Peppermint [Asahi Azumane]

~ shell ~

He stirred a bit in his sleep, occasionally nuzzling his head further onto my shoulder while his hand loosely held mine.

When I finally felt the bus slow down, I looked out the window to see the inn the teams had planned on staying in over the weekend. Giving his hand one last firm squeeze, he slowly starts waking up and moves away from me as fast as he could.

"We're here" I say, amused at his movements.

"Already?" he says, rubbing his eyes harshly before I grab his wrists.

"Dude, you'll rip out your eyes oh my god, be gentle with your skin." his hands go limp as mine quickly let go of his.

"Okay everyone!" Takeda called for everyones attention, "Everyone, take your bags and line up outside the entrance"

We all slowly exit the bus, with me being left at the very back of the line. Ukai tried getting my attention.

"Hey kiddo, whats up? Uhhh, you okay?"

"Kiddo?" I ask with your face contorting at the weird new nickname.

"I don't know, Im trying to be comforting."

"Its not working, but why?"

"Takedas been on my ass about talking to you for a while now. Something about him 'not knowing how to connect with you' and 'wanting to see you come out of your shell'"

"Oh."

"Yeah"

"So what am I supposed to tell you?" this was all so insanely awkward.

"I don't know, to be completely honest. But I know youre normally a bit, how do I say this? Closed off, quiet, irritable sometimes even?"

"Okay youre supposed to ask if I'm okay, not just point out everything thats wrong with me" it was amusing to see him try to get through to a 16 year old girl. Normally his pep talks were relating to volleyball and not about personal lives.

"Shit Im sorry. Also, don't tell Takeda I swore." poor dude, I might as well give him something to tell Takeda.

"Well, schools going the same as always. My parents are back at home for the first time in a while, and its really weird." I sigh, " Im hung up over a stupid boy, which is totally not like me. I feel gross and I just really wanna hit someone." by someone, you meant Yuki.

"What you you mean, weird? I won't say anything to Takeda if you don't want me to, but I cant help but worry sometimes too. Im just less annoying about it." we both start laughing, sitting across from each other near the front of the bus.

"I dunno, Ive just never been super close with my dad, and my parents both work a lot so theres this awkward tension and disconnect that Id always thought was normal. But I got older, and I cant help but notice that its not. Like every time Id read a book, there would be some kind of scene where the protagonist comes downstairs from their room and sees the dad in his suit reading the newspaper while the mom makes pancakes or some other time consuming breakfast food." my gaze drifts to my hands as you fiddle with them.

"Casual banter and smiling. It all sounds so bizarre to me. Ive basically been raising myself since I was old enough to stay home alone. I cook and clean almost everyday, and our casual banter when my parents are home, well its anything but casual." I sigh,

"We don't have anything to talk about with each other, so we argue. And I tried my hardest, I swear. Ive given up on trying to bond with them at this point. Weird, huh?"

"Very. What about the stupid, smelly boy?" I appreciate that he didn't pry.

"I never said smelly. He smells good, actually. And when I called him stupid, I guess I was calling myself stupid for how I dealt with the whole situation that's going on. Its all just dumb teenage drama that'll work itself out, so Ill spare you. Thanks for talking to me though Coach, once you stop worrying so hard about not being awkward, you aren't as awkward." I start smiling and slowly get up from the chair to grab my bag and go to the impatient group of boys, waiting for Takeda to check into the rooms.

"Hey, Takeda Sensei." I tap his shoulder when he finishes checking in. "Thanks for indirectly checking in on me."

"O-oh! No problem y/n." He narrows his eyes at Ukai, who's trying to be as nonchalant as possible (and failing miserably).

"My back feels a bit stiff though." he looks at me in mild confusion and concern before I start twisting your arms around your torso, my back producing a loud crack due to sitting on the bus for nearly an hour straight. He stares at me in shock along with some of the team members.

"Must be my shell" I snicker and walk over to converse with the managers.

- - - - - - - - - -

We're all settled in the room that I'll be sharing with Yachi and Kiyoko.

"Ukai called me 'kiddo' today" we all snort, knowing he could be the most awkward person ever. "Is it weird that Im starting to like it?" the others looked at me, blankly.

"Oh my god, please don't make fun of me," I plead, "Its the parental issues. Im starting to see Coach and Takeda as father figures, its oddly comforting"

"Im going to ignore the whole 'kiddo' thing. What did you tell him?" Kiyoko questions.

"A little bit about my shitty family, and briefly mentioning Asahi, without saying his name obviously. Takeda sent him to talk to me because of my 'shell' being in dire need to be broken. It felt good talking to someone else about it, though. I mean, you guys know everything, and you've helped me out so much, but its a new perspective." shrugging as I put on another pair of socks over my much too thin ones.

"Well, we actually have to head to the kitchen now because we're supposed to help out with the food. So maybe, just maybe I should stop talking about my love life because it's starting to make me even more depressed than I already am." I scoffed.

It's kind of embarrassing really how much I would think about Asahi, especially since it's already been a few weeks since my near meltdown by his house. Usually at this point in previous mediocre relationships, I was fortunate enough to have gotten over the boy in a few days; maybe a week at most. This feeling I felt whenever he would pass by or glance in my direction still gave me butterflies and heart wrenching pain at the exact same time.

I've noticed that Asahi when he ate had a somewhat determined expression on his face, meaning I couldn't help but almost giggle at him whenever my eyes would land his way. It was like he was staring down an opponent on the court when he shoved his mouth full of noodles. Yet he still kept his manners by chewing with his mouth completely closed, which I assumed he does because he had gotten scolded for not doing so by his mother and Haru.

The two of us accidentally made eye contact a couple times, nearly making the tips of his ears turn red while he tried his hardest not to get flustered.

Then I got to thinking about the stolen notebook. There has to be some way I could get it back. Sighing, I discreetly check my instagram, scrolling through a few posts and stories, smiling at Tanaka's, which was Noya trying to see how many things he could balance on Daichis head before he wakes up. That boy slept like a rock, I could hear his snoring from the back of the bus.

Another tap, and I see Bokutos story he had uploaded just a few minutes ago. He was sitting in a bus, clearly bothering everyone else trying to have a quick nap. With about 15 people tagged on the post, I briefly scan over the usernames. '@ yuki.101' was at the very end of the list. After looking closer, I can spot a tiny sliver of blonde hair poking overtop one of the seats closer to the front of the bus.

'Just my luck', I thought. Whatever is meant to happen at this point will happen, I've learned to just accept it rather than panic like Yuki would be expecting me to.

It's a bad habit, really. Just accepting whatever's going to happen and not even attempting to stop it. What else do I have to lose?

"Hey" I whispered to Yachi, showing her the screen as her eyes widen in realization.

"They're probably almost here" I say, still a bit excited that I'll get to meet those people from the party a few months ago. Sure, they were from my old school so they should've at least seen me around, but I never held that specific grudge.

"Whatcha gonna do about her though?" furrowing her brows, annoyed at Yuki and her persistence.

"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"