Cannot Hide Forever

Inei arrives on campus a couple of hours early. He looks down at his phone, and a message brightly glows across the screen.

"Well, I'll leave you alone while you practice! See you in class!"

That Azami never gives me a moment's rest.

Inei picks up what seems to be a gym bag and walks into the athletic center.

Not that I really want to, but practicing will get me away from having her annoy me. If I practice, she can't bother me. Non-athletes don't have access here.

Inei walks into the practice gym, grabs a rack of basketballs, and starts warming up and practicing on his own, setting up certain items. As he practices, he begins to enjoy it, nodding to himself.

I'm on my own, and I doubt anyone will come in here at this hour. I might as well show up at least for now. It would not hurt anything.

Inei starts taking shots, sinking one after another. He takes lay-ups, close shots, mid-range, and threes, missing only two of the three-pointers of the hundred shots he had taken. Staring at the basket, he stands a few feet away from the basket when a voice covers his breathing.

"Wow, Inei, no wonder you're on the team! That was amazing!"

He turns with a shocked look, seeing Yui standing in a practice volleyball jersey. Inei goes running, but Yui grabs his wrist before he can escape, her grip stronger than Inei imagined.

"Wait! Don't run! I won't tell anyone what you did! I won't even tell Azami!"

Inei stops, side-eying her intently, not believing a word she says.

Yeah, right, like I would believe someone that is friends with Azami to keep their mouth shut.

"However, if you did that, you could smash our basketball team's losing streak, and you would be famous."

Those words from her mouth stopped as fast as they came out, and Yui realizes the issue that is in play. Inei glares at her.

"Ohh, that's why you intentionally perform poorly. That way your name stays low and nobody comes for you."

Inei rips his hand away from her and starts walking away with a frustrated glare on his face. Yui is standing there, her wrist in her hand, looking to the side and down.

"That kind of hurts that you don't trust your friend. I'm being sincere. I really won't tell."

Inei stops for a moment, listening to her words. Yui notices that he stops and smirks a little, continuing her speech.

"But I understand. By the way, thank you for caring for Aneko when she was irresponsibly hungover a couple of weeks ago. You truly make Azami happy, so I, for one, want to be friends with you, not just acquaintances. I even gave you my number already. That shows how much I trust you."

Yui thinks for a moment, and hand on her hip and her head tilted down, then switches sides of which hip she leans on and lifts her head with a smile.

"I will tell you what, play me one on one, if I win, I get to tell everyone what I saw today. However; if you beat me, I will keep everything a secret and not tell a soul. Deal?"

Inei turns and looks at Yui with confusion, the expression obvious on his face.

Is this girl serious? Does she not see how outclassed she is against me?

Yui puts her hands together, pleading to Inei.

"Please?! I swear I will keep my word!"

Inei rolls his eyes softly at her.

Sure, why not? She will not beat me anyway, she does not stand a chance.

Inei walks off picking up the ball and passing it to her. Yui smiles, then competitively smirks, holding the ball at the middle of her chest with two hands.

"Okay Inei, it is on!"

They line up, Yui starting with ball and Inie standing in between her and the basket. She bounce passes the ball to Inei, grunting in the process.

"This will be a game of twenty-one! First to score that many points wins! Regular shots are one point, threes are worth two points!"

Inei lifts in eyebrow, rolling the ball off of his arms and chest in a "U" shape, hitting the ball up and heading it to her, thinking to himself in the process.

Is this girl mad?! She will kill over before I reach eleven much less twenty-one! But if that is what she wants, then I will provide it to her

You catches the ball, pretending to jab her feet poorly, then smirks again at Inei.

"Do not take me lightly, Inei!"

Inei's eyes open wider as Yui begins dribbling the ball quickly between her legs, then around her back, using his shock against him to get around.

"Ha, you are too slow!"

Yui lays the ball up, then her eyes shrink in terror, Inei jumping over her spiking the ball against the backboard.

Too slow.

Inei lands closer to the wall, Yui looking at him with shock, then begins laughing hysterically.

"Wow Inei! You got me good, but you forgot one thing-"

Yui takes off towards the ball.

"It's my ball! You touched it last!"

Inei watches, shaking his head and walking back to the position in which he started. Yui brings the ball back, passing Inei the ball and Inei slapping the ball out of the air, the ball going directly back to her. She begins dribbling, performing various dribble moves with no luck to confuse Inei. She finally takes off stepping back and shooting the ball, Inei barely missing the ball with the tip of his fingers, Yui air-balling her shot. Inei quickly jogs to the ball and picks it up, walking over to the starting spot. He checks the ball to Yui and Yui passes it back, Yui already starting to breath a little heavy. Inei begins to dribble quickly, so fast it is almost impossible for Yui to know what way he will go, suddenly Inei takes off dunking the ball with a back-scratcher dunk. The rim rattles as Inei lets go of the rim, Inei looking at Yui whose only movement was to turn and look at Inei dunk it. Inei picks up the ball and passes it to Yui, who then looks at the ball.

"Maybe just to five is good."

Inei nods in agreement and gets into position. They continue to play, Inei making light work of Yui and going four up on Yui, not missing a single shot. Inei has the ball to win the game, and he begins to dribble. Yui quickly tries to extend her reach into Inei's dribble zone, at the same time Inei goes to take off with the ball. When these actions happen at the same time, Inei runs into Yui and they fall, Inei falling on top of Yui. When they open their eyes they both immediately blush, their breaths syncing together as their eyes lock on the others. Yui's eyes twinkle, and then Inei quickly gets up, putting a hand out to help her up. As soon as he pulls her up, he shoots and scores, then walks off towards the bench, Yui giggling nervously following behind him.

"I guess I will let you have that last point for the game winner, I did foul you anyway."

The two of them sit side by side, Inei fidgeting with the ball while Yui drinks water, resting and leaning her head back.

"Inei, you really are so talented and it would make everything better for our sports program if you did play like you just did,"

Inei gazes at her, concern in his look, believing that she was not going to follow through on her deal, then Yui continues.

"But a deal is a deal. I will not tell anyone, this stays between you and me, right? Maybe sometimes after you practice we can meet up and you can teach me a thing or two."

Inei slightly turns his head towards her, then nods, a smile lights up Yui's face, then she stands.

"Thank you for trusting me. Also, if you don't mind me asking, please help me set up the volleyball nets before you leave. I'm on the lower end of the team, so they usually force me to come and set up in the mornings, and it's kind of heavy on a girl like me to set it up."

So this is why you're here? Because they pretty much call you the runt? That is actually really messed up. They should treat you with respect like the rest.

Inei nods, and Yui now expresses a radiant smile.

"Great! Follow me, Inei!"

Yui turns and starts leading him to a storage unit where the polls for the nets are standing.

"If you get the poles, Inei, I'll get the nets."

Inei sighs and then picks up one of the poles, realizing they are heavy but not really. He takes it and places it on the floor, Yui waiting for him to put the rest up. When he does, she picks up the net. Inei grabs the other following behind her, and she tries to put up the net; however, she is too short.

"Damn! I can't reach, and you can't reach, and the faculty is borrowing the ladder since theirs have gone missing."

Inei squint's his eyes in annoyance.

That is probably the ladder Azami used the night she came to my house. She sure is taking her time to return it.

Inei breathes deeply, already tired from the workout and lifting things, then an expression on Yui's face freaks Inei out.

I'm not too fond of that look; don't look at me like that. What are you plotting?

"Let me get on your shoulders, Inei. You're what, six-foot-three? And I'm at least taller than the other four; I'm sure our heights together will have us capable of putting the net up with ease!"

Inei hesitates, shaking his head. Yui stomps one foot with her hands clenched to her sides.

"Come on, Inei, you owe me, or I will tell the coach! He knows me well and knows I would not lie about anything!"

Inei panics and then takes a deep breath, slowly letting it out.

I'm already so tired, and considering you're an athlete, you're not going to be light, but I can't just leave her to figure this out on her own. Plus, I do have to do whatever I can to save myself. Also, aren't you more diminutive than the others?!

Inei then reluctantly turns and squats down. Yui smiles and wraps her legs around his head, sitting on his shoulders, holding the net. Inei, in a struggling manner, stands up straight, giving Yui plenty of height to put together the volleyball nets. As she does, her thighs softly squeeze Inei's head now and then, Inei becoming increasingly embarrassed as thoughts flow through his mind.

What if someone walks in seeing this?! What would they say?! I would be in so much trouble! It's already bad enough that a boy and a girl are alone in a gym, and the girl is on my shoulders with her thighs against his head?! This whole situation is terrible! Hurry up, Yui!

"Alright! That's one side! Now let's do the other!"

Inei walks to the other side, squatting down for Yui to grab the end of the net, then stands back up, letting her attach the net to the pole. Losing her balance on top of Inei's shoulders, her thighs clench tightly around Inei's head.

Ouch! Her thighs are crushing my head now! And I can't see!

Inei leans to the post so she can recenter herself. When she finishes, Inei squats down, letting Yui hop off. Yui puts a fist in the air.

"On to the next one!"

She runs over to the next post, where Inei, confused if he likes holding her on his shoulders, slowly walks over, bends down, and lets her get on his shoulders. He stands up, allowing her to attach the netting to the pole again.

"Hey, Inei, I hope your head being between my thighs doesn't change anything. I still intend for us to be friends, even though this is probably the closest you've been to a girl, well, compared to Aneko cuddling up with you two weekends ago."

Inei's face begins to burn red, and he looks down with embarrassment.

Don't let her get in your head. It's just innocent, lovely Yui. She would never mean for this to turn into anything else. If this were Chura, it would be a different story, she would actually mean it.

Yui finishes, and they move to the last and final net side. While Yui successfully attaches the netting to the poles, she speaks again.

"I'm assuming you agree with the first part, I mean. Also, I thank you for helping me out."

Inei produces a super tiny smile, feeling good about what he has done, and lets the smile fade before Yui may see it. Shortly after she finishes, he squats down, letting Yui hop off his shoulders, then stands back up. Suddenly, he feels something around him and looks down to see Yui hugging him.

"Again, thank you for this."

After a couple of seconds, she lets go.

"I will see you in class, Inei!"

And with that, Yui runs off somewhere out of Inei's sight. Inei stands for a moment, frozen and confused. He finally looked down at his phone to see that Yui had sent a message to herself saying "hello" as Inei, so she had his number, seemingly having taken his cellphone when she hugged him, also with another letter from Azami.

"Oh, I forgot! You may run into Yui! She has practice with the volleyball team later this evening, and they usually have her go set up in the morning."

Inei gives an annoyed look at his phone but is annoyed with himself.

Way to go, Inei; you took a gamble and paid for it. Pray Yui doesn't say anything.

"So, you DID see him this morning!"

Azami sits next to Yui, trying to figure out if Yui and Inei had seen each other that morning. Yui shrugs.

"I SAW him this morning, but not in the gym."

Azami cries out.

"But you only go to the gym in the morning!"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I see him only in the gym."

Inei watches the girls with a tired look.

Well, at least Yui is keeping her word about not saying anything this morning. I'm assuming she's saying she didn't even see me in the gym because then they'd ask how good I was, and knowing Yui, she's too nice to say I sucked even though I put on a professional performance.

"Why Yui?! Now my head hurts, and I won't be able to work on the project!"

Yui giggles.

"I saw Inei this morning on my way to the gym, but he was heading out and went somewhere before I had gotten there."

Aneko sighs loudly.

"Will you two please shut it?! Chura and I are trying to focus on our part of the project!"

Azami and Yui look at her with shock, then Yui giggles.

"You seem quite a bit more productive today, Aneko."

Aneko puts her hands on her hips, perking up her nose.

"I have important plans in a couple of weeks, and I want to get a lot of work done, so I have nothing to do then!"

Chura looks at Aneko, confused.

"Now you say why you're making me work so hard? I asked, and you constantly told me not to worry about it, and now you tell them?"

Aneko looks down on Chura.

"As my partner, I didn't think you would care and would just support me!"

Well, she's back to herself.

Yasu now speaks, keeping herself out of the conversation until now.

"Last I checked, there is nothing on campus big going on but a few opening season games."

Aneko expresses a bit of panic but collects her words accordingly. Inei picks up on the worry in the tone of her voice.

"It's not something on campus! It's a personal thing!"

All the girls hear her, then Chura leans in, whispering into her ear, then with a disgusted look, Aneko leans away.

"No, not that, Chura! That's gross! Why would you even whisper something like that to me?!"

Chura points to Inei.

"There's a boy right there! You want me to say it out loud?"

Aneko turns beat red, covering Chura's mouth.

"Chura, please just stop talking!"

Azami and Yui burst out laughing, forgetting their argument from before. Suddenly someone stands next to the table. An odor that reeks of skunks rolled in onions hits all their noses.

"Hey ladies, I noticed you were all here, not that it's hard to."

All five of the girls' smiles disappear, their eyebrows furrowing as they cover their noses with irritation. Inei looks at some thug-like person, shorter than average, with golden blonde hair and a tattoo sleeve running up his left arm. He gives a devious smirk.

"Which one of you five wanna hang out with me alone later?"

Azami is the first to speak.

"None of us. How often do we have to tell you to leave us alone?!"

Inei notices this, raising an eyebrow, listening but not looking.

"Oh, come now, we all know you guys joke whenever you say that. You all are just playing hard to get because all five of you want me so badly."

All five of them say in unison.

"No, we are not joking. Please leave us alone, Goman."

Seriously? Someone named their child that?! It was destiny for Goman to be the way he had become!

"I haven't given up since last year, and I won't give up now! I know you, girls, secretly love me."

Inei's fists slowly clinch.

They aren't interested; leave them alone before I lay your ass out.

Chura speaks with more anger.

"I've been with quite a few men, but you are one of the last people I'd ever see."

Goman smirks.

"You're the last one I'd want to begin with, bimbo."

There is a quick gasp, and Inei looks at Chura, whose eyes begin to tear up with one hand over her mouth. Inei slams a hand on the table, leaving a small crack in it, all the other girls looking at Inei in shock.

You crossed a line you should have never crossed. You hurt one of them.

Inei stands up quickly and pushes Goman away and to the ground. As Goman gathers himself, Inei prepares himself in a karate position.

"You will pay for that, you no good creep!"

Goman rushes Inei and swings, missing Inei entirely. Inei squats and thrusts his palm forward, striking Goman right in the gut. Goman falls, shriveling up, trying to catch his breath.

Inei turns and looks at Chura, who still has tears. They make eye contact, and Inei looks down at the table. He sits back down, the five girls looking at him, then Azami smirks, making fun of Goman while he desperately tries to catch his breath.

"Ha ha! That serves you right, Goman! Bother us again, and Inei will snap you in half!"

Yui grabs Azami by the shoulders, slowly pulling her away.

"I don't think he can break him unless Goman strikes first, too, like this time."

Aneko speaks now.

"So you do know karate, huh? You didn't just copy some anime that you watched."

Inei nods. Looking down at Goman, who is slowly clambering to get up. Goman looks up, meeting Inei's gaze. Inei looks down at him with extreme intimidation; his eyes are wide open, showing anger through his shrunk pupils. Goman gets up as fast as he can and runs off, stumbling and tripping over his own feet. Chura speaks next, sniffling.

"Bastard. Having me choked up like this. I don't care about him..."

Inei reaches out a tissue to her as she wipes away her eye. She takes it.

"Thank you, Inei. You didn't have to do that for us; we normally yell that he is harassing us and run."

It would be best if you didn't have to do that. He should not even be on campus for that reason.

Chura wipes away her tears. Concerned Yasu tries to talk to her.

"Are you okay, Chura? You're usually not one to crack to what he says."

Chura gets up.

"Give me a moment, will you? Thanks."

And with that, Chura walks away, going off somewhere.

She really shouldn't go off on her own. That Goman guy could be around ready to strike, especially after that strike I produced on him.

A small hand taps on Inei's shoulder; Inei turns his head to see Yasu.

"May I talk to you privately for a moment?"

Inei nods, Yasu standing, Inei following suit.

"We will be back."

And with that, Yasu leads Inei out of the study grounds and into a silent hallway. Yasu grabs a strand of her hair.

"This is about Chura. I have no one else to tell but you because you're quiet like me. I trust you are good after what you did for her."

What about Chura? What is this girl about revealing to me? Is it okay for her to tell her friend's secrets to someone like me?

"Chura has a self-image problem. It could be a homeless man on the street; if they tell her she's even decent, she gets upset."

Inei looks at Yasu, listening.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this. But seeing how you helped Aneko,"

Yasu stops, looking down shyly, putting her hands nervously behind her back and twisting her toes against the ground.

"You seem like you can help Chura too. I hate seeing any of us sad."

Yasu slowly looks up, then Inei nods. Yasu gives a soft smile.

"Thank you. I trust you."

They walk back, and Chura has come back; she and the other three girls are talking together as if nothing had ever happened. Chura then notices that Yasu and Inei come back together.

"Oh! The two quietest of the group went off together! Where did you two go?"

Inei looks at Yasu, and Yasu looks down at the table, super nervous.

Shit. Come on, Yasu, you're making us look suspicious with how embarrassed you look!

"Um...well...we, uh..."

Inei begins to sweat, then thinks of something. He digs in his pocket.

My homework! I have it in my pocket! I can show them my reading as if I was helping her with a question!

Inei finds the homework and holds it up, showing everyone at the table; Yasu gives a shocked look, cheeks still a little red, then speaks.

"Uh, yeah, he was helping me with a question..."

Chura then gets suspicious.

"Huh? You two left the table so he could help you with ONE question? Besides, you are the smartest of the group Yasu, why would you need help?"

Yasu blushes more once again, panicking.

"N-no! I get nervous, and I don't wanna look dumb, so I asked privately!"

Chura looks at her suspiciously, then laughs leaning back in her chair.

"Okay! I believe you! Just know to us you never look dumb Yasu."

Yasu exhales, then lays her head on the table.

Yasu would have no reason to lie if she did not really care about Chura. I hope that she's not trusting too much of me.

"You know, Chura, we're still not done with our portion for the day."

Aneko says this, then hands Chura her pencil. Chura stops laughing and sighs, taking the pencil, then both continue working.

Inei looks into his journal, writing things down, while Yui and Azami continue to chat, and Yasu has her head down.

Inei runs across the court, dribbling the ball, the starting point guard guarding him. As he approaches, a flash plays in his mind. He sees Yui's impressed face and smiles at his performance that morning, wanting to know the happiness in other people. Inei makes eye contact with the player, then goes to work. He hesitates to his right, then on the first step, he performs a behind-the-back, then crosses over between his legs and steps back. With the last move, the first team point guard falls backward. Inei shoots the three, then turns away, walking to the defensive side of the court as the three swishes. The gym falls silent, the practice coming to a halt. Inei turns around, looking at the coach, whose jaw is practically on the floor.

"Practice is over. Inei, stay behind and talk to me."

Inei looks down to the floor with his hands on his hips, then up to the ceiling.

Great. You overdid it, Inei! Your cover is blown!

As the players leave, the starting point guard gives Inei a terrible look, then continues. The coach looks at Inei sternly.

"Inei, what was that?"

Inei doesn't speak, keeping his same respectful stance.

"That was the best ball handling I have ever seen in person! Where were you hiding that talent? Are you not showing as much as you can perform?"

Inei begins to sweat, but not out of tiredness, out of nervousness.

He can't know I can play, then people will bother me, and I don't want that, I do not want attention brought to myself!

"Hello, coach! Nice to see you!"

Yui comes skipping in in her volleyball practice uniform. The coach notices.

"Nice to see you as well, Yui. I apologize, but I can't talk right now. This lad may be what creates our team to be fantastic!"

Yui looks at him with a confused look.

"Inei? How so? Last time I heard, he was useless."

Thanks, Yui. You could have at least made that sound a little fake.

The coach faces her crossing his arms.

"This boy dribbled as well as Kyrie Irving and broke our starting point guard's ankles without effort. This boy is hiding something."

Yui looks at Inei, then shakes her head.

"Coach, you know I am right. He has no talent."

Yui, you don't have to do this.

Inei watches on as Yui forces a smile, her face twitching a little from the lies. The coach is suspicious, then puts his hand to his head.

"Well, you were right last time. I was hoping we could finally break through. Maybe I saw a fluke. My apologies Inei."

As the coach walks away, something erupts from Inei's heart, and Inei puts his hand out, sighing. He looks over to Yui and nods, then goes and grabs a basketball. He points for the coach to guard him. The coach follows suit, and Inei goes to work. Hesitation, behind the back, crossover step-back, the coach falls, and Inei swishes the three. Yui's eyes sparkle, enjoying what she is watching. The coach gets up with excitement.

"Inei! Drill thirty-five; let's do this!"

Inei stands behind the three-point line in the corner. The coach stands underneath the basket with the ball. Inei runs up as the coach passes him the ball. Inei catches it and shoots, swishing the basket. Inei runs back behind the three-point line and a little to the right. The coach passes the ball, Inei catches and shoots, and the ball and net swish. Inei runs back to the three-point line, the coach passes him the ball, and Inei repeatedly swishes the ball through the net. He repeated this on the top left, the center, top right, and right wing, making every single shot. The coach is in disbelief.

"Inei, son, this is amazing! How did you suppress this for so long?!"

Inei doesn't respond, just standing and breathing heavily.

The coach looks over to Yui.

"Did you know this, Yui? Did you know this talent was in him? Why did you not say anything?!"

The coach is now in Yui's face, yelling at her. Inei steps between them, pointing to himself. Then motions that she promised not to tell anyone as she had promised—the coach nods.

"I don't know whether to be angry that you kept it in or finally decided to show it. You will start the game in two weeks as a show-out game!"

Yui puts a hand up now, the coach taking notice. Yui then begins to speak.

"If I know Inei, he does not like attention. If he's going to present his skills, he needs to be left alone and not bothered by people after Inei plays, or he will shut down again. He likes to be left alone."

So you all CAN tell and choose to ignore it!

The coach raises an eyebrow and looks at Inei.

"Is that it, Inei? Is that what has been bothering you?"

Inei nods with certainty. The coach gives a bellowing laugh, then pats Inei on the shoulder.

"Then, anyone who bugs you about it will be banned from the games. How about that? I will even make an announcement the day of the game."

Inei nods and puts his hand out, and the coach shakes it.

"You will be practicing with the first team from now on as a starter. I look forward to seeing you at practice tomorrow."

Inei nods, looking at Yui, who smiles and gives him a thumbs-up. Inei nods to her and heads to the locker room. When Inei finishes and exits, he is the last person to leave. Yui is outside waiting for him.

"Hey! Congrats, Inei! I'm a little confused; you wanted me to promise not to say anything, yet you went ahead and said something. Can you please explain why?!"

Inei side-eyes her, then continues walking, starting to head home. Yui follows after him.

"You know, I'm glad you said something. You are talented. As your friend, I will support you the whole way!"

After that, she turns and walks away through the campus. Inei walks home, and as he does, he looks up to the sky with a tiny smile.

Thank you, Yui, for showing me more that I can trust you and that people are not all bad.

Inei makes the long trek home and showers, lying in his bed and closing his eyes.

Today was nice. I hope tomorrow is not bad because of today.