Inarizaki's Hidden Foundation

Ch. 9 - Bus Ride

Your leg wouldn't stop shaking as the homeroom sensei started passing back the graded final exams.

"Kengo.. Hana.." she read off students' names.

Ugh.. please let them have passed.. gods have mercy on these fools...

Once all the exams were handed out back to everyone, Sensei left the room and talking of people asking how each other did erupted, and it was just really damn loud.

Except for your corner of the classroom.

You look behind and next to you to see Mina, the Miyas, and Suna staring down at the blank backs of their exams. Their eyes are unfocused and far away. You thought you were nervous for them but seeing them in that state made you realize how much more anxious they must feel.

In an attempt to calm yourself down, you look through your graded exam. You knew you killed it while taking the exams, and it showed in the scores. There were 100s across the board except a 95 in World History. Tch. That stupid date question. No one should be required to know the exact day that the Battle of Waterloo took place.

Brushing off that little annoyance, you look back at the foursome. "C'mon guys. Prolonging looking at your scores won't magically make them increase."

"Easy for you to say.. I bet you got perfect scores on all of them.." Atsumu says, not taking his eyes off the papers in front of him.

"UGH! Y/N, I can't do it.. can you look at it for me?" Mina cries.

"Can you do that for all of ours?" Suna says, surprising you. They all hand you their exams.

"Oh, uh, sure. If that'll be easier. Gotta say, I'm surprised you care as much as you do, Suna." you reply.

He shrugs. "Normally I wouldn't but training camp is on the line this time."

You nod. "Ok, then. I'll start with yours." Pulling his exam out to the front of the stack, you silently pray to the gods again.

In the order of Math, English, Science, History: 42, 50, 52, 65. You audibly sigh in relief and pass it back to him. "Suna, you passed them all. Though that was a close call for math." He nodded and.. god, was that a hint of a smile?

"Atsumu, you next."

45, 60, 65, 62.

"Osamu."

50, 70, 72, 66.

"Mina."
47, 52, 67, 65.

Holy crap. They all passed all the subjects. Their grades were not stellar at all but this meant that they could all go to the training camp this coming weekend. They cheered and got so excited when they heard the good news.

You were also ecstatic and the first person you wanted to let know was Kita. As if by second nature, you immediately got out your phone and typed in Kita's name, texting him that everyone had passed, a smile plastered on your face.

Kita! They all passed their classes! It's gonna be the whole team going to the training camp~

Congrats to them. It will indeed be the full team. Gin and Aran also passed their classes. His response was just like him: straightforward and simple.

Buzz,bzz. Another text came.

Good job.

It was only a few words but they made your heart flutter.

Hold up. Flutter? Since when did you start seeking his approval? You rub your hands on your school uniform skirt. You can't deny that your perception and feelings towards Kita have changed since last weekend when you went to the convenience store with him but didn't want to address or act upon them. Not even Mina knows about this and you intend to keep it that way. There's no telling what would happen if you really took the time to acknowledge it to yourself. It'd be awkward at best and devastatingly painful to be around him at practice at worst. So for now suppressing those feelings was your solution. Eventually they may even fade.. is what you keep telling yourself.

~~~

It's Friday evening and the team is packing the Inarizaki bus with their things for the upcoming training camp weekend. You are taking attendance, crossing off everyone's names after they board.

"Okay, Coach, everyone's here and checked in," you say, handing Coach the clipboard of names.

"Great, thanks," he replies. To everyone in the bus, he says, "Alright, we should arrive at the campus by 7AM so try to get some shut-eye. Practice will start right away at 8AM."

"Yes, sir!"

Normally, you'd sit next to Mina but she was already all cuddled up next to Osamu. It's.. cute yet you can't help but internally gag at their PDA. You sit instead next to Kita, who nods at you. He's in sweats and a black hoodie, real simple but you found it somehow very attractive. You had to try hard to peel away your eyes and look forward.

The bus starts to move and you cross your arms over yourself, slumping in the seat to try to sleep. You're in a thin hoodie with leggings and fuzzy boots. You thought that would be warm enough but you always underestimate Japan winters.

Damn it, I should've brought a thicker jacket, you think to yourself.

"Here."

You look over to see Kita holding out a travel blanket to you. "Oh, what?" You hold up your hands and say, "It's ok, it's not freezing or anything-"

"If you catch a cold, I'm having Coach send you home," he replies flatly.

Eek.. did the temperature suddenly drop 10 degrees? You sit higher and saluting, say, "Yes, sir."

He watches as you spread the blanket out over yourself. "A few months ago you would have fought me on that."

"Yeah, well. I've found that you're a lot more stubborn than I am, which I didn't think was possible. It would've been a losing battle," you retort. You go back to spreading the blanket but in the corner of your vision you see he has the hint of a smile on his lips. To your dismay, your heart does a little backflip.

Ugh, I thought I told you it's not gonna happen, you reprimand your heart. Liking him is a losing battle... Annoyed, you close your eyes and try to get some sleep.

~~

A slight shaking that doesn't come from the bus wakes you. Groggily, you open your eyes and check your phone. 3:01 AM.

Turning to the side to see what had woken you, you find that your head had been resting on Kita's shoulder and that shoulder connected to a body that was shivering in its sleep.

Psh, look who's going to catch a cold now, you think. You take the blanket over you and spread it over him as well. Thank goodness it's big enough for you both because the bus was freezing. Guess the heater wasn't working. You make a mental note to bring it up in discussing the team budget with Coach at some point.

Looking back over at Kita, you take a moment to take in his sleeping self. A piece of silver-black hair is covering his face so you push it aside and hold your hand there. His breathing is steady and he looked so vulnerable and peaceful resting like that. Your fingers gently trace the bridge of his nose and over his lips, where they stop. They're so unbelievably soft.. but before you can marvel more at them, his face scrunches a bit in his sleep. That's your cue to stop trying to explore him without his permission.

You lower your hand back to yourself and nuzzle a little closer to Kita, placing your head back on his shoulder.

I won't tell you my feelings but let me at least enjoy this moment with you, you say in your head and you drift off back to sleep.