Crossposted to Ao3 under the same username.

Of Juice Boxes and Rainy Days

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Summary: She was really just a blank slate; blunt, humourless and antisocial. How could a person be shaped with no deep connections and human experiences? But drifting from one day to the next, Miyamura Megumi learnt of life full of juice boxes and rainy days. [Nishinoya Yu/OC]

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Disclaimer: All rights and credits of Haikyuu! belongs to Furudate Haruichi. The only thing I own is my OC (and OCs that will appear in the future). The cover image belongs to ごろく＠6月以降お仕事募集中, check them out on pixiv!

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Categories: Romance, Friendship

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LucidClockwork

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Chapter 1

An Act of Kindness

On a particularly cloudy Tuesday afternoon, Megumi found her hair standing on end and she wondered whether there would be lightning that night.

Five minutes into last period, the clouds outside her classroom window began to gather in a small cluster towards the eastern skies. The clouds were a grey colour, nearly the same shade as the lead in her pencil. However, Megumi wasn't concerned, a storm wasn't likely to stir until a couple of hours later.

With that reassurance in mind, she refocused her attention to her work and forgot about such concerns.

Twenty or thirty minutes later, she became vividly aware of her squinting, struggling to see in the gradual darkness and glanced outside. The clouds were no longer in a small cluster, but were encasing the sky in dark clouds like a dome. Megumi's hair stood on end more than ever, and a crackle of thunder confirmed her worst fears.

Moments later, it began pouring.

Not spitting. Not drizzling. It was raining so much that Megumi was sure flood-related news would make its way onto tonight or tomorrow's news.

So when classes ended for the day, Megumi immediately made her way outside to check the heaviness of the rain and found that the pelting of raindrops on her hand was almost painful. The rain pushed her hand downwards, and Megumi pulled it back to inspect the redness that began to form in her palm, a red that contrasted the healthy pink.

Usually, Megumi had an unchanging and habitual routine. When school was out, she left school without saying a farewell to anyone unless they said one to her. It wasn't as if she had anyone she wanted to see before the day ended. Although she had acquaintances, she didn't have friends. Her entire life's record wasn't marred with any crushes on her classmates either.

Megumi enjoyed the peace and quiet of her own home. It wasn't a stretch to refer to her as a shut in, but not to the extent of actively shying away from human contact. If anyone wanted to talk to her for some reason, she could hold a conversation like any other person could and said person would leave satisfied.

Well anyway, it didn't look like she would be having that 'peace and quiet' anytime soon.

Megumi lived in a particularly isolated area of the Miyagi prefecture where there was only a single bus route that required her to change buses three times to get home. Her home was far away from Karasuno, yet Karasuno was the closest school to her home. She usually opted to walk home despite the distance, but walking seemed impossible in such dangerous weather.

When the school's population died down to only those that were a part of the club and it was still raining, Megumi came to the annoying realisation that she would have no other option than to wait for her father to finish up work and pick her up.

It was annoying. It was a waste of time. Her father got off work hours after school ended.

But she had no choice, unless she wanted to be struck by lightning or drenched in rain water and neither option seemed appealing. Both options didn't seem particularly safe either.

"It's no big deal, Ryuu! The rain is nothing!"

Instinctively, Megumi stopped before turning the corner upon hearing the voice. It wasn't as if she was trying to eavesdrop, albeit Megumi did have a penchant for it. Curiously, she ducked her head around the corner when no one seemed to reply. It was strange, to say the least.

…Or perhaps this person was just talking on the phone, not really strange at all.

He paused, "…Well, no but it's fine! The rain isn't that heavy! I'll make it through."

Lies. Megumi felt the rain on her palm earlier, and there was no way it wasn't heavy not to mention it wasn't safe being out in such heavy rain with lightning striking every few seconds. Who was she to say anything though? She didn't know this person, he could do whatever he wanted no matter how stupid. All Megumi needed to worry about was her own safety.

After waiting a few seconds, no reply came and Megumi assumed the boy had left from his spot outside the gym in the courtyard. When she ducked out of her hiding place behind the corner however, Megumi quite literally ran into a short boy talking on the phone earlier. She vaguely remembered was her desk neighbour at some point earlier in the year before seating arrangements were changed, and she hadn't realised it was the same person.

At first, it appeared as if he didn't recognise her which Megumi wouldn't have minded at all. He mumbled a low 'sorry', keeping his eyes on the ground by his feet and not meeting her gaze.

Was he usually a shy person?

From observing the behaviour of her classmates during particularly boring recesses and lunchtimes, Megumi noted that she had never seen him interacting with any girls other than one of their upperclassmen: Shimizu Kiyoko who was the manager of the volleyball club he was a part of, so it wasn't really all that surprising.

He was a boisterous person though, from what Megumi could tell with his interactions with his bald yankee friend and other members of the volleyball club. It was unexpected that he was acting so differently. Could he be shy in front of girls other than the volleyball club's manager? Megumi entertained the thought before she filed it away into the stalker database in her head, and later into the stalker database in her computer when she got home.

"It's fine," she said, waving him off. The words were short and simple, and what Megumi hoped would be the end of short interaction. She eyed his empty hands, noting the lack of an umbrella.

Behind her was an unsheltered area leading out of the school, so he should've pulled out some sort of rain protection, but he didn't. Was he seriously planning on walking through the rain? She may not have known how far away or close he lived, but it was absurd venturing out in this weather.

When Nishinoya began growing visibly uncomfortable under her stare, Megumi snapped out of her thoughts and addressed him.

"Don't tell me you're planning on going out in the rain without an umbrella," she said bluntly.

Nishinoya's eyes widened for a second, before they returned to his naturally blank expression. "You… You're Miyamura Megumi right?" On second thought, maybe he did know her name. "Thanks but I'll be fine."

His answer was brief, straight to the point like her question. She didn't expect any different, it wasn't like they would make small talk when they hardly knew each other.

Maybe Megumi should've left it at that, Nishinoya said he would be fine so it would be fine but even so, Megumi still didn't like the idea of him going out in the rain unprotected. She pulled out her own umbrella and handed it to him wordlessly.

Nishinoya blinked. "You're giving this to me?"

"Yeah." What else did it look like? It wasn't like she was going anywhere. Nishinoya still looked sceptical of the whole exchange, so Megumi cleared her throat and elaborated. "I have another umbrella, this is a spare."

A lie, but it did the trick. Nishinoya took the umbrella, staring at it for a few second before he gave her a wide grin of gratitude. "Thank you Miyamura!"

Having no more to say, Megumi nodded and parted ways with him. She headed towards the courtyard, and sat down. She wouldn't leave the school for another hour or so, so she made herself comfortable with a juice box and an online novel loaded on her phone.

After a few minutes, her short interaction with Nishinoya was forgotten and pushed to the back of her head.

…(x)…

That is, until she had to walk to her father's car.

It wasn't like she regretted giving Nishinoya her umbrella. He needed it more than she did regardless where he lived.

However, that fact didn't do anything to soothe the redness forming in splotches on her hands and legs. Luckily Megumi had half the sense to wear stockings to hide the red discolouration, but she couldn't do anything about her hands. It shouldn't have been too noticeable, it was just her hands after all.

The appearance of her hands wasn't her main issue though, the dull pain in her skin intensified each time she held a pen which wouldn't be a problem if Megumi wasn't a student, which she was.

As Megumi inspected her palm, she poked and prodded at the sore spots. She winced each time she applied too much pressure, and it didn't help that the sore spots were all over her hands.

Damn her bad luck.

It occurred to her some time around midday that if she wanted her umbrella back, Megumi would have to approach Nishinoya. The thought soured her mood.

It wasn't that he was a bad person or anything, it was rather the opposite. The problem lay more in herself than him, she would react much the same way had she lent her umbrella to anyone else. Social situations had always come as somewhat of a challenge for her. Megumi didn't like the unpredictability of speaking with unfamiliar people, she wouldn't know how to pick the right words to say without sounding like an absolute idiot.

She liked being in control.

Not in the sexual kind of way, but being in control of how exactly something would happen for a certain end result was definitely more desirable than small talk.

Megumi should probably get her umbrella back though, especially with how much rain there was recently.

On the other hand, maybe it was for the best. Eventually, she would buy a new umbrella. It wasn't as if they were expensive, in fact umbrellas happened to be cheaper during periods of frequent rain.

But maybe that was just an excuse to not speak with him again. Megumi hated being in unpredictable situations, situations she had no control over.

Apparently she didn't need to decide or an excuse not to decide, because a week after their initial meeting it was raining again and Megumi found Nishinoya loitering outside the second gym.

She remembered it like the first time too. There was the sound of crackling thunder and disappointment, because she knew she would be left at school for two or three more hours. At first she had lugged around the hallways, however when teachers would keep calling her into the faculty office to help out with a 'few' errands Megumi abandoned the stuffy hallways and greeted the wet, salty scent of outside.

It wasn't as if interacting with teachers was a bad thing. By saying the right things, it wasn't hard to please them and gain their favours. Whenever a teacher asked for a favour, they owed you for it. When you help a teacher out without being asked to, they owed you for it. Teachers were predictable, and easy to win over.

It was the same principle as being a teacher's pet in the eyes of Megumi's peers, but she knew the true intent behind her actions. It wasn't as if she was trying to be manipulative for the heck of it, Megumi knew that teachers owing her favours would benefit her future in the long run. She was exercising her caution, to ensure she had the best chance she could get of living a happy life.

So she wasn't a bad person…

Somehow questioning her morality felt as if Megumi had committed murder, so she just stopped thinking about it altogether.

Outside, the rain wasn't as bad as the last time it had rained. When she held out her palm, only a light drizzle tickled her fingertips. Megumi entertained the thought of leaving the school to walk home. The rain was light enough, and the pain in her hands and legs were covered well. She had also brought a hoodie in her bag as a precaution, in case the rain got any heavier.

For a brief second, it seemed possible.

But then there was a crash of lightning striking the ground and Megumi pulled back her hand on instinct. It didn't seem like she would leave anytime soon. She didn't want to risk getting struck by lightning, no matter how unlikely it was.

Why was there so much rain anyway? It was the end of February, the end of Winter and near the beginning of Spring. Not to mention the weather had been particularly stuffy lately. Rain and humidity? It was a horrible combination.

It was Megumi's luck that she happened to run into a familiar face. As she turned the corner, the silhouette of another formed on the other side of the uncovered area that poured with rain.

A small tuft of blonde hair. Short. Unique eyes.

It seemed like Nishinoya had seen her too, because he leapt off the bench and waved her over, shouting something incoherent over the sound of the rain. It wasn't as if she could leave after he'd spotted her, so she made her way around to him, avoiding the unsheltered areas that smelt of the salty rain.

"Miyamura!" He beamed, and Megumi was taken aback by how it sounded like he had actually wanted to see her.

And she voiced this. "Did you want to see me?" Megumi raised her brow in scepticism.

He shrugged. "I didn't not want to see you."

So you wanted to see me, Megumi quipped to herself mentally. It probably wasn't the case though, at least she hoped not. Megumi wouldn't know how to act if someone expected her to act a certain way or do a certain thing.

Nishinoya sat back down again, and gestured for her to join him, inviting her to sit next to him. Not feeling like declining, she accepted. For seconds, perhaps a minute or so, they sat side by side without a single word exchanged between them.

She wasn't one for small talk, but the silence felt awkward and heavy. The rain hardly made any sound. It wasn't too loud or too quiet, so it wasn't as if the sound of rain was comforting, at all.

It was probably safer to just not speak. That way there was nothing Megumi could risk, whether it was angering Nishinoya somehow or saying the wrong thing. It was always better to choose the safe route, there wasn't always going to be a safety net to catch you if you made a mistake.

"About last time…" He suddenly said. Megumi perked up at the sound of his voice piercing through the uncomfortable silence. "Thanks for the umbrella, the rain was heavier than I thought!"

"No, no!" She said, averting her eyes. "It's fine, it wasn't much anyway."

Oh. Was that how people usually responded? It didn't sound like it, maybe she should have accepted his thanks? Whatever she did say, it made her look stupid and Nishinoya looked at her blankly.

"Oh! What I meant was uhh… No problem?"

No reply. Great. Now she looked doubly stupid. Megumi should probably shut up, yep! Shutting up was the best idea she'd come up with to date!

"…I sound stupid, don't I?"

Or she could just ignore herself too, that seemed like bright idea.

"No," Nishinoya said simply, shaking his head. "You're a lot different than I expected though!"

"Oh." Megumi blinked, casting a small unsure smile. Was it a good thing? She didn't know. "Thanks?"

What was she doing, panicking like that? This conversation was going downhill quickly. Megumi was ruffled, and words were just spewing from her mouth without her thinking. Megumi was struck with just how awkward she really was.

Unaware of her inner turmoil Nishinoya gave a blank face for a few moments, then he stood up and walked over to the vending machine. It was one of those vending machines that were hardly ever restocked, so everything was almost always sold out. Nishinoya seemed look at the two options that were available, then began to dig around his pockets for spare change.

When Nishinoya came back, he held out his palms and Megumi blinked in surprise, glancing over to what he was holding. Wait why was he holding two juice boxes?

"I don't know if you liked grape juice or apple juice more, everything else was sold out."

I've never tasted grape juice before," she said slowly, cautiously in case he poisoned one of the juice boxes. It was likely her paranoia though, she had watched him purchase the juice boxes and both drinks were still packaged. She didn't understand why he would buy her juice either. Did she owe him a favour now?

"You should try it then!"

Megumi shook her head. "I think I'll take the apple juice just to be safe."

"You should try new things sometimes Miyamura!" Nishinoya pouted, holding out the apple juice to her.

Taking the juice box, she stared at the straw for a moment before she ripped away the plastic packaging and stabbed the box. Why did Nishinoya get her a juice box? Out of the goodness of his heart? Simple acts of kindness almost always came with a price though, so Megumi glanced over to Nishinoya who was fiddling with his phone.

Megumi thought for a moment, how would she word this without sounding too curt? She supposed being direct and simple would work. "Do I have to pay you back for this Nishinoya-kun?"

He sat back down and punched his straw into the juice box. "It's thanks for lending me your umbrella."

Oh, so that was it.

He looked around for a moment then asked, "are you always here after school?"

"No. Just when it's raining."

"Why?"

"Why do you need to—" On second thought, asking him directly seemed like a bad idea so Megumi cleared her throat and discarded her question.

"I can't walk home," Megumi answered, then out of courtesy she continued. "How about you? You play volleyball right? Aren't there club activities on?"

"Nope," he replied, popping his 'p'. He downed the juice in a single gulp and Megumi wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Other clubs use the gym when it's raining."

"Oh."

Megumi looked at him, staring for a few moments. It wasn't as if clubs never switched where they did club activities every once in a while, she didn't know what she was expecting. He was dawdling around, clearly not participating in club activities so what did she think? Nishinoya didn't seem like the type to skip, though that was always an option since she didn't know him very well.

"Are you a part of a club Miyamura?"

Again, why did he need to know? It was getting kind of tiring to question his every action, so Megumi decided to play along for now. It was possible that Nishinoya was genuinely interested in her, but it seemed unlikely. What would he get out of getting to know her? Nobody cared about people that couldn't offer them anything, so why? Why did Nishinoya treat her as if she were an equal?

"I have unique interests. Not enough people share them, so I suppose there are never going be clubs for something like hacking," she answered honestly.

Nishinoya blinked. "Whoa. Hacking?"

Did she say the wrong thing? Oh god, that was what she got for being honest…

Well, there was no point in hiding it now. "Uh, not like security hacking!" Megumi said a bit too quickly. Noticing the pace her voice picked up, she took a breath and slowed down. "I mean, I like hacking video games most of the time. Hacking through security isn't too hard… But I don't!" She emphasised.

"That's so cool!"

"Huh?"

His eyes lit up. "Are you a genius? When did you start hacking? Is it something you can learn off the internet? Isn't hacking illegal?"

Megumi winced but at least it seemed like she hadn't said anything wrong… Answering the only question she caught, she said, "well, I don't think I'm breaking any laws…" She paused, "and what can't you learn on the internet?"

Nishinoya laughed boisterously. "I guess so!"

Jumping from topic to topic, Megumi found herself relaxing. Maybe Nishinoya didn't have any ulterior motives despite her initial belief. Megumi had always been observant, noticing the smallest changes in a person's speech or body language. Those small changes always impacted how someone presented themselves, those insignificant actions to most people held more meaning than a lot of people knew. Nishinoya however was genuine, a clear difference from almost everyone she'd met in her life and she found herself relaxing without even noticing.

"The storm's dying down." Megumi held out her hand in the rain, only feeling a few drops land on her hand between seconds of each other. She stood up, facing Nishinoya. "I don't hear any thunder either."

"You can walk home right?"

"Yeah…" Megumi trailed off and glanced at the phone in her hand. "I did text my dad to come pick me up though."

"When do you think he'll arrive?" Nishinoya asked.

"Maybe in another hour or so?"

Nishinoya paused. It appeared as if he wanted to say something. His hand was clenched by his side, and his eyes were focused and steady. He looked strangely quiet, staring intently at Megumi.

He looked so determined for some reason, was this how he looked when he played volleyball?

"Then—"

"Ah!" Megumi felt the phone in her hand vibrate. "My dad's here."

"Oh."

Megumi raised her brow, throwing her phone away into her bag. "You wanted to say something didn't you Nishinoya-kun?"

"It's nothing." She pretended not to notice the disappointment in his voice, but Nishinoya must have seen the confusion on her face because he gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder that almost made her choke. Well, maybe it wasn't a pat but more of a slap. "I'll see you around Miyamura!"

As she climbed into her father's car, she wondered what he was about to say.

…(x)…

There wasn't really a next time they interacted, because after that day, Nishinoya began to greet her every morning and farewell her every day when school ended.

It did turn a few heads, Nishinoya and Megumi had never interacted before even if they were desk neighbours at one point. No one really remembered that detail though, except for Megumi but it wasn't the fact they had never talked to each before that was the interesting point of the gossip.

"Miyamura-san is friends with Nishinoya-san? You're kidding."

"No really! Really!"

"That sounds so fake. I've never seen anyone talk to Miyamura unless they have to."

"She doesn't talk to anyone if she doesn't have to either. What a loner."

"No they actually look like they're friends, but aren't they total opposites?"

There were four girls crowding around the entrance to her classroom, talking about her of all people. Her!

Well, Megumi and Nishinoya weren't friends per se but more like acquaintances. Megumi had trouble identifying just where acquaintanceship ended, and friendship began. Besides it would've been awkward to call Nishinoya her friend if he denied it, so Megumi ultimately decided to play it safe and acquaintance-zone him for now.

But the thought of calling Nishinoya her friend…

She didn't dislike the idea.

Fifteen minutes before class time, it didn't look as if those girls were going anywhere so she stood around the corner and waited for them to leave. It wasn't as if she couldn't ask them to let her pass, or say a simple 'excuse me' but Megumi prided herself on avoiding unnecessary conversation. Making small talk meant that you couldn't predict anyone's reply, and no matter what, Megumi wanted to avoid any situations she had control over. Eventually those girls would move along to their own classroom, and she'd be able to pass through.

"They're both kind of short… Maybe they relate to each other because they have height complexes?!"

"T—That would be too funny!"

"Eh? Isn't that kind of like Lovely Complex?"

Why were they focusing on their heights of all things? Lovely Complex, what was that? An anime?

From as far as Megumi could tell, only she had a height complex but if Nishinoya did too… She wouldn't know. Either way just as her waiting time had hit the ten-minute mark, a fifth girl was suddenly added to the mix.

The fifth noticed her around the corner, glancing at her and then narrowing her eyes. "Could you be... eavesdropping?"

No, but Megumi didn't reply. This was bad, now the original girls knew she'd heard everything and Megumi wouldn't be able to avoid confronting them.

This was definitely an unprecedented predicament.

A few of the original four girls gasped in surprise, peeking their heads around the corner where she was and gawking. The fifth girl suddenly looked apologetic. The girls around the corner hissed to themselves, barely coherent but Megumi could hear them anyway.

"Crap, she heard us?!"

"What an invasive little—"

The fifth girl glared at them and they scampered away to their own classroom. Wait, none them were in her class? Why were they standing around her classroom in the first place? To check her out? But she wasn't even in the classroom, so what were they doing there?

The fifth girl laughed sheepishly, and Megumi took a few moments than longer to take her appearance into mind. She was average height, sporting thick framed glasses and waist-length black hair that was tied around her midback and resting against her shoulder. She looked like the class-representative type, and she probably was. She wasn't in Megumi's class though, so there was no way Megumi could've ever known about her existence.

"I'm sorry about giving you away," she said, "it didn't seem as if you wanted to confront them, right?"

Megumi figured she owed the girl for shooing away the gossipers, so she gave her a small thanks, nodding and entering into her classroom. Surprisingly, the idea of owing the girl didn't seem as frightening as it usually would. Megumi wondered if she'd gotten enough sleep the previous night before.

Being friends with Nishinoya, huh?

It had always just seemed as if the idea of having friends was a foreign, impossible thing to grasp; much less actually make friends. Megumi wasn't whining that she was a lonely damsel-like shoujo protagonist. No, she was just saying things for how they were. However, Megumi had never seen having friends as a necessity. She was fine by herself.

There was no real way to tell between a genuine person and someone who wanted something from you. Even if liars had small quirks when they lied, some people were just naturals. It was better to just be alone. It was safer.

But it would be nice… Having friends…

It was a bother though, a lot of people misinterpreted their interactions. Some people thought they were unlikely friends, which wasn't exactly wrong. Some people thought they were secretly dating, which was entirely wrong.

No matter what she said though, Megumi knew she would fuel the rumours further, so she just didn't even bother to comment on the topic. This only served to make her out as a coy girlfriend that wanted to keep people guessing, nothing she could do about that though.

Later that day after school, Megumi found her mind looping back to that incident and she wondered why it was bothering her so much. People were always going to gossip, that was a given. Megumi wasn't exactly used to being a topic of gossip, she was more so used to the random observations of her behaviour and certainly not gossip that revolved around both her and somebody else. She was a loner, even in conversation. Her name was almost never mentioned in the sentence as somebody else's.

"Is there something wrong Miyamura? Do you not like cranberry juice or something?"

"No, I was just thinking about something." Megumi squeaked, squeezing her juice box so hard that the juice squirted from the straw onto her face. She coughed and spluttered, wiping her face with her sleeve. Nishinoya guffawed, trying to hold back his laughter.

Megumi's face burned with embarrassment as she cleaned up the juice with the tissues he handed her.

That day, it was raining again. This time however, the rain was so heavy that rooves began leaking on the top floor classrooms and both gyms in the school were closed for maintenance. Megumi suspected damages from the rain. There was no lightning flashing every few seconds like the other times, but there were the occasional low rumbles of thunder in the clouds.

"So a match huh?" Megumi mumbled, Nishinoya handed her some spare change and watched her for a moment as she punched some numbers into the vending machine, pulling out another cranberry juice from the collecting port.

"The third years aren't with us anymore," Nishinoya said, fondness in his voice. "So we have to win this. No matter what!"

Megumi wanted to ask 'why?'. If the third years had already retired and graduated, there was no pressure to do their best but perhaps Nishinoya's motivation was beyond her realm of understanding.

"Volleyball…" Megumi said absentmindedly. "Volleyball… Hmm."

Megumi had never been too interested in sports in general, she'd tried playing volleyball in her first year of middle school when clubs were compulsory. It had been a small interest at first, her father loved volleyball and often came home to watch volleyball matches on the TV so she was curious to see what the sport actually was.

But volleyball was much more exhausting than it had looked on TV, and Megumi quit after a week.

Seeing Nishinoya so passionate about volleyball was a strange feeling, like watching yourself in an out-of-body experience. Megumi wondered if maybe, maybe if she had stuck around with volleyball for just a little bit longer she might have grown to love the sport.

But 'what ifs' weren't actually what happened, so it was a waste of time to think about.

Megumi wondered if she could ever grow as passionate as Nishinoya about something.

"Are you a regular Nishinoya-kun?"

"Yeah! Sort of. I'm a libero!"

A libero… What was that again? Megumi laughed, perhaps it sounded forced or exaggerated. It sounded like it in her ears, but Nishinoya didn't seem to think so. "…I see!" Did it sound like she knew what she was saying? "Well good luck, who are you playing against?"

"Dateko."

Did he mean Datekougyou Koukou? Or was Dateko some slang term for the school she hadn't heard about? Either way Nishinoya appeared to space off for a bit, deep in thought.

Who knew what he was thinking? But the fact that he looked so deep in thought probably meant that the game meant a lot to him. Not knowing what to say, Megumi averted her eyes and drew circles on the wood of the bench beside her.

"You'll win right?"

They were three words. Technically four words if contractions were removed, but those three words were reassuring. Nishinoya looked at her and then he…

Smiled.

"Me— Miyamura… Yeah. Of course we will!"

Perhaps it was his genuine gratitude and sincerity, but Megumi found the gesture extremely embarrassing for some reason. Her ears felt hot, and she combed her hair over them to cover any redness. Luckily it was long enough to do that…

"I want to learn more about you," Nishinoya said absently, maybe he'd even said it as an offhanded comment. He slurped his mango juice without thinking too much about it, and Megumi's face grew even warmer than her ears. When he did notice her lack of reply, he looked surprised at her stunned face. "W—What is it?"

"I should be asking you that. What do you mean?" Megumi asked cautiously, the wavering in her voice betrayed her guarded tone.

Nishinoya repeated his words to himself before his jaw went slack and he waved his hands wildly. The gesture was somewhat reminiscent of a helicopter. "Oh. OH…!" Nishinoya looked away, flustered for a moment but maybe it was Megumi's imagination, because he appeared to be fine the next moment. "I'm just saying though, I only know that you can hack. Tell me something else about yourself."

Of course Megumi knew that was what he meant, it was still embarrassing nonetheless.

What could she tell him? That she was paranoid as hell? That she didn't have any close friends? That the reason she didn't have any close friends was because she was paranoid as hell? The fact that Nishinoya was her closest friend and he'd only known her for a week or two was already kind of depressing. She couldn't share any stories about her family either, she didn't have a very family-like relationship with her father. So what could she…?

Thunderstorms.

"… I used to be scared of thunderstorms," she said, "I live in a big house, so thunder usually echoes. It always sounded so loud… I was huge wimp back then."

Nishinoya shook his head. "That's not true. There's no reason you should think that! You're not scared of thunderstorms anymore right?"

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"I also happened to be a huge scaredy cat when I was a kid too!"

Out of all the things Megumi had expected him say, that wasn't one of them. Nishinoya took her silence as a confirmation to continue, so he did. He seemed almost embarrassed, giving a faraway look of nostalgia.

Nishinoya stared at the ground for a few seconds, then into the rain. "Well it's not like it matters that much." He grinned sheepishly. "The point is that we're not scared anymore right?"

Right.

Because Megumi had gotten over her fear of thunderstorms, she had stopped waiting for someone else to save her from the noise. Megumi had always seen that time as a happier time, after that she'd stopped depending on other people. You couldn't trust anyone, all you had to rely on was yourself.

For the longest time she attached her fear and happiness together, but she had moved forward and grown independent. Perhaps it wasn't a bad thing, to stop relying on other people for the sake of her own happiness. She knew her sceptic behaviour wasn't healthy, but maybe it was how she'd move forward in her own way. At least she knew that being paranoid was miles better than being weak.

Nishinoya's words struck truer than he'd probably ever know.

But as her phone started vibrating in her lap, she cut off her next thought and glanced at the green messaging icon that two simple words.

'I'm here.'

Perhaps it would have been relief at some point, but Megumi was genuinely disappointed their conversation had been cut short. They'd talked for over an hour, yet it had felt like five minutes.

Nishinoya didn't take a glance at her phone, but he seemed to understand its contents. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah…" She trailed off, hoisting herself off the bench and glancing around at him. "How do you usually get home Nishinoya-kun?"

"I walk home with Ryuu most of the time! But sometimes I walk with my team."

"Ah." By 'Ryuu', she assumed Nishinoya was talking about Tanaka Ryuunosuke. Megumi grew puzzled, if he walked home with Tanaka then where was he now? He should've also been somewhere at school, stuck like Nishinoya and her were. "Where is he anyway?"

"Ryuu? I don't know, he always disappears when it's raining."

So even he didn't know, well it wasn't an important question anyway.

"We pass by the Sakanoshita store a lot." Nishinoya added. "The Gari-Gari-kun popsicles are the best!"

After disposing of his juice box (his sixth juice box), he offered to walk Megumi to her father's car which she politely declined. It wasn't as if she was ashamed to be seen with Nishinoya, but she knew her father would jump to conclusions and possibly maul Nishinoya. It was for his own safety, probably.

Nishinoya however, insisted to walk with her to some point so they met each other in between. He walked her to the entrance of the school building, where they were both still under shelter and the thunderstorm had died down somewhat. The rain had somewhat dissipated too, and Megumi found herself not needing her umbrella.

"How are you going to get home?"

"Who knows?" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, but puffed up his chest confidently. "I'll find a way though!"

Megumi rolled her eyes, holding out her umbrella. "Here."

Nishinoya looked at her questionably, before he took the umbrella graciously and grinned. "Thanks again Miyamura!"

"Just give it back to me the next time you see me." She turned away and stepped into the rain. She glanced over her shoulder one last time, figuring that she owed him at least somewhat. For being her friend, even being as paranoid as she was. "Make sure to win, Nishinoya-kun."

Nishinoya gave a blank look before he grinned brightly and laughed. Megumi felt her cheeks tighten too, like she was about to laugh alongside him. She gave a quick farewell and parted.

When she did arrive at her father's car, parked a little ways away from the school entrance, her father stared at her strangely. Megumi wrung off any excess raindrops out of her hair, before stepping in. He was silent for a moment, then turning to her.

"You look happy. Did something happen?"

"Nothing too major," she replied, tugging on her seatbelt. "I just talked with someone for a bit."

"Did you make a friend?"

A friend… huh? Could Nishinoya be considered a friend? Where was the point when Megumi could call him a friend with no words of anything of the sort exchanged? Did Nishinoya consider her a friend? Did they cross the line and become more than mere acquaintances?

"Why do you want to know?" Megumi asked casually, with an underlying threat beneath the surface.

He didn't reply.

Instead her father chuckled, and twisted the keys into ignition. Her father said no more, and no more words were needed. The silence between Megumi and her father was often filled with unsaid words. Silence often felt out of place and stifling.

But after the few days, after Megumi found herself company she didn't know she wanted, nothing could bring down her spirits.

…(x)…

A few days later, it was raining again.

School days were the same as always, yet different. Lonely hours during recess and lunchtimes were unchanging, and the offhanded comments about Megumi being a loner wasn't an unregular occurrence. At some point earlier in the year, the comments may have offended her.

The gossip about Nishinoya and herself was dying down too. It was becoming old news, perhaps it was a good thing.

Megumi figured her mindset had changed somewhat. School didn't feel as boring.

She often caught herself with wondering thoughts about Nishinoya. When would they talk again? Did Nishinoya actually enjoy talking to her? Was she a boring person to spend time with? Did he ever get tired of her distrustful personality? Thoughts that were unimportant and irrelevant in the past suddenly meant more to Megumi than before. She didn't usually care about how others viewed her, but Nishinoya suddenly had a face and Megumi wanted him to like her as much as she liked him.

Not romantically of course, but Megumi wanted a mutual level of appreciation between Nishinoya and herself.

Megumi thought she was acting a bit clingy sometimes, though she knew she wasn't being physically clingy. Was being mentally clingy even a thing?

Megumi had honestly found school to be refreshing after becoming (somewhat?) friends with Nishinoya. It was a strange feeling, to view everything a little bit differently all because of one person. It was almost embarrassing to admit. These days she felt lighter, the only person she ever interacted with regularly was Nishinoya.

She let down her guard around him. He was genuine and sincere, it was a quality Megumi had almost never seen in anyone else. She didn't find herself questioning his every word, she didn't constantly look between the lines to try and find a hidden motive behind sugar-coated words.

Nishinoya was a breath of fresh air from her usual paranoia, and Megumi couldn't say she disliked it.

That day was a little different. It was still raining, like before but there wasn't any lightning or thunder. The rain wasn't heavy either, so it was possible for Megumi to walk home but she had given her umbrella to Nishinoya.

It wasn't too much of a hassle though. She'd stuffed a hoodie into her bag to change into if it ever did start raining and she didn't have an umbrella. Megumi trusted Nishinoya to give back her umbrella whenever he wanted to, so she wasn't too worried.

When she had gotten to the school gates however, Nishinoya and another stood there waiting. For her perhaps? Megumi didn't raise her hopes too much, but when Nishinoya waved at her, it confirmed her suspicions.

"Miyamura! I have your umbrella!" Nishinoya held out a familiar, battered black umbrella that Megumi took with a small 'thanks'. She pulled the hoodie off her head, releasing her short hair from its prison. The umbrella felt much more like a shelter than her hoodie, so she stripped it off and threw it into her bag.

"Who is this?" Megumi asked, not liking the presence of an unfamiliar person.

He stared at her, not saying anything and Megumi found it hard to say she wasn't slightly unnerved by his intimidating expression. She didn't let it show though, raising an eyebrow and appearing unperturbed, her own method of intimidation.

Nishinoya and the other boy were standing relatively close to each other, and were even talking before she'd arrived so they knew each other. Who was he? Nishinoya only ever hung out with two people excluding the volleyball club, her and—

"Are you Tanaka-san?" She asked, her voice a mix of sweetness and carrying a hidden message of 'that-sort-of-thing-won't-work-on-me'.

Tanaka leaned back, and Nishinoya poked him in the side. "This is Miyamura, she's pretty cool isn't she?"

"Oi, oi, oi." Tanaka's eyes flashed deviously. "Do you think you can just—"

"Ryuu!" Nishinoya interrupted, "She's fine. Don't worry."

Was Tanaka a yakuza member? The more he talked, the more it seemed like it. Megumi took a step back, seeming somewhat casual but holding a guarded posture. If he attempted anything, she'd be ready to either run away or fight back.

Tanaka glanced over at him. "Hey Noya-san, are you sure about this? I don't like this girl."

Wow. Rude. It was almost as if he'd forgotten she was right next to him. Was it because she wasn't as cute and friendly as other girls? Megumi was a little hurt, but she didn't let it bother her. This was someone she didn't know, there was no reason she had to let his opinion of her get to her. Megumi crossed her arms and looked away.

Why didn't he like her though? What had she done to get on his bad side?

Upon seeing the dismayed look on Megumi's face Nishinoya zapped Tanaka's side, and Tanaka slapped his hands over where Nishinoya had zapped him. His face was twisted painfully, as if was resisting the urge to laugh and giggle. Nishinoya looked over to her and grinned confidently. "Well I like her! And you'll like her too once you get to know her!"

Did Nishinoya realise how cool he sounded to her? Megumi cleared her throat, looking away to hide her burning cheeks. "Uh… So! I think I should get walking now! I'll see you around Nishi —"

"Wait, hold up Miyamura," Nishinoya said, "which way are you going?"

Tanaka gave him a strange look. "Don't tell me you're inviting her to walk with us."

"Huh? That isn't it, is it?" Megumi asked, her eyes flickering between Nishinoya and Tanaka.

Apparently it was, and Megumi found herself flanking his left side while Tanaka flanked his other side. It wasn't as if she could avoid walking with them, she happened to be heading the same way as them, at least part of the way.

Tanaka also happened to not be a yakuza member, much to her hidden relief. He just liked scaring people, for one reason or another.

Megumi also didn't mind walking with them, she had initially thought Tanaka had not liked her but it seemed like he didn't have a problem with talking with her. Perhaps she was just being paranoid, it was a common thing, overthinking.

"I don't hate sports," she said, answering one of Tanaka's previous questions. She glanced down at her juice box, orange flavoured. Nishinoya and Tanaka were staring at her expectantly, so Megumi elaborated. "I know more about volleyball than any other sport though. Probably because my father loves it."

"So which is cooler then?" Tanaka asked, suddenly growing gravely serious. "A libero or a wing spiker?"

Nishinoya seemed to perk up too, curious of Megumi's answer. What was the safe answer here? Somehow answering one or the other seemed like a bad idea and Megumi was at a loss to what she should say. Please Tanaka? Or please Nishinoya? Both outcomes had her dismissing the other, so instead Megumi asked, "why do you need to know? I'm not an expert."

"It doesn't matter though." Nishinoya pointed out, pressing onward. "Which one do you think is better?" Megumi laughed nervously, dancing around the subject.

"Never really thought about it."

"Maybe you should think about it!" Nishinoya said, a glint in his eyes. Tanaka turned to him in question, and Megumi reacted much the same way. "A libero connects everyone together, guards everyone's back." He gave a thumbs up, grinning in that carefree yet confident way of his. "That's what I do! I'll definitely protect everyone!"

After that, Tanaka was silent and even Megumi was silent. While Tanaka was awestricken, Megumi was amazed at how he could dedicate himself so much to volleyball when it could only provide a single sentence on your resume.

This was probably what people meant by passion.

To Megumi, she'd never done anything out anything but future benefit. Even her 'dream' for the future felt half-assed in comparison to Nishinoya's dedication.

"N —NOYA-SANNNN!"

Nishinoya blushed and backed away, waving his hand wildly. "Hey what are you—"

"You're just… so awesome!

"Why're you crying?!"

Honestly Megumi couldn't blame Tanaka, she was about to tear up herself. Nishinoya appeared to catch it though, and his face suddenly lit up as much Megumi's did.

"A —A—And you! Why are you crying as well?!"

"I'm not!"

"You are!"

When Tanaka and Nishinoya passed the Sakanoshita shop, Megumi declined their offer to come inside and instead waited for them outside. She didn't have any reason to come in, and walking with them already felt as if she was invading their friendship even if Nishinoya had invited her to come with them. From her spot outside, she had a perfect view of sun setting over the horizon so she was content to be left alone.

They'd been walking for a little over half an hour on the way back to their respective homes. Tanaka apparently lived right around the corner from the shop, so he would part ways with Nishinoya and herself when they left the shop. Megumi still had a little ways to go, she didn't live over the mountain near the school and on the other side of town, but she lived somewhat near the base. She wasn't quite sure about Nishinoya, but she didn't expect him have very much longer until he had to part ways with her as well.

So after leaving the Sakanoshita shop, Tanaka farewelled Nishinoya and Megumi and disappeared around the corner.

About five minutes after, when Nishinoya and her had walked through a park on a rising hill he stopped. "How much further do you have to go from here?" He asked, chewing his popsicle stick.

"Uh… I think I have to walk for maybe another twenty minutes?"

Under the street light that hadn't turned on yet and the darkening skies, Megumi couldn't quite catch the expression on his face. It changed into something like concern, but it was far too dark to tell. "Don't tell me you're actually going to walk there by yourself. Do you want me to walk you there?"

Megumi glanced upwards, just as the street lamp lit up and illuminated the area surrounding them in a soft glow. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to walking home alone, she was far too used to groping her way through pitch darkness back to her house than she would care to admit. There were too many stories of traumatising things happening to girls walking alone at night, and Megumi had dealt with the fact that there was no way she could avoid danger and get back home before her father did.

"But you live around here don't you? Why would you bother? Wouldn't it be a hassle to walk twenty minutes there and back? It's dangerous for you to be walking alone as well."

Nishinoya thought for moment. "I still don't like the idea of you walking alone though, aren't there any other ways of getting home?"

Megumi was a little unfamiliar with the area, seeing as she had taken a slight detour so she could stay with someone for a little longer. She glanced around, noting the number of people that lived in the area.

"Is there a bus stop nearby? I could take a bus the rest of the way."

Nishinoya nodded, leading Megumi to a stop down the street around a corner. Arriving at the lit up resting area, she patted the seat to check if it was dry before taking a seat. Strangely, Nishinoya took a seat next to her. He closed his umbrella and shook off the excess rain, like she did, and propped it up against his seat.

"You don't have to stay with me Nishinoya-kun," Megumi said awkwardly, "you live around here, so isn't it annoying to just be out here?"

"You aren't annoying though." He pointed out.

Megumi shook her head. "That isn't what I meant, but… Thank you… I guess."

—For making sure she was safe, for wasting his time to stay with her.

When she was on the bus, she watched Nishinoya wave her goodbye from the bus stop and she wondered why someone would go that far for someone they'd only just met. Sometimes she wondered if becoming friends with Nishinoya was a little too good to be true.

She arrived home to an empty house, her heart feeling a little lighter.

…(x)…

The next time it rained, Megumi didn't see Nishinoya. She wondered how his game with Dateko went.

A/N: Megumi the ever sceptic. How will this story progress I wonder? For some reason, I found it really hard to write interactions with Nishinoya. I honestly struggle with writing pre-existing characters but I'm happy with how this turned out. I edited and rewrote this so many times, writing is hard :/

— I'm using the British dictionary, so some words will be spelt a little strangely but I assure you, they are not incorrectly spelt. I don't really have a way of differentiating between them, but British spellings tend to use more 's' rather than 'z' (eg. exercise/exercize) and 'ou' rather than 'o' (eg. colour/color). There are also some others like 're' rather that 'er' (eg. centre/center) and 'nce' rather than 'nse' (eg. offence/offense). I could list them all, but I'd rather not. This is just something to keep in mind when (or if) you are writing constructive criticism.

— Canon Nishinoya is actually shy when speaking to girls he hasn't met

— The slang word yankee (or yanki ヤンキーwhich is how it is properly written) doesn't refer to Americans or 'yankees' but rather the juvenile delinquents that appeared during the 1970s and 1980s in Japan. In modern day the term is used to describe someone who looks like a delinquent, so basically Tanaka.

— Right now in the story, it is late March to early April which means it is not the rainy season. In Miyagi and Sendai in particular, the rainy season is typically during the Summer because of the monsoon. It just happens to be raining a lot.

— The thing about the gym being used when it's raining:

In haikyuu (at least the anime), we never see the team practising when it's raining. I'm not assuming they don't practise when it rains, but for the sake of this story they don't. In the persona 4 main games, the basketball and soccer teams don't practise when it rains so I just took that idea from that.

— Lovely Complex is a shoujo, romance anime/manga. The female protagonist is taller than the average female, and the love interest is shorter than the average male. Because of their mutual height complexes, they become close friends and eventually lovers. Honestly, this is one of my favourite shoujo mangas (I never watched the anime) so I recommend you check it out if you like the shoujo genre. It's definitely a gem.

— A tiny, tiny spoiler of Nishinoya's backstory as told in the manga. He 'was scared of bugs, dogs, birds, tricycles and monsters and shy around strangers too'. He still hates moths and onions to this day.

— After I was editing this chapter for the eighth time, I realised that the match against Dateko wasn't apart of the Spring High Representative Tournament. The Spring High Representative Tournament is in September/October, the Dateko match is in March. My bad.

Welp, this was a long introduction chapter. It's kind of hard writing an OC with such a contrasting personality to myself, sort of. Please forgive me if any characters end up sounding really out of character, or if Megumi starts to become a Mary Sue character. Thanks for reading up until the end, I don't know when the next chapter will come out but hopefully I'll have a steady update schedule. I'm about halfway through chapter 2 right now. Hopefully I'll have done it soon.

Date of Publish - (09.01.2018)