Ever since he had been a child, Ran loved playing volleyball. He had made his international debut at the VNL in 2021, they were midst 2023 season now.
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"What are you thinking about?" Kanta had been staring at him wide eyed for minutes. "I think you are weird. Hello? You are missing out on the best and biggest party of this year! Just tell him that you are sick or something, please, Ran, you need to come!"
Once again, Ran shook his head. They had gone over this a thousand times regarding other events before. "I can't, Kanta, I am sorry. There is a match coming up and-" "In four days! It is one practice, just one! Only once, Ran, please~" There it was. The pouting face, the one that could end wars and bring world peace.
"Kanta, I really can't. It's a party, lord, nothing important." The other raised his eyebrows. "It is the party of the year! Everyone from school will be there, the girls from the hallway-" "That is why you are trying to drag me there! You want to-" "I need your support, Ran. Please!"
Defeated, the taller looked away. "When?"
-
Ran couldn't close a single eye that night. The party would take place in two days. Tomorrow was practice, and he somehow had to find an excuse not to attend practice that day.
He knew that no one would allow him to just skip practice, hell, Philippe would probably kill him if he found out and Yuki would be incredibly disappointed.
-
"I have an important doctors appointment tomorrow, and therefore won't be able to attend practice. Sorry about that, coach. It's just- my left elbow has been hurting recently, so I want it checked up on." It almost hurt to see Philippe looking at him with a pitiful expression.
He nodded, then proceeded to pat Ran's shoulder in an assuring manner. "Don't worry. Tell me what he said. See you in two days then, hopefully." Just like that, the coach walked to his changing room and disappeared from Ran's line of sight.
Tomohiro, who had been sitting on the floor near by, stretching, looked up at Ran. The two had been the last to leave. Only the libero and him. "Elbow pain? Really? Couldn't you find a better excuse to skip practice?" Flabbergasted, the younger turned around.
A pair of eyes and raised eyebrows stared back at him. Tomohiro got off from the floor to grab his stuff and head home as well. "It wasn't a lie." Ran lied. Judging by the unimpressed look on the others face, he knew that there was not a single ounce of believe.
He looked up from his phone. Then, coughed into his fist. "It's the twenty-first. Before corona, and before I graduated, the Ri family would usually host a huge party exactly on that day. But I am assuming you don't know anything about that, do you?" There was a smile on Tomohiro's face, one that grew bigger when Ran sank his head.
"I didnt want to go there, but Kanta really wants to go and kind of convinced me. I am gonna skip it, I am sorry for thinking about-" "What, no! You need to go, it's like the party of the year! Everyone is going there! Ran, you missed out on your teenage years, kind of, because of the virus and all that practice. Enjoy the party life now that you are able to. I won't tell on you." Still unsure, Ran bowed.
He exited the gym as fast as he could, begging that Tomohiro Yamamoto would hold his promise.
-
It truly was a sight. Bright, flashing, colorful lights lit up the night sky. People that Ran usually only occasionally spotted on the hallway, some that he had never even laid an eye on before, as well as his friends and teammates. Everyone was there. Gold medalists, Olympic competitors, judoka, gymnasts, and the list just went on.
The star of the party being Hana Ri, the host. A popular girl. Her father being a politician, mother an actress. She was in her last year of university, about to graduate with a master degree in biochemistry. Her brother, Haruto Ri, a judoka, insanely popular, especially because of his looks.
Ran had not paid attention for a single second and suddenly Kanta was gone, swallowed by the large crowd in front of him. A deep sigh left his mouth. "Why so down?" A voice suddenly spoke behind him. Ran shot around. His eyes landed on said unfamiliar person.
A man, taller than him, with black mullet hair and brown eyes. Silver earrings and a minimalistic, yet classic outfit on. His lips were tinted pink.
Ran himself was dressed rather casual, some would perhaps call it lazy. He didn't put any sort of effort into his outfit, the clothes he had picked had been a last second decision. Still, even though he had no interest being at the party, Ran forced a smile.
"Nothing, just lost my friend." "Happens. I'm Haruto, by the way." "Ran." He answered. Haruto smiled at him. His eyes scanning Ran's body once, twice and a third time. "What sport do you play?" "Volleyball. Judo for you, right?" The question completely ignored, Haruto started talking again. "How tall are you?" "About one eighty-eight." Somehow, he started feeling weird about the other. The way he continuously eyed him from head to toe and kept asking questions about his height, weight etc. were weird to Ran.
Slowly, but surely, he started getting freaked out. So, of course, he tried to find an excuse. "I am gonna look for my friend now. Excuse me." Immediately, Haruto offered to help. To Ran's misfortune. But it would be rude to decline, when he was literally on the others hosted party. Instead, Ran just nodded.
-
The house was bigger than it looked from the outside. Countless corridors, and rooms, along with tons of people crowding the hallway. Ran followed Haruto, prying his eyes open to try and find Kanta.
Ten minutes later, the two sat down on a couch. It was quieter here, away from the mainstream. Just a few people, especially the 'inner circle' seemed to walk around here. It left Ran wondering why they ended up here in search for Kanta.
Haruto handed him a drink. "Cheers." He rose his glass as well, waiting for Ran to take a sip. Their eyes met. A Clank. Ran had put down the empty glass. It was good. A sweet taste lingered on his tongue.
While his eyes continued scanning the room and area, the taller seemed to completely be out of it. Haruto did not even show the slightest bit of interest in his surroundings, only staring at the empty glass.
Minutes later, a weird feeling spread through Ran's body. His head felt weird, vision somehow clouding. He blinked. Once, twice, thrice, squeezing his eyes. Still, no success. Ran noticed Haruto slowly moving to close the gap between the two. Any attempts to try and get up, or simply bring more distance between them were in vain. He just felt so incredibly dizzy all of a sudden.
Suddenly, Ran felt himself be lifted into the air. Or rather, dragged off the couch. Haruto was carrying him on his back. And Ran, he was completely out of it. With his eyes half closed and barely any working brain cells, he let himself be dragged away. Hell, not even his voice seemed to function properly. What if, what if he would just sleep for a little while?
His body hit a mattress. Cold air hit his chest. What- hadn't he been wearing a shirt? Dizzy and weak, Ran passed out. He did not even register the unknown hands feel over his chest, pull down his pants and the loud moans that followed soon after.
-
Ouch. Ouch. Why did it hurt to move? Ouch. One leg out of his bed. When had he returned home? What had happened? His head hurt.
Why did his alarm have to go off so early? Ah right, practice. Ran mentally slapped himself. He felt like he had the worst hangover of his whole career, if he ever really had one.
This was terrible. With loud groans and tons of pain, Ran managed to push himself out of his bed. Followed by even more complaining until he finally reached the bathroom.
Whatever he had felt before, this physical pain quickly converted to extreme mental pain. Panic. Because the second he spotted himself in the bathroom mirror, Ran could have screamed.
There were bruises all over his neck and chest, love bites to be exact. 'Holy Shit' His mind started spinning, mapping our every possible situation. What had he done? Did he- No. No hookup. There was no way.
But on the other hand, there was a gap in his memory. Ran could not remember anything from yesterday. Nothing. Well, what he did know was that he had planned to attend a party- Had he really hooked up with someone?
Quickly, Ran popped an aspirin to try and get rid of the brain fog and dizziness. This was bad. But skipping practice was no option, he had to attend.
-
The cheeky smile on Tomohiros face told Ran enough. Why was he smiling?
"Ran, how is the elbow doing?" It was Philippe. The French man had suddenly popped up behind him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Upon the impact, Ran froze. His body didn't move anymore, mind going completely blank. The hand. Remove the hand. His brain was screaming now. 'Danger. Danger.' Without even knowing why, his whole body started shaking like a leaf.
"-n, Ran, are you there?" It was Yuki's voice. The older was barely two meters away from him. But he was shouting. Just for Ran to look at him. Go snap out of it.
Of course, the coach, Yuki and Tomohiro, who were standing close to him, did not take long to notice the shaking body. They had first started talking to him in a normal tone, but the younger just wouldn't snap out of it. Similar to being paralysed.
Eyes still unfocused, Ran looked up. "W-What did you say?" Philippe removed his hand, sighing. "Everything alright?" Lots of nods. "Yeah. Of course. A little tired. Let's go. Let's start." Still unsure Yuki walked over to the wall and started stretching. Always keeping an eye out for Ran.
-
It didn't take long to notice that something seemed to bother Ran. Countless people had asked him what was up, especially because of the round scarf he refused to take off. There was no denying that his voice sounded raspy.
But again, why was he not talking about anything and instead constantly zoning out?
-
"Really, it's nothing. My elbow is fine, coach. I am doing good, just didn't sleep good. Okay? I will head home now." Ran did not even listen to the words spoken afterwards, he instead walked out of the room, headphones in his ear.
-
Ten pm. His doorbell rang. What Ran had not expected was Kanta to stand in front, scanning him from head to toe. "What?" "You are alive." Ran furrowed his eyebrows.
The hell?
"Of course I am. What- what do you mean!" "Yesterday-" Wait, something at the party- "Yesterday!" Ran slapped his head, warning confused stares. "You disappeared! I looked everywhere for you!" Now it was Kanta's turn to be absolutely confused.
His voice displayed it perfectly. "You- I looked for you! And judging by your appearance it's true." "What?" Ran asked. He was fully invested now. Because he could not remember anything about yesterday.
"I had to literally carry you to my car because you wouldn't wake the fuck up. How much did you drink? Ran, I thought you died. You can be glad that Haruto helped me when he spotted me." Confused. An absolute baffled expression on his face.
"I didn't drink a single ounce. Not one. Or did I?" "You can't even remember! Gosh. How embarrassing! Next time, I won't leave you alone when we go party again." He glanced at the clock.
Then panicked. "Shit, I need to Go. Glad you are alive. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye, Ran!" With that, Kanta ran off.
As soon as the door was closed, Ran let out a deep sigh. "I was drunk. Shit." Slowly, a few memories stared fading back. But somehow, it hurt.
It hurt to try and remember. Like his brain was actively working against him, like it was trying to stop him from remembering.
Something flashed through his head. A shadow, a blurry picture. Someone was dragging him over the floor. A door slammed shut, locked. He was thrown onto a bed. Why was he not moving or looking around? The sound of a soft thud. A shadow climbed onto the mattress next to him.
In Reality, while experiencing the flashback, Ran was shaking, tears leaking from his eyes. Breathing started to hurt.
But it didn't stop.
The shadow unbuckled his pants. And still, he didn't move. Like a stone he continued to lie there. But there was something different now. Ran could feel the panic in the flashback. He had been scared. That was evident.
A question that he did not even want to think about arose.
Had he even wanted it?
What had happened before and who was that shadow?