Chapter 11: Hitori and Kenma
WIN. It was written in the screen of her PSP. Tsubasaki Hitori has been playing games for hours. She literally cried tears of joy as the fact that she finally finished the game she has been playing for two weeks dawned to her. "I'm so happy," she muttered, "And tired." She was about to lay down to get some rest when the alarm from her phone rang. Oh shit, it's morning.
Yachi stands up to open the curtains and there they meet the sun rays that shone to their room. "It's morning, guys!" She announced with excitement. "Day two of the Tokyo excursion." Shimizu told Yachi to make breakfast with her for the boys and she happily accepted.
"Good morn—"
"Tsubasaki-san, what happened to you?" Yachi asks worryingly as she takes a good look on Hitori's eye bags. "How much sleep did you get?"
Hitori smiled sheepishly and scratch the back of her head, "Zero." Shimizu told her to get some sleep but Hitori wouldn't want to miss the matches. "I'll promise not to do anything tiresome. Just let me watch."
"Okay, wait with the boys, Yachi and I with the other managers will make breakfast." Hitori nodded and smiled while running to the cafeteria. "Morning, guys!" She greeted everyone in the cafeteria.
"Good morning Tsuba—wah!" Everyone stares at Hitori's eye bags. "How much sleep did you get!?" They, excluding Tsukishima asked in chorus.
Tsukishima rolls his eyes, "Stupid, you've been playing games, aren't you?" Hitori slowly nods, waiting for her best friend's long lecture. "You stupid piece of shit. I'll break every single gadget you brought. Stop playing games in the middle of the night, Tsu-baka-saki!"
Yamaguchi sweatdrops, "Here it comes..." He muttered and Hitori slams the table while standing up, "This is my life, Kei! I'm going to play games whatever, whenever, wherever I want! Shut your mouth, it stinks when you open them." And the fight just went on and on. Everyone stares at Sawamura who seems to be getting angrier and angrier by the minute.
"Y-you guys, stop it before—"
"Shut your mouths!" Sawamura yelled with a horrifying face that made the two shut up. And so, the lecture from Sawamura starts. Tsukishima has never been lectured by his captain before.
"There they go again, Karasuno." Kuroo commented as he and his team watches Sawamura lecturing Hitori and Tsukishima. "What was the issue? Tsuba-something played games late at night?" Yaku asks, his cheek resting on his hand.
Kuroo smirks, "Well, she's no different like Kenma." He stares at his pudding head best friend who was burying his face on the table. "Oi, Kenma." He called.
"I'm tired, don't talk to me." The pudding head answered still face on the table. Kuroo didn't listen and asked, "How long did you sleep?"
"Zero."
The whole Nekoma team laughed. While the whole team was sleeping soundly last night, there was one source of light and it was in Kenma's futon, he played games until morning.
•/•
Hitori kept falling asleep as she watch the practice matches. Her head moving up and down, her body swaying sideways at times. Shimizu and Yachi chose not to wake her up when she's in that state. "GET IT, NOYA-SAN! IT'S GOING OUT!" Tanaka and Hinata yelled as the ball quickly flies outside the court. Nishinoya ran after it in hopes of saving the ball. But the ball fell on Hitori's face before Nishinoya could save it, this woke the female up from her slumber.
"Ow."
"A-are you okay, Tsuba?" Nishinoya asks her worryingly. Hitori nods while holding her nose. "Yeah, thank you, Noya-senpai for asking." Nishinoya took the ball and resumed the game.
Meanwhile, it's Nekoma vs Fukurodani in the other court. Kenma intently watches the ball from the other court, although his eyes kept falling, he tries to stay awake. Bokuto spikes the ball real good, Yaku receives it perfectly. "Kenma! The ball!" He yells as the ball quickly falls above Kenma. The pudding head wakes up and positions to toss it, but he blinked and in a split second, the ball fell onto his face.
"K-Kenma..." Kuroo facepalms.
Kenma blinks and muttered, "It hurts." His nose was seen turning red. The whole people laughed, chuckled and giggled at Kenma's failure to toss the ball. He looked like a cat that was not able to catch the ball of yarn falling above him in time.
"Looks like Nekoma's setter didn't get any sleep either." Sugawara said as he witnesses Kenma's failure to toss.
Kuroo let's Kenma take a break as his nose started bleeding all of a sudden. He sat on one of the chairs at the corner of the gymnasium, Hitori was one of the people sitting there. And so they meet again. "Slept last night?" Asked Hitori, starting the conversation. Kenma shook his head, "Played games all night?" He asked her next and she nodded.
"I couldn't stop. I was... It was about to end so I had to finish it." Hitori explained with a slight dramatic voice. Kenma nodded, agreeing with what the female said. Hitori sighed and sat in a lazy, drooping way. "I usually hate noise, I hate interacting with people. But volleyball is an exception. But..." She stared at Kenma—who has a tissue stuck in one nostril, Hitori giggled, "I seem to like talking to you, Kozume-san."
Kenma blushed all of a sudden. Hitori's rosy cheeks, and bright smile compliments her blonde hair all fixed in a headband and emerald green eyes that seems to always sparkle when she smiles. She was beautiful. "I-I noticed... That."
"Why is your name Hitori? As in 'alone'?"
Hitori shrugged, "I heard my brother named me. He said it was 'cute' on me."
"Alone is cute? I don't think so." Kenma commented rolling the tissue into small balls. Hitori giggles, why is she giggling? She doesn't giggle. Not in front of a stranger that is, but maybe Kenma is an 'acquaintance' now.
"You play games, right? What's you're UN?" He asked all of a sudden. Maybe it's her, she must be Shadow.
"PrincessInTheShadows." HItori answered her other UN account. "I usually use that."
Kenma felt disappointed, he was sure Hitori was BlueShadowGirl, he thought, he believed... But she wasn't, now he's starting to get mixed feelings between Shadow and Hitori. "I'll add you when I'm free. I don't think I'm going to be able to go on for a while, with all the volleyball practice." He explained.
"No biggie. Good luck with that. I hope you get to fight Karasuno in a real match!"
"Kenmaaaaa." Kuroo suddenly pops up behind the two, surprising the pudding head and the female. "Practice time, let's go." Kenma nodded and stood up to follow Kuroo. He turned after a few steps to bid goodbye to Hitori.
Hitori waved with a smile. "So, you met Tsubasaki, huh. Do you think she's the Shadow you're talking about? She sounds like she is."
Kenma shook his head with disappointment. "Her username was different, I almost believed she was Shadow-san."
•/•
The whole week has passed, the training camp has ended. Hitori, although being the training camp's 'special spectator' (since she isn't really supposed to be invited) she met new friends including Kenma, Fukurodani's Bokuto, Nekoma's libero Morisuke Yaku, and Fukurodani's setter Akaashi Keiji. She still doesn't think she's friends with Kuroo Tetsurou because they didn't get along the whole week.
"I'll see you the next time I go to Tokyo, Kozume-kun!" Yes, finally –san is changed to –kun. Kenma nodded with a slight smile—Kuroo stared at Kenma wide eyed when he saw his best friend smile even if it's only slight it was a rare scene. KENMA DOES NOT SMILE AT A GIRL. PERIOD.He thought.
"Take care, Tsubasaki." Kenma answered. Hitori waved goodbye one last time and ran to where Tsukishima and the others were. When Karasuno was already boarded on the bus, Kuroo pulled Kenma by a neck lock and ruffled his hair.
"Don't tell me you're falling in love, Kenma." He teased. Kenma pulled off a poker face, ignoring how his hair was all messy and ruffled. "I'm not now let go of me."
"I swore to the Gods, I thought that was you I saw..." –applepi.
Hitori read the text over and over again and then realized something. She quickly kneeled up on the seat and opened the windows quickly. As the Nekoma team was still in sight, she stuck her head out.
... applepi?
"... Kozume?"
"Hi, Tsubasaki." –applepi
"Care to explain to me who PrincessInTheShadows and BlueShadowGirl is/are?" –applepi