Nao

'Do I or Do I not?'

While his mind was elsewhere, Nao was stationed at the convenience store where he spent a significant amount of time every week, diligently serving customers at the cash register. Despite trying his best to concentrate on the work at hand, he found himself coming back to the same question. 

'Will it be all right if I go?' 

A kid had decided to pay for the items he purchased in a heap of coins and while counting them, Nao found himself constantly getting distracted by the thought. It was unlike him and of course, very irritating. 

And this time, he had Akihiro to blame.

After all, it was his beloved friend who planted the idea of hanging out with the badminton circle in his head. Normally in situations like this, Nao would have rejected the invitation in the blink of an eye, but this time, he just couldn't. 

It all began last night. 

At the meet up, Akihiro was invited to join the Badminton Circle for a game by Yamamoto, a senior whom he had met there and hit it off with. While he was already decided on what to do, Akihiro had also tried to persuade Nao to go with him, elaborating the various benefits of having acquaintance with a bunch of 'cool' seniors.

The offer wasn't attractive at all.

But Nao was then told that Nakano senpai might be joining them and that this could be their chance to clear misunderstandings and begin anew. 

He sounded like such a fanboy.

Soon after, for some reason, Nao found himself thinking that it might not be a bad idea after all. In fact, he wanted to be on good terms or at least neutral terms with Asahi. 

May be he was shallow and got enamored by his looks or maybe he indeed thought Asahi was a nice guy. Either way, he didn't want any tension between them anymore. It was a headache and Nakano was occupying too much of space in his head these days. 

***

Asahi 

Asahi finally had it all under control. He was just about to reap his reward and win a set againt Ishida when Akihiro and Nao appeared in the gymnasium, out of nowhere. And just like that, a second of distraction cost him a very valuable point, bringing the scores to an irritating 20 - 21. 

He was in danger of loosing the match and also owing Ishida a free dinner.

And not so surprisingly, in the next three rallies, the decision was made.

"Fuck!" Swinging the racket, he voiced his frustration and walked out of the court.

"Dinner's on you, Nakano." Ishida shouted from the other side of the net, smiling, not bothering to be nice at all.

"Got it."

Sitting down on the floor near the sidelines, Asahi picked up his bottle and drank from it in a hurry. As he looked around, he noticed Yamamoto setting up Nagamine for a match at the other corner of the gymnasium. However, Nao wasn't to be found anywhere near him. 

And when he heard his voice coming from behind, he almost jumped out of his seat.

"Senpai.."   

He spoke awkwardly while his faced looked as if he was bribed to spit out those words.

"Hello there, Mitsui-kun." Asahi's face blossomed into a smile, involuntarily.

A bit over the top, was it?

"Up for a game?" 

"Hmm.. actually it might not be the best time now. I just lost a bet and a game against a friend."

Asahi certainly didn't expect any kind words or consolation from him. Certainly not.

"You worried you'll loose again?" 

Aaaaand let out a sigh in disbelief.

What's wrong with you? Are you trying to pick a fight?

But there was not a hint of joke in his voice when he spoke. The arrogance was real, thought Asahi.

"Trust me, you'll regret this soon enough."

Laughing, he got up from the floor to get Nao a racket and also keep his word.