𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 | 𝙨𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙖

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭: 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗱

Eita Semi did not like Kenjirō Shirabu, and the feeling was mutual.

Like was such a misunderstanding, anyway. The two couldn't stand each other.

The ash-blonde, Eita, was friendly and never looked to make enemies. The copper-haired boy minded his own business and was cold. But then again, he also doesn't try to form any conflict with anyone.

So how did this even come to be?

If neither of them started it—

Was it fate? Perhaps they were only rivals, but dealing with "rivals" every day at school might start a small flame that no rivalry needed.

On a hot summer evening, Kenjirō was preparing for his last day of high school. Nothing much; it was just an opening for a small break before brand new torture that builds up slowly enters his life.

He didn't want to finish school. Forget that, he did, even though he was nowhere close to it. To put it simply, the copper-haired boy didn't want to end his high school years with his current situation.

His fists clenched at the thought, and he almost dug his fingernails into his skin. The new setter of the boys' volleyball team. When he became the official setter in his second year, all was good, but no. Something had to come to ruin things, which was a familiar feeling by then.

The arrival of the new kid. Prodigy. He couldn't have tried out for the basketball team, or anything in that matter. He had to be the kid that snatched one person's life.

Kenjirō's.

Maybe it was unintentional. Maybe, just maybe. But the look on the new setter's face whenever swapped in with Shirabu on the bench, that smirk that almost everyone failed to notice, confirmed that he was at least self-aware.

Did no one care about him?

Was all the cheering for him and him only, not the official setter who had brought Shiratorizawa to nationals and saved everyone's life millions of times?

Guess so.

By now, Shirabu was already nearing school. Some familiar faces and some that he'd had a glimpse of over the years.

And the volleyball team. Almost everyone. As the boy tried to walk past, Taichi Kawanishi, his closest friend, grabbed him by the arm.

"What?"

The ginger-haired boy's smile turned into a sigh. "What do you mean, 'what?' I'll tell you what, the volleyball team is here, can't we all spend time with each other before we leave?"

Shirabu looked to the side and tugged his arm free. "We have an entire lunch period and summer. We can stay in contact."

"Nope. A lot of us are leaving or going on a trip, round an' round-"

"I do not need a Wheels On The Bus reference."

Taichi rubbed the back of his neck with his hands. "But that's my point. We'll all be separated during school too. And isn't it ordinary for third years to wanna hang out before school ends?"

"No," Kenjirō muttered sarcastically, "never tried it before."

Taichi was already familiar with this. "Kenji~please? You've probably seen a lot of stories and novels or movies on this. Third-years chilling because it's the last time for some, y'know?"

"Who's leaving?"

"Oh, uh, a few people are transferring, um, well, the third years are leaving, obviously, uh, and the second year-"

"Then I don't give a fuck."

Taichi let out an exasperated breath. "I know, I know, you don't like him, but this is mainly for all the third years. It's also pretty uncommon to have so many people in a club leaving. It makes me sad. You can, um, ghost him or something?"

"Ghosting is a wonderful idea. Please elaborate on why nobody let me ghost him this entire shitty year?"

The volleyball group members were now all gathered up and chatting, while Taichi and Kenjirō were quietly making a few exchanges a little away from them.

"Because. Even so, you should try to enjoy this."

"I don't want to try to enjoy something, it's either I enjoy it or not. Trying to enjoy it would be spoiling myself, doing whatever I feel like doing and whatever I want. Which, by the way, is not going to happen because I am sane.

"Ayo, Kawanishi, Shirabu, come on, we're heading in."

Taichi nodded and motioned for them to go first. When they started moving, he turned to face Shirabu. "Come on. I'll be the only one you'll need to talk to."