After that unfortunate day, Mamoru avoided any contact with Keiji. She even resigned as their part-time manager in the volleyball club all for the sake of not seeing him. He was too dense that it hurt her.
Keiji, on the other hand, did everything he could to talk to his bestfriend. He missed her so much and he can't bare seeing her avoiding him. Keiji wanted to apologize so bad for being such a messed up friend. But he didn't really understand what she meant when they talked last time.
She gave up on him? But why? What is there to give up? Their friendship? It's not something anyone could let go. Or maybe she was hiding something from him. All he knows is that whatever it is, it's keeping them away.
And it's also keeping her and Konoha together.
Keiji hated that.
He wasn't in any position to tell her to stay away from Konoha, neither he has rights to keep his senior away from his bestfriend. It pained him seeing the two together like how he and Mamoru used to.
Keiji would sometimes wonder if this was the price to pay for having Hinami. And when he thought of that, he began regretting ever choosing the girl instead of his bestfriend.
"Having Mamoru-chan with us everyday, is better than seeing her" the captain and ace of Fukurodani sighed as he slumped down next to the ravenette, pertaining to the third year running closer to them with Keiji's water bottle in hand.
Seeing that Hinami's smile fell, Keiji knew that she heard what Bokuto said. "Thank you Hinami-san" he states, as his girlfriend handed him his bottle.
The female smiled curtly and settled down beside him, eyes glued on the ground.
"At the very least, even though Mamoru-chan is a bit cold, she would bring me by bottle too" Bokuto sighed even more, feeling thirsty but too tired to get his own water bottle.
Keiji watched as Hinami bit her bottom lip, clearly offended by Bokuto's comment. However, he didn't say anything to comfort his own girlfriend.
In all honesty, he agreed fully with what Bokuto said. "U-Um Keiji-kun, I'll go get Bokuto-san's bottle" Hinami awkwardly said and urged to stand up.
Only to get stopped by Bokuto again. "There's no need Ayukawa-san, it's fine."the boy turned to face Keiji. "Akgaaashe, bring back Mamoru-chan"
The pretty third year pursed her lips and excused herself. Keiji didn't follow, instead, he stayed glued to his seat and faced his captain.
"Did you have to be that blunt with her Bokuto-san?"
Bokuto shrugged, "It's better than sugar coating it, Akaashi"
—
Konoha strode alongside Mamoru in the busy streets in Tokyo. There was a festival held in one of the districts and he was eager to invite the lazy and uninterested girl with him.
"Mamoru-chan do you want some takoyaki?" Konoha offered.
The brunette had a frown on her face and it only deepened hearing the excited screams of everyone around them. "No. I want to go home Konoha"
"Oi! Don't forget your honorifics! I'm still a year older than you!" The blonde boy retorted, pretending he wasn't comfortable with her calling his name casually.
"Shut up and let's just look around" Mamoru rolled her eyes and grabbed his hands to pull him along.
But in all senses, he liked it. And he already liked her to the point where he just wanted to keep her all to himself.
Last time, when the girl came to him sobbing softly, all he could do was hug her and hold her trembling hands. He knew that there's only one person responsible for this, yet he couldn't beat some sense in him. Mamoru stopped him from doing so.
Yes, he was considered as the mother figure of their team but for Mamoru, he was willing to step out of that and teach someone a lesson. But he couldn't. Mamoru would be angry and it's the least he wanted to happen.
The two stayed in that busy town, enjoying their time with each other. Konoha lead the brunette to a more secluded place where they could watch the fireworks display properly without anyone standing in their way.
"Oi Konoha, it's pretty dark here" Mamoru commeted as she took careful steps to follow him.
Konoha just chuckled and took her hand, "Don't worry. I got you" he even said.
It put a smile on the girl's face yet at the same time she felt guilty. A week ago, the boy confessed that he likes her and would wait for her reply. She couldn't possibly feel glad that while her heart was weaping, Konoha kept taking care of it.
Mamoru knew to herself that she still loves Keiji and it would take time for her to accept her fate as his bestfriend. But she also knew that she was slowly liking Konoha. He was kind, funny and caring. There's no way she wouldn't feel attracter to him.
"Konoha?" She called out his name.
"What?"
"Thank you"
The blonde boy turned to face her, her eyes staring at the ground. "Why do you sound like you're saying farewell?"
Mamoru laughed softly, "I'm not. I just wanted to say thank you for being there when I was alone with myself. I don't know how I would repay you" she mentioned, honestly saying what she wanted to.
Konoha liked this part about her. She was straight forward yet, careful with the words she was going to use. She was blunt yet gentle at the same time. "Then go out with me"
"What?"
The boy walked closer to her, "Repay me by loving me Mamoru. You're wasting your everything on Akaashi. He doesn't even have a clue that you have those sort of feelings for him"
Mamoru's gaze fell on the ground again. "I don't know Konoha"
"You know I like you. Let me love you Mamoru. You have so much to give and I am willing to accept it"
His words resounded in Mamoru's head but she needed time for herself. She doesn't want to choose. If she chose to love Keiji still, she would be hurting herself even more. If she chose to be with Konoha, she would be lying to both herself and him knowing that she still have stronger feelings for Keiji.
Slowly, Mamoru, pulled her hand away from his.
"Please give me time"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
notes :
I'm sorry if the pace is too fast.
It is a short story and I intended for it to be like this.
The next updates left are the last chapter and Epilogue.
