sanctus ༄ k. kozume

xi

did i mention that tanaka is like a super common japanese last name LOL
tanaka was also my moms last name before she got married eyy

"Hey, Noriko. Wake up." Noriko stirred, hearing a voice in her sleep. A soft, monotone, sugary voice. Maybe it was her's, but she didn't sound anything like that. "Five more minutes," she murmured. It might have been her mom. No, it's not her. She has an airy, feminine voice. This person sounds masculine, she thought. Nori scrunched up her face, unable to process the unfamiliar voice. "Okay. Well I'm going to leave you." Her brain slapped her in the face, Kenma! Noriko shot up from her sleep, completely energized.

"Ohmygosh, I didn't mean to fall asleep." She said, covering her mouth. Noriko scooted back.

Kenma blinked, replying nonchalantly, "it's fine."

Nori let out a sigh of relief, placing a hand on her heart. She glanced outside. It was pitch black. Her mother wouldn't be here to pick her up. Good thing I took that nap then, she thought.

"Kenma! Noriko! Get your asses out here!" Kuroo called sleepily.

"Coming!" Noriko jumped from her seat, running down the aisle of the bus, grabbing the hand rail as she turned and jumped out of the bus. She landed on her feet, of course.

"How the hell do you have so much energy?" Kuroo asked mid-yawn.

"I'll never tell you my secrets," she replied with a wink.

Kenma had walked out of the bus, hunching over, rubbing his eyes and covering his mouth when he yawned. It was kind of cute, Noriko had to admit. "Honestly, you have more energy than Shoyo."

Noriko hit his shoulder lightly, "proud of myself for that one."

Everyone had left, their parents picking them up. Noriko tapped her foot on the concrete, making sure her shoes were on tight. She dropped off the water bottles and bag with Nekomata, who had offered to take her home but she quietly denied. "Don't tell me you're planning on walking home."

Nori glanced behind her, seeing her favorite setter, Kenma.

He's not leaving either?

She flashed a smile, "I'm not. I'm going to jog."

"At this hour?"

"Would you like to join me?" Noriko offered.

Kenma avoided her gaze, trying to come up with a reasonable answer. And the most logical one. "Sure," he replied, heaving his bag over his shoulder.

The two walked in total silence. It was a bit awkward but Kenma enjoyed the quiet air between them. Noriko had offered to hold his bag but Kenma said it was too heavy but the poor girl insisted. For her, the bag was only slightly heavy. The water bottle bag was way heavier than this. Kenma yawned, rubbing his eyes. He couldn't understand how much energy this one girl could had. Nori has picked up speed, careful about Kenma's bag in her possession. He, himself, wasn't sure if he should follow what she was doing. Kenma just did a power walk while Noriko did a slight jog. "Kenma, tell me something I don't know about you."

"Huh? Why?"

"I already told you everything about me last night, didn't I?" Noriko said, slowing down. She turned around, "I want to know a little bit more about you."

Kenma wasn't sure what to tell her and he blurted out, "I dyed my hair so I wouldn't stand out in high school."

Noriko sputtered a laugh. The boy's cheeks flushed from embarrassment as he looked away from her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, Kenma. I like your hair, I think it's nice." She grinned.

Kenma just didn't know how to feel so he didn't say anything.

"I, personally, don't care what others think about me."

"Then what about..the uh...The whole Tanaka incident?"

Noriko flinched, "that's the only thing that bothers me..."

Maybe, the topic was just too sensitive for her still. Kenma didn't push it any further than that. "Hey, Noriko?"

"Huh? What is it?" She asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Um...Thanks...for everything...I guess."

The maroon-haired girl let out a lighthearted laugh, "it was no problem, Kenma. That's what friends are for." She turned her head around and smiled at Kenma.

Her support and friendship was genuine and everything about her was so raw, he couldn't tell when she was being herself or if everything was a lie. There was a pain in her voice and the laugh sounded forced. He guessed that nobody was really there for her when she was pushed down like how he was. Kenma felt a guilty tug on his heartstrings and he absolutely hated it.  He remembered that she said boys attacked her so she learned to put up a fight. Envy. If only he could fight back, he wouldn't feel as if he owed her. Kenma bit his lip, suppressing a sigh. "It's not really what friends are for," he finally said.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused.

"You didn't have to do anything for me. We weren't close back then, Noriko."

The girl shrugged off his harsh truth, "I would have done it for everyone." Noriko stared up at the sky, "nobody deserves to be treated like that."

"Really?" Kenma said, raising a brow. Their views were more different than he thought.

"When I came to this school, I promised myself something." Noriko said.

"And what was that promise?" Kenma asked, a bit intrusive.

She didn't say anything for a while. Kenma thought she might not tell him at all. Which was fine with him. It's not like he cared or anything,  but that one part of him wanted to know what she promised to herself.

"I..." she began, sucking in air, "don't want to say. Not yet."

"Oh. Okay." Slightly bummed out, Kenma pretended not to be disappointed.

"Kenma," Noriko began, "what happened to your passion for volleyball?"

"I...never had any," he answered, feeling ashamed of something he was fine with his entire life.

"Can I change that for you?" Noriko asked with a smile on her face, "cause I would love it if you understood how volleyball is to me."

"I don't need to know," he said flatly. "Sports was never...my thing."

"Bummer," she sighed, "it's a sport where you can't drop the ball."

"I know that, obviously."

"A sport where you have to work together, despite your differences." Noriko fiddled with her hands, turning around to face Kenma, her face twisted in pain, "and I only learned that from you."