Wohooooo I'm on a roll.
Since my husband has to work I am alone all week and have enough time to just sit down and write.
KirikaAndo: That's good to hear. And thank you ;_;
AliceMitch09: I like teasing ^^ And I will keep it going. I really want to bring this to an end.
starrat: Thank you :)
Guest RJ: Oh I'm sorry but they have to be like that ^^ I have also reached page 200 on my google docs from the total of 227. There is enough to last. yay pom poms :3
Yunrii: No worries :) I feel proud as well ^^ I'll try to publish the first chapter of the Haikyuu Quest soon as well. Wish me luck.
Another ANNOUNCMENT!
my birthday is coming up in September and I wanted to do a chapter where you guys can choose what it will be about!
0- Tamiko's past with Oikawa (Kitagawa Daiichi story)
0- Tamiko's past with her parents divorce
0- Tamiko' s first time at Kitagawa Daiichi
PLEASE VOTE :)
Chapter 41 - A progress
"One more," it echoed through the gym.
Tamiko, who sat on the bench, snapped back to reality. Or rather, she woke up. She had been up all night last night, studying as much as she could. Now she was sitting in the gym during training and almost falling asleep. Not to fall into the dreamworld again she decided to refill the water bottles. But even then her eyes fell shut a couple of times. So annoying. When the boys took a short break to drink, she let out a long yawn.
"You look very exhausted, Tamiko-chan," Tendou noted.
She didn't give much of a response and sat back down on the bench along with Ushijima and Semi.
"All nighter?" Semi asked and Tamiko nodded. "There must be a lot of things bothering you."
Ushijima took another sip of water when he noticed Tamiko leaned against the wall, napping again. She appeared peaceful yet exhausted. He knew why. And yet he didn't know how to help her. Coach Washijo called the boys back to train but Seitou stop Ushijima before he could stand.
"Have you decided on a team you want to join?" he asked.
He has been asked this a couple of times now. Since the finals were over he had gotten a lot of offers from different teams around Japan. Many had stated in their letters that they were looking past his recent loss and wanted him on their team anyway. He had spent a lot of his free time looking through the invitations, checking out the teams, their history, their reputation. This was his future he was deciding on after all.
"Tokyo," was all he said.
Seitou nodded understandably. Then his eyes fell on Tamiko.
"Is everything alright with her? I'd hate to have a student who is succumbing to fatigue. This school pressures students a bit too much sometimes."
Ushijima understood what he meant. He himself wasn't feeling that pressure since he was used to it. But Tamiko was different. She got into the school through sheer learning and good grades. She had to keep that up no matter what. Kicking students from the school did happen.
"A lot of personal things are piling up," he explained.
"I see," Seitou nodded.
Ushijima glanced over his shoulder at Tamiko's sleeping expression. At least she had a few minutes of peace at this moment. That's when he remembered a big problem that had been haunting her for while. What to do after the graduation. She had received the possibility of continuing to be this team's manager. It was something he would like for her. And he would know that the team was in good hands. But he hadn't heard any news regarding that matter.
"Seitou-sensei," he started. "Kageyama had expressed an interest in continuing to be the team's manager. How does that decision stand?"
"She is still interested?" Seitou wondered. "I believed that she had found something else. In that case I will get it back on the table."
"Thank you, sensei." Ushijima bowed his head in thanks.
Seitou nodded with a smile and headed back to coach Washijo. Ushijima watched them exchange a few words before he saw the coach nod. Silently he was glad that he had mentioned this. Now he had some good news for her. He stayed on the bench for the rest of the training session and the coach didn't say a word. The old man understood. He pushed his team to the limit but exceeding it was a no-go, even for him. Overworked team members were as good as none. And the captain has done his part. When training was over Tamiko was awake and more alert. The nap had done its part and while the boys all went to shower, she gathered her thing and waited. Ushijima was quickly done with his shower and joined her.
"I'll be at the rehearsal tomorrow so I wouldn't be able to come to training." she informed him.
He nodded although would want to come and watch. It wasn't a secret that she was a somewhat talented piano player. In living room at her home dwelled a beautiful black grand piano. And yet he has never heard her play. It was something he longed to hear. She didn't boast about it either or was eager to perform. This made him believe that she never wanted to so he never asked. He was bound to hear it at the graduation ceremony anyway. And if he was one thing then it was patient. So he nodded.
"I'll see you tomorrow in Biology," she said and was about to hug him as farewell.
He hugged her back but gently held onto her elbow. Blue eyes met his in surprise and confusion.
"I spoke with Seitou-sensei," he started. "He thought you weren't interested in the manager position anymore but he will discuss it again."
If her jaw could have dropped to the floor it word have done so. She stared at him, open mouthed, lost for words. And then, without warning, she jumped on him her arms tightly wrapped around him. She screamed, that led him, praised him and, in her hyperventilating state, she kissed him on the cheek. Ushijima was gobsmacked in that moment and seconds later, even Tamiko realised what she had done. She let him go and stepped away.
"Sorry," she muttered and shyly looked away.
"It's fine," he replied.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," she stammered and forced a smile.
She awkwardly stepped away from him, small steps. But he had caught her again, his hand holding her arm. And then he leaned down. He didn't know why he did this but he had remembered a small sentence. What a woman does to you she wants in return. So he leaned down and gently pressed his pursed lips against her soft cheekbone. It was short. And yet it felt so right. Before she could say anything he let her go.
"See you tomorrow," he said and walked away.
He was glad that it was already so dark because of the winter hours. He get his face pulsing with heat as he walked to the dormitory. On the way he held his hand over his mouth, the other stuffed in his pocket. Did he really do the right thing? He wasn't sure. Drowned in his thoughts he paused before his door, his hand resting on the doorknob.
"Heyo, Wakatoshi-kun," a familiar voice greeted him. "Wanna have dinner with us?"
Tendou and Ohira were on their way down to the cafeteria to eat dinner, already showered and ready. The ace told them to wait for a moment while he did a few things in his room. The. He joined them. He stayed quiet while Ohira and Tendou spoke about all sorts of things. The cafeteria was filled with dormitory students sitting in their groups. The first and second years of the volleyball team were all sitting together and the third years joined them. Ushijima sat at the edge of the table, his mind still with that little gesture. He hadn't seen her expression and he had no clue if she was okay with the gesture. It worried him. Would he be losing her already? The sudden laughter from Tendou pulled him back to reality.
"I can see it already," Tendou announced. "Little orange shrimp, the ace of Karasuno."
Again, laughter spread. The idea of an ace who was shorter than Yamagata was source of entertainment amongst the Shiratorizawa Volleyball Club. Quiet understandably as well, since they were used to Wing Spiker Aces who were tall, powerful and intimidating. Hinata Shoyou was none of those. But still, he had caught their attention since they had all seen the Spring tournament on TV. He had improved in such a short time and even Kageyama Tobio hab impressed Shibaru in the later games. He hadn't told anyone but he wanted to train even harder than before. Since the Karasuno was now in focus of conversation, it was only natural for the sister to be discussed as well. They knew of her circumstances and how she was supporting her brother as best as she could. If the siblings would have had better circumstances, would they have turned out better or worse? Ushijima was quietly listening when the younger ones started to leave to go to bed. The third years stayed at the table as the number of students in the cafeteria began to dwindle. Tendou stretched and glanced at Ushijima.
"What was up with Tamiko-chan today, Wakatoshi-kun," he asked the ace.
Ushijima looked up from his empty plate at his red haired friend. The three boys at the table all knew of his new established relationship with the brunette so he knew he could speak up without worry.
"Her mother is coming back," he started. "But this time she really is coming."
"Hey, that's great news," Ohira smiled. "She has been struggling in her absence."
"That means we are going to see a very happy Tamiko at the graduation," Tendou jested.
Ushijima listened to them and frowned. If only they knew how stressed and confused Tamiko was because of those news. He wasn't someone to stay up late to text with someone but he kept asking her if she was alright. It went without question that Tamiko claimed to be fine and that he shouldn't worry about her. It was her worry and not his. And yet he wanted to help. Hopefully his news from Seitou-sensei were enough of an upbeat for the week. Of course, his gloom expression didn't go unnoticed.
"You don't look very happy, Wakatoshi." Ohira noted. "Is something bothering you?"
"Tamiko doesn't want her mother to come back at this time," he revealed. "She is very stressed and keeps it to herself."
"Yikes," Tendou squeaked. "She is so stubborn when it comes to accepting help."
"Of course she is," Soekawa butted in. "She has to be since she is all by herself."
The guys stayed silent but all agreed. They had known her for a while and she was stubborn. No wonder she could handle them so well.
"You are going to confess to her?" Tendou heard someone yell.
He turned his head a little to see the people he'd like to call the music nerds. They were members of the school's orchestra, talented musicians. The middle blocker thought of them as a peculiar bunch although Tamiko partially belonged to them. But she was different. She was headstrong and those guys were just weird. But this seemed to be juicy stuff being discussed behind him so he listened in.
"Not so loud," another hissed.
"But seriously, you want to ask her out?" the first voice spoke more quietly.
Silence followed which Tendou connected with a nod since the conversation continued.
"She is way out of your league," a third voice commented.
"I heard she turned down Oikawa Tōru, that good looking guy from Seijou." the first voice whispered.
Tendou froze. Were they talking about Tamiko? There was no other explanation. He glanced at the person in front of him, hoping he didn't hear that conversation. To his disappointment, Ushijima was heeding those words and his face showed his anger. Tendou swallowed and the conversation continued.
"That's why I think I have a chance," the second voice declared. "I think she just doesn't like the good looking guys."
"Did you just call yourself ugly?" one of them laughed.
The others followed but the person in question defended himself.
"I meant, she likes the average guy," he claimed. "And I see her a lot now since we are sitting close to each other."
"Dude, she only sees your back when we practice." one reminded him.
"I can turn around," he claimed. "And besides, she doesn't have anyone sticking by her so my chances are good."
"Whatever man, I still think she will turn you down," the third voice advised. "She seems like the loner type."
And with that the boys stood and brought their cutlery to the shelves. Tendou glanced at Ushijima again who was clutching his fists. All of the boys had listened in.
"Wakatoshi, there is no way she will say yes to that guy," Tendou stated. "Just try to ignore it."
"I agree," Ohira added. "She has you and wouldn't leave you just like that."
"She doesn't know the guy either," Soekawa second it. "There is nothing to worry about."
Ushijima himself wasn't so sure. It bothered him more than it should. The third years also picked up their tablets and got rid of them before going to their rooms. Tendou, who's room was next to Ushijima's decided to tag along with the ace and joined him in his room. This happened often enough and the ace didn't mind. He was already used to it.
"How are this with Tamiko-chan," he asked when Ushijima sat down with a sigh.
Ever since he had come back from Tokyo, Tendou had held back his curiosity. Now he just had to know. He knew Ushijima well enough to know that he was good at ignoring unimportant matter. Since his face was still creased with anger he certainly wasn't ignoring it.
"It's going fine," was all Ushijima said.
Tendou wanted to pry but kept silent when he saw the anger burning in his olive eyes. He was beginning to worry. After a while he headed back to his room and pulled out his phone. He had to let Tamiko know that Ushijima was more than ready to dispose of anyone who would come to close to her. In his eyes that was progress but also dangerous.
Just another reminder that I am still waiting for your OCs :) I need more characters so show me yours :)
