Jealousy, jealousy

Meet and greet

"So, tell me a bit about yourself, Ran. Why are you here?"
"It's a long story, ma'am. I don't even know where to start."
"How did it all begin?"
"Well, there was this new guy..."

————-3 months ago————-

It wasn't new for any of them to welcome new players. With the VNL season approaching, it was more important than ever to look for outstanding players and recruit them.

However, the second Yuki laid eyes on the tall, brown haired opposite hitter, he had some sort of bellyache.

If it weren't for Philippe, Yuki would not have even talked to the newcomer.

As soon as the coach started speaking, everyone else shut up. Their attention was solely focused on Philippe and the slight taller boy. "This is Neo Yamozu. You can introduce yourself, I reckon." Neo nodded, flashing them a bright smile. "Hi, my name is Neo, I am 23-years old and mainly play as an outside hitter. Thank you for giving me this chance and I am hoping to be able to contribute to the game results with my skills."

He emitted passion. His smile was big and full of joy. Yuki had to admit to himself that the boy looked kind-hearted.

Once they had all finished applauding, their head coach spoke again. "Alright, let's begin with our regular warm-up."

Said warm up included five rounds of running around the court, stretching every part of your body while talking to someone else (the usual line up was Akihiro - Onodera; Yuji - Kento; Ran - Yuki; Yamamoto - Ogawa), throwing the ball into the air and catching it, which was followed by practicing as a whole on the court with talking about new tactics and possible ideas.

Two hours in, one more to go. In the last hour all of them split into groups, those groups depended on the position they played.

For Yuki it was position two, outside hitter. Normally, he would warm up with Ran. This was not the case today, though.

Because Philippe had approached him with the sweetest smile and the new boy next to him, the captain couldn't say no. Also the reason he ended up being in a team with Neo. The younger still gave Yuki a weird vibe and he simply did not know why.

Ran meanwhile warmed up with Tatsunori. But not all of his attention was directed at the ball. One would talk about luck that the older missed by a few millimeters.

"Ran- Ran, are you okay? What is up with you?" He shouted, picking up the ball that Yuki threw back at him. The addressed snapped out of it, slapping himself on the cheek as if trying to wake up. "I am sorry, a bit out of it. Must have not slept too well." He apologised, bowing slightly. The older did not really buy it, but he did not deem it necessary enough to question him further.

-

Yuki could not tell why he had thought about Neo the way he had. Throughout the whole practice, the younger received balls relatively well, listened to feedback and applied it. He had the talent to become a great player.

-

"R-Ran! Ran, wait!" Neo was chasing after him. His backpack was bouncing from one shoulder to the other, shoes still untied and sweat drenched sport clothes still on. As he approached, Ran could start making out an object in his teammates' hand.

Was it his? No he had made sure- "You are such an idiot! Waiting for a bus, but forgetting your wallet and bottle of water? Say thank you." Ran laughed shyly, Neo handed him his stuff. He proceeded to smile at him just as carefully. "Thank you, Neo." "No problem. I don't want you to suffer because of thirst on your way home, water is important after such a workout." He laughed.

A car approached, headlights blinding the two. Ran noticed how the other squinted his eyes. Then he suddenly shot up, excitedly waving at Ran. "Bye, bye Ran. See you tomorrow." And he immediately got inside the car, shutting the door behind himself. The new boy was gone within the blink of an eye.