The humidity from last night's storm hangs in the hot July air and clings to the team's overheating, sunburned skin. The sun has almost set across the lake, but the air is no cooler than it was earlier when they were practicing. At least when they were running for a stray volley, or jogging along the lakeside, they could feel the air rush past their face and get a second of relief. But there is no breeze now. Standing on the brick patio near an unkept field of grass and wild flowers has never felt more torturous.
Shishido complains as his popsicle begins to melt down his wrist, sweet and sticky when he licks it up. Several feet away, Mukahi attempts to fan himself with his hands, but it almost makes him hotter so he tries to steal the paper fan Oshitari was smart enough to bring out.
"I told you to buy one in town," Oshitari says, holding the fan high above his head and out of Mukahi's reach.
Mukahi would tackle him and take it out of his dead, sweaty grip, but the idea of even the most minimal physical contact has him sweating buckets. Instead of murder and heat, Mukahi chooses to reach up and tie his hair up.
"Couldn't we have just shown him youtube videos?" Hiyoshi asks, glaring at Atobe because the whole reason everyone is suffering is his fault. They were enjoying a perfectly nice afternoon in one of Atobe's air-conditioned cabins when Akutagawa mentioned wanting to see the fireflies. Atobe just had to open his mouth and say he had never seen fireflies in person. That led to several people yelling, Ohtori insisting that he had to see them (and Hiyoshi thought he could trust his tall, traitorous friend), and they had all left the air-conditioned cabin for the uncomfortably hot back patio.
This was worse than the time Atobe said he had never had fast food. It's been five months and Hiyoshi still can't look at a McDonalds without getting sick.
"It is hot," Oshitari concedes.
"Says the guy with a fan," Mukahi grumbles.
Atobe tugs at the collar of his shirt, attempting to stay composed as if he isn't a sweaty, hot mess like the rest of them. No bug is worth this agony.
Akutagawa sits restlessly in the grass a few feet in front of them. Without warning, the blond turns to them and asks, "Did ya see that?" before whirling back around to stare excitedly at the field of grass. "I saw one!"
"There was nothing there," Mukahi says.
"There totally was," Akutagawa replies, beginning to bounce excitedly.
"There wasn't, Jirou."
"Look!" Akutagawa shouts again, pointing. A yellow dot appears and disappears in the blink of an eye. "See? They're so cool!"
Atobe has no idea what Akutagawa is seeing, and it's not that he is an idiot and doesn't know what to look for. He's heard of fireflies before despite what Shishido says. So what if he's never seen the bug in real life? The whole idea of watching little exoskeletons with wings fly around is grotesque.
The sun descends slowly, lower and lower, and Akutagawa does not cry out again for some time. The sky changes from blue, to yellow, to a dull rose pink so gradually that Atobe doesn't realize it's changed until he thinks about it. Sweat drips down the curves of their necks and contours on their faces. Mukahi sprawls onto the hot bricks, shirt hitched up his chest despite what Oshitari says about mosquitos.
Hiyoshi swats at gnats that fly around his head, and his head alone for some reason, cursing the bugs and wishing they would die in the heat like natural selection wants them to. When Shishido begins cracking jokes at Hiyoshi's expense, Hiyoshi goes to where he's sitting with Ohtori just to spite them—Shishido for the jokes and Ohtori for suggesting they come outside in this ungodly summer heat in the first place. The gnats follow like a tiny cloud.
"Get away from me!" Shishido shouts. "You're going to make me drop my popsicle!"
Ohtori sighs instead of stopping his two best friends. When Shishido tosses his popsicle to his partner, Ohtori misses and it falls to the ground.
"This," Atobe says, watching Shishido run away from Hiyoshi with disdain and slight amusement, "is why you wear bug spray."
"Yes," Kabaji aggress.
"Are you holding something behind your back?" Atobe asks. Kabaji rarely stands with his hands behind his back like that, unless it's to hold on to Akutagawa.
"No."
Atobe hums deep in his throat, doubtful, but does not press the matter.
"Hey, there's one!" Mukahi says.
"I think you're hallucinating, Gakuto," Oshitari says. "That was just another gnat flying towards Hiyoshi."
"No, I saw it too!" Akutagawa says. "'tobe, look, look! There're a lot of them."
Atobe looks out over the grass field, thinks that it needs a good trimming, but does not see anything. Then, there's a small flash of yellow light, dim and unimpressive, and it disappears for a moment. A few feet away, the same light reappears, moving up and down as the bug flies. Another loops to the right of Akutagawa's head. One by one, like a carefully crafted orchestra, the fireflies begin to dance and light up the sky.
Atobe had expected one or two dots in the sky. He never imagined something on this scale. It's as if all at once, the bugs decided to swarm the sky. For a moment, he forgets the heat.
Akutagawa jumps to his feet and runs out, trying to catch the bugs in his hands. Hiyoshi comes to a gradual halt in the middle of the back yard, his head turning to try and catch a glimpse of the dozens of bugs lighting up around him; he's never seen so many in one place and he feels like he's surrounded.
"This is amazing. How do they light up?" Ohtori asks.
He probably wasn't expecting an answer, but Oshitari gives him one anyways, "A bioluminescent chemical reaction occurs in their abdomen. The light is used to attract mates or prey."
"So all these bugs are going to get laid?" Mukahi asks.
"Gakuto," Oshitari sighs.
"Hey, Ryou!" Mukahi shouts, ignoring his partner. He jumps to his feet with newfound energy. "Bet I can catch one before you."
"You're on!"
The pair joins Akutagawa and Hiyoshi in the field. Shishido is impatient and runs after the bugs, jumping up into the air and reaching down into the grass to cup a firefly in his hands. Mukahi tries a different approach, staying still and waiting for one to light up near him then shooting his hands out to grab one. Akutagawa sits in the grass and waits for the fireflies to come to him, surprisingly still given his obvious excitement.
"Do you want to join them?" Atobe asks, glancing at Kabaji.
"No."
"Hmm."
"Do you?"
"Of course not."
"I brought a jar." Kabaji moves his hands from behind his back to his front and reveals the small, clear mason jar he had been hiding.
Atobe looks at the boys in the field. Akutagawa is shouting he caught one, grinning happily at Atobe and telling him to come out with them and get a closer look. Shishido is trying to stealth his way to victory by crawling in the grass; Mukahi is trying Shishido's first technique of poorly executed attacks. Hiyoshi is still standing there with rapt attention.
Atobe sighs, takes the jar from Kabaji, and heads out into the field of fireflies. "Every single one of you is doing it wrong," Atobe declares. "Do I have to show you everything?"
"Whatever you say, 'tobe," Akutagwa laughs. "Look, I got one!"
A firefly flies out of Akutagawa's hand and lands on Atobe's shirt. Akutagawa smiles when it lights up and Atobe may understand why they were making such a fuss about this. Atobe has a moment to appreciate the situation before Shishido and Mukahi tackle him to the ground to get the bug on his shirt.