égoïste
raison #20
"Argh! They were really strong!" Shiori let out a tired sigh, rubbing her forearm. She was walking with the other members of the archery club to the bus, where they would be heading back to the school after their grand final matches.
"Yeah, as expected of a school that went to nationals for the past 10 years." The lone male of the club placed his hands on his hips, "5 bullseyes in a row from each person. That's way too OP."
"Yeah, I know right? But at least they didn't go easy on us. That would've been humiliating. Not that it isn't that we lost by so much, but hey, at least we tried."
"What does OP mean?" As Shiori and the male talked with gaming terms in their conversation, the other members of the club glanced at each other, wondering what they meant. Normally the duo had talks like this so it left a few of them in the dark to what they meant.
"It means 'over-powered', apparently." The club captain adjusted the strap of her bag, checking her watch.
"Ah…I see…"
Kuroo typed a message on his phone, then erased it, then typed something again, and then erased it again. He frowned and put it down, staring at the wall and wondering what to write.
He wanted to text Shiori about something volleyball related to hear her opinions since she was interesting to talk to, especially behind that icy exterior and direct bluntness. But the problem was that she could shut down his texts with an 'okay, will check it out' or just a plain 'okay', which kills the chance for any other texts.
It was probably unintentional, but it was enough to make the Nekoma captain think he was a bother to her.
How does Bokuto do this? He wondered. His owl friend had told him that he would call her more than text because it was easier, but it took him a while to get used to it because her voice was so close to his ear.
I don't even know what to say to her, Kuroo let out a light sigh and took out a notebook, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. When that didn't work, he closed it, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Why do I even want to talk to her anyway? He wondered. Sure, behind that pretty face she had accomplishments and interesting traits that were really cool, and it seemed fun to get to know them, but what intrigued the male was that she was the type to unintentionally push people away through that bluntness of hers.
I think it's because she's interesting, or maybe because Bokuto keeps saying she's really cool, or maybe because she used to be a champion? I don't know.
Kuroo rested his forehead on his desk, but then heard the door open with a gentle knock. He lifted his head and turned to the door.
"Kuro, were you sleeping?" Kenma walked in and took a seat on the ground where the share table was.
"Nah, just thinking." The older male replied. He got off his seat and took a few notebooks with him, sitting adjacent the gamer.
Kenma had taken out his gaming console to play, clicking away. He was at Kuroo's to study for an upcoming test, but he didn't really want to do it because he was playing a good RPG with a good player.
"You playing with that FlyHigh person again?" Kuroo asked, eyeing the console.
"Yeah." Kenma gave a curt nod, "They're really good. It's been a while since I've played with them. They said they were busy with lots of work."
"Well, good thing they have some spare time, then." Kuroo suddenly remembered something Bokuto had told him.
Shiori played games.
He didn't know what kind of games, but he did know that he could talk to her about anything Kenma played, or he could get Kenma to talk to her or whatnot. He wanted to involve the team, but some might find it a bit strange, even though it was with good intentions.
"Ah, the pre-order comes on Thursday." Kenma read the message from FlyHigh, who was saying that the new game for monster hunter was coming out, asking if he had pre-ordered it as well.
Kuroo's eyes flickered to his childhood friend's console, "Didn't Bokuto say that Shiori played games too?"
The setter gave him a sideways glance, "I don't know." He wondered if Kuroo was interested in the girl.
"I'm pretty sure he did. Why don't you talk to her about games? She might know the game you're playing right now." The captain suggested.
"But why? You only want a reason to get closer to her, right?" Kenma typed a response to FlyHigh, telling them that he was going to go get it at the local store when it arrived.
"Eh, just a little bit." Kuroo added, "But you should try talking to her too, she's interesting." He grinned.
"Kuro, why don't you just go up to her? It's not that big of a deal." Kenma made a face at the captain. "What are you so scared of?"
Kuroo would have grimaced at Kenma's sharp words if he wasn't already beating himself up on how to approach a girl.
It's not that I'm not interested, say, not in the romantic sense but, more of a she's on a whole other level kind of sense. Ah. Kuroo realised why he found her so interesting.
"Just do what you do normally." Kenma glanced at the message that FlyHigh sent, mulling over their words.
"That sounds about right." Kuroo mumbled to himself. He observed Kenma staring at the console, temporarily having stopped his motions. "What's wrong?"
"FlyHigh said they'll be going to the store near Fukurodani to pick it up. They said they wanted to meet up to discuss games since they don't know anyone that plays this well." Kenma responded.
"Eh, what are you going to say?" Kuroo's brows raised.
"I don't know."
"Well, it is kinda dangerous getting an invitation like this…" He sweat dropped.
Kenma was conflicted. He wanted to go to see who this person was, but he was a shy individual who didn't really want to go and meet people because he was anxious of what they thought of him.
Kuroo stared at his friend, going over a few thoughts. From what he knew, the game that they both wanted came out on Thursday that week, which was one day away from their Inter Highs. They'll probably have a short practice that day and go home to rest.
"It should be fine to go, right?" Kuroo started. "I can come with you."
Kenma looked up, in the middle of his response. "Ok. Thanks, Kuro."
He accepted so quickly…Kuroo wanted to laugh because it was so obvious Kenma wanted to go. It wasn't everyday there was a good player in the same area as him, and one that he wanted to meet.
Kenma entered a response, telling FlyHigh that he'll be there with a friend to pick up the game at the same store.
He got a quick reply, one that said that they were looking forward to it. Kenma closed the console and put it away.
"All done?"
"Yeah."
"You're meeting up with applepi on Thursday?" Akaashi questioned, bending down slightly to look at what she was playing on her gaming console, reading her and applepi's conversation.
"Yeah! They're a really good player I haven't played in ages, and they normally play around this time so that's why I have this out right now. Sorry about that." Shiori closed it and put it away, just after applepi logged out. She put it into her bag and sent Akaashi an apologetic smile.
They had stopped by the convenience store after volleyball practice. She was waiting outside while he got some things to eat, and started playing her console because she hadn't played in a while.
"That's the day before our Inter Highs." The setter commented, handing her an icy pole. She thanked him and handed him 200 yen, but he flicked her forehead and told her to put it away because he was treating.
"Yeah, it is." Shiori unwrapped the icy pole, throwing the garbage away into the bin, "But the game comes out then so I need to go pick it up since I pre-ordered it." She added, "So why not meet up with a fellow gamer?"
"You're too carefree about this, Shiori-san." Fukurodani's setter sighed. "What if it was as scam?"
"I was the one who invited them, you know."
Akaashi paused for a moment, then looked ahead. "We'll be finishing earlier that day anyway, so I'll come with you."
"You really don't need to." The third year waved her free hand in dismissal.
"I will be."
Shiori glanced at him when she heard his stern answer. It was in his normal, almost gentle, assertive voice but there was a hint of edge in it.
"Hm…alright then. There is a pervert on the loose, anyway." Shiori realised that that might have been the reason why.
Akaashi opened his own popsicle, throwing the wrapper in the bin.
That's not the problem here…
"So when should we have yakiniku?" Bokuto looked around the group, having finished his lunch earlier than the rest of them.
"Oh yeah, Inter Highs are this Friday, aren't they?" Konoha mouth was half full, having taken food from Shiori's bento.
"Why don't we celebrate it when you guys go to Nationals? Then it'll taste a whole lot better." Shiori suggested, pulling her bento away from Konoha. He was taking too much.
"Oh!" The ace clapped his hands together, "Good idea!"
It's only because I need to call Tooru-chan and Iwa-chan about how their Inter Highs are going. I think theirs have already ended? I'm not sure.
I also need to pick up that new game I ordered a month or so ago.
"Oh yeah, speaking of nationals, how did the finals go yesterday?" Komi asked, turning to Shiori. He sometimes hung out with them at lunch.
"Oh, that." Shiori took a piece of fish from her bento, "We lost."
"Eh?"
"Yeah. The other team was really, really good. They're the team from Tokyo that's been going to the nationals for like a whole decade, maybe even longer than that. You should've seen them, they had like 5 bullseyes in a row! And not only that, all their members are able to do bullseyes in a short time frame. It was pretty amazing. We lost by quite a number of points." Shiori summarised.
"Ah…that sounds hard." Komi commented.
"Yeah, it was. But it was fun." Shiori smiled. "Now that I'm out of that, I can help you guys more if you need me there."
"That sounds good. Serve to me again today." Komi grinned.
"Mhmm. Just make sure to actually get it this time."
Komi's brows raised into a surprised expression before he let out a light laugh. She was shading him as a means of challenge, "I'll get as many as I can, so bring it!"
Akaashi just watched their exchange, eating at his own pace. He took another onigiri from Shiori's lunch because he'd finished his own. She had put one more aside for him because he ate slower than Yukie and Bokuto, who were always the first to take whatever they wanted.
Komi-san is getting better, though, Akaashi thought while chewing. But Shiori-san…
Now that her archery club practices were over, he could continue with helping her spike. But from the last time that they were practicing, it didn't seem as if Shiori had any sort of thrill that she had when doing a successful spike, or serve, for that matter.
She's the opposite of Bokuto-san in that sense, the setter still had his nonchalant expression when watching everybody chat.
Is it working? He wondered. But it's still too early to know whether or not it is. Spiking has improved, but I wonder if she feels what Bokuto-san does?
"Keiji, you have a grain of rice here." Shiori tapped her chin, turning to the setter.
He mirrored her action, but the rice wasn't there, so she laughed, "The other side."
He stayed silent as he continued eating after removing the rice.
I guess we should try for a little longer.
MiracleBoy: DID YOU SEE HER?
FlyHigh: Why don't you just fly down to Tokyo and find her if you want to meet her so bad?
Shiori let out a sigh. After practicing with Akaashi before dinner, they were walking home.
"Is that Kuroo-san again?" The setter questioned, curiosity getting the best of him. He had seen her text on a frequent basis, and he just assumed it was Kuroo, even though she did it a bit before he got her number.
"Nah, it's this person called 'MiracleBoy'. We talk about our favourite anime and manga, but somehow it's led to talking about volleyball." She scrolled through her messages with him, going to the point where they started talking about volleyball. She gave her phone to Akaashi, "Take a look."
Akaashi didn't hesitate to take the phone to read the messages—if it was someone else he'd hesitate, but because he knew that Shiori wanted him to read them, he didn't hold back. In a sense, it was easy being her friend, because she was so straightforward, and didn't really have an ulterior motive.
He scrolled through the messages, skimming through and reading their conversation. He raised a brow when he got to the part where MiracleBoy started fangirling about Shiori, unknowingly talking to her about her.
"He doesn't know that he's talking to you?" Akaashi handed her back her phone.
Shiori nodded, "He doesn't know. Well, you know I didn't tell him, but I also don't know what to say? So I just left it at that."
"I guess that's a smart move." Akaashi would've lectured her about the internet being unsafe, but she probably already knew that, so he didn't want to say anything.
"I'll probably meet him when I go to the Shiratorizawa camp though." She said, slipping the phone into her pocket. "You know, mum was able to convince the coach there to let me. So I'll just be popping in for a little bit. I might see this guy there, but I don't know what he looks like so maybe not."
"I didn't know you knew the ace of Shiratorizawa." Akaashi commented, recalling that they talked about Ushijima having a selfie of himself and Shiori as his phone background for a few years. He felt a light twinge of jealousy, but reasoned that he had nothing to do with it, even if it irritated him.
"Oh, yeah, I do. We met a lot during games, because the girl's games would finish a lot quicker than the guy's, so I'd go over to support the boy's team whenever I had free time. I saw Ushijima a lot, so we became acquaintance like friends of some sort." Shiori explained. "He's a nice guy."
"Is that so…" The 2nd year could only nod slowly once.
Did he have anything to worry about when she goes on her trip back to Miyagi? Kind of, but now, maybe a little more.
He knew that she had a lot of friends here and there of both genders and that she's friendly with them all, but he didn't know if they harboured feelings towards her and if they would make a move.
"Is there a reason why you chose Shiratorizawa?" Akaashi asked, glancing at her.
"Hm? You mean for the training camp?" She turned a slight angle to face him. He nodded. "Well, I chose it because it was a school I knew was good at volleyball. Plus, I have connections within that school so it was easy. Like I said before, I would've liked to go to Niiyama Joshi as well, since they're really good, but because I don't have connections there, I can't."
"Is it because they're a powerhouse school that you chose them?"
"Yeah. They're strong, and I want to go against strong players. There's nothing better than trying to beat someone on your own level."
On your own level? Is she talking about serving? Akaashi thought.
"Well, I'm not really sure actually." She added after a moment of thought. "Serves I'm probably all good to go, but everything else is meh."
"What do you mean by someone on your own level? Do you mean skill wise?" The setter probed.
Shiori shook her head, "Nah, I'm talking about same year level. Well, just some of them anyway. I heard that they had a really powerful pinch server who was originally a setter. I think his name was, uh, Semi Eita? I don't know. I want to see that serve up close. Same with Ushijima's. They've got strong serves."
"Are you going to improve your serve?" He asked. He noted that she took care to take down details about people she was interested in, especially when their skills are something she was intrigued with.
"Probably." She laughed lightly. "Well, you're helping me so much to improve, so I guess so, even if it's spiking. But for serves, yeah, I want to make them stronger. I think you might've already heard that a lot from me, but that's what I want to do." She added with a giggle, "You should totally teach me how to set better, too."
"If you serve any harder I don't think Komi-san would be able to get them easier." Akaashi deadpanned. He didn't respond to her comment about teaching her how to set. That would come later.
Shiori grinned, "He'll get there. I'll make sure of it."
So she does want to climb back to the top. With a strong serve like now, it's still one of the best; does she intend to become an unreachable #1? He wondered.
"Thanks for helping out the team."
"Hm? You're the one who dragged me there to help out; they should be thanking you."
"But you're the one helping them, Shiori-san."
"…eh, I guess so. But I haven't done much. I wish I could help out more."
"You've helped out enough." The setter sighed.
"I want to help out more. It's my last year here too, so I won't be able to help out the younger members. I want to show them that they can be really good at volleyball, too."
Akaashi thought for a moment, "You can come to the training camps and help them out after the day program." He suggested.
"You mean the training camps that you guys always have with Nekoma and the other 2 schools?" Shiori questioned. He nodded. She raised a brow, "But they're for you guys to play amongst yourselves, right? I feel like I'd be completely out of place because I'll be the only girl playing that isn't on an actual team or anything."
"Isn't that what you're doing already?" Akaashi's words were like a steel sword through her, because they were absolutely true, so her words became void.
"Urgh..." She grunted.
"You can join us after hours."
"That sounds naughty." She laughed. "It feels like I'm a kid staying up until 1am even though the curfew is 9pm."
Akaashi looked at her funny, he definitely expected that kind of explanation, but hearing her say the first part was just weird, especially if it was alone with a guy.
"What? Did I say something weird?" She looked at him, blinking a couple of times. She waved a hand on front of his face, "Earth to Keiji!"
"I've landed back on earth." He humoured her.
"And we've arrived at my home." She stopped in her steps, "It's late, so join us for dinner!" She offered, opening the gates.
"Sorry, I can't this time. I have some things that I have to finish off." He shook his head gently in refusal.
"Eh, really? Good luck with that, then. I'll miss having your company." She patted him on the shoulder, then went in for a hug, smiling into his shoulder. "You're like a comfy pillow." She mumbled into his jersey.
Akaashi looked down to her. Did he hear right? He didn't think he was hearing things, but it left him a little dumbfounded when he hugged her back.
"Get home safely, okay?" She pulled away and smiled warmly at him, then waved and went inside.
Akaashi waved, seeing her look back and smile before going in.
He walked home, his hands shoved into his pocket as he walked slowly back. It was true that he had some things to finish that night, and he didn't want to stay up any later than he did because it was getting close to Inter Highs.
His thoughts wandered back to when he suggested for her to come by and help out at the training camp. He was sure that the training camps would be a little later on in the summer holidays, so she would probably be able to make it after she comes back from Miyagi.
If he were to be honest with himself, he wanted to see her on the summer holidays because it was fun having her around, even if it didn't seem like he did.
Ah, she said something about a lot of people knowing who she was in Miyagi, he remembered MiracleBoy's conversation with her, there might be a lot of talk about this later, especially in the forums, he realised.
If she went to the training camp with us, and Karasuno, the former powerhouse school Nekoma had some trouble with, I wonder if that'll be beneficial or not? He wondered.
Speaking of teams and training camps, she mentioned something about not being on the team...hm, I wonder if it's because of her former middle school team that made her not enjoy competitive volleyball anymore? Probably so; maybe.
He just kept thinking, until he hit his doorstep.
His mother greeted him with a smile, "Welcome home, Keiji."
"I'm home."
"You're not with Shiori-chan today?" She asked.
"I have some stuff to do, so I declined." He took off his shoes and put on some slippers, starting to go up the stairs.
His mother made a thoughtful noise, then set her mind on it. "Keiji! Why don't you invite her over sometime?"
The setter stopped his step, looking to his mother with a surprised expression. "But—"
"If you're uncomfortable with just bringing her along, invite her brother and father, too." His mum suggested.
"…Shiori-san will be just fine." He continued upstairs, going into his room to change for dinner.
His mother was treating her like she was like every other good friend of his, but the contradiction is that bringing a girl home to a guy's house is a little black and white, especially when she wasn't even his girlfriend.
If word got around it would be quite troublesome for her, he changed into something comfortable, the thought of Kuroo, and Ushijima in his mind, but, it could also serve as a reminder to others.
That she's closer to me than she is them.