A/N: Hello, everyone. I'm back! I hope you're all healthy, safe and home!
Sorry, but I'll be fast with the update today. Last chapter, they spent their last day in the training camp in Tokyo and Noa decided to celebrate a Christmas barbecue. A necessary break from hard work! However, there are still some chapters left before the National championship starts.
Enjoy the reading!
I do not own Haikyuu or its characters
CHAPTER FOURTY ONE
Joining forces
"Okay, I'm leaving now. Please, be careful with the barbecue. If you need anything or if something happens, call me"
"Mom, you'll be at Tsukishima's house. You don't have to worry that much"
"Besides, Akiteru-san has helped us with the fire. Everything is under control"
Miyoko looked at Noa somehow concerned, but finally sighed. "Alright, but-"
"Leave now", Daichi gently pushed her towards the entrance door, where Akiteru was already waiting for her. He gently offered Miyoko his arm to help her walk. Since she fainted at work, Miyoko was forced to stay at home to rest. In addition, her tummy was already very big and round and she was finding it increasingly hard to move, especially because her feet were swelling so much.
From the door, Daichi and Noa waved them away. Once inside, they set to work. They were not going to set up tables, since there would be many people and they hadn't much space, so they decided to set aside furniture and leave the chairs and armchairs clear for whoever wanted to sit down. Once the furniture was moved, Daichi went out into the yard to watch the fire and started preparing the meat so that, once people started coming, he could start grilling it. Noa, on the other hand, took out glasses, plates and cutlery, which she piled up on the kitchen counter.
After returning from the trip to Tokyo, her father scolded her for making plans without counting on anyone. As usual, Miyoko had interfered, saying it wasn't much of a big deal and that Daichi was eager to make that plan as well. Her father had had no choice but to give in, but he wanted nothing to do with it. He would be gone all day because he had a lot of work, and if he received just one call with any kind of complaint or problem, the three of them would be in trouble.
After Noa's phone call, Daichi had run to the store to buy meat and drinks, so when Noa returned from Tokyo, she didn't have much to do. However, neither she nor Daichi had much idea of how a barbecue worked, so Akiteru had offered to light the fire for them and show them how to do it. Then, the house would then be available to Daichi and Noa, as Miyoko would go with Akiteru to the Tsukishima's house to let the others enjoy themselves.
Daichi usually celebrated Christmas with his mother and they go to see his grandparents. Noa, on the other hand, missed the Christmas mood in the United States. Her aunt would buy her tickets so that she could fly to New York to spend Christmas with the rest of the family and not be alone when her mother went away for so many seasons. During those days, Noa ate a lot and bought gifts for her relatives at the mall. On Christmas day she would wake up with a pile of presents for her, she would go ice-skating with her cousin and their friends or play cards in the living room.
In Japan the atmosphere was very different, even though before she left for Tokyo on the 26th, they had spent Christmas Eve and Christmas as a family, giving each other more presents than Noa expected. So Noa assumed that Miyoko and Daichi had agreed right away because they wanted her first Christmas in Japan in a long time to be special.
"Why are you looking at me?" Daichi asked as he felt Noa's gaze.
Noa flinched, she'd been caught. She shook her head no. "Nothing in particular," she leaned against the corner of the sliding door that led to the courtyard. "I've written an e-mail to Lizzie, my best friend in America. I've told you about her"
Daichi nodded. He remembered. "Is she still not talking to you?"
"It seems so. But I wanted to wish her a Merry Christmas"
"I'm sure she'll answer you. It's the right time for it," Daichi winked at her and that made Noa feel better.
The doorbell rang. Daichi and Noa looked at one another with questioning eyes.
"Isn't a bit soon?" Noa wondered.
"Maybe it's Tsukishima. They might have asked him to help us"
"We don't need his help though," Noa hissed, moving towards the door.
"Please, don't start making a fuss over nothing like you two always do," Daichi rolled his eyes. The last thing he needed was to make sure those two didn't argue, too.
Noa opened the door, ready to say Tsukishima the first jokey comment that crossed her mind, but stopped when she saw who the person on the other side of the door was.
"Ushijima-san?" She asked confused.
Ushijima!?, Daichi thought. He wasn't sure if he heard it right, since he was in the courtyard. He peered out quietly to see that Ushijima Wakatoshi was indeed standing in the doorway. Daichi sweat dropped. What the hell was he doing there!?
"I thought you weren't coming. You didn't answer my text," Noa said.
"I'm not going to stay, actually," Ushijima's eyes drifted momentarily to Daichi, who flinched. He had caught him spying on them.
"Don't say that! You are totally welcome!" Noa smiled, excited. She grabbed Ushijima's arm and pulled him toward the inside, but he didn't move.
"I've only come to give you something," he handed her a bag.
She blinked in confusion. "Is it a gift?" Ushijima nodded. "To me?" Ushijima nodded again. "But I haven't bought you anything!"
"Open it," he said bluntly.
Noa took the bag. Inside there was a surprisingly well-wrapped package. She took it with trembling hands and carefully removed the shiny paper that wrapped it. Her eyes widened at the sight of the contents.
"A pair of long sleeve knee supporters and a pair of kneepads!" She pulled them out of the plastic. The long sleeve knee supporters reached her ankles. "These are high quality!"
"I know," Ushijima hummed.
"You didn't have to spend money on this!"
"It didn't take much effort. I only had to contact one of the sponsors and they sent everything home"
Then, don't say it!, Daichi thought, clicking unconsciously his tongue.
"I couldn't give them to you before your trip Tokyo and my mother insisted that I should wrap them if it was going to be a present. Sorry," he added.
"I don't care. You thought of me and that's more than enough"
"It's for Nationals. Do not bore me"
This guy… Daichi could not believe Ushijima's rudeness. Poor Noa. No matter how well intentioned Ushijima was, he had ended up being too hard on her. However, it was the opposite of what Daichi had expected of her. Noa's body language told him that she was indeed very happy.
Ushijima stepped away from the door to leave, but Noa spoke.
"Ushijima-san! I won't disappoint you. I'll make sure that you'll be proud of me!"
Ushijima curved the corners of his mouth slightly upward and nodded. He could feel Noa's determination emanating from her small body. He expected nothing less.
"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Ushijima-san"
"Happy New Year," he added, before heading down the street.
When Noa closed the door, Daichi was surprised to see her hugging the knee supporters and kneepads tightly. Her eyes were shining so brightly that Daichi was slightly confused and overwhelmed by what he had just witnessed. Ushiwaka was a strange and intimidating guy, but he also had a soft side that Noa had managed to bring out. And Daichi was now convinced that, deep down, Ushijima was confident in Noa's performance at Nationals. That gift was just a small sample of what he expected of her, and Noa, instead of feeling pressure to meet his expectations, felt more motivated than ever. Ushijima truly knew how to motivate her, even though he wasn't probably much aware of it.
"I can't wait to start the championship," she pronounced before going upstairs to leave the gifts in her room. Daichi watched her disappear up the stairs, and when he momentarily lost sight of her, he smiled. Maybe he should feel as excited as she did, rather than anxious and worried.
When the guests started to arrive, the house came alive. The Karasuno boys were screaming with excitement at the sight of so much food. The girls, on the other hand, looked at them resignedly. In view of the variety of personalities, Noa at first was not sure if, for example, the girls of the volleyball team would interact with the boys, but her doubts were quickly dispelled, as small and varied groups were formed in which everyone chatted and laughed.
I wonder if he likes her too, Noa pondered, watching Yui and Daichi cautiously. They had ended up sitting in a corner of the garden while they chatted quietly. Ever since she had heard in Tokyo that Yui liked Daichi she was very curious to know if it was mutual.
Noa tiptoed trying to grab one of the sauce plastic boats that were on one of the top shelves. Her fingertips brushed against it, but someone, right behind her, grabbed the boat effortlessly for her.
"Thank you," Noa smiled to Asahi.
"I've seen you struggle, so I came quickly to help you," he confessed shyly. "Thank you very much for being so generous and inviting us to this barbecue, especially when today is 31st"
"I think it's a good way to celebrate Christmas, but, if I'm honest, I initially thought of this as a way for us, girls on the women's volleyball team, to team up for Nationals. However, when I called Daichi, I thought it was selfish not to tell the others"
"Far from it! At least you thought of everyone at the end and I think we're all having a good time"
"I hope you're enjoying the food"
"Sure! Who doesn't like a good barbecue? Although I haven't tasted the sirloin yet"
"Seriously!? Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we? We have more in the fridge"
"Y-You don't have to!"
"It's fine, really! That's why we bought it"
Noa ran to the kitchen fridge, where she picked up a pack of meat. She opened it and went over to the barbecue, which was still warm.
"How much meat did you bought?" Asahi laughed when Noa returned with the pack full of meat.
"It was Daichi who bought it. You guys eat a lot!"
"Ah, sorry," the Ace apologized and bowed.
"Why are you apologizing for?" Noa giggled. "You are still growing!"
"You're talking like my mom"
"How dare you," Noa hit him in the arm playfully, what made Asahi grin.
Jiro leaned against the terrace door and crossed his arms. Nagisa was standing next to him. Neither of them took their eyes off Noa and Asahi. The two of them were at the barbecue, cooking more meat for everyone. One only had to look at the way they smiled to know that there was chemistry between those two, perhaps not romantic, but enough so that even Nagisa and Jiro would notice it as well.
Jiro licked his lips, ready to use the situation to get his friend to get a move on.
"If you don't do something, he's going to take her away from you," the manager said aloud. Even though his tone was slightly mocking, Nagisa knew that he was completely serious.
"You're wrong"
"What am I wrong about? That Azumane-san doesn't like Furi-chan or that you don't care if he takes her away from you?"
"Don't talk nonsense," Nagisa pursed his lips in a thin line. He resented every chuckle Noa did every time Azumane said something to her. He frowned, truly pissed off by his own feelings. "You should be more attentive to yourself than others," he spat at his friend before moving quickly towards Noa and Asahi.
Jiro clicked his tongue. "I already know that," he muttered as he watched Nagisa slip between Noa and Asahi.
Discreetly, Jiro moved into the kitchen. He took a glass of water and from the pocket of his jacket he took out a pillbox.
"D-Did you eat something?"
Jiro quickly hid the pillbox with his hand and turned to look over his shoulder. Chizuko was a few feet away from him. He didn't answer her.
"Y-You don't look good," the second-year added. Chizuko had seen the huge amount of pills Jiro was hiding, but she stuck to her role. Jiro, however, couldn't tell if she already knew everything.
Jiro took a look around. Everyone was talking to each other, outside, so they wouldn't listen.
"Do you need me to repeat what I already told you? I thought I made myself clear"
"I-I'm sorry. It's just that I've noticed that since you and Watanabe-san arrived you haven't talked to anyone and Watanabe-san seems to be very concerned about you for some reason. Are you still feeling ill?"
Jiro scoffed. "Mind your own business, Oka-san."
He turned his back on her again. A few seconds later, he heard Chizuko's footsteps moving away from the kitchen. The boy took his pills and as soon as he returned to the courtyard, he spotted the middle blocker chatting with the twins and two sophomore boys with whom Jiro had no relationship, but who he knew were named Kinoshita and Narita.
Meanwhile, Nagisa had moved almost instinctively and had reached out to Asahi and Noa.
"Furihata-san, please, let me help you with that," Nagisa took the tongs off Noa's hands. "You can get burned or hurt and the championship starts only in a few days"
"How considerate you are, Nagisa-san," Noa smiled. He took a boat with some pepper on it and skillfully turned the sirloin steak over. "I didn't know you were so good at cooking. You're a box full of surprises!" She added impressed.
Nagisa didn't respond to Noa. He took one of the sirloin steaks and put it on Asahi's plate. The Ace was astonished.
"You wanted one, didn't you? That's why Furihata-san was cooking it"
"Y-Yeah," Asahi cleared his throat. For some reason he was feeling some resentful energy toward him from Watanabe.
"Then you have it," the boy added bluntly.
"Thank you"
Nagisa quickly turned his attention back to the barbecue, leaving Asahi slightly confused. Noa didn't seem aware of anything as she was asking Nagisa questions about how to cook the meat perfectly, so Asahi felt a bit out of place.
"I'm... I'm joining Suga and the others," he said, pointing to the third-years group.
Noa nodded, but Nagisa didn't even turn to look at him.
"I think he hates me," Asahi blabbered when he approached Suga.
"You have a lot to learn, Asahi," Suga tapped his back gently.
"Try it," Nagisa offered Noa a piece of steaming flesh. It was brown on the outside, but red and juicy on the inside. As she chewed it, Noa felt the meat almost melting in her mouth along with the coarse salt.
"Delicious"
"It's very difficult to know when the meat is perfectly cooked and in this case, being of such good quality, it's a shame to overcook it"
"Is there anything you don't know how to do right?" Noa put the rest of the sirloin on her plate to keep eating.
Nagisa gently smiled. "You think very highly of me, Furihata-san"
"Are you really going to keep all that meat for yourselves!?" Ayaka barked, interrupting their conversation.
"Of course not!" Noa flushed.
"Oi, Aoyama!" Ayako joined them. The manager was still leaning on the terrace door. "You should eat something, you look like shit!"
"Language!" Chizuko reprimanded her.
The manager kept his serious face expression and went inside the house.
"How rude," Ayako put her hand on her hips. "I was only joking."
"Well, let me tell you something," her sister followed, "If he still has that cold and transmits it to us, I'll kill him"
"I don't think it's something contagious"
Everyone turned to look curiously at Chizuko. She flinched. Nagisa stared intently at her.
"I mean, if we could catch it, he wouldn't be here. He must be tired. We arrived yesterday from Tokyo"
"Yes, Jiro isn't usually this serious. He must not have slept well," Noa added.
The rest of the afternoon went on without any incident. Everyone talked and ate. They enjoyed their company in a different environment than when they were in high school.
Noa told her teammates what had happened with Ushijima and showed them what he had given her as Christmas present, which surprised everyone but in a good way.
As it was New Year's Eve, everyone went home early. Everyone helped cleaning the courtyard house and the rest was left to Daichi, Noa and Tsukishima. The blond stayed to help, not because he felt like it, but because his mother would surely scold him if she found out that Noa and Daichi had finished cleaning everything up by themselves.
A few minutes later, they heard the front door and Miyoko entered the house followed by Akiteru and Sumiko, Tsukishima's mother. The three of them were quite impressed by how clean they were leaving the house and Akiteru and Sumiko also helped to get the cleaning done as soon as possible.
"There is many people in here," Furihata Hayate could hear the voices from the entrance.
"You're very late today, aren't you?" Miyoko asked, leaning out into the hallway from the kitchen.
"I stopped by to buy you something," he left several bags of food on the kitchen table.
"Yakisoba!" Noa chirped enthusiastically.
"It's New Year's Eve, we have to eat soba"
"Yummy!"
"You've been eating all day, how can you be so excited about eating even more food?" Tsukishima grimaced
"We should go," Sumiko looked at her children.
"Why don't you stay?" Miyoko looked to her husband for approval, who shrugged. "I think there is enough food. My husband has bought food for an entire army"
"I've bought shortcake too," Hayate pulled delicious-looking shortcake out of one of the bags. Noa jumped up to her father, but he gave her a disapproving look. "First the soba, then the dessert," he added, opening the fridge to put it away.
Noa pouted, but then turned around and pointed at Tsukishima. "Tsukishima, you are tall, so get the glasses out of the cabinet which is behind you"
Tsukishima hesitated for a few moments, surprised by how quickly Noa - and everyone in general - had accepted that his family would spend New Year's Eve with them.
It ended up being a strange night, but a pleasant one. Noa and Tsukishima were bickering from time to time and argued every five minutes, though no malice was glimpsed in their comments. They watched the New Year's Eve special together in the living-room and commented it.
When the Tsukishima family finally left, Noa dropped into bed, exhausted. She was so tired after the trip back from Tokyo and then the barbecue; she wanted to sleep for hours. The next day, however, she had to get up early to go to the shrine with her teammates. She took her mobile phone from her bedside table to set the alarm clock, after not paying attention to her phone to all day, when she realized she had a message. She quickly got up when she saw that it was Lizzie's answer to her Christmas message and sat up for a few seconds on the bed, staring at the screen of her mobile without doing anything. She was very nervous.
Finally, she read the text message carefully. Wasn't a long answer and it began with her friend from the United States congratulating her on Christmas and the New Year as well. But, as she read, Noa's eyebrows furrowed.
But don't worry, Lizzie said at the end of the text, Soon all this nightmare of Japan will be over and we will meet again.
"What?" Noa muttered confused. In the message she sent Lizzie, she had asked about her mother, hoping her friend would know something, but Lizzie had not only not answered that question, but had finished her reply with that strange sentence.
Noa didn't know exactly what Lizzie meant, but what she was sure of was that her words made her feel uneasy.
I haven't come up yet with a title for next chapter, but our Karasuno girls are going together to the shrine and ice-skating. They'll have a great time, although, well, one person in particular won't have such a good time.
See you next time!
