𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 same old phone you had since you'd arrived. You and Isagi had got so caught up in everything, that by the time you remembered to go to the phone store, it was dark, and the store had long closed. Even though you tried, you couldn't be mad about it. Isagi took you into any store you wanted and carried all of the bags you had left with. The two of you got dinner and ice cream, and you even bought him a new pair of cleats before the two of you finally went home.

"Hey." You walked into the library where Chigiri was waiting. He smiled when he saw you. 

"I'm surprised you showed up," he said as you sat across from him, taking out your notebook, calculator, and the most recent homework you were assigned.
"Well, be surprised later," you joked. "We have class right after this, so you have twenty-five minutes to make me understand this impossible ass work." Chigiri chuckled confidently as he looked over the notes he had taken on how to solve the equation.
"I think I can get you to understand something as simple as this in a lot less than twenty minutes."

"And then...I multiply that..." you muttered, and Chigiri hummed as you typed the numbers into your calculator.
"And it's this, right?" You held up your calculator to show him, letting out a sigh of relief when he nodded.
"Correct." You smiled as you quickly jotted down the answer.

"Damn, this was actually pretty easy," you said, beginning to pack your things
"Told you."
"Well, I have two things for you as a thank you."
"Oh?" He raised a brow curiously as you took out a bottle of shampoo that was the same brand he'd given you during your encounter at the mall. "And what would you have done with this if my tutoring had been trash?" He asked.
"Took it home and used it myself, duh," you said. "But, the next thing I would've done either way. So, I've been getting help from Ego and the athletic trainer, and now I should be able to help you with your physical therapy!" You announced, too excited to notice the males' face fall.
"I also looked at the information Ego had on your injury, and it should almost be fully healed. With my help, I think you'll be ready to play in your next game."

Chigiri stood up suddenly, so fast that his chair almost fell back as he began grabbing his bag and packing his stuff up quickly.
"What's wrong?" You asked as you stood up with him. "Aren't you happy? You'll get to play soccer again and keep your spot—"
"Let someone else take it," he said quickly, and your eyes widened.
"Why would you want to do that?" You asked. "You're one of the top players on the team. You had to work hard to get there. Why would you want to let it go just because you're scared— "
"Shut up!" Chigiri's voice echoed in the library, making you jump while others turned to stare at you.
"Just because Ego spoke to you and you read whatever file he has about me doesn't mean you know a thing about me," he said. "Mind your business and do your job." With that, he stormed off, leaving you to stand there, wondering what you did wrong.

That day, Chigiri didn't speak to you once during math class, and he wasn't at practice either. You couldn't help but feel as though you'd done something wrong. With Isagi being busy and not having anyone else to talk to, you couldn't help but spill while you wrapped Bachira's ankle.

"Yeah, Chigiri can be like that," he said. "Isagi tried to reach out to him a while ago, but he wouldn't listen. You're probably better off leaving him alone." You shook your head quickly.
"He's so stubborn," you groaned, your frustration growing at the thought. "But if he's that stubborn, I can't believe he'd really be okay with letting someone else just take his spot. He just needs...I don't know, a push or something."
"I guess," Bachira shrugged. "Maybe push him off some stairs and see if that knocks some sense into him." You slapped his arm as he laughed.
"Bachira, that's not funny "

The next day, you surprisingly got permission from Ego to spend your time with the athletic trainer. You had been getting some pointers on physical therapy from him either before or after practice, but today, you spent the entire practice learning just exactly how to perform it, so by the time Chigiri left practice a bit early for his therapy session, he was met with the athletic trainer exiting his office.

"Where are you going?" Chigiri asked, noticing his bag in hand, and the trainer gave a nonchalant shrug.
"Home," he said. "Your therapist is in there."

Chigiri's brow furrowed as he pushed open the door to reveal you sitting there, going over the notes you took. When you saw him you suppressed the urge to cuss him out for screaming at you and, instead, forced yourself to smile.
"You're early," you said. "Are you ready?"
"What are you doing here?" While he wanted to sound frustrated, he couldn't hide the shock in his voice.
"Your physical therapy session, idiot," you said. "What? Did you think yelling at me was gonna scare me off?" You laughed when Chigiri opened and closed his mouth, unsure what to say. While it wasn't his intention, he had thought that his yelling at you had made you want to avoid him entirely, but instead, it made you work harder to help him. He couldn't understand why.
"While it almost got you hit in the mouth, you're going to have to do better than that because I can be a lot more stubborn than you. Now get on this table, and let me help you." You motioned to the nurses' bed. "I told you that I'll have you playing by your next game, and that's happening whether you like it or not."

Chigiri watched quietly as you helped him move his leg with just as much precision as the physical therapist.

How long had you been working on this?

"I had been getting tips and stuff from the athletic trainer before and after practice since I got here because Ego insisted on it." He flinched at your words, not realizing he had asked the question out loud. "But after yesterday, I went here straight from my last class to learn everything I could. Am I doing okay?" You asked nervously. You touched him as if he were glass and would break at the slightest rough treatment. If Ego didn't kill you, your own guilt would if you ended up reinjuring him somehow.
"Y-yeah," Chigiri stuttered. "You're doing really good."
"Of course I am," you said confidently.

First Bachira, and now this?

You smiled to yourself. You were becoming quite a valuable member of the team.

Once you finished, you placed his leg gently onto the bed before stepping back as he sat up.
"How does it feel?" You asked anxiously, and he moved his leg around a bit.
"Pretty good," he said. "It doesn't feel stiff or anything like before I got here." He didn't know whether or not that stiffness was part of the injury or the guilt and worry that he had really hurt you, but either way, you had cured it.
"Great!" You said as you grabbed your things and checked your phone.

Shit, I gotta get home.

"Y/n?" You paused your packing to turn to Chigiri, who seemed hesitant to speak. "W-would you mind doing this more often? If you ever get the chance?" Pride swirled in your chest, knowing that if he was asking you to do it again over a trained professional, you must have done a good job.
"O-of course!" You said quickly. "Just let me know when you need me, okay?" Before he could respond, you rushed off.

"Alright, please partner up and compare and contrast the two passages." While everyone else was partnering, you looked at your papers, preparing to do the work on your own when you felt someone poking your back. You turned to see Bachira walking around you, moving an empty chair to your desk. 

"I'm surprised Ego said that any of you guys have to do work on game day," you teased.
"Only because he technically isn't allowed to keep us from our school work," Bachira retorted. But you weren't surprised that he'd tried. "Who'r we playing anyway?"
"Matsukaze Kokuō High," you said, remembering how late you stayed up gathering information about their team. "How do you not know that?" Bachira smiled confidently.
"It doesn't matter who we play since we're going to win," he assured, and you rolled your eyes.
"When that confidence gets you knocked on your ass, you're own when you need your ankle or whatever wrapped." Bachira crossed his arms and pouted.
"If you abandon me, I'm telling Ego," he threatened.
"Tell him," you challenged, only for the two of you to burst out laughing.

The bell suddenly rang, making your jaw drop.
"Dammit, Bachira!" You yelled, reaching over the desk to smack him in the head with your folder as you scrambled to pack up. "We didn't get any work done. This is why I work by myself!" Bachira laughed, dodging when you tried to hit him again before you put your folder in your bag.

He waited patiently before walking with you as you left.
"We can just finish it during lunch or something," he said dismissively, and you huffed.
"I have tutoring with Chigiri during lunch."
"You can ditch him just this once. It's one assignment," he said, and you thought about it for a moment before relenting.
"Fine," you said, and Bachira smiled.
"Alright! We can go to the roof and eat lunch while we do it."
"Why would we go on the roof?" You questioned.
"Because it's way more fun than the stuffy old library," he said. "I'll see ya there." 

With that, he took a different turn, and you pulled out your phone to set a reminder.

Suppose I'll have to cancel with Chigiri...