Saruhiko read the article over and over again, feeling proud. She looked up at the two aspiring talents in front of her, nodding approvingly. "Good job, girls." For the first time, Mashumaro heard praise from her. It actually felt really amazing. "Kaji… with just that simple headline, I can say you have changed. The old you would have put 'Karasuno will soon soar higher than eagles!' and that's an exaggerated prediction. I was a bit surprised to see the simple headline. But it meant a lot. You're great." The president clapped her hands. "I'm looking forward to your future work. But in the meantime, let's prepare for the cultural festival. The teachers are expecting a lot. Let's try to write about it in the next newspaper."
Hirari and Mashumaro bowed to their president before going outside the clubroom. They bumped fists and they could hardly contain their happiness. "WE DID IT!" Who knew that the recently improving Karasuno boys' volleyball club was the key to their own improvements?
Hirari was talking to their class representative, as she started giving orders to divide the work. Tsukishima was forced to hold up the cloth to the windows so the girls could measure the curtains. He looked more annoyed than he ever was, since he was just asked to do it because of his immense height and he was the only person in class capable to reach above the windows. Although Yamaguchi wanted to help, Tsukishima told him he could do it so Yamaguchi was asked by the class representative to help the other boys do some of the heavy work instead. The only person who wasn't doing anything was of course, Mashumaro.
Unlike Hirari, Mashumaro still refused to show what she can do for everyone. It's not that she didn't want to help; she just thought they wouldn't want her help, anyway. She just sat there, drawing something on a piece of paper. She did know how to draw, thanks to Hirari's constant persuading to teach her personally, but she wasn't as good as her friend. She just does it when she feels like it. Everyone else was running around the room, passing materials to one another, but she was just sitting there. If anyone asked her for help, then she'd help. But she wasn't the type to approach people on her own.
Suddenly, a shadow was cast over the drawing. Mashumaro blinked in confusion and looked to her side. There was a girl with blonde hair tied into a bun, leaning down to watch her draw. The girl was wearing glasses and her eyes were a pretty shade of green. Mashumaro felt stupid for not realizing that she had a foreign classmate. To think that they were in the same room for weeks now. "Wow! That's so cute!" The foreigner admired her simple drawing with twinkling eyes. Mashumaro thought to herself that her skill in making figures was not even half of Hirari's, so she just awkwardly nodded to the foreigner, not knowing how to respond. "Um… sorry, but… what was your name again?" She asked the blonde girl, a bit embarrassed and feeling stupid for not knowing. She never really talked to anyone inside the classroom, anyway. "I'm Theresa." The blonde told her. "Say… you seem to be free from responsibilities as of now… do you want to help me with my assigned task? We're just going to search for the horoscope parts from newspapers, old and new."
Mashumaro's eyes shone with tears. A flattered blush gave color to her pale cheeks. It was the first time someone in class actually decided to ask her for help. And for a fun job, too! Horoscopes always fascinated Mashumaro, but she doesn't rely on them. She just finds it fun to read them. She was also a proud Aquarius. "O-Okay!" She agreed, putting her most determined face on. She finally found something to do.
"Ishikawa! Someone from Class 1 wants to see you!" A classmate called. Hirari, who was busy trying to draw something for the booth, faced the door and saw Hinata waving at her. A sweat drop fell from her head, deliberating about what the volleyball club wants now. She looked around; searching for Mashumaro but the girl was nowhere to be found. "Ishikawa!" Hinata clasped his hand right in front of his face. "If you're not busy, is it okay if you drop by the vending machine near the courtyard? I-I just need your help with something, you know… for the cultural festival?" Hinata's eyes were looking around, refusing to look at the girl who was just eyeing him suspiciously.
Hirari had always been the paranoid type, and she was reluctant about this. "But I'm figuring out how to draw something, like… yeah." One thing's for sure – both Hirari and Hinata were bad at making up excuses. Unfortunately for a girl who always agrees, Hinata was a persistent kind of person. "Please! I really need your help! I'm… uhh… GOING TO PRACTICE VOLLEYBALL BUT EVERYONE ELSE IS BUSY SO I DIDN'T KNOW ANYONE TO HELP ME AND THE GYM IS BEING DECORATED WITH CHAIRS AND TABLES AND SO I THOUGHT YOU WERE NICE AND THAT YOU ONLY HAVE ONE THING TO DRAW TODAY SO YOU'D HAVE TIME TO MAYBE HELP ME?" Hinata was terrible stringing up words when he's lying. Hirari didn't know what to say so she just thought of saying 'no' straightforwardly. But how? She rarely says 'no'. "Okay." She gave up. "YES! THANK YOU!" Hinata started shaking her hand quickly, and he dashed as fast as a cheetah along the corridor, screaming out Kageyama's name.
Two hours earlier…
"I heard the gym's going to be decorated into a ballroom instead of a café." Sugawara said as they all rested after a morning jog. The gym was unavailable for them at the moment, so in the end, Ukai decided to schedule a morning jog so they could still warm up their bodies for the day before they head to the neighborhood association's practice court in the afternoon. "Oh? Like a kingdom gathering or something?" Azumane asked, stretching. "Yeah. Seems we're all required to attend since it's like a special activity for the sports teams. To show our 'classy' side or something instead of our usual jersey get-ups. But it's no ordinary ballroom, I think, since it's more like a gathering of sportsmen from our school and from other schools coming to visit for the festival." Daichi explained to both his companions. It was then when the second years have arrived at the resting place, overhearing the conversation. "A PARTY? LIKE THE KIND WHERE WE WEAR SOMETHING FORMAL? LIKE SUITS AND TUXEDOS?" Tanaka beamed up, surprised at the change of plans. "Damn it, I never look good in a suit!" He complained, clutching his head in frustration.
A hand comfortingly patted Tanaka's shoulder. "Not to worry, Ryu." Nishinoya looked proud as ever with one hand on his hip. "When we see Kiyoko in a dress, all will be well." An aura of light surrounded Nishinoya in Tanaka' view, and the bald second-year's eyes welled up with tears of happiness. "But will all of us fit in that gym? I mean, we have a lot of sports teams." Ennoshita asked. "Who knows? Maybe it's limited to only three or four teams. The other gyms are reserved for special events, too." Narita remarked. It was about time that the first-years arrived.
"ALL THE GYMS ARE RESERVED? So we're really going to practice in outside courts for two weeks?" Hinata reacted immediately. "Calm down. It's for a ballroom event." Sugawara went back to explaining everything to the first-years in a brief summary as they all drank water and prepared for their final run. After a short discussion, Yamaguchi said something that unintentionally made everyone's breathing stop. "They said we're supposed to bring a date as much as possible. Preferably from a different club so they could make use of the experience."
Chirp chirp chirp chirp.
"I DON'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND YET!"
"WHY IS OUR SCHOOL SO CRUEL? HOW DARE THEY RUB OUR LOVELESS LIVES IN OUR FACES!"
"That's it. I'm transferring to Dateko. Goodbye."
"But… why?"
"Are all sportsmen required to have a love life?"
"Our Dean must be a fan of the type of shoujo manga where the MVP falls for an ordinary girl."
"D-Don't talk about the Dean like that! It's weird!"
Chaos ensued. "HEY! STOP SHOUTING! It's no big deal! Just waltz in the gym without a date. What's the big deal of going without a date, anyway?" Daichi scolded everyone to silence them. Instead of powering them up, he ended up demoralizing them. Except for the first-years who were more innocent than they look. "D-Daichi… you make sound like no one will like us for the rest of our lives…" Azumane sulked, counting the number of times a girl has run away from him even though he hasn't said anything yet. Tanaka was aggressively biting all his fingernails, since he only likes one girl and he also likes it when that said girl ignores him so it's impossible. Nishinoya, too, was staring blankly at the grasshopper jumping on the grass. "Don't worry about it, you guys." Sugawara said, like the beacon of hope he usually is. "It's still our choice, so we can still go as a whole team." His words felt like the sun's rays casting upon the dejected volleyball club members.
"Well, unless the teams from other schools come with their own dates." His last sentence immediately erased the ray of hope from his previous one. "But… Yamaguchi said that the reason why we're going to bring a date is because of the experience, right? Isn't the Media Club the only club in the school which would make the most use out of that experience since it's a special event that needs attention?" Hinata suddenly said, making everyone else glance in his direction. "I'm surprised you were able to deduce that despite having a small enough brain for a small body." Tsukishima sniggered, and Hinata just glared at him. He then noticed Kageyama, who was the only one who was too innocent to know what's going on and why the people are freaking out over 'dates'. "Why don't you ask Ishikawa out, by the way?"
Everyone felt lightning strike at them when Hinata was bold enough to say something like that. Kageyama, on the other hand, blushed a deep shade of crimson. He growled at Hinata, sending him a death glare. "Why me!?" He yelled. Hinata glared back at him. "Because you were smiling like a creepy old man at her drawing during yesterday's practice! Geez, anybody could tell you lik—" Before Hinata could say something 'indecent', Kageyama covered his mouth with a towel.
"I AGREE WITH HINATA! AT LEAST ONE OR TWO OF US SHOULD GET A DATE OR WE WOULD ALL LOOK LIKE SORE LOSERS IN THAT EVENT!" Tanaka pumped his fists in the air. "Nice thinking, Ryu! Since Kageyama is known around the school for being the 'talented new setter', if he gets a date, our club won't look like it's made up of spineless men who can't even ask girl out!" Nishinoya followed, accidentally demoralizing them a bit more. Daichi smacked both their heads. "Stop that! Let's continue our run! We, third-years, are going first! Start!" Daichi and Sugawara started running. "Good luck on asking her, Kageyama!" Azumane said before following after.
The second-years all lined up, preparing to run. Nishinoya looked behind him to see Kageyama pressing a towel to Hinata's face. When their eyes met, the libero gave him a thumbs-up. "Alright! Let's roll!" Nishinoya then signaled for them to start running. "We're going on ahead, King." Tsukishima told the oddball duo as he ran after the second-years did long with Yamaguchi. When everyone was finally gone, Hinata was finally able to breathe. "What's with you? You're really creepy!" He told Kageyama. "WHAT!?" The setter angrily replied. Hinata sighed, slouching a bit. "I could tell you want to ask her out, though." The shorter boy accused. Kageyama paused, but he started jogging away, ignoring Hinata. "Hey! Wait!" Hinata jogged after him, trying to catch up with his speed. "You're really quiet when it's Ishikawa we're talking about."
Kageyama slowed his pace. He didn't realize that. "I could tell you're thinking about something deeper about her and stuff." Hinata continued on. Kageyama looked so annoyed right now; it was a struggle not to choke Hinata at the moment. "But there's nothing wrong with asking her out, right? You want her to like volleyball, right? The ballroom event's going to be filled with sportsmen and volleyball players especially!" Hinata was being so irritating, but Kageyama knew that there was no denial in his words. "It's her choice if she wants to come." The setter finally answered as he started to build up speed. Hinata's face creased. "But she can't come if no one asks her out!" He reasoned out, knowing that Kageyama usually gives in after a few arguments here and there. Unfortunately, it wasn't an argument, since Kageyama wasn't responding well at all. "Fine, I'll ask her out, then." Hinata ended.
Unexpectedly, Kageyama stopped in his tracks and Hinata followed suit. There was a moment of silence between them before Kageyama snapped his head at Hinata, slightly scaring the shorter boy. "You like her?" Kageyama asked him. Hinata frowned at the baseless question. "I like her as a person, and she draws awesomely! Although she's shy and easily-frightened, she's cool! She can capture a lot of moments with her video camera and she's also our mascot, too. I like her as a person, but not in that way. Also, what's so wrong about asking her out? Plus, why'd you stop running when I told you I'd ask her out?" He told Kageyama, who just looked away and continued on his jog. Hinata sighed, giving up on the round-a-bout conversation. After a while, they picked up pace and they ended up racing each other like they usually do.
They both started screaming as they ran, catching up to everyone and eventually outrunning them. "ASK HER OUT, KAGEYAMA!" Hinata said in the midst of their intense race. Kageyama, because of the pressure, finally answered. "I DON'T KNOW HOW, DUMBASS!" He yelled back.
"THEN I'LL HELP YOU!"
Hirari was about to bring out her camera to record first what's outside but then she remembered that it wouldn't help her go back to the real world if she couldn't let go of her 'camera' habit. She then stepped outside, the breeze kissing against her cheeks. She saw someone standing in front of the vending machine, looking frustrated. Her cheeks flushed as she looked around for Hinata but couldn't find the spiker. The only person in front of her was Kageyama, who was trying to burn the vending machine with his glare. She stepped backward slowly, pretending that she was never there in the first place, but she accidentally stepped on a can.
The sound distracted Kageyama from his inside war – choosing between a milk and yogurt drink – and he looked behind him to see a frozen Hirari posing like a tiptoeing fox from a certain Spanish children's cartoon. Hirari immediately stood up straight when their eyes met. Kageyama's eyes widened and he started sweating on the spot.
"Hinata set us up! Dammit!"
He thought that Hinata probably knew when he would pass by the vending machine to get his usual box of milk. Another inside war started within his brain. It wasn't an official date. He was just doing this so she could get a background of the volleyball players from other schools and it might even help her create a new scoop for their club. Then again, asking someone out isn't that hard. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Hirari was just staring at him, confused. She wondered if he was here because Hinata asked him to help with something just like what the orange-haired boy did to her. Or if Hinata really did set them up.
They just stood there, thinking about why they're there in the first place.
And it was awkward.
"Um…" They said in unison. "Oh, you go first." Hirari told him. "N-No, you go first." Kageyama motioned for her to speak. In the end, none of them said a word. It was definitely the Level 4 type of awkward. It was just then that Hirari noticed the bandages on Kageyama's arm. She recalled the wheelchair incident and blushed. She also felt guilty for his frequent toss misses on that same day because of his fresh injuries. "Sorry about that." Hirari was the first to speak, pointing at Kageyama's arms. The boy looked at his arms for a moment and then his gaze went back to her. "Yeah." He said, obviously not knowing how to respond to someone apologizing to him. He didn't realize that his answer was a slightly, just slightly, inappropriate response to an apology. "Actually, Hinata called me here but since he's nowhere to be found, I guess I'll just go. Ha… ha…" Hirari slowly took steps backward, only making the situation worse than it usually is. "Wait!" Kageyama called, making her freak out a bit. "I-I…" The boy stuttered. Asking someone out was supposed to be easy and he knew that. Or so he thought. He stood up straight and inhaled a large amount of air. "You?" Hirari asked, trying to help him out with whatever it is he's trying to say.
"… I like the weather today. It's nice."
Meanwhile, a certain short spiker was hiding in the bushes, smacking his face with his palm.
Tanaka's right eyebrow twitched at the same time Nishinoya's left one did. "You were with the girl for five minutes and not a single invitation?" They finally said it. Kageyama gritted his teeth, his eyes almost glowing red when he faced Hinata. "Oi, Kageyama! You should be manlier!" Nishinoya bluntly told him, pounding on his chest proudly. "Asking someone out is easy! Just say, 'oh, I like you', then she says 'oh I like you too' and then you're going to be like 'oh let's go on a date'…" Tanaka's suggestion went on and on, but his words were entering Kageyama's right ear and going out at the left. "I had to think up of so many lies just to get her to come, too!" Hinata complained, messing up his hair. Tanaka was already making kissy-faces in the background; Nishinoya was laughing victoriously for no reason, while Hinata was whining about all his 'hard work'. It wasn't helping Kageyama at all.
"Okay! The event takes place at the last day of the cultural festival, which in turn, starts three days from now! We have to do something to ask someone out or we will all look like the wimpiest sports club in the school! The basketball team members have their own girlfriends, too!" Tanaka was biting on a towel angrily. "Hey, get going with the warm-ups!" Daichi scolded the idiots, glancing over to Shimizu and Yachi who just arrived at the place. "I brought the Media Club with me. They want to write about our practices near the mountains and sea." The bespectacled girl explained. The two first-years overheard what she said and they quickly looked up.
Hirari was already on the bench, sketching something on paper while Mashumaro was talking to a new girl. "Is that the Media Club's president?" Daichi asked Shimizu. She nodded and proceeded to go back to the bench. "Kageyama! She's over there! Go approach her!" Hinata whispered, nudging Kageyama. The latter only stood rooted to his spot, glancing at the bench every now and then, silently thinking to himself.
"They look promising." Saruhiko nodded in approval, while taking pictures of the scene. "It was a good choice to assign you here. You've improved drastically ever since you were exposed to this club. They must be… really in touch with the world." She struggled to lessen the impact of her words while talking to Mashumaro. The writer was just smiling happily while watching the boys start their warm-up. For some reason, Hinata and Kageyama were bickering during the exercise. She didn't pay attention to what Saruhiko was saying anymore, because she was thoughtfully watching Hinata push Kageyama towards the bench despite the setter's objections.
Kageyama hesitantly stepped towards Hirari, with Hinata behind him. Hirari looked up in alarm, and found Kageyama staring hard at her. "Hey." He said. "Hi." She greeted back. Kageyama looked down at his feet, not wanting to say another word. Hinata decided to take matters in his own hands and ask. "Hey, what is that you're drawing, Ishikawa?" Upon hearing the question, Hirari bit her tongue and looked down at the paper. She was too embarrassed to say that she was trying to draw intertwined hands for the match-making part of their classroom booth and she had no references so she couldn't finish it. "Oh! Those are hands, right? But something seems off… hey, Kageyama, give her your hand!"
Hinata forced him by lifting his arm up. Kageyama grabbed Hinata's face with the hand that was just lifted, an aura of pure evil encircling the setter's body. "Y-You're going to tear off my face! I was just trying to make you help her out! Don't you want to make things easier for her?" Hinata was sputtering out reasons. Hirari held out her hands, thinking of ways to deny the statement. Unfortunately for her, Kageyama gave in to Hinata's words and he held out his hand to her. Hirari's trembling fingers moved towards his, since she knew there was no way to refuse their help now. If she ever did, she was scared that Kageyama might hate her and kill her for humiliating him by turning down his kind offer.
His hands were rough and calloused, but they were large enough to cover hers. Her fingers looked like a baby's fingers when intertwined with his. Hinata moved away quietly while whistling, pretending he wasn't there when it happened before he ran back to court.
She was only doing this for the reference, but Hirari couldn't take in how their hands looked like. Every single time she looked at their hands, her mind ends up becoming blank. Kageyama, on the other hand, innocently thought there was nothing wrong with just holding hands, anyway. He remained calm, although he was still forgetting one thing – asking the girl out. There was no malice, but he still found it hard. He looked around him and everyone from the volleyball club was staring at him, awaiting his move. He swallowed, but his throat was still dry.
There wasn't any malice so he shouldn't be nervous, right? He's only doing this because he knew that the Media Club would benefit if someone from them went to the event, right? It's also going to benefit the team, right?
"I-Ishikawa." He started.
Great. Hirari couldn't even look at their hands, so how was she going to look at his face? She robotically looked up, staring at the bridge of his nose instead of his eyes. "Yeah?"
Doki. Doki. Doki.
"Damn it, heartbeat." Kageyama clicked his tongue.
"This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill." Hirari was inwardly sounding off the alarm system in her body.
"Ishikawa… do you need a new pencil?"
The volleyball members groaned in unison upon witnessing Kageyama's failure. Meanwhile, Hirari was as confused as ever, because the pencil she was using is working just fine.
On another part of the court, Mashumaro was so immersed in the happenings, that she didn't hear Saruhiko telling her about "a tall blonde guy with glasses who was stealing glances at you from across the court."
8 days left before the big event.
