falling [asanoya/ennotana] 🌦

the Start to Healing

.nishinoya.

as we walked to asahi's house, tanaka told me the story of what had happened at practice.

i gasped. "you seriously spiked him in the face so hard that he got knocked over?!"

"okay, i mean-" he threw his hands up defensively. "it was an accident! kind of. and to be fair, it more made him stumble and fall rather than knock him down, you know?"

"eh, yeah, i guess. now continue."

///

we reached his house soon, even before ryū finished his story, and i sucked in a deep breath.

"do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

i shook my head.

"no. i need to do this alone."

i walked down the front path which seemed like a billion kilometers long, set the box down, then quickly walked back to meet ryu at the sidewalk.

just as we were walking away again, i heard more footsteps crunching in the snow behind us, and i looked behind me.

the person standing there was asahi.

we stared at each other for a moment, neither of us saying anything.

his face seemed to be full of sadness and regret. good. he hurt me, so he should be hurting too. well... that's mean. i don't want him to feel bad, but i also want him to know the pain he caused me.

then, he spoke.

"nishinoya, i'm so sorry. i should have told you what i was doing, i never meant for this to happen."

i looked away, suddenly realizing how disheveled my appearance was. my hair was greasy and limp, because i hadn't bothered to style it today, and my eyes were probably still puffy and red from crying.

i glanced at tanaka, who merely glared at asahi, then put his arm around my shoulder, and started guiding me back down the sidewalk to my house.

it wasn't until a few seconds later that i heard more feet crunching in the snow, indicating that asahi was moving as well.

the footsteps were getting quieter, so he must've been walking toward his house rather than toward us.

i guess he noticed the box, because i heard a faint, "noya, wait!" but it was too late. ryū and i had already turned the corner and were out of sight.

we continued the walk home, in silence at first, then ryū continued his story, telling me that he had gotten in an argument with asahi, and had even talked back to daichi and suga when they objected. and after that he had stormed out and ran to my house.

///

once we got to my house, i was ready to flop back on the bed and cry, but i was prevented by ryū.

"no way, mister. you're gonna take a shower, okay? you can cry in there if you want to, but showering will help you feel better," he said.

i rolled my eyes.

"ugh, fine."

"that's the spirit! i'll get it started for you."

he walked out of the room, and i plopped down on the bed, staring blankly at the floor. a few moments later, i heard the sound of the shower starting, then ryū was back in the room.

"c'mon, buddy, up and at 'em," he said, dragging me out of bed and down the hall.

"blah. what if i don't want to be up or at 'em?"