I find it very amusing that I fooled you all.
BAZINGA!
The current Chapter 32 has been uploaded for a while now and nobody noticed because I put it on the Announcment Chapter.
hahahahaha
...
Okay, I'm cruel.
I'm sorry.
\(_ _*\)
PandaHee: Well, I'm glad that you are looking foreward to it. Chapter 1 and 2 have been updated.
Reader fan: The shogun story will have to wait but I have uploaded the first Tamiko Omegaverse chapter :)
Guest: She had taken it down but as far as she has told me it is up again (probably because I mentioned your outcry ;)
AliceMitch09: Aw thank you :) makes me happy to hear this!
Chapter 33 - A fear
"This place is huge."
The young couple was standing in the dense crowd in the stadium and Tamiko squeezed his hand, making sure she wouldn't lose him. She had never been to a stadium this large before and Ushijima was giving her some sense of security. After the incident at the train station she had grown more cautious. He half smiled at her as she curiously looked around, her eyes big with amazement.
"Do you want to look around first?" Ushijima asked.
This question pulled her out of her trance and she thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"I would feel more comfortable if we go find our seats."
He only nodded and guided her through the crowd. She really was glad he was here. Being shorter than the average height gave her a disadvantage in crowded places when it came to navigating. But Ushijima had a great view above the heads of passing spectators. Following the gentle pull of his hand, they reached the spectator seats. There were many people with mouth masks. The season still gave many a sniffling nose. After a while it dawned on her that nobody seemed to recognize him, probably because he was in casual clothes and not in his jersey or tracksuit. It was a relief for her. When they finally found a row to sit in, there were only two people who recognised them when they looked for their seats.
"Looks like Ushiwaka-chan earned himself a price," a brunet noted.
Tamiko's jaw dropped. Before them sat Oikawa and Iwaizumi, both strangely calm with seeing them together. Especially Iwaizumi since he had never seen them together. She grew a little nervous, even more so when Ushijima casually greeted them. Oikawa's attention quickly turned back to her, including Iwaizumi's.
"Why did you drag him here, Tamiko?" Iwaizumi asked.
"Because I can." she grumbled, indicating clearly that she didn't want to elaborate.
"Tami-chan has a lot of leverage on him."Oikawa smirked.
The couple ignored the setter and sat down. Tamiko was torn between letting Ushijima sit next to Oikawa or sitting between the two before things would escalate. Iwaizumi had already told her a while ago that Oikawa wasn't very fond of Ushijima, which she did witness once. In the end, she became a barrier between them and sat down next to Oikawa. He, however, saw something different in that action.
"Looks like we will be sitting together." Oikawa grinned.
He cocked his head towards her, his head almost resting on her shoulder. She twitched at the sudden closeness and her shoulders tensed.
"Could you please get out of my personal space?" she grumbled.
"What? Why?"
She pointed at Ushijima who was frowning, his nose scrunched, his eyes dark. Tamiko herself was a little surprised to see Ushijima look in a way jealous, something she had never seen before. It was very clear to her that he didn't like the way Oikawa was so friendly with her. I shouldn't have sat between them, she immediately regretted. Although she did feel a little touched by his reaction. Oikawa wasn't in any way intimidated. Instead he saw fun in it.
"Ushiwaka-chan, you look like an overprotective boyfriend." he teased.
"That's because he is." Tamiko told him, unamused.
"Overprotective?" he asked.
"An overprotective boyfriend." she elaborated for him.
Behind him Iwaizumi burst into laughter. Some of the people around them threw him concerned glances but chose to ignore it. Oikawa, on the other hand, was speechless. She could see the horror, disappointment and disbelief in his eyes.
"What? Seriously?" Oikawa managed to ask. "Since when?"
"Since christmas," she explained.
"Looks like you missed your chance, Shittykawa." Iwaizumi managed to say after having calmed down.
Oikawa frowned and avoided her gaze, his lips pressed to a tight line. Iwaizumi was right. He had missed his chance. He had asked her several times to meet up but she had always declined, stating that she had been busy. She probably had been. She never lied. Oikawa was just unlucky. If she wouldn't have gone to Shiratorizawa, it would have been different. But here she was, sitting next to his rival who was now also her boyfriend. He felt defeated, utterly defeated with finality. Not only did he miss his last chance to go to the spring tournament, he had lost his dream girl, a girl who treated him normally. It was probably karma, payback for nearly hitting her brother three years ago. Did she even know about that incident? He wasn't sure.
"Ushiwaka-chan," Oikawa said to get his attention. "Don't ever make her cry."
Both of the boys didn't take their eyes off the court, although Tamiko and Iwaizumi exchanged an awkward glance.
"I don't intend to." Ushijima answered with his usual demeanour.
Their attention turned back to the opening ceremony of the spring tournament. Music played as the mascots and the teams walked onto the court in a parade-like fashion. There were many schools present from all over Japan, the captains proudly holding up signs with the name of their school. For each prefecture the male and female team was introduced and when Karasuno was mentioned, Tamiko was on the look-out. She spotted her brother amongst the black jerseys and pride swell in her heart. Even Oikawa seemed to have some pride left over for his kohai but he stated that he was still hoping to see Karasuno lose. The glare that Tamiko threw him made him shrink in his seat. There was a 20-minute warm-up for all teams and they had a great view Karasuno's first match which was very interesting, at least for Tamiko. It was a team from Tsubakihara Academy, an energetic bunch with matching headbands. Tamiko found them amusing from the start.
"They look like a bunch of cheerleaders." Tamiko giggled.
"I bet it makes them feel more unified." Iwaizumi noted.
The match started pretty quickly, with Tsubakihara scoring three points in a row. Tamiko scratched her chin as her eyes started to take in every information, analysing it.
"Looks like your brother is pretty nervous down there," Iwaizumi noted. "His tosses are all over the place."
"It's the ceiling," was all she said.
"The ceiling?"
Iwaizumi and Ushijima looked at her while she and Oikawa had their eyes on the court. Another point went to Tsubakihara and when one toss to Hinata was too high, he improvised and literally used his head to get the ball over the net. Laughter spread. After a few more points, Tobio's tosses started to connect with the spikers, slowly improving, getting used to the surroundings.
"Tamiko," Iwaizumi spoke. "What did you mean with the ceiling being a problem?"
"Tobio-kun may not be smart when it comes to school subjects, but what I have in analytical skills, he has in depth perception."
Iwaizumi looked at the court again, just in time to witness the super quick by the duo. There was brief silence when cheers roared.
"That's it," Tamiko smiled fondly. "He finally got used to it."
"Impressive." Iwaizumi whistled.
From that point on it was clear that Tobio was on fire. He made some impressive plays, having clearly improved since the finals. Even his serves had become more powerful, something that Ushijima was a little proud of.
In Tamiko's eyes , the opposite team was very interesting. They were a united force, working together very well. They held their own as well. Karasuno soon managed to catch up. They stayed neck and neck, scoring one point after the other. At one point a very long and incredible rally started that had Tamiko at the edge of her seat. Tension build as the ace of Tsubakihara spiking a straight past the blockers when suddenly a little orange blur stopped the ball from hitting the floor. Tamiko almost squeaked. Hinata had intercepted the ball, although with his shoulder instead of his arms. It gave Karasuno a chance which they took and scored their break point. Tamiko wasn't the only who had noticed the change. Hinata's days as a baal boy had paid. She grinned to herself and giggled when, again, he received with his shoulder instead of his arms. It was a strange sense of pride that was growing inside her as she watched him play. With all of them in fact. Karasuno was changing in front of their eyes.
"It's creeping how quickly they get better," Oikawa grumbled. "Considering the fact that they lost against us at the Interhigh preliminaries only last year."
"They definitely have skills to be called a powerhouse once again." Tamiko grinned.
The boys silently agreed. When Karasuno stood one point before their first set, the coach from Tsubakihara did something that made Tamiko question his sanity. A trembling first year was called in as a pinch serve. Tamiko wrote down the name she heard and waited. If that kid was sent in at this moment, then he must have some incredible skill. Her shoulders tensed when the referee blew the whistle and the boy tossed the ball in the air. Then the unexpected. He swung his arm from below, aiming at the ball. An underhand serve, rarely seen in volleyball nowadays. Despite the excitement however, the serve went straight against one of his teammates head's. Tamiko gasped. The whistle was blown. Karasuno had won the first set.
"Oh no, poor guy." she whined.
"That must have shattered the last of his confidence." Oikawa noted. "I don't think we will see him on the court again."
"I would give him a second chance." she interjected.
"Well, you are a team captain," she reminded him and then turned so their eyes met. "Would you give him another chance?"
"I don't know him," he interjected. "How am I supposed to know what he is capable of?"
"Exactly, so shut up." she snapped. "He will serve again."
Iwaizumi chuckled, even Ushijima had to smile. All Oikawa did was pout, but a smile did creep over his lips. And like she said, after a while into the second set he was to serve again. She held her breath as the he swung his arm, hitting the ball towards the endless space of the ceiling. It took a few seconds for the ball to come back down but when it did, Karasuno's receiving expert dropped it. Cheers repeated and Tamiko was stunned. She had never seen a ceiling serve and even her fellow spectators were impressed, even Ushijima.
"I have never seen a serve like that before," he muttered.
"That was surprisingly effective. The unfamiliarity of it, the loss in depth perception and the blinding lights must make it difficult to receive, even for an expert." Tamiko commented with a giggle.
"Tami-chan," Oikawa suddenly spoke. "Was Tobio-chan selected for the All Youth Training Camp?"
"Yeah." she nodded.
"All eyes are on him now."
Tamiko looked around and saw cameras, journalists, people in suits watching the court. It made her feel a little uneasy. What would happen if he reaches the same level as Ushijima? Would he be taken away since he doesn't live in the proper conditions? Taken away because there is no mother in his live? The position the siblings were left in was not right, she knew this. She was just glad that Ushijima was taking some of the stress off her shoulders by just being present. But soon even Ushijima would be gone. Now that she thought about it, what would happen after they graduate. Where would Ushijima go? She gave her boyfriend a side glance, his own olive eyes fixated on the court. A small sigh escaped her when she turned back to Oikawa.
"What are you guys going to do after graduation?" she asked them.
This sparked a big conversation. Apparently Oikawa and Iwaizumi were going to end up in different colleges, which Tamiko found surprising. In her eyes, those two have always been inseparable.
"I'll be right back," he told her.
She nodded and watched him leave before turning back to her former schoolmates.
"What will you do, Tamiko?" Iwaizumi asked.
"Since I can't leave Tobio-kun on his own, I will have to stay in Sendai." she explained, dropping her shoulders.
"So studying in Tokyo will not happen?" Iwaizumi asked to make sure.
"No, but I did get an offer to become the full-time manager of the Shiratorizawa volleyball club." she grinned.
"Seriously?" Iwaizumi's jaw dropped.
"Yeah, that's why I have brought my notebook with me." she grinned and held up the book.
Iwaizumi nodded but wasn't done with his questions. He hadn't had the chance to talk to her like this in years and she had been an old school friend. He wasn't going to let this go to waste.
"And what will Ushijima do?" he asked.
"I don't know," she shrugged.
"He hasn't told you yet?" Oikawa asked this time.
There was a brief silence before Tamiko slowly shook her head.
"No." she mumbled.
"That's not good," Oikawa sighed. "Is he keeping it a secret from you?"
"Oh I wonder," she sarcastically shrugged. "Maybe it's because I haven't asked him yet."
"Or maybe he doesn't want to tell you." Oikawa interjected.
"Stop casting doubts on her, trashykawa," Iwaizumi grumbled and slapped the back of Oikawa's head. "If you destroy their relationship then I'll personally chop you up."
While Oikawa defended himself and started to whine, Tamiko's mind drifted. Ushijima still wasn't back and this worried her. In a quiet part of the corridor, Ushijima was listening to his phone, waiting for an answer. When a girl answered he shifted.
"Hello. It's Ushijima Wakatoshi." he said bluntly.
