I do not own Haikyū!
BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER, I'd recommend going back to re-read the last few chapters since there have been some changes, but it's chill if you don't.
BEFORE I CONTINUE ANY FURTHER, I just want to start this off by saying THANK YOU to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. You've no idea how happy it's made me. I'll also like to give a special thanks to curlystruggle and moonlightshadowxiii – your reviews really pushed me to keep going.
The down pour over Nekoma High did not let up as the day continued, and as Kuroo Tetsurō had predicted, his volleyball club is not meeting up that afternoon for practice. Though, in the text he received from his captain in their VB group chat, this would be a one-time ordeal if it continued to rain in the following days to come; they are expected to show up regardless of the weather outside after today. So, while it is considered to be a blessing among other members of the team, specifically for the other first-years as their coach Nekomata Yasufumi could crack quite the whip, it is rather disheartening for a certain boy with a messy-head of hair.
If there is one thing that Kuroo Tetsurō loves to do with his time, it is to play volleyball. And with such downcast weather, he really needs something to do in order to lift his drained spirits. Something that he could have achieved with the feel of the synthetic material of a Mikasa volleyball on the rough pads of his fingertips, the sting of impact when spiking or receiving, and the exhilaration of jumping as high as he can to block at the net.
None of which he can feel today.
Tetsurō sighs as he walks the corridors of the school heading to the genkan, his book bag hanging loosely off his right shoulder. He feels sluggish, his feet practically dragging across the floor. As great as it is to have extra time to do his homework today, he would rather be off doing something else.
'It's this damned weather that's got me in a funk,' he thinks.
Spring is typically nice and sunny, the cherry blossoms in full bloom showering people with its petals and fragrance. This week just seems to be an off week. While it's usually rather chilly, there seems to be an extra bite to the air that stings his nose. The cold, stale air in the hallways of the school making him curl in on himself to keep warm.
He rounds the corner then, the school genkan coming into sight completely empty as most of the students wanted to get home right away. He slips out of his indoor shoes and into his black loafers before grabbing his umbrella from the entrance. Just as he is about to walk out into the rain, clear umbrella poise, ready to open at any moment, he catches a figure in his peripheral.
A short, slender girl is standing under the porch of the school, back straight and her hands clasp behind her. She is facing the school grounds, her head raised, brown hair trickling down her neck and shoulder blades in waves, ending right above her hips.
It's brown hair that he knows too well.
Tetsurō has spent hours of his school day looking at that hair, memorizing every strand and shift that it makes. Watching as it gets scooped over her left shoulder, left hand gently circling through it while she writes with her right hand. Watching as she consciously flips it back to lay flat on her back, making sure that it doesn't suddenly fly into the student's face behind her or on their desk. Sometimes she wears it in a braid, some braids simple and others more elaborate. Most of the time she wears it down though; those days are his favorite.
Before he knows it, Tetsurō's umbrella lowers on its own accord, unconscious of the fact that his arms no longer have the strength to pull it up over his head and open it at the sight of her. He licks his lips, mouth dry, heart thudding.
Chitōse Akiko turns. Their eyes meet. And she smiles.
"Kuroo-San."
Her voice breaks him out of the spell upon seeing her; it's kind and gentle, barely loud enough to hear over the pattering sound of the rain.
He smiles back, feet bringing him closer to her. "Chitōse-San."
"What are you doing here-" they say at the same time. She giggles, hand coming up to her mouth as she looks away, but he doesn't miss the red that colors her cheeks. He laughs as well, his hand coming up to rub the back of his—warm—neck.
"S-Sorry," he says. "You go first."
Akiko looks back at him, brown eyes locking with hazel; they're bright and happy.
"What are you still doing here," she asks again. "Shouldn't you be at practice?"
He shrugs. "Coach decided to give us the day off today. I'm just barely heading home. What about you, why aren't you home yet?"
Akiko turns back to look at the rain that's coming down, a small smile on her lips but her eyes are far away. "I don't have my umbrella."
"What? Why? You didn't bring one to school with you this morning?"
It is a shock to hear that she does not have her umbrella with her, especially because he knows it was raining at her house when she left for school, similarly as it was raining at his own just a few houses down. Yet, when he saw her this morning, she was completely dry, not a speck of water on her.
"I did, but I gave it to someone else."
His eyebrows raise at that, still watching her as she watches the rain. "Why would you do that?"
"Because I knew I would be okay if I didn't have it, but I didn't know if they would have been okay without one. They were just standing here. . . staring at the rain. So why not just give them mine?" She turns to him then, still wearing that exact same smile.
He thinks it looks sad, though. But he doesn't know why.
'Her eyes,' he thinks. But he can't say what about her eyes exactly.
They stand there, neither looking away. Kuroo feels like the air between them is charged. Lightening splits the sky, blue flashes on the wet concrete, followed by a boom of thunder in the distance.
"Let's walk home together."
It is her turn to raise her eyebrows now, eyes widening and lips parting ever so slightly.
He doesn't give her a chance to say anything before he is speaking again. "I would hate to leave you here in the rain, and besides, we live near each other anyways."
Tetsurō can feel saliva pooling in the back of his mouth, heart picking up in speed as he waits for her response. He's nervous she will say no. He doesn't want her to say no. Why doesn't he want her to say no?
He swallows, Adam's apple bobbing.
"I wouldn't want to be a bother," she says.
"You're not."
"If you're sure. . ."
Tetsurō smiles, stepping out into the rain as he finally pulls his umbrella over his head and opens it, standing between the porch and the open sky, silently urging her to join him.
She does.
They walk down the sidewalk, leaving the school behind them. Tetsurō holds the umbrella with his left hand in between himself and Akiko who he keeps to his left side as they head towards the train station.
It's quiet, neither saying a word, both content to just walk beside each other at a leisure pace. The sound of the rain and cars driving by a background track to their lives.
Tetsurō can see her out of the corner of his eye, always making sure that she is completely shield from the rain even if he himself isn't covered completely. His shoulder has become wetter by the minute, but he hardly notices. He is, however, grateful that Japan makes their school bags waterproof, otherwise he'd be carrying around soaked books and papers.
So, while Kuroo doesn't bother to notice that his shoulder is soaking, it seems that Akiko notices for him when she points it out to him, urging him to cover himself more with his umbrella.
"You're getting wet, Kuroo-San. You should really cover yourself more. You'll get sick!"
He laughs, "I'm hardly some wet kitten left out in the rain, Chitōse-San. I'll be fine."
She shakes her head, hand twitching at her side, almost as if wanting to grab the umbrella from his hand and cover them herself. Probably so that they both get equally wet as opposed to just him getting wet, but knowing Akiko, he thinks she would probably cover him more than herself. Which is why he tightens his hold on the handle in case she does try as she says, "Please – It will be awful if you get sick because of me."
"Then you can just nurse me back to health."
"Kuroo-San, please!" She's looking up at him with those big brown eyes of hers, something akin to a pout on her light pink lips. Oh, how he loves to hear this new side of her; begging him, pleading him. For the sake of his health. How cute.
He involuntarily shivers. And not because of the cold.
Tetsurō gives her his signature smirk, full of mischief and playfulness.
"Mah – mah, it pains me to know you wouldn't want to play doctor and patient with me after getting me sick. Oh!" he cries, bringing his right hand up to his face and dramatically looking away. "How you wound me!"
He peeks down at her from his pose, both of them still walking despite his antics, noting how she looks down to the side and how flamed her cheeks become, the blush expanding to the rest of her face. It doesn't stop there but extends down her neck, traversing her silken skin and pass her collar. Pass her collar and down her shirt into—
"Cherry or grape?"
"Huh?" he blinks, arm falling back to his side.
"Cherry or grape," she asks quietly, face still turned away. "For the flavor of medicine I'll get you when you get sick. . ."
Tetsurō can only stare at her in shock at first, before his face settles into a grin and he can feel a slight bounce in his step. Especially when she looks back up at him, her cheeks dusted pink.
"Cherry."
Okay so, admittedly, this was supposed to be a longer chapter, but I hit a spot a page after this where I didn't know how to continue, so I'm just breaking up the longer chapter into two small ones because you all have waited long enough for an update. So, I apologize it isn't as long as it should be, but here's an update nonetheless!
Anyways! PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! I'm a sucker for them.
