It was now January 7th, or the day 3 hell of the spring nationals. The Fukurodani volleyball team was resting in the communal area, where a lot of the other teams were gathered. It was the lunch break right before the afternoon matches, so a lot of players were interacting with the others from different teams.
Despite the fierce competition, the atmosphere in the area was… quite friendly to describe it. There's a lot of people from different teams just casually talking and laughing with each other. Different colors of the player's jerseys blending together into one colorful harmony.
Like the rest of them, Koutarou was catching up with his friends from the other teams, mainly Hinata, who was looking at him starry eyed as he dramatically narrated what happened with their match against Matsuyama earlier. He always gets easily invested and excitable whenever Koutarou was telling him something. Then there was Sakusa, who was somehow dragged in there (he was pushed by Komori to socialize"), who was content on letting the two now dubbed 'loudmouths' talk when they were then approached with Miya Atsumu. He was looking at Hinata determinedly, slightly ignoring the two other people in there. Inarizaki was already out of the competition, but they were still staying there to watch the matches and were just socializing with the other teams.
"Did'ja hear what I told you yesterday, Shouyou-kun?" Atsumu began, tone firm and unwavering as he stared at Hinata menacingly. He doesn't care about whatever the others tell him, nor how distant it would seem to be to come true at all. He will one day be able to play with him in an official match. Atsumu, to say the least, was smitten with Hinata- no. Not that kind of smitten. There was just something that drew Atsumu to him. Maybe it was the determination?
'Uhh... Which one of them? You kinda said a lot of things...' Hinata thought while staring back blankly at Atsumu, blissfully unaware. 'And which Miya is this again?' he unsurely thought before looking at Koutarou and Sakusa helplessly.
Sakusa ignored him as he tried to make himself look smaller, slightly feeling uncomfortable since he barely had interaction with the three other people. He only talked to Atsumu on training camps (having seen him there twice and he got the dreadful feeling that there's more to come), Koutarou on official matches (and those are barely two words exchanged. He feels like someone exhausting to talk to with how excited he gets), and it's his first time officially meeting Hinata so he doesn't have a concrete opinion on him nor does he know what to really say to him. He already feels slight disdain to the three of them from how loud they are (Though for some reason, he's feeling some kind of foreboding feeling that it would one day get worse). Koutarou, understanding that Hinata was mentally asking him from that look but unfortunately, he also didn't know which miya was that so he unhelpfully supplied, "That's Miya... Osamu?"
Atsumu's eyebrow twitched at the statement, his earlier composed self was replaced with ire. Various tick marks appeared on his forehead as he turned his attention from Hinata to Koutarou, and started shouting that attracted the attention of a lot of people in there. "IT'S ATSUMU! I LOOK NOTHIN' LIKE THAT IDIOT!" Atsumu huffed and crossed his arms on his chest. 'I'm more handsome than 'Samu. How dare this guy...'
'Idiot. This guy's an idiot. It seems like he doesn't know the definition of twins.' Sakusa thought while looking disgustedly at Atsumu and slightly backing away but not far enough to be completely out of their range and looking around. 'Where the hell is *? I swear, if she got lost, I'm murdering Motoya in his sleep, consequences be damned.'
'AREN'T YOU TWO TWINS?' the onlookers collectively screamed inside as they watched the situation unfold.
"I'm sorry?" Koutarou apologized confusedly. He doesn't get what's the big deal, especially with the "I don't look like him" comment. If it's not for their dyed hairs, then they could certainly pass off as one another.
"I don't know him." Osamu muttered dryly beside Suna, Ginjima, and Akaashi. 'Atsumu, please stop embarrassing yourself.'
'More stuff of Atsumu embarrassing himself! Excellent!' Suna Rintarou thought while quickly pulling out his phone and setting it on video, years of doing that was clearly evident based on how quick he pulled his phone and opened the camera app. He was grinning greedily and cackling maniacally inwardly but his poker face on the outside was unwavering that no one could tell what's really going on his mind. Except for Ginjima, who sweat dropped at Suna who was already filming Atsumu.
Kiryuu Wakatsu watched this exchange seriously from a corner. After his exchange with Koutarou earlier- which he won't admit that it made him feel slightly intimidated, he decided to start keeping track of Koutarou and his actions. His teammates were right behind him, gossiping about what was happening and betting on "if they got into a fist fight, who would be out first?"
(Koutarou definitely won that with no arguments amongst the Mujinazaka players.)
"By the way, are ya really the ace and the captain' of yer team? Cause it seems like everyone is just pickin' up right after ya based on your previous match." He taunted Koutarou as an attempt to rile him up, recalling what he knew from Fukurodani's first match. It wasn't really effective, but it did make Koutarou frown at the reminder of his misgivings.
'for fuck's sake Atsumu, please stop picking fights with other teams.' Aran Ojiro pulled his non-existent hair while looking at Atsumu despairingly as he was being restrained back by Omimi Ren. 'Damn it. When is Shin' gonna come back... We kinda need him right now before Atsumu further digs a grave for himself.'
A bunch of gossiping men also slightly halted their conversations, more interested in what's going on in that corner. They might not admit it, but they were really interested in dramas. And right in front of them, a huge one was going on. Fukurodani and Inarizaki are both one of the most well known powerhouse teams in Japan after all. Any noise they make is bound to turn heads, especially if the ones involved are the captain of the other team and the prodigious setter of the other.
"Something's going on there with Bo." Kuroo whistled as he walked a few steps so he could see the commotion better, with Sawamura Daichi and Yaku following after him a bit curiously. As a member of the current underdog team in the tournament, Daichi wanted to know more about how the powerhouse teams act and interact. Though he could sense there's some weird vibe in there.
Koutarou frowned. Before he could reply, a loud voice calling him suddenly grabbed his attention. He turned to the side, where he saw Chuuyou sprinting until she's fully in front of him, lightly panting to catch her breath as she spewed multitude apologies. The previous tense atmosphere between them shattered, since Koutarou completely forgot about the other three in his presence and their argument. Completely focusing on her, his previous frowning face was replaced with a grin so bright that it's blinding.
"That fool always goes goo goo ga ga mode whenever she walks in. And sometimes, they even forget that there's other people in the room" Kuroo snickered while rolling his eyes to Daichi and Yaku. Yaku laughed along with him, as he was so used to that sight that it's barely new to him.
"Who is she?" Daichi asked curiously.
"His girlfriend." Kuroo snickered.
"HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND?" Daichi asked loudly, eyes wide in surprise as he looked at Kuroo, who only nodded. This information was completely new to him, and while he was trying to get rid of the habit of quickly judging people based on their appearances and first impressions (I mean, have you seen his teammates?), it seems like he hadn't completely killed that habit out of him. Daichi had… certain assumptions about Koutarou. Having a girlfriend was not one of them, and he thought it was a little impossible for that guy until this moment. 'That guy has a girlfriend?'
"Why do you look so surprised?" Kuroo deadpanned as Daichi looked away sheepishly. Kuroo immediately understood what Daichi was thinking, and couldn't help but feel smug about how people underestimate his best friend. "He might look like... Well... You know what I mean, but he has a lot of fans too, you know?"
· · ·
"I'm so so sorry for missing your game Kou, we had a little situation at the subway when we were going home earlier." Chuuyou said while looking guiltily at him. She adjusted her coat and handbag as she tried to avoid looking at him.
"Hey." He said as he gently patted her head with one hand. He knows that she hates being late to appointments and tries to be early if she could so it must have been serious. "It's alright!" Koutarou grinned with a thumbs up with the other. "Did something happen?"
"Apparently, some guy almost got murdered on the subway so the police delayed the passengers from leaving." She said seriously without a beat, which made Koutarou slightly stumble as he fully processed what she just said.
"Excuse me, but MURDERE-"
"Yeah. it's resolved now, though I still feel guilty about that. I did promise you that i would watch your matches on the third day." She muttered, expression dark as Koutarou tried ro assure her it was okay. 'Fucking murderer just couldn't do his job on the other day. And of course he chose a crowded place, where a lot of people would be inconvenienced. And he even failed at killing his target. What a loser... I should make it up to Koutarou but how... OH I KNOW!' She looked like she suddenly had a euphoria as she hit her palm with the bottom of her fist. If possible, some could see magical stars in her eyes from what she was thinking.
Akaashi and Kenma knew that look all too well. Either she have a great idea that's so in front of them and made them feel like idiots for not realizing it sooner or she just had a dumb idea that she thought was great. They were hoping it was the first between the two, as they watched the scene along with several other people unfold in front of them with bated breath. It wasn't about volleyball anymore, but it was still a drama.
"I know! I just have to make it up to you!" She declared loudly and forced him to look at her with a slightly manic expression.
"Chuuyou, no. I told you it was fin-"
Koutarou wasn't sure how it happened, since it happened way too quickly. One moment, she was just looking at him while he was reassuring her that it's fine. The next thing, he felt himself suddenly getting pulled down from the collar of his jacket, and then feeling something warm in his lips. Koutarou's brain suddenly short circuit as he felt a burst of dopamine explode in him. If possible, he could explode in happiness. He just registered that yes, she was kissing him- albeit clumsily before he placed both of his arms in her waist to steady her and kiss back (as she was tiptoeing just to do that).
'What the hell happened to "keeping it lowkey"' Kenma thought unimpressed as he sneaked past the crowds and moved to where Akaashi, Ginjima, Suna, abd Osamu was as several people felt like their jaws dropped at the sudden display.
Atsumu, Hinata, and Sakusa, who was next to them when it happened, got a full front view seat of that as their brains malfunctioned on the sight he was seeing.
'bokuto-san -they- the- KISS?' Hinata thought as he blushed from the sight. He felt like if it was humanly possible for people to feel smoke coming out of their ears, then it would be happening to him right now. He felt like exploding on the sudden sight. I mean, is it okay for him to see that? He's still 15 damn it. Isn't he too young for those?
Atsumu was also feeling the same, as he couldn't believe the guy he was just teasing earlier was now getting some action with an admittedly cute girl right in front of him. Sakusa completely backed away from them and hid in the corner as he continued watching the now dubbed 'idiot couple' in his mind. Looking around, he calmed down once he realized that she- the person he was looking for earlier was safe and arrived there with a certain setter from Karasuno.
They weren't the only ones surprised at the sight though. The other onlookers- who was at first just content on discreetly listening and watching, was now openly gawking. Some watched in surprise, some even felt jealousy at the sight.
'HE'S A GREAT VOLLEYBALL PLAYER, IN THE TOP 5 ACES OF THE NATION, AND HE GOT A GIRL TOO?'
Right when Koutarou and Chuuyou was about to pull away from each other, Konoha, Washio, and Komi walked in from the comfort room and immediately saw a few milliseconds of the kiss and them pulling away.
"Hmm, that definitely made me feel better, but I feel like I need another one for goodluck later." Koutarou grinned mischievously at the now blushing Chuuyou (who was slightly regretting her actions as she noticed just how many people were there), slightly bending down so they're on the same level as he continued poking her on the side teasingly.
"One is enough Koutarou. You're getting too greedy." She swatted his hand lightly and looked away, face flushed in embarrassment as she further realized that there's a lot more people watching them than she initially assumed just a few minutes ago.
'WHY THE HELL DID I JUST DO THAT AHHHHHH-'
"If I say I'm mad at you for breaking your promise, would you give me another one?" Remembering Kuroo's advice, he batted his eyelashes at her and pouted. It was as effective as she could, as she almost gave in to him before shaking her head and raising her scarf up to her cheeks to cover up her embarrassment.
"If you say please, I might just."
"No way..." Konoha whispered as he looked at them talking, shaking his head in denial in the process. "NO FUCKING WAY!" He shouted and then grabbed his hair roughly. "THEY KISSED AND I WASN'T HERE FOR THAT?" His eyes then looked around until it found Kuroo, who was openly gaping at that along with Daichi and Yaku. Konoha immediately marched in their direction, footsteps so heavy that it snapped the three out of their stupor. "Kuroo, please please please tell me you at least got a picture of that, right?" Konoha begged.
Kuroo placed a hand on Konoha's shoulder comfortingly before shaking his head solemnly and regrettably, as if he just failed on something heavy. "I'm sorry I failed you bro, but I didn't."
'What the fuck is this?' Daichi thought uncomfortably as he watched two tall men that look like they're about to cry for not getting a... a damn picture of two people kissing. 'I'm telling you, Nekoma and Fukurodani are full of weirdos…'
Konoha was about to give up and lose all faith in humanity when his eyes caught Osamu and Suna on the side and Suna still had his phone out as if he was recording. They, like the rest of the people who saw the display, were stunned at what happened and were unsure how to act. "YOU!" Konoha shouted before marching in their direction.
Suna and Osamu looked at each other cautiously before Suna pointed to himself with the other hand that's not holding his phone. He already stopped the video, but he was still unconciously holding his phone like he was still recording as he mouthed, "Me?"
"Yes, you." Konoha huffed. "I saw your phone was out. By chance, did you get everything on a video? Or even a picture?" He begged while pointing in the direction of Koutarou and Chuuyou. Understanding what he was implying, Suna lowered his arm down and excited the camera app and turned into the gallery, sifting to the pictures and videos until he found it.
"As a matter of fact..." Suna said while replaying the video and speeding it up to that part, where he was surprised he actually got the kiss in vid on the side of the frame since the video was focused on Atsumu. "I did." He then paused the video and showed it to Konoha, who squealed like a damn schoolgirl excitedly a'd clapped his hands.
"Great!" He then took his cell phone out and opened the contacts app to create a new contact and showed it to Suna. "Let's exchange numbers. I want that pic. Of course it's not free so in return, I'll send you a picture of Miya-san- Atsumu," he clarified while looking at Osamu, who only nodded in acknowledgement. "making a fool outta himself earlier." He turned his phone on and opened the gallery as he looked for the said photo. He pumped his fist excitedly as he saw it and showed it to Suna, who looked at the pic interestedly. Osamu looked from Suna's shoulder and whistled as he saw the picture.
'I got that one from my friend who I asked to record the Karasuno and Inarizaki match yesterday...'
'Isn't that the one where his serve was a homerun against the karasuno? It's not like it's the expression in the first place. I know Suna has way more pics that made him look more like an idiot. In fact, this seems pretty mild. But the memory attached with it? Yeah, That memory's gonna haunt him through his nightmares forever. And I'll be there in every moment of it'
"Sold. Here's my number." Suna said. He allowed the corner of his lips to a curl in the faintest hint of smile as he looked at the picture in his phone briefly and typed his number to Konoha's phone. 'Tsumu's gonna hate that one.' he thought, inwardly cackling as he finally received the picture before sending a screenshot of the part of the video Konoha was asking.
"What the actual fuck..." Ginjima Hitoshi sweatdropped as he watched the transaction between Konoha and Suna, who at the moment, looked like a pair of cats who successfully made a mess in your house at 3 am and was proud of it. Next to him was Akaashi, who deadpanned at them. He was disappointed, but not that surprised at the exchange.
"I'm sorry about my teammates." Akaashi muttered to Ginjima and bowed a little. 'They should be in their third year already but they're acting like damn 3 year olds.'
"No, if anything, my teammates are weirder." Ginjima answered while waving his hands wildly. "I'm sorry about Atsumu pickin' a fight with yer captain. He always does that..." 'That aside, that girl looks awfully familiar... Where have I seen her again? I'm sure I've seen her somewhere
'
· · ·
"could'ja not do thaT IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE?" Atsumu huffed once he got ahold of himself and getting in between the two of them. 'I mean, basic respect for the singles out here, yanno?'
Chuuyou, who immediately disliked Atsumu for ruining the sweet moment between them, briefly gave him a cold look before turning to Koutarou. "Who's the barry the bee looking fucker?"
'BARRY THE BEE? THAT'S ARGUABLY WORSE THAN "PISS HAIR"! TO BE COMPARED TO A BEE OUT OF ALL-'
"Pfft. Barry the bee. That's another one to add to piss hair." Osamu snorted before looking away. Atsumu, feeling his brother was up to something, immediately turned his glare from her to Osamu.
"He's Miya 'Atsumu'." Koutarou said offhandedly, emphasizing on the Atsumu. "Oh, and this is Hinata. Hinata, meet my girlfriend." Koutarou then pushed Hinata, who was slightly shaking in nervousness because he felt a little intimidated. For one, he need to look up at Chuuyou, as she was taller than him. She also has one hell of a cold stare- the one she gave Atsumu before. She wasn't staring at him like that, but imagining that happening to him, he can't help himself but feel nervous as he stammered a reply.
"Uh... Hi?"
"Hinata Shouyou, Koutarou's 'disciple', right?" She asked unfazed and completely ignored Atsumu's squawking from behind her. Hinata nodded, which prompted her to continue. "I'm Ishinomori Chuuyou. I heard so many things from Kou about you. You're the one with that amazing quick attack, yeah?"
"Uh- Am- yeah thats-" Hinata, who was unused to the sudden compliment, replied dumbly.
"HINATA BOKE! THERE YOU ARE!" Kageyama Tobio's loud, angry voice suddenly ringed, stopping the conversation within the three of them. He wasn't present on the earlier fiasco, so he didn't know what had occured nor who was the girl talking to Hinata. He then marched angrily at their area, glaring at Atsumu first before dragging Hinata away to Daichi's direction, shifting his earlier angry tone to a calmer one. "Daichi-san, Sugawara-san is looking for you. Something about Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-san trying to sneak out…"
'It seems like Barry's pissed off quite a lot of people.' she noted as she watched Hinata and Kageyama walk away before turning to Koutarou. "Hmp. Wanna ditch this place for a bit, Kou?" She asked as she pulled on his arm.
"Yeah sure." He glanced at the huge clock in the middle of the room. "Our game against Mujizanaka is still in one hour anyways." 'Im sure the coach won't mind me missing for a few minutes... Right? Whatever. I'll deal with the consequences later.'
"Great! Let's go out!"
· · ·
"And there they go." Akaashi muttered and rolled his eyes as he watched them walk away. "I can't believe Chuuyou just did that right after she said they were trying to keep it lowkey." 'Lowkey my ass. She just pulled him into a kiss in front of like, a hundred people?'
"I know right? What a clown. There's nothing lowkey with that act of hers earlier." Kenma muttered back.
"Chuuyou, Chuuyou... Where have I heard that name... I'm sure I've heard that somewhere…" Ginjima muttered from beside them before turning to them. "I hope this isn't weird but what's her full name?" Akaashi raised his brow questioningly at the odd question, but answered nonetheless.
"She's Ishinomori Chuuyou."
"AH!" Ginjima snapped his fingers victoriously. "SO THAT'S WHO SHE WAS! SHE'S AESIR'S LEAD VOCALIST, ISN'T SHE?" He shouted, attracting some attention to the other people nearby.
"Ya mean the band that Ginjima has been obsessing over these past few days?" Osamu whispered to Suna as he glanced at where they stood previously.
"She is." Akaashi nodded. He felt extremely proud at that moment. He knew that his friend was starting to become more well known. He does keep up with their social media. But it was still something to be recognized in public.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT- I COULD HAVE GOTTEN HER AUTOGRAPH-"
· · ·
"He has orange hair... Do you think he's the main character?"
"I thought we established that I was the main character." Koutarou pouted as they walked on the white ridden path outside of the Tokyo metropolitan gymnasium, his hands inside the pockets of his jacket as Chuuyou loosely held on his arm.
"I'm just kidding Kou, you're definitely the leading man in our story." She joked while lightly jabbing him on the side and lightly laughing. When Koutarou didn't laugh back, she worriedly looked at him. "...Are you thinking about what happened with Mujizanaka last time?"
"No." Koutarou sighed. "I already accepted that us losing to them in the past already happened and there's nothing I could do about it. I'm more worried about later. I know I said that from now on, I'm gonna be a normal ace, but it's kinda hard." He admitted as they stopped on a side to talk, Atsumu's words ringing in his ear before he shook his head to get rid of the negative thoughts. They idly watched passerbys walk and do their business while still holding in their conversation.
"Hey. You'll get there one day. Don't expect instantaneous results when you're just starting with something." She assured.
"Hmm, you're right." He grinned before she started marching away, letting himself be dragged along to a dango stall near a shade of a tree.
"I love dango." She declared seriously before ordering a bunch of things. The store owner, who was happy that he was ripping off on this naive but rich looking girl a bit more of the normal price for an average dango, carefully prepared the order so it wouldn't look like that.
Koutarou, who was happily watching her munch on the dango (as she didn't give him some because he might feel that he need to take a dump while on the middle of the game and just promised to leave some for later), frowned upon picking up on two guys having conversation a bit far away from them. It's not like their voices are loud in the first place, it's just, the topic of conversation is something they shouldn't be talking to.
"Hm, she does have a nice ass... That guy she's with... Do you think that's her boyfriend?" Idiot number one said as his eyes glanced at the said body part of Chuuyou.
"Probably. I think that guy's one of the players in the men's tournament anyway. He's gonna leave her side at the afternoon match. At that moment, we can go to her."
"It was a great idea to watch this shitty tournament for the female players. Even more so if we get hotties like this passing by. Man, teenage girls are really the best."
He felt a wave of protectiveness as he turned around to look at the two clearly middle aged guys talking, who flinched under his glare. He normally doesn't do that since he hates being mean to other people, but the situation calls for it. I mean, who wouldn't? A 6 '1, definitely well toned guy like Koutarou staring at you like you're nothing more than an insect that he could crush if he wanted to? Yeah, you'll definitely run away if that happens to you.
"Do you think-"
"Yeah... Let's book it."
"-ou. KOU!" He snapped out of his thoughts, as she looked at him worriedly. "Did something happened? You were looking pretty... Intently at those guys."
"Nothing happened." He muttered as he glanced at the outfit she was wearing. It wasn't even anything revealing. If anything, she was covered head to toe, as was wearing a heavy outfit since it was winter. Jeans, a turtleneck sweater, and a cropped winter coat.
He then recalled that earlier, people keep glancing at them. It might not be for the same reason as those guys, but Koutarou isn't taking chances.
Besides, he doesn't like people ogling at HIS girlfriend. He knows she's pretty, and he's fine with them marinating in jealousy, but they should never ever think dirty things like that about her, or for any woman in the matter.
Looking thoughtfully at her outfit and then his, he suddenly had a great idea.
"Wanna change coats?"
"...huh?"
· · ·
"Hey Chu... Where's your coat?" Eri asked, looking confusedly at Chuuyou, who looked like she was drowning on Koutarou's big Fukurodani jacket. Next to her was Takara and Tsukiko, along with an empty seat that they saved. The four of them first found front row seats in the Fukurodani match before Chuuyou decided to go look around for Koutarou.
"Eh, Kou wanted to swap so we did." She laughed for a bit as she recalled how ridiculous he looked. Her coat, which was reaching till above her waist, was barely covering Koutarou's chest. Scratch that. It didn't fit him at all. The sleeves looks like it's about to burst. "But that aside, aren't you excited? It's your first volleyball tournament!"
'I can't wait to share with these guys what I learned!'
· · ·
"-AS FOR FUKURODANI, BOKUTO-KUN SEEMS TO HAVE SOME INCONSISTENCIES IN THE PREVIOUS MATCHES-"
"Inconsistencies my ass... I'm sure he was great." Chuuyou muttered under her breath as she glared at the announcement stand. Said announcer felt a shiver crawl in his spine as he shuddered and looked at the crowd to find the source of the sudden unwelcomed feeling.
'I mean, we weren't here yesterday so how the hell would we all know...' Tsukiko sweatdropped.
None of us know the rules of volleyball anyways. we're just here cause you insisted." Eri thought.
Koutarou frowned as he remembered various things from the previous matches (especially the Karasuno and Inarizaki one)- the determination of everyone as they gave their all to the game, the second years who were crying, third years who was making themselves look strong in front of yhe said second years... Kuroo telling Tsukishima he's barely missing top 3. It's like one too many things at once, reminding him why he was doing this. He too, was determined (and slightly fueled with the desire to take back their loss against Mujinazaka last interhigh) to give his all to the incoming match.
"Whether it's top 5, or top 3... IT'S ALL TOO MANY!" He loudly declared, startling his teammates, his opponents, and the people around him. "I'M GONNA BE THE TOP 1!" They all looked at him confusedly, unsure of what he meant by that.
"The top 1... What the hell? Is he even speaking our language anymore?" Konoha asked jokingly.
"It's 'Bokuto lingo', alright? Like we ordinary humans could understand that." Sarukui answered back.
"YEAH, YOU'LL BE THE NUMBER 1 ALRIGHT!" A loud voice from the stands shouted.
"Scratch that. There's someone who can understand that." Sarukui deadpanned. He wasn't sure where she was out of the thousands of voices in the gymnasium,but he can confidently identify who was the owner of that voice.
Koutarou, on the other hand, immediately found where she was sitting from that loud voice alone. He was so used to finding her that his eyes immediately wander and naturally gravitate on her even in crowds. He softly smiled and turned there to give her a thumbs up.
'This two are so fucking sweet it's disgusting...'
· · ·
"It's barely the first fucking set and that weird shave pattern guy from the opposite is already being a problem." Chuuyou grumbled as she buried herself into the seat.
"Yeah?" Eri asked noncommittally, as she was confused with all that's happening. She won't deny that the game was interesting though, even if her mind is barely keeping up at it. 'Are volleyball matches normally this... Explosive? I thought they just hit the balls back and forth in a more complicated manner...'
"It's true. He's hitting those hard spikes one after another like a damn... Oh damn..." She immediately shut up, face morphing into a dopey expression as she processed that yes, Koutarou just received a spike from Kiryuu using his chest.
"Wow. Did he just do that? That's something alright… Isn't that painful?"
"I know." She said dreamily. "One day, I'm gonna be like that ball, yeah? I'm burying my face on that chest of his." 'Though I already do that when he or I stay over... I think he might even be confused why I do that.'
"My brother in Christ, please have some shame."
· · ·
While Fukurodani might have lost the first set against Mujizanaka 25-23, Fukurodani quickly took that back in the second set, winning in 22-25. It was now the middle of the third set- 13-15 in Fukurodani.
"Well, it definitely looks like the whole world is currently cheering on him." Tsukiko whispered to Takara and Eri as they watched Chuuyou chant "Bokuto" along with the crowds.
"Is this how volleyball games normally are?" Eri asked.
"Don't ask me since I don't know. This is my first time attending because Chuuyou dragged us." Takara shrugged. 'I'm barely keeping up with everything that's happening as of late.'
· · ·
"I FUCKING KNEW THEY WOULD WIN!" Chuuyou whooped along with the crowd as she jumped on her seat in excitement. "I FUCKING KNEW IT!"
"Please stop shouting." Tsukiko pleaded as she tried to pull her down to her seat. "You're gonna hurt your vocal cords and we have a competition in two weeks!" At the reminder, chuuyou calmed down albeit reluctantly and sat back on her seat, pouting a bit as she watched Fukurodani elated faces as they celebraed while Mujinazaka looked like on the verge of crying (especially Kiryuu). Making up her mind, she stood up again and took her phone out, typing a quick text for Koutarou which she's pretty sure he won't see until later.
"Yeah, let's go home now."
"You're not going to congratulate him personally?" Eri asked confusedly but nonetheless stood up and hoisted her bag on her shoulder, with the other two following her lead.
"Nah. I had my moment with him earlier." 'Besides-' she peered once again on the railing and below to where Fukurodani was still celebrating, can't help but feel happiness for them too. 'I feel like I shouldn't interrupt their moment.'
· · ·
The next few days were a blur to Koutarou. It's been more than a week since the end of spring high tournament, along with the real spring starting to come out based on the trees that were starting to have leaves again. In their semifinal match against Inubushi Higashi of Kyoto prefecture, they won in straight set 2-0. And in their final matches against Ichibayashi of Fukuoka prefecture- a fairly unknown team before this tournament, they lost in 2-3. It was a pretty close match, with Ichibayashi winning the first, third, and last set while they won the second and third one.
If Koutarou was asked about how he feels about that particular match, he would say that it's bittersweet- he's both sad and content with the results. I mean, the victory was right in front of their eyes. It was just one more step, but unfortunately, Ichibayashi was just a better team than them. At the very least, he made so much progress in this volleyball year alone compared to the past. Not that he didn't have an improvement before. He did, but he just realized that this was the year that he enjoyed volleyball the most, the year that he learned about volleyball the most, the year that made him solidify his desire for more.
Most of all, he would miss all of his teammates. The other third years, Washio, Konoha, Sarukui, and Komi along with the managers- who he noted that still looks like they haven't got over it as they were slumping on the bleachers while watching the new batch of players of Fukurodani (And wasn't that so strange for them? Usually, they were running laps in the court with them at this time, but now they're only watching and cheering the first and second years.).
'It would feel so strange to play with new teammates to be honest.' Koutarou drew small circles on the bleachers they were sitting on as they watched Akaashi set to a second year. Or third year in the next school year. He was so used to moving around that being still was so strange. But that aside, he had been playing with Komi on the starting line up ever since they were first years, with them the only two in the starting line up along with their senpais that time. If Akaashi not being his setter isn't already weird enough for him.
Funnily enough, most of them seemed already sure about what they would do in the next few years when the topic was brought up. Him, Washio, and Konoha already decided to pursue volleyball in different universities. Komi and Sarukui on the other hand, decided to stop and go on an entirely different career since Sarukui wanted to be a civil servant (which is still as weird to think about as when he first mentioned it) and Komi wanting to be an actor.
And he already accepted the offer from Osaka university. They've become even more insistent about that ever since Fukurodani became the second place. There's nothing that could go wrong on that unless he failed his final high school exam, which he's pretty confident that he won't.
When he heard the door of the clubroom opening up, Koutarou immediately perked up before becoming disappointed as Komi slightly scoffed at that. He remembered that Chuuyou wasn't coming into the volleyball clubroom anymore since she's very busy and stressed. With another competition (their final one apparently since it's on the contract something something) that would be on a few more days and studying for the college entrance exams in about a month- After all, she was serious about coming after him in Osaka university and she's vying for the academic scholarship (he asked her why she can't just ask her parents to help her pay and she gave him a dirty look for that before explaining that she doesn't want to be super dependent on them and her pride won't allow it. Whatever the second one meant.), they rarely talked nor got out these past few days. Sure, he's a little sad about that, but he understood that in the long run, this would bore better fruits. Though he is worried that she might overwork and land herself in the hospital again. He isn't sure about the requirements but it's something about the grades (something she already confirmed that she reached) and scoring a high score on the entrance exam. He was suddenly glad about the sports scholarship since he isn't stressing on the academics as much as the other people in hopes of getting into a college. He can spend the rest of his third year chilling.
He sighed before standing up once coach Yamiji blew his whistle, signaling the end of the volleyball practice for that day. All of them bid their goodbyes for the other members before taking their leave, not after prying the crying Konoha off of Coach Yamiji while he whined that he was the best coach. Seriously, they assumed that Bokuto would be the emotional one, but they were sorely mistaken.
Scratch that. Washio sighed as he watched Koutarou get excited when his phone vibrated only to be back to his pouting when he realized it was just Kuroo.
'These guys are hopeless.'
· · ·
'Riding the subway with these guys once again is so weird.' Koutarou thought as he squirmed in his seat beside Akaashi, who was too tired to care. He was so used to walking home at this hour that staying still and sitting was more tiring. And hey, those walks had their benefits- I mean, have you seen those leg muscles?
Though, it is the good kind of weird.
He feels like he needs this. With everything suddenly swirling and changing- he needs some sort of normality to ground him down. He never really usually thinks about stuff like this, but with everything that seems to be ending in just a span of days and the start of new beginnings in the next few months.
One by one, each of them left the train. Akaashi first- not without glancing at them for a bit, a hint of wistfulness flashing in his eyes but it was unnoticed by the others as he schooled his expression back to his usual, apathetic one. It had been a long time since all of them had gone home at the same time. Like, all of them in the same train, since usually one or two are missing. Next was Komi, who almost forgot it was his stop because he was too busy laughing at whatever Konoha was saying. Next to get out was Konoha and Bokuto, who cheerfully and loudly bid their goodbye to the other two left as the subway door closed. Washio gave Sarukui a quick goodbye before walking out of the door when it was his stop. Finally Sarukui, who just noticed how silent the train was now that he's the only one left, smiled bitterly as he waited patiently and getting out of the subway when it was finally his stop.