summary: rin swears the new girl makes “nii chan’s face light up”. sae smiles more, and spends time with her like it’s no big deal. their parents don’t notice, but rin can tell she makes sae happier, even if it’s a little annoying.
wc. 2.2k
a/n: just a cute fic I thought of cause of that one additional time of the itoshi brothers “nii chan’s frame of mind”
Rin didn’t like her at first, not that he did now.
She showed up at the park one day, just standing there with her ball and staring like she wanted to join their game. She didn’t even ask, just yelled, “Pass it to me!” like she owned the place. Her voice cut through the sound of their cleats against the grass. Rin froze mid-step. No one talked to his big brother like that.
To Rin’s surprise, his brother’s gaze fell on her, and Rin could almost see the gears turning in his head.
Nii chan didn’t yell at her. He didn’t tell her to leave. He tilted his head slightly and nudged the ball her way with his foot. Rin frowned.
That was it. The first domino fell.
She wasn’t even good. She ran weird, her kicks were all over the place, and she tripped more than she scored. Rin thought nii chan would get annoyed, but he didn’t. He actually helped her. He showed her how to dribble and even taught her how to do some of the moves Rin was still practicing. It wasn’t fair!
Then there was the rainy day. Rin was sure they’d stay inside—no one played soccer in the mud, not even nii chan. But when Y/N showed up wearing her rain boots and grinning, nii chan grabbed a ball and followed her outside. Rin had no choice but to tag along. They ended up having the messiest, weirdest game of soccer ever, with Y/N sliding in the mud and nii chan actually laughing when she fell.
But what really annoyed Rin was how nii chan acted around her. His face was different. When Y/N was around, he looked... relaxed. And sometimes, he even smiled. Not his usual smirk when he wins, but a real smile.
It wasn’t like nii chan to be this way. Rin knew his brother better than anyone. Nii chan is the coolest, and he always looks ahead.
But with Y/N, it was like he slowed down just enough to let her catch up.
One time, Rin saw them sitting under the big tree at the park. Y/N was talking a lot, waving her hands around and laughing, and he just sat there, listening. He didn’t even tell her to stop talking, which was weird because Sae hated when people talked too much.
Even at home, she was there sometimes. She’d come for dinner, and always ended up next to Sae. She’d laugh at nii chan’s jokes and he’d give her the last piece of karaage like it was nothing.
Their parents didn’t notice, of course. Mom just said it was nice Sae had a “little fan,”and Dad said it was good for Sae to teach someone else; it would “build character.” Rin wanted to tell them they were wrong, but he didn’t know how to explain it. If only they saw what he did.
It wasn’t just about soccer. Y/N wasn’t like the other kids. She wasn’t scared of nii chan, and she didn’t try to impress him like everyone else. She just... acted like he was normal. And somehow, that made nii chan act normal, too.
Rin didn’t understand it fully, but he could tell Y/N was different. She was the only one who could make nii chan stay longer at the park, the only one who could get him to drop his guard. And as much as Rin hated to admit it, there was something kind of cool about that.
By the end of the summer, Rin still didn’t like how much time they spent with each other.
But even if it was annoying, it wasn’t so bad to see nii chan smile.
Rin is eight now, and Sae is ten, and it was Valentine’s Day—the most annoying day of the year, at least to Rin.
When Sae opened his locker, chocolates and notes spilled out onto the floor. Rin, walking past with his own bag of books, stopped and stared. Even Sae’s friends, who were standing nearby, froze in surprise.
“Whoa! Sae, look at all this!” one of his friends said, picking up a pink heart-shaped box. “You’re like an idol or something.”
Rin looked around the hallway, noticing a group of girls peeking around the corner, giggling as they watched Sae. Rin rolled his eyes.
Sae didn’t seem impressed. He sighed, crouched down, and began scooping up the fallen chocolates. “You guys can take them if you want,” he said calmly. “I don’t really care.”
His friends’ jaws dropped. “Are you serious?” one of them asked, already reaching for a fancy-looking box. Sae shrugged.
“Yeah. Take them. I don’t eat sweets much anyway.”
Rin couldn’t believe it. “Nii-chan, you’re just giving them away?”
Sae gave Rin one of his usual unreadable looks. “What am I supposed to do with them? Keep them all? It’s just chocolate, Rin.”
Rin huffed, muttering under his breath. He might’ve been little, but he knew enough to tell that those chocolates weren’t just “chocolates.” The girls liked nii chan. They liked him liked him.
Later, when they got home, Rin peeked into Sae’s bag to see if he’d kept any of the chocolates. Sure enough, there was one. A small, simple box with a handwritten note tied to it.
“Why’d you keep that one?” Rin asked, pointing at it.
Sae looked up from his homework and shrugged. “She gave it to me in person,” he said. “It’d be rude to give it away.”
Rin squinted at him. Something about the way Sae said it made Rin feel like there was more to the story.
The next day, Rin noticed Y/N sitting on the stairs near the school courtyard, looking sad. She had her hands covering her knees, and her head was bowed. Rin frowned. Usually, she was cheerful and full of energy, but today, she just sat there, not even looking up when people passed by.
Sae noticed too. Rin could tell because instead of heading to class like he normally did, Sae turned and walked straight over to her. Rin followed, curious but pretending he didn’t care.
“What happened?” Sae asked, his voice calm but steady.
Y/N glanced up, her eyes a little watery, and gave a sheepish smile. “Nothing, I’m fine.”
Sae crouched slightly, his gaze dropping to where she was holding her knee. “Doesn’t look fine,” he said.
Rin leaned closer and noticed the scrape on her knee, smeared with a little blood. Her other leg looked bruised, too.
Y/N sighed, looking embarrassed. “I tripped on the stairs earlier. It was so dumb. I wasn’t even running or anything. I just... fell.”
“Can you walk?” Sae asked.
Y/N shifted and winced as she tried to stand. “Not really,” she admitted, sitting back down. “My legs hurt.”
Without a word, Sae turned around and crouched in front of her.
“What are you doing?” Y/N asked, confused.
“Get on,” Sae said simply.
“I’ll carry you to the nurse’s office,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “Hurry up before we’re late.”
Y/N hesitated, looking unsure. “You don’t have to—”
“Just get on,” Sae said again, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Blushing slightly, Y/N carefully climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck. Rin’s eyes went wide.
“Nii-chan, are you serious?!” Rin asked, sounding both shocked and annoyed.
“Do you see anyone else helping her?” Sae shot back, standing up effortlessly with Y/N on his back.
Rin scowled but didn’t say anything. He followed them as Sae started walking toward the nurse’s office, Y/N leaning her head against his shoulder.
“Thanks, Sae,” Y/N said softly.
“Don’t mention it,” Sae replied, his voice steady.
Rin trailed behind, muttering under his breath. “She’s so dramatic. It’s just a scrape. I fell yesterday, and no one carried me anywhere.”
But as he watched Sae carry Y/N, his brother calm as ever while Y/N’s face slowly brightened, Rin couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.
“Why does Nii-chan always go out of his way for her?” Rin thought, kicking a pebble on the ground.
By the time they got to the nurse’s office, Y/N was smiling again. Rin sighed, knowing that no matter how much it annoyed him, Sae was going to keep looking out for her.
Sae, as usual, looked calm, but Rin caught the faintest smile on his brother’s face.
Later, as they were heading home, Rin couldn’t help but ask, “Nii-chan, do you like her?”
Sae glanced at him, his face unreadable as always. “What do you mean?”
“You kept her chocolate,” Rin pointed out. “And you carried her to the nurse’s office. You don’t do that for anyone else.”
Sae didn’t answer right away. After a moment, he just said, “She’s different.”
Rin was still in elementary school, but Sae and Y/N were now in middle school. Even though they didn’t go to school together anymore, things hadn’t changed too much. Sae still came home every day, and most of the time, he’d be in a good mood. Rin liked it when Nii-chan was like that because it meant he’d play with him, and Sae would even show him new tricks.
But one day, everything felt... different.
Sae came home later than usual, and when Rin saw him walk through the door, he noticed right away that something was wrong. Sae didn’t say much during dinner, and when Rin asked if they could play soccer, Sae just shook his head.
“Maybe later,” he muttered.
Rin frowned. Nii-chan never said no to soccer.
Later that evening, Rin found Sae sitting on the steps outside their house, staring at the ground. Rin hesitated for a moment before walking over and sitting down beside him.
He let out a small sigh, his gaze still fixed on the ground. Finally, he said, “Y/N’s moving abroad.”
Rin blinked, confused. “What? Why?”
“Her dad’s job,” Sae replied. His voice was flat, but Rin could tell he was upset.
Rin tilted his head, trying to process it. “So... she’s leaving? For how long?”
Sae shrugged. “Probably a few years.”
“A few years?!” Rin’s eyes widened. “That’s forever!”
Rin thought for a moment, then asked, “Did she tell you today?”
“I told her I’d miss her,” Sae admitted quietly.
Rin stared at him, stunned. It wasn’t like Nii-chan to say stuff like that. He was usually so calm and serious, never letting his emotions show.
“She said she’d miss me too,” Sae added after a moment.
Rin watched his brother’s face closely. Sae didn’t look like he was about to cry or anything, but there was something about the way he sat that made Rin feel uncomfortable.
“What are you gonna do?” Rin asked.
Sae glanced at him. “What can I do? She’s leaving, Rin. I can’t stop her.”
Rin thought about that for a moment. He didn’t like Y/N as much as Sae did—she was always stealing Sae’s attention, after all—but even Rin couldn’t imagine her not being around anymore.
The next day, Rin decided to follow Sae to the park after school, where he knew Sae and Y/N usually met up. He stayed hidden behind a tree, watching as they sat on their usual bench.
Y/N was holding a small notebook, and she handed it to Sae with a shy smile. “I made this for you,” she said.
Sae opened the notebook, flipping through the pages. It was filled with little doodles, notes, and memories of their time together—funny moments, inside jokes, and even some pictures she’d drawn of their soccer games.
“It’s so you don’t forget me,” Y/N said softly.
“I won’t forget you,” Sae replied, his voice steady but quiet.
They talked for a while, and even though Rin couldn’t hear everything, he could tell it was important. When Y/N finally got up to leave, Sae stood too. They said goodbye, and Y/N walked away, turning back once to wave.
That night, Sae was still quiet, but he seemed a little better. Rin sat next to him again, this time holding their soccer ball.
“She gave you something, huh?” Rin asked, glancing at the notebook on the table.
“Are you gonna write back to her?”
Rin stared at him for a moment before nudging him with the ball. “Wanna play?”
Sae looked at him, and for the first time that day, he gave a small smile. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Even though Rin still didn’t fully understand everything, he decided not to ask any more questions. If playing soccer could make Nii-chan feel a little better, then that was enough for him.
