:):

You spent your most recent gamble at life trying to study this damn place – you were achieved too! Plenty of awards for your research. Books, journals, experiments, interviews, and so on. Fifty long years of passion and drive, you would say it was a good life you’d lived. It meant nothing in the long run, though, your research was thrown out as more and more of the public decided this place was just a fairytale. Too romantic to be true. 

A place between life and death meant to guide you to your soulmate – the person your eternity was destined to? No one had ever seen it and lived to tell the tale. Ironic isn’t it? Your research found that the average person only caught glimpses through “deja vu”, though there were a few rare cases where others could see their past lives. By and large, it was usually little glimpses, which obviously would cause doubt in the average person. Nothing was provable, truly, which is why people stopped taking you seriously as technology advanced. 

Disappointing, but you couldn’t blame the public. It was ridiculous sounding, not to mention overly confusing, and most of all horrifying to think about. But here you were. In it. If you were alive (which was obviously not possible) you would be cackling at the idiots who threw your life's work out the window.

You looked around again, trying to take in as much detail as possible. It was important, after all. Any little thing could be a hint to who your eternity was. Standing, you brushed yourself off before making your way down to the ever-sturdy river that had been flowing since this place showed up. Since you showed up. You crouched over the side of it, reaching down to let it flow between your fingers.

“Hi,” you said, and it bubbled in response. You laughed, removing your hand and wiping it off on your leg draping it over your other knee, “Are you going to help me out, or should I just wander around until something hits me in the face.”

The river splashed up at your bare feet, scolding you for your sass. You chuckle at it, splashing it back with a swift smack.

“I know, I know,” you sigh, standing up again, “I’ll take a little walk, that usually works.”

You walk close to the riverbed, making idle chatter with the mysterious entity meant to reflect your inner self. Its responses only came in rushes and bubbles, but you understood it all the same. Along your walk you come across several animals of varying types, peculiar, as you’d never really had other living things here – other than the river, which you weren’t sure could be declared as a ‘living’ thing. Still, it was a welcome change, making the place feel less lonely. Each animal was particularly drawn to you, rubbing their little bodies excitedly against your legs. You made sure to give each of them as much attention as they’d allow, delighting in the attention they gave you.

There was one odd little creature, though.

It was a little calico cat, body lithe and eyes sharp as it watched you from a distance on the stump of a long-gone tree. It had a strange pattern of yellow and black on the top of its head that almost looked like hair. It hadn’t approached you, but it seemed to… watch. Not in the way an animal would, but the way a conscious being might. Like it was considering you as a fellow intelligent lifeform. 

It shouldn’t have been possible, of course. Everyone had one ‘guide’, yours had always been the river. This cat was an outlier in the statistics, which made the scientist of your past life buzz in excitement. A new set of data to analyze, what does this mean? How could this affect your previous research?

You shook your head. Truly, deeply, within your very core, all you wanted to do was to pet its cute little head. The logic and statistics didn’t matter to you, because the you – the next you, or the person you were going to become; the person you are – just wanted to cuddle up to the little thing.

A splash of water at your feet caught your attention, and you turned a glare at your old friend. In return, it gave you a series of urging rushes.

“What?” It did the same thing, stubbornly, “Do you want me to go… talk to it?”

It slowed all at once, a sign of affirmation, and you sighed. You turned on your heels and made your way across the grassy field, heading for the cat straight on. It stared at you, blinking in a way that was far too human, before hopping off of its perch and trotting down a dirt path just a few feet next to its wooden seating. You groaned, not wanting to chase after this cat's affections, but it paused at the sound of your voice. It looked back expectantly, tail curling up happily in the air. You couldn’t say no to such a happy little kitty, could you?

No, of course not. So you followed it, grumbling as dirt caked your wet feet, but the cat did not seem to care. It only looked back occasionally to ensure you were still following it. At some point, the pretty open fields turned into walls of city buildings, and the gentle rush of your river friend became the sounds of city life. The sun began setting, its rays casting shadows of towering buildings across the sidewalks. Eerie, how such an empty place felt so full of life.

It was… odd. A complete and total shake of what you knew to be true. You never heard about such extreme physical changes in the In-between. Consistency, consistency, consistency. That was the way of the universe that you had studied. To change so dramatically so… suddenly… You didn’t have much time to dwell on it, as the little kitty turned into a rather well-off neighborhood, its pace picking up rapidly.

You couldn’t take anything in, too busy running after the suddenly very athletic cat. It passed several large buildings before hopping over the gate of a compact little home. You sighed, slowing your pace a bit as its beady little eyes peered at you through the bars of a gate.

“You are a pain, you know that little kitty,” you complain.

The cat just tilts its head, and walks toward the front of the house, looking back expectantly. You give a final sigh and push open the gate with little to no resistance. Then, the front door of the house. You feel like an intruder, despite knowing there is no one around here other than you and the little kitty. Who has not stopped its pursuit, expertly moving through the house until it hops into a room, which you quickly realize is someone’s bedroom as you step in.

The cat hops up on the bed and has the nerve to meow at you. You glare at it, approaching to give it a few harsh pets from its head to its tail. That’ll teach it! You're successful in your lesson, as it lazily flops onto its side and bats at your hands. You settle down next to it, laughing as it harmlessly bites at your fingers.

“You sure are pretty, though,” you coo absentmindedly, and it gives a meow in response.

You’re sure to give the kitty plenty of loving and attention, a reward for your efforts before you make the executive decision to take in the room around you. It must be important if this is where the cat wants you to be. It better be, the ache in your legs insists.

The room was compact, only made worse by the fact that there were so many things in it. A bed, of course, but this person had a full gaming PC set up on their desk. It wasn’t cheap either – at least… it didn’t look it. You didn’t know much about games and the like, but you could tell what a nice piece of technology looked like. On the other side of the room, in front of the bed, was a medium-sized TV with an assortment of gaming consoles. Most of which were either Sony or Nintendo and new-ish. The controllers were well-loved, joysticks worn smooth from years of use.

A bump from your side catches your attention, and you look to see the kitty rubbing its side against a shelf. You walk over, scooping the cat up in your arms, chuckling as it goes limp in your cradle. The shelf itself was full, absolutely full, of video games and collectible figures of what you could only assume were characters from these games. On the top shelf were several different textbooks: English, Science, Math, and one on Volleyball techniques. 

You move to set the cat down to get a better look at some of the shelves, bumping a rather beat-up volleyball in the process you hadn’t noticed before. The cat nudges it toward you, tail flicking around in… delight, you think. So, you crouch and pick it up, turning it in your hands. It’s got several chunks taken out of it, and it’s covered in dirt, but you can just barely make out the initials written in black Sharpie. ‘K.K.’ it read. The cat presses itself into your leg, and you give it a good ruffle on the top of its head.

“Are these… hints?” you gamble, asking the cat.

It gives you a meow, purring out its affirmative response. You give it a little scratch on the bottom of his chin as thanks. In return, it bites at your fingers lovingly, licking after itself to soothe the spot. As the cat loves on you, you think long and hard about everything that happened to you in such a short amount of time. In the many lives you’ve lived, the many times you’ve been here, none of this has ever happened before… it’s an entirely undocumented phenomenon. The little thread of hope in your stomach strums an excited song. Maybe, just maybe, this is a sign that this life – this time, you’ll get it right.

The sun settles itself below the horizon, bathing the room in darkness. You let out a sigh, rubbing the cat’s head for good luck.

“Let's hope this is the one, right little guy?” The cat meows, golden eyes watching you in the dark.

You can only hope that the universe isn’t playing tricks on you.

.·:*˚¨¨ ≈★≈ ¨¨˚*:·.

You sit on the floor of your room – what used to be your room, at least – flipping through the pages of a textbook you’d snuck from the boxes of your mother's old stuff. Written in the early seventies by some Professor of the Sciences in the UK, it details the concepts of soulmates. While most of their work was regarded as illogical and ridiculous, your mother had kept all of their textbooks from when she was in college – ever the hopeless romantic she was. Since discovering them in the basement while moving, skimming through the books, and reading all the evidence compiled in favor of the existence of soulmates has become your favorite pastime.

It was silly for someone your age to be considering the idea of ‘soulmates’, most people abandon the thought in middle school, but not you. You had to believe in soulmates. If you didn’t, your mom leaving wouldn’t make any sense. Nothing in your life would make sense. (A bit dramatic, but at 17 years old, everything feels that big).

You sigh, thumbing the edge of a page that your mother had written in. A paragraph defining the ‘spark’ that two soulmates feel when seeing each other was underlined three times in blue pen. Your Mom noted it as important for some exam she’d taken. Her handwriting was pretty, a lot like yours. You missed her a lot. Sure you still got to visit once every few months, and of course, she sent you letters, but you couldn’t help the ache in your chest when you thought of her.

You blinked back the tears building up in your eyes. You hated crying over stupid stuff like this. You were happy for your mom, you were. She found her soulmate and was living in the lap of luxury with her new family… You just wished that you and Dad could’ve been part of that happy life she has now.

Something soft brushes against your leg, and a tentative ‘meow’ comes from below you. Glancing down, you see your cat you’ve had since you were eight, Maki. She was a calico you picked up off the street and domesticated with nothing but a cat’s for dummies book and a whole lot of patience. You’d owned numerous animals throughout your life – most of which were rodents bought at pet stores who couldn’t have lived longer no matter how much you tried – but Maki was your favorite. She just… understood you in a way that no other living creature could’ve, as crazy as that sounded. 

You give her a careful scratch behind her ears, grinning as she purrs in delight. She has no idea she’s going in a crate in a few hours, poor thing. You close up the book, carefully hiding it away beneath several of your textbooks, and tape up the box aptly labeled ‘textbooks’. Satisfied, you pull Maki into your lap and give her cuddles, which she begrudgingly accepts.

Your room and all of your items were packed up – including the air mattress you’d been sleeping on for the past few days while your actual bed was transported all the way to Tokyo. All you had to do was put the last few boxes in the car, and you and your father would leave later that day after lunch. Which meant if you wanted to meet with your friends, you had to get your butt moving. You scooped Maki up in your arms and quickly headed downstairs, smiling a little to yourself as you saw your dad fighting to zip up his suitcase in the barren living room.

“You all good old man?” You called, trying hard not to laugh at him.

“I had more clothes than I thought,” he huffed, “help your old man out, come sit on it while I zip.”

You hop down the remaining stairs and settle yourself squarely in the middle of the giant thing, Maki taking the chance to hop out of your arms and wander off into the empty kitchen. Your father gives a big grunt, and finally manages to zip his suitcase closed.

He leans back, wiping his brow of the sweat he accumulated from moving boxes all day, “I thought your clothes were bad! I’m no better!”

You laugh, “That’s cause you refuse to get rid of anything, even the stuff you never wear.”

“I’m keeping them because they have–”

“‘Sentimental value.’ Yeah, Dad, I know the speech.” You drawl.

He smiles at you and ruffles the top of your head. Something like pride shines in his eyes, and you almost feel like a normal family for a second. 

“You all packed up sweetheart?” he asks, and you give him a nod, “I know you’re going to see your friends, so I’ll put the last of your things in the car.”

You step up and give him a big, warm hug, which he returns happily. “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”

“I love you too pumpkin’,” he pulled away, straightening out your jacket, “be safe, and don’t let those two idiots get you in trouble on your last day here.”

You laugh, shaking your head at the idea. Sure, Noya and Tanaka were a bit rough around the edges, but they were good people. Speaking of, the two of them were already waiting outside of your gate when you stepped out of the house. Noya was holding a volleyball under his arm, and Tanaka was flushed and panting.

“Did you two play a whole set while you were waiting,” you laughed, stepping around and closing your gate.

“Nah, Tanaka just ran here 'cause he was late,” Noya explains simply.

Tanaka groans, and you pat his back awkwardly, hoping he won’t double over and die the last time you get to see him for a while. He gives a final gruff gasp for air before he straightens up and gives you a bright grin as if he hadn’t almost died at your feet. You shake your head at him, used to the behavior.

“You didn’t have to run all the way here, you moron.” You scold, giving him a firm smack on the head.

He grumbles, rubbing at the spot you hit, “We both wanted to be here at the same time… and Saeko was holdin’ me up.”

“Mhm, whatever you say. Still, no excuse to try and kill yourself before I even leave.” 

The three of you begin your usual walk to the convenience store nearby, on the mission to get some delicious meat buns, then pass the volleyball around for a couple of hours while you talk about life and things like that. Simple stuff so you don’t have to think too hard about the fact that you won’t be seeing your best friends for at least a few months after today. As you walk, you reflect on the people you hold dear from here. Feeling more sentimental than you usually let yourself be.

You had known Nishinoya since you were in diapers, having lived close to him and his family your whole life. You were practically raised by his grandpa who taught you all the most important life lessons, like riding a bike or how to play rough with the boys at school. Your favorite thing about being Noya’s friend, though, was his grandpa's stories about soulmates. He would sit the two of you down at night and tell stories of how he met his precious soulmate, and how precious each life lived with her has been – though he doesn’t remember any of them. He was the main reason you didn’t resent your mother, stepping in where your father couldn’t soothe you when she left in middle school.

Not to mention, being Noya’s friend was just fun. When you were little he was always taking you on ‘adventures in the wild’, which was just the two of you terrorizing the rice farmers in the surrounding area. You would swim in the river with him during the hottest days of summer, having epic water gun battles for the ages until you inevitably hit an adult and got a stern scolding. During winters you’d curl up in front of your TV and play with the console your father bought for your tenth birthday – usually Mario Kart or party games that always ended in an argument between the two of you, and an inevitable week ban on the console. Where Noya was, you were sure to be close behind, and the same applied in reverse.

Being friends with Noya, inevitably, led to you befriending his closest friend from Karasuno: Tanaka. As well as every other member of the volleyball team – like Daichi and Sugawara, who were the most ‘senpai’ senpai you might’ve ever met. Asahi, who looked at least ten years older than he was, was just a sweetheart. Unfortunately, he and Noya weren’t on speaking terms, so neither were you.  And, of course, the ever-lovely Kiyoko Shimizu, who was trying to get you to manage the volleyball team with her before she found out you were leaving this year. Tanaka was convinced they were soulmates, like real actual soulmates, but she hardly glanced his way. You kinda felt bad for him, but he couldn’t be convinced otherwise. (It didn’t help that Noya fed into his fantasies so much).

Long story short, you had a life here. A good one that you loved with friends that you wanted to keep… but life hasn’t been fair to you for a long time. Your dad got a good promotion, and that meant you had to move to Tokyo. So, instead of continuing high school here, you would be uprooted and moved to Tokyo Metropolis – specifically, you’d be going to Nekoma High School. A much larger high school than Karasuno with people you’ve never met in a city you’ve only visited a handful of times.

Buying the meat buns was quick, and the three of you ended up at a park doing exactly what you figured you would. Mostly, it was Noya and Tanaka messing around with the ball, which you would have to dodge occasionally to keep your head on your shoulders. There was a sense of peace at the moment, just watching them try and best each other as the sun rose high in the sky. You wished you could freeze this moment and live in it forever. You wished you didn’t have to leave. You wished you fought your Dad harder on moving. You wished and wished, but wishes don’t change the past, and they certainly won’t affect the future. 

The ball whizzed right past your face – an intentional shot from your shorter friend. You barely managed to duck out of the way, sending a glare his way. Your balder friend laughs at you as he runs to grab the ball. 

“What the hell was that for?” You shout, smoothing over your frazzled hair.

“You’re doing too much thinking and not enough playing.” He states simply, “Get out of your head and enjoy the moment you have now, or else you’ll miss out on it.” 

Ever the poet Noya (accidentally) was, you acquiesced holding your hands up in surrender. You were here to spend time with your friends, not mourn the fact that you wouldn’t be able to do it anymore.

“Alright, toss me the ball,” you sigh, standing from your spot.

Tanaka bumps the ball to you, an easy toss since you rarely ever played volleyball outside of this ritual the three of you formed. Your mind is so busy trying to keep up with your much more talented friends, that you hardly have time to think about how sad you were. As you dive after the ball and scrape up your chin, you don’t even remember what had you so upset in the first place. It was just you and your friends like the world had intended. 

By the time you had finished, the three of you were covered head to toe in scratches and dirt – like you were three little kids who played too rough. You were sweating and breathing hard by the end of it, though you could tell he and Tanaka still had plenty of energy to spare – unlike you. Perks of being athletes, you guessed. Downing what Noya had left of his water, you checked your phone and cursed. 12:30 and two missed calls from your dad. He’s gonna be so pissed.

“What’s wrong?” Tanaka pants out, leaning over your shoulder, “Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, shit is right. I’m gonna get such a lecture when I get back.” You groan, dramatically slinging your arm over your eyes.

“Oh please, all your old man’s gonna worry about is your scraped-up knees.” Noya corrected snarkily.

“Whatever loser, I gotta get back regardless.” you sigh, brushing as much dirt off your clothes as you can manage.

You begin your pursuit toward your house, and the two boys follow behind without any arguing. Eventually, the three of you fall into step next to each other, sandwiched between them as you talk about various things. Video games, exams (that they passed by a hair), the next volleyball season (even though Noya is adamant he won’t participate without Asahi), and so on. No one wants to breach the topic at hand: you leaving. It’s depressing, but someone has to bring it up, or else it’ll stick to your skin like summer heat and leave you feeling hot with regret.

“I’m gonna miss you guys a lot.” You announce, looking up to the sky to avoid crying.

The two of them are quiet as they exchange a look across you. You can feel the mental battle between the two of them – a metaphorical game of rock, paper, scissors happens in their eyes. Tanaka loses, it seems, as he’s the first to speak.

“I mean, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again…” he pauses, “right? You’re going to visit for sure.”

You nod eagerly, “Of course I am, I just… I dunno how often I’ll be able to. It’s gonna be hard without you guys.”

Noya punches your shoulder, “Don’t be depressing about it, dummy! This is a new opportunity – you could even-” he pauses, looking around and lowering his voice, “you could meet your soulmate.”

“Ohhh, like Tanaka totally met his.” You snark.

“Kiyoko is my soulmate!” He retaliates, voice breaking in the middle.

“Come on!” Noya groans, hopping in your path and halting all movement, “This is a change you need! It’s like I always say, there's never a bad change 'cause everything’s part of the universe’s great plan for us.”

“Alright Noya, I get it. Can’t a girl just be a little melancholic sometimes?” 

“No. Now let's get you home before your old man has a reason to yell at us too.” He shouts, suddenly breaking into a sprint.

“Hey, you little bastard, get back here!” You shout back, quickly taking after him.

“Come on guys!” Came Tanaka as he picked up his pace to keep up with you.

.·:*˚¨¨ ≈★≈ ¨¨˚*:·.

Noya was correct, your Dad’s only concern when he saw you was how messy you had become. You gave your two friends a big hug with the promise that you’d keep each other up to date on everything, and then they left for Noya’s to do god knows what. You had a hearty lunch that your Dad picked up from a Chinese place while you were gone, tried and failed to crate Maki who ended up in your lap in the front seat, and then you were off to Tokyo. A nearly five-hour drive that your father thought would be good bonding time.

If by bonding he meant two hours of shitty music you didn’t like and off-key singing, you two were practically chemically bonded at this point. You couldn’t bring yourself to be anything more than mildly annoyed, huffing out an amused laugh as your old man struggled through another verse of a song you didn’t know. He nudged you, laughing at your face.

“What? Not enjoying your old man’s musical talent?” He jokes.

You roll your eyes at him, and he laughs, leaning over to finally turn down the music. He holds his hand up in surrender as he pulls back, apologizing lightheartedly, and you can’t stop the smile from growing on your face. He reaches over and squeezes your knee gently.

“You doing okay kiddo?” He asks, softly, as if you might break if he spoke any louder.

You nod, “Just a little… sad… you know.”

He sighs, nodding back at you. He looked tired, and this was the first time you considered that… maybe the move was as hard on him as it was on you.

“I grew up in that house, and all my friends are in Miyagi… it just feels like such a shame to leave it all behind.”

“I know honey. But… I think this move is gonna be good for us. I’ll make more money to support us, and you’ll have more opportunities in the big city.” He says excitedly.

“Yeah… I know.” you sigh, and there’s a tense lull in the conversation. 

Your Dad has a hard time comforting you, that was always your mom's job, and he never figured out how to do it by himself. You always ended up having to pick up the pieces for both of you.

“I, Uhm, I saw that there was a shelter near where we live that lets high schoolers volunteer on weekends – sometimes they even give long-time helpers permanent positions through college.” You offer up.

“Now that is exactly something that you would love doing, isn’t it?” He responds with a smile.

“Yeah, I already applied for it.” You laugh, “I was excited, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet.”

“Wow! Look at you, already so responsible! Where’s my little girl, I want her back,” he teases, pinching your cheek.

“Dad! It’s nothing serious, just an application!”

“But I’m still so proud of you. You’re already taking steps to adjust, that's real maturity, honey.”

You flush, nervously running your fingers through Maki’s fur. It didn’t feel like it was such a big deal, but you were happy that you were making your Dad proud of you.

“I’m gonna miss all my friends, but I’m excited to go to Nekoma. I mean, a bigger school means a much wider curriculum, so maybe I can take some classes focused on animals and stuff.” You say hopefully.

“You for sure could, I think I saw some of those classes when I was looking into the school.” He encourages.

“Yeah, and I can make some new friends who like the same stuff I do! Noya even said that I could find my soulmate!” You exclaim, before you can even realize what you’re saying, and when you catch yourself it's already too late.

“Hon… you know how I feel about that… soulmate stuff.”

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just… exciting, and… I guess I’m hopeful.”

He sighs, frustration clear on his face, “You’re a little too old to be hopeful about something like that.”

“I-it’s just a nice thought, that there's someone out there who’s made for me. My other half…”

“Sweetheart…”

“I know you don’t like it because of what happened with Mom, but there's evidence–”

“Just stop!” He shouts, then bites his lip, “Please, honey, just don’t.”

You nod, “I’m sorry Dad.”

He doesn’t respond, instead turning up the music. You don’t talk to each other unless you have to. You focus your attention on Maki, giving her attention until she hops off your lap and you have to focus on your phone. It’s about eight o’clock when you get to the new house. It’s… nice, much bigger than your old one, and much nicer. 

The two of you grab your suitcases and a few assorted boxes to bring in (Maki following after you like a trained dog), too tired to unpack the whole car. You trudge your way across the house to your room – already furnished with bed made, thanks to the moving service your dad booked. You set your things down and collapse into your familiar sheets. They still smell like home, and that brings you more comfort than you thought you needed.

Maki, ever the mind reader, hops up and nudges her way under your arm. You tug her close, pressing a thankful kiss to her forehead. The house was nice, and so was the neighborhood from what you saw outside of your window. You hoped the school was too, you wouldn’t see it until you went to register for classes later this week. You didn’t have much room to feel anything but depressed after you argued with your Dad. You shouldn’t have pushed it so much, but it frustrated you to no end that he was so in denial of what happened. 

You were exhausted, and thinking was taking up way too much brain power. You snuggled up to your cat, sighing at the familiar smell of her healthy coat.

Lately you been feeling like your friends were being unnecessary mean to you. Sure, you always were a bit rude to each other, you always were playfully fighting with each other, but things never cross the line about your personal boundaries…until a few weeks ago. Suddenly you fights didn’t had that playful tone in them, they started to feel real, and suddenly, they were messing with things that you had told them were sensitive. You thought that you will be friends with them despite the distance between your univerties, but when you meet up again in person everything felt so different.

You were so absorbed in your thoughts, trying to figure out if you had done anything to them, that you hadn’t listen the door of the cafeteria open, let alone the steps coming close to you or the sweet voice of your boyfriend calling your name; you only snapped away from them when a hand places on your shoulder, Kuroo looking down at you worried as he kisses your temple and sitting down in front of you.

“hey, what’s wrong?” he asked

“Eh? Nothing, don’t worry” you smile at him, hesitant to tell him

“Yeah, sure, tell that to your face next time too” he says playfully, trying to make you smile “you can tell me anything, I’ll help you out however I can”

“well, it’s just….” You sigh before explaining to him the thoughts that were in your head prior to his arrival. He just sighs, he knows your friends and he thought that your bickering was cute, but there was no mistake in their recent actions

“well darling, I could always talk to them if you want me to” he offers, trying to find a rational solution for you first “but…”

“mhm?”

“I personally don’t think is worth it to keep them around any longer” he says, he didn’t want to keep you away from them, but the hurt in your eyes wasn’t a lie “you told them you didn’t like those ‘jokes’, they didn’t listen. If they don’t respect your boundaries there’s no point in being friends”

“I…I” You listen to him attentively before bursting down crying, you knew he was right, of course he was “we’ve been friends for so long though, they were my only friends since high school…”

“I know, darling, I know” he comes to your side, hugging you “you have me for whatever you need; Kenma too, he does like you a lot too even though his personality doesn’t show it; hell, even Bokuto adores you and he met you once before” he says, making you chuckle “and I have no doubt you’ll meet more people in your classes, you’re amazing, anyone that doesn’t want to be your friend is the idiot”

You chuckle again, relaxing into his arms as you try to calm down. Everything will be alright as long as you had him by your side.

“now, let’s order something and go to my place?” he asks you

“Sure, let’s go”

Bokuto

You were hanging out with your friends while waiting for Bokuto to arrive. Well, hanging out with them was an overstatement, after all you were being left out of the conversation after trying to join multiple times, leaving you on the side while they giggle about whatever they were talking about. You eyes were stinging due to the tears that were about to come out, feeling depressed about the way this day has ended.

Originally you and your so called friends were going to hang out during the day on a convention after months of not seeing each other, and everything seemed rather normal in the beginning; but not even an hour has passed when you noticed that they slowly started to put you aside. First every comment you made was ignored or laugh off, then they left you behind while walking, and now they seemed to completely forgotten that you were even there as they talk about a relationship of one of them that you weren’t even aware it was happening. You wanted to call Bokuto to pick you up early, but you knew he had practice so you laugh it off and wait.

But once you saw Bokuto walking towards you, excited grin on his face as he waves his hand, that you tears started to roll down involuntary. With Bokuto affection and attention was never a problem, but after feeling so unappreciated today, his overexcited self was so welcomed.

He saw your tears, confused as to why you were crying before he noticed the way you were sitting alongside your so called friends. They were all together on one side of the table while you were alone on the other, no one sitting beside you as they chit chat with each other. He walked faster towards you, unexpectedly pulling you up of the chair and giving you a big hug

“Hi, my cutie pie” he hugs you tightly, the eyes of your friends popping out as they realize just who was in front of them “why didn’t you called me earlier if you were uncomfortable?”

“you had practice”

“that can wait, coach would have understand!” he adds, taking your bag in his shoulder as he pulls you even closer to him. He then turn towards your friends, who are babbling something to you, and gives them an uncharacteristically serious look “you should be ashamed, no one deserves to be ignored om purpose, let alone someone that you call your friend”

With that he pulls you away from them, but instead of going to his car, he takes you to some stalls

“Aren’t we going home?” you asked

“Well, it’ll be a waste not to enjoy this place! Besides you probably didn’t actually enjoy it, so let’s have some fun first!” he says going back to his carefree self, and while you didn’t know if he did it to cheer you up or because he did actually wanted to be in the convention, you did up enjoying it this time around with your lover.

Suna

You lay in the bed waiting for Suna to come to lay with you, watching social media while he showers after a long day of practice. You had to take your make up off, but were feeling too lazy to stand up right now.

You were supposed to go out with your friends tonight, nothing too crazy, just some hangout with them; but at the last minute they message you telling you that it was cancelled since something had come up. You didn’t mind, you didn’t really enjoyed going out anyways, so staying in with Suna make you more than happy.

That was until you entered Instagram and saw the stories posted.

You saw the normal stories from her day, until you arrived to one that was posted 30 minutes ago, in the place that you were supposed to hang out. You tried to not overthink about it, maybe she ended up going alone since she was already ready; but then you saw the next one, which was posted in the closest friend tab, with the three of them hanging out there and having fun.

Oh.

“hey, we need to buy more shampoo, we close to running out of – you okay?” Suna tells you going out of the bathroom, only a towel on his hips. You pass him your phone, letting him see the stories your ‘friends’ posted as he raise his eyebrows, visibly annoyed “those bitches are the lowest of the low”

You chuckle weakly, you knew he would be the first to curse at them

“hey, you haven’t take that pretty make up off, have you?” he asks tossing the phone in the bed, taking some clothes off the closet

“No I haven’t, why?”

“Well, put some pretty dress on, were going to have some dinner” he says

“weren’t we going to order some take out and watch movies?”

“and let them think they won? Not in my watch, pretty, they have the nerve of post their hangout knowing that you’ll see them, so now it’s your turn to brag”

You chuckle, he was petty, you knew that, so this shouldn’t surprise you at all

“and how do you plan to find a place with space for us?”

“nothing some money can’t help” he winks at you “lets go, a fancy dinner is waiting for my pretty girl”

"Yeah, my parents chose it" he says, passing his arms through your shoulders "it's nice, and it's close to a lot of things"

"I noticed, i think i saw an arcade coming here"

"Yeah, there's many actually" he says, kissing your shoulder before moving to his bed, starting a game on his phone. You took some of your clothes out, putting them on top of a dresser he had, you feel uneasiness in your stomach for tomorrow's reactions

"Are you telling them tomorrow?" Nagi asks, you didn't know if he noticed your discomfort or if he knew you that good already

"Yeah, I'm telling them everything. They deserve to know"

"I don't get why though, why does it matter so much?"

"Not everyone is so unbothered like you are Sei" you chuckle, sitting on the bed

"But the princess didn't care either, so why are you so nervous?" He asks once again "agh, i died"

"Chigiri…he's different, it's nerve-wracking telling everyone that what they thought was a lie" you say, your feet tapping the floor nervously. Suddenly Nagi's hands wrapped around your waist, pulling you closer to the window in where the stars were starting to appear

"It'll be fine, don't worry too much about it" he pets your head "By the way, that's Choki, he helps me wake up"

"Don't tell me you purposely touch it to wake up" you chuckle

"I won't tell you then" you both stay like this for a few minutes, you watching the view while Nagi lazily lays his head on your shoulder "...are you sure about leaving Blue Lock?"

"Yeah, i already thought about it, it's the best for me and everyone"

"Then I'll allow it" he presses his head closer in your neck

"I don't need your permission" you chuckle "I'm gonna go to arrange the couch"

"The couch? Why?"

"Where else am I going to sleep?"

"You're not sleeping in the couch" you feel him frown, pulling you down into the bed with him as he puts himself on top of you, laying his head on your chest "you're comfy"

"Thanks" you chuckle, playing with his hair "we should order some food, it's pretty late already"

"What a paiin" he whines, getting his phone anyway.

++

You woke up pretty late, around 10 am, with a pair of arms tightly holding in place and warmth feeling warmth breath in the back of your neck. After eating dinner yesterday Nagi decided to cuddle with you while he plays on one of his consoles, you sitting in between his legs as his hands were right in front of both of you; and once you both got tired, he simply laid you down on your side and proceeded to fall asleep.

"Oi, giant baby" you poke his side, making him groan "you're phone just rang"

"What a pain. Who is it?"

"Isagi, we have to meet them, remember?"

"...Right, ugh, don't wanna" he says, answering his messages before stretching out

You get up from the bed and go to the bathroom to get ready, it was late already, so you went to get ready first assuming Nagi will take forever to do something. Once you leave the bathroom Nagi was already sitting, waiting to use it

"You look pretty" he says to you "it's weird seeing you with a skirt, thought"

"This is the first time you see me with outside clothes, of course it's gonna be weird"

"Well yeah, but i like it either way" he kisses your head while going to the bathroom and getting ready. Once done, him wearing an oversized white hoodie and sweatpants, you both go out "hey, let's go that arcade"

"But we have to meet the guys.."

"They can wait, let's go" he takes your hand, dragging you towards the arcade

You decided to give in, after all it was a vacation, you could enjoy things freely for now. At some point you started playing different games, you were stuck in a claw machine while he was playing Street Fighter since he wanted his online record to go up again. After you got another figurine from one of the machines, you heard a big commotion coming from where Nagi was, noticing a bunch of Blue Lock members.

You started to feel nervous, but at this point there was nothing you could do, so you started walking towards them.

"Hey Sei, i got the figurines" you say, instantly getting intimidated by the fact all eyes went to you, looking at you up and down. Chigiri eyes looked at you amused, crossing his arms as he winks at you

"Oya? Did we interrupt a date, Nagi-chin?" Karasu asks with a cheeky grin. Reo was looking at you confused, almost as if he could recognize you

"How did you score such a hottie? You, out of all people" Otoya adds "hi there cutie"

"But didn't you know we had a reunion? Why did you plan it for today?" Asks Yukimiya

"Maybe she's a classmate?" Asks Bachira

"Nah, I've never seen her at our school" adds Reo

"Eh?" Confused faces appear

"Ok, why don't we let her introduce herself so we can know?" Chigiri says, giving you an encouraging look

"Well first…" you go to sit next to Nagi, your heart beating fast "hi again guys"

"I'm Yn…i was your teammate" you say, even more confusion arises

"Yn…Yn-kun? Is that you?" Isagi asks, making you nod "you were a girl all this time?"

"Yep"

"There's no way…how were you able to play in the match against the U-20 while being a girl?" Otoya asks, Chigiri raising his eyebrow annoyed at the comment

"Well, she's just amazing, isn't she?" Chigiri comes closer to ruffle your hair, you trying to stop him

"So you knew, Chigiri? And you Nagi?"

"Yeah" simply shrugs Nagi, as he keeps playing

"Nagi untied my binder and almost saw my chest, then i told Chigiri cause i felt bad about lying to him" you explain, some heads nodding "Ego ask me to join to help Team Z bloom and give him information, i was only supposed to be until the first round, but i proved to be too good to just…leave the project…sorry for lying to y'all"

"It's alright, it doesn't change much to me, especially if Ego knew" Yukimiya says, smiling to you as he extends his hand "it's nice finally meeting you Yn-chan, you're very pretty"

"Thanks" you shake his hand, smiling at him

"Well, that explains why Nagi suddenly started to act like this with you, nice meeting you Yn-chan, take good care of that idiot for me" Reo says nudging your shoulder with a grin, making you roll your eyes

"It doesn't change much for me either! I like you because of you, not your gender!" Bachira passes his arm through your shoulder, hugging you tightly

"Me too, plus you're a good player" Isagi adds, smiling at you like everyone else "but…why are you telling us now? You could have continued like it was, couldn't you?"

"Well, yeah…but I already reached a conclusion. I'm leaving Blue Lock" you confessed, some eyes widen

"What!? Why? You're soo good to just leave!" Retorts Isagi

"Well, I can't tell you exactly what's coming for the project, but it's supposed to help you out for your futures in a more direct way, and I can't have that. I can't be on a professional team because I'm a girl, and I can't play professionally on a woman's team because I'm too used to playing with dudes, so I'm gonna leave the project"

"Well, it makes sense, now that we won against the U-20 there's probably gonna be a lot more professional teams looking at us, you won't be able to hide this type of things to them" adds Karasu, making you nod

"Anyways! Let's enjoy this free day even more then! Since we won't have Yn-chan with us after this" Bachira stands up, grabbing your hand while taking you with him to the claw machines you previously were in

You end up with a lot of prices given to you after some of the guys won in them; then you move to the darts, where Nagi was forced to "accept his punishment" by being in the front of the darts board while you were losing in a battle with Yukimiya; then you move to pool, where Aryu showed his stylish moves; and then to ping pong, where you took turns to play into teams.

"How about karaoke?" Reo asks, his arms on your shoulders as you guys walk

"Let's go"

"We can hear you sing, darling, that'll be interesting" Reo adds, petting your hair

"Shut it, elite, who says I'm singing" you hit his stomach, making him laugh. In that moment you all noticed some girls coming out of a room angry, Aiku being the reason. You didn't know if you wanted to tell him who you were or not, so you stayed quiet while they exchange some words

"Oh? Who's this girl? Of course you would have a girl already, Mikage-kun, but bringing her with you while hanging out with the boys?" Aiku tells him, you exchange a look with Reo, shaking your head slightly

"She's a friend of mine, she happened to be here today too, so she joined us" he says skillfully, understanding your signs as he takes his arm off

"I see…well then, may I know your name, pretty girl?" Aiku says to you, making you scrunch your face. It wasn't that he was ugly, he sure wasn't, but it still made you awkward

"Yn, nice to meet you" you say shortly

"Pretty name for a pretty lady, want to join me?" Aiku winks at you at the same time you feel a pair of hands sneaking on your waist, pulling you back until your back touched a chest and a chin rest on your head

"We fighting?" Nagi says, beside you were also Yukimiya, Karasu, Otoya and Aryu, all saying some type of comments while the door of the U-20 team opens and reveals the whole team there.

"You okay, pretty?" Nagi whispers at you

"Yeah, just didn't know how to react" you say, taking his hand

They decided to bet dinner with a bowling match, in which you find Barou playing by himself, who ends up joining the match since you weren't playing; after all you decided to not tell them about it. You were waiting for Chigiri to play when Barou sits next to you, looking at you inquisitive

"Oi, you are Yn-kun, aren't you?" He asks you

"Eh?"

"Don't play dumb, you are at Blue Lock with us, only a fool wouldn't be able to tell, even though you have make up on today" he says

"Yeah, that's me" you say, high fiving Chigiri when he does a strike

"So, do you swing to the other side or…"

"I'm a girl, but I'm also leaving Blue Lock now" he nods at the information

"You were good, you scrub, well played" he adds, ending the conversation right there

Nagi does a strike after falling down, which ends up with all of you calling the game off since it was getting late. All of the guys say their goodbyes to you, Bachira and Chigiri hugging the longest, leaving you with only Nagi and Reo left

"So, I'm assuming you're staying the night with Nagi again? It's too late for you to leave to Hyogo now" Reo asks

"Yeah, I don't know if leave in two or three days"

"You can stay with me as long as you want, just saying" Nagi adds, petting your hair

"Yeah, you should stay until our vacation is over, since we won't see you in Blue Lock after this we can enjoy time together and you get to enjoy Tokyo more!" Reo says excitedly

"I still haven't got paid by Ego, so i don't have much money" you answer, you were going to get paid for your work after the two weeks were over

"Don't worry about it, I'll cover you" Reo winks at you "besides, if you need money for anything let me know and I'll give it to you"

"What are you? A sugar daddy or something? Do rich people have the need to spend money?" You raise an eyebrow

"Nah, i just don't mind spoiling my treasure's girl, i can afford it after all" he adds

"I mean…if you insist, I'm not denying that offer" you shrugged, making him laugh

"Alright, let's hang out again, bye!" Reo says when you arrived to Nagi's place, his attendant waiting for him in a limousine in front of his place

"Bye"

"See ya!" Both you and Nagi say, entering his place

You took all your makeup off and put on comfortable clothes, which means you were wearing one of Nagi's hoodies since they basically reach your knee. You got out of the bathroom only to find Nagi laying down on his stomach while playing a game, so you go and lay on top of him to watch him

"...you really can stay here as long as you want, by the way" he interrupts the comfortable silence you were in

"I know, but i do also need to go back to Hyogo soon, i have to go back to classes" you say, your head laying on his back

"Classes are such a pain" he whines "can't you just transfer here? I'll ask Reo to help you out"

"Isn't your school one of the best in the country? I doubt that nepotism can just help me enter"

"You'd be surprised" he says

"Even if i transfer I'll have to wait until next year, besides, we don't know where you'll be next year, maybe Blue Lock gets you an offer in an international club and you'll have to transfer there"

"True, that'd be cool" he pauses, moving both of you with ease until you are laying down in the bed with his head on your chest "then I'll tell them to include you too"

"Eh? Why?" You ask

"I like having you around, i like you" he simply states, as if it was the most normal thing to say, as if it was such a simple thing, as if it didn't make your heart flutter "and you like being around me too, so it's a win win"

"Who says I like being around you that much?" You ask

"Your heart beats and your blushed face speak for themselves" he looks at you, slight smirking on

"Shut up" you hit his head

You spent the rest of these two weeks like this, sometimes you hung out with Reo in his penthouse, sometimes you went to the arcade with Nagi, you even got to meet Chigiri's family and stayed with them for a few days after explaining the whole situation. Now two weeks later, you arrived at the place where they were picking the guys up with Nagi and Reo, since apparently a huge crowd of paparazzi were waiting at the entrance of the project.

"This kinda bring back memories" you say

"It does, we didn't even knew each other back then, who knew we would be friends now" Reo says, ruffling your hair "by the way, i already told Baya-san to pick you up later so she can take you to your house"

"You shouldn't have, it's like 5 hours driving" you say

"She insisted too"

"I don't bel-"

"Ynnnn-chaaan!" A scream interrupts you, soon a pair of arms wrap around you and shake you around "you came to say goodbye to us!"

"I did, I can't just let you forget about me, Bachira"

"I will never!" He hugs you tighter

"You're going to kill her if you keep squishing her" Chigiri takes you out of the embrace, pulling you into a side hug himself "you know, I'm sure you can still come with us, just change into a uniform and hope on"

"I can't, i already know what's waiting for you and it's not gonna be beneficial for anyone" you say, knowing well what the phase two of the project was

"But you want to" Chigiri grabs your shoulder, he was able to tell how wet your eyes were, how your hands were shaking slightly, he knew that you still wanted to be with them

"I do…we can't have it all, can we?" You say, making him hug you harder "don't forget about me when you become a famous pro player, you better maintain me once you have money"

"You already have people ready to maintain you, but if it doesn't work out with him or his best friend, I'll think about it" he jokes back, kissing your temple affectionately "see you after I'll become the best in the world, little one"

"See ya" you chuckle, saying some quick goodbyes to some of the ones that enter the bus when a pair of arms wrap around your waist, a pair of arms that were already used to do this

"I'll see you after this, okay?" Nagi says, pulling you closer

"Of course, I'll make sure to watch you, so keep doing your best"

"Watch me? How?"

"You'll find out soon, just do your best and play amazingly like you always do" you say turning around, fluffing his hair

"I will. See you" he bends down, giving you a quick kiss in the lips

"See you"

You watch him enter the bus as it closes the door right behind him, being the last member to enter. Some of them scream their goodbyes to you while the bus leaves, so you wave back at them until you are sure they can't see you clearly, finally letting the tears roll down your face. You wanted to go with them, you wanted to keep playing with them, you wanted to be on the project, but since Blue Lock was turning into a reality TV for scouting, not only you wouldn't be able to keep up the secret but you also won't be able to join any team, it would do nothing more than waste your time. At least that's what you told yourself to feel better about this.

"Hello" Anri appears beside you, looking at you carefully "Ego-san told me to give you this"

She gives you a package, inside was the same uniform the guys were given before leaving, the same custom size you had for the first phase

"He thought you'd miss them, and since you're technically still part of Blue Lock until a few more minutes, we managed to get you one too. It won't make you less sad, but it's the best we can do to help you"

"Thanks" you hug it, smiling through the tears to Anri, who gives you a hug before walking away.

You'll miss them, of course you'll miss those idiots, but you'll see them again once they're on the top, you know you will.

-The end-