Tangent | Soukoku; AU [✔]

34 ➳ deja vu // n.c

i can't help feeling that there could be some sense of deja vu that went on during the game, but i couldn't pinpoint it just yet at the moment.

after the game, we all went back to our waiting lounge, where coach mori greeted us all with a wide grin, clapping his hands in the process. i can tell he was more than joyed with the results of the game.

"how surreal! to think that we'd win for the first time in years!" coach exclaimed. his eyes proceeds to look at me, flashing a proud expression in his purple orbs. "i'll give you credit for a good eye finding a replacement, chuuya."

"yeah! hayakawa's nuts!" kajii yelled shortly after, clinging his arm around the tall, slender woman, to which ren didn't react anything in particular.

i was not sure what to take regarding coach's words. was he trying to compliment me for taking in xyren, or was he hinting something else behind his words. i don't fucking know. much like the new support, coach mori was just another difficult book to comprehend. the only thing that sets them apart is that coach shows more expression that ren.

while the rest of the team gathered around ren, i just sighed in relief and sat on one of the metal chairs, grabbing my hat back from my bag and putting it over my face so i don't see shit.

something just really feels off. for the last few instances of the practice, ren focused her attention on making sure i was treated as a proper carry; as a support should do, she always made sure i wasn't lagging behind.

this game was different - not only she picked a carry character, but halfway through the game she made me feel like i was non-existent. i don't know what to make of it. at first i thought ren was just making a statement to the enemy, but later on, was she making a statement to me instead? am i the enemy?

ugh. stoic people are such a pain in the ass. all i could do to ease my overthinking is by actually asking her. but that would mean admitting defeat and lowering my pride!

the team toned down after a while and all i heard next were the metal chairs clunking against the ceramic tiles. i lifted my hat a bit to get a view on what was going on around me. in front of me was the 'support', who was sitting with her legs crossed while fiddling with her phone, like she was texting someone.

her deep crimson eyes pierced against my own blue orbs, probably becoming aware that i was looking at her. i winced from the glance and that was enough to make me sit properly; i leaned forward and looked down on the shiny white flooring.

not a few minutes later, i heard a phone buzz somewhere. everyone was already holding their phones while waiting for the next game to start, so i figured that it was my phone that had made the sound. reaching out for my bag behind me, i grabbed the smartphone and saw the notification on my lockscreen.

it was a message from ren herself, who was, in fact, just sitting right across me - not even meters away from me. our distance was like, i could still stretch my legs and still touch the tip of her shoes.

upon opening the message, i felt a lump form inside my throat.

'nakahara, we need to talk.'