Work Text:
“Eri?” Shouta rounds the corner of Gym Beta, a thread of worry crawling down his throat. It isn’t like Eri to wander off without him. He pushes the door open. “Eri? Er— oh.” He stares, brought up short. Shinsou stares back. Eri gives a shy little wave, then sits back down on her hands.
“Shouta, look what Shinsou can do!” Her legs kick back and forth, dangling above the ground from the bleachers. Shinsou perches awkwardly one row behind her— the kid’s 90% leg— with strands of Eri’s blue-white hair spilling between his fingers. His hands work with a deftness that surprises Shouta, twisting and weaving with ease. As he approaches, Shinsou gives him an almost sheepish look.
“Sorry, Sensei, I- her braid fell out, so—”
“Did you know Shinsou can do French braids, fishtails, and Dutch braids,” Eri interrupts, her eyes wide and serious. From any other seven-year-old it would be an accusation— Shouta is… not great at hair— but from Eri it’s just a Very Important Fact she thinks he should know.
“Is that so,” Shouta asks, raising an eyebrow at Shinsou, who flushes a little, the tips of his ears burning pink.
“I, uh, grew up with- er, you know. I have sisters.” Shinsou says it with a small, cringing smile. Shouta did not, in fact, know that. He also didn’t realize that Eri even knows who Shinsou is— sure, she usually has to sit through his after school training before they can go home, but he doesn’t know if they’ve ever been introduced. And he certainly hadn’t known she’d be comfortable enough with him to ask if he could fix her hair.
Shinsou finishes tying off the plait and taps Eri on the shoulder. “Alright, all done.” Eri’s hand comes back to feel at the braid, and she beams, apparently liking whatever she finds back there.
“Thank you for fixing my braid, Shinsou,” she says earnestly with a jerky little bow before Shouta can even prompt her. Shinsou’s hand rubs at the back of his neck.
“Yeah, that’s– it’s fine. No problem, Eri.” He thumbs-ups at her, then looks like he immediately regrets it. Shouta snorts internally, and sets his work bag down.
“Did you finish stretching?” he asks as his mentee extricates himself from the bleachers. Shinsou shakes his head. As the two of them work through some stretches together, Shouta makes a mental note to talk with Eri about wandering around and stranger danger.