Wallflowers
Copyright 2015, LilacLilyFlower
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, except for my OCs.
-O-O-O-O-
Chapter 7
-O-O-O-O-
Thursday, May 2
-O-O-O-O-
.
From: Bokuto Koutarou
To: Me
I scored 14 points in a set today!
.
From: Me
To: Bokuto Koutarou
That's amazing! My team is going to a training camp today. We'll see how many points our ace spikes.
.
From: Bokuto Koutarou
To: Me
Not as much as me~ And you guys go to a lot of training camps.
.
From: Me
To: Bokuto Koutarou
You wish. And this one is to prepare for our upcoming practice match.
.
-O-O-O-O-
"Ruka-chan," Sugawara called. "Did you bring your magical duffle bag?"
It was 7:55, and the team was at the school training camp facilities that the sports clubs used.
"Of course," Haruka said. "What do you need?"
"I forgot my toothbrush," he laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
She blinked, then rolled her eyes. Spare me from these boys.
"Luckily for you," she huffed, digging through the duffle bag, "I brought extras, because I figured something like this would happen. Here you go. It's one of those spare ones you always find at the dentist's."
"You're a lifesaver!" he cheered.
"What's so fun about spending all day around this filthy bunch?" Tsukishima was saying as he walked by.
"You bastard!" Nishinoya and Tanaka screeched. "As long as Kiyoko-san is within a 500 meter radius, there's no way the place will stink!"
"Shimizu's house is nearby, so once she's finished her work, she'll head home," Sugawara chimed, crushing their hopes with an innocent look on his face. "It's always been like that, you know?" He pranced away, leaving the two facedown on the ground.
"Tough," Haruka murmured. "I'll be staying, though."
Nishinoya looked up. "Ryuu," he rasped. "We have hope."
Tanaka looked up too, eyes streaming. "The gods have shined down on us."
"You guys are idiots," Ennoshita said as he passed, crushing their spirits again.
Haruka sweatdropped. The first years were a handful, but the second years were ridiculous.
These are my peers, she thought, gazing at Nishinoya and Tanaka's prone forms. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Literally.
She hurried to the dining hall, where Kiyoko and the adults were already beginning dinner. "I can cook... the stir-fry?" she suggested, wrapping an apron around her.
"There are around five stir-fry dishes," Kiyoko replied. "Are you sure?"
"Leave it to me," Haruka said, tying a bandana around her head to keep her hair out of her face. "I'm a stir-fry pro. Just ask Kei and Tadashi."
It was true. She excelled at stir-fries. She just sucked at everything else, and stir-fries weren't exactly the healthiest meal option. By the time dinner rolled around, there were five dishes of various stir-fries on the serving table. And about three more.
The boys stared at the array. "So much food," someone whispered in awe.
"Half of it's stir-fry," Tsukishima noted.
Haruka flushed. "I chose healthier options," she bit out. "So hurry up and eat to build up your muscles."
Hinata snickered. "Yeah, Tsukishima definitely needs more muscle. He's so skinny."
"You need muscle and height," Tsukishima shot back without blinking an eye. "So I wouldn't be talking." Leaving Hinata spluttering, he took a plate and began serving himself. He took a little from each stir-fry dish, which brought a smile to Haruka's face.
What a softie.
"Haruka cooked this stir-fry for me on my birthday last year," Yamaguchi was saying. "It's really good! Eat it!"
"Thanks for the food," the boys chimed as they sat down. She rolled her eyes fondly as they began to attack their food voraciously.
"I'm gonna eat more than you and grow taller and beat you!" Hinata declared, pointing at Tsukishima.
"You'll have to grow taller than His Majesty over there first," Tsukishima droned, gesturing at Kageyama. Kageyama bristled.
"That'll be easy," Hinata dismissed. Kageyama's eyes narrowed into slits.
"What did you say? Dumbass, I'll beat you!" And thus, an eating competition ensued.
While Hinata and Kageyama engorged themselves on food, Yamaguchi turned to Haruka. "I was going to say that you're the shortest one here, but I realized that Nishinoya-san is actually the shortest."
"What? Yamaguchi, you bastard!" Nishinoya said, pointing at him. "Just because you're tall doesn't mean you get to look down on people!"
"But he does," Haruka heard Sugawara whisper to Daichi. "Because he's taller." Daichi choked on his food, prompting Sugawara to hit his back hard.
Haruka smiled.
Oh, these boys.
-O-O-O-O-
Friday, May 3
-O-O-O-O-
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From: Bokuto Koutarou
To: Me
Soon it's your practice match with Kuroo! He's leaving on the Shinkansen soon! And waaaahhhh it's Golden Week!
.
From: Me
To: Bokuto Koutarou
Yup! What position is he? And yeah, thank god it's Golden Week.
.
From: Bokuto Koutarou
To: Me
He's a middle blocker. Which isn't as cool as a wing spiker, like me, because the ace position is the best. But the setter position is awesome too! You're awesome!
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From: Me
To: Bokuto Koutarou
Your flirting could use a little help.
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From: Bokuto Koutarou
To: Me
Oho? Want to teach me how?
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From: Me
To: Bokuto Koutarou
Nevermind, forget I said that.
.
-O-O-O-O-
Sunday, May 5
-O-O-O-O-
.
From: Me
To: Akaashi Keiji
I'm sure you know this already, but Koutarou-san confessed. I think. But could you please tell him to stop sending me owl facts in the middle of the night?
.
From: Akaashi Keiji
To: Me
He's still doing that? I'm sorry. I'll tell him right now.
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From: Me
To: Akaashi Keiji
Thank you.
.
From: Bokuto Koutarou
To: Me
Sorry for sending the owl facts so late :(
.
From: Me
To: Bokuto Koutarou
Don't worry about it, just don't do it again. And I learned a lot about owls in the past few weeks… this reminds me of the time one of my friends kept sending me dinosaur facts.
.
From: Bokuto Koutarou
To: Me
WHAT. Someone else did the same thing as me?
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From: Me
To: Bokuto Koutarou
No. He's just a dinosaur nerd.
.
-O-O-O-O-
Haruka huffed as she set down the bag of sports jerseys. The uniforms had finally been cleaned, both the black sets and the orange sets.
"Why do we have both sets? Only the libero needs a different colored uniform, doesn't he?" Takeda asked.
"The libero's number may change from year to year," Kiyoko explained. "So he needs a variety of numbers to change from. Also, there might be times when the other side has similar colors to ours, so we need to switch our base color to orange."
"Ah, that makes sense. But there are so many jerseys," Takeda observed. "It goes into the twenties in numbers."
"I heard," Haruka interjected, "that when Karasuno was a championship school, there were club members who didn't even get jerseys. Now, it's different, because we haven't been to nationals in a while. But that's going to change."
Kiyoko and Takeda smiled. "Huh," Ukai said. "These haven't changed at all. My last number was this one." He held up a black jersey with the number '2' emblazoned on it. "I was a setter."
Haruka's jaw dropped. "You were a setter?"
"Backup," he admitted. "My underclassman was better, so he played as the regular."
Ah. Just like Suga-san, she thought. The previous day, the match lineup had been established. And Kageyama had beaten Sugawara out for the spot.
"We'll be handing the jerseys out now!" Takeda called across the gymnasium. The boys came running over. Daichi took the customary number '1' as the captain, and Sugawara took the vice captain's '2'. Haruka reminisced about her own jersey number. She'd started with '14', but quickly had been switched to '2'. Suddenly, she wanted her own jersey again, but she bit her lip and stayed quiet.
"The 'Small Giant' went to nationals with his uniform number as '10'," Sugawara said. Hinata held his jersey up in awe, staring at the '10' on the front.
"Whoa," he breathed. Haruka cocked her head, confused. Was the Small Giant Hinata's hero? Well, it made sense.
Later that night, she ran across someone at the training facilities. Someone short. With a dyed lock of hair. "Yuu-kun?"
Nishinoya blinked. "Well, at least you didn't react like Shouyou did a couple days ago," he commented, ruffling his own hair. "Is it really that different?"
"You look less wild," she said immediately. Then, she realized what she said and covered her mouth with her hands.
Nishinoya grinned. "Really? Not shorter? That wasn't the first thing you noticed?"
"Well, now that you mention it, you do look shorter," she said. "But no, it wasn't the first thing I noticed."
He bounded away towards the giant room that the boys were sharing, whooping. Haruka smiled wearily.
-O-O-O-O-
Monday, May 6
-O-O-O-O-
Haruka yawned as she checked her phone for the time. 6:30 AM. It was time to get up and get ready for the day.
Sighing, she stretched her back and left for the bathroom, taking her shower caddy with her. Humming lightly, she entered the showers. Three songs later, she was out and drying her hair.
When she was done preparing for the day, headed down to the kitchens and met Kiyoko there. "Good morning," Kiyoko greeted. "Are the boys awake yet?"
"I'm not sure. I'll go check," Haruka offered. She jogged to where the boys had slept and knocked on the door. Ennoshita opened it slightly, blocking her view of the room.
"It's Ruka-san," he said over his shoulder to the room's inhabitants. "Get decent." He turned back to her, an unspoken question on his face.
"Ah, Kiyoko-san and I were wondering if all of you were awake yet," she explained.
"Yamaguchi is still sleeping," Ennoshita said. "He won't wake up no matter what we do."
"Kei hasn't woken him up?" Haruka asked, puzzled. "He should know how."
Well. That was nice of him to let him sleep in.
"He refused. Do you know how?"
"I do. Can I come in?"
Ennoshita checked the state of everyone's appearance. "Yup." He swung open the door.
Haruka quickly located Yamaguchi's sleeping form. She pattered over to him, ignoring everyone's curious looks. "Watch closely," she told them. "I can't do this for you guys every time Kei refuses to do so."
She leaned down and placed her mouth by Yamaguchi's ear. "Tadashi," she breathed out. "Wake up." Then, she slapped him in the stomach.
Haruka dove out of the way as Yamaguchi jolted upright. He looked about wildly, before his eyes settled on her. "Oh, did you wake me up?"
"Yes," she replied drily. "You need to get that problem fixed before you graduate."
He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.
-O-O-O-O-
At around 8:50, they arrived at the Karasuno Sougou Sports Park, where Nekoma was staying. Haruka received a message then, and she flipped her phone open to check as the team began to walk towards the center.
.
From: Bokuto Koutarou
To: Me
Good luck today!
.
She typed out a quick reply, Thanks, and pocketed her phone. Then from ahead of her, another phone chimed with a notification.
She looked up and saw Bokuto waving at her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, running up to him, completely befuddled.
"I came with Akaashi to watch the practice match!" he announced. "And I kinda wanted to see you."
She flushed, but before she could say anything, she felt two bodies press against either side of her. Haruka looked up to see that Yamaguchi and Tsukishima had sidled up beside her, acting casual.
"Hi," Yamaguchi piped up. "I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi. Who are you?"
"Boktuo Koutarou," Bokuto replied. "Captain of Fukurodani's volleyball team!"
"Ah." Tsukishima pushed his glasses further up on his nose. "You're the infamous Bokuto Koutarou."
"Guys," Haruka hissed, pushing the two of them away and towards the rest of the team, who was passing by with not-so-subtle glances. "You're being embarrassing. Go away." They complied, thankfully, but not without shooting her meaningful looks.
After they'd left, Haruka began walking with Bokuto to where the teams were supposed to meet. "Sorry about that. Where's Keiji-kun?"
"He's with Kenma. Erm, the Nekoma setter!" He smiled and swung his arms. "I was going to bring your scarf, but I decided to leave it back in Tokyo so you'd have to come down to get it."
She laughed. "You're really not pulling any punches with this flirting thing, are you?"
He pouted. "I told you that I wasn't going to give up."
"I know, I know. It's just…" she trailed off, biting her lip uncertainly. He blinked at her, questioning. "Nevermind," she decided. "I'll tell you later. Right now, the teams are lining up." She hurried to her spot next to Ukai as the teams watched each other. Eyeing the line of Nekoma players (she saw Akaashi inconspicuously joining Bokuto), she tried to identify the captain, Kuroo.
He should be on the end. There, in front of Daichi. A tall male with narrow eyes and a mess of a hairstyle. Tall, dark, and handsome? Is that what he's trying for? He saw her looking and shot her a sly grin, and in that moment, she understood how he was such close friends with Bokuto.
After the teams bowed, and began to head inside the center, he approached her. "You're Haruka, aren't you?" he questioned, leaning over slightly. "Bokuto wouldn't shut up about you."
"And you're Kuroo," she returned just as easily. "Koutarou-kun mentioned you once or twice."
"Hmm." Kuroo narrowed his eyes, examining her. She met his gaze easily. Then, they both smiled at the same time.
"Finally, someone who can match my wits and sense of humor," he said, presenting a hand to her. "Kuroo Tetsurou."
She took his hand and shook it. "You're joking, right? My wits far outweigh yours. Hitawara Haruka."
"People call me the 'Scheming Captain' for a reason," he protested, a falsely injured expression crossing his face.
"Well, I—"
"Haruka!" Bokuto and Akaashi appeared next to them, Akaashi nodding his head in greeting at her. "You met Kuroo! Kuroo, this is Haruka!"
"I know," Kuroo said somewhat wryly. "We just introduced ourselves, which you would have noticed if you'd been paying attention." He scratched his cheek. "Well, I'm off. I need to go play in a match."
"I should probably go too," she said apologetically to Bokuto and Akaashi. "I'm coaching, after all. And hello, Keiji-kun. It's nice to see you again." She hurried towards the center.
"Wait, Haruka!"
Haruka spun around. "The spectator seats are on the second floor," she called back. "I'm sure you'll be able to find them." She ignored his attempts to say something back.
"Harsh," Kuroo remarked as they entered the gymnasium. "But it's Bokuto. He'll be able to handle it." Haruka eyed him.
"I'm not sure if you just complimented or insulted him."
He shrugged. "Interpret it however you want. Hey, where's your captain?"
"On the court."
"Thanks, that really helps. Your entire team is on the court."
"I know."
He left after shooting an amused smile in her direction, heading right towards Daichi, and Sugawara came to stand by her. "Do you know him?"
Haruka sighed. "I do now." They watched as Daichi and Kuroo shook hands, beaming at each other with false pleasantries. "And Daichi-san says that we're the scary ones."
Sugawara laughed. "I think he doesn't want to feel bad about his own scariness."
He left to warm up with the rest of the team. Haruka watched Nekoma's warm up. They didn't seem particularly exceptional, except for their various hairstyles. There was Kuroo, with his mess, a boy (their setter? She wasn't sure) whose dye job reminded her of pudding, and a dyed Mohawk. Well, she thought, we lost in terms of hair dye. Only Yuu-kun dyed his hair on our team. Wait! Her glance cut to Ukai. Does the coach count?
The whistle tweeted, and the teams gathered into huddles. She felt her heartbeat begin to increase with the impending thrill of competition. Captain's speech¸ she thought, turning to Daichi. I remember. Ayame always said a speech.
"Our current combination is one which has only just been assembled," Daichi said. He looked around and met every player's eye. "We're mismatched and rough around the edges, and on top of that, today is this lineup's first match. Our opponent is an unfamiliar team, so we don't know how things will turn out. We might end up slamming against a wall." Then, he smiled. "But when that happens, it'll be our chance to surpass it. Let's do this!"
"Ossu!"
They headed to their positions.
This is it, Haruka thought, heart thumping and adrenaline coursing through her veins. A fight with our current weapons. The super quick, the defensive specialists, and a powerful ace.
Commence match.
-O-O-O-O-
Later, Haruka would appreciate the unyielding strength that Nekoma displayed. Later, she would banter with Kuroo about winning their next match. Later, she would pick apart what made Nekoma so strong and apply it to Karasuno. Their receives. Their ability to keep the ball in play. Back attacks. Their admittedly amazing captain. Personal time difference attacks.
But right now, Haruka was in shock. Disbelief. Astonishment. Because Nekoma's setter was making a complete fool out of Karasuno.
She watched him closely. He was quiet. Unassuming. But his gaze was distinctly feline, watching and waiting for the right moment to pounce. Dump shot. Feint. And slowly, Nekoma caught up with Karasuno in points.
They finally tied when Kuroo spiked the ball right through a gap between the blockers. "Heh," he smirked after landing, wiping the sweat off his face. "Nice toss," he told his setter.
"LAAAAME!" Bokuto called from overhead. "It wasn't even that strong of a spike!"
"Shut up, Bokuto!" Kuroo shouted back. "Like you could do better!"
"I can do better!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Ye—mmph!"
Haruka knew without looking that Akaashi muffled Bokuto's shouting with his hand. She kept her eyes on the game, frowning with concern as Nekoma's number seven managed a one touch off of Hinata's quick.
He's getting better at following the ball.
Her eyes flickered over to the score. 24-22, Nekoma. Match point.
Then, the next play started. As if in slow motion, she saw Hinata run up. Jump. Squeeze his eyes shut and swing.
And number seven blocked it.
The set ended with Nekoma taking it, but Haruka sat frozen in her chair, replaying the scene in her head. No, she thought. Impossible. That quick is nearly impossible to block.
Nearly. Not completely. The smallest chance.
And he did it.
"A fluke?" she whispered to herself as the players returned to the bench for a short water break. Then, she shook her head. That was wishful thinking. She had to find a solution to the problem now, before the Interhigh competition, where there would be other strong teams.
"Think," she muttered. The second set began. "Think." Number seven, Inuoka, blocked Hinata's spike again. "Think!"
Hinata was blocked again. And again. And after he evaded the blockers, after he zoomed to the other side of the court, he was still blocked. After the most recent block, he stood still, head down and shoulders heaving. Haruka gazed at him, worried. Then Hinata lifted his head.
He was smiling.
An indescribable aura wavered off of him. Haruka felt goosebumps travel up her spine. The aura was predatory, but not malicious. Something that made everyone take a step back and realize, Ah. He's serious. It was something that silenced the court. Something that caused others to eye him warily.
Then, Hinata spoke.
"It's kinda different somehow," he said, panting. "Back then, I couldn't see past the blockers and had no idea what to do. But now…" He looked at Kageyama. "It's different. I know that the other side is also just barely keeping up with me. I used to hate and fear being blocked until now. Now, when Inuoka appears in front of me, it's absolutely thrilling."
I know, Haruka thought. She knew the thrill. The chase. The absolutely desperate yet invigorating feeling of find a solution, be faster, be better.
Break through.
"Toss it to me one more time," Hinata said. "I'll find a way to break through."
Kageyama stared back at him. "Of course I will."
The match continued. And Haruka found a solution. A difficult solution, and one that would take a long time to achieve, but a solution nonetheless. Hinata had to choose the course of his hits. He had to battle in midair.
And it seemed like he knew it too. With the next toss, he opened his eyes and looked at the ball. He missed it, of course, but he knew what he had to do too.
"T-T-T-T-TIME OUT!" Ukai yelled, flustered. He approached Kageyama. "Kageyama! Toss the ball to Hinata a little bit softer than your usual. Not the direct delivery you always use, but—"
"—an indirect delivery," Kageyama finished for him. "I'll do it."
"A parabolic path compared to the usual straight one," Haruka mused, joining them. "It would increase Shouyou-kun's midair options. Not by much, but enough for him to react."
The match continued. Hinata continued to fumble with the ball. "He reminds me of something that my gramps once said," Ukai remarked, following Hinata with his eyes. " 'Humans have no wings, so they search for a way to fly'."
And Hinata flew.
He leapt into the air, higher than ever. Suspended in the air, longer than he should have, he brought his arm forward and hit the side of the ball.
It went out.
But he did it. He avoided the blockers. He managed to battle in midair. And even though it resulted in a point for the other side, for Nekoma, he found a way to fly.
Now, they just needed to find a way for him to soar.
-O-O-O-O-
The match ended with Nekoma's victory. And the next. And the one after that.
Haruka felt tired just by watching the teams play three matches.
"I get that we're rivals now," she said. "But did we have to take it this far?"
Hinata grinned. "Volleyball is fun!" He scurried over to the rest of the team, and Haruka couldn't help but smile.
Nekoma meandered over for guidance. Kuroo shot her a smug smirk, and she rolled her eyes, then focused on what Ukai was saying.
"As long as you guys continue with what you've been doing, I think you guys will make it far. Keep the ball in play and steadily take points. Your style is incredibly stable."
"Ossu!"
They dispersed and began cleaning up the gym. Haruka helped out too, untying the net from the net stands. She struggled to reach the higher tiies.
"Here, let me get those!" She looked up and saw Bokuto beaming.
"Thanks, Koutarou-kun."
"No problem. Oh man, those were awesome matches! Your team is really good! I mean, not as good as Nekoma, because you lost all three games, but you're getting there!" He finished untying the ties, and the net dropped to the ground on their side. The other side soon dropped, Kageyama being the one who untied it.
"Ah, Tobio-kun," Haruka called. She waved him over. He walked over obediently. "This is Bokuto Koutarou." Immediately, Kageyama stiffened as straight as a board.
"Y-Y-You're from Fukurodani!" he exclaimed. Then, he bowed a full ninety degrees. "Hello!"
"Hey!" Bokuto returned, planting his hands on his hips. "You're the setter, right?" Haruka stifled a grin when she remembered that she told him that she knew a better setter-spiker combo than Akaashi and him.
"Y-yes!"
"Your tosses were pretty awesome! Akaashi, weren't they—hey, Akaashi!" Bokuto called for Akaashi, who was with the setter from Nekoma. "Akaashi, come over here! Kenma too!"
Kageyama looked like he was going to die from happiness. "Ruka-san," he suddenly said, startling her. "Thank you for having given me this opportunity."
"Oh, um, you're welcome." She inwardly squealed at how adorable he was, despite his usual frown.
Akaashi came over with the newly-identified Kenma. "Bokuto-san, please don't shout across the gym."
Kageyama's gaze lasered in on Kenma, who shrunk away, looking uncomfortable. Haruka grinned, because she knew why. Setter to setter.
Then, she paused and took a better look at the scene. Everyone in this impromptu gathering is a setter besides Koutarou-kun.
"Akaashi, wasn't this kid's toss awesome? Can you toss like that? What about you, Kenma?"
"I can't," Kenma said quietly. "And I need to go." He fled, avoiding Kageyama's intense stare.
"I can't either," Akaashi sighed. "They're too hard. Your tosses were incredible," he complimented Kageyama. Kageyama looked like he was going to faint.
"Thank you! Please excuse me!" He hurried away to fold the net and return it to the storage room.
"Anyways," Haruka said. "Don't you two need to return to Tokyo? Golden Week is almost over."
Bokuto pouted while Akaashi surreptitiously slid away from their conversation. Keiji-kun, no, don't leave. "Haruka, you've been avoiding me."
"What? Ha ha, no I haven't."
"Yes, you have! You left really quickly when the teams lined up and before the match, and just now you called that setter kid over."
She sighed, unable to talk her way out of it. "Sorry. It's just… I don't think I'm the best person for you to like." He closed his mouth. "It might be a bad decision. My mother could make life difficult for you."
He blew his tongue. "Pbbt, I just need to win her over."
No, she wanted to shout. You don't understand how much influence she has. She didn't want to get him involved. Her boys—they were involved as soon as they stood up for her.
"It's not just that. The media would focus on you. Paparazzi. All that."
"That's fine! The world could use some more me."
She stared at him. He was so incredibly optimistic (except when he was in his dejected mode). "Besides," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn't my decision to fall in like with you, but it is my decision to like you. So you can't do anything. I'm going to keep liking you."
Oh, oh. No one had ever said anything that sweet to her. She felt a sudden surge of affection for this sweet boy who wore his heart on his sleeve. "Alright," she conceded quietly.
Outside, the teams were saying their farewells.
"We'll win next time," Daichi said, beaming at Kuroo and gripping his hand hard.
"We'll still win next time," Kuroo replied, beaming just as politely back at him.
"You're scary, you're way too scary!" Sugawara and Yaku, Nekoma's libero, said. "Ah," they noticed, looking over their shoulders at Ukai and Nekoma's assistant coach.
"Over there too!" Suga said.
"They're being childish!" Yaku exclaimed.
"Next time we do this, it won't end like today," Ukai said, baring his teeth in a feral grin.
Wait, 'next time'? He's staying as coach! Haruka thought.
"Uh huh, and if it does, it'll be because you need more practice!" Nekoma's assistant coach fired back.
Haruka laughed at the antics of both teams. They were so similar yet so different. Fated rivals. Crows versus cats.
Kuroo suddenly popped up in front of her, dragging Bokuto with him. "We'll be leaving now. I'll be taking this guy with me." He elbowed Bokuto, who just stuck his tongue out at him. "Nice meeting you, Princess."
She rolled her eyes. "It was nice to meet you too, Kitty. We'll meet you at nationals." She smiled at his subsequent squawk of outrage over her chosen nickname for him.
"I'm not a kitty! If anything, I'm a panther!"
"Yeah, a pathetic panther," Bokuto snickered.
"Shut up, you useless owl."
And soon, the teams said their final farewells and Bokuto managed to steal a hug.
And it was over.
-O-O-O-O-
A/N: Yay, Nekoma appeared!
The next chapter or so won't dive immediately into canon. I'm going to focus more on Haruka's life as an heir and formally introduce the company to the story. Dun dun dun. If you've ever watched political or business dramas before, well, that's the feel that I'm going to be going for.
Of course, I'll probably fail to emulate that feel because Haruka is a dork. In many ways.
See you next time!
