I am back and I wrote half the chapter in a burst.

Anyway, the hot days in Germany are taking their toll and my brain needs a rest.

BUT I WILL BE BACK.

I just can't believe I have reached chapter 40!

starrat: Well, here you go!

KirikaAndo: Please don't die :(

Yunrii: Just a little cliffhanger. And I will, they are already double the size when they came. I have a few things planned but you will just have to wait and see ;)


Chapter 40 - A best friend

"Tamiko, do you want a snack?" Izumi asked when she got up from the bed.

Tamiko nodded and her eyes gazed outside at the falling snow. A typical January day in North Japan and Tamiko was at Izumi's house for studies. Although it had turned into a partial gaming day which wasn't surprising since Izumi was a proper gaming girl. The game was paused and Tamiko felt empty. Tobio's reaction to mother's return had been a little how she had expected it. It hadn't interested him. Their mother wasn't an important aspect in his life, that much was clear.

"You know," Izumi started. "You could have studied with Ushiwaka."

"There wouldn't have been much studying then."

"Neither is there now." Izumi reminded her.

They exchanged glances and then burst into laughter. Ever since school started again the teachers had begun to pressure the third years into studying. Great results were the schools main reputation and no one was to ruin it. Including the volleyball boys, despite their sport scholarships. Ushijima was studying with Yamagata and she had promised him to join them at some point this week. But club activities were still ongoing. The school band had started to rehearse for the graduation ceremony and Tamiko had to play as well. She would come home late tomorrow because of this.

When Izumi returned with snacks they returned to the match at hand. Izumi was a fond collector of anime games and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm was a game she didn't want to be beaten in. Tamiko didn't mind losing. At least in video games. She wasn't a fan of them but it was an easy way to pass time. They had already played for hours but it certainly didn't feel like it. And time passed again as they started match after match and finished the bowl of snacks.

"By the way," Izumi mumbled in the midst of a match. "What are you gonna do when your mum gets back?"

Izumi's character beat up Tamiko's which had stopped moving. The large KO letters flashed and Tamiko sighed.

"I don't know," Tamiko admitted. "I know I have always complained that she never came but now that she is, I don't want her to."

Arms quickly wrapped around her when her voice began to choked. The circumstances couldn't be worse. The final exams were coming up, her mother was coming home and the graduation was coming up as well along with life decisions for the future. Career advice was already being given to the third years. Some have known for a while what their goal was but Tamiko was still unsure. Coach Washijo had offered her the manager position but she didn't know if he had spoken to the teachers yet. Was he even still considering it? She also didn't dare to ask him in case it put him off.

"You're not alone, Tamiko." Izumi reminded her. "I'm here, your brother and Ushijima wouldn't let you hanging either."

Tamiko nodded. She wanted to believe that this was true but somehow she still felt a little alone. She did trust them but there wouldn't be much they could do, if anything at all. At least Tobio wouldn't do much since he felt no big connection to their mother. And Ushijima, he was new to this whole endeavour. He did know about the circumstances but could he understand them, that was the question. Izumi did and had for many years understood it all. One of the reason why she wanted to help her.

"Let's change the subject," she suggested. "It's still 2 months away until she comes. We can plan something soon."

Tamiko nodded and squeezed the arm that was still wrapped around her. Coming here was always a good distraction from the world and Izumi knew how to make her feel welcome and at home. There was a reason why she was her best friend. Advice was always available, from both sides and Tamiko wasn't always the one with the problems.

"I want to break up with Ichiro," Izumi revealed suddenly.

Tamiko blinked, the change of subject being too sudden.

"What?"

Izumi pouted and tightly hugged one of her big pillows. Tamiko knew what this meant.

"There is no progress between us," she told her. "It's getting boring."

The brunette was at a loss for words. She had always believed it was going well between those two. What was happening?

"What do you think, Tamiko," she mumbled. "Should I give up on him?"

"You're asking the wrong person." Tamiko reminded her.

Brown eyes gazed at her filled with sadness. A sad smile followed. Izumi knew this too well. She had always wanted to help Tamiko get into a relationship and now her own was failing. Well, it was one way to distract her friend from her mother problems. It was that much of a biggie anyway. There was a reason why she had changed the subject to boys and now she smirked. It was going to get juicy.

"Anyway, how are things going with Ushiwaka?" Izumi asked.

Tamiko had caught on quickly and now glared at her friend with splinted eyes. When she saw this, Izumi broke out into laughter. This was why she loved Tamiko as a friend. The teasing and jokes and support. Izumi winked.

"I'm being serious," she told her.

Tamiko half smiled and lay back down to stare at the ceiling. The memories of the nights at the hotel were coming back to her. They had discussed the matches, played a few card games and had eaten breakfast at the hotel while having explored the capital a little. Tamiko wasn't fond of cities but the tall skyscrapers had been impressive. He had held her by the hand the whole time, had shown her the few places he knew. Iwaizumi and Oikawa had joined them a couple of times as well. What was the most surprising was that Iwaizumi now got along very well with Ushijima while Oikawa had turned from clingy to brotherly. A little more annoying than before but not too bad. It had been fun, a lot more than she had been anticipating the days before the journey. Now they were fond memories and a warm feeling in her heart.

"Except holding hands, not much has happened," she said after a while.

"Girl, I'm gonna need more than that until I'm satisfied." Izumi warned her.

"We slept in the same room," she added.

Tamiko pouted when she saw Izumi rotate her hand to indicate for her to continue. She hated it, being integrated like this. Especially about such a subject.

"Sorry, the juice box is dry," Tamiko admitted and lifted her hands in defeat.

There was a lot of disappointment coming from Izumi. She sighed, dropped her shoulders and gave Tamiko big pout.

"And I hoped for something more," she grumbled. "You had him to yourself for a whole week. Why did nothing happen?"

"You know I'm new at this," Tamiko defended herself. "And I want to take things slow. If it's too fast I might overrun him."

Izumi nodded to herself. Her inexperienced friend had a point. Wise without knowledge. That was one way Izumi loved to describe her with.

"You should still move forward to show him that you belong to him." Izumi suggested.

"And how do I do that?" Tamiko asked.

The wooden frame of the bed began to creak when Izumi changed her position on it. She took Tamiko's hands and looked her dead in the eye.

"Tamiko, it is time for the first kiss."

In that moment a lot went through Tamiko's mind. She pictured it and from that image her face exploded with redness. Just imagining it, those lips touch hers made her pulse race and her brain lose focus.

"You can't be serious." she stammered.

"How long are you going to wait?" Izumi asked.

"We have only been going out for a month." she reminded her.

"So?"

"We are both new to this," she said. "And I don't know how he will react to it. Maybe he wouldn't like it."

"You're right, sorry for pressuring you." Izumi sighed. "Tell you what, how about you start small and work your way up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You start with kisses on the cheek. Then you work your way in making him grow used to it. And then you target his lips." Izumi began to giggle menacingly.

Tamiko questionably raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know."

"You have to start somewhere," Izumi told her. "Holding hands and cuddling is already achieved, right? So, there shouldn't be a problem. He's already doing things he never did before and that is a feat in itself."

At least he was known for not having done any of those things. He had been with many girls but the relationships had never lasted longer than three days. But this with Tamiko was a first. Both had been very surprised that the whole school didn't know yet. Tamiko was sure that at least Tendou or Goshiki wouldn't have been able to keep their mouth shut. But this was fortunate. There was one thing that she didn't want in the last few months at school, and that was a fanclub war. There was enough troubling her already.

"Are you happy?" Izumi suddenly asked in the silence. "With Ushiwaka," she added.

That was one thing she couldn't answer with words. Was she happy with him? She certainly wasn't unhappy. And she enjoyed seeing him. It was still too early too tell for sure but for now she gave her friend a nod and a smile. That satisfied her. For the rest of the afternoon they played a few more games before Tamiko headed home. The idea of kissing Ushijima was going through her mind again. She tried to calculate how to proceed in that matter while juggling studies, work and her mother's return alongside it. While her mind was busy, her feet carried her home and she wasn't drawn back to reality while she did the routine tasks of unlocking the door and taking off her shoes and jacket. She wasn't even aware of the second set of shoes in the porch. A voice did that instead.

"Welcome home, sis." Tobio greeted her.

That's when she saw Ushijima standing behind him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was finished with studying," was all he said.

And he wanted to eat dinner, she added in her mind. A smile played on her lips while she brought her bag upstairs into her room. She really was happy to see him. A glance around her room and she noticed something. There was no photo of her and Ushijima alone. Maybe that would be a next step as well. When she came back down, Ushijima and Tobio were playing a board game, too focused to notice her. While she began cooking a meal for three she heard an occasional curse from her brother. It made her smile every time.

"Dinner's ready," she interrupted.

Both boys were very hungry and chowed down on the food. Especially Tobio who had been training all day. Despite the loss at the tournament they weren't discouraged. On the contrary, they were more fired up than before. Even at Shiratorizawa the volleyball team was still practicing, although the third years were now passing on their baton to the younger ones. Tamiko herself was still waiting for an answer from the coach. If it would ever come. In silence and in thought she began to clean up when she sensed someone stand behind her.

"Let me help," Ushijima offered.

The dishwasher was done quickly and when they both tidied up the cutlery Tamiko grew frustrated. Ushijima was able to reach the highest part of the kitchen with ease and that annoyed her.

"Why are you so tall, stop!" she whined and lightly punched his arm.

A chuckle escaped him while outside it began to snow again. But spring was on its way. Her freesia in the living room was already starting to sprout.