Author's Note: I'm throwing around a lot of characters and words here. For reference:
* U-19 refers to the 'under-19' national team for sports. It's mentioned in Haikyuu canon that Ushijima was a U-19 rep for the 'Youth World Championship', and later on, the camp that Kageyama goes to is basically a U-17 camp. NOTE: it actually means 19-AND-under or 17-AND-under. I don't know why it's like that, but it is.
* 'Domo' is basically Aone Takanobu's favorite word. Sometimes it means 'hello', sometimes it means 'thanks'. I just really like how he says it in the subbed anime, so I kept it in Japanese.
* Hoshino Tomoki returns! That's Kawanishi's very tall basketball boyfriend. Most people just think they're friends.
* Yoshino Maya is the captain of Shiratorizawa's boys' soccer team. He exists to annoy Natsu's captains.
* Golden Week is when Shouyou meets Nekoma's team for the first time! Natsu's Golden Week is going to be very different and very long, because I decided I wanted to write a goddamn novel about it. Hopefully I don't take 10 years to publish those chapters.
"Hey Hinata," Kawanishi Taichi waves. Natsu approaches, dragging along an identical ginger and a taller, black-haired Karasuno student. A third student trails behind them, freckled and with hair that gleamed dark green in the afternoon light.
"Kawanishi-san! You're here!" Hinata looks delighted.
"Mm," he agrees, holding out his fist. "Good game," Taichi intones, and Hinata beams like a supernova as she fist-bumps him. His eyes cut to the side, to the identical ginger. "This is Shouyou?"
Hinata's brother looks a little lost, shoulder hunched up to his ears. "Eh, heh, y-yeah! That's me!" He seems to gain a second wind out of nowhere, straightening up defiantly. "Hinata Shouyou! Who're you?!"
Taichi inclines his head politely. "Kawanishi Taichi," he says shortly.
Shouyou nods his head vigorously, eyeing him up and down. Taichi just watches him, caught between curiosity and reticence. He's been wondering about Hinata's brother for a while, but Taichi wasn't that great with new people.
Hinata Shouyou continues to scrutinize Taichi, mouth twisting into a slight frown. Taichi frowns right back, his uncertainty increasing by the second. He could read Natsu pretty well, but Shouyou—Shouyou was a new mystery.
Natsu sighs loud enough to end their staring contest, and Taichi blinks at her. "Why're you guys just staring at each other?" She asks, exasperated. "You're so weird. Look, this is Kageyama, and that's Yamaguchi. Kawanishi-san is a second-year, and a middle blocker. Yamaguchi and Shouyou are middleblockers too, and Kageyama is a setter. Let's all get along, okay?" She pauses, rubbing her neck. "Tanaka and Nishinoya are here too, but I think Yoshi has them running laps or something, I dunno…"
Yamaguchi gives Taichi a tentative little wave. Kageyama stares at him with dark, intense eyes. Shouyou fidgets next to Natsu, looking like he has a million things to say.
Taichi decides that he likes Yamaguchi the most. He's quiet, and looks polite.
"Hey, where's Hoshino?" Natsu pipes up, sticking her head around Taichi like he might be blocking her view. As if the basketball team's first-string shooting guard isn't a giant person, impossible to miss. "I thought he'd be with you."
"He's getting food," Taichi replies. "Actually, that reminds me… I don't know why, but Semi asked me to give this to you." He pulls out a chilled can of Calpico from his bag and holds it out for Natsu. "Not sure why he thinks you'd be thirsty, there's a whole water cooler… Hinata? You okay?"
Natsu stares at the soft drink like it's a live grenade. "Huh?" She looks up at Taichi suspiciously, and then back at the bottle, making no move to accept it. "What?"
Taichi glances at Shouyou questioningly. Shouyou shrugs, equally bewildered. "Ehh? You're blushing, Nacchan!" Her brother pokes at her cheek, and she instinctively slaps him away.
"I'm—totally fine," Natsu says, wiping her face with the collar of her shirt vigorously.
Shouyou's gaze darts between the soft drink and his sister's curious reaction. "...if you're not gonna take it, I will," he says at last, wisely avoiding any further questioning.
"...Hnnn."
The ginger boy perks up. "That means yes," he looks at Taichi with wide puppy eyes. "Please?"
With a shrug, Taichi tosses the drink to Shouyou.
Natsu mutters something unintelligible, still mortified. Then she lifts her head, shaking herself a little to clear her thoughts. "I'll… thank Semi for that later," Natsu promises grimly.
Clearly he's missing some subtext here, but Taichi thinks he would rather live without it. "Anyway. You played really well, Hinata. Even Shirabu said so, even though he won't admit it."
Natsu gives him a grateful smile, the pink slowly fading from her cheeks. "Thanks, Kawanishi-san. It means a lot to me…" she rubs her face again, as if she could just wipe away any traces of embarrassment. "So. Where's Goshiki? He didn't have to leave too, did he?"
Ah. How to explain? Taichi shakes his head. "Sorry, Hinata. He's looking for Yamagata's phone."
She looks up at him, mouthing the words skeptically. "O-Oh? Okay, then. Sure… I guess…" Natsu trails off, still peering at Kawanishi. Suddenly, she huffs. "Actually, no, what does that mean?!"
Taichi sighs. "I'm serious. Earlier, Shirabu refused to help him, so now..."
"Oh, yeah!" Shouyou agrees, rubbing his chin. "Weird-bangs setter ignored some guy asking for help searching for his phone!"
"Yamagata misplaces his phone a lot," Kawanishi explains apologetically. "And I mean a lot, a lot. He's like the opposite of a kleptomaniac. Since the second-years know about it, we refuse to help him anymore."
"So Goshiki offered to help out Yamagata-senpai since Shirabu wouldn't help him," she deadpans.
"There was no time to warn him off," Taichi apologizes.
Natsu slaps her forehead. "Why is everyone so gullible today?" she gripes.
Remembering Shirabu and Semi discussing Hinata's 'older brother' in the stands, Kawanishi can't help but agree. "Must be something in the air," he muses sympathetically. "Goshiki might be gone for a while. He thought your goal was really cool though. Shirabu got a headache listening to him yell about it."
That brings a grin back to her face. "Poor Shirabu," she laughs. "Ah, I guess I'll find him later. What about the rest of your team?"
He actually doesn't know where Semi and Ohira went, but Yunohama was trying to flirt with Captain Utsugi, and Tendou and Ushijima were hunting down Vice Captain Aone. Shirabu ran off to pretend he never stayed to watch the whole soccer game, and Goshiki was sacrificed as Yamagato's assistant phone-finder of the day. Taichi figures Natsu doesn't need the details on any of that.
"Ahh… time has… scattered us to the four winds," he shrugs, purposefully ignoring the baffled look Natsu aims at him. "They all thought you did well, though."
"Huh?" Shouyou leans over to quietly ask Kageyama if he understood what Taichi was saying. Kageyama grumbles something vague in response.
Fortunately, Natsu brushes off Taichi's ambiguous answer. "That's alright. I can always talk to them at lunch. Well, if they're not here… oh! Kawanishi-kun, is it okay if I let these guys see the volleyball court? Only, I have to get back to my team soon, so I can't escort them."
"We have visitor passes now," Kageyama points out. "So why can't we go on by ourselves?"
"Ah," Natsu hesitates. "Do you know where the gym is?"
When all three Karasuno boys are silent, Taichi sighs.
"I can go with them. Practice was shortened because the girls' team had a match…" He thinks back to the announcement, trying to recall what the assistant coach had told them about it. "Hm, I don't remember which school is visiting, but it was an all-girls' high school."
"Really?" Natsu brightens up in interest. "Do you think they're still playing?"
"I wanna watch!" Shouyou raises his hand in favor. "I mean, I'd rather see how your team plays but I'll take what I can get! It's been really hard for our advisor to get practice matches for us, but I think we're gonna have one with these Tokyo schools..."
"I wonder if it's Shirayuri?" Natsu speaks over her brother. "That's an all-girl school, their soccer team is one of the best in Miyagi. Wait, which Tokyo school, Shouyou?"
"I dunno, Takeda-sensei wasn't sure if we had a spot or not," her brother answers.
"It could be Niiyama," Kageyama speaks up suddenly, and Taichi hums. It probably was Niiyama.
"That's in Miyagi, not Tokyo, dummy," Shouyou points out.
Kageyama smacks the back of his head. "I meant the practice match, dumbass."
"That's what I was talking about!" Shouyou protests. "Over the school break, the practice match with a Tokyo team!"
"And I meant the practice match happening right now!" Kageyama snaps. "Niyama Girls' High has the best volleyball team in the prefecture. Their setter was ranked second in the country last year."
"Uwahh, Kageyama pays attention to girls' volleyball too? I never would've guessed," Shouyou exclaims, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Of course, you're still obsessed with just the setters…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kageyama scowls at one ginger before turning to the two gingers politely. "Can we watch that match for a bit? If we have time?"
"There's traffic," Yamaguchi adds, glancing at his phone, "So our ride home is delayed anyway…"
"Sure," Taichi shrugs again. He's beginning to like spectating. Throughout Hinata's game, Taichi sat back and ate shrimp chips with Tomoki while Shirabu scowled about the referee's calls. Now, he could enjoy a volleyball match and watch Hinata's brother and his teammate bicker like an old married couple. And Tomoki would return with more snacks. "C'mon, I'll show you the way."
"Thank you!" Natsu squeals, clasping her hands together. "I'll see you later!"
"Aha! It was in my locker all along!" Yamagata gives Goshiki a hard pat on the back. "Good thinking! Sorry to drag you around everywhere, but I needed someone to bounce ideas off of!"
Tsutomu bites his tongue to avoid saying something rude. "Please be more mindful in the future, senpai," he says instead. "I should get back to the field now."
"What do you mean? I'm always mindful!" The libero shouts after him, but Tsutomu is already out the door.
I can't believe I spent that much time looking for a phone and it turned out to be in the first place I told Yamagato to check! Tsutomu thinks bitterly, stepping out of the locker room at last and onto the grass. He's at the top of the hill and can see most of the field and bleachers from his vantage point, but… hm… no ginger heads in sight…
Tsutomu sets out towards the bleachers. Hinata's probably still talking to her teammates down by the field.
(Around the corner of the building, Kawanishi and the Karasuno visitors make their way towards Shiratorizawa's gym to catch the tail-end of the Niiyama practice match. Natsu is at the clubhouse, putting away equipment.)
Though he doesn't find Hinata, he does find the tall first-year goalkeeper. "Hirao-san!" he calls, relieved that he remembers her name. She seems like a nice girl from what Hinata has said about her. "Hey, good game," Tsutomu says reflexively, and then immediately regrets it.
Hirao didn't play at all in today's game… crap…
"O-Oh," she startles, almost dropping her bag. "Um. Right. Goshiki-kun," she says flatly, brow furrowed.
"I-I mean, I'm sure you'll play in the next one?" Tsutomu tries weakly. Hirao's lips press into a tight line, and she nods jerkily. "Sorry, I don't mean to… Obviously Aone is a lot more… Overall it was a, as a whole, the game, good to watch, and, um…"
"Goshiki-kun," Hirao cuts off his babble before he can dig a hole any deeper for himself. The goalie takes a slow breath, gathering herself. "Thanks for coming. Hinata went to the bleachers to find the Karasuno boys, so you should check around there first."
Tsutomu nods furiously. "Thank you. I'll go find her now." Hirao nods, and begins to retreat towards the clubhouse. "And! Hirao!" He calls to her impulsively, thinking fast. She waits for him to continue, looking braced for the worst. "Next year, when you're the main goalkeeper, I'll… er… I just mean that next year there won't be some nationally-ranked keeper on your team anymore, so, you know, I'm pretty sure I'll have to congratulate you and Hinata after every game, so," he rubs his neck sheepishly. "I'm not wrong, I'm just saying it… too early? Preemptively?"
Hirao stares at him, perplexed. "Oh," she says faintly. "O-Okay… thank you?" This time, she sounds a bit warmer, so maybe Tsutomu didn't completely botch it up.
"I'll see you later," Tsutomu waves to her, and Hirao waves back before ducking away to follow the second-years carrying equipment.
Next, Goshiki heads for the bleachers. But they're mostly empty now, and not only does he not see Hinata—his whole team has vanished! How?! Why?! He stares at the vacant seats, dumbfounded, before climbing down the steps and hurrying around the stands to—run right into someone's back.
"Oof!" Tsutomu stumbles forward, and both of them nearly topple over.
"Get a grip, will ya?" someone growls at them.
He looks up and begins to apologize profusely once he realizes he ran into Kawanishi's friend, the basketball player with really good hair. "Sorry! I didn't watch where I was going!"
"No harm done," Hoshino Tomoki replies peaceably, collecting the vending machine snacks he dropped. He isn't that one that spoke earlier. "What were you saying, Ariyoshi-san?"
Goshiki looks past Hoshino and sees a tall-ish girl in Shiratorizawa's uniform. Her hair is dark, but the tips are bleached blonde. And she's next to a complete stranger, a taller boy with bleached hair in a white and blue tracksuit.
"You're not a Dateko player," Goshiki blurts out before Ariyoshi can answer. Dateko's uniforms looked similar, but they were kind of teal instead of blue. Was it a Seijoh uniform?
The not-Dateko student turns a vicious glare onto Goshiki. "No, I'm not," he grumbles. "What's it to ya, huh?"
Hinata's teammate—Ariyoshi?—elbows him in the ribcage and hisses at him to shut up. "Ignore him. He's—lost. I was just telling him to leave now."
The boy scoffs loudly. "Yeah, I wandered all the way across Miyagi and ended up at a private high school soccer game. Crazy, huh?" He stares down at Ariyoshi doggedly, as if daring her to speak. She doesn't budge.
What's going on here? Goshiki exchanges a questioning look with Hoshino, but the basketball player looks just as lost. The silence between the four of them stretches uncomfortably.
"Um," He glances pointedly at the soccer player. "Have you seen Hinata? I wanted to congratulate her for the game."
The soccer player levels him with a frigid gaze, the disdain in her eyes on par with Shirabu when Goshiki is struggling to hit his tosses.
Oh, I just remembered what Hinata's said about the other first-years, Tsutomu thinks to himself, Hirao is the nice teammate, and Yoshi is the one that carries a switchblade everywhere.
Honestly, this other blonde guy probably carries a knife too. If it weren't for Hoshino's presence, Tsutomu would have assumed he'd stumbled upon some kind of gang meeting. Something about these two students just screamed 'danger' to him.
"She's with her brother and those volleyball idiots," Yoshi answers, rolling her eyes. "Who knows where they went?"
Tsutomu opens his mouth to argue because, rude, she definitely knows that Tsutomu plays volleyball too—but the blonde stranger beats him to it by clicking his tongue loudly and exclaiming, "Stop being a bitch about volleyball, it doesn't make you cooler, Yoshi."
Hoshino shrinks back instinctively when Yoshi levels the blonde guy with a look of pure violence .
"No one asked you, you stupid mutt," Yoshi snaps. "In fact, no one wanted you here in the first place, so kindly fuck off back to Sendai, would you?"
The blonde is unphased, still slouched over with his hands in his pockets. "You never change. How long has that stick been up your ass, huh?"
Tsutomu's jaw drops.
"About as long as your head's been up yours—asshat." Yoshi doesn't miss a beat.
Tsutomu would very much like to exit this conversation, but he's not sure how to without it looking like he's fleeing for his life.
Also, he thinks that maybe Yoshi will bring this up later, at knifepoint, and ask him to never tell anyone what he witnessed. But maybe he was being silly. Yoshi didn't really carry a switchblade, did she?
He glances furtively at Hoshino again, wondering why he's still here watching Yoshi and the not-Dateko student insult each other. Hoshino ducks his head and mutters to Tsutomu, "He doesn't have a pass. If someone sees him, she'll get suspended."
Tsutomu gapes. "What?! You can get suspended for that?" The stranger was clearly familiar with Yoshi, so he must've come to the Academy to see her.
Hoshino shakes his head. "Yoshi can be suspended. She's already in hot water with the administration for— ahem, nothing," Hoshino coughs suddenly, looking away from Yoshi's piercing gaze.
"Which is why Kentarou isn't here, and never was here," Yoshi snaps. "Got it?"
The stranger, Kentarou, rolls his eyes like they've been going back and forth about this for a while. "I'm not leaving until you say it, bitch."
"I'm not saying shit to you, just leave already!"
"Nope," Kentarou replies cheekily. "Not moving."
Hoshino sighs. "Ariyoshi-san," he addresses her seriously. "I don't want anyone to get in trouble. I won't say anything, but there's faculty members who are bound to notice your friend before long."
"And I'll tell them you're the reason I'm here," Kentarou adds unhelpfully.
Yoshi looks close to screaming. "What kind of shitty person does that, huh?! You're just causing problems for me!"
"You cause your own problems!" Kentarou laughs meanly. "You bitched about wanting someone to watch your game, and then you got all shy when I said I would—"
"Damn it!" Yoshi shrieks, putting her face in her hands. Tsutomu thought she was furious, but instead, she's blushing like crazy—she's embarrassed. "Fine! I get it! Will you just leave if I—just. Thanks for coming to my game, Kentarou," she declares, redder than a tomato. "Please get the hell out of here so I don't get kicked out of the fancy school."
Oh no, Tsutomu thinks to himself, She really is going to threaten me into silence after this.
Kentarou barks out a loud laugh, grinning. "You're fucking welcome , Yoshi. You did great. I'll see you next week, loser," he salutes her with two fingers and then turns to look directly at Tsutomu. "You. Walk with me to the gate so I don't get caught."
"Me?" Tsutomu starts.
"Yeah," he says, and then he aggressively grabs Tsutomu's arm and starts dragging him along. "And then show me where the nearest convenient store is, I'm starving."
"I—wait, why me?!" Tsutomu wails. "Hoshino?"
He turns back towards the basketball player in hopes that he'll do something, but Yoshi is blocking his path and growling something at him, too.
"You'll be fine!" Hoshino calls out to Tsutomu, looking dubious.
Yui feels very… disheveled. The second half of the Dateko game had her standing on the other side of the field, facing the sun as it sunk lower and lower in the sky—but not past the treeline, meaning that she spent about forty-five minutes squinting and sweating in the light.
When the final whistle blows, she's pleased with how the game turned out. In the future, they'd have to be wary of Kimura Reo's set pieces, but for now she was an unpolished weapon, easy to manage… Yui's thoughts on the game don't go much farther than that, because Oga, Nagano, and Sugita decide that now is the perfect time to dog-pile her.
Oga laughs loudly in her ear, feet swinging. Yui is strongly reminded of elementary school, when she was still bigger than her brother and could carry him around. "How can you carry us all?!"
"Beast keeper!" Sugita cheers. "Aone, d'you think you can carry four people?"
"No," she answers quietly, brow furrowed. "This is difficult as is…" Is someone chanting my name? she wonders, but she can't stop to check the bleachers without losing her balance.
Then the coach yells at them, thankfully, because it gives Yui a reason to let her three underclassmen tumble to the grass with squeals of laughter. Honestly, she really is raising children with Rumi on this team…
"Aoooneeeee!" Sugita whines, darting behind her. One of the first years is trying to spray her with a water bottle.
"Thanks," Yui deadpans, swiping the bottle out of Yoshi's hands and taking a drink.
"No!" Yoshi hollers, stretching for the bottle. Yoshi was one of the new first-years on the team, and usually acted rather aloof around her teammates, but she was still just fifteen years old. Even she had her childish moments. "Gross! Aoneeeee, stooooop, that's mine!"
Yui ignores her and goes over to where her team is gathering. She thanks the referees, the opposing team, and lastly, the absurd group of classmates piled into the bleachers to spectate.
(After that's done with, Yoshi snatches her water bottle back, pouting.)
At last, Yui remembers to pull off her gloves and goes in search of a towel.
A few more teammates congratulate her along the way, patting her back and chatting about the game. Yui nods along, but finds herself increasingly aware of how sweaty and humid everything feels. She fights the urge to take off her socks and shin guards along with her cleats. With so many students still milling around, it would look weird if she were to peel off some of her clothes and lay on the grass like she wants to… oh, but it'd feel so nice to just lay down… maybe Yoshi's not the only one feeling childish right now.
But Yui resists. She ought to speak to her brother while he was still here. Takanobu went through the trouble of visiting her school, and Yui appreciates it. Not to mention Tendou and Ushijima. So instead of melting onto the lush grass, Yui wipes her face dry, brushes her hair back, and goes to the stands to find Taka and Tendou.
Instead, Tendou finds her. Of course.
"YUUUUI-KUN!" Tendou draws out her name in a lyrical sort of yell, waving both arms as he bounds towards her. "Great game! You were amazing!" he congratulates her, beaming.
It feels like ants crawling up her arms, marching along her spine; a strange nervous energy emerges that had nothing to do with the game she just played. It's just Tendou, Yui thinks to herself in surprise. Why should I ever be nervous around him?
Ushijima is there as well, following slowly. And her little brother is there too, keeping pace with Ushijima and frowning at the back of Tendou's head.
Ah… Yui can already tell that Takanobu is going to give her an earful later about her choice in friends.
"Thank you for coming," Yui tells Tendou at once, as soon as he's close enough to hear her without shouting it across the lawn.
"Of course! Who wouldn't wanna see Japan's future national goalkeeper?!" Tendou just keeps coming, running right up to her with his hands outstretched for a high five. Yui only hesitates for a moment, concerned with how unclean her hands must be, before obligingly raising her palms to meet his.
"That's a little far-fetched, isn't it?" Yui points out, but holds back from admonishing him any further. Tendou just looks so pleased, she doesn't want to sound too cynical.
"I don't think it is," Ushijima comments, looking straight at Yui. "You could be on the national team some day. Weren't you invited to the U-19 tryouts?"
Yui freezes, staring back at Ushijima like a deer in headlights. "I…"
Tendou squawks, his head whipping between the two of them. "You were?! You are? When?! Hang on, hang on! How does Wakatoshi know about this before me?" he cries.
"Yui?" Takanobu cuts in, equally shocked.
Ushijima is beginning to frown when Yui finally pulls her gaze away. She shifts from foot to foot, gathering her words. "I haven't told anyone except my coach and Rumi so far," she admits, eyeing Ushijima again skeptically. "How did you know about it?"
Ushijima pauses, realizing that all three of them were waiting on his answer now. "The dean spoke to me about the U-19 Volleyball Championship. He mentioned your invitation as well, since you might also play for a national team."
Everyone already knew about Ushijima becoming a U-19 representative; he was also a U-17 representative in his first year of high school, and had been going to all sorts of youth training camps since then. And the Academy loved to play up their prestigious record and sports programs whenever possible, so Ushijima and other star athletes were like poster children for Shiratorizawa.
"Yui!" Tendou shouts, thrilled. "Holy shit! Yui!"
"Yeah…" Yui replies, not knowing what else to say.
Takanobu looks less enthused. He stares at her with solemn grey eyes, clearly not happy that Yui didn't tell him herself. "It's an invitation, Taka, not an acceptance," Yui reminds him gently. "I'll tell you first if I make the team."
Ushijima and Tendou watch the second-year with open curiosity, and Takanobu is flustered once he realizes it. "Hmph," he grunts, pointedly turning his face away from them.
"I apologize if I overstepped," Ushijima says carefully, trying to parse out the dynamic between the Aone siblings. "I didn't know you hadn't announced it."
"Pro tip, Wakatoshi-kun," Tendou declares, spinning on his heel. Unexpectedly, he throws an arm over Yui's shoulder and hugs her lightly. "I'm the airhorn that announces all of Yui's MVP moments. So if I'm not already shouting about it during our free period, Yui hasn't told anyone yet!"
He releases Yui and leans over to Ushijima pointedly. "It's the same deal with you, and Eita's band, and also every new chapter of Demon Slayer."
Yui can't argue with that. Tendou does make a big effort to keep her updated about his friends and the manga he's reading.
"I'm not upset," she assures Ushijima, "I just… wasn't going to announce it at all. If I make the team, that's something I'd tell everyone," Yui explains.
"When you make the team," Tendou corrects her haughtily. "Remind me to get your autograph before you start getting sponsorships, superstar."
Tendou turns away before Yui has a chance to decipher the look on his face, but she can't help but feel bashful. She never knows how to react when Tendou says things like that.
"Regardless of what the future holds, you played very well today," Ushijima tells her, laconic as usual.
"Thank you," Yui nods. "Um. I suppose you've already met Taka by now?"
The look Taka gives her as soon as she says his name is utterly glacial. Yui quirks an eyebrow in challenge.
"I think your brother's a little shy today, Yui-kun!" Tendou chirps, sliding a little closer to Takanobu and taking a peek at his face. "I already told you my name, but I didn't catch yours! What was it, hm? Takkun?"
Takanobu stares down at Tendou, deeply troubled by his presence. "Aone," he corrects Tendou.
The red-haired boy slumps for a moment, exasperated. "I don't know why I'm surprised to discover this, Yui-kun, but your brother is exactly like you." Then he throws his arm over Takanobu's shoulder, just like he did to Yui, and awkwardly hugs the taller Aone. "We're going to be such good friends, Takanobu-kun!"
Her brother grunts in response, jaw clenched tightly. Thankfully, Tendou slips away before Taka feels the need to do anything drastic.
"It's nice to meet you, Aone-kun," Ushijima bows his head politely. "Please call me Ushijima."
Takanobu gives a very reluctant bow to Ushijima in return. "Domo," he mumbles, looking at his feet.
"Yui!" Rumi calls out, jogging over. "We have a game!"
Game…? Yui looks at her, and then her gaze slides over to the much-taller boy tagging along with Rumi to speak with her. It was Yoshino Maya, the captain of the boys' soccer team.
"Didn't you just finish the game?" Tendou pipes up, quirking an eyebrow at Rumi. "Hiya Sugi-Rumi, did you notice you've got a little mosquito droning around you?"
Maya starts. "Are you talking about me?!" he demands, indignant.
"Yes," Rumi deadpans, "It's been buzzing in my ear for the past ten minutes."
"You know, I don't need to take this kind of abuse from you!" Maya cries, folding his arms stubbornly. "You're the one that needed me and my team to convince the school board!"
The school board? Yui looks at Maya again, realization dawning on her. "Rumi… we have a game?"
"You're goddamn right we have a game," Rumi grins. "I told you we'd do it."
"You're signed up for one measly qualifier," Maya pouts, rolling his eyes. "You're never gonna win it."
"Then why advocate for us, Maya-kun?" Yui asks him shrewdly. "It was a lot to ask of you and your team."
Maya's face pinches in annoyance when Rumi looks at him too. "No reason… the training camp sounded cool…"
"I'm lost!" Tendou announces, bumping Yui's shoulder. "What qualifier? What training camp? I'm just a simple volleyball player, help a guy out!"
Yui glances at Rumi, reassuring herself that Rumi and Maya really did manage to get the school board to agree to their proposal for the soccer teams. Rumi looks extremely pleased, and that's confirmation enough.
"For Golden Week, the soccer clubs got the funding to go to a new training camp of our choice," Yui explains, fighting to keep her excitement in check. "But there's also a tournament we wanted to enter, and the qualifying match takes place that week. We managed to keep both commitments by having the tournament match take place in the stadium closest to the training camp."
"You guys are nuts," Maya interrupts, running a hand through his hair. "A match like that, after a whole week of training? You're gonna run your girls into the ground…"
"They can handle it," Rumi scoffs.
"Thank you for your help," Yui tells him gratefully. "Rumi won't say it, but your support made this possible."
"Ah, well," Maya laughs uneasily, eyebrows raised. "Not just my team, actually." He hunches over Rumi's shoulder and pulls another face.
Yui blinks. "What do you mean?"
Rumi pushes past Maya, shaking her head. "I don't know what he did, but the basketball teams are going too."
Yui's jaw drops. "Really? But it's—"
"Don't ask how I managed it, I just did it!" Maya hastily cuts her off. His cheeks are rapidly turning pink. "It's done, you're welcome!"
"Yes, thank you," Yui stammers, "But how—?"
"I've gotta go now!" Maya exclaims, holding up his hands. "Good game, Aone. Utsugi…. Ushijima, Tendou, Aone's brother... Why are you all here…?" He nods to each of them, looking more awkward by the minute. Yui watches the soccer player curiously, completely missing the intense looks that Tendou and Takanobu give him. "I should leave, I've got… math homework…bye Rumi!"
Rumi glares after him. "The hell is his problem?"
"Who knows," Yui murmurs. "He's always been like that."
"Whatever," she shrugs, turning to Yui's brother with a kind smile. "Taka, what'd you think of my team?"
Takanobu, true to form, simply gives her a thumbs up. Rumi still looks pleased.
"I think you guys were great!" Tendou chimes in, grinning hugely. "You know, Sugi-Rumi, I always thought you and Yui were so intense, but I was wrong! Your whole team is like that. Even little Natsu-kun, she thinks you're really cool by the way. Wakatoshi-kun, you remember, right? Wasn't it awesome when those two defenders, uh, got the ball back? What's the word for that kind of play, a counter-attack…?"
Once Tendou gets going, it's difficult to stop him. He's even roped Ushijima into speaking a few words about the game. Rumi usually has no problem interrupting people, but unsurprisingly, she seems pleased to hear Tendou and Ushijima shower her team with compliments. In between short replies and nods in response to Tendou, Rumi side-eyes Yui and smirks.
Suddenly, Yui recalls the brief conversation she had with her captain during halftime.
"You invited Tendou and Ushijima?" Rumi had asked, looking confused. "Both of them?"
"Yes. Is that a problem?" Yui frowned.
"No, it's just… both of them?"
Yui still doesn't know what she means, but judging by the smirk on Rumi's face, she'll find out soon enough.
Natsu bursts out of the locker rooms and into the evening sunlight, hair still wet and tangled. "Aw man! Everyone's gone!" she cries, gripping her phone. She had a few messages from Shouyou and Goshiki, but she'd hoped to at least see them before she had to start the bike ride home.
"Natsuuuu," a mournful voice calls out to her.
She turns. "Yunohama-san?" Natsu replies, surprised to see him still lingering by the fence. "What're you still doing out here?"
"I couldn't do it," he sighs, slumped over the edge of the chain-linked fence. "She's too popular."
Ah. This was about Captain Utsugi.
"You don't have to approach her right away," Natsu points out gently. "She's not seeing anyone right now."
Yuno moans in distress. "You don't get it, Natsu. I've got competition!"
She stares, not quite believing him. "You do?"
"Yes!" The volleyball play throws up his hands dramatically. "Maya! That jerk totally likes Rumi. But he's a captain, and the third-year! I can't compete with that. And—and that Dateko guy! She smiled at him twice!"
Dateko guy... Natsu gasps. "Aone's little brother?!"
"That's her little brother?!" Yunohama asks sharply. "As in her younger brother? Younger than Rumi?"
"I... yes?" Natsu isn't sure where he's going with this. "He's a second-year."
"Then I have a chance, right? I'm a second-year, and a volleyball player!" Yunohama argues. Natsu isn't sure who he's trying to convince, because she never contradicted him. "I'm her type. I think so, at least...What do you think?"
Natsu shrugs. "I don't know. Rumi smiles at plenty of people..." She smiled at Shouyou too, and Natsu doesn't want to consider the idea that her captain has a crush on her twin brother. But then Natsu looks at Yunohama's sad face again, and she sighs. "You won't know until you talk to her. So, uh, don't... lose hope?"
Yunohama nods seriously. "I won't. Thanks, Natsu. You're good at this."
"I'm glad," Natsu huffs. She can hear the bus's engine approaching from around the block now. "Good night, Yuno-san! See you tomorrow!"
"Bye! Oh! And you played great! Shirabu says that your goal was really hard to pull off!" Yuno tacks on cheerfully as Natsu trots down tot he bus stop. "Good game!"
A/N: and they never saw Goshiki again... (jk)
Did you know that Dateko and Aoba Johsai have some pretty similar color palettes? Well, now you know... I forgot to include Terushima in this chapter, but here, take some unsolicited Kyoutani Kentarou instead.
I said that Yoshi is in trouble with the school board, but I didn't say why, because... idk, i couldn't think of a good reason? I will say that it's partly because of her bleached hair, some Japanese high schools don't allow that kind of thing. But if any readers have some fun suggestions for what kind of delinquent actions got Yoshi in trouble, please, I'd love some ideas.
