Chapter Text
The next morning came faster than expected. Tendou woke up with a severe headache and thought for a moment if he really was able to go to school, but since he didn't want the school to inform his mother, otherwise she would completely overreact again, he sat up.
Only now did he remember that he was with Ushijima. He had just come into the room. Apparently he had gotten up much earlier. It looked like he had just taken a shower.
Ushijima sat down on the bed next to the redhead. "Are you sure you want to go to school?" he asked gently, brushing Tendou's hair out of his face and examining his bruised eye the bruise on his cheek.
Tendou closed his eyes and without realizing it, he pressed his face a little more against the other's hand, enjoying the touch. "Yeah, I'm fine." He began to grin broadly, even if it hurt a little. Long enough Ushijima had worried about him, it was time to go back to being the happy boy who didn't let anything get to him.
"You think that's noticeable?" he pointed to his eye. "Only when people look at you." said Ushijima. Tendou laughed. "Was that a joke just now?" Ushijima thought for a moment. "No." To which Tendou laughed even harder.
"Tendou..."
Meanwhile, the redhead had stood up and was getting dressed in the clothes Ushijima had laid out for him. "What's up, Wakatoshi-kun?" he asked, almost singing, pulling the T-shirt over his head and trying to hide how much he was in pain.
Ushijima propped his elbows on his legs and clasped his hands. He hesitated for a moment and it seemed like he couldn't find the right words, but then he started to speak in a low and calm voice. "Tendou. Who did this to you?"
Tendou winced and again a sharp pain went through the left side of his body. For a moment, the smile on his face slipped away, but quickly the redhead had found it again. "Wakatoshi-kun, let it go. Besides, I don't really remember." He didn't look his friend in the eye as he spoke. "Let.... just let it go..." he added quietly.
Tendou knew the kind of person the 3 guys who had beaten him up were. He saw it immediately in their eyes, their posture and noticed it in the way they spoke. You couldn't talk to people like that and if you stood up to them it got worse. The best thing was to just take it and ignore it.
"That's not the right way." said Ushijima with a shake of her head. Tendou was about to retort something when Ushijima stood up. "But if you want to let it go, we will." Lowering his head, he walked past the redhead and opened the door to the room. "When you're done come into the kitchen, we'll have breakfast. After that, we'll get your school supplies." Quietly, the brown-haired man closed the door behind him and just left Tendou standing there.
The latter bit his lower lip. It hadn't been his intention to offend Ushijima, but Ushijima was the jewel of the volleyball team with a bright future. Tendou didn´t want him to get into trouble. After all, it was only a few weeks until they finished school. Then the problem would vanish into thin air anyway.
Slowly, Tendou walked down the long hallway of the house. The Ushijima house had only one floor, but it was huge and quite traditional. Some of the rooms Tendou briefly poked his nose into as he passed looked as if old samurai might jump out at any moment. So far, Tendou had really only stayed in Ushijima's room or in the garden. He knew it was rude to look in the rooms, but he was so curious and he would excuse himself by looking for the kitchen.
Just as he pulled his head back out of one of the rooms he noticed a large dog blocking his path. It was an Akita Inu whose fur was reddish brown and white and looked incredibly fluffy. The dog just sat there staring at Tendou, who didn't know how to react now. However, the dog didn't seem to be aggressive, so Tendou leaned forward slightly and started talking to the dog in a low voice. "Well little one, what's your name?" "Molten," came the reply. Tendou tilted his head in amazement and the dog did the same. Had just the dog answered his question? No, behind the dog stood Ushijima looking at the two.
Tendou laughed. "Your dog's name is like a volleyball?" Now Ushijima tilted her head. "Yes." That's all he said, but Tendou knew that this "yes" meant "yeah, what's the big deal?" so he answered the question that wasn't asked. "That's cool. Can I go around him without him eating me?" "He would never bite." replied Ushijima, and Tendou relaxed as he walked past the dog, patting its head when it was within reach. The dog really was as soft as he looked. "Unless I tell him." added Ushijima and Tendou quickly pulled his hand away. Now Ushijima had to laugh. Tendou had to smile too, because it wasn't often that he heard his friend laugh.
They now went together into the huge kitchen and the dining table was richly set. Tendou's chin dropped in amazement. "Woooow, so much! Did you make that? Tell me, how long have you been awake?" "A little while now. I went for a run and took a shower, then I prepared breakfast." Tendou's mouth dropped open. Enthusiastically he sat down at the table and Molten joined them in the kitchen and lay down in a corner, where he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Tendou took a sip of tea and then immediately went after the mochi. Ushijima watched him as he ate from his bowl of rice. "You should eat a decent breakfast." He opined. "Yesssss...." was all he got in response from the redhead, who shoved another rice cake into his mouth. He had never eaten such good mochi. For himself always bought the cheap ones from the supermarket.
After they had eaten breakfast, or rather, after Ushijima had eaten breakfast and Tendou had stolen some sweets from the table, they cleared the table together and when they came outside the car was already waiting for them.
'I could get used to this' Tendou thought to himself as he got into the car.
The drive to the dorm didn't take long, they both got out and Ushijima told the driver they would walk the rest of the way. The driver said goodbye and then drove off. It was still very early, but a few students were already coming out of the building. Tendou hesitated for a moment, but then started walking. A few of the students who passed them started whispering when they saw Ushijima. This was actually quite normal, since he was the star of the school. However, hardly anyone dared to speak to him directly. For Tendou it was pleasant, because so at least no one looked at him.
Tendou quickly put on his school uniform and did his hair. Then he threw a few notebooks into his school bag and was done after only 10 minutes. "I'll give your clothes back to you after I wash them." the redhead said thanking him again. Ushijima raised his hand. "That's all right. Take your time."
The two slowly made their way to the school, as they still had time before classes would begin. Silently, they walked side by side. Around them were many students also on their way to school, a few walking in front of them, a few behind them, and some overtaking them as they seemed to be in a hurry to get to school.
Suddenly, Ushijima noticed Tendou's body stiffen and he slowed down. Concerned, he looked to his friend as he was jostled from behind. A boy almost as tall as himself had bumped into him with his shoulder as they passed and apologized loudly, not letting him see their direction. "Sorry, must have missed to seeyou!" His two friends who were walking with him laughed and when Ushijima heard the guy quietly add "freak" he clenched his hands into fists and quickened his pace, but he was held back by a hand on his forearm. Turning back to Tendou, he saw that the latter's face was flushed red and he looked to the ground. "Toshi-kun... leave it." Then he looked back up and smiled at Ushijima. "No harm done, I'm sure it was just an accident."
Ushijima sighed. He tried to spot the 3 boys, but he could only see them from behind. Shaking his head, he continued walking.
They hadn't quite reached the building when Tendou could hear someone calling his name. He turned around and saw Michi running towards him. Tendou put his hand on Ushijima's shoulder. "Wakatoshi-kun, you can go to your class already. I'll see you at recess." Ushijima hesitated, but then nodded. "Yeah. See you then." Then he went into the building. Now that Michi was there, he could leave Tendou alone with her.
Arriving at her friend's place, she immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him slightly away from the entrance of the school building. Only now did she look up at him and was horrified to see his face. "Oh my god, Satori! That looks terrible!" Carefully, she raised her hands up to touch his face. Tendou leaned forward slightly so she could reach it as well. "You shouldn´t say things like that about a friend's face, though!" he said with a smile. "Idtiot! Does it hurt?" Tendou shook her head. "No, it's all right. I got painkillers from the doctor." "That's terrible...who did that? And why would someone do that?"
The redhead was silent for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know, I guess someone got off on the wrong foot." "You don't know who that was?" Again, he hesitated before answering. "No. I didn't know them..."
"Michi-chaaan!"
The two were interrupted by the loud shout of a girl. When they both turned to the voice, they saw Akane. The girl that Tendou had lured to the boys. Michi waved to the girl as she approached the two. Tendou remained silent.
Akane grabbed Michi by the wrist. "Come on, let's go inside." Then she pulled Michi away from Tendou toward the front door. Michi turned to Tendou, but he just raised his hand that it was okay and followed the girls with some distance.
Akane pulled Michi closer to her. "I don't think you should spend so much time with him." She pointed her head in Tendou's direction. "Otherwise, nasty rumors will start." Michi didn't understand. "Huh?" "Forget it. Anyway, you can tell me anything if something is bothering you." Michi still didn't understand. "What?" When did they become such good friends? During breaks and every now and then she had been with Akane and other girls, but Michi had never really talked to her that much. Akane simply pulled Michi further into the classroom.
Tendou sighed loudly as he went into the classroom as well. This could still become very strenuous weeks, until the school year was over. The redhead plopped down on his chair and tried to sit so that his face could not be seen. He wanted to avoid being questioned. Fortunately for him, there was no one in the class who paid much attention to him except Michi, and so the first hours of school passed rather quietly. Also no teacher asked about Tendou's well-being, which relieved him.
When the big break finally came, Tendou did not get anything to eat. His cheek and jaw hurt more than in the last few days, so he just got a cool drink and held it to his face while he sat down at a place on the edge of the cafeteria where the volleyball players always sat. He couldn't find Michi, but she often spent the break with other friends and maybe it was better if they kept some distance.
A shadow settled over Tendou and he looked up. Ushijima was standing in the seat opposite him with his tray, looking at him with concern. "You're not eating." he said in a calm voice, as usual. Tendou smiled at him. "I'm not used to eating breakfast, so I'm not hungry." His face was in terrible pain and he was tingling all over, but he didn´t tell his friend.
"Hey Tendou! Did you get the new... ? Holy shit! What happened to you!!!" Semi Eita had come to the table and was about to start talking about the newest issue of Shonen Jump when he saw Tendou's face. When Ohira, Shirabu and Kawanishi joined them, they all looked at him and waited for an answer. Ushijima also looked at him, but he remained silent.
Tendou started laughing and scratched the back of his head exaggeratedly. "Hahaha, so, silly story, but I.... um... fell... fell down the stairs pretty stupidly and landed on my face. Hahaha..."
The volleyball players looked at him somewhat incredulously. They noticed that he was acting strange even for a Tendou Satori. To dispel the awkward silence that had arisen, Ohira spoke up. "Did a doctor take a look at that? It looks bad." Tendou squinted briefly at Ushijima before answering. "Yeah, it's fine, really." Semi screwed up his face and didn't seem satisfied. But Ohira was faster. "That's all right, then. You shouldn't joke with something like that."
While the others talked, Tendou held the cool can to his cheek the whole time. He had the feeling that his face would swell up again a little. Ushijima watched him anxiously. Semi also kept squinting at the redhead. He wondered why he was so quiet today. Even if he had fallen down the stairs and was perhaps in pain, it was very uncharacteristic. Back when he had hit by one of Ushijima's spikes with full force to the face, he had talked non-stop, even though the coach had pressed a towel to his face to stop his nose bleeding. You could hardly understand him then, and yet he hadn't stopped talking.
When the break was over, they all stood up and took their dishes back to the harness return. Tendou also rose and suddenly the whole room seemed to spin and Tendou had to hold onto the table to keep from falling over. He closed his eyes and hoped the dizziness would pass, but it got worse. Maybe coming to school had not been a good idea after all. A pain throbbed in his head as if someone were hitting it with a hammer and nausea spread through his stomach. Carefully he opened his eyes and saw the worried faces of his crewmates swaying back and forth in front of him. Ushijima put a hand on Tendou's shoulder and from far away he heard Semi speak. "Tendou! Tendou, are you all right? What's wrong?"
After the redhead took a few deep breaths, the room seemed to come to a halt. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "I'm fine." he said softly, feeling the grip on his shoulder tighten. "I'll take you to the nurse." said Ushijima, but Tendou refused. "I told you I'd be fine." He started laughing, hoping his friends would buy it. "I'll just have to sit around in class anyway, it's all good." Then he walked away, trying to look as light on his feet as possible, even though it wasn't that easy with this headache. He still had painkillers in his school bag, he would take one of those and it would get better. Concerned, his friends looked after him and Semi could only shake his head. "I just don't understand this guy..."
The painkiller really helped a bit with the pain and so Tendou was able to get through the rest of the lessons reasonably well.
After class, he went with them to the gym, but his head was pounding so badly that he asked the coach if he could stay but sit out today. The coach was shocked at how Tendou's face looked, his right cheek was now swollen and had turned a purple color and his eye was still red. When asked what happened to him, he answered again with the stair story and the coach allowed him to stay but told him to sit down and if he was not feeling well to go home.
To be honest, Tendou was not well at all, but he was afraid to be alone. His intuition, which rarely deceived him, told him that it was not over yet. Maybe he was wrong, he didn´t really kow. Tendou sat on a chair at the edge of the field and had to laugh. Almost every time he got beat up for something, he didn't know why. Apparently these guys, like everyone else, were right and it was his fault.
The training actually went on as usual and Tendou was busy watching Ushijima who was there with utmost concentration. It was nice to see that the otherwise emotionless boy suddenly had a sparkle in his eyes during playing volleyball. Tendou sighed and suddenly had to think of the moment at the pond. There had been something between them, the redhead knew for sure, but he wasn't sure what it was. He had no problems reading his friend otherwise, but here he didn't know what to think.
Noticing that his teammates were cleaning up, he helped out a bit, moving around wasn't pleasant for his headache, but a little distraction did him good. While helping Goshiki take down the net he praised him for his great performance during the training and the latter was so pushed by it and rolled up the net so fast that he snatched it from Tendou's fingers and cleared it away by himself. This made Tendou smile. He could well imagine that the first grader would go far.
Together with Goshiki, Semi and Ushijima, Tendou strolled towards the school gate, where he spotted Michi, who was apparently waiting for him, because she waved wildly when she spotted him. But there was someone else standing next to Michi. At the sight, Tendou's blood froze in his veins. It was HIM. The guy who had beaten him up with his friends. What was he doing with Michi? They seemed to be talking and they were laughing.
Ushijima noticed that Tendou was slowing down, but didn't say anything, just watched him.
When they arrived at the gate, Semi and Goshiki greeted the two and Ushijima nodded, but Tendou remained silent. Which was a bit unusual and Semi looked questioningly at the redhead, but he was misbehaving quite often.
"Satori-kun! This is Sato Eiichi. He waited here with me, isn't that nice?" asked Michi with a charming smile on her face and when Sato put his arm around Michi, Tendou's stomach tightened. "Well if anyone is nice, it's dear Michi-chan, she waited especially for you. She must really like you." Michi blushed and pushed Sato away from her. "Oh stop it! We're just good friends and that's all. "
That's when the boy with the dyed blond hair and light brown, almost yellow, piercing eyes came up to Tendou and got close to his face. "Oh man, you've got it pretty bad. No wonder she's worried." His voice sounded worried, but his grin showed something else and when he also raised his hand to touch Tendou's face, the latter took a step back. Quick, Ushijima grabbed Sato's hand but said nothing. Goshiki and Semi stood next to him and could literally feel the tense air. They watched it all with wide eyes.
"It's okay big guy! I didn't mean to hurt your buddy, after all." Sato withdrew his hand and now raised both hands in apology. Ushijima nodded silently. "Hey, which way do you guys have to go?" asked Sato in an innocent voice. Michi pointed in the direction where their bus stop was and explained that Tendou always accompanied her and waited for the bus with her. "What a coincidence!" Sato clapped his hands. "I have to go to the exact same bus stop. Let's go together." Michi thought it was a great idea. Actually, she did want to talk to Tendou again on the way home, but she kind of totally liked the blond-haired guy. She would call Tendou later.
The car that picked Ushijima up every day was already there. He grabbed Tendou carefully by the shoulder and pulled him aside briefly. "You can come to my place," he said calmly. Tendou tried to look as relaxed as possible. "It's okay, Wakatoshi-kun! You've helped me enough. I'll go to the dorms and study for final exams. I'll probably end reading a manga, but I really plan on studying." He laughed and pushed Ushijima away from him in the direction of the car. Although he would have preferred to pull him towards him.
Semi and Goshiki still couldn't figure out this strange situation and said goodbye, since they had to go in another direction.
Ushijima hesitated for a moment. "Okay. Call if you need anything." He put his hand on Tendou's shoulder once more and squeezed it gently before walking over to the car and getting in. Tendou still watched as it drove away.
Then Tendou heard a laugh behind him and winced again. "Haha, don't you think those two look like lovers, Michi-chan?" Michi just laughed nervously, knowing that Tendou had a thing for Ushijima, but then she quickly deflected. "Let's... Let's get going so we can still catch the bus." And the three of them marched off.
Tendou walked on the left, Michi on the right, and Sato walked between them, constantly with a innocent smile on his face. Tendou found it hard to breathe. He didn't know what to do either. He didn't really want a guy like that to get too close to his Michi, but what should he do? Should he tell her the truth? Suddenly he was torn out of his thoughts. "Hey, you really don't look well. Aren't you feeling well?" looking to his right, he saw Sato's worried face and couldn't believe what a good an actor he was. If he hadn't been there himself, he would never believe that this boy could hurt anyone. "No, it's okay." replied Tendou quietly.
Sato put an arm around Michi again. "You can go home if you want, I'll take good care of Michi-chan!"
Tendou's stomach contracted again. He couldn't possibly leave Michi alone with this guy. He grabbed Mi-chan by the wrist and pulled her a little to the side. "What... What's this Satori-kun?" The redhead leaned down to Michi so that he was close to her face. "Listen, I don't want you to be alone with him." He said seriously. "What do you mean?" the girl didn't understand why Tendou reacted that way, but before he could answer, Sato intervened. "Clearly, he's jealous. You don't do what he wants and already he shows his true colors." Again he touched the girl, placing his hand on her shoulder.
Tendou shook her head. "What...? No, I just don't want to..." "Listen Tendou." The girl said softly to him. "I know you gone through a lot, and it's really sweet when you are worried about me, but..." She pushed Tendou a little further, moving away from Sato enough that he couldn't hear her when she whispered. "... I think he's really cute. He's totally nice and we have a lot in common. He asked me if we're going to the graduation together and I think I'm going to say yes. Please don't ruin this with... your weird behaviours." The redhead's eyes widened a bit and he tilted his head a little to the side. "Weird… behaviours?" Michi cringed. Had she said weird? She hadn't meant to put it that way. "No, listen I... I'm just totally messed up right now, you hear me? I didn't mean you were weird. But I really want to get to know him better."
For a moment, the redhead was speechless. Never would he have thought that his best friend thought he was weird. That hurt him more than the beating he had received a few days ago. It was impossible for him to look her in the eyes and he straightened up again. "Go ahead and do what you want. But write me when you get home." He said quietly and without looking at Michi again, he turned and left.
The girl was about to run after him. Tendou had completely misunderstood, but she had never been in love and couldn't think straight, so she had said that crap. But a hand held her back. She turned and looked into Sato's eyes. "Let him go. You know he's a weirdo. The bus is coming, we don't want to miss it. Don't worry, he'll have it together by tomorrow, sure." He spoke so loudly that Tendou could still understand him, and he quickened his steps. Michi nodded silently and then let the blond-haired man pull her along.
Tendou had his eyes on the ground and was walking faster and faster. He was so angry. Not at Michi, but at himself. He wasn't jealous because he wasn't in love with the girl, his affection for her was much deeper. She was for him like the family he never had. A person to whom one could confide everything. With whom you could just be yourself without feeling ashamed. The redhead trusted the girl even more than his teammates. And now she was telling him that she thought he was weird? Had she been acting it all out because she had no one else at the moment? Why had she come to bed with him and comforted him if she just thought he was a stupid freak like everyone else think of him? Tendou got more and more into these thoughts and was now walking so fast that he was almost running.
Only when he was completely out of breath in his room he stopped. And only now he noticed that tears were running down his face. And now he doubted that it had been a good idea to just run away. How could he have left Michi alone with this evil guy? Tendou had been so caught off guard that he just wanted to get away. He quickly pulled his smartphone out of his pocket, but he didn't have a message yet. But Michi couldn't possibly be home already.
Tendou put the phone on his desk and sat down on the bed, trying to clear his head again. Why had everything suddenly become so complicated? The last 3 years had gone so well and he had hardly had to worry. Of course there were bad times, but it hadn't been as bad as it had been since last Saturday for a long time. He sat like that for a long time, lost in dark thoughts without noticing how time was passing.
The smartphone screen lit up and Tendou took it in his hand. Again he had a message from the unknown number.
~ Are you sad? You did a really good job. Now just stay away from her. ;) ~
Emotionless, he looked at the screen. Could it be that Sato simply had a crush on Michi and therefore wanted to "get rid" of Tendou? Still, the redhead had a bad feeling.
Then he got another message. This time from Michi.
~I'm home and I'm fine. Are you ok? I'm really sorry about what I said, but I'm totally messed up @.@~
Tendou took one deep breath and then typed a message.
~It's okay. I'm fine, you know me :3 ~ Tears ran down his face as he wrote this. He didn't want her to realize how much this little thing had hurt him.
~That's why I'm worried -.-~ came back.
~Let it be, I have to do homework *puke* See you tomorrow, good night :*~ Tendou tried to write as cheerfully and normally as possible, so Michi wouldn't notice that he was feeling pretty bad right now.
~Well, have fun! :* See you tomorrow!
He continued to stare at the screen for a while, but then he carelessly threw his smartphone on his bed. He grabbed a towel, took a shower, and then went to sleep without eating anything. Tendou just wanted to get this day over with, however it took what felt like an eternity for sleep to finally come to him and relieve him of his thoughts.
When Tendou set off for school the next morning, he looked terrible. He had not styled his hair up as he usually did, nor had he combed it. He had only run his hand through his hair once and now it hung wildly in every direction. But he was so tired that he didn't care.
The pain in his face had lessened somewhat and the color of the bruises seemed to be changing as well. The edges had already become lighter and seemed almost greenish. The inside of his eye was also no longer red. But he didn't feel any better because of it. He noticed some classmates staring at him as he passed them on his way to the classroom, they were all surprised by his hairstyle after all, but he either ignored them or gave them a big smile and greeted them, causing their heads to turn red and quickly turn away.
Once in the classroom, he sat down in his seat, leaned back, stretched his legs and yawned loudly. He looked around the classroom and came to the conclusion that there was no point in letting things get to him like this and did what he always did in situations like this. He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth, and with that he pushed away everything that was hurting him. All the thoughts and feelings that caused him such grief. It was best to just ignore them and move on. A small smile spread across his face and so he just sat there staring ahead until Michi joined him at the table.
"Hey Satori-kun..." she said softly. "Hey Mi-Mi-chan! What's up?" said Tendou almost singing. Nervously, the girl played with her hair. "Are you mad about yesterday? I'm really sorry for what I said. It's just that I was..." Tendou interrupted her, holding his big hand right in front of her face. "It's okay, Mi-chan. I was overreacting. Probably because I was hit too hard on the head." He laughed out loud, but Michi didn't think it was funny. Tendou was acting strangely. Even for a Tendou Satori. "Let's just forget about it. There are more important things, the final exams are coming up and you're going to the graduation ceremony with a pretty boy." When Tendou said the words, he felt sick. He hoped she wouldn't notice though, which apparently she didn't, because judging by her red face, she hadn't heard his undertone. "Don't say that out loud... I haven't said yes yet..." she said shyly, but smiled as she did so.
Tendou thought she looked beautiful when she smiled so sheepishly. He hated the thought that she would give that smile to that creep, but he had decided not to get involved. He would watch the whole thing, but only from a distance.
Some girls from the class had heard this and now stormed up to Michi to question her. The girl threw an angry look at her red-haired friend, who just had to laugh out loud.
The school day passed relatively unspectacularly just like the next days. Tendou kept a little more distance from Michi than usual, but she didn't seem to notice because she was floating on cloud nine. Sato gave her presents all the time and the two spent a lot of time together. Tendou, on the other hand, had formed a last-minute study group with the rest of the third graders from the volleyball team to cram for final exams and spent most of his time with Ushijima, Semi and the others.
Although Ushijima and he no longer spoke about what had almost happened that evening at the pond, something had changed between them. More and more often, Tendou noticed Ushijima watching him and then embarrassedly looking away.
When they left school for the last time, all the third graders promised each other that they would stay in touch and meet at least once a year if possible. They fell into each other's arms.
The hug between Tendou and Ushijima was a little longer than it was with the others.
Tendou wanted to end the hug before it looked really weird, but Ushijima held him tight and squeezed him a little tighter, almost squeezing the air out of Tendou's lungs. With slightly flushed faces, their friends looked away from the two, said goodbye once more, and left the two alone. They had known for a long time that Tendou and Ushijima were close, probably even before the two knew it themselves.
When Ushijima finally let go of his red-haired friend, who had to take a deep breath, he smiled and whispered something to him before saying goodbye and driving away in the big black car.