égoïste

raison #9

When practice finished, Akaashi walked home, this time taking the detour to go get onigiri. He also wanted to go to the sports centre, where Shiori said she was going to be. She told him she had a game that day after helping out with them, and that was why she had to leave early.

He purchased the onigiri and went to the sports centre, heading upstairs to the bleachers. He watched the several teams playing from above, eyes scanning the ground until he found Shiori.

She was playing wing spiker, her original role in the game, and was getting ready to spike. The ball had just been set for her.

Second tempo, Akaashi thought. He watched carefully.

She did a run up and jumped, hitting the ball to the other side. The other side picked it up and returned it to their setter so that they could perform a quick.

Her spikes are certainly different from her serves. They don't carry the same control or power, Akaashi thought, has she worked with that setter before? They're in sync, he realised.

Shiori jumped, soft blocking the spike as the ball hit her hand. "One touch!" She shouted quickly.

She has good reflexes, the setter praised. Quick, too.

Her side of the court dug it up, with them taking the point with the other wing spiker smashing it down. Their team high fived each other, complementing the male wing spiker for the point.

From where Akaashi stood, he saw Shiori taking frequent breaks in between points, twice more than the rest of the team.

She must be worn out from earlier...

When the game finished, the team Shiori was playing for had won, beating them 2 sets 25-16 and 25-22. The teams bid each other good game and shook hands, showing off good sportsmanship as they complemented each other's plays. Once they were done with that, they excused themselves to clear way for the other teams that were yet to play.

"Shiori-san." Akaashi called. She was heading out, but looked up when she heard her name.

Shiori looked up, seeing Akaashi there. She was pleasantly surprised. "Ah, Keiji. Good evening. What are you doing here?"

"I was hungry so I went to buy some food." The setter responded. He went down to the lobby, meeting her there. "That was a good game. Are you tired?"

"Thanks." She laughed as she rubbed the nape of her neck, "Yeah, I am. My stamina sucks."

The second year pulled out the other onigiri he had gotten earlier when he got two. He handed it to his senior, "Here."

The female stared at him owlishly, then the onigiri, then back at him. She pointed to herself, "Is that for me?"

When he nodded, a grin broke out on the girl's face as she took it and gave the boy a hug, thanking him. "Thanks, Keiji! You're so considerate!"

The boy was mildly surprised by the hug but composed himself, giving her a gentle hug back, a small smile on his lips that was gone the minute it came.

She pulled back and started to unwrap the onigiri, "How much was this? I'll pay you back." She took a bite.

"It's fine. You've already been generous enough to provide dinner and snacks when we study at your house." Akaashi reasoned. To him, it was completely fine. She had done so much already.

"Hm?" She raised a brow at him, "But still…"

"It's fine." He ended it right then and there.

"Hm…okay, then." Shiori went to the bulletin board, checking out which team she would be playing for the next round of matches at the sports centre. She saw her team's name, dubbed 'Pillows', having advanced to the next round, the 3rd round.

"Are you guys having a tournament?" Akaashi questioned, looking at the piece of paper.

Shiori nodded, finishing off the onigiri before talking, "Yup. We're called 'Pillows'. The name's a little weird but we got it from a draw." She chuckled, "Just then was the 2nd round. Before, you saw the 1st round."

"There should be around 5 rounds. We're in the top 8 right now. 3 more matches and if we win them all, we get all these prizes." Shiori clapped her hands together with a gleeful look on her face, "I think they had things like coupons and vouchers, rice, free membership for the sports centre for 3 months, stuff like that. Some pretty neat stuff."

"So it's similar to tournaments from school, but without nationals." The setter concluded.

"Yup. It's a little different though, as you've probably seen. Each team has 3 female and 3 male players, and the age's range, so there's both an advantage and disadvantage. It's more versatile this way, yet it's a lot harder." She grinned at the male.

"Do you enjoy playing with them?" Akaashi recalled her playing with the same team last time.

"Yup! It might not show on my face because I'm concentrating on the match, but I do have fun." She started to walk towards the exit, the setter following after her. "You should try it one day, too."

The setter was silent for a brief moment, watching Shiori as she babbled on about volleyball and her current team. Her eyes gleamed as she talked, reflecting the light from the lampposts with an almost joyful feature, as they walked home.

She really loves volleyball…he wanted to chuckle at the obvious mental statement.

I think her 'team' situation is a little different from ours. She says she's not on a team, but she's in 'Pillows', an out of school team with a range of different people. Does she mean to say that she doesn't have a team that is like ours?

"Oh, about your offer, Keiji…" Shiori glanced back at him, averting his attention from his thoughts to her, "I'm not sure why you'd suggest it when you're really busy, and I'm thankful that you're willing to do that for me." She had more to say, but she paused there, trying to think of a way to say it. "Uhm…what I'm trying to say is, is that I'm not sure if it'll be a good idea if you're so busy. It's tempting, but I don't want to burden you further."

"…I don't mind, Shiori-san. I offered because I have time." The setter coolly brushed off her reluctance. If he were completely honest with himself, he'd say that he'd definitely want to help. He already made up his mind a while ago, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Shiori slowed down her steps and stared at him with slightly widened brown eyes. Her eye twitched and then she let out a heavy sigh, staring at the ground. "You're not going to take no as an answer, are you?"

"No, I'm not." He couldn't hide the small smile on his face when she reluctantly accepted his offer, grumbling something about him being too much.

"I have no idea how this will work, but let's give it a try, then." She patted his back, "Well, I might even tell Kou that I'll be stealing you for a little bit." She giggled at his reaction. "He'll be a little jealous." She whistled a light tune after teasing him.

"We should be able to work this out at the sports centre. It'll probably have to be before or after dinner." Shiori tapped her chin, "I do have games around this time, so I'm not sure when I'll be entirely free. Plus, I'm helping out the archery club."

"That's fine. I'll help."

"You're awfully helpful, Keiji. Aren't you worried your schedule is going to be so full you can't keep up?"

"I've never had that problem."

The way he spoke it so nonchalantly made Shiori chuckle, "Well, if I find out that you're pushing yourself too much for my sake, I'll stop this, even if it's temporary, okay?"

He made a hum of agreeance.

"Alright, I'll be going to my house from here. I'll see you tomorrow, then, after your practice." She stopped her step and pivoted to face the setter, who in turn stopped and faced her.

"I can walk you home, Shiori-san. It's dangerous to walk alone at night." The boy checked the time on his phone. It was nearing 7.30pm.

"Nah, it should be fine." The older teen waved her hand in dismissal, "Thanks for the offer, but it should be fine. You need to go home and have dinner—"

"I don't think it's fine if you're currently living by yourself. Shiori-san, you said that your dad wasn't coming back until the end of the weekend." Akaashi stated matter-of-factly. "I'll walk you home." The way he said it gave no room for argument.

"Geh." Shiori made a face and let out a heavy sigh, rubbing her neck, "Damn, I shouldn't have told you that," She muttered under her breath.

She looked up to the taller male when he stepped beside her, prompting her to start walking as well.

"Can I ask you a question?" Shiori questioned, her eyes still straight ahead.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Are you only helping me because you like my volleyball play?"

Akaashi nearly stopped walking due to his surprise, but he panned on. "No."

She glanced at him from the side of her eye, staying silent, almost asking him to elaborate.

He sighed, "You're also a friend, so I want to help you."

"You're rather direct, aren't you?"

"Is that really coming from you?"

Shiori chuckled and shrugged. The answers that Akaashi gave were broad. They weren't bad at all, and she would have accepted whatever answer he'd given, but this one, was broad enough to include anything. It was almost cryptic. But, she decided not to pursue it.

Akaashi does things for a reason. If he didn't, that's not Akaashi Keiji, she stopped at the front of her house after walking for a little while longer while exchanging conversation with the younger one.

"Thanks for walking me home." She nodded at him.

If it was Bokuto who walked her home she would throw him a hug, but for Akaashi, she wasn't so sure. He didn't seem like the type to want any form of hug or anything like that from anybody.

Akaashi didn't say anything but stood there stiffly, like he wanted something. He averted his eyes from the girl almost timidly.

Shiori had just opened the gates to her house but stopped when she didn't hear anything from the second year. She looked over her shoulder, "Is something wrong?"

He mumbled some words, but she couldn't catch them. She stepped forward towards him, leaning forward slightly, "Sorry, what was that?"

He didn't say anything else, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, bringing her close. The third year's eyes widened and her lips parted in shock.

Akaashi was hugging her, out of his own accord.

This shock was enough to leave her frozen, her mind going 100km/hr, throwing reasons from one side of the brain to the other as to why he would initiate a hug.

When he let go, he looked at her, wondering why she was as frozen as a statue. He waved a hand in front of her face after shaking her shoulders gently (which didn't work), which made her snap out of her statue like state.

She blinked a few times, then exclaimed incredulously, "Keiji-kun! You initiated a hug! Initiated a hug!" She emphasised.

"It's not that much of a big deal, Shiori-san…"

She grinned at him, "I thought you didn't like hugs, so I refrained from hugging you at all. So I'm quite shocked!" She raised her index finger, "I'm just really happy." She smiled warmly.

Akaashi wanted to sweat drop at the girl. She was so happy over a hug. It was just a hug.

"Ooh, should I feed you food too, like I do Kou, Aki and Yukie?" She let out a cheeky snicker, rocking on her heels.

"…if you want to." Was his reply.

Like before, Shiori stood there, frozen, as her jaw dropped. She wasn't used to this from the savage setter that would always have some form of low-key shading or blunt remark.

"Ah," Shiori went back to her normal state, a quick thought racing through her mind. "Did you by chance, wonder why I wasn't giving you hugs or feeding you food, while I was doing it to Bo and the others?"

Akaashi didn't give an answer, only going in to hug her gently.

"This is so weird, normally I hug people first." She hugged him back, not caring whether or not he gave her an answer, and then pulled away, grinning as she waved and went through the gates. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. Get home safe, Keiji. Goodnight!"

"I will. Goodnight." He gave her a light wave, shoving his hands into his pockets as he left after her front door closed.

He was glad that the cold air from the night had come to take away the heat that was starting to form on his cheeks. His expression was kept neutral.

In relation to her previous question, Akaashi didn't even need to think about it. She was right in that aspect, but he didn't want to admit it so freely; it was embarrassing. Even making the first move to become closer to her was something that was hard for him.

The setter let out a light sigh to himself as he walked home.

"Eh? Really? That's surprisingly early," Shiori had her phone on loudspeaker as she made her dinner. She was speaking in English.

"Yeah. Did you want anything?" The male voice on the other side asked.

"Uh…can you get me macadamia chocolates? They're expensive over here."

"Sure thing. Is that all?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, then. Take care. I'll be back tomorrow. I gotta sleep soon because it's getting really late over here."

"Oh yeah, Arata, my friends are coming over for a sleepover so you'll need to take dad's room tomorrow."

"Oh, okay. Alright then, bye."

"See you soon."

Shiori hung up and put her food on a plate before eating, heading to the dining table. She checked her phone as she ate, checking any notifications.

MiracleBoy: I'm not really a fan of golf but this one's okay! It's called Robot X Laserbeam. I think you might like it.

Robot X Laserbeam? She grinned and typed a response.

FlyHigh: Yeah, I've been reading that too! I'm not a golfer so it's interesting to read about it.

She got an instant reply.

MiracleBoy: Oh? What sports do you play, then?! Let me take a guess—volleyball?

FlyHigh: Hahaha yeah! How did you know?

MiracleBoy: It was just a guess, lol.

FlyHigh: You play volleyball too?

MiracleBoy: Yeah, I do! I'm a middle blocker. You?

FlyHigh: Wing spiker.

MiracleBoy: Oohh! We should play volleyball one day together!

FlyHigh: I have no idea who you are but that sounds great!

MiracleBoy: What?! Ehhhhh I guess so…okay, I'm in Miyagi, what about you?

FlyHigh: Tokyo.

Shiori finished her dinner and went to wash the dishes. She left her phone at the table.

So this MiracleBoy guy is in Miyagi? He plays volleyball, too, huh…she finished the dishes and closed the lights, going back to the dining table.

Her phone lighted up with a notification from him.

MiracleBoy: Ehhh?! So far away!

FlyHigh: A little. I do have relatives in Miyagi, so maybe when I visit them.

MiracleBoy: Tell me when you do!

FlyHigh: Haha, alright. Which school?

MiracleBoy: Hmmm Shiratorizawa.

Shiori paused, brows raising.

Shiratorizawa? So he's a player on the boys' volleyball team there? No, he might not even be on the team, but warming the bench or something. The club there is picky about its members.

She hummed, typing a reply.

FlyHigh: Oh? You mean the powerhouse school? That's pretty cool, to play with them.

MiracleBoy: Hehehe right?

She left the message as 'seen', since she didn't know how to reply to that.

Well…it wouldn't hurt to check out Shiratorizawa when I go to Miyagi. I could ask mum to let me in as a visitor or something. Oh, that reminds me, the cute little coconut goes there now, too.

She went to her other notifications.

Kou: Shiori! I forgot to return your notebook! I'll give it to you tomorrow! The English one! Sorry!

Shiori: It's fine. Just make sure to remember it tomorrow!

She typed a message to Akaashi, because there was a pretty high chance that Bokuto would forget.

Shiori: Yo, Keiji! Bokuto's got my English notebook, he's bringing it in tomorrow but he might forget so can you please remind him?

Akaashi replied after a minute.

Akaashi: Alright.

Shiori: Thanks!

The girl went onto her apps to get her daily log in rewards for games. She yawned, heading to her room. She was going to study for a bit after showering, then she would sleep.

"Stupid make up tests…"

The first thing that Shiori did when she woke up was go for a walk. She liked to take walks in the mornings, especially in mild cool weather. It was good to clear the mind, and it was the best thing to do on a Saturday morning, apart from sleeping in. It was also a good thing that it was still autumn, or else it would be hotter.

She hummed a light tune when she saw the convenience store, heading inside to get some things that she might need for the sleepover with her friends.

"Oh yeah, Arata's coming back, too…" She mumbled to herself. She headed to the snacks aisle, where she spotted some of his favourite Japanese snacks; matcha kit kat and magari senbei (they're rice crackers). She added it to the basket and went to go get some other things.

When she was done, she headed back home and started to clean. She didn't mind cleaning too much, but considering she was the only one in the house and guests were coming over for the night, it would be customary to clean before their overnight visit.

Damn house and how big it is…

Once she was done, she prepared breakfast for herself. It was still only 9, with her having woken up at 7.

They should be playing volleyball now…she hummed, and Arata should be on his flight now too. Mum said he'd be leaving at 10am over in Australian time. So that makes him in flight 2 hours or so. So about 8 more hours until he comes…not including travel times. Let's make it 10 hours until he comes. So…he'll be here around, 5 to 6pm. Okay.

I should actually reply to Mum soon…

Shiori had a full breakfast, with rice and side dishes. If she had the time and if she didn't feel lazy, she'd make something that covered all spectrums of a good meal, but keep it light and not too heavy, unless it was lunch.

She flipped through her diary when she finished, looking at all the events and reminding herself that things were due on some and so on.

Okay, so for after school stuff…we've got the Nekoma practice match in a few days; then the archery club wants me there for 2 days next week; there are 2 matches for the volleyball tournament to figure out who's going against who in the grand finals; then I need to help out the school's volleyball team if I'm free.

Shiori stared at her handwriting scribbled everywhere, then flipped to the next week, and the week after that.

She remembered that Bokuto had written when the Inter High volleyball competition was, and in big bold letters too. It was really soon, around a month or so left. The archery one that she was going to help out in was a week before theirs.

They're probably going to nationals this year, too…She thought. Hopefully Kou can beat that school that kept stuffing his spikes.

She paused for a moment, then went to her room to bring out her laptop, opening it up and searching for Fukurodani's past matches.

Bokuto said that he was really good at crosses, and since he kept getting blocked and stuffed by a certain school, he'd trained really hard on straights. I'll go take a look at them.

And so, Shiori went to see the previous years of official matches that were recorded, all of which Bokuto was in. It was fairly easy to spot that dual hair coloured wing spiker, so she watched carefully, examining what she could for analysation.

Oh wow, he really is really good at crosses. Why didn't I see these before? She sighed to herself and closed her laptop, pushing it to the side. I want to see his straights now. They weren't all that good before, but let's see how much he's grown.

She stood up and got her diary and laptop, putting them back in her room, I hope I can go to their Inter Highs…I should see if I can go cheer them on.

"Ah…wait a minute. Inter High's on the day that that game comes out…" She sighed to herself, "Maybe I should pre-order it…"

She leaned on her right leg as she stared at the shelf in her room – one full of a mixture of manga and some games on the lowest shelf.

Yeah, I'll just order it.

She ordered it off online the minute she decided to, throwing herself onto the bed afterwards as she got a volume of manga to read. It was her favourite one, called HQ!, that focused on a first year male student who loved volleyball.

Still waiting for season 4…