Inoue's words rang through Shiori's mind once again for the fiftieth time that night. His words were all right; everything that he said was what she wanted in her future team, should she continue to pursue volleyball.
Even though there were the happenings from middle school, she was willing to put it behind her and form new plays with new colleagues and teammates - she wasn't going to shy away anymore. There was nothing to gain, especially with how she loved volleyball too much. If she wanted to play on a team but didn't want the team to think and put her on a pedestal, shouldn't she just find a team that wouldn't do just that?
It would be different if she was arrogant, but Shiori, to a point, was aware of where she stood in terms of balance, which is why there was such a terrible imbalance of skills and plays.
But…will I get that feeling again? She found herself thinking about one of her worries again; in the top 3 of her worries lists, equal to team dynamics.
The feeling she wanted when she played, was that feeling of exhilaration and amazement that blossomed in her chest when she did a successful play. She didn't know how to bring it back, but with the spark that happened when she was with Akaashi a while ago, it reinvigorated her and solidified her understanding, allowing her to hope that it could happen again.
"Is it related to the team…?" She found herself wondering. Thinking back on it now, she realised she only became this way because of the team dynamics.
Did I bring it on myself, though?
Once again, she thought, but to no avail. There were a variety of factors, many of which involved a team, but since she still didn't know which it was, there was no way to pinpoint the exact cause.
Shiori wanted to scream into her pillow, and rolled onto her stomach to fall face first into her pillow.
At this point in time, her brother, Arata, knocked on her door, slowly opening it before peeking his head inside.
"You're not asleep yet?" He questioned, raising a brow.
His sister made a noise through the pillow, prompting him to slide in and close the door, sitting by her bed. "Didn't you have a big day today?"
Shiori, feeling her brother's weight on the bed, got up and sat cross legged, leaning against the headboard. She grunted in agreement.
Arata grabbed her pillow and hit her with it, "Then go to sleep, dumbass."
"Too busy thinking." She just closed her eyes as he continuously used her pillow, wanting to roll her eyes.
"Yeah? I heard from one of the reps that you went to the open session today and met Inoue-san." Arata smiled when Shiori shot him a confused look, wondering why he had this piece of information. "What did you think of him?"
Shiori sighed, she couldn't hide much from Arata. He somehow always had a way of finding out things. "He's great. Made me think about a few things, but also invited me to play on the weekends with them."
Arata made an expression of surprise, then hummed, "Why not go? You'll gain experience playing different players and roles."
"I was thinking of going anyway, actually. It's a really good deal, and these players are way more professional, or should I say, less immature, than those from before. But that's not what I'm worried about though." Shiori took the pillow and placed it on top of her legs, "It's about whether I feel good when playing volleyball."
"I see," He made a hum of acknowledgement and placed a hand over her head, ruffling her hair. "Well, just try it out and if it doesn't work, try again with something else."
"I thought that, too." She deadpanned.
"Good. That's all you need to do, no need to think too much into it." He stood up and headed to the door, "Go to sleep! It's 1am."
As he closed the door, Shiori slid back onto her bed and closed her eyes, debating whether or not to follow her and Arata's logical thoughts.
What if she failed? She didn't want to have to go through such a realisation again.
But you won't know if you don't try!
She found herself thinking of Bokuto's retort back in first year when she said she wasn't sure if she could aim well in archery when they scouted her..
With his boisterous voice in her mind, she laughed out loud, her worries clearing.
Yeah, I guess so.
"Akaashi, sometimes I wonder how deep you've fallen." Yukie sighed.
The teen nearly choked on his water, whipping his head to face his manager as she nonchalantly patted him on the shoulder after school one day. They were finishing up with practice, but Shiori wasn't there since she was meeting up with Kuroo for volleyball related talk.
"You should've seen your face, your eyes were on her the entire time."
Akaashi felt his ears become red as he tried to deny it, but nothing came out of his mouth. In the end, he just sighed and shook his head.
With a cheeky, cheshire cat-like grin, Yukie continued teasing him. She was only like this when she got a phone call from Akaashi during the weekend after the game at night, and he told her what he was feeling and what happened when Shiori came over.
Needless to say, Yukie enjoyed every single drop of information she got from the setter. It was unusual for him to be so open about his thoughts and feelings, especially about his crush.
"Deeper than the ocean, perhaps?" She leaned forward and tilted her head towards him, her cheeky grin still on her face.
Akaashi let out a grumble, putting away his water bottle as he shook his head. "Things like this can't be measured."
"Oh, that was cool." She made an 'o' shape with her lips.
"Senpai, please stop teasing me. I'm having enough trouble as it is." Akaashi looked ahead, feeling the cool breeze caress his skin and ruffle his hair. Even though it was the wind, he couldn't get out of his mind the hair ruffle Shiori had done on the weekend. It was affectionate; warm, even, and set his heart ablaze. How he wished she had also caressed his cheek too–
"What are you thinking, Akaashi?" Yukie brought him back to reality with a snap of her fingers. Normally she was the dazed one, but this time, it was Akaashi. "I know you're thinking of her and have a huge crush and all, but don't you think you should see whether or not she thinks that way about you too?"
Akaashi stopped in his tracks, alerting his manager to stop too.
"What is it?" She tilted her head slightly in question.
"How?" His voice came out small, and if Yukie heard correctly, it sounded strained, even.
The smaller teen could only see his expression, and it hurt her that the ever so calm setter and 2nd year, Akaashi Keiji, could make such an expression. It was as if he had come to a realisation in that split second, that there was something he wasn't able to do, or there was something completely out of control that he had to hope would make a choice in his favour.
But what if there wasn't a choice to begin with, and all the signs were showing him that whatever he did, the most satisfactory ending wouldn't be awarded to him?
Yukie swallowed, unsure of how to respond. The most basic answer would be to confess, right? She knew the situation well, so she didn't want to give such an insensitive response, especially to Akaashi, the one who's been putting in so much effort.
Finally, for what felt like centuries, Yukie spoke. "Just continue being you. She'll find out eventually. But if you want to tell her directly, why not give her a letter expressing your feelings?"
Ah, he stopped making that face, she noticed. Instantly, she felt relief.
Akaashi wanted to say a few words - but they wouldn't leave his lips.
What if I get rejected?
Would he be able to handle it? Especially since it's Shiori - she's not the type to cut those she's rejected out of her life, nor would she be cautious or treat him any differently than before. The indifference would hurt him like crazy, and the friendship might be ruined due to him.
Bokuto also had an interest, or crush, on Shiori, and he didn't know whether or not she thought of him in any other way apart from platonic. After all, they get along incredibly well, and their personalities and hobbies match. He didn't know if he'd be able to take it if Shiori liked Bokuto.
All types of thoughts ran through his head, eating away at him and his insecurities.
"So what if she rejects you?" Yukie knew exactly what he wanted to ask. His expression told her everything - he was an open book right now. And Yukie, in all the time she's been around him, this was the most expressive he's been.
Akaashi's eyes widened slightly and his gaze focused on her. He had blurred out everything from before, focusing only on his own thoughts and nothing around him.
"You heard from her yourself. You're a great friend and someone she can rely on. She trusts you a lot, you know. Even if you guys don't get together, your friendship still stands. The only thing you need to do is heal from the heartbreak."
Those words were spoken with clarity, with conviction, almost as if she had known exactly what the feeling was.
Akaashi nodded his head a few times and exhaled, calming himself. He was gone for a moment, but he was back. "Thank you."
Making sure he was definitely ok, the older of the two grinned. "No worries."
They continued walking, but after a moment, Akaashi let out a rare laugh after replaying the recent conversation in his head, then coming to a conclusion. "Did you get that last line from a movie?"
Yukie made a strange sound as she laughed nervously, "I've been caught…"
She observed the relief and joy in his face, and smiled to herself, knowing that her kouhai was feeling better.
Kuroo grinned at Shiori, thanking her for the cake. Given the male's role in getting her through to the under 19s representatives, she had to thank him somehow, so she brought him to one of her favourite stores to chat and buy him cake. Kenma wasn't going this time around, but Shiori bought him some cake too for Kuroo to bring to him.
"So how was the session?" He cut off a piece of cake and delightfully chewed on the sweet.
Shiori nodded once and replicated his action, "It went well. The players there are talented and the feeling is different."
"It's like playing on a real team–"
"It's like playing on a real team, right?"
Shiori had continued where she had left off, but the Nekoma captain had interjected with the exact words she was going to say.
Pausing, her brows raised at the man, surprised. "How did you know what I was going to say?"
"Well, I've seen how they play so it's not too hard to guess what you're thinking based on first impressions." Kuroo smirked and took a bigger piece of the cake.
Shiori nodded slowly, then sighed. "It's almost as if you know what I'm thinking sometimes. As expected of a middle blocker."
"You know that's got nothing to do with middle blocking, right?"
"What do you mean? It's got lots to do with middle blocking! Well, to an extent anyway. Like you read opponents and see what course of action they'll take, right? Same thing here but just in a different way."
"I can't believe you managed to bridge that together somehow." He chuckled and finished off the cake, leaning back. "Say, since you're interested in seeing more and playing more volleyball, what are you going to do? Go professional?"
Shiori leaned on her palm, watching Kuroo. She didn't respond right away and thought about her options. It wasn't too hard to see where this conversation was going, but it didn't feel right that she should solidify things here.
"I don't know." She shrugged and also leaned back, mimicking his actions. "It's still too early to see. A possibility, though."
"Fair enough." Kuroo shrugged. "Be careful of injuries."
Shiori let out a hum of question, wondering what brought this up.
"You seem like a Bokuto type when it comes to training." Kuroo elaborated, gesturing with his hands. "You train and train and train, and then you get injured when you're not paying attention."
"Huh?" Shiori let out a sound before thinking back, seeing if she was ike Bokuto in that aspect. When she realised they were similar in that very aspect, she looked to the Nekoma captain in amazement, wondering how he managed to figure that out.
"I feel like your case is a little different though. But, still, the higher level your opponents are, if you're planning on improving your other plays, you're bound to get injured if you're not careful."
"Yeah, that's true." She agreed with a nod. "Maybe I should just not play, then." She joked.
"What–"
The Fukurodani boys volleyball team was happy. Not because it was the end of the term and they had holidays, but because nearly all of them passed their exams! The only one who didn't pass one subject was Bokuto - he had scored a score lower than 40% in maths and had to stay behind for a few supplementary lessons, cutting into the time for the volleyball training camp.
The volleyball camp was going to be held over the summer holidays, and Nekoma had invited the Karasuno team from Miyagi to take part. It was going to be a fun event!
"I wonder how Shiori is in Miyagi right now…" Bokuto mumbled to himself, laying down on the grass outside during their match break.
Yukie handed him a drink bottle, letting out a giggle at his behaviour. "She said she was invited to a volleyball camp, so I guess she's playing volleyball?"
Akaashi checked his phone and nodded in affirmation, "She said she just arrived at Shiratorizawa."
"Shiratorizawa?!" The rest of the team exclaimed, having been listening in.
The setter nodded and put his phone face down, "She's a guest at the camp."
There was a chorus of 'oohs' and 'aahs' as Akaashi fed them this information. They all knew that she was at a volleyball camp, but they didn't know which school or what her role was.
"I wonder if she's having a hard time since it's such a powerhouse school." Konoha questioned, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side. Last time he heard Shiori talk about them, she didn't seem to be nervous at all and seemed to be on close terms to the boys. He unfolded his arms and shrugged, "Or maybe not."
