𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡 | Miyuki Kazuya

Chapter 8: Problematic First Years

| Haruka Inejiro |

The ceiling was plain white—no, it was a mush of swirling colours that bounced and bounced... and bounced. A beaded bracelet slid down his wrist as he reached up and grabbed at the air. His eyes felt heavy. Emerald orbs saw the same thing every morning. The same imaginary colours that appeared when he was the most tired and when he tried the hardest to force himself into a dreamless oblivion. It felt like his brain was taunting him. Delivering him a pretty show of colours so that he would be captivated by it. Maybe it was so that he wouldn't fall prey to the constant nightmares.

It was already six in the morning. Sleep was dancing further and further away from him. The task almost seemed too much to ask for. Alongside the constant nightmares that plagued his mind, his body only trembled with anxiety when they opened restlessly to unfamiliar white walls. Clutching a longer pillow to his body, Haruka shut his eyes tightly. Today wasn't going to be a good day.

There were still a few more minutes until it was time to get up. He recalled the night before with a grimace on his face. Haruka had gotten back with Chris-senpai just slightly before practice had ended for the rest of the team. When his roommates returned to the room, only mere minutes afterwards, it wasn't much of an effort to pretend that he was already asleep. He would admit that he panicked. When he had heard the sound of multiple cleats outside the dorm room, his heart spiked nervously. The blond had endured just about enough social interaction for the day.

It was a blessing in disguise that Chris-senpai had the foresight to stuff food down his throat before they returned. Otherwise, his stomach would've been groaning all night and he wouldn't have been able to skip breakfast this morning— as he had planned. Absently, Haruka played with a piece of thread on his pillow case. He would have to do something about meal times. There was no way he would enter that canteen anytime soon, not after almost having an anxiety attack in the middle of it.

Shaking his head, he pushed out the incoming barrage of stressful thoughts. He recalled the comforting atmosphere between Chris-senpai and his father. The older man had first opposed to his presence, saying that having friends over during Chris-senpai's rehabilitation process would only serve as a distraction. But, for some reason, the older mans entire demeanour changed when Haruka finally stumbled the room. He clumsily bowed and offered a nervous smile. From that moment on, Mr.Takigawa's keen eyes bounced between his son and the younger boy. He did this the entire night, every so often when he thought Haru wasn't looking. It was a little weird at first, but the curly blond quickly realized that everything the man did was a bit odd. Briefly, he wondered if Chris-senpai was truly his son.

Glancing at the time again, Haruka stretched and yawned. An alarm blared through the room, stirring the seniors. Blinking back tears from his yawn, the entire bunk bed swayed as Kazuya turned below. The older teen ignored the alarm completely and remained laying down until the lights were turned on. Haru watched as he stood from the bed and stretched, removing a sleeping mask from his eyes. Kazuya swapped it out with his glasses and rubbed his eyes beneath the spectacles. When he was finished, he slumped forward sleepily.

Haruka found himself staring. He wanted to look away but there was something glaringly vulnerable about the newly awoken boy. His eyes were drawn to it. When he finally managed to look elsewhere, the blond jumped out of his skin. His face lit up in embarrassment as he caught the hard gaze of his other roommate. Green eyes widened in familiarity when he recognized the older boy. He was just as intimidating as he was from the inter squad game, with a full, scruffy beard and mature eyes. The teen looked way older than a third year.