The Epidemic

Shoulders

It started out like this. One day, I was in third grade, I moved to Iwotobi, Japan from (City, State that's not Japan), since my mother transferred work stations to Japan. I gazed out the window of the airplane, seeing the pretty colors the clouds consisted off, seeing bright pink, oranges, and purples. I was so excited to move, since I am a pretty energetic child. Mom had to help me pack up my things, but I had the idea of moving from one place to another.

I am now 17, best friends with Gou, Haruka, Makoto, Rin, Rei, and Nagisa, Rin being one of the friends that was really close to me. He said that I should come and visit the pool sometimes, just to swim and hang out, but ever since I got into high school, I have been loaded with scholarships to different colleges, that it was difficult to have some free time. That one day that I was actually able to have some free time, I went to Rin's campus, seeing that he was hanging out with a tall, black haired, teal eyed male, having quite the muscles too, maybe he's a swimmer? I waved at Rin, saying, "What's up Rin? Who's your friend?" I stood by him, smiling up at the new stranger that had a stoic look in his features.

He offered a lazy grin, and Rin explained, "Well, (Y/N), this is Sousuke, he's been in Tokyo for awhile, and Sousuke, question, where do you think she's from?" Sousuke raised a brow and said, "Um, Japan...?" I shook my head, smiling a bit, speaking in my original accent and it confused him beyond himself. I went back to speaking Japanese, laughing quietly, saying, "Where do you think I come from now?" "I have absolutely no idea."

That sentence made me giggle quietly, and I looked at my watch, replying quickly, "I gotta get to work, but I'll see you later Rin." Rin pouted and said, "Seriously? Well, I'll see you Saturday, right? That's the day of the competition." I nodded, and said, "Of course, when have I missed any of your competitions? I'll see you then." I quickly picked up my things off of the ground, and started jogging off, waving behind myself for a quick 'goodbye', but what I didn't know was that Sousuke was silently wishing that I could stay.

(Time-Skip Provided By: Work)

I sat down at my desk, my legs aching, knowing I had a small amount of homework to do. Today is Friday, meaning that the competition is tomorrow. I haven't seen Gou in awhile, since we have different classes, plus, I don't see Makoto, Haru, Nagisa, and Rei often, even if we do have at least one with each other. We all are very close friends, ever since middle school, and I've just gotten busy from the pounds of homework, plus my work hours are tight, making it hard to hand out with anyone. I've been able to have small talk with all six of them, but it's hard to have a full conversation by my busy schedule.

I looked down at the essay I had to turn in on Monday, and began writing, my alarm going off at 10:00 P.M., telling me to go to bed. I sighed, put all of my homework up, and got ready for bed, rubbing my temples. "I was really close to finishing that essay, though...but I need sleep." My phone went off, signalling I had a text from someone, and I picked up my phone, reading the text. 'Hey, this is Sousuke. Rin gave me your number, do you want to talk?'

I blinked twice, and rolled my eyes, a small smile creeping on my face, replying, 'Shouldn't you be getting sleep? A swimmer like you should be getting some rest for that race tomorrow.' I set the phone down, put it on vibrate, set my clock for 7 A.M., and went to bed, not giving a care in the world that the vibrations from my phone was going crazy.

(Time-Skip Provided By: Swimming)

I ran to the dome that was holding the competition, looking around for either the Iwotobi Swim Club or the Samezuka Swim Team. I panted and slowed to a walk, going through the doors of the dome. I sighed and went to the stands, leaning against the railing for support to look over the pool. This morning, I got up late, and I forgot to put on my cast for my shoulder. Did I ever mention that I used to be an Olympic swimmer myself, and I shattered my left shoulder when I saved a child from getting ran over?

There have been some tough times ever since I did fracture my shoulder. I panted, and held my shoulder, grimacing from the pain. I saw the Iwotobi and Samezuka Swim teams, and sighed quietly, knowing that I didn't miss their part of the race quite yet. I sat down in the bleachers, leaning my head on the rail. Damn, I knew I should've taken my time to get my cast on, I'm such an idiot!

I grunted again when someone touched my other shoulder, and I looked up, seeing Gou. "Gou! It's been such a long time, how have you been?!" I exclaimed, smiling brightly to hide my grimace. "(Y/N)?! How have you been, I've heard you still have a ton of work, when did you find the time to come here?!" She hugged me tightly, then touched my shoulder softly, making me go rigid in pain, and she sighed, looking through her bag. "Good thing I give gauze with me. There's a women's shower in this dome, how about you take a cold shower then put the gauze on?"

I sighed and shook my head, saying, "I need to watch this race. When I get home I'll put my cas-" "No, no, no, no! You need to go and put this gauze on! Remember-" "I'll be fine! Don't worry about me!" I smiled and looked back forward, seeing Sousuke go somewhere else. Where is Sousuke going?

I got up and took the gauze, placing it in my back pocket, and went down to follow him, seeing that he went into the changing room that held showers. Sousuke...? I knocked on the door, but didn't hear an answer, just water, then felt the coldness on my bare legs, shivering slightly from the sudden temperature change. I opened the door, hoping that he wasn't naked, and said quietly, "S-Sousuke...? Where are you? I wanted to check on you to make sure you were ok..."

I walked further in, then heard the water stop, hearing grunts and lockers getting hit. "Sousuke...?" I went towards the lockers, and there he was, sitting on the ground in front of a singular yellow bench, holding his swollen right shoulder. I sighed and quickly went over to him, saying, "Do you need help, Sousuke? I am willing to help, you know..." He shook his head slightly, grunting, the grimace deepening on his features.

I sighed, saying, "Turn around, I can massage your shoulder. I have a few tricks up my sleeve for injured shoulders, you know..." My voice was strained, silent, and calm, making Sousuke's eyes widen a bit in surprise, probably comparing it to when he first met me to now.

(In Sousuke's Brain)

She's different...and what does she mean that she has experience with shoulders? Does she have an injured shoulder too?