She was sitting on the couch silently. Her eyes were blankly looking on the small mobile phone wrapped in a pink-and-blue case that was set on the coffee table. She could hear the soft ticks of the wall clock and the slow dripping drops of water coming from the faucet by the kitchen sink.
It was a cold Sunday morning. She was about to go to the local supermarket to buy groceries, but decided to do the task later in the afternoon because she got lazy to go out of the house early. So, she made herself toasted bread and Sunny-Side Up for breakfast instead, ate the meal quietly on the couch and glanced again at her phone.
She blinked surprisingly when she noticed the date at the small screen. With a smile on her face, she laid her body on the couch and took two pillows. She couldn't avoid feeling fidgety; her heart started beating fast when she looked at the phone once more.
Her mind started wandering somewhere until it brought her to that familiar place...
FLASHBACK:
She was sitting at the bench reading a fiction novel that Friday afternoon. Classes already ended but she decided to stay at school a bit longer since the next day will be a day-off from school work. She didn't have plans that day so she preferred staying at school until sunset.
While reading, something suddenly flashed out before her eyes. It was too late for her to avoid the flying thing that directly hit her arms badly with the book slipped away from her hands. She stumbled from her seat because of the impact; she shut her eyes in fright with her body almost falling to the ground.
However, by the time she opened her eyes, there was a pair of brown, slanted orbs looking back at her. She felt something warm; she blinked when she found a pair of strong arms holding her back with support. The closeness of their faces made her feel awkward; yet, she couldn't avoid but to feel the warmth boiling on to her cheeks.
She diverted her attention by looking at the purple spots on her arms and got shocked about it. The ball must have hit her arms pretty hard that she whined when she tried moving them.
Her voice cracked. "Aw! What the heck?!"
The person who was holding her back suddenly held her injured arms tenderly.
"H-Hey, don't push yourself too hard! Say, I'll take you to the clinic. Let the nurses treat those bruises, 'K?" the person said nervously.
She just answered with a nod as she slowly stood up and looked at her bruised arms.
All of a sudden, there was soft music ringing in her ears. There was no music playing around her, literally speaking, but she swore that she clearly heard it when she looked at those eyes up-close:
I'm only one call away
I'll be there to save the day
Superman got nothing on me
I'm only one call away
It was another peaceful Friday afternoon; classes ended and most of the students were probably home by now.
The afternoon practice will be ending in a couple of hours.
He had a not-so-good day today - usually he never loses his focus during volleyball practices with his goal of giving out his best in everything that he does to improve. But, today, he was scolded for unexpectedly missing a lot of receives and for failing his libero tosses many times. So, after making his apology, he went to the bench, wiped the sweat off his face with his towel and drank cold water from his bottle.
He thought, "I wasn't myself today."
Then, he looked for his mobile phone quietly and sighed heavily after taking it out from his bag. He was in a side-tracked state much with his team mates' surprise. They never expected a loud, obnoxious, crazy dork like him having his silent moments at the bench.
With an anxious face, he slowly dialled the numbers through the phone's keypad. In a matter of seconds, a soft ring on the other line was heard thrice. Suddenly, he aborted the call and whimpered softly.
Call me, baby, if you need a friend
"No…I can't do this…" he said.
I just wanna give you love
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
A week has almost passed; still he hasn't tried calling her. He kept on telling himself that he has to do it. He must call her to make amends on what happened that Friday afternoon the previous week. But, when he tried making contact with her, the more he gets nervous. He admits, he was thinking about that girl, particularly when he recalled about the way those eyes looked at him with great sparks in them. He could vividly remember the way she looked that day. Despite the fact that the looks on her face had told him that she was totally hurt, he couldn't avoid thinking of her as if she was his damsel in distress - a beautiful damsel in distress, he thought. Who would've thought that Kiyoko is not the only goddess ever existed in Karasuno High?
If only he has the courage to talk to her, he would've done it sooner.
Reaching out to you, so take a chance
The afternoon practice finally ended. He waited for his team mates at Sakanoshita store to treat them for snacks. When he heard the music playing coming from the radio by the counter, he hummed.
No matter where you go
You know you're not alone
FLASHBACK:
"The nurse told me that the bruises will take at least a week to disappear. Also, there were no signs of broken bones, so, my arms will be healed in no time."
"Whew! Thank God you're OK! I was so worried about what might happen to you."
"Nah! This isn't a big deal! Anyway, thanks for bringing me here, sempai."
"N-No, don't mention it! Besides, it was my fault for hitting the ball too hard, so...uhmm...I-I...I'm sorry for what happened earlier."
"It's alright. Well, I have to go now."
"O-OK. See you then...I think. Take care."
"You too, sempai."
By the time she walked out of the door, he almost fainted. The heavy blush on his cheeks never faded and the fast beats of his heart never stopped racing crazily. By the time he sat on the couch, he blinked as he saw a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up, opened it, and looked at the numbers written on it. Realizing that the numbers scribbled on that paper could be the way to reach her again; he instantly hid the paper in to his pocket and walked out of the clinic.
While walking home, he took out the crumpled paper, looked at it once more and sighed.
"I got to call her..."
(AT THE KARASUNO HIGH VOLLEYBALL GYM)
A few months have passed; still nothing happened.
He didn't make any progress. Though he was reminding himself countless times to make the call, he always ended up staring at the phone like a wimp.
I'm only one call away
I'll be there to save the day
The Karasuno High Male Volleyball Team took a day-off from the morning and afternoon practices due to unexpected circumstances. Coach Ukai was on his trip to his old man's place (his grandfather's house) and Mr. Takeda has to attend the emergency faculty meeting. So, everybody seemed to be happy about the day-off...except...
"Oi, Nishinoya!"
He turned around and saw the familiar male with a shaved head and sharp eyes looking at him with concern.
"Ryuu! What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you that." the shaved-headed guy answered. "Anyway, what's with that face?"
"Nothing! The weather's kind of hot today; I feel exhausted. Do you want to have popsicles later? My treat!" Nishinoya blurted with his face getting red.
"Well, well, well! Looks like someone's blushing!" another male entered the scene. The guy has light grey hair, brown eyes, and a mole under his left eye. He was smiling at the now flushing Nishinoya.
"Oi, Sugawara!" Tanaka greeted with his left hand waving at Sugawara.
"Sugawara-sempai!" Nishinoya said shockingly.
Tanaka chuckled at the sight of Nishinoya's red face. He approached the libero and looked at him curiously.
"What?" Nishinoya asked. "Is there something on my face?"
"Nah! Nothing! I just noticed that you're acting weird lately...really weird." Tanaka admitted and let out his intimidating grin. "You can always tell your problems to your best friend, y'know."
Nishinoya suddenly laughed and slapped Tanaka's back. "Just as I said, there's nothing to worry about!"
"Ow! That hurts!" Tanaka cried.
"Tanaka..." Sugawara said to the shaved-headed male. "...Daichi and the others were waiting for you two at Sakanoshita. Let's go."
"OK!" Tanaka exclaimed happily and dragged Nishinoya with him. Sugawara simply looked at the two, most especially Nishinoya. Then he smiled as he walked past them.
Nishinoya noticed the smile on Sugawara's face; that made him a bit worried.
Tanaka walked fast, leaving the two males behind.
Sugawara looked at Nishinoya and said, ""I wonder what's going on, but I guess we'll have to deal with that later."
Nishinoya suddenly glanced at the smiling male with shocked eyes. For sure, his sempai already got the idea of what he's going through, so...
"That is, if you're willing to open up. What do you think about that, Nishinoya-kun?" Sugawara glanced at the latter and chuckled.
Nishinoya felt the weight in his chest with the pink dusts on his cheeks never gone. He bit his lip in hesitation.
He thought that talking about it to somebody who's older than him wouldn't be so bad, right?
Superman got nothing on me
I'm only one call away
(MEANWHILE, THAT AFTERNOON...)
She was sitting alone on her favorite bench once more. This time, she wasn't holding a book in her hand but her mobile phone.
She had a bad day – a very bad day.
With tears in her eyes, she looked at the small gadget and began pressing the keypad slowly. There was a soft ring on the other line until somebody picked it up. She heard a manly voice, greeting her warmly.
"Hello?" the voice said.
She never said anything; she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"H-Hello?" the voice asked again.
She bit her lip. "Come on, say something!"
Come along with me and don't be scared
"Hello? I-I would like to speak with Sawamura-sempai." she blurted trying to greet the person on the other line as happy as she could.
"Ow, he's with Coach Ukai and Takeda-sensei at the faculty room. They will be talking about some important things about...you know! Volleyball stuff. B-But, he'll be back soon, don't worry!" the cheerful voice told her.
It took a while before she responded after hearing the adorable crack in that voice at the last part.
"Ah, I see. I was planning to set up an interview with the boys' volleyball team and make it as the featured article of our school newspaper for this month. Daichi-sempai gave me this number if I have questions." she said with her voice now sounded muffled.
"Wow! That's amazing! We're going to be featured on the front news!"
She giggled.
I just wanna set you free
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon
"I'll tell Daichi-sempai that you'll be coming."
"Really? Thank you so much for your time, sempai!"
"No, no! Don't mind that! It's OK." the voice on the other line said, followed by a laugh. "Besides, we all need exposure once in a while, you know!"
She laughed. Frankly, she could feel the sincerity, happiness, and lightness of the voice talking to her as if that voice was owned by her closest friend. She thought that she can talk with him all day and tell him about many things. Weird as it sounds, but she was feeling happy about it. The heavy weight of her chest minutes ago suddenly went light.
You and me can make it anywhere
"OK, I need to go now. See you later, then." she said.
"Wait! Before you go, may I...know..."
She laughed after waiting for that voice to say the last part of the question.
"(First Name). (First Name) (Last Name)." she instantly replied.
For now, we can stay here for a while
"(First Name) (Last Name). Got it!"
"All right. See you later."
"Hey! W-Wait! One last thing!"
"Ow, what is it?"
"You know, (First Name), whatever you're dealing with right now, always remember that everything will be fine. Just smile, OK?"
These words made her speechless.
'Cause you know, I just wanna see you smile
"Thanks for the advice."
"See y'ah later, (Name)! Don't forget to bring a video camera!" the voice cheered.
Afterwards, the line was dead.
No matter where you go
She put the phone inside her bag, sighed, and walked away from the bench. Slowly, she wiped the moist off her eyes, sniffled softly, and smiled.
"He was right...but how did he...ah! Never mind!" she thought.
You know you're not alone
"Wait...I forgot to ask him what his name is."
(BACK AT THE KARASUNO HIGH VOLLEYBALL GYM)
(First Name) arrived at the volleyball gym with a notepad in her hands and a Canon sling bag. She noticed the male players on the court having their diving exercises; Coach Ukai, Mr. Ittetsu Takeda, and the well-known beauty of Karasuno High, Kiyoko Shimizu were seen sitting on the benches at the right side of the court. (Name) slowly approached the three until...
"(Last Name)-kun." Kiyoko greeted with a small smile.
Everybody's eyes were on the two females. They stared at Kiyoko with dumbfounded faces and then glanced at (Name). The (h/c)-haired female then went to the benches, greeted Coach Ukai and Mr. Takeda with a bow.
"She's here! She's here!" a bubbly voice suddenly echoed inside the gym.
"HINATA, YOU IDIOT! YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOUT LIKE THAT!" a fairly tall, raven-haired male with a frown face shouted at the other male who was shorter than him. The shorter guy has orange hair and brown eyes. The raven-haired male gave the orange-haired lad a straight kick in the ass.
"OI, KAGEYAMA! Y-You j-just kicked my butt...for REAL?! Don't be a kill-joy! I'm just excited to see (First Name)-chan!" the latter male whined in pain.
Soon, these two guys bravely (and annoyingly) fought one-on-one with their fists while the others were watching them from behind.
"Cut it out!" Narita warned the two first-years with worry. "Daichi-sempai will get mad once he..."
"Gyah! Just let them be." Kinoshita cried while placing his hand onto Narita's shoulder. "Let Daichi-sempai do the spanking later."
Ennoshita watched Hinata and Kageyama silently and sighed heavily muttering a soft "Damn, these two won't learn, huh?"
"Hey, by the way, that girl...I think she's new here." Kinoshita told Narita and Ennoshita.
"Yup, she is. I heard she was from (Favorite Country) and moved here in Japan to continue her studies." Narita added.
"Her family must be rich." Tanaka said after suddenly appearing out of nowhere with his usual intimidating smile. "But, I have to say, that girl's beautiful! I've always believed that Kiyoko's the only beautiful girl here in Karasuno."
"That's because you always have your eyes on her." the three second-years responded in unison with annoyed face.
From a distance, (First Name) watched the male players and thought, "These guys already know me. That was fast."
Meanwhile, Nishinoya was with two tall males that time - the first guy was very tall, has short blonde hair, thin eyebrows and golden brown eyes with a pair of sports eyeglasses worn on to his face; the second guy was also tall, has dark brown eyes with his brown hair tied in a manly bun, and a short scruff on his chin, making him look more mature than the rest of the young male members of the volleyball team.
Sugawara noticed the three standing from a distance while watching Hinata and Kageyama brawling and kicking like children on the court.
"Seriously, those two are morons." the tall, blonde guy scowled, looked at the brown-haired guy and continued, "Azumane-sempai, should we stop them?"
"Just let them be, Tsukishima-kun. That's how they show their friendship with one another." the latter guy answered, glanced at his right and noticed Nishinoya's face. He blinked shockingly when he noticed the libero's cheeks blushing heavily, not to mention that his eyes looked so distantly stunned at something; Asahi looked around. When he found out what made Nishinoya stun, the tall, brown-haired ace instantly gave the libero a hard slap on the back.
As expected, Nishinoya cried. He looked at Asahi while trying to soothe his now aching back, saying, "Hey, what was that for, Asahi?!"
Asahi sighed.
"Noya."
Nishinoya looked down.
"Asahi...t-that was..." Nishinoya uttered with mixed nervousness and shock in his voice.
Asahi laughed and ruffled Nishinoya's wild, spiky hair. "That's for cheering you up."
"Oi! Stop that! Now my hair's a mess!" Nishinoya cried childhisly.
"Just go and talk to her after practice. You'll never know until you try." Asahi said with a gentle smile and slowly walked away.
"I-I'll try." Nishinoya said as he ran his fingers through his now messy hair and stroke the tiny tuft of bleached hair that falls over his forehead. He was too busy fixing it that he never noticed what was going on the side lines. However, the libero got interrupted in his business when a fairly tall, dark-haired guy with dark brown eyes approached him.
"Daichi! I-I mean, D-Daichi-sempai!" Nishinoya exclaimed and bowed. "Sorry, I haven't noticed that you're already here."
"There she is." Daichi said, pointing at (First Name) from afar. He suddenly let out a smile and held Nishinoya's shoulder, saying, "Are you feeling nervous?"
"Heck no! W-Why would I be nervous? Why should I be nervous? She's a girl that I just met, but...crap! Now, I'm nervous! Why didn't you tell me that she was the person who'll be calling you today? I...I can't believe that I spoke with her on the phone!" Nishinoya said in a blunt manner.
Though he tried acting so brave in front of everybody, Nishinoya just couldn't stand it. He's really shy when it comes to talking with people he had just met, most especially girls.
Superman got nothing on me
Daichi chuckled after seeing how Nishinoya tried hiding his face. "Y'know what, Noya? You look adorable when you're blushing like that. I guess the idea of giving out your number worked out pretty well."
"Damn it!" Nishinoya mumbled. "I didn't see that coming."
I'm only one call away
(TIME SKIP!)
"Great job, guys! You all worked so hard today! See you tomorrow at five in the morning!" Coach Ukai said to everybody.
The male members of the volleyball team bowed their heads and said "Thank you, Coach!" in unison.
"Finally, I'm done with the interview! Now, all I need to do is to take care of the photos and start writing the article later." (First Name) exclaimed from her seat.
(Name) watched them from her seat silently. She used playing volleyball before but never intended to be "officially" involved. She didn't join the female volleyball team when she was in middle high. Her parents have different views about volleyball - (First Name)'s mother said that she needs to focus on her studies more; on the contrary, (First Name)'s father told her that she has the freedom to do what she loves.
In the end, (First Name) has to make the best of both worlds; fortunately, she managed to do that successfully - she's one of the finest students in her middle high school. She played the said ball sport only on weekends with her friends and during her spare time with her Dad who used to be a member of Japan's national volleyball team.
Things have been running like these until she moved in Japan to go to high school.
Everybody was starting to pack their things; (First Name) let out a yawn and smiled.
"I missed playing volleyball." she thought.
When everybody left the court and started packing up their things, (Name) stood up and thanked Coach Ukai, Mr. Takeda, and Kiyoko for the time they gave her for the interview.
"It's a pleasure, (Last Name)-kun. We hope to see you here more often." Coach Ukai smiled.
"I'll talk to your club's advisor tomorrow about the article that you'll be writing." Mr. Takeda added. "I'm sure he'll assign you to cover the team's events from now on."
"It'll be an honor, Takeda-sensei. Thank you very much. See you tomorrow, then." (Name) said back. She returned to the bench to pack up her things. Afterwards, she went straight out of the gym and walked on her way to the main gate. She was almost out of the gate when two hands appeared out of nowhere, pulling her by the collar.
"WHAAAAA!" (Name) shouted as gravity immediately dragged her down to the ground. She fell down with her face kissing the dusty surface and her things scattered everywhere. When she tried getting up, she saw tiny drops of crimson on the ground. (Name)'s eyes went wide when she realized that her nose was bleeding. Worse, she looked for her camera until she saw the gadget behind her, lying on the ground in smithereens.
"Oh no..." (First Name) mumbled. "My parents are going to kill me."
"Sorry. My bad. I didn't mean to destroy your camera." a feminine voice told her sarcastically.
"What are we going to do now?" a deep, baritone voice asked the former. "We need to get home before anybody sees us."
"We're not going home until we finish our business with her." the feminine voice responded angrily. Then, she looked at (Name) and said, "She has to pay for protecting that nerd from us."
(First Name) simply stared at the two students who were now looking at her silently but threateningly. The first one was a female student with dark hair that falls on her back, brown eyes and a slim body. The girl was pretty, but the fierceness in her eyes makes her look menacing. The second student was a male with a big body built, brown skin, has spiky blonde hair and ear piercings on both ears. He licked his lip as he looked at (Name) with an intimidating smile.
And when you're weak I'll be strong
"That is what you get for interrupting us earlier..." the male student told (First Name) while stretching out his arms. He suddenly held (Name) tightly by the arms
"Cowards." (Name) said softly but bravely. "You don't have the right to hurt somebody. That girl didn't do anything wrong to you two."
"Y-YOU BITCH!" the dark-haired girl said and slapped her left cheek. "DON'T ACT LIKE A GODDAMN HERO! YOU'RE JUST A NOBODY!"
"I don't care!" (First Name) mumbled. "A coward will always be a coward."
This time, the girl punched (First Name) on the other cheek. Her eyes were blazing with wrath as she noticed the blood oozing from (First Name)'s nose. She then kept slapping (First Name)'s face, followed by a maniacal laugh. Her face was smiling like a mad man as if she's enjoying the scene. Meanwhile, the (h/c)-haired girl wiped the blood off her face with one hand and sighed heavily.
I'm gonna keep holding on
"Seriously..." (First Name) said. "You're out of ideas on how to pay me back for what I did."
"Well, I have one last thing in mind." the female bully told (First Name) and then looked at her male companion through eye contact.
The spiky-haired blonde male smiled devilishly.
"Any last words?" the male student asked (First Name) from behind while holding (First Name's) arms tightly. (First Name) got tense as she felt the man's grip getting tighter and tighter that it could break her arms effortlessly.
"O-Ow..." (First Name) cried in pain while mentally cursing herself. "Damn! What am I going to do?!"
"Any last words?" the female student asked one more time with a furious face.
(First Name) shut her eyes closed.
"I-I..." she said, but was interrupted with a...
Now don't you worry, it won't be long
KRRRRRIIINNNNGGG!
"Dammit!" the male student whined madly as he let go of (First Name) and pushed her to the ground.
(Name)'s mobile phone rang. The two students looked for the phone in (Name)'s bag pack. The girl instantly picked it up and answered the call with a sweet voice.
"Hello?" she said.
"Hey, look behind you." the voice on the other line said.
Darling, and when you feel like hope is gone
The girl turned around; suddenly her eyes went wide as she saw that something just flew over her head. The thing was spinning fast as it took a swift, direct motion to the male student's face. In a split of a second, the female student cried as her companion got completely knocked out by...
"A-A volleyball?" the female bully mumbled and turned around once more.
(First Name) glanced on her back and was shocked to see an angry Nishinoya standing beside a tall cherry blossom tree. The male libero finally made his entrance in to the scene as walked slowly; his brown, sharp eyes were staring at the female bully with fiery rage. The girl stepped back, looked at Nishinoya fearfully with a lump in her throat.
Nishinoya then stared at (First Name), walked towards her, reached out his hands and asked, "Can you stand up?"
Just run into my arms
"Y-Yeah. Thanks." (First Name) replied and slowly got up on her feet while holding Nishinoya's hands.
After a few minutes being unconscious on the ground, the male bully finally woke up. He got up on his knees and saw his female companion being dragged by the school guards. There were a few teachers around, so he thought that they already found out what happened.
He tried running away from the scene but was caught and beaten by the fuming crows of the Karasuno boys' volleyball team.
Meanwhile, at the school clinic, Nishinoya was on the couch at the lobby. He patiently waited for (First Name) to come out from the doctor's room. In a couple of minutes, (First Name) came out of the room with a small bandage on to the bridge of her nose and her arms wrapped in bandages.
Nishinoya ran towards the (e/c)-eyed lady with a worried face. (First Name) looked at the libero with a smile.
"Hey! Have long you've been here waiting?" (First Name) asked.
"J-Just a minute or two, I think. Anyway, how are you feeling?" Nishinoya asked.
"Fine, I suppose." (First Name) answered. "This is the second time I got bruises on my arms, but today was worse. By the way, about the call earlier...that was you, right?"
"Yeah. I called you because I want to tell you that you forgot your notepad at the gym!" Nishinoya told (First Name) and took the said thing from his pink sling bag.
"Huh? Really?" (First Name) blinked when she saw her notepad rested on to Nishinoya's palms.
"Here." Nishinoya said.
"Thanks." (First Name) said back.
"I was out of the gym when I noticed those two bastards picking up a fight on you by the school gate. Good thing I borrowed the ball from Shouyo earlier; that's why I was able to show them my Rolling Thunder!" the libero said with pride.
(First Name) laughed. "That was an awesome move that it knocked the guy down."
"Of course that is awesome! That was one of my best moves! You haven't seen everything yet!" Nishinoya exclaimed happily. "You'll be coming to the gym tomorrow, right?"
"Yup. But, my camera was...well, they broke it, so..." the (h/c)-haired female sighed. "...but, I'll still be coming tomorrow and watch your moves."
"Great!" Nishinoya said. "That sounds exciting!"
For the libero, today was the best afternoon ever in his life. Yuu Nishinoya never expected that this pretty, (h/c)-haired teenager that he had just met was now walking home with him.
After minutes of talking with one another, Nishinoya got to know (First Name) better. He couldn't stop asking himself if he was able to make her happy while keeping her company at this point of hour. After what happened to her at school, he knew that this was the only thing he could do to make her forget all the hurt that she felt that moment.
He glanced at (First Name) in secret; he can't help himself but to stare at her in wonder. Deep inside, he was glad to see (First Name) smiling despite of what had happened to her.
On the other hand, when Nishinoya noticed the bandages wrapped onto (First Name)'s arms, he felt hurt as if he was at fault. If only he had called (First Name) earlier, all of this wouldn't have happened.
A moment of silence.
Now, the sounds of honks from the vehicles were faintly heard from the horizon.
The two of them were still walking side by side as they strolled downhill.
Then the wind blew gently.
Another quiet moment.
Again, Nishinoya glimpsed at (First Name).
Now, he could clearly see how the setting sun's rays shone beautifully on her (e/c) orbs with her (h/c) hair swaying with the wind until it falls back perfectly onto its place. The girls' school uniform fits her well, he thought; also, not to mention that the female was a few inches smaller than him made him manly and for that, somehow, he was proud about it.
Nishinoya started to feel fidgety about this silence that surrounds the two of them.
"This is awkward. Nishinoya, say something to her!" he thought.
Suddenly, (First Name) stopped walking and looked at Nishinoya.
"Noya-sempai?"
I'm only one call away
I'll be there to save the day
That word coming from her made Nishinoya blush. He stopped walking, glanced at the girl and said a straight, "What is it?"
(First Name) suddenly whimpered helplessly when she felt the sharp pain in her injuries. This made Nishinoya run straight to the (h/c)-haired female. He held her fingers gently with his eyes looked concerned.
"I'll be OK." the female told Nishinoya reassuringly, though she tried enduring the awful pain on both of her arms.
"Are you sure?" Nishinoya asked.
Superman got nothing on me
(First Name) nodded.
The libero sighed.
"Let's go to the supermarket. I'll buy you some painkillers and Gari-Gari kun popsicles for snacks." he told (First Name) with a smile.
"Thanks." (First Name) said with a whimper, took a deep breath, and said, "Sempai?"
I'm only one; I'm only one call away
"Hmm?" Nishinoya said back.
"Thank you for saving me thrice. Thanks for calling me just in time when that guy almost broke my arms. Also, thank you for saving me when you knocked him out with the ball, and lastly..."
(First Name), now with a shy smile on her face, looked straight at Nishinoya's brown eyes.
"...thanks for cheering me up when I called in for the first time."
I'll be there to save the day
Nishinoya stared at (First Name) dumbfounded.
"Still, it's a bit funny thinking 'bout how you could tell that I wasn't feeling well without seeing my face, though." (First Name) chuckled.
Nishinoya blinked his eyes and suddenly laughed.
"That's what you call magic!" he said.
"Magic, huh?" (First Name) uttered.
"Yup."
The fast beats of his heart were wildly racing within him. Nishinoya could tell how straight-forward and sincere (First Name) is for saying all those things to him. Now, with his face seemed serious and the guilt that was in his chest earlier now faded. he stepped closer and faced (First Name).
"(First Name)?"
"Sempai?"
"J-Just call me Noya, OK? After all we're friends now, right?"
"All right. What is it, Noya?"
"I want to tell you that I'll always be ready to help you when you need it. I'll always be by your side when you're happy, sad, or mad. I know this is sudden, but, I want you to remember, (First Name)..."
I'm only one call away
Nishinoya smiled brightly and held (First Name)'s fingers.
"Just remember, I'll always be one call away."
I'm only one call away
