Okay, I never expected for the story to get this much attention this quickly, but I thank everyone for enjoying it :) I'll try to answer the questions that are thrown at me or reply to your reviews.
sobasicallyme: I am glad you like it :) I have a lot of practice in writing and I'll try to keep the spelling mistakes to a minimum.
chibi-no-baka: It may be cute but I'll try to put the typical Haikyuu humour into it, and I'm trying not to keep you waiting. I have school as well so I write on the train a lot.
Guest Lili: Well, you will see what sort of a relationship the siblings have.
Guest Luna: I am glad they are authentic. Next to writing a story which makes sense, I enjoy the challenge of understanding the characters and write them as authentically as possible in situations we have never seen them in. The job I'm working towards involves understanding and analysing people. (I don't know if you have heard of social pedagogy, but to become a nursery nurse in Germany, you have to study a lot) It's good practice. And of course CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT is something I can play with. *evil laugh*
Littlemisslazy: You will have to be patient but two interactions in your wish list are in this chapter. Enjoy :) But I can promise that interactions will happen ;)
Chapter 4 - A Summer Training Camp
Behind every strong man
stands a woman supporting him
It was still dark when Ushijima got up to go for his morning jog, a routine that has started years ago. He enjoyed this time of the day. No soul was around, no cars in the way, it was dark and silent. Only one black cat stirred in the morning and of course the crows. They all sat on the power lines, huddled together, watching him with their beady eyes as he through the neighbourhood. He still had that moment of Hinata Shoyo stealing the ball playing through his head. And the setter who wanted to surpass Oikawa, Kageyama Tobio. Unconsciously he tried to make connections between both Kageyama's. One similarity stood out. Those eyes; resolve and motivation in those deep blue eyes. He remembered seeing them for the first time, how they had glown back then. Tamiko was a person he couldn't assess properly. She was so ordinary, nothing was special about her, yet there was something that made him feel free and peaceful in her presences. It had been over a year now since they have met, and he still believed that she kept things hidden from him. The fact that her brother played volleyball, which he didn't know before, proved this. Drowned in his own thoughts the time passed, the sun came up and other morning joggers appeared. He overtook them with his fast pace and soon finished his route and returned to the school. Some of the team members had already arrived in school yesterday in the late evening, others like Ushijima lived in the school dormitory. All were still sleeping when he had woken up. When he came back to the school he spotted a familiar small red car. The lights in the kitchen were also on and when he walked in, he saw Tamiko bend over the table, making onigiri. Not to disturb her, he silently walked over to the fridge and took something to drink.
"Good morning to you, too." she grumbled, not looking up from her work.
"Good morning." he replied and sat down.
He watched as she took the rice into her hands and formed them. Her hands were so small, and so were the onigiri. In turn, there were many of them. Some she filled with different things, others she left plain and simple. However, she ordered them, not to confuse them.
"Do you have a wish for dinner?" she asked him, without looking up.
"Hayashi rice." he told her.
"You always want hayashi rice." she noted.
"I like hayashi rice." he reminded her.
"I know you do." she smiled to herself.
"Will you make some?" he asked.
She paused to look up from her work and into his olive eyes. He in turn looked into those blue eyes again.
"Maybe, if you will be a gentleman and help me clean up today." she proposed.
"Sure." he nodded.
"Then I'll make some tonight." she promised. "I have to go and buy the rice for tomorrow anyway."
"Thank you. Will you need help?" he asked.
"I'll manage. You concentrate on you training." she declined.
The rest of the morning until the others woke up were spent in silence. Ushijima enjoyed the silence. It was a big contrast from the loud chants from a volleyball match but he enjoyed both. Over the time he had come to know her, he had learned that she also chose not to say much and enjoy the silence. She was the type of person who observed, analysed, evaluated. She saw things that others would miss easily; like the fact that Tendou had a habit of pulling his shoulders up when something excited him. But none of the team members ever felt uncomfortable when she watched them train, even when they knew. Hardly anyone would notice her anyway. The ace helped her clean up when the coach Washijo and the advisor Saitou came in to join them and thanked her for her work. The others soon followed. Goshiki was yawning when he walked in with his seniors. Shirabu was on hand straight away.
"Cover your mouth when you yawn." he mumbled but Goshiki ignored him. His attention was somewhere else.
"Good morning, Kageyama-san!" he greeted with a formal bow.
Kawanishi came in followed by Tendou, Hayato, Semi and the others who rarely got to play in matches.
"Good morning, Tamiko-chan!" Tendou greeted her cheerfully.
She nodded stiffly with a smile to acknowledge his presence and she greeted them all.
"Good morning everyone."
They all grumbled and mumbled, some yawning and others nodding, although Semi seemed to be more awake after seeing her. He patted her shoulder as he walked passed her to sit down.
"Wow, the table is full!" Tendou exclaimed with amazement and they all looked over to her expectantly, silently asking for permission.
"Eat as much as you want." she smiled and all of them sat down.
"Thank you for the food!" they all said and started to eat.
Tamiko enjoyed a cup of tea and watched them as they more than literally stuffed their faces. It made her feel accepted when people enjoyed her food. Goshiki was overwhelmed by the food and tried to eat something of everything.
"Don't eat so quickly, you might choke." Tendou noted.
"You're not eating slow either, Tendou-san."
"But I always eat fast."
"You don't eat anything. You are as thin as a stick."
"I burn my energy quickly." he insisted.
"You don't have any muscle because you take it easy all the time." Tamiko noted. "Maybe you are just not putting your mind into it."
"That would be a great idea." the coach grumbled and Tendou produced an audible swallowing sound of uneasiness.
"Tamiko-chan is smart as always." Semi grinned.
Tamiko only drank her tea in silence. Semi always complimented her like he had always done. It wasn't new to her. The sun was now creeping higher and painting the sky in blue from the orange and red. It was a beautiful picture that was always the same but still looked different every time. This also seemed to be a signal for the coach as he now stood.
"Alright, let's go!" the coach shouted. "I want twenty laps on the track!"
They didn't complain or groan in disagreement. They knew that would be unwise to do with the coach around. Instead they all stood and thanked Tamiko again for the breakfast.
"Have fun, boys." she said before she turned her attention to the dishes.
As they left, she checked her phone. Tobio had left a message saying he had eaten breakfast and was now on his way to school for training. The photo of his meal he had sent her made her feel at ease. While the boys went to their training, Tamiko spent the time alone with her guitar. When lunch approached, she prepared watermelons for the team. Watermelons had the advantage of being food and giving water at the same time. A choice that the coach loved. It was summer, it was hot and nothing could be better. The boys eagerly ate them and Tamiko retreated into the kitchen while they are outside.
"Do you guys want some water?" she asked them as she demonstrated the hose in her hand.
They all were eager to soak their heads in the water, although Goshiki complained that it wasn't cold.
"Cold water would cause your body to heat itself up. You could get ill from that." she explained.
The first year nodded like an obedient child and chose to enjoy the warm water. When Ushijima soaked his head, Tendou grabbed the hose and began to spray the water around. He enjoyed himself greatly Everyone got wet, even the coach who then shouted at the lanky boy. Tamiko was glad that she wasn't wearing any white clothing, but the boys all did. The display of wet t-shirts sticking to their chests was a sight she chose to ignore. She had better things to think about.
"That was refreshing." Tendou laughed and took his shirt off.
"Can someone tell the stick to put on his shirt?" Tamiko asked the others.
"Awww, come on, Tamiko-chan. Don't you like what you see?" he grinned, flexing his arms.
"There is nothing to see." she said, unimpressed.
"So blunt." he huffed.
"If anyone has anything to show then it's Wakatoshi." Ohira noted.
"Everyone has muscles." Ushijima noted while he grabbed the hose.
"He is talking about big muscles." Yamagata explained.
Ushijima stayed silent and squeezed the hose so that a hard spray of water hit Tendou in the face. No matter how hard Tendou tried to escape, Ushijima was always ready with the hose. They all laughed at the display that was unfolding until Tamiko stopped him.
"That's enough!" she scolded them. "Stop wasting water."
She took the hose out of Ushijima's hand and retreated into the kitchen. Soaked from the water, he shook his head like a wet dog when Tamiko opened the kitchen window to offer them some towels. The training went on into the afternoon. Tamiko went to the closest supermarket to buy a supply of food for the next few days. As Ushijima wished it, she made Hayashi rice. A lot of it. The smell was very inviting when the boys came into kitchen after their shower. He gave her a very small smile as a thank you.
"This tastes great." they all said.
"Kageyama-chan would make a great wife, right boys?" coach Washijo grinned.
What used to a noise-filled kitchen was now filled with silence, some even turning red. By the stove, Tamiko had paused her actions and the coach looked around as if he had said something wrong.
"Sir, they are high school kids." Saitou whispered.
"So? It's never too early to look." Washijo said as he took another bite. "I'm telling you, boys." he chewed and pointed his spoon at all of them. "Look before you loose them. Women are precious things. Behind every strong man stands a strong woman."
The boys all looked at him in awe. Ushijima and Semi gave a short glance over to Tamiko who still had her back turned to them. The others followed their gaze and were lost in thought.
"And a woman rolling her eyes." she added without turning.
The two older men bursted into laughter understanding very well what she meant. What none saw was that her face had grown very red. And she was glad nobody saw it. It was embarrassing enough to have so many younger boys lol at her back in this moment. In the midst of dinner, a phone suddenly rang. Tamiko excused herself and answered the call.
"Hey mom. How are you?" she greeted with a cheerful tone.
"I'm good honey. How is Tobio?" she asked.
"He is doing fine. When are you coming home?" Tamiko enquired.
There was a short pause.
"About that." she heard her say.
Tamiko's heart stung. This has happened to many times for her liking. Their mother had always worked abroad for long periods since Tobio went to Elementary school. Their neighbours had made sure that all was going well and had looked after them. The two siblings were slowly losing the image of their mothers face in their mind.
"You have to stay again?" she asked.
"Yeah. My boss keeps giving me assignments. But I will come home before Christmas." her mother explained.
"Okay." Tamiko sighed.
"I'm sorry, honey. I love you, both of you. Bye." she apologised.
"Bye."
Tamiko ended the call and stayed silent. In the kitchen, the boys had also grown quite, having heard her part of the call. The last thing they saw of her was as she walked passed the open doorway of the kitchen and walked away, slamming the door behind her.
"Is she going to be okay?" Goshiki asked his seniors.
"Who knows." Semi sighed and took another bite.
"Did I hear correctly that her mother is not coming home?" Saitou wondered.
Since he was the advisor and a teacher, he worried about his students, especially when it was one of the most promising one.
"Her mum is a makeup artist. She has to work on the sets a lot. I have only seen her mum three times before but not for long." Semi explained.
He knew it all too well. The two had gone to the same Elementary and used to be neighbours. Semi's own mother had offered little Tamiko and her brother dinner every Thursday so he got to know her. When he moved away he thought he would never see her again.
"That is tough." Tendou noted.
They all engaged into their conversations again after Semi assured them that she would be fine after a while. As time passed, Ushijima was the first to excuse himself. He was tired and wanted to get to bed as soon as he could. As he walked through the corridor he looked out of a window to see Tamiko standing by a tree. One of her fists was pressed against the hard bark and she leaned her head against the trunk. He decided to go and see how she was feeling and he walked outside.
"Tamiko." he said.
She didn't have to turn around to know who it was.
"Go away, Toshi-kun." she mumbled.
She heard nothing, nothing coming towards her or walking away, and she felt his eyes on her back. If there was one thing Ushijima could do, then it was keeping secrets. He always kept quiet about himself and in turn about others as well. But not many know this. When he had found out about her job, she was afraid of him telling everyone. But he didn't. You could tell him anything and he may judge or have a different opinion, but he kept your secret to himself. Maybe letting out her frustration was what she needed right now.
"She has been gone for 3 months now." she started. "And when she comes home she only stays for a few days. Tobio and I are always on our own. Nobody is there to hold us when we are having problems. I can't do this anymore. I can't do what I want without leaving Tobio by himself. I can't go and study in Tokyo. I can't leave my brother. He needs me. He doesn't even know how a washing machine works."
From behind, strong arms gently wrapped around her, holding her tightly. Now the tears were flowing. Tamiko's fingers dug into Ushijima's sleeve as she hid her face in the fabric. It smelled nice, his shower gel. She leaned back as she grew tired and he didn't budge. After her cry had died down into sobs, he turned her around to face him and look at her knuckles. They were beaten bloody. He looked at her and she looked away, ashamed. No words were said, he just patted her head and gently pulled her along with him as he walked back into the kitchen. There, he told her to wash her hands which she did without fussing around. Then he sat her down on a chair while he searched for the first aid kit. While he searched, Semi walked in and looked concerned when he saw her knuckles. His eyes met with Ushijima's who then started to carefully bandaged her wounds. Meanwhile, Semi decided to make some tea which she silently accepted as she took small sips. He kneeled before her and held her elbows in his hands.
"I know you have a tough life. But you are not alone. If you need anything, we are here to help you." he offered.
She looked past him and saw the rest of the team poke their heads around the corner. They all smiled at her, showing their support. A haze of pink coloured her freckled cheeks.
"Thank you." she mumbled.
Ushijima patted her head again before leaving to finally go to sleep. Only Semi looked after him, a serious demeanour on his face.
