CHAPTER FIVE: OLD WOUNDS
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"Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play."
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"That's not fair!"
"What do you mean it's not fair!? I scored! You really going to try and fight me on this!?"
"But Riii~!"
"Don't 'but Ri' me. Let's start up again!"
Rin turned towards her teammates, cocking her hip to the side, "Alright, let's continue."
"Is a 3 on 3 really a good idea?" Her setter asked. The tall female cocked her hip to the side, looking Rin in the eyes with a bored expression on her face, "Especially with the two of you against each other? You know how he gets when he loses."
"Oi! We have a chance at winning!"
"Yeah but the Captain is just as bad when she loses," Another silvery voiced chimed, Rin drug her eyes over to the male that spoke and he raised his hands up in mock defense, a signature smirk on his lips, "Don't look so scary, Rin~chan."
"Oi, Rin, Mei, Hana! He's getting restless, hurry up!"
Rin rolled her eyes, turning and wiping the sweat off of her brow with the back of her hand. The setter, Mei, tossed the ball into the air and Rin watched it closely. The teammates she was going against moved fluidly and quickly, and Rin watched them as they tossed it to the one everyone expected them to. She flexed her abdominal muscles and bent her knees, jumping into the air and raising her hands over the net, stretching her fingers apart. Rin winced when the ball flew past her fingers harshly, slapping against the gym floor with a loud splat. A loud 'tch' left Rin's lips and she shook her hands off.
"Hey hey heeey!"
"Shut up!" Rin snapped, huffing and grabbing the ball.
"Oh~ Ri is getting serious!" The player that just scored commented, sticking his tongue out at her mockingly. She narrowed her eyes at him, a snarl forming on her lips. She heard the rest of her team mates sigh and mutter 'those two', but she ignored them and stomped over into position - it was her serve this time.
"Shut up, get ready."
Rin held the ball out in front of her, a cocky grin making it's way onto her face, she winked at the teammate who was playfully mocking her moments ago.
"Nice serve, Nekomata!"
"Don't mind, Rin~chan!"
Rin threw the ball into the air and she was quick to join it, running towards it like a bullet. She arched her back and bend her knees as she jumped, her hand slapped against the ball and she could feel the familiar burn in her palm. She grinned when she saw two of the "opposing" players dive for the ball. But it spun fast and landed hard.
"There's our Captain!"
Rin gave Hana a toothy grin, causing him to roll his eyes and ruffle her hair playfully.
"He's sulking again!"
Rin looked towards the opposite side of the net and sighed at the sight of her teammate, he was hunched over himself with his arms hanging at his side and his chin tucked into his chest,. Rin walked over slowly, ducking under the net and harshly bumping the sulking teammate in the back of his head. He stumbled forward, turning to look at her with both a glare and a pout. She grinned and him and tilted her head, jutting her thumb towards her chest, "You should be happy, that two power houses like us are on the same team. You'd never survive going up against me!"
"Oi, oi!" The setter growled, stomping her feet childishly, "Don't forget about the rest of us!"
Rin grinned again, rubbing under her nose to hide the even wider grin that spread on her lips, "You know what I mean, Mei!"
"Yeah, Mei-san," the teams libero yawned, setting a hand over his mouth lazily, "Even an all-star team has to have an ace. We just happen to have two."
"Usu!"
Rin jumped when her previously sulking teammate pumped his fists into the air excitedly, "I'm the ace!"
Rin rolled her eyes, patting the boys shoulder, "Yeah, yeah. Stop sulking now, Ace."
The 'ace' slung his arm over Rin's shoulder, matching the wide grin and thumbs up she had just given him, "I'm glad I have you to back me up, Ri!"
"Oi, oi! It's you who's backing me up!"
"No way, Ri! I'm the ace! You just said so!"
"No way! I'm the Captain, you're the one backing me up!"
"But I'm the Ace!"
"Aaaand they're at it again."
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Rin groaned, rubbing her temples in annoyance, "Taketora, that was great. Honestly, the spike was wonderful -"
"Yes - !"
"- But I asked Tetsurou to hit the ball first, not you."
The wing spiker slumped over, bowing his head towards Rin and dragging his feet towards the opposite side of the net.
"Are you okay?"
Rin turned her head to the side, her hand leaving her temples. She frowned, looking away from Kenma, "I didn't sleep well, is all."
"I'm sure coach would've understood if you just went home," Kenma murmured.
Rin made a noise of agreement, rubbing her temples. She didn't lie, she really didn't sleep well. She dreamt of her old team and it just brought back bad vibes that made her want to crawl into bed and never leave. But she was making progress... right? She wasn't in bed anymore, after a year of homeschooling and avoiding everyone she was up and at school. She was making friends after over a year and a half of distancing herself from everyone. She was reverting back to her old self, the girl she was before the "accident". Daisuke had told her that much after she had skype called him on Sunday. She had showed him the pictures through the computer and babbled on excitedly, and Daisuke seemed genuinely happy as he told her 'you're talking like you use to'.
But, as luck would have it, she couldn't forget about things she still considered problems. They crept up on her when she woke up on Monday, unhappy with the dream she had. To make it all worse, the weather decided to follow her mood - cloudy and rainy. The rain only making her knee's ache, because for some reason bad weather always seems to aggravate old wounds.
So, not old did she currently have a headache from over thinking, her knee's ached and she didn't know if she should lean more on the right or the left. The entire day she cringed as she walked around school with Kuroo and Kenma - they were nice enough and didn't ask what was wrong. Though, Kenma did look at her with mild concern and Kuroo kept talking her head off - which she assumed was in an attempt to distract her.
"Testurou?" Rin spoke up, looking up at the tall male. He was on the court, spinning a ball in his hands as he spoke with Yaku. His head turned towards the female when she spoke up and he nodded slightly, letting her know he heard her, "You think you can take over for today? I - I don't feel so good."
Kuroo chuckled, tossing the ball to Yaku lightly and walking towards Rin. She was seated on the bench, her long legs stretched out in front of her and her palms resting on her knees. Kuroo knelt in front of her, tilting his head to the side as his eyes narrowed in the slightest, "Why don't you tell Coach that I'll walk you home? I want to talk to you."
"..Huh?"
He didn't answer her, instead he stood and walked back towards the court as if nothing was said - casually calling out orders to the others. A frown settled itself on Rin's face as she bowed her head, closing her eyes as her palms tightened into fists, her fingers wrapped against the cloth of the sweats she was wearing.
She exhaled through her nose before she let go of the sweats, reaching to grab her phone and sending her grandfather a text. She didn't necessarily feel like walking to the other gym and back so a text would have to do. He always looks when he hears his phone ding anyway, considering it's usually his drinking buddies that text him. After that she sulked in her seat on the bench, snuggling into her new Nekoma jacket. She kept her eyes closed as she waited for Kuroo to finish up with the rest of practice, one of her hands occasionally making it's way to massage her knee's. She was tired, but she could't exactly sleep now. The bench wasn't the comfiest of places and she was excited to get home, take her meds and just sleep. She wasn't even thinking about eating, though, she knew that the old man would ask her to cook.
"Ready?"
Rin opened her eyes, tilting her head up to see Kuroo in front of her. He had his sweatpants and jacket on, his bag slung over one shoulder and -
"I can hold my own bag," Rin frowned, standing up. It felt like her knees were encased in ice, she fought to straighten them and then bend them again. She tried to hide the grimace, but she ultimately failed and flinched slightly.
Kuroo shrugged, shoving a black umbrella into her hands, "You can hold the umbrella instead."
"Really I - "
"Let's go."
Rin frowned, her brows furrowing as she silently followed after the Captain. She snapped the umbrella open the moment she was outside, pulling the sleeves of the red Nekoma jacket over her fingers the best she could. She walked closely to Kuroo, their shoulders brushing often as they tried to remain under the umbrella.
"You going to tell me why you wanted to walk me home?" Rin mumbled, looking at her feet as she walked. Kuroo remained quiet for a moment, staring straight ahead of him and down the cement sidewalk. She wasn't exactly fond of this side of the teen, he was quiet and serious and all she wanted was to hear him say something stupid.
"What's wrong with your knees?"
Rin's eyes snapped up but she didn't move her head, she watched him through her peripherals - her eyes narrowing slightly when she noticed that he didn't even look her way when asking. She remained quiet, slowly moving her eyes away from him and back to her shoes.
"Today at school," Kuroo continued, adjusting the bags on his shoulders, "You would lean more on your left leg, and then you would switch back to your right. And during practice you kept massaging, not one, but both your knees."
She wasn't angry at him for asking, she wasn't upset at him at all. He had been good about not asking, but it was understandable that he did now. If she saw him nearly limping she'd probably ask too. Especially now that she considers him her friend. But, just because she wasn't mad didn't mean that it didn't hurt. It also didn't mean that she was going to talk about it, because she wasn't. She wasn't ready, she wasn't in the mood either. The story always made her cry, but not because she was sad. It was because she was angry more than anything.
Angry at herself.
Even angry at Volleyball.
She wasn't going to talk to him about her knees, not today. She wasn't ready, and she hoped that he would understand.
"You know," Rin began, speaking up after a couple moments of silence, "I never met my mother."
Kuroo remained silent but she noticed the twitch of his eyes, watching her as she spoke.
"My dad said that she left soon after I was born," Rin continued, shrugging her shoulders, "I never hated her for it. I can't hate someone I don't know, that doesn't seem right. So, it was just Daisuke, my dad and me growing up. But I wouldn't trade it for anything, you know?"
"That's good," Kuroo stated, his voice was serious. It wasn't soft and pitiful, nor was it stoic or emotionless.
He was just listening.
"My dad," Rin began, a smile tugging at her lips for what felt like the first time that day, "He was a good guy, a real charm. He's a lot like Daisuke - or Daisuke is a lot like him. Goofy and careful, but serious when need be. He made typical dad jokes, he was a really cheesy guy. He was a softy too. It always made me wonder how he could be a cop."
Kuroo had an idea as to where this conversation was going now, pieces of Rin's story were clicking in his mind. Although they weren't the pieces he asked for, he still took in everything his said. Making sure to take note at how she reacted to her own words.
"The beginning of my second year in middle school my dad passed away," Rin's jaw clenched, "I don't know the exact details... Daisuke does, and he said that he'd tell me when I was old enough. All I know is that he died on the job."
Kuroo didn't exactly know what to say, to say "I'm sorry" would sound cliche and he was sure she's had heard that enough of the years. He couldn't exactly empathize with her either, considering both his parents were alive and well.
"I'm not sad," Rin spoke up quickly, tilting her head so she could look Kuroo in the eyes. She offered him a small small before staring back down at the ground, "My dad was like those guys you see in movies, or read in books. The side kick who's all about justice and in the end dies for it? That was him, and I'm proud of him. I don't hate him, I don't curse him for dying or having a dangerous job or anythin'. I can talk about my dad as openly as possible because I'm happy. My dad was amazing, we rarely fought and he rarely had to scold me for anything. There was no cliche fight before he died, I even hugged him before he went to work. So, talking about him is easy... But when it comes to talking about Volleyball, it's just not. Because it's not someone else's fault that I'm not playing Volleyball. It's my own. And I get - I get angry. I just can't talk about it, not yet."
"I'll wait then."
Rin stopped walking, causing Kuroo to step into the rain for a moment. He looked over his shoulder and backtracked, looking at Rin with a raised brow. Her lower lip was trembling and her grip on the umbrella was tight, her hand softly shaking. Kuroo sighed, lifting the bag high onto his shoulder before draping his arm over Rin's shoulders and forcing her to walk again. He pulled her to his side, his shoulder against the side of his chest and her cheek awfully close to his. He didn't look her way when he noticed a few stray tears slide down her cheeks, and he made no comment when she sniffled the dribbling snot back up her nose. Instead, the two walked silently towards her house. Kuroo only speaking up when they were nearly there.
"You're a pain in my ass, you know that, Rin-chan?"
"...Shut up."
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{AUTHORS CORNER:Sorry this is shorter than the other chapters! I thought that was a good place to leave off so I cut it from there. This is suppose to give you an idea on why she's so close to her brother, and also why she likes Kuroo. Because (if it's not obvious now it will be later) her brother and Kuroo have similar tendencies. And Kuroo reminds her of Daisuke, and Daisuke reminds her of her father. So, ultimately, Kuroo reminds her of her father. You feel me on that? ALRIGHT.
Also! Lil' bit of Rin's past! I [informally] introduced 2 of her teammates [out of 6 total] from Okamiyasha.
Setter: Mei (F)
Wing Spiker: Hana(M), which is short for Hanataro.}
(HEAD CANON THREE: Rin snorts when she laughs really hard.)