Five whole days of missing all three of their first years was strange, to say the least. Two of them had been invited to the new imitation youth training camp Shiratorizawa was heading, and the other had been invited to the actual Japan national youth training camp. The team had gotten so used to having the three of them around that it was incredibly bizarre to not have them around. Granted, they all knew they were getting important training in, but still.
Luckily for Niko, she got the chance to see one of them early. Yuki had been the one invited to the national youth training camp for first and second years - and the Saturday before they left, Niko and her teammates had been asked to play a practice match against them. It was going to be a great opportunity for both teams.
The youth training camp was chock full of talented players, and they, in turn, got to practice against the actual representatives for the youth team. Needless to say, everyone was buzzing with excitement from the time it was announced.
It was crowded in the gymnasium - or felt like it, anyway. After so many practices of it just being them, the whole youth team had gotten used to the large, open space. Now, it was filled with another team. None of them could really say they were upset about it. If anything, it spurred them into more excitement.
There was some light-hearted bickering as the starting team was decided, before the coaches chided everyone gently and reminded them that there were more than enough people on each team to form two 'sub-teams' to practice against one another. They had all day, too, so there was no doubt that they'd get in as many practice matches as both teams were willing to do.
"Yuki-chan, er, the one wearing the blue number 'four' pinny, is one of my teammates. She's a first year middle blocker. Figuring out attack patterns is kind of her thing, and she's great at it. Same with guess blocking." Niko piped up as conversation turned to basic introductions of each of the opposing players. There were a couple girls on the mock-youth team that were teammates with girls on the actual team, so they took turns telling one another about their kouhai. Undoubtedly, the younger girls were doing exactly the same for their teammates.
A flurry of activity occurred as everyone began warming up and separated into their 'sub-teams'. For the youth team, the first team consisted of Ichika, Tatsuo, Yumi, Momo, Rika, Kasumi, and Niko. Somewhat ironically, Niko's kouhai had been selected to participate in the first match against them.
A wide grin stretched across Niko's lips as she stood on the sidelines, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet. This was the first legitimate practice match the youth team would be participating in. Her nerves were somehow both at maximum and being kept at bay by her sheer excitement.
Niko knew they worked well as a team as a whole, but this would be their first opportunity to put that into play against another team. That seemed to be the general consensus for the rest of her teammates, too. They were all standing along the wall chattering amongst themselves. Even Ichika seemed somewhat pumped. She had the barest hint of a smile on her lips as she stepped onto the court.
First serve went to the mock youth team. The girl was a tall brunette with long, curly hair that was pinned back in a high ponytail. She bounced the ball a few times before inhaling deeply and looking up with intense concentration. Judging by her distance from the line, she was probably going to do a jump serve. The entire gymnasium seemed to be on the edge of their seats.
One of the coaches of the mock youth team was acting as referee, and blew the whistle. Blue number six wasted no time in tossing the ball high in the air before running and leaping. Her hand smacked the ball across the court and it flew right towards the back corner of the court. Kasumi seemed mildly surprised to have been aimed at, and that cost her.
The ball hit her arms, and veered away from her to promptly soar into the crowd of players gathered on the sidelines. Niko laughed when Etsuko tossed the ball back onto the court with a sigh, having been the one to catch it after the wayward receive. There were cheers of 'Good serve' and 'Give them another!' on the mock youth team's side. Yumi fixed Kasumi with a level stare.
"Teach you to underestimate them, won't it?" Kudos to her, Kasumi had the decency to look mildly embarrassed as she grinned and rubbed the back of her neck. "We'll get the next one." The wing spiker nodded in agreement and they all focused on number six as she prepared to serve again.
True to Yumi's word, their side picked the serve up the second time. They were quick to get it to the setter, and she was just as fast to toss it right to Ichika, who spiked her signature cross and scored their first point.
Throughout the match, Niko and her teammates were able to get used to seeing how everyone performed in a real match. None of them were taking this lightly anymore. The mock youth team had sparked their overall competitive nature and were reaping the rewards of having done so. Though the rewards were an increase in speed and brutality of attacks from the youth team's side as well as Niko and her teammates making it exponentially harder for the other team to score regularly.
Which wasn't to say that the younger team was doing terribly. No, they were pushing just as hard. While they were clearly not a fully cohesive team, they were all high caliber players and showed that on the court. Between wicked serves, devious blocks, and tedious receives, they managed to make sure the point gap never widened beyond three points.
The first match was won by the youth team, though by the incredibly small margin of two points. Niko celebrated with her teammates as they stepped from the court to let the next match commence. The losing team had to do dive receive drills while the next two teams went up against one another.
The second, third, and fourth matches were won by the youth team as well. The mock team girls never made it easy, though. The last two matches went into the thirties score-wise, which only went to prove that their opponents weren't giving them an easy time of it.
Finally, during the fifth match, the mock youth team won. Niko had to do a lap of dive-rolling receives alongside her teammates. The next set was narrowly won by Niko's teammates, and the following won by the mock team again.
In total, they ended up playing fourteen matches, with the teams scrambling players between sets several times. All in all, the mock youth team won five of the sets. Both teams were exhausted by the time the day drew to a close, and spent some time after cleaning up and changing just hanging out and talking. Topics ranged from volleyball to general interests and plans.
Niko found herself amongst a combined group, discussing plans for the future. Everyone was in general agreement about continuing volleyball beyond high school. Some girls even mentioned plans to join V leagues after they graduated high school while going to college.
"Honestly, I don't really think I'm going to go to university just yet after I graduate. I am thinking that I'm probably just going to go straight into V league and go from there. Maybe do some online schooling part-time, but nothing too serious." Niko shrugged a shoulder, leaning against the gymnasium wall.
Yua lifted both brows, leaning forward to peer around Natsumi and one of the mock youth team members to look at her fellow libero curiously. "Really? That… hm. No, actually." Suddenly, the girl nodded to herself before continuing. "Yeah, the more that I think about it, the more that actually makes sense. Somehow, I can't really imagine you in, like, full time university classes or anything."
"Wholeheartedly agree." Kasumi plopped down along the edge of the half-circle and nudged her way between a few girls to grin at Niko. "I'll be incredibly surprised if I don't hear that you've joined the olympic team within, like, five years. Beyond that, I will absolutely riot if you don't join a V league so I can play against you properly."
They all laughed at the sheer finality in which Kasumi stated that. Like she wasn't giving Niko an option to do anything but that. Something in the blonde fluttered happily. She'd had similar conversations with her parents, guidance counselors, and even her best friends. Her parents and guidance counselors both were concerned about her skipping university, but were still mostly supportive.
Tōru and Hajime were much more receptive to the idea - especially the setter, as he mentioned somewhat similar plans after they all graduated. Having their support was incredible, but it was also a relief knowing that there were other people who didn't think she was crazy for wanting to focus on volleyball.
She couldn't imagine doing anything except playing volleyball, if she was honest. Later in her career and life, she might get some kind of degree in teaching or maybe just skip that and go straight into being a coach when she retired, but that was many, many years away. Nothing had been confirmed yet, but she'd been in contact with several second and third division teams via email and text and had plans on meeting some of them after nationals sometime to discuss said plans.
"I won't disappoint you, I promise, Kasumi-chan." Laughing, Niko winked at her teammate as several of them began to jab and tease one another about beating one another at nationals and beyond.
Way sooner than anyone wanted, the coaches called their respective teams together to discuss the day with them and then bid one another goodbye. As the mock team left, Coach Tsubasa had Niko and her team wait.
Only when the other team cleared the area did she continue. "Today, you all did fantastically. You were able to get to know one another on another level outside of how you've already seen at practice. Being able to play in practice matches like those today has also helped us see what areas may need further improvement, and which ones need fine tuning. Overall, I'm proud of you all." She grinned as the girls thanked her.
"Beyond that, I wanted to let you all know what the next few months will look like. Obviously, Nationals for your regular teams is coming up in another month. We understand that you will all be focused on that, but don't let yourselves slack here due to it." As if one mind, Niko and her teammates nodded at once. "Don't let the results there affect you here, either. Some of you will be playing against your teammates here."
Admittedly, that was something that Niko hadn't thought about. Obviously not every girl was going to nationals, but there were several who were on teams attending. Depending on how the pieces fell, they may end up playing against one another. "The biggest thing to remember is that if you are attending nationals, you will already be expecting tough opponents. Now that those tough bits are out of the way, more good news!"
Tsubasa motioned for Hisakawa to approach, and he grinned lightly as the girls quieted down once again. "Today was our first round of practice matches, but there are many more to come. We've enlisted the help of several university teams to come and play against you girls semi-regularly over the next few months as we prepare for Worlds. Every other practice, we will have a practice match." Chattering built up quickly and he halted. The coach waited for the group of girls to quiet before he continued, lips quirking up at the corners.
"A couple V-league teams have also agreed to participate in our practice matches-" He didn't seem surprised to be cut off by excited yells and several of the girls grabbing one another as they celebrated. He stood there, grinning as he let them work through their excitement. When they finally calmed again, he laughed. "No worries, I know that's incredibly exciting as many of you are intending on pursuing careers within that area once you graduate. Use these practice matches not only as tools for you to learn from, but also as opportunities to network with these teams and others. You're all dismissed for the day. We'll see you in two weeks!"
Asahi was leaning back against her wall, legs spread to accommodate Niko as she slid between them to sit with her back to his chest. They were both on her bed, dressed casually as they'd just returned from dinner with her parents. It'd been an easy-going affair, but the end of the dinner had brought some unexpected anxiety to him.
Over the course of the past five-ish months, he had grown unimaginably attached to Niko, as could be expected. He'd fallen fast for her, which had nothing to do with her being his soulmate and everything to do with her being… well, herself. She was a light in his life and he couldn't imagine her not being there.
Which is why, when her parents mentioned that nationals were coming up and that soon after that, graduation would be happening, his nervousness kicked up. Her casual mention of not going to university and probably going straight into the V-leagues caused even more - although he knew that was unintentional.
They hadn't fully discussed future plans, so it was to be expected, he tried to reason with himself. On their way home, Niko had picked up on his anxiety and was quick to inquire about it, but he'd been too nervous to come out and say it with her parents right there.
So he waited until they were alone, when he could catch his breath and calm his erratic heart. Niko hadn't pressed him about it, which he was grateful for. Instead, she kept a steady hold on his hand, grounding him to her, and kept him engaged in unrelated conversation the whole way to her house. When they made it back, she was the one to take charge and lead the way up to her room.
Part of him scolded himself for not taking more initiative, for being so timid in this respect. He had to work hard to push that bit of him away and to the back of his mind. One hand clasping around hers, the other running through her hair gently, Asahi grounded himself to the present slowly.
"I…" A deep breath in, and a slow, unsteady exhale. "I don't really know what I'm going to do… after high school." Just saying it made his chest feel tighter, like he was disappointing her by verbalizing it. "You have your whole future- You know exactly what you're going to do, but I don't. I have no idea what to do when I graduate." He was worrying his lip between his teeth, trying to find some way to calm himself from the encroaching dread.
It was like the world was squeezing him in a vice. His muscles tightened up, his mouth felt dry and his tongue like lead in his mouth. Distantly, he was aware of his breathing quickening, his heart feeling like it was leaping into his throat. It felt like he was wading through tar, while being sucked down into its depths.
"-hi" Something shifted in his lap, but he couldn't pull himself out of the tar and focus on it. "-sahi, lo-" Hands cupped his cheeks and pulled his head down. His vision, which had been shifting between being blurry and blackening around the edges like he had tunnel vision, cleared enough to let him see Niko as she brought his face down to hers.
Those eyes. The first part of her that had drawn him in all those months ago. They were sea-green, like ocean waves crashing at the beach. Some days, the ring of forest-green around her iris was darker, more noticeable. It reminded him of a beach he visited with his family when he was a kid. A forest of dark evergreens and oaks ended suddenly as it merged with the beach, the tide lapping at the sand between the two.
He was aware of her talking to him, he could see her lips moving in his peripheral vision, but he couldn't look away from her gaze. Slowly, his heart rate came down and he managed to crawl out of the pit of tar inside of him, clinging to her as she became his anchor in that moment. It was her eyes that brought him back, that pulled him up.
Asahi had no idea how much time had passed between the start of his panic attack and him resurfacing. All he knew was that he was exhausted. The battle inside of his own mind wore him out. Niko smiled softly, worry making her brows furrow a bit, but she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down so he could rest his head against her shoulder.
They stayed like that for several minutes before she spoke. "You don't have to decide anything. What you want to do after high school - it's not an easy question. I am one of very few who knows what I want to do. Most people aren't like that." She murmured softly, running her fingers through his hair. At what point it'd been pulled from his usual bun, he wasn't sure, but he didn't mind.
"Whether you decide tomorrow, in a year, or in five years, I don't mind. I want you to be happy, and to do what you enjoy. Don't do something because you think you have to." He swallowed, pressing his hand to her back as the other arm wrapped around her waist more firmly. If he let go, she'd disappear, something in his mind whispered.
"I love you. You as you are, and as you will be in five or ten or however many years down the line. As long as you are happy, I will be happy. There is no pressure for you to make decisions on what the rest of your life will look like right now. I promise I will support you, and when you decide what you want to do, I will continue to support you." Asahi's hand slid up her back, finding the strands of her hair where they hung from her ponytail.
He tugged at the hair softly, nodding against her neck once. The weight in his chest was receding, and he felt like he could breathe again. When he licked his lips, she shifted against him and pressed her lips to the shell of his ear.
"Sor-"
"Shh." Niko didn't have to say anything for him to know. Apologizing to her was unnecessary - he had nothing to apologize for, she would tell him. What he was feeling was normal, and was nothing to be ashamed of. He repeated this in his head. She'd said it to him previously, the first time he'd had a panic attack with her there.
It was hard to convince himself that those things were true, but it was harder not to, because he trusted her. Everything in him begged to just fall asleep, but he fought against it. Even as his eyelids drooped and it got harder to keep them open, Asahi forced himself to stay awake. He pressed a quick kiss to her neck before he straightened up. Her cheeks and neck were dusted with red, but she maintained her steady gaze on him nonetheless.
"You're… right." He spoke slowly, the wheels in his brain turning as he mulled over what she said. Calm was slowly ebbing over him. Although there were parts of his brain that were nagging him, telling him that she wasn't right, that he needed to rush, to figure things out now- Asahi pulled a deep breath in and nodded once. "Thank you."
"If you need anything - any help or advice or distraction, whatever it is, please call me? Any time. I don't care when it is. I'll always try to answer as soon as possible." He knew the only time she wouldn't was when she was in practice, and that was only because her phone was kept on silent during that.
"I will." Niko smiled, and his heart skipped a beat. It'd taken his brain a while to catch up, but he was finally realizing just how close they were, and what position they were in. Asahi could feel the blush rage across his skin as she quirked an eyebrow up at his sudden inability to look her in the face as she straddled his lap on her bed.
Suddenly, he became very interested in the color of her walls. Niko started laughing, shifting off of him to slide back onto the mattress. When she tugged him down onto the bed, he was quick to let her guide him. She curled up against him, and the war he'd been fighting against exhausting raged back to life inside of him. This time, he succumbed to it.
A/N: I'm not saying that I suck... but... I suck. The delay is inexcusable. I've had three chapters ahead written for a while now, and just kept putting off updating it bc I hit a roadblock with chapter 27 at the end. Not only that, but an off-handed comment someone made had me feeling all sorts of ways, thinking that maybe this was just... not realistic enough? Or too fluffy? Like there's not enough conflict in the relationship which means that the story is just meh. I shouldn't have let it bother me, but it did. Felt like I couldn't post it for whatever reason due to that. I'm getting back into writing, but my update schedule is gonna be wild. I'm going to be working 7 days a week between two jobs from now until... whenever I perish, probably. Ily all and thank you all for sticking around for MoL, and for me to get off of my ass and actually post this.