Childhood friends

2. Teammate vs Best Friend

Time Skip To Middle School

"Riko!" You hollered to your friend, and volleyball teammate.

Miyato Riko - a girl with dark brownish red hair, forest green eyes, and a small frame - walked up to you. At the moment, she was only two centimeters shorter than you. "Hey, Y/n. How's my favorite ace?"

You beamed at her. "I'm great. How's my favorite setter?"

She gave a warm smile. "I'm fine. Captain and coach said we need to think about who will be our captain next year. All the other second years are thinking it should be you. You're our ace, and you always keep us motivated. I mean, you've always been a good player, ever since you and I started playing with Kawanishi-san."

You nod, thinking about what to do about this situation. "I guess if everyone wants me to be the next captain, I'll do it. I feel kinda honored that everyone thinks that way of me. I mean, I got taller since we were kids, but I didn't think it would mean I'm any better at volleyball than anyone else. I mean, I know that I'm the ace and all, but I never thought that I was that much better than anyone else. Oh, right, are we going to be playing volleyball together in high school, Riko? We are still gonna keep our promise to go to the same school, right?"

"Of course. Our parents are happy that we're planning to go to Aoba Johsai together. They said that the volleyball team there would be good for us, we might even be good enough to play on the starting lineup in our first year. At least, that's what my parents are hoping for. Hey, do you know if Kawanishi-san is going to Aoba Johsai with us?"

You hum. "Actually, Taichi never told me what high school he's been thinking about going to. I don't think he knows the answer to that himself. I'll try asking him next school year. He should know by then."

As if on cue, Kawanishi spots you in the hall and walks up to you with a smile on his face. "Hey, Y/n! How ya doing?"

You smile at your best friend. "Pretty good. My whole team pretty much voted on me being the captain of the team next year. Riko and I were talking about continuing to play together in high school, we even plan to head to the same school."

Kawanishi forced the smile to remain on his face. "That's great. My parents and I are still trying to figure out what high school I should go to. We're still looking at all the options within the prefecture. I'm thinking about going with one of the bigger powerhouse schools, like Aoba Johsai or Shiratorizawa. I still haven't made up my mind, and my parents need to look at which school would be better for me."

"I see. Well, we'll welcome you with open arms wherever you go. And you know that I'll follow you if you decide to go to a different school. You'll join me, right, Riko?"

Riko nodded her head, her hair moving around her face. "Wherever you go, Y/n, I'll go. You and I are a duo, one that can't be broken up. I'm your setter, and you're my ace." She gave you a bright smile and a thumbs up.

Kawanishi was doing his best, desperately trying not to frown in front of you. "It's good that you two have each other. I wonder if I'll have a teammate like that one day."

You give him a sympathetic smile. "Oh, don't worry, Taichi. I bet by high school you'll have a friend and teammate, just like how Riko and I have each other. And you'll have Riko and I either way. We're going to stay by your side no matter what."

The boy's smile dropped slightly, he didn't even bother to try fixing it. He also couldn't keep the hint of sarcasm out of his voice as he spoke. "Great. Just what I wanted."

You frown, picking up on the tone of his voice. "Is something wrong?"

"Don't worry. It's just a headache. Nothing serious." He shrugs your concern off, getting ready to walk off.

"L/n! Hey, L/n! There you are." The captain of your volleyball team, Nakamura Yumi, was running up to you. She was breathing heavily as she stopped in front of you and your two friends. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

You raise a brow, briefly looking at the other two. "Why don't you and I walk somewhere else. We can talk privately." The girl nods as you lead her away from the others, you quickly turn and wave at your friends. "I'll see you two later!" And you walk out of sight and earshot from the others.

Riko had a shy smile, turning to the boy that was staring at where you disappeared. "So, Kawanishi-san, how's your team doing?"

Kawanishi let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I only pretend to be nice to you for Y/n. I don't care enough to actually have a conversation with you. Just leave me alone, and try not to steal Y/n from me."

Riko took a step back, eyes widening with shock. "What? I - I was kind of thinking you and I were getting along great. I thought that-"

"You thought wrong. I only care about Y/n. She's the only friend I've have my whole life, and she's the only person I care about. You can go to Aoba Johsai, but Y/n and I will be going to Shiratorizawa. I don't need to convince her to come with me, I just need to convince her that she doesn't need you. There are plenty of setters that are more skilled than you, some will be better for Y/n."

Riko felt her heart break, tears in her eyes. "But - but I've always liked you, Kawanishi-san. Maybe we can start over and get along. Y/n would like it better if we were friends. And I'd never break away from Y/n, I promised to stay by her side on and off of the court. It's not like you can be on the court with her."

Kawanishi harshly snapped his neck in the shorter girl's direction. "I may not be able to play on the same team as her, but I'm always at her side. And I honestly couldn't give two shits about you or your feelings. Back off from Y/n. She's mine. I refuse to keep sharing her for the rest of our lives. Oh, and never speak to me again. I hate you, always have and always will." He walks away, not sparing the girl another glance.

Riko collapsed onto her legs, tears falling down her face. She couldn't believe this. Not only did she get rejected by the boy she had a crush on, but he just said the meanest things he could've said to her. 'How can I tell Y/n this? It would break her to know that her two best friends aren't getting along. Not only that, but Kawanishi-san pretty much threatened me to stay away from her. There's no way I can be honest with my best friend about this situation, but I don't want to lie or keep secrets from her.'

The brunette girl sobbed, covering her face with her hands. "What am I going to do?"