Opportunity Knocks

"My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the ti-ime… bop bop bop…" Ranko danced around her kitchen, holding her spatula like a microphone with her Walkman blasting in her ears as she seared a pair of salmon filets on a flat iron. She wore a cream-colored shirt with long sleeves and an open collar exposing her shoulders, paired with a pink-and-black plaid pleated skirt, her hair held back with an off-white headband with a lace bow off to the left side. She'd gone out of her way to be extra cute today, hoping to incentivize Akane to hurry and finish her sociology term paper. As she cooked, Akane was set up at the little desk in their bedroom, writing as quickly as possible.Still humming her tune, Ranko checked the filets. Not quite ready to flip. Skin's not quite crispy enough yet. Peeking over at the timer on the front of the rice cooker with a grin, she started pulling plates out of the cabinet. Timed it perfect. Hell yeah! Don't look now, but this girl's starting to figure this shit out! Eat your heart out, Kasumi!"You never come home at night because you're out romancing. I wish you'd bring some of your love home to m… huh?" Ranko could have sworn she heard a banging sound. Pausing her tape player, she waited a moment, and heard it again, coming from the front door.Who would be knocking now? We haven't even started making any noise yet, Mr. Gao…Pulling off her headphones and letting them dangle around her neck, Ranko unlatched and pulled open the door. "Hello?"Standing in her doorway was an older gentleman, perhaps in his fifties. He was slightly heavy-set, with salt-and-pepper hair hidden under a purple cap. He wore a gray tee shirt with the logo for Minato University on it; Akane had one just like it. He removed his cap, bowing. "Hello. Is Akane Tendo home, please?"Ranko's brows furrowed. This is… weird. Is everything okay?"Yes, of course. Please, come in, sir." She bowed politely, stepping clear of the door."Oh, I'm sorry," the gentleman said as he entered, removing his hat and his shoes. "I didn't mean to interrupt your dinner."Ranko waved her hand. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm sure everything will keep. Please, take a seat, and I'll go and get Akane." One of these days, I swear, I am going to make a nice dinner and she's gonna get to eat it while it's still hot.As the man sat at their dining room table, Ranko gently knocked twice on the bedroom door, turning the knob and pushing into the room. "Akane? There's, um, some guy here to see you?"The redhead's fiancee turned, a confused expression on her face. "A guy?"Ranko nodded. "Older dude, wearing merch from your school?"Akane put her pencil down and stood, looking herself over in the mirror. Her green sweater and blue jeans looking fine enough, she followed Ranko out into the living room, blinking in recognition of the man sitting at her dining table."Coach Anada? What are you doing here?" Akane bowed, clearly a bit flustered with this unexpected visit.The gentleman stood, offering a polite bow. "Akane. It's good to see you. How are you doing?"Ranko gulped. The guy from the volleyball team? What's he doing here? She still hadn't spoken to Akane at all about her escapade with Eiji, or the revelation that Akane had quit the team. She wasn't even sure she'd believed Eiji, but he'd made it clear there was nothing he could do, so Ranko had seen no need to bring it up and cause potential trouble."I'm… okay, Coach," Akane said, skeptically. "From what I've been seeing on the news, you've had better days."Ranko turned off the kitchen equipment, trying to slither her way out of the room. Whatever was happening here, she doubted Akane wanted her around for it considering everything with the team had happened because of her. However, as Ranko was a step from entering the bedroom, Akane caught her wrist gently, taking her hand.Ranko smiled. Even now, after everything, she's standing with me. I love that girl so much.The coach nodded. "Yeah, it's been a rough couple'a months, for sure. Not sure we've even got a shot at the playoffs now. Of course, that happens when your best player quits part way through the season."Akane winced. She knew she'd have to tell the whole truth now, in front of Ranko. She'd deliberately kept it to herself that she'd quit; Ranko was feeling guilty enough as it was without knowing Akane had walked away to protect her."Yeah, Coach, it just wasn't working out, you know?" Akane sighed, looking up at Ranko with a bit of shame in her eyes. She was surprised to see Ranko didn't seem shocked.The coach nodded, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a piece of folded paper. He opened it, revealing several typed paragraphs."So, yesterday afternoon, I found this letter somebody slid under my office door. It's not signed. No idea who sent it. But it says some pretty disturbing things, Akane." The coach handed it to her, and Akane's eyes widened further with each passing paragraph she read."Akane, I want you to know, I had no idea what was happening. I am absolutely sickened by what Reiko and Saki did to you. Fumiko told me you left the team, but she never told me why, and I never knew until I got this letter last night. I confronted her about it this morning, and she confirmed everything. Akane, I'm so sorry. It was my responsibility to dig deeper into this. I should have known you were enjoying yourself too much to just walk away like that." He bowed deeply to her.Akane looked up from the paper, seeing he was still in his bowed position, and returned his gesture. "Really? Who would even send you this? After all this time?"Squeezing her fiancee's hand, Ranko smiled broadly. Eiji. You ran your own sister under the bus to keep your promise. You're a better guy than I thought."I don't know, but I'm glad they did," the coach replied. "You should know, as of this afternoon, Reiko and Saki are off the team. I removed them myself. This is… what they did to you is disgraceful, Akane. I wish you'd come to me."Akane gulped. "But, you were already short a player without me! Without Reiko and Saki, you won't even have enough to field a team!"The coach nodded. "Which is why I'm really hoping you'll come back. I don't know that we'll have much of a chance this season, but if you do come back to the team, I will make it my personal mission to see to it that the school gives you a full scholarship next year."Ranko gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand. I… I did it. I can't believe I fucking did it.Scratching her chin, Akane made a furtive sound. "I'm not sure, Coach. What about those rules the girls gave me?"Coach Anada shook his head. "Absolutely not. That was absurd to begin with, and I won't allow it." The coach turned a few degrees, to face Ranko. "I presume you're Akane's girlfriend?"Ranko smiled warmly. Fiancee, but close enough. "Yes, sir. My name is Ranko."The coach bowed again. "Miss, I want to apologize to you, too, for the way this all happened."Ranko blushed. Hey, what's a little fake engagement, pregnancy rumor, and three months of social misery among friends, right? She released Akane's hand and returned his bow. "I'm just happy to see that you're committed to things changing now, sir. For Akane, and all the girls like us that come after." She still struggled with the idea that she was part of "girls" on occasion.Akane nodded. She'd never have even considered returning without an apology for Ranko, but she was glad that she hadn't had to ask for it. It made what the coach was saying seem much more sincere. "But, as long as Fumiko's captain, how do I know things won't be just as bad?"The coach shook his head. "I strongly suggested that Fumiko step down from her captain position, and she graciously took my advice. While she wasn't the one that did this, she didn't stop it, and she didn't come to me with the truth about it, and that's not acceptable."Akane blinked. "Then who's captain now? Asami, I guess?"The coach smiled. "We took a vote this afternoon, and the team decided to offer it to you, if you come back.""Me?!" Akane blushed. "But I'm just a freshman!"The coach nodded. "And you're the most talented player on the team. But beyond that, you're the one who stood up for what she believed in. That merits respect."Akane turned to look at Ranko hopefully, and without her having said a word, Ranko nodded emphatically."Do it, Akane. Go for it. Show them what you can really do, and I'll be behind you a thousand percent, like always." Ranko wrapped her arms around Akane's left forearm, giving it a squeeze. This was so worth ruining dinner for."Okay, Coach! I'm in!" Akane grinned excitedly.The coach smiled broadly. "Akane, I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that. I still don't know how competitive we're going to be; I don't even know where we're going to get an outside hitter to replace Reiko. But we'll at least have our honor again."The new team captain grinned. "Actually, Coach… I have an idea about that."