Childhood friends

11: Reuniting Best Friends

You walk by yourself to the entrance of Shiratorizawa Academy. You were a little nervous, seeing from the outside just how massive this campus was. You'd get lost if you had to walk around by yourself.

Luckily for you, Kawanishi was waiting for you right at the gates to the school. "Hey, Y/n. I got permission to show you around campus for the day. How ya been?"

You smile. "Better now that I don't need crutches. I'm sorry if I sounded rude the last time we talked, I just don't know what to expect after hearing some stuff from my team. I do look forward to meeting your teammates, and I'm sorry that I'll have to leave around 4:30. Before you called, some of the guys on my team already made plans to go out since I won't be needing crutches anymore. They were so excited and begged me to have dinner with them and have a mini party. It's just a few of us first years plus four second years. I actually think there's only eight of us in total, four and four." You chuckle awkwardly, hoping to make up for anything you might've said or done wrong.

Kawanishi shrugged it off, smiling at you. "It's not a big deal. Yeah, I wish we'd be hanging out a bit longer, but I'll take what I can get. I'm just happy to have you around for a bit. It gets lonely without you by my side."

You let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, it has been something to adjust to. The guys on my team try making up for the fact that the one person I've always been around isn't always at my side. They desperately do all sorts of things just to make sure I'm happy and wear a smile on my face. They're goofy guys, but good people."

Kawanishi kept the smile on his face, but on the inside he felt ready to explode that you were still talking about the guys at Aoba Johsai. "I see. I'll take your word for it. After that call, Ushijima-san, Tendou-san, Semi-san, Yamagata-san, and Reon-san were telling me what they remembered from Aoba Johsai. By the way, the first person I wanna introduce you is my roommate, who happens to be the first year setter for our team. Shirabu isn't exactly a people person, but he's a good guy. Sometimes he acts a little salty, but he doesn't have any bad intentions. I hope you can get along with the guys."

You give a small smile, remembering what you were told about the people be talked about (minus Shirabu since your team hasn't met him yet). "I see. What's your team like?"

"We're strong. There's so many players, but only a handful are good enough to be starters. The coach is thinking about putting me and Shirabu in games this year, just to see if we do better than the third years, and Semi-san. I feel bad that Semi-san won't be the setter anymore, but the coach is trying to find the strongest combination of players. Oh, right, how's your other friend - the one that lives across the street from us?"

You look at the ground as he leads you through the campus. "Well, she and I haven't spoken since we've started club activities. Riko is busy on the girls' volleyball team, and I'm busy with the boys. We don't even see each other anymore."

Kawanishi smirked to himself, glad that girl wasn't taking his place. "I see. I'm sorry about that. It must get lonely."

You smile, shaking your head. "Nah, I've got the guys. We're all becoming good friends. Most of the time I forget about Riko. She doesn't even make an effort to talk to me, even though I try texting her every couple of days."

Kawanishi put his hands in his pockets, clenching them into fists. "I see. You must really spend a lot of time with your club."

You nod. "Yeah, Oikawa-senpai insists I eat lunch with him. Normally it just him, me, Iwaizumi-senpai, Hanamaki-san, Matsukawa-san, Yahaba, and Watari. They're also the guys I'll be going to dinner with, but Kyoutani will also be joining us. I asked him until he agreed, practically begging him to hang out with me. He smiled when I got happy that he said yes."

"Oh? How do you feel about this guy?" He kept his voice neutral, not wanting to show you the jealous side of him.

"I think he needs work, but I hope we both see each other as friends." You think more about the ride boy. "I've trying to work hard and show him that I value him being a part of our team, and that I genuinely wanna be friends with him."

Kawanishi raised a brow. "Just friends?"

You nod, turning your head to see his face. "What else would I want from him? I'm always initiating conversations and trying to get him to open up. I'd never fall for someone like that. I like the kind of person that I can be open with, and that will be open with me. You don't know how happy I was when you called the other day. My team thought I won the lottery or something when they saw the smile on my face. I even cried on Oikawa-senpai after the call."

Kawanishi whipped his head to face you, his expression showing his worry for you. "You cried?!"

You turn away sheepishly. "Y-yeah. I thought I was rude, and then I was worried that the both of us are changing and won't be able to continue things like we always have. I was worried that I'd feel unable to give you a chance if you changed into someone I couldn't even recognize."

His eyes widened. "Give me a chance? What - what do you mean by that, Y/n?"

"Don't worry about it. It's nothing. Anyways... your roommate. Um, Shirabu, was it?"

His eyes narrowed as he looked at you. "I don't like that you changed the subject, but I'll go with it to keep you happy. What about Shirabu?"

"Well, when did you two become friends?"

"It took a few days, but we kept talking about stuff, and we're in the same class this year. He grew interested when I talked about you and volleyball. When I mentioned how I got you into volleyball and you became the best ace our age, he asked more about you. I think he's the most excited to meet you, since I've told him more about you than I've said to anyone else."

"I see. Well, I'm excited to meet all your new friends. And I'm glad that you were able to make new friends without me. I guess I don't need to be so worried about you all of the time."

Kawanishi looked forward, walking into the dorm building. "You were worried about me?"

You chuckled. "Of course I was. You rarely got along with other people as friends. I was worried you would have only me as a friend and be lonely for the rest of high school."

"I guess I grew up more than you realized, Y/n. Anyways, this is my dorm. Shirabu should be in there waiting for us. Ready to go in?"

You nod. "I'm ready to meet your new best friend."

"No one can replace you as my best friend, Y/n. You're the person I love most." With that, he opened the door.