It's not like that
Chapter 1
It was a cloudy and crisp day at Karasuno high school as the boys volleyball club's after school practice was coming to an end. Today was especially gloomy for the boys, for the quarter semester grade reports were handed out that morning.
Hinata, Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Tanaka all waited for Takeda-sensei's lecture, seated in a criss-cross position on the gym floor.
"How do you even get a 10% on a word search…", Yamaguchi whispered to Tsukishima as he wiped his sweat from his forehead, glancing over at the group of boys on the floor, "Poor Hinata..".
Tsukishima looked over at the boys and instantly felt peeved. The four idiots. If it were him, he would have felt pathetic sitting on the gym floor waiting to get lectured by their sensei/ couch. But to his annoyance, that wasn't the case for these boys. "Hinata you dumbass!" Kageyama fumed, yelling at Hinata for missing one of his sets from earlier while Hinata pouted.
"Ryu," Nishinoya's face had morphed into that of a determined warrior, "You ready?" he asked, voice gruff. Tanaka cracked his knuckles, face also morphed into that of a determined warrior, "Are you?", Tanaka threatened. Flames emerged around the two boys, for both boys were arm wrestling in order to decide who will say hi to the girl's volleyball team first tomorrow. All of them looked anything but ashamed. 'Idiots', Tsukishima thought as he sighed and looked back at Yamaguchi, "It must be nice to be an airhead," he muttered.
Hinata pouted as he rocked his body back and forth on the cool, shiny gym floor. "Stupid Kageyama. Yelling at me for a whole five minutes…", Hinata muttered under his breath. His silent irritation shifted over in Kageyama's direction, his face twisted with a 'you better say sorry' expression. To Hinata's dismay, Kageyama was completely unbothered, unlike him, and was filing his nails.
"Hmph!", Hinata turned his face away from Kageyama with annoyance, his gaze landing on Yachi. She was not far from them, on the side by the gym's exit. Her blond hair had grown out since last year, and she was having trouble keeping it tucked behind her ear as she was on her knees busying herself with sorting papers. The papers she sorted seemed to be in a certain type of specific order. Unlike how she typically looks during club practices or in general, which was flustered and shy, she had on a new face of determination.
"Townsperson B can fight too!"
She had the same look in her eyes as that day last year. Being second years now, the first years have all changed from how they were. Hinata, Kageyama, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Yachi. Hinata's taken notice of her new found strength. Eye's still on her, Hinata smiled fondly at that memory of Yachi announcing that bold statement to her mother and looked down at his hands. A small smile on his lips, he felt that although what she is doing may be small, she is doing what she can to help the team succeed and fight in her own way. His right hand clenched into a fist, eye's filled with determination, 'I have to fight!' he mentally stated.
"Oy dumbass,"
Hinata stilled and slowly turned his gaze to a scowling Kageyama. "Takeda-sensei is walking over here so stop spazzing out.", Kageyama grumbled, snapping Hinata out of his thoughts.
"R-right…", Hinata sighed, remembering the current predicament he was in.
Yachi let out a breath of air, for she had finished sorting the study guides she made specifically for Hinata and Kageyama to help them with their english vocab. "Done!", she beamed, pulling out her pink travel size stapler and stapling Hinata's stack first. It wasn't going out of her way doing this for them. In fact, she found it was killing two birds with one stone, helping them with their studies as well as herself by teaching it to them.
She turned her head towards the boys and saw Takeda-sensei was already making them all look pale. 'They look like ghosts…', Yachi shivered as she knew when Takeda-sensei was upset, he sure was scary. Her gaze shifted to Hinata, his face white as snow as it seemed his soul had already left his body. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. 'He tries so hard yet he still gets those grades…'.
Since the start of the new year, and with the third years gone, there has been a new found maturity with all the boys. Granted the four idiots were still the four idiots to their core, but Yachi noticed they've all grown in some way. Mentally and physically. The freak duo especially. Kageyama's still cool and collected, but he's more sociable, even though it may be small. Hinata on the other hand has grown into his own technique on the court. He can now receive with no troubles and still keeps that bright smile. He even grew a few centimeters. Yachi felt her eyes soften on the Hinata. From the first time both Kageyama and Hinata asked her to help them study, she's been their own personal tutor. Not that she was complaining. Before them she often spent her passing breaks studying alone, bored, and sipping banana milk. But now she's gained new friends who make her feel important, so she wanted to give the tutoring gig her all. It was their second year together, she wanted to help with all that she could.
Eyes bright, she brought both of her fists in. 'I will do my best!'
Takeda sensei's lecture finally ended, leaving the four boys brain dead. While all the other team members and coaches already made their way out the gym door, Hinata, Kageyama, and Yachi still remained.
Hinata and Kageyama slumped over to their backpacks by the side of the gym exit, faces still blanched from the lecture.
"Hey guys!"
The boys turned, color coming back into their faces as they realized Yachi was calling them, walking up with what appeared to be a stack of papers.
'She's still here?!' Hinata and Kageyama thought simultaneously.
Both of the boys didn't even notice her until right then.
Hinata was the first to respond, "Hey Yachi-san, what's up?". He noticed her brown eyes light up as she smiled and handed each of them their own stack of papers.
"What are these?", Kageyama mumbled. Yachi put her hands behind her back, as a faint blush tinted her cheeks. "W-well, I heard you guys are gonna do the retest for english, s-so I thought I'd help you guys out by making you both a study guide…", Yachi looked to the side, her right hand twisting a stand of her hair. She felt nervous under the gaze of both boys.
Hinata noticed her blushing face and couldn't help but feel warm inside. "Yachi-san… you really are the best!", Hinata beamed, his face tinted with a slight blush. Yachi's face turned even more flustered. 'Wha...WHAAAA! He looks so happy..' she mentally exclaimed.
Hinata looked over at Kageyama, "Kageyama! Isn't Yachi-san the best!?" Kageyama also had a slight blush on his face as he turned his head away and muttered a quiet, "Thanks…". Yachi couldn't hold back her excitement as well as her nerves. "A-AHH awh i-it's nothing really… ah… um..." she scratched her head, with a smile that was brighter than the sun.
Hinata's smile faded as he looked back at Yachi. 'Huh… I've never seen her smile like that before…' Hinata found himself frozen in place, admiring how truly happy Yachi looked at the moment.
Yachi felt Hinata's gaze on her, which prompted her to look back at him. In the instant their eyes met, Hinata quickly turned his head away, looking everywhere but at her. Yachi felt puzzled, and let out a curious, "Huh?".
'Crap!' Hinata thought, his heart beating frantically, 'She totally caught me staring at her!'. For some reason, it felt 100 degrees hotter than before.
Kageyama noticed Hinata's flustered appearance, his face red and sweaty. 'Why is this idiot all worked up?', Kageyama wondered. He didn't care to give it much thought. Kageyama simply shrugged, yawned, and decided it was time to leave. Suddenly, he remembered he needed to pick up some new nail clippers at the nearby shop before it closed.'Shoot! It's already 7:45! The shop closes at 8!', he thought as he scowled down at his phone. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he glanced over at Hinata.
"Oy, dumbass I'm heading out. I got an errand to run.", Kageyama stated. Like clockwork, he then slung his backpack over his shoulder, tilted his head at Yachi, and dashed out of the gym at the speed of lightning.
'WHAAAA?!', Hinata and Yachi inwardly exclaimed.
Both of them were left in shock at the speed of Kageyama exit.
A slight trail of dust was left in Kageyama's wake, and the pair stood with their mouths hung open.
Hinata quickly gathered his wits and shook his head. "What a weirdo…", Hinata murmured, grabbing his backpack off the floor, his eyes glancing back at the gym's doors.
"Yeah… I wonder why he was in such a rush..", Yachi said as she too was gazing at the open doors.
They both looked over at each other and laughed. With the flustered state from earlier forgotten due to Kageyama's strange exit, Hinata felt calm again.
"Hey Yachi-san, want me to walk you home? It's already pretty dark out.", Hinata offered with a grin.
Yachi looked up at him and smiled, "Sure!".
Chapter 2
The next day, Yachi sat at her desk, bored and hungry. She rested her cheek on her hand and her eyes glanced over to the clock at the front of the classroom. It was near the end of her home room class, and lunch break was in less than 5 minutes.
She wondered if Hinata and Kageyama were coming in for help today, as they usually do. As she pondered on this, her thoughts were put on hold when suddenly her best friend Yui Nakira pulled a chair over to her desk with a wide grin on her face.
"Heyy Hitoka-chan, who was that boy I saw you walking with last night? HMMMM?", Yui purred as she rested her elbows on Yachi's desk, looking up at Yachi with a satisfied smirk. Yachi's face immediately went pink. "Wha-what are you going on about?",Yachi asked, curious as to why Yui had that look on her face. "Ohhh, I don't know," Yui replied, "You see, I was just getting out of my student council prep team meeting, thinking that no one else beside student council members would be there around at that time. Cause, you know, no one else ever really is." Yui's grin grew even wider, excitement in her eyes. "And then, I just so happen to see my little Hitoka-chan walking late at night… with a BOY!" Yui exclaimed. Yachi knew where this was headed. She knew her best friend well. "It was just a member of the volleyball club. Practice got out late and we both walk in the same direction to get home. It's not that big of a deal Yui-chan." Yachi stated matter-of- factly. Yui's excitement in her eyes only grew. "Hmmm a member of the boys volleyball club eh? He was pretty cute yanno! You two definitely gave off those coupley vibes too from where I was looking, heh heh. Oh wait! Isn't he that Hinata guy you always tutor?! No wonder you always help him out..."
Yachi's face grew more pink. "Yu-Yui-chan it's not like that!", she squealed. The whole class turned their heads in the direction of the two girls. Yachi's ears and cheeks immediately flared a bright pink as she realized she caught the attention of her home room class. Great. Yui broke out into a fit of laughter. "Jeez Hitoka-chan it's okay. I get it, you don't have to get all frizzy over it. I'll drop it,", Yui looked over at the classroom door and smiled, " for now.". Yui then lifted up her seat and pranced away.
Yachi slumped in her desk as she left out a sigh of relief. She knew it wouldn't be long till the inquiry from Yui will start again soon, but for now she can relax till then. Or so she thought.
"Hey Yachi-san!", a beaming Hinata called out as he made his way into the classroom, his blue binder in one hand and the other carrying a little brown sack.
'EEPP!' Yachi inwardly cried out as she glanced over at Yui, who was sitting not too far from her with a cheshire like grin on her face.
"H-Hi Hinata!", Yachi waved, trying her best to be as calm and casual as she normally is when greeting him.
Hinata pulled up a chair to Yachi's desk, positioning it across from her. "Oy, Yachi-san I was wondering if you can go over some of the questions from your study guide with me. You see, I started on it last night but there were a few I couldn't really understand heh heh", Hinata chuckled as he scratched the back of his head.
Yachi, having decided to ignore the tingle of Yui watching both her and Hinata, smiled. "Of course!", she replied. She felt happy that he came to ask questions, for she admired his efforts greatly. She suddenly became aware that Kageyama was not with him. "What happened to Kageyama? Did he figure it out okay?", Yachi asked.
"Oh he had to go meet with his math teacher. Him and I actually have the same questions about the study guide so it works out." Hinata claimed, opening up his binder.
Yachi nodded, "I see."
As they started on the questions, Hinata realized something and suddenly pulled out the brown paper bag. He then held out to Yachi. "Here ya go.", he grinned.
Yachi looked up from her paper at the little brown bag in Hinata's hand, confused. "What's this?", she asked.
"Well…" Hinata turned away, a faint blush on his cheeks, "My mom found out how much you have been helping me with my studies lately so she wanted me to give you some. Both her and my sister made them...so...yeah…"
Hinata recalled how both his mom and sister teased him about walking Yachi home late again.
"Big brother and Yachi sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G…!" Natsu sang and she swung her feet while sitting on the chair in the kitchen.
Hinata's face burned. "OY Natsu! I-it's not like that!"
"Hey hey, no need to yell now,"Hinata's mom cooed, "Yachi huh? She's the one that has been helping you with school all this time right? How sweet." She smiled as she got out the rice, coconut oil, and cinnamon from the cupboards.
"S-she's been helping Stupidyama too…" Hinata countered, face still red.
"Well, since she's been helping you both so much, I think you should give her a bag of these."
Curiosity in Yachi's eyes, she took the little brown bag and opened it up. Inside there were homemade rice crackers. A faint, sweet cinnamon smell came from the bag. It filled Yachi's nose, coaxing a warm glow to her face.
A wide smile spread across her face, her cheeks rosy. "Thank you Hinata! No one's ever gave me homemade rice crackers before.", she exclaimed, her eyes twinkling.
Hinata froze. Yet again, he was stuck in awe admiring how happy Yachi looked. Her brown eyes seemed warmer than usual, and her cheeks glowing, it was as if she was shining. He couldn't look away.
Yachi looked up from the bag at Hinata and found him staring at her. She tilted her head at him, confused as to why he was looking so intently at her.
Hinata realized she caught him looking at her. Again. His face turned as red as a tomato. "Oh..uh y-yeah of course. Heh heh…" he replied, turning his gaze away and looking around the room. 'Why does this keep happening?!' Hinata thought.
Yachi felt confused again. The same thing happened yesterday. Did she do something to make him uncomfortable? Was she looking at him weird? She looked down at her rice crackers. Suddenly, she remembered her and Yui's conversation from earlier and looked over at Yui. To her dismay, Yui had on the brightest smile she's ever seen with a mischievous glint in her eye. Yui had seen the whole interaction. Yachi blushed a bright pink as she looked back at Hinata.
She knew that Hinata giving her the rice crackers had no romantic motives behind it, but she couldn't help but feel flustered by the fact her best friend just witnessed her receive a treat from a boy. Come to think of it, this is the first time she received any sort of gift from a boy. Her heart picked up pace.
"Um...w-we should get back to the questions now." Yachi stated, her cheeks still burning.
"Y-yeah sure…" Hinata replied, his eyes refusing to look up at her.
Chapter 3
The school day had finally ended, and the Karasuno boys volleyball club was fired up. Takeda-sensei had organized yet another practice match. This time, the boys were up against Kuga high school, a team that made it into the quarterfinals in the interprelims of their region. According to Takeda-sensei's sources, the team had some pretty good blockers, so he wanted to see how Karasuno's new first years would handle them.
Both teams had made their way onto the court and stood in their assigned positions. The whistle blew and the match began.
It was Karasuno's serve first, and new first year Rin Yamada was up to serve. Rin was a good all around player, yet he was still weak on his spikes. He hit the ball over, nice and simple.
The libero of Kuga picked it up with ease, and with that the setter got a hold of the ball, getting in position for a quick attack.
Their quick attack was stopped by Tsukishima, who got a good one touch on the ball. "One touch!" he called out.
"Got it!" Nishinoya shouted as he caught the ball at a perfect angle.
The ball went up, and Kageyama got in position. From the corner of his eye, he can already see Hinata running up to the front. 'Tch, already?' Kageyama smirked, tossing the ball in good form.
Hinata was in the air, his eyes locked on the ball as he went in for his attack. Just as he hit the ball, a middle blocker from Kuga nearly came in contact with it.
Hinata got the first point in, but felt unsatisfied as he looked up at the middle blocker from Kuga, who was grinning at him. "That was pretty fast. I'll make sure to get it next time." grinned the blocker from Kuga. Hinata's eyes burned as a slight smile formed on his face, excitement and hunger flowing in. "Again! I can hit it faster, " he said over to Kageyama.
Yachi watched Hinata from the sides, keeping track of the score. She was always captivated by how into the game Hinata always got. He was never satisfied and always kept striving to be better. His golden brown eyes were bright and always confident, she's always admired him for that. Even though she always made sure to watch the other players at all times as well, she couldn't help how her gaze often drifted back to Hinata. His presence on the court was hard to ignore. At least, that is what she concluded as her reason as to why her gaze always landed on him during practice and matches.
Yachi felt her cheeks heat up as she recalled Yui's conversation from earlier again. 'It's not like that…' she thought as she turned her gaze away from Hinata, trying her best to focus on all the other players in the match. 'We're just friends, I don't see him like that.' Her eyes flicked back over in Hinata's direction.
BAM!
Hinata hit the ball at full speed this time. He scored another point and a satisfied grin was plastered on his face. "NICE KILL!" Yamaguchi shouted. Both Nishinoya and Rin gave him a high five, and Tanaka ran up to give him a double high five. By reflex, Hinata glanced over at Kageyama, who in turn scowled. Hinata laughed, he knew he would never get a straightforward compliment from Kageyama. Hinata gave him a thumbs up and grinned.
"Nice kill Hinata!" Yachi called out.
Hinata turned and looked at Yachi. Her eyes were gleaming and she wore a bright smile on her face. For some reason, his face felt hot and he immediately turned away.
Hinata put his hand to his chest as he realized his heart was beating much faster than usual, even more so than during a match. This wasn't normal.
'Crap! Why do I feel so warm all of a sudden? What is this?' Hinata mentally exclaimed as he made his way back into position. Hinata already felt embarrassed by his earlier mistake during lunch break when she had caught him looking at her, just like the night before that. He recalled how it was difficult to talk to her normally after the incident during the study session, and was confused as to why that was. 'What is with me today?' Hinata thought as he shook his head, determined to try to keep his mind set on the match instead.
The third set finally ended, and Karasuno came out on top. It was a tough match up, but the team got through it.
"THANK YOU VERY MUCH!", shouted both teams as they lined up on the sides. The Karasuno boys were dead tired, Hinata barely keeping his eyes open. He had to go above and beyond in order to score against Kuga's middle blockers. They were intense say the least. He slumped down to the ground next to Nishinoya and Tanaka, his eyelids feeling heavy and his stomach grumbling. He couldn't wait to devour whatever food his mom made when he got home. As Hinata sat next to Nishinoya and Tanaka on the side, he noticed one of the members from Kuga approach Yachi as she was filling up a bottle of water.
It was the middle blocker he'd been having trouble with the whole match, and he was curious as to why he was approaching Yachi. The middle blocker started talking to Yachi, an apparent blush on his face as he smiled with a hand behind his head. Hinata looked a little ways behind and noticed a small group of his teammates snickering and calling out to him. "Come on lover boy we gotta get on the bus!", one of the teammates howled. A twisty feeling bubbled in Hinata's gut as he got up and walked over to Yachi and the middle blocker.
"Oh-ho-ho, what was that face?", Tanaka smirked, standing up getting ready to follow Hinata. Nishinoya saw Hinata's face as well, it was the same kind of intense face he got when a competitive rush came to him. Or when he was pissed. Nishinoya laughed, and stood up next to Tanaka. "Let's just wait and see if he needs our help, I think he's got it though." Nishinoya grinned. Tanaka looked over at him and nodded.
Yachi was red as a tomato. This random boy just asked for her number and she had no clue what to say or do. "Well? Whattya say sweet cheeks.", the tall boy asked with a toothy grin.
Yachi felt timid under the boy's stare. "I-I'm sorry...Uh… I don't think-". She started to turn him down when suddenly she felt a slight tug on her arm. Before she knew it, Hinata was in front of her.
Hinata looked up at the 6 ft middle blocker, eyes intense. His hand was still holding onto Yachi's arm. "Your team is waiting for you." he said, his voice calm and cool.
The middle blocker was slightly taken aback by the look on Hinata' face. He looked down and saw Hinata's hand wrapped around Yachi's arm and realization dawned on him.
"O-Ohh I get it now. Sorry little man I didn't know she was your girlfriend." the middle blocker explained with an embarrassed grin on his face.
'GIRLFRIEND?!' Yachi internally shrieked. Her complexion a fiery red as she stood frozen behind Hinata. She glanced over at Hinata and noticed from his back profile that the tips of his ears were red.
Hinata finally realized what the middle blocker just said.
"Wha- AHHHHHHHHH?! N-no not my girlfriend. S-she's our precious manager and I just saw your teammates waiting for you and…" Hinata started babbling as smoke spewed out of his ears. His temperature felt past that of 100 degrees he was so embarrassed.
The middle blocker looked at the pair, one holding her hands to her inflamed cheeks and the other one red and saying gibberish and he chuckled a bit. 'I get it.'
"It's alright little man. No sweat,", he grinned as he put an arm on Hinata's shoulder, " You beat me today fair and square so if you're man enough to do that you got my respect.". He smiled as he slightly bowed his head and took off in a jog to go catch up with his other teammates.
Both Hinata and Yachi stood motionless with Hinata still in front of her holding onto her arm.
Yachi didn't have any words. She had no clue what to say at the moment. She just looked down at the hand wrapped around her arm.
Hinata on the other hand was still freaking out. 'GIRLFRIEND?!'
He glanced over his shoulder and saw his hand was still gently wrapped around Yachi's arm. "I-IM S-S-SORRY I DON'T KNOW WHAT I-" He had let go of her as he tried to explain himself, but was cut short by Nishinoya wrapping his arm around his neck.
"SHOYOOO! When did you become a man?!" Nishinoya grinned, nudging Hinata with his free arm. Tanaka joined in, nodding his head in approval. "I've taught you well in the ways of the man."
"Wha-what…", Hinata looked at them confused as both boys walked him over to the other teammates, away from where Yachi stood.
"Standing up for Ya-chan like that, man that was cool! We were about to help you but you handled it just fine." Nishinoya beamed, still nudging Hinata.
"Reminded me of my days spent protecting Kiyoka-senpai…" Tanaka smirked as a sudden thought coming to mind.
Tanaka then nudged Hinata on his other side, his face sly. "Sayyyy Hinata, as your senpai, I couldn't help but notice how fired up you got over Ya-chan. Is what the middle blocker said true?"
Hinata felt flustered again. Why did he do what he just did? What came over him? Hinata looked over his shoulder back at Yachi. His face went from flustered and confused to relaxed in an instant. A light pink tint spread on his cheeks and he looked at Yachi, who's eyes locked on him. He smiled softly at her before turning his head away. "It's...not like that. " he retorted.
Both Tanaka and Nishinoya grinned at one another. "Is that so?" they both teased, nudging Hinata in his ribs simultaneously.
Yachi stood frozen in the same spot, watching the three boys walk away from her. Her face was still hot. Her heartbeat is still loud enough for her to hear. She could still feel the warmth of where Hinata's hand once was. She placed her hand on her heart as she kept her eyes on Hinata. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Hinata's golden eyes turn to her from over his shoulder. They were so kind, and so warm, she couldn't help but smile. 'Huh...maybe..I do see him like that...Yui..'
Chapter 4
The next day during lunch break, Yachi sat at her desk, twirling a strand of her golden hair around her finger, while gazing at the homeroom door. She was feeling anxious, having gotten barely any sleep from the night before. Her thoughts focused mainly on the practice match against Kuga...and also...perhaps... how Hinata's warm, masculine hand had wrapped ever so gently around her arm, protecting her from the Kuga middle blocker. How her heart had beaten so frantically from it. His golden brown eyes. She tossed and turned all night. Especially over the fact that she didn't even properly thank Hinata for protecting her. After the incident happened, the two didn't say a word to one another. Just a few glances here and there. But now that the next day was here, she was nervous to see him. If he decides to come to her homeroom for tutoring.
'What should I say? Should I have gotten him a juice box? Or what if he doesn't come today? Maybe I'll talk to him after practice… but what if…' Yachi was so lost in her thoughts, staring at the door, she didn't even notice Yui sitting across from her, looking at her with a mix of confusion and amusement.
Finally deciding to let Yachi know of her presence, she waved her hand in front of her face. Yachi blinked a few times before slowly turning her gaze over to Yui. She let out a shocked gasp and a breath of relief, with her hand over her heart.
"Y-Yui-chan! Y-you scared me! When did you even…" Yachi uttered, her heart still beating fast from surprise. Yui rolled her eyes. "I've been sitting across from you for about five minutes now." Yachi's eyes widened. "F-five minutes?" Yui looked at her with an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed in front of her chest.
She was sure something was bothering Yachi. She knew her well, and she knew that every time Yachi acted spacey like this was typically because something was on her mind. Yui let out a sigh.
"Okay, what's going on." Yachi blinked at her. She knew it wasn't a question.
Her best friend knew her well. Yachi looked down, resting her hand against her cheek as she tried gathering her thoughts.
She didn't know yet if she wanted to tell Yui what had happened the other day during the practice match, knowing very well the teasing that would follow because it was about Hinata. But Yachi also was confused about it as well. She knew she couldn't keep anything from Yui, even if she wanted to. Yui knew her too well.
She sighed and looked back up at Yui, who still had her eyebrow raised. "W-well… something happened the other day… during volleyball club… and I'm just… confused." Yui looked at Yachi, and could see that whatever it was, it really was bothering her.
"What happened?" Yui asked, her gaze softening. Yachi looked back up at her. "There was a practice match with Kuga high school the other day… a-and we won… but.." Yachi's cheeks started turning red. "T-then this... g-guy came up to me.. F-from the other team…"
Yui grinned, excitement coming into her eyes. "Oh-ho? Did he ask for your number? Was he cute?"
Yachi began to turn even more red. "H-he was a-alright...I-I guess… and h-he did..."
Yui's smile grew even more. "NO WAYY! AHHHH! Did you give it to him?!" She was about to fall off her seat. Her little Hitoka-chan got a boy's number?!
Yachi grew even more embarrassed by how loud Yui was being, noticing a few glances from her classmates directed her way. "Y-Yui-chan you're being t-too loud!", Yachi exclaimed with a whispered tone. She wanted to hide. Yui noticed people looking her way and covered her mouth a bit with a chuckle.
"Whoops, heh heh." She said back with a whisper, "So, did ya give it to him?" Yachi shook her head no, and Yui tilted her head. "Eh?! Why not? I thought you said he was cute?"
Yachi was beet-red at this point. "I-I c-could never! T-that would've been embarrassing! A-nd I-i don't e-even know him...s-so I started to tell him sorry a-and t-t-then…"
Yachi thought back to Hinata, how he had saved her in that moment, and went in front of her protecting her. Even though she knew the situation wasn't one where she was in any sort of danger, she still very much appreciated Hinata being there at the time. She smiled a soft smile, her hand instinctively wrapping around her wrist, the same area where Hinata's hand wrapped around. Yui raised her eyebrow again, surprised by how fast Yachi's demeanor changed.
"And then?" Yachi looked up, as if she had forgotten Yui was there once again, and her face went back to that of a tomato.
"T-then… H-Hinata… came in front of me a-and saved me…" Yachi's face burned so bad, both of her hands cupped her cheeks.
Yui's interest piqued once more, and she gave Yachi a sly look. "~OoOooOHhhHH~ I see now. Hinata-kun came to the rescue. Hmmm interesting." She cooed. Yachi can hear the suggestive tone in Yui's voice, but decided to ignore it, she was far beyond flustered just recalling the story.
"Y-yeah… i-in a w-way…" Yui looked at Yachi with a soft smile. Her best friend had a crush on a boy for the first time, and she wasn't even aware of it. It was her duty as her best friend to help her realize it, without telling it to her straight up.
"So that's what you've been worried about. Did you not thank him afterwards?" Yui asked, deciding to lay off the teasing for the time being, seeing that Yachi was about to explode.
"No, we didn't talk afterwards. I feel terrible that I didn't say a single thing to him. I was just… shocked I guess heh heh." Yachi grinned, scratching her cheek slightly. Her face started turning back to it's normal hue. She felt more calm seeing that Yui dropped the teasing for now.
"Well, you definitely need to thank him properly. Being that he saved you from the wild Kuga guy. It's the least you can do, so don't stress too much." Yui gave her a reassuring grin. Yachi smiled softly and nodded.
Yui glanced at the entrance door of their homeroom, puzzled. "Huh, I'm surprised Hinata-kun hasn't come in yet. Usually he's here right at the start of lunch break…" Yui exclaimed.
Yachi looked back at the door. She too was a little surprised he hasn't shown up yet. Typically if he wasn't coming, he would text her to let her know. But she hasn't received any texts yet, so she wondered what was keeping him. Or if anything had happened.
Yui noticed Yachi's worried expression. "Don't get all frizzy about it Hitoka-chan! I'm sure he's just busy with something else. Either that or he is probably already on his way!" Yui stated with a reassuring grin. Yachi felt her nerves calm a little bit and smiled. "Y-yeah! You're right! He should be okay…"
Her gaze shifted back to the door. She wanted to see him. Her earlier thoughts of nervousness were replaced with the need to thank him properly. She sighed as she rested her cheek on her hand, letting her arm rest on the desk. Her eyes staying focused on the door. 'I hope he comes in today…'
"Kageyama! Hey! Kageyamaaa!" Hinata called from down the hall.
The crowd of students parted the way down for him, right to where Kageyama was standing. Kageyama was just walking out of his homeroom class with an onigiri in one hand and textbook in the other, when he turned to the sound of his name being called.
Hinata bolted down the hall, his blue binder swinging at his side while he held his volleyball in his right hand. Finally, he stopped in front of Kageyama, taking in a few breaths to calm his heart from all the running.
Kageyama stared down at him, not interested in the slightest, and turned away in the direction of Yachi's homeroom.
"Hurry up scrub." Kageyama mumbled, knowing that Yachi was waiting for both boys to show up. Hinata saw Kageyama walking away from him and grabbed his arm. Kageyama's eyes flashed a dangerous glare as he saw Hinata's hand gripping his wrist, keeping him in place. He nearly dropped his onigiri.
"H-HEY! Dumbass! What's your-" Hinata didn't let him finish his sentence. "KAGEYAMA! I-uh… well I c-can't come today! So- uh… pl-PLEASE LET ME SEE YOUR NOTES AFTERWARDS!" Hinata bowed at a perfect 90 degree angle while holding onto Kageyama's wrist.
"Huh?" Kageyama growled as he looked down at Hinata with an expression of pure annoyance. He knew that he owed Hinata from the other day when Hinata had taken notes for him while he was getting help for Geometry, but he didn't think he'd have to pay up so soon.
Kageyama pulled his wrist away. Hinata looked up with a sheepish grin. His eyes looked at Kageyama nervously. He swallowed the lump in his throat before explaining.
"I-I have to go do something… somewhere. S-so… PLEASE TELL YACHI-SAN SORRY I COULDN'T MAKE IT!" Hinata shouted, cheeks flushed as he turned his heel and made a dash away from Kageyama, leaving him slightly taken aback.
"What the hell…?" Kageyama grumbled, a little embarrassed at the glances coming his way from several students in the hall who happened to witness Hinata's strange exit and hear his declaration. Kageyama raised his eyebrow in confusion, wondering what the hell that was all about. Deciding not to think too much into it, he shook his head and made his way down the hall to Yachi's homeroom.
Yachi was still in the same position, her cheek resting on her hand, facing the door when Kageyama walked in.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she sat up from her position. Her heart started beating fast as she started shuffling her papers and pencils to the side, to make room for both boys on her desk.
Yui took Kageyama entering as her cue to leave, when she noticed something. Hinata wasn't there behind him. Yui looked down at Yachi and noticed she was too flustered getting her desk ready, she hadn't even noticed Hinata's absence yet.
Yui turned back to Kageyama with an accusing expression. "Hey! Where's Hinata-kun at?" Yui questioned, her arms cross and eyebrow raised.
Yachi finally looked up at Kageyama, realizing that Hinata wasn't there. She instantly felt her heart rate slow down and she let out a breath of relief, only to be worried once more. Why wasn't Hinata here? Maybe something really did happen if Kageyama is the only one that showed up. Yachi stared at Kageyama waiting for his answer.
Kageyama's face stayed expressionless as he explained to both Yui and Yachi, "He can't come today. Something about doing… something somewhere." Kageyama pulled out a chair and sat in his usual spot across from Yachi, putting his binder on her desk and getting ready to eat his last onigiri from lunch.
Yui kept her brow raised high. That certainly wasn't the answer she was expecting and it didn't explain anything whatsoever. But she knew that she probably won't get much more than that from Kageyama anyways. With a loud "TCH", Yui grabbed her chair and walked away from the pair.
Yachi, on the other hand, was still worried. "K-Kageyama-kun… did he say anything else or just that?"
Kageyama looked up from his onigiri, and saw concern in Yachi's eyes. He sat up a little straighter as he explained once more in a softer voice. "He's fine. Knowing that idiot he probably just forgot to turn in a paper or something." Kageyama assured her.
Yachi let out the breath she was holding in. "I- I see…" she quietly said. Her heart fell a little more. He had let Kageyama know he wasn't coming...but why didn't he say anything to her? Or text her like he normally would? Did she miss something? Was he upset with her for some reason? Kageyama tilted his head. He could tell she was still on edge about something, and seeing her on edge made him feel on edge. Yachi looked up at Kageyama and saw his intense gaze on her, like he was trying to figure her out.
'Ahh.. I probably worried him.' Yachi realized as she sat up, more cheery this time, and gave Kageyama a beaming grin. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something else. Heh heh! We can get started now!" she exclaimed while opening up Kageyama's binder to the last page they left off. Kageyama gave her one more glance before nodding his head. Though he wasn't convinced everything was okay, he figured she probably didn't want to talk about it right now.
Hinata had finally made it to the back entrance of the gym, and he was completely out of breath. He had sprinted from the second year's floor of his homeroom, down the hallway, talked to Kageyama for a minute, and sprinted all the way down the stairs and across the courtyard. It was no simple feat and he did it in record time.
His heart was thumping against his chest as he let out a loud sigh, dropping his binder, bag, and volleyball on the ground and he laid down on his back, flat against the grass. His golden brown eyes gazed up at the cloudy, blue sky. The clouds moved slowly across the sun as he felt his heart rate begin to go back to normal. He put his hand over his chest, taking in a few more slow, deep breaths before finally sitting up.
He placed his arms behind him to keep him in place, glancing over at his binder, seeing a bit of the study guide that Yachi had made for him a few days ago sticking out slightly. He quickly turned away from it, his cheeks tinting a slight pink as he thought about Yachi.
He didn't know why, but for whatever reason, he couldn't find the courage to face her after what had happened the other day.
He wanted to apologize for barging in on her conversation with the middle blocker from Kuga. And for giving off the impression that they were a couple to the middle blocker. And for grabbing her wrist. Hinata smacked his head, face blushing a bright red as he recalled how he had grabbed her wrist, not truly knowing why he had done it in the first place.
It was like something had come over him, and he didn't understand it. Tanaka-san had called him a "man's man" for doing what he did, but he just felt like an idiot. He didn't get much sleep that night either, his mind kept going back to Yachi and the incident.
Hinata pouted as he looked back up to the sky. He knew he'd have to face her come practice anyways, so why he couldn't just face her now frustrated him to no end.
He didn't understand why the thought of seeing her made his heart race so much. She was one of his bestest friends. He didn't understand why he felt so nervous to talk to her. He's been talking to her and laughing with her ever since they met like it was the most normal thing to do. He didn't understand why… that these past few days... that her mere presence has been affecting him so much. What is so different now?
"GAHHHHH!" Hinata yelled as he pulled at his hair in frustration. He let go, his hands falling down to his sides as he glanced back over at his binder yet again. He put his hand over his heart, feeling his heartbeat pick up pace. He sighed.
'What is this...?'