anything. - haikyuu

soulmates

(the night of the dinner)

mariko sat in a fancy restaurant, wearing a light brown, daisy-print sundress. she sat silently and picked at her food as her mother and her coworkers chatted. every-so-often, the older men and women would ask her about volleyball and academics, but she tried to keep the conversations as short as possible.

the sons and daughter of different ages all sat quietly at the table as well, only speaking when asked a question.

"i heard the inter-high prelims are coming up soon, are you excited, mariko-chan?" a man, her mother's boss asked, from beside her mother.

"of course i am, i believe my team will do amazing this year," she replied with a polite smile.

"well of course they'll do good, they have you!" a woman complimented from across the table.

mariko only gave a fake smile towards the woman and moved her hands from her plate to her lap, fiddling and picking at her fingers.

she didn't want to be the 'star of the team'.

she had wished she was never the center of attention when it came to her volleyball team. her girls bring the same amount of needs for the team as she does.

"are you planning to go pro after you graduate?" another woman asked. "i mean you might as well use your talent for something great."

"yeah, i actually plan on trying out for the national team one day." mariko replied.

she was never really sure if she wanted to go pro. she enjoyed the sport and the people in her life that resulted from it, but it always took something from her, leaving a spot in her heart that had yet to be filled in.

"you definitely should! i know many people who were great athletes in high school, but never kept it apart of their future," the woman replied. "komi, you should be more like her," she nudged at her daughter beside her.

mariko and komi see each other every time their mother's took them out to these types of dinners. komi's mother often scolded and teased her for not being as good at soccer the same way mariko is at volleyball.

the teenage girl just sighed and kept silent. mariko looked around at all the other kids around the table, sharing the same sense of disappointment within themselves.

mariko flashed everyone another awkward smile, and played with her hands underneath the table. "excuse me, i need to use the restroom," she stood up and left the table.

the girl just stared in the mirror and continued picking at her hands. 'i wanna go home,' she thought.

the sound of the door opening snapped her out of her trance. a girl with a loose, flowy dress came in with watering eyes. mariko watched as she froze in her spot like a deer in headlights.

"kom-"

"how do you do it?" kimo cried out, only earning a shocked and confused face from the other. "how do you just sit there and take compliments from others while others are being put down because of you!?"

the volleyball player felt a pinch in her chest. "i never-"

"every single time," the other girl started, "you always take up the spotlight and leave everyone else out of it!"

mariko didn't know how to respond. she stood there in front of the girl, picking the skin on her fingers with her thumbnail.

"please do us all a favor,