place to be."
"And yet you keep coming back," a voice replied entering the room. You looked away, not wanting to look at them.
"Now going to say 'hi' to your favourite doctor?" they asked removing the IV.
"When can I leave?"
They sighed. "Whenever you want. Your friend is waiting for you in the hall."
You looked at them with a frown. "Friend?"
"Yes, a boy from your school. Ushijima, I reckon."
You were surprised. You expected Semi to be here but not Ushijima.
"Tell him to leave."
"He won't."
"Semi asked me to make sure you don't do anything out of hand," Ushijima said, coming up behind the doctor.
"There's no reason to worry about me," you said with a sigh. "I was being an idiot and paid for it."
Ushijima still felt regret and couldn't stop himself from clenching his hands.
"...I'm sorry," he said. "Had I convinced you to return, this wouldn't have happened."
You stared out the window. "You don't have to apologize for my mistake."
The silence that settled was suffocating. You noticed the caretaker's discomfort.
"You can leave," you told them.
"Just make sure to tell the receptionist you're leaving," they replied. "Talk later?"
"Don't feel like it."
They sighed. "You have to talk to me at some point, sis."
Ushijima looked between you and the door. "Older sibling?"
You nodded. "Completing residency. Easily one of the top students in Med school."
"Is this why you train so hard?" he asked. You ignored him.
"Y/n—"
"What?" she replied coldly.
"Your parents are pressuring you, aren't they?"
You clicked your tongue. "You figured it out. Congrats. Do you want a sticker with that?"
He said nothing. Just stood there, conflicted.
"Get out so I can change."
You watched him walk out and broke out into quiet sobs. He read you so easily and it angered you. You changed into your clothes and joined Ushijima outside. You left the hospital in silence.
He bought you a cream cheese bagel on the way to the dorms. You accepted it, confused. It bothered you to a point where you had to ask. "Why are you acting like this?"
"I don't understand."
"Why do you care? We're rivals. We don't usually talk and now you're buying me food? You waited for me at the hospital. You've started interacting. What's going on?"
"I'm looking after a friend," he simply answered.
"Friend my ass. You could've told Semi to stay with me. You could've stayed quiet during our run. Why are you changing?" you asked, stepping in front of him. He stopped, taking a moment to think.
"I was interested in you. You always work so hard. It made me curious about you," he answered. "Earlier, Semi got mad at me for not bringing you back. It was the first time I felt like I made a grave mistake. I felt responsible for you ending up in that situation."
"Again, it's my fault. Don't feel bad about it."
You arrived at school and Ushijima made sure you went to your room. After what happened, Semi advised you that you were excused from practice. You weren't happy about it but you weren't going to argue.
Before you entered, Ushijima pulled you to the side.
"What is it?" you asked.
"I want you to coach me," he said.
"Why? I'm not any better–"
"–You are," he interrupted. "You're already the top female spiker. You have so much talent and yet you can't see it. I'd like you to help me."
Something bubbled up inside you and you laughed.
"What's funny?"
"The great Ushijima Wakatoshi is asking me for help?" you said through your laughs.
"Yes? I still don't understand why that's funny."
"No matter," you said, shaking your head. You thought about it for a moment and thought it would be worth it.
"Sure, I'll help you," you said with a small smile on his face. He opened his arms, inviting you for a hug. You gladly accepted the gesture, wrapping your arms around him.
"What's the hug for?"
"Isn't this what people do when their friends need comfort?"
"Yeah... You should head to practice," you said, leaving his embrace. "I don't want you to get in trouble."
He nodded, walking away. You waited for him to leave before going to your room, but he paused. "Do you want to watch?"
You shook your head, jogging to him. "You're weird, you know that?"
He said nothing and continued on his way, now with you at his side. You felt his hand brush against yours. You looked at him. No reaction, but again, his hand brushed against yours. You moved your hand to grasp his. He mirrored your action, locking them together.
"Ushijima?"
"Hm?"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."