Bully

5

"Wow! This house is so cool! There's volleyball stuff everywhere! Even pictures around here show people playing volleyball! Oh! There's you, right, Y/n?!"

You look at the picture the girl was pointing at. "Yeah. I was about 6 in that one. It was soon after I started playin' volleyball at a local club."

Mai looked at the picture. "Who are those boys in there with you?"

You smile, looking at the friends you have with you. You point to each boy while talking about them. "This one here is my friend that I was talking about earlier, Ojiro Aran. He actually lives nearby, across the street."

Kiku looked at the other two boys in the picture, having moved even closer the portait that was hanging on the wall. "These two look identical!"

You continue pointing to each boy. "This one is Miya Atsumu, and this one is his twin brother Miya Osamu. They're nice boys. Samu is really kind. Atsumu is really good at volleyball, he wants to be the setter for the boys' team. Maybe, if ya want to, ya can come eat lunch with me and these three this week."

Kiku threw her arms around you, tightly hugging you. "I'd love to!"

Mai nodded, nowhere near as excited as the other girl. "Sure. That sounds cool. But only for this week. I don't wanna eat lunch with a bunch of boys everyday. People our age like to spread rumors, and I don't wanna risk having people think I'm dating someone I barely know."

You understand her, even though it was a weird reason. "I get that. We all agreed to only eat together this week since me and the twins are still makin' friends. By next week, we'll all be doing our own thing with our free time."

"Sounds cool to me."

Kiku beamed. "Wow, you're so amazing, Y/n! I haven't even had the chance to talk to any of the boys in our middle school yet. Are they all single?"

"As far as I know." You raise a brow at her, not sure where she might go with this.

"Do you think any of them would be interested in dating me?"

You blink a few times, processing her question. "Dunno. I guess ya'd have to spend time with them and find out. I honestly have no clue if they even having any interest in datin', let alone what they would prefer in a girlfriend."

Mai sighed. "If I knew you were only interested in boys, I might not have gone along with being friends with you, Kiku. Seriously, there are way more important things than relationships. I mean, we're volleyball players. Shouldn't becoming a better player be your top priority?"

Kiku shrugged. "Well, yeah. But I also like hot guys with muscle, especially if they play sports. I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend at the same time as playing volleyball. I don't see a problem with dating while playing. I think I could handle it."

You shake your head, trying to walk off to find any of your family members. "Come on, ya two. I thought ya came here to get better at volleyball. My family is probably waitin' to start a little practice session."

Your older brother, Haru, appears in the doorway of the room you were leading the other girls through. "Hey, Y/n. I see yer back and brought some friends with ya. Mom said somethin' bout helpin' ya all improve with volleyball, do ya all wanna get changed into more comfortable clothes and get started?"

You nod, getting ready to walk past him to go to your bedroom. "Yeah. I'll go change now. There are bathroom on either side of this hallway. Go ahead and change, then I'll lead ya guys to the backyard."

You all part ways. You end up being the first one to finish changing, going back to the living room to wait for the other girls. You end up seeing your brother sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone. "Hey, Haru. How was yer day?"

He shrugs. "It was fine. College is busy, and I had volleyball practice after all my classes. Then I find out when I get home that ya'll be bringin' people over so we can help them get better with bein' volleyball players. So, tell me, what were ya thinkin' when ya agreed to let people come over? Why on earth would ya say that yer family can help others improve their skills?"

You lean up against a nearby wall. "They're my new teammates. Our whole team wants to go to nationals this year, and I'm just doin' whatever it takes to get my team to the level we need to be at in order to reach that goal."

Haru sighs. "I see. Well, ma and pop are happy about this. They're glad that they have people they can teach, considering ya and I are already at a high enough level that we don't really need much help."

"I still have ma teachin' me to do jump floaters."

"Fair. How is that comin' along, by the way?"

"Dunno. I only recently started learnin'. I think I need to keep practicin' it a bit more."

He stands up, putting his phone away in the pocket of his sweatpants. "Then head on out and start workin' on it. By the way, how many steps do ya need to take away from the serve line for each serve?"

You move away from the wall, heading to the doorway. "I found that my best jump serves are done when I'm 6 steps away from the serve line. My jump floaters only need about 4 steps, I think. That seems to be the amount that work best for me."

"Alright."

"Why would ya ask?" You stop in the doorway, pausing before you get any closer to the back door.

Haru hums. "Just wonderin'. Sometimes the amount of steps makes a difference. I was wonderin' if that impacted yer serves at all. Go on and head outside. I'll guide yer friends when they come out of the bathrooms."

You nod, turning away from him and heading to your backyard. When you get outside, you see your parents on either side of the net that was set up. "I see ya two are ready to help my new teammates."

Your mom smiles, holding a volleyball in her hands. "Of course. It's rare to be able to teach new people. My own kids are volleyball prodigies, so I don't get this opportunity very often."

You walk over, grabbing a ball and heading to the serve line. You take 4 steps away, then start practicing the jump floaters.

Haru soon came out, the other two girls following him. "Ok, here are the others. I'll help out wherever I'm needed, but I kinda just wanna sit and observe from the sides."

Your dad nodded. "Do whatever ya want, son." He turns to the two girls. "Are ya two ready to improve yer skills?"

The girls nod. "Yes, sir."