A/N: Hello everyone! I'm finally back! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but better late than never, I guess.
Last chapter, Chizuko realized that Jiro was hidding something and she was ready to find out what it is. On the other hand, Nagisa asked Noa for some help with English. However, not everyone thinks his proposal was as innocent as it seems. I know many of you want to know about Jiro's secret, but you'll still have to wait longer.

rycmika: First of all, thanks for taking your time to leave a comment. As I previously warned, I'm afraid you'll have to wait to know what's going on with Jiro. First, I want some characters to interact and the team still need to keep improving.

Shadow Wolf 15846: You are all impatient hahahaha I'm so sorry. I hope you're not disappointed, because this chapter you won't find any answers.

Enjoy the reading.

I do not own Haikyuu or it's characters

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
Noa's protection squad

Noa looked again in the mirror. She wore a camel-colored skirt that was above her knees and a fine maroon sweater. She wore also knee-length black socks with dark green and maroon rhombuses and brown booties with straps, hair worn loose, but she pulled back her bangs with a hairpin.

"Stop looking at yourself in the mirror"

"I'm not looking in the mirror"

"Liar..." Mayu sighed on the other side of the phone line.

"I don't know why I'm so nervous. It's not a date"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Why are you telling me that!? You are confusing me!"

"Noa, it's not bad to have a date with a guy, let alone if it's someone like Watanabe-san"

"He just said he wanted me to help him with English"

"Well if he said that, then you have nothing to worry about"

"I know"

And yet, Noa still felt uneasy. Maybe it was the fact that Nagisa was one of the most popular boys in high school what made her nervous. If someone saw them together, what would they think?

And then, Tanaka and Nishinoya overreacting, implying that Nagisa was going to take advantage of that moment to definitely jump over her…

She shook her head, trying to get those thoughts out of her mind. Why did she care about what others thought? She was meeting Nagisa to help him with English. She wasn't doing anything wrong.

"I have to go"

"Okay. Call me as soon as you get home. I want to know everything"

Noa put her coat and a scarf. She took her purse and went downstairs.

"Are you leaving, Noa-san?" Suga showed her a charming smile, but Noa got chills. He was definitely up to something.

"Yes. I don't want to be late"

"So, are you having today your date with Watanabe?"

"Ehhh…"

"Suga, let her be," Daichi, just in time, left the kitchen to save her.

"I was only being polite"

"Have fun," Asahi peeked behind Daichi and waved at her.

"Thanks," Noa waved back and left the house quickly, before someone else (her father or Miyoko) could hold her again.

Suga glanced at Daichi. He was still staring at the door, even though Noah had already left.

"She's wearing a skirt…" he mumbled. "And she hates skirts and dress"

Suga smirked. "See? It's a date then~"

Daichi flinched. "No! It's not!"

Noa glimpsed Watanabe Nagisa in the distance. He quickly noticed her presence and turned to look at her. He wore burgundy skinny pants, a white sweatshirt, and a long Klein blue coat; white sneakers and a dark blue scarf around his neck. At his back he carried a small black backpack. A soft winter breeze lightly brushed his bangs and he tried to comb them with his fingers.

Noa smiled. "Have you been waiting for long?"

"No. I like arriving a little earlier," he checked the time on his cell phone. "Although I see that you have also arrived earlier"

"A-Ah, yes," Noa blushed. She wasn't going to tell him that she had arrived early precisely because she was nervous.

"Come on," Nagisa turned around and started walking with his hands in the pockets of his coat. Noa startled, but then ran after him to catch up.

It didn't take long for them to enter an establishment that was in a small alley, near the park of the train station. Inside, the place was much larger than it seemed from the outside. The decoration was simple, predominantly with pastel shades. It had a large counter filled with cakes and pastries. Noa looked around. There were many clients, especially young people who chatted cheerfully.

"Is this the first time you come here?"

"Yes!" Noa replied.

"My sister loves this place," he approached the counter. "What would you like?"

"Hmmm…" took a look at the panels hanging from the ceiling. "Mocha coffee and cheese cake"

"Good choice." Nagisa curled the corner of his mouth slightly upward. "I'll have green tea and strawberry cake. We will take it here"

"Right away," the waitress showed Nagisa a lovely smile and began to prepare the order.

"Do you already want to foot the bill?" Another one spoke.

"Oh! How much is it?" Noa asked Nagisa.

"Nothing. It's my treat"

"It's not necessary," Noa took out her wallet.

"Let me pay," Nagisa took gently her hand. "You'll invite next time"

Next time!?, Noa thought. Was he planning to meet her alone again? Noa fidgeted with her fingers, feeling anxious about it. She was being paranoid and it was everyone's fault! Nagisa, on the other hand, remained imperturbable, with his hands still tucked in the pockets of his coat while they waited for the order to be served.

Surely he would also be noticing the way many people turned to look at him, some people even with no discretion. It must have been very uncomfortable for him, to feel all those eyes on him, all those people whispering about him, about how handsome he was and that he looked like a model, although on the outside he did not seem to realize what was happening around him.

When the waitresses put their order on a tray, Noa noticed that Nagisa quickly picked up his mug, although she managed to read in time that one of the waitresses had drawn a heart. How hard must be to be so good-looking, she thought as they took a seat facing each other.

Noa put her hands around the steaming mug and took a sip. The coffee was slightly sweet, with the perfect touch of cocoa. She closed her eyes briefly, quickly warming up. When she opened them, she saw Nagisa pick up his spoon and taking a piece of the cheesecake she had ordered. She opened her mouth in surprise, unable to say anything.

"It's delicious. It's one of my favorite," Nagisa smiled. "Don't make that face," he laughed.

Noa blinked confused. It was strange to see Nagisa so relaxed. In high school he was very formal and the gesture he had just done implied a certain familiarity and confidence between them that Noa was not very sure when it had emerged.

"Does that surprise you?" Noa flinched. Nagisa was looking at her intently. "The one that I am in high school is me. Now I'm trying to be nicer, so you can feel comfortable, Furihata-san"

Noa blushed. "You don't have to try so hard, Nagisa-san. I like you the way you are"

Nagisa smiled. "You're a good person, Furihata-san. You should be careful, because not everyone will approach you with good intentions"

Noa blinked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing in particular," the boy shrugged and ate a piece of his strawberry pie.

"Nagisa-san," Noa pressed her lips in a thin line, pondering what she was going to say next. She wasn't sure if Nagisa was talking about himself, but she needed to share her thoughts with him. "You are a good person. Jiro appreciates you a lot and you're very important to him"

"You have a very good relationship with Jiro-kun, don't you?"

"Of course. We are friends and I trust him," Noa smiled innocently. "If he trusts you, then I will trust you too"

Nagisa stirred his coffee slowly.

"I'm sorry if I confused you, Furihata-san. Lately I am trying to put in order certain aspects of my life"

"You are very mature," Noa giggled. Nagisa looked up from his mug. Although Noa couldn't notice, he felt his cheeks warm. "I would love to be as serious and honest as you. It seems that you have things very clear"

Nagisa smiled slightly. "You think very highly of me"

"I guess it must be hard for you to always have so many people keeping an eye on you, but you don't have to be perfect all the time. You're fine just the way you are and people who really bother to meet you will also see it. Jiro is your friend since you were little, he's the one who knows you best and I'm sure you don't have to try that hard when you are around him, because you can be as you really like when you are with him," Noa fiddled with the coffee spoon. "You'll probably think I'm being rude, but I wanted you to know. I like how you are, whether you are more serious or less. You don't have to pretend when you are with me. I'll continue to consider you my friend"

Noa smiled shyly at him. Nagisa remained expressionless, as was usual in him. However, his honey-colored eyes shone.

Noa noticed that Nagisa's hand was moving toward hers. She felt her heartbeat fasten, and when the tips of his fingers brushed hers, Nagisa tensed and slowly withdrew his hand to search through his backpack.

"We are here to help me with English," his voice was serious.

"A-Ah, that's true!"

What the hell had happened? Why had he suddenly changed his attitude?

…

"She's gonna hate me"

"She won't hate you because she's not going to know that we are here"

"She's my friend and I'm doing something terrible!"

Mayu crossed her arms. Tanaka and Nishinoya were sitting in a table behind a column. The boys peeked from time to time to stared at Nagisa and Noa. The two seemed to have taken a seat a few minutes ago.

Mayu ran a hand through her short hair and sighed. The two boys had shown up at her house and dragged her out to take them to the place where Noa was meeting Nagisa.

"Ah… Noa-san looks beautiful today"

"That skirt looks nice on her"

"This isn't right," Mayu repeated.

"We are only making sure Noa-san is fine," Nishinoya patted her back trying to comfort her, but that only made Mayu frown.

"Noa-san told me that this isn't a date, so I believe her"

"Oh!" Tanaka exclaimed. "Watanabe has taken a piece of Noa's cake!"

"That bastard…"

Mayu rolled her eyes. "He would only have asked her to taste it. It's nothing"

"Can't you see it!? They are all lovey-dovey!"

"What are you doing here?"

Mayu, Nishinoya and Tanaka tensed when they heard a voice behind them. As they turned around, the three discovered that Suga, Asahi and Daichi were watching them curiously. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were behind them.

"Are you spying on Noa-san?" Yamaguchi asked.

"How dare you?" Daichi crossed his arms.

"Don't be like that~ You're dying to know what's going on between those two," Suga teased.

"That's not true! We had to take a break from studying"

"And the best way to do it was coming to the cafe where Noa-san is having her date…"

"Don't worry, Daichi-san," Nishinoya clenched his right fist with determination. "We are here to protect Noa-san's innocence!"

"We are Noa's protection squad!" Tanaka added.

"What Noa needs the least is for you two to protect her!"

"Could you please lower your voice?" Mayu scolded them. "Noa is going to see us and if that happens we are going to have a real problem"

"Given that how noisy you are, I think Watanabe-san realized a while ago that you are here," Tsukishima hummed.

Everyone peeked around the column. Nagisa had taken out a notebook and Noa seemed to be explaining something to him. Unlike how he was behaving before, the second-year seemed tense.

"Hold on a second…" Tanaka turned around. "What the hell are you two doing here?" He looked at Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.

"We met Daichi-san, Sugawara-san and Asahi-san by chance," Yamaguchi giggled nervously.

Next, Tanaka and Nishinoya glared at Tsukishima. They also wanted him to answer.

"Don't look at me," the boy took a sip at a coffee that none of them knew at what time he had bought. "I don't care about what that airhead does"

"If you excuse me, I'm leaving," Mayu stood up. "I don't want Noa getting upset about this, but you owe me a very fat one." The libero pointed to her second-year classmates in an accusing way. "You have dragged me here against my will," she added as she left the cafe with discretion to avoid being seen.

"You did what!?" Daichi couldn't believe it.

"It isn't that bad. Shiraiwa is exaggerating," Nishinoya explained. "She lives near my house. This benefits us all"

"You should be doing something fruitful instead of losing your time here," Daichi scolded them.

"Yes, exactly like us," Suga spoke ironically as he crossed her arms. Daichi looked daggers at him. Asahi gave a nervous giggle.

"I don't think there's anything to worry about either," Yamaguchi interjected. "Noa-san seems to be simply helping him with some homework"

"I would say that Watanabe-san likes Furihata-san"

"WHAAAAT!?" Everyone yelled at unison as soon as Tsukishima dropped that bomb.

"Stop talking in such a high voice," the blonde frowned.

"Don't change the subject. Explain yourself, Tsukishima!" Nishinoya pointed at him.

"It's pretty clear. This was just an excuse to be with her alone. If you paid attention, you would realize that Watanabe-san has been interested in her for some time. Surely he is not aware that he really likes Furihata-san, but he feels that something is wrong and is trying to figure out what it is," he sipped his coffee. "What I don't get is what he has seen in a simpleton like her"

"Whoa…" Suga was truly impressed.

"That bastard!" Nishinoya slammed the table. "How dare he!? Noa-san is a precious good for all of us!"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Daichi barked. "She isn't anyone's, let alone you two!"

"You're such a good oni-chan," Suga giggled.

"Can somebody explain to me what are you doing here?"

"Ah! Hello again, Noa-san," Asahi greeted innocently.

As soon as the ace uttered those words, all the boys flinched. Noa was standing next to their table. She watched them, arms on her hips and frowning.

"You haven't answered my question," she insisted.

"We were only passing by," Suga smiled innocently.

"Sorry for making a fuss," Yamaguchi apologized.

"Yes. I've heard you yelling," Noa stared at them.

"Furihata-san," Nagisa was standing a couple of meter away from them.

"Watanabe! We are watching you!" Nishinoya suddendly yelled.

"Zip it!" Tanaka covered the libero's mouth with his hand.

Noa looked at Nagisa. The boy was even more tensed. Little by little she was putting the pieces together. So that was what happened to him, that's why he had been so weird all of a sudden. He already knew that they were there. But how long had they been in that cafeteria?

"You've been spying on me!" She suddenly realized what was happening.

"We only wanted to make sure that everything was going fine," Nishinoya confessed.

"You are nuts!"

"She's truly pissed off…" Daichi muttered.

"Of course I got angry! Nagisa-san just asked me for help with English! Nagisa-san is a good person! Why do you treat him as if he were a criminal? If you took the trouble to try to meet him, instead of judging him for liking the girls -which is not even his fault-, you would discover that he is someone worth having as a friend"

"Furihata-san,"Nagisa called her. He was truly grateful for what she was saying, but she was also embarrassing him.

"Nagisa-san is a good friend and it hurts me that you have to be watching what I do or I stop doing. Whether it's a date or not, it's none of your business!" The girl turned around and grabbed Nagisa's arm, pulling him out of the cafe. "Let's go!"

They went silent for a few seconds before Tsukishima spoke.

"For the first time, I agree with her"

"Nobody asked for your opinion, Tsukishima," Tanaka and Nishinoya mumbled at the same time, in some way devastated because Noa was truly angry with them, when they had done it with all their goodwill.

…

Noa was walking in front of him. She had her fists clenched tightly and was taking long strides. She was possibly cursing the boys for their attitude. He didn't intend to defend them; none of them especially aroused his sympathy. However, he didn't want to have to put up with Noa's anger either.

"Furihata-san", he called her, even though the girl didn't turn around. She kept walking.

"Furihata-san," he insisted.

Noa quickened the pace of her strides. She went across the street without even looking, surely absorbed in her thoughts.

"Furihata-san!" He yelled.

Nagisa ran to her, grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her back. A car passing by at that moment honked at them.

"You have to pay attention!"

"Sorry," she seemed a little bit disoriented.

"You can't take these things so seriously, Furihata-san. I understand your anger, but don't forget your surroundings"

"But it bothers me! I'm not a little girl!"

"I know. I'm sure they have done it with all their good will, but it's better if you calm down and talk to them tomorrow to clear things up"

Noa bit her lip. She felt stupid. She might say that she wasn't a little girl, but she actually felt like one. She could have been got struck by a car if it had not been for Nagisa.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "You're right. I lost my temper"

"And I get it"

"I'm sorry you had to see that. They are idiots. I hope this doesn't prevent you from continuing to be my friend"

"Don't worry"

"Anyway," Noa scratched the back of her neck a little uncomfortable. "My house is over there," she pointed to her right. "Ask me for all the help you want with English. If you want to practice the speaking part one day, that's fine too"

"Hey, Furihata-san"

"Yes?"

"Do you have something to do? I want to show you something"

"Right now?"

"Right now"

After a few seconds, Noa nodded. Nagisa started walking in the opposite direction. He didn't say a word and Noa didn't need to start a conversation either. She walked beside him, in silence, letting him guide her through the streets of Sendai.

They reached the outskirts of the city. They walked along the edge of one of the roads up the mountain. They were moving further from the city, but Noa chose not to ask where he was taking her. The sun had begun to set and in a few minutes the streetlights began to light up.

There seemed to be a viewpoint. Nagisa crossed the road quickly and Noa went after him. There was a broken stone wall.

"My grandparents grew up in the house that was here," Nagisa explained, even though she hadn't asked him anything. "There is nothing left, only that stone wall. My parents dismantled it when my grandparents died, it was abandoned"

Nagisa climbed up the stones. Once up, he reached out to Noa to help her. Noa clutched his hand tightly and climbed to the top of the wall. From up there, one could see the hillside of the hill and, below, the city of Sendai already fully illuminated.

"It's beautiful," Noa said, a bit of her breath escaping her lips

"My grandparents didn't live here since they got married, but I used to come here with my grandfather as a child to see the landscape"

"Why did you bring me here? It seems to be a very special place"

"It is. I had only brought Jiro-kun here," he went silent for a second. "And now you"

"What an honor," she giggled.

"I wanted to bring you here because you were very upset. I was hoping that your anger would go away thanks to the view"

"Well, I think it has taken effect, if only because how hard it's been the climb"

"Oh, come on... I don't think this has been worse than your practice with Ushijima-san"

Noa laughed. He was right. The training with Ushijima was much worse, but, of course, it wasn't as satisfactory as having climbed the mountain to that place and see the city at their feet.

"You see the trees all over the hill?" Noa nodded. "They are cherry trees. In spring they dye everything pink"

"It must be beautiful…"

"Hey…" Nagisa made a brief pause. "Noa"

Noa turned to look at Nagisa. The boy was staring forward. He looked calm, but it had not escaped Noa that he had just called her by her first name, without even using an honorific.

"In spring we will return here. We will see the cherry trees. You and I. Together"

Noa felt her heartbeat speed up and she looked forward again. She imagined that hill full of a cloak of small pink flowers and smiled softly.

"Sure," she said as they watched the illuminated landscape of the city of Sendai on that winter night.

After that, Nagisa and Noa returned to the city in silence. They said goodbye on the main street and Noa walked home, thinking about the strange day she had lived. Nagisa had been very different from how he was in high school, but, according to him, the person who was in high school was him. So, then, who exactly was the person Noa had been with that afternoon?

She opened the house door. The heating soon made her warm. Her hands were very cold. She took off her shoes and left her boots in the entrance. She announced her arrival, but she didn't get any response. The lights were on, but there was a lot of silence, as if the house was empty, and there was no smell of freshly cooked dinner either.

She peeked into the living-room. The light was on, but, once again, there was no one. She climbed the stairs, afraid that something bad had happened. After all, Miyoko had been a few weeks ago in the hospital for complications in her pregnancy. However, she heard voices coming from the room she shared with her father. They spoke quietly and Noa approached to better listen.

"I can't do anything about it"

"I can get to understand why you didn't tell me about this, but you should have talked to her. It's her mother and this affects her!"

Noa's eyes widened. Who did they talk about? Were they talking about her mother?

"Are you talking about my mother?" Noa leaned out the door. Miyoko and her father faces' paled. "You know, dad, I've been trying to contact her for some time, but I can't. Do you know what's wrong? Is she okay?"

Noa noticed how Miyoko glanced at her father.

Before his father could answer, more voices were heard in the hallway. Daichi also peeked into the room.

"Oh! You are already here, Noa!" He looked at his mom. "I'm starving. Shall I start cooking something?"

"Yes, please," Miyoko walked towards the door. "Koushi-kun, Asahi-kun, stay for dinner"

"We don't want to bother you more than we already have," Suga smiled.

"You will be hungry after the study session. Recover your strength and then go home"

"Thank you very much," the setter bowed.

Noa frowned. That had been the perfect distraction.

"I don't know anything from her," her father suddenly put his hand on her shoulder. "But I'm sure she's fine," he added before leaving the bedroom too.

Noa sighed. Why was no one being clear about where her mother was? She could have sworn he was talking about her with Miyoko, even though he said otherwise. On the other hand, she had partly taken up contact with Lizzie, but she hadn't given her a clear answer either. She had also called her aunt Lorie, but she and her mother didn't speak to each other, so she was not at all interested in what might happen to her little sister.

"Is everything alright?"

Noa looked up. Asahi came out of the bathroom and the two had run into each other when they reached the stairs.

"Yes," Noa answered, still thinking about what had just happened.

"And what about your date?"

"Fine," she answered as she went downstairs.

Asahi, on the other hand, didn't move. He had talked about her meeting with Watanabe as a date and the girl didn't correct him. So, did they have a real date?

And that's all! Give me your impressions about Nagisa. Do you think he's nice or do you think that's not his true nature? I really want to know what you think.

Next chapter I'll be focusing on the team. I don't know if you remember, but Nekoma girls' team invited them to Tokyo. Guess where our protagonists are going...

Next chapter: Training cam

~ See you next time!