Hi guys ~ Usually I don't update in the middle of the week, typically a Friday or Saturday night, but I have two weeks of school off because of COVID-19 (everybody please take care of yourselves, and remain healthy!) so here I am <(^.^)> !
Also, the song I put above was a huge inspiration to this story! I recently just discovered this Japanese band, ONE OK ROCK and to say I'm obsessed is a huge understatement. I strongly recommend them. Please give this song a listen while reading!!
Thank you so so much @RedPandaOtaku for requesting this, I hope you enjoy it!
•••
"Ne~ (Y/N)-chan, whatchya reading??" Tendou flips around in his seat, his bright red eyes staring directly at you.
You peep your two eyes over the manga you're reading, raise a single eyebrow at him, before pointing to the cover of your manga and continuing on with your deep reading.
"Ehhhhhh..." Tendou deadpans, his own eyebrow twitching slightly.
You try your best to ignore Tendou's intense gaze, but with every second, the two holes boring into your forehead begin to bother you.
"Dude, can I help you?" You sigh, closing your book and plopping it loudly into your lap.
"Oh, yes, I'm so glad you asked!" Tendou brightens, his posture straightening slightly.
"What's up?" You question, ignoring Tendou's jab.
"(Y/N), this is a really serious question, are you ok with that?" Tendou questions you, suddenly more serious than a child trying to decided between two ice cream flavors.
"Uh... yea?" You answer hesitantly, lowkey kind of scared as you've never seen Tendou this serious before.
"...what manga are you reading?" Tendou suddenly perks up again.
"Is that it...?" You slump, feeling slightly relieved.
"Duh." Tendou chuckles, grabbing a hold of the manga grasped in your hands.
"Kyochuu Rettou?? (Y/N), I didn't know you were into gore!" Tendou all but shouts.
"Hm? Well, people have their preferences." You tilt your head slightly, before grabbing your manga back from Tendou's hands.
"You're a tough girl aye." Tendou ruffles your hair.
"I guess." You chuckle, swatting Tendou's hands away from your hair.
"This is why we're best friends!" Tendou squeals, grabbing both of your hands in his and jumping up and down in his seat.
"Eeeeek!!" You squeak along for a few seconds, before your face returns back to that resembling a stone.
Tendou was a lot to handle some times.
•••
10:58
Jeez is it really that late?
You scowl slightly, glaring at the brightness of your phone screen.
"(Y/N)- you shouldn't be out running this late, an old pervert is bound to snatch you someday." Mina, your best friend, lectures you.
"Hey, it is what it is." You simply wave her off, too stubborn to give up your late night runs.
"I'm gonna-" Mina seethes, winding her arm back in a mock punch.
"Ne~ ne~ no need to be so aggressive M i n a -chan!" You raise the pitch of your voice, giving Mina a sickly sweet smile.
"(L/N)(F/N)!!" Mina growls, shaking your body in distress.
You chuckle slightly at the memory, prior a few days ago, before coming to the conclusion that you should start your track back home.
Ahhh but the weather feels so nice- not too warm with a nice cool breeze to control my swea-is that crying? Your mind races, suddenly compelling your body to stop and glance around for any source of tears.
Your darting eyes finally land on a shadow sitting on the bench placed in a nearby park, their shoulders shaking slightly signaling the culprit.
Feeling quite bad for the unknown silhouette, you hesitantly walk towards the figure. Once you're a mere few feet away from them, you quietly reach your hand out and tap them on the shoulder lightly.
"Excuse me, are you alright?" You ask gently.
The figure, ah a boy, jumps insanely high at the contact, whipping his head around to stare at you.
Holy shit, talk about whiplash!! you deadpan.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you!" You chuckle lightly, giving the boy a slight bow.
"O-oh, it's ok." The boy whispers, feeling self conscious about crying in front of a stranger.
"Hey, what's your name?" You softly ask the boy, giving him a sweet smile as you kneel to a crouch, peering up at the him.
"I'm Goshiki Tsutomu." The boy, Goshiki, mumbles.
"I'm (L/N)(F/N), it's nice to meet you." You widen your smile slightly.
"U-Uh- you too." Goshiki avoids eye-contact, lowering his eyes to his suddenly very intricate kneecaps.
"Are you alright?" You repeat your earlier question, removing yourself from your squat to sit on the grass.
"I-I'm ok."
"Hmm I don't want to pry, but you don't look too swell."
"It's j-just same old boring stuff, it doesn't really matter all that much."
"Huh? Oh, well it matters to me."
"...eh?" Goshiki turns beat red, his ears included.
"Hm? I don't like to see people cry." You slightly tilt your head sideways, giving Goshiki a very innocent look, hinting that you're not bothered by his crying like he seems to think you are.
"I-It's really quite boring." Goshiki anxiously rubs at the back of his neck.
"Ah, I see. I don't want to force you to tell me or anything, because I very much don't want to make you uncomfortable. But, you're clearly not ok if you're hanging around the park crying at about 11:00 at night. And it surely matters, especially to you, if it's got you so bothered. If you don't want to tell me, I completely understand, but most times, getting it off your chest can help take the pain away." You ramble softly, placing your hand on your chest.
Goshiki simply stares at you, shell shocked.
Why does she care so much? Goshiki thinks to himself, his tears suddenly returning to the surface at your kindness.
"W-Well, I guess, I just think, maybe I'm not- I don't know, I'm just, a baby." Goshiki stubbles his words out, after about 20 seconds of staring.
"Eh? A baby? Whatchya mean?" You tilt your head in confusion.
"Like, real men don't cry right? But I cry all the time. For the stupidest stuff too! Like when I get praised, I cry. When I can't hit a spike the way I want, I cry. When no one acknowledges my greatest achievements, I cry. I cry. I cry. I cry." Goshiki furrows his eyebrows, resisting the urge to punch himself.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
"Goshiki." You cut the boys thoughts off abruptly.
"Y-yes ma'am?!" Goshiki sits up bone straight.
"Real men do cry."
"Eh?"
"Real men cry. It's totally normal to cry, regardless of gender! It doesn't show vulnerability like most believe, instead it shows you have emotions. Yes, some cry more than others, but that's totally fine! Don't tear yourself down for letting those emotions show. You're only human after all." You smile at the boy looking down at you.
"(L/N)-san..." Goshiki mumbles, lips trembling and tears sliding down his tan cheeks.
"Thank you!!" Goshiki shouts, standing up suddenly to bow.
"Oh my-!" You shout as well, patting a hand to your chest in surprise as you stand up quickly.
"Ahh it's no problem!" You smile at the boy as he rises to meet your eyes.
"I mean it! I feel a lot better now." The boy mumbles, giving you his first smile of the night.
"Heyyy, there we go. In this household, we support smiles." You smile brightly at the boy, out stretching your arm between the two of you to offer a peace sign.
"Household?" Goshiki questions.
"In this park, we support smiles." You correct yourself quickly, not flinching from your current position.
Goshiki laughs at you, before giving you one more bow.
"Anyway, it's about to hit 11:30. We should probably head back to our houses, yea? What direction do you live?" You question the boy.
"A-ah, I live that way." Goshiki stutters, pointing to the left.
"Aw man, I live that way." You point to the right.
"Ahh, ok." Goshiki mumbles out quietly, turning his head to the side to hide his slight pout from you.
"Well, it was really nice meeting you Goshiki. Please keep my words in mind the next time you feel this way! Bye bye~" You give the boy a bow, before turning on your heals to jog back home.
"Wait!" Goshiki suddenly yell, grabbing a hold of your wrist.
"Thank you very much for tonight!" Goshiki bows for what's gotta be the 849248th time this night.
"Ah, Goshiki like I said, it's really no problem." You chuckle, offering the boy a smile.
"Right!" Goshiki raise from his bow quickly, giving you a genuine smile.
"Well, see ya around lil bowl cut!" You shout, jogging away while giving the boy a peace sign.
"L-Lil bowl cut??" Goshiki simply gawks for a few seconds before hesitantly starting his way home.
What an interesting night.
•••
"(Y/N), (Y/N), (Y/N), please!" Tendou calls after you, practically begging down on his knees.
"So let me get this straight." You pause your walking, before turning around to look down on Tendou who is actually down on his knees.
"Uh huh, uh huh!" Tendou encourages you to continue.
"You want me to coach your kouhai to be braver?"
"Yes! Score!" Tendou cheers, throwing his arms up in a touch down position and tipping over on the tiled floor in the middle of the hallway.
"But, why? For what reason?" You question, suddenly very confused.
"Well, my poor little kouhai looked kind of down today. So, of course, being the awesome Senpai I am, I asked him what was wrong-
"Asking someone if they are ok, doesn't make you an awesome senpai-"
"-of course, like I already figured, he was in fact, not ok. Bingo. So I asked what was up, you know?-"
"-no, I don't kno-"
"And you know what he told me? He's "sick of being a baby" and "wants to become braver."
So, I told him I knew a guy and would hook him up."
"... what, like a drug deal?"
"Mhm. A drug of bravery~"
"Good god."
"Ah, yes. God is good."
"Tendou- I swear to god-"
"No swearing in my Christian server, miss~"
"Fine, I'll do it." You sigh, bringing your pointer finger and thumb up to pinch the bridge of your nose.
"Really??" Tendou stands from his alignment on the floor, before jumping in circles like a bunny.
"I mean I guess, what's the harm. When do I start?"
"Today! Come with me to volleyball practice. You can even work out a bit with us during warm ups, because I know you enjoy exercise. And then, you can meet him and begin your coaching sessions after practice. It's a win win!"
"Alright, I guess." You sigh.
"Yaaay!!"
"This better be worth it."
"Sir, yes ma'am!" Tendou solutes you, standing straight up.
"... Tendou that made no sense."
"Do I ever make sense though??"
"I guess you're right. Let's go."
"Yes ma'am!"
•••
"Ehh? Lil bowl cut?" You exclaim, quite shocked at seeing the boy from a few nights ago standing in front of you, clad in purple and white practice clothes.
"(L/N)-san!" Goshiki exclaims excitedly, happy to see you.
"I didn't know you went to Shiratorizawa!" You smile, nearing the boy to give him a pat on the back.
"Me either!"
....
"I-I mean, I didn't know you went here either!" Goshiki blushes to the tips of his ears.
"Nice one Goshiki!" Tendou teases.
You chuckle at the two, before continuing.
"So I guess you're the kouhai Tendou was talkin about huh? It makes sense. I'm more than happy to coach you in bravery, little one." You smile brightly, patting the young padawan on the head.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
"Ehh? What's with everyone calling me "ma'am" these days? Am I really getting that old?" You murmur to yourself, patting your face to check for any wrinkles while walking away to place your backpack on the bench.
Practice starts without a problem, the team being more than welcome to include you in their warm ups. But, obviously you're not in any shape to practice volleyball with them as well. Though, you wish you were... but Tendou didn't need to know that. Or else the only thing you'd be doing the rest of your life, is practice volleyball with the red head.
Which leads to where you are now, seated crisscross, hidden somewhere in the bleachers, reading the newest volume of Kyochuu Rettou.
Eek!! That thing totally just stabbed his eye out!! Geh what the heck!!
Your stomach coils in excitement, as you lean forward to dive deeper into your manga.
So... much blood. Wow, amazing!!
Your eyes frantically cover ever inch of the pages, as you forget the setting you're currently in, becoming completely indulged in your reading.
Well, that is until you hear the sound of an echoing thud and several frantic calls. You immediately avert your attention to the commotion.
There, your eyes rest upon Goshiki, who is sprawled across the glossy floor, blood dripping profusely from his nose.
You make a noise of surprise, before quickly slamming your book shut and racing towards the injured boy.
And while you do enjoy your fare share of gore, you certainly do not enjoy watching those in front of you get injured. Leading you to develop a pit of worry in your stomach.
"Goshiki! Are you alright?" You come to a halt, kneeling down in front of the boy.
"Heh, funny how this is the second time you've asked me if I'm alright while I'm crying this week. This just proves how weak I am." Goshiki smiles at himself in pity.
And he was right, salty tears mixed in with the blood dripping down onto the gym floor.
"Come on, can you stand? You need to go to the infirmary." You gently help the boy sit up, as he nods and slowly stands to his feet.
"Good, good." You reassure both Goshiki and yourself.
"Ok, I'm gonna take lil bowl cut to the infirmary, you guys continue. I'll take care of him!" You reassure the team, before slowly guiding Goshiki out of the gym and towards the infirmary.
"I'm sorry, (L/N)-san." Goshiki whimpers, his voice cracking slightly.
"What? Goshiki, what are you apologizing for?" You questions worriedly, hating to see the boy so down on himself again.
"It seems you've been taking care of me two too many times." Goshiki chuckles in self deprecation.
"No, no, it's totally fine Goshiki. Don't even worry about it." You wrap your free arm around the boys shoulder, giving him a quick and comforting squeeze.
"If you say so." Goshiki sighs.
You smile sadly at the boy beside you, but continue to walk in somewhat peaceful silence.
"Tch, so pathetic."
"I know right? It's not very manly to cry."
"Exactly! A man should know his place, and save his tears for the pillow."
"Honestly, so sad to even look at. What a loser."
You turn your head abruptly, staring dead at the girls giggling at their own comments as they peak glances at the two of you.
You glance back at Goshiki, making sure he didn't hear the snide comments, he didn't. Thank god. You pick up the pace and lead Goshiki to the infirmary only a few feet away.
Once you arrive, you let the nurse know what happened, before slipping away to go the the bathroom real quick.
Well, that's what they believe.
"Hey!" You call out to the girls from a few seconds before, walking towards them with fierce steps.
The girls pause their giggling, to take a quick glance at you.
"I heard what you said about Tsutomu!" You yell, approaching the girls rapidly.
"Who?" The first girl snaps, bringing her hand to her ear and leaning towards you in an exaggerated manner.
"Listen, I don't want to do anything drastic here, because I'm a nice person, unlike you two. But that's not the point. A few minutes ago, I happened to be helping a boy, Tsutomu, to the infirmary because of an injury. When I happened to overhear you two making very rude comments calling Tsutomu pathetic! Who does that? You're telling me you don't cry when you're hurt? So what if he's a guy, that doesn't mean he can't cry! You two are absolutely ridiculous, and you should honestly be glad Tsutomu didn't hear you or else I would'nt have held back and put my hands on you!" You start off quite calm, before gradually getting louder as your anger rises.
"You bitch! We weren't even talking about your boyfriend or whatever! We were talking about a character from a show we were watching! Mind your own damn business." The second girl cuts in, spitting in your face as she talks.
"First of all, ew. Keep your spit in your mouth. I don't really feel like catching your ignorance. Second of all, at this point, I don't really care who you were talking about. But when you say that shit in front of an actual boy who is crying, and make direct eye contact with the two of us, of course it's going to lead me to believe you were making fun of him. So please, run along before I get even more heated." You lecture the two girls, causing them to run off in a frenzie.
You smirk in satisfaction, turning on your heals to head back to the infirmary.
You're quickly stopped by the sight of Goshiki standing in the doorway, two cotton balls sticking out of his nose and an ice pack pressed to his cheek, staring at you with guilt.
"Ah, Goshiki..." you twiddle your thumbs sheepishly, praying to god that he didn't hear much from your little fight.
"(L/N)-san... I'm so sorry. Please don't fight for me." Goshiki tears up once again, biting his lip aggressively, attempting to rid the tears.
"Oh Goshiki... I'm sorry. Don't feel bad. It was my decision not yours." You rush to the boys side, bringing him into a hug.
"Please, I'm not worth it. They're right anyway. I'm pathetic. All I'm good at is crying. Why do you even try? I'm always going to be the same. A crybaby." Goshiki chokes out, crying into your neck.
"Goshiki. Do not say that. You are not a crybaby. Sure, maybe you cry often, but there's nothing wrong with that. Remember what we talked about that night in the park? I still stand by that. I will always stand by that. I will also always stand by you. No matter what. If you hate crying so often, I'm here to be your new coach, remember? Your savior is here, so don't worry!" You laugh lightly, attempting to lift up the mood.
"I guess you're right. Please teach me how to be brave like you, (L/N)-san!" Goshiki laughs through his tears, already feeling better as your arms squeeze his waist.
"Okay! First lesson, listen very closely, I don't do this for just anybody. Remember the very wise words Coach (Y/N) once taught you! "In this household, we support smiles!" Whenever you feel like crying, smile instead, learn from your mistake, and better yourself. Got it??" You pull away slightly from Goshiki grip, to look up at him with encouraging eyes.
"Yes ma'am!" Goshiki replies excitedly, his eyes holding nothing but passion.
"Aye that's what I like to hear you lil bowl cut cutie! Let's go show the team your little adorable smile, no more tears!" You pinch Goshiki's cheeks, watching as his nose scrunches a little at the contact, but smiles nevertheless.
Your heart may or may not skip a beat as Goshiki grabs your hand and runs with you back to the gym.
Man, I'm fucked.
•••
It happens a few months later, after several weeks of coaching. The day finally came.
It was around 6:30 in the evening, and volleyball practice was nearing its end. Nothing eventful really happened causing your eyes to become a little droopy, as you sat next to Coach Washijo on the bench.
Of course, your thought was immediately cut off, leading you to secretly believe you were psychic, but that's beyond the point.
The harsh sound of a volleyball hitting skin, echoed across the gym. Nothing new, really. But, the loud thud that followed after was out of the ordinary.
Your eyes immediately widen back to their natural state, as you watch the green, red, and white volleyball make brutal contact with Goshiki's face.
Oh no.
Everybody in the gym freezes on the spot, holding their breath as they wait for Goshiki's tears to start leaking.
....
Nothing but a smile appears from the boy, now sitting up, on the wooden floor.
No way.
No way.
You immediately jump up from your spot on the bench, and run towards the black haired boy.
"Goshiki! You little bastard, you did it! You did it! You did it!" You cheer loudly, as you reach the boy and grab his hands to pull him up.
The two of you jump with cheer in unison, before you hug the boy tightly, burying your face in his chest.
Goshiki stills for a second, before snapping out of his daze and lifting you off the ground slightly to spin you around with pure joy.
"I'm so proud of you!" You shout with glee, pulling away to look at your trainee.
"Me too! I'm so happy I could kiss you!" Goshiki shouts, absolutely no filter turned on in the moment.
"Oh-" you pause, a rare light blush dusting your cheeks.
"Oh, mhm you should definitely do that." You mumble, tilting your head up, to give Goshiki perfect access.
The last thing you see is Goshiki's shocked gaze, before his hand travels from your lower back up to your neck, pulling you in lightly to plant his lips onto yours.
It's nothing extravagant, but you definitely appreciate the lightness the boys lips bring, as you smile into the kiss. Goshiki seems to follow. Soon enough, the two of you start giggling, forcing you to break up the kiss.
You rest your foreheads together, watching in admiration as Goshiki's gummy smile appears, his eyes squinting into tiny moon crescents as he laughs, his minty breath fanning your rosy cheeks lightly.
"God, I'm so happy I could cry." You whisper into the boys lips, as his giggling halts.
"Hey, no crying. A wise girl once told me, whenever you feel like crying, plant a smile on your face, and move on." Goshiki whispers in return.
"Woah, she sounds like quite the lady."
"Oh, she is." Goshiki smiles slowly, his eyes trailing back down to your lips, before leaning in to press one more soft kiss onto your lips
Who knew this little boy with a surprisingly adorable bowl cut could snag your heart so easily?
What a world we live in, huh?