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Saku watched from the sideline, watching Subaru and some of her friends play Volleyball. Saku wasn't too well versed in the game, but it seemed as though Subaru was taking a more offensive position. She'd scored a few points already, and it was only 7 minutes into the game.
Subaru had really caught his eye now. Well, she always did, but this time he genuinely could not get his eyes of her. She was stunning.
And obviously his mind was running with the worst ideas ever regarding her.
I won't comment on them but… damn Saku.
Anyhow, she was up and out, jumping to perfectly redeliver hits that Madoka would defensively reflect from the other side. Meanwhile Suzuka and Chisa were on the other side, putting up a fair fight against their friends with their own teams. The score was 5-2 to Subaru and Madoka's team.
What was Saku doing there though?
Well, long story short, Subaru invited him. Subaru had her reasons, we all know what, but Saku didn't. Classic Saku.
Oh well, he would watch. It's fine, he enjoyed watching her anyway.
And he had company.
"Loverboy, why don't you help me with getting the water into the cooler?"
Saku blushed at Ayumi's comment.
"L-Loverboy!?" he exclaimed. Ayu giggled and Kaoruko, who was keeping score, tried her best to not laugh and again forget the score.
"Yes, you. I see that glimmer in your eye. Now get up and follow me to the teacher's room, let's grab some drinks." she said.
Saku reluctantly got up and followed her to the room. "Fine…"
"Alright, now that we're outta there… do spill the tea." Ayu said, nudging him with her shoulder. Ayu has gotten much more… comfortable around Saku and the guys, but this was the first time Saku really saw that in action. It was a little surreal, but he'd seen it before with Kaouruko.
"T-The tea?"
"Don't play dumb with me. You have a crush on Subaru-san." she quipped, a smirk on her face.
"..! I do not- how can you- who has-"
Ayu laughs. "You're blushing~" she teases.
"…I liked you better before."
"Alright, you big tsundere. But do tell."
Saku sighed. "…fine. Yes, I got the hots for Hoshina-san. Yes, I think of her a lot. Yes, I was panicking when I was watching her play."
"…"
"…shit."
Ayu burst into laughter as Saku covered his face in embarrassment. "Oh you, you are in love. So so in love."
"S-Shush."
Ayu opened the door to the teacher's room and let Saku in first. "After you~" she quiped. Saku rolled his eyes.
"You've… grown to a much more confident person, huh?" he asked. Ayu smiled.
"Well… yeah. You guys are… well, friends now. You especially have had the largest impact on me, I feel."
"What have I done for you, though?"
"Oh, nothing much. Listen to my issues, gave me advice, open up about your own things… and now, you're comfortable enough to be with me alone. Not that we'd do anything, but it does make a statement." she said.
Saku blinked. "…hmm, I guess I have done all of that, huh?" he said, picking up a large pack of Purposely Unbranded Isotonic Beverage. Huh. Odd name.
"Indeed. You've helped me become less afraid of boys as a whole. You guys are like one of us now!" she said, as she picked up some drinks too. "Alright, let's go." she said, leading him out of the room.
"I… will echo that statement. It feels like you lot have become part of our little friend group too." Saku said. "We're just… one big group now, I guess."
Ayu chuckles. "Yeah, I suppose. Interesting. 3 years back, I wouldn't have imagined that would happen. The split between boys and girls in this school is… worrying. It's worked its way into our own psyche outside of school."
"Yeah… it's concerning. I've seen our fellow students getting more close around each other but… the fact that Rintaro and Waguri had to start being more… public, to show that it's fine…"
"Gweh."
"Gweh indeed. But at least now, lads and lasses in our school can frolic freely." Saku said. Ayu giggled.
"Gosh, you sound so old."
"Sh-Shut up!"
Ayu laughed as she pushed the door open.
"Alright alright. Now it's your job to open the packets and-"
Suddenly a scream was heard, a crack, and a thud.
Both their heads snapped to the court, and…
Subaru has fallen down, and her foot… didn't seem right.
Oh no.
Saku instinctively ran to the court, dropping the drinks and leaving Ayu behind. Though she and Kaoruko also ran to her, but Saku was first to arrive.
"Holy… what happened!?" Saku exclaimed, squatting to talk to her. Subaru's eyes were shut tight, brows furrowed, and mouth clenched. She winced.
"S-Subaru!"
"Yikes…"
"…crap. Crap crap crap. Uhm… Hoshina-san, talk to me." he said. Subaru shook her head.
"Jump… bad… ankle… hurt…"
Saku didn't let a moment pass. "Come, I'll lift you to the nurse's office. Someone tell coach that she's… broken her ankle." he said.
"Lift… me?"
"A-Ah. Right. Uhm… who can-"
"N-No…" Subaru protested. "You. Lift. Please."
Saku couldn't really compute, then again he couldn't really just crash right there. So he took a breath and began.
First making sure she was not injured anywhere else, he first got her left arm over his neck, and his right arm supported her back. He then put his left arm under her knees, made sure those were fine, and he got up.
Subaru winced from the sudden abscence of contact with her ankle, and hugged Saku tightly. "O-Ow…"
Saku — somehow — ignored the fallen angel in his hands and began brisk walking to the nurse's office. No one followed.
The run to the office was quiet. Other than Saku's ragged breaths and Subaru's hurt sounds, they were pin drop silent. Oh, and the squeeking of Saku's shoes.
The office was thankfully on the same level as the gymnasium, but also on the same level as the regular classrooms.
Luckily, school was out, and no one would be-
"Eyy, Saku-chan! What's- woah!"
Shouhei, Ayato, and Rintaro were nearly run over by Saku, who was sprinting with a crippled Subaru in his hands, as the nurse's office was a few more rooms down.
"GetthefuckoutofthewayI'mcarryingHoshina-santothenurse'sssssssssssssss!" Saku exclaimed, turning a corner.
Leaving them in the dust, he didn't hear any of their exclaimations, or of the several other lads he passed.
All the way to the nurse's office, where the nurse was.
Panting, and tired, Saku groggidly lifted Subaru onto a bed, whilst the nurse asked him what happened.
"Volleyball… fall… broken… oh dear."
Clang!
Saku fainted.
Subaru furrowed her brows, regaining feeling in her body. She opened her eyes and saw her right foot, bandaged and elevated. A sharp pain radiated from it, and she dropped her head on her pillow in pain.
"Urrhgghugugghgrhghggh… what happened…"
"You broke your ankle and I had to lift you here."
Subaru would have jumped in surprise if she wasn't so hurt. Instead she yipped.
"Eeeek!"
"C-Calm down…"
She looked to where the voice came from and saw a sight for sore eyes. And ankles.
Natsusawa Saku.
"N-Natsusawa-kun… what are you doing here?" she asks, looking around. Ah, the infirmary.
"Ah, I'm looking over you. I told my Mom that I'd be out… that… and I sort of fainted a few hours ago… c-carrying you here."
His cheeks flushed, and he looked away.
"Hours… eh… C-Carry me...?"
It was Subaru's turn to be embarrassed. She tried to turn in bed, but then her ankle sent a sharp pain through her leg.
"O-Ow…"
Saku moved closer to her. "Best not to… move too much. It's still healing." he said. "Ah… and yeah, it's been a few hours. It's 9 now."
"9!? Gosh it's late! You should get going, huh?" Subaru exclaimed. Her voice was coarse. Dry throat. "Ack…"
"Here, some PUIB. It'll quench ya."
"Mmm. The quenchiest."
Subaru downed half the bottle in one go, and burped. She covered her flushed cheeks.
"Heh."
"S-Shut it… not funny."
Saku giggled as he laid back in his chair. "It was sort of funny." he said. "Better?"
"Much. Thank you." she said. She smiled at him, and he panicked.
"A-Anytime…"
They sit in silence, the electrical buzz of the fan being the only noise in the room.
"S-So… are you hungry?" Saku asked, uncomfortable with the silence. Subaru laughed at his awkwadness.
"Yeah, a little. What do you got for me~?" she asked. Saku pulled out a little container of noodles and a pair of chopsticks.
"Yakisoba."
"Ooo, colour me intrigued. Got some for yourself?"
"Uhm… no… y-you can eat it, it's fine."
Subaru shook her head. "No no, I couldn't do that. You have it."
"No, you take it."
"Please, you have it."
"I couldn't do that to a hurt lady. You take it."
"No no, you've been taking care of me for 4 hours. Take it."
"No, you take it."
The two of them bickered for about 3 minutes before Saku sighed.
"This is not productive."
"That is the most old man you've ever sounded like."
"Shut. Anyway, I got another pair of chopsticks. If you really want me to have it… I suppose we'll have to share it."
Subaru blinked. Woah.
"Sh…Share the yakisoba?" Subaru asked, feeling her cheeks gain colour. Saku nodded, blushing.
"I mean… we could split it in half and eat it seperatly. Just… in the same… container." he said, trying to calm himself down. Subaru chuckled awkwardly.
"Right. Heh. Okay. That's fine."
Saku opens the container and splits the yakisoba in half, pushing half of the noodles his way and some the other. "There, I've split it."
"… there is criminally little noodles on your side. Please Natsusawa, you need to eat too."
Saku sighed. "Fine… you divide it."
She pushed some food his way. A little more. A little more… a little more…
"Okay, now I need to remind you that you need to eat, Hoshina."
"What? But that's enough for me!"
"…there is one noodle."
"…ah. Fine, I'll take a little more."
"Yep."
"… a little more… yeah… a little."
"Okay, that's enough. Okay."
Subaru nods. It was actually fairly split between them.
"Okay… let's eat."
They begin their meal, Subaru scarfing it down quite quickly. "Goodness, you are hungry. You should take some more-"
"Mmph, no chngh."
"Fine."
Saku continued to eat. The Yakisoba was good, oddly enough. But he couldn't focus on that.
No no, what he was focussing on was the fact that he was sharing a meal with his beloved. Maybe that was an odd way to phrase it, but it was a fact. He adored Subaru.
He couldn't help but stare at her eating peacefully. Calm and collectedly, she ate as whatever she was thinking of rubberbanded in her mind.
Meanwhile, Subaru was fighting a losing war. Her eyes wanted desperately to look up and gaze into his eyes, but her mind was begging her to focus on her food.
Nevertheless, they continued eating, until at one point at the same time they both had to slurp some up.
Slurp slurp slurp…!!!!
As both of them reached the end of their noodles, they both looked up to see each other, face to face.
Like a deer, they weren't able to look away.
Anyway, yeah. They were now centimetres from each other's faces, unable to look away.
Terrified would be a word to describe how they feel, but they couldn't think of anything other than each other.
…close…
They subconsciously moved towards each other. Perhaps it was gravity. Because, like, everything in the universe has at least some gravitational pull. Right?
Closer and closer they inched, the forgotten noodle being sandwiched between them.
Closer… closer…
A light touch grazed each other's lips, sending a shock through their bodies.
Immediately they realised what they were doing, and they recoiled. In reality it was… more a lorry reversing sort of deal.
They stared at each other, swallowing their food.
…they knew what that look meant.
They got back at it, Saku grabbing Subaru's cheeks and Subaru throwing a hand around his neck. She pulled Saku onto the bed, and he followed, and then they laid atop each other.
They practically ate each other alive, attacking each other like they were enemies in a war.
A war it was, however, with their tongues! They fought for entry at the gates to the other person, and the first to fall was Subaru's. As expected of an injured lass, she hadn't the energy to defend herself.
Saku's brave warrior entered enemy territory, lathing her mouth in his juices. Subaru conceeded, and with a noise, she let Saku do his thing.
"Mmmmph…" Subaru let out. Saku retreated, and looked down at her, panting.
"Hey."
"H-Hi…"
"You good?"
"Better than good."
"Can I… keep going?"
"Please."
"Alright."
And thus, Saku kept going.
And going.
And going…
Subaru had to push him off and gasped for air. Saku himself began hyperventilating after the fact.
"Oop… s-sorry…" he apologised. Subaru smiled through ragged breaths, laughing to herself.
"W-What's so funny..?" he asked. Subaru shook her head.
"No…nothing. You're… very eager tonight, huh?"
Saku blushed and shut his eyes. "I-I've bottled things up for months…"
Subaru blinked. "Months? Bottled up? Natsusawa… what do you mean?"
Ah, shit. he thought. The cat's out of the bag, huh?
"W-Well… Hoshina-san. I like you. A lot."
Subaru scoffed. "Uhm… yeah, I could tell."
"…t-touche. Guh… that was an anticlimactic confession."
Subaru shook her head, eyes magnetised to his lips. "Mmm… sorta. But hey, you want to know something?" she asked.
"Hmm? What-!!!"
Subaru's hands grabbed Saku's cheeks and pulled him down, back into a kiss. It was as glorious as before. Saku's eyes fluttered and shut as he relaxed and practically melted into Subaru's touch.
No doubt about it, he was addicted.
Subaru smiled as she then pushed Saku off, gently as ever. "I like you too. A lot."
Saku scoffed. "Heh, yeah. I could tell."
Bonus 1: Breaks.
Subaru slowly eats her porridge. Saku was still not awake, after insisting on staying the night with her. His new girlfriend.
Gosh, it still felt weird to say it. But yes… they were together.
Her eyes trailed across the room, looking for something to look at.
They landed on her ankle.
Perhaps the night was… a little action packed. She didn't even begin to think about the consequences of the broken limb until just now.
It would heal. Definitely.
But… that would take a while, no?
And… that meant no sports for a long while either.
That wasn't a big issue. Subaru could wait.
…
So why was she so sad?
Well granted, it was a part of her weekly routine with the girls. Play some volleyball on Friday. What was once an activity Madoka used as an excuse to drag her friends out became a part of their weekly routine.
Over time, it grew on her, this volleyball thing. Subaru didn't know how, but she was getting better at it in no time. And, by about 2 months, she was confident enough to play with people other than her close friends.
That lead us to the present. Subaru was… well, to say obsessed didn't really sell it. She was in love with the sport.
Which is why, when presented with the fact that she might not be able to play it for weeks or even months, she got really upset.
Saku stirred awake. "Mmmh… S-Subaru…? Are you… crying?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
Subaru was startled by the voice, and also by what he said.
…crying?
Subaru brought a hand to her cheek, and indeed, she was crying.
Over such a menial thing too. Gosh.
"I-I guess I am… good morning to you." she said, trying to bring focus off her tears.
"Morning. Here, some tissues." he said, navigating the attempt. He moved closer to the bed. "What's wrong, if you don't mind me asking?"
Subaru sighed. "It's… nothing." she said. Saku sighed in turn and took her hand in his.
"Hoshina…"
"Fine fine. I'm sad I can't play volleyball anymore."
"Ah. Well yeah… I guess you can't."
Subaru sniffs. "Nope… not for a long while… I feel so… pitiful. Like… why am I crying about this?" she asks, quivering.
"It's… stupid to cry about this."
Saku griped her hand. "I don't think so." he said, to which Subaru blinked. "Let me ask you, is volleyball an important thing to you?"
Subaru nodded. "And crying about something important is acceptable, right?"
"Yes. But volleyball isn't-"
"Again, I ask you. Is volleyball an important thing to you?"
Subaru nodded again. "Yes…"
"Then it's normal. To cry about something important to you… it's human nature."
Subaru looked down. She let her tears out, falling on the bed and on their hands.
"..thank you… S-Saku…"
Saku tried his best not to descend into full panic. "A-Anytime… Subaru…" he said. Subaru giggled.
"I… hic like that."
Bonus 2: Peekaboo, I see- …phew.
Ayu walks in to school the next morning, bringing with her some drinks and snacks. She was still perplexed that Subaru was being held in the school infirmary, but oh well. Maybe she chose that.
It was about 7 in the morning. And a Saturday. So understandably nobody was in school. Maybe the occasional lad or lass that left something behind, or a janitor, or a teacher. But besides that, no one.
Well, save again for Subaru.
Her injury was serious. A broken ankle. Like, snap broken. Surely she's not gonna be able to play volleyball for a while. She hoped that Subaru doesn't freak out about that.
Oh well. She was there to visit her, anyway. Might as well talk about it.
She walked into the infirmary and peeked through the curtains first. Seeing her, she decided to surprise her.
"Peekaboo!" she playfully quipped. It made Subaru jump a little, but she calmed down.
"J-Jeez, Ayu! You scared me." she said. Ayu giggled and sat down in the chair by her bed. Odd, it was warm. "What brings you over?"
"What, I can't visit a friend now? I got you some foodstuffs!" she said. Ayu took out some canned coffee and a container with… chicken katsu in it. It looked good.
"Oh, you shouldn't have! I already had breakfast, so I guess I'll have this for lunch." she said. Ayu blinked.
"Ah, you already had breakfast? Wow, that was early. Hodaka onee-san come over?" Ayu asked. Subaru shook her head, and tried to hide her face. Was she… blushing?
"N-Not exactly…"
"Oh? Then who? I know Kao and Madoka are still asleep, and God knows what Chis and Suzu are doing, so who-"
Just at that moment, the curtain to her left opened and…
Oh.
Oh.
"…h-hey, Sawatari-san…" Saku greeted, red in the face. Ayu looked at him mischievously as he tried to hide his face.
"Y-Yeah… Saku stayed over…"
Ayu's expression dropped. Saku? Stayed over? Saku stayed over!?
"What!?"
"K-Keep it down…"
"Gweh… sorry, sorry. Just… really now?"
Saku nodded. "Yes I… stayed over… with Subaru."
Ayu blinked, look forward, got up and walked to the curtain. She tip-toed and whispered into Saku's ear.
"Good luck~!"
And with that, Ayu left. "Tell me everything later, you two~!" she quipped as she walked out.
Saku's face turned even more red and he could have sworn he nearly blinded Subaru.
"W-What did she say..?" she asked. Saku shook his head.
"N-Nothing… but I have to thank her now… I think."