chapter two:
' a lot more in common '
Narine didn't go back to school until friday, two days after her injury and when she had her first conversation with Oikawa. when she arrived home that day and informed her dad about her knee he immediately took her to the doctor to make sure it wasn't a severe injury, and when it was confirmed that her injury was minor and would heal on its own, her father still insisted that she stayed home the next day to rest.
the dark blue haired girl had gotten her drivers license at the beginning of the school year, so she was happy that she could drive to school and didn't have to walk with her injured knee slowing her down.
she wore a white support brace for her knee to match her lavender and cream-colored school uniform. she promised her father she would wear it all day while she was at school, and as the club's coach, he practically banned her from practicing with her team, which annoyed her to high levels. she couldn't be the best if she couldn't practice. it would just hold her back.
besides not being able to practice, nothing else concerning school had changed. no one approached her except her teammates, but the ones she shared class with was Iwaizumi and her best friend Chika Ohara.
"Narine!" her best friend called for her as she entered the classroom. the captain gave her friend a small, genuine smile and sat down in her stop next to her, "i'm so glad you're back, practice was hell with Iwaizumi taking over! he made us do this intense workout and I swear my arms almost fell off!"
their team consisted of 12 students, and in the club they all worked on flexibility and strength to help master the three types of martial arts their club used: Karate, Taekwondo, and Jujitsu. though for tournaments, they had 4 students compete in each division. Narine competed in Karate, Chika in Taekwondo, and Iwaizumi in Jujitsu. they were the only third years on the team and therefore the 'leaders' of each division. though Narine was the captain of the entire team since she had been competing practically her entire life, and her father being the coach had another factor in the decision.
the man of topic the approached the two girls, his tall and always intense aura startling them both, "you need to strengthen those flimsy arms of yours, Ohara. all your muscle is in your damn legs"
the blonde girl propped her leg up on the table, showing off her leg muscles, "these rocking calves didn't pop up over night! it takes dedication to get this shit. I bet I can even crush a watermelon between these thighs!"
Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at his blonde teammate and turned his attention towards the captain, "how's your knee doing? eager to get back to practice?"
Narine groaned, "ugh, you have no idea! this shit hurts like a bitch though and my dad and the doctor said I won't be able to participate for two weeks. what the hell am I supposed to do until then?!"
Iwaizumi and Chika exchanged a quick look. Narine had told her about what happened at the nurses office, and she and Iwaizumi talked about it when Narine was gone the day before.
"you know~" Chika started with a sly smirk, "a certain someone asked about you yesterday. apparently he looked you up and has been talking about you nonstop to our vice captain"
Narine let out a laugh, "please tell me you're joking, Chika. there's no way he even remembers my name"
Iwaizumi shook his head, "she's not joking. he called me at two in the morning literally fawning over your tournament videos and brought you up in almost every conversation yesterday. I'm pretty sure he's obsessed with you now"
the blue haired girl looked at her friends with wide eyes, trying to see if they were lying, but when she realized they weren't she slammed her head against her desk, "I literally hate everything..."
Chika poked her best friend continuously, "oh it's not that bad! the star of the school Tooru Oikawa finally noticed your existence! maybe now you can finally seduce him into doing horrible at everything so that you can take the top spot!"
"his girlfriend just broke up with him because he cared more about volleyball than her, there's no way he would give it all up that easily" Iwaizumi said.
Chika pouted, "I was just trying to brighten her mood, good way to ruin it Iwa"
not long after, right before the bell rang to start class, the star known as Oikawa made his way into class.
"Fujihara~ how's my favorite karate girl doing?"
Narine looked as if she was about to pop a blood vessel from how annoyed she was, which made Chika and Iwaizumi burst into laughter. they found it funny that only Oikawa could make her this worked up by doing the bare minimum.
"shut your ass up, shittykawa" she mumbled as she laid her head back down onto the desk, "Iwaizumi control your friend please before I break his other knee"
"ouch! so mean Fujihara! you need to spend less time with Iwa and more time with me~"
Narine finally looked up at the boy, "and why would I want to spend time with you?"
Oikawa leaned against the front of her desk, "because we're both friends with Iwa and we're the captains of the best two clubs of the school! it's basically fate for us to be friends"
"i'd rather kick flip into an empty river, but it's very generous of you to finally acknowledge my presence in this world after being in the same class for three years"
Chika covered her mouth to conceal her laughter, "I think you might be more mean than Iwaizumi!"
the bell then rings, interrupting the conversation before Oikawa could respond or Iwaizumi could yell at his friends.
Narine was thankful for the bell. she didn't want to be friends with Oikawa. she just wanted to beat him. she wanted to prove that she was better than him.
++++++++++++++++++
once the final bell had rang and everyone began to leave the school, Narine stayed behind to walk with Iwaizumi to his volleyball practice.
"do you want to stay and watch today?" he asked as they neared the boys locker room.
"will Oikawa be there?" she asked, running her fingers through her long pony tail.
"yes, but he's not participating because of his knee"
"then hell no"
Iwaizumi stopped walking and stood in front of his friend, "weren't you the one complaining this morning of not having anything to do?"
Narine pursed her lips, knowing that he was right, "yes...but i'd rather not be in a room full of his little fangirls. i've had enough of their squeals for today"
"coach already said that they can't come anymore until after the preliminaries are over. at least come to cheer on your favorite two team vice captain. Ohara and the rest of our team will be there. we have a practice match today with Karasuno"
the girl watched him give her a rare pleading look, which she could never say no to. so she sighed in defeat, "fine. but only for today since it's friday and I have nothing else better to do"
Iwaizumi grinned proudly and patted her head, "good. now go in there while I get dressed"
"if you suck I'm leaving!" she shouts as he walks away.
Iwaizumi winks, "I'll do my best for you"
Narine groaned loudly at the fact that she gave into his wishes again. but really, who wouldn't when the always stoic and angry Iwaizumi gives you pleading puppy eyes. anyone else would cave in too.
and so Narine gathered up the courage and walked up the stairs towards the balcony of the gymnasium where the audience would be able to see the volleyball team play. thankfully, her martial arts team were the only ones there.
"hey there, captain!" one of the second years who's in her division, Ito, greeted her.
Chika noticed that she had arrived and pulled her into one of her bone crushing hugs, "my sweet Narine! I'm so glad Iwaizumi convinced you to come!"
Narine returned the hug for a short time before pulling away, "so i'm guessing the two of you have something planned that I don't know about?"
"why of course!" Chika giggled, her wavy blonde hair bouncing around, "operation GFAOTBBF is now in full swing!"
Narine rubbed her temple at her best friends antics, "what are you on about now?"
"it means: get Fujihara and Oikawa to become best friends" the stoic male first year Haruki, explained. surprisingly, he was the only one who could translate the third year's code names.
"I knew it, i'm leaving" Narine spoke, wasting no time to walk towards the exit.
"leaving so soon? the game hasn't even started yet" a male voice spoke, and she could hear the pout on his face in his voice without even looking at him.
Narine looked up at Oikawa's taller frame that was now blocking her from leaving, "would you please let me through. I don't want to be here"
Oikawa frowned, staying still in his spot, "but Iwa was so happy that you came...and I want to get to know you better"
Narine furrowed her brows, studying the other, "no you don't. you want to get over your ex that broke up with you last week. i'm sure your fangirls would be more than happy to fill that void for you"
the pretty setter was stunned my her words, giving her a chance to squeeze through him and the wall. though Oikawa felt her leave and stopped her by twisting his body towards her and trapping her.
he learned down close to her ear, almost speaking in a whisper, "I actually do find you fascinating, Fujihara. and believe it or not, but we have a lot more in common than you think. just give me a chance to prove it"
Narine refused to look at Oikawa, her head stayed turned in the direction of the exit, "leave me alone before I kick your balls back inside your body"
the boy obliged to back away, an unreadable expression now laid on his face. he didn't respond back with more pleading words, he just let her leave. there was a moment of silence until he heard the door shut completely.
he turned to look at the blonde best friend, "you told me she didn't hate me"
Chika let out a long sigh, letting her arms dangle on the railing, "she doesn't necessarily hate you. she's envious of your status. she wants to be the best both in her sport and here at school. she can't if you already hold the number one spot"
Oikawa understood why Narine felt this way. it was the same way he felt with his protege Kageyama and the great Ushiwaka. he wanted to beat them both, and prove he was better than them. Narine didn't see him as a villian, but as a rival. the final boss she had to beat before she won the game.
he could see the similarities they shared. they both wanted to win. they devoted their lives to their sport to be the best. he wouldn't say he stalked her social media, but he did browse through it. she was amazing at her sport, far better than he had ever seen. her skill rivaled those of high fame across the world, and more people needed to see that.
Oikawa thought carefully about his next words, "what if I can show everyone just how good she is. do you think she'd talk to me then?"
"what are you planning, dude?" a student in the jujitsu division asked.
Oikawa smirked as thousands of ideas flooded his mind, "it's a surprise~"
Chika scoffed, "are you seriously going to do this just to get her to notice you?"
Oikawa shrugged, "if that's what I gotta do, I'll do it," a whistle then blew, signaling that the practice match was starting, "I gotta get ready now, get ready to be blown away monday!"