author's note: omg I got a review on the last chapter o.o

Ha ha, thank you, that makes me really happy! Idk if there's a way to reply to reviews (I guess not since they're reviews and not really comments? idk) but Free! characters will probably show up in some memories in the chaps to come. I don't really plan out my writing so I'm not entirely sure when they'll actually pop up, but I have some scenes in mind ;)

But when they do pop up, it'll be sad. Maybe. Probably.

...

Thanks again for reading! I was so happy to receive a review \\\

-glasses cloth

4 my heart was telling me about a future with you

The basketballs bounced across the shiny gym floors and the players followed accordingly. A white-haired girl pouted enviously as she leaned her elbows on the floor and watched the mixture of students as they dribbled and passed accordingly. She sat on the steps leading into the gym while a net cascading from the top of the door way – to keep stray balls from escaping the gym – tickled her nose. A boy with bedridden black locks accompanied her left side while another with unruly grey hair took up her right side. The black-haired one hugged a volleyball to his chest.

"What're we doing here? Didn't you two quit basketball?" he whispered to the other boy, who simply shrugged and looked expectantly to the girl.

"Ne, Tsubasa-"

"Rebound!" she cried suddenly, slamming a fist down and sitting up straighter. The boys leaned back in surprise, just as the net swished and the girl threw her arms up with an excited cheer.

As the basketball players paused to let the score update, one of the males turned to another in particular while jerking a thumb towards the girl and her friends.

"Hakurei, that's your little sister, right?"

Ah. Hakurei Tamotsu looked to the door and stared at the trio quietly, staring particularly hard at the smiling girl, before he planted his sweaty face in his palm. The young boy, barely eleven, nodded slightly, his curly black locks swishing with the action. Light brown eyes glittered and the boy lifted his shirt to wipe away the sweat, before the practice match resumed and the lot of them were running once more. Tsubasa huffed.

"Tamo-nii is in tip-top shape as usual," Tetsurou commented with a drawl. "Can we go now? Watching a sport we don't even play won't get us anywhere."

"Yeah, Tsubasa! Let's play volleyball!"

The girl released another puff of air before she nodded, pushing herself onto her feet.

"Morning, Akaashi!"

The greeting came synchronized from two people. Akaashi blinked slowly at the girl and the third-year on her side, before Isao skipped ahead and eagerly held a hand out. The lot of them – being Tsubasa, Bokuto, her dog, and the Akaashi siblings – stood out in front of Powder with Masumi snapping pictures and smiling dopily.

"Yahoo~ I'm Akaashi Isao," the teen said, happily shaking Tsubasa's hand. "Isao is just fine!"

Tsubasa laughed and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Akaashi took notice of the fresh bandage on her forehead, this time pink but still printed with Totoro. "I'm Hakurei Tsubasa, but Tsubasa is fine. Sorry you had to see me in such a rush yesterday."

"It's fine, it's fine~ If I can't handle you at your worst, then I don't deserve you at your best!" Isao winked then, grinning cheekily. "Right?"

Tsubasa blinked at that before she laughed once more. "Right." She then looked down to where a shorter, smaller, and younger girl gripped his clothes while shyly looking up with large blue eyes. Tsubasa's grin turned gentle and she kneeled down to the little girl's height. "And who is this lovely lady?"

The little girl flushed slightly and nervously pulled at Isao's blazer. "M-Miwa…"

Tsubasa beamed gently. "What a pretty name. Can I call you that?" The girl nodded shyly. Tsubasa's grin broadened as she beckoned her dog over, petting him lightly. "This is Kou. He looks big and scary but he's very sweet. Do you wanna pet him?"

Miwa peeked around Isao's pants and gazed at the husky, who seemed to be her height. She tentatively reached a small hand out for the dog to sniff, and after brushing his cold nose against her short fingers, he laid down and rolled onto his back. Miwa blinked at his exposed belly before smiling a bit wider and coming out of hiding, kneeling down to pat the dog's chest.

From the sidelines, Masumi pouted. "If it weren't for Kou, Miwa-chan would still be shy."

Tsubasa huffed at that and stood. "Then I am very glad to have Kou with me."

Masumi's hand darted out and he gripped his niece's head, shaking her to and fro while the Akaashi siblings focused their attention on her dog. "You know, you've got a lot of nerve asking me to adjust your work hours for volleyball after not only coming in late-" The man turned and turned to Bokuto with a chilly smile. "-but after dragging this boy into my shop around midnight. Koutarou-kun, I've been here for a while, so why are you just now visiting me?"

Ah. The third-year stiffened and bowed at a strict 90-degree angle. "I'm sorry! I was scared!"

"Of what? You didn't wanna get involved since I'm this girl's uncle?"

The two childhood friends grinned crookedly and averted their gazes.

You're honestly just that scary…

Bokuto nodded anyway. "Y-yeah… I didn't know how to approach you since Tsubaka and I were awkward when she moved…"

"O-oi, don't blame this on me – I work for this guy, he'll make it even harder on me!"

"B-but it is your fault!"

Masumi slapped his palms atop their foreheads. "Oi, don't fight. Straighten up, Koutarou-kun. I forgive you." When the third-year stood, the man frowned slightly. "But anyway, I can't exactly give you the time you need for volleyball club. Latest we could do is start your shift at six and lessen your hours, but you wouldn't be at practice very long and you might have to work properly on the weekends to make up for lost time, and you know I can't give you every other day off. You wouldn't make enough to sustain your rent, regular living expenses, and the effort you need to put into reviving the music store."

Tsubasa sighed softly before turning to Bokuto. "Well, that's that. I can make it to morning practice and Sunday practice, but nothing after school."

Before the third-year could answer (he didn't look like he was going to anyway with the way he puffed his cheeks out) Akaashi spoke and said, "Sunday is our day off. Furthermore, the volleyball club has been banned from morning practice. Bokuto-san and… I caused an incident on the first day of school that upset the dean."

The girl blinked rapidly. "Eh? What did you two do?"

"He made me toss to him during class and when he spiked, he broke a window and just so happened to hit the dean as he was walking by outside."

Tsubasa's eyes widened and she turned to the male quickly, who averted his gaze with pursed lips. "Y-you did? Why would you do that? T-there's a limit to everything, Koutarou!"

"I-I was excited to be back! I couldn't help it!"

Ah. The girl turned her gaze back to Akaashi. "Did he force you to toss or something? How did you end up doing that?"

Akaashi suddenly seemed sheepish. He averted his gaze meekly. "Bokuto-san burst into my classroom during homeroom and threw the ball. I tossed it out of instinct."

…ah. Tsubasa stifled a laugh and pressed a hand against her lips, her cheeks reddening as she held back her giggles. "T-that's… r-really amazing, A-Akaashi."

"Don't laugh."

Isao stood and laid a hand on Tsubasa's shoulder. "Please laugh."

Akaashi slapped the boy's wrist, continuing casually. "However, we're starting a training camp today since tomorrow is the start of Golden Week. We're inviting a few other powerhouses from other prefectures to practice with us. You should come and see what the team's like; think of it like a trial."

Tsubasa brightened at that and pulled on her uncle's shirt. "I can go to that, right?"

"Of course. Powder closes down like any other store during Golden Week. Go crazy."

And the two childhood friends were cheering and high-fiving excitedly. Akaashi gave the slightest smile before continuing on.

"Then you should stop by today so you can tell the coach. I'm sure Shirofuku-san will be glad."

"Okay-"

There was suddenly a small hand gripping the girl's blazer. Tsubasa looked down and found Miwa staring up at her curiously, her eyes not as droopy as they were before. She then, with some blank face, stretched her arms up. Tsubasa nearly screamed in excitement as she bent down to lift the little girl up, holding her securely and giggling as Miwa went to gently tug at her white locks. Isao smacked Akaashi's hand down when he went to stop their sister.

"It's really white…" Miwa murmured, before her face broke into a the softest, yet brightest smile. "Princess…"

Tsubasa returned the beautiful expression and gave a gentle tug to the young girl's hair tie, which was purely white this time with plastic snowflakes. "Miwa has really pretty hair too. Your hair tie is cute!"

"R-really?"

"Yup!"

And their friendship was sealed. Akaashi could only watch silently as Isao joined the two of them in fawning over the girl's white hair, with Bokuto joining as well in bragging about his childhood friend. Akaashi observed the gentle and shy smile his little sister wore, before he shifted his gaze to Tsubasa's face – and he might as well have laid down in his grave then and there. There was a softness all around her that had her glowing angelically in his eyes, which was only heightened by her giggles and smiles. The briefest breath of awe left him and there was a warmth that sat atop his cheeks, while something in his chest tightened as his heart palpitated.

Masumi could only sigh in defeat as the lot of them were distracted and already swept away from their previous topic of conversation, but seeing them in their youthful splendor, he smiled and shrugged. He looked past them and to Akaashi then – only to stop as he immediately noticed the warm and blankly-endearing expression he wore. The man blinked, before turning his eyes away and back to his niece.

"You should get going now," he said, smiling. "Wouldn't want you to be late again, right?"

And the second-year set the little girl down after giving her one last hug. The group waved goodbye to the man and after making their way down the hill, they split up accordingly. Isao and Miwa took down to the left while Tsubasa guided her bike down the right with Akaashi and Bokuto, and casually, the three of them were chatting on their way to school.

Which, of course, was witnessed by a select three of the volleyball club. Konoha put his phone away after the three of them walked past him, Komi, and Sarukui. Komi stared after them with a twitching eye.

"Y-you know," he said quietly, rubbing his chin in thought, "they kinda look like parents."

Sarukui looked to him. "Who? Akaashi and Tsubasa-chan?"

"Yeah. Like, with the hair…"

Konoha made a noise of realization. "Oh! 'Cause Bokuto has black and white hair?"

"It's grey, but yeah." Komi quickly turned to Sarukui. "You've gotta be the sacrifice."

"E-eh? What?"

"Keep Bokuto occupied during lunch while Konoha and I spy on those two! Ask Yuki for help too!"

"W-why do I have to be the sacrifice? I wanna witness it firsthand too!" Sarukui's eyes narrowed and he held out a fist. "Let's rock-paper-scissors for it."

Ah. Komi's irises glinted back with challenge.

"You're on."

As the day progressed and the classes came and went before finally gifting them with the lunch period, Tsubasa stood and smiled down at Akaashi. Some manila folder was secured beneath her arm.

"I'm gonna abuse some power so I'll probably be gone most of the lunch period, but I'll come find you if I finish early," she told him with a bright grin, to which he could only blink at her confusedly.

"What do you mean?"

Ah. Her grin turned cheeky and she playfully tapped his nose.

"It'd ruin the fun if I told you!"

And then she was trotting out the door. Akaashi stared after the door when it closed before standing himself, taking his bento and preparing to go elsewhere. His nose tingled and he caught the faintest smell of honeyed lemons, and he stopped to think.

If she finishes whatever she's doing early, then she'll have trouble finding me if I'm not here.

…ah. Akaashi released the smallest puff of air before he sat back down, figuring lunch in an empty classroom wasn't too bad.

Tsubasa, on the other hand, was trotting through the hallways and making her way to the faculty office. She slid the door open and curiously poked her head inside, before smiling as she settled her eyes on her homeroom teacher, who blinked at her in return.

"Hakurei-san," Tachibana-sensei said, looking up from his convenience store bento. He grinned then. "Can I help you?"

The girl nodded and trotted inside, nodding politely to the rest of the teachers inside before stopping before the handsome man. "I was wondering if there was any way I could get the dean to lift the volleyball club's ban on morning practice."

The man gave another blink, before his grin turned cheeky. I guess it's only natural that she's taken an interest in the volleyball club since she's friends with Akaashi-kun. "Mm… I'm not too sure, honestly. The dean is harsh on the club, but it's not like he'll keep the ban forever, especially when the volleyball club is the school's most prized club at the moment. Give him some time and he'll lift it eventually."

"Eh… But what if 'eventually' is a long time?"

"Well, I suppose talking to him wouldn't hurt, right?" Tachibana-sensei winked. "I'll put in a good word; as his grandson, he's bound to listen to me, right? Besides, if an amazing student such as yourself is asking for this to be lifted, then enough must be enough, yes?"

Tsubasa's eyes glittered excitedly and she nodded. "Yeah! Thanks, Tachibana-sensei. But anyway, I was also wondering if I could have a look at my student profile. I want to check the emergency contact numbers to make sure they're correct."

And the man, with his hair black and messy, tilted his head curiously. "Did something happen?"

The girl's smile retained its characteristic beam, hiding beneath it a number of negative emotions that ate away at her internally.

"Not at all."

When everything was done and the contact information was updated and the medical forms were copied for formal documentation, the girl hurried back to the classroom with twenty minutes left for lunch. She blinked in surprise when she found Akaashi sitting there in wait, his bento still wrapped up patiently. Two cans of milk tea sat atop his desk.

"Oh, you stayed here?" the girl asked immediately upon entering, prompting the boy to turn to her. "I hope you weren't waiting for me."

Ah. Akaashi shrugged simply, finally moving to unwrap his bento as the girl sat beside him eagerly and pulled out her own lunch. After putting away her manila folder, which Akaashi caught briefly with a curious glance, she pushed her desk up beside his and the two continued on with lunch like she never left, with the male setting one of the cans of tea on her desk and apologizing if she didn't like milk tea.

By the classroom's door, a particular pair of third-years watched eagerly from the window.

(It was Sarukui and Konoha since Komi had lost two-to-three.)

The girl quickly said thanks alongside Akaashi and removed the wooden lid of her bento, before sighing slightly. Akaashi looked to her then. He took silent notice of the warmth she radiated right by his side.

"Why the sigh?"

The girl shrugged. "I'm still amazed at how you two got morning practice banned. Is that why Koutarou doesn't have lunch with you?"

"Yes. The dean is very harsh on him. He's had a history of causing volleyball accidents."

"Uwah~ good thing he hasn't gotten caught recently." Tsubasa's brows furrowed then and she crossed her arms. "Did the dean say anything about how to lift the ban?"

"Not really. We've already paid off the broken window, but he still hasn't lifted it. Whenever I see him, he reminds me that the ban is still in place."

"Heh~ he sounds super mean." Tsubasa hummed thoughtfully as she picked up a clump of rice. She chewed slowly and stared up in thought, before swallowing quietly. "If morning practice was banned, then how did you guys get into the gym that one morning? We weren't caught either, so how does the dean regulate that?"

"Bokuto-san picked the lock," Akaashi answered, prompting the girl to blink. Oh yeah. Tetsurou did teach us that. "And regarding him regulating the ban, he doesn't. Not like that, at least. I can get away with visiting Bokuto-san if it's to let him borrow some notes, but the dean threatened to keep us from competing in the Interhigh if I went beyond that. And he's been in and out of the hospital, so it's easy to get away with some things."

Tsubasa blinked at that. "S-seriously? Was it that serious?"

"The volleyball hit him in the face and fractured his jaw."

"O-oh. Ouch." She hummed. "Well, threatening to take you out of the Interhigh is still a bit much. I guess we can't riot like in America. Maybe a petition? Hm…"

Akaashi looked at her. "You were in America?"

"Yeah. A full year. Kids there would talk back to their teachers and raise anarchy when they didn't like something. It was really different." Tsubasa hummed once more. "It's pretty tame in Germany, and the other European countries too. And I was in Russia for a while but I didn't go to school. Just kinda did some ice skating and whatnot."

Ah. Akaashi gave an interested hum. "I suppose you know more than Japanese."

Tsubasa grinned at that before giving him a thumbs-up. "(Perfect and fluent English!) And then some Russian and the basics of a few others."

Akaashi's eyes widened slightly. "Really?"

"Yup. I was entertaining Koutarou with my language skill last night. I study other languages in my free time too. It's kind of a hobby."

"…that's amazing, Hakurei-san."

Tsubasa blinked. "Thanks." She then tilted her head. "Say, why do you call me by my surname?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… Well, when I first came here and introduced myself, I said to call me Tsubasa. First name. Being called by my surname makes me anxious."

Anxious? "Oh. Sorry. I wasn't aware." Why is that? Akaashi popped open his can of milk tea and took a quick sip. "Then Tsubasa-san."

…ah. Tsubasa huffed and pouted, leaning her elbows atop the desk and holding her face in her palms. Her chopsticks sat waiting atop her bento. "Why –san? Why not just Tsubasa?"

"The removal of honorifics from first names can be taken many ways, most of which I would like to avoid for the sake of peaceful high school days."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "Tsubasa."

"–san."

"Tsubasa."

"–san."

"Tsubasa!"

"–san."

Ah. The girl's cheeks began to redden from being puffed out. The male beside her then moved to take a gulp of his tea, and the girl saw her chance.

"Keiji!"

…ah. He choked just as he was about to swallow the sweet liquid down and immediately began coughing and hacking, slamming the can of tea down onto his desk and roughly punching his own chest. Tsubasa burst into a fit of laughter right beside him, patting his back and saying quick apologies.

"I'm sorry, sorry!" she insisted, still giggling and smiling. "I didn't think you'd react like that!"

"You did that on purpose," Akaashi said quickly, turning to glare at her – but stopping short as he took immediate notice of the lack of distance between them. A fluttering in the chambers of his heart rose up to his throat and tangled up his vocal chords, rendering him both speechless and flustered beyond belief. His eyes widened and that bright blue glint returned to those usually-dark irises, and warmth rose to his cheeks as he averted his gaze. Puzzled, he pressed his elbow against the desk and pushed his burning face into his large hand.

Why am I like this?

Tsubasa, still laughing and patting his back, mentally noted the way he avoided her eyes and seemingly dodged looking at her face entirely. When a minute of her simply giggling went by without a response from the male, she felt the smallest seeds of anxiety plant themselves at the bottom of her stomach. Her smile grew uneasy.

"Y-you're not mad, are you?" she asked, her hand stilling and eventually slowly retracting itself.

The male blinked slowly at that. His back, which tingled pleasantly from the playful pats the girl had given him, was abstractly frigid as the girl dropped her hand to her lap. Slowly, and a bit begrudgingly, he turned and met her eyes. Tsubasa stared at the bright, glittery shine of his navy irises and immediately found relief in them.

"No," he said, the flush on his cheeks making no signs to lessen. "I'm not mad, Tsubasa."

The girl's eyes widened and she beamed, her irises flashing happily.

"You-"

"–san."

"…"

"…"

"Keiji."

And he turned away once more with another blush. Tsubasa giggled and leaned back in her seat, swinging her legs happily but making sure not to kick her friend by accident – who was pinching the bridge of his nose and counting to ten. As the girl poked fun at him and settled into calling him by his first name, Konoha and Sarukui gaped behind the classroom doors as they captured the entire scene on camera.

"A-Akaashi's blushing," Konoha murmured, his tone disbelieving and light.

"L-lunch together…"

"First-name basis…"

The two of them were silent. Konoha pulled out his wallet and began counting whatever bills and coins he had.

"Alright, two-hundred yen says two weeks for him to realize."

"Two weeks? Akaashi is a rock when it comes to stuff like this. I say a month at least."

"Ha! He's not that dense, Saru. But deal anyway."

"Anyway-" The third-years stopped as Akaashi addressed the girl once more, his face only slightly-red now. The two shuffled away then, figuring they should get going before Bokuto became suspicious. "-you seem to be good with children, Tsubasa-san. I was surprised when Miwa reached out for you."

Tsubasa smiled gently. "She doesn't seem like a very shy kid. She's very curious."

"How can you tell?"

The girl laughed. "Because even though she just met me, she wanted me to hold her just so she could touch my hair and see if it was really white! I almost screamed because it was so cute."

Ah. Akaashi leaned back in his chair and tilted his head slightly, chewing his rice slowly and observing the girl. He swallowed. "Do you have any younger siblings?"

Tsubasa smiled brightly. "Yeah! Well- kinda. I have a little brother named Tobio, but we're not related by blood. His family took me in for a while and I had their name during that time."

He reached for more rice, humming thoughtfully. Took her in? Adoption? Foster-care? The male chewed and swallowed quickly. Bokuto-san mentioned a 'Tamo-nii' before. "Then any older siblings?"

…ah. Tsubasa's shining smile dimmed immediately, and she shook her head softly. Akaashi squinted just a bit at the grin, finding it to be odd in every sense of the word. He also found, however, that it was smooth and pulled on easily – almost as if it were something she practiced in the mirror.

"I used to have an older brother," the girl answered, "but he died some time ago."

His chopsticks clattered to the floor. Tsubasa blinked in surprise before she immediately frowned and squirmed in her seat, waving her small, shaky hands and uttering apologies as Akaashi stared at her with wide eyes and slightly-parted lips.

"I'm sorry! I-I guess that's not something I should really share…" she said lamely, her eyes dimming quickly.

Akaashi said nothing. He watched as the invisible glow around her seemed to diminish and leave her looking dull and flat, just like the darkening grey of her eyes. He felt a sudden tightening of his throat and chest, and his heart sped up with its usually-rhythmic beats to something fast and desperate. That bright glint – that unusual shine in his irises intensified and almost seemed to reach out for the girl, trying to capture the ethereal glitter of her own irises as it began to disappear.

As her eyes shut from her awkward, but wide and fake smile, she went on with her apologies and her justifications, saying he had asked so she figured he could handle the answer. There was the briefest, the quickest and lightning-fast downward twitch of his lips, and his eyebrows furrowed shortly. He reached down then, grabbed his chopsticks and wiped them clean with his bento's cloth, and set them down on the desk. Tsubasa looked at him.

"Thank you," he said, his voice firm but gentle. Tsubasa stilled. "For sharing something so personal with me."

And that glow in her eyes returned in a snap. Tsubasa stared at Akaashi blankly, her facial features relaxing slowly. The male stared back simply and held her gaze, watching as her eyes were suddenly bright and shiny and holding the beaten path to a hidden but beautiful garden. She then blinked rapidly and a gate, its bars multiple and thin and creating small spaces in between, closed and blocked off the path – but that was fine. He could still see that road from the spaces in between, and the light still shone through yearningly. Tsubasa nodded then, awkwardly returning to her bento.

"Keiji really is weird," she muttered, seemingly to herself.

Akaashi, still not used to the first-name basis but much more composed than before, simply shrugged and went to wiping at his chopsticks once more.

"You're one to talk, Tsubasa-san."

"H-hey…"

"But," he then said, looking up with his own bright eyes. Tsubasa blinked.

"B-but…?"

If there was a moment for time to stop, it would have been that moment, as the male leaned back in his seat once more and gave the faintest, smallest grin of reassurance.

"It's a good weird."

It was nighttime now. Practice was over for the day and since the training camp would begin immediately the next morning with the arrival of two other high schools, the volleyball team of Fukuroudani was spending the night in one of the classrooms.

Tsubasa had stopped by right after school before practice got rolling, telling the coach and third-year manager how she could only be a manager in the morning – which the both of them approved of since Akaashi typically handled everything himself when it came to morning practice. So with that, the girl had left after telling Yukie she'd be at the training camp as well, smiling and waving excitedly at Akaashi and Bokuto. The day continued as normal afterwards.

But now, the third-year manager was gone and spending the night at a nearby friend's house and the volleyball players were bouncing around their futons, flickering the lights on and off and making stupid plans to cause trouble – all in good fun, of course. Akaashi blinked slowly as Komi and Konoha suddenly confronted him – who was comfortable by the window as he scrolled through his phone and waited for Bokuto – and bombarded him with a thrush of questions. They were all centered around Tsubasa.

Him and Tsubasa.

Again, the teen blinked. "What?"

Komi wagged his eyebrows suggestively. "You know what!"

"I really don't. Please stop that with your eyebrows, Komi-san; it's making me uncomfortable."

Ah. The third-year huffed. "Fine. But just answer us honestly, alright? We aim to help you as your senpai."

Akaashi shrugged simply. "Alright."

"Do you like Tsubasa-chan?"

Akaashi tilted his head slightly. "Yes." The two third-years reeled back. "We're friends, after all. Of course I like her."

…ah. Of course. Komi released a heavy sigh and let his shoulders sag, before nudging Konoha with a pout.

"Saru's right; he's a rock. You might as well hand over that two-hundred yen right now."

"S-shut up! You're dumb for thinking he's that dense!"

"What?!"

And the two began bickering. Akaashi caught bits and pieces of what appeared to be their playful gamble which – apparently, was in the vice-captain's best interest in terms of personal gain.

(Honestly speaking though, Akaashi didn't get the entire premise of the bet. They only said things about him having some epiphany in x amount of time, whatever the hell that meant.)

((Granted he didn't listen that closely and figured he would let his senpai have whatever this was supposed to be, since he typically bested them both academically and athletically.))

(((All he kept in mind was that Konoha had his bets placed on two weeks, whereas both Komi and Sarukui put their money on a month.)))

Akaashi returned his attention to his phone as it buzzed in his hand. He checked the messages from his younger brother quickly, only to blink and pause as certain pictures came up.

Isao [5/2 10:21 PM]: Took these in the morning~ have fun with your training camp. Are you gonna stop by in the morning?

Ah. Akaashi replied quickly ([5/2 10:21 PM]: Yes, I'll be there in the morning.) before he returned his attention to the pictures Isao had sent; there was one of the entire group from that morning and another with Bokuto and Tsubasa grinning toothily beside the younger brother, while the last one-

Oh dear.

Akaashi stared down at the photo where Tsubasa stood with Miwa in her arms. The white-haired girl had her nose bumped up against that of his younger sister's, their eyes squinting to a close due to their wide smiles. The background was blurred and although he wanted to focus on how his timid little sister was being so friendly with someone new, his eyes couldn't leave those white locks and nerdy glasses for the life of him.

Even in a picture she looked like a dream. His phone buzzed again with a new message.

Isao [5/2 10:27 PM]: Take pictures! Mainly of the managers pls

Isao [5/2 10:28 PM]: Tsubasa-nee-chan looks like a mom kekeke

Isao [5/2 10:28 PM]: Ok I'm gonna sleep now gn

…ah. Akaashi released a puff of breath at the thought before reciprocating the sentiment and putting his phone away quickly, just as Komi had taken notice of his dreamy state and was just about to poke some more fun out of him.

Akaashi gave a small sigh, the image of the girl staying on his mind longer than need be.

Why am I like this?

From the classroom doors, Bokuto, who had just gone around visiting his other teammates and saying goodnight with Sarukui, blinked at the vice-captain slowly. A buzz made his mind fuzzy with tear-stained memories and he made a face, being something reminiscent of a pout. He then bounced into the classroom with a wide grin.

"Let's prank call Shirofuku, guys!"

"Ooh! Nice! Let's see if we can get her to get us some snacks tomorrow!"

Ah. The memories were still before his mind's eye.

It was one in the morning. The girl's apartment was completely black save for the simple candle in her room atop her kotatsu table, which she sat at with a small worn and torn book before her. Her long white locks cascaded down her back and curled up off of the floor, while some towel hung around her shoulders loosely. She wore nothing more than her underwear and a black tank-top.

Tsubasa sifted through the book's aging pages with owlish eyes, her bright irises greedily absorbing the information before her. It was about various philosophical elements and well-known ideas, with her thoughts currently centered around the Allegory of the Cave. It wasn't anything new to her, to be honest, but all good books demanded to be reread. Even more than that, however, the entire act of reading past midnight was the only medicine she had to momentarily silence the demons in her mind, which were suddenly more active than usual that night. An interested hum sounded from her sealed lips as she absentmindedly stroked her dog's head. Her phone buzzed atop the kotatsu suddenly.

Tetsurou [5/3 1:04 AM]: yooo u up or nah

Tetsurou [5/3 1:04 AM]: nvm dont answer that question i already kno. wat u up to girl

Ah. The white-haired girl pinched the bridge of her nose, reaching for the phone to text back a reply.

[5/3 1:05 AM]: Does your grammar and shit suck right now cause you're giving head or what? Who is it? How much money? Pics?

Tetsurou [5/3 1:06 AM]: Okay it's too early in the fuckin morning for that.

And then her phone was buzzing in a series of palpitations, signaling a call. With a somewhat-tired smirk, the girl answered and leaned an elbow atop the kotatsu table of her room. Kou's head shifted in her lap.

"Okay, first of all, bitch, I'm not gay."

"You're not? Sure fooled me."

"Secondly, why aren't you asleep?"

"Mm… Studying? Yeah, studying. Plato. Philosophy. Super interesting." Tsubasa's eyebrows furrowed at the background noise coming from the other side. It sounded as if he was on the road. "You on a trip or something?"

"Yeah. Nekoma's on the way to the Miyagi prefecture. We're going around and having some practice matches there."

"Heh~ so that's why you guys haven't come to Fukuroudani. Shouldn't you be asleep, captain?"

"I would be but lots of these fuckers snore loud. I don't understand how Kenma's knocked out."

"Picture please."

"Sure." Ah. Tsubasa grinned faintly, turning the page. "So how's owl city? You been alright?"

"Mm… it's been pretty good. I don't really get to hang out with Koutarou that much, but Keiji is good company."

"Keiji…? Ah, Akaashi, you mean. Wow. First-name basis. That's always a good sign. Um…" He paused. "So morning practice is still banned? And I guess you can't do manager stuff since work and all, right?"

"Yeah. But when morning practice is legal again, I'm gonna help manage that. And then there's this training camp starting later today that I get to go to and help with… There are two other schools coming over, I think."

"Two? I bet one is Shiratorizawa since both Bokuto and their ace are in the top five of the whole nation. I know they like to practice with each other every now and then, but what's the second school? Is it also from Miyagi?"

"Wait what." Tsubasa blinked. "Koutarou's in the top five of the nation?"

"As an ace, yeah. Barely missed top three. The other guy, Ushiwaka, is in top three." She could hear the grin in his voice. "You didn't know? Impressive, right? But tell me about this second school."

"Eh? Oh- uh… Well, the coach said one name and then everyone else called it something else… Something like… Sei… hoe? I can't remember."

"Seijoh, you mean? Whoa, you guys called over the bigshots from Miyagi. Seijoh, or Aoba-Jousai, hasn't ever been to nationals because they've always been beaten by Shiratorizawa, but their captain-setter is number one. He got the Best Setter award in junior high."

"Uwah… that's cool. Have you met him before?"

"Yeah. If you think I'm a fuckboy, then wait 'til you meet this guy. Fangirls always make him shit." She heard the smirk in his voice. "Don't be too much of a bitch."

"No promises."

"Heh. Well anyway, it's interesting that those two schools are coming over. Nekoma tried to schedule something with Seijoh, but now I understand why they had to decline. But any particular reason for either of them?"

"Well… Coach Yuuto said that initially they planned to invite the other two schools that had the other top aces; something like a training camp for the aces to kick off the year. But one of them was like 'nah', so the other was like 'ew no', so Coach settled for Seihoe-"

"Seijoh."

"-Seijoh to fill in the gap. I'm guessing 'cause of the captain-setter. But what a coincidence, since you're going to Miyagi and all and we're inviting schools from there. Too bad you couldn't be here. You even told me to tell Koutarou that Nekoma wanted practice matches."

"Meh. I'll make up in summer vacation. Wait 'till the summer camps, would ya. First one in Saitama is gonna be a trip, but the second one at the beach? That'll be the blastiest blast."

"Eh. Is blastiest even a word?"

"It is now. Bitch."

It was silent for a moment. Tsubasa quietly closed the philosophy book and pushed it aside, crossing her arms over the table and leaning her chin on top. She put Kuroo on speaker and watched the candlelight flicker every now and then. Beside her, Kou shifted.

"Tired?"

"A little. You?"

"A little." A pause. "You should go to sleep. I'll tell you about Miyagi later."

"Ha! What's with that? I was the one who lived there for a while." Tsubasa paused. "Will you take pictures?"

"Yeah. Of course. Night."

"Wait." Another pause. Tsubasa blinked slowly, surprised with herself. "I'm sorry."

"…eh? For what?"

"I don't know. I just felt like I had to say it." Ah. Tsubasa gave a yawn and cat-like whine as she stretched, before turning her attention to her phone. "Well, good night. Have fun. Don't push yourself, captain."

"…yeah. You too. Forgiven, by the way."

…ah. And the call clicked, signaling the end of the sudden midnight talk. Tsubasa stared at her phone quietly before shrugging to herself. She went to set up her futon and after doing so, she blew out the candle and went to bed, her dog right against her side.

The night was quiet.

Kuroo stared after the contact page even after the call had ended. His expression was somewhat endearing, owning to a quaint pursing of lips and an unusually gentle gaze that softened up his sharp eyes. The contact picture on his phone looked surprised, with large eyes and parted pink lips that said, "What- contact picture?"

Ah. The memories.

Kuroo smiled faintly to himself and finally pocketed his phone. He turned to gaze out the window on his right, where miles of fields and trees bleared past the bullet train as they got closer to their destination. On his left, Kenma was curled up in some cat-like ball with his PSP3 gripped securely in his hands. His head was nodded off to the side and his dyed locks were messy from occasional turning. Kuroo snuck a quick picture for the girl as promised. In the background, various teammates filled the air with mumbles and explosive snores. The AC roared and sent him pulling at his jacket.

The captain turned back to the blurred view outside his window. The moon glittered above him gently, almost mocking him with ghostly caresses of its soft white light.

She's probably sorry for choosing Bokuto over us.

Me.

…ah. Kuroo huffed slightly and smiled to himself once more, only this time, it was somehow melancholic.

Apologizing just makes it worse, dumbass.

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