Sky Ball

IX. Of Brain and Brawn


Thanks to: Diclonious57, Yuuki no Yuki, Hewia, ITriedToThinkOfAName, kalmaegi, Salome Maranya, Hikari no Hoshi, Bergliot, guest(1), sleepyhead, Carrie, The Nyan Lord, EmeraldStar642, KikiSenri17, Renrinrin, Llhael Aquila, HanazawaRyuki, Kanzaki Aoi, faded . ember, Yorukifon, olivia . rodriguez . 927, KirikaAndo, sakurayukari, featherheart4248, theekop, virkelighetsflukt, misscaricature, FKING AMASING, Kuroiotaku, 1000 Words To Be Said, CarolinaEirasSa, maicake, CarrieQFD, blackrockx, Xrupa, Izuminka1992, Sentient Stranger, kaira2004, Sara202, Skysword, IXMidnightxMoonXI, .27, katiesgotagun, Lilida97, Rina Dragonfly, JayCeMarch, dersoccer, EllieXDreams, navybluebookworm, RosieHitsugaya, and Sylvr Tyz for reviewing/following/favouritng!


Three days.

There were three days Nishinoya visited me during my break from the volleyball club.

The first was ecstatic. He kind of just kept shouting, so I couldn't exactly make out what he was saying. I caught his exclamations about Tokyo, Nekoma, and Training.

Mashing those three strings together, I figured they were going to train in Tokyo and verse Nekoma. Those three words would never fit together otherwise.

The second day, he was in grief. Tanaka had accompanied him that day, and they both sobbed about their grades, for some reason. I remembered the mature mien I had with Tanaka, so I couldn't dismiss the problem, but they were a handful.

And on the third day, Nishinoya came up to me, all fired up about getting better grades for training in Tokyo with Nekoma. His eyes were lit up like excessively fervent fireworks, and fists blazing with an equal ardour.

But the fourth day…

I was going to go out onto the courtyard for some fresh air when I saw Shimizu talking to other first years.

She hadn't really struck me as the social type, either. She was carrying some fliers. Was there an event I didn't know about?

Contemplating the reason she was there, I suddenly stopped when I heard her talk to a first year.

"We're looking for another manager for the Karasuno Boys' Volleyball Team. I was wondering if you were willing to come… even if it's just to see—"

When I heard her say that, a myriad of emotions flew through me in a second.

Confused. Why did they need another manager when they had me? I was another manager.

A bit mad? She was basically—although indirectly—calling me useless.

Disappointed. I was kind of useless.

I was expendable.

I speed-walked away before I could hear the rest.

I didn't even care about going outside. I headed back to my classroom, where I usually was. Where I could eat in peace and think and no one would bother me.

I didn't want to hear any more of what Shimizu said. If I did… no. I needed to sort my thoughts out properly, first.

She must've had a reason for it. She wouldn't intentionally try to hurt my feelings…

But she didn't even tell me.

I was never there, how could she have? But…

But still…

She could've told me…? Went out to find me… the same way she was finding the new manager.

Inside of me grew a bubbling resentment, but conflicted itself with self-deprecating thoughts and attempted optimism.

I was stuck in that loop of contradiction when class had started.

After class was finished, I reached a temporary conclusion. I'd head back to the volleyball club and see if there was anything more I could do.

I thought about what I could do on my way to my next class. My options were limited, since I couldn't even play volleyball…

… Huh.

I could study medicine. Being a doctor was still an open option for me. Then I could help with injuries… but no. I wasn't ready for the responsibility of being relied on in a field I hardly knew about.

Or I could've been a cheering squad, or something. Despite usually staying quiet, it was easy to scream.

No, the boys (especially Nishinoya and Tanaka) already had that covered.

I couldn't do what Shimizu did, because Shimizu already did it.

… Ah, what could I do. What could I do. What could I do for—

"Aozora-san."

What could I do for Aozora-san? No, that didn't make sense…

Wait.

I looked up and saw Takeda-sensei standing in front of me. Due to his height, he was almost indiscernible among the crowd of high schoolers.

"Ah, sorry, Takeda-sensei. What is it?" I asked. He looked unexpectedly cautious, which was never a good thing with teachers.

"I'm sure you've heard that… well, the volleyball team is going to Tokyo, right?"

His glasses reflected the sunlight that streamed through the window, so I couldn't see his eyes. He just looked kind of scary.

"Yes… what about it?" I asked, but then froze.

He was going to say I couldn't go on it.

I was useless, and provided little to nothing for the team. Why would I be invited to their training camp? It wasn't a field trip to have fun. It was training, and I'd have nothing to train for.

I prepared myself.

"I think we might need your help." Takeda-sensei said. My eyes widened a little. My shoulders relaxed a bit.

"Why?" I asked.

"It's undeniable that academically, you succeed in… nearly every area." He glanced to the window and looked at the soccer field.

Sports. Yup. But since I didn't succeed in that, how could I possibly help the team…?

Then I remembered what Nishinoya had been sobbing about on the second day. His grades.

"You know Nishinoya and Tanaka well, and… well." He gave a curt cough, "Surely you know… what I'm asking by now."

"You want me to teach them." I reasoned.

"I'd do it myself, but there's also a bunch of things I need to do since final exams are coming up. Er… since their training camps are on the line, they'll probably try hard, but…" He stopped there.

I didn't think I was fit for teaching. I withheld my thoughts too much. Like the time with Sawamura.

I was about to let him know that I wasn't a good candidate, but thought something else.

You're a detriment to the team now. Isn't this the least you can do?

Since the thought played on what I was concerned about, I made a split second decision.

I could do that for them.

"I'll do it."

Takeda-sensei's face lit up almost immediately. "Really?! That's great! I think they have a study session this Saturday, so if you'd go to that—or even after that, it'd be great!"

I didn't want to interrupt their study session on Saturday, so I figured I'd help another day. "It's not a problem." I smiled.

"Great! Anyway, we need to go now… but you should also come to the volleyball club more often!" He called while running to teach his next class.

Teaching Nishinoya.

Joy.


Complications seemed to chase me today.

I accepted to teach Nishinoya and Tanaka, but I couldn't go up to them and say, "Hey, guys! I'm your new teacher now! Haha!"

But beyond that, even before I could think up another plan, there was her.

I felt some sort of disappointment right when she stepped in behind Shimizu, with her golden brown eyes scanning the gym. Her blonde hair—a small part tied up by stars in a ponytail—poked from behind Shimizu.

Nishinoya and Tanaka were… hiding.

"What are you two doing?" I asked them.

Both of them moved their eyes to me for a second, stared at me as though asking, 'Can't you tell?' And went back to staring at the new girl. All in unison.

"U-Um! I am Hitoka Yachi! I am of class 1-5!" Yachi nearly shouted.

I pretended to listen to the rest of her introduction, as well as the team's banter, but my mind just wouldn't stay focused.

This is the girl that's going to replace me.

They've already seemed to take a liking to her.

They never talked to me in such a friendly, open manner…

I bit my lip and turned and even though Nishinoya looked back at me, he didn't ask me anything.

I knew it was wrong to be prejudiced against a new member. She had nothing to do with anything.

While trying to clear my head, I forced myself to get along with the new member.

"Oh? A new manager?" I asked, smiling. The girl looked towards me, startled and surprised.

Nobody sensed anything amiss with my smile, despite my dissonance in truth. It felt unpleasant. I felt like a painting. I had no real opinion, just like a blank canvas, but there was too much glitter and too much paint smeared on to remember that.

"Y-Y-Yes…!" She managed to squeal out.

"It's nice to meet you, Yachi-san. I'm in Class 2-5. Aozora Koto…" I faltered. She had given another panicked expression in response to my last name alone. "…ri."

"Erm…! I-It's my honor…?!" She tried bowing to be polite, but ended up bowing a bit too low than what I was used to. I supposed that was a result of the rumors. I couldn't tell if she fully knew what to do in this situation.

Either way, everyone's attention was on me now, so I had to find a way to accommodate them.

I had to act a bit nervous because Azumane and Sawamura were there. I had to act confident and kind because Sugawara and Kageyama were there. I had to act mature because Tanaka and Hinata were there. I had to act open-minded because Shimizu, Yamaguchi and Ennoshita were there. Nishinoya and Tsukishima didn't apply.

Okay. I could do this.

"H-Huh…? Oh, there's no need for anything like that! It's just a pleasure to meet you." I gave a smile.

"Oh…! I'm sorry! I'm Yachi Hitoka…!" She exclaimed yet again. Then her face fell when she realized that she had already introduced herself.

"No need to be sorry!" I replied and grinned a bit. I'd said it a bit too quickly, but it was easily mistook for natural. Her shoulders became less tense. She smiled back at me.

Just then, I was able to tell how I had to act in front of Yachi.

She looked at me. With my perpetually-disheveled hair, the rumors behind me, the way I lied through my smiling teet, I was able to tell what she thought of me. I was able to tell what lie she thought I was, and almost laughed in result.

She thought I was a confident, open-minded, and reliable person.

Ha.

What a joke.

The attention was quickly directed away from when Hinata interrupted. They all re-focused on Yachi, and my smile faded.

Not because I was disappointed she got all the attention. I was glad that I didn't have to think too much for every little action. I didn't have to smile anymore, so—

"Tori-san!"

I almost jumped. I looked towards Nishinoya and Tanaka.

"That was super smooth! You totally had that intro down! Nice!" Nishinoya complimented.

Ah. He knew it was an act…

"What do you mean? Isn't that just like her? She's totally got that kind of 'class-prez' vibe around her, right?"

… And Tanaka didn't. I couldn't let Nishinoya correct Tanaka's misconception, but…

"Yeah! I guess she could!" Nishinoya grinned.

I didn't know what to think, so I decided not to.

But with these two, now would be a perfect time to suggest helping them with their studying…

"Alright, alright. That's enough. Let's get back to practice." Ukai interrupted, and Nishinoya and Tanaka turned tail and follow Ukai's commands.

Never mind about the studying thing.


Yachi walked up to me a few practices later with Shimizu and gave a tentative, "Um, excuse me, Aozora-senpai…?"

Shimizu was with her. Right. I had to act accordingly. A bit dorkier.

"Senpai…? Ah, right!" I pretended I forgot. I gave a sheepish laugh. "Yeah? What's up?"

This calmed Yachi down a bit. "Erm… I was just wondering, what do you do here?"

Nothing.

Something.

"Oh, I record data." I claimed. I didn't mention how lazy I'd gotten about it, though.

"Data?" Both of their heads were askew. Even Shimizu had never bothered to ask what I did.

"Mm-hm. I… uh… take note of other people's strengths and weaknesses, but I also take notes about the team." I explained.

"Ohhh!" Yachi looked at my notes and sounded almost in awe. "I get it! That sounds important!"

I smiled at her, but thought, No. It's not. I do it because nobody else will.

"… You look really good at it." Shimizu complimented, although awkwardly.

Looking isn't the same thing as being. Her compliments might've been able to motivate the guys, but it wouldn't work on me. "Really? Thanks!"

Yachi and Shimizu continued to chatter while I gave out half-answers, eyes lingering on the court. They were all working. Meanwhile, I had to converse about their loss at the Interhigh, how dedicated Karasuno was, and about some 'Small Giant' who didn't really matter.

It took a few minutes before I chimed into the conversation and eventually began to get to know them. Even Shimizu, who'd never even tried to get to know me before.

We eventually got onto the topic of how the boys had to get better grades, and that's when it went downhill.

"Well, the problem here are those four." Shimizu said, and glanced over at Nishinoya, Tanaka, Hinata and Kageyama.

"Kageyama looks like the silent and smart type, too…" I added.

Yachi laughed at my comment. "Have you helped them at all, Aozora-senpai? I mean, especially you—"

"Ah, nope! I haven't gotten the chance to!" I interrupted, but a bit too fast to ease suspicion.

"What do you mean, 'especially her'?" Shimizu asked out of genuine curiosity.

I couldn't speak up without adding more suspicion. I was silent as Yachi revealed, both anxious and perplexed, "U-Um, well, I could be wrong, but isn't Aozora-senpai one of the top five academic students in Miyagi?"

Fuck.

It was the one rumor that wasn't a lie.

It had already been quiet in the gym since the boys were cleaning up. Nishinoya and Tanaka were staring at Shimizu and listening to our conversation. That didn't help.

At the revelation, Nishinoya's and Tanaka's jaws dropped in unison.

I couldn't lie about it either, because they could look at the school rankings anyway and discern the lie.

Even Shimizu's glasses slipped a bit down her nose as her eyebrows raised in surprise. Some of the others knew about it already, like Sawamura, and others didn't hear. But with a lot of the attention on me, I heard Tanaka and Nishinoya simultaneously yell, "A-A GENIUS!"

Whoever wasn't paying attention was now, and soon enough all the attention was focused on me.

Actually, how did Nishinoya and Tanaka not know?! They were both in a class with me for a year straight!

Actually, that wasn't important. The current situation was important.

Nishinoya and Tanaka immediately ran over to the benches we were sitting on. For the first time, ignoring Shimizu—and shouted, "TEACH US! PLEASE!"

There was no act I could use in this situation. I knew Yachi preferred the confident type. Tanaka preferred the mature type. A bunch of others were watching, but there was no way I could react to this development calmly.

I covered up my face with my notebook and looked over to the side. "Um… uh." I muttered.

Nishinoya caught onto my awkwardness first and piped down. His sudden change in volume caused Tanaka to tune down and stare at him.

"Um… yeah…?" I replied. It was just quiet enough to hear me.

This caused their eyes to glitter as they grinned and high fived each other.

"Aozora-senpai…! Teach me! Teach me too…! I want you as my teacher!" Hinata asked, holding out shaky arms toward me as though he was a poor man and I was the messiah.

I looked over at Yachi and Shimizu and smiled. I tried to pretend it was fine, but had a feeling my bluff could've been easily called out.

"I-I'm sorry…!" Yachi squeaked, once she noticed my discomfort. I waved away her concern.

"Hinata, I'm pretty sure Aozora already has her hands full with those two." Sawamura said, putting a hand on my shoulder. Hinata whined a bit, but gave up.

"So, when're we meeting up?" Tanaka asked. "And where—my place again?"

Nishinoya nodded. "Tomorrow! Uh… if it's fine with Tori-san…" He glanced at me, before Tanaka elbow-nudged him.

"What a gentleman, isn't he, Aozora-san?" Tanaka asked. There was a tone in his voice that implied something else.

"Erm… yes…?" To the first question. Tanaka turned back to Nishinoya and waggled his eyebrows.

Oh.

OH.

So that was how it was.

Tomorrow would be great, then.


The boys were unexpectedly first in getting to the rendezvous point after school. Well, they were better than me when it came to leaving class first.

We headed over to Tanaka's immediately after school.

I took a seat on the cotton pillow and rested my bag on the table. The lighting casted a warm glow in Tanaka's room, and the white ceiling fan rotated at its slowest speed. I took out the textbook and lay it on the table with a satisfying thump. Nishinoya and Tanaka did the same thing.

"Alright, let's get down to business!" Tanaka shouted with a triumphant look upon his face. He looked like he had already scored a 100 on the test.

Nishinoya mirrored him. "We've totally got this test down!"

Oh. I recognized this. It was the first of the five stages of grief: denial.

I knew an efficient way to teach them, but it'd definitely be considered rude and impolite. Still, I couldn't get a word between their banter, much less teach them.

"I'll offer you two a choice." I said, but my voice was drowned out by them. "I can help you, or we can have a good time."

The two had amazingly heard me underneath their shouts, and Tanaka spoke first. "Well, obviously we'd want the help, right?"

I gave a dissonant smile. "Well, I'd like you to consider it carefully. Having fun seems to be a priority to you, and it's not a bad thing. But if you want me to help you… and I mean, really help you, to the best of my ability, you might have a bad time."

Nishinoya and Tanaka gulped. They looked at each other wearily.

"But whether you go to Tokyo or not… it's not a big deal to me." I claimed. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth, either.

This managed to send the message home. Their expressions became more serious, and they both nodded. "What page number?" Tanaka asked, pulling out his math textbook.

… They went with the first option.

I ignored my thoughts that nagged me about being 'polite' and 'considering their feelings'. My fake smile disappeared. My grey eyes, which usually looked like clouds that barely managed to hide the sun, had turned into a storm.

"Page number… fourty-seven. I'll also be teaching these to you myself. I was in a class with you, so I know your general abilities." I stated.


Looking back, I don't remember much of what I did.

I remember that Tanaka was more determined when he was told what was wrong. Nishinoya was too, but he responded better to encouragement.

The encouragement was given with a smile that didn't reach my eyes. Fake, but it appeared realistic.

Tanaka had a habit of throwing his arms up in the air and lying down when he didn't understand something. Nishinoya used comedy, as shown when he answered 'rolling thunder' for a math question. Tanaka praised him for it; I told him to get back to work.

Though it was a bit funny…

We finished three subjects before we were interrupted by a tall woman with blond hair.

"Man, it's pouring buckets out there." She said, draping a towel over her hair and shoulders.

"Nee-san!" Nishinoya exclaimed. The woman gave a familiar grin—wait, Nee-san?! It was Tanaka's house, but that woman was his sister?!

"Oh, Ryuu. You brought Yuu! Who's this one?" She asked, looking at me.

"This is Aozora-san! She's helping us study." Tanaka claimed. He seemed to enjoy her company, but also seemed as though he were shooing her off. Like a friendly sibling rivalry. The question was, who was the brother? Tanaka or Nishinoya?

"Girlfriend?" The woman asked simply. Tanaka shook his head vigorously.

"No way!"

She put her hands up. "Just a question."

She leaned over Tanaka and looked at his homework sheet. She raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. "Wow. Can't believe my little brother's actually doing his work."

Okay. So she was Tanaka's older sister. Then, with Nishinoya…

"Whoops, you look confused. Nice to meet'cha. I'm Tanaka Saeko. If you want, you can call me 'Nee-san'."

Oh. So that's why Nishinoya called her his sister, but she was definitely Tanaka Saeko.

I was only staring at her, but I remembered I had to be polite when meeting new people.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Aozora Kotori. Erm, 'Nee-san' sounds a bit too informal, and I call Tanaka-kun with his surname." I stated in a passive-aggressive manner, hoping she would do something about it.

She did. "Alright! Nah, Saeko's fine, no worries."

Saeko-san, then.

She leaned over me and kept scanning me. I was able to watch her through my peripheral.

I had a feeling she was judging me. Blonde hair. Too much glitter, too much makeup. Too much I didn't have.

"Well, I'm going to go watch T.V.," Saeko claimed, giving a wink before she left. "Call me if you need anything."

Tanaka rolled his eyes. "Ignore her." He insisted, "What's the answer to question 4?"

I leaned over the table and looked at his question. I gave hints and then explained it in a way I'd understand from his perspective. He seemed satisfied.

I waited a little longer. I already finished my homework and copied my study notes, so I was strictly helping them study by then. I looked outside, and the sky looked darker than it should have been.

I glanced at the red numbers displayed on Tanaka's bedside clock; it was only 5:30pm, but it appeared as though it were 7:00pm outside. The streetlights reflected from the asphalt and puddles on the ground.

"Hey, Tori-san." Nishinoya said, breaking the silence. He lifted his pencil and gaze from his paper. He was nearly done, but he interrupted my compliment with, "Why didn't you tell me you were this smart?"

Tanaka was looking at me curiously, too. I stared at him for a moment. His brown eyes were innocent. He had asked a simple question. Yet…

"It never came up." I made up an excuse.

Nishinoya raised a miffed eyebrow. "Don't you think that's a little important? I complained about my grades a bunch during last year's exams."

Some people were praised for being academically smart.

But some weren't.

I never really made a big deal about it, though. I wasn't complacent. There were people who used to tell their friends about their good grades. They said they were proud of themselves. They said they had worked hard.

Despite that, everyone still despised them.

Cocky. Smartass. Show-off. 'It's not our fault he has a fucking Albert-Einstein-IQ.'

I wasn't the victim of it because I had kept quiet.

Keeping quiet was the best. If I had told Nishinoya, he would've…

No.

He wouldn't have done the same thing. He would have genuinely thought it was cool, just like he did when it was revealed to him.

"I…" I couldn't tell him that, though. Not yet. Not just yet. "I thought you two knew."

"How were we supposed to know?" Tanaka chimed in, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Uh. We were in a class together. And you saw the school rankings, right?" I asked.

Nishinoya and Tanaka sent a look at each other for a second. "Well, you're kind of right." Nishinoya claimed, "We never really bothered to check who got first or whatever."

Tanaka scoffed. "Are you kidding? I don't check that thing at all."

"What about the rumors? You must have heard those, right?" I asked.

"I think I did? But I didn't really believe it. I mean, all the smarter kids just filter into smart high schools like Shiratorizawa." Tanaka claimed.

"I don't care about rumors." Nishinoya shrugged. "I'm not sayin' Ryuu does! I'm just saying that I don't bother listening. But actually, why did you come to Karasuno? You live near better schools, right?"

I answered with one sentence: "I didn't want to go to Shiratorizawa."

"Why not?" Tanaka asked.

I smiled a bit while reminiscing. "An upperclassman from my middle school went there. But before that, he kept telling me the pros of going to Shiratorizawa. He didn't really care if I went or not, but he kept advising me to. Saying how I'd finally get a challenge and stuff like that." I explained. "I think that's why I didn't want to go, though."

"This upperclassman must've been a real asshole if he made you not wanna go. You still should've, though. I mean, you need to have good grades just to get in." Nishinoya claimed.

I almost slammed my head on the table before remembering I had to be mature for Tanaka. He didn't listen to anything I had said, had he.

I waved off the misunderstanding with a laugh. "No, no. He was a good senpai. I… didn't want a challenge."

I knew admitting it would have consequences to my reputation, but I couldn't think of a suitable lie.

"Why not?!" Nishinoya shouted loudly enough to make me glance at the door to make sure Saeko didn't come at his yells.

"Nishinoya-kun. It might come as a surprise, but…" I looked directly at Nishinoya. His eyes widened once he saw the spark in my eyes. It was confident. Confrontational. Challenging. Sharp. Threatening.

Not like me.

"…I like being the best at what I do."

I had hid my grades, but pointed out my pride.

Contradictory. A dumb move. I wasn't lying.

Didn't make it any less true.

It uncharacteristically took me a few minutes to notice their discomfort. I smiled nervously and laughed to try and break the atmosphere. "Just kidding!"

Silence echoed.

The next time they talked to me, they asked for help on a history question. Pretended I hadn't done anything.

It looked like I screwed up.


When it was time to go, Nishinoya frowned.

"Are you seriously walking? It's pitch black outside." Nishinoya asked.

Since it was cloudy, the sky looked darker than it normally would have been at the time.

"I… could walk you home? Or at least to the train station." Nishinoya suggested. Tanaka shoved Nishinoya with his leg under the table while smiling.

"It's raining." I replied. I didn't really want to take him away from Tanaka, but Tanaka seemed willing to have Nishinoya go.

"Exactly." Tanaka claimed. "It's only natural that a guy would do this!"

I noticed that their bravado of 'manliness' just covered what they thought was 'cool' and wanted to do.

"It's still raining. No matter how manly you are, there's no point in both of us getting wet." I insisted.

"Noya-san can borrow my umbrella," Tanaka claimed.

I was about to protest by asking why I couldn't borrow his umbrella, but felt it would be rude… somehow.

Nishinoya packed up his things and stood up. We started heading towards the door. "I'll be heading back here right after!"

"Oh? Yuu, you're leaving so soon?" Saeko asked, seated in the living room.

Her arm was laid out on the same armrest her back leaned on. Her body draped across the couch like Cleopatra, and her crossed legs rested on the opposing armrest. She looked back at us.

"Naw, I'm coming back! Just walking Tori-san to the train station!" Nishinoya replied.

Saeko raised an eyebrow, and then chuckled. "Alrighty then."

"Thank you very much for having me." I bowed my head slightly, and then Nishinoya and I walked out the door.


The walk home was quiet for the first few minutes.

Other than the sound of cars running over puddles occasionally and the chitchat of passerbys once in a while, it was relatively silent.

"You're awfully meek today. Is something up?" I hoped I hadn't scared him with my moment of seriousness. I was only 150cm with mistreated black hair. How scary could I get.

"Erm, yeah. Just thinking about something stupid that Ryuu said." Nishinoya sighed.

"What?"

"Well, sometimes he jokes around and says I'm unfaithful to Kiyoko-senpai and Aya-senpai." He clearly already was if he was saying the names of two girls. "But the problem is that he thinks it's over one of my friends."

"Unfaithful?"

"Yeah. He thinks I like h… them. Which I don't! My undying love goes out to Kiyoko-senpai!" He said. I noticed he clarified it as 'them'. Why wasn't he keeping gender relevant? Maybe it's a secret because it was a guy?

There was a long pause, and then he continued, "Anyway, that'd be weird, right? And awkward! I mean… this person is just a really good friend!" He shouted, balling his free hand up into a fist. "I like Ryuu, right? But I'd never do anything like date him or kiss him!" He shuddered at the thought.

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you feel like dating this person people accuse you of liking?"

"No! Well… no!" He hesitated, which lead me to speculate that he did like this person he was talking about.

Who was he talking about? He wasn't good enough friends with the new manager, Yachi… it wasn't Tanaka or Shimizu since he'd said their names already…

Was it Azumane?

"There's no way! They're really awkward, and they apologize a bunch, and they have, like, zero confidence when they're pretty good! Not to mention they care too much about what other people think, and they don't bother to tell me anything…" Nishinoya trailed off.

… While I thought that sounded like a pretty accurate description of me, I wasn't 'attractive'. Or, at least not as attractive as many, many other girls in the school. I didn't know his taste in guys, but I definitely didn't match his taste in girls. If I thought about it, I knew I'd waste hours thinking about it.

I didn't even match his ideal personality for a girl. I was cynical, misleading, manipulative, secretive, and a whole myriad of things that weren't perfect.

There was one other person who fit Nishinoya's description, though. Azumane.

Well. Good for him, then?

Oh well.

It was best if I just stopped thinking about it altogether.

I turned towards him, combed my bangs upwards with my fingers and laughed at his predicament. They cleared my face for a second before falling again. Spitting rain fell onto my face. "Good luck with them, then."

I looked at Nishinoya. His face brightened through the headlights of a passing vehicle. His proud, humorous smile had disappeared. I felt like his brown eyes were only looking at me. I saw his hand tighten around the umbrella before the passing car left and his face turned dim again. I couldn't properly see his expression anymore.

There was a silence, but while we were crossing the street, I thought I heard him mutter.

"But sometimes I think he might be right."


On the day the tests came back, I stared at the results board*.

2. Aozora Kotori (498/500)

I wasn't first. I hadn't expected the person in first place to score a perfect, but that wasn't an excuse.

I wondered if it was because I was teaching Nishinoya.

Then I remembered that teaching was an effective studying strategy, and couldn't use that as an excuse.

Hm.

So I…

Well, it wasn't like it was a bad score. It was really good, actually… so I shouldn't have worried.

Yeah. No big deal.

It was just so, so…

Disappointing.

"Tori-san!"

"Aozora!"

When I turned, I saw Nishinoya and Tanaka sprinting in my direction. When they were within range, Nishinoya bent his knees down slightly for a second—a signal I had noticed from every time he attempted to hug Shimizu. I flinched for a second, but Nishinoya abruptly stopped and clasped his hands together.

"Tori-san! We passed!" Nishinoya exclaimed. Tanaka cheered, too. I searched for their names, and sure enough, they'd both passed. With decent marks, too.

"We gotta go thank Ennoshita, too!" Tanaka shouted.

Nishinoya nodded. "Yeah, for sure!" He looked back at me and seemed to calm down a bit. "But first…"

His eyes scanned the top of the board. The one with my name on it. "Second?! Tori-san, that's amazing!"

Tanaka looked up and back at me with a "Whoaaaaaah" to accompany Nishinoya.

I opened my mouth to object; to complacently say, "But I'm not first."

But I closed it.

That would've been stupid. Even though I understood that our goals were different, it didn't mean that he would. Plus, I'd encouraged him the other day about a similar situation. Even if I didn't believe me, he did. I had to keep up the lie. Besides, I already knew what the right thing to say was.

"Thank you." I sent a superficial smile at them.

Tanaka smiled. Nishinoya stared at me. He wasn't smiling, wasn't frowning. He imitated the look he had when he watched a volleyball come at him, and had to decide what to do to receive it.

He was thinking.

Analyzing me.

My hands tightened around my schoolbag. The velvet strap barely shielded my palm from nail marks.

Then Tanaka bumped into Nishinoya, and Nishinoya's smile returned.

"Noooya-san, are you going to stare at Aozora forever?" Ryuu asked with a devious smirk adorning his face. My face slightly flushed.

"Huh? No, I spaced out—wait, RYUU!" Nishinoya growled.

Nishinoya grabbed at Tanaka. Before I could be involved, I walked away. I was sure Nishinoya wouldn't get into any trouble—he wouldn't risk getting suspended from school again, especially after working his ass off to get his grades up.

'I spaced out'. Nishinoya had said. In other words, I'd overestimated him when I thought he was judging me.

A small voice in the back of my head whispered, Does he know anything about you?

And I thought back to myself, If not, that's a good thing.


OMAKE!

[Tanaka Ryuunosuke: aozora]

[Aozora Kotori: Why are you texting me when you're literally two feet away?]

[Tanaka Ryuunosuke: my phones here.]

[Aozora Kotori: Have you been looking up the math questions?]

[Tanaka Ryuunosuke: ...]


tumblr name: smallshadowybirds. ask me anything~. i am ready.

absence. school. you guys know the drill. intense hs stuff. ap program is struggle. that is my only excuse.

school's back so D: but so is haikyuu season 2 so ::::DDDD

but guys i am back with more fluff and more internal conflict and stuff so be HAPPY! this one isn't as ludicrously long but i put some good stuff in there, and i cannot wait to hear speculation as the plot thickens.

i love this anime agshasdjlkfvnhsjlkdavncxvcxvdf

*in japan, they post a ranking amongst kids in your school, in your year. i don't disagree with it, but i can't agree with it.

REVIEWS

Diclonious57: Aozora - "can we rlly tho"

Yuuki no Yuki: ehehe. i literally can't wait to see your reaction to this chapter. tsukishima doesn't really show up in this one but what can i do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ you'll like the next one fo sho.
nOT CAUGHT UP ANYMORE. IT'S AN ENDLESS CYCLE
SEASON TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
won't mention who'll be in the next chapter but agfjdghljfakenmafdankl

kalmaegi: you will see a lot more babbling and flustered. and everyone is aware of how much of a dork she is (even said person).

Salome Maranya: GET READY FOR TRAINING CAMP BECAUSE IT IS HERE AND BETTER THAN EVER AND OMG MY TYPING HANDS ARE READY FOR THIS ONE I AM SO PUMPED FOR THIS.
i won't spoil anything but you might've noticed nishinoya can STILL push her out of the dumps without knowing she's in the dumps
oh my god i didn't think of aozora falling but that's actually not unlikely
TRYING TO STAY INSPIRED BUT HIGH SCHOOL IS NOT LIKE AN ANIME.

Bergliot: oh my god aozora's so smart but so, so dumb. she even considers it and doesn't understand.
and yES THERE IS BACKSTORY. STAY TUNED.
it couldn't have been anyone BUT ushiwaka.
well, it could've, but whatever.
i'm so glad you liked appolonia! i was so worried tbh like 'would she do this' or 'would she rather do _ or _?' i love their interactions tho i wanna write more!
i added how she'd message tanaka j4u~ so sorry i've been mia for the past month.

sleepyhead: okay aozora can be really resourceful but do not learn everything from her because she is still learning and there are mistakes she is making so be v v careful.
i kinda write when i feel like it but it takes about a month per chapter. this one was special because it took two, but that's only because of high school.

Carrie: i'm so glad you like it! i'd wait 4-5 weeks and then check it once every week after that. i hope you keep liking it!

faded . ember: EVERYTHING YOU MENTIONED WILL BE IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS SO STAY TUNED BUDDY

sakurayukari: pshhht if puns were a test i'd... ACE it. geddit geddit ok sorry for ruining this story

FKING AMASING: your name has me laughing so hard. also, i can read that perfectly fine, so don't worry!

smell ya guys.

#SSB