The Strange Life Of Mikoto Ishida (Yutaro Kindaichi)

Spiky

My seat ended up being next to the spiky-haired, tall, lanky guy who'd said that I was like the Oikawa guy.

After the little discussion I'd had with him, I'd probably made a bad impression. I'm not that bad, honestly. I just have a tendency to joke around and tease a bit too much. People like Oikawa especially tended to bring out that side of me.

So the first chance I got, I decided to try and give my seatmate a better, more accurate impression. "Hey there, Spiky," I said, grinning at my seatmate.

He raised an eyebrow at me, unsure if I really meant him. "Spiky?" he asked. The guy sounded a bit annoyed about the nickname I'd given him. Of course, I could have come up with something much worse. But hey, I'm a nice guy... er... girl...

"Well, I could call you Lanky," I laughed, making sure to keep my voice in check. Can't let start sounding all girly. That would ruin my cover. Luckily, my natural voice wasn't that girly sounding. "Spiky sounds cooler though."

"I have a name you know..." he muttered, mostly to himself. "Why Spiky though?"

"It's 'cause your hair's kinda spiky," I explained, grinning. "I think it's really cool. Wish I could actually pull off a look like that." I ran my hand through my own hair. "Mine's got this awesome color and all, but other than that it's pretty lame. Can't do anything with it, really."

That probably sounded pretty girly, but if anyone questioned me, I could always claim that I'm a gay guy who secretly wishes he was a girl. Of course, if I could avoid a story like that, I would prefer to. Better to just let everyone think I'm just a normal guy.

From there, Spiky and I continued to talk. Though I guess I probably ought to call him by his name, now that I know it. Turns out Kindaichi was also a part of the Volleyball club, as well as Iwaizumi who'd dragged Oikawa away earlier.

Once we'd gotten talking about volleyball, Kindaichi asked if I'd be joining the club. I didn't really want to have to explain why I couldn't, so I simply said that I was still thinking about it. The little chat that I'd had with Oikawa had gotten me a bit fired up, so I was almost tempted to, just because it would irritate him.

After that, Kindaichi invited me to come to their practice today. It was a tempting offer and it couldn't really hurt anything, right? It's not like I would actually be involved with the practice; I'd just be watching and maybe meeting some of the members. Of course, when one of those members is Oikawa, I can't exactly expect it all to go smoothly, can I?

I entered the gym alone while Kindaichi went off to change with the rest of the team. Looking around, I saw that I wasn't the only one here to watch the team. Several girls were watching. Probably some of Oikawa's fangirls... or mine. After all, I did claim to have stolen his.

Upon seeing me, several of the girls giggled and waved to me. I waved back, though it was a bit weird to be getting attention from girls. But if you're gonna disguise yourself as a guy, you've gotta play the part.

"What are you doing here?" a familiar fake happy but actually angry voice said. Oh, I knew exactly who that was and who they were talking to.

Slowly I turned to look at Oikawa, a smirk making its way onto my face. "Oh, I just thought I'd check out the club I was going to join," I said, looking behind him to the rest of the team who were now staring at the scene. "Besides, Spiky invited me. Said it might be a good idea to meet everyone before I actually join you."

"You're not allowed." Oikawa glared at me.

He was clearly trying to irritate me, but he was failing pretty miserably. "That's funny, you thought I was actually serious about joining you guys?" I laughed. I really never had any intentions of joining in the first place, but I figured it would piss him off if he thought I did. "You must be pretty dumb, Oikawa."

"Rude!" he whined, glancing back at Iwaizumi. "Make him join us, Iwa-chan!"

The only response he got from Iwaizumi was a hit to the back of his head. "Make up your mind, Assikawa. Either you want him or you don't."

His nickname for Oikawa made me laugh. It was oddly fitting. However, as another spoke up, I found this encounter becoming less amusing. "Oh just shut up and screw each other already," a light-haired fellow said, with a dark messy-haired guy laughed beside him. The second guy's hair reminded me of Akaashi's, though the personality was much different.

"No way!" Oikawa immediately protested, looking severely offended at the mere thought. "You know I don't like guys!"

My reaction was a bit different than the setter's. "Sorry Assikawa, but you're not my type," I grinned, playing along with the joker. "I like 'em when they actually have a personality."

The rest of the boys burst out laughing. Oh, I could already tell that I was going to get along with these guys pretty well. Especially the ones who make fun of Oikawa. And Spiky of course. Er... I mean Kindaichi. Man, it's hard to stop calling someone by a nickname once you've already gotten used to it.

Someone cleared their throat loudly behind me, drawing all of our attention. "Alright, get to practicing," the coach said, ordering the boys away. Not wanting to anger him, they did as they were told, though Oikawa seem reluctant to go he went anyway. This left me alone with the coach. "You're the new kid, right? Ishida, wasn't it?"

"Yes sir," I said, instantly acting politely. Even if I'm a bit of an ass with Oikawa, I really wasn't that bad. In fact, I'm a pretty good person at heart. "Spiky said that since I was considering joining the club and I played at my old school, I should probably come check out the team."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Spiky?"

"I mean Kindaichi," I quickly corrected myself, making a mental note to do something about that. "He's a classmate and a friend of mine."

As the practice went on, I chatted with the two coaches. They briefly explained who was who and what positions they played. After that, we began to talk about what I played when I was at Fukurodani. I'd had to leave out a lot of details since I'd played as a girl back then, but I told them all they needed to know.

In the end, though, there was still one question that I had to answer. "So, will you be joining the club?"