#ujimashii

☤ What do you have in common with your muse?

   ‘ ah --- so this is your family’s market , riku-chan ? ’

❝ Ah -- Riku-chan! ❞ he perks up as soon as she opens the door, face brightening with a smile. ❝ Sorry I fell out of touch for a bit there! I got really overwhelmed with university. ❞ 

he’d tried his best to exchange messages, or at least explain -- but it still felt a little pathetic to admit to in person. it seemed like an entire chunk of his semester had just been spent indoors, in the library, or sleeping in his room. it was almost like he’d done nothing but school.

❝ I, uhm ... didn’t feel right just leaving you with a happy birthday text, so ... I wanted to try giving you your gift now. ❞ there’s a pause as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out two slips of paper --

   --- skitter skitter skitter. rolling to a stop at her feet is a volleyball, its blue & yellow pale against the ( dusty, she notes ) gym floor. her eyes lift to who seems to be its owner --- a girl not much taller than her. which is to say, still tall. she bends to pick the ball up, long fingers curling around its peeling seams. ( how often did the gyms change these? )

     ayumu extended an arm, waving it across the young woman’s eyes a few times. and when she didn’t respond, he moved into her field of view, looking up at her. her eyes were glossed over, as though she were thinking hard enough for her soul to leave her body. “ are you okay, riku? did you eat something weird? “

❝ Riku-chan? ❞

makoto’s met with only silence, and the distant hum of their neighbour’s television set. there’s a moment where he wonders if she’s still here, if she’s probably sleeping -- because he knows Riku wouldn’t have left, couldn’t have, with the texts she’d sent him.

❝ I got you your juice, ❞ he sheds his shoes by the door before making his way to their bedroom, only pausing to briefly greet their cat. 

as he’d thought, she was here: nestled among their sheets. there’s a smile on his face as he takes in the sight of her buried beneath their blankets, blue hair ruffled and splayed along her pillow.

❝ Are you okay? ❞ there’s a note of affection, of sympathy, in his voice as he sits down alongside of her, hand reaching out to stroke her side. he knew from her texts that she wasn’t exactly feeling well, though.  ❝ I got you a few things from the store, sweetheart. I don’t know much about this, uhm... kind of thing, but I hear usually chocolate helps? ❞

it always helps him when he’s in a bad mood, so he’d believe it if it helped with this too.

most normal people saw september as the beginning of autumn ( or from a nihilist’s point of view, the beginning of the end ). however, namazu was neither a nihilist or a normal person, and so he saw september as crucial training time, since the interhigh tournament would be coming up soon. day in and day out, namazu had been training his abilities to their fullest potential, spending all of his free time ( and ditching some lessons ) to train in the school’s gym and perfect his sets or serves. class had just ended, and he was itching to discuss the upcoming tournaments with somebody. and who better to discuss them with than the ace of the nekoma girl’s team??