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bentos, girls, and unnecessary violence
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"RYUU!" someone shouts at the door. "RYUUUUU! I BROUGHT YOUR BENTO FOR YOU!"
Hinata and Kageyama look up to see a second-year girl walk in, her short russet red hair tousled from running and her shirt completely rumpled.
"Excuse me, but where's Ryuu?" she says to them, cocking her head to one side.
"Oh, Tanaka-san?" Kageyama says, blinking.
"Tanaka's just gone to the washroom," Suga tells her.
She sighs.
"All the effort I put into this for nothing," she grumbles, hefting the bento over her shoulder.
"Is - Is that Tanaka-san's girlfriend?" Hinata whispers to Suga.
The setter starts in surprise, then shakes his head. Picking up a volleyball and spinning it around in his hands, he explains.
"She lives near his house, and they've known each other since their third year of middle school," he says. "Her name is Enami Tsukiko, and she's currently part of the girls' volleyball team."
"Currently?" Kageyama frowns.
"Yep!" Tsukiko grins at him, straightening her skirt. "I got kicked out of the soccer club, the swimming club, the baseball club, and the basketball club."
"For what?"
She gives him a sly look.
"Unnecessary violence," she says.
Hinata gulps.
"She's just teasing," Nishinoya says. "Enami-chan's actually not that bad."
"She just happened to give the dean a concussion on the first day of school," Asahi mutters.
"She did what?!" Hinata and Kageyama chorus.
Tsukiko laughs self-consciously.
"Oh, it was nothing," she says. "He was only out for four hours."
Four hours? everyone can almost hear the first-years think.
"Ah, by the way, I'm a spiker," says Tsukiko. "And I've still got lots of energy. Can someone set for me?"
"We're doomed," Hinata thinks he hears Asahi mutter.
"Shut up," Tsukiko says happily. "Koushi-kun, can you?"
"Sure, Tsukiko."
She tugs off her skirt, making Hinata, Kageyama, and Yamaguchi nearly get heart attacks, and reveals a pair of shorts underneath.
"All right!" she shouts.
Suga tosses the ball up and sets it neatly, letting the ball fly straight up.
"Thanks!" she says, grinning.
Leaping up, her bangs fluttering, Tsukiko pulls her arm back and smacks the ball so hard it nearly sinks into the floor with a fantastic bang.
Hinata's eyes sparkle with admiration.
"C-Cool!" he says as Tsukiko lands, dusting off her fingers.
"I know, right?" she says cheerfully, without a hint of arrogance.
A pair of footsteps near the door, and Tsukiko's mood changes instantly.
"RYUUUUU!" she bellows, picking up her bento and swinging it around maniacally. It whirs around her hand and she lets it go.
Hinata and Kageyama watch with new-found respect as it flies across the court and into Tanaka's face.
"OW!" he says. "... oh. Tsukiko. Should've known."
"Hello, Ryuu!" Tsukiko flashes him her signature grin, winking. "Brought your bento for you!"
… unnecessary violence, indeed, is the thought that runs through all four of the first years' minds.
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"So, if Enami-senpai isn't Tanaka-san's girlfriend, what is she?" Hinata says. He gestures at Tsukiko, who is talking animatedly with Tanaka, her face flushed and her eyes almost shimmering with excitement.
"She calls him Ryuu as well," Yamaguchi adds.
Suga and Daichi's smiles disappear, and even Nishinoya casts his eyes down. Asahi clears his throat awkwardly and goes to fetch another volleyball.
"... well," Daichi says, sighing, "you'll see."
"Huh?" Hinata asks.
Then the door swings open and Kiyoko enters with an armful of water bottles. She sets them down and tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Tanaka's face splits in a grin, stopping mid-conversation.
"Kiyoko-san!" he says, bounding over to her like a deer. "You're looking even more beautiful today!"
He's completely forgotten the bento, which is now lying on its side on the court.
Suga tilts his head towards Tsukiko, and they turn.
Hinata swallows.
On Tsukiko's face is an absolute expression of pain, and her eyes are shimmering again, but not with happiness.
"I see," Kageyama says.