This originated from a joke on a discord server and took forever to complete lol.
Many thanks to Bethany and Daisey for contributing ideas and being my sounding board as I made you wait in suspense for months. I'm so sorry. And thank you to yozra for helping me with the honorifics.
I asked the names of the two friends we see Michimiya with. I was told one is Mao Aihara from the volleyball team and, with less certainty, that the second was named Aya. So I ran with it and made "Aya" a non-vball-playing classmate.
Please enjoy.
~ Breeze
"Maybe you should invite Sawamura to the dance."
Yui jolted at her friend Aya's suggestion while they crossed the school courtyard after their last class.
The school dance. It was a new concept, beginning to take off across the nation. Modeled on American "homecoming" and "prom," it was a social event for fun and mingling and maybe dating—so everyone said, anyway.
"What?! No, I couldn't," Yui waved her hands defensively. A voice sneaked up behind her.
"Yeah, there's no point anyway," said her volleyball teammate Mao Aihara. "Look."
Yui and her non-athletic friend Aya peered at the two coach buses parked in the lot outside one of the gyms.
"Oh? Visiting teams?" asked Yui.
"Yeah, I hear they're from Tokyo. Strong ones too. Sawamura's going to be so busy for the weekend he won't have time for the dance."
Aya and Mao saw Yui deflate. The girls' volleyball captain held out hope against hope that Daichi Sawamura would notice her. Mao sighed. She debated whether to mention this, but for the sake of helping the girl move on, perhaps it bore saying.
"Also…I happened to see some managers came with them. Some hot city girls. I…I wouldn't be surprised if he's 'distracted' by them."
Michimiya's heart became so gripped with fear, Mao regretted her comment instantly.
"But! I mean! That doesn't mean you can't go! They're not even marketing it to, like, couples or anything. It's just a dance that anyone can attend." She nodded at Aya, cuing her to nod in agreement.
"You just bought that new dress, didn't you?" Aya suggested. "You should wear it!"
"Yeah, I guess so," Yui pouted and slinked off.
As the other girls followed, they didn't notice Koushi Sugawara peering at them.
"Oya oya oya?" Kuroo smirked reading the dance announcement on the Karasuno gym door.
"Oh, yeah," Sawamura shrugged. "They're doing a dance thing this weekend. I was thinking of going, but we arranged for you guys to be here for camp, so—"
Appearing out of nowhere, Sugawara launched himself into Sawamura's backside, knocking Daichi onto the floor.
"So nothing! Don't you think you should go?" the vice-captain cheerily declared.
Daichi was on hands and knees, momentarily paralyzed. "I mean…when you put it like that…," he shuddered.
"What's this? A dance?" said Koutarou Bokuto approaching.
The dance was bad timing. Takeda had already agreed to host Fukurodani and Nekoma for a week, overlapping with the event (which would take place in the adjacent gymnasium).
Asahi helped the wounded warrior Daichi up when Takeda summoned the three schools together, managers and all.
"This will be a productive week," he declared, flanked by coaches Nekomata and Yamiji, "but I know some of you are going to be distracted by the dance tomorrow." Whispers permeated the crowd. "Coach Ukai and I have discussed it with our visiting coaches, and we think this is an experience you all should consider. So, if anyone wants to go, you are not obligated to attend practice. I think this is a real opportunity Karasuno's first-years should experience, so all of you are definitively excused."
"Oh, neat!" Hinata cried beside a bored-looking Kageyama.
Yamaguchi was intrigued. Yachi shook in her boots at the thought of being surrounded by so many handsome and pretty strangers in suits and fancy dresses. Tadashi encircled her shoulders with his arm.
"It won't be that bad," he said.
"Then why are your legs shaking?" she asked of the boy whose knees clattered together.
"Oh, no reason," Yamaguchi roughly said, as terrified as the young manager. He tried to distract himself by turning to the thoroughly unenthused Tsukishima. "Are you going, Tsukki?"
He clicked his tongue. "Of course not."
"You're just mad cos you don't have a date!" Hinata ridiculed. The dagger stare he received in reply made Hinata back up to the gym wall.
Kuroo threw an arm over Tsukki's shoulder. "So what's this about a dance my little Tsukki doesn't want to go to?"
Kei said nothing.
Kiyoko watched from afar when Fukurodani's third-year manager Yukie Shirofuku wandered up.
"We had a dance at Fukurodani earlier this year. They're becoming quite popular."
"Managers have the night off too if they want, and we're allowed to bring a plus one," Kiyoko said. "Would you like to go? Apparently they will have food too."
Yukie's eyes changed at the mention of food. "Please! Would you?!" And realizing she may have come across a little too excited: "I mean, no. I couldn't impose."
"It's no trouble at all," assured Kiyoko.
"No, no, no, no, no! It's not my place! I don't want to see how the food tastes."
"Well, you don't have to try the food," Shimizu reassured.
"Well, I suppose it would be nice just to see it," she prevaricated. "Sure! I'll go. You talked me into it."
"D'you hear that?" Noya whispered to Tanaka a short distance away. "Kiyoko-san is going to the dance."
"You know what that means?" Ryuu said. Nishinoya had the exact same thought. They beat their chests in solidarity to dedicate themselves to the cause. "It's our duty to protect Kiyoko-san from all the sleazebags who fail to appreciate her majesty."
Tora's ear twitched.
"Hey! Count me in too!" he yipped.
"Totally!" affirmed Ryuu. "I'll bring you as my plus one. And together, like ninjas of the night, we'll make sure Kiyoko-san has the best dance ever with no unsavory suitors!"
Tora and Noya roared their support.
Hinata, meanwhile, ran up to Takeda. "Sensei! Can we bring other people from practice?"
Takeda and Ukai glanced at each other and then at their visiting coaches. Fukurodani's Yamiji shrugged.
"I don't see why not," Nekomata chuckled. "These kids deserve a fun night once in their life."
"All right," Keishin said. "But we expect extra practice from you all the very next day."
Hinata saluted. "You got it!"
"At this rate, we might want to just cancel practice," Ittetsu floated.
Kenma's ear twitched at the suggestion practice might get canceled. Maybe I can play New Horizons after all, he thought.
"Eh, not everyone's going to want to go. It'll be fine," Coach Ukai replied to Takeda.
Kozume growled hearing that.
But Hinata bounced in front of Nekoma's setter. "Hey, Kenma! You want to go? I'll even rent you a suit from this cheap place Kageyama found."
"Oh, um, yeah, sure," Kenma said cautiously. A giant social event like a dance sounded like the most hideous creation of humanity in history. But technically Kenma had no obligation to go there to dance. He could find a warm, cozy spot against the wall and tap on his Switch all night. If anything, this was a way to escape Kuroo's watch as much as the rigors of practice.
Meanwhile…
"So, how am I supposed to see country bumpkins getting jiggy with it if no one invites me as their plus one?" Kuroo wooed Tsukki.
"Yes, that is quite unfortunate," Kei replied mockingly and walked off. Kuroo pouted.
But Tetsurou would not be stopped, so he sauntered over to the stretching Bokuto.
"Hey. Want to crash the dance tomorrow?"
"Hmm? Sure!" Koutarou yelled.
Konoha pattered up. "Hey! Me too!"
"Sweet," Kuroo grinned and fist bumped the new accomplice.
"You realize this is a horrible idea," Akaashi criticized.
"What's the worst that could happen?" Kuroo teased.
"Yeah! Hey, hey, hey!" Bokuto echoed joyfully. He and Kuroo chest-bumped each other.
"I'll keep 'em both in line," Konoha reassured with a gleaming smirk. The thought of Konoha as chaperone just made Akaashi more worried.
"We'll have to be quiet about it though, like ditch practice so no one can check that we're technically not invited," Kuroo whispered to his accomplices.
"This is gonna be sweet!" Konoha squealed. But he began to giggle when a memory surged back. "However, nothing'll beat the dance we had at Fukurodani," he chuckled. Akaashi grimaced at the recollection.
"Oh?" Kuroo said, having heard rumors of the fiasco. "What happened?"
Akinori grinned evilly. "I spiked the punch."
"Of all people, you're the blight of society enough to do it," Tetsurou humorously slighted.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Konoha erupted. But Bokuto bounded over.
"Yeah! The punch was so awesome. I drank a ton of it!"
Kuroo flinched, imagining Bokuto inebriated.
"Bokuto-san," Akaashi dutifully reminded. "Let's finish stretching."
When the setter-ace duo left, Tetsurou whispered into Akinori's ear.
"Tell me. What was Bokuto like drunk?"
Akinori's happy recollections vanished. He gazed at Kuroo, the fear of God in his eyes.
"He was no different…."
And with the net strung up for the first day of practice, Daichi climbed down the ladder to find Sugawara and Asahi awaiting him.
"Hey. What's up?"
"So…," Sugawara began firmly and cued Asahi to start.
Karasuno's ace trembled. "W-we think you should h-have a n-night off," Asahi stammered.
"Doing what?"
"Um, en-en—"
"Enjoying the finer things of life!" Sugawara interjected, finishing Asahi's scripted line.
"I mean, we can do that aft—"
With an endearing arm over Daichi's shoulder, Suga guided the captain away.
"Daichi, you've been pushing yourself a lot, and we appreciate that. But Asahi and I both think you need to unwind. Listen. We'll go with you for moral support. I'll even get you a suit, so you can't use that as an excuse either."
"I mean, I guess. If the coaches are OK with it."
"We'll tell the coaches! Don't you worry!" Suga declared. (He had no intention of telling the coaches.)
"Well, all right then," Sawamura conceded. "I guess it would be nice to loosen up."
Now that the gym was set up, Takeda signaled everyone together again. Sawamura abandoned Suga, and then Asahi joined Koushi. Suga had a devilish grin.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Asahi asked.
"Listen. Daichi and Michimiya are gonna graduate soon. This dance is the best chance to get those two finally talking and make her confess."
"Again, are you sure this is a good idea?" Asahi whimpered.
"What could go wrong?"
The forecast called for rain, but when students gathered at the spare gym for the hyped-up dance, not a drop had fallen.
In the other gym, reserved for volleyball practice that night, Ennoshita counted and recounted the number of players before him: seven out of ten visiting from Nekoma and five out of eight from Fukurodani.
"Aren't you both missing a few?" Chikara asked.
Yaku crossed his arms. "Speak for yourself."
Flanking Chikara were Narita and Kinoshita. Not a single other Karasuno player had shown.
On the bench, Fukurodani's first-year manager Kaori Suzumeda felt left out. "Why am I the only manager here?"
At the entrance to the other gym, Kiyoko, decked out in an elegant black dress, placed her umbrella in the rack and prepared to enjoy the festivities. Shirofuku had pulled out the stops with an exquisite pure white gown. They checked in with the leery vice-principal who verified Yukie against his preapproved list, and then the two headed in.
The space sparsely decorated, most of the mood relied on lighting. Music pulsed on low volume. The building was split in half by several food tables lined up in a row, boasting far too lavish a feast for the modest turnout. A punchbowl marked the center of the spread. A spotlight illuminated the half of the gym by the entrance, where most people mingled shyly around the edges.
Beyond the food tables, the gym remained dark. The technically off-limits area hosted more than a couple of groups of people loitering to avoid the dance floor as much as possible.
When Shirofuku saw the food spread, her mouth watered.
"Shall we check out the food?" asked Kiyoko.
"Yes!" Yukie squealed too eagerly. "I mean: yes," she repeated at normal volume.
Shirofuku found strawberries at one end, popped one in her mouth, and experienced instant bliss. Kiyoko proceeded up the line on her own, browsing the selection.
"Yukie-san, you made it," a boy's voice said. Yukie, her cheeks now bulging like a squirrel's with strawberries, beheld Daichi in a dapper suit. She swallowed her stash in one gulp.
"Thanks to Kiyoko."
"How's the food?" Sawamura asked.
"Well…" her hands hesitated over what to grab next. "I'll get back to you on that," she added, gleefully moving on to the next item.
On the far end of the dance floor, three girls eyed the one-on-one between Sawamura and the visitor from Tokyo.
"Look at that witch flirting with him," whispered Aihara to Yui.
"Yeah," echoed Aya, "the way she's gesturing over the food like she wants him to feed her. City girls are disgusting."
"Are you sure that's what's going on?" Yui questioned.
"And that gaudy white dress—uck!" Aihara exclaimed.
"I think the dress is kind of cute," said Yui.
"That's what she wants you to think," Aya nodded.
Elsewhere hovered Azumane and Sugawara. While Asahi studied a set list Suga stole from the unimpressive DJ, Koushi's attention zeroed in on the gossipers, then on Daichi chatting with Yukie. Instantly Koushi's alarm bells went off.
"That's a very pretty dress," Daichi complimented.
Sugawara locked his elbow with Daichi's and tugged him away. "Yes, it is. And it would look much prettier without you standing next to it."
"What?!" Daichi screeched in shock.
Oblivious to the whole matter, the two most nervous people in the room stood by the lunch table, inseparable as they gazed placidly at the dance floor. Truthfully Yamaguchi and Yachi were merely glad they hadn't tripped over their own two feet by now. Hitoka came adorned in a fabulous, knee-length blue dress with sparkles and a decorative belt around the natural waist.
In the corner of her eye, she spotted Kiyoko admiring the dip.
"Shimizu-senpai looks so beautiful," Yachi sighed. Yamaguchi nodded in agreement.
Then a splotch of dip plodded on Kiyoko's dress when she tried to serve it. Alas, she discovered, she left her handkerchief at home. She noticed Yachi, with a handkerchief of her own in the chest pocket.
"Hitoka-chan, do you mind if I borrow your handkerchief?"
For the Shimizu-senpai, Yachi would give her entire outfit.
"Uh, I mean, it's not much! Clearly it's not up to your standards! You wouldn't want a ratty old thing like this," she gushed even as she was automatically handing over the fabric.
Kiyoko dabbed the spot away and then moved to return it.
"No, no! You keep it!" Yachi insisted.
Shimizu thanked her and folded it into her own pocket.
A short distance away in the dark half of the room, a trio of third-year boys eyed the legendarily unattainable Kiyoko Shimizu. Two of them egged on their nervous friend to approach her. Swallowing his fear, the teen approached the girl daintily sipping some punch.
He was halfway to Shimizu when a hand landed on each of his shoulders.
"You really want to do that, hmmmm?" Tanaka loomed.
"Yeah, I mean, you think you're worthy of her, hmmmm?" Yamamoto echoed on the other side.
"Uh, no!" the boy squeaked and dashed away. Tora and Ryuu grinned at each other, not initially noticing a classmate of Shimizu's going towards her:
"Shimizu-san!" the boy cried with a cheery smile.
Kiyoko spotted her peer coming up along the table. Then, paradoxically, a leg shot out from under the tablecloth and tripped the prospective suitor. The boy thudded artlessly on his face.
With Yachi and Shimizu unsure what had caused the embarrassing fall, Yamaguchi jumped when he saw a blurry figure—Noya—sprint out from under the tablecloth headed into the dark half of the gym.
Yuu scampered over to his partners in crime Tanaka and Yamamoto and high-fived. The Protect Kiyoko Squadron's mission was proceeding smoothly.
"You know," said Kei Tsukishima, disgusted by the trio's antics, "one of you could just ask her to dance yourself."
And suddenly they became bodhisattvas. "We could never do something so daring," they said in perfect unison.
"I'm more worried about the three of you than I am about Shimizu-senpai," Tsukishima said quietly.
Behind Kei, Shouyou Hinata sighed.
"This is boring." He wore a too-tight rental suit while Kageyama's sat a little too loosely. "Are you sure we didn't get the wrong ones?" Shouyou complained, adjusting the fabric around his chafing thigh.
"This is the one they gave me, OK?!" Tobio bellowed.
Kenma, fortunate to have received a suit his actual size, pulled out his Switch, found a chair against the wall, and sat down to play.
He didn't notice the entourage that sauntered out of the boys' restroom. Bokuto took the lead with a proud march, followed by Kuroo, Konoha, and Akaashi.
"Tell me again why we climbed through a window to get in here?" Keiji asked wryly.
"Because you said if we went through the fire door, the alarm would go off," answered Bokuto.
"That's not what I'm asking."
"Why are you four here?" Tsukki dryly questioned, knowing he didn't invite a plus one.
Tetsurou smirked. "Oh? And why are you here, Mr. I'm-Too-Cool-For-A-Dumb-Dance?" he countered.
Tsukki grimaced. Akiteru found out about the occasion, insisted Kei had to "put himself out there," and drove the first-year to the gym to force him to go.
"I can't murder someone if I'm here," Kei shadily said of his brother. Kuroo didn't know how to take the abstract remark.
"Hey, hey, hey! So this is the country boys' dance. Show me some square dancing!" Koutarou joyfully proclaimed to Kei.
"Can you please leave?" Kei begged.
"Bokuto-san!" Hinata cried as he and Kageyama came up. "Why are all you here?"
"Honestly," Kuroo said, "I just wanted to see Kenma getting down." When he spotted the setter tapping at the console, he became fuming mad. "Hey! You did not skip practice to play games!"
Kuroo stomped over and kicked the chair out from under his junior. Akaashi gave the resulting kerfuffle momentary attention before proceeding to reassure Shouyou.
"Don't worry. I'm here to make sure these three don't get into any trouble," he gestured at his seniors.
"And I'm here for the music!" proclaimed Konoha. "Although to be honest, so far this whole thing looks lame. It's as bad as your serves, shorty pie," he teased and nudged Akaashi. "Maybe someone should spike the punch and liven things up a bit," he winked.
"Oh, yeah?" protested Shouyou as Kuroo dragged Kenma over by the ear. "Well, we will spike the punch. Right, Kageyama?!"
"Oh, um, sure," he nodded.
Konoha gave them a questioning look.
"Really? I'd like to see you try."
"You're on!" shouted Hinata and stormed away. Kageyama followed out of course.
"Man, I hope the punch is as good as the one at our dance," Bokuto screeched. Konoha and Kuroo spat while trying to avoid laughing.
"Please forgive me. I am not responsible for them," Keiji told Tsukki.
"No, I understand."
Around the dance floor, a couple of Daichi's female classmates walked up to the volleyball captain. One of them blushed like a cherry.
"Sawamura-kun…," she squeaked.
Suga swooped in between the girl and the captain.
"Hi! How can I help you?" he asked with too wide a smile.
"Oh, uh, nothing!" the girl declared, and she and her friends retreated in fright.
"How long are you going to be my chaperone?" Daichi questioned.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," replied Suga.
Behind his back, however, he flashed a sign for a B set in volleyball at Asahi on the other side of the gym. It was nearing 10 o'clock. At 10, according to the set list, the slow song would start, and in accord with Suga's plan, at that moment, the scheme to force Daichi and Yui to dance together would come to fruition.
Yui, Mao, and Aya hugged the wall as Asahi approached. The unathletic Aya recognized the approaching rugged third-year Azumane from the various rumors of his illicit activities.
"Mao, isn't that the boy caught selling drugs to first-years?"
"What?" Yui exclaimed. "That's Azumane-san. He's on Sawamura's team…."
"He's coming this way," Aihara urged. She and Aya backed off fearfully as the third-year towered before them.
"Hey, uh, Michimiya, I, uh, I know this is awkward…"
Oh no! Mao and Aya dreaded. He's gonna ask her out and take advantage of her in a love hotel!
"…but I saw you over here, not doing anything…"
"Turn him down," Mao and Aya whispered. "We have to run before he calls his gang."
"…and I know this is kind of sudden…"
"Come on," the girls urged, positive if she accepted the man's impending invitation, they'd never see her again.
"…but I was wondering if maybe you would…"
"Tell him no!" Mao and Aya quietly beseeched.
"…help me find a button that fell off my shirt?"
Aya and Mao stared blankly.
"Uh, sure," Yui shrugged.
"Oh? You will?" said Asahi, more surprised than he should have been.
"What does it look like?" asked Michimiya. Azumane tried to think up a lie.
"Oh, uh, like, uh, most buttons do, you know?" he chuckled. "I, uh, think I lost it over here." He pointed at the center of the dance floor. He and Michimiya headed that direction.
On the other side of the dance floor, Sugawara breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Asahi successfully completed his side of the scheme.
"Daichi!" he exclaimed and locked onto the captain's wrist. "Look at this!" He pointed vaguely at the middle of the dance floor and dragged Daichi that direction.
In the dark end of the hall, Shouyou was hopping up and down like he was warming up for practice. Kenma checked the coast was clear of Kuroo before playing with his Switch again.
"I think that was a stupid bet," he opined, having overheard the argument about spiking the punch.
"Hm?"
"About the punch. Where are you going to find any alcohol anyway?"
"What for?" Hinata asked. Shouyou's illogical confusion actually made Kenma look up from the game.
"Boke!" called Kageyama, skulking around the food tables.
"Oh! Gotta go," Hinata said and scampered to meet Tobio.
With some time having passed since arriving, Kiyoko peeked outside and saw the rain was imminent. She headed to Yukie, who hadn't left the food table since arriving.
"Yukie, I'm going to head home. You're welcome to stay if you'd like."
Shirofuku turned around, her cheeks now stuffed with bonbons.
"R-okay!" she mumbled with a thumbs up. Shimizu retrieved her umbrella as the very first raindrops started to patter. One splattered off the tip of the umbrella and landed on her dress, reminding her she still had Hitoka's handkerchief. Kiyoko headed back into the hall.
A second ago when they saw Kiyoko leaving, Ryuu, Tora, and Noya congratulated themselves on a job well done, but when the girl reentered, her supernal beauty hypnotized them once again.
Noya took one glance at the food tables and spotted Kageyama creeping, albeit conspicuously, around the punchbowl. Tobio checked the coast was clear and then began to manhandle the bowl, trying to lift it.
Noya tugged on his cohorts' shoulders to observe the young setter's absurd behavior. Ryuu and Tora watched Tobio try to hold onto the oversized dish, the diameter nearly as long as his arms. Yamamoto pulled out his cell phone and started to film, expecting the glass dish to shatter on the floor.
Noya noticed Hinata a ways back, looking like he was getting ready to do a run jump.
On the dance floor, Suga commanding Daichi and Asahi guiding Yui progressed closer to the center.
"It was around here," Asahi said, scanning the floor for the nonexistent button. Yui was completely oblivious to her surroundings as she focused on the laminate flooring. When he spotted Suga dragging over Daichi, Azumane scurried away without Michimiya noticing.
"Do you see that?!" Suga exclaimed, pointing doggedly at the searching Yui.
"I don't see anything," Daichi grumbled.
Suga slapped both hands on Daichi's face and forcibly rotated the captain's head to squarely face Michimiya. "There!"
"All I see is Michimiya," Daichi said. He next heard Sugawara's footsteps running away. "Suga?
Yui looked up and, instead of finding Asahi, jumped at the sight of Sawamura.
"Oh! Sawamura!"
"Oh. Hey, Michimiya," Daichi chuckled.
The microphone gave feedback when the DJ spoke into it.
"All right. It's 10 o'clock. Now for a change of pace. Here's something slower for the couples out there.
The lighting went down even lower on the peripheries and brightened on the dance floor.
Daichi and Yui horrifyingly realized they were dead center as the slow song started.
Carrying her umbrella, Kiyoko walked the perimeter of the floor to Yamaguchi and Yachi. "Hitoka-chan, thank you for the handkerchief," she said handing the cloth back.
"Oh, uh, no! Thank you!" Hitoka squeaked.
On the other side of the gym, Tanaka still beheld Hinata and Kageyama with bafflement. Kageyama laboriously got the punchbowl over his head, barely managing to keep the dish balanced so no liquid spilled over the side. If any volleyball-playing onlookers didn't know any better, they'd think he was trying to set the dish like a ball.
And now Hinata began to sprint towards Kageyama.
An awful realization of what they were about to witness swept the Protect Kiyoko Squadron.
Tanaka's neck snapped back to the dance floor where Kiyoko haplessly conversed with Yachi and Yamaguchi, soon to be victims of the impending calamity.
"Kiyoko-saaaaaaan!" Tanaka yelled and ran madly across the dance floor.
Every neck craned to Ryuu's yell and mad dash towards Kiyoko.
"Hey! What's with the noise?!" rebuked the VP, stomping onto the dance floor towards the ruffian.
Kageyama with all his might tossed the glass dish skyward.
Hinata leaped into the air in front of it, his arm ready to spike the punchbowl onto the dance floor.
Suga caught the glint of the punchbowl in the corner of his eye. As if the airborne dish wasn't terrifying enough, Shouyou suddenly appeared behind it.
He shrieked at the top of his lungs.
Yamamoto's phone glibly recorded.
When Shouyou's hand hit the glass, the rim of the delicate dish shattered on contact, dousing Hinata's face and Kageyama below with liquid. The rest of the dish spiraled over the table and exploded into a million shards on the dance floor. Its purple-red contents showered Yukie, Asahi, Suga, Daichi, Yui, and the vice-principal. Yamaguchi and Yachi ducked behind Kiyoko for protection, who with quick thinking deployed her umbrella like a shield, saving all three of them.
Belatedly, Ryuu dived in front of the protected trio, causing the back of his suit to get splattered as well.
Hinata landed on his knees and covered his stinging eyes, squealing.
"Boke!" rebuked Kageyama, his torso soaked. "You know this was a rental! You did that on purpose!"
Kenma and Tsukishima gaped dumbfounded. Kuroo and Konoha stared at each other agape until realizing, sure enough, the pair of idiots had spiked the punch. They burst out raucously laughing. Akaashi shook his head in embarrassment.
The dance floor was chaos. People began to cry over ruined outfits. Yukie gasped at her luxurious white dress, now stained hopelessly crimson. Kiyoko lowered the umbrella, she, Yachi, and Yamaguchi unscathed.
"Are you all right?" she asked the pair.
"Yes," replied Yamaguchi.
"Thank you," said Yachi.
Drenched in punch, Ryuu raised a thumbs up from the floor in front of them. "You're welcome," he replied, too humiliated to stand up.
Noya cackled obscenely watching the playback on Yamamoto's phone. "Best dance ever."
The vice-principal was on hands and knees, feeling the floor for his toupee which had washed off when he got showered. It had hit the floor like wet lint.
Asahi had latched onto Suga when he saw Hinata's jump, and now the two pried their sticky selves apart. Yui, her dress thoroughly sodden and herself nigh traumatized, slid down to her knees. Daichi seethed at the sight of the first-years on his team arguing with each other over whose fault the calamity was.
Having found his hairpiece, the vice-principal plopped the dripping blob onto his head backwards. He recognized the bickering pair.
"Sawamura-kun," said the VP, "aren't those boys in the volleyball club?"
Daichi flinched. "Well, uh, actually they might not be anymore," Daichi chuckled, rolling up his soaking sleeves. "I'll let you know if they're still alive in five minutes."
As Shouyou and Tobio argued, Daichi climbed onto the table where the punchbowl used to be. The pair stopped instantly when they spotted the furious captain.
"You two are dead!"
"Shouyou! Kageyama! Ruuuuun!" Noya bellowed. The first-year duo slammed into each other in their initial attempt to flee. Daichi jumped off the table but slipped on the wet floor. He tried to grab the table for support, only managing to shove it over, pouring the rest of the food onto the ground. Undeterred, Daichi took off after his juniors.
Everyone instinctively got out of the way of the chase. Bokuto took a glance at Yukie mourning her ruined dress and couldn't help but chuckle at the reddish swoosh on the white fabric.
"Yukippe! You look like a strawberry sundae!"
He guffawed heedlessly. Yukie's temper flared.
"Uh, Bokuto-san, I think you should stop," cautioned Akaashi as Yukie angrily marched towards the ace.
"Huh? Why?"
It was too late. Shirofuku lunged and proceeded to pummel the wing spiker to a pulp. Akaashi, Kuroo, and Konoha pretended nothing was happening.
Once Yukie felt satisfied, Tetsurou and Akinori helped the dazed ace to his feet. And then, the vice-principal approached.
"Who are you four?" the administrator questioned. "I didn't see you come in."
The out-of-towners flinched.
"Mr. Vice-Principal," called Tsukishima. "I'm so sorry," he said as he placed his hands on Akaashi and separated the setter away from the other three party crashers. "This is my friend, Akaashi Keiji. He was my plus one. I forgot to put him on the list. I promise it won't happen again." He promptly led Akaashi away.
"Tsukki!" Bokuto cried desperately.
Kei glared ominously at the spiker. "Mr. Vice-Principal, I have never seen these three before in my life."
Feeling the cold winter of betrayal, Kuroo, Konoha, and Bokuto found themselves at the mercy of the vice-principal, now joined by other faculty members rolling up their sleeves to bounce the trio.
"You didn't have to do that," Akaashi said to Tsukishima, ignoring the yelp of his comrades. "I'm just as guilty as they are."
"I know. But I'm not embarrassed by you," answered Kei.
They passed Kenma, who watched Kuroo, Bokuto, and Konoha evicted into what had fast become a torrential downpour outside. Now Kenma could enjoy his Switch in peace.
Hinata and Kageyama continued to speed around the gym, hopelessly trying to elude their rabid captain. They slammed open the fire exit to escape.
Deafening sirens filled the building. Fire sprinklers activated automatically, dousing everyone in cold water. Kenma shrieked as he and his console became soaked.
And off everyone went into the even colder, miserable dampness of the rainstorm. Kenma tried to shelter the Switch from any more moisture, only for the wet device to slip from his hands and plod in the mud.
And in the midst of the shuffle to evacuate the building, he stepped on it.
Yui, Mao, and Aya took shelter under a canopy in the courtyard. Thankfully the other two girls had been far enough to avoid the punch splatter, but Yui crouched down on the verge of tears: not only was her dress ruined, but she had been so close to Daichi, in such a perfect moment to tell him how she felt, yet the chance vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
"It's OK," Aya comforted. "Maybe with so many hoodlums on the volleyball team, you don't want to be involved with him."
But then, a soaking wet figure in a suit stepped in front of the girls. Michimiya stood up in awe.
"Sawamura?"
"Sorry about that," Daichi chuckled. "I chased those guys five blocks. But I came back because I wanted to make sure you were OK."
Yui went bright red.
"Um, y-yeah," Michimiya said, nearly crying.
"I'm glad," smiled Daichi.
And then he wrapped both of Yui's cold hands in his. Yui's body turned as crimson as a thermometer.
"I'm responsible for the behavior of my team, so this is all my fault. Please accept my humblest apologies!"
There was silence.
Mao and Aya peeked at the face of the unresponsive Yui.
"Uh, Michimiya?"
At last, the suddenness of Daichi's touch on the back of her hands caused her mind to overheat. She fainted into the boy's arms.
"Oh no!" Daichi panicked. "Hey! Get some first aid over here!"
The following Monday, Takeda prostrated before the vice-principal 500 times. Hinata and Kageyama were banned from club activities for a month, Yui woke up from a fever dream satisfied with her few tender moments with Daichi, and Tora's YouTube account boasted 500,000 views on a video entitled "Two Idiots Spike the Punch."
"By the way," Ukai announced to the three teams at practice that morning. "There's one more piece of news. They're actually holding a new dance this coming weekend, to compensate for the ruining of the old one."
Everyone perked up. Already talk emerged of going in hopes of witnessing an even greater disaster this time.
Ukai cleared his throat. "The boys' volleyball club and their 'out-of-town friends' have been expressly uninvited."
This was a lot of fun to write, and I hope it was as much fun to read. Thank you. ~ Breeze