42. Wedo-nes-doey?

Over the next few days, Y/N felt the frustration of being a teacher.

More specifically, being a teacher to Bachira Meguru, the seventeen year old boy who just so happened to have never spoken English before. Isagi knew a few words, and was a good student. Aryu knew a decent amount from listening to English music, even though his pronunciation was off.

Rin was pretty good too. He spoke enough to be able to hold a full conversation with Y/N, even though he had a strong accent. But Bachira was just... something different.

"W-wed..." He hunched over an English textbook, currently opened to the days of the week. "Wedo-nes-doey?"

Y/N sighed, sitting next to him. "English people say it like 'Wenz-day.' It's strange, I know."

"Huh." Bachira stuck out his tongue childishly. "Thurs-day."

"Yep."

"Fly-day."

"Friday."

"Sato-day."

"Saturday."

"Saun-day."

"Sunday."

"Maun-day."

Before Y/N could reply, Rin groaned. He rubbed roughly at his temples, hunched over his own English textbook. "Monday. And can you shut the hell up?!"

Y/N looked at Bachira. Then he looked back at Rin. Then back to Bachira. "Nope. Bachira, continue."

"Tue-ess-day."

"Tuesday-" Rin lunged for Y/N, completely catching the smaller boy off guard. He grabbed his shoulders, pressing him back into the sofa as he scowled fiercely.

"Let me concentrate for one minute. Just one. That's all I'm asking."

"Why don't you be smart like him?" Y/N pointed at Isagi, who was plugged into a pair of earphones listening to an English text. "Go do something else."

Isagi paled, removing an earphone. "Hey, don't draw me into this."

"Too late."

That wasn't the only thing they did. After their loss to the World Five, it was like they'd become closer as a team. Sure, Rin always tended to go off by himself at the end of the day, and Y/N always began the day at least an hour after everyone else, but they did more together.

Y/N had been quite curious as to what Rin got up to in the evenings. After dinner one day, he tagged along, stalking him all the way to a secluded training room just a few corridors away from their dorm room.

As usual, Rin was doing his cooldown, meditation, and stretches. He was midway through a headstand when Y/N came flying into the room. He cartwheeled, turned 90 degrees, and finished off with a flip. "You never told me you did gymnastics, Rin!"

Rin frowned. He lowered himself to the ground. "What?"

"Gymnastics!" Y/N chirped. He placed both hands on the floor, swinging his body into a handstand as he grinned at Rin.

"These aren't gymnastics." Rin sighed. "It's my cooldown for the day."

"Oh, okay." Y/N flipped upright, placing both hands on his thighs as he sat down next to Rin. "So, what's next?"

"What?"

"What?"

They stared at each other. Rin rubbed his forehead, exhaling slowly in an attempt to keep calm. "Who said you're doing it with me?"

"I did." Y/N nodded quickly. "So, what's next?"

Keeping his eyes on Y/N, Rin crossed his legs. He placed one hand on either of his knees, leaning back slightly as he closed his eyes. "Meditation."

"Cool, cool." Y/N sat facing Rin, copying his actions and sitting in the same position. He closed his eyes.

Not even ten seconds later, he cracked open one eye. Rin looked peaceful, drawing in slow breaths with his chest rising and falling with them. "This is boring."

"Then don't do it."

"Do you do this every day?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

Rin ground his teeth together, the noise audible even from where Y/N sat. "By breathing slowly."

Y/N was silent for a few seconds. Rin opened one eye, eyebrow raising as he spotted Y/N, face turning red as he firmly pressed both lips together and pinched his nose.

Rin opened both eyes. He watched, disappointed, as Y/N held his breath. "What are you doing?"

Y/N burst. His lips opened, and he sucked in a huge breath, face completely red. When he spoke, it was barely audible, a breathless whisper. "You said breathing slowly was meditation. I figured if I breathed really, really, really slowly, or just didn't breathe it would count as meditating."

Rin slapped a hand on his forehead. "Kill me now."

Placing a finger on his lips, Y/N looked confused at him. "It didn't seem to work though. Aren't you supposed to feel relaxed?"

"Get out."

"Ok."

They did lots more as a team. From morning to after dinner, they did everything as a group of five. Granted, they were a dysfunctional mess of a group, but they... sort of made it work.

"Isagiiiii..." Bachira slumped onto the blue-haired boy's shoulder. "Feed me."

"What?" Isagi flushed a bright red.

"I'm tired." Bachira opened his mouth, pointing a finger at his mouth as he tried to talk. "Oo 'ired to ead. Bu I'm 'ungry."

Across the table, Rin banged his forehead against the table. "I'm losing braincells just by being near you."

Aryu held up a finger. Everyone except for Rin looked at him as he spoke calmly. "Do not hurt yourself, Rin Itoshi. That is not a glam thing to do."

"I'll hurt someone else if this keeps up-"

"I wasn't done." Aryu kept talking, now reciting what Y/N thought was Shakespeare. He spoke in English, making both Isagi and Bachira blink with confusion. "Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale, vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man."

The table fell silent.

"What does that mean?" Y/N almost didn't want to ask.

"Oh, I have no idea." Aryu admitted. "I saw it online."

Rin's head hit the table a second time.

Bachira returned to hounding Isagi. "Please...?" He wrapped both arms around Isagi's midriff, holding on like the other boy was some kind of teddy bear. Isagi's face was bright red as he silently begged Y/N to help him.

"Bachira, you can feed yourself!"

"Why would I do that when you could do it?" Bachira grinned. Isagi shot Y/N a desperate look. Y/N shook his head, and held up both hands. He made a love heart with his fingers, placing Bachira and Isagi in the middle of them.

"Cut it out." As soon as he noticed the heart, Rin slapped Y/N's hand to break it in half. "How are you so immature?"

"Why are you so mature?"

"Someone has to be."

Y/N got to know his team better. They also got to know him better - though, much better than Y/N would've liked. And it wasn't Y/N's fault, really.

The second night after their loss. Y/N thought everyone was asleep. For a second time, he was on the verge of going into a full panic attack. His chest throbbed. His eyes watered. And he couldn't get rid of the one thought that haunted him every single second of every single day.

You lost.

He gulped, pressing himself against the backboard as he curled into a ball. He drew his knees to his chest.

And he froze when a voice cut through the darkness.

It wasn't like the hissing ones. It wasn't evil, nor was it mysterious. Sure, it was cool, unbothered, and quiet, but at least it was real. Rin stood at the foot of his bed. He rubbed his eyes, watching Y/N tiredly. "I wondered why you always woke up in strange positions."

The shadows immediately dispersed. Y/N's eyes flickered up to Rin's, wide and vulnerable in the dim lighting. He shook ever so slightly, hands clutching at his blankets. Rin sighed.

He sat on the edge of Y/N's bed, not taking his eyes off the smaller boy. Rin was silent, holding his gaze as they watched each other closely. "This why you're always so tired?"

Y/N nodded mutely. His heart was pounding, tears threatening to spill.

Rin shuffled closer to him. "I can't have you being so sleep-deprived. Who knows, I might still need you for more games. And I'm not letting you play worse because you don't get enough sleep." He reached out a long, slender hand, touching Y/N's forehead.

Y/N tensed momentarily, but as Rin moved so he was sitting next to him, both their backs against the wall, his muscles slowly relaxed one by one. His trembling breath eased.

"Why are you so scared?" Rin quietly asked. "What's keeping you awake?"

Releasing a breathy sigh, Y/N leant his head back against the wall. "Nightmare." He whispered.

"What about?"

Y/N swallowed hard. He broke eye contact with Rin, staring at the wall on the other side of the room. The room was quiet except for Bachira, Aryu, and Isagi's breaths as they slept. "Punishment. For losing."

Rin nodded slowly. "We did lose, didn't we."

He swallowed again. Nodded. His words were still so, so quiet. "Yeah."

Rin shifted on the bed. "You know, there's a famous quote. It's not about losing that defines you. Rather, it's what you do after. Interesting, right?"

Y/N nodded, breathing hard. His hands were shaking as he stared off into space. Rin just kept talking, in a quiet voice. "We lost. Okay. You're allowed to feel bad about that. But why do you think someone else will punish you for your mistakes? Nobody else knows what you did wrong. Only you do."

He took a breath, mulling over his own words. "You lost. So why the hell are you crying about it? You failed yourself. So get back up. Work harder. And next time you have a chance, win."

It was similar to the advice Y/N had given Niko. Almost exactly the same in the message. Rin didn't know that, though. He placed a hand on either of Y/N's shoulders, guiding the smaller boy to lie down on the bed. He tucked a pillow under his head.

Y/N obeyed wordlessly. His eyes searched the room, eventually landing on Rin's as a tear slipped out the corner. Rin pursed his lips. Whatever Y/N was going through, it certainly wasn't just because they lost. What happened to him?

"Y/N..." He softly said. "Sleep tonight. Nothing will hurt you. I'll make sure of it."

That was enough for Y/N. He closed his eyes, drifting off to a much needed rest as Rin sat next to him. Gradually, his body relaxed as nothing happened, Rin's presence warding away any possible threat. He trusted him.

Rin didn't move. He sat there for as long as he could take, eyes gradually closing as he watched over the small boy beneath him, ready to act at the smallest sign of a nightmare. There was none.

Very early the next morning, Y/N woke up refreshed and ready for the day for once. Nobody else was awake. Rin's exhausted sleeping figure was leant against the wall. He was still sitting on Y/N's bed, eyes closed and breathing even.

Y/N placed his hands on Rin's shoulders. He guided the other boy to lie down, tucking him into Y/N's bed just as Rin had done last night. Rin must've been so drained, sleeping against the wall.

He tucked a pillow under Rin's head, and slipped out of bed. He intended to immediately head for Rin's bed. A sort of switch to the rest of his teammates.

Before he did, he glanced back at Rin.

"Thank you so much."

🥕🥕🥕

Around a week after their game against the World Five, they were gathered around the table in their dorm room, working on even more English.

Y/N was sprawled on his back over Rin's bed, legs hanging off one side and head hanging off the other. He held a book in front of him, trying to read it while upside down.

As he stuck his tongue out with concentration, a loud, but gentle chime came from the overhead speakers. Everyone looked up at the ceiling, Y/N struggling with his position.

A calm electronic voice spoke. "The second selection has concluded. Any remaining players move on to the next selection."

The TV in the middle of their room changed into a white background, the Bluelock logo visible in the centre. Aryu sighed. "We're finally on to the next one."

"We're done?!" Y/N squirmed, trying to roll off the bed. He accidentally kicked against the headboard, pushing himself off the bed face first.

"Good." Bachira looked towards the TV. "I was getting tired of studying."

Everyone glanced over as a dull thump sounded. Y/N hit the floor face first, the rest of his body following right after. "Ow."

"Serves you right for lying on my bed." Rin rolled his eyes.

"A total of thirty five players from seven different teams made it through the second selection." The voice continued. "Please proceed to a central room by following the lights at floor level. You will enter in order of clearance."

"Only 35?" Isagi checked. "Did I hear that right?"

"35. Yes." Aryu nodded.

Y/N flopped onto his back on the floor, looking towards Isagi. A second later, the pillows and blanket, which had been teetering on the edge of the bed, fell directly on top of him. The small boy was buried under cotton. "Ow."

But thirty-five only? There were hundreds at the start of the second selection. That's a pretty huge margin. Y/N frowned, trying to get out of the blankets. Will... Team Z be there? Nagi and Reo? Will Niko be there? Hell, will Barou be there?

Rin stood up, letting the textbook he was holding fall to the table. "Let's go."